After that day, I was forced to attend various parties.
　As expected, it was depressing.
　There are a certain number of nobles who entrust their subordinates with the management of their fiefdoms and consider it a status to live in a villa in the royal capital, and they seem to have parties with such friends on a daily basis.
　I don't know how they manage to do such a troublesome thing.

'Rougu-chan is a man of many talents. I've had plenty of matchmaking opportunities in just a few days.''
'Mom, I'm tired right now, and I don't want you to do that.

The fact that I'm being sent to the region instead of the brave is just an excuse to have a brave man waiting at the center, and in effect, I'm treated as a discarded pawn.
　Even so, many of them take Central's announcement at face value, and everywhere I go, I get matchmaking stories.

''We've been getting a lot of them at Dear.
'Pass it all, I'm not even going to watch it. I'm as sick of that as you are of it.

Ever since I was in Vicone, Dia hates matchmaking even more than I do, as I've only been turning down a mountain of such talks since I was in Vicone.

''Hmmm, Roug, I'm glad you're not interested in that, Dia. She looked amazing back then.
'I was happy too. That you were jealous of me.

That time was when the topic of Dia and Noish's marriage came up at a dinner with Duke Gephis.
　I'm trained to not show my emotions, but I did it by accident.

'....the thing is. Don't make fun of me too much.
'You're a cute rogue today,'

Dia hugs me from behind as I sit on the bed.
　The tart looks at it enviously.
　If you don't want to do it, why don't you do it?

'Finally, just two more to go. It's been a long time.

We've been partying since we arrived in King's Landing, and now it's finally over.
　Finally, today is the big day for the ordination ceremony, and after the party that will be held afterwards, you can return to the Touahade territory.
　It's only a few days and I'm missing my home town.

''It's Rougu-chan's big day, so we need to dress up properly.
Oh, let me help you. Oh, come on, makeup set. Even men look better when they wear light makeup.
Well, let me do something for you.

The three of them are biting down on me, and I'm a little scared.
　Seeing them, my father has a small smile on his face.

''Well Dad, do you enjoy seeing me in trouble?''
'No, I just thought the old, strangely mature, seamless rogue would be formless in front of these girls.
I'd think you'd be able to do that in front of your mother.
'It must be. A man of Touahade may be destined for the ass.

Well, that's not really necessary.
　After all, as a man, I want to take the lead.

It's a relief that the end result wasn't bad.

◇

The ordination ceremony took place in the castle's audience chamber.
　Earlier the participants were ushered in, and Epona and I, who are the main participants, were to be ushered in later.
　Since morning, carriages have been coming into the castle one after the other.
　Many of them are exotic.
　Since it is a ceremony to praise their achievements in defeating the demon race, it is no stranger to other countries.

Dia had carefully applied her makeup and changed the look of her face.
　It's because there will be visitors from Vicone.
　She called out to me in the waiting room and led me to its doors during the audience.
　Epona was already there.
　She is dressed in cool, dignified men's clothing, blue and white, as befits a brave man.

'Hello. Were you comfortable over here?'
'I'm honestly sick of parties, parties, parties. I don't know how you can live like this.
Ha-ha, you get used to it. How about my powers?
'I'm getting used to it. At first I was a bit confused by the overpowering power, but I've learned to use it.

No matter how strong your strength is, it's useless if you can't control it all.
　His physical abilities had suddenly jumped, and he was having a hard time getting into the new speed realm of combat.

It's a good thing. Then I'm sure you'll be able to defeat the demons.
''That's right. Even a lone demon race can't be beaten now.

........Even before receiving the power, it would have been no problem if it was an army type, but if it was a lone type, it would be difficult to deal with.
　The army type is like the Orcs of the other day, a demon race that creates their subordinates one after another and crushes everything in a crowd. Although an army of over 1,000 is a nuisance, the power of the main body is weak because of it. On the other hand, the lone demons can't create demons, but the demons themselves are overwhelmingly strong.
　There is no doubt that both of them are a big threat just because they are different types.

''Hero-sama, Lug-sama, please come this way.''

A servant calls for us and we follow him and are made to wait at the door.
　The door opens to see if we are ready.

A red carpet stretches up to the throne, and the participants are lined up on either side of it, divided on both sides.
　I was surprised to see an unexpected face among them. Maha was there. The powerful merchants must have been called in to make it a grand ceremony.
　Maha seemed to dare to be silent and stuck out her tongue in perturbation.

''Utterly, that guy,''

We walk on the red carpet in the center of the room.
　All eyes in the room are on us, tickling us.
　Before the throne, we kneel and bob our heads.
　...The king is a man of good nature and faint heartedness.
　In fact, I suspect he is just that.

