The perimeter of the royal capital is surrounded by a sturdy-looking wall, and beyond that, there are a number of buildings that are much taller than the wall.
　It seems to be quite developed, just for the center of this country.

　We got on the carriage and headed for the gates of the royal city.
　A gatekeeper stood at the gate, and he spoke to us in a polite manner.

Welcome to the capital. Do you have your ID card?
Come in.

　I held out my guild card.

'Thank you. Let's see, Kou Kou Koussaka ......?　Are you the Dragonslayer you've heard of?
I don't know if it's a rumor or not, but at least I've slayed a dragon before.
Oh ......!

　The gatekeeper shouted in surprise.

''I've heard about the activities of the 《Dragon Slayer》 Lord for a long time!　It's a pleasure to meet you!
...... Do they even know about me in King's Landing?
'Of course!　I heard that he slayed the Black Dragon at Onen, defeated the Ancient Sage at Thue, and then, most recently, decimated a group of pirates!　Oh no, you are truly a modern day hero!　I hope you enjoy your time in King's Landing!
Oh, yeah.

　A rather excited guard saw us off and we entered the royal capital.
　As we got out of the carriage, we ran into a familiar face.

'Hey, Ko-dono!　Long time no see!

　This is Nicole, the son of Mr. Crom and the (to-be) chairman of the Scarlet Chamber of Commerce.
　He is still smiling and smiling freshly.

''Nicole, you're here to pick me up?''
'Of course!　Ko-dono is, after all, a very dear friend of mine!

　An important friend, huh?
　It's a bit embarrassing to hear such a statement from someone who's a good friend.

As promised, we've got the best lodging in the capital. We have the best accommodation in the capital as promised.

　So, from here, we would change to Nicole's carriage and head to the inn.

　The streets of King's Town are sophisticated and the roads are quite wide.
　The carriage road is paved with two lanes on each side, and the sidewalks are well maintained with sidewalks.
　Here and there, magic lights glittered in the streets, illuminating the city at dusk.

　Nicole's carriage eventually stopped in front of an inn called 'Sleeping Moon Pavilion'.
　The building was large, five stories high, and the entrance had the atmosphere of a castle.

　'Well,'
　Nicole was generous enough to offer each of us a room in the inn.
　I'm grateful to her.
　Incidentally, it seems that Lily was originally a student at the magical academy in the capital, living in a dormitory for commoners.
　But since the dorms are now closed for the winter holidays, she will be staying at the Sleeping Moon Pavilion.

I'm not sure if I'm allowed to have this kind of luxury ......?

　Lily was standing in front of the door of her room, puzzled.
　I call out to Lily.

'It's fine, isn't it?　You know, when you're young, everything is an experience.
Wow, okay. Thank you. ...... Mr. Coe.
'No, you can thank Nicole for that.

　And it was Nicole who held the inn for me.

I'll tell you about it later.

　Lily looked straight at me and continued to speak.

It's because you were there that I was able to return to the capital in one piece. I'm sure that if I was alone, I would never be able to solve the problem of Mobius. Moreover, thank you so much for allowing me to have this luxury ......

　Bitingly.
　Lily bowed deeply.

'Not that I need to feel that indebted to you.

　I say with a chuckle.

'If Lily grows up and you see a kid in trouble, give him a hand,'
Yes. Yes, I want to be a wonderful adult like you. I want to be an adult woman who can be aware of ...... but more than that, I want to be an adult woman who is aware of Kou-san.
...... hmm?
It's nothing.

　Lily unlocked her room and went inside as if to escape.


　* *　


　After getting ready in our room, the three of us left the inn.
　We got into Nicole's carriage again.

　She said she was going to take us to a special restaurant for dinner.

"Actually, there's someone I want you to meet today, Ko-dono.
Are you Mr. Chrome?
Well, you'll have to wait and see, won't you?

　Then Nicole told me about the king of this country, for some reason.
　The king of this country ......Grandia Kingdom is a descendant of an ancient civilization that once flourished in this land, and he has inherited two skills from generation to generation.

''One is 【Guardian】 and the other is 【Dignity】.
What does it do?
''Although the effects of [Guardian] haven't been made public, it's said that it's probably a skill to protect the country. [Majesty] can be found at ...... Well, I guess you'll find out once you meet him, right?
You've got to see him, you know.

　It's not every day that an adventurer gets the chance to meet the king.

The current king is known for his light footwork. I'm sure he's aware of the activities of Ko-dono, and he may even come to see you.
...... Hey, Nicole.

　I said, jokingly, as I had an idea that occurred to me.

'Maybe the 'person you want me to meet' isn't the king, right?
'...... You're very perceptive, Lord Ko, as expected. You're right.

　Oh, come on.
　Seriously.
　I said it at random and it was right on target.

　Nicole nodded admiringly and continued to say more.

''His Majesty seems to be very interested in Kou-dono. He asked me to introduce you to him.''
'Just because you're ...... doesn't mean they're going to come to see you. You're the king, why don't you just call me to the castle?
That's what I thought, too. It's like Her Majesty has his own ideas.

　While they were talking about this, the carriage arrived at its destination.
　The restaurant was three stories high and they were shown into a private room on the third floor.
　In the private room, there was a middle-aged man with a toned body.
　His arms are thick and he looks quite strong.
　He was dressed roughly, resembling what we would call a modern shirt and slacks.

　Could he be the king's bodyguard or something?

　The man got up from his chair and approached me.

'I am Victor di Grangia, King of the Kingdom of Grangia. It's a pleasure to meet you.

　The man who introduced himself as Victor smiled and held out his right hand.

　Uh.
　Surprisingly, this man seems to be the king.
　Isn't his attitude too frank for a king?
He should have a skill called 【Dignity】, a skill that seems to give off a sense of intimidation, but he seems rather friendly and easy to get along with.
　Maybe she hasn't activated [Boldness].

　I responded to the handshake, a little confused.
　Hand to hand touches.

　At that time, a voice echoed in my head.

''We have confirmed the achievement of the specific conditions. Victor Di Grangia's 【Guardian】 will disappear and the 【Guardian of the Disaster Killer】 will be released.''

　Dude.
　I feel like there's been a similar event recently.

　The king seemed to have noticed a change in his skills and muttered, "Skill check.
　Then, after a few seconds of pause, he nodded his head yes, and then said this.

'It seems I was right to come to see you, after all. ...... Let me identify myself again. I am Victor Di Grangia. I am the king of the Kingdom of Grangia and a descendant of a family that knows about something called calamity.