(2 month and 13 days after Klada disaster)
[Lynn's POV]
We walked into the castle's interior. The castle itself appears really huge from the outside, spanning maybe about a hundred squared meters, but the interior is really well designed for it's size.
Together with a random guard which appears to be a Royal Guard, I walked inside the vast castle until we reached to the front of a large gate with delicate engravings and details on it. We are most likely right in front of the throne room.
"(Excuse me but may I know your name?)"
"(I'm Lynn. Lynn Howard.)"
"(Lynn? You must be the....)"
"(Yes, I am the Magic God. Now that you know my identity, you would know why the king wouldn't refuse my request to see him if he knew of my identity as well.)"
"(...Yes. If possible, can Howard-dono wait here for a moment?)"
"(Alright, just call me when you are ready.)"
"(Thank you for your consideration....)"
He went inside the throne room and left me here with two guards in front of the gate.
"(.....)" (2x)
The two guards awkwardly tried to ignore me, it's kind of funny actually. But now is not the time for jokes, it's time to think of my attack strategy for this meeting with the king.
First off, for people like royalties, your first impression is very important and should give the implication of your intention. My intention here is to ask for peace, rather than being irrational and demanding an apology from the king. I don't like to be a jerk, that's why I won't demand the king an apology.
Secondly, while I won't demand an apology, I do want to demand a favor that will give me and Kyrielle some much needed benefits.
I can use this chance to gain a passport from the king himself. This will make our journey easier because we would become registered tourists, and also allows us to accept quests officially, giving us more options to obtain travel money in the future.
And finally following the second point, my final demand would be rather selfish. Why? Because the rain monsoon is about to come within a week, and Kyrielle wouldn't be able to handle that weather. We had decided to stay in this city already, but spending money at a run down inn just to stay for a month is rather unattractive.
This means I will demand to stay at the castle for a month hahaha! Ah, how audacious I am! But I can't helped it you know? Since I could very well destroy this entire city if I wanted to!
....That was a bad dark joke.
Under those three ideas, I started to formulate situations in my head and how I willvo about in a way that would convince the king to give me those 2 things, that is the passport and living in the castle.
After about 2 minutes of waiting, the guard finally came back out of the door.
"(The king is ready to see you, Howard-dono.)"
"(Alright. And just calling me Lynn is fine.)"
"(Will do, Lynn-dono.)"
The gate opened and I helped them open it faster using gravity magic. After I entered, I helped closed the giant door using gravity magic as well.
"(Why did the door just glowed purple and closed by itself?...)" The guard responsible with the gate mumbled that as I passed through.
And as I walk, I made eye contact with the King and made sure that I am indeed looking into his eye. Commoners don't know this, but this is a major mannerism for nobles to show confidence to the king, and it is respectful.
The king is a man with long white hair and really pale skin. His defining feature is his pair of red eyes, which is the Magic Eyes of Wisdom that allows the user to correctly gauge the power of someone.
Because of his pale skin and his unalive looks, I'm guessing he is either a Lich or a Night Walker, two of which are the strongest undead there is. I didn't recognize him from all 72 arch demons, that means he must not be an arch demon then. But you don't need to be an arch demon to be powerful, so I should still be careful of him.
Again, like all sentient undead, he looks just like a human. His most notable feature being the red magic eyes of his and a crown made out of gold and lots of jewels that sits in his head. He wore a red colored robe that is really fancy, as expected for a king.
I walked until I'm right in front of the stairs to his throne. The throne sits on an elevated platform so that the king can sit above everyone else in the throne room, a Royal etiquette of sorts.
I bowed my head down to the king.
"(Human, you stand too proudly before the king. Kneel before the great king!)"
A frog devil that is most likely the King's personal advisor stands next to the him. He actually ordered me to kneel in front of the king, I can't believe it haha!
At the background, I could hear someone saying "(He'll get us killed...!)". It seems that this guy here is just an idiot, but I guess I'll humour him.
"(Do you realise who you are talking to?)" I asked him that question with a straight face, but a small grin appeared on my mouth.
"(Who are you to be talking to me or the king like that?)"
"(Who am I? Well, I am just a traveller that is journeying through this land.)"
"(Wha... Do you think this is funny?!)"
"(No, but I do think that your King would find this funny.)"
"(What do you mean?)"
"(I mean I'm a traveller, that much is true, but I am also the current generation of Magic God, Lynn.)"