Epona the Brave! Rise.
"Yes, Your Majesty.
　Epona stands up.
'You have done well to defeat the demons in this battle. You have done a worthy job as a brave man. I will take your reward.
　Then he read out the reward or something like that. When he said it was a big deal, and that it would be sent to her parents' house, Epona got a complicated look on her face, but quickly returned to normal and expressed her gratitude.
'Next, rogue Touahade. In the midst of all that havoc, you did a great job of finding the demons and leading the brave men. Not only that, he also defeated more demons than anyone else, including the brave man, and drove the demon race to the brink of annihilation. Although he was not a brave man, he was strong and worked hard to become a brave man. The birth of a young hero, this is the gospel from God!
　The place is more exciting than it was for the brave Epona.
　It's a narrative rise to prominence for a child of a nobleman who isn't a brave man, and that's a low status nobleman, to be feted as a hero.

The first thing that comes to mind is to have the rank of a holy knight. You will have the same authority as a brave man.
Thank God for happiness.
　The Holy Knight. It's a bit of an irritating name.
　And I'm afraid that you have the same level of authority as a brave man.
　You can do most of the reckless things.
　The powers of a brave man are many.
"Come here.
　Following the king's words, he goes up to him and is given a necklace by the king himself.
　A pocket watch adorned with swordwork. This would be the guarantee of his status as a holy knight.
I expect you to be worthy of the name of holy knight, Lug Tuahade. I will conquer the demons in style.
"I will do my best to live up to your expectations.
　The sound of applause echoes throughout the room as it propagates through the air.
　If you only see this scene, it would be impressive, but in fact, it's like asking them to die because you're sending them to the demon tribe where only the brave can kill.

In the meantime, I'm trying to find a way to kill the demon race, but there's no way they know about it.
　That makes my head hurt when I think about it.
　After that, we spent mechanically, and the venue moved to the dance hall, where it became a grand party.
　Music was blaring and many of them were dancing.
　By the way, I was surrounded early and asked a lot of questions.
　I tried to answer them inoffensively so as not to be taken advantage of.
　I don't have time to eat.
　Finally, I can catch my breath. Then the music changes.
　It's the perfect time to invite them to a dance, and a lot of noble ladies are arriving.
　You don't want to get caught by them.
　Just as I was thinking this, someone took my hand.
"Would you care to dance with me?
"Gladly, Orna's deputy.
　It was Maha who took my hand.
　Thank goodness, it's much more comforting than a noblewoman I don't even know the face of.
　I dance to the music.
　I've learned to dance in order to sneak into a place like this someday, and Maha was a great merchant's daughter and gifted before she became an orphan, and since she's representing me in Orna, she has a lot of experience in this kind of thing.
''Holy knight-sama, you're tired,''
　It's probably because of the publicity that they call him Master Holy Knight instead of Brother Lug.
　Ilg Balor and Lug Touahade are different people, because this is the first time Maha and Lug have met each other.
'Well, well, after all, a place like this is not for me.
'I don't think so. It's a world of vanity and illusion, and you can dance well in it.
What you can do and what you want to do are two different things.
What about now, by the way?
You like to dance. It's not bad to do this with Maha.
　Maha was beautiful today.
　She was dressed in a mature blue dress and was radiating s*x appeal. This kind of s*xuality is something that neither the tart nor Diah have.
''Hmm, I'm glad. I'm going to make a prediction. You will receive good news soon.
That's nice.
　Probably that one I asked Maha to get.
　The one I've been trying to obtain all along, using the Balor Chamber of Commerce's information network.

The music goes into the chorus and gets intense.
　And dancing to it.
　Maha laughs. As I do this, I feel like the resentment I've been feeling since I came to King's Landing is clearing away.
　It's not a coincidence that we're dancing like this; she was concerned about me and asked me to join her before anyone else.
　I want to reciprocate that feeling.
　I use a special method of directing my voice so that no one else can hear it.
"Maha, when we get back from King's Landing, we're going to Murteu. We have some business to attend to.
You're busy. As usual.
Well. And then we'll go on a date for the day.
I'm glad. I'll do my best to dress up. And I'll need a play and a restaurant reservation. And also...
　One after another, Maha reads out date plans.
　This looks busy.
　But I don't hate it.
　I'm usually the escort, but it's not bad to be escorted once in a while.

◇

Afterwards, I danced with Dia as well, and before I knew it, the party was over.
　It's late at night, but I'm going home for the day.
　........The things I gained in the royal capital this time were significant.
　The preparations we made in between our busy schedules, this will be of great significance in the future.