Chapter 41. The Royal Capital I
Episode 41.
The Royal Capital I
Not long after Haitan left, the group came looking for me.
They approached cautiously and found a clearing with nothing but the table and chairs left behind. Alon was the most shocked of them all.
"He just left? That lunatic?"
"Yeah."
"How in the world...... what did you do to sweet-talk him? He wasn't someone you could even have a conversation with."
The moment the Spiritist looked at me again with suspicion in his eyes, Seigrena spoke.
"This useless bastard still hasn't learned his lesson. Just because you couldn't do it, does that mean Kaindel can't either?"
"Ah, miss, you can say that because you never saw that lunatic......!"
"What?"
Normally, he would have flinched and backed off, so when he raised his voice like that, even Seigrena was startled.
"I started Delver work when I was fifteen. I've seen countless nutjobs, out-of-their-mind bastards, psychos I wouldn't even want to associate with! But that guy...... he wasn't that type. He was genuinely a madman you couldn't even talk to. I've never seen a bastard that far gone in my entire life!"
"You're one to talk?"
"Excuse me?"
"From where I'm standing, you look like the craziest one here."
As Seigrena's fist swung again and blood spattered, Kria checked on her brother and let out a sigh.
"Thank goodness....... Kazen seems to be unharmed."
"What about the others?"
"Mm....... They all seem fine. Except for this one."
"......."
The White Knight Laurent's condition certainly looked serious.
His face was pale, and his breathing was unsteady. Yet there was no visible external injury, which meant.......
'Did Haitan feed him something strange?'
I looked around and soon spotted some kind of herb rolling on the ground.
Netherbloom
An herb that relieves tension. Used properly, it is effective for muscle pain and as an anesthetic, but too much of anything is bad.
It was a familiar item.
A medicinal herb mainly used as a muscle relaxant. It is also an essential ingredient in potion-making.
"......How's Laurent?"
Seigrena, having finished Alon's education in the meantime, came over.
Just from her expression, I could tell she was troubled.
"Not good. If we leave him like this, he'll die soon."
"R-really? He looks fine on the outside......."
"It seems that cook fed him a large dose of <Netherbloom>. Used properly, it's medicine, but exceeding the dosage is dangerous. It's an herb that can even be used for euthanasia."
"W-why would he do that to Sir Laurent......."
......Pick one, Laurent or Sir Laurent.
Back to the point.
'Why did he feed it to him?'
Well. It's just speculation, but probably to tenderize the "meat."
Like relaxing a livestock animal's muscles as much as possible before slaughter.
"First, when we return to the Royal Capital, we'll need to stop by the temple."
"......I see."
I looked at Seigrena and said.
"What do you want to do?"
"About what?"
"Betrayal between Delvers is a serious crime. Even if we dealt with him ourselves right here, it wouldn't technically violate the law."
Besides, Seigrena isn't some no-name Delver; she is, after all, of noble status.
No matter how much of an outcast she is within her family, it means she has sufficient justification.
"......!"
Seigrena quietly drew in a breath.
"If taking matters into your own hands feels uncomfortable, we can just leave him as is and withdraw on our own. He was your party member, so I'll leave it to your judgment."
"......I."
For a moment, I saw a host of conflicting emotions cross Seigrena's face.
It was a whirlpool of emotions too varied to describe in a word or two. She looked as if she might cry and frown at the same time.
The deep furrow between her brows eased, and Seigrena looked straight at me.
"......Let's go to the Royal Capital."
So that was her answer.
Strangely, it didn't feel unexpected. Rather, along with the thought that this was just like her, I nodded.
"Everyone gather here."
The spot was where Laurent...... no, where Seigrena's former party had collapsed unconscious. Moving them one by one would be a hassle, so I'd use this place as the center.
"Everyone's here?"
"Yeah."
After confirming everyone had gathered, I took the <Exploration Crystal> from inside my coat.
The method for activating <Return Magic> is simple. You plant the Exploration Crystal in the ground, then chant the incantation, and that's it. Actually, this incantation is familiar to me.
What came to mind was white text slowly appearing on a black-and-white screen.
"......「A deed worthy of remembrance is a challenge against the unknown, and courage is the will to press onward despite knowing fear」."
That's right.
The Return incantation is none other than the first line that appears when starting <FoS>.
In terms of order, it comes before the opening sequence.
"「Forget not those who first set foot beyond the unknown. Humanity's borders were widened by the blood they shed」."
These words were spoken by the founding king who laid the kingdom's foundations—the one known as the first Delver.
"「Thus shall the Royal Capital forever welcome pioneers with joy」."
The moment the incantation ended, light shimmered. A brilliant, multicolored glow like the one I'd seen in the game enveloped my entire body.
