Conferring Honors
Satou here. Usually, I think of medals as being awarded to soldiers who fought hard on the battlefield. I didn’t know anyone in Japan who’d ever received one, so they always seemed like a prop from some fictional world to me.
“In recognition of his feats of heroism, we hereby award honorary knight Sir Satou Pendragon with the Shiga Kingdom Cobalt Wing Blade Medal.”
“It is my honor to receive this award.”
In a ridiculously large and lavish hall, we were being honored for our successful defeat of a floormaster.
That being said, the king only said a few short words of praise at the beginning, then sat on the throne in silence. Then Marquis Kelten, the restored minister of the military, gave a very long congratulatory address and briefing, after which the king placed heavy-looking medals on me and Baronet Jelil the Scarlet Nobleman, who was representing the second group.
“Additionally, in recognition of their accomplishments, all other members of the esteemed Red Dragon’s Roar and Pendragon will receive Crimson Wing Blade Medals or Scarlet Blade Medals.”
Once Marquis Kelten gave his address, the king’s role was apparently over. The facilitator announced, “His Majesty now takes his leave.”
We all prostrated ourselves again and waited for the king to exit.
He was followed by a procession of various queen consorts, princes, and princesses, who’d been lined up behind him.
Most of the princesses seemed to have come to bear witness to Baronet Jelil’s famously attractive features, while the princes were interested in the mithril explorers who defeated a floormaster. They were all dressed to the nines and brimming with curiosity, but one of the princesses was making zero effort to hide her excitement.
She wore her reddish-blonde hair in a neat updo, complete with an elegant tiara and a refined silver and diamond barrette, which clinked pleasantly against her signature silver-rimmed glasses as her head bobbed.
Her figure was the slenderest of the adult princesses, of whom she was the eldest here to remain unmarried.
According to my AR display, her name was Sistina. She was the sixth daughter of the Shigan king, twenty-one years old. At level 17, she was fairly talented with five skills: Etiquette, Arithmetic, Transmutation, Practical Magic, and Summoning Magic.
Based on her title, Master of Banned Books, she must have been the “oddball” princess I’d heard rumors about. If memory served, there was also a rumor that her engagement to Count Lessau’s son had just been broken off.
Once she brought up the rear of the royal procession, she was followed by Sir Juleburg of the Shiga Eight Swordsmen, who was in charge of protecting the royal family, and some of the imperial knights. Then the door to the audience room clanged shut.
The other Shiga Eight members, the rest of the knights, and twenty or so robed magic users who appeared to be imperial mages stayed behind.
Of course, Sir Gouen was nowhere to be seen among the Shiga Eight, due to his part in the attack on Duke Vistall. He’d been forced to participate in the rebellion with his wife and children held hostage. Now, he was elsewhere on the royal grounds, confined in an unusual villa that was reserved for imprisoning high-ranking nobles.
“We will now begin awarding the Crimson Wing Blade Medals,” Marquis Kelten declared in a deep, authoritative voice that seemed at odds with his round physique.
The Crimson Wing Blade Medals were being given out to the leaders and core members of each of the parties that fought alongside Baronet Jelil’s Red Dragon’s Roar, ten in total, along with the seven members of my Pendragon party.
Even the rugged explorers seemed intimidated by authority, or perhaps they were overwhelmed by the grandiose atmosphere of the audience hall; either way, their faces were stiff with nerves, any enthusiasm from the waiting room completely forgotten.
“From Pendragon, Liza of the Black Spear.”
“Present.”
Liza stood up, looking calm and dignified in her formal attire.
A stir arose from the crowd of approximately six hundred Holy Knights and imperial knights positioned on either side of the hall.
“That’s Liza of the Black Spear?”
“The famous Liza is a woman?”
“She’s just a little girl!”
“A dainty little demi-human like that…”
They had clearly heard that Liza had defeated Sir Juleburg the Unstoppable of the Shiga Eight Swordsmen and were surprised by her youth, gender, and race.
Liza briskly strode forward.
The vermilion scales that grew near her neck and wrists were hidden by her clothes, but her tail was swishing around proudly, glittering in the sunlight that filled the hall as if to represent her inner spirit.
She wasn’t permitted to carry her trademark weapon, the Magic Cricket Spear, since the king was present at the ceremony.
Though most people would never know it, I could tell from her gait that she was actually quite nervous.
“Your martial achievements were very impressive indeed.”
“I am honored.”
Liza’s military-style dress was paired with a short jacket, the perfect place to affix the medal, which was exactly what he did.
Marquis Kelten demanded “Silence!” several times, until finally the audience room fell still again. Clearing his throat, Kelten resumed the ceremony.
“From Pendragon, Arisa the Explosive Princess.”
“Present!”
With a cheerful reply, Arisa stepped forward elegantly.
Her lilac hair—considered a cursed color in this world—was safely hidden beneath a blonde wig.
Incidentally, the title Explosive Princess was one that she had made up for herself in the waiting room.
Again, there were murmurs of surprise about her age, though not nearly as many as when Liza revealed herself.
To avoid damaging the fabric of her dress, Arisa wore a cape with a little attachment for pinning the medal, as did the other girls.
“From Pendragon, Misanaria of the Bolenan Forest.”
“Mm.”
While she tottered along as usual, Mia’s pale aqua pigtails bounced her hood down to her shoulders, revealing her slightly pointed elf ears.
She didn’t seem all that interested in the medal, but the idea of matching with the rest of the group was enough of an incentive for her to participate.
“Isn’t Bolenan Forest the homeland of Trazayuya the Sage?”
“So that little girl is an elf?”
“An elf, huh? Never seen one before.”
The knights whispered among themselves at the sight of her.
It must have been unusual for them, since no elves resided in the royal capital.
“From Pendragon, Shieldmaiden Nana.”
“Affirmative.”
The blonde, busty beauty Nana stood up next.
Although her usual blank expression made it difficult to tell, the tone of her voice suggested she was considerably nervous.
I couldn’t blame her. Though she resembled a high schooler, she was actually a magical man-made homunculus and technically less than a year old.
“From Pendragon, Cat Ninja Tama.”
“Aye!”
Tama, a little girl with short white hair, cat ears, and a tail, hopped to her feet.
Behind her, Liza whispered, “The proper response is ‘Present,’” and Tama corrected herself.
The generally laid-back Tama seemed uncharacteristically tense, her arms and legs moving in awkward unison.
Her Cat Ninja title was another one of Arisa’s waiting room suggestions.
“From Pendragon, Dog Samurai Pochi.”
“P-present, sir!”
Pochi, a girl with a brown bob cut and the ears and tail of a dog, responded in a loud voice due to nerves and bolted upright.
She was even stiffer than Tama, with her limbs completely rigid and her eyes practically spinning in panic.
Still, she somehow managed to accept the medal without causing any chaos.
When she returned to her seat and sighed in relief, Tama and Liza praised her affectionately.
Then, last but not least…
“From Pendragon, Maid Queen Lulu.”
“P-present!”
The Japanese-style beauty, Lulu, stood up, light running down her long black hair as if caressing it lovingly.
She’d spent several extra hours on skincare and makeup today, making her already beautiful features stunning enough to bring down not just a country but a planet or even a galaxy.
I couldn’t even imagine how stunning she would look if she wasn’t racked with nerves.
“Next, we will award the Scarlet Blade Medals.”
The rest of the ceremony had nothing to do with us, so we sat back and watched while the mithril explorers who’d fought alongside Baronet Jelil’s party received their awards.
About twenty people in total were granted the Scarlet Blade Medal.
That was still only around half of the total number who had challenged the floormaster with Jelil and survived. The others were in support roles, evidently not enough to earn them a medal or title.
Finally, Marquis Kelten announced that the peerage ceremony would take place at the start of the new year and advised those newly receiving titles to think about their desired family names. With that, the award ceremony ended.
