Chapter 99
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 99
Chapter Title: The Royal Palace (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Rayhakter's words prompted the clan members to start praising me. Seo Yu-ju, in particular, seemed so eager to boast about me that she wouldn't stop talking.
It got to the point where even Rayhakter, listening to her, looked flustered.
"You have no idea how many times Yun-seong's judgment saved us from disaster. He's truly amazing."
'Sh, shit... please stop.'
"Oh... i-is that so?"
"Yes, exactly! In the tutorial dungeon, he made the call to conserve mana, and in the rare-grade dungeon, he erased the shadows..."
'Stop it.'
"And he sold off the rare items before the market crashed..."
'You crazy bitch, stop!'
"Even during the investigation of this incident..."
'Damn...! Damn...!'
I was so embarrassed just listening that I felt like I might lose my mind.
Worse, Seo Yu-ju's words were only fueling Rayhakter's suspicions about me.
No matter her intentions, this could lead to the worst possible outcome for me.
"Y-Yu-ju, the listeners seem uncomfortable. Please stop..."
"Haha, no, it's fine. Quite entertaining, actually. I enjoy hearing about others' exploits."
'Crazy...!'
It felt like there were two enemies. Normally, Seo Yu-ju was on my team, but the situation made her seem like a spy.
Of course, my suspicion that Rayhakter doubted me was just my guess. He might not suspect a thing, but I trusted my powers of observation.
I had no choice but to change the subject to steer the conversation.
"More importantly... what should we do once we arrive at the palace?"
"Hm, once you arrive, we'll give you three days to rest. You all need time to prepare before meeting His Majesty right away."
"I see."
"You'll probably learn palace etiquette during that time, but to be honest, His Majesty isn't one to fuss over manners... So minor slip-ups are fine."
'... Guess the king isn't a stickler.'
"As long as you're not swearing in front of him, you'll be okay."
I couldn't help glancing at Kang I-seo.
"...What? Why are you looking at me?"
"...Nothing."
One thing I'd noticed... this Rayhakter guy seemed pretty close to the king.
"You're outsiders anyway, and we know you're not familiar with palace protocols. His Majesty and I are aware of that, so no need to worry."
Sure enough... maybe because we were headed to the palace, the clan members—except Seo Yu-ju and Wi Ho-yeon—looked visibly tense.
"We called you here to reward you for benefiting the kingdom. His Majesty will be grateful."
"That's a relief."
As we chatted, the carriage began to slow to a stop.
A quick peek out the window suggested we'd stopped at a warp point.
"We'll warp from here, and you'll arrive soon after. Rest easy until then."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
True to Rayhakter's word, we warped and soon arrived at the palace gates.
"Halt. We'll check your identification. Where are you from..."
As one guard approached to verify us, another smacked him on the head and spoke up.
"Hey, idiot! Can't you see the carriage? It's a royal one!"
"Y-Yes?"
Rayhakter stepped out, opening the door. The smacker's face paled as he bowed deeply.
"S-Sorry, Secretary! This guy's new...!"
The rookie froze in shock, so the veteran hurriedly spoke.
"Hey, bow your head! Now...!"
"Ah... y-yes! Sorry!"
"Haha, no harm done. Everyone messes up at first. Here's the ID. Can we proceed?"
"Of, of course! Hey! Open the gates!"
Rumble...
"Carry on, then. Good work."
"Th-thank you! Please enter, Secretary!"
And so we entered the palace.
'...Gorgeous.'
The neutral capital we'd passed through was flashy, but nothing compared to this.
"Alright, everyone out. I have business, so my aide Leila will guide you from here."
As Rayhakter finished, Leila addressed us.
"...I'll guide you now. Follow me."
"Got it."
Following the woman, I broke the silence with a question.
"Mind telling me where we're headed?"
"Ah... There's a building for housing VIPs. That's where we're going. It should be more than comfortable."
'Obviously.'
This was about royal face, not our comfort.
"...Rayhakter must be busy. Because he's secretary?"
"Yes, he is... Sigh... Not that I should say this, but his busyness is self-inflicted."
"...?"
"He shirks work and just drinks all day. When will he shape up? Sigh... If only he'd quit that damn booze."
Her tone made her sound less like a subordinate and more like a girlfriend.
'Maybe... they're involved?'
Nothing wrong with boss-subordinate romance.
I didn't know Rayhakter's feelings, but she clearly cared deeply, worrying like that.
"Haha... booze is always trouble. You two seem close, though."
