Saying goodbye to Livia, I followed the inn staff down to the lobby. Standing in the lobby was a man, probably in his 30s, who could only be described as a knight out of armor. He was no ordinary messenger, and my appraisal confirmed it, he must be a knight or something similar.
"You must be Cero. My name is Leon, I was sent here by the duke to ask you to join me in returning to the duke's manor. The duke would like to speak with you regarding the earlier incident." He said to me while remaining in a stoic stance.
"I figured as much, should I change into something more appropriate for meeting with nobility first?" I asked in response.
"There's no need, you are not dressed in a disrespectful manner." He replied after giving me a quick once-over glance.
"Alright, then, please lead the way." I decided not to waste time with meaningless questions or anything, as I was sure that there was nothing more he could tell me here.
He then led me outside where a nice but unmarked carriage was waiting. Immediately after boarding, the carriage took off towards the duke's manor, though it was still faster to run. Inside, Leon looked me over before speaking up.
"I heard you took down the spy on a roof using magic, without there being a fight. You must be quite skilled for your age to be able to pull that off. There probably aren't many recruits that could pull that off." He eventually said, obviously looking for me to tell him how.
"It wasn't that difficult, but I did have to reflect on my actions considering there were too many variables that I didn't account for. Basically, I just used a combination of Stealth, a concealment barrier, physical enhancement, and Air Step, to get up on the roof behind him without his knowledge. From there, all I had to do was silently cast the dark magic spell Sleep, and that was it." I told him, answering the unspoken question.
"I see, so you're more of the mage type then, still, you did well." He said that with sincerity.
"Thank you, but I mostly use magic because of my age, not because I can't use anything else. I have been training in swordsmanship and unarmed combat with my dad since I was 5. I just can't keep up with adults who have gone out and raised their level, so magic is a safer option. I could probably win against a C-rank adventurer, and hold the defensive against a B-rank, at best, I would be able to hold off an A-rank adventurer for a minute or so if I fortify myself with magic and skills.
If that spy or whatever he was, had an ability or item to detect someone who is using stealth or had an item that could resist dark magic, it could have been dangerous for me. I evaluated his strength around an upper C-rank, but he would probably be or is a B-rank with his scout and possibly assassin skill set." I replied, not wanting to be overly praised.
"Oho, so you can use the sword as well. Have you considered what you are going to do with your future? We could use someone who shows as much promise as you." It seems he wanted to solicit me now for when I am older.
"I plan to be an adventurer like my parents were. I want to see the world." I replied.
"Well, if you change your mind, make sure to come to see me." He answered with a refreshing smile.
"You're a knight, right? You're not wearing armor or anything, but your stance, muscle tone, and the resting posture of your hand suggest you regularly train with the sword, and probably the spear as well. Why send a knight, a high-ranking one at that, and not a regular messenger?" I asked what has been on my mind this whole time.
"Oh? You could tell that much, eh? Well, you're right, and that is because we wanted to make sure nothing happened, all things considered." He replied with his brow raised slightly.
"I see, so basically you believe that the organization behind the guy that was following me, most likely the adventurer's guild, might send someone to silence me, whether that be through threat, payment, or disappearance, right?" I didn't mince any words.
"Even if you were correct, why would I answer when there is a possibility of someone listening in?" He responded, not giving away his answer.
"I see, so I was correct. Oh, and you don't need to worry about anyone listening in, I've had a sound barrier up since the beginning of our conversation." I said with a little smirk.
"I didn't even notice you use magic." He said, almost in disbelief.
"You shouldn't look down on those with elven blood, I would hate to disappoint my mom or ancestors by being noticed by a physical fighter like you. Even if you do use some magic, there's no way you have studied or trained it even half as much as me. I put more emphasis on magic and core strength training than swordsmanship until I was 8, and I still train at least an hour per day in magic." I answered.
"So you're a half-elf then, no wonder your magic is so well developed. Oh, we are arriving at the duke's manor, I'll have to ask you to follow me inside through a side door. We're trying to keep this particular meeting a secret as much as possible." He seemed to come to his own misguided conclusion, but there was no time to correct him.
