Chapter 86: Reconciliation
The visitor had the very air of a butler, and I recognized the crest on his chest.
Pretending not to be home seemed impossible, so after confirming he had no killing intent, I opened the door.
He looked at Hoo-chan and the others flanking me, bowed deeply, and began to speak.
“I presume you are Shinya-dono. I am Langus, butler to the Marquis Grandes. My master, Marquis Grandes, extends his deepest apologies for the numerous discourtesies his subordinates committed against you, Shinya-dono, in our domain the other day. Those are his words.”
He bowed his head again, then took a parcel from an attendant waiting beside him and offered it to me.
“This is a token of apology from my master for the trouble caused this time.”
It definitely looked like a bag of Gold Coins, but I don’t really want money, you know~.
That sake was delicious, so it was hard to say, “Bring me sake!” Instead, I accepted it.
“I’ll gratefully accept it, but I pray we have no further dealings.”
“My master also wishes for that.”
Saying so, he bowed his head once more, then boarded the waiting carriage and departed.
I regretted not asking where they sold that delicious sake, but then I reconsidered that I could just ask the Commerce Guild, and decided to forget about today’s events.
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Three days later, I was once again woken up by Mii-chan’s tail.
This time, it was a messenger from Milene-sama, and the invitation, “if you have free time,” reeked of a plea.
Since I’d dangled two valuable items right under her nose, it couldn’t be helped. I changed into some fine town clothes and boarded the carriage sent to pick me up, but when they said, “Please bring Hoo-chan as well,” I felt like a warning alarm went off in my head.
Upon arriving at the Moran Trading Company and being shown to the salon, Mii-chan was abducted by Mina, who was waiting, and was currently under a petting assault.
“Thank you for coming. When I presented the Flower Nectar and Gold Mash, Her Majesty the Queen was extremely pleased. She said she wants to meet you again.”
“Again? I was planning to deliver Flower Nectar every year as thanks for the identification.”
“Actually, this time, His Majesty the King has also said he’d like to meet you.”
I feel like the volume of that warning alarm just went up a notch.
“I’d like to decline that, if possible.”
“Why?! To be summoned by His Majesty is an honor second to none!”
“Ah, I believe I told you not to meddle in my affairs. Shall we have another discussion in a separate room?”
“N-no, no, forget I said anything.”
“Why are you so averse to it?”
“First, I’m a carefree Adventurer. Second, dealing with royalty and nobility is a pain. Third, I earn plenty even without Flower Nectar or Gold Mash, so I don’t need to suck up and bow my head to anyone. Besides, you see, people often say I might have the blood of the Black Dragonkin in me. I hear this country is difficult for non-humans to live in.”
“Indeed, it’s often said that nobles who aren’t human can only reach the rank of Viscount at best.”
“Even at the Adventurers Guilds in other towns or the Royal Capital, you hardly see anyone but humans. However, in places with many beasts, there are numerous skilled Beastmen, but it seems they are used as convenient.”
It seems like Amadeus’s opportunism is reflected here, and I don’t like it.
“I don’t think they’ll force you, but would you be willing to meet Her Majesty the Queen?”
“I’ve met her once already; I don’t think there’s a need to meet her a second time.”
“Her Majesty the Queen wishes for a little more Flower Nectar and Gold Mash. She sent some Flower Nectar to the royal families of friendly nations, and it was very well received.”
“That depends on the amount required. I basically harvest these things for my own use, so if leftovers are fine, I can give you some.”
I harvest more than I consume myself and what I’ve given away, but the Magic Bag has a time dilation factor of 360, meaning an item stored for a year would only be a day less fresh than one harvested brand new at the end of that year.
My stock inevitably increases, so there’s no problem in increasing the amount I provide by a little.
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I went to the liquor store the Commerce Guild told me about, but it didn’t look like a liquor store.
It was something far removed from Japanese common sense; wasn’t it a mansion?
Even though I was wearing expensive town clothes, having arrived by a hackney carriage, I was treated like a completely suspicious person.
I silently offered the letter of introduction to the man in front of me.
Getting the letter of introduction written at the Commerce Guild was a hassle to explain, so I lined up several sake bottles I’d received from Earl Lingan’s brewery and told them I wanted sake of comparable quality.
A clerk was called, who looked back and forth between the sake bottles and me, then slowly nodded and wrote down “Wallace Store, 11 Lawrence Street.”
It was on the same street as the Moran Trading Company, a place frequented by wealthy merchants and the affluent, so I was glad I’d come by hackney carriage.
The man glanced at the letter of introduction he received, said, “Please wait a moment,” and disappeared beyond a door.
After a while, the man returned and invited me into the store.
I sat in a business negotiation space set up in a corner of the entrance hall, but there wasn’t a single sake bottle in sight.
Since they do business with nobles and wealthy merchants, I guess they don’t need to display their wares.
“What kind of items are you looking for?”
His attitude was the epitome of curtness, and explaining was a pain, so I once again indiscriminately lined up about five sake bottles I had received from Earl Lingan.
