Dames Aldan, "The Castle of the Feng King

--The Throne Room.

Here, Nito, Toa, Nem and Sufilia.
And Francesca and Dolly were invited to join them.
On the throne in front of me, I can see Schneizel, the rich king, on the throne.

''Nito, then I will give you this first. It is a letter of recommendation for the Church of the Mages. Handing over this will make things go more smoothly. There are two letters of recommendation, one for each of the two things in the Mage Church. By checking this against the items in the Mage Church, you will be able to verify your identity. After you get your title, you'll need to come back to us. It's a simple matter, but I'll make an alliance right away.

In Schneizel's mind, the alliance was something that had already been decided.
It seemed that everything had been prepared in advance.

Just then, the great door of the hall opened boldly and a young man with blond hair and shining white teeth appeared there.

''Father!　Good to have you back!

The young man grins as he says this in a delinquent tone of voice without a shred of decency

Chris!　We're in the middle of an audience!　That would be rude!

--Christoph Daniel Dahms-Ardan.

The son of Schneizel and Prince of Dahms-Ardan.

'What, father, we haven't seen each other for a long time, have we?　It's a little better, right?　No, it's not that! --

The picture-perfectly stupid son.
That's what the people around him are thinking too.
It's outrageous to come in without notice, even in the presence of guests, and even in the middle of an audience.
But even such a person is a prince and no one can interfere.
Except Schneizel.

We'd like to buy a ranch in the east and build a villa there, but they won't budge, even though we've promised to pay for it. Father, can't you do something about it?

By ranch you mean the ranch that Frank runs?

Schneizel asks with his head in his hands.

Yes, please, father, will you talk to him?

His eyes are glazed and his mouth is grinning.
He looks like a gangster.

It's an adverse effect of wealth.
Schneizel was a flawless king, but as a parent, this is what he looks like.

I've already told you this is ridiculous.　You don't think that ranch can be torn down?

What?　Was it?　I don't know.

Chris stares at his father with glaring eyes.
But it's not a threat, it's an ingrained one.

'That ranch raises much of the food the people consume, mostly meat, but it's a lot of it. Are you going to tear it down or otherwise starve the people to death?

Please!　We're setting up a vacation home!

But Chris won't listen to them.
Chris only thinks of himself and not of his people.

'You fool!　Get out of here now!

Schneizel stood up, waving his arms and shouting angrily.
Thus, the two men are not always conversant.
This son is nothing more than a disgrace, a disgrace as a king.

And to such a father, Chris turned a sharp look at him in silence.

"...tch!　Shit.....

He clicked his tongue and tried to leave the place in frustration.

The hall was silent.
Masamune and the others didn't say what was going on, they just watched it.

Suddenly, Chris stopped his footsteps, advancing toward the exit.

''........''

A scowl returned to his face, which had been filled with anger, and when he did, his gaze was on Toa.

'What is this beauty?　Right?　Why don't you hang out with me!

He is scum to all intents and purposes.
The one called Chris.

The licking of the tongue. And the dirty look that you wouldn't expect from royalty.
Chris was staring at Toa.
He was probably attracted to Toa's beauty.

Then Masamune stepped in between them.

''Ah?　What the hell?

Naturally, Chris doesn't like it.
He turned his gaze malicious and threatening without saying much.

But on the other hand, Masamune does not particularly glare at it, but looks at Chris with a calm expression.

''Schneizel?　What did I tell you?　I'm supposed to be the kind of adult that my kids adore?　You're going to make me put my hand down?

Masamune asked Schneizel, not looking away from Chris.

'Chris!　Enough is enough!

Then Schneizel yells at him angrily.
But Chris didn't look at his father and just stared at Nito and Toa's faces in turn.

''Huh........''

Then Chris had a small laugh.

'I'll let you off the hook this time, okay?　Commoners--

He cursed Masamune.

'Chris!'

Then Schneizel's anger was empty, and Chris left the hall with a goofy look on his face.

