Chapter 143

“Viscount Granvelle?”

“Yes. I heard the Viscount was here.”

In response to my question, the person who came so late at night gave a high handed reply. However, I was familiar with the clothes of these two people. They were wearing the same clothes as the ones who had come with Viscount Carnell before.

“It is this time of night. The Viscount has already gone to bed. Who should I tell him has come for him?”

“Yes, we are the Royal Messengers. Tell him that His Highness the Crown Prince has business with him.”

“I’ll show you to our guest room.” I said to them as I opened the gate and led them to a room with two two-seater sofas instead of the usual living room.

The Viscount was still in the living room, not sleeping, so I went to the living room to tell him that the Royal Messengers had arrived.

As soon as the Viscount went to the guest room with me and the Knight Commander, the Messengers in the Crown Prince’s name invited him to dinner tomorrow. He had heard that the Viscount had come to the Academy, and since it was a special occasion, he wanted to have dinner with him.

“Kyu, what a rush.”

The Viscount was thinking of taking the noon flight home tomorrow.

“You refuse His Highness’s invitation out of hand. Then so be it. I’ll just tell him so.”

“No, I’m not going to say no.”

The Viscount said that he has no intention of refusing.

“My Lord, then I’ll join you.”

“Hmm? Are you saying that you need an escort for the Crown Prince’s dinner? If so, that’s a different story, isn’t it?”

The Knight Commander, who had come into the room with me, said he would go with the Viscount, but the Royal Messenger asked quizzically why the Viscount needed an escort to dine with the Crown Prince.

Is the Crown Prince someone who he needs an escort for? It seems he wants Viscount to come alone.

The Viscount was momentarily lost for an answer. It would definitely be a problem if the Viscount visits a member of the hostile Royal Family without an escort and gets killed in the dark. He might just go missing, or he might be killed by some thugs. Even if such a thing happened, no one would blame the Crown Prince.

I spoke up to the Royal Messenger who was giving a look that said to answer him quickly.

“My Lord, tomorrow you will have dinner with the Crown Prince. I will follow you.”

I, who was wearing the Academy’s uniform, naturally bowed to the Viscount as if I were his servant.

“Follow…”

As a Noble, it would be strange for the Viscount to just wander off by himself, so I said that I would go with him as his manservant.

When I became Granvelle Family’s guest, I changed the way I addressed the Viscount from “My Lord” to “Viscount Granvelle”. I had thought that this was one way of addressing him, but now I thought that the situation was much more serious.

The Viscount swallowed his words. I left the Granvelle Family when I said I wanted to quit. But this is not the time to discuss about it. It’s a good thing for the Viscount if I followed him. In Viscount’s opinion, I am probably not as strong as the Knight Commander, but I am quite strong. It would be a great help for him if I were to be his escort.

(I’m glad I didn’t return my manservant’s uniform. It’s only been six months since I quit. I can still wear them.)

In the <Inventory>, I still have my manservant’s uniform since I was not told to return them. The only thing I returned was the coat of arms of the Granvelle Family. I am in my growth spurt, so I have grown a little taller in the past six months, but I don’t think it’s a problem.

The Royal Messenger didn’t say anything about one of Viscount’s servants coming with him. He only thought of me as a servant attending the Academy. He just told us to be there on time and left.

The next day, the Viscount and I decided to go to the hotel where the Crown Prince was staying.

Cecile said she wanted to go, but the Viscount had refused her the day before. We might be in danger. The other party was the Crown Prince, who was served by the Royal Messenger who had tried to kidnap Cecile. Only the Viscount who was called and I who pretended to be his manservant were going.

Cecile, Kurena, Kiel and Dogora went to the dungeons without me. We decided to fight against the A-class dungeon boss when I returned. I gave Kurena a G-rank Bird Chappy for contact. If a summon touches a person while entering the dungeon, it can enter the dungeon with them. Note that the summon cannot enter the dungeon by itself.

I met up with the Viscount and we headed to the designated hotel.

(The Crown Prince of the Kingdom Faction.)

It’s been more than a week since I heard from Rifol about the Crown Prince. I’ve learned a few things about what’s going on in the Capital as well as about the Crown Prince.

The Kingdom seems to be divided into two main Factions that are fighting each other.

The two Factions seem to think this way.

The Royalists that have the best interests of the Latash Kingdom at heart. That’s why they say that cooperation with the Five Continents Alliance should be minimal.

