Proofreader: DreaMing
Leaving the capital behind proved to be an unsuccessful endeavour.
Some ignorant knight who was pacifying the citizens found me and shouted over the crowd, ‘Hah!? Hero!'
That knight must have been going through a hard time because of the raging citizens, it surely was quite palliating to see a hero coming to the rescue.
So he must have believed that I would help out somehow, if I was quite the hero. Maybe he was thinking of pushing the citizens who were running rampant at me, and then resting in peace.
But what about it?
No matter how low in the popularity list I am, a hero is a hero.
How can a knight beat me when it comes to attention grabbing charisma? Thanks to him, I was on the other end of receiving stinging glares from the citizens and was semi-forced to be dragged to the royal palace.
‘You bastard. I memorized your face.’
Next time we meet, it would be a clear face-to-face talk between you and me.
Knock, knock!
As I was grumbling inside, I heard a knock.
– Hero. I've come to pick you up for dinner, it's ready.
I was quietly waiting for the banquet in the room I was showed. The situation outside was like hell, and I honestly wondered if they were actually holding a banquet, but as the guest, I was in no position to say anything, so I stayed quiet.
When I opened the door, a knight in full plate armor was waiting for me. As I followed him to the banquet hall, I asked what I was the most curious about.
“What's with the commotion outside?”
“It is just ignorant citizens who are caught up in rumors. I hope you don't worry too much because of it."
“Are there even priests involved in these ignorant citizens?”
“When it comes to divinity, it's these chaps who are a little off minded, isn't it? They will make drops of blood into flowing fountains if you allow so.”
"Is it?"
In other words, it's like a witch hunt.
It's just that the person in question is not an ordinary civilian, but a prince and the heir to the throne of a kingdom.
‘I don’t think it’s just your regular witch hunt.’
I was skeptical of the knight saying it was just a rumor. The scale was too large for that. They were claiming the heir to the throne of a kingdom to be a heretic, alright? The moment the prince's innocence is revealed, the church's position will be caught in an awkward standing.
Still, they had been fighting established elites such as nobles and royalty for power, and that for years.
Nevertheless, the fact that the church threw such an irrational information means that there is solid evidence that prove the prince is a heretic.
As I was walking forward with such thoughts, we arrived at the banquet hall.
The king and his other vassals were already seated in the banquet hall.
The same went for Eri, Neria, and Ophelia.
Wait..?
Shouldn't the king be the last to come at a banquet like this?
I came just when I was told to, so why did I become the latecomer?
Even though it felt strange, I bowed with my back bent slightly.
“I've kept you people waiting, pardon me.”
“Hah hah, it’s fine. Come on in.”
The king smiled and beckoned.
This gentleman, the last time I saw him, he had a mask of impassive grandness stuck on his face, but now he was here, acting like a next door grandfather.
I smiled in return and entered the banquet hall. The banquet wasn't as great as the Imperial Social Banquet, but it was indeed splendid. I thought it might have been a little overkill.
It was just a short visit, or were we actually so welcomed?
‘Have we been treated similarly in the past?’
I glanced at the faces of my companions.
Bewildered expressions, they were.
So, it wasn't.
When all the people gathered at the banquet, the king set the tone and started his speech.
“Recently, in the southern part of the kingdom, there has been a disaster event called Behemoth. It was truly a devastating news. The devastating damage seemed inevitable. But what about reality? Brave heroes defeated the beast. There was very little damage as such.”
There was little damage, eh?
I remembered the corpses left on the battlefield and the streams of blood. I remembered the faces of the guards and soldiers who died while doing their best to protect the citizens and fulfill their duties.
‘And here I thought it was way too much…'
In the worst case, it had been assumed that the whole southern part of the kingdom would be devastated, so relatively little damage was correct.
However, seeing the scene up close wasn't the best indicator.
“Our, the Kingdom of Prona’s hero, rescued Roberto from the claws of Behemoth. They say that in the city the people call him Roberto's Hero.”
Everyone in the banquet hall looked at me and my friends.
Then everyone applauded.
– Clap clap clap.
The applauses and baptism of praise continued for a while and ended with the king raising his hand.
The king lifted the cup, and everyone followed him and raised the cup together.
-For the Kingdom of Prona!
The banquet began.
I tried to go eat something that looked delicious, yet I failed.
Because the nobles kept approaching one after one, with the intention of talking with me.
They appeared one by one and asked the damn same thing–what happened in Roberto. Since when did they get so interested in me?
It was time to seriously think how to shrug them off and leave.
“Hah hah, this place looks the most bustling. What are you talking about?”
The king came this way.
With a man who seemed to have just crossed into adulthood.
The nobles bowed their heads towards them.
“His Majesty the King.”
“The Prince.��
Is this scrawny kid a prince?
The one people outside were shouting to put on guillotine?
As I watched the prince, the king tapped him on the shoulder.
“Where are your manners? You should greet the hero.”
"Y, Yes. Hmm, nice to meet you. My name is Nell, the prince of the Kingdom of Prona. It’s a pleasure to meet Roberto’s hero.”
The prince held out his hand.
He did tremble slightly, but he held out his hand. Then the king showed a happy expression on his face and got on to boasting about the prince.
He's been smart since he was young, he's a nice kid, he's so nice at riding horses, bla bla bla.
Those were compliments that any parent would give.
But as the compliments continued, and continued, I felt strangely unpleasant.
Because I was having a feeling, a very bad feeling.