“Tek here, Americans are world famous for being impatient--but the people of a parallel world aren’t all easygoing either.”

 

“A Peanut is flying!”

“Monster?”

 

Pochi and Tama, who just came into the room rush up and take my sleeves--I allow myself to be pulled by them along to the deck.

 

There’s an airship floating where the two point.

 

I had seen it approaching on the map, but it’s very impressive when you see the real thing--it’s a 300 meters long peanut-shaped airship, I don’t know if it floats using gas like Helium, or using Magic.

 

“That’s an airship.” I explain to the two.

 

“Ayership?” Tama asks, cutely tilting her head as she looks between the airship and my face.

 

“Ships that fly in the sky.”

 

“Amazing! I want to ride in it!” Pochi bounced in place, tugging excitedly on my sleeve.

 

Well, if you think about it, the airship is probably for military affairs, so it’s doubtful that we would get the chance to ride.

 

“Woow, truly a fantasy. I’m excited.”

“I wonder, how is it floating?”

 

Arisa and Liza have also come onto the deck. This is the first time Arisa sees an airship, huh? I wonder if she hasn’t ridden in the exclusive airship of the Hero.

 

“Master, I wish for that.” Nana is gesturing like she’s trying to reach out and grasp the airship with her hands.

 

“Fufufu, the shape is quite cute, isn’t it?” Lulu says it’s cute--how is it cute?

 

“Arisa can just make you a cushion with that shape later--on top of being cute, it’ll also be soft.”

 

Nana twitches at my words, slowly turning her head towards Arisa, before going to pester Arisa--she hugs Arisa from behind, speaking intensely about how cute the airship is. Arisa will probably yield before long, since when she’s like that--Nana absolutely won’t give up.

 

“Master, I’ve asked Shelna, and it seems that Demi-Humans aren’t welcomed in the inner part of the big wall--I think it’s better for Pochi, Tama, and Mia to put on robes before we enter the port. Mara will be alright, since Dwarves travel to the capital all the time.” Liza walks over to my side, talking quietly.

 

“Right, I’ll tell them--thank you, Liza, well done.”

 

Liza nods and smiles at my thanks, her tail swaying a little.

 

Shelna, by the way, is the tour guide. Her main occupation is one of the civil officials of the Viceroy of Gururian City--Earl Walgock. When I saw it from the information from the Heads-Up-Display, I thought that she was the Viceroy’s watchdog--but it seems that she just missed the time when she worked as a tour guide when she was earning her school expenses when she was you, so she replaced the official tour guide.

 

We get to stay at Earl Walgock’s mansion, thanks to the Viceroy’s goodwill, while we are at the Duchy Capital. I’m fine with staying at a normal inn, but since there is a Martial Tournament, there probably many decent places left--so I decided to receive the favour.

 

The port that our ship is heading towards isn’t the one in the downtown, but one built inside the Capital’s great wall, for nobles to use. By great wall, I’m naturally talking about the Oyugock City outer wall.

 

It seems that the population has increased too much. So, in order to settle down the people in the suburbs, they’ve created another wall outside, called the new wall. The new wall is unlike the actual old City walls, since it cannot defend against Monster attacks as well as its predecessor.

 

The area inside the great wall becomes inhabited only by noble, the wealthy, and technicians. While people like the workers, Demi-Humans, and the poor people living between it and the new wall.

 

***

After we have disembarked, Shelna guides us toward Earl Walgock’s mansion. Thanks to the Viceroy’s pass, we aren’t checked during the inspection for entering the city--however, I get the feeling that there are too few guards. When I check on the map, it looks like the guards are running around inside the city.

 

The cause is probably because I came back after a deep sleep last night--early in the morning--and moved all of the corpses and their belongings to a large area in front of the castle. I left them covered by sheets, so it was less gory--it wasn’t gory for me, since I used storage.

 

Since I left them in their Wings of Liberty clothing, and a few of them had their plan to resurrecting the Demon Lord on their person. The soldiers are probably trying to deal with the aftermath.

