Chapter 29
Chapter 29
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 29
Chapter Title: Imperial Capital Karnias (1)
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A month had passed since the shut-in grand archmage Sion had left the Magic Tower.
After the beastkin mountain fiasco wrapped up, Sion had been holed up in her room, slacking off ever since.
There wasn't any special reason for sticking to her room like glue.
She just felt like it.
The Yormungand mess with the slimes in the sewers, then Erbert and Liliana's drama on Bestia Mountain.
Exhausted from dealing with not one, but two tiring ordeals back-to-back, Sion had entered full "home security guard mode."
"Um... Rion?"
"...Hm...?"
"How long are you planning to stay cooped up in the inn like this...?"
Of course, Chloe wasn't the type to just sit back and watch Sion laze around.
"Hmm... Until today...?"
"That's the third time you've said that today."
"W-well, then today really is the last... "
"That was your second 'today really is the last.' You promised me just a few more days of rest..."
"Ugh..."
Having spent no small amount of time with Sion, Chloe had a pretty good read on her personality.
Kind-hearted at her core but indifferent to others, talented yet hopelessly lazy—an utter eccentric.
"If you get into this habit, it'll be even harder to get up."
"But... the bed's so fluffy..."
People as innately lazy as her would always procrastinate unless pushed into a firm decision.
Like she was dead set on lounging all day, Sion pulled the covers over her head completely.
"Rion... Are you tossing aside your promise to your disciple like yesterday's rags...?"
-Flinch.
Chloe would usually respect Sion's wishes, but not today.
No matter how much rest she wanted, two months glued to the house felt like too much.
"I made some simple soup. Eat with me, and let's head out today? Please?"
Sensing an opening in Sion's resolve, Chloe deployed her ultimate weapon.
"...Soup?"
"Yeah, I bought some meat at the market last night."
Lately, Chloe had naturally taken on the role of homemaker for the group.
The price of having a master with zero life skills and a spirit who kept turning into a cat—and becoming more cat-like by the day.
"...Meat stew...?"
"Yep, minimal veggies."
"Ooh..."
She'd been clumsy at first, but practice made perfect.
Now, Chloe's cooking was one of the few things in Rilteia that could satisfy Sion.
"Ugh... Fine, let's eat first then..."
In the end, Sion finally dragged herself out of bed after a week, and Chloe claimed a humble victory.
"Lil, Lily..."
After devouring the breakfast Chloe had lovingly prepared, Sion reluctantly let herself be dragged to the Adventurer's Guild.
"This is such a hassle..."
"A promise is a promise."
"Yeah..."
She couldn't break the promise that today would end her shut-in freeloader life.
Dragged along by Chloe, Sion completed a few quests and finally unlocked nearly all the achievements available in Prifre.
"S-rank... Finally."
"Yeah... I didn't think we'd hit it this fast."
Whether it was thanks to her record of resolving the Bestia incident, she reached S-rank adventurer faster than expected.
"Hey, look! It's Rion...!"
"That hammer murderer Rion...? Eek...!"
"...Shut it...!"
"I think it's cool."
"Ch-Chloe..."
She drew unwanted attention because of it, but since they were leaving Prifre soon anyway, she decided not to care.
"Um, Rion!"
"Yees...?"
"Rion, you've got a named request—"
"I-I quit adventuring...!"
Fame and the spotlight were her worst nightmare, but she'd grudgingly taken quests to clear related achievements.
Now that those were done, there was no need to tangle with the guild anymore.
"Pardon?"
Sylvia couldn't hide her shock at Sion declaring retirement right after hitting S-rank.
Adventurers were supposed to earn as much as they could while they could, especially at their peak earning potential.
"N-no, why...? Your name's just starting to spread. This is when you should be raking it in—"
"Eh... I don't really need the money..."
She'd earned enough to last a lifetime anyway.
Wait, not that she earned it herself...
It was just what Cedric had given her.
"W-well, at least take this letter!"
Realizing Sion's mind was made up, Sylvia hurriedly shoved an envelope at her.
A luxurious one, elegantly sealed with gold thread.
"Hm...? Who's it from...?"
"Uh... Olivia."
Ah.
-Rip.
"W-wait! Don't tear it! That's from the Imperial Palace!"
"Huh...?"
