It was a few days later that the ceremony took place.

On that day, after breakfast at the inn, I went to the castle and was greeted by Irene at the castle gate.

'I've been waiting for you, Will. And Satsuki, Mee, and Cyril too. I'll show you around, so follow me.

We followed Irene through the gate and into the castle.

As we were led into the residence, I parted company with Irene and the other women in the entrance hall.

'Bye, Will. I'll see you later.

Irene said, and went away with the women.
I, on the other hand, was guided by a maid attached to the royal castle.

'Master William, this way.

The maid said this and walked in a different direction from where Irene and the others were headed, and I followed her.

Eventually, I was ushered into a small private room.
It seemed to be a room used for dressing, with a closet and a large mirror.

The maid politely took out a set of fine formal wear from the closet and turned to me.

'May I help you change your clothes?

I hesitated for a moment and then nodded.

I've spent my entire school life immersed in adventure, magic, and academic knowledge, but I don't know how to dress myself in formal attire.
I was uncomfortable with the idea of asking a woman to help me dress, but I suppose it's normal in this kind of situation, since she would suggest it as a matter of course.

Feeling like a child who is made to dress up for an event, I put on my formal clothes as I was told.

When I looked in the mirror after putting on my formal wear, I felt very strange.
I felt as if I had become a member of the nobility.

After that, I was led to a reception room and waited for a while while listening to some arrangements.
Eventually, another guide came and asked me to move again.
We went up the stairs to the third floor.

We were ushered into a living room at the back of the audience hall.
It was very bright with the morning sun shining diagonally from the balcony.

There is a table with a tea set and tea cakes, and there are a few guests.
As I bowed and entered the room, one of the guests called out to me.

'Oh, William, you're here. You're looking quite presentable. How would you like to be my daughter's son-in-law?

It was King Andrew.
He was a well-built man wearing a kingly red cloak over his ceremonial dress, which gave the impression of a warrior king.
There was also a crown on the table.

As I was about to reply, another voice interrupted me.

'Your Majesty. I'm ashamed to say that he's not very good at telling jokes. Such a joke could be taken as serious. Please refrain.

It was James Glenford, King Andrew's aide and head of the court magician - my father.
James took one look at me and returned to his usual blank expression.

Andrew, on the other hand, has the same nonchalant look on his face.

'I'm not even kidding. William, sit and wait a while longer. Your friends should be here any minute.'

So I took a seat.
But I felt uncomfortable.

In addition to King Andrew and his aide James, there were several guards, noblemen, and servants in the room.

The floor was covered with an elaborately decorated carpet, and there was a chandelier on the ceiling.
The milky white walls and pillars were beautifully colored by the morning sun.

I felt so out of place.
Why am I in such a place now?

Furthermore, from outside the balcony, I can hear the slight rustling of many people.

The courtyard of the royal castle must lie beneath that balcony.
There must already be a large number of citizens gathered there.

I thought to myself, I'm uncharacteristically nervous.
There was no point in worrying too much about people's eyes, but I couldn't help it.

And then...

'Oh, Will, you're already here. Thanks for waiting. I've brought everyone with me.

Eileen came into the room.

Since I was all dressed up, I expected her to be in a dress as she had been in the past, but I was wrong and she was dressed as a man as usual.

I was a little relieved when I saw that.
I was a little relieved to see that, because it was a part of my everyday life.

But that caught me off guard, and I gasped when I saw the three men who came in after them.

'Ugh ......, it's so hard to walk ......'.

'It's been a long time since I've worn a dress like this. I haven't worn a dress like this since I was a kid.

'It's hard to move when it's fluttering like this. Eileen, can't you at least tie the hem?'

'Of course not. Satsuki and Mee, just be patient for a while.

Irene chided her, but aside from that.
Irene was the only one in normal clothes.

Satsuki, Cyril and Mee were all wearing dresses of a size and design that suited them.

Satsuki's was a pale sky blue dress, Cyril's was a pristine white dress, and Mee's was a lovely but intense crimson dress.
Mee's dress seemed to be made for children, but even so, it was no less beautiful in its tailoring and design.