Next, we were scheduled for lunch in another room, and at the second cycle of the afternoon—around three thirty in terms of Earth time—we would be the guests of honor at a ball.
The lunch was served in a dining hall big enough for around five hundred people, and it turned out to be a full-blown multi-course meal.
“This is sakura salmon meunière, kingdom-style.”
A server in a butler-like uniform put plates of elegantly arranged food in front of us and explained each course.
Sakura salmon was frequently eaten during this season in the royal capital, and it was beloved by the nobility and citizens of the capital as a lucky dish said to bring success in life.
“Pochi, you can’t just jab at it with a fork. Same for you, Tama—use the knife to cut it up first.”
“But I can easily eat this in one bite, sir.”
“No knife, no worriiies…?”
“I’m telling you, it’s not a matter of whether you can or not!”
Arisa was doing her best to teach Pochi and Tama some table manners.
We usually ate as a group in private, which meant I hadn’t quite taught them proper etiquette for eating in public.
Maybe I ought to get the two of them a private tutor.
“Nana, why are there so many different utensils?” Liza asked Nana in a low voice.
“They are each properly suited to a different dish, I report.”
“Properly suited, you say…? Noble dining is very complex.”
I guess I should have Liza sit in on the tutoring sessions, too.
Meanwhile, Mia was sitting next to me, scowling down at the meunière on her plate.
The accompanying mushrooms were nowhere to be found.
“Mia, finish your food.”
“But I hate fish.”
“It’s already been deboned. Just pretend it’s something else, okay?”
“Mrrr…”
Mia furrowed her brow and glared at it more intensely.
It was bad manners to grumble with a fork in her mouth, but I had a hard time telling her this when it was so darn cute.
“Mia, your fork.”
“Mm.”
I gave her a gentle scolding after drinking in the scene for another moment.
It wasn’t much of a big deal, though: The servers didn’t comment, and most of all, it was nothing compared to the wild explorers boisterously eating at the next table over.
“’Sgood. Ain’t enough food on the plate, though.”
“You said it. Forget fish; I need me some real meat.”
“And what’s with these glasses of wine? Gimme a tankard filled to the brim with ale!”
The moment they heard the word meat, the beastfolk girls’ eyes glittered, but I went ahead and informed them that the next dish would be meat before they could complain that they wanted meat, too.
“They’re a rowdy bunch,” Arisa commented, observing the explorers.
“No kidding,” I agreed.
The servers seemed to be expertly trained, as they didn’t even bat an eye at the explorers’ raucous behavior.
Instead, they made sure to bring extra helpings of the meat dish that followed, discretely informed the guests that they were welcome to seconds, and generally showed them the utmost hospitality.
Meanwhile, Baronet Jelil and the other noble-born explorers were pretending not to know their rowdy fellows as they enjoyed the food.
I decided to focus on enjoying it, too.
As one might expect from food at a royal palace, it was a feast not just for the taste buds but for the eyes. From beautiful garnishes to delicate dishes arranged in the shape of roses, every plate was studded with expert techniques.
“…Delicious.”
As I chewed, the flavors deepened in my mouth. I had never tasted something so good that it felt like a shame to swallow. Royal chefs really were on another level.
“Is it how it was prepared…? No, the freshness, the ripeness…”
My “Keen Hearing” skill picked up on Lulu murmuring to herself as she ate.
She must have been trying to learn from the flavors and techniques with her ever-curious mind.
It would be fun to figure out how to create these flavors on our own, though.
Taking a page out of Lulu’s book, I took another bite with a focus on analyzing the cooking. My maxed-out “Cooking” skill and all my experience told me they had put an incredible amount of effort into every step of the process.
But at the same time, I could get a decent idea of the ingredients and seasoning involved, enough that I decided to try recreating it with Lulu and the others sometime in the future.
“Aah, that was delicious.”
After our very satisfying lunch, we took a break in the salon.
It was a crescent moon–shaped room that partially encircled the dining room, with roughly the same max capacity.
“Yummyyy…?”
“It was delishierous, sir.”
I recently learned that this new pet phrase of Pochi’s wasn’t a mispronunciation of delicious, but rather a made-up word meaning “dangerously delicious.”
“Yes, the meat dishes were particularly good.” Liza heaved a contented sigh. Then she added outrageously, “Though I might have preferred a slightly firmer mouthfeel…”
I’m pretty sure that if it was firm enough to please Liza, no one else would have been able to eat it.
“After the ball, that just leaves the new year’s peerage ceremony,” Arisa remarked, then turned to me. “How long are we staying in the royal capital anyway?”
“Not sure. Until after the auction halfway through the first month of the new year, maybe?”
The floormaster spoils we’d presented to the king would be sold at auction, after which the king would in turn present us with a cash reward calculated from the winning bids.
“Until then, we can all relax and do some sightseeing in the area.”
From there, my plan was for us to return to Labyrinth City for a while, then travel around the world together.
“Sounds like we’ll have a nice long span of time, then. What does everyone want to do?”
The others all gave various suggestions in response to Arisa’s question.
I wrote them all down in the notepad section of my menu to help me plan out our royal capital sightseeing.
“That’s a lot of ideas. Do you think a month will be enough?”
“If it’s not, we can always extend our stay.”
There was no need to hurry, after all.
“We’ve still got a while before the ball. What should we do?”
Arisa looked around at everyone.
“We should determine our family names, I propose.”
“Family names?”
“I suppose we were told to decide on one before the ceremony.” Liza folded her arms and nodded, her expression hard to read.
“Why don’t you all just use my family name?”
We’re basically a family anyway.
“I-is that a proposal?!”
Arisa leaped to her feet, wearing an exaggerated expression straight out of a comedy manga.
Tama and Pochi mimicked her reaction.
“Propooozal…?”
“Proropolis, sir!”
Like a telephone game, the word came out sounding like the Greek word for bee glue.
“Master…”
Lulu’s cheeks were cherry-blossom pink as she looked up at me with teary eyes.
The image had enough destructive force that I almost blurted out “Let’s get married” in a fit of emotion.
I didn’t want to darken those eyes with disappointment, but if I didn’t clear things up soon, then Mia and the others might join in on the fray, too, so I shortly said no and flicked Arisa on the forehead for starting the misunderstanding.
“I just thought that since we’re like a family, it might be nice to have the same name.”
“Awww, maaan…”
“S-so that’s what you meant…”
Arisa and Lulu slumped their shoulders in disappointment.
On the other hand, Tama’s and Pochi’s eyes sparkled brightly. The word family must have struck a chord with them.
“Well, let’s not use Pendragon, then,” Arisa declared, recovering.
“I wanna maaatch…?”
“Exactly, sir. I think matching sounds good, too, sir.”
“Hear me out.”
As Tama and Pochi protested, Arisa grabbed them and pulled them close, speaking in a low voice.
“Instead of having it from the beginning, won’t it feel more meaningful to change your name to Pendragon after we get married?”
“Mm. Makes sense.”
“An excellent proposal. I concur.”
“I—I think so, too!”
Mia, Nana, and Lulu all quietly agreed with Arisa.
“Mew…?”
“I don’t really get it, sir.”
“It must be some kind of human custom,” Liza said to the confused Tama and Pochi.
“So what will you choose for your family names, then? Arisa, will you take your old last name?”
“Well, Lulu and I can’t lose our status as slaves because of our Geis curse, so…”
When their homeland, Kuvork Kingdom, was taken down by a neighboring kingdom, an imperial mage used a gift called Geis to curse them to live as slaves until death.
Currently, the only methods I knew of to dispel this curse were to have someone with the Geis gift remove or overwrite it, use the Divine Artifact passed down by the central Urion Temple, or have a high-ranking clergyman use Prayer Magic to remove the order.
Since we’d accomplished the goal of leveling everyone up in Labyrinth City, maybe my next priority should be removing their Geis.
