Kōsuke and his companions were discussing matters in a room at the inn they had been staying at.
Not only Kōsuke’s usual companions but also Prince Renard and his retainers were present in the room.
Prince Renard, sitting opposite Kōsuke, bowed his head to him once again.
“Um? Is it really okay for a prince of a kingdom to bow so easily?”
Kōsuke asked the two retainers, a bit taken aback.
The two, when asked, exchanged glances and offered bitter smiles.
“In normal circumstances, it wouldn’t be acceptable.”
“However, things are different in your case.”
The two, who already knew Kōsuke’s position, said so.
Prince Renard, who had been bowing, added to their words.
“Regarding this matter, it was entirely our mishandling. Moreover, you are an Avatar of God. If bowing my head can resolve it, I will bow as much as you want.”
“Ah, no. I’ve had enough, so it’s fine.”
The moment Kōsuke said that, he noticed Orche and Armin’s expressions relax, and he didn’t miss it.
Whether he noticed it or not, Prince Renard began to speak about the current matter.
“Is that so… Well, setting that aside, it seems that for this incident, the involved nobles will have their assets confiscated and their qualifications suspended to some extent.”
Kōsuke had intended to leave the details of the punishment entirely to the kingdom, so he blinked in surprise at the sudden news.
“Is it alright to tell me this?”
“Of course. You are a party involved, after all.”
Prince Renard said with a smile, and Kōsuke looked at him with a somewhat suspicious gaze.
“Even if I inform you of the results and you approve, I will not take responsibility, okay?”
Before he could say anything, Kōsuke laid down the ground rules in advance.
It would be unbearable if it were announced that Kōsuke (the Avatar of God) had also approved the punishment and thus had no complaints.
Kōsuke certainly had no intention of taking responsibility to that extent.
At his words, Prince Renard gave a bitter smile.
“As if. We wouldn’t do such a thing. To be frank, I’m more afraid of incurring the wrath of those who are by your side by doing so.”
He said so, glancing at Mitsuki.
Though her expression was no different from usual, her eyes were not smiling.
Prince Renard spoke with the understanding of what kind of existence Mitsuki was.
“The punishment for the nobles is likely to be just that, but the funds obtained from confiscating their assets will likely be used for something for the adventurers.”
“Something?”
Kōsuke tilted his head at the vague wording.
“Well, it hasn’t been decided yet. It seems they were collected completely at random, and now they don’t even know who they took it from.”
Orche added to Prince Renard’s words.
“If we knew who it was, we could have returned it, but that seems impossible. Moreover, it seems they’ve been doing this for quite some time, so there are even people who are no longer in this country.”
Kōsuke understood that.
It was not uncommon for adventurers to travel from country to country.
Just finding each and every one of them would likely deplete the confiscated assets.
“The safest option would be to increase the number of requests issued by the kingdom, but that also hasn’t been officially decided yet,”
Armin added with a grim expression.
He might be thinking that their military work could be taken away.
“Furthermore, because that alone might not be enough to quell their dissatisfaction, the King’s retirement will also be carried out concurrently.”
This information caused Orche and Armin to panic.
“Your Highness!?”
“I-is that true?!”
It was news to both of them, something they had never heard before.
“If the King retires for this reason, the dissatisfaction of the majority can be suppressed, right? The King also mentioned that the timing is perfect.”
Before coming here, Prince Renard had been privately told this by King Philip himself.
Of course, he had only told Prince Renard this in order to convey it to Kōsuke directly.
***
While Orche and Armin were flustered, Kōsuke calmly replied.
“Indeed, if he retires while he’s still vigorous, he can come to the Tower, can’t he?”
“Oh? You already knew?”
“Alex mentioned that it was a possibility.”
“As expected of Uncle.”
Prince Renard, who dealt with Kōsuke’s statement without faltering, was indeed remarkable.
The other two seemed completely out of their depth.
“P-Prince Renard? What do you mean?”
After hesitating whether he should ask or not, Orche tremblingly asked.
“It’s about the King, who heard from his uncle Alex that Floria had a child. He would surely want to go and meet them, wouldn’t he?”
“Queen Floria having a child, you say?”
The two retainers who heard this were surprised in various ways.
They were well aware that Floria, formerly a princess of the Florece Kingdom, had become the queen of Razek Amamiya.
She had just ascended the throne, but if the queen was already pregnant, it would surely cause a festive commotion throughout Razek Amamiya.
At the same time, they understood the reason for King Philip’s retirement.
As King, he would not be able to travel abroad freely.
If he retired, he could visit Razek Amamiya to see his great-grandchild.
Furthermore, if a former king were to visit, diplomatic talks between kingdoms could proceed more smoothly.
Razek Amamiya, though a newly formed nation, was already not to be underestimated by any country.
Therefore, the current trend among nations towards Razek Amamiya was to conclude treaties under the best possible terms.
Naturally, the Florece Kingdom was one of them.
Even if Floria was a blood relative, they could not afford to be careless.
“King Philip’s doting on his children, or rather, in this case, his grandchildren? Either way, he’s quite famous for it domestically.”
Seeing the retainers’ resigned expressions, Prince Renard gave a bitter smile.
“Sigh. Is that really alright?”
Not knowing how to respond, Kōsuke replied blandly.
“Fortunately, the successor to our throne is already decided. Even if the nobles protest, they should be able to be suppressed.”
Unlike other countries, in the Florece Kingdom, the successor King has already been decided as Prince Renard’s father, Maxim.
This alone makes it less likely for political upheaval during the succession.
Moreover, in this world, a transition from King Philip, who has long passed old age, to the younger (relatively) Maxim would likely be welcomed.
“Is it really like that?”
“That’s how it is. At least in our country right now.”
Nominally, it is to take responsibility for this incident, but in reality, it is closer to a dignified retirement.
How the adventurers will react is unknown, but they believe it will suppress a considerable number of complaints.
“I see. As for me, I’d be satisfied if adventurers could act like adventurers.”
Kōsuke had no intention of getting further involved in the kingdom’s internal affairs.
***
“What will you do after this?”
Once a certain amount of discussion was over, Prince Renard asked.
“Well, I think I’ll continue my adventurer activities and travel around a bit more. …Though it seems I won’t be able to do it completely freely.”
Kōsuke said, glancing at Armin.
He looked at Armin meaning that the military or someone would surely assign observers.
Sensing this, Prince Renard offered a perfunctory follow-up.
“Please forgive us for that. As a kingdom, we cannot simply let someone like you act unchecked.”
“I understand. It’s not that I can’t escape if I wanted to, so I don’t mind.”
Kōsuke said nonchalantly, and Armin’s gaze became uneasy.
Indeed, if Kōsuke and his companions had truly intended to escape their surveillance, they likely could have done so with ease.
“Well… please go easy on us.”
In any case, Prince Renard, who could not stop Kōsuke’s actions, could only reply.
This concludes the “Journey (Florece Kingdom Arc).”
After this, Kōsuke and his companions will continue their inspection(?) of the Florece Kingdom, but no major incidents will occur, and their journey will end safely.
Finally, I considered writing a farewell scene with other adventurers when leaving Elen Town, but decided against it as it seemed it would end up half-baked.
You can imagine a certain historical drama’s final farewell scene to understand it better.
