Amelia passed him both spatial rings—the one he had given her and Isabella's original ring—by floating them using her mana control. Leon caught them effortlessly mid-air and, using just his consciousness combined with spatial manipulation, peered inside both simultaneously.

SHIMMER...

While in the background, muffled noises from the bunny girl still tied up on the ground continued being made persistently. Leon was clearly hearing the sounds, but he was simply ignoring the distraction entirely.

MMPH! MMPH! WIGGLE!

As his awareness swept through what was stored inside both rings, his expression shifted subtly with genuine satisfaction. Both rings were filled completely to their maximum capacity. The sheer quality of the treasures, rare skill stones, ancient technique scrolls—everything was exceptional beyond his expectations.

Oh. I definitely hit the jackpot here.

Leon didn't bother taking the contents out to examine them publicly or create any display. Instead, he quietly stored both rings directly inside his personal inventory with a single thought.

WHOOSH!

They vanished instantly from reality.

Isabella's ocean-blue eyes were glued to her spatial ring the precise moment it disappeared from existence. She felt something deep inside her soul crack and break apart.

Is he taking that too? This was literally the last thing I had left of value. I have absolutely nothing now. Nothing.

Tears threatened to form at the corners of her eyes as the devastating reality crashed down on her like a collapsing mountain. Knowing how extremely rare high-quality spatial rings truly were, she understood the catastrophic magnitude of this particular loss.

She could eventually regain treasures with time and effort—weapons could be commissioned from master smiths, skills could be learned or purchased, and techniques could be acquired through various means. Anything material could theoretically be replaced given sufficient resources and patience.

But a spatial ring of the exceptional quality she'd possessed, with two hundred cubic meters of perfectly stable storage space? She genuinely didn't think she would be able to find another one of that extraordinary caliber in her entire remaining lifetime, even with all her authority and connections.

They're essentially priceless. Completely irreplaceable. And he just... took it.

She gathered up every single ounce of courage she still possessed and forced herself to speak up despite her overwhelming fear. Now that he had gotten everything he'd demanded and their coerced deal was technically complete, she thought perhaps—just perhaps—the immediate mortal threat had finally passed.

Maybe I can negotiate this one thing. Just this one small thing. I have to try.

But how utterly, catastrophically wrong she was about the danger being over.

"My lord... my ring..." she mentioned fearfully, her voice barely rising above a whisper. "Could I possibly... have it back? Please?"

Her voice actually cracked on that final word, revealing her desperation.

Leon heard her trembling request with perfect clarity.

Oh, right, I completely forgot about that detail.

He actually did have some genuine intention of returning the ring to her eventually, since he honestly thought she'd been punished thoroughly enough already for her role in this mess. After all, she hadn't personally hurt Seraphine, Loriel, or Sylphia—she'd simply been executing her duties as the supreme judge, however terribly misguided her initial assessment had been.

She deserves at least some small mercy after everything, I suppose. She cooperated fully once she understood the situation.

For just a fraction of a second, Leon paused. A ghost of sympathy tried to surface—then vanished.

His reason for being here was that they practically forced him to be here.

Making his mind shift of the immediate practical issue, which was that he couldn't be bothered right now to take the ring back out of his inventory, systematically empty all the treasure inside, which filled the entire two hundred cubic meters of available space, and then manually transfer everything piece by piece into his own storage systems.

It would take less than half a minute with my speed and efficiency, true. But I just can't be bothered dealing with that tedious process right now. Too much hassle.

He simply waved his hand in a casual, dismissive gesture and said without much thought, "I'm borrowing it for now. The next time we meet, I'll give it back to you then."

His tone made it sound like he was borrowing a book from a library.

Isabella heard his seemingly reasonable reply, and her small mouth opened and closed several times wordlessly like a fish out of water. Her petite hands trembled visibly at her sides, fingers twitching with suppressed emotion.

Borrowing it. He actually said he's just "borrowing" it. As if that means anything.

She had already sworn a solemn oath to herself earlier about somehow getting her revenge eventually—she didn't know how or when, but someday, somehow, she would make him pay for this humiliation.

However, if he had at least returned her precious spatial ring out of all the countless things he'd taken from her today, she would have been able to end this absolutely tragic, soul-crushing meeting on at least a somewhat decent note—with one tiny victory to desperately cling to in her memories.

But the casual, almost careless term "borrowing" made her feel utterly depressed and completely defeated on every possible level.

She knew with absolute certainty deep in her bones that it was all over. She was never, ever getting that irreplaceable ring back.

"Borrowing" is just a polite, civilized word for stealing permanently. I know exactly how this works. I've seen it a thousand times. Empty words mean nothing.

However, she couldn't do a single thing about it now. After having already endured so much systematic humiliation, having been stripped of literally everything she owned down to her undergarments being displayed publicly, she had no choice whatsoever but to keep herself quiet and simply accept his casual words without any further protest or negotiation.

Survival first. Pride later. That's the only path forward now.

Leaving the thoroughly depressed and defeated Isabella to her increasingly miserable internal thoughts, Amelia's professional, measured voice came clearly from her position below the marble stairs where she stood at perfect military attention.

"My lord, I found this demi-human wandering around in suspicious circles at the outer perimeter of this Supreme Court building. Finding her behavior extremely concerning and potentially threatening, I caught her and brought her here directly for your judgment and decision."

Leon just casually waved his hand to stop the explanation before it could continue any further with unnecessary details.

"Just free her. You don't have to worry about anything whatsoever regarding this particular one."

His tone made it clear Bunbun was completely harmless despite appearances.