The carriage came to a stop shortly after he had said that. Leon then quickly led me through a side door, down a passage, passed a few turns, and eventually to a door that he knocked on before entering, gesturing for me to follow. Inside the room, were two couches with a coffee table between them, a few bookshelves, some display pieces on the wall, and a desk with chairs on either side, the duke sitting at the desk with a butler standing diagonally behind him.
"Good, you made it, please have a seat." He said, gesturing to a chair across the desk from him. "I called you here to discuss the guy you captured earlier."
"Right, I'm guessing he was from the adventurer's guild, sent to watch and see who I meet with, for now at least, and report back directly to Otto, right?" I asked as I sat down.
"You're not wrong, but it's a bit worse than that. It seems he was to kill you if he believed you weren't working with anyone else and deal with anyone else you may have told of the situation. I did think it was odd when you mentioned your involvement in the potential discovery of the dungeon, seeing as how it wasn't reported to me. Now I understand why." He looked a bit disgusted as he said that.
"What, was he planning to use the discovery to become a Guildmaster or something?" I asked, a bit confused about why he was planning to have me assassinated.
"So you weren't aware, I see. When you discover a dungeon, not only do you get recognition for the deed, but you also get a portion of the earnings from it for the first few years. In addition, this discovery may have prevented a future dungeon stampede, which would gain you an award from the king. If he had dealt with you, he could have become a Guildmaster pretty much anywhere, or just simply have retired with the reward amount he would have received." He explained to me.
"Ah, I didn't know about that… Honestly, I don't want to stand out right now and don't want to gain recognition for this, so I would want to decline such an award anyway. That being said, we should probably move to arrest Otto immediately then, what I said to him earlier when asking if the guild had sent someone to watch me, may have tipped him off, he might run." I answered with my honest thoughts.
"We were planning to arrest him tomorrow, is that no good? Do you think he will run before then?" He asked for confirmation.
"Right, if he isn't aware by now, he will be soon. I would guess that he would be gone by this evening at the latest, at most, we have a few hours." I gave my estimate. "You should definitely send some people now if you want to catch him before he runs or does something else. When people feel cornered, they can be unpredictable, and this guy already had no problem with having a kid like me killed."
He groaned and thought for a bit before telling Leon to have people go get Otto. Since he decided to listen to my advice, I decided not to involve myself any further with that. Though I was hoping that I could stick around to hear about how his capture and subsequent interrogation go, I'd even like to be a part of the interrogation.
"Oh right, should I summon a messenger bird to send to the Gale branch about this? Also, can I be there for the interrogation? I think Otto seeing me will cause him to lose hope of talking his way out of it, especially if we walk in together." I mixed in my hopes and tried to justify them.
"The messenger bird would be helpful. I'll have to think about your other request, interrogations aren't something children should see." He answered, not getting confused by how I asked.
"I'll write to Revna since I think she would give a more proper response than Warren," I said, pulling out paper, a feather pen, and an ink well. "Is there anything, in particular, you would like me to tell her or ask her about? I should be able to get the response within a couple of hours with the speed of my summoned monster."
"Just ask if she can recommend someone to take over the position until the Guildmaster gets back. If she doesn't know anyone, we will just have to send notices to the closer guilds so we can get a temporary replacement." It seems he was worried about having someone to replace Otto, which I understood.
I quickly finished writing the letter to Revna, rolled it up, wrote her name on the outside, and slid it into a tube. I then summoned my messenger bird called a Sonic Eagle, fastened the tube to its leg with a brightly colored ribbon, and sent it out through an open window. When I turned around, I noticed everyone staring at me.
"What? Should I not have used the window?" I tilted my head and asked.
"That's not it, I've just never heard of someone summoning a B-rank monster to deliver a message. I wasn't even aware that you were capable of summoning a B-rank monster." Reinhardt said to me.
"Well, a normal messenger bird would not have been able to make it to Gale before Revna leaves the guild, so a reply wouldn't even be sent until tomorrow morning at the earliest. With the Sonic Eagle, we can receive a reply in as little as an hour. I don't know why you're surprised I can summon one though, I have a tamed Royal Bee queen back at home." This reply caused their eyes to open rather wide.
