I, Hal Raymond, was lying on a luxurious four-poster bed.
This is a room in the lord’s mansion in Hykalia, a regional city in the Old Kingdom of Sazania.
Originally, this mansion was a guesthouse owned by a certain Count family in the Old Kingdom of Sazania.
Currently, Baron Klaus Elbe von Hartia, bestowed by Emperor Henry of the Espana Imperial Kingdom, governs this regional city of Hykalia.
We, the ‘Princess Harem’ adventurer party, escorted Baroness Clarina Misha von Hartia, her daughter, through the Great Forest Zone. We then guided her to the former Kamiyar Holy Nation.
We encountered troubles such as an attack by a low-ranking demonkin called a One-Horned Wolf along the way, but we managed to overcome them.
Furthermore, when we first met, Baroness Clarina was haughty, but before I knew it, she had been charmed by Elise, which was an added bonus.
The Kingdom of Sazania, once one of the strongest nations in the Southern Nations and considered a regional hegemon, was easily destroyed by the lightning invasion of the Espana Imperial Army.
The Kingdom of Sazania was focused on fighting a detachment of the Demonkin Army that had invaded the Southern Nations. However, they were trampled by the Espana Imperial Army, which launched a surprise attack from behind, leaving them in a pincer situation between the Demonkin Army and the Espana Imperial Army.
Incidentally, the Espana Imperial Army needed to pass through the Kamiyar Holy Nation to attack the Kingdom of Sazania.
Furthermore, there was no way to attack the Kamiyar Holy Nation other than through the main road that crossed the Great Forest Zone. As a result, the “Princess Harem” defeating Jiryu-sama, the Frog God who guarded that place, became the cause.
The Kamiyar Holy Nation, which proclaimed itself a religious state, did not have a large army.
Of course, the large temples and churches within the Kamiyar Holy Nation possessed their own powerful monastic legions and Temple Knights, but the Espana Imperial Army granted them freedom of religion, so they remained as spectators.
Due to the excessively rapid advance of the Espana Imperial Army, the royal capital of Millhelm was surrounded before its defenses could be established, and most of the royal family were left dead within the royal castle.
In addition, residents from neighboring countries that had been destroyed by the Kingdom of Sazania conducted thorough mop-up operations, and even the royal family members who escaped from the royal capital of Millhelm were hunted down one after another.
Currently, the only member of the royal family whose whereabouts are unknown and who is wanted is a 14-year-old illegitimate princess named Shera Hazel, born to a fox-type beastkin woman whom the King of Sazania had a dalliance with.
Princess Shera was forced to live in obscurity as the King of Sazania’s illegitimate child, but the King of Sazania, seeing her rare beauty, added her to the lowest ranks of the royal family.
According to vulgar rumors, Princess Shera was the King of Sazania’s mistress.
Despite being a half-human, perhaps due to her beastkin blood which gave her superior physical abilities, her trail has still not been found, and she has a bounty of 200 gold coins (equivalent to 20 million yen) on her head.
However, the bounty notice stated that most of the reward was for the Royal Seal of the Kingdom of Sazania, which is believed to have been entrusted to Princess Shera when she fled the royal castle, and her own life or death was not a condition.
Perhaps Princess Shera is the only survivor of the once prosperous Sazania royal family.
Next, while dozing, I thought about the banquet I had attended earlier.
Incidentally, six people were invited to the banquet: myself, Elise, Mai, Kirika, Swan Hilda, Freya, and Liliana.
I introduced Liliana, who had joined after we parted ways with Baroness Clarina in the former Kamiyar Holy Nation, simply as a new recruit.
“Hal, you should wear this emblem.”
Before we took our seats at the banquet, Elise handed me an emblem signifying a First-Class Quasi-Noble.
“Elise, is it necessary to wear something like this?”
“Hal, a First-Class Quasi-Noble of the Espana Imperial Kingdom is treated with the rank of Count when attending White Castle. Therefore, you can sit in a higher seat than Baron Hartia and receive preferential treatment.”
“But I heard that my status is that of a common citizen, not a noble…”
“That is just a pretense. While Quasi-Nobles are not nobles, they are considered equivalent to a peer one rank below their treatment.”
“…In other words? Am I equivalent to a Viscount?”
“That is correct. Therefore, Hal, you are ranked higher than Baron Hartia.”
When we escorted Princess Elizabeth to White Castle, Alicia and I were each granted the titles of First-Class Quasi-Noble and Viscountess, respectively.
When I reported it to my father, he only paid attention to the Viscountess rank that Alicia received, but… judging by this, it seems they were actually proportionate.
Did my father himself misinterpret it?
We were all in travel attire as we were on a journey. Furthermore, the members of ‘Princess Harem’, including Elise, wore hoods pulled low and strange Valkyrie masks on their faces.
