“Man, I’m bored,” I muttered to myself inside the carriage en route to the royal capital. The space was tiny, so my voice probably reached the ears of the other passengers as well. And as if to prove my guess correct, Lunamaria, sitting opposite me, spoke up with a worried look.
“But, master, it hasn’t even been two hours since we left Ishka. We still have quite a way to go before we reach Horus.”
“Yeah, I know, but I just can’t help but think how much faster it would’ve been to travel by wyvern. Plus, riding like this, I just can’t get comfortable.” The carriage seats must have been stuffed with feathers or something, because they were abnormally soft. That in itself wasn’t a bad thing—rather, it was much appreciated considering the carriage’s constant rattling. But no matter how I tried, I couldn’t just get used to the softness underneath me. And judging from the way Seele’s ocelot ears were twitching impatiently as she sat beside Lunamaria, she must have felt much the same way.
“I know exactly what you mean, master! I can’t get used to this level of luxury! Perhaps it’s just in my nature to prefer the simpler things in life. What about you, Suzume? Are you comfortable?”
“Well...I’m not really used to riding in carriages in general, so...” Sitting next to me, the demonkin girl looked anxious as her eyes darted around the carriage. She was gripping my sleeve tightly. According to what Lunamaria and Seele had privately told me, Suzume had been down in the dumps the whole time I was in Merte. She was cagey around others by nature, but it seemed she’d warmed up to me considerably in comparison. Saving her from not one but two formidable monsters now had probably helped with that. And yet I’d left her behind and gone to Merte on my own. I’d asked Lunamaria and Seele to look after her while I was gone, of course, but I can’t deny it was a little inconsiderate on my part.
Suzume turned to me, looking almost fearful. “Um...is the royal capital...even bigger than Ishka?”
“Oh, yeah, way bigger. It’s probably the size of three Ishkas, in fact.”
“I can’t even imagine that...” she said with a shudder and a shake of her head. “And the royal palace... Is it even bigger than your house?”
“Most definitely. It’s like comparing a lizard to a wyvern.”
Her face paled. “And...we really absolutely have to go there?”
“Yeah, considering Fyodor graciously set the stage for our arrival, it’s in our best interests for the future to go.”
Indeed, our trip to the royal capital today had all been masterminded by Fyodor and the slave trader association. “Masterminded” was a word one used to imply something was a scheme, but since I’d only learned I was going on this trip after everything had already been arranged, I couldn’t see it as anything but. That said, since he’d introduced the royal palace to me and my accomplishments, I couldn’t really complain. Of course, these “accomplishments” included taking down the basilisk, keeping the Sea of Rot from spreading, and bringing the Jirai Ao Ochs fruit to the public’s attention as a cure for the toxin, as well as the fact that I’d tamed an indigo wyvern on my own. According to Fyodor, that was all more than enough to pique the royal family’s interest and invite me into the kingdom’s service.
I wasn’t particularly interested in the “kingdom’s service” part. That just sounded like a chore. Being noticed by the royal family would give my reputation a huge boost, but I had no intention of working under anyone’s thumb. If they made me an offer to serve them, I was going to turn them down, but at the same time, I doubted the likes of nobility or royalty would just back down and take no for an answer. Things would probably get messy. Therefore, I really didn’t want to go to the capital at all, as it would likely lead to more trouble. But upon hearing the rest of the proposal, I’d had no choice but to accept the invitation—because it involved Suzume.
At present, no one in Ishka had even made a move to threaten or harm her, thanks to my deal with Fyodor. He and his association had spread the word around town that Suzume had been the one to defeat the basilisk and provide the antidote to the Sea of Rot and its toxin, and at the same time, they’d warned that anyone who tried to target her would become the association’s enemy. It was exactly the kind of support I’d hoped for when I’d relinquished the profits from the Jirai Ao Ochs to the association, so I was grateful to him for that. However, Fyodor must have been the type to follow through on the investments he decided to make, because he seemed to be shooting to ensure an even greater degree of safety for Suzume.
While those intimidated by the association would refrain from laying a hand on her, as things currently stood, the threat still wouldn’t prevent someone who wasn’t afraid of the association from making a move. Put more bluntly, Fyodor was most concerned about the royal family and affiliated nobility. So he’d come up with the idea of getting the king to directly acknowledge the demonkin and her rights. If the king publicly recognized her accomplishments and contribution to the kingdom, the royal family and nobility would no longer be able to take any rash actions against her.