"I understand your reasoning for summoning that Sonic Eagle now, but, you tame Royal Bee queen? Is that where the honey I bought from you came from?" He seemed to have put 2 and 2 together.
"That's right, I tamed and saved the queen as she was one of the few survivors of a supposed wandering or migrating high-rank monster attack on Honey Meadow. That was one of the incidents that helped me figure out about the potential dungeon." I casually replied.
"Hah… Usually, it would be impossible for a tamer to get close enough to a Royal Bee queen, so to my knowledge, there are no known cases of one being tamed. No wonder you were able to sell me such a large amount." After sighing, he explained that to me like his soul had left his body.
"I see, well, I guess I got lucky at that time and didn't let the opportunity pass me by. So, considering it will take an hour or two to get a response, what do we do now? How long will the knights take to arrest Otto?" I asked, not wanting to sit around bored.
"You're a kid, how about playing a game while we wait? The knights should have Otto arrested soon enough." He said with a sly look, probably thinking about playing me at chess.
"If you're talking about chess, I'm not all that interested considering how many times I've had to play since I made and sold it to Jay. If you're thinking of showing off your chess set, that is pointless as well, because I'm the one that made it. The flame burning inside the king is pretty cool, right? Did you find the hidden feature?" I was quite tired of playing chess, my dad wanted to play it a lot, and I've had to play against Livia and Jay many times as well.
At first, he deflated when he heard my answer, then his eyes shone when I mentioned the flame, followed by an eager look when he heard 'hidden feature'. "There's a hidden feature? Let me see it." He looked like a child my age hearing about some 'hidden treasure' or something.
He quickly took me over to his chess set that I made and gestured for me to hurry. I set to arrange the pieces with the kings and queens facing each other in the center squares, the knights next to them, the bishops behind them, the rooks behind the knights, and the pawns behind them taking up two rows of four. When the last piece was in place, the board lit up and the image of a phoenix was projected over the board using light magic.
The others in the room stared at it with shocked expressions, which wasn't surprising, I didn't even tell Jay about this feature. The others did eventually recover, and start marveling over the design, looking at it from different angles as if that would somehow change it.
"I've been displaying this chess set for years, and never knew it had such a wonderful feature." The duke said while marveling over it.
"Well, I originally made this feature feeling a bit playful, and decided to leave it as a surprise if someone figured it out." I essentially told him that it was added on a whim, but it seems he didn't register that part, as he was still gawking at the projection.
While that was happening, the door opened, causing everyone but the duke to turn toward the door. In the doorway stood Emily and a girl that seemed a little older than me. The girl seemed surprised about the stranger, me, in the room, while Emily had noticed the projection thanks to her husband's actions, and was fixated on it. Not sure what else to do, I cleared my throat, loudly, causing the duke to turn towards me and the door.
"While I understand you are fascinated with the phoenix projection, perhaps you should pay attention to your surroundings. As it stands, the situation will only get more and more awkward until you do something." I stated while giving a very cold attitude towards the duke and his wife, not that she showed even a hint of having noticed that I said anything.
*Ahem* "Right, Cero, that is my daughter Amelia, Amelia, this is Cero. He was just showing me this hidden feature of the chess set." His recovery attempt was poor at best.
"As your dad said, I am Cero, feel free to call me just that. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance." I said in greeting, not wanting to continue the awkward atmosphere.
"I am Amelia, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance as well." She gave a small curtsy in greeting.
"No need to be so formal with me, I'm not a noble or anything, and I believe I am younger than you as well," I said, trying to get her to relax a little more.
"Enough about that, you were showing this to my husband? How did you know about that feature?" Emily forcefully changed the subject.
"That's simple, it's because I'm the one that made the chess set. It came out pretty good, right?" I replied, showing a little pride in my work.
"Yes, it is wonderfully made, but more importantly, how did you make that feature?" She seemed as focused on magic circuits as ever.
"Ah, I just made the circuit look like it was part of the design, with it being completed by placing the pieces in the correct spots. The only ones that truly matter are the queens and kings though, the others are interchangeable among the others of their kind." I answered simply.
"Interesting…" Emily began to get lost in her own little world again, just like during our meeting.
