Chapter 254: The day before the medal ceremony Part 1

TDADP chapter 254: The day before the medal ceremony Part 1

「Good! It's stable」

「Don't let your guard down because it's stable!」

「We will further strengthen the barrier and seals now. For now, that's fine」

One of the rooms in Balue´s mansion, the horn of the ancient dragon Magranals, is placed in the center of a large room. The pedestal with a silver horn with a diameter of more than two meters is a sealing type magic tool owned by Balue. It is one of the treasured goods and Balue has pulled it out from the treasure warehouse. In addition, a barrier type magic tool is arranged in the shape of a regular pentagram, and more than ten barrier masters poured power into it, succeeding in finally suppressing the torrent of raging magic power.

「Puhaaa」

Balue, who was watching the work of the barrier masters, drank a glass of wine all at once and placed the glass so that it could be struck on the table. Normally, a slave or a maid is by his side, but the current Balue is drinking alone. Although he doesn't really drink much, there are about three empty wine bottles lying on the table. He was watching without waiting to see if the placing of the ancient dragon horn was completed successfully. 800 billion Madoka is not an easy amount that can be put out easily, no matter how much Balue has. The ancient dragon horn that he got by striking a large piece of it couldn't be saved unless he could store it because the raging magic power was too large. A huge amount of cash has disappeared from the Balue´s pocket because of the condition that he need to pay with cash only. However, the real reason Balue was unable to sleep was――

「Damn it!!」

Along with the yelling, Balue dispels the wine bottles and glasses on the table. The sound stops the hands of the barrier masters who turns their eyes to Balue for a moment, but when Balue´s bloody eyes gazes at them, they rush to resume their work.

「Th, This, this me who has noble blood! In presence of such a public I lost face! Only that!! Everyone......will kneel down before the Nox family!!」

Even if he tried to sleep, the shame he received at Sazatears auction ran through his head and every time he was angry, his eyes were sharp and his body refused to sleep. Being born into a great aristocratic house and suffering from such humiliation was Balue's first experience. Originally, he would immediately order his vassals to kill Yuu, but he put up with the fact that there was an item pouch that he didn't know.

「Just a little more. When tomorrow's award ceremony ends......everything fits in my hands」

Balue mutters while gazing at the item pouch with the fish embroidery on the table.

「But......」

He is drunk, but Balue´s thinking has not slowed down. At Sazatears auction. No, the more he thought about it, the more he felt uncomfortable. In the first place, he heard rumors that a monumental thing would be exhibited at Sazatears auction and he was collecting funds along with the cost of holding the evening party. The owner of the rumor was Yuu, and when he asked Sazatears´s director about how to carry the horn of the ancient dragon, which he had trouble collecting, he used an item pouch that he didn't know. It's a little unreasonable to think of this as a coincidence. What is the purpose? Balue, who had been gathering information about Yuu, didn't seem to be ashamed of his purpose. When it comes to this, it seems that there is some reason why the condition of the successful bid of the ancient dragon horn was cash.

「Isn't this exactly the same as that time?」

A nasty memory revives in Balue´s mind. Wyatt Goffa Buff, who was hailed as a noble by the Udon kingdom people and feared by the same noble, rebelled against the king more than twenty years ago. No matter what happened, Balue, who believed that Wyatt alone would not betray a loyal royal family, was as surprised as any other noble. But he realized that there is......no, Wyatt made him notice. When he realized the truth about that fact, Balue――

「――sama」

Udon´s King, Wyatt――

「Balue-sama」

Before he knew it, a man stood in front of Balue.

「Are you feeling well, Balue-sama? Your complexion doesn't look good」

「N, No......it's nothing. So what did you come for?」

「Please allow early morning visits」

「Good. I need you to tell me what to do now」

「Yes. I received a reply from the people who were talking about the attendance of the meeting after tomorrow's award ceremony, so I came to report it」

Balue sees the man in front of him――Peterlit Molderon Pasle. He was the fourth son of the Pasle family and was not able to succeed to the throne, and was not a particularly talented person who simply added his face to the faction because of his parents. However, his growth over the last few months has been rapid, and he has become a man of great power in the faction and is now a valuable man.

