Chapter 68 – The Old Emperor Is a Raccoon Who Knows How to Manipulate People.
Kik-kung!
The door to the reception room was closed roughly with emotional hands, and Eclair and I were left alone as always.
“The knights are mischievous, so they have a lot of trouble.”
I don’t know if it’s okay to use the cute word ‘naughty’ to describe a black bearded guy.
It was the same when the adventurer openly belittled the knights when he said he would ignore the process and receive an apology as a result.
“In a group where many people gather, everything cannot be the same as mine, so I have to embrace it… It’s just because my leadership is dishonest.”
“Stop being gloomy self-deprecating. Would you like some grapes?”
Seeing the grape stalks dangling in front of his eyes, Éclair shook his head.
“Rather than that – why don’t you lower your arm now?”
“Oh sorry. Was it heavy?”
Lifting her elbow resting on her pauldron, she moved her armor as if it were her own body and carefully sat down on the sofa in her living room, not touching her back.
Her gaze of her éclair and her hand movements telling her to sit down quickly made me face her and take a seat.
“As a matter of course, I have to bring out the contents of the request first, but… I want to say thank you.”
“Because of that?”
When my finger pointed at the door, Éclair saw it and neither denied nor affirmed it.
“If the behavior and words of the members of the adventurer’s guild were questioned, it was a matter of having no choice but to bow down, let alone protest. On the day of the incident, Leo was so excited that he even pulled out his sword… I am deeply grateful for your apology.”
In response to Eclair’s promise to add a light punishment when he returned, I leaned my upper body forward and asked.
“Did you have a good friend?”
He met her eyes and shook her head with a serious face without a smile.
“I can’t deny it. If it wasn’t you for the job just now… I’m dizzy just imagining it.”
The timing worked a little favor this time around.
To improve the sociability of eclairs, I thought of changing even that stuffy title.
“I’ve been calling you ‘you’ since before. You don’t know my name, do you?”
“I know… Isn’t it Roman?”
“I know you well. Why don’t you call me by my first name?”
“No, that’s…! Isn’t it the same for you!”
Éclair asked with a puzzled face about the reliability of the knight commander.
“Eclair.”
Upon hearing my voice, her body trembled along with her armor.
“…Tell me.”
“Isn’t it ‘common sense’ to call each other by name?”
It’s a gloomy tone that could only come from hypnosis or a change in common sense, but the content itself is a natural fact.
Éclair averted her eyes as she laid down her face.
As if proving that they are Chloe and her sister, she mumbles with her lips in a gentle wave.
“Ro…Man…! Now I want to talk about the request…”
Should I push further, I wonder if there will be negative results.
At this point, Eclair seems to have done its best.
I decided to end it here today, hoping that it would gradually become more natural.
“Okay. Let’s listen.”
–
Éclair opened one of her two correspondence from her pack.
“Before we get to the point – Do you know a place called ‘Limno’ among the names of cities?”
“All adventurers know it. I’ve never been there.”
It is called the city of entertainment, and it is a place where a huge amount of goods and precious artifacts are distributed and circulated every day.
The group and owner that governs Limno clearly exist, but it is not a ‘territory’ owned by aristocrats recognized by the empire.
It was not a land ruled by the Empire, nor was it a land where the breath of the Commonwealth spread.
A rare remaining independent city.
The value of the image that has been established in Limno for a long time is so great that it has become a place where one cannot give it to others if one cannot have it.
If the Empire tries to overthrow, the Commonwealth will take care of it, and if the Commonwealth covets Limno, the Empire will put pressure on the front line.
“I don’t mean bad… I heard that most high-ranking adventurers go there at least once.”
From systematized gambling halls to various alcoholic beverages and luxury goods imported from both the Empire and the Federation.
Implementation of public prostitution system regardless of race. The prevalence of slavery that does not exist anywhere in the Empire or the Commonwealth.
If you have the strength and money not to be beaten on the street, it is a place where there is no shortage of perverted sexual desire and self-interest.
“There are some cases where you go once and don’t come back and settle down. But not me.”
“···Right.”
It is expected that her imperial family will use me at this time, but I asked her first.
“If you have no experience going to Rimno for this request, is it something you’re going to do?”
“That’s not it. To explain from the beginning… Do you know that there are conditions for entering and exiting somewhere in Limno?”
“Weapons prohibited? If you mean that, you know.”
Starting with the common tavern in Limno, you cannot carry weapons when entering certain areas such as gambling houses or villages.
Possession of weaponry is limited to employees and guards who guard the store.
However, in order to keep the law, he did not do a crazy thing of distributing magic tools for inspection throughout the region.
It is impossible to block the bound weapon or inventory with ordinary manpower, as it only searches the body or conducts a simple inspection of belongings.
Even if the simple method is just a facade that can’t stop even the target whose fist is the main weapon.
The slogan to curb the use of force in the city is doing its job well.
“So I guess the imperial family looked for a suitable person. Someone who has the ability to wield power beyond a certain level even with bare hands.”
“How come you sound like you’ve never seen me punch?”
Eclair’s gaze turned to someone waiting immobile outside the door.
I’ve seen it once, but I’m sure.