When the sound of the big door closing echoed in the hall, there was silence for a while.
Mainly because Schneizel was struggling to figure out how to get out of it. Not even the usual lines like "I've shown you my embarrassment" came out.
In the meantime, Masamune waits for the king to say something.
Then Masamune answers first.

'Schneizel?　I don't want to get into your family's affairs, but guess what, there won't be a next time?

....

'I'm just an adventurer... well, I don't care if I'm a mage?　You know you're not like the other mages around here, right?　Royalty or not, I'm not afraid to kill people, okay?　If the state is going to come after us, we can just destroy the entire country. Of course I wouldn't want to do something pointless without such merit. But if it's going to harm my people, I won't hesitate to do it.

Masamune replied that he was not lying.
Schneizel couldn't reply to those words for a while.
I have to do something about my son, I think so.
But there was a part of him that was too late now.
As a result of neglect, Chris was born.
The fact that Nito pursued me doesn't mean that I can do anything about it now.

Well........let's be mindful of that.

That's all I could say.
That's all I could think of to say.
But the fact that he remembered it was none of his son's business.

Just then, the great door opened again, this time slowly and quietly.
This time slowly and quietly.
That alone makes it clear that it's not that stupid son.

'Master Schneizel!　It's been a while!

With his voice, a certain man appeared.
The figure of an expressionless man, who appeared to be a guard, could also be seen next to him.
He was probably the one who was originally supposed to visit here, as well as Nito, since the guards did not stop him.

''William!　Oh no, that was quick!

Mr. William?

Then Masamune was surprised when he saw the man's face appear in the hall.
The name and the face were familiar to him.

'Hmm? .....you know what? ...Are you, Lord Nito?

--William Vector.

He was the merchant who once gave Masamune a ride in a carriage with Sierra on his way to the royal capital on his way to Rashausen.

''Kays-san too it's been a long time.

Next to him was Kayes, a guard that hadn't been seen in a long time, too.

Masamune bailed with a puzzled look on his face.
Then Kays returned the bail with the same gloomy expression as always.
Schneizel had a question mark on his throne at this situation.

''What?''　Do you guys know each other?

And then William.

'I once had the pleasure of sharing the journey with Lord Nito as an escort on the road to Rashausen. I haven't seen him since.

'I see... hmm?　So it's William?　Do you mean to say that you met Lord Nito before he became the hero of Razhuisen?

Yes, you do, don't you?　But Lord Nito was already a hero at that point...

Hmm?　What do you mean?

Schneizel seemed to be deeply interested in "Nito before he became a hero".
It was Masamune at a time when the name 'Nito the S-ranked Adventurer' had not yet become popular in the world.

''Would you like me to call you the hero of Tanya Village?　Before Lord Nito rescued Razhuisen, he had already saved a boy from that village from bandits. Since he didn't want to be too obvious, both Kayes and I kept quiet, but then we heard the rumors about Razhuisen and were convinced. After all, the strong can't hide...

Masamune chuckled at William's words, both reminiscent and exaggerated.

'William-san, you're overrating it. I'm not that kind of person. That was........accidental.

....

William looked directly at Nito's face as he spoke for the first time there.
Gradually, William's expression changed from a smile in celebration of their reunion to one with a straight face.
Being a merchant, William never showed any dark expression, but the raised corners of his mouth were like an occupational disease and had nothing to do with his heart.
A smile is a weapon, a basic one.



It's the question in William's mind. This look in Masamune's eyes, then the physiognomy.
I saw a certain darkness there.
The Toa and Sufilia who are usually by Masamune's side would not notice it.

''Eh? ........shade, sir?

....

Then William didn't reply, but just looked at Nito's face.

'Is it my imagination?　I have a tendency to never forget a face I've seen once, but there's something about Lord Nito in my memory that makes me...

William peered at him curiously.
But it was not unreasonable.
Masamune had more than a little gloomy expression even at that time, but after being exposed to another world, it was heading in the direction of some relief.
It was at that time that William met Masamune.
But the current Masamune had an even darker expression than back then.
Masamune himself didn't notice that.
He thought he was acting normally, but just as the abyss appears in the 'eyes', the state of mind is simply something that appears on the face, especially the eyes.