“We’ll decline this peerage and go on without last names.”
“Oh, there’s no need for that.”
I had already taken action on this front.
“Bwuh?”
“I got permission from the prime minister by way of Miss Nina. While the removal of the slave contract and peerage ceremony via the City Core will have to wait for now, you’ll still have access to the rights of a proper noble.”
I was expecting to be given various conditions for this, but thanks to the Muno Barony’s Viscount Iron-Blooded Nina’s shrewdness, we were given special permission without any particular caveats.
“Incredible as always, master, I praise.”
“Mm. Good job.”
“Très bieeen…?”
“Amazingly amazing, sir!”
“That’s great, Arisa and Lulu.”
“It really is. Thanks, master.”
“Master, thank you so much.”
It was well worth the effort to get such a happy reaction.
Realizing that gaining peerage would mean being released from their slave contracts, the beastfolk girls momentarily started protesting that they would rather stay slaves, but they relented when I reassured them: “Team Pendragon won’t be broken up, and we’ll stay together like always.”
“So back to the topic of family names. What do you think?”
“Let’s see… I don’t think it would be wise to take the name of a fallen royal family, and my family name from my previous life seems to be taken already. I’m not sure.”
When I was deciding on my own last name, Miss Nina had mentioned that there was already a hereditary knight with the name Tachibana.
Come to think of it, everyone else made name suggestions at the time, too.
If I remembered right…
“Lulu, you mentioned the name Watari before. It was your grandfather’s family name, right?”
“No, my great-grandfather.”
Since he was from a “very distant land,” I suspected he was either a Japanese person or the descendant of one.
“Why not go with Lulu Watari, then?” Arisa suggested.
“Maybe…” Lulu paused for a moment, then turned to me. “You don’t think it sounds strange, master?”
“No, not at all.”
“Then I’ll make my last name Watari.”
It seemed like she genuinely wanted to confirm whether it was strange, not to be talked out of it, so I did my best to assuage her fears.
“And you mentioned Nagasaki, right, Nana?”
“Yes, my previous master’s name, I report.”
Nana’s former master, Zen the Undead King, was a reincarnated Japanese person.
“Very nice. It’s like you’re going from your former master’s name to being your current master’s bride.”
“That is an extremely good proposal, I declare!”
Arisa’s casual comment seemed to tickle Nana’s fancy. Expressionless as always, she turned her head toward Arisa so sharply that it startled her.
“Master, requesting permission to take Nagasaki as my last name.”
“Granted.”
I ignored the nonsense about becoming my bride.
“Liza, your suggestion was…Kishreshigarza?”
“Yes, the name of my tribe.”
“Then will you be going by Liza Kishreshigarza from now on?”
“That’d be great!” Arisa exclaimed before Liza could answer. “Once you become world-famous, maybe other scattered members of your clan will come find you!”
“Yes, perhaps,” Liza murmured, her voice full of emotion, then nodded. “Master, may I take the name of Liza Kishreshigarza?”
“Yeah, of course.”
I gave her a firmly reassuring answer, since Liza tended to be timid about these things.
“Tama and Pochi, what will you do?”
“Mrrr…?”
“Hard question, sir.”
Tama and Pochi furrowed their little brows intently.
“Maybe you could take the same name as Liza and become the Kishreshigarza sisters?”
Somehow, this made me picture them as three heroines in colorful leotards bounding through the night.
“Matchiiing…!”
“I wanna match, too, sir!”
“Then Tama Kishreshigarza and Pochi Kishreshigarza it is!” Arisa declared.
That was easy.
“What about Arisaaa…?”
“What will your name be, sir?”
“Hmm, I do have some attachment to the Tachibana name, but if there’s another Tachibana family already, things could become needlessly complicated…”
Arisa’s forehead wrinkled in contemplation.
“Why wouldn’t you take the same family name as Lulu?” Liza asked curiously.
“That’s a good point. Arisa Watari…it’s not half-bad. Would that be all right, dear sister?”
“Of course, I’d be happy to share a name with you.”
“Then we’ll be the Watari sisters.”
Arisa and Lulu smiled at each other.
…Hmm?
Realizing that Mia hadn’t joined the conversation in a while, I looked around and saw her alone on the balcony staring out into the garden.
Mia already had the last name Bolenan, so she didn’t need a new one, but I was surprised she wouldn’t want to comment on the other girls’ new names.
“Is something wrong?”
“Satou.” Mia turned around as I approached. “Calling me.”
Mia was pointing at the Royal Sakura, the giant cherry blossom tree visible beyond the garden.
“You want to go to the base of the Royal Sakura?”
“Mm.”
Mia’s face was uncharacteristically serious.
“Sorry, Arisa, but could you contact me with Telephone when someone comes to get us for the ball?”
“Okey-dokey. As long as I get first dibs on sleeping next to master tonight.”
“…Fine,” Mia grunted with a dour expression.
“Oh, come on, I was only joking!”
Though Pochi and some of the others seemed to want to come along, I left them behind and went to the base of the Royal Sakura alone with Mia. I didn’t want to get in trouble for wandering the castle grounds with a big group of people.
“There aren’t as many people here as I expected.”
Carrying Mia bridal-style, I used my “Invisibility” skill to keep us hidden as we headed toward the base of the Royal Sakura Tree.
There were fences and barriers protecting it along the way, not that they could slow me down.
We arrived at the base of the tree without being spotted by anyone.
“There.”
Mia pointed at something that resembled an altar.
Isn’t that…?
Hidden in the shadow of the altar was an ephemeral-looking girl.
Leaning against the trunk of the giant tree, her strawberry-blonde hair rustling in the wind, she had a rather fantastical air about her.
This girl must have been the sakura spirit who was calling to Mia.
With that thought lodged in my mind, I foolishly walked up to the girl without even checking the AR display.
“Hello there.”
“Wh-who goes there?!” The girl abruptly lost her mystical demeanor and flared up at us with suspicion. “It is forbidden to approach the Holy Sakura Tree without the permission of the Sakura Protector.”
The “Holy Sakura Tree” must be the formal name of the Royal Sakura.
The girl continued in a civil tone, her expression still stern. “I know not what family you hail from, but I must ask that you leave at once.”
Not wanting to get chased out before we took care of what Mia came here for, I decided to put on a bit of an act to throw up a smoke screen.
“My apologies. We came because the great sakura tree called to us.”
“Th-that can’t be…”
The girl started to dismiss my words, but then a cherry blossom–colored woman rose out of the trunk of the tree.
Hmm, so that’s the sakura spirit, I thought.
“I’m sorry, little Sakura Protector. I need you to sleep for a moment, okay?”
The lovely woman who’d appeared from the tree touched the younger-looking girl and put her to sleep instantly.
Then, after gently brushing the girl’s hair out of her face, she straightened up and turned toward us.
“Hmm?”
As she tilted her head inquisitively, an AR display popped up next to her.
A dryad?
This was a much more voluptuous figure than the childlike dryads I was accustomed to meeting, yet her race clearly stated that she was a dryad, too.
“How good of you to come when I called, little one.”
“Mm.”
“Is this human a friend of yours?”
The dryad wore a bewildered expression.
She didn’t call me “boy” like the other dryads usually did, meaning this pink dryad must not have been part of the hive mind shared by the green ones I’d met.
“I was going to put him to sleep, but it’s not working at all, mmn.”
Glancing down at the log in my AR display, I saw that I had resisted a Sleep effect several times.
She must have used a status effect attack on me without my noticing. I would have to be careful not to let her honeyed voice distract me.
“It’s okay.… Silent Bell.”
At Mia’s prompting, I showed the sakura dryad the Silent Bell of Bolenan.
“I suppose he is fine, then.”
This bell was given to me as proof of the elves’ trust in me, which seemed to be enough to reassure the sakura dryad, too.
Now that she was no longer wary of me, the sakura dryad began explaining her situation to Mia.
