"Duke Vistall, it is a pleasure to see you in such high spirits."
"You as well, Baronet Mosaddo."
Not long after the airship took off from Labyrinth City, I was summoned to the VIP noble visitors' room along with Satou, Sara, Henry, the Scarlet Nobleman Baronet Jelil Mosaddo and other nobility. Karaina was also summoned, but she was still recovering from her loss, so she wasn't present. Other mithril-badge explorers were also being honoured in the royal capital, but no commoners had been invited to this room. Aside from Baronet Jelil and me, most of the nobles present either held only honorary titles or were children of noble families.
Duke Vistall, like his uncle General Erthal, was a stern-looking man in the prime of life with a hawklike nose. Despite being the general's nephew, he appeared nearly the same age. Since he was not royalty, Shiga Kingdom etiquette did not require anyone to bow. Even so, whether because he was the king's cousin or because of his commanding presence, everyone already in the room knelt when he entered. Well, almost everyone. I can't exactly bow with Henry and Sara still clinging onto me.
"I heard from Laberre that you did a stellar job." Duke Vistall praised Baronet Jelil for his skilful command and strategy in defeating the powerful floormaster of the labyrinth's Middle Stratum. "Perhaps you will lead our army one day—ah, or will you join the Shiga Eight to build up your accomplishments first?"
"That is an honour I would not dare dream of, but as one who walks the path of a warrior in the Shiga Kingdom, I would certainly hope to have that honour someday." Baronet Jelil answered Duke Vistall's lavish praise with visible nervousness.
After Duke Vistall finished speaking with Baronet Jelil, he congratulated the other noble-born explorers one by one for defeating the floormaster. He then offered briefer congratulations to the honorary nobles before turning to Satou. From his expression, I had the sense he was not pleased to be addressing him.
"I enjoyed your little acrobatics performance earlier. Perhaps you have the makings of a better street performer than an explorer?"
Karina would probably have flown off the handle if she had heard him call it an "acrobatics performance." Even so, she likely would not have been as angry as the Duke was when Satou replied.
"That certainly sounds fun. When we retire from exploring, we'll be sure to take our show on tour in your castle town, Your Excellency."
The Duke scowled at him for a few seconds. I was waiting for him to call Satou an "Upstart" or something along those lines, but he just cleared his throat and continued.
"It seems Duke Ougoch intends to recommend you as a successor to Sir Torel, but the Shiga Eight is no place for one without any real strength."
"Your Excellency…"
A quick, murmured report from the Duke's aide sent a flicker of interest across the nobleman's face before settling into blatant annoyance. He dismissed Satou with a sharp click of his tongue. I found myself imagining the Duke's reaction if he had possessed the power to strip away Satou's artificial rank and reveal the monster hiding in plain sight.
"Besides, deeds of arms alone are not enough to become a warrior who represents the Shiga Kingdom. You must have the elegance and refinement to set an example for the people."
Satou had his level set at forty-five, around the same as Baronet Jelil's, which would explain why the Duke abruptly changed his perceived requirements for a member of the Shiga Eight.
"There are few people who possess all those traits."
With a measured nod, the Duke acknowledged Baronet Jelil. It was clear now: he was planning to counter Duke Ougoch by nominating Baronet Jelil.
"I appreciate the advice, Your Excellency."
It would have been good if things ended there, but then the Duke turned to me, he shot a glare at Sara clinging onto my left arm, before a fake smile took its place. He looked at Henry on my right arm before looking at me.
"It seems you are enjoying yourself, my dear hero," The Duke said, looking me up and down.
"You could say that," I reply.
I'm sure some people would love to be caught like this between two beautiful women, but their grips are starting to become painful. Not to mention all the jealous people staring, pretending they aren't. I'm sure those rumours will spread at this rate.
"I'm not sure why the king keeps insisting on your posting to the Shiga Eight when I hear you already turned down the position." The Duke shook his head. "And it's an honour to have an oracle to the goddess Tenion on this trip, and I hear you have had some interesting developments in your fathers terrortory, Lady Seiryuu."
