A few days later, we left Torrius and returned to King's Landing.
　Me, Iris and Odette left first, in a carriage (with a soldier escort).
Elmira-san of the "Cain Faction" will be transporting the "Beast King (Lord of) Beasts" with the other soldiers.

　On the way back, it was a carefree journey.
　There were no demons, and no enemies appeared.

　We boarded a boat across the inland sea, waved to Natasha and Ofelia who had come to see us off, and parted.
　I was a little worried about the Torrius territory, but since the royal soldiers would be stationed there, and Ofelia had her dog Garum and her bat Cliff as her guards, it should be fine.

'Garum-san you were so cute.
I was actually going to be Odette's bodyguard.
''It can't be helped. Now that the Northern Empire is on the move, the 'Yuki Faction' needs a personal guard, too.
When did this 'Yuki Faction' form?
It was yesterday.
Me, Odette, and Miss Ofelia talked it over.

　Odette and Iris looked at each other and laughed.
　........well, okay.
　Iris, Odette and Ofelia wouldn't openly call themselves the 'Yuki Faction'.
　It's not that they are fighting with other factions.
　It's not a big deal to say the name in secret among your friends.

　With this in mind, we crossed the inland sea and headed for the royal capital.



　A few days after we arrived safely at the capital, I was called to the royal palace.
　I was summoned to the royal palace.



'........you know what, Martha.
Don't be faking it. Yuki-sama.
How did you know?
'Martha spends more time worrying about Yuki-sama than she does about herself.
I'm sorry.
No problem. And I got a souvenir.

　As she buttoned my clothes, Martha took out a small bottle.
　It's a "hand cream" that I found in the castle town of Torrius.
　Ofelia told me where the shop was and I bought some later on in secret," she said.

Remy will be very happy with it because it will make your fingers smooth. You know.
Thank you. Thank you.

　Remy jumps at me, wagging her tail.
　She fastens the tie she holds out to me and Martha reshapes it for me.
　Then Martha fixes my hair and the collar of my clothes and says, "O-okay. It's good to see you, Yuki," she laughed.

But why do I have to meet the king?
I suspect it's because he was able to take credit for it in Torias territory.
I don't need an audience or compliments, so I can't just take my reward.
People are often jealous of each other, you know?

　Martha snapped her fingers up.

If Yuki-sama quietly piled up more and more titles and rewards, people would wonder why he was the only one who was doing something behind the scenes.
So the king needs to make a public announcement about what credit I've done?
Yes.
So, can you get Martha to come with me?
You speak of heaven and earth, don't you?
Calm and frightened.
How did Martha decide to join us?
I've been able to make it work because I have Martha to thank for guarding the place I'm going back to.
Yes, sir. I have been paid. It's enough.
Is that what you want?
That's all right. Martha is.

　Martha laughed, holding the chest of her maid's uniform.

'Yuki-sama's lord is His Highness Iris, and above him is the king. So it's the king's job to praise Yuki-sama. Martha's sovereign is His Highness, Yuki. That's why what Martha is paid by Yuki is enough for her.
I see.
Do you understand?
Yeah, so I can demand Martha's reward directly from the king?
You're kidding, right?
I'm just kidding.

　For a moment, I thought seriously about the plan.

'I'm glad. If Yuki-sama was able to think of a serious plan for a moment, I was wondering what I should do.
You read people sometimes, Martha, don't you?
"Goshujin and Martha-senpai are good friends, aren't they?

　While we were talking about it, we were getting ready to go...

　I went to the Royal Palace of the Kingdom of Liestia, the Audience Hall.




　This is the royal palace of the Liestia Kingdom. In front of the door of the audience chamber.
　I arrived on time, and after waiting for an hour in the anteroom, I was summoned to this room.

　Odette is with me.
　She's standing next to me, dressed in formal attire, just like me.
　She seems uncomfortable when I see her shaking her shoulders in a small way.
　But that doesn't mean we can't talk to each other. There are guards around, you know.

　So Odette and I have been waiting like a good boy for the door to open and...

The second son of the Barons of Glossaria, Yuki-Grossaria!
And the eldest daughter of the Duke of Surrey, Odette Surrey!

"In the name of His Majesty the King, I award you both. Come in!


　After a few minutes had passed, the door to the audience chamber finally opened.


''........Oh. That's the boy who defeated the 'royal horseman' who invaded Torrius territory?
I hear you're only thirteen years old and you have such a talent for magic.
I hear that the daughter of the Duke of Surrey also helped. I also hear that she was assisted by the mysterious 'King's Horseman'.
''Well I suppose that means new talents are starting to grow anyway,''


　On either side of the throne room are the nobles and ministers.
　Sitting on the throne in the front is the king of the country.
　On the left stands Cain, the second prince and a B-class sorcerer. Standing on the right is Iris.
　I heard that Iris, the 8th princess, doesn't often stand beside the king, but this time, I heard that I, as a guard knight, was going to be given the honor, so I was going to be present.

''──Yuki-Grossaria, second son of Baron Grossaria, Yuki-Grossaria. I'm here.
Oh, likewise. Odette Slay, eldest daughter of the Duke of Slay. I'm here.

　Me and Odette are on our knees in the throne room.
　I can see her eyes are focused on us. I'm restless. I can't wait to go home and take a nap.

"...face up.

　I looked up at him when he told me.
　In the throne room sits an old man with white hair.
　Is that the king of this country, Pergarna-Liestier?

