Truthfully, when I’d first heard his plan, I hadn’t been so sure it would work. But when he’d told me he’d already enlisted the cooperation of the Dragonauts, the most eminent family in the kingdom, I’d reconsidered. He’d offered the duke the Jirai Ao Ochs to cure the duke’s daughter, who’d been suffering from a curse, and the fruit had alleviated her pain significantly. I was surprised by Fyodor’s sagacity, and I’d also recalled hearing a rumor during my time in the guild about a noble’s daughter who’d been stricken with a curse that no elixir or bishop-class miracle could remove. At the time that had meant nothing to me, a Rank 10 adventurer who could barely even afford daily necessities, so I’d completely forgotten about it until Fyodor brought it up.
At any rate, the slave trader had arranged everything for my trip shockingly quickly. I was grateful, but I couldn’t help but feel like the more he did for me, the further I was sinking into the debt of the narrow-eyed businessman. Then again, Fyodor had used the Jirai Ao Ochs antidote as a vehicle to deepen his own connections to the nobility and royalty in the process, so maybe I didn’t need to feel so indebted to him after all.
At any rate, that was why going to the royal capital today was necessary despite it being a chore. But for Suzume, who’d only just made her debut in the human world, it probably felt like she was just getting dragged along at everyone else’s whims, or riding a small boat in the middle of a storm. I doubted telling her to calm down or relax was going to help, so instead, I gave her my brightest smile.
“No need to worry. I’ll be with you the entire time,” I said, rapping her head lightly with my knuckle.
The twin-horned girl still looked uneasy but seemed to relax a little and bowed politely. “Thank you... I’m in your care.”
“You can count on me. Besides, if things get too rough, we can always just call Claimh Soras, and the four of us will jet out of there. There’s nothing to worry about. Try to enjoy the trip.”
The wyvern in question was probably somewhere above us right now, flying without a care in the world. As for why we couldn’t just fly to the capital, I didn’t want Claimh Soras to be burdened with carrying four of us on its back unless it was an emergency. I’d let the other three on if it was necessary, but the wyvern was mostly used to having me as its only rider. Also, flying that way was so uncomfortable that the other three really had a hard time with it. But the biggest reason? After the royal palace had gone through the trouble of sending an escort all the way to Ishka to pick us up, I couldn’t just refuse their hospitality and fly to the capital on my own.
What’s more, Fyodor himself wouldn’t be participating, likely because he understood how it would look for a slave trader to attend such a formal meeting. He understood his role as an arranger and didn’t try to crash parties he wasn’t invited to, just as I’d expected from a shrewd businessman of his caliber.
As for Iria, I hadn’t brought her along this time. I hadn’t even brought her to Ishka, but had ordered her to stay behind in Merte. The orc settlement in the mountains was no more, but that didn’t rule out the possibility that a few of them had fled far away without our knowledge and might return later. Furthermore, if one of us didn’t stay behind, I was worried greedy villages might visit and get Merte to share its bounty and materials through more forceful methods. So to prevent any more misfortune befalling the village, I had deliberately left Iria there—though truthfully, it wasn’t the village I wanted to protect, but Priestess Sela and the little brats.
Of course, I didn’t plan on leaving Iria there forever, since it’d be a waste of a good soul to feast on. Once things calmed down in the village, I planned on bringing her back to Ishka. I couldn’t do anything to her there and risk Sela seeing me, after all! I was a little worried she might detect a change in her daughter’s behavior, but I’d already warned Iria not to act suspicious or unusual around her mother, and if it did get noticed, to inform the village chief and other key figures of the village that I’d fallen in love with the priestess. The village chief wouldn’t want to lose their connection to a dragon knight like me, so if I announced my intent to marry a woman of the village, they’d no doubt do everything in their power to keep me in their circle.
As for Sela, who not only oversaw the village’s church but the orphans living there, she’d need the other villagers’ support no matter what. Even if she wasn’t on board with the villagers’ recommendations that she marry me, she’d at least have to listen to their opinions. In fact, if I spread a mix of fact and fiction about my exploits around the village, gradually building up her affection toward me, it probably wouldn’t be impossible to seduce her eventually. It definitely would have been before, but with my current reputation and wealth, it was at least more feasible now.
Of course, it went without saying, but I’d never actually do such a thing. Still, there was nothing wrong with being in a position where I could threaten it. And Iria had no way of knowing my true intent, so she was probably on tenterhooks wondering when I’d go after her mother next. No doubt she was fraught with anxiety even now while trying her best to remain calm and composed around everyone.