This chapter, excluding this first episode, features very little of Kousuke.
Riku is the main character.
It all began with Riku’s simple declaration.
“I want to be an adventurer.”
Suddenly, Riku, who had been brought to the management layer by Kouhi, declared this.
Seeing Riku’s expression at that moment, Kousuke looked at his child’s face with a serious expression, not thinking it was mere childish ramblings.
Riku was already nine years old, and was set to enroll in the academy this spring.
Riku should have known this.
Kousuke thought that Riku must have had a reason, as a child, for wanting to be an adventurer instead of going to the academy.
“An adventurer, why?”
From Kousuke’s perspective, he couldn’t understand the reason for wanting to become an adventurer, a profession that constantly faced danger in this world filled with monsters.
Kousuke chose to become an adventurer when he came to this world because he had cheat-level companions named Kouhi and Mitsuki.
If they hadn’t been there, he might not have chosen to be an adventurer.
Surprised that Kousuke had asked with a serious face, Riku stammered for a moment, but then, as if making up his mind, he raised his face and said,
“To… Father…”
“Hmm? Me?”
“I want to be an adventurer like Father!”
Kousuke’s expression became one of being caught off guard by the unexpected reply.
Glancing sideways, he saw Kouhi suppressing a laugh.
Kouhi knew Riku’s intentions and had brought him to this place.
And, she probably foresaw Kousuke’s confusion.
When Riku explained in detail, it turned out he was inspired by the maids’ conversations about his father’s exploits as an adventurer.
That, at least, was understandable.
It was, in a sense, something to be proud of for a child to admire their father.
When Kousuke heard Riku recount his adventures, it had become such a cool tale that he wanted to ask where Riku had gotten such embellishments.
Kousuke’s adventuring career mostly involved dungeon攻略, but he himself only remembered hiding and running away, concealed by Kouhi and Mitsuki.
However, in the exaggerated story, Riku described his father as easily defeating high-rank monsters that appeared in the upper floors of the dungeon.
Seeing Riku finish speaking with satisfaction, Kousuke pondered for a while whether to correct the story or leave the admiration as it was.
He himself remembered admiring a certain sentai hero in his childhood.
However, in Riku’s case, there were circumstances where time couldn’t simply resolve things.
After all, monsters were real, and it was also true that dungeons could not be cleared without defeating them.
The problem was that it wasn’t Kousuke, but Kouhi and Mitsuki, who had defeated those monsters.
To prevent Riku’s admiration from turning into the complete opposite when he eventually learned the truth, Kousuke corrected that particular point.
However, Riku, already under the influence of his admiration filter, his eyes shone as he said, “So Father was in command then!”
Kousuke felt as though his attempt to dispel the surrounding illusion had only strengthened Riku’s admiration, but he didn’t offer any further corrections.
Kousuke realized that a child’s preconceived notions could sometimes shatter a parent’s common sense.
Kousuke thought that his attempt to slightly remove the admiration filter had failed, but he decided to proceed anyway.
The current problem was Riku’s desire to become an adventurer.
“I understand the reason, but have you spoken to your mother about wanting to be an adventurer?”
He decided to ask the most important question first.
After all, Riku was currently third in line for the throne.
He was not in a position where he could easily pursue the path he desired.
In response to Kousuke’s question, Riku puffed out his cheeks.
“Mother was completely against it, saying it’s no good…”
Watching Riku say this with dissatisfaction, Kousuke inwardly understood that Floria’s position would naturally lead to such a response.
Furthermore, Floria had witnessed the reality of Kousuke and the others clearing dungeons in the past.
It was only natural for Floria, having been raised as a princess, to not want her child to be involved in such things once she knew the reality.
At the same time, Kousuke also wished for his child to pursue a path of admiration.
“First, you’ll have to convince your mother… Ah, don’t make that face. If you can’t even convince your mother, you won’t become a good adventurer, you know?”
Whether convincing one’s mother was related to becoming an adventurer was a subtle point, but he suggested it anyway to divert the focus.
As it was, Riku seemed poised to run away from home in a fit of impulsive determination.
“Will Father help me convince her too?”
“Hmm. Let me see… First, think properly about how you will convince her yourself. Once you do, I will create an opportunity for you to persuade her properly.”
“…Understood.”
Riku nodded reluctantly to Kousuke’s words, though his expression remained dissatisfied.
However, his eyes did not yet appear resigned.
And the extent of his determination would become clear two weeks later.
***
Two weeks later.
Before Kousuke stood Floria, completely defeated.
Seeing her state, Kousuke could only manage a wry smile.
He was amazed at how a nine-year-old child, despite being royalty and having received a solid education, could be so logically armed when serious.
Of course, there were many childish loopholes.
However, Riku skillfully filled those loopholes during conversations, demonstrating his ability to adapt on the fly.
Seeing Kousuke’s wry smile, Floria looked at him with a slightly resentful expression.
“…Is this Kousuke’s doing?”
“No, certainly not. Riku completely thought of it himself, didn’t he?”
“That’s right!… Although, I did hear some things from adventurers who go in and out of the castle, and from Gazelan…”
“Oh. Should I interrogate him later?”
Hearing Riku’s words, Floria narrowed her eyes slightly.
Seeing this, Riku hurriedly added,
“Gazelan isn’t at fault! I just asked him how the current Crown operates!”
Later, when Kousuke and Floria confirmed, it was true that Riku had simply asked detailed questions about Crown’s activities.
He had not received any advice on how he himself could become an adventurer.
Ultimately, Riku had gathered the material to persuade his parents himself after hearing such stories.
He had precisely carried out the information gathering necessary for an adventurer all by himself.
If the proposition had been solely for Riku to aim to be an adventurer on his own, Floria and Kousuke would certainly have opposed it.
However, the proposal Riku brought this time was that he would accompany adventurers, observe their activities, and assist if there was anything he could do.
Floria itself was taken aback by this grounded proposal.
Even so, she couldn’t allow Riku, who had a claim to the throne, to engage in adventurer activities in such an unsupervised manner.
If that were the only aspect of the proposal, Floria could have opposed it based on that fact.
But Riku’s proposal went beyond that.
He had proposed Kouhi as a guard.
Furthermore, he even stated that Kouhi had already been persuaded.
At that moment, Kousuke glanced at Kouhi, who nodded with a wry smile.
Though how Kouhi was persuaded was unknown, it was likely Riku had won her over with his passion.
With such thorough preparations, Floria couldn’t forcefully object anymore.
If she were to forcibly object, Riku might become unusable as an heir to the throne.
It would be better for him to grow in that direction.
In the end, Floria and Kousuke, by adding a few more conditions to Riku’s proposal, agreed to allow Riku to work as an adventurer’s assistant (?).
As mentioned at the end, Riku will not be acting as a full-fledged adventurer.
He will be mingling with adventurers to observe their real activities.
There’s a possibility that Riku, being a child, could become a hindrance, which is why Kouhi will be by his side.
Whether Riku will become a hindrance or not… will be discussed in the next and subsequent chapters.
(Realistically, he’ll likely just be a hindrance lol)
