The Imperial Invitation
The Emperor's audience chamber.
Adan Elois knelt on one knee.
"I greet the Sun of the Empire, His Imperial Majesty Henry Elois."
"I hear a Demonic Human appeared at Estrada Academy?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. There were injuries, but fortunately, we suffered no major casualties."
"Was it the Knights who subjugated it? Or that Archmage?"
"It was slain by a commoner who entered Estrada Academy as a special scholarship student... a man named Hound Egil."
Thud!
The Emperor stood up from his throne in excitement.
"Is that true? A mere academy student defeated a Demonic Human?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. Though he had the assistance of Young Master Arcadia, the young master testified that it was practically Hound Egil fighting alone."
Calming his excitement, the Emperor sat back down and stroked his chin.
"Is that so? A most fascinating fellow. Send an invitation to this Hound Egil. I must bestow a reward upon him."
"I shall obey your imperial command, Your Majesty."
The Crown Prince muttered to himself as he left the audience chamber.
"I had my doubts, but to think he possessed such skill."
The Crown Prince had previously believed that the outcome of their duel during the comprehensive evaluation was merely due to his own poor tactical management. But he was wrong. He now realized that Hound Egil had been holding back from the very beginning.
How irritating.
Frowning as he dwelled on the past, he noticed the Grand Chancellor hurriedly heading toward the audience chamber, clutching a stack of documents.
"What is the matter?"
"They are petitions for peerage, Your Highness. Three noble houses have submitted them simultaneously."
"From three houses?"
The Crown Prince snatched the documents before they could reach the Emperor. He wanted to see exactly who these three families were petitioning for.
"Cardelia, Merian, and Estupina?"
They were all high nobles who constantly associated with Hound Egil. He had expected Estupina, but to think Merian and Cardelia would join in as well.
With this, not only was a noble title guaranteed, but under Cardelia's sponsorship, he might even rise straight to the rank of Viscount.
"I shall deliver these petitions to Father myself. You may return to your duties, Chancellor."
"But..."
"I will handle it. Do not worry and run along."
"...I obey your command, Your Highness."
The Crown Prince turned back toward the audience chamber. His father, Henry Elois, was already taking an interest in Hound, and now three major houses were petitioning for his peerage.
...His path to success isn't just open; a red carpet has been rolled out for him.
He spoke to the knight guarding the audience chamber. "Petitions have arrived at the imperial court. I must speak with Father directly. Open the doors."
The guard nodded. The doors to the audience chamber opened once more.
"Adan, why have you returned? Has some problem arisen?"
"Petitions have arrived from three noble houses, Your Majesty. All of them are requesting a noble title for Hound Egil."
The Emperor narrowed his eyes slightly.
"...Which houses?"
"The Ducal House of Estupina, the Marquisate of Merian, and the Earldom of Cardelia. None of them can be ignored. Estupina is one of the four great ducal houses, while Merian and Cardelia are staunch imperial loyalists. I highly recommend accepting their requests."
"Hmm..." The Emperor stroked his beard.
"It seems I must personally step forward to bestow his reward."
"...Do you not harbor any doubts about him defeating the Demonic Human alone?"
"Why should I doubt it? Our ancestor, the First Emperor, achieved similar feats at a tender age. We may well be witnessing the dawn of a new era in the Empire's history."
"Is he truly of that caliber?"
"Indeed. Keep a close eye on him. In the future, he would make an ideal match for the Princess."
"......"
The Emperor urged the Crown Prince. "What are you waiting for? As I instructed earlier, send the imperial invitation to Hound Egil. Grant him audience in the throne room. For one who has slain a Demonic Human and won the favor of multiple great noble houses, this is the least we can do."
"I shall obey your imperial command, Your Majesty..."
One week had passed since the Demonic Human incident.
In the aftermath of the event, the academy ended the semester earlier than scheduled. Because of this, I had returned to Room 302 to pack up my belongings.
I've actually grown quite fond of this room.
Packing my bags and tidying up the room made me feel strangely sentimental. Perhaps it was because I had spent a whole year of my life here. It wasn't as if I could never return, but a bitter sweetness lingered in the air.
Once I finished preparing and stepped out of the room, I was met by knights in uniforms adorned with rows of brilliant medals.
"Are you Hound Egil?"
"I am..."
The knight rummaged through his breast pocket and handed me a letter.
"An invitation from the imperial palace."
The time had finally come for me to receive a title. The imperial seal stamped on the envelope left no room for doubt. My life as a commoner was finally over.
Will I get a surname now? Who knows, maybe they'll even give me a fief?
Suddenly, my heart hammered against my ribs. A wave of complex emotions washed over me, wrapping around my heart, my chest, and my entire body. It felt as though all my past struggles were finally being rewarded.
Well, it wasn't actually that much of a struggle, but...
Hey, good things are good things. I eagerly snatched the invitation from the knight.
"Thank you very much for delivering this in person."
"The schedule and details are all inside. Read it carefully. The imperial palace will dispatch a carriage to your family home on the designated date."
They were even sending a carriage? Does this mean I don't have to ride those bone-shattering ordinary carriages anymore? This was the absolute best news I could have hoped for.
"To even send a carriage... I can only offer my deepest gratitude to His Imperial Majesty."
"Ahem. See to it that you continue to distinguish yourself. Even the Imperial Guard has its eyes on you."
The knight turned on his heel and walked out of the dormitory.
By the way, to think even the Imperial Guard was keeping tabs on me... My stock was rising higher by the day.
But my ultimate goal was a harem. And to build a proper harem, I couldn't just settle for being a guard—I needed to become a Grand Duke. To achieve that, I needed countless achievements and exploits worthy of receiving a massive territory.
