Translator: Silver Editor: Namorax
Return to Rhoden Kingdom
The next day, in a certain corner of Soulias palace.
Over a dozen people had gathered in a garden a normal person could never visit.
Lille and her two guardians stood in the center of garden, while eight additional royal guards waited behind them.
Nozan Kingdoms group of ssengers to Rhoden consisted of just those eleven people.
Dylan, Ariane, Ponta and myself represented the Elves of Great Canada Forest, so we could be considered three plus one people. Chio, as a mber of the Blade Heart Clan, represented the beastn. All together, the delegation to Rhoden Kingdom counted fifteen plus one mbers.
Since this was to be an official eting, a horse-drawn carriage and two horses for Nina and Zahar had been prepared in the garden.
Everyone was currently checking their equipnt and supplies one final ti.
In the corner of the garden, King Asparuf and a few important ministers were watching us and discussing sothing amongst themselves.
They were probably intellectuals that wished to witness the elven Path of Spirits for themselves.
While under the observing looks of those intellectuals, Dylans eyes remained focus on Lilles carriage as he pondered sothing.
Sothing wrong, Dylan-dono?
When I asked about his strange behavior, he turned towards
with a troubled expression on his face.
No, its just that Princess Lilles carriage is adorned with the emblem of Nozan Kingdom, and I would like to have sothing that announces our arrival, as its sothing we elves currently lack.
I didnt know what to make of Dylans issue, so I looked to Ariane for answers, but she looked a bit embarrassed as she shook her head.
We shouldnt have too much trouble attracting attention thanks to Arc, right?
Dylan gave Ariane a small shake of the head in response to her question.
Although his luxurious appearance does catch the eye, it doesnt do a good job of representing the elves to outsiders. Since Princess Lilles visit wont be following the normal diplomatic procedure, I was hoping to make a strong enough impression to smooth over our arrival.
After his explanation, I was sowhat able to understand his logic.
Since it was well known that the royal families of Rhoden and Nozan were related, it wouldnt be difficult for people to imdiately accept the validity of our mission.
Still, proving our intentions might take several days of interrogations and identification checks if things were handled poorly.
Dylan had recently been negotiating with Rhodens governnt, so if we had an identifier they could imdiately verify our identities and intentions.
Certainly, if those in Rhoden had so way of imdiately recognizing him, it would help us introduce Lilles delegation.
In that case
While I was wrapped up in my own thoughts, Lille entered her carriage, followed by Dylan Seeing that, my eyes narrowed and I started to smile.
Next, I spoke up since I realised sothing important.
I totally forgot that Shiden is still in the palaces stables!
Ah !
Ariane and Chio had a similar reaction when they heard what I said.
Under the guidance of one of the palace guards, I found my way to the stables only to catch sight of a large figure occupying to small grazing field beside it.
Shiden, Im sorry I didnt co pick you up sooner.
I called out to Shiden as I approached. However, Shiden just swatted his tail and lowered his head towards the ground.
This child is sulking. Because of Arc forgetfulness
Arc-dono, to abandon the partner charging into battle with you
Not willing to just stand there, I tried to rebut Ariane and Chios criticism.
Ill admit my mistake, but Ariane-dono and Chio-dono forget about him as well.
The two of them diverted their eyes when I said that.
However, I still needed to make up with Shiden if I wanted to get him out of the stable.
Kyun! Kyun!
Ponta was the first that tried to persuade him.
Hey, Shiden, how about we go to for a run in your ho plains next ti?
Its seems like promising a trip back ho did the trick.
Giyuriiiiin!
Shiden hoofbeats lightened after wed returned to the palace garden the others had gathered in.
Dylan-dono, youre bound to attract everyones attention if you ride Shiden ahead of the princess carriage, right? There shouldnt be any issue if Im the one at the reins.
Giyurin.
While was I stroking Shidens muzzle, Dylan looked him over before nodding his head.
Certainly, an I dont believe we can hope to find anything better. Since were already pressed for ti, we should leave imdiately, shouldnt we? Arc-kun, if you would.
Dylan climbed atop Shidens saddle with Ariane sitting down behind him.