At that time, a knight came to the room, looking around at everyone in the room with a bit of confusion before moving next to Leon and whispering something to him. Based on my presence detection, it seemed like Otto had been captured and was being brought to the knight's station in a carriage. Leon then reported to the duke, also in a whisper, before returning to his position.
"Emily, might I ask what you came here for? Despite how it appears, I do have important matters to attend to." Reinhardt got Emily's attention before she could get completely lost in the magic circuit, by moving one of the pieces, causing the phoenix projection to dissipate.
"Huh? Oh, we were just coming to inform you that it is almost dinner time. Were you planning to invite Cero to dinner?" Emily answered while dropping a bomb of a question.
"Is it that time already? Cero, how long before the letter gets to Gale?" The duke turned to ask me a question before answering his wife.
"My summon is now passing where we camped on the first night of the journey, so it will only be a few more minutes before they receive the letter. It will be at least 40 minutes or so before we get a response." After checking my connection to my summon, I responded.
"Is that so? Did you want to join us for dinner, then? I'd prefer to have the answer before you leave." Reinhardt phrased the question in a way that made it seem like he was heavily inconveniencing me.
"I was planning to get dinner at the Yamada restaurant to see how the new dishes turned out, but I guess that can wait until tomorrow. Are we not going to go see Otto first?" I answered while considering his offer.
"You'll have to tell me more about those new dishes. I'm not sure how you knew about Otto, but that can wait, he isn't going anywhere." The duke answered.
"Alma said that she would have the restaurant start serving the new dishes tonight, so there should be a salad with dressing, gratin, which is a potato and cheese-based dish, and burgers, which is a meat dish with different toppings served between two pieces of fluffy bread. Though I'm not sure if she'll start serving the gratin tonight or not." I replied as I was led out of the office, presumably towards the dining room.
"Hmm… how intriguing, I will have to send someone to get these dishes so we can try them sometime soon." He seemed interested in trying the new dishes.
"I can guarantee that they're delicious, I still have one kind of salad dressing in my item box, if you'd like to try it. Having someone go to pick up a burger for you may prove to be a bit of a challenge though. Perhaps you should send someone to find out what kind of toppings they are offering first, before sending someone to pick one up. I expect there will be at least two kinds of burgers, a beef only and a beef and pork mixture.
Then, you would have to choose if you want cheese on it or not, if they have more than one kind of cheese, then you would have to choose which kind as well. Then there are the vegetable toppings that you would have to choose from, though I'm not sure which toppings will be made available right now. Then there are the condiments to choose from, so far they should have ketchup and mustard, I didn't sell them any others due to issues I have had in making them.
Once all that is decided, you would want to send someone with a high Item Box skill level or who can move very fast, because if it is not eaten fairly quickly, the bread will get soggy, and it won't taste as good anymore. Overall, it would be far easier to order in person if at all possible, but if eaten fresh, I promise it will be one of the most delicious things you have ever eaten." I explained per his request.
"So you also create food-related stuff as well. I will take your advice and have someone go see the options before deciding what to get and sending someone with a high Item Box skill level to pick it up. In the meantime, I will have to try this salad dressing you speak of with dinner." He only seemed somewhat surprised that I was involved in this as well.
"I would like to try that as well," Amelia added. "Make sure to tell me when you are going to try those new dishes as well, father."
"I am also interested in trying those new dishes, and this salad dressing," Emily concluded.
"That's no problem, I have plenty enough to go around, and can hardly bring myself to eat a salad plain anymore anyway. Hopefully, the Yamada company will start selling salad dressing in their stores soon." I answered with a wry smile at how quick everyone was to try something I made, not even asking to have it appraised first.
After that, dinner went smoothly with everyone enjoying the vinaigrette that I had with me very much. The food tasted better than what I normally eat, possibly because of the spices used, but the food variety was as basic as anywhere else. We had steak, soup, bread, and a salad, even though I had partially believed that nobles would have other foods commoners simply didn't know about.
Patreon
Silly Otto, he really should have known better given the reported information. The greed is real.
That's a nice easter egg to add to the chess set... a neat trick to prove that he made it, actually. Funny as a backdrop to meeting Amelia. New friend get