“Leo Floyd’s actions hurt the senior’s goal, but in terms of talent and skill, it is an article recognized by members who live together.”
“···Okay?”
What’s that? Swallowed the word.
Eclair, who actually said that, would split it in half in an instant if he made up his mind.
With just one word, the future of the empire feels bleak.
“In terms of pure military power… Among the knights of the imperial family, it can be said to be in the middle rank.”
“…”
“Hmmmm -! Get rid of the rubbish in front of you. It’s my personal opinion that I don’t have the right to decide. There must be a valid reason for the prudent imperial family to choose only Ro… And not you…”
Éclair cleared her throat and returned to the main topic, probably thinking she was out of business.
“So, in conclusion, what is the request?
“To start with the period, as soon as the date is set later, we will explore Limno for at least a week. It’s one day to go and one day to come, so it’s not like we’re investing all seven days.”
There are no gates inside Limno.
It is not owned by the Empire or Federation, so you cannot install a gate inside.
To go to the destination, it is common to stop at a nearby territory and use a means of transportation such as a wagon.
“At least a week to explore Limno?
Right. Right. Right.
I hit the table with my finger under strange conditions that I couldn’t understand even after knowing the result.
If I had to leave right away and spend a week there, I would be in trouble too.
I’m curious about Limno’s ecology, but I’m afraid I won’t be able to be with Rike after the closing ceremony.
“Because the maximum is 7 days. The time a person who will protect the imperial family can stay in the capital.”
“Do you want to go with me?”
While proceeding with the imperial family’s request, there were people who accompanied or assisted, like in the case of the swamp whale.
It was the first time that Eclair, who had been guarding the middle bridge station, broke in.
At the same time, the expectations for this request turned into confidence.
‘I would have been confused if I hadn’t read the setting book…’
In the original work, I entered like impurities in the work that Eclair had to do alone.
“It’s going to be that way only for this one.”
“Wouldn’t there be a problem if the commander of the knights, who should be in charge of command, was absent for 7 days?”
Eclair shook her head at my question.
“The Silver Wing Knights aren’t such a weak group… I can trust the vice-captain to be a knight with enough experience and thoroughness to take my place.”
I changed the direction of the question to hear the back story, not just the outcome.
“That’s not it. I’d like to hear a reasonable reason for sending the few asymmetric forces in the Empire to Limno.”
“… It’s not because I don’t trust the platinum adventurers who have successfully completed their missions until now. It’s just that the goal of this request is—-.”
The information that Eclair tells is simple, but all the essentials are included.
An incident that few people remember now.
The target to be caught is a person who tried to rebel in the imperial family decades ago, but failed and fled from the emperor’s death right in front of his nose.
I meant to catch the horse, just find it and kill it.
“Considering the traitor’s skills, it is absolutely impossible to defeat them. Even if there are gossips, they will be discovered and will only become a hole in the siege…”
Eclair knows the face of the opponent who was a knight and a powerful aristocrat, but one of the reasons for the participation is that the opponent has never seen himself as an adult.
When rumors say that the traitor is in Limno, the emperor who almost died once suffered from insomnia because of the traitor’s existence.
How precious is the life of an old man who babbles in old age.
From the emperor’s point of view, it was a simple desire to quickly erase the embers of rebellion by ejecting a treasured sword called Eclair and live comfortably as a ruler for the rest of his life.
“In addition, the guards of the imperial family that I fell into… The best knights in the empire will make up for it.”
It has nothing to do with me whether Asen Freemiller stays in the capital for a week away from his estate or dances.
Even if it was the best of the knights, I was not interested at all because I was serving an old man wearing a crown.
The most important thing to me is something else.
“Reward?”
He handed me the remaining one of the two letters he had brought in at first.
“Like the last time, I haven’t read this letter, and it’s something I don’t know at all. He told me to hand it over when he started talking about compensation. He assured me that he would definitely like it.”
Money is no longer needed
The imperial family wouldn’t know that either.
Even if you go to Rimno, which has a great reputation in the world, there is only one hidden piece that can be found.
Is there anything in the wrinkled hands of the emperor that can make up for the disadvantages I have alone?
Seruk.
I opened and read the letter handed to me by Eclair.
The line full of vanity and ostentation is passed quickly.
[···· When Roman of the Adventurer Guild successfully completes the request. The imperial family promises to take a neutral stance in future disputes with the Marquis of Skadi. ]
Cuggit-
His startled fingers tightened and the letter crumpled in half.
Regarding Ricke, it would not have been reported by Éclair.
Even if it is true… It is rather an opportunity when thinking about the future.
As long as the cowardly imperial family gave me a request, I expected that they would always keep an eye on my trivial eating habits and women’s circumstance.
‘In terms of the setting, the family of the Marquis of Skadi is not the one who openly worships the emperor.’
Just because the power of the imperial family is overwhelming, not all nobles are factions that support the emperor.
However, if you do not openly support one side by wandering around like a bat, there are not uncommon cases where it is used as a throwaway.
I applauded inwardly at a point where I could see how much this incident was hitting the emperor’s nerves.
Even if he is reluctant, if he can solve it well, Rike’s future will be very comfortable.
“… When the date to start the request is set, send it by mail.”