「Hou. Did William Bona Papal, the head of the neutral faction, finally take my invitation?」

「In addition to that, we have received good responses from people who have been holding back repeated solicitations from Balue and have been carefully watching the situation. It's just――」

「It's just, what?」

Balue gets a bit merry to the reply from hostile factions and neutral aristocrats who haven't even solicited or even talked to each other. However, Peterlit's humorous attitude instantly frowned upon him, making him displeased.

「Y, Yes, they want Balue-sama to show them what he got」

「Something I got? Did you ask what they were referring to?」

「I asked, but they told me that Balue-sama will understand if I mention that, so I don't know the details」

Indeed, Balue was convinced. The reason why the people who had not responded to his invitations many times before came here and suddenly changed their attitude was understood.

「I understand」

「So then?」

「Tell them that I will bring it with me」

「Alright. Then so」

Following Peterlit, who is leaving quickly with his eyes, Balue again looks at the item pouch on the table. And when he turned over the item pouch, it was embroidered with Yuu Satou.

「Huh. Don't think I surrender」

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In a room of the high-class inn Conconrad Baril, Yuu and others were enjoying the breakfast cooked by the chefs.

「Nina-san, you don't behave well」

Nina, who fills her mouth with bread, meat and salad and expands her cheeks like a hamster, is warned by Marifa. However, it seems that it hasn't reached Nina's ears, as she takes photos of Yuu with her magic tool 『Copying Eye Tool』, which Yuu had won at the auction.

「......Nina is still a child」

「Nina-san doesn't want to be told that only by Lena, who has sauce around her mouth?」

Lena´s frizz sways from side to side as if shaking and she wiped her mouth with a napkin as if nothing had happened.

「Koro-chan, Ran-chan. Look this way~」

After eating a specially made food for followers, a relaxing Koro stares at Nina's call with his small head. Next to it, Ran is drinking water, but its drinking is too bad and its face is flooded.

Yuu, who has nothing to do with it from the beginning, takes a picture with 『Copying Eye Tool』, then uses 『Spirit World Magic Eye』 to check the ingredients and how to make it before eating. Immediately, he write down the taste and recipe of the dish on the paper at hand.

「......Yuu also has bad manners」

Lena tells Marifa, but Marifa pretends not to see it. Because Yuu is the absolute lord of Marifa. Rather, she even felt that Yuu's appearance was wonderful.

「It's okay」

「......You should be warning him」

「There is no need」

「......Why?」

「Because he's my master」

Lena's mouth feels like saying 「......Eeh」, as her mouth is open. Aside from Lena, Marifa confirms that Yuu has finished his meal and prepares tea after meal and presents it to Yuu.

「Master, today's plan」

「Yes, I'm going to visit the royal palace with Muss, so you can go sightseeing in the royal city」

Nina, who had been listening to Yuu and Marifa's conversation nearby, take a picture of Yuu from a very close distance with 「Huhuhh」.

「It's tomorrow that Yuu will go to the royal castle, right? It's out of kya――hyaa!? Ihyaii, hiuu, ihyaiyo～」

Nina's cheeks are squeezed by Yuu and she becomes tearful

「Who is childish? That splash is noisy」

「Master, are you going to the Royal Palace instead of the Royal Castle?」

「That's right. I decided to go in a private incognito」

「Why did that happen? I don't think you should go to that place. Rather, let's go sightseeing with us today～」

「......Nina is right. Yuu should take care of us a little more」

As usual, Nina seemed to want to stop Yuu from going to the royal palace. On the other hand, Lena seems to want to show Yuu the magic that she learned from the magic book she got at the auction and she waved her cane to show him the glimmering appearance since a while ago.

「May I accompany you?」

It was Marifa who was going to follow Yuu from the beginning, without needing to confirm.

「No. I go to the royal palace only with Muss. Don't look like that. It's not a substitute, but I'll do this」

Marifa, who was refused to accompany Yuu, at first glance, did not seem to have changed her expression, but her long ears hung down. Yuu takes three small leather bags out from the item pouch and places them on the table and the leather bags delivers a heavy sound to Nina's ears that are not worth the size.

「Waa. It sounds amazing, but what's inside?」

When she opened the leather bag and checked the content, Nina looked straight and solidified. When Lena and Marifa, who were suspicious, confirmed the content, they solidified with a serious face like Nina.

