CH 122

“Audience with the King.”

Translated by Dawn

“Audience with the King.”

It was already the third day since my arrival in the capital, and I was about halfway through my walk around the city when I suddenly received a visitor at the inn. I went down from the second floor to the reception area on the first floor, and there was a man wearing plain but solid clothes.

“Who are you?”

“Nice to meet you, my name is Diplo, I work in the diplomatic section of the royal court, and you must be Rolando from Orargrand, is that right?”

…I see. Apparently, the state was not all incompetent, and they already knew that I was in the royal capital. Well, I wasn’t acting in a particularly covert manner, so if the royal court didn’t know about this, then I would have to question whether the country’s intelligence department was functioning properly. It seemed that the intelligence department did its job properly this time.

“Ah, yes.”

“I beg your pardon, sir, but why have you not contacted the royal court?　I thought the summons stated, [Contact the palace when you come to the capital.]”

As he said this, Diplo’s eyes turned sharp. In other words, he wanted to say, “If you’re in the capital, why don’t you contact us?”

I had come up with a good excuse, so I quickly put it into action.

“Certainly, that is what the summons stated. However, I heard that the journey from Orargrand to the capital generally takes about 10 days. If so, even if I arrived before that, there should be no problem if I had time to heal from the fatigue of the journey and prepare for the audience in perfect condition. Or are you trying to say that the king of this country is a small character who would disregard such a small consideration?”

“T-that is never the case.”

Even if I added the four days from Orargrand to the capital and the three days I spent exploring the capital, I would still have about three more days to spare. Even if I spent two more days playing around in the capital to prepare myself for the audience…there would be no problem, considering the fact that I had not even arrived at the capital yet under normal circumstances.

Furthermore, as I mentioned earlier, my actions over the past few days were like preparations for the audience, and if I carelessly said something that would condemn them, it could lead to an objection to the audience with the king, and in some cases, it could be taken as an indication of my intention to rebel against the king.

That was why he had to recognize that my behavior in this royal city, which seemed to be nothing more than sightseeing, was in preparation for an audience with the king.

“Then there’s no problem. So you didn’t come all the way to see me for that, did you? Have the date of the audience been set?”

“Yes, it did. You are right, the date for the audience has been decided, and that is why I came here to tell you about it. The audience will take place first thing tomorrow morning, so please do not be late. Then, I will leave now.”

“I understand. It is a great honor.”

Invoking a slightly noble mode, I responded to Diplo. He looked a little dubious for a moment, but then, perhaps deciding that there should be no rough treatment of tomorrow’s audience, he immediately returned to his serious face, bowed lightly, and left the place.

After Diplo disappeared from the inn, I returned to my room and sat on my bed for the time being. Although it was within my expectations in terms of developments, I would have to move up my plans a bit, as I was thinking that I would be fine for another day.

“Well, I guess I can’t keep sightseeing forever, so it was destined to happen sooner or later anyway.”

In reality, the original purpose of coming to the capital was to have an audience with the king, and not to go sightseeing, even if by mistake. Therefore, no matter how much I put it off, it was certain that I had to meet the king at some point, and it was something I could not avoid.

I didn’t want to meet the king if possible, but the information that I had defeated the demons had already reached the king’s ears, and since it was known that I had entered the royal capital to meet him, I could say that I was now in a situation from which I could no longer run away. If I really did not want to meet him, I would have to go into exile in another country, prepared never to return to the Kingdom of Schells again. I wouldn’t want to do such a criminal-like thing, and above all, it would be too much trouble. If that were the case, I would decide that it would be more realistic and constructive to meet with the king and tell him of my intentions.

“Well, what will be, will be.”

So, talking to myself, I spent the rest of the day strolling around the royal capital and building up my energy (?) for tomorrow’s audience.

*****

“Raise your head.”

In the audience hall of the royal castle of the Kingdom of Schells, I was kneeling on one knee and hanging my head. The day after I was told that I was scheduled to have an audience with the king, I went to the audience with the king without running away.

As expected, I couldn’t just go on with my usual act in front of the head of the country, so I made sure to act in accordance with court etiquette. I’m a serious person at heart…yeah.

The king urged me to do so, but I kept my head down. As I recall, the first time the king asked me to raise my head, I kept my head as it was, and the second time I finally raised my head, which was a very tedious courtesy. Once again, this was a very troublesome courtesy.

“Rolando, hero of Orargrand. Raise your head.”

The second “Raise your head” was issued by what appeared to be the Prime Minister, who was standing right next to the King. I obeyed and finally looked up.

“What, he’s just a kid.”

“Did that kid really fight off the demons?”

“It’s mostly the result of rumors spreading on their own. Rumors are unintentionally exaggerated.”

It was a common situation in fantasy novels, where the nobles present in an audience with the king were exchanging words as much as they wanted to say when they saw me. ……Hey, old men, I can hear you, you know?

The audience hall, with its solemn stone interior, was built as a meeting place for emissaries and guests of state from other countries.

In a world where civilization and technology were limited to the level of medieval Europe, the building was probably constructed using the most advanced technology available.

There were several steps in the innermost part of the room, and on the topmost step was a throne with a very long backrest on which sat a man with a fearless face wearing a crown.

Zephyr Phil Berberoth Schells, King of the Kingdom of Schells, with short, almost gray hair and a stubble beard, looked more wild than intelligent. His muscles were so well-developed that they could be seen even over his clothes, and his muscularity was evident.

“Silence!”

As the nobles begin to murmur, the king shouts loudly, waving his right hand to the side. It was the very style of a king. But even so, there were idiots everywhere who wouldn’t shut their mouths…

“Your Majesty the King, I beg your pardon for my remarks.”

“Duke Bangiras huh…Very well.”

(Bangiras…oi, oi. He certainly looks strong, but…)

As I was inwardly said so at the appearance of a duke with the same name as a character from a pocket monster, the duke glared at me as if he were trying to price me out of a situation. Then, in an imposing manner, he made a proposal to the king.

“I am sorry, Your Majesty. I cannot believe it when they say that the child has vanquished the demons.”

“Then what do you propose?”

“That is right. If the child really possesses the power to vanquish the demons, he could defeat even the strongest knight in our country.”

“Hannibal the Commander of the Kingsguard…”

Another guy with some kind of strong name? What kind of general is he, Hannibal!? I knew my audience with the king was a mistake!

Then, in the blink of an eye, arrangements were made for a mock battle, and I ended up having a mock battle with the Commander of the Kingsguard, a man whose name had just been mentioned, General Hannibal…