We soon arrived at the royal palace, and in almost shockingly short order, I found myself on my way to an audience with the king himself. Fel, Gon, Dora-chan, and Sui were all acting exactly as unconcerned as ever, but the guildmaster and I were on pins and needles as we stood in front of the door to the audience chamber, waiting for our cue to enter.
“Wait. I never asked about what you settled on for your gifts for the king. You are sure you chose appropriately, right?” Willem asked.
While we were on our way into the palace, I’d been informed that I should present any gifts I’d brought with me to a handler prior to my audience. According to Willem, that was a perfectly normal security measure—they had to be checked to make sure I wasn’t giving him anything dangerous, after all. That meant I didn’t have my gifts on hand for Willem to look over.
“I thought that an in-person meeting called for something special, so I brought a little extra compared to what I sent him in the past. I think it should work out fine...?” I replied. The person to whom I’d handed over the gifts had asked if I was “really sure” about them in a kinda shrill tone of voice, and I was a little worried that meant I’d accidentally lowballed my offering, but it was too late to backpedal now.
I’ll just have to deal with it as well as I can in the moment! I can always give him something extra-fancy as a bonus later on if he seems offended, I reassured myself.
For the time being, I had something much more important to worry about: the proper etiquette for an audience with a king. I’d done what I could to learn the basics at the last minute, and I desperately turned them over in my head in an attempt to make sure I didn’t forget anything when the cards were down. I could not let myself screw this up.
First, I would follow Willem into the chamber, stopping at the same time he did. Then I’d take a knee with my left hand held to my breast, and stay there—still bowing—until the king told me to rise. At that point, I’d be allowed to look up at him and let the guildmaster take the wheel, trusting him to navigate our way through the remainder of the meeting. I didn’t know enough about royal manners to be trusted to actually talk with the king, so we’d decided that letting Willem handle the entire conversation would be the far safer option.
I’d told my familiars to stay behind me and be as quiet and unobtrusive as possible. I’d also very specifically instructed them not to make a show of their pride in front of the king, which hopefully would save us from any horrible slipups. I believe in you, guys!
Finally, it was time. The big, stately door to the audience chamber swung open.
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We stepped through the door onto a long, luxurious-looking red carpet. I walked behind the guildmaster, stopped when he did, and knelt on the spot, pressing my left hand to my chest and keeping my gaze glued to the floor.
All right! This is going well so far!
“Rise,” a quiet and refined but very clear voice commanded, the words resounding throughout the chamber. I glanced up, just a little.
I guess that must be the king, huh? I thought. He looked like he was in his early forties, and had golden hair and a beard that gave him a rather impressive, dignified air. In my book, he looked a little more like a general than a king, honestly. The queen, who sat beside him, seemed younger, at a glance—I would’ve guessed she was in her twenties, judging by looks alone—and was an incredible beauty with features that I’d describe as vaguely Scandinavian.
Willem and the king began their conversation, and pretty much every word of it flew straight over my head. It wasn’t that I couldn’t understand what they were talking about so much as that I just couldn’t focus on what they were saying. I was very distracted by all the other people who were present in the room. Both sides of the audience chamber were filled with well-dressed onlookers who I assumed were the local nobility, all of whose gazes were trained right behind me—in other words, at Fel, Gon, Dora-chan, and Sui. They were staring straight at my familiars with looks of horror and indignation on their faces, and whispering to one another to boot.
Oh, for the—what are you guys doing back there?! I was really curious about what was happening behind me, and desperately wanted to turn around and look, but that was most certainly not on the table right now. I made it super clear that they had to be on their best behavior, right? Surely they won’t screw it up? I even told them that I’d break out the dragon meat for the first time in ages and make steak bowls for them if they kept quiet! They said they understood, and seemed so sincere at the time, so surely they’re following through, right? Surely...?
Gah! D-Don’t tell me that when I said they should “keep quiet,” they took it literally? They don’t think that just means “don’t say anything,” do they?! They’re not lounging around or napping in the king’s audience chamber, right?! I definitely made a point about how they needed to have good manners too! Please tell me we’re still okay...
Agggh, this is killing me! I’m so curious! I’ve got high expectations for you four this time, and you’d better be living up to them!
✦ ✦ ✦
Meanwhile, as Mukohda was worrying himself sick, his worst nightmare was indeed playing out behind him: The gluttonous quartet had made themselves at home and were now nonchalantly lounging in the middle of the audience chamber. They seemed completely unperturbed by the fact that they were in the presence of the king, not to mention most of the capital’s local nobility. As far as Fel and Gon were concerned, the king of a single measly nation just wasn’t worth paying any sort of deference to.
《Heeey, Uncle Fel?》 Sui whined. 《Are we almost done yet? Sui’s huuungry!》
《Friggin’ tell me about it! I wanna hit up the food stalls already!》 Dora-chan chimed in.
《Patience,》 Fel counseled. 《I am certain it will not take much longer, and if we keep quiet until it is over, we shall once again feast upon dragon meat tonight. He made a promise, and I will hold him to it, so we need simply wait a few moments longer.》
《Okaaay,》 Sui said.
《Right, yeah, I forgot about that! We’re having dragon steak bowls tonight! They’re gonna be awesome!》 Dora-chan agreed.
《Indeed,》 Gon added, 《but if he takes much longer, perhaps I’ll have to speak up and urge things along.》
《I as well. This king seems to have no intention of harming us, but we have no obligation to humor him for any longer than we already have. I would not be here at all were I not accompanying a human of my own.》
《Well said! If my liege hadn’t requested it, I’d have no reason to bother lingering in a place like this.》
Judging by their attitudes, you’d think the gluttonous quartet owned the audience chamber—and if anyone had been able to hear their telepathic exchange, it most definitely wouldn’t have done anything to dispel that impression.