Even so, since Baroness Clarina was leading the way, we were escorted to the salon where the banquet was to be held without any problems.
The salon was a room with a high ceiling and several luxurious chandeliers hanging from it.
The walls were decorated with numerous portraits and landscape paintings, and expensive carpets were spread across the floor.
In the center of the salon was a long table with a white tablecloth, where three men and women, presumed to be nobles, were seated.
In addition, two men and women, likely servants, stood by the wall.
“I will take your outerwear.”
As we entered the salon, a butler-like man approached us from the wall and offered to take our cloaks and robes.
“Thank you. However, I’m afraid my companions cannot remove their Valkyrie masks.”
“Baroness Clarina informed me about that.”
“Then, please proceed.”
We handed our cloaks and hooded robes to the butler-like man and proceeded to our seats.
At this time, when I removed my outer garment, the emblem of a First-Class Quasi-Noble displayed on my chest was revealed, and the butler-like man’s eyebrows seemed to twitch.
“Nice to meet you, I am Hal Raymond, the leader of the adventurer party ‘Princess Harem’. Please call me Hal from now on. And this is our副長 Elise, followed by Mai, Kirika, Swan Hilda, Freya, and Liliana. Baron Hartia, thank you very much for inviting us to this banquet.”
I introduced ourselves to the middle-aged man, presumed to be Baron Hartia, seated in the upper seat and thanked him for the invitation to the banquet.
Baron Hartia, quickly noticing the emblem shining on my chest, stood up and returned the greeting.
“Lord Hal Raymond, welcome. I am Klaus Elbe von Hartia, the head of this house. I am deeply honored by your visit to such a humble abode. This is my wife, Clara Lucretia von Hartia, and that is Clarina’s fiancé, Eckehardt Gunther von Helter.”
At Baron Hartia’s polite greeting, Baroness Clarina snapped.
“Father!? They are just adventurers!”
“Clarina, are your eyes blind? Lord Hal has been appointed a First-Class Quasi-Noble!”
“Father, isn’t a Quasi-Noble a commoner?”
“Fool! Lord Hal is a First-Class Quasi-Noble. When attending White Castle, he will be treated as a Count, and in practice, he is considered equivalent to a Viscount, a rank higher than myself!”
“N-No way… Hal, I apologize for all my rudeness until now.”
Baroness Clarina stood up in surprise and bowed, apologizing for her past disrespect.
“Clarina’s attitude was not a problem.”
“Thank you, Hal.”
Baron Hartia explained the same thing that Elise had explained earlier. Baron Hartia’s wife and Lord Helter, who had been seated, also hurriedly stood up and greeted us.
Thus, we took our seats, and the banquet began.
Meanwhile, Elise and the others remained silent throughout, except for a graceful curtsey as a greeting, as their identities must not be revealed.
“Lord Hal, I heard from my daughter that you were very active in the Great Forest Zone.”
“That is because the members of ‘Princess Harem’ who are here worked hard.”
“Father, Elise and the others were amazing. The ones who attacked were low-ranking demonkin called One-Horned Wolves.”
“My! How dreadful!”
Baroness Hartia delicately expressed her surprise, placing a hand to her mouth.
“To think they were demonkin, albeit low-ranking… And even though their faces are hidden by Valkyrie masks, looking at their demeanor and table manners…”
Thus, the banquet was held in a peaceful atmosphere.
From my assessment, Baron Hartia was a strong knight, with a sturdy build and a military-type appearance with short-cropped golden hair. Baroness Hartia’s proud demeanor and gestures resembled those of her daughter, and Clarina, Baroness Clarina, took after her mother.
Furthermore, Lord Helter, who sat with them and was Clarina’s fiancé, had pale blond hair. Although he was the third son of the Helter Baronial family, he was scrofulous and timid. Baron Hartia, concerned that he would not even be able to hold Baroness Clarina’s hand like this, was training him, and he truly gave that impression.
Baroness Clarina Clarina was also 17 years old, which is of marriageable age.
Baron and Baroness Hartia seemed to be having trouble ensuring that Baroness Clarina could safely find a suitable husband.
As the night deepened, I was dozing in the four-poster bed that was my lodging for the night, when I heard a knock on the door: “Knock, knock, knock.”
“Hal, are you awake?”
The voice from beyond the door was that of a young girl’s, and I thought it must be one of the ‘Princess Harem’ members.
“I’m awake. Come in.”
“Then, please excuse me, Hal.”
Then, Clarina, Baroness Clarina, opened the door and entered.
Baroness Clarina was lightly dressed in a pale pink negligee, with a slightly darker pink cardigan draped over it.
Thank you for reading.
Episode 17-2: A Night’s Dream ② △
was scheduled for release on June 19th at 00:00.
