To The Royal Palace

When we stepped outside, a carriage was waiting in front of the guild, and it seemed we would ride it to the royal palace. The man who had come to escort us apparently served as the driver, leaving only Rebecca and me inside the carriage.

“What kind of person do you think His Majesty is?”

“I wonder… I’ve heard rumors that he’s very handsome and that he likes tea, but I hope he’s not a scary person.”

“Yeah. I wonder if our etiquette will be alright. Luca, do you know the proper manners for an audience?”

“No, I’ve read about it in books, but…”

I had skimmed over it since I thought it had nothing to do with me. Now I regretted not studying it more thoroughly.

“I haven’t even read a book about it. I hope it’ll be okay.”

“For now, they’ll probably teach us how to move and act. If they don’t… we should ask today.”

“Yeah. If the audience is tomorrow, we still have time.”

While sharing our tension and swaying in the carriage, it eventually slowed down and stopped in front of the royal palace.

When I stuck my face slightly out of the window to look outside, it seemed we had stopped in front of the large gate leading into the palace grounds.

“Luca, I’m getting really nervous. I’ve never been this close to the royal palace before.”

“I’ve only ever seen it from far away too… seeing it up close, it’s huge.”

“It really is…”

It was such an enormous building that it felt like hundreds or even thousands of people could live there. I couldn’t even imagine what a structure this large was used for.

“We will now enter the royal palace. We will stop shortly, so please prepare to disembark.”

“Y-yes.”

When the driver spoke to us, Rebecca and I became even more nervous.

‘Lady Seremees, what kind of person is the king of this country? We won’t be punished for disrespect or anything, will we?’

Feeling too anxious, I ended up speaking to Lady Seremees, and laughter came back in response.

‘Hehe… hehehe.’

‘Is something wrong?’

‘There’s no need to worry so much. The king of this country is, how should I say it in one word… a child.’

A child? What did that mean? His Majesty was in his forties, wasn’t he? Did that mean he was childish even at that age?

‘Basically, his abilities are rather low. The most praise he receives is that he can honestly listen to others’ opinions. Just like a child, wouldn’t you say? However, he occasionally makes completely reckless decisions out of nowhere, so those around him are constantly being dragged around by him.’

‘…Somehow my image of His Majesty just collapsed.’

I had imagined the king as a wonderful and noble person who devoted himself to his duties, thought about the people, and was cool and strong…

‘Kings are usually like that. Many kings are far worse, so this country’s situation is actually better. For now, as long as you don’t say anything that insults the king, you’ll be fine. He’s simple, so he’ll be pleased if you praise him.’

‘I see…’

I would never say anything insulting about His Majesty, so that part was fine, but praising him… that might be too intimidating for me.

“Luca, what’s wrong?”

Perhaps because I had made a strange expression, Rebecca leaned in to look at my face.

“Um… could you come over here for a moment?”

I thought it would be dangerous to say something negative about the king out loud, so I asked Rebecca, who was sitting on the side closer to the driver, to come sit beside me. Then I brought my mouth close to her ear and spoke in a quiet voice.

“Lady Seremees said His Majesty isn’t very capable. He’s childish and simple, so as long as we don’t say anything insulting and just praise him, it’ll be fine.”

Even though I had spoken very quietly, Rebecca seemed to hear it clearly, and she made a rather complicated expression.

“…Maybe I didn’t really want to hear that.”

“I know. It kind of destroys the image… or the admiration.”

“The cool, handsome older king I imagined is collapsing in my mind.”

After saying that, Rebecca gazed off into the distance before her expression softened slightly.

“But I guess it helped ease my nerves.”

“That’s true. My hands aren’t shaking anymore.”

“My heartbeat feels normal again too.”

As the two of us laughed together, feeling strangely relaxed, the carriage had apparently already stopped and someone knocked on the door.

“We have arrived. May I open the door?”

“Of course.”

When we stepped out through the opened door… it seemed the carriage had stopped at something like the palace’s back entrance.

“Please enter from here. After this, I will explain the audience procedure, and you will decide on your preparations for tomorrow.”

“Understood.”

Following the man through the palace, everything that came into view looked luxurious, and it felt tiring just to walk a little. Occasionally, people we passed glanced at us curiously, perhaps because adventurers like us were unusual here.

I never would have imagined being in a place like this. Life really was unpredictable. Just a month ago I had nearly been crushed under heavy baggage in a dungeon.

“I will explain everything in this reception room.”

When we entered the room… the interior was so luxurious that I hesitated to even move. Everything sparkled.

“T-the royal palace is amazing…”

“We strive to provide hospitality that satisfies our guests.”

Nervously, we sat down on the sofa decorated with luxurious ornaments, and the man sitting across from us handed me a sheet of paper. It seemed to contain the schedule from here on.