“You see, the flow of magic has been strange lately. It’s quite troubling—I can’t even seem to draw it out from the mana source in the royal capital. Do you think anything can be done, mmn?”
“Mrr?”
Mia activated Spirit Vision, her eyes turning silver as she looked around. Then she frowned and looked at me, evidently stumped. “Satou.”
I tried peering around with Spirit Vision, “Miasma Vision,” and “Magic Power Vision,” but I couldn’t find any visible problems aboveground.
I didn’t have any magic for investigating underground veins, nor could I directly send magic power into the ground without it evaporating; perhaps it would be best to direct my magic power into the roots of the Royal Sakura instead.
When I explained my planned investigation method to the sakura dryad, she had an alternate proposal.
“…Mmn, wait. It’s an old tree—go through me instead.”
“All right.”
The beautiful dryad reached out to pull me close, but Mia jumped in to stop her.
“Mrr. Lewd.”
“Oh-ho? How adorable for a little girl to be jealous of an adult, mmn? I suppose you are still a child, mmn.”
With Mia still wedged between us, the sakura dryad brought her face toward mine.
Just as the little green dryads did to absorb my magic, it appeared that she wanted to perform the transfer mouth-to-mouth.
Well, I’m hardly going to complain about sparing a kiss or two for such a curvy lady.
“Hands.”
Mia reached up and planted her fingers on our faces to prevent the kiss.
“Hands? But transferring through the hands would be far less efficient. It’ll be a bigger burden on the human, mmn?”
“He’s okay.”
Mia looked up at me with an expression that seemed to say “…right?”
I nodded. “I can handle a bigger burden just fine.”
“Is that so? Hands it is, then.”
I took the dryad’s velvety hand and gently let a little of my magic power flow into her.
“Mm, mmn…”
A rather suggestive sound escaped the dryad’s lips.
Ignoring it to the best of my ability, I focused on using the flow of magic to explore the channels of power.
“Hmm, you’re right. The magic is getting clogged somewhere.”
Figuring out the precise physical location of the blockage would be a bit of a pain.
Since the symptoms were similar to magic power blockages in magic tools and weapons, I could probably just clear it all out by sending magic through the circuits at varying speeds.
“Mind if I give it a try?”
“Yes, please do, mmn.”
Once the dryad granted permission, I immediately started cleaning out the magic circuits.
“Mm, mmn… Oh my, aah, mmmn…”
“Mrr?”
I wished she would stop making such inappropriate sounds in front of Mia.
It was also quite distracting, so I did my best to ignore the dryad’s voice and continue my work.
This was going to be easier than I thought… No, wait, there was one area that was infuriatingly stagnant. Like trying to wash out a stubborn stain, I added more speed and used over half the remaining magic power to flush it out all at once.
…Uh-oh.
I must have gone overboard—I felt something like a magical valve break under my efforts.
“Sorry, dryad. I think I messed up and broke something.”
“No worries, boy…”
“Dryad?”
Instead of the attractive adult dryad from before, I was now face-to-face with the usual youthful green-skinned dryad.
“Ho-ho. Thanks to you, boy, I was able to connect with my outside selves for the first time in four hundred years.”
She explained that a warlock had used a magical curse to create a closed valve on the magic circuit in an attempt to prevent royal capital information from leaking to the elves four hundred years ago.
“As if I would talk to elves about humans anyway…”
The dryad hive mind seemed upset that the sakura dryad had been cut off from the rest.
“I’ll be able to make the sakura bloom again this year thanks to you, boy. Oh, I know! Take these.”
The dryad handed one pink sphere each to Mia and me.
They were called Sakura Pearls, and apparently, they were a kind of Treespirit Pearl. They could be used in the same way, but they also had the special effect of causing flowers to bloom.
Maybe I could perform miracles like sprouting flowers on a withered tree, like an old man from a certain folktale.
“Thank you, too, little one.”
“Mm.”
“In just a few days, the buds will start to grow, and they’ll bloom in less than ten. Enjoy this year’s flower viewing.”
With that, the dryad disappeared back into the tree.
Although I was tempted to use my Sakura Pearl on the Royal Sakura and enjoy some nighttime blooms, I held off. Since I had been warned against sending magic directly into it, using such a thing might shorten the life span of the giant tree.
“Go back.”
“Yes, we probably should…”
Once the dryad disappeared, we were going to leave right away. Then I decided to wake the Sakura Protector girl first so she wouldn’t sleep there all night and catch a cold.
I also figured that we would seem more suspicious if we left without a word. That wouldn’t be good, since she had seen our faces and all.
Come to think of it, I should probably mention to the king or prime minister sometime soon that the underground vein in the royal capital had been in a strange state.
“She’s still not waking up.”
“Mm.”
I tried shaking the girl, but the dryad’s sleep spell appeared to be quite powerful.
Only after I used Break Magic on her and tried speaking to her and shaking her a few times did she finally stir.
“…Mm, what happened…?”
She blinked sluggishly, but as soon as she laid eyes on me, she jumped up and backed away.
“Oh good, you’re awake. I was worried because you passed out in the middle of our conversation.”
“…Passed out?”
“You seem quite exhausted. Are you not getting enough sleep?”
During our conversation, I’d realized that she was wearing makeup to cover the dark circles underneath her eyes.
For that matter, she’d been dozing off against the sakura tree when I first approached her, too.
“N-no, I’m perfectly fine…,” she mumbled, covering her face. “B-but more importantly! As I said before, the Holy Sakura Tree occupies sacred ground. Without the permission of a Sakura Protector like me, none may enter. Please return to wherever you came from at once.”
It was interesting that they only seemed to send intruders away, not arrest them, as I’d noticed before.
“Well, the truth is, we got lost and wandered in here by mistake. I apologize, but would you mind telling us how to get to the north reception hall?”
Of course, I knew where to go from my map. I just figured it would be less suspicious to ask for directions than to leave immediately.
“Allow me to escort you to the north reception hall, then. Might I ask your name? I am Athena Raffol, a member of the Shiga Thirty-Three Staves.”
The girl indicated the crest on her robes as she introduced herself.
Her name sounded like it was straight out of Greek mythology, but there was no information that indicated she might be a reincarnation or a transference. It must be a coincidence, then.
She was a level-35 Earth Magic user, with titles like Sakura Protector and Shiga Thirty-Three Staves, the latter being reserved for imperial mages.
Still, between that and the Shiga Eight Swordsmen, the people of this kingdom seemed to really like titles that involved numbers.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the Four Heavenly Kings or something popped up next.
“My name is Pendragon, a hereditary knight and vassal of the Muno Barony.”
Upon hearing my introduction, Ms. Athena dropped her polite demeanor all at once.
“Oh, geez. Silly me, thinking you were the foolish son of some important noble or other. Guess I worried for nothing.” Her tone shifted from courteous to casual at breakneck speed. “Well, whatever. I’ll take you most of the way to the north reception hall anyway.”
“Thank you very much.”
“We’re actually supposed to bring intruders to the guards’ station, but it doesn’t seem like you damaged the Holy Sakura Tree or anything. I’m sure you don’t wanna lose your honorary title so soon after earning it, right?”
In spite of her uncaring attitude, she seemed to be a rather considerate girl.
“By the way, is that your kid sister?” Athena asked as we started walking.
“No.”
Mia huffed and turned away.
“Mia is my friend.”
“Friend? A little girl like that?”
Athena stopped to peer at Mia’s face.
“…Athena! Aah, there you are.”
A woman in glasses appeared from the shadows of a thicketed path, flanked by two ladies-in-waiting.
“Princess Sistina! We’re in the presence of royalty, you two. Hurry up and bow!”
Athena dropped to her knees immediately, prompting us to do the same.
I swiftly followed suit, but Mia just crossed her arms and grumbled, “Don’t wanna.”
“Wh-why, you! Don’t just stand there, get on your knees…!”
