ha-h, I was so nervous. Even though we didn’t do anything, it was a lot with the Emperor present and so many nobles. It’s impossible for a simple village girl not to be nervous!
There were a lot of things that happened during the investiture ceremony too. The Emperor suddenly abdicated the throne to the Crown Prince. I found out later that such a sudden abdication is normally absolutely impossible.
The cause of it all was the Retisencia ambassador who was expelled midway. I was indignant when he insulted Amister so much, calling them hicks. But when Emperor Reinhardt, who had just inherited the throne, and Yamato utterly defeated him and kicked him out of the castle, I thought, “Serves you right!” I certainly didn’t expect Yamato to grow wings and threaten him.
“This is delicious.”
Raus, who is with me, is nonchalantly eating the food, but he was cautious at first, you know? But as soon as the party started, Yamato explicitly stated that he wouldn’t allow his disciples to act on their own, so all the nobles are backing down. In fact, when he expelled the Retisencia ambassador, he grew wings even though he’s a Human and not a Winged Tribe. Coupled with his already immense magic power becoming even more immense, I can understand why they’d feel that way. So there are a few nobles who seem to want to talk to Raus, but they’re looking very hesitant about approaching him.
“Oh, Raus. And Rebecca too.”
“What are you eating?”
“Flame Buffalo Wine Stew. It seems more substantial than Blue Lake Bull, so it’s really delicious.”
Lydia and Ludia, who were talking with the ambassador from Valentia until just now, finally seem to be free and have come to get some food. When I went to get drinks, I overheard them talking. They seemed very happy about their engagement to an Ancient Human. They mentioned that not only their father but also the Dragon King needs to be informed.
“He’s still the same, isn’t he?”
“Well, he is an ambassador for his country, so I guess it can’t be helped.”
Huh? Did you know him?
“He’s a Royal Dragon Knight.”
Ah, so he’s a Royal Dragon Knight. As far as I know, Royal Dragon Knights, like the Royal Order, are knights who protect the emperor and his family. Many of them are also one-in-a-thousand knights who have contracts with flying monsters like Wyverns and Drake species.
“You know a lot about them. But some of them are married to Dragonians. Our father is one of them.”
Really?
“Actually, our mother is a Dragonian. Did I not tell you before?”
Is that so!? And I’m hearing this for the first time! But aren’t Dragonians, who live longer than Ancient Classes, said to remain in the sacred mountains of Valentia?
“That’s true, but if it’s a race of only females, how do they have children?”
When you put it that way, it certainly makes sense. Children born to Dragonians will be of the same race as one of their parents, but it seems Dragonians are more likely to be born. Lydia and Ludia are twins who are Dragonewts, so their case is considered rare. If a Dragonian is born, they are apparently taken to the sacred mountain immediately to live there. It seems Dragonians live much longer than even normal people, let alone Ancient Classes, so their growth rate is extremely slow, making it difficult for them to live among people.
“Our older sister is a Dragonian, but she still looks about six years old, so it would be more fitting to call her my little sister.”
Wow, she really does look like a little sister rather than an older sister. It seems Lydia and Ludia’s father has become super famous in Valentia for being a man who married two Dragonians. Their other older sister was born to his other mother. I’ve also heard that a P-rank Hunter from Valentia married twin Dragonians, but I don’t think they had any children. The age of marriage for Dragonians is a surprising 80 to 130 years old, which, by our standards, would be around 17 to 25 years old. They can have children until around 200 years old, but even so, that’s incredibly long compared to normal people. On the other hand, they are extremely difficult to conceive with, and it’s not uncommon for them not to be able to have children. Once they give birth, they apparently never get pregnant again, so all the Dragonians raise the children with great care.
By the way, when I later told Yamato that Lydia and Ludia’s mother were both Dragonians, he was extremely surprised and asked, “Don’t Dragonians hatch from eggs!?” and was smacked by Ludia. The one who smacked him, Ludia, seemed to be in more pain, so I guess it’s appropriate to say “As expected of an Ancient Human…”? Of course Dragonians are a race of humans, also known as Dragon-folk, so there’s no way they’d lay eggs.
“Gah!”
“Whoops, my apologies.”
“No, no, I was also looking away.”
While thinking about such things, I bumped into someone. It’s a good thing I wasn’t carrying any food or drinks.
“Hm? Aren’t you two the Ancient Humans…?”
“Yes, we are?”