I'm sure that's the king of this country, Pergarna-Liestier. First of all, I would like to praise you for your achievements.

　The king said, ''You have done a great deal of work in defeating the mysterious 'King's Horseman' who attacked the territory of Torrius by controlling numerous messengers.

''You manipulated a number of messengers and contributed greatly to the defeat of the mysterious 'King's Horseman' who attacked the Torrias territory. I've heard that you lost a lot of magical power and were unable to move because of that. In any case, if it weren't for you, there's no doubt that our territory of Torrius, our country's northern protector, would have suffered a great deal of damage. I offer you a reward for your services.
The 'Magic Guild' has unofficially appointed Yuki-Grossaria as a C-level magician.

　Prince Cain took over the king's words.

It is also because of Yuki-Grossaria's achievements that the King's Horse is now in possession of the Royal Horseman. I'm not sure if it's the same thing, but I'm sure it's an ancient artifact.
　As soon as the investigation is complete, you can choose to raise your baronial status in Yuki-Grossaria's family or you can choose to establish a new family on your own.

　The second prince, Cain, looked at me.

'Is there any hope?'
I beg you, my baron, to grant me the title of Viscount.
He wishes to do so, Your Majesty. Your Majesty.
Well done. Later on, I shall send a letter from the royal family to Georg Grossaria, Baron Grossaria, with the consent of the Baron himself. With the consent of the Baron himself, I shall perform the ceremony of conferring the title of Viscount.

　The king nodded.
　After a few seconds of delay, the throne room was filled with the sound of applause.
　 I can pretty much tell who's talking by the direction of the voice. Let's just stay alert.

'And, Odette-Slay,'
'Yes, sir!　Your Highness Cain!
''You helped guide Yuki-Grossaria's messenger to defeat the 'Beast King Rider'. I'm going to make you a Level C magician in recognition of your achievements. I hope you will be even more dedicated.
'Ha, yes. Thank you!

　More applause followed.
　Good. Odette's always wanted to be a C-level magician. It's only one step away.

　The talk of rewards continued after that.
　The baronial family of Glossaria will be given additional territory when they are made barons.
　Odette and I will be given a gold coin.
　I'll be given the right to enter the west palace where Iris is located as a 'knight escort' and so on.

　And then the ceremony goes smoothly and ends...


　After that, me, Odette and Iris were called into another room.


''From here on out, we'll be talking about being guild members of the 'Magic Guild'.

　After the rituals in the audience room were over, we moved to the reception room.
　Here are Prince Cain, Iris, me and Odette. A few guards are waiting outside.

'You guys know that, don't you?　Talk about how the seal on all the Ancient Artifacts will be broken soon.

　Without preamble, Prince Cain said with a serious look on his face.
　It was Odette who nodded first. Then Iris. Finally, me.
　In any case, they know that we went to the hideout of the wielder of the "Beast King's Horseman".
And of course they know that we have information about the seal on the 'Ancient Artifacts'.

"I know, Your Highness. We have received information about it at the enemy's hideout this time.
'Yes. Odette-Slay. But as you know, the 'Ancient Artifacts' we possess are not that many. If the remnants of the Sanctuary Church have a large number of Ancient Artifacts in their possession, then they are an immensely powerful enemy.

　I've thought about that too.
　It is possible that after the war long ago, the people of the Sanctuary Church took the ancient artifacts and fled to the north to build an empire.

　At that time, they couldn't use it to fight a war because it was sealed up - but what if the other side still had the sealed up "ancient artifacts"?

　The moment the seal is lifted, they will turn into a powerful enemy.

''Two hundred years ago, the reason why the 'Eight Kings War' ended halfway through was because the 'Ancient Artifacts' were useless. If that's the reason why they were sealed, the moment the seal is lifted they might start moving again. That's why we thought of a countermeasure here as well.

　Prince Cain looked around at us and said.

''All of the 'Magic Guild' will be given the task of exploring the giant dungeon 'Elysian'. Until now, we have only allowed people to explore up to the fourth level for safety reasons, but we are removing that restriction. However, we will remove that restriction.
　By doing so, everyone will be able to search for 'ancient magic' and 'ancient artifacts' in the 'City of Ancient Magical Civilization (Elysian)'.
"All clear to explore Elysian, sir?
Is it true, Your Highness Cain?

　That's a great story.
　Open huge dungeons to gain power against the Empire.
　It doesn't matter how far you explore.
　The 'Ancient Artifacts' and 'Ancient Magic' that you find can naturally be submitted to the guild for results, right?

''...But, Your Highness Cain. Isn't 'Elysian' dangerous?

　Odette asks Prince Cain in a trembling voice.

'I've heard there are places deep underground where space-time is warped. 'In such places, all of you?'
Of course, it's not to be done piecemeal. You'll be teaming up.
The team?
''That's right, a C-level or higher mage will be our leader and we will explore 'Elysian' under his command. It's up to the leader to decide how far to dive. That's how it works.

　Prince Cain's eyes were looking straight at me.
　So that's what you mean.
　So making me a C-level magician wasn't just a reward, is it?

　This is the leader of the "Cain School"?
　........you can't be too careful.　

Yuki-Grossaria. I would like to leave you in charge of the Elysian search team. Please become the leader of the team and find the 'ancient artifacts' and 'ancient magic'.

　Prince Cain told him that with a serious look on his face.