That night after our third audience, me and Garnett decided to stay the night in Tri-Brook City.

　Since we would have to travel through the night if we tried to return to Green Hollow right away, it was decided that we would leave early tomorrow morning.

　I had planned to stay at a suitable inn, but I was told to stay at a well guarded place anyway, so I ended up renting a room at the Imperial Villa.

...... uncomfortable, really.

　I sit down on the bed in my assigned room and give my honest opinion.

　Both the bed and the interior are of the highest quality.
　Although the room is supposed to be used for guests, not royalty or duke, but no detail has been skimped on in its construction.

　It may be the best way to show the prestige and dignity of the palace, but for me, who has never lived a rich life, it's overly opulent.

You'll get used to it while you're at it. When you are a knight commander, you are assigned the best room in the inn every time you go on a business trip.

　Garnett sits down next to me with a smirk on his face.

　Since the guest room is a single person's room, I'm not sharing it with Garnett this time, but simply saying I came to check up on her and staying.

　I don't know if it was simply because I assigned a higher grade room, or if they took it into consideration after understanding Garnett's gender, but I am grateful for that point.

　No matter how much, if I were put in such a situation in the royal palace's official residence, I wouldn't know how to react.

''In that case, I guess I'll just ask them to make it normal.
No, no, no. It's a good way for the inn to show off its reputation for hosting noblemen and high ranking knights. It's part of the job to be hospitable. I'm sure that's what Sylvia would tell you if you asked her.

　When I think back, in the larger inns I've stayed at, there were many times when a letter of commendation to show that they had welcomed and satisfied some nobleman was proudly displayed on the wall.

　Or rather, I think I saw such a thing displayed at the Wakabatei in spring.

　I didn't pay much attention to them, so my memory was quite vague.

It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for when you're in the market. I've got to think about the emblem and all that. Oops, should we have called him "Commander Luke" or something?
'Don't do it, it's kind of mushy. It's just as good as ever, 'White Wolf's' or something.

　Garnett is clearly laughing at me, half teasingly.

　No matter how much you receive a knighthood and carry such an exaggerated title as Knight Commander, I want the people close to me to treat me with the same attitude as before.

　In particular, I don't want my relationship with Garnett to change--unless I want to move on.

　As we were having such a distracted conversation, there was a knock on the door of the room and a girl's voice that sounded like a rolling bell.

'Luke-sama, are you here?　Angelica would like to see you. If you would be so inclined, please come to Miss Angelica's room.

　It was probably the voice of one of the girls who had been following Angelica.

　I looked at Garnett and then decided to answer the Angelica Knight Commander's call, wondering if she had some important business to attend to.

　As a matter of course, Garnett was about to follow me out of the room, but as she was about to cross the threshold, she was stopped by the girl who greeted her.

'Angelica-sama was calling only for Luke-sama. Those of you with her will wait here.
'Huh!　You didn't tell me not to bring me back, did you?
Yes, sir. But the only person I've been asked to bring with me is Master Luke.
How hard can you be, you little brat?

　It's not that Angelica is trying to keep Garnett out, it's probably just that the girl who acts as a messenger is trying to call only me by the book.

　However, it's bad enough to force a girl who may or may not have reached the age of ten to push through, so I quieted Garnett and headed to Angelica's room by myself.

　The look Garnett sent me at that time was clearly anxious about meeting someone of the opposite s*x other than herself, but the girl with the message didn't seem to notice at all.

'Angelica-sama. I've brought Luke-sama here.
Thank you for your time. Thank you, Sir Luke, for your time, too. I should have been the one to visit you.

　Angelica greeted me as she sat in a chair in the room with a few girls around her.

'That's fine. It's just that I haven't received my ordination yet, so 'Sir' seems to be a bit premature ...... No, more importantly, what can I do for you?
It's a little sensitive, so I was wondering if we could have a word in private?　You'll all have to wait outside for a while.

　The attendant girls reacted in a thoughtful way - listening to what they said honestly and being blatantly wary of me - and quickly left the room.

''Sir Garnett, may I ask you to excuse yourself as well?
'I left him in his room. The kid who came to get me was very adamant that I was the only one he wanted.
Well, ...... the girl. I'm sorry. I hope my sister, Alma, doesn't give you a bad report.

　From this reaction, it seems that Sir Angelica doesn't know the true relationship between Garnett and Alma.

　Anyway, when I asked her to move on with the conversation, Angelica nodded and spread some papers on her lap.

''Although it wasn't mentioned in the earlier audience due to lack of time, I have received a report from Sir Theodore regarding his meeting with the Northern Tree Sea Coalition's Senator Eir, including the details of his meeting.

　I see. As expected, Theodore didn't try to crush that one without bringing it up to the royal palace for a grip?

"The Demon King's army, the true enemy, the Night Ripper, the high-powered golems in the basement, the Alphasul, the Wiseman and the Northern Elves - I believe the palace has come to the same conclusion about these relationships as you have," said Theodore. Please.
''The whole series of events in the Ancient Magical Civilization ...... could have something to do with that unknown being, right?''
'Yes. With that in mind, please look here.

　Angelica crawled her fingers over the papers spread out in her lap and pulled out one of them and handed it to me with the precision of a fingertip, as if she had scanned the letters with her fingertips.

　Perhaps it was due to skill.
　As a lineage, it seemed to be similar to normal [Appraisal] and [Analysis].

''The mission given to the White Wolf Knights is to oversee the search and investigation of the Demon King's Castle's underground, but the Royal Palace considers the purpose of the investigation to be 'clarifying the reality of the ancient magical civilization' as well as 'investigating its relationship to the series of incidents.'''

　The same thing is described in the document that was handed to me.

　It was no longer a set of objectives that went beyond even the pursuit of the Demon King's army and looked further ahead.

In other words, the real role of the White Wolf Knights is to reveal the reality of the ancient magical civilization ...... That's what it means. That the adventurers' exploration of the Demon King's Castle's basement is only a means to that end.
''The priest knights that the Rainbow Rainbow Scales Order will be sending have also been selected on that basis. I don't know about the other knights, but ...... at least we are.

　An investigation and elucidation of an ancient magical civilization with advanced golem technology.

　It's strange.
　I can't stop my chest from heaving and the edges of my mouth from loosening up, even though it might be a more awkward and difficult role than being knighted and being installed as a knight leader if I'm not good at it.

''At this point in time, it's enough for you to grasp that this is how the Royal Palace is thinking about it. Let's take our time in making preparations, including the formulation of a timetable for the lifting of the ban on information.

　I graciously accepted my new role and left Sir Angelica's room.

　My heart soared higher than the conquest of any unknown dungeon.
　It was impossible to tell me not to get excited.

　I've been an adventurer for fifteen years, chasing my longings, and now I'm being entrusted with the pursuit of one of the world's greatest mysteries like this.

　...... But it's another story that I almost got misunderstood by Garnett because I returned from Angelica's room without being able to hold back a smile.