Chio stood next to
and seed to be set on walking.
After instructing the onlookers to step back, I prepared to invoke my long distance transfer magic.
It felt as if I were returning to Rhoden after a long absence.
Having said that, the Rhoden transfer locations were still depended on my mory and I havent drawn all of them in my booklet. It may have been better to take the ti to draw a few locations while I had the chance.
After planning a little ahead, I started to draw on my mories from my last trip to Rhodens capital Olav.
The landscape I rembered the best was the view of the city I got from the base of the Calcutta mountain range when wed been liberating Chios enslaved brethren.
Transfer Gate!
Because I had to include Lilles carriage, the mounted guards and Shiden, I put more mana into the spell in order to expand the size of the magic circle.
After a mont of darkness, all of the party mbers gradually beca aware of Rhodens dignified capital in the distance.
Ariane and Chio took a mont to take in the magnificent view of the capital without any of the turbulence and confusion from that day.
The delegates from Nozan were caught off guard by the sudden change from the palace gardens and were restlessly trying to reorient themselves.
The royal guards were trained to handle unexpected situations, but even they were caught off guard by the literally magical phenonon.
Th-This is great! Were in a place Ive never been before!
Lille leaped out of her carriage and took note of the northern mountains in the distance.
Soulia wasnt surrounded by many tall mountains, so she must have been naturally curious about the mountain range.
Shiden quickly ca to term with the sudden shift of his surroundings before starting to chomping at the grass near his hooves.
We dont know exactly how much ti remains, so it would be best to go to Olav imdiately. Princess Lille, please return to your carriage.
Ah, I understand.
Atop of Shiden, Dylans voice was rather rough as he called out to the rest of the group.
Following his words, our group redirected itself towards Rhodens capital in the south.
Unfortunately, the location I transferred us to was far away from the paved roads entering the city, so it was a bit of a challenge to navigate Lilles carriage through the plains.
If I wasnt mistaken, the road we eventually got on led to Lanbaltic in the west.
As we advanced forward, I rembered the ti I made a mistake and we wound up in the wasteland town Buranbeina.
The curious gazes of the other people on the road were directed towards us, and as we gradually approached the gate I caught sight of the guards restlessly hurrying about.
Certainly, it would be impossible to ignore a four-ter-tall, six-legged dragonmount leading a carriage and its escorts.
As far as the citizens were concerned, Shiden may as well be a new type of monster.
When we reached the town gate, two mounted guards, probably from the western gate, could be seen approaching us with tense looks on their faces.
They were either scouts or those sent to gauge our intentions.
Dylans idea seed to have been successful, as I doubted Lilles carriage would have provoked such a reaction on its own.
The two guards stopped a few feet away from us and had to soothe their frightened horse in the face of a dragon mount before they addressed us in a slightly threatening manner.
Stop! State your na and the purpose of your visit imdiately!
The guards shouting surprised his horse and caused it to jerk about violently.
Once he finally cald down his horse, his attention was drawn towards the people sitting in Shidens saddle and finally noticed what they were.
My na is Dylan Targ Raratoia. When I visited this country before, I was granted an audience with the King. This ti I am accompanied by a ssenger of Nozan Kingdom. There is an urgent matter that must be discussed with his majesty imdiately.
Dylan tone was polite even though he was physically looking down on the guards from Shidens saddle.
After speaking with his partner, one of the guards went back the way he ca and delivered news of Dylans arrival to the palace.
In the blink of an eye the news traveled through the palace and speculation about the nature of the visit ran rampant, but King Carlen simple said Lets speak with them first, before making any major decisions.
Thus, all of the days plans were put on hold as a eting place was hastily arranged.
King Carlons decision was imdiately passed onto Dylan by the ssenger.
The mbers of Lilles delegation breathed a collective sigh of relief as their first concern had been dealt with.
While I was also relieved that the eting arrangents had been gone smoothly, Dylan was wearing a dissatisfied expression.
He said, I should have prepared a letter explaining our intentions and had the guard take it the first ti.