Her hair was also a little different from usual, tied up at the side or pulled up in a bun.
She also wears ornaments such as hair ornaments, necklaces and earrings.

She may also be wearing makeup.
It may be an exaggeration to say that she looks like a different person than she usually does, but I was surprised to see her look so different.

'You're beautiful. ...... All three of you are very. You're usually attractive, but right now you look like goddesses.'

My thoughts slipped out of my mouth.
Then the faces of the three of them turned bright red.

'So you're goddesses now, ......'

'The three of you together, you're pretty destructive ......'

'Aww, ......, isn't William's stubbornness getting stronger again?

'No, he's always been like that.

'That's why he's such a jerk,......'

Three beautiful girls with bright red faces were whispering to each other.
Irene, who was listening to them, had an annoyed smile on her face.

Then, when the Queen appeared on the scene, King Andrew clapped his hands to set the scene.

'Looks like the actors are all here. James, can we begin?'

'Yes, sir. All other preparations have been made. We're a little ahead of schedule, but that should be tolerable.



'All right, then, let's get started.

King Andrew stood up, put on his crown, and headed towards the balcony.
As he walks out to where he can see from the courtyard, the murmurs of the people grow a little louder.

James casts a spell.
He seems to have used a loud-voice spell on King Andrew to make his voice sound louder and reach farther.
Although the king's voice can reach the entire courtyard without using it, the use of loud voices is standard in scenes like this where the king directs his voice to the people from the balcony of the castle.

King Andrew stood majestically on the balcony and called out to the courtyard below.

'Gentlemen. The reason I have asked you all to come here today is simple. I've come to introduce you to the hero who saved this country.

The King's voice, magnified by the loud voice, rang out loudly.
I'm not sure if it's a good idea, but I think it's a good idea.

The hero is so powerful that he can tame a dragon, but rest assured that he has a gentle heart. Even if he is hungry, he will not take you and eat you.

As the king said this, a small laugh could be heard here and there.

And then, after a beat, the next thing I heard was the sound of a minstrel singing.

It seemed that the voice was also loud, and a beautiful, clear male tenor voice echoed around.

The poem sung by the minstrel went something like this.

The story of a hero is about to be told.
A young man who has mastered wisdom and magic.

He is ordered by the king to challenge the terrible mountain of the dragon.
He overcomes many demons and arrives at the top of the mountain.
The dragon appears.
The dragon's fire will melt the earth and burn the sky, but it will not be able to overcome the blessings of the hero's fate.
It's time to fight back. The heroes unleash a storm of ice. The dragon can't help but kneel before the hero.
The dragon was impressed and swore allegiance to the hero.

The hero rides on the dragon's back and flies through the sky.
The next test is the ancient ruins at the end of the world.
The hero dives into the ruins in search of the ancient magical sword of fire.

And then the king's army.
The heroes of the kingdom will challenge the demon king of ice, who is more fearsome than the dragon.
But the demon king is too powerful.
The brave men and women of the kingdom are in a fierce battle against a monster that can shatter mountains and tear apart the earth.
But the heroes are children of men.
One by one, they are injured and fall down in the eternal battle.
The Demon Lord is a monster.
Every time he is wounded by the swords of the heroes, he undergoes a strange and terrifying evolution.
It's over. And just when the heroes were ready to make a desperate charge.

A hero appeared.
The hero rides on the dragon's back, burns the demon lord with dragon fire, and pierces him with a magical sword of fire.

The opportunity to win has arrived.
The heroes of the kingdom and the heroes of the kingdom join forces and destroy the evil king.

And so our peace is preserved.
Secretly, quietly.

The hero's name was William.
He's only 17 years old, but he's already a hero.
A man of talent who graduated from the Academy of Magic at the top of his class, but still remained true to himself and became an adventurer.

This hero's name is William.
He and his beautiful friends are on a journey of adventure today.



...... Well...

Aside from the fact that it was a bit of an embellishment, the audience would have been quiet if such a poem had been played.
When the poem was over, the place was silent.

Then, King Andrew spoke up again.

"And now, the hero William and his friends! Let's give them a big round of applause!