In the first place, even before the Demon King came out, our Latash Kingdom had been invaded by hegemonic Empires for hundreds of years. How dare they ask our Kingdom for cooperation. If the Empire were to be destroyed, it would be a problem, but we can just fight the Demon King’s army forever without changing the status quo.

The Alliance Faction puts the principles and cooperation of the Five Continents Alliance first.

What are you doing by prioritizing your nation when the Demon King is trying to destroy the world? The Demon King’s army is a threat, so we should cooperate with the Five Continents Alliance as much as possible.

It seems that the two Factions were created because of the Demon King. The Academy Faction is a Faction within the Alliance Faction.

And it seems that the cause of the dispute is that the Kings of the past two generations have been of the Alliance Faction. The former King issued a decree to cultivate the territory and did not spare any cooperation to fight against the Demon King’s army. He gave generous treatment in terms of position and taxation to the Nobles who fulfilled their duty to fight the Demon King’s army.

It was the venerable Nobles who were dissatisfied with this. Originally, it was difficult for Talented people to be born into these Families, so the lower class Nobles were treated more and more generously. Recently, the Alliance Faction have expanded their reach to include Ministers other than military positions such as Generals as well. The Kingdom Faction thought that their position would be in jeopardy if this continued.

In the midst of such dissatisfaction with the current system, the Crown Prince emerged. The Crown Prince, the son of the current King’s brother, was supported by the great Nobles. The Crown Prince himself became a banner and brought the Kingdom Faction together.

The current King has a son, but he had to make his own nephew the Crown Prince because of the strong recommendation of the great Nobles who hold power in the Royal Capital. The King is old and not as powerful as he used to be.

The Alliance Faction that holds the Academy Faction has overwhelming military power. However, the Kingdom Faction has the power of the great Nobles. It is said that the Kingdom is in a state of division because of these opposing forces.

The Crown Prince has even suggested of cutting cooperation with the Five Continents Alliance by half.

“Please wait here.”

We were politely guided by the hotel staff.

“Mm-hmm.”

(So this is what a hotel Royalties stay in looks like. Oh! There’s a fruit I’ve never seen before. It’s so good!)

At the direction of the Royal Messenger, we waited in the waiting room of a luxurious hotel. I began to gobble up the fruit that was placed in front of me. I would not be able to eat later since I would be standing behind the Viscount.

The Viscount said he didn’t want any, so I kept the uneaten fruits away in <Inventory>.

(We’ve been waiting for a long lime, haven’t we?)

No one came to us and time just passed.

“What are you doing?”

I sat down where the houseplants were and began to do something.

“I’m making a recovery medicine. I’ll give you some of them so you can use them if you need them.”

“Is it reliable?”

“Of course.”

While we were waiting for a long time, I was busying myself by generating recovery medicine. In one week, I collect a total of 30,000 magic stones of E and D ranks. That’s triple the 10,000 magic stones I used to collect in a week before the summer vacation.

I turn these stones into [Leaf of Life]s and [Mana Seed]s.

I usually do this at the Academy, but since I practice sword in the afternoons, I do it secretly in the garden of the Academy while listening to classes in the morning. Since my quota has increased, the production of [Leaf of Life]s tends to stagnate. I also improve my skills <Create>, <Synthesis>, <Strengthening>, and <Awakening> Levels.

(A-class dungeons are still very draining on summons. I can’t wait to get my <Strengthening> reach Level 7.)

I am prioritizing on leveling up my <Strengthening> level as much as possible.

Then an hour passed.

(Oh? You’re making me wait a while, aren’t you? I still have to go to the A-class dungeon. I feel like I’m going to get a Gold chest today, but are you in the bathroom?)

Another hour passed by.

(What? You’ve kept us waiting too long. You were the ones who invited us, remember? Get on with it. I want my Gold chest. I’m starting to think today’s the only day I’ll get a Gold chest.)

I have a feeling that the Crown Prince is also responsible for the fact we have not found any Gold chests yet.

Then, a Royal Messenger came to summon us while apologizing for having kept us waiting.

We were taken to a luxurious dining room on the top floor, which was reserved for Royalty. It was quite spacious, but this seemed to be one dining room.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”

The Crown Prince, his hair styled all back, said while sitting at a table that could seat dozens of people.

I don’t know if they are guards or what, but there were fully armed Knights behind the Crown Prince. The Viscount noticed this and gulped once.

The Viscount and Allen walked into such a dinner.