171 – Return (3)
“The King is waiting.”
Finally, the throne room is in front of us.
Before the door opened, Schnella gave me countless pieces of advice.
Be polite in front of the King and always answer when the King speaks.
Above all, don’t upset her.
“The King wanted to meet Seohyun in person.”
“…”
“I’m sure you have something you want from Seohyun. So you have to listen.”
There was a reason why Schnella was so excited.
From what I have heard so far, public sentiment toward the king was not very good.
Rumor has it that he is indecisive and changes his words dozens of times.
In fact, it is said that he is no different from a puppet of traitors.
It is said that even his personal character is not heard well.
I could understand why people around me were worried.
“Schnella. “Stop it now.”
The people allowed to enter the throne room were Julia and I.
The garrison and group of maids following us could not keep up.
Yulia and I lined up in front of the huge door.
Finally, the door opens with the signal that it is ready.
Finally, the inside of the throne room appeared before my eyes.
A magnificent space spread out with brilliant light.
Numerous nobles and knights lined up to welcome us.
And the golden throne located at the head of the table.
There was a girl sitting there with her legs crossed.
The moment I made eye contact with the king, I was shocked.
‘What? ‘Why are you so young?’
No matter how you look at it, isn’t it the same age as Celica?
It was no exaggeration to say that she was even younger than Celica.
She even had a cigar in her mouth.
Sitting in a crooked posture, smoking strong smoke.
No matter how you looked at him, it was difficult to see him as the king of a country.
Also, there were numerous men guarding her side.
The men lined up in neat uniforms are all handsome.
‘Is the rumor that he enjoys sodomy true?’
With so many men gathered in the throne room, it was definitely worthy of a rumor.
“Meet the King.”
First, Julia got down on her knees and bowed her head.
I also bowed down on my knees with the same courtesy.
Then, a mumbling sound began to echo around the area.
Eyes and whispers pouring towards us.
Even though the situation was clearly supposed to be solemn, the people around him did not keep quiet.
“Everyone, stand up.”
We stood up at the same time at the king’s command.
“Seohyun. “I heard that you killed Ragnar and Catherine.”
“This is an achievement that my colleagues and I achieved together.”
The help of my colleagues was too great to have accomplished it on my own.
However, it was not a particularly important fact to the king.
An adventurer party that killed two of the Four Blades.
Among them, the fact that the leader was me was the most important.
“You have performed a feat against the Demon King’s army for the sake of the kingdom, so of course you need to be rewarded.”
“I didn’t do this hoping for compensation.”
“Get rid of unnecessary humility.”
The young king fills his mouth with smoke and spits it out.
It certainly seemed relaxed, but there was a hint of awkwardness somewhere.
‘I learned something strange from such a young age.’
It seemed like he was acting calmly, as if he was acting.
“Jim is the king of the kingdom. “At least we can make your wishes come true.”
Then he glanced at the man who was guarding next to him and shook his head.
Then the man holding the large box knelt in front of the king and opened the box.
There was a richly decorated long sword there.
“Whoa…”
The king blew out cigarette smoke again and slowly stood up.
He picked up the sword in the box with one hand and stepped forward.
Then the murmurs around began to grow louder.
“Tsk…”
There was even a person who looked at me openly and clicked his tongue.
Although everyone was supposed to be quiet, the atmosphere was extremely chaotic.
However, the king did not do anything to stop him.
Neither the king nor his subjects even looked at each other, as if they were ignoring each other.
“Okay. “Everybody kneel.”
Then Julia and I knelt down at the same time.
Immediately a blade appeared before my eyes.
“From now on, I appoint you as the commander of the knights who will protect the kingdom.”
“…”
“Serve yourselves all your life and dedicate yourself to the people.”
With a short declaration, the blade landed on his shoulder.
In an instant, the ceremony for being knighted was over.
“And Julia. “Same goes for you.”
“Yes. “Your Majesty.”
“From now on, please fulfill your responsibilities as an administrator of the Adventurer’s League.”
After Julia also completed the investiture ceremony, the king returned to his throne.
It’s such a boring and trivial procedure.
It was absurd to think that they had called us just to do this.
Meanwhile, the King was smoking a cigar in his mouth.
The surrounding subjects were whispering and creating a chaotic atmosphere.
‘What on earth are you doing?’
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Still, isn’t it an investiture ceremony?
I thought it would be a quiet and solemn occasion, even if it didn’t have to be fancy and grand.
I was not impressed as the rituals and procedures were barely passed by.
“Okay. “Now that the useless rituals are over, please each of us make your wishes.”
Then he suddenly asked me to tell him my wish.
As I heard, his unruly personality was clearly revealed.