The fake sweetness in his voice is harder to miss than the strain of maintaining that fake smile. Sara's oracle status has brought her family great prestige, even if she ended up leaving her noble life for the life of a sister. Having an oracle in the family who is now the follower of a hero, while Rin also serves another hero, has given Duke Ougoch a lot to brag about. And now, with the labyrinth being formed in Seiryuu City and controlled by one of Duke Ougoch's retainers. In short, Duke Ougoch has had a good year, while I hear Duke Vistall has had some money and border problems recently.
I take a deep breath and pray that all he does is just flash fake smiles. The last thing I need is more problems when Viola has already warned me that some plot is in motion already.
<0>
"So, did you recognise anyone?"
I asked as we returned to our room. Viola, who had taken the form of a fly and hid in my clothing during that meeting with the Duke, flew off me and transformed back into her male form. I quickly threw a blanket at her since she was naked for some reason, and it was pretty distracting.
"And here I thought you were meant to be crazy in love with me," Viola smirked, shooting me a look as she wrapped the blanket around her now muscular form.
"Not when there are children nearby," Pochi and Tama were with Karina. Still, Mia would probably show up any time now that I have finished with that greeting. "So, did you recognise anyone?"
"Nope," Viola shook her head. "No one's voice or face sounded or looked familiar, but that fancy guy who put the hit on you might not even be aboard."
"Yeah, I figured it wouldn't be that easy," I sighed, then turned to Henry and Sara, who both had their faces hidden behind their hands. "It's fine now she's covered up."
Slowly, they lowered their hands, and after confirming Viola was indeed covered by a blanket, they didn't hold back their lecture about indecency. But as much as that was needed, I had to ask something else.
"I didn't see anyone looking surprised or worried to see me," I mentioned once I calmed Sara and Henry down. "Did any of you notice anything?"
"Apart from the Duke, no one else looked unhappy to see you," Viola spoke up first.
"A few people made some comments about my family, but it is nothing out of the ordinary from Duke Vistall and his retainers," Sara then said.
"Yes, that's all I heard as well," Henry nodded.
It really wouldn't be that easy.
"Then we will proceed as planned."
Everyone nodded, and we turned to leave the room. Well, we all did once Viola was dressed.
<0>
"We're baaack?"
"We're back, sir."
Pochi and Tama came into the room as soon as I brought Satou up to speed. They looked so tired for some reason.
"How was Lady Karina?"
"Shut-iiin?"
"She won't come out of her room, sir!"
Pochi and Tama collapsed onto the sofa like discarded plush toys. Sensing their fatigue, Satou promptly restored their spirits by popping a piece of their favourite whale jerky into each of their waiting mouths.
"I-it can't be!"
"Whale jerkyyy!"
"My energy's back, sir!"
With jerky still dangling from their lips, the pair sprang into their signature poses. Satou rewarded their performance with a quick pat on each of their heads, leaving them squirming in bashful delight, eyes squinting as they let out a series of chirpy, contented sounds.
"All right, then…"
"Are you going to go see Miss Boobs?"
Satou hesitated before replying. "Good idea. I'll give it a little more time, then go check on her."
A sharp knock echoed through the room, prompting Liza to stand. Outside stood a small delegation: Erina, the senior maid; her nervous new apprentice; and Lulu and Nana. They reported that Pina was still inside with Karina, dutifully attending to her charge.
"Sir Knight, you gotta help us…"
"Please!"
Bowing low, the maids turned to Satou with a single, urgent request: "Please, do something about Miss Karina."
"I mean, we put the plate of fried chicken that we had Lulu make for her in front of her door, and she still didn't come out!"
"Even when Viscount Nina scolds her, or Captain Zotol kicks her butt, the smell of Chef Gert's fried chicken has always been enough to cheer her up! But now…"
Erina was practically glued to Satou's side in her panic over Miss Karina. I got that she was worried, but did she have to make such a spectacle of pressing herself against him? The newbie, of course, was already following suit. Apparently, desperation is contagious.
