The two of us exited the palace, and the event quest was completed. The rewards given were for all players who participated in the event quest, and I got the same reward as they got, although I was the one who saved the king and his family.
The anticipation I had planned wasn't used, but at least I had become a man who was wary of something dangerous that would endanger Alice's and my lives. At least, when we got out of the palace, I already had the anticipation that something bad would happen. Even if nothing bad happened, I already had it.
Even so, for a while, I saw suspicious movements made by the princess named Veronica before Alice and I managed to get out of the palace. She is Alice's friend, but somehow she looks like she wants to kill Alice. As she walked with Alice, her eyes and smile appeared to be grinning a few times. I thought it was a bad intention from her, hidden by her without anyone being able to find out. That's why I'm currently keeping an eye on her. Of course, it was meant to protect Alice.
"Thank you, Alice. You saved my family and me. I'm grateful to have you by my side."
She said in front of Alice and continued to hold Alice's hand, and I could see she had a normal face.
Outside this gate, maybe because Alice and I saved them, I couldn't see the players who were here before. Perhaps this was the storyline of the event quest, and since Alice and I kept them, Alice and I were in it.
"It's my job to look after you, Veronica. We're best friends, aren't we?"
"Ah, you're right. You are the best friend I have."
She nodded and said that as if it was true; she and Alice were best friends.
"The adventurer..."
King Eric called out to me while I was watching his daughter.
"Yes, Your Majesty?"
"Thank you for your service for saving my family. I, the sixteenth king of the Armstan Kingdom, Eric Armstan, am very grateful to you. Without you, maybe my family and I will continue to be trapped there."
He was quite polite, maybe because he was a king. But wait a minute! Is he from the Armstan Kingdom? Umm... this city also has the same name as Armstan. Was it given the same name as the Armstan Kingdom?
Just as I thought, the queen came from behind King Eric Armstan.
"Young man, thank you."
She thanked me by lifting her dress slightly and then bowing slowly.
Even the queen looked polite.
"It's fine. I'm an adventurer, so if something's dangerous, I'll help right away. After all, that's my job, isn't it?"
Of course, I had to make a polite impression in front of them. After all, they are the king and queen of this country.
"Besides being nice, you're polite too."
"You praise me too much, Your Majesty. Thank you."
Since the game system relies on a good relationship, I couldn't help but have to be like this. This was a good approach before I finally established a good relationship with them. Well, maybe with this my name will be known well too. So, it's better to be polite than rude to them. Even if I don't like doing it because it doesn't reflect who I am, I still have to do it.
I looked at the prince. It seems that the prince will not thank me. He kept looking at Alice. It was as if he was only focused on Alice. It seems that I will not be his consort. Even so, still, I don't care about him. My mission here has been completed, so why should I wait for a thank you from him? I'm not a gay man, which he can have whenever he likes.
"Alice, you're great."
He walked over to Alice, and I watched him from a distance, right behind King Eric and Queen Stella. Even though I was behind them, I could still see and hear what they were talking about there. At least I can still eavesdrop on their conversation. I wonder what they will talk about.
"Alice..."
"Yes, Ted? What's wrong?"
I could see his eyeballs shining as he looked at Alice. His eyes seemed to show that he was mesmerized by Alice's beauty.
After being silent for a while, he saw Alice's open arms. He hesitated to hold them, even looking cat sheepishly to get them.
"Nothing. Thanks for saving me."
Ultimately, he turned around and walked toward his father and mother.
He might like Alice or have something he wanted to say but couldn't. Still, his bashfulness looks disgusting to me. He's like a clumsy man who doesn't dare to express his feelings. He was too weak for a man and also a prince.
Heh... he's weak.
Since there was nothing more for me to do here, I decided to leave.
There, exactly ten meters down the road behind me, was an exit portal. That is to get out of the place, and maybe I can see the rest of the players there after coming out later.
I came out with Alice. She is the party's leader, so I couldn't help but involve her in ending this.
As we were about to leave, I had a few questions in my mind. What's the reaction after this is all over? Will the NPCs remember this moment or not? Will the Armstan Kingdom remember my service or forget it as if it never happened? Will Veronica have other plans? Will Ted's feelings for Alice continue, or will my presence here disrupt their relationship?
I had a lot on my mind after this incident. Will it all affect the NPC or not? If so, I hope to find the beginning of this incident, but if not, what can I do?
Well, whatever it is, I still have to improve my character. After all, this journey is still early for me. That's why it's better to improve my character than worry about after this incident.
"Alice, you said this incident happened because of..."
I asked her after exiting the dungeon and saw that many players were already around me. I ask that because I remember Alice's words about the beginning of why it happened. She said Veronica was the main cause of the incident.
"Well... I was guessing. I heard from some news that Veronica's attitude is sometimes weird. Many knights and maids spread rumors about Veronica's sometimes weird attitude."
"So, just knowing that, you assume that Veronica was the cause of the incident?"
"Besides that..."
"Besides what?"
"Three days before the little dragons attacked the palace, a foreigner magician came to the village and said, Princess Veronica will be summoning the dragons."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"I don't know either, but she said that with conviction. It made me hesitant to believe it. However, when I heard the news that dragons were appearing slowly, day after day, time after time, I finally realized that what she said was true. I didn't go straight to see Veronica yet, but I realized it was true. So, just before the raging little dragons burned the palace, I ran towards the city."
"Umm... So you think that the foreign magician's words are true?"
"I doubt it, but I've seen it with my own two eyes. So... relying on them, I have suspected that Veronica was the cause of the incident."
"Okay. So now that you've met Veronica, how do you feel about her?"
"What do I feel? I... I can't feel anything. She is like Veronica, who I know. She is perfectly normal to be suspicious of. She doesn't look like the one who summoned the dragons."
I could argue that Alice wasn't aware of something else happening to Veronica. That was evident from her honest words. She didn't know Veronica had smiled cynically as she hugged her, as they talked to each other.
"Um... okay."
Since this isn't something, I need to pay more attention to, and since it's not my goal, I can put that aside for now. In other words, right now, I needed to upgrade my character first before anything bad happened to Alice. Protect her or not, that comes from the extent to which my character has upgraded. If my character is stuck at a low level, 10-50, I can't anticipate if something dangerous is coming to Alice. The best I could choose was to put that aside for the time being.
"Alice... do you want to accompany me?"
I asked and walked over past several players who chatted with each other about the rewards of the event quest.
"Where are you going? Well, since you helped me save them, I will help and follow you."
Alice followed me from behind me. After that, she walked quickly and managed to walk beside me.
"Good. You are a good woman. Thank you."
After I said that, she stopped, which made me have to stop and turn to her.
"What's wrong?"
From what I can see, her flushed cheeks and head looking down, she thought of something about my previous words.
"N-Nothing. So what?"
She caught up with me and walked beside me while glancing at me several times.
"We're going to Luby Forest. There-"
"Wait! Do you want to go to Luby Forest? Isn't that place very dangerous? You know, there are hundreds of dangerous monsters."
"That's why I wanted to go there. Don't worry, trust me! I had a plan before you pulled me over to help them. Do you believe me?"
"I... Yes, I trust you."
"Good. Good woman. Thank you."