Meanwhile, Julia was polite and answered politely.
“I have no wish. “I am just grateful for the grace bestowed upon me by the King.”
Flatts that are spit out skillfully as if the tongue is greased.
Then the King smiled and exhaled smoke.
“Julia. “You only talk nonsense every time you see me.”
“I am to the King…”
“Seohyun. “You must wish for something.”
I can’t believe that interest is returning to me.
It was obvious that if I said something wrong here, it would definitely be a bother.
I thought about being as obvious and flattering as possible like Julia.
No matter how you looked at it, it seemed like the King didn’t want a superficial answer.
After a moment of consideration, I decided to give a somewhat honest answer.
“I lost my sword and shield in the last battle.”
“Really? “So does that mean we need new weapons?”
The King nodded his head and gestured to the men next to him.
As the man approached, he covered his mouth and began to whisper quietly.
Then, the man who heard the story quietly left the throne room.
“I will allow you access to the armory. “You are free to take whatever weapon you want.”
The royal armory. It will definitely be full of famous weapons and equipment.
Among them, it would be of great help if you took all the useful items.
In that sense, he thought he had expressed an appropriate wish without being excessive.
“Then Yulia. “I will send you a gift along with the funds.”
“Thank you. “I will put it to good use.”
After all my wishes were granted, all my business was over.
Meanwhile, some people around them were talking among themselves or yawning to keep from dozing off.
As the atmosphere slowly calmed down, the King clapped his hands twice.
“Okay. “The investiture ceremony is over, so everyone go back.”
At the king’s order, the nobles moved to leave.
There was no greeting or salute to the king.
He just walked out the front door without making eye contact, as if he didn’t exist.
The king also disappeared without saying anything, escorted by men.
Finally, Julia and I left the throne room.
“Haa…”
I was able to let out the sigh I had been holding inside.
Even though only ten minutes had passed since I entered the throne room.
After struggling for a few days to learn etiquette just for this, I was left feeling empty.
Then Julia, who was next to me, came closer and whispered in my ear.
“Hold on just a little longer…”
There were still too many eyes around.
From the kingdom’s garrison that is guiding us right now to the maids around us.
I couldn’t tell who was on whose side.
At least there were Schnella and servants as allies.
“Did the investiture ceremony end safely?”
“Don’t worry. “It ended without any incident.”
Contrary to Schnella’s worries, nothing really happened.
If I was fortunate, I was fortunate, and if I was disappointed, I was disappointed.
While we were talking like that, someone appeared in front of us.
A man of tall stature and considerable good looks.
A little while ago, I recognized the man who had been helping the king next to him.
“The King ordered me to guide Seohyun to the armory.”
The armory was accessible thanks to the king’s permission.
Julia, who was listening from the side, smiled with satisfaction.
“Good job. “It was well decided with an appropriate wish.”
It’s a shame because it wasn’t particularly rude and was just a helpful wish.
It would have been difficult if he had presumptuously made unreasonable demands and offended the king.
“For your information, the only person allowed to enter the armory is Seohyun.”
“Can’t Julia go?”
“Yes. “It is an order from the King.”
If possible, it would be nice if she went with me.
I am also a prosecutor, but I did not know much information about weapons.
I just carried a sword and shield that looked good at a weapon shop.
The most recently carried equipment was also a weapon provided by Julia.
“I can’t help it. “I’ll be waiting at the front gate first.”
“Yes. “Go quickly.”
She separated from Julia for a moment and followed the man into the palace.
Unlike the throne room, which was located at the highest level, the armory was located at the lowest level in the basement.
As you go down, the surrounding view disappears.
It wasn’t until he finally reached the most remote part of the palace that the man stopped.
“Okay. “It’s here.”
There was a heavy lock on the huge iron door.
The man uses all his strength to unlock the lock and push the door.
I was able to encounter a mountain of numerous gold coins and ornaments.
‘This is an armory…?’
In fact, it was closer to a treasure trove than an armory.
“You can go inside and take as much as you want.”
“The King didn’t say anything else.”
Then the man smiled and lowered his head.
“You will know once you go in.”
A man closing the door with meaningful words.
As the door closed with a thud, there was silence.
I slowly looked around and looked at the armory.
Endless piles of gold coins, gorgeous decorations, and expensive works of art.
Among them, there was a separate place where weapons were stored.
“Is it here?”
A display case filled with armor and weapons.
Just by looking at it, there were countless gorgeous weapons on display.
“Uhm…”
The moment you look around to find the best weapon.
I felt a presence behind me.
Who on earth would follow me here?
The moment I carefully looked back, I felt my heart sink.
“Be quiet. Seohyun.”
The king came to meet me in person.