There was no warmth to it, but I still couldn't help relaxing. Even in the game, I'd let out a sigh of relief every time an exploration ended.
'I can finally go.'
To the capital of the <Hoffman Kingdom>—
And to <FoS>'s other main stage.
⁝
<Eternal Forest> (1st) Exploration Settlement
Exploration Progress (Lowest-Grade Exploration Crystal): 100%
Total Earnings: 798,500 seed
Achievements Earned
「This Much in a Section with No Equipment?」, 「Octopus Hunt」, 「Master of Spirit Beasts」, 「One Who Changes the Forest's Ecology」, 「Requiem for the Dead」
Current Fame: 531 (531↑)
⁝
[The <Silver> grade of the Achievement Shop has been unlocked.]
* * *
Dazzling light filled my surroundings.
Then came a sensation of floating, a feeling as if up, down, left, and right were shifting at random, and a sense of my stomach turning inside out.
Just when I thought I couldn't endure it.......
All the chaotic elements rapidly stabilized.
"Ugh."
I don't particularly get carsick or seasick, but the surging dizziness made it hard to keep my body upright.
'So this is why the companion NPCs whined every time I used Return Magic?'
They'd always said they preferred not to use it if possible, and I now realized they hadn't been exaggerating.
"......? Can you hear me?"
A calm voice spoke.
I was in a vast empty room. In fact, it was large enough to be called a hall rather than a room—about the size of a decent gymnasium or exhibition hall.
"......Delver, can you hear my voice?"
When I came to my senses, a man whose expression was as businesslike as his voice was looking at me.
I quickly realized who this man was and where this place was.
This was where Return Magic brought you.
'It's the Guild.'
Which meant this man was a guild employee.
"Can you stand? Shall I help you up?"
"......I'm fine."
I got up on my own. The guild employee, who had been observing my condition, nodded and said.
"......First of all, congratulations on making it back alive. Is this your first time using Return Magic?"
Apparently experienced enough to tell from my equipment, he asked that question after looking me over.
"That's right."
"I see. First, please go to a guild employee on the first floor. Once you identify yourself, they will guide you through the return procedures in order. If your dizziness is severe, don't force yourself to stand right away; you may rest until you stabilize. Do you have any injured companions? The Guild can provide basic first aid."
Right. They can, I'm sure.
In exchange, they'll charge an outrageous price.
"I'm going to the temple, so it's fine."
"I see."
"Ah. There are Delvers who lost consciousness, but they......."
"We will move them to the second floor."
According to the game's setting, they even charged money for moving people, but I supposed it didn't matter.
"Everyone except the purple-haired man over there, please."
I only needed to take care of Kazen.
"Ugh....... I-I'm nauseous."
"I think I'm going to puke—urp!"
According to the setting, the <Return Room> is a large space located in the Guild's basement.
Since return timings vary, it's not a common occurrence, but the space needs to be this large so that parties using Return Magic can avoid overlapping in one spot.
'First, move Kazen.'
While Seigrena and Kria took time to stabilize, I carried Kazen on my back and moved him to the first floor. It was indoors, but the ground floor would still be better than the basement.
Even by the time I returned from the first floor, the two still hadn't come to their senses, so I had no choice but to support them and bring them upstairs.
"Kahaha! So back then in the forest I......!"
"Hey! More drinks over here! And snacks too!"
"If I ever party up with that bastard Ludrick again, I'll eat my own hat."
"Is there any Delver looking for a party to explore <Junk Mountain> next quarter? We have a guide!"
The Delver Guild, first floor—
A marketplace-like place so noisy that 'bustling' didn't begin to cover it.
It's one of the most familiar sights to me, but.......
'It's strange not having any lag.'
<FoS> wasn't a particularly well-optimized game.
In places with many NPCs, there was stuttering, and this Delver Guild was especially bad. After all, this was the place with the highest NPC density.
'Since it's where you recruit companion NPCs, receive quests, collect rewards, and even handle room and board.'
With a strange sense of emotion, I sat down where I'd left Kazen earlier. Seigrena and Kria, who had followed like zombies, collapsed into their seats behind me.
"Ugh....... I'm tired."
"I'm dying......."
Honestly, I was tired too, but...... there were still things to take care of before I could close my eyes and rest.
I got up from my seat and headed to the reception desk.
"Hello, Delver. How may I help you?"
"I'd like to submit an Exploration Crystal."
"Yes. An <Exploration Crystal Submission>, then. I'll process it right away."
I handed over the crystal, and the guild receptionist who took it skillfully said.
"Depending on the crystal's grade, checking the recorded Exploration Progress can take as little as 30 minutes or as long as several days. Is that understood?"
"Yes."
"Thank you. I'm Flora, your Guild receptionist."
