Chapter 331

Chapter 331

The program for the audience with the emperor was not that complicated.

The ministers applauded us as a sign of welcome, and we knelt before the emperor to listen to his lengthy speech.

Whether it had been prepared beforehand or come up with on the spot, it was all rather superficial.

He said he was pleased to see the excellent talents nurtured by the Temple, an institution that was safeguarding the future of the empire, and hoped we would continue to strive to lead the empire. To me, it was all meaningless words.

It was similar to the principal’s address at school.

The emperor then commanded us to rise and shook hands with each of us as a gesture of encouragement, which was rather expected.

—Continue to strive.

—Ah, ah! This is the honor of my life, Your Majesty!

—Mmm, hmm.

Some of the others were almost in tears. No—such reactions were the norm, and were expected.

—Continue to strive.

—The honor and glory is mine! I will engrave it in my soul and serve the empire for the rest of my life!

—Good.

Some even seemed to have prepared their lines.

Anyway, everyone was overwhelmed with honor, which was the more common reaction.

“Continue to strive.”

“Yes.”

Ellen just nodded once, like answering a teacher, while shaking hands with the emperor.

“Continue to strive.”

“Thank you.”

I tried to sound as honored as possible, but since I didn’t actually feel honored, I kept my response simple to avoid offending the emperor.

In fact, Ellen and I had the most unusual reactions.

The emperor seemed to have been informed in advance that Radia Schmidt was not present, since he did not specifically mention it.

Even though the audience with the emperor itself was a great honor, the emperor did not send us away empty-handed.

A luncheon with the emperor was scheduled afterward.

We moved to the lunch venue, where the Temple students and the emperor sat together at a long table for the meal.

Just like the meal we had at the palace last spring, the food started coming out course by course, beginning with the appetizer.

Omnomnom.

As is typical with appetizers, Ellen popped it into her mouth in one bite, chewed, and then stared intently at the plate.

‘What’s this?’ her expression said. ‘Why is there so little?’

For Ellen, who grew impatient when presented with food, having a meal served course by course meant a long wait.

I’d been to fine dining establishments with her before, and although she always enjoys the taste of the food, she always complained about the small portions, since she was the type who liked to order a bit of everything, eat it all, and then order more.

Whenever a dish came out, she would wolf it down, then sit idly. When the next dish came out, she would shovel it into her mouth again, then stare intently at the plate.

‘Come to think of it, she did mumble that she was hungry earlier, didn’t she?’

Naturally, the emperor observed the students as he had his meal.

The emperor whispered a few words to the maid attending to him. After that, Ellen’s portions were tripled.

It seemed he’d noticed her appetite and passed on this instruction discreetly. If he had mentioned it openly, she might have felt embarrassed.

Omnomnom.

Now that had visually larger portions, Ellen could finally eat at a pace that matched the others.

Of course, Ellen did not question the sudden increase in food. She just ate, assuming it was normal.

When I stared at her, Ellen tilted her head in confusion.

“What’s up?” Ellen said.

“... Sometimes, you’re... kind of...”

“What?”

“Never mind.”

‘I usually wouldn’t be embarrassed to be seen with her, but having such a big appetite that even the emperor has to accommodate it? I know it’s not something I should be embarrassed about, but I am!’

Everyone else was so nervous in front of the emperor that they barely ate, while Ellen was devouring her food, and I was openly scolding her. People looked at us as if we were strange creatures.

‘Wait, how am I the weird one here?’

***

After our meal, the emperor led us on a brief tour of the central palace, Tetra.

We were not shown the bedrooms, but we toured the training grounds, the guards’ waiting room, and the gallery. I assumed that the program would have concluded with lunch, but since it was an official event, the emperor seemed to have allocated quite a bit of time for it.

Everyone was stiff with tension, stammering whenever the emperor spoke to them, but the emperor didn’t speak to Ellen or me.

The reason soon became clear.

After all the events were over, as the students, including us, were about to be led out by the guards, when someone called out, “You two, come this way.”

It was Sabioleen Tana, dressed in her Shanapell uniform.

“Do you remember me?”

“Yes, you’re the Captain of Shanapell.”

Though they hadn’t interacted much, Ellen remembered Sabioleen Tana’s face from the time she’d been appointed as the dormitory supervisor for the first-year students.

“Good. The emperor has summoned you two separately. Follow me.”

The other students left, and Ellen and I followed Sabioleen Tana.

Knock, knock.

“Your Majesty, I’ve brought the two students you requested.”

—Come in.

“Yes.”

Sabioleen Tana looked at Ellen and me.

“I trust you’ll handle this well.”

“Yes.”

I nodded.

Sabioleen Tana knew of my reckless nature, and seemed more worried about me than Ellen.

No matter how reckless I might be, I wouldn’t act out in front of the emperor.

Sabioleen Tana opened the door to the room. Immediately, the high ceiling and walls lined with books caught my eye.

And there, in a chair by the wooden table near the window, sat the emperor, the sunlight obscuring his silhouette.

It seemed to be the emperor’s office or study.

