Chapter 162
“Do you perhaps know a Mage named Bran?”
“Yes, he is an authority on fire attribute magic. He serves as the Head of the Fire Attribute Magic Association in the Magic Tower.”
“It is quite embarrassing to say, but when I was young, I stood shoulder to shoulder with him.”
“I was already well aware that you are remarkable.”
On the way to an audience with Your Highness.
Because Runerval kept talking to him, Franz was slowly starting to feel tired.
It was said that there were many exceptionally unique individuals among mages, but this was his first time meeting someone so talkative.
But what could he do? With his eyes sparkling as if he were a fan, Franz couldn’t bring himself to ignore him.
However, it seemed that was finally coming to an end.
“This is the Audience Chamber. It is a shame. I wish we could converse more, but…”
“Indeed.”
Naturally, he only said it out of politeness.
He had been waiting to see when they would arrive, after all.
But it seemed the other man had taken it sincerely.
“If that is the case, perhaps we could talk privately later…”
“I am afraid I will be quite busy with work. If you ever have the chance, please come visit the Magic Tower.”
Of course, this was also said out of politeness.
He seemed to take it sincerely this time as well, but there was no real need to worry.
The magic division commander of Ganiphus wouldn’t be able to leave his post as he pleased to come to the empire.
“Then please wait a moment. I will go to inform Your Highness.”
He immediately entered the Audience Chamber.
With his ears finally at peace after being tormented for a while, a sigh naturally escaped Franz’s lips.
As expected, he was someone Franz never wanted to meet again.
“Magic Tower master, you’ve worked hard.”
Arian, who had watched the whole situation from the side, comforted Franz.
“Yeah, it was really exhausting…”
“This is all because you’re so outstanding, Magic Tower master. You should have just been moderately outstanding.”
Who became like this because he wanted to? He had just done his best at what he was told to do, and this was the result.
As he let out a sigh filled with that frustration, the doors to the Audience Chamber opened.
“You may enter.”
At Runerval’s words, Franz immediately stepped forward.
In a space spacious enough to comfortably fit hundreds of people at once, there was a luxurious-looking chair atop a couple of steps.
A middle-aged man wearing a crown sat on that chair, so it was obvious at a glance that he was His Highness.
When Franz first took a suitable position and stood, the rest split into pairs and stood on either side.
During his Hero’s Party days, he had frequent audiences with the emperor, so it was something he had naturally learned.
In Arian’s case, she simply observed the situation and followed suit.
“Honored guests, I am simply glad to meet you like this. I am the 17th King of Ganiphus, Ganian Berbal.”
“I will offer greetings on behalf of my party. I am the Magic Tower lord of the empire, Franz. It is an honor to meet you.”
Franz bowed his head.
Kneeling on one knee was etiquette reserved only for the emperor of the empire, so it was not permitted even for Your Highness of another nation.
“I have called you honored guests here to hear about yesterday’s events. However, it would be difficult to converse comfortably in this setting. Therefore, we shall move to another location. You may follow me.”
The king rose from his seat and slowly walked toward the back of the chair.
Franz and his party followed him, and soon they arrived at a certain room.
In the room, chairs were placed at regular intervals around a round table. It seemed to be a space used for meetings.
“Do not worry about formalities and sit comfortably.”
Your Highness didn’t seem to be a very rigid person, according to the atmosphere.
Franz took a seat in a suitable spot, just as Your Highness said.
Soon, once everyone was seated, Your Highness spoke first.
“I know that what we just did holds little meaning, but I merely wished to observe the minimum formalities, so please understand.”
It meant it was what people commonly called a show.
Nobles usually valued such formalities, so it wasn’t difficult to understand them.
“Before we speak, it is an honor to meet the heroes who saved the continent. And I wish to convey my gratitude. Thank you for sacrificing yourselves for everyone on the continent.”
The king bowed his head to express his thanks.
It wasn’t exactly something he had done to receive thanks from anyone, but it was a joyful thing to have someone recognize his efforts.