Ours is the lowest grade anyway, so it won't take long.
I nodded, returned to my seat, and then looked at Seigrena and said.
"So what do you plan to do now?"
At my question, Seigrena immediately rubbed at her forearm.
"What the hell. I've got goosebumps. What's with you? Why are you suddenly talking so formally?"
"We're in the Royal Capital. I should show a noble the proper respect."
"......Forget it. Just talk like you always do. In my whole life, I've never met anyone who sounds less natural using formal speech than you."
Was that a compliment?
It didn't seem like it, but I decided to take it that way.
"So? What are you going to do?"
"......First, I need to clean up the mess with those guys."
As she said that, Seigrena's gaze turned toward Alon, who was talking with a guild employee at the reception desk.
The receptionist said with a worried face.
"Ah....... Your face is quite swollen. This exploration must have been rough."
"......It was rough."
While Seigrena shook her head, I asked.
"Planning to return to your family?"
"Before that, I'll stop by the temple and get Laurent treated first. And since we did make it back alive, the Exploration Crystal too......."
Seigrena looked at my chest and smacked her lips. For a moment, her eyes seemed to sharpen like a cat's.
"......Hey, Kaindel. About your Exploration Crystal—"
"You need it?"
"H-how did you know?"
How could I not know?
If I couldn't tell when you're being that obvious about it, I'd be an idiot.
"It's not like I can't give it to you."
"R-really?"
"Of course, if you pay a fair price."
Seigrena swallowed dryly.
"......How much?"
"I don't need money. Let's talk about it more later. First I need to go to the reception desk and register the crystal."
When you submit an <Exploration Crystal> to the Guild, they analyze the discoveries registered by that party and then pay a fair price.
'Of course, what comes in will be pocket change.'
We'd only poked around near the entrance, and the Exploration Crystal was Lowest-Grade, so even a generous payout wouldn't top 100,000.
"My name is registered on that <Exploration Crystal> too, right?"
"It should be. You have Delver status too, and you registered discoveries along the way."
"G-good! Then make sure you sell it to me! Got it? You can't sell it to anyone else?"
Who would buy something like that.
That thought had just crossed my mind.
"Kaindel?"
Along with a cold voice, someone approached me.
It was the businesslike-looking man I had seen earlier in the Return Room.
"Yes?"
"The measurement and assessment of the <Exploration Crystal> your party just submitted has been completed. However, there is one issue that stands out."
"Go ahead."
"Where did you obtain this crystal?"
Instead of me, Seigrena was flustered.
"Why are you suddenly asking that......."
"Every <Exploration Crystal> has a unique identification number. And before departing for the forest, that number is recorded in the Guild register. All of them."
The man opened the register toward me and said.
"The record for the Exploration Crystal you submitted is E-18870312-423."
For reference, the E indicates the Exploration Crystal's grade, 18870312 is the manufacture date, and 423 is the production sequence.
In other words, mine was the 423rd <Lowest-Grade Exploration Crystal> produced on <March 12, 1887>.
"And just before departure, the holder of the Exploration Crystal was a man named Albert. The recorded description states he was 46 years old, with dark blond hair and blue eyes."
"......."
"I'll ask again, Kaindel."
The man said with an expressionless face.
"Where did you obtain this crystal?"
"......."
"Did you, perhaps, 'loot' it?"
The moment he said the word 'loot'—
"......."
The surroundings went silent in an instant.
Before I knew it, the Delvers who had been chattering noisily were staring this way with expressionless faces.
'......Look at those murderous expressions.'
It was a natural development.
Because 'Looters' are hated among Delvers even more than 'Stragglers.'
"K-Kaindel......?"
Seigrena looked at me with a flustered face.
It looked like a hair-trigger situation, but.......
This development wasn't particularly surprising to me either. Rather, it was familiar.
'The final gate of the <Instant-Death Route>.'
Normally, this is where you'd be dragged off to the Delver Guild's investigation office and detained all day.
Then you'd be subjected to an annoying background check, and false rumors would spread because of the Delvers who witnessed it.
'The misunderstanding of being a looter.'
That makes it harder to recruit companions early on, and the Fame you worked so hard to build during your first exploration drops into the negatives.
On top of that, restrictions are placed on lodging and shops, forcing you to pay twice the normal rate.
'This is why I was trying to secure at least 1,000,000 seed from the <Habitat>.'
A Forced Event with no way around it, because not even a choice prompt appears.
It's the kind of event that blindsides a player just when they think, 'I've reached town, so I can finally relax'.......
But now that the game has become reality, it's different.
"The Delver Eleven Articles—"
Now, every action I can take is a choice.
I looked at the man and asked.
"Do you know Article 7 of them?"