Flustered, Athena tugged on Mia’s spring coat.
It came down along with her hood, revealing Mia’s ears.
“…Huh? An elf?”
“Ow.”
Mia shook free of Athena’s grip.
“So you’re an elf! What clan are you from?”
“Rude.”
Mia puffed up her cheeks indignantly at the blunt question.
“Athena, that was rather impolite.”
The princess scolded Athena and walked over to Mia.
Judging by the information in my AR, the two girls shadowing her doubled as bodyguards; they were level 30 with skills that specialized in hand-to-hand combat.
“You must be Lady Misanaria of Bolenan Forest.”
I knew that elves were generally treated with reverence, but I was surprised to see that even the princess of a major kingdom would address one using “Lady.”
“I am Sistina, sixth princess of the Shiga Kingdom.”
“Mm.” Mia nodded approval at the princess’s polite introduction and responded in kind. “My name is Misanaria Bolenan, youngest elf of Bolenan Forest, daughter of Lamisauya and Lilinatoa.”
My “Keen Hearing” skill picked up a tiny mutter from Athena: “B-Bolenan Forest? Isn’t that where Trazayuya the Sage was from?”
“Athena, Lady Misanaria is…”
Athena leaped to her feet and interrupted the princess, speaking quickly. “J-just because you’re an elf like the Great Sage doesn’t mean you’re all that special! My ancestors may have lost, but I swear I’ll accomplish far more than the Sage ever did!”
She jabbed a finger at Mia, who just looked confused by the sudden development.
“Mrr?”
This girl’s ancestors must have some kind of feud against Trazayuya.
“I hate elves, thinking they’re so special just for being born. I earned this position as an imperial sorcerer through hard work and talent, you know. I might only be a red sash in the Shiga Thirty-Three Staves right now, but someday, I swear I’ll become the leader of the imperial sorcerers and wear that silver sash!”
As Athena huffed and puffed, Mia appeared to be in a state of panic.
Before I could intervene, the ladies-in-waiting beat me to it.
“That’s quite enough of that.”
One of the ladies smacked Athena on the back of the head.
“You’re in front of Her Royal Highness.”
“A silver sash? Please. You’re being so impolite right now that you could very well get your red sash taken away.”
Their scolding snapped Athena out of her blind rage, and she turned bright red.
“I am so terribly sorry.”
She bowed to the princess, who only said, “You’re apologizing to the wrong person,” and nodded toward Mia.
“I shouldn’t have…”
“Wrong.”
Athena started to apologize, but Mia interrupted her with a brief mutter.
“Huh?” Athena blinked, not understanding.
Mia took the mithril badge from her small chest and showed it to her.
She was probably trying to say that she was putting in effort, too, not considering herself “special just for being born” as Athena had said about the elves.
“I-is that a mithril badge? Come to think of it, they said the latest mithril badges defeated upper and middle floormasters…”
This girl must not have been present at the ceremony.
“…Well, then I’ll just defeat a lower floormaster.”
“Can’t.”
“Why not?! I’ll do it, you’ll see!”
Athena’s resentment toward elves was heating up again, rendering her apology moot.
Watching this, the ladies-in-waiting wore terrifyingly masklike expressions of veiled irritation.
“You just can’t.”
“That’s not true!”
Mia was likely trying to say that a mage wouldn’t be able to win alone, but her usual briefness obscured that meaning.
“We humans are always advancing while your people hide out in the woods, you know! Come to a royal sorcerer practice sometime, and I’ll show you what we humans can really do. Don’t blame me if you lose your nerve when you see our synchronized sorcery!”
“Enough already!”
“How many times must we remind you?”
This time, both of the ladies-in-waiting smacked Athena at once.
“I’m sorry,” she apologized tearfully to Mia.
Seeing the frustration in her face, I decided to resolve the misunderstanding on Mia’s behalf.
“Might I interject?”
The princess nodded, and one of her ladies-in-waiting said “Go on” in her stead, granting me permission to explain Mia’s intentions to Athena.
“What Mia said just now wasn’t meant to mock you or human mages. She was only saying that a mage alone won’t be able to defeat a floormaster.”
“Really?”
“Mm.”
At my explanation, Athena’s anger faded, and she looked at Mia.
When Mia nodded, Athena’s shoulders slumped a little, as if she was embarrassed for getting so worked up before.
“Is that all you wished to say?”
“Yes, thank you.”
I nodded at the princess.
“Athena, how was the Holy Sakura Tree?”
“Unfortunately, nothing has changed.”
“I see…”
They must have been referring to the abnormality in the flow of magic that the sakura dryad mentioned.
I’d already solved that problem, but since the dryad put Athena to sleep before we talked about it, I didn’t say a word.
“Well then, I shall be heading back. Guide Lady Misanaria and her friend, please.”
With a word of farewell to Mia, the princess went back down the same path.
“…There’s the north reception hall.”
Not long after that encounter, the hall we were heading back to came into view.
“Just follow this path, and you’ll be there shortly.” With that, Athena turned to leave, then paused. “A-ahem. I’m sorry about all that earlier. But humans really are amazing, you know! You must come see our practice sometime. Don’t forget!”
Athena disguised her embarrassment by inviting Mia to their practice again, then fled with her face still bright red.
“Mrr?”
“What an entertaining girl.”
“Mm. Unique.”
She was a strange one, but I decided to take it as a win that we’d managed to make a connection with the imperial sorcerers.
I was interested in this “synchronized sorcery” thing myself, so it might be fun to go check it out with Mia sometime.
“Geh, a dryad?”
We returned to the salon in the north reception hall at the perfect time: The ball was just about to begin.
As we headed toward the main hall, I relayed the events at the Royal Sakura to the rest of my group, eliciting an immediate reaction from Arisa when I got to the part about the sakura dryad.
“Don’t tell me that little minx stole your lips again?”
“Nope. Blocked.”
Mia responded proudly to Arisa’s concerns.
“Nice one, Mia!”
“Mm. On it.”
Ignoring the pair of them, I continued the tale as we walked into the main hall.
The explorers who had already entered were looking up at the ceiling with whistles and cheers of admiration.
I followed their gaze to find a high, vaulted ceiling inlaid with colorful stained glass, filling the hall with a full spectrum of sparkling sunlight. The arches that supported the ceiling, too, were decorated with delicate carvings, enough that one could easily stare at them for hours.
The rest of my group followed suit and exclaimed in awe.
“Pretty!”
“It reminds me a bit of Lalakie.” Lulu was referring to the floating island we’d explored in the southern seas.
“But there is no ocean above the ceiling, I report.”
“Still sparklyyy…?”
“The ceiling’s made of gems, sir!”
“It’s quite a high ceiling.”
Keeping an eye on their awestruck faces, I surveyed the rest of the hall.
There was a space in the center of the room big enough for some two hundred people to dance at the same time, surrounded by plenty of tables with beautiful tablecloths.
It appeared to be a standing meal, to make social exchanges easier, but there were also several sofas along the wall for dancers to rest, complete with decorative plants for privacy.
“Oh? Aren’t you that lad from the labyrinth…?”
I turned around to find Viscount Belton, who I’d rescued from a spiderweb in the Seiryuu City labyrinth.
“It’s a pleasure to see you again, Viscount Belton. I am now a vassal of Baron Muno, by the new name of Honorary Knight Pendragon.”
“…Pendragon?”
One of the gentlemen behind the viscount repeated my name.
My AR display revealed that he was Count Seiryuu, Viscount Belton’s master. The warrior-like gentleman next to him was Baronet Kigorri. Judging by the fact that he was a level-43 knight, he must be here as the count’s bodyguard.
“Do you know him, Belton?”
“Yes, in the Seiryuu City labyrinth…”
The viscount quietly told Count Seiryuu about me.
“Sir Pendragon, this is my lord and master, Count Seiryuu.” Viscount Belton introduced the count to me.
