Chapter 14:
The Royal Guard
THE DAY AFTER THE HOUSEWARMING PARTY, CAIN headed to the palace to install a mirror and bidet. As he had yet to make many, for now he was only going to install one of each in the royal family’s private chamber restroom. He only needed dirt and a low-level magic stone to create a bidet, yet he would be paid one platinum for his troubles. After having experienced it themselves, the royal family appeared to believe that it was worth the price.
Cain had yet to completely spend the initial sum he had received when he was ennobled and Othello was flying off the shelves—the funds stored within his Item Box were continuously increasing.
Cain spent the next few days leisurely installing bidets at the homes of high-ranking nobles who wished to have them.
Unfortunately, he was soon summoned to the palace once more.
I’m just a baron. Why is the king constantly summoning me? Cain groaned internally. Still, he got in a carriage and headed towards the palace. He had prepared ten wine glasses made with Venetian glass and stored them in his Item Box.
Cain was shown to the usual drawing room where he partook in delicious black tea and sweets. I wonder if he wants me to play Othello with him again, he wondered, just before the king and prime minister entered the room.
“Thank you for waiting,” the king said. “You did a good job hosting that housewarming party. I enjoyed myself thoroughly. Still, you’re more cunning than I had expected. More cunning than a ten-year-old has any right to be. You didn’t tell Corgino that I was attending, right?”
“It was my first time hosting a party, so I made a few mistakes. I didn’t realize I should have announced that in advance. It wasn’t fueled by malice…”
The smirking king had cut right to the heart of the matter immediately. Cold sweat dripped down Cain’s back.
“Well, enough of that. If you’ve prepared those wine glasses, I’ll take them off your hands now.”
“It’s not much, but I’ve prepared ten wine glasses for you. Here they are.”
Cain placed the wine glasses on the table. The king picked one up, raised it, and examined its red and blue detailing.
“…Very well made. Is anyone other than you capable of producing these?”
“I’m using magic to create them, so I can’t say for certain. I actually ran out of mana while making them and collapsed.”
“I see. All right, I would appreciate it if you regularly delivered batches of these wine glasses to the palace. I’ll pay you…one gold coin each. You’ve brought ten of them today, so that makes one platinum.”
Cain was stunned. He had not expected them to be worth so much.
“What? Unsatisfied? Fine, I’ll pay up to two gold coins each.”
He had just earned one platinum by producing things through magic with no base material costs. That being said, it did cost a significant amount of mana, and also required otherworldly knowledge nobody else had.
“No, one gold coin each is perfectly fine.”
“Let’s go with that, then. Prepare them as quickly as possible.”
The king rang the bell he was holding in his hand. A knock immediately sounded at the door and a butler entered. After the king gave him some instructions, the butler bowed and left.
“I instructed him to go bring you your payment. Now then, on to the main topic.”
The faces of the king and prime minister immediately tensed up.
“Cain, your swordsmanship and magic abilities are first-class. That much is obvious, seeing the dragon you placed at the entrance of your home. Only someone with incredible abilities can defeat a dragon so cleanly.”
The king, now wearing a completely different expression than before, continued speaking while directing a sharp gaze at Cain.
“Cain, I want you to regularly participate in the training drills conducted by the Royal Guard and the palace mages. There are still two more years till you enroll in the academy. You shouldn’t have any other commitments. Understood?”
The king didn’t seem like he would take no for an answer, so Cain gave in and nodded.
“Yes, understood…”
At just ten years of age, Cain would have to participate in the training drills of the Royal Guard and the palace mages.
“In return, I’ll give you permission to browse the library used by the palace mages. Garm told me that you have read books on magic since you were young, but I’m sure there are books you have yet to read in there.”
Cain’s eyes lit up as he nodded at the king’s suggestion. The books he had at home only had up to Advanced Magic. He was only able to cast the Super-level magic Inferno without proper reference material because he had an overwhelming mana pool, didn’t need to chant, and already understood the basic principles behind it. He didn’t have anything to go off of for other Super-level spells, and thus wasn’t able to form a proper image of what they should look like. Any attempts simply resulted in him expending a significant amount of mana to increase the strength of an Advanced spell to the Super level.
“Thank you! That makes me really happy!”
“Huh. You’re finally acting like a proper ten-year-old. Not that the books you wish to read are meant for ten-year-olds.” The king’s face softened at Cain’s innocence.
“Your Majesty, I have a request for you, if that is all right.”
“As long as you’re not asking the impossible.”
“Since I’m only ten years old, I can’t register as an adventurer. I slew a lot of monsters while I was in Gracia, but I can’t sell their materials. I’ve stored the materials in my Item Box for now. Can you buy them from me?”