"(Gah! The strongest human?!...)" His soul immediately left his toad face as he stands there in shock.
"(Hahaha! That is a good reaction! Don't you agree, King Hal?)"
"(Heh... Unsurprisingly, you are just as the rumours described.)"
Hmm... what rumours? I'm kind of curious but whatever, that's not important now.
"(Indeed...? Anyway, I don't think we need any introductions for me, so it's nice to meet you for the first time, Your Majesty.)"
"(Yes, Howard-dono. Or would you prefer to be called the Sorceress of the Highlands?)"
"(Now that is a name I haven't heard of in a long long time now.... no one calls me that anymore. Your Majesty, you can just call me Lynn, for I am not a big fan of nicknames or titles like that.)"
"(I see... I don't suppose that Lynn-dono is here to chat with me correct? So, what is the situation?)"
....He didn't know what happened? I thought he is the one who shot us so many times with Ignis! But judging from his reaction, that isn't the case.
"(Obviously not hahaha! Let's get down to business... why did the city attacked me and my travel companion out of no where?)"
With a serious face, I asked him with a hint of annoyance in my voice.
"(It was an misunderstanding.)"
"(I guessed as much.... Is there any explanation?)"
"(...Mesto, go tell her what you did.)"
Another undead that stood besides the king spoke out.
"(I am Mesto, the Court Magician.... I was the one who shot you and your partner, and I'm sorry about that. To start, there was a group of soldiers that was patrolling out in the Plains, they were attacked by a pair of giant eagles.)"
"(Oh, I remember them. I saved them from the pair of Eagles afterall. So, what about them?)"
"(They said they fought the eagles and was losing grounds until a dangerous springan appeared and tried to control the two eagles. They quickly killed the eagles who fainted from a sudden mind control being used on them, and then quickly fled.)"
Ah, now I get it. After all, I shot the eagles with ready small rock bullets, and so at a distance it would appear like the eagles just fainted without any thing happening to them.
"(The springan that we are talking about was one that we had been trying to catch for the last month already.... They thought that you are that springan, and they thought that the next target of your mind control would be them....)"
"(Hmm, interesting. A springan is it?)"
"(I mean no offense, but springans are known to have a pink glowing orb in the middle of their body. Your eyes most likely glowed pink when using magic, so they assumed that the pink color of your eyes was the orb of springans, and thought that you were a monster. It doesn't help that your outfit is also white in color, and a sspringan's body is also white....)"
"(I see, that is a fair reason for your action. Springans are master of illusion magic despite being a monster, that's why you are so cautious and decided to quickly kill it off with a strong spell, like the saint ranked light spell Ignis.)"
"(Yes...)"
"(And at a distance, my body would appear white, with a pink glow, just like a springan right? That's why you misunderstood and attacked me.)"
"(Yes... I only wish that Lynn-dono would forgive me for this terrible mistake. I can't see that you are a human at that distance, and I don't actually attack humans at all because that'd go against the Great War's Truce itself.)"
"(Figures. I won't seek reprimandation for the soldier's actions, and I won't count those hits with Mesto either because you wouldn't have hurted me even if it connected. However, I do want to ask for some favors and assistance from King Hal.)"
"(Naturally, Lynn-dono. As an apology, I can offer whatever assitance to you. So, what would you need, Lynn-dono?)"
"(I require a passport... that is because I am not a registered traveller here, you see. This will allow me and my partner to travel the continent with the protection of the law, and allow us to accept quests in the future to earn money for our journey.)"
"(That is a simple request, Lynn-dono. I will make the arrangements later.)" King Hal quickly agreed to it.
"(And I would also like to ask King Hal for a second favor.... Not technically for me, but that is for my travel companion, since you almost killed her right?)"
"(Obviously, it is reasonable for your companion to receive compensation as well.)"
Since we were already planning to stop in this city for a month to wait out the rainy monsoon, we needed shelter and living at the castle would be the best for both me and Kyrielle.
"(I want King Hal to accept me and my travel companion into the castle as guests, and live here for a month until the rain monsoon passes.)"
"(Hmm... That's good..... why that's very good! I can help you in regards to that then, on one condition.)"
"(Which is?)"
"(Lynn-dono will come and converse with me so that I can learn more about why you are here, and also about other things as well.)"
"(Good enough for me.)"
"(Very well. Then as promised, our castle has the best rooms and facilities for our guests to use, and you can rest assured that you two would be assigned to the best possible room.)"
