After hearing what had happened from Kreia, I headed for Horus, the royal capital of the Canary Kingdom.

　If I wanted to pass through the gate without bowing to the Mikado family or appealing to force, I would have to go to the Mikado family's superior.

　That superior is the Ad Astera Empire. More specifically, the emperor himself, who rules the empire.

　The Mikado family has been entrusted by the emperor with the task of guarding the demon's gate, and has no right to interfere with those who have received the emperor's permission. If I can get the emperor's permission, I can pass through the gate with impunity.

　The question is how to meet the emperor.

　It goes without saying that knocking on the gate of the imperial palace from the front would be impossible. I was approached by the emperor at a banquet I attended on behalf of my father nearly ten years ago, so it's not that I don't know him at all. ...... As expected, I don't feel like acting on such a thin connection.

　The first thing I thought of was to call myself a dragon slayer in the imperial capital of Ad Astera and use my overwhelming power to increase my fame. If he wielded the Illusionary One Sword Style and killed demons, he would stand out and become the talk of the town. You can also participate in Gomae tournaments, martial arts fights, and other such events.

　As my military fame grows, the emperor will eventually hear about me and give me an audience.

　However, this method is unreliable and takes too much time. Considering Klimt's current situation, and taking into account Kreia's feelings, he needed to pass through the gate as soon as possible.

　After thinking about this and that, I came to the conclusion that I had to use my connections.

　I would use my connections to get a meeting with the emperor. And I knew of two connections to the emperor.

　One was, of course, the emperor's own son, Princess Sakuya. And the other is Pope Noah of the Priesthood.

　The princess and the pope were closely related to Emperor Ad Astera in their private and public lives, respectively. With their help, it would be possible to gain an audience with the Emperor in a short time.

　Of course, there was no guarantee that they would agree to my request. Before that, I don't even know if they will be able to meet me, as they are extremely busy preparing for the wedding ceremony.

　So, when I arrived at the capital, I didn't hesitate to go to the Dragunaut Mansion. I calculated that no matter how busy the princess and the Pope were, I could not ignore their request for a meeting through the Duchess of Dragunaut.

　I'm sorry, Lord Dragunaut, but I'll take advantage of the power of the Dukes in this time of emergency. Of course, I will repay this favor many times over.

　When I visited the duke's residence, unfortunately, Lord Dragnoth was not there. But fortunately, his eldest daughter, Astrid, was at the mansion. When Astrid heard about the situation from my mouth, she readily agreed to my request and immediately went to the royal palace.

　I couldn't sleep with my feet turned toward the duke's family, but Astrid easily arranged for me and the princess to meet with Lord Dragunaut, who was in the royal palace. I could only bow to Astrid as she smilingly told me about it.


"Long time no see.


It's been a long time since I've seen you, Sora-dono.


　It's been a while since I've seen you, Sora-dono," she said in a vaguely familiar tone, looking at me with interest.

　There was no sign of displeasure on her face, but it was clear that for the princess, who was a party to a national wedding ceremony, every minute and second she spent talking to me was as precious as gold.

　First of all, I would like to apologize for taking advantage of the duke's family for that precious time.


I have come to you because of an urgent situation. I hope you will forgive my rudeness.

Please forgive me for my rudeness." "There is nothing to be afraid of. There is nothing to be afraid of. It was I who told you that you could rely on me if you were in trouble.


　When she said this, the princess's expression changed to a serious one.


I'm sure you can understand why. Let me ask you a question right away.

"Well... So I'll take your word for it.


　I preface this and begin to tell the princess what's going on. Since I was going to tell her about Kreia, I was inevitably going to reveal the relationship between me and the Mikado family, but the princess's face remained calm throughout.

　Although I had predicted it beforehand, I guessed that the princess had done her due diligence on my background. The reason why she didn't mention it in our last meeting was probably because she didn't have time to discuss anything complicated, but most of all because she didn't want to alarm me.

　In any case, if the princess knew about my relationship with the Mikken family, she could skip the explanation.

　Thanks to this, I was able to finish the series of events without taking too much time.

　After listening to the story, the princess put her hand on her moustache and seemed to be thinking about something, but after a while, she turned her black crystal-like eyes to me. Then she slowly opened her mouth.


Sora-dono wants to see his father to ask for permission to pass through the gate. She wants to see her father to get permission to go through the gate, and she wants my help to do it.

Your Highness is correct, Your Highness.

I understand. I will accept your request.


　The princess nodded easily. Just like I did when I accepted Kreia's request earlier.

　Seeing me blink my eyes, the princess smiles as if to say she's done.


You look surprised, Dragonslayer-dono. I'm not sure if you've seen this before, but I'm sure you've seen it before.

I'm sorry about that .......

I'm sorry about that ." "That's very honest of you.


　It's a good thing you're so honest." The princess laughed, and then, in a calm voice, revealed the truth.


