“Well, I think I’ve asked everything I wanted to ask,” King Ernest said, ending his preamble. He shifted his gaze from Kousuke to the others.
Renee and the others stiffened with apprehension under his gaze.
“Don’t be so tense. I merely intended to reward you. What would you like?”
The sudden offer made the group even more rigid than before.
Seeing this, Kousuke offered a bitter smile and a helping hand.
“Your Majesty, when you suddenly say something like that, they’re too nervous to think of anything.”
“Hmm… That is troublesome. If possible, I wanted to hear it without unnecessary people in between.”
Upon hearing King Ernest’s words, Kousuke accurately understood his intention.
If the reward was announced beforehand, the opinions of bureaucrats and others would inevitably get involved.
Therefore, he wanted to know what they desired as a reward by asking them directly.
However, even Renee and the others didn’t know how much they could demand for this matter.
While having bureaucrats involved could sometimes be a breeding ground for corruption, it also included such assistance.
Seeing Renee and the others still frozen in place, Kousuke decided to offer help again.
“You were talking about something while on guard duty, weren’t you? I think it’s fine to ask for something like that.”
This time, Renee and the others were taken aback by Kousuke’s words.
It was true that during their journey, they had joked about “what would be good if they received a reward.”
They just hadn’t expected to encounter such an opportunity.
“R-really?” Claire, who recovered the quickest, asked Kousuke tremblingly.
“Yes. From what I heard from the King, I don’t think there will be any problem.”
“What? Do you have something you want? Just say it. If it’s not possible, I’ll just say no.”
The King joined in Kousuke’s offer of help.
The people from the Kingdom standing nearby couldn’t just let the King’s offer stand and some of them wore expressions as if they had swallowed bitter medicine.
Perhaps intimidated by the momentum of Kousuke and King Ernest, Claire swallowed once and then quietly stated her desired item.
“W-well then… I would like to request weapons for the party members, if possible…”
Her speech was a bit hesitant due to her extreme nervousness, but she managed to voice her wish.
Upon hearing this, the King looked genuinely surprised.
“What, is that all you want? Very well. I will send weapons for your party members later. What about the others?”
“W-well then, me too, the same thing!”
“I-if possible, I would like to receive a wagon for merchants…”
Following Claire’s lead, the other two were also able to make their respective requests.
“To be so modest… There should be no problem with requests of that scale. We will make sure to send them.”
The three in Renee’s party beamed at the King’s words.
The King, looking at them with satisfaction, finally turned his gaze to Kousuke and grinned.
“Now then. You seem to be the most troublesome one.”
At his words, Kousuke shrugged his shoulders.
“I don’t think that’s the case… but I do have two wishes.”
“Hmm?”
The King, who hadn’t expected him to ask for two rewards, tilted his head.
The surrounding people were also in an uproar over this unprecedented request.
“Let me state beforehand, it’s not about money.”
“Hmm… try stating them.”
“Yes. First, I would like an answer to a question I will ask. Of course, it is up to the King whether or not to provide an answer.”
The surrounding people, who had been murmuring that Kousuke’s request was absurd, changed their atmosphere. Asking for an answer to a question as a reward was truly unprecedented.
For Kousuke, it could be said that he agreed to the King’s summons precisely because he wanted to ask this very thing.
Perhaps sensing Kousuke’s intention, the King’s previously cheerful expression turned serious.
“Hmm… Please, state it.”
“Let’s see… With this matter, did you obtain what you desired?”
This was the question Kousuke wanted to ask the King. It might seem like he was simply asking about the tribute, but that wasn’t the case, of course. Kousuke wanted to know the true purpose of this tribute transport. However, he knew that if he asked directly, the King wouldn’t answer properly due to the presence of others. That was precisely why he chose to ask in such an indirect way. He did so knowing that the King would understand his true intention.
After all, there was something strange about this tribute transport in the first place. The tribute itself consisted of materials from monsters that even high-ranking adventurers could hunt. If one had the money, they could easily obtain such items. It wasn’t something that needed to be transported under the guise of a tribute, making sure to inform those around them. Furthermore, according to Heino, the transport of such tributes had a history of varying contents and had been carried out since ancient times. It had been happening since the very founding of the Thausen Kingdom. Therefore, it was natural to suspect that there was another purpose. For a long time, people had been investigating that purpose, but it had never been revealed. However, Kousuke, who had lacked certainty until meeting the King, was able to gain assurance from their earlier conversation. That was why he had asked the question he did. It was fine even if he didn’t get an answer.
“Hmm…”
The King, who had received the question, looked at Kousuke intently for a moment, then glanced around before replying.
“Ah. You brought some very good items. That’s why I’m offering rewards.”
Although his words could be interpreted as referring only to the tribute, the King’s demeanor provided him with more than enough of an answer.
“I see. That’s good then.”
Kousuke replied briefly. Only a very limited number of people noticed the true meaning of their exchange. From Kousuke’s perspective, only one of the King’s retainers seemed to have noticed. The others, although they didn’t outwardly show it, seemed to not understand the implications.
The transport of this tribute was conducted so that the Royal Family could monitor the movements of the nobles within the kingdom. This time, there was an apparent dispute between the First Knight Order and the Third Knight Order, but there were likely many other movements occurring behind the scenes that Kousuke and his party were unaware of. By observing these actions, they monitored the behavior of the nobles within the country. In some cases, those who went too far were punished. This time, they had even hired a criminal organization and targeted the lives of those transporting the tribute. It was unclear whether they had anticipated this extent of activity when they issued the request to the Adventurer’s Guild on behalf of the Royal Family, but those who targeted the “tribute” meant for the Royal Family would face significant punishment. Kousuke did not know what kind of punishment would be meted out, nor if there were other arrangements being made behind the scenes. Kousuke’s belief was that the tribute transport served as one of the Royal Family’s means of domestic governance. And with the King’s current attitude, he was able to confirm that his belief was not mistaken. Kousuke had no intention of pursuing this matter further. It was now up to the King and the Kingdom to decide. As he had said before, the role of an adventurer was to accept requests and complete them. Unless the client’s original intentions were to be used for criminal activities, their motives were irrelevant. Therefore, this time, he had decided to receive his answer in the form of “rewards.” In the end, he had received a more than satisfactory answer.
With this, he had obtained one of his “rewards.” Kousuke’s second desired “reward” was still to come. Later, King Ernest would tell his heir, his son, that this “reward” was not just for Kousuke, but a great “reward” for the Thausen Kingdom itself. This was about the rewards. There were other things happening behind the scenes, but since they were not related to Kousuke, they would not be written about. If I wrote about them, the story would never end lol.
The “Tribute Transport Arc,” which has become quite long, is finally nearing its end. After receiving the other reward, they will depart from the Royal Capital.
