Chapter 65 - Sure Enough, We Met Once Before

Chapter 65 ; Sure Enough, We Met Once Before

「No way, to think that she really is bringing him along.」

The person who spoke as he entered the room was the middle-aged man who I met somewhere before.

The man with a splendid beard and majestic air around him was definitely a big-shot.

But then, I kept wondering when I met him. For some reason, I had a hard time recalling where I met him before.

「My deepest apologies for coming like this without any prior notice, Your Majesty… 」

「No, don’t worry about it, I’m the one who gave you that permit after all. It’s I who has to apologize since I can’t welcome you with a feast in the castle. I mean, you can imagine what kind of ruckus would happen if they knew that I brought the undead who shook the world into the royal castle.」

Ah, so that was the reason for the majestic air around him.

After all, the man who was called 「Your Majesty」 by the female Holy Knight was none other than the king of this Romana Kingdom himself.

Moreover, from the rumor that I heard before, he was apparently well known as the Hero King.

And such an important figure went as far as sneaking out from the royal castle to meet me in this building.

Maybe because he put on a disguise, despite his neat appearance, he was actually wearing commoner clothes.

Uhm… where did I meet him before…?

Maybe because he realized that I didn’t seem to remember him, so he spoke.

「Don’t you remember that you saved my live a while ago?」

「…?」

I saved… his life?

Me? Saving the one who was hailed as the Hero King?

When did I do such a thing?

「If you didn’t save me back then, I might have been killed by that terrifying Thunder Dragon Emperor.」

「Ah.」

I finally remembered where I met him the moment he told me that specific event.

Oh, he was the uncle who I saved from Thunder Emperor Dragon back then, huh!

At first, I fled from him since he was suddenly chasing after me for no reason. And later, I saved him when he was about to die in the battle against that dragon, defeating the dragon in his place, the very same dragon who accidentally turned into my kin.

Back then, I thought he was a big shot in the army, and yet, I never expected that he was the king of this kingdom himself.

「And it’s not just me. If you didn’t defeat the Thunder Dragon Emperor, this royal capital might’ve already been razed to the ground by that fella. Though I know that I’m not supposed to do this in this kind of place, please at least allow me to express my heartfelt gratitude as an individual, and as a king of this kingdom. Thank you very much for saving my life and the lives of the citizen in the royal capital.」

The hero king bowed deeply as he expressed his gratitude.

Including when I was still alive, this was the first time the king of a kingdom bowed his head to me.

Thus, I ended up getting extremely flustered when facing such an unprecedented situation.

Unaware of my situation, the king then raised his head.

「Naturally, I don’t think that words alone are enough as a reward for you. Maybe I shall give some sort of medal to you.」

M-Medal?

No no no no, I really didn’t need such a thing though…

In the first place, I was an undead who was about to get purified.

There was no reason to award me with something like a medal.

「Is something the matter? Feel free to tell me if you need something. Despite my appearance, I’m the king. I can grant your wish as long as it’s still within my capabilities.」

“

The hero king urged me, which made me rather troubled about what kind of reward I wished for.

But one thing was clear: there was no way that someone with a communication disorder like me could refuse the offer from a king.

「…Your Majesty.」

When I looked at the female Holy Knight for help to get out of the current situation, she guessed my intention immediately.

「As you can see, he has extremely poor communication skills. That’s why, may I ask for your permission to speak for him?」

「Uhm, I see no. No problem.」

…Thank God.

I heaved a sigh of relief as soon as the Hero King turned his line of sight toward the female Holy Knight.

And then, she started talking to the Hero King about my origin which I told her a few days ago.

She talked about how I died in the dungeon, about how I became undead who continued to loiter inside the dungeon for hundreds of years after that, and finally, about how I regained my consciousness.

Moreover, she finished what it took me one hour to tell her in no less than 10 minutes.

…I ended up being reminded just how terrible my communication skill was when I heard her telling the story about me to the king.

“

「I see… I never expected that a human who lived in the era of the Emarina Empire would now be resurrected as an undead…」

The Hero King let out an astonished voice after he heard everything about me from the female Holy Knight.

I might be an undead, but I myself had no intention to be resurrected after my death.

「It’s an ancient kingdom that prospered for five hundred years. The history scholars will surely dance with joy if they knew that you lived in that era. Depending on the situation, your story about that era might even overturn the current established theory.」

Maybe because the person himself was really interested in history, the Hero King spoke with undisguised excitement on his face.

「Naturally, most of them might not believe in your story since you’re an undead, but… I myself am really interested in you as a person.」

Sorry, but I was just a lowly adventurer.

I doubted anything I knew was something really important to a history scholar.

「My apologies, Your Majesty. He’s planning to go to the Holy Country.」

「What, Holy Country?」

「Yes. It’s to purify him.」

「?!」

After that, the female Holy Knight told the Hero King about my wish to pass on.

「How can it be… even though he’s such a rare living witness of history… but don’t you have any other option aside from choosing to die? If you want to reconsider, I can prepare a living place for you…」

「…Your Majesty, I understand how you feel, but no matter how you think about it, letting an undead live amongst humans is…」

「Uhm… You’re right…」

The Hero King had to agree, albeit with an extremely reluctant look on his face.

「Well, please forget about. But still, I see… you wished to be purified, huh… Sure enough, if you live for a long time, you will lose lingering affection toward this world…」

「That’s why he doesn’t need any medal.」

「But I feel that I need to at least do something for him… Uhm, that’s right. Will you at least allow me to prepare a transportation method for you?」

「That’s a great help.」

Oh, he was right, preparing transportation would help me to arrive faster indeed.

「If possible, I want to prepare the fastest airship for you, but unfortunately, their use is restricted. How about a ship? I mean, you need to cross the border of several countries if you choose a land route. That’s why the sea route which could deliver you straight to the Holy Country should be faster.」

Oh, he was right. I could ask him to prepare a ship to deliver us to the Holy Country.

All he needed to do was send a ticket to this inn.

「Actually, I love to talk with you about various things, but… unfortunately, I’m really busy. Please forgive me for this.」

The Hero King left the room after he apologized for the last time to me.

When he was about to leave, he suddenly stopped as if recalling something,

「Ah, that’s right… I forgot to tell you about one thing. The truth is, with many people being scared of the No Life King, it seems a particular group of people started to think the other way.」

「The other, way?」

「Yes. Anyhow, since you’re a disaster-class monster. Anyone who can subjugate you will gain fame and fortune. That’s why those young and careless adventurers seem to be really enthusiastic about subjugating you to gain fame and fortune overnight.」

「…There really are all kinds of idiots in this world, huh.」

「Well, young people will always act like that in any era.」

The Hero King said so with a melancholic look on his face.

「Though I know that they won’t pose any problem to you… I’m telling you this information, just in case.」

「Thank you very much.」

The female Holy Knight said her gratitude instead of me.

After that, the Hero King finally left.