Chapter 12: In the Royal Capital – 07
After showing the summons to the gatekeeper, he guided us to the accommodations prepared by the royal family. We were instructed to stay there until the date for the audience was set, and naturally, it was a suitably luxurious lodging.
The assigned rooms were two triple-occupancy suites. The royal family likely didn’t anticipate that the ratio of men to women in “Soul’s Guidance” was one to four, which led to a bit of a dispute over the room assignments. This was primarily because Freinir wished to share a room with me, and considering the implications of interacting with the princess, I felt it was inappropriate. When I expressed my concerns, Freinir’s face turned sorrowful, almost to the point of tears.
“I understand what you’re saying, Soushi, but isn’t it fine? Everyone knows nothing will happen, and if I’m with you, it should be okay, right?”
“No, Larni, I believe it would be better for me, as a guild staff member, to share a room with the princess. It would provide a more credible excuse.”
“High Elves are trusted by the royal family, so perhaps I would be more suitable. If I say nothing happened, the princess will likely not press further.”
After about ten minutes of back-and-forth, it ultimately came down to me making the decision, and in the end, it was decided that Freinir would share a room with Mariane. I explained that Mariane, being an adult woman and a neutral guild staff member, was a more appropriate choice, but I would likely need to follow up with Larni and Sfenia later.
For now, we took a moment to rest in our room, but Freinir still seemed troubled. She wore a pensive expression, occasionally casting glances my way, as if she had something to say.
“Freir, is there something on your mind?”
“Ah… yes, um, I believe you said before that you didn’t mind my past as a noble.”
“Ah, yes, I did say that.”
“However, just now, Lady Margarot mentioned that our statuses are too different…”
“So that’s what you’re worried about.”
“Yes…”
“Well, that was… how should I put it… I thought I needed to say that at the time to satisfy the princess. It wasn’t my true feelings.”
“Is that so…?”
“Of course. Freinir is Freinir. Your past doesn’t matter.”
Upon hearing my words, Freinir seemed relieved, letting out a sigh of relief and softening her expression. It seems that girls tend to worry about little things. While Freinir openly shows her feelings, as a leader, I must remain sensitive to even the slightest changes in my members. Honestly, that’s one of my weakest points.
Once Freinir appeared to calm down, Mariane, who had changed into her guild staff uniform, stood up.
“Soushi, I’m going to check in with the guild. I want to be ready to move as soon as possible starting tomorrow.”
“Got it. I’ll keep an eye on things too. The guild in the royal capital must be quite large.”
“Indeed. It serves as the headquarters for the kingdom, so it’s second in scale only to the main headquarters in the empire.”
“I should probably inform everyone as well. What about you, Freir?”
“Of course, I will accompany you, Soushi.”
And so, it was decided that we would all head to the Adventurers’ Guild together.
As evening approached, the streets of the royal capital remained bustling with activity.
We were currently walking along a street one block east of the central avenue, where buildings jostled for space, with stalls and shops filling the gaps between them. Many people were busy shopping and transporting goods, making it necessary to be cautious not to bump into anyone.
The crowd was diverse, including humans, beastmen, and elves, as well as the rarely seen Oni with short horns and blue-skinned demons. Most were common folk, but adventurers could also be spotted here and there.
After walking for a while with Mariane leading the way, we came upon a particularly large four-story building. This was the headquarters of the Adventurers’ Guild in the royal capital, and its distance from the central avenue was likely to accommodate a training area. Notably, the monster dissection area was set up outside the city walls, with only the materials being brought inside.
Entering the building, we were met with a space as vast as an airport lobby. A row of bulletin boards lined the back, and a long counter to the side was staffed by more than ten receptionists. Of course, there were over three hundred adventurers who had just finished their work, filling the air with the overwhelming scents of blood, sweat, and iron—a truly remarkable atmosphere.
The royal capital is said to be surrounded by numerous dungeons ranging from F to A rank, attracting many adventurers, but even so, I had never seen such a large gathering, even during a major subjugation. Upon closer inspection, various ranks of parties mingled together, with some clearly of a higher rank.
“Wow, that’s a huge number. I feel like I’m going to get dizzy,” Larni exclaimed, her eyes wide beneath her hood. To make use of our experience in Barbadoza, I had asked the other three to wear hoods, aside from Mariane.
