She did not wake up that night. Locke took off and flew into the sky with his Steel Dragon. Melissa seemed to have been in love with him for many years. It was impossible for her to feign such deep affection.
Locke immediately activated his memories. From his memories, he could not find any memories that he had interacted with Queen Melissa before this. He lowered his head and fell into deep thought.
Clifford looked at Locke, who was silent, and wanted to tell him about the news that the king had sent last night. However, seeing this situation, he could roughly guess what had happened to Locke. Thus, he asked, "Was last night not a happy night?"
Hearing Clifford's teasing, Locke smiled and said, "Hmm! I just haven't figured out why Queen Melissa likes me! I've only just reached adulthood. Even if my family has a noble background of an Earl, it's not worth it for the Queen to take a fancy to me!"
Clifford immediately explained, "Don't you know! Just your baby dragon is enough to drive any kingdom crazy!"
"Up till this day, there has only been one light-attribute giant dragon in the entire Dragon Faust Continent! You're the only one who doesn't think much about it!"
Hearing Clifford's words, Locke could not help but ponder, 'Is that so? It doesn't seem like it!'
By noon, they had already returned to the Kingdom of Dunmei. The entire capital was decorated with lanterns and colored banners. They couldn't find anywhere suitable to land, so Locke commanded the Steel Dragon to head straight for the king's castle.
As they landed at the king's castle, a minister welcomed them with open arms. "Greetings to the heroes of the Reynolds Locke expedition! The king has been waiting in the banquet hall for a long time. Please follow me!"
They entered the king's banquet hall. There were only a few elders of the Senate and the king inside. The Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Minister of Internal Affairs were present.
Upon seeing the king, Locke felt extremely guilty and immediately knelt down on one knee.
"Greetings, my King!"
Seeing that Locke, who was already engaged to Melissa, was still so polite, the king immediately walked over and helped him up.
"No need for formalities! You are now the expedition hero of the Dunmei Kingdom!"
As he said that, he got someone to take the badge from him and hung the "Guardian of Dunmei Hero Medal" on Locke's chest.
"From today onward, I appoint you as the captain of Team 5 of the Dunmei Dark Blade Dragons!"
After the announcement, he took out a golden medal from another box and hung it on Clifford's chest.
"You've worked hard on this journey! I hereby award you the Golden Star Medal of Honor! From today onward, you will continue to be Locke's mentor. I hope you can nurture Locke to become the strongest hero in the entire Kingdom of Dunmei!"
After the simple ceremony, everyone toasted the two of them before leaving the banquet hall. Locke and Clifford were left behind.
It was not that they did not want to continue celebrating with Locke, but this award was given secretly by the kingdom. Only a small number of people knew about Locke and Clifford's award.
Locke looked at the empty hall and asked Clifford, who was eating beside him, "They're all gone. Do we have to stay here?"
Clifford swallowed the meat in his mouth and said, "Of course I'll eat my fill before leaving. Otherwise, it would be such a waste of so many delicacies!"
Upon hearing about food, Eliza, who had been asleep for a long time, suddenly appeared before Locke. When it saw the food that filled the hall, it immediately became as big as a plate, and it started to eat.
This banquet was supposed to end very quickly, but because of Eliza's appearance, the banquet lasted for more than three hours.
Suddenly, a thought dawned upon Locke and he asked Clifford, "I'm now the captain of Squad 5! Does the Dark Blade not have a dorm?"
Hearing this, Clifford could not help but laugh. "The members of the Special Operations Team are either on a mission or on the way to a mission. How could there be a hostel! The usual bonuses and salary are enough for you to stay anywhere!"
Upon hearing this, Locke could not help but feel that the Demon Dragon Dark Blade was really stingy, but it had its benefits. It would not be easy to find its hiding place because there was no hiding place to begin with!
They arrived at the Dunmei Dark Blade Dragons underground branch, inside Green's office.
Seeing them push the door open, Green immediately extinguished the cigarette in his hand.
"Yo, kid! You've been living quite comfortably these days!"
Locke glanced at Green and realized that this man seemed to have seen through everything. It would be impossible for him to gain any advantage from Green.
Clifford walked over and lit a cigarette.
"You old man! You're always trying to steal my cigarettes. Can't you just buy a few for yourself?"
After taking a deep puff, Clifford laughed. "I can't even buy a few boxes of such rare items with my meagre salary! You're so stingy. Why do you nag so much every time I smoke a cigarette?"
Hearing this, Green stopped badgering him and immediately took out all the team badges from the drawer and passed them over to Locke.
"Reynolds Locke, congratulation on becoming the Captain of Squad 5! Now, we're on equal footing. Sigh, life is getting more and more difficult!"
Then, he handed over the compact box on the other side to him.
"This is your reward for completing the recent mission!"
Opening the box, five platinum coins were neatly placed inside.
"So many?"
"One platinum coin is your annual salary as captain! The other one is your team members' salary. Even though you don't have any members yet, after you find your members, you will personally pay their salary. The other three are the rewards for helping the Kingdom of Stonolo!
"Don't be fooled by the amount of money. In fact, it's just a small sum to the captain of Team 5! From now on, every mission will be more difficult than Grade A, and the reward for each mission will be much higher!"
Locke carefully observed the team emblem of Squad 5 and found that this badge was even more exquisite than before.
Other than the original communication system, the storage space inside had also been upgraded to ten square meters.
The usage method was still the same—bound by magic and soul, and it could only be removed after the host died.
"Alright now! Don't wander around in front of me. I'll let you know if there's a mission."
After settling these matters, Green immediately chased them out of his office. After they left, he took out another cigarette and lit it.
"Kid, I hope you'll survive and live well. After all, you have joined the most dangerous field in the world!"