Soon, the Emperor started his dramatic speech in a loud and full of emotion voice.
"My dear citizens..." he said while spreading his arms wide like he was about to hug the whole capital. "Today, we should honor our great hero! He is a brave man and a good friend! He is a brother in spirit! His sacrifice saved us all!"
Cardin snorted instantly.
"Brother in spirit, my butt." he muttered. "You cried when the hero beat you in chess twice. Twice! You're still a liar, Eustace."
Rowan, who was holding Cardin against his chest, almost choked while trying not to laugh. But the Emperor went on and on while describing how close he and the hero were. He even wiped a fake tear. Seeing this, Cardin groaned louder.
"Oh, please. You only visited the hero when you needed him to save your ass from all the failures you did."
When the speech finally ended after ten long minutes, the Emperor raised his hand.
"And now, I appoint General Marken as the new Commander of the Royal Knights!"
The crowd clapped their hands politely.
General Marken proudly stepped forward on the stage. He looked like someone who memorized the 'heroic speech face' in front of a mirror. Then he placed one hand on his chest.
"I promise to do my very best." General Marken said in a solemn voice. "I will wholeheartedly follow our beloved hero's footsteps and bravely serve our people. I know the hero would also approved of this because we are sworn brothers!"
But Cardin loudly interrupted him in Rowan's head.
"Follow my footsteps?! Sworn brothers?! You tripped on your own cape last year! You're a weakling with thighs like boiled noodles! And you are spouting such lies in a broad daylight!"
Rowan pressed his lips together tightly to stop himself from reacting. Cardin was now fuming although Rowan couldn't understand why.
"Why him, Eustace? Out of everyone?! We weren't even on good terms too! He stole my lunch once and blamed a squirrel! That damned prick!"
"Shh..." Rowan whispered while patting the sword as if he was soothing an angry cat.
Soon, the Emperor lifted his hand again.
"Knights! Carry the hero's coffin to its resting place now!"
Four royal knights surrounded the coffin. When the sun touched the coffin, it suddenly glittered with gold and precious stones. Even Cardin had to admit that the Emperor gave him the best coffin out there.
"...Well. At least I got something fancy from that prick."
The knights carefully lifted the coffin. The people followed behind them in a slow and respectful walk. Rowan also tried to keep up. But he was small, the crowd was huge and his legs were short.
Rowan squeezed between two tall men. Then someone accidentally stepped on his shoe while another person's elbow poked his cheek. But Rowan kept going and determined to follow the coffin to its destination.
"I must follow... I must keep up..." Rowan whispered like a brave but struggling mushroom on the side.
Cardin sighed.
"Kid, you should move aside. You're getting crushed like a tomato, you know."
And then, it happened.
Rowan suddenly tripped out of nowhere.
His foot caught on something and he stumbled forward. Cardin suddenly yelled when Rowan almost threw him somewhere in the crowd.
"No!"
Rowan crashed right into one of the knights who was holding the coffin. And that knight wobbled making the coffin tilted. Everyone gasped when they saw it.
And then...
Thud!
The coffin dropped and hit the ground so hard the lid popped open.
Slam!
Everyone froze. But the most shocking thing was the sight before them. The coffin was completely empty. Not even a toenail of the hero was inside of it. Rowan's eyes widened while staring at the coffin.
"Uhh..."
Cardin was silent after that. Rowan became worried for him. He thought maybe he got hurt when he almost tripped earlier. So he carefully hugged the sword and whispered to it.
"Cardin? Are you... Uhmm... Are you okay?"
Then Cardin finally spoke.
"...I knew it."
Rowan blinked his eyes.
"Knew what?"
"They didn't even put my body in a coffin!"
"Your body? Huh?"
But Cardin had no time to explain. He was so offended. Deeply offended. More offended than when Marken stole his lunch made by his wife.
"I died saving the world and they gave me an empty coffin?! Do they think I'm invisible?! Do they think I'm air?!"
While Cardin was fuming in Rowan's arm, the people started panicking.
"What is the meaning of this?!"
"Where is the hero?!"
"Did someone steal him?!"
"Is he walking around as a ghost?!"
Cardin hissed when he heard that.
"Technically, yes. But rude!"
Seeing the commotion, the Emperor dramatically rushed forward with his cape flying behind him.