「Yu, Yuu......that, this」

「......Platinum coin」

「Master, this is......」

There were about 100 platinum coins in each leather bag.

「Your pocket money. I know what you want to say. You want to say that platinum coins can't be used at ordinary stores, right?」

The girls wanted to say, 「No, it's not」, but they were stunned by Yuu's financial sense of giving 100 million Madoka to them as pocket money.

「You should exchange money in the guild」

With that said, Yuu creates a gate with 『Space-time Magic』. He tries to go through the gate as it is, but he looks back at Nina who seemed to have said something.

「If you go, you will know」

After making sure, Yuu went through the gate.

----------------------------

「Yaa, I was waiting」

Muss greets Yuu in the room of the inn, which is as good as Yuu's inn.

「Where's Nung?」

「He is accompanying the people the Finance Minister send in a horse-drawn carriage to go sightseeing in the royal capital」

What did he think of Yuu's attitude of looking for butler Nung first, even though Muss, the Count, greeted him? Muss smiles with his shoulders lowered.

「Then let's go」

「Please wait. Is Yuu going to use 『Space-time Magic』?」

「What else is there?」

「There's something I want to check. How far can you go with 『Space-time Magic』?」

Even if it looks like this, Muss is a noble of the Udon Kingdom. He wanted to know how far he could go within the royal castle with Yuu's 『Space-time Magic』. But Yuu smiles a little meanly to Muss's question.

「How far do you think I can go?」

「Mmm....... You can go directly to the royal castle, can't you? I wonder if my neck flies in the royal palace. That's fine. Why don't you take me to a place outside the royal castle that you don't see very often? I'll show you the rest」

「Demanding fellow」

「I'm a Count」

「Then I am a King」

「Kuu......」

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According to Muss's request to place orders, Yuu moves to the west of the castle with 『Space-time Magic』. After that, Muss guides Yuu. The story seems to have already passed and when he passes the West Gate without stopping, Muss proceeds from the side road to the underpass without heading to the castle. When Muss shows the warrant to the sentinel at the door of the underpass, he rushes to unlock the door by magic. Then, an old man in a tailcoat, who was waiting next to an guard, guided Muss and Yuu to the front of a door with a lantern in his hand. After that, they continue to walk along the guideway along the underpass like a maze. At last you can see stairs going up.

「If you climb here, you'll be on the main road to the royal palace」

The role of the guide seems to be up to here and Muss pays tribute to the old man.

「You were surprised, weren't you?」

It was a flower garden there when going up the stairs. Yuu looked around and looked back casually and the appearance of the stairs and the door which had come up earlier vanished. In addition, it is sure to have walked for almost an hour by the experience, but the building which seems to be the royal palace still looks far away.

「Come on, if you walk a little more, we´ll reach His Majesty´s Udon´s royal palace」

-----------------------------------

Two elderly men were facing each other across a chessboard. Both of them are slender, wear loose-fitting robes and the large hall ceiling, which is too wide for board games, is designed to let in natural light. On the surrounding wall, there were guards guarding the king and stood still like statues.

「Your Majesty, why are you always trying to give yourself a handicap?」

「Why? Balls-kun hears strange things. It's easy. That's because it's more interesting」

Udon´s King answers with a gentle expression and smiles, and the wrinkles between Balls´s eyebrows become deeper.

「I'm looking forward to today. It's been a long time since I've met Muss-kun, but I can also meet the rumored boy」

「I can't help but worry. In the first place, how long are you going to leave Count Muss alone?」

「How long? I'd like to say until he lives up to my expectations, but that's an unreasonable hope」

「It seems that the incorporation of Count Muss into the faction, which Finance Minister Balue had planned, has failed」

「It's a shame. Had it been successful, it would have been interesting」

From the bottom of his heart, Udon´s King shakes his head from side to side of regret.

「Your Majesty. It's a problem for me to think that way」

Balls's vocabulary becomes stronger as if Udon´s King like it.

「To me as I make a suggestion――apparently Count Muss has arrived」

Yuu and Muss are guided by a maid on the red carpet with gold embroidery. When Muss arrives in front of Udon´s King, he kneels down and checks the soldiers at that time.

