Chapter 35
We had been 〝invited〟 to the castle.
His courteous attitude made it clear that the Grand Duke had no intention of treating us as enemies. Well, if this country did anything to us, it would be the one to suffer. Starting trouble with both the sea dragon and the Empire would unquestionably mean its doom.
In that case, it would be better to receive us with due respect and persuade us to help deal with the sea dragon.
Depending on their size, dragons were generally classified as S-rank. If the Adventurer's Guild handled one, S-rank or AAA-rank adventurers would form a party, or the request would be passed on to an SS-rank adventurer.
If the military handled it, they would need considerable preparations and a great many soldiers.
At the very least, it would be all but impossible for the Albatross Duchy to defeat it on its own.
"This way."
"Thank you."
While thanking the knight who had guided us, I entered the throne room.
Then I saw that the Grand Duke was not on the throne. He was bowing deeply at the end of the red carpet.
The people surrounding him, presumably his senior vassals, were bowing as well.
"It is an honor to meet you, Prince Leonart. I am Donato di Albatross, Grand Duke of Albatross. This entire incident occurred because of our country's lack of foresight. I deeply apologize for involving you. And I offer my deepest gratitude for saving so many survivors, including my children. Thank you..."
"We offer our deepest thanks to Prince Leonart!"
Following the Grand Duke, his senior vassals began voicing their thanks one after another.
It was an extraordinary sight—one rarely seen.
Regardless of the difference in our countries' size, he was a ruler and I was a prince. Normally, he would be the superior and I the inferior. Depending on the circumstances, the best we could hope for would be equality.
For him to lower himself to my level and bow was simply absurd.
I froze and looked at Marc, but Marc was frozen too.
He had somehow managed to kneel, but he clearly had no idea what he was supposed to do. He was completely preoccupied with his own situation.
Thinking there was nothing else for it, I walked over to the Grand Duke, took both his hands, and pulled him to his feet.
The Grand Duke, who looked to be in his mid-forties, had the same pale brown hair and green eyes as Eva and Julio. His features leaned more toward Julio's.
Though he had a gentle appearance, he was so thin that he looked somewhat unhealthy.
I knelt before him and spoke.
"Your Grace. It is an honor to meet you. I am Leonart Leaks Adler, the Empire's Eighth Prince. I deeply apologize for the trouble this incident has caused. Also, there is no need to thank me. I merely helped some castaways because they were right in front of me. If one of our Imperial ships had sunk, your country would have done the same. You know the dangers of the sea better than anyone."
"B-but!"
"But yours is an honorable country. You would not be satisfied with that alone. So, could you provide my ship with food and water? If you could also spare a little treasure, I would not complain. My ship had to jettison the treasure it was supposed to deliver to Rondine."
"What!? You went that far for us!? Of course! You needn't even ask! My country will cover everything!"
"Thank you. One more thing. I would like you to tell me about the trouble your country is facing. If this issue drags on, it will likely spread throughout the continent."
"...Understood. You are no longer uninvolved in this matter. You must know what is happening."
I gestured for the Grand Duke to return to his seat on the throne.
The Grand Duke nodded, returned to the throne, and began speaking with a pained expression.
"As you have probably realized, there is... a sea dragon in our waters."
"I had my suspicions. The storm was far too unnatural, and my captain had even speculated that it might be the sea dragon he had heard about."
"I see... That dragon's name is 〝Leviatano〟. It had been asleep for more than two hundred years."
"Two hundred years? That is far too long for a dragon's dormant period."
"It was not dormant. We put it to sleep using an ancient magic device. This one."
As he said this, the Grand Duke had a maid bring something.
The maid brought a broken staff.
It was completely broken off at the base. There was nothing particularly unusual about its construction, but a huge jewel was set into its tip. It was probably a jewel that had stored magical power. Even now, I could sense a powerful magical presence from it. Yet it seemed to have only about half its original power. Considering its original size, it must have been an incredible magic device.
"Two hundred years ago, this southern region was governed by a unified nation. But when the sea dragon Leviatano entered an active period and ravaged the surrounding areas, we were forced to fight it. In the end, we managed to use this magic device to put it to sleep, but the royal family fell into decline, and the region then entered an age of warring states. The Albatross Duchy was originally established by the family entrusted with guarding this staff. The legends of Leviatano have also been passed down more accurately here than in Rondine."
"I see. So once this staff broke, you launched an urgent investigation?"
"Exactly. I am truly sorry for involving you. If you were caught in that storm, your ship could easily have sunk... We should have contacted the Adventurer's Guild at once."
"It is in the past now. Besides, we would have to pay an exorbitant reward to have a dragon defeated, and word would spread across the entire continent. I cannot blame a country like yours, whose economy centers on maritime trade, for investigating on its own."
"...I appreciate your understanding."
That concluded his explanation.
I understood the situation. Now came the question of countermeasures.
What should we do? Contacting the Adventurer's Guild would not mean an immediate response. There were only a handful of adventurers across the entire continent capable of fighting a dragon.
Well, I was one of them, but Silver, who normally never left the Imperial capital, suddenly turning up here would be far too suspicious. I would need some pretext.
"Your Grace, what course of action are you considering?"
"...I think we have no choice but to rely on the Adventurer's Guild. It probably will not respond immediately, though..."
"That is likely our only option. The Empire would like to lend assistance as well, but facing a dragon at sea means we cannot simply dispatch a fleet and be done with it. It would be better to leave this to professionals in monster hunting. However, I have one suggestion."
"Tell me. What do you suggest?"
"You should form an alliance against the dragon with the Duchy of Rondine. Once they learn the circumstances, they will realize that this is no time to keep fighting."
"I considered that too, but we have been fighting Rondine for many years. Our diplomatic relations are not such that we could conclude an alliance right away."
"That is why I called it a proposal. I will take the alliance proposal to them. If the Empire's plenipotentiary ambassador acts as an intermediary, they should not be able to dismiss it out of hand."
The Grand Duke looked somewhat flustered at my suggestion.
It was an offer far too advantageous to them.
After thinking it over for a while, the Grand Duke gave a noncommittal answer.
"This is an important matter. Would it be all right if I consulted with my senior vassals first?"
"Of course. But you should hurry. Rondine may not know the details, but they must have at least caught wind of the vague fact that your country is in turmoil. They may invade."
"That is true..."
Even so, I was fairly sure that would not happen.
Leo was there. Even if he was pretending to be me, Elna was at his side.
He should be able to keep Rondine's movements in check while somehow covering for me. Since I had not arrived, they would assume I was in the Albatross Duchy.
In any case, having extra time helped us as well.
I wanted time to think, and if necessary, I was even considering going to the Imperial capital. The problem was that just going there would require two uses of teleportation magic, while going there and back would require four. I had to choose the right moment to leave.
With that in mind, I gave a slight bow and left the throne room.