To the emperor, we were nothing less than the key to defeating the Demon King. Therefore, until we became strong enough, he was promising not only protection as Temple students, but also unlimited cooperation at the imperial level.

All this, while unaware that the beneficiary of this cooperation was the very Demon King that they so desperately sought.

“And Reinhart.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The emperor’s eyes held a different sort of emotion.

He had been discussing the future of the empire and humanity until this point, but there was now a more personal emotion behind those eyes.

“Thank you for saving my daughter.”

Something that could be called paternal love...

“...?”

Naturally, Ellen tilted her head in confusion. She did not understand his remark.

***

After our conversation with the emperor, Ellen and I were escorted out of the palace by the guards.

The emperor dismissed Ellen first, then spoke a few words to me in private.

—“In the near future, I might require you to do something for Charlotte.”

—“Is that so?”

—“I’m not sure what it is yet, but will you be willing to do it for me?”

The answer was predetermined.

—“Yes.”

—“Thank you, Reinhart.”

The emperor’s sincere gratitude unexpectedly resonated deeply within me.

‘To do something for Charlotte...’

I didn’t know what it was. But if it was for Charlotte, I would have to do it.

Of course, this was not the main issue. The emperor’s real business lay elsewhere.

It was possible that the Demon King had returned. And since we were both bearers of holy relics, the emperor judged that the safety of me and of Ellen Artorius was the empire’s top priority.

In exchange for promising to risk our lives in a future battle against the Demon King, we would receive nearly unlimited support from the empire.

Ellen and I each took the items we were given.

It was the same imperial emblem that Charlotte had loaned me.

With this, the emperor explained, we were not just Temple Royal Class students, but had authority surpassing even that of most high-ranking nobles.

We would receive treatment equivalent to royalty wherever we went, and if a serious need arose, we could even mobilize the soldiers of the empire.

In simpler terms, we now had a free pass, which included the free use of warp gates.

Of course, at the moment, neither Ellen nor I could fully grasp the reality of it all.

When we were finally alone, Ellen looked at me and asked me directly, “Explain what all that was about.”

I had no choice but to explain the details of what had happened to Ellen.

The Spring Palace, Charlotte’s rampage, and the desperate battle against the being inside the Spring Palace together with Sabioleen Tana...

Ellen remembered the days I had been missing from the Temple, and figured out when it had happened.

“You said you hadn’t been to the palace.”

“... Sorry.”

“You lied again.”

Despite telling her earlier in the day that I hadn’t been to the palace, the conversation with the emperor had forced me to reveal that I had been inside the palace compound before, and had even saved Charlotte’s life.

“Well, you see, it was... a situation... No one else should be allowed to know about it...”

“...”

“I wasn’t hiding it from you... It’s just that... there were other people around.”

Ellen nodded. “That’s true. The issue doesn’t concern you, it’s Charlotte’s. By telling me about it, you would be revealing a royal secret. It must have been hard to speak about.”

In fact, this was a matter that I couldn’t freely discuss with anyone.

Ellen seemed to be pondering something. Her head was down, and she seemed to be debating whether to say something or not.

Suddenly, she looked up. “Can I be upset?”

“... What?”

“It feels like something I shouldn’t be upset about, but I am.”

“W-Well, that’s... up to you...”

Strangely, she was asking for permission to be upset.

“Then, I’m upset,” Ellen said, her lips starting to pout.

“Uh... I’m sorry...”

“You always say sorry.” Ellen grumbled as she kicked a random stone on the ground. “I want to hear something else.”

She didn’t specify what that “something else” was. She seemed to be avoiding the topic.

She turned her head away and looked back at the main gate that led to Emperatos, the Imperial City. Then she took out the imperial emblem she had received from the emperor.

“We’re supposed to be treated like royalty now, right?”

“We’re not actual royalty, but... yeah, that’s what he said.”

“Then, can we just go in there?” Ellen asked as she tilted her head.

“Well... I don’t see why not...”

The emperor wouldn’t have made such a statement lightly.

The emperor saw us as key weapons in the future battle against the Demon King. As champions who had pledged to risk our lives in that fight, he promised us the utmost protection and special treatment until we became strong enough.

Ellen stared blankly at the entrance to the palace compound.

I wasn’t sure what she was curious about.

“Let’s go back inside,” Ellen said. She started to walk briskly, and not in the direction of the Temple.

“Are we using the gate?”

“Yeah. We’re allowed to use it, right?”

Ellen was heading back towards the warp gate.

It seemed I wasn’t the only one thinking of this as a free ticket for the warp gate.

When one thought about it, being treated like royalty essentially meant having priority access to the warp gate.

It might have seemed like a small thing, but to me, it felt like an enormous privilege.

‘No. Even Charlotte, who was actual royalty, took the magic train around the capital. The two of us using the warp gate so trivially might be a bit of a nuisance, right?’

Of course, despite my thoughts, I followed Ellen as she walked briskly towards the warp gate.

‘Nuisance or not, if we can use it, we might as well use it.’

That was the confident sentiment I sensed from her as I followed behind her.