“I’ve heard your name in written reports from Sir Hence and civil official Toril. It seems you assisted my subordinates in Labyrinth City, too. I appreciate all your help.”
Sir Hence was the captain of Labyrinth City squad that Zena belonged to. After thanking me, Count Seiryuu added, “I never imagined you were the same man who saved Belton.”
“Sir Pendragon, come work for me,” he went on. “Our territory badly needs a capable person with intimate knowledge of labyrinths. If you join me, I can promise you the position of permanent baronet, perhaps even permanent baron if you work hard.”
“His Excellency is quite generous,” Viscount Belton added. “You can expect to be rewarded handsomely for your efforts.”
The two of them were trying to get me to change masters.
“Sorry, but you can’t have our man Satou.”
As I tried to decide how best to decline, a slim arm suddenly wound around my shoulder and pulled me back.
“Viscount Lottel!”
It was Nina Lottel, the viscount of the Muno Barony.
She was followed by Baron Muno himself and his daughter Karina.
“Hmm. So Ms. Iron-Blooded works for Muno, eh?”
“I suppose we don’t have a chance, then.”
“You’re damn right. Now get out of here, stat.”
Count Seiryuu and Viscount Belton raised the white flag and backed off.
I was worried that Viscount Nina would get in trouble for taking that tone with superior nobles, but she proudly informed me, “They earned that much by trying to steal someone else’s vassal.” Hopefully that meant she’d stayed within the realm of acceptability.
“Congratulations, Satou. You received your medals and all, eh?”
“Yes, I applaud you from the bottom of my heart…erm, indeed.”
“Thank you.”
I bowed my head to Baron Muno and Lady Karina.
Lady Karina’s speech was probably a bit strange because she was trying to use the phrases she’d had hammered into her head in her etiquette reeducation.
Still, she was even lovelier than usual today.
Her clothes were the same as always, but her ladies-in-waiting had scrubbed her skin to a supple sheen; her trademark tight blonde curls were perfectly arranged, light bouncing off them like glimmering gold. Even Raka, the amulet atop her ample chest, had been given a thorough polish.
“Arisa and the others were given honors as well, yes?”
“Yes, as you can see.”
Arisa, who had popped up at my elbow at some point, showed off the medal on her cape to Viscount Nina.
“Baronnn…?”
“And Karina, sir!”
“Ah, dear little Tama and Pochi! Can you show us your finest as well?”
“Look, look…”
“It’s a medal, sir!”
“You both look splendid indeed!”
“Aw, shucks…?”
“Tee-hee, sir.”
Tama and Pochi bashfully showed off their medals to Baron Muno and Lady Karina.
“Baron, I would like to be praised as well, I declare.”
“Proud.”
Nana and Mia showed their medals to the baron, too, and even Liza and Lulu were making sure theirs were in full view.
“Oh yes, I wanted to tell you something.” Viscount Nina leaned over to whisper in my ear. “It’s not official yet, but Baron Muno’s getting promoted. At the next kingdom meeting, he’ll become a count.”
“That’s fantastic news.”
“It’s only proper, since he’s the true lord of the territory now.”
This was because Baron Muno had gained control over the City Core.
“You’re likely to get a permanent baronet position as well.”
They had apparently decided to propose my promotion to a permanent baron at the noble negotiation that took place before the kingdom meeting. Viscount Nina explained that in cases of raising a rank more than two stages at a time, it was usually rejected in favor of one rank lower than the proposal. The final decision was up to the king himself.
“Unlike single-generation titles like honorary knight, you’ll need a legal spouse, so you’d better find yourself a wife. In fact, I bet I could find one for you.”
Viscount Nina glanced meaningfully toward Lady Karina.
It was a tempting offer, but I wasn’t looking for any romantic partner except my beloved Lady Aaze, the high elf of Bolenan Forest.
“No need to worry about that.”
“Mm.”
Arisa and Mia stepped in, pointing at themselves and adding “He’s got me!” and “Fiancée,” respectively.
“Ah… I see.”
Viscount Nina shot me a look that practically screamed “you weirdo.”
I wanted to protest, but since Arisa and Mia had been kind enough to muddle the subject of marriage, I wasn’t about to bring the topic back around.
“Well, you can think about that further down the line. You’re still young enough, and I’m sure most people won’t find fault with you being unmarried while you’re still a newly promoted baronet.”
Viscount Nina waved her hand as if dismissing the conversation.
Her phrasing seemed to imply that I would continue rising in the ranks, even though I wasn’t particularly interested in racking up any more accomplishments as Satou.
“If anything, I’d prefer to stick with a single-generation title like an honorary baronet…”
“The only single-generation options are an honorary baronet or an honorary viscount like me, you know.”
Viscount Nina’s expression indicated that this route would be more of a pain.
“At any rate, let’s get going.”
Viscount Nina took my arm.
“Where to, if I may ask?”
“We’re going to see if we can call dibs on any useful-looking explorers.”
I guess she wanted to take this opportunity to secure some useful manpower, since the Muno Barony was perpetually short-staffed.
“Ooh, headhunting! I’ll come along, too, then!”
“Sure, that’d be great.”
Arisa promptly joined in, and we went around to the uncomfortable-looking mithril explorers, who were clearly out of their element.
Since their representative Baronet Jelil, the leader of the Red Dragon’s Roar, was aiming to retire from exploring and join the Shiga Eight Swordsmen, several of them gave very promising responses.
Including…
“That scout Marmot was a good score. He knows a lot about the small countries to the east—I bet he could handle all our intelligence gathering in the territory.” Viscount Nina grinned, evidently in a good mood. “And it’s all thanks to the funds you invested in us.”
“You’re the one who actually conducted negotiations, Miss Nina.”
“Sure, but that worked because your and Liza’s names are so famous.”
Viscount Nina snagged a glass of wine off a server’s plate and downed it in one gulp.
“Right, aren’t you and the other girls receiving titles, too, Arisa?” she said. “Have you picked out a family name?”
“I’ve been told there’s already a Sir Tachibana, so I was thinking of Watari, the same as Lulu.”
“Ahem, there is no knight by the name of Tachibana in the noble registry,” a voice interjected. “Perhaps you’re thinking of Sir Tachivana?”
I turned toward the sudden interloper to find a muscular old man with a friendly face. It was the prime minister.
“Oh, really?”
“No doubt about it. If you doubt me, check the registry yourself.”
“And what strange twist of fate brings you here, Your Excellency?” Viscount Nina cut in.
“I have some business with Sir Pendragon here,” he responded, looking at me and adding in a low voice, “I heard he was young, but I didn’t expect him to be this young…”
“You’d better not be trying to recruit Satou, y’hear?”
“That’s right! Sir Satou is already promised to us, the Lloyd family!”
“Just a moment, Marquis Lloyd! Sir Satou belongs to everyone equally. Have you forgotten the agreement that he cannot be yoked to a single family?”
“Good heavens! It’s just as you say, Count Hohen!”
The famed gourmet lovers of Ouguch Duchy, Marquis Lloyd and Count Hohen, joined in on the heels of Viscount Nina’s proclamation.
“No one is allowed to meddle with our Sir Satou, not even the prime minister.”
“Indeed, you had best be prepared to fight me to the death first.”
The pair of them jokingly raised their fists against the prime minister.
“Ahem, I can hardly believe my eyes. To think the day would come that Marquis Lloyd and Count Hohen would get along so famously… It seems the rumors in the royal court were not just nonsense after all.”
The prime minister stroked his chin, looking impressed.
Personally, I found it hard to imagine Marquis Lloyd and Count Hohen not getting along.
“At any rate, I did come to get a glimpse of the heroic man who held his own against the famous Gouen, but not to recruit him, understand?”
“Hmm, is that so?”
“I’ve never known you to not have a scheme up your sleeve…”
Marquis Lloyd and Count Hohen didn’t seem to believe the prime minister at all.