 

The woman who I stole the clothing of, has been rescued by her friends and now she’s among the gathering of Wings of Liberty members who are in the mansion of a noble called Earl Bobi--it’d be troublesome if they start disturbances, so I mark it, and the members, using my map.

 

After I have finished greeting the previous Earl Walgock, together with Shelna, the two of us go to the Duke’s Castle in a carriage. Shelna is quite an energetic person.

 

I, myself, am fine since I have a lot of stamina--but Mia and Arisa don’t have anywhere near as much stamina, so I suggest they stay at the mansion.

 

Karina has invited Pochi and Tama for some training in the courtyard--she’s probably quite frustrated after being cooped up on a ship and unable to move her body much. Liza and the maids are accompanying them, so they probably won’t cause an uproar.

 

The Duke’s castle is as vast as Baron Muno’s, but there is a massive difference in the splendor and the number of people present. There are four 4-meter tall iron golems stationed around the castle gate.

 

After crossing the inner wall, the wagon stops in the courtyard, we have to walk from here. Guided by a main, we’re advancing through a corridor made from an abundance of marble. Carpets cover the floor, and artwork or attractive flowers in vases are placed regularly throughout the corridor.

 

Someone is waving their hands at me from inside a painting that hangs on the wall--as expected of a fantasy world, it’s really like a Magic Item. The little girl drawn in the painting is waving her hands energetically, looking delighted when I wave back. The rest of the paintings don’t interact like this--but this painting would probably be very expensive, so it’s understandable that there’s only one.

 

“Is there anything wrong, Chevalier?”

 

“No, it’s nothing. As expected from a Duke’s castle--there’s a fun Magic Item.”

 

“That’s right, I was also surprised when I came here for the first time.”

 

No wonder.

 

Anyone would be surprised if they saw someone moving inside a painting.

 

***

We’re led to a room and meet the Consul’s aide.

 

“Well then, this the letter from Baron Muno--and this is the letter from Baron Muno’s Consul, Viscount Rottol, for the Consul here.” I hand over two sets of letters; the letters from Nina are in the form of three scrolls and a bundle of documents.

 

The Consul’s Aide receives them respectfully, and then places them on a rack. Shelna also has a letter from the Viceroy to pass over, but she also passes over a bag that she had brought with her. I heard later that it’s packed with reports from each of the departments.

 

A maid knocks on the door, and after receiving permission, she enters the room and whispers something to the Consul’s aide.

 

“Sir Felspar, your excellency, the Duke seems to want to meet you--is it fine for you to go for a bit?”

 

Oh?

 

The plan today was to only pass over the letters--I was told that the meeting will be held several days later. Since this means that I won’t have to come here twice, I gladly accept. I don’t really have the right to refuse anyway, so this ‘invitation’ is probably just a formality.

 

I thought that we would be guided to the audience room, but we pass by it and proceed to what seems to be the Duke’s private room.

 

The Consul’s aide’s room was gorgeous, but this one is easily two grades higher. The chair that I sit in isn’t too hard or too soft, it’s a superb fit. I would have loved to have this chair back on Earth. There’s a water tank built into the walls on one side of the room, multiple colourful fish are swimming around inside it.

 

There are four statues of nude women in the corners of the room--they’re all Living Statues. Skillfully concealed in one of the walls is a secret passage that lead to a waiting room, in which there are several soldiers standing by. Three Magic Soldiers are on the roof--there doesn’t seem to be any gimmick to move the roof, so they would probably just break in using Magic if there was an emergency.

 

They’ve put quite a bit of considerations, making sure that normal people wouldn’t be able to sense the existence of those guards. It doesn’t seem that the Duke wants to intimidate his guests.

 

The maid that had been waiting in the room and watching me, hears a bell, and announces that the Duke is coming in from the next room--so I stand up to greet him.

 

Entering the room is a man who looks to be in his mid-thirties, but his level is just over 50, so he would actually be somewhere between his eighties and nineties. He has a good physique, obviously having received Martial training--his black hair grows down to his shoulder-blades, and it’s surprisingly soft-looking for a fantasy world.

 

There is a good-natured look on his face, but the glint in his eyes is quite powerful.

 

Shelna, who’s standing near me, has stiffened.

