“Speaking of children, your child got in our way, Your Majesty,” Marquess Prynan accused.
He’s talking about Prince Edwin. I’ll have to thank the prince later for backing me up on Eleanora’s identity. I decided that now would be a good time to remind the marquess that it wasn’t wise to get involved in Eleanora-related matters.
“Just so you know, the Eleanora from under the bridge staying with me isn’t the duke’s daughter,” I reiterated.
“There’s no need to lie about a fact we all know in a closed room like this,” the marquess sniffed. “I’m sure Hillrose is alive as well.”
He knows about that too? Well, I suppose he did try to force me into a similar leadership position as the one the duke used to hold, so the marquess probably knows all of the reasons that the duke tried to lead a coup. I looked at the king, who was the only person in this room who actually one-hundred-percent knew the truth, and awaited his instructions on how to proceed.
Count Archiam, who knew about none of this, seemed confused. “Duke Hillrose is...alive? Why?” He seemed flabbergasted as he looked at each of our faces in turn. What do we do about him if he decides to spread this around?
“Duke Hillrose isn’t alive,” the king said in a tone that suggested he was stating the obvious. “Of course not. Lady Yumiella herself confirmed it.”
“Yes, it’s true,” I agreed. “Duke Hillrose was swallowed by a swarm of monsters and passed away on the spot.”
“Is this room filled with people who don’t know how to go about having a private conversation behind closed doors?” Marquess Prynan complained.
Shut up, grandpa. I felt bad for the count, who still seemed utterly lost.
Even though this was ostensibly a private discussion, I honestly felt that the wicked marquess would use this conversation to his own ends, hoping to find any weaknesses to use against us later. It would be best to keep the pretenses going.
“I’m grateful to His Highness the prince with regards to his knowledge of the Eleanora from under the bridge,” I continued, ignoring the marquess. “I’d like to thank him before I leave the Royal Capital.”
“I’m proud of Edwin as well,” the king said. “He’s not always successful, but he did well this time.” The king seemed both exasperated and happy—it was interesting to see such a mingled expression on his face. He cleared his throat, and I could feel the atmosphere shift, bringing some tension into the room. I guess we’re finally getting to the main topic.
“It must be time to discuss the Lords of Leveling!” I exclaimed.
“No... Not yet.” Really? I was getting a little impatient with the king, but I kept my mouth shut and listened to him. “Prynan, don’t meddle with Lady Yumiella.”
“Oh my,” the marquess simpered. “I can’t believe His Majesty is infatuated with an unmarried noble lady.”
“This isn’t something to joke about!” the king scolded. “What were you thinking, trying to get her involved in central political issues?!”
“Are you trying to tell me that it would be better if I avoided rocking the boat so as to head off any unnecessary chaos? Aren’t political struggles all about gaining advantage after plunging the game board into a state of bewildering confusion? This is a much healthier way to go about doing things than putting on a peaceful front while filthy sludge pools behind the scenes.”
Man, this grandpa sure is combative. I’d wondered what would occur if I were to actually get involved in central politics. It seemed that the king believed that it would never happen, and it felt like he thought it wouldn’t go well if it did. Marquess Prynan had declared that if I were to end up jumping into the political fray, he’d use the commotion caused by my joining the battle to his advantage—he would welcome the chaos.
“You’re underestimating Lady Yumiella!” the king roared. “Everyone at the conference was put in danger!”
“I’m well aware of her strength.” The marquess shrugged off the king’s concern. “But she also understands that using her power can have a harmful effect. I’m sure she wouldn’t just force her way with brute strength.”
The marquess’s words implied that he thought I was someone who could participate in the subtle game of politics as well. Hee hee, that’s right. I’m totally capable of handling political matters, I just don’t actually want to do it.
Seeing that the marquess wasn’t going to stand down, the king let out a sigh and turned to me.
“The Lord of Finance is a Lord of Leveling,” he informed me.
“Huh?” I blinked stupidly at him for a moment. The Lord of Finance is actually a Lord of Leveling...?
Unlike the Lord of National Affairs, I didn’t understand what aspect of the position of finance gave it any relevance to leveling, but since the king had just said so, it had to be true. I can’t believe one of those insolent aristocrats who don’t bother level grinding despite the fact that they’re a Lord of Leveling has been right before me this whole time! I won’t allow this!
“But,” the king continued, “Prynan, the Lord of Finance, is interested in leveling.”
Oh, then that makes things easy. I jumped at the topic and turned to address Marquess Prynan, since he was a Lord of Leveling. “What level are you?”