...Why are they looking for me there?
"...The palace?"
"It's an invitation from the palace! Olivia asked me to pass it on!"
Curious, she checked the contents. It basically said they'd invite her to the palace to commend her for her great contributions on the Bestia front.
"You think...?"
"Yeah... You're right."
As Lily said, this invite was likely aimed at Sion's disciple, not the actual contributor on Bestia.
Which meant they'd pester her with questions and be a total pain.
"You'll go... right?"
"Too much hassle..."
"Huh?"
Did she really have to?
Honestly, she didn't want to.
"It's an imperial invitation! What if you get in trouble for skipping?!"
Sylvia's worries weren't worth fretting over, but they weren't entirely dismissible either.
Accepting the empire's invitation and entering the palace was one of the achievements.
She'd gotten invites as Sion before but skipped them all out of laziness, so it remained undone.
'What a pain...'
She didn't want to go.
She'd just endure pointless formalities, sit through some meaningless banquet staring into space, then leave.
Did she really need to bother?
'...But I have to...'
Returning to her original world required 100% achievement completion.
And the Leonhardt Empire was famously prideful.
They might overlook a rejection from "Grand Archmage Sion," but not from "her disciple Rion"—they wouldn't send repeats.
Indeed, after rejecting a few as Sion, the invites had stopped.
So this could be her last shot at the achievement.
"Ugh... Such a hassle...!"
"Then don't go?"
"It's just... I have to go at least once..."
"Yeah..."
In the end, Sion decided to accept the imperial invitation.
Missing this chance might mean no more invites forever.
Their next destination was set.
[Olivia said they've prepared a separate carriage for you. The location is...]
Having accepted the imperial invitation, Sion's group headed to the meeting spot for the carriage the empire had provided.
The moment they boarded, it meant a complete farewell to Prifre.
"...Shouldn't we say goodbye?"
Sion cautiously asked Chloe, the thought nagging at her.
"Pardon?"
"To... your hometown folks..."
Prifre was Chloe's birthplace.
She loved it enough to risk her life fighting crime there directly.
"...I'm good."
[I'm... really, really sorry, Chloe...]
But Chloe had no intention of visiting.
"I came and saw they're doing okay."
With security restored and the land's contamination gone, the slums were slowly regaining their old vibrancy.
Still a hand-to-mouth existence, but their lives were improving bit by bit.
Above all, Chloe had decided not to be bound by the past anymore.
"I-I see..."
Sion was momentarily thrown by Chloe's unexpected attitude.
After all, Chloe had been ready to throw away her life for her hometown people.
Curious about what changed her mind, but Sion chose not to pry.
"Hmm... Around here...?"
"Is that it over there?"
Arriving at the spot, they spotted a single carriage.
A carriage that screamed high nobility—completely out of place in this rural town.
It had to be the one prepared for Sion's group.
"Are you Rion?"
As they approached, a coachman in a suit stepped forward.
"Yees..."
"Please board. Someone's waiting inside."
Waiting?
Who...?
-Clunk!
The coachman guided them and flung open the carriage door—
"Ah, Rion! Over here! I asked Sylvia, and she said you got the letter today! So I figured I'd ride along and waited here! Oh, by the way, this carriage is from the Leonhardt family—"
The one waiting inside was none other than Olivia.
-Clunk!
"Chloe..."
"Yes?"
"Le-let's take a different carriage..."
There's a weirdo inside.
Not riding.
The Empire's imperial reception room.
Meant for foreign dignitaries, an unexpected guest now sat waiting there.
"...I don't recall inviting you."
Where was the Rion she'd invited? Why was this person here?
Edella dropped her usual facade, her tone dripping with venom.
The woman before her was one Edella knew despised her revered Master Sion more than anyone.
-Slurp.
The woman sipped the offered tea leisurely, utterly at ease.
Her nonchalance grated even more on Edella's nerves, but she held back from further rudeness.
This guest was someone even she, an imperial princess, couldn't treat lightly.
"Don't show so much dislike. I didn't come because I wanted to."
At first listen, her voice was thin and clear, like a child's.
Aqua twin tails, pointed ears, petite frame—it all accentuated the impression.
Yet the years she'd endured were beyond what Edella, with her scant teens, could fathom.
"...Lady Linie."