And Masamune's eyes were even wilder than before.

''I'm sorry that we are celebrating our reunion, but it's time for Nito-dono to go to the mage church.''

The Church of the Magi?

Then William was surprised.
Then he guessed.

'Does that mean, if you are going to be a great mage, Lord Nito?

William makes an excellent point.
But given the information so far, such as magical communications, and the fact that Nito was here, it was something William, a great merchant, could understand.
But at the same time, it meant that William, whether as a merchant or not, was superior at any rate.

'As ever, William?'

No, sir.

William bowed his head.

Schneizel had taken his hat off to the man William for his ability to think.

'And then, William?　I know what you're here for, but do you mean to tell me you've already unloaded your cargo?

William, who still seems to be traveling across the continent as a merchant.

'I'm in the process of having them taken to the warehouse.

William said Schneizel had asked him to do something for him.

'Mm, all right. Well, William, just in time. We have a lot to talk about. Would you show Mr. Nito to the Church of the Magi?

Schneizel and William are old friends.
So even without exchanging words, I could tell some things just by looking at their expressions.

-- William wants to talk to Nito about something.

That's what Schneizel understood.

'Of course.'

Schneizel would like to talk to William after all these years.
William bowed his head at Schneizel's generous words.

'Mm, thank you.'

Then William turned and looked at each of the faces there.

'You are not, I believe, Lord Toa, are you?'

William remembered the Toa as well, though they hardly exchanged a word.

'It's been a while...'

Unlike before, Toa is able to speak normally now.

'Do you understand your hometown now?'

Then Masamune replied to that question instead.

''Yes, I will send them off soon.''

I see...

William then engaged in a terse conversation, checking each of their expressions.
But this is William's way. With this trivial exchange, he would examine their expressions and gestures to see what kind of relationship they were currently in. This was William's skill as a merchant.
He learned it mainly from experience.

Masamune then introduced Francesca and Dolly, just to be sure, and he and William left the royal castle.
William was sincerely surprised to learn that Francesca was a reporter for the demonic communication, especially the reporter who was writing articles on Nito.
Currently, Francesca is the only reporter who has contact with "Nito the Hero" and "Nito the S-Rank Adventurer". Because of that, Francesca's name was also famous, although not as famous as Nito's. "A terrific reporter of demonic communications," you could call it.
----.



　It's been a long time since I've seen the "Hall of the Throne".
The country must be rich, after all.
And Schneizel is a wonderful king for his people.....
The sunlight shining into that hall made me think so.

William says he's going to take us to the Church of the Mage.
We left the royal castle and went down the grand staircase.
Then we saw someone we recognized.

"Nito, that--

It was Toa who noticed us first.
Then the other side notices us too.

'You guys are ... I think ...'

Leonardo seemed to remember the appearance of Toa, Sufilia and Nem.

'Long time no see, Leonardo?　I'm here as promised, okay?

It was Leonardo, whom I had met in front of the dungeon.
I kept my promise to Leonardo and came to this country.

'Hmm?　Long time? ...I'm sorry, who are you?　Have we met before?

Then Leonardo said he didn't know me.
But then I realized something.

'Well, come to think of it, you don't know my face, do you?

I haven't shown my true face to this guy.
And now I'm also fooling around with my magic power with 'concealment'.

''Wait a minute.''

I made Leonardo wait for now and immediately changed the earring in his left ear to a mask.
Then I lifted the concealment and released my magic.
At that moment, Leonardo's expression twitched and I could see sweat running from his forehead.

''See?　How's that?

You're....Lord Nitto?

As soon as I understood, I took off my mask to hide my magic.
But Leonardo's expression remains twitchy.

"The magic power now is...

Leonardo was at a loss for words.

The unique skill 'Concealment' fools the level, and as a result, it can hide magic power.
The level I set is 10, but this skill decreases the magic power in proportion with the decrease in level.
And as the level rises, the magic power returns to the original level.
In other words, Leonardo felt the rise in magic power that was originally impossible and the disappearance of magic power from the point at which it exceeded the realm of perception in an instant. That's probably why he's in this hurry.