“I have heard tell that Sir Pendragon enjoys travel and local delicacies. So I came to see if he might be interested in attending a banquet I am organizing featuring cuisine from many other nations.”
Ooh, that does sound kind of interesting.
“Don’t be fooled!”
“Exactly, he’s trying to sweet-talk you!”
Marquis Lloyd and Count Hohen stepped in between us.
“No doubt you intend to offer him ‘cuisine’ made up of freakish combinations!”
“Honestly! How do you intend to take responsibility if something should happen to Sir Satou’s precious taste buds?!”
“Freakish is a harsh word. There are many different culinary traditions in other cultures, you know. To reject them all out of hand disqualifies you as a true gourmand. Don’t you agree, Sir Pendragon?”
“Yes, that’s fair.” I nodded.
“Well said.”
With that, the prime minister handed me a letter of invitation.
Evidently, the banquet would take place after the new year began.
“Well, it looks like more people are trickling in. I had best take my leave before anyone troublesome spots me.”
Just like that, the prime minister vanished.
“I suppose I’ll move on to my next job, too.”
Viscount Nina took Marquis Lloyd and Count Hohen with her to an area where the duchy nobles were gathering. “Looks like she’s up to something,” Arisa said gleefully, following close behind.
“Well, then…”
I looked around, wondering what to do next.
The hall was really starting to fill up with people. While we were recruiting explorers and chatting with the prime minister, the ball had begun in earnest.
Aside from those of us who had received medals, the rest of the participants were lesser nobles, upper-class military nobles like Marquis Kelten, and some territory lords like Count Seiryuu. There were no members of the royal family in attendance.
Duke Vistall and his family weren’t present, either, but their associated nobles were aggressively recruiting mithril explorers.
“Oracle priestesses have been fainting after receiving messages?”
An alarming sentence caught my attention.
Some lesser nobles’ civil officials, here in attendance of more important people, were whispering rumors among themselves.
“Which temple?”
“All of them, I tell you. The Oracles say ‘unprecedented danger is approaching the royal capital,’ I heard.”
I searched my map but didn’t see any dangers of the sort.
“You ‘heard,’ huh? Are you just spreading rumors again?”
An unpleasant-looking young man cut into the conversation.
“L-Lord Merkray!”
“That kind of thing is just an old trick to collect more offerings. After a while, I’m sure they’ll just announce that they staved off the danger with pious prayer or something like that.”
“B-but surely priestesses wouldn’t lie about an Oracle…”
Merkray snorted at the official. “Did the priestess really say anything about an Oracle?”
“…Ah!”
The man seemed to realize then that the temple hadn’t actually announced an Oracle prediction.
“Stirring up fears without actually confirming an Oracle is just one way they keep people donating to their temples. You all ought to remember that so you don’t get fooled.”
Smirking, Merkray turned back to his posse, and they walked away, snickering together. “Bet they’ll get a lot of suckers this time, huh?” “Yeah, since a demon just appeared in the royal capital recently.”
Was it really just a line to collect more donations, though?
Well, I didn’t see any particularly bad signs during my map search. I could always check with the king about it next time I visited.
Dismissing the thought for the time being, I looked around again.
There were other guests besides nobles, including many merchants and traders.
I also spotted Mr. Homimudory, the weaselfolk president of the Sahbe Company who I’d met at the garden party hosted by Count Litton’s wife, Ema. Since I’d just received a congratulatory gift from his company that morning, I went over to pay him a quick greeting.
“She-she-she, congratulations on receiving your Cobalt Wing Blade Medal.”
Mr. Homimudory spoke with far more fluency than most beastfolk I had met.
“Sir Pendragon, do you have a moment?”
After I spoke with Mr. Homimudory, a noble from Marquis Kelten’s crowd flagged me down.
“Have you been in business with weaselfolk merchants for long?”
“No, I just met him the other day at Mrs. Litton’s garden party. Why?”
“I see… Well, just a word of warning. Be careful of those weaselfolk merchants. Any merchant is worth being wary of as it is, but the merchants from that particular place have a different sense of ethics from ours. They can stray from the law without even knowing it. Just be careful not to tarnish your own reputation because of it.”
What I thought at first was going to be demi-human discrimination turned out to be a warning about the possibility of cross-cultural misunderstandings.
“Thank you for letting me know.”
After that, he also invited me to join Marquis Kelten’s faction, but I shut him down by saying that I didn’t intend to serve anyone but Baron Muno.
“Master!” Arisa rushed over to me, looking unusually frantic. “Come here for a minute…”
I excused myself from the Marquis Kelten supporters and followed after her.
“Look, over there. That priest.”
“Which one? There are three.”
“Look, the pretty one who seems like his name would be Lawrence or something.”
Arisa was pointing at a handsome man who looked like a character straight out of a shojo manga.
According to my AR, he was a level-51 cardinal of Parion Province by the name of Hozzunas.
He wore a turban-style head wrap and a great number of golden accessories, perhaps a traditional look in Parion Province.
His high level came with quite a few skills: “Holy Magic: Parion Faith,” “Theology: Parion Faith,” “Light Magic,” “Analyze Person,” “Sociability,” “Negotiation,” “Mediation,” “Bargaining,” “Persuasion,” “Debating,” “Musicianship,” “Meditation,” “Chant Shortening,” “Self-Defense,” and so on.
He had some impressive titles, too, including Saint, Darling of the Goddess, and Challenger of the God’s Trials.
“Wow, that’s a lot of skills.”
“Huh…? You can see them?”
“Wait, you can’t?”
As I checked with my “Analyze” skill instead, I saw that only his name, job title, and the skills “Holy Magic: Parion Faith” and “Theology: Parion Faith” were normally visible. The only title that could be seen with Analyze was Saint, too. Even his level went down to 32.
“Ah, I can’t see most of them with ‘Analyze.’ He must have an especially good recognition-inhibiting magic tool.”
“I thought so. Something looked off, and he didn’t have many skills for his level.”
That was why she broke off from the plotting trio and came to get me.
I relayed the information from my AR display to Arisa.
“Huh. The titles on their own make him sound like some kind of hero.”
I had to agree. “With such a high level, I wonder if he’d be able to use Prayer Magic.”
“Maybe? Even if he can, I doubt he’s nice enough to help some total strangers,” Arisa said. “So no need to go out of your way for us.”
Evidently, she had seen through my scheme to see if I could get Cardinal Hozzunas to use Prayer Magic to free Arisa and Lulu from their Geis.
In spite of what Arisa said, I figured I could at least deduce if there was anything he might want that I could offer in exchange.
It was worth trying to get friendly with him first, right?
“Aah…maybe that’s the recognition-inhibiting item there? Look at that thing on Lawrence’s wrist, master. The golden-yellow one.”
I did as Arisa requested and took another look at Lawrence—I mean, Cardinal Hozzunas.
Though the object was hard to see under his long sleeves, I was able to get information in my AR display once I realized it was there. It was called a Brace of Stolen Divinity: A Hallowed Artifact (Counterfeit) with the ability to hide and disguise one’s status.
The field for the creator’s name was blank. Either the person who made it could render their name blank like me, they simply had no name to begin with, or there was a method of deleting that information from the item.
I told Arisa about this new information from my AR.
“Counterfeit, huh…? It’s amazing that it could still fool my Divine Status Check. We would never have known if it weren’t for your cheat-mode analyzing abilities.”
The “cheat-mode” part was uncalled-for.
The next time I went to see the king or the prime minister, I would probably have to tell them about Cardinal Hozzunas’s recognition-inhibiting item and his true level.
I wanted to befriend him, but this was a different matter. It’s always better to nip potential problems in the bud right away.
Still, if the counterfeit was this powerful, I wonder if the real thing would actually be able to fool even my AR display.