“Ah, my apologies. I am Bout Ooze, the leader of Trial Hearts. I was invited by His Majesty but was so astonished by what had transpired that I was surprised with all my heart.”
Trial Hearts? They’re one of Amister’s top raids, alongside Holy Grave!? And if he’s the leader of Trial Hearts, he must be a Level 56 High Ulfy!
“After hearing that story, I can’t possibly call myself a top raid group anymore.”
Bout said this with a wry smile. That story… could he know about the Demise Species?
“I didn’t expect to meet the leader of Trial Hearts here, but perhaps you know of the true achievements of Yamato and Prim?”
“Ah, Emperor Reinhardt told me. I couldn’t believe it at first, but he showed me proof…”
Ah, so he saw the Magic Stones of the Emperor and Empress too. I guess even if you couldn’t believe it, you’d have no choice but to accept it.
“Moreover, it includes the exploits of Holy Grave. I really can’t call myself a top raid group out of shame.”
Bout seemed so dejected it was pitiable. I’m sorry, the cause of it all is my brother-in-law.
“Well, that aside, I was concerned about you two, his disciples. His Majesty mentioned that you are both B-rank Hunters at your age? And Raus, being an Ulfy like myself and the Grand Hunter’s Master, it naturally piques my interest.”
That’s right. The Grand Hunter’s Master is an Ancient Ulfy, and Bout is a High Ulfy, so it’s understandable that he’d be interested in Raus, who is also an Ulfy. But why reveal our Hunter ranks here! The gazes of the nobles who were hesitating about whether to talk to us have become intense!
“Bout, that’s a little…”
“Hm? Ah, my apologies. That was a slip of the tongue on my part. As an apology, perhaps I can shield you for a while?”
That would be incredibly helpful! Trial Hearts is a raid that Emperor Reinhardt, who has now become King, and his Consort, Princess Elis, are fond of. And since Princess Maruca is Bout’s sister, things could get serious if we were to act carelessly!
“Speaking of which, doesn’t Trial Hearts have a hunt with His Majesty and the others tomorrow, for the first time in a while?”
“Ah, yes, we do. Although the abdication was sudden, they decided not to change the schedule precisely because it was so sudden.”
He’s going hunting right after becoming king… I wonder if the members of Trial Hearts aren’t feeling a bit down.
“Don’t worry, His Majesty is a High Elf, and Elis, Maruca and I all have considerable skill. Besides, it’s just Rock Boars we’ll be hunting, so it’s not that much of a hassle.”
That’s something you can say when you’re a High Class. But Rock Boars are C-rank Monsters, and even a raid of only Normal Classes can hunt them, so with High Classes present, it’s undoubtedly easier. Moreover, His Majesty has the Lapis Laz sword that Yamato gifted him, so he’ll probably hunt them with ease.
“Rock Boars, you say. Does that mean you know about that as well?”
“We do. Honestly, I’m envious of the Order, and I hear Holy Grave is also being provided with them. I wish we had gone to Feel. Though, considering the price of that was far too steep, I have mixed feelings now.”
Indeed, they are coveted items for High Classes, but being told to charge into an Orc settlement where Demise Species reside as a price is beyond a high risk.
“Fortunately, Trial Hearts has six High Classes. His Majesty and the Grand Crafter’s Master are cooperating to forge weapons for us. Apparently, they were up all night last night, but they seemed satisfied and were pleased to have grasped their characteristics.”
Is that… alright? Lapis Laz is not to be publicized, but I heard that Jade Silver and Blue-Gray Iron haven’t been announced yet either. I heard that by tomorrow, the Crafter’s Guild across Amister will be notified, but isn’t it dangerous to have them in the Royal Capital before they’re publicized? Some people already have them, and since we have Lapis Laz, perhaps it’s not a big deal anymore.
“That’s one way of looking at it. We want them as soon as possible since we won’t have to worry about magic power anymore, and His Majesty and the others are satisfied.”
Certainly, if His Majesty is handing them over, they must have considered those aspects, so perhaps I don’t need to worry. By the way, the weapons are to be bestowed tomorrow morning.
“Indeed. So, Trial Hearts won’t be in the Royal Capital tomorrow?”
“We’ll be nearby, but is something the matter?”
“No, it’s just that Mana-sama and Yamato are getting married tomorrow, and I wondered if you wouldn’t be able to witness it.”