Lille had been entrusted with a letter addressed to the King of Rhoden from Nozans King but had we written our own letter explaining our intentions, we could have lowered our wait ti.
Under the protection of mounted guards, the Nozan delegation and Dylan passed through Olavs city gates.
If you compared the two capitals, in term of sheer scale, the entirety of Nozans Soulia could be fit within one-fourth of Rhodens Olav.
The mbers of the delegation were simply enamored by their surroundings and it seed like Lille wanted to devour the view of Olav she got from her carriage window.
Never imagined I return to this city in such a manner.
Thats true.
My muttering should have been lost in the hustle and bustle of the city, but Chios cat ears managed to pick up what I said.
It must have felt strange for Chio, who lurked in the shadows and worked to free her wrongfully enslaved people, to walk down the main street in broad daylight.
While she didnt say anything about it, she donned her facial mask and her tail restlessly swayed about.
Beastn still didnt walk the streets of this country unless they were slaves, but that could change if what Dylan said ca to pass.
In any case, a few citizen of the capital would occasionally let out a surprised yelp when they saw the dignified appearance of a dragon mount and the two elves that rode it, however, the carriage bearing the crest of Nozans royal family kept them at bay.
There was no daredevil willing to call out Chio for being a beastn in this situation.
After passing through the miscellaneous urban areas and briefly crossing through the luxurious residential area of the aristocrats, the Kings palace ca into view.
Murmurs of admiration leaked out of the mouths of the delegation mbers as they took in the graceful spires that connected to the palaces main building. There was an obvious difference between the fort-like architecture of Nozan and the elegance of Rhoden.
Our mounted guides led the delegation to the open square in the front of the palace, where a line of people waited to receive us.
Although they were caught off guard by the diversity of the delegation, a guide asked for our representative.
Wh-Who shall act on your behalf?
Only the voice of a small girl was heard as Lille stepped forward.
That would be .
The man seed on the verge of laughter when he heard Lilles declaration, but when he caught sight of Nina and Zahar behind her and took note of the glares Chio, Ariane, and I directed towards him, he imdiately refrained from doing so.
I-I understand. Allow
to guide your way.
The man directed a smile towards Dylan, who took a position beside Lille, but otherwise remained silent as he guided us through the palace.
As we and Lille made our way inside, the carriage and Shiden were left in the care of the eight royal guards.
Lilles eyes bulged like a childs as she took in the gorgeous furniture and various pieces of art that decorated the halls of the Rhodens palace.
Eventually, our palace guide stopped in front of our presud destination.
Please wait in here.
After offering us a respectful bow, he opened the door in front of us and vigilantly awaited our entrance.
Lilles expression tightened as she straightened her posture and took a set inside the room.
Nina and Zahar closely followed behind her.
Dylan followed after them with a smile on his face, while Ariane, Chio and I slowly entered the room behind him.
It wasnt the auditorium I expected us to et the King in.
Instead, the room was similar to a large conference room, and had servants waiting in the corner of the room.
I imagine those working here usually didnt allow their thoughts to show on their faces since those who were bewildered by our appearance quickly worked to conceal it.
I didnt expect things to happen like this, given our current attire.
Speaking for myself, I was adorned in full body, carried a sword at my waist, and had Ponta throned on my head.
Both Ariane and Chio also carried their weapons with them.
It was a good thing that Dylan, whod negotiated on behalf of Great Canada Forest before, had co along with us.
Dylan had been accompanied by many elven warriors when he ca here before, perhaps it had been a demonstration of power to help swing negotiations in his favor.
Elven warriors were rather strong and even without their weapons, it was doubtful that several human Knights could defeat them.
If I was being honest, if you gave Arianes mother, Glenys, a single sword she could capture this entire palace without breaking a sweat.
Rhoden may be trying to annoy us a little as possible.
There was this strange tension drifting from the guards on duty.
Since Rhodens representatives had yet to enter the room, Lille sat down with Dylan, while Nina and Zahar were taking their position behind the princess.
For the ti being, Ariane, Chio and I stood behind Dylan.
I thought wed be left waiting for a while, but I heard fast approaching footsteps from behind the door opposite to the one we entered from.
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