“There are quite a few high-ranking parties here. As expected of the royal capital,” Sfenia noted, her gaze fixed on a party centered around a tall female beastman. The beastwoman carried a massive sword on her back, indicating she was at least B rank.
“Soushi, I’m going to greet the guild master. I might be called in, so please wait here for a bit,” Mariane said before heading up the stairs.
Curious about the requests available in the royal capital, I moved toward the bulletin board. Freir and Sfenia followed, but for some reason, Larni headed toward the tall beastwoman we had just seen.
“Hey, could you be Karma?” Larni called out.
“Huh? Yeah, that’s me, but… Larni!” the beastwoman exclaimed, her eyes widening in surprise as she placed her hands on Larni’s shoulders.
The tiger beastwoman, who was a head taller than Larni, laughed and hugged her tightly. Larni’s head was completely engulfed by her ample bosom, making her look quite uncomfortable. It seemed she was genuinely struggling as she began to tap out a signal. Finally, Karma noticed and released Larni.
“So you’ve become an adventurer. You didn’t awaken, did you, Larni?” Karma asked.
“About a year ago,” Larni replied. “You’ve been at it for three years now, right?”
“Yeah, it’s been three years already. How’s the wolf tribe leader doing?”
“When I left, he was doing well. The tiger tribe leader was also fine, but I think they’re probably preparing for a leadership change now.”
“Oh, I see. Well, the tiger tribe should be fine since my dad is still around, but the wolf tribe might have a tough time now that you’ve become an adventurer.”
“Probably. But there’s nothing I can do about it. Now that I’m an adventurer, I want to grow stronger, and I just want to live my own life.”
“You really are something… it sounds like you just casually left the village.”
Karma’s sharp observation made Larni stick out her tongue in a playful manner.
“By the way, what’s your rank now, Karma?”
“B rank. I’ve been fortunate with my companions. Larni, after a year, you’re probably still at D rank, right?”
“Hehe, I’ve been fortunate too, and I’ve made it to C rank! I’ll catch up to you soon!” Larni boasted, puffing out her chest.
Karma raised her eyebrows slightly in surprise. “Wow, Larni has always been strong, but reaching C rank in just a year is impressive! What kind of party are you in?”
“Well, that’s…”
As Larni glanced over at me, she quickly approached and took my arm, pulling me toward Karma.
“This is Soushi, the leader of our party, ‘Soul’s Guidance.’ Remember the name, because we’ll be famous soon!”
“Uh, um, nice to meet you. I’m Soushi, the leader of ‘Soul’s Guidance.’ I owe a lot to Larni. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Caught off guard by the sudden introduction, I instinctively fell back into my old habits from my office days.
Karma looked at me with a curious expression before chuckling and returning the greeting. “Oh, nice to meet you. You seem like a unique adventurer. I’m Karma, the leader of the B rank party ‘Drunken Tiger.’ Thanks for looking after Larni.”
As Karma extended her hand, I shook it.
“…!?”
In that instant, an incredible force gripped my hand. It was an unexpected strength contest. I had seen something like this in movies, but I never thought a woman would challenge me here.
Not wanting to lose face, I also applied pressure in return. Honestly, Karma was a stunning beauty with her striking golden long hair, making it hard to resist holding her hand…
“Wow, I’ve mastered ‘Herculean Strength,’ but I didn’t expect you to remain unfazed,” Karma remarked as she relaxed her grip, and I followed suit, releasing her hand.
Then, Karma leaned forward, looking up at me from below. “Hmm, so you’re quite the veteran, huh?”
“No, I’ve only been an adventurer for a little over six months. I awakened late.”
“That’s interesting. Well… please take care of Larni. It might be a bit challenging, though.”
“Karma, I’m doing just fine, so don’t worry! Just don’t say anything unnecessary to Soushi!” Larni interjected.
“Okay, okay,” Karma replied, rolling her eyes at Larni’s protest.
Just then, Mariane descended the stairs, her expression suggesting she had something to say. It seemed I would need to greet the guild master after all. I called out to Freinir and Sfenia, then pulled Larni away from Karma and headed toward the stairs.