"Hey, don't get so close." Arisa tried to stop them, but even she couldn't handle the two of them at once. "Hey! Lulu! Help me out here!"
<0>
"Lady Karina, I heard that you haven't left your room. Are you feeling all right?"
Satou knocked on Miss Karina's door. Predictably, the only reply was silence.
"I didn't realise Lady Karina liked Sir Knight so much that she would get this depressed about it…"
"Well, yeah. Since Sir Knight rejected her, she'll have to deal with marriage hunting in the royal capital."
"Right. Lord Baron aside, I'm sure Viscount Nina could set up an engagement with an influential noble in no time flat."
"No doubt about it. She's right on the edge of getting too old to be married. I'm sure she'd much rather be Sir Knight's wife than have to hunt for a fiancé in the royal capital. ' Especially since it'd mean she could keep fighting in the labyrinth with Pochi and Tama."
It seems Karina is doomed to face the hassle I narrowly avoided.
"We'll go with the Ama-no-Iwato strategy here!"
"Ama… What?"
"The cave of the sun god! In the hero's world, there's a myth about a goddess who holed up in a cave! So we'll use the same strategy the gods used to get the goddess to come out!"
Arisa jumped up and stood tall on the table.
"Arisa, mind your manners."
"Bah-ha-ha-ha, sorry, sorry…"
Liza's scolding brought Arisa back down to earth—or the floor, in this case. Undeterred, Arisa launched into a breathless recap of the Ama-no-Iwato strategy before herding the others into the kitchen to start the banquet.
That just left Satou and me at Karina's door. Since it was probably best to let Satou handle Karina, I left him, saying I would make sure Arisa doesn't get carried away. There was just one problem with that.
"Where's Arisa?" I asked, finding her nowhere in sight when I reached the kitchen. She wasn't the only one missing. "Did she take Mia to get something?"
"Arisa said she needed to get ready, and Mia followed her," Lulu told me as she mixed something in a bowl. "It was something about an Ame-no-Uzume dance, I think she said."
"I need to go," I mentioned before leaving.
I need to put a stop to this.
I rushed to our rooms on the ship. I'm not sure if they went to Satou's group or my group's room, but I should find them before they put on whatever outfit Arisa had in mind. An adult would be one thing, but those two are too young to wear the outfit that comes to mind when I think of the story. But I didn't get close before…
"Ahh!"
Something bumped into me running in the opposite direction.
"Ow…"
Looking down, I saw a girl rubbing her rear who had long blonde hair and blue eyes. She looked around Arisa's age, but she had the same amount of energy as Pochi and Tama.
"I think she went this way," I heard someone say from around the corner.
The girl heard them too. She quickly jumped up and ran behind me. Unfortunately for her, that long hair of hers and expensive dress couldn't be hidden.
"They are going to spot you," I warned the girl, but that only made her attempt to shrink herself small behind me. "So, why are they looking for you?"
"That's a secret," She muttered as a maid and a female knight rounded the corner.
Not to anyone's surprise, but the girls, she was spotted instantly.
"Young madam, you still have to make several more greetings before you can take your leave," The maid said, peaking around me.
"Can't I take a little break, Nanny?" The girl said, gripping the back of my dress tighter.
"You are the daughter of a Duke, my lady," The maid replied. "Your actions affect your house's name, so come along and finish making your greetings, and then you may retire for the evening if you so desire."
"But…"
"You should do as they say," I cut the girl off. "It will only make things more troublesome if you don't."
"The hero is right," The maid gave me a nod as she reached around me and took the girl's hand. "As soon as you are done with your duties, you can spend the rest of the day doing as you please, my lady."
The girl gave me a surprised look as she was dragged away, but at least she didn't complain. No, I can get back to stopping Arisa. Wait. Why is the knight looking so worried now that she has her missing charge?
