Chapter 133
Chapter 133
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 133
Chapter Title: The Soiree
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The soiree came after a month-long break—long if you think about it, but short in hindsight. During that time, we lived a simple life, frequenting the Adventurer's Guild.
While we were at it, we gathered various pieces of information, like details about the land of the dwarves and the requirements for promotion to S-rank.
First, we learned that the nation where the dwarves live is called Machina, and that dwarves, who are naturally low on mana, have developed a technology called magitech. The problem was, I already knew all of that.
And then there was the most important matter: how to become an S-rank adventurer.
-Hmm… To be honest, we never expected another S-rank adventurer to emerge. Especially not through a recommendation.
-So, what do I have to do? Should I prove my strength by destroying the empire or something?
-…Instead of that, just go get letters of recommendation from the other S-rank adventurers. If you bring them all, the higher-ups will have no reason to refuse.
-Eh? All of them? What a pain.
-Even so, there are only two left…
That’s how the conversation had gone. In the end, they would only promote me if I got recommendations from every S-rank adventurer. I could get one from Lucia anytime since she was in the empire, but the Alchemist was the problem.
The Alchemist was even more of a wanderer than Gideon. Since she was still young, she probably wanted to see the world, but honestly, I doubted I would even see her once before we had to take down the Demon God.
Well, I decided to leave that unpredictable task to my future self. We prepared to leave our inn. The reason was the soiree being held at the imperial palace this evening, which meant we had to go. Though, when I say 'prepared,' I just mean we were wearing our usual clothes.
Honestly, asking adventurers to dress formally is an absurd request. The imperial family must have known that, as they didn't impose a dress code. They did, however, warn us not to show up looking like we’d just been rolling in the dirt.
"Ready to go?"
"Yes."
"Yep~"
Just as we were about to leave, there was still one person among us who wasn't ready.
"…"
This wasn't a sudden thing. It had been like this for the past month. With each passing day, Liche's expression grew darker.
Frankly, I had no idea why she was acting this way. I told her she didn't have to go if she didn't want to, yet she insisted on coming. So why was she so troubled all by herself?
"Still haven't decided?"
"There's no way I could do something like that…"
It was about the method I'd recommended for overcoming her trauma. In cases like Liche's, where a person is the source of the trauma, killing that person is the solution. So I told her to kill him.
But Liche said she couldn't do it. After everything she'd been through, it seemed she still had some lingering sense of family affection, of all things.
Well, whatever. She said she was going, so she can figure it out herself.
"Let's get going then."
By the time we left the inn, the sky had already darkened. There was no set time for the soiree; we just had to show up before midnight. But since we planned to have dinner there, we set out around suppertime.
The streets looked no different than usual. The only change was that, likely due to the soiree at the palace, nobles were not an uncommon sight among the pedestrians.
"Luke?"
Halfway there, we ran into someone we knew at a crossroads.
"Headmaster…?"
It was Lucia, the Headmaster of the academy. She was wearing a shimmering blue dress and heading in the same direction as us. She wasn't the headmaster anymore, but old titles die hard.
"Liche, you're here as well? Have you been traveling with Luke since you withdrew from the academy?"
"Ah… yes. Are you on your way to the palace, Headmaster?"
"Yes. I received an invitation as well."
"Is there a reason for you to go to a place like that?"
"Running an academy isn't exactly cheap, you know."
It seemed she was going to find the sponsors Adela mentioned before. Sponsoring Lucia was the same as sponsoring the academy. Since she had retired as an adventurer, she was likely attending in her capacity as headmaster.
"And where are you headed, Luke?"
"The palace, same as you."
"Have you already been promoted to A-rank?"
"Yep."
"A-rank so soon after returning to adventuring… It seems a new S-rank adventurer might emerge, just as I predicted."
Speaking of S-rank adventurers, something just occurred to me.
"Oh, right. Lucia. Could you write me a letter of recommendation?"
"Pardon? What kind of recommendation?"
"An S-rank adventurer recommendation."
"What's that…?"
If even Lucia didn't know about it, it must not be the standard procedure. Now I understood why Argo seemed at a loss and just told me to get recommendations from everyone.
"I got something called an S-rank adventurer recommendation from Gideon. Then Argo told me that if I want to become S-rank, I need to get recommendations from the others too."
"Gideon? Do you mean the Weapon Master Gideon I know?"
"Yep."
Lucia looked curious about where I had met him and what had happened, but it was too much of a hassle to explain everything from my trip to Alfheim. Fortunately, I had Luna for times like these.
I asked Luna to explain for me, and she didn't give the whole story from start to finish… but she did summarize the necessary parts in three lines. Thank you, Meddlesome Speed Luna!
"Is that so… I never knew you could use recommendations. I understand. I'll write one for you, so come pick it up later."
"Yep."
That's two down. If the last one wasn't the Alchemist, I would have been shouting 'S-rank adventurer, easy mode.'
Come to think of it, since they're both S-rank, shouldn't there be some way to contact her?
"Lucia, do you have any way to contact the Alchemist?"
"Ah… you mean her."
So they did know each other.
"Unfortunately, no. With Gideon, you can at least predict his movements and wait for him, but she is so peculiar that she's completely unpredictable."
