"What is going on? Why did you call us?" Flora asked while entering the house, only to be stunned to find the war minister waiting for them with Nathan.
Nathan just pointed his finger at him.
"Your Highness." The war minister politely lowered his head.
"Ah! Is this about the reward?"
"Yes. In the end, the six of you are the ones contributing to this finding. It's only right for all of you to get rewarded."
Flora squinted her eyes, feeling that he had a hidden intention behind the reward. "Well, I guess we can now split up the cores once we have the reward."
"Yes." Nathan nodded. "Since everyone is here, let's finish this quickly. After all, as the war minister, you must be extremely busy."
"…" The war minister knew Nathan had seen through his scheme and wanted to kick him away as quickly as possible so that he couldn't do anything.
But he was prepared this time. The war minister nodded his head and said, "In that case, I'll start. Explore more at My Virtual Library Empire
"I know how much you dislike formality and politics, so I'll be as casual here. First of all, on behalf of the Azilia Kingdom, I'd like to express my gratitude. If not for the six of you, we won't be able to stop the catastrophe.
"In addition, we'll complete the reward ceremony without any formality, including the royal decree.
"First, the biggest contributor to the entire operation, Nathan, will be rewarded with 20 warrior class cores as well as 50 mature class cores. In addition, we'd like to present you with this card."
Nathan raised his eyebrows, not expecting that he would receive this much. The amount itself surpassed the number of cores they got in total.
'20 warrior class cores? Each core will probably give me around 5,000-6,500 ena. In addition, 50 mature class cores will still give me a total of 25,000 ena. And that is not including the benefit of having my quality upgraded, which results in the increase of the absorption rate.
'At this rate, I can easily summon my next familiar with 100,000 ena. However, I have to get all my other familiars to 100,000 as well, so I will need more than that… not counting on my own needs.
'At the very least, this mission allows us to actually progress extremely quickly. If we play it correctly, I can probably fight a high-ranking divine hand member in a few months.'
Nathan thought about defeating Iskar, considering he was the one who plotted against him.
Still, there was one question in his mind. "What is this card?"
"This card will give you special access to the kingdom's grand library, including the forbidden zone. You will have access to all the books in the kingdom's grand library. With this card, you're allowed to borrow five books every month. I believe that with your reputation and character, you will return the books. Of course, you're not allowed to borrow another book unless all five books have been returned."
"!!!" Nathan blinked his eyes a few times. 'Oh shit. I've been had.'
He definitely didn't need the card. However, it would be different if they were talking about Vivian or Charlotte. There was no way they wouldn't be interested. And he specifically said he could borrow five books. He didn't even restrict the forbidden books to be borrowed.
Considering Vivian and Charlotte's situation, they certainly needed the access to borrowing books. There was no way they could visit and stay in the capital for a few days just to read in the library after all.
In other words, Nathan simply couldn't reject it or else he might end up seeing both of them crying. Besides, he also wanted to know whether there were some books about innate ability or not.
"That much? Isn't this reward inappropriate?" Nathan took a step back, finally feeling overwhelmed by the war minister.
"Of course not. If not for you finding the tunnels, we would have been screwed. As you already knew, the front line would collapse, the kingdom would lose a lot of summoners and soldiers, including the former marshall, Sullivan Flamante. The capital will be relocated, and so on.
"In addition, it has been confirmed that other kingdoms also have tunnels. This will prevent the front lines from collapsing.
"Unfortunately, there are not a lot of things we can give as a reward, considering the national budget is a mess because of the ash cloud. It's unfortunate. We want to at least bring an elite class core, but you can't absorb it. So, we just split it into these cores and that card. I hope you forgive us for not being able to reward you properly."
Nathan's eyebrows twitched, thinking, 'This old man. He knows I can't refuse it and he dares to act as if he has been wronged.'
After a deep breath, Nathan finally said, "I'll gratefully accept the reward. Thank you very much."
"No, no. The kingdom should be the one thanking you." The war minister smiled before turning to Flora. Even though Noelle contributed more than Flora in a fight, Flora was still the Azilia Kingdom's princess.
Nathan might be able to surpass her in achievement, including the cloud-repelling device, but no one else was qualified to surpass Flora's status.
Hence, the war minister had to present the reward to her first.
"En." Flora nodded with a serious expression. In the end, she couldn't escape from her status that easily.
"Thanks to your contribution on this expedition, we'd like to award you with 10 mature class cores."
"En?" Flora blinked a few times before tilting her head in confusion. "20 mature class cores? Not warrior class?"
"We're strapped for cash with all the rewards here." The war minister winked playfully.
Flora didn't understand, so she couldn't help but ask, "Am I… adopted?"
The war minister scratched the back of his head before asking Flora to come closer. He whispered, "Your Highness. There is another reward. It's basically a message for you.
"Nathan doesn't like politics, so that's the reason he has been putting up a wall against you.
"However, His Majesty told you that a marriage between a princess and a commoner is something frowned upon in our kingdom, to the point where he might have to remove you from the succession if that ever happens.
"He told me you're allowed to use that information however you see fit."
"!!!" Flora widened her eyes in shock. The reward itself was basically Flora's hand in marriage. Still, both Flora and Julius knew that even if Flora was removed from the succession, she would still be loyal to the kingdom, meaning she would still bring a lot of things or even ask Nathan if the kingdom was being threatened.
In exchange, Flora would be able to use everything she needed to get closer to Nathan, which was what she had been doing the whole time.
As a normal person, she had been working with Nathan for a long time and a feeling couldn't help but appear in her heart. As a princess, she also wanted her kingdom to strive, especially with the current world situation. This reward just allowed for her to fulfill both of them.
Flora took a step back and gracefully lowered her head. "I'll accept the reward gratefully. Long live the Azilia Kingdom."