“Soushi Okuno, Honorary Count, is hereby promoted to Honorary Marquis, and granted the title of Lifelong Imperial Guardian General. Furthermore, the Empire recognizes Honorary Marquis Okuno as the Governor of the Garden of Twilight, granting him all authority within the territory.”
Approximately two weeks after the battle against the Twilight Kin, in the Imperial Castle of Pleione, the Imperial Capital, still drunk on the victory of the unprecedented battle, the distribution of rewards for meritorious service in the war was solemnly taking place.
The greatest contributor was, needless to say—and it feels a bit presumptuous to say it myself—me, and the rewards were unprecedented in many ways.
The title of “Honorary Marquis” was the first of its kind in the Empire, and the title of “Lifelong Imperial Guardian General” was also newly created. Furthermore, the position of Governor of the Garden of Twilight was a first in human history, or rather, something no one had ever imagined.
In short, the Imperial Army won this battle, and the Garden of Twilight was treated as a provisional colony. On top of that, I was given the position of Governor, which meant I would rule over the Twilight Kin in the Garden of Twilight. Apparently, this caused quite a stir within the Empire, but according to His Imperial Majesty, “It’s more accurate to say that no one could come up with a better plan than that it caused a stir.”
Honestly, I wanted nothing to do with the Twilight Kin or the Garden of Twilight, but my interactions with Migitima and the others had been witnessed by many adventurers, and more importantly, by Marishielle and Dorozitte, so it couldn’t be swept under the rug.
There was even a proposal to treat me as the King of the Twilight Kin, but His Imperial Majesty apparently rejected it, considering my personality.
In any case, along with the title of “Lifelong Imperial Guardian General,” the aim was to give the impression that “Honorary Marquis Okuno is allied with the Empire,” while in reality, it was something else entirely, to allay the concerns of the nobles. I, a commoner, couldn’t understand this sense of balance at all, so I had no choice but to leave it all to the professionals.
“I humbly accept. To repay this kindness, I pledge to devote myself to His Imperial Majesty and the Empire in the future,”
I said the formal greeting, and with the letter that the young Emperor himself had handed to me, I withdrew from His Majesty’s presence.
After that, Freinir was also given a personal reward for her efforts and her position as the next Saint, and Soul’s Guidance was also rewarded as a party. Freinir’s use of “Divine Fury” on the battlefield and the powerful healing power of the Life Magic she used after the battle became a hot topic among adventurers, and they now completely recognize her as a Saint.
After all the ceremonies were over, I was bombarded with greetings from many Imperial nobles at the evening celebration party, and it was late at night when I was finally able to return to my home in the Imperial Capital.
The next morning, I did my routine training without fail, and then we all had breakfast together.
The dining room in my house in the Imperial Capital has a table in the center that can seat about 20 people, and a fireplace behind the master’s seat, making it a room that looks like a noble’s dining area. At first, I wasn’t used to it and couldn’t settle down, but now it’s become quite normal for the nine of us to sit down and eat.
As for the cooking, the three servants still do it when we’re home. It seems that we should hire a chef, but we’re often out, so we’re putting it off for now.
“Hey, Soushi, now that I think about it, didn’t we have the right to enter the dungeon in the castle?”
As the meal was winding down and tea was being served, Larni, the wolf beastkin girl, said this while twitching her ears.
“The Dragon’s Cradle, was it? It might be a good time to go in.”
I had completely forgotten about it, but when I came to this Empire, I received the right to enter the Classless Dungeon “Dragon’s Cradle” located in the basement of the Imperial Castle, which only a limited number of people can enter, as a reward for defeating the Chaos Flare Dragon. In fact, I received three more entry passes as part of this reward. In any case, it’s a dungeon I’d like to enter at least once, and now might be the best time to explore it.
As I nodded, Sfenia and Karma reacted.
“I completely forgot about it because of the Martial Arts Tournament and the previous battle. If we’re going to be active as adventurers, we should get our hands on powerful weapons and tools, so it might be a good idea.”
“The battle with the Twilight Kin was a bit underwhelming, and if it’s a rare dungeon, I’d love to go in. I’m looking forward to it.”
The other members were also enthusiastic, so it was decided that we would challenge the Dragon’s Cradle.
“I’m scheduled to be summoned to the castle in a few days, so I’ll apply to His Imperial Majesty then. However, we have to chase after the Candlestick of the Netherworld after this, so we can’t spend too much time. Let’s limit our time in the dungeon to a maximum of three days.”
“I think that’s a good idea. If it’s three days, we should be able to go quite deep. I’ve heard that it’s a dungeon with a difficulty level of A-Rank or higher, so we should be careful not to overdo it.”
Mariane, acting like the party’s exclusive staff member for the first time in a while, gave a warning, and Larni grinned.
“But we could easily go all the way to the bottom, right? It’s an unexplored dungeon, isn’t it?”
“That’s right. Like the Foundation of the Royal Family in the Kingdom, I haven’t heard any information about a Classless Dungeon being conquered.”
“Then maybe the legend of Soul’s Guidance will grow again!”
Larni’s carefree attitude was as usual. But based on my experience in the Foundation of the Royal Family, which we went down to the fifth basement level, it’s not a dungeon that we can be optimistic about. How far we go will depend on what we find when we enter, but since there are still troubles left in this world, we can’t stay in there for too long. I’m aware that I’ve become someone with that much responsibility.