That’s right. My sister and Meena-san are also having their wedding ceremony with the princesses, and they both said they felt it was too presumptuous to get married at the same time as the princesses. But my sister and Meena-san had been waiting until they could greet Meena-san’s family in the Royal Capital, and Mana-sama also said they couldn’t get married first, so it all happened very quickly with the simultaneous wedding.
“Of course we’ll be there to witness it. I want to congratulate them too. After all, the Huntress Princess is getting married. There will be tears of blood shed all over the Royal Capital tomorrow.”
Mana-sama is very popular in the Royal Capital, I hear. Even though she’s a princess, she talks to anyone so casually, and I heard she even accepted escort requests. It’s a pity for the client to be escorted by a princess, though.
“And the focus of that jealousy and envy will fall upon Yamato, won’t it?”
“That much is unavoidable. I don’t think anyone would be foolish enough to actually make a move. Attacking an Ancient Human would be seen as a suicidal act.”
I couldn’t agree more.
“Hm? It seems some impatient individuals have appeared.”
“Eh?”
Ah! A few nobles are talking to Raus and subtly moving away, trying to take him somewhere! His movements are so discreet that Raus hasn’t even noticed!
“I thought it was Marquis Montshtern.”
Who’s that? Hmm, it’s on the coast right south of the Royal Capital, and ships also depart for the Bastion Theocracy. However, further south lies the Bismarck Ballman Count’s Territory, which holds a labyrinth. This leads to a significant difference in the supply of monster materials, and further, they lack mineral resources due to not having a Magic Silver mine. However, they have fertile land, and their seafood is famous because of their proximity to the sea, so they supply a considerable amount of food to the Royal Capital.
Is that really a bad thing? Having many farmlands means less damage from monsters, right?
“That’s right, but Marquis Montshtern is also ambitious. Not to conquer the country, but as a Trader. I believe he’s currently a P-rank Trader, but he’s looking for skilled Hunters because he can’t trade in other countries as things are.”
Why? Oh, he plans to incorporate that Hunter into his Union, have them prepare monster materials for a low fee, and then sell them.
“Thank you for the explanation.”
“You heard it, didn’t you? I suspected as much since I felt a dangerous magic aura while you were talking.”
Wh-what!? When did Yamato get here!?
“I’m sorry, please let me greet you later.”
“That will allow us to talk more leisurely, won’t it?”
“Yamato, don’t overdo it, okay?”
“I know.”
After a brief greeting to Bout, and with Ludia smiling and seeing him off, Yamato went to Raus. Ah, Montshtern… what was his name? Anyway, that Marquis turned deathly pale. He was thinking of incorporating Raus and then using Yamato to his advantage, or rather, using him in some way. Of course, he’d be furious. I heard that the Marquis’s plan to use an Ancient Human for his selfish purposes was immediately spread to other nobles and he was reprimanded by His Majesty. Although it was a personal matter rather than a national one, so there wasn’t any further punishment, word spread from the Royal Capital’s Trader’s Guild to the Marquis’s territory’s Trader’s Guild. He was forced to pay a hefty fine and was told that if he did something similar again, his License would be revoked. It seems he had done similar things multiple times, so he was already being watched by the Trader’s Guild.
“He’s not a bad person, but he sometimes loses sight of the means to achieve his goals.”
“I believe he could become a good Trader if it weren’t for that.”
I still remember Bout and His Majesty saying that. After that, Yamato properly greeted Bout and was very surprised to hear that Trial Hearts would also come to celebrate tomorrow’s wedding ceremony. Trial Hearts also wants to celebrate Mana-sama’s wedding and wishes to forge a connection with Yamato. Since there’s a possibility of forming an Alliance, it’s only natural for Hunters to attend. Furthermore, tomorrow’s hunt will be a joint effort between Wing Crest and Trial Hearts, and they plan to venture into the Ideal Mountain Range a bit.
Wait, I’m going too, so it’s not someone else’s problem! I know that G-rank Monsters won’t attack right after entering, but they say there are S-rank Monsters like Storm Ligers that munch on Rock Boars, and B-rank Monsters like Chameleons that blend in with the surrounding scenery, so I’m really scared!
“Where would I find Feather Drakes?”
“I hear they’re a bit further in. Some come down occasionally, so I’ve hunted them a few times.”
Feather Drakes are there after all. Aren’t they Yamato’s favorite? Although they won’t go deep into the Ideal Mountain Range until Mana-sama’s weapon is ready, they say it’s also for reconnaissance, so tomorrow is definitely going to be difficult.
More importantly, will the members of Trial Hearts be able to maintain their sanity?