Let alone the fact that someone of a king’s stature had bowed his head, he couldn’t help but feel even better.
Franz felt a sense of reward for the first time in a while.
“We only did what someone had to do. More importantly, I heard you wished to hear about yesterday’s events.”
“I know that a giant snake suddenly appeared in the sky, and that you fought that snake. But I know nothing beyond that, so please explain.”
“I am currently tracking the cult for personal reasons, and I heard that one of the cult’s main forces was in Ganiphus. When I actually checked, there was a cult shaman on a small island east of Ganiphus.”
Franz explained everything he had experienced so far.
The events ranged from finding and taking down the shaman on the small island, to the fact that the island was actually the calamity of the Mythical Era, leviathan, and finally taking down that leviathan.
The king wore a serious expression throughout the story.
Since such a thing had happened right in his own backyard, it was a natural reaction.
“That is all that happened yesterday. I do not know about other matters, but regarding the calamity and the cult, we have wrapped things up cleanly.”
“To think such a thing would happen in our country…”
Trailing off as if he couldn’t believe it, he immediately bowed his head.
“Anyway, thank you truly. If not for you all, Ganiphus would have perished.”
It wasn’t exactly wrong. Leviathan’s power was equal to or greater than the Demon Lord’s.
Destroying a small nation like this wouldn’t be a very difficult task for it.
Of course, if they hadn’t caused a ruckus on top of its head to catch the shaman, it might have stayed asleep a little longer.
Franz did not voice that fact. There was no reason to confess to a problem they hadn’t even been caught for.
For now, he just needed to remain the hero who saved Ganiphus. That was convenient for Your Highness and everyone else.
“As a reward for this matter, I intend to open His Highness’s treasure vault, though I do not know if there will be anything you need.”
Naturally, an expression of gratitude should be followed by a fitting reward.
As expected, he was a man who understood moral duty.
“If you are offering, I will not refuse.”
“Then let us go right away. You must be busy with your own matters, after all.”
When he returned, he would have to praise Your Highness a little to the emperor.
There must be give and take, after all.
If they formed a stronger connection with the empire in exchange for this, wouldn’t it be even better for Ganiphus?
Afterward, Franz followed Your Highness to the treasure vault.
When Your Highness inserted a key into the tightly locked door, a Magic formula activated and the lock was released.
It was magic that identified the mana wavelength of a specific bloodline.
If he had to express it in modern terms, it was like a system that extracted DNA in real-time to unlock it.
“This is quite fascinating.”
As the saying goes, the world is vast and full of wonders? It was magic that even Franz was seeing for the first time.
Of course, now that he had grasped it once, using the same magic would be a simple matter.
It was entirely possible for him to rob this treasure vault right now without a key.
“It does not matter what it is, so pick one each.”
Franz began to look around the treasure vault slowly.
There were quite a lot of items inside the treasure vault.
He saw everything from expensive jewels to intricately carved accessories, and ornaments that looked like they had been painstakingly crafted by artisans. He felt like he knew why it was called a treasure vault.
In the midst of that, something caught Franz’s eye.
“What is this…?”
It was a gold ring embedded with a red jewel.
The red jewel flickered and changed colors as if a fire were burning, giving off a peculiar feeling.
But that wasn’t all. The mana contained within the ring was swirling fiercely, as if it would burn everything around it.
“That is the Red Witch’s Ring. I recall hearing that whoever wears it slowly goes mad before dying engulfed in flames. It is a dangerous item, so how about choosing something else if possible?”
The king worried for Franz, but Franz’s thoughts were a little different.
“It has a strangely pulling feeling…”
You know how things like that happen in life?
Falling in love at first sight, or being drawn to an object the moment you see it, is as if you met your destined match.
“I will take this one.”
Saying so, Franz grabbed the ring.
『Acquisition of ??? has been confirmed.』
A hologram window suddenly popped up before his eyes.
Franz went blank for a moment.
What in the world was this…?