I was too late. I just missed Mia and Arisa at our rooms, and when I returned, I found Karina out of her room and a table filled with food. The scent was lovely, but I couldn't help but be worried by the fact that both Mia and Arisa are wearing full-body cloaks.
"Oh dear, did you already lure Miss B… I mean, Madame Karina, out of her room?"Arisa said, glancing at Karina as she nibbled on some chicken. "Aw, we got all gussied up in these seductive outfits for nothing."
"Nighttime."
"O-of course!"
And now I have something else to worry about.
<0>
"Hoh-hoh. So this is the work of the greatest chef in Labyrinth City."
"It's delicious. I never dreamed that the legendary chef would cook for us on an airship."
The mithril explorers raved over Lulu's cooking, their enthusiasm infectious. With a surplus of provisions on hand, we threw open the doors of the main dining hall to the rest of the airship's crew and passengers. The turnout was far greater than anticipated, forcing Satou to draft the ship's cooks to assist him and Lulu in the kitchen. Fortunately, his "Storage" held an endless supply of ingredients, keeping the feast afloat despite the crowded tables.
Although the mithril explorers on the airship were predominantly male, a handful of women were among them. Satou had clearly hoped Karina would mingle, but she had other plans. She had staked out a corner table, flanking herself with Erina and the newest recruit as human shields while she focused entirely on her meal.
Karina was a magnet for the rowdy explorers, who were drawn in by her looks and, more specifically, her unfairly oversized boobs. Terrified by the encroaching crowd, she turned to Satou, who found himself stuck in the role of reluctant gatekeeper, forcing the men to approach in single file. Once it became clear that Karina was entirely uninterested in their antics, the crowd's attention shifted to the waitresses, leaving the pair in relative peace.
A few of the male explorers shadowed Nana, attempting to charm her with clumsy advances, but she deflected them with a stone-faced indifference. It seemed that only children possessed the secret key to her ironclad heart; everyone else was met with a wall.
Sara and Henry also had admirers, but they seemed to be able to handle themselves. Thanks to Viola declaring, "Kura is my woman," when the first guy hit on me, I didn't have to deal with any of that.
After the male explorers finally moved on, Satou tried to introduce Karina to his new female friends, hoping to smooth the social friction. Instead, Karina was snapping at them, and Satou was clueless about the obvious reason why. Luckily, the women seemed to take the icy reception in stride, laughing it off rather than taking the bait.
"Hey, keep your hands off my master!"
Arisa jumped between Satou and one of the more touchy women. Karina seemed to cheer up a bit when she saw Arisa do that. Then she frowned as Mia started playing music and Arisa dragged Satou off to dance. At an explorer's likely request, Mia began a popular Shiga dance tune. The crowd shuffled onto the floor, swaying with the fumbling, unpracticed grace of people navigating a rhythm they didn't quite know.
"Promise not to laugh at us, mister. Unlike you, Sir Knight and Baronet Jelil, we're just commoners. We've gotta get some practice in before we reach the royal capital."
A woman in the group, barely past thirty, offered a sheepish explanation for their lacklustre rhythm. With the royal capital on the horizon, they knew a gauntlet of aristocratic galas likely awaited them. They were hoping to master the ballroom basics before they risked making a spectacle of themselves in front of the nobility.
After seeing me dance with Viola, Nana, Sara and Henry, I ended up getting roped into giving dance lessons.
As the pulse of the music finally faded into the floorboards, we prepared to retreat for the night. That was when one of the explorers called out.
"Hey, guys, the observation deck's open! We're going to check it out. Want to come along?"
"Sure, that sounds good," Satou answered for us.
Eager to reach the bow, we set off from the dining hall, a trek that felt like traversing the entire length of the ship. We navigated corridors so cramped and tubular they brought to mind the belly of a submarine. Once we finally broke onto the observation deck, I looked out to see three wyvern knights pacing the airship in perfect formation. Their vigilance paid off moments later, when a monster lunged from the clouds. The knights intercepted it with lethal precision, driving the beast off before it could threaten our ship. Not that a weak monster like that could ever hope to threaten us.