“Show me five bottles of sake slightly better than these, and five bottles of the next rank up.”
Without a word, he looked at the sake bottles I had lined up, bowed, and disappeared into the back.
After a while, he returned with sake on a wagon. I asked the price for the 10 bottles and bought them all, but then ordered him to prepare glasses as I wanted to taste them.
I had him prepare a certificate so the payment could be collected from the Commerce Guild, signed it, and handed it over.
7,680,000 Dahla for 10 bottles.
I poured a small amount of sake into a prepared glass, took about two teaspoons’ worth into my mouth, swirled it around, and checked the aroma that passed through my nose.
Those I didn’t like, I spat directly into a pot, rinsed my mouth with the water provided, and picked up the next glass.
Of the first five bottles, I rejected four and moved on to the next five.
Of the next five, I only liked two, which was a bit disappointing.
When I had him bring an additional 10 bottles each of the three I liked, a certificate with the price was placed before me.
This one was 38,000,000 Dahla, which was expectedly expensive, but since it was easy money, I signed silently.
When I tossed all the sake bottles into my Magic Bag, said my thanks, and left the store, they saw me off with the deepest bows. Bowing to a hackney carriage—their attitude sure changed, didn’t it?
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Around the time the cold had eased and early flowers began to bloom, tension ran through the Marquis Grandes Estate.
A messenger from the Royal Castle delivered a letter to the butler, Langus, ordering the head of the house, Marquis Blend Grandes, to appear, and then departed.
The letter bore the kingdom’s crest, and he was relieved, thinking it was for an audience with Prime Minister Marius Brighton.
The next day, when he appeared at the Royal Castle and settled in the waiting room, the Prime Ministerial Aide came to call for him before he could even announce his arrival.
Usually, a chamberlain would come and escort him, but things were different this time, and he was nervously guided to the Prime Minister’s reception room.
Without delay, the door to the Prime Minister’s office opened, revealing Prime Minister Brighton, and behind him, even His Majesty the King was visible, so he hastily knelt.
“Enough. There is something I wish to ask, so be seated.”
When he sat facing His Majesty, Prime Minister Brighton sat beside His Majesty.
He was tense due to the series of unusual events, but he steeled himself, assuming it was about the matter in his domain.
“Speak in detail about what occurred in your domain!”
Convinced that the Royal Family already knew everything and was merely questioning him, he spoke without concealing a single detail from the contents of the letter delivered by his heir, Welva, to whom he entrusted the domain, and presented that letter to His Majesty.
The faces of His Majesty and the Prime Minister tensed as they listened to the story, but the presented letter matched what was said, and the number of deceased knights was also correct.
“All 108 men killed in a counterattack against two Fireballs, eh? I had heard tales, but this is dreadful.”
“What a foolish thing they did.”
“Grandes, what do you intend to do about him?”
“I have no intention of harming him, but as my subordinates committed such an act, I sent a messenger to apologize to him.”
“And what was the result?”
“I received the reply, ‘I pray we have no further dealings.’ I, too, wish for that.”
“The matter of Haines Deorus, this current incident, and the rumors about Cyndira… We cannot pretend nothing happened, but I have no intention of punishing you. Keep a close watch on your family and subordinates, and ensure they remain quiet.”
As Marquis Grandes bowed his head deeply, His Majesty said only, “Cyndira will be sent back to her parents’ home. The third prince, Ashira, will be granted the title of Viscount upon reaching adulthood and become a pensioned noble,” and then left the room.
To the Marquis, who had raised his head, the Prime Minister murmured, “Be wary of him. Even if his ability as a Tamer is said to be 1, the Tamer God’s Divine Protection is too different from others. According to the Tamers serving the Royal Family, taming a Fang Cat and two Forest Wolves with an ability of 1 is apparently not normal.”
“That he, who is protected by Killer Bees, is not normal, is only to be expected, I suppose.”
“I don’t believe Your Lordship is aware, but he is a first-rate Adventurer as well, you know. He got caught up in a compulsory summons issued by the Tanza Adventurers Guild and was engaged in Beast subjugation in Tanza. As for his subjugation record, it’s said that on a single hunt, he takes down dozens of formidable beasts—ranging from Golden Bears, Red Bears, Brown Bears, and Black Bears, to various tigers, including King Tigers. Many renowned Adventurer parties also participated, but it seems very few could match his achievements.”
“Is he that skilled a master?”
“For that very reason, it seems there were also those who tried to place him under their command…”
“So, he turned the tables on them?”
“It appears neither he nor the relatives of that person intend to make it public. The heir-dono who was entrusted with the territory made a wise decision, wouldn’t you say?”
The Marquis, having withdrawn from the Royal Castle, summoned his Butler, Langus, and ordered him to investigate Shinya’s background and confirm his abilities, but strictly instructed him never to let Shinya realize it.
Furthermore, he gave strict orders to all his subordinates never to interfere with the Adventurer named Shinya, who commands Forest Wolves.