 

The one entering after the duke seems to be the Consul. He has blonde hair, with a little grey mixed in, and a slender build--his eyes are a little thin, giving him a predatory look.

 

“Hmm, so you’re the rumoured Hero who saw through the Demon’s trick, protecting Muno Territory from the Monsters and Undead lead by the Demon, huh. You’re young.”

 

After we introduce ourselves, the Consul speaks first.

 

Young?

 

Oh right, my body is that of a fifteen year old--mirrors are so rare that I tend to forget.

 

“On top of that, it seems that you exterminated the Demon that appeared in our territory’s Gururian City. Allow me to thank you.”

 

“It’s partially because of the people who fought it before my people arrived--my subordinates killed it. If it was just me alone, I doubt I could have won.” I may have been talking up my girls, saying that they did much more than the original soldiers--it’s true, but it may also sound bad.

 

“Modesty is unnecessary. A letter of recommendation for you to participate in the second qualifier has arrived, from Earl Walgock.”

 

I can barely stop myself from rolling my eyes--what is it with these people trying to make me stand out, trying to force me into the center of attention, when all I want to do is have fun…

 

Of course, I gently decline

 

“Is that so? That’s too bad. So, I’ve summoned you here to tell you something about Baron Muno.” The Duke speaks up.

 

Don’t tell me that Demons are attacking his territory again.

 

“Your excellency, he will misunderstand if you start the conversation like that--” The Consul is obviously close to the Duke, saying his words in a tone that is partially amused and partially exasperated.

 

“Really? It’s a good story It’s been decided that Baron Muno will be raised to an Earl during the Kingdom’s spring meeting. There hasn’t been such a high-ranked noble raised two ranks in one go for many years--so there were some disputes. But the king has decided that he has piled up more than enough achievements.” The Duke watches my face while speaking.

 

The Consul continues the story--apparently there’s talk of me becoming an Honourary Baron. Lords are allowed to assign the Honourary Knight and Knight Peerages--but it seems that Honourary Baron and above are the King’s privilege.

 

Honestly I’m not interested in raising my rank, so I decline it as well.

 

After this side-tracking, the Consul begins to talk about the real issue.

 

“I don’t think that you know, sir, but every town has been attacked by a Lower Demon--like the one that attacked Gururian City.”

 

I do know, but normally one wouldn’t, so I put on a slightly surprised expression.

 

“Only Gururian and Standel escaped with very little damage. The other cities will probably take several years to recover. We cannot confirm if any Upper Demons, like the one that attacked Seryuu City last month, has appeared--but Mid Demons have appeared in other Earl’s territories.”

 

If an Upper Demon attacks, a city would surely vanish--but if it’s a Lower Demon, then people that are able to defeat it should exist.

 

The Demons’ damage have increased in various places, so they want to gather people who can defeat Demons. I think that soliciting other Lords’ retainers may cause some problems. They seem to be trying to transfer me, to work for them--so, I decline in a way that I hope won’t create any hard feelings.

 

They want to know what I want for rewards--for saving Gururian City--so I ask permission to buy attack-related Scrolls, and Magic Tools, they easily agree. When I talk to Arisa later, she says that it’s likely they were pleased that they didn’t have to spend any cash--so they had more for various restoration projects.

 

While I’m at it, under the pretext of ‘for the sake of Muno City’, they permit me to go on ‘inspections’ of all kinds of workshops. I look forward to having a tour of workshops like the Oak Glass workshop.

 

***

“Haah, that was tense.” Shelna mutters from beside me--the tenseness finally being released from her shoulders.

 

I smile at her, patting her on the shoulder--and getting a roll of the eyes in return, but she has returned to her more energetic form.

 

When we’ve returned to the courtyard to get on the wagon, I notice that there’s something strange. Everyone is looking at the sky.

 

“Chevalier, please have a look at that.” Shelna stops, pointing at the sky.

 

I look at where she is pointing, and I shade my eyes with my hand, since it’s directly in front of the light--I have no need to do this, because of a Light Intensity Adjustment Skill, but my hand has moved out of habit.

 

Putting aside such trivial things--she descends from the sky.