With that, we made our way out onto the balcony according to the arrangements we'd heard about.
I stood in front, with Satsuki, Mee, and Cyril standing behind me.

As with the bard's poem, I'm a little concerned about the emphasis on me alone.
Of course, I am not doing this all by myself.

But when I told this to King Andrew, he said, 'The more straightforward the better. I decided that it would not be productive to pursue the matter any further, since your people agreed with me.

As we walked out onto the balcony, King Andrew retreated to the side.

Standing where he had been, I looked down and saw many people gathered in the courtyard of the castle.

Hundreds of people, maybe even close to a thousand.
Seeing so many people gathered in one place is a sight to behold.

As soon as we took the stage, there was a murmur of excitement from the crowd.

We were accompanied by three beautiful girls in dresses behind us, in addition to a performance of minstrel poetry.
Regardless of myself, the halo effect would be outstanding.

King Andrew, standing beside me, points to us with his hand.

"Let me introduce you again. I'd like to introduce you to our hero, William, and his friends Satsuki, Mee, and Cyril. In fact, the beauties behind them are all as great as the rest. Satsuki, for example, is a great swordswoman, rivaling even my daughter Irene and the Kingsguard. I've fought alongside her, and I can assure you that she is a real fighter.

The audience once again shouted in admiration.
Glancing behind her, Satsuki in a dress looked embarrassed.

The king then turned his attention back to me.

And the man they adore and trust is this William. You can guess what he's capable of. In the battle against the Ice Demon King, he showed a terrifying secret technique of simultaneously activating many fireball spells. There's no end to the number of stories my court magicians could tell you about how extraordinary that is, but I'll spare you that for now. Well, now that I've told you my tedious story, let's hear the voice of the main character.

A servant comes and hands me a sorcerer's staff.

I raise it, chant a spell, and give myself a loud voice.
It's one thing to perform a little magic on your own.

After confirming that the spell had taken effect, I raised my voice.

I've wanted to be an adventurer and a hero since I was a kid. I have read many tales of adventure and have studied magic without looking aside to become an adventurer.

The only sound in the silent place was my voice, magnified by loud voices.
I spoke my mind in silence.

Perhaps it was because of this that I fulfilled my goal of becoming an adventurer. I've been blessed with good friends, and I've even been treated like a hero.
But if you ask me if I have fulfilled my dream, I still don't know. I think I am halfway there, and I think my journey has just begun. Perhaps my desire to become something will never be fulfilled.
But still, there is one thing I can say with certainty. That is, all of the paths I have taken and all of the experiences I have had have become the assets that support me today. This may sound like a beautiful thing, but I mean it.


And there's no doubt that the path I've taken has been supported by a lot of good fortune and a lot of caring people. I realize now that I have been more selfish than I ever thought I could be.
So I want to thank you here at least. To my friends, colleagues, teachers, and parents who have paved the way for me with their good will and devotion.
This may not have been the right place to talk about it. Those of you who are not as fortunate as I am may find my words deceptive and hateful. But I, as one of the selfish people, have said it selfishly. I am sorry to those who have been offended.

I bowed my head once and then raised my head.

Soon, applause began to sound here and there, and it gradually grew louder.
At the end, the whole hall was filled with applause.

I knew that this was a word that the majority liked, and I also knew that this kind of support would oppress minorities, so I felt a little sensitive about it.

Perhaps it was not the right thing to say in such an occasion, but I can't help what I have done.
I guess I have to take responsibility for my actions.



The ceremony came to an end after a few more steps.

As I left the balcony, I walked past my father, James.

James still had the same scowl on his face.
But I suppose I'm no different.

I say to James.

'Dad, we have a lot to talk about. I'd like to go over to your house tonight, are you okay with that?

'Okay. No problem, I'll be home tonight. I'll let Felicia know.'

'Yes, please.'

Either he'd forgotten that he'd said he'd disowned me, or he'd remembered that I'd asked him to allow me to cross the threshold for once.
Either way, James readily agreed.

With this reward, my savings will surpass my goal of seven hundred gold coins.

Now...