“What...?” It was the marquess’s turn to blink stupidly. “What are you talking about, Your Majesty?”
“I’m asking what your level is,” I reiterated.
“Countess Dolkness? You’ve got a strange look in your eye.” Marquess Prynan continued to evade the question of what level he was. Is he really interested in leveling up? If I were to get mad at him now, I’d lose a comrade in leveling. I choked down the anger that was endlessly fuming inside of me and asked once more.
“Your level, what number is it? Tell me. Hurry.”
“I think it’s 15... It’s been quite a while—”
“Thank you for telling me! There’s no such thing as starting too late when it comes to leveling, so it’s no problem for seniors! There’s nothing to be worried about! Everyone starts at level 1. You can slowly get used to it, and in one...no, let’s take it easy, in two years, we can accomplish our goal. Let’s work hard together to aim to be at level 99 in two years.”
“Dolkn—”
“It would be best to start as soon as possible, so let’s head out today. It’s incredibly fortunate for us that there are two dungeons near the Royal Capital. I’m sure that they’ve always been super popular spots to visit, which is why the people of the past built their capital here. Unfortunately, those dungeons aren’t great for boss farming, so we’ll have to travel elsewhere eventually. Please keep that in mind.”
“Wh-What are you—” The marquess was no match for my enthusiasm.
“Let’s see. If you’re level 15, then... Well, there isn’t much I can do without seeing your actual performance, so let’s just head to a dungeon right away.” Marquess Prynan had tried to interrupt me several times, and I understood that he was probably worried, so I tried to use my barely functional face muscles to create something resembling a smile before I continued. “I understand; you must be worried about getting injured. It’s true that it’s harder to recover as you age, but there’s no need to worry. With my recovery magic, you can regrow a limb or two as many times as you need to do so. Though please keep in mind that I’ve never tried to regenerate a head, so if you’re ever in a situation in which you think you might be about to get your head crushed, please try to sacrifice a different part of your body and dodge it. Well, now that I’m thinking about it, maybe I can grow you another head, but I’m not sure if your new brain would retain your previous memories. Oh, but if you think about it as regenerating your neurons and synapses, maybe your memories would be intact. It’s kind of like the Ship of Theseus—if you break down a body at the quantum level and put it back together in a different location, would that be the same person you started with...? I feel like we might end up with that sort of paradox. That’s not really science though; it’s more in the realm of philosophy... Oh, I’m getting off topic. We’re talking about leveling. I’m working hard every day to understand normal sensibilities better. If you’re the kind of person who insists on wearing an amulet of protection when going to a dangerous area, you can wear one. Wow, I’ve really become—”
I was in the middle of discussing something incredibly important, but a hand had reached out from behind me and covered my mouth. Who is it?! I grabbed the arm and turned around, about to deliver a Yumiella punch, but...
“Huh? Patrick? What are you doing here?”
“I was called over here. I’m here to take you home.”
But I have so much to discuss with Marquess Prynan, who is a Lord of Leveling... Huh? Where did the marquess go? I scanned the cramped study and found Marquess Prynan cowering in a corner. Before I could ask if he was all right, the king chimed in.
“I apologize. I made a mistake—the Lord of Finance isn’t a Lord of Leveling after all.”
“What?! Really?”
The king shook his head. “There’s no connection between finance and leveling, is there?”
“That’s true... Oh, but it’s true that you’re interested in leveling, right, Marquess Prynan? If you’d like, I can—”
Since I was the true Lord of Leveling, I needed to make sure I didn’t neglect my duties. Though he was a crooked aristocrat that I detested, I spoke to him kindly, but even so, he vigorously shook his head.
“No...no, thank you. I don’t need to raise my level. I vow to never meddle with you ever again. I won’t resent your boy for tricking me either. Please, just take her away from here and leave!” The marquess seemed uncharacteristically desperate, his voice veering toward a yell at the end. He seemed to be mostly speaking to Patrick.
I wasn’t done talking, but Patrick tugged on my arm and tried to drag me out of the study.
“Even if you’re not a Lord of Leveling, you can still level...” I looked up at Patrick. “Hey, don’t pull me.”
“I apologize,” Patrick said, not to me but to the marquess. “I’ll be taking her back right away. Let’s go, Yumiella.”
If I had truly wanted to, I could have resisted, but if I was honest with myself, I didn’t really want to go dungeon crawling with Marquess Prynan either. I noticed that Count Archiam had disappeared without me realizing. The trembling marquess and nervously chuckling king saw us off as I was unceremoniously dragged out of the study.