"What happened here?!"
Everyone nervously looked around while whispering to each other.
"Was this planned?" one of the onlookers asked.
"Maybe the hero revived?"
"Maybe he never died!"
Cardin made the loudest mental groan.
"Yeah, right." Cardin muttered mostly to himself. "How I wish for that to happen."
Rowan, who was now kneeling near the fallen coffin, shyly raised his hand.
"Uhmm... I think... I'm sorry." Rowan nervously said.
Everyone stared at him.
"Kid, quick! Tell them the coffin attacked you first." Cardin whispered to him.
"No!" Rowan whispered back in horror.
Rowan awkwardly avoided their gaze. But he barely had time to dust the dirt from his knees when a knight marched toward him like an angry teapot with legs.
"You!" the knight barked while pointing a trembling finger at Rowan. "You attacked the procession! You caused a chaos here!"
Rowan rapidly blinked his eyes in surprise.
"What? No! I just tripped! My foot slipped!"
But the knight jabbed his finger closer.
"Then why did the coffin fall?!"
Rowan pointed straight at the huge knight who actually dropped the coffin.
"Because he dropped it!" Rowan quickly said.
The big knight turned red in embarrassment.
"I... I–That's... It's not my fault!"
Then suddenly, the people around them began whispering loudly again. Their attention was still on the missing body of their hero.
"The coffin was empty!"
"Why was it empty?!"
"Is the hero still alive?!"
The whispers grew louder until the Emperor dramatically stood forward again.
"Citizens, please calm down!" the Emperor shouted. "The truth is, the hero died bravely and his body could not be retrieved anymore. But still, we will honor him with this symbolic burial."
Soon, the people slowly nodded their heads in understanding.
"Ahhh... So that's why!"
"A symbolic burial... The hero was really a legend!"
But Cardin practically screamed in Rowan's arms.
"What do you mean 'could not retrieved' huh?! My body was fine! I wasn't even missing a finger when I died!"
Rowan patted the broken sword as if trying to soothe it again. Soon, the Emperor motioned for the knights to restart the funeral. Then sad music played again, the people sniffled and the crowd finally calmed down.
"This funeral is so chaotic." Rowan quietly said before standing up.
But then, a hand clamped around his arm like a crab catching its prey. It was the same knight who pointed his finger at him earlier.
"You are under arrest!" the knight said in a gruff voice.
Rowan's eyes bulged.
"H-Huh?! But why?!" Rowan asked in a panic.
"For assaulting a Royal Knight!"
Then the knight puffed out his chest as if expecting an applause from the onlookers.
"I did not assault you or anyone!"
While Rowan was fighting for his freedom, Cardin suddenly groaned in his arms.
"Oh, great. This scaredy cat is now arrested because the inflated knight has noodle legs."
Rowan tried to pull his arm back but the knight shook him like a sack of potatoes.
"And you will come for questioning about why you were suspiciously near the coffin during the procession!" the knight dramatically continued.
Rowan stared at him.
"B-Because I was offering the hero with the flowers I picked!"
"That's not an excuse!"
Then knight pointed at Rowan again.
"You will answer to our investigator! And do not resist anymore!"
"I am not resisting!" Rowan squeaked. "You're just pulling me too hard!"
"Then stop letting your arm get dragged!"
"That's not... That doesn't even make sense!"
Cardin also agreed with Rowan. In fact, it was really ridiculous for a knight to arrest this kid without any proper evidence. It's either this knight was simply trying to make himself look better or the knights had become a bunch of bastards while Cardin was busy fighting with the Demon Lord.
Rowan kept saying he did not intentionally ruined the procession but the knight did not care. He lifted Rowan slightly off the ground like he was just a bag of flour. The young lad had no choice but to follow him.
"Come along! You will answer for your actions!" the knight said.
Rowan panicked.
"B-But I am innocent! I could swear it to you with my pinky finger!"
The knight tugged harder making Rowan stumbled on his feet. Then he looked around and wildly waved his free arm.
"Dad! I'm being arrested! Dad! Help!"
Seeing a knight pulling a young lad, the crowd parted and watched the scene like it was the entertainment of the day. The knight kept dragging the panicking Rowan away with one squeaky shout at a time.