Well… being unpredictable was part of the Alchemist's character setting, after all. At times like this, I regret not being reincarnated into a modern fantasy world. If I had been, I could have just sent her a text.
As we walked and talked, we soon arrived at the imperial palace. I'd never had a reason to come here before, so I didn't know, but up close, the palace was even more magnificent than it looked from a distance. It was enough to make me truly feel that we were standing before the real imperial palace.
In front of the palace entrance, various nobles stood holding what appeared to be invitations, which were being checked by knights in steel armor. The knights would confirm the noble's family name and then announce their arrival in a loud voice.
'Do they really have to go that far?'
Even though I knew it was a formality, I couldn't help but think they were doing all sorts of things just to get attention. It was like that feeling in school when you walk in through the back door during class and all eyes turn to you. The people here might be used to it, but for hikikomori like me and Yui, it was a cardinal sin.
We also handed our invitation to a knight and showed our A-rank adventurer emblems, and our arrival was announced in the same manner.
"Announcing the arrival of A-rank adventurer Luke and his party!"
The only saving grace was that Lucia was next in line behind us, which drew some of the attention away.
Once inside the palace, we were in awe. It was the imperial palace, after all. Gold, the symbol of wealth, was everywhere, sparkling brilliantly, and chandeliers the likes of which I'd only seen a few times hung from the ceiling.
As we stood there marveling, Liche led the way.
"Come on. It's this way."
"You know your way around?"
"I've been here a few times."
Right, coming from a ducal family, this wouldn't be her first visit to the palace. Despite her reluctance to come, she moved with a familiar ease. Following her lead, we walked a short distance and entered a vast hall teeming with adventurers and nobles.
The crowd was so large that any place smaller than the imperial palace would not have been able to accommodate them all.
Some had even brought their sons and daughters to forge connections with other families.
Nobles confident in their martial prowess came alone, while the pot-bellied ones who were not were accompanied by escort knights.
"Luke. I'm going to step away for a bit."
"Alright."
I let Liche go, figuring she needed some time to herself. I had a rough idea of what she was going to do. As for me, I scanned my surroundings, focused on my own objective.
Nearby, trays of delicious-looking food were arranged on tables, and servants of the palace were circulating with wine.
"Hah… How long has it been since I've been to a buffet? Yui, eat whatever you want. And if you want to take more with you, bring it to me."
"Huh? Really?"
"Yeah. We came here to eat today."
My plan for today was to eat my fill and then clean this place out. I'd carefully store all this precious food in my inventory and pull it out one piece at a time whenever we went camping or on a long journey.
Yui darted off like a puppy chasing a bone. She headed straight for the dessert table.
It's not like she doesn't eat a lot of snacks normally. I'm starting to think she has a serious snacking addiction.
Luna wasn't my guard either, so she didn't feel the need to follow me around and went off on her own. After watching them, I also made my move, grabbing a plate and heading for the food.
On the way, a servant offered me a glass of wine, but I had to refuse. Unfortunately, I have a constitution that makes me susceptible to Qi Deviation when I drink.
I piled my plate high with food and was starting to pick at it, one bite at a time.
"Ahem. Excuse me."
Some pot-bellied noble, with four guards in tow, struck up a conversation with me.
"I am Rivers Falkland, head of the Falkland family. And you are… I don't believe I've seen you before. Are you perhaps the newly promoted A-rank adventurer?"
"Yeth."
At my reply, he let out a hearty laugh. Beside him, his guards started sucking up like their lives depended on it. "As expected of Lord Rivers's insight!" It was like watching the extreme sports version of the service industry.
"I would like to sponsor a rising star such as yourself. What is your name?"
"Don' need it, *chew, chew*. *chew*."
"…What was that? I must have misheard you."
He frowned. I couldn't tell if he genuinely hadn't heard me or if he was asking again despite hearing me.
*Gulp.* I swallowed everything in my mouth and spoke.
"I said I don't need it."
"Did I hear you correctly…? I'm talking about a sponsorship. I am offering to sponsor you!"
This son of a bitch just won't stop bothering me while I'm eating. As if a greedy pig like him would offer a sponsorship out of pure goodwill.
Of course he'd try to sneak in a sponsorship, like a pickpocket in reverse, only to try and pull my strings later. I never had any intention of accepting a sponsorship in the first place.
"I said no, you fucker."
"S-Such vulgarity…!"
The pot-bellied noble was flustered, having likely never heard such vulgar language in his life. His guards glared at me, their hands moving to the hilts of their swords.
But that was as far as they could go. Even if their master was a noble, mere guards couldn't just draw their swords in the imperial palace.
"Morons. Striking a pose when you can't even draw your swords. Scared, are we? Can't do a thing, can you?"
How do you like that? Annoying as hell, right? This is what you call K-trash talk. I happily provoked the guards, who couldn't bring themselves to draw their swords, all while munching on my food.
So, what are you gonna do? You think a bunch of nobodies like you can draw your swords in the imperial palace? Not a chance, even if your master ordered you to.
"Hey, fellas. You should save those cool poses for your girlfriends, not for other guys. From now on, you're Homo sapiens. The pioneers of gay. Don't worry. It might be tough now, but in the distant future, more accepting people will emerge, and they will welcome you."
"Kill him!!"
***
While Luke was bickering with another noble.
"…Father."
"What is it?"
Liche was face to face with her father.