"Sora-dono responded promptly to my invitation earlier. At that meeting, I told her that she could count on me if she ever needed help. And yet, if I were to take advantage of Sora-dono's predicament here and now, I would be called into question as a member of the Ad Astera Imperial Family. If you don't have faith, you can't stand. This is a lesson that those who stand above others must never forget. And faith means to always keep the words that you say.


　The princess's words and expression were gentle, and she was not speaking with any force. She was probably just explaining the reason why she had come to her decision.

　Nevertheless, I could feel the dignity of the princess in front of me. The dignity of the imperial family that had reigned over the continent for three hundred years. I could certainly feel that.

　Seeing me hanging my head in silence, the princess repeated her words.


However, I can only accept a request that Sora and your father meet. Decisions regarding the demon's gate are the sole prerogative of the Emperor, and whether or not Sora-dono can enter the demon's gate depends on your father's will. Please be aware that you may end up wasting your time.



"As you wish, sir.


　I nodded obediently. I had no intention of asking that much of Princess Sakuya in the first place.

　However, I couldn't nod immediately when she said the next words.


And one more thing, it would be wise not to rely on Pope Noah in this matter.

"...... Why is that?


　As I've mentioned many times before, Faustianism is the state religion of the Ad Astera Empire. There is a close connection between the Imperial family and the Hokushin religion, of course.

　What is the reason for Princess Sakuya, a member of the Imperial Family, to avoid Pope Noah so much?

　In response to my question, she prefaced her statement with, "It's not that I have anything against His Holiness personally," before explaining the true meaning of her statement.


As you know, Your Highness is a member of the Carnelius family. And for the Imperial House of Ad Astera, Carnelius and the other four great noble families are an existence that cannot be ignored. Even if they are emperors, that will not change.


　Relying on Pope Noah was synonymous with relying on the Carnelius family. And as soon as the Carnelius family sits up, it will put pressure on the Emperor. Even if I don't want to, and even if House Carnelius doesn't want to, the Emperor will take it that way..." Princess Sakuya said and let out a small sigh.

　Looking at her, I could somehow understand the situation.

　The emperor, who has reigned over the empire for a long time, must have many difficulties in dealing with the great nobles. He may have often felt as if his guts were being churned.

　If she relied on Pope Noah, who was related to that great nobleman, she might end up offending the Emperor. That's what the princess was advising me.

　I see," I nodded inwardly. It would be a shame if the means I used to persuade the Emperor ended up displeasing him. And to be honest, I don't want to owe Pope Noah too much. Now that I have the help of the princess, I don't think I need to rely on the Pope.

　That's all well and good, but - I glance at the princess.

　If I'm not mistaken, she is now one of the four great nobles. As far as I know, the three great noble families of the Empire are Carnelius, Palladice, and Azurite, but I wonder if a new noble family has emerged that can rival those three. The information on the empire that Miroslav had gathered recently didn't mention anything like that.

　As I was tilting my head in thought, the princess read the question on my face and asked me, "Do you have any questions for me? So I told her what I was thinking.

　The princess rolled her eyes in surprise, and then told me with a wry smile.


The four great noble families are the three noble families that Sora just mentioned, plus the Miken family. The Gouken family doesn't get involved in national politics, so they don't appear in the public eye, but the wife of the current head of the family is the sister of Lord Palladice, and the wife of the next head of the family is the eldest daughter of Lord Azurite.　There is no other house where three prestigious families compete to send their direct daughter to, except for the Mikken family.


　In addition, the reason why the Carnelius family did not send their daughter like the other two families is because the Carnelius family, which is powerfully connected to the Holy Kingdom, even though Lord Carnelius is the father of Pope Noah, is not the same as the Carnelius family. If the Carnelius family, which has strong ties to the Holy Kingdom - Lord Carnelius is the father of Pope Noah - were to become connected to the Mikado, the balance of power within the Empire would be severely disrupted.

　In other words, the princess explained that the Paradisus and Azurite families had suppressed Carnelius.

　.................. This is the first time I've heard of the Mikken family being ranked with the three major noble families.

　I had thought that they were known as one of the best warrior families in the Ad Astera Empire, but it seems that my understanding of them was rather limited.

　My father and Gosu had never explained this to me, and I scratched my head.

　Well, my father was a man who only cared about swords and demons, and Gosu had his hands full educating his badly-born son. For these two, the weight of the Mikado family within the empire was of no importance at all, and they probably didn't see the need to explain it to me.

　--Come to think of it, Ayaka hardly ever talked about her homeland either.

　As I remembered this, the voice of the princess sounded in my ears.


I will now go and acknowledge the letter I wrote to your father. Please wait in this room for a moment.

Thank you very much.　Thank you very much. I will certainly repay you for your kindness in due course.


　The princess smiled at my words and turned away, leaving the room.

　I bowed at her back with the greatest of gratitude.