"So biiig?"
"Pretty glass, sir."
"Why, it's beautiful!"
To mitigate bird strikes, the airship's two-tiered observation deck featured steel-wire netting encased in crystal rather than standard glass. While Satou had integrated a magic barrier into the hull based on the "Defence Wall" spell, its high energy cost meant it remained inactive unless the vessel was under fire. The building's two-story designation was deceptive. Its vaulted atrium design relegated the second floor to a mere gallery. This mezzanine terrace spanned only a sliver of the expansive floor below.
"This kinda reminds me of Rei's old home," Arisa said.
"Once we've finished our business in the royal capital, we should go visit them again," Satou asked.
"Hero Kura, I was told the second-floor terrace is off-limits, I report." Nana came over, looking disappointed.
I glanced back toward the stairwell, finding the way to the second floor barred by the Duke's Vistall knights. It seemed the terrace had been claimed for an exclusive gathering: the Duke's harem, a cluster of high-born daughters, and a handful of key officials. Even Baronet Jelil had managed an invitation, no doubt rubbing elbows with one of the Duke's many wives.
"They will get bored eventually, so we can go up there later."
"Yes, Hero Kura,"
Nana nodded and walked over to join Arisa and the others looking out the window.
"Byootiful?"
"Very hurri-sky high-cane, sir!"
Tama and Pochi pressed their noses against the glass, their faces illuminated by sheer delight. I hadn't the faintest idea what Pochi was barking about, but his excitement was contagious. Beside them, Miss Karina and her entourage of maids watched the view with eyes that twinkled with the same wonder.
"Kura."
"Master, it appears that we can go out on the deck through that door."
Mia and Liza approached us.
"Is it really safe to go out there?"
"It is windy outside, I report."
Caught in the teeth of the wind, the signal flag danced frantically above the deck, drawing the attention of both Lulu and Nana.
"It should be fine, don't you think? Look at that person on the balcony—her hair's not even moving in the wind."
Arisa was right. An unseen shell of wind magic held the balcony steady, buffering it against the worst of the wind.
"Looks like it's safe. Let's go check it out."
Satou led the way onto the observation balcony, which hovered a mere six feet above the deck floor. I was about to follow when.
"O king, I have a report," Central's voice spoke in my mind.
"Okay," I replied before telling the others I needed to take care of something.
Not wanting anyone to notice, I teleported to Twilight, which was following behind the airship in stealth mode. Central appeared in front of me and bowed.
"O king, the golems I sent out ahead have found a force that could be the enemy."
Central waved her hand, and a map appeared. It isn't detailed, but it has markers of local landmarks, geography, and the ship's location. A red marker, Central started colouring enemies red after she heard Satou's map shows them in that colour, marked a hill in the distance.
"The golems have spotted at least twenty armed individuals inside a large fortified building, but that number is only what we can confirm and probably doesn't account for the total number of enemies."
Central waved her hand again, and the map changed to show a rough drawing of the said building. Red markers are positioned at regular intervals along the outer wall, guarding the gate and the building's entrances. Several more, most likely patrols, were positioned around the outskirts of the wall.
"We have also comfirmed tamed monsters inside as well," Central continued. "So far, we have only confirmed that there are ten Lance Beetles, but we have spotted the people there bringing food into the barn and warehouse, so possibly more exist."
"I see," It's possible, but a lot of nobles have hunting manors in that area. I can't make a move on them just because they are armed and in the path of the airship. "Keep monitoring them for now and move more golems into the area. They might just be preparing a hunt for a noble, so for now, just watch them and get ready to switch to combat mode if they make a move, but don't attack them first."
"Yes, O king," Central nodded. "Do you wish for me to prioritise the defence of the airship if they do attack?"
"Yes," I smiled. With Central defending the ship, I wouldn't have to worry about it. "If possible, take any attack alive but kill them if the risk is too high."
