Book 2: Chapter 50 (2/2)

The stone-built palace has waterways here and there. You can hear the tranquil sound of water flowing. Like old Japanese architecture, a wooden sliding door was the entrance to each room, and the door was painted a certain light blue—the Holy Blue.

A large table and chairs were placed in the center of a tasteless, empty room.

「The room is very simple, is what you’re thinking, correct?」

「Y-Yes.」

「The Holy Royal Family has inherited the old lifestyle.」

「I see… It seems inconvenient.」

「It is extremely inconvenient.」

Even if you were born as a king, you can’t afford luxury, huh.

A few minutes after sitting and waiting, the Holy King appeared with one other priest and high priest, El-san.

「I thought you wouldn’t show up– Oh, nevermind that. Just sit down.」

When the Earl and I stood up, following etiquette, the Holy King quickly sat down on his chair while telling us to do the same. So I sat back in my chair and waited for the other party to start.

The Holy King looked extremely haggard. He might have aged several years due to just the one day yesterday. Although he was still blunt with his words and had the dignity of a king, it also felt like he was putting on a brave face.

The rabbit, El-san, and the other priest stood behind the Holy King. I couldn’t tell how El-san was doing because I can’t read the complexions of a rabbit.

「Well, first of all, the escort of House Sillys… You’re called Reiji, right?」

「Yes.」

「Thank you. Thank you for your work」

As straightforward as words can be. However, I didn’t work for this person.

「No, I acted according to the contract with House Sillys.」

「…You say that you just worked for the Earl?」

「To be exact, it was for the young lady. I shall return this.」

I presented the knife that I kept in my chest pocket. Which reminds me, they didn’t do a body check up to this point. Is this kind of security reliable? Does that mean that they have so much trust in the Earl?

「…I see. Hey, put this back in the vault.」

The priest nodded and left the room with the knife.

「Even if your actions were for the Earl’s house, the whole nation benefited. Let’s talk about the reward for your actions.」

「Okay.」

「First of all, to praise yesterday’s courageous action, you shall be presented with one holy gold coin.」

One holy gold coin. It’s worth about 5 million yen(50k usd). The first thing that came to my mind was, “Is that all?. Compared to my annual salary of 3 holy gold coins, it’s kinda low.

「…What’s with your face? Is that too low?」

「N-No, that’s not…」

「Are you paying much higher, Victor?」

「It’s natural to give high rewards to talented people, Your Majesty.」

「Tsk. That’s why I told him to bring out more, but the treasurer was stingy. Even one holy gold coin was too much if we looked at the rewards of the past he said.」

「Such a big incident has never happened in the Holy City in the past, after all. If you become active in war activities, that would be a different story altogether however.」

When the Earl said that, the Holy King’s face turned increasingly bitter.

Even I thought if that was all I was getting. When in truth, one holy gold coin is not a small amount by any means. Does this mean I am getting greedy?

「For the time being, this is the reward. Please accept it.」

「Of course.」

I have no problem with accepting extra money.

「Now then, I’m going to another meeting. I’ll leave the rest to El.」

「…Is that so, Your Majesty?」

When the Earl asked so, the Holy King nodded with a bitter face.

「We have to talk about House Riviere. My children, royalty, and other dukes have gathered. Victor, you come with me.」

「However–」

「Come.」

「Haa… Reiji-san, I am sorry about this, but I don’t think you will have a problem in going back on your own.」

「It’s okay.」

It’s a little easier to talk to El-san than to the Holy King.

Or rather, isn’t the Holy King a little too open around me? Or does he think I’m on his side while Earl Sillys is around?

When I took a glance at the Earl, he had a complicated look on his face. It was like anxiousness due to his misreading. I guess he didn’t tell the Holy King accurately about me.

「Oh, Reiji. Just in case–」the Holy King started, as he stood up.「We’ll conclude with a contract magic for this incident. Think of it as a confidentiality obligation.」

It came as I expected. The contract magic.