After enjoying the all-you-can-eat at the guild cafeteria in the aftermath of the Great Tidal Bore, Ryo headed for the Royal Capital in a guild carriage the next morning.
Ryo was given permission to use the precious guild carriage of the Rune Adventurers’ Guild, apparently in recognition of his efforts during the Great Tidal Bore.
Ryo was delighted that his hard work had paid off, and he continued to sleep in the guild carriage that had been reserved for him.
Since he pretty much ate until dawn last night….
The next day in the early afternoon, he arrived safely at the Royal Capital and went straight to the Royal Castle Library to return the book he had borrowed that was long overdue, ‘Alchemy: Its Future and Prospects – Alchemy in Our Daily Lives’.
At that moment, the chief librarian, Mr. Gasparnini, looked like he was about to burst out in tears…or rather, he was crying a little and bowed his head repeatedly in gratitude.
Then Ryo made a firm vow in his heart.
To always return anything he borrowed.
Else, he would make a good person like the chief librarian cry….
Meanwhile, a remote location in the royal castle.
King Abel the First wasn’t in bed….
But in the courtyard of the annex, swinging his sword.
“Abel…you’re still in recovery, so don’t overdo it.”
“Ohh, Ryo. Looks like you’ve been busy. What have you been up to?”
“Just saving the world from ruin is all.”
Abel thought that Ryo was saying something that didn’t make sense again…but he didn’t dare to get into it.
He judged on his own that Ryo was probably absorbed in a book on alchemy, or some kind of delicacy…or something along those lines.
When Abel returned to his office after swinging his sword, Marquis Heinlein, the Prime Minister, turned up.
He had something to report.
“Your Majesty, the day before yesterday, Rune city suffered another Great Tidal Bore after three years…”
Having revealed that much, the Marquis noticed Ryo in the room.
“Whoa, the Great Tidal Bore, how nostalgic. What was the monster and how big was it this time? Speaking of which, there probably weren’t that many B-rank adventurers in Rune city, was everything all right? No wait, the fact that you’re just making the report now means that it’s been resolved, right?”
Abel’s continuous questioning brought the Marquis back to his senses and he answered.
“Ah, yes…this time it was ogres, five thousand of them. The only B-rank party belonging to Rune is ‘Coffee Maker’ led by Delong. And to make matters worse, they were sent on a wyvern subjugation mission…”
“Oh yeah, I read the report on that! Two wyverns, right? Hm? Wait a minute, meaning that there would have been hardly any adventurers of C-rank and above left in the city…”
Saying that, Abel’s expression grew increasingly stern.
He knew how difficult it is to take down a wyvern.
Since he came across quite a few of them when he was an adventurer.
He’s also participated in the Great Tidal Bore before…only, this time it was ogres…where arrows would have just bounced off their skin!
“It must have been tough, even for the Rune Knights, right? With quite a few casualties I reckon?”
Marquis Heinlein glanced at Ryo.
Ryo was lying on the sofa reading a newly borrowed book on alchemy he got after returning the previous…and doesn’t seem to be listening to the report.
“There were no casualties. The incident occurred at 3:00 p.m., and they defeated the Ogre King who was leading the mob just after 7:00 p.m. on the same day.”
“No casualties! The current guildmaster is Ra, correct? Sue’s got great support skills as well… gotta give it to them. No, perhaps it’s all thanks to the well-trained knights. Well, either way, they really did…good…hmm? Wait a minute? An ogre’s skin is impervious to arrows, right? And yet, there were no casualties, how in the world did they manage that?”
When Abel said this, Marquis Heinlein again glanced at Ryo, who was occupying the sofa, and answered.
“Yeah, actually, except for the Ogre King, they were done in by magic…”
“Oh okay! So it’s magic, uh. …Magic? Against five thousand ogres? Really? …Uh, alright, Marquis Heinlein, I’m going to ask you, but who is the caster of this magic?”
Abel asked, but his gaze was already on the water-attribute magician sprawled out on the sofa.
“Yeah, you guessed it, Your Majesty, it’s Duke Rondo.”
Abel shouted, and Ryo reacted because his name had apparently been called.
Then he somehow realized that he was at the center of the conversation.
“So Ryo, it seems that you haven’t been around these past five days or so, were you in Rune city?”
“Yeah. But, you have to understand, it wasn’t to pick up a book I borrowed from the Royal Castle Library which I left in my Rune house and failed to return or anything like that, okay?”
“Sure… now I know why you were in Rune at that time…. Well, you did good…”
Abel said, looking a little tired.
“That doesn’t sound like much of a compliment, Abel?”
“If you really mean what you say, words aren’t enough to show your sincerity!”
“What more do you want besides my words?”
“It goes without saying, grant me a privilege.”
Marquis Heinlein, the Prime Minister, frowned at the sight of the premier duke…demanding ‘privileges’ from the king.
He didn’t think it appropriate for the order of the country.
However, King Abel asked Ryo with a nonchalant attitude.
“So what kind of privilege do you want?”
“The monthly cake privilege, obviously!”
Abel nodded affirmatively with a tired look on his face. And Ryo was repeatedly making a fist pump gesture, feeling really pleased.
Leaving Marquis Heinlein completely lost in what just transpired.
“Eh? Cake? What kind of privilege is that…?”
Today, too, the center of the Kingdom was peaceful.
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