Episode 43.

Royal Capital III

I woke up early. Reflexively, I checked the pocket watch I'd left beside my pillow.

09:19

I'd slept almost ten hours straight. I'd expected to sleep poorly, but surprisingly I hadn't woken once.

'Is it because of the bed?'

Anyway, sleeping that long sometimes left my head feeling heavy, but I didn't feel that way now.

'My stress levels must be almost reset.'

I got out of bed, washed up quickly, and left ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the inn.

I was supposed to meet Kazen and Kria at one in the afternoon. I still had time, so I planned to wander the city by myself until then.

Of course, I'd already decided yesterday which places I needed to visit.

"A hardware store? Probably that way. No, not there. To the right of that fountain you can see over there."

"<Dark Elf's Whisper>? That place went under ages ago. It's been about three years now?"

"There are five clock shops around here. In my opinion, old Roberton is the most skilled of them. His eyes have been getting dim lately, so you'd do well to visit before his eyesight gets any worse."

I checked the locations of the city's shops, corrected errors in my memory, and memorized the places that had moved entirely.

"Hmm. An old pocket watch, is it? You only need to replace the cracked crystal and the inner dial."

"How much would that cost?"

"About 20,000 seed?"

"......Just give me a different one. As long as it works properly, even a used one is fine."

"How about this one? It's a similar model to yours."

"How much?"

"3,000 seed."

Watches are so precise that sometimes buying another one is cheaper than repairing the old one.

Still, I sold off my old pocket watch that at least still ticked—I got 300 seed for it—and bought a few sets of comfortable clothes to wear in the city.

"That'll be 9,500 seed in total."

"......."

The money I'd scrimped and saved was vanishing fast.

But I couldn't exactly walk around the city in combat gear, so I had no other choice.

"Chicken skewers for sale! Coated in our shop's special secret sauce, absolutely delicious! A flavor you won't find anywhere else! Only 500 seed each!"

After buying the clothes, I also bought a chicken skewer from a street stall.

It didn't particularly look tasty, but the price exactly matched the change I'd received after paying for the clothes.

"Thank you!"

I put the chicken skewer in my mouth, sat down on a nearby bench, and watched the street.

"......."

The Royal Capital, Oreval. The city was definitely far denser than it had felt in the game.

'Of course it is.'

No matter how much a game claims to be realistic, if they made the map the same size as an actual city, players would inevitably riot.

It would take over a day just to go from one end of the city to the other.

'A week wouldn't be enough to look around every detail.'

So I decided to save a proper tour of the city for later.

After finishing the chicken skewer, I tossed the stick into a trash can and muttered.

"Special secret sauce, my ass."

They'd just brushed on some soy sauce.

I returned to the inn.

I picked a decent table in the first-floor dining room and ordered food in advance—enough for Kazen and Kria too, just in case.

'The cheapest thing first.'

I wasn't exactly flush with cash right now.

Combining what was left from the forest with what I'd received from the Guild yesterday, I had around 60,000 seed. From that, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I'd spent a bit on lodging and clothes, so the remaining money was.......

'About 44,000 seed.'

And just now, another 3,000 seed vanished on the meal.

'Maybe I should've just gone with a cheap inn.'

The thought crossed my mind briefly, but I soon shook my head.

Places like that have the worst cleanliness, and the food is unsanitary too. Setting aside forcing it down, you could even catch some strange disease.

"Your food is here."

What I'd chosen was a budget meal of bread, stew, and sausage.

The freshly baked warm bread and the stew packed with chunks were quite tasty. Though the sausage did have a bit of a gamey smell.

Around the time I'd finished off one piece of bread, Kazen and Kria appeared.

"Ah......! Kaindel!"

A face I hadn't seen in a while. Kazen came rushing over and sat down in front ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of me. His expression brightened visibly as he spoke.

"I heard the gist of it from Kria. You really went through a lot. I'm deeply grateful, and at the same time, I'm sorry......."

I swallowed the bread I'd been chewing and said.

"Either apologize or thank me. Pick one."

"Then I'm sorry."

"......Sit down for now. You must be hungry, so let's eat and talk."

"Ah, yes."

"Okay."

The two siblings sat down across from me. They must have skipped breakfast too, because the food I'd ordered vanished in the blink of an eye.

During the meal, Kria said in a surprised tone.

"Kazen eats this kind of thing well now."

"Haha......."

I looked at Kazen, who was laughing awkwardly, and asked out of curiosity.

"This kind of thing?"

"Yeah. Kazen has always been a picky eater, so he could barely eat inn food like this......."

"I-it wasn't that bad. I just didn't have an appetite."

"......."

No matter how refined your palate is, after spending about a month rolling around in the forest, you're bound to stop being picky about food.

I drank some water with a chuckle, when suddenly Kazen, who had been clearing his throat, looked at me and said with a serious expression.

"......Anyway, Kaindel. This is sudden, but there's something I'd like to ask of you."

"What is it?"

"Would you have any interest in forming a party with us?"

For a moment, I was speechless. Perhaps interpreting my expression in some way, Kazen quickly added.

"O-of course, the two of us are pathetic as Delvers. This forest expedition alone proves it. The truth is, we couldn't even pull half a person's weight, let alone one person's."

"......."

"With your abilities and resourcefulness, Kaindel, you could surely find companions far superior to us. So I'll leave all decision-making authority—reward distribution, party rules, everything—entirely to you."

"Hmm."

I looked to the side and saw Kria nodding frantically as well. There was even a hint of desperation in her expression.

"......."

Honestly, this was something I'd been meaning to bring up first myself, so I felt things were working out easily.