“Vile demi-human! How dare you interrupt the words of Lord Frinj, heir of the esteemed Merkray family! This is punishable by certain death!”
A shrill cry echoed from across the room.
Drawing closer, I saw that a crowd had formed around a few upper noble children, who were telling off a ratfolk explorer who was defending a wimpy-looking explorer in a robe.
“What happened here?”
“A noble was being pushy about trying to recruit Rindor, so Garitz stepped in to rescue him, but it looks like that made the noble mad…”
A young explorer boy explained the situation to me, albeit with a few too many proper nouns.
My guess was that Rindor was the explorer in the robe, and Garitz was the ratfolk explorer.
“You’re not going to help?” Arisa asked.
“Those are upper nobles, you fool,” a noble-born explorer responded. “And they’re an old family associated with the minister of the military, no less.”
“Well then, since I’m an outsider, I’ll just step in…”
I didn’t want these rude people to ruin a celebration of my fellow explorers’ accomplishments.
I started to step forward, but the noble-born explorer grabbed my shoulder and stopped me.
“Wait! The old noble families don’t make distinctions between explorers. If you incur their wrath, they might find a way to call off my friends’ new peerage. The best thing to do is just grin and bear it.”
It was rare for any nonhumans to get a shot at a title, so no one wanted to risk ruining their chances.
But if direct contact wouldn’t work, I’d just have to find a way to indirectly—
“Oh, it’s Lawrence!” Arisa whispered.
I put a pause on my silent plotting and looked up to see Cardinal Hozzunas stepping in.
“That is enough. One-sidedly belittling others is hardly a flattering look for you.”
“Don’t mock me, priest! It’s our duty as honorable nobles to guide the churlish lowborn! Stay out of it until the damned funeral!”
The nasty noble reflexively responded to the cardinal’s words with defiance.
He didn’t appear to realize he was actually snapping at a respected figure from Parion Province.
“And who decided they are ‘low-born’? Every living being in this world—with the exception of dragons and demons—is a child of the seven gods. None are high or low among them.”
“Lawrence sure knows what’s up.” Beside me, Arisa nodded along wisely. “It’s true, we’re all brothers and sisters.”
“Let me tell you something, priest…”
“Lord Frinj, you mustn’t!”
One of the mocking noble’s servants seemed to recognize Cardinal Hozzunas and desperately tried to stop his master from picking a fight, but the noble shook him off and went on an even wilder rant.
“If you think we peerless nobles of the Shiga Kingdom are on the same level as some lowly rats, you’re dead wrong! A priest who’s only good for first aid and grave-keeping shouldn’t—”
The rude noble was interrupted mid-sentence by a massive fist flying into his face.
“Buguh!” With a yelp of pain right out of a comedy manga, the noble crumpled to the floor.
According to my AR display, the large man responsible was Count Boppan, the vice minister of the military.
“Cardinal Hozzunas, I must beg your forgiveness for my subordinate’s unbearable rudeness.”
His muscles practically bulging out of his formal wear, Count Boppan bowed deeply to Cardinal Hozzunas.
“It is not I to whom you should apologize. Please direct it to these fellows instead.”
“Who?”
Count Boppan looked confused. He must not have seen what happened at the beginning.
“Your Excellency, he refers to that demi-human—erm, the ratfolk gentleman and the conjurer there.”
A young lesser nobleman who’d witnessed the entire incident politely pointed them out to Count Boppan.
“I see. Good explorers, I apologize for my subordinates’ misconduct.”
The explorers in question looked sheepish and rather bewildered as they accepted the count’s apology.
However, there were murmured complaints about this from the military nobles. They seemed to dislike the idea that an upper noble, especially the minister of the military, would apologize to some non-noble, nonhuman explorers for any reason.
“Your Excellency! How could you beat an honorable noble like myself and bow your head to some vulgar demi-humans and explorer rabble?! Have you no respect for the formalities of the kingdom nobility?!”
The rude noble tore into Count Boppan, his friends backing him up.
“Foolish boy! Have you forgotten the words of the great ancestral king Yamato?! ‘All races are equal’! Go home, repent, and reflect on the meaning of those words!”
The noble trembled at the count’s wrathful scolding until some guards ran up and escorted him out.
“As long as we have people like you, the teachings of King Yamato will never die, it seems,” Cardinal Hozzunas remarked mildly to Count Boppan.
“Not at all. I am ashamed that I have failed to properly educate my subordinates.”
It appeared that the minor difficulty had been resolved.
“Lord Satou!”
A pretty girl with pink hair straight out of an anime—Princess Menea of the Lumork Kingdom, who was studying at the royal academy here in the capital—flounced up to me with several pretty young noblewomen in tow. Behind her were several noble daughters from the Ougoch Duchy; I’d met a few of them at tea parties.
“Have you danced with Lady Karina yet? If so, then I would be delighted if you danced with me next.”
“And me after Princess Menea, please.”
“No, I wish to be next!”
The young ladies clamored around me. A shame they were all young enough to be in middle school.
“Stop right therrrrrre!”
“Mm. Promised.”
The iron-wall pair of Arisa and Mia leaped to my defense.
Now that they mentioned it, it was true that I had promised to dance with all my traveling companions, but I hadn’t yet gotten around to making good on my promise.
“My apologies, Princess Menea. I’m afraid I already…”
“Oh, very well. I can wait until after they’ve had their turns.”
The ever-considerate Princess Menea politely withdrew, and the other noblewomen followed suit, allowing Arisa and the others to take precedent.
“By the way, Princess Menea, those kids aren’t with you?” Arisa asked as we made our way to the dance floor.
Her deliberate vagueness was in reference to the Japanese girls who had been summoned in Lumork Kingdom and were now under Princess Menea’s protection.
“No, Aoi is studying at a private institution downtown, and Yui has a live-in apprenticeship at the Ghookuts Company.”
She added that Aoi had been admitted to the private school by a teacher who took a liking to her, and Yui had gotten the apprenticeship through her romantic partner’s recommendation.
While we were discussing this, we reached the dance floor, and I danced with each of my companions in turn, as promised.
Dancing with Arisa and Mia was normal enough, but…
Tama’s twirl-based dance featuring gleeful exclamations of “Spin…spinny spin…” and Pochi’s mysterious moves accompanied by declarations like “Pochi the dance fairy is moved by this music, sir” drew smiles of amusement from the people around us.
Still, at least that lightened the mood enough for the awkward explorers to gather the courage to join in on the dancing.
“Ms. Liza, your smile is too stiff!”
“It’s important to relax, I declare.”
Even Liza, who was unaccustomed to dancing, managed to pull off a sharp and elegant dance with me.
After I’d danced with Nana, who seemed to be enjoying herself despite her usual expressionless face, and an embarrassed-looking Lulu, Pochi and Tama dragged Lady Karina over to dance with me as well. Then I went on to dance with Princess Menea and company one by one, too.
It was fairly exhausting, even with my ridiculously high-level stamina.
“You there.”
As I was quenching my thirst with some grape juice a waitress had given me, I was approached by someone unexpected.
Her face was hidden by a veil, but there weren’t many people in this land who wore glasses. It was Princess Sistina, who I’d met on the way back from the Royal Sakura Tree.
“Do you by any chance know where Viscount Siemmen might be?”
According to my map information, Viscount Siemmen was in a separate area reserved for business talk.
I told her as much, pretending that I had seen him not long ago. While I was a little curious why a princess might want Viscount Siemmen, who ran a scroll workshop in the old capital, I thought it would be impolite to ask.
“I see. Thank you.”
With that, the princess walked away toward the business area with her two ladies-in-waiting following close behind.
“Satou.”
“Master, the food is waiting, I report.”
Mia and Nana came over and led me to the buffet area.
But while I just wanted some snacks to fill my stomach, I also found a bunch of explorers engaged in furious battle there.
The food was delicious, but I would have preferred a slightly more peaceful meal.
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