''Oh, it's been a while. But still, it's the same as always, isn't it.......

What's still the same? .........

It's probably because he didn't feel my magic before.
Leonardo's expression was stiff.

'For that matter, Leonardo, what happened to Mr. Khalifa?'

I ask and Leonardo answers as if he remembers.

I sent him back to Tanya village as I had promised about that. But.....

Hmm?　What is it?

But next, Leonardo starts talking about something troubling.
----.

'What?　You went to Greyberg?

According to the story, apparently, Mr. Khalifa went to Grayberg.
And it seems that he was probably after a princess called Guinevere or something, but he was going to invade the country and kill the princess.
Even when Leonardo refused, he didn't back down.

As expected of a legendary adventurer. He's even crazier than I am.
Even I am still alone and have never invaded a country.

"Huh... so?　What happened after that?　If you're here, that means you're safe, right?

'I don't know, but they had to turn back at the last minute to say they had been contacted by someone they knew.

Apparently, they didn't break in.
It's a wise decision.
If that princess named Guinevere is the person she is, based on what Khalifa-san told me that day, there's a good chance that she's a hell of a guy.
It's something I can't even assure you that he's dead, but he may have been involved in Kagetola's death.
You shouldn't go alone. If it's not good, there's even a chance that Khalifa-san could have died without my knowledge.

'Is that why you're here?'

Yes. Then I sent them back to the bayou, and I returned to my country.

But more importantly, who is this "acquaintance"?
But by the looks of it, Leonardo didn't seem to have been heard.

'I see........sorry about that. If it had been a bad idea, it could have been a war....

'Yes, but it went off without a hitch, so I'm not worried about it now.

I wasn't going to let him go that far either, but................................he's a rough man, too.

'By the way, what's going on with Nito-dono?　Why did you come to this country?

It's just that...

I gave a light explanation of how we got to this point.
Of course, I'm not telling you what happened at the academy.
Or rather, this guy probably already knows about it anyway.
For now, we must make an alliance with Dames Aldan.
And in order to do that, you should go and obtain the title of a great mage now.

''An alliance?!''

Leonardo was astonished.
Apparently he hadn't been informed.

'There's a lot going on, isn't there?　We have to make an alliance or that guy is going to be too picky, you know?

Who's that guy?

It's about Schneizel.

What!　The king....he....

Leonardo was astonished again at my disrespect.
But he didn't point it out any further.
----.

　''Well then, Nito-dono, as I am the Golden Knight, I have some business to attend to, so I will take my leave. Thank you for your time and effort. If you are going to make an alliance, I will probably be present at the table, but are you going to be in this country for a while?

Yeah, but I'll be out of here in style when I'm done.

Oh, I see. I understand. Well, I'll be happy to give you a shout when I come to the King's Castle again.

With that, Leonardo bailed lightly and went up the grand staircase again.

'Excuse me,'

I bowed to Mr. William and Mrs. Keyes, who had been waiting for me. Then I bowed to Francesca and Dolly.

'No problem, that's my stance,'

Stance?

Depending on the situation, I'm the type of person who watches and doesn't participate in the conversation any more than necessary. It helps me to see things objectively, and a conversation like that is best done between friends. There's no room for the likes of me.

A friend, but not a friend, right?

'Really?　You seemed to be having a lot of fun talking about it, didn't you?

And then Francesca.

'I knew you had a knight's acquaintance in Dames Aldan, Nito, you have a wide face.

Dolly refrained from taking pictures of Leonardo, as it were, as a quirk.
But from the fact that he was looking at the camera, I think he probably wanted to take it.

'I'll check with him again later, Dolly, and see if he's okay. I'll see you later anyway.

I'm sorry...

Then Dolly giggled as she perked up and giggled.

'Shall we go then?'

Let's get this over with.

Yes, then I'll show you around.

Then we were taken by Mr. William to the Church of the Mages.