Amelia did exactly as instructed without any question or hesitation, quickly and efficiently removing the ropes binding the bunny girl's limbs and peeling off the tape covering her mouth.

RIIIP! SNAP!

But the precise moment Bunbun was freed from her physical constraints, all hell broke loose immediately.

"FINALLY! DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG I'VE BEEN TIED UP?!"

A literal miniature snowstorm was unleashed directly at Amelia with surprising force, along with the bunny girl's high-pitched, deeply indignant voice screaming at absolute maximum volume.

"You're completely done for, you horrible red monkey woman! I'm going to teach you a really serious lesson right now for kidnapping an innocent person like me!"

WHOOOOSH! CRACKLE!

Ice shards and swirling snow materialized from nowhere, creating a genuine blizzard effect that filled the immediate area around Amelia's position with freezing wind and crystalline projectiles.

As her aggressive, threatening words were loudly declared to everyone present, Bunbun glanced quickly sideways at Leon and gave him an enthusiastic, confident nod—as if silently communicating that she obviously had his full backing and complete support in this entirely righteous confrontation against her kidnapper.

We're a team, right? You've got my back on this, right?

Leon just thought with profound weariness at that exact moment: This girl... she's such a hassle. Why does she constantly keep getting herself into these ridiculous situations? It's like she attracts trouble.

But Amelia remained completely and utterly unfazed by the supposedly devastating attack. The impressive snowstorm Bunbun had created with genuine effort wasn't even touching her body or clothes at all.

A protective barrier made of swirling crimson fire embraced her tall form instantly, creating an absolutely impenetrable shield that radiated intense heat. It was exactly like watching harmless snowballs bounce off an invisible reinforced wall before even making contact.

FWOOSH! SIZZLE! HISSSSS!

The ice melted completely and instantly upon approaching within a meter of her position, creating thick clouds of white steam that rose toward the vaulted ceiling.

The temperature differential was so extreme that the marble floor beneath them actually cracked slightly from thermal stress.

Bunbun's confident expression faltered as she witnessed her attack being casually negated, just like before.

She was about to glance desperately at Leon again for direct help—he could feel her panicked attention beginning to shift in his direction—however, before anything else could possibly happen or escalate further, Leon teleported directly next to her, seemingly out of absolute nowhere.

FWOOSH!

Bunbun's cute face completely lit up with pure joy and overwhelming relief the instant she saw him materialize beside her like a guardian angel. Her large red eyes sparkled with genuine happiness and trust.

"Leon! You're finally here! Thank goodness! This really means the lady kidnapped me and tied me up and—"

But her excited, relieved expression and rambling explanation lasted for exactly one second.

In the very next moment, a distinctive silver-white portal opened directly beside them both with that characteristic dimensional crackling sound he produced.

WHUMMM! SHIMMER!

Then Leon, without any warning whatsoever and moving with his characteristically impossible speed that defied normal perception, grabbed the back of her clothing firmly around her neck area and unceremoniously threw her small body directly inside the portal opening like someone disposing of trash.

"WAAAAAIT! AHHHHHHHH!"

The portal snapped shut immediately with finality, cutting off her betrayed scream mid-sentence.

SNAP!

Complete silence fell over the courtroom.

Amelia was genuinely worried for a brief second, her forehead actually breaking out in nervous sweat despite her usual composure. She'd truly freaked out internally when he suddenly appeared out of nowhere directly next to them without any advance warning or sound.

His abilities are absolutely terrifying. I didn't even sense him coming at all. If he wanted me dead, I would be dead before I could blink.

Leon calmly assessed the overall situation and knew definitively that he had absolutely nothing left to accomplish here in this place anymore.

So with his final words directed specifically toward Isabella—words that sounded almost sweet and genuinely caring if one ignored the horrifying context of literally everything he'd done to her before this moment—he spoke with false warmth and mock affection.

"Take care of yourself, little supreme leader. Goodbye for now. Until we meet again."

A slight smile touched his lips.

FWOOSH!

His figure vanished completely from the spot without any further ceremony.

The massive courtroom was finally, mercifully, blessedly free of that human-looking monster's oppressive presence.

The council members, Aria, and the surviving members of Arthur's adventure party all immediately slumped backward into their seats simultaneously with visible relief washing over them like a wave, their bodies going completely limp like puppets with freshly cut strings.

It's actually over. We genuinely survived that encounter. How is that possible?

"He's really finally gone..."

Whispers of disbelief circulated through the traumatized group.

However, Isabella was left standing completely alone next to her seat in the grand courtroom—a small, diminutive blue-haired woman in her cute blue pajamas and matching loose shirt—trembling violently with pure, undiluted rage at his nonchalant, mocking final words that echoed in her mind.

"Little supreme leader." "Take care." As if we're actually friends! As if he didn't just systematically rob me of absolutely everything I own! As if this were just a pleasant social visit!

Her small fists clenched so incredibly tightly that her fingernails actually drew blood from her soft palms, leaving crescent-shaped wounds.

"I HATE HIM! I HATE HIM SO MUCH! I'VE NEVER HATED ANYONE THIS MUCH IN MY ENTIRE LIFE!"

The way he did things to her infuriated her so much that it kept repeating in her mind.

Her scream echoed powerfully through the previously silent courtroom as tears of pure frustration, humiliation, and impotent rage finally broke free and streamed down her reddened cheeks.

She collapsed to her knees on the cold marble floor, shoulders shaking with sobs.

Everyone watched in uncomfortable silence, not knowing what to say or do to comfort their devastated leader.

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