(Beside his Majesty, there are the Prime Minister, Balls von Balling, and one of Udon Five Knights, 『The Knight who Bring Absolute Victory』 Param Paps. Even if it is only visible, there are about 30 Udon Guards....... They may be hiding soldiers in the ceiling and underneath. My stomach will hurt just by imagining it)

Udon´s King nodded to Muss and urged him to stand. This is to allow Muss to say hello.

「Your Majesty, first of all, to get the opportunity to have an audience, than――」

「Count Muss, wait」

Balls intercepts Muss's words. Although he is the prime minister, it is an act of loss, such as blocking the greeting of the king and the count in the middle.

「Prime Minister Barring, is there anything that doesn't reach me?」

「There is none. I have something to say to that rude boy」

Balls speaks not to Muss, but to Yuu who doesn't take his eyes off Udon´s King.

「Why don't you kneel even though you are in front of Your Majesty? Even if you are not familiar with the manners of the nobles, you will understand that much. And what is with your appearance?」

Compared to Muss´s culotte and calm navy blue Justaucorps, Yuu's appearance was a large sword, a shield, armor――the usual adventurer style.

「Where do some people wear armor and have an audience with the king of a country?」

「One is right in front of you」

「Rude!!」

It was a loud reprimand and pressure that could not be imagined from the slender figure. But still, Yuu doesn't take his eyes off Udon´s King.

「You're the one who's rude. Even though we met for the first time, you didn't give your name and are so proud of yourself」

「What!?」

Balls is so surprised that his usually sharp eyes are wide open now. Muss is calm and suddenly he shook his head to the attitude of Yuu who was fighting. Then Udon´s King remained smiling, but it seemed that his mouth was slightly elevated.

「I, I'm Balls von Balling, Udon Kingdom´s Prime Minister」

Balls gives his name with a twitching face.

「That's a name I've never heard of」

Muss´s face becomes pale a little to Yuu´s attitude who disregarded Udon Kingdom's Prime Minister, even though he knows the five major nations.

「I am Yuu Satou, Nameless Kingdom´s King」

「Nameless Kingdom? I've never heard of such a country name」

Balls replies with the same words which Yuu said to him.

「I suppose. You seem to have stayed here and never went outside」

「Hugii......」

Balls, who is often said to be calm and cool, leaks a voice that should not be heard.

「E, Even if I stayed here, the Ream Alliance does not recognize such a country」

「You're a smart idiot. The country is not the one to be admitted. I'm going to let you admit it. You guys watch, as I grow the country into one of the major powers. But, forever, you'll sit back and sit around with great pride. The king of a country came all the way to see you, so stand up quickly」

They are not words meant for Balls. This is to Udon´s King, who has been silently watching over what happened. Immediate killing intent fills the hall. It was leaked from the Guards who swore absolute loyalty to the king.

「I don't mean to be bossy, but the boy seems to dislike me」

In a strange atmosphere, Udon´s King continued to smile.

「Where is the factor that I dislike? And you think I´m a boy? I should have introduce myself as Nameless Kingdom´s King」

Even if the guards show their killing intent, Yuu's verbal attacks don't stop. No, it is the momentum that gets even more intense. Also, like that, Balls gazes at Muss. The eyes seemed to ask, 「Is this what you wanted?」, however, even if the line of sight was received, Muss seemed to be reluctant, and when he put his index finger on his mouth to silently watch, he winks towards Balls.

「The boy just said it himself, didn't he? It's not something you're going to admit, it's something you're going to admit. This standing position is the difference between the power of the present me and the boy and it is a difference of the national power. If you want me to recognize you as a king, show me enough to do so. Otherwise, you'll stay a boy forever, will you?」

「Then I say it without shame. You´re the ruler of a country in which a Finance Minister can do as he pleases」

「That's right」

「You know that and leave him alone. What's fun about weakening the country and yourself」

「I wouldn't want to do that if I could. By the way, the boy seems to be good at holding his pace by intentionally angering or terrorizing the other person, but it's useless against me. ............Right? You tried to imitate William-kun. Apparently, he didn't take it」

At this point, Yuu couldn't keep up with his pace, as Udon´s King wasn't disturbed at all.

