The carriage dropped Tina off and left me in it, heading for the royal palace.
''We''ll be there in a few minutes, so please wait a moment.
If Yele thinks I''m tired from the long journey, he says so, but I''m not tired and pale from the long journey.
I''m just nervous because I''m about to meet the king.
And after a few minutes, we arrived in front of the royal palace.
As expected, the building is so big that you can''t see the top of the building when you look up from this position.
Then we will get out of the carriage and enter the royal palace. Please follow me.
As I said that, Jere got off first, so I followed him down and followed him.
The main door of the palace, a very large door, opens and we enter.
Even though the door is so large, Jere entered the building as if it was a matter of course.
I was so scared that I kind of bowed my head as I entered.
The corridor was very luxurious, and the carpeting was bright red and looked very expensive, and I was worried about whether it was safe to step on it with my feet on the ground.
I followed Yele-san with a dodgy feeling and stopped in front of the largest door again.
''''Your Majesty, are you here?''''
Yeah, there he is.
I called out to him from the door, and a stern voice came from inside.
''I''m Jeremias Astara. Is it safe for me to come in?
I forgive you.
Excuse me.
Without any particular confirmation from me, Yele-san opens the door.
Eh, wait a minute, I''m prepared...!
Even if I thought that, it was already too late and the door was open and Yele-san went inside.
I was afraid to follow her, but I was nervous to follow her because I knew it wasn''t the same as waiting here.
Once inside, it was a very large room, so large that I thought my house in the village would be completely filled in.
In the middle of the room, closer to the door I just entered, there was another large sofa in the middle of the room with a person sitting on it.
''I just returned from a mission,''
I''m so glad you made it back.
Since it''s the same voice I heard outside the door earlier - perhaps this person is His Majesty.
He had short blonde hair, with his bangs up to give him an all-back look.
His clothes were more modest than I expected, or rather, he was dressed lightly in a white shirt and black pants.
His face was as I had expected from his voice, but he still had the same commanding look as I had expected, with sharp eyes and a slight beard.
''Have you heard about Felix Gladio?''
Yes, a young man from the village told me you defeated him. And I heard you were a successful scout.
''Yes, that''s right. And this one.....
Saying that, they both look at me at the same time.
Hey, we should say something.........
''Ha, nice to meet you Eric, um, my name is Aurin.
I even stuttered to introduce myself.
For the first time today, I couldn''t get my last name out of my mouth for the first time.......
His Majesty could tell I was nervous, so he smiled a little and
Yeah, my name is Leonardo Carlo Begonia. It''s a long name, so just remember me as Leo.
Then he held out his hand to me.
''Ha, yes, nice to meet you.''
I also put out my hand and shook it, although I was a little nervous.
This hand........! It''s definitely a hand that has held a sword before.
You wouldn''t have such hard hands if you hadn''t wielded a sword for years.
"Hmmm, good hand. It''s no wonder the man with these hands is so strong.
His Majesty Leo understands when he shakes my hand and says so.
''''Oh, thank you,''''
Hmm, have a seat on the couch over there, then. I''ll have the maid bring you a cup of tea.
And I do as I''m told and sit on the sofa on the one His Majesty wasn''t sitting on.
Whoa.........! I''m totally down.
I sat down shallowly, anxious to sit on such a soft, luxurious-looking couch.
Mr. Yelle sat down next to me and His Majesty Leo sat in front of me.
''''Well, let''s start by thanking him. Yere told me that you saved this country by defeating Felix. It would have been a close call without you, thank you.
Then he sits down and bows his head.
''Yes, no! Oh no, I don''t want to be thanked for that...!
I was in a hurry because I didn''t expect to suddenly get a bow from the head of this country.
No, really! I''m starting to get scared.
''Hm, you humble one. This is a place of ''I helped you, give me your money, you trash! Or so I thought.
What kind of villain is that?
I couldn''t help but tsk.
''Your Majesty, it''s only Your Majesty.''
Hmm, okay.
You''ve done this before, Your Majesty?
What do you mean? It''s a fine job I''m doing. I help a country and they say they don''t pay me anything for it. I shouted it down in front of kings and noblemen.
Oh, really...
Still, I''m sure there''s another way to put it...
''Are you relieved of your tension?''
Oh....
His Majesty Leo grinned as he said that.
Certainly, the exchange just now relieved my tension........
Could it be that that was a gag or something to get my attention.......?
''What I said earlier was really His Majesty''s doing, because it almost led us to war again.
Oh, it''s true.........
"Hmm, it''s their fault for saying that my men didn''t get paid for the work they risked their lives for. They''re just a bunch of trash who didn''t even have the heart to go to war with my country. If I hadn''t told them right there, they wouldn''t have been able to face the people who died.
He said that and crossed his arms a bit grimly, as if he remembered what happened back then.
He''s kind of an extreme person but.......he doesn''t seem to be a bad person.
She''s a good person who cares about her subordinates.
As I was doing so, a maid came into the room and brought me a cup of tea.
''Hey, why am I a tea too! I told you it was alcohol!
I''m still on duty. Please refrain from drinking.
''What? I''m taking a pay cut!
"to the queen.
I forgive you!
His Majesty Leo having such an exchange with a maid in front of him.
........not a bad person, right?