CH 116

The messenger loosened the clothes around his collar even further, sweating profusely.

“…I have fully understood that she is an irrational person with her lack of common sense exceeding all limits.”

“What counts most is that you’ve finally got it. That’s why it’s impossible for her to go to the palace. You guys gotta compromise here. It’s somethin’ like keepin’ a dragon or a fiendish monster. Tamin’ her is impossible. You’ll be annihilated for just harborin’ the idea, ‘kay?”

“…I shall inform my Liege of this.”

After having such a conversation with Sword, the messenger left.

Then, while stroking my head after it had suffered from Sword’s iron claw, I asked, “Hey, are you acquainted with that messenger guy?”

In response, he remained silent for a while, before answering, “…Somewhat.”

Hmm? That’s an awfully evasive answer, isn’t it?

“You don’t want to talk about it?”

“That’s not it, but…… …Well, if I tell you to keep somethin’ a secret, you’ll do just that, I s’pose.”

A secret?

“…The present king took the throne after the dragon attack. It’s because the previous king had been killed by the demon. Back then, the crown prince, who’s now king, fought the dragon together with me, so he came out unscathed in the end.”

Hee, quite the courageous guy. Or I guess he’s a king with a strong inclination towards military matters.

“…He was an eccentric crown prince who often slipped out of the castle while pretendin’ to be a commoner. And during one such time, I rescued him by chance, leading to us gettin’ acquainted.”

“If it had been a princess, it’d have made for a beautiful story.”

“Who cares about that! ――Hearin’ ’bout me wantin’ to learn magic, he got me into the academy as a scholarship student. And that’s when I learned ’bout him being the crown prince since everyone called him 【His Highness】 over there. Him preferrin’ to repay his debt by lettin’ me enter the academy over the risk of me findin’ out ’bout his true identity showed that he’s a guy with a strong sense of duty.”

I see. So Sword called him a good king because he’s actually got some achievements to back it, huh?

“At that time, the guy from before was always stickin’ next to the king. He’s a tricky sadist who worships the king. When you started to blather ’bout destroyin’ the palace, I was on tenterhooks, worryin’ ’bout what he might do.”

“Don’t worry. No matter what he might try, it won’t be able to shake either you or me.”

“I know. But, don’t overdo it with pickin’ fights, ‘kay?”

Bah!

Though, as long as it’s Sword’s request, I’ll try to abide as much as possible.

“Don’t be too unreasonable. My priority lies with you and the Ryokus. Then the residents of our mansion and Bennyboy’s party as runner-up. I’ll use all my power to rescue you and the Ryokus, but as for the others, I’ll only help them if I get the time to do so. Hence, if you’re tied down, it’s tough for me to make any moves.”

Sword hugged me.

“…….Gotcha. For me your the highest priority as well. Because of that, I don’t plan to ask you the impossible.” Suddenly he let go of me. “…But you know, you were somewhat scary when you got excited. To the extent that I wanted to scream at you, 『Snap out of it!』. What was that ’bout? What triggered you all of a sudden?”

……

Yep, I’m well aware of it myself, okay?

“…I’ll be careful…”

But, it’s probably no use.

＊

In the end, Sword was summoned to the royal palace. Since I got worried, I deployed all Ryokus to the palace in stealth mode after telling them to contact me and rescue Sword if something happens.

I think this should cover his side~

Though it’s unthinkable for Sword to not pick up any malicious intents when being in a den of treacherous snakes like a royal castle. Today I’m going to treat him to a feast, and on top of that, I’ll splurge a bit on the alcohol since it can’t be helped.

…Ah!

I got a nice idea! Let’s set up a stall! I’ll rent some place where I can open a stall!

I rushed out of the mansion.

＊

And then, when I consulted with the store owners I often frequented for shopping such as the spice lady or the greengrocer lad, they all told me they’d help out since they liked the idea. The butcher rented out a place for me, and then I prepared the food together with everyone. Over time female adventurers and the bakery miss joined in as well, saying they want to help.

“Whoa, you can use spices like that!?”

“Oh, you cut off this part! That makes it more delicious if you cook it together, right?”

They apparently made several new discoveries for themselves.

Since I didn’t have the right containers and skewers, I left the city, chopped down a few trees, and made what I needed on the fly.

After having made around a thousand bowls, I stopped, thinking that it’d be enough. Probably.

Everyone who had watched me, had become flabbergasted.

“…Just as I thought, S-Rank adventurers are in a league of their own,” I was told, but you see, I’m an A-Rank adventurer.

It’s a crude stall born out of a spontaneous idea, but oh well, whatever.

“Alright, it’s done!!!”

Everyone applauded and cheered.

Okay, all that’s left now is to wait for Sword to come back from his mission at the palace.