「It may be none of your business, but you should be careful about William-kun. He is a great aristocrat who organizes the neutral faction in Udon´s Kingdom, but he has a ruthlessness which cut down easily when it comes to an emergency. Never believe a grandchild taken hostage in front of a boy, appearing to be angry, surprised, or upset. After all, William-kun always takes medicine when he sees me. Even if I'm the king? Don't you think it's rude? I just told him that I wanted him to play with me」

Up until now, Yuu has had a lot of interaction with a number of experts, such as Victor who doesn't feel malice and William who doesn't feel fear up to now, but compare to them――no, Udon´s King was incomparable.

「Thus, talking to a boy, my view is different from William-kun. A boy is more sensitive to negative emotions such as malice and anger――rather than being able to use it to spot the lie of the other person? Huhuhu, it seems like a hit」

Looking at Yuu's reaction, Udon´s King applauds, deciding that his expectations were correct.

「Let's accelerate our thoughts further. Is it an ability that was originally born or is it an acquired ability? I think the latter. Probably a malicious environment, or continued to grow up under malicious intent. As a result, I think that it is a capability that is acquired. Huhuhu, I made a hit again」

The appearance of Udon´s King, applauding as before, was like a child who enjoys playing.

「It's a great insight. I've also noticed it」

「What? By all means, I want you to tell me」

「That's why you let him do however he want」

Udon King´s smile becomes deeper.

「Unbelievably, you want someone to play with」

「Can I ask why you think so?」

「When you think about it that way, everything fits together. You leave the nobles alone and their problems and although Udon Kingdom is one of the five major powers, the Knights are obviously weaker than the other major powers. Diplomacy is also poor, so you´re ridiculed by other countries. Even though you´re incompetent, you can still remain king. No matter how you think about it, it's strange, isn't it? You're playing around with your country to get rid of your boredom」

Yuu's too ridiculous speculation made the guards become stunned and the killing intent that was so dense was scattered. Although it takes only a few minutes, the sound of applause echoes in the spacious hall, as if time has stopped.

「Great」

From Udon´s King――Clemens Krau Ning Barchet, Yuu felt the emotional fluctuations for the first time. Then, the smiling character of Udon´s King looked like a monster to Yuu and Muss.

「Your rating has risen inside me. It's above William-kun and a little below Manma-kun. Do you know Manma-kun? A very talented person. It is largely due to his skill that the current Set Republic is operating well without breaking down. Well, he seems to hate me for some reason, so he shows disgust when he knows I praised him here. That said, he wouldn't be pleased. Well, what about my family......in a nutshell, I like to play. One of my ancestors who loved playing was in trouble. It is the beginning of the fact that this person chose the great sage as his opponent for a game. If it is a ordinary person, they don't think that they will challenge the great sage in the first place. However, the great wise man who got on the play proposed by my ancestor seems to have lost as a result. Every time I tell this story, the great sage has a bitter expression on his face, so I guess he was very frustrated」

When he heard the long story of Udon´s King, Yuu was clearly frustrated. Muss doesn't express himself, but he is worried about Yuu.

「Let's return to the story of my ancestor and the great sage like this. Like my ancestors, I like playing games, but I have some troublesome bad habits. It's an embarrassing bad habit to dare to overwhelm oneself and then start playing. I don't hate that habit, so I can't say it myself, but I think it's a painful personality」

「I don't care about you. What I want to know more about is whether this country is involved in my summoning. I know you've been summoning and destroying people who've been convenient for you since ancient times」

Muss stares at Udon´s King with a surprised expression at Yuu's remarks.

「Nameless King......, what you are talking about is a special mention in Ream Six Major Power Oath. Later, we had to apply powerful contract magic to those who were here」

「Oath? Don't make me laugh! It's a promise made by junk to hide their sins, which is convenient for them」

「I remember that it was a promise made for the peace of Ream Continent」

「Peace? It's a shameless thing. How many humans have you used up? You have summoned an innocent woman and used her for a long time, at the end of the day――」

Yuu stops his words and jumps back. In the place where Yuu was up to earlier, the holy sword Excalibur that Param swung down was pierced deeply.

「I was silent because of His Majesty's presence, but I cannot overlook the numerous rants anymore! One of Udon Five Knights 『The Knight who brings absolute victory』 Param Paps will punish you!!」

Prime Minister Balls held his head in the sight of Param holding the Holy Sword Excalibur pulled out of the floor.