"Yes, O king,"
I would prefer not to kill, but I won't risk everyone's lives over that belief. I have seen plane crashes on TV and heard stories about them. Despite the magical devices this world has, I can't help but picture a fiery crash if the ship were to be shot down.
"I will order the airship to land on the island if it is attacked, and there might be enemies on board, so I need some golems on standby for that."
"Understood, O king," Central nodded again. "It will stretch my current golem force thin, but we can manage this much."
I bid goodbye and teleported back. For now, I will leave monitoring the possible enemies to Central and ask Satou to look into it. His map skill should be able to tell us if those people are a threat right away, and do a better job scouting out those guys than Central's golems could.
Unfortunately, someone was running in my direction when I suddenly appeared. I hope this doesn't become a habit.
"Ow,"
Once again, I looked down and saw that blond-haired daughter of the Duke picking herself up and rubbing her rear. But this time she looked up at me with sparkling eyes instead of trying to hide behind me.
"Oh, you're the hero lady," She said, hopping up and down.
"Yes, my name is Kura," I said, gently smiling and kneeling down. "Are you okay, my lady?"
"Yes, I'm fine," The girl smiled. "Hey, is it true you visited the elves? And sailed the sea? And…"
"You mustn't bother someone, young madam." The elderly maid said that, as the girl started asking questions so fast, she was breathless by the time the maid cut in.
So, even my visit to the elves and adventures on the high seas have become gossip. I'm surprised I haven't heard stories about them sooner, but maybe only certain regions know about them. But I'm more concerned about the female knight behind the maid.
"Is something wrong?" I asked, catching that same worried look I spotted earlier.
"Nothing at all," She quickly put on a blank expression. "I was merely worried the young lady might have gotten hurt."
I hope that is the case, but either way, I give Satou her info so he can monitor her for a while. You can't take a chance on something that can be blown out of the sky after all.
"I'm not bothering you, am I, Miss Hero?" The girl asked.
"Not at all," I continued to smile as I took something out from storage. "If anything, I should apologise for knocking you over. Here, take this."
I handed her a small ball of chocolate filled with truffle. Satou made them after he and Arisa started talking about the chocolate they liked back in Japan. The girl smiled before popping it into her mouth.
"This is so good, thank you, Miss Hero," The girl said.
"Somienna," A young lady who is one of the many wives of the Duke, suddenly appeared. "You mustn't bother people, dear." The lady took Somienna's hand and started leading her away. "Come with me, Somienna."
She had the same look in her eye as that knight. I'll let Satou know about her, too.
<0>
"We will now be entering the territory of Vanwing Pass. Our wind mages will be performing a ritual spell to ward off monsters, so we kindly ask those with sensitive hearing to enter the soundproof room in the bridge or return to the noble visitors' room."
Following the third announcement, the wind mages stepped onto the deck and securely clipped into their safety tethers. A sharp, mechanical screech—PYWEEEE!—ripped through the chamber the moment the spell was cast. It was a clever deception: a false cry meant to trick the local monsters into thinking a deadlier beast had already claimed the territory. Still, I had other things to worry about now that we had entered the area of those armed people.
"Central, is everything ready?" I asked.
"Yes, O King," Central quickly replied. "All golems are in position to act if the need arises."
"Is everyone else ready?"
"Yes, Master," Pearl answered.
Pearl was in the engine room, ready to intercept anyone trying to sabotage it. I noticed a few people on the ship casting worried looks at me, so there might be people on board ready to aid any attacker.
"I am ready, I report,"
"Ready,"
Nana reported next, followed by Mia. They were on the deck of the ship so Mia could use her magic if needed.
"We're ready too,"
"Yes, I'm ready, Hero Kura,"
Finally, Sara and Henry answered. Those were near the noble area of the ship, ready to act if needed. Finally, there was Satou, who had his group ready to support us if needed. Hopefully, none of this will be needed, and whoever planned something on this trip called it off once they noticed I was still alive.