"All right. Then I'm thinking of an 8:1:1 reward split by default. Is that fine?"

"Yes!"

"Great!"

Eager answers. These two were perfect marks to fleece.

'Of course, even a one-tenth share would still be a good deal for them.'

With their current specs, both of them would have a hard time finding a decent party anyway.......

Even the one-tenth share I gave them would earn them far more than joining most ordinary parties.

"Then we should distribute the rewards from this expedition first."

"Ah. This one's fine, so please start from the next expedition."

"......You sure?"

"Of course. It's not like we're short on funds right now."

Well, if that's how it is.

As I've said repeatedly, I'm not exactly flush with cash either, so I decided to gratefully accept this kindness.

Besides, these two don't look financially strapped no matter how I look at them.

"What a relief......."

"......Yeah."

The two of them let out sighs of relief. Looking closely, they were even sweating cold sweat.

They must have been anxious that I'd reject them, but honestly, they were strategically valuable assets to me as well.

'At the very least, they're not the type to stab me in the back.'

Compared to the risk of betrayal, their current stats weren't that important.

"By the way, Kaindel, was that expedition really your first time?"

"How many times do I have to say it was?"

"Haha. Sorry. Still, it's just that hard to believe....... So where did you learn about Delver culture and the party system?"

"Books. And things I picked up by listening to people. When you work as a stoker, you overhear all sorts of things."

"Aha......."

In the relatively softened atmosphere, trivial conversation continued.

Honestly, everyday conversation like this wasn't easy for me, but it was all groundwork for building Trust.

"Anyway."

At an appropriate moment, I asked the thing I was most curious about, as if it were nothing.

"Why do you two want to become Delvers? Judging by how you carry yourselves, you look like you come from families that want for nothing."

"Ah......."

The two of them closed their mouths with awkward expressions.

'Hmm. Not yet, then.'

Seeing them close up like this even though both of their Trust values ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠should be approaching 60, there had to be circumstances they couldn't easily talk about.

I brought my cup to my lips and said.

"If it's hard to talk about—"

"......We want to discover a <First>."

For a moment, I nearly choked.

"......A First?"

"Yes."

"So you mean the rarest and most valuable material among the discoveries found in the forest?"

"It doesn't stop there. It also has to be groundbreaking and practical."

In other words.......

"Is becoming a <Grand Cruel> your goal?"

Grand Cruel.

When a Kingdom-affiliated Delver achieves outstanding results, the royal family bestows a medal. <Grand Cruel> is the highest grade among them.

The highest honor a Delver can obtain, I suppose?

'According to the setting, there aren't even ten people who hold <Grand Cruel>.'

Kazen affirmed with a timid expression.

"......That's right."

"......."

I leaned back against the chair and racked my brain.

'Their Fame would need to reach at least 30,000.'

Right now, that was a distant prospect. Even going all-in on raising Fame would take several years of game time.

'But.......'

Unexpectedly, it also aligns with my own goal.

I also wanted to build my Fame as high as possible before reaching the second or perhaps third year.

'Because right around then, a revolution breaks out in the Delver world.'

The so-called Cataclysm Event, in which the existing system completely collapses.

"......."

When I raised my head, I saw Kazen and Kria looking at me with stiff faces. They looked as if they'd steeled themselves for something, but I couldn't tell exactly what they were feeling.

So I just said it plainly.

"Time limit?"

"Pardon?"

"I'm asking if there's a condition like having to achieve it within a certain number of years."

"Uh...... th-there's nothing like that in particular."

"Really? Then shall we set it at three years for now?"

Kazen asked with a flustered face.

"Three years?"

"It might change depending on our expedition results, but at our current level, if we rush more than that, we'll crash and burn. So, three years."

Whether the cataclysm event happens in year two or year three is random. If you're unlucky, it could be sooner, or it could be later.

Still, we mustn't rush. Given the current situation and our growth speed, three years is the most realistic timeframe.

"......."

Kazen closed his mouth and lowered his head.

Had I put it too strongly? Or was three years simply too long?

'But didn't you say there was no time limit or anything?'

Just as I was starting to feel a little baffled, Kazen raised his head. His eyes were slightly bloodshot.

'Is he crying?'

The moment I was at a loss for words, Kazen spoke.

"You don't mock us."

"What?"

"Everyone mocked us when we talked about this. They'd say, 'How could the likes of you discover a <First> and become a <Grand Cruel>?'...... You're the first person who didn't."

A message window appeared right after.

[Companion Kazen's Trust increases.]

[Companion Kria's Trust increases.]

I guess I hadn't stepped on a landmine after all.

I had nothing more to add, so I just nodded. Kazen rubbed his eyes roughly, then said in a firm tone.

"Kaindel. Please give me any orders from now on. I'll follow anything you say. Ah. When do we depart for the next expedition?"

Having motivation is good, but too much of it is counterproductive.

I shook my head.

"Don't be too hasty. There's a lot to prepare before the expedition."

The train heading to the <Eternal Forest> operates only once a month. Generally speaking, that is.

'Since we returned after a little over two weeks.......'

Similarly, there was a little under two weeks until the next departure.

It's a bit tight, so I'm considering postponing the forest expedition by another month. There's also a lot to prepare before the next expedition.

Of course, depending on our financial situation, we might have no choice but to push through.

"For now, rest well for a few days...... Kria, clear your schedule on Tuesday."

"Tuesday? I don't mind, but what for......?"

"We're going to the Magic Tower."

That Negative Trait stuck to you, <Spell Rampage>.

We need to erase that goddamn Trait as soon as possible.