I guess my only option is to purify the Contamination that will spread in the future.
To purify the Contamination, the holy attribute was absolutely essential. However, my planned party members were Ronia, Mikaris, and Line. None of them specialized in holy magic.
In the end, I'll have to go to her.
Eilyn Rutenia. The illegitimate daughter of Marquis Rutenia, specializing in holy magic.
When I read the original novel, she wasn't a character I particularly liked. Her personality was atrocious, incredibly rude and arrogant. She bullied the protagonist simply because his hair was lighter than hers. She was a villainess through and through, rotten to the core.
Can I really reform her...?
I lacked confidence. The other villainesses I had saved from their tragic fates so far were fundamentally decent people.
"......"
Still, it was worth a try. Holy magic was non-negotiable. Above all, her talent for holy magic was so immense that it rivaled the original protagonist's.
But that was a problem for later. First, I needed to get my title so I wouldn't be looked down upon.
Before heading back to my family home, I went to see Mikaris.
"My lady, the next time we meet, I shall greet you as Baron Hound Egil Something-or-other."
"I hear you received an invitation from the imperial palace?"
"Yes, my lady."
Mikaris smiled and took my hand. "Make sure you think only of me, even when you're back home."
"Of course. My thoughts are always with you, my lady."
"Would you like to borrow the Marquisate's carriage?"
The Marquisate's carriage? That was wonderful news. Splendid news.
"I would be deeply grateful if you did!"
"Very well. I'll speak to the coachman, so take our carriage. I still have some business to attend to at the academy."
"Thank you for your kindness, my lady. I shall take my leave now."
After bidding brief farewells to Line and Ronia, I finally set off for my family home.
"Hound!"
Rosel hugged me tightly.
"I missed you so much! How was academy life? You weren't bullied for being a commoner, were you?"
"I became the exclusive knight of the Marquisate, so everything was fine. By the way, haven't you heard the rumors?"
"What rumors?"
I said proudly, "The rumor that I defeated a Demonic Human."
"Is... is that really true?"
"Of course. And that's not all. First place in the comprehensive evaluation, first place in the dungeon practice, and the subjugation of a Demonic Human."
Rosel's brow furrowed, her face filled with worry.
"Putting your grades aside, to do something so dangerous...! Even if you succeeded, it was far too reckless! There must have been others who could have dealt with it..."
"No, mother, I don't regret fighting it. As I said, I am an exclusive knight. My master, the Marquis's daughter, was captured. I had no other choice."
"Still..."
"Haha, it was nothing. Aren't you underestimating your special scholarship student son a bit too much?"
As I shared a warm conversation with Rosel, Fenrir returned.
"Hound! You're back!"
Fenrir rushed over and ruffled my hair. "So, have you been training hard?"
"Of course. Actually, I've reached the 6-Star rank."
Fenrir's eyes widened. "6... 6-Star? In such a short time? Aren't you stronger than me now?"
"Perhaps I am."
Fenrir laughed boisterously. "Haha! Rosel, Hound has truly inherited our talent. To think my son might become one of the few Sword Saints in the Empire... I can't help but be excited!"
A Sword Saint? Even that is not enough. I am one who walks the Path of the Sword God.
"By the way, I'm quite exhausted from the long journey. May I go up to my room first?"
"What about dinner? Aren't you going to eat?"
"I'll eat tomorrow. Sleep is my priority today."
"Is that so? Go ahead, then. I look forward to a warm family meal together tomorrow."
When I went up to my room, a sense of awkwardness preceded any nostalgia. It wasn't simply because my time at the academy had been long. Ever since I transmigrated into Hound, the period I spent in the dormitory was much longer than the time I had spent here.
Let's check the letter.
In recognition of your meritorious deed in subjugating the Demonic Human, the Sun of the Empire, His Imperial Majesty Emperor Henry Elois, hereby grants you an audience.
Your attendance is mandatory. The schedule for the carriage dispatched to your residence is as follows...
What an arrogant invitation, perfectly fitting for the imperial family.
I never had any intention of declining anyway. With the backing of a Duke, an Earl, and a Marquis, and now even the Crown Prince, who would refuse? I had to get that title. My plan was progressing steadily, step by step.
Next up is Grand Duke.
Grand Duke. The Emperor's closest confidant and a lord ruling over a massive territory. Essentially a major subcontractor of the Empire, like a subsidiary of a massive conglomerate.
If I stop the Contamination that will spread in the future and reclaim the lost territories, won't I be able to become a Grand Duke?
...I didn't really know. How should I know the intricate hierarchy of medieval nobility? Just a year ago, I was a regular office worker commuting by subway and reading romance fantasy novels.
Even in romance fantasy novels, the settings for noble titles were always different. In the end, my only choice is to resolve the Contamination...
I closed my eyes tightly. Recalling the original novel, there was only one piece of information about the Contamination: a prophecy that a world-consuming Contamination would arrive. That was it.
Now that the plot was moving faster than the original, it would arrive much sooner than predicted. There was no other information.
Toward the end of the novel, the plot devolved into the protagonist being kidnapped, confined, facing assassination attempts, and even ending up in a slave market. A generic neighboring-kingdom romance fantasy turned into a brutal, angsty tragedy...
Thinking about it now made me feel indignant. I had no idea what the author was trying to achieve. Perhaps my transmigration was related to this.
"Hmm."
I decided to stop useless speculation. Given that I was receiving sponsorships from the Special Shop, the most logical hypothesis was that this world was indeed a novel—and one that was currently being written.
Thinking any deeper would only give me a headache.
Let's just focus on the imperial palace for now...