"Ah, w-well... we've worked together a long time...!"
'...She has feelings for Rayhakter.'
"Rest in these rooms for now. Call the maids if you need anything."
"Understood."
"Also... you'll learn basic etiquette over three days. Bear with it."
"No problem. We get it."
"Thank you. I'll fetch you in three days. Rest up. If you want to go outside, tell the maids."
"Ah... We can leave the palace?"
"Yes, it's fine. First time in the capital, right? Lots to see—recommended. I'll go now."
'The capital...'
I had only seen the scenery briefly from the carriage, but it clearly felt different from Rund.
Rund felt like a city of outsiders, since most outsiders stayed there.
But the capital was a city where the natives lived.
The clan members checked their rooms and started exclaiming.
“Holy shit… I never thought I’d stay somewhere this luxurious.”
“Noona! Look at this! Is this gold?”
“Y-Yu-hyeon! Don’t touch things carelessly! What if you break something!”
‘Wow… they’re treating us this well?’
I expected something similar to our clan lodging at best.
But since this was the royal palace, the treatment was on a completely different level.
Even considering that our clan house was already very good, these rooms clearly seemed designed for true VIP guests.
‘…Why are they treating us this well?’
Even if we solved a drug problem the nation considered serious, the treatment still felt excessive.
“Um… Yun-seong.”
“Ah, yes, Ms. Yu-ju. Is something wrong?”
“No, nothing special… but… do you perhaps have some time?”
‘Right now I have nothing but time.’
“Yes, I do. Honestly, I have plenty of time. There’s nothing to do in the palace anyway.”
“Th-then…”
I already had a guess what she was going to say.
“If it’s okay with you… would you like to look around the capital together?”
“……”
“Well… since we came to the capital, maybe there are things worth seeing?”
She seemed quite expectant.
Honestly, I couldn’t help hesitating at Seo Yu-ju’s suggestion.
‘Because it’s obvious what she means.’
She said sightseeing together.
But in reality it was basically asking me on a date.
In this situation, I only had two choices:
Push her away, or accept it.
Honestly… I wanted to push her away.
Because Seo Yu-ju’s feelings for me were heavy and special due to her memories of the first timeline.
But I didn’t have those memories.
‘…But pushing her away again here would be too cruel.’
I knew how much she had sacrificed for me.
So I couldn’t reject her directly.
That’s why this situation kept repeating.
She would take one step toward me, and I would move away.
“…Alright. Let’s do that. I’m fine with it. Do you want to go now?”
Perhaps that’s why those words came out of my mouth without thinking.
The moment she heard my answer, Seo Yu-ju’s anxious face brightened.
“Yes, yes! Hehe… let’s take our time looking around! Since it’s the capital, there should be lots of food and things to see!”
So we immediately asked the maid for permission to go out and began exploring the capital.
The other clan members remained in the royal palace.
At first, when Seo Yu-ju said the two of us were going sightseeing, Hyun-jin tried to join us without noticing the situation.
But Yu-rim pinched his side and stopped him.
As expected from the capital, there were many things to see.
Since many natives lived there, most of the food stalls sold foods unique to Eras rather than outsider food.
We visited the plaza, looked around weapon shops, browsed clothes.
It felt almost like a normal couple sightseeing together on Earth.
‘Though couples on Earth probably wouldn’t browse weapon shops.’
But whether it was weapon shops or clothing stores didn’t matter.
Seeing Seo Yu-ju happy made me feel good too.
After quite some time passed and evening approached, Seo Yu-ju made a suggestion.
“Hehe… Yun-seong, are you hungry? If you are… there’s a restaurant in the capital I found earlier. Would you like to go together?”
“A restaurant?”
“Yes! It’s really delicious. Even among the natives it’s famous for being good. I made a reservation in advance.”
I couldn’t help admiring her effort.
‘…When did she even make the reservation?’
It felt like the roles between men and women had reversed.
‘…Did our roles switch?’
There’s nothing wrong with a woman doing this.
But from my perspective as a man, it felt strange.
‘And honestly… I feel a bit guilty.’
I hadn’t done much for Seo Yu-ju.
Yet she always cared about me a lot.
So feeling guilty was natural.
Since she had worked hard to make the reservation, I wasn’t tactless enough to say I wasn’t hungry.
“A restaurant sounds great. I was actually getting hungry.”
“Then I’ll guide you! I’m sure you’ll like it!”
With Seo Yu-ju walking excitedly ahead, I started walking beside her instead of behind her.