The royal castle was adorned with magnificent stone statues and antiques.
It wasn’t a world I was particularly interested in, but I couldn’t help but feel nervous, thinking about what would happen if I accidentally broke something.
We were made to stand in front of a large door, and then,
“Please wait here until His Majesty summons you,”
we were told, and we stood there stiff as boards.
After about a minute, a voice that sounded quite dignified came from inside.
“Enter.”
The door slowly opened.
We entered slowly in time with it.
A plump old man sat on the throne.
Surrounding him were several butlers and maids.
And around them were many people dressed in expensive clothes.
They were probably nobles.
“Hmm. Adventurer Cain, Adventurer Paulo, and Adventurer Ganjis, who is not here now. You all risked your lives to defeat Text, the Manipulator of the Demon Lord’s Four Heavenly Kings. This is a great achievement! Therefore, I hereby award you a reward of 500 gold coins, the one-handed sword Meltrect, and the staff Mirajurant. I hope you will continue to fight against the Demon Lord’s Army with even greater vigor.”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
At those words, the people around us began to applaud.
…This is long, when will it end?
After bowing our heads for a full minute, we raised our faces, and a servant handed us the weapons and gold coins.
“Um… is that all?”
I asked the servant in a low voice.
“No, there will be a party to honor the heroes after this.”
I’m not tired at all anymore, though…
“Now, let the party begin. Everyone is free to enjoy the meal.”
At the King’s signal, an orchestra that had been hidden behind a curtain appeared and began to play.
At the same time, many people approached us.
They asked how we defeated him, what kind of abilities he used, and so on…
That was fine until then.
But then, they started asking if I had a lover, if I would consider an arranged marriage, and they blatantly brought up political matters.
This is why I hate dealing with nobles.
Oh! If I look closely, there’s the black-haired midget who used to make fun of me at the academy.
When I sent a glance his way, he made an awkward face.
Then, a noble who was trying to force me into an arranged marriage approached.
“If that one marries my daughter, they won’t have to worry about money. How about it? Just meeting once…”
How persistent! Besides, I’m not a man… And anyway, I just got 500 gold coins, so I have plenty of money…
Just when I was about to get angry,
“It seems that Lord Cain is tired? It’s good to talk, but shouldn’t they take a break?”
A helping hand appeared.
“Kuuga-san!”
“Hey, it’s been a while, Cain-ku… Lord.”
“Ah, my apologies, Lord Kuuga. Since we’re here, why don’t we go somewhere where there aren’t so many people?”
“Let’s do that.”
I left the pushy nobles to Paulo and talked with Kuuga-san for the first time in a while.
“Kuuga-san, you were a noble! I was surprised.”
“If you’re going to say that, I didn’t realize you were a woman. I was wrong the other day.”
“No, it’s fine, I’m always mistaken for a boy, so I don’t mind.”
“Wait a minute… If that’s the case, there might be strange rumors going around because a man and a woman went out alone together…”
“It’ll be fine. I was mistaken for a man even at that party, so we can just say we were having sword training, and it’ll be fine.”
“…That’s right. Let’s do that, let’s have a mock battle.”
“Eh, really!?”
“Yeah, it’s been a year since then… I want to see how much stronger you’ve become. I never thought you’d become strong enough to defeat one of the Four Heavenly Kings back then.”
“If that’s the case, I want some benefits…”
“How about I teach you the secret E-rank skill, ‘Shukuchi’?”
“I’d love to!”
I want to finish Chapter 1 by around chapter 50.