"(Thank you for your generosity, king. As such, we will not be in each other's debt with this.)"
"(Yes, even I as the king don't like to own someone you know?... Your travel companion, did you bring them here as well?)"
"(No, she's waiting outside of the city. I'll go get her then.)"
"(Alright. Now, since you are going to receive her, and that I will have some other things to do for now.... We can have our chat during a more relaxing time. Since I will be busy, Mesto, you shall personally be escorting them once they return.)"
"(Yes, my Lord.)"
"(Thank you. Sorry about the barrier, but I needed to protect my companion somehow. I'll help fix the barrier later. For now, farewell, Your Majesty.)"
"(Farewell.)"
I left the
I had planned everything from the start to finish based on an arrogant king.... But I certainly didn't expect that the arrogance would've come from his advisor, that's a surprise.
King Hal was a reasonable man, and that is good for the both of us. As a result, I earned us a top class lodging... and a passport as well.
And will help him fix his barrier as well. I think I'll modify it's strength and make it much denser to enhance it's strength, as an apology.
It's nice that all went well despite how Kyrie almost died just now. She is strong, but against opponents like this she can still die just as easily. She and I should remain vigilant of possible attacks in the future.
[Kyrielle's POV]
"What the hell was that magic...?" I mumbled to myself with Lizzie.
That light that I saw up at the city's tallest tower, that was a really long range and powerful spell. If Lynn didn't push me away I would have died there on the spot.... good thing that Lizzie can run as fast as she can, other wise I think I would've been shot.
That spell's range is just as powerful as Lynn's Black Spear... which is crazy. Such is the power of a Saint ranked spell huh? I wouldn't think that anyone could have spells that even matches Lynn's.
Come to think of it, Forbidden Sun's power is also quite similar to that right? I once shot a target that is at least 1.5 kilometers away, from that time I fought with those 8 drakes... does that mean that Forbidden Sun is a saint ranked spell as well? That is rather dangerous....
Speaking of danger, I did said the scenery here was beautiful, but that spell encounter was just stupidly dangerous! I could die just as easily here as if I was in the Valley of Drakes! In fact these bunches are even more dangerous since they know long ranged spells!
But I wonder... does knowing saint ranked spells make one a Saint ranked Mage? What is the criteria of becoming a Saint ranked Mage? I wouldn't know that unless I return back to the Centralia Continent to research about that in an adventurer's guild....
After about half an hour of waiting, Lynn came back.
"Lynn, you are back! How did it went?"
"We should be safe to enter the city for now. But you wouldn't guess what I got for us!"
"....What did you do?"
"I requested the King of the country to offer us a place to live! And guess what? We can now go and chill in the castle itself!"
"You what?! Aren't you being a bit too audacious...?!"
"Obviously, I have the right and the power to be audacious like that, so naturally I shall use it to our advantage. Anyway, let's head to the city now, safely this time."
"Right... But I will still be extra cautious in case there's any other attacks since you mostly pissed the king off."
"Come on, I am not that disrespectful. Now, let's go. "
We headed to the city again without powerful spells shooting at us this time.
We reached the city's front gates. It has a giant 12 meters wall covering the entire perimeter of the city, and it was made out of clay like bricks. The wall is colored into a bright deep blue color, with many decorations using other colors in contrast to the blue of the wall.
This city is most likely an important city, and it shows through this gate's decoration. It's very colorful and detailed, unlike the bland brick wall of the last city.
"Let's go."
We entered the opened gate of the city. As we entered, we could see a large number of demons doing what they were doing just as usual.
However, it seems that they were wary of us because of how Lynn just broke their defenses not too long ago.
"Did the barrier meant that much to them...?" Lynn mumbled in our language so as to not let them understand what she's saying.
"Well, it is an impressive barrier after all, and you did smash it into pieces like nothing."
"True... and I did feel guilty about that. I'll help them recast the barrier in the future."
With me riding on Lizzie, we headed towards the center of the city, to the giant castle that we saw outside of the city, and where that ray of death Ignis shone at us from.
"You ever been to a castle before, Kyrie?"
"Nope. In my city there's only the church, the monarch lives somewhere else."
"Makes sense. I think you'll like it inside there, as there are tons of artistic things inside the castle itself, you seems to like those sorts of things after all. By the way, it is called the 'Blue Keep', and it's a fancy castle that is built to house King Hal, one of the demon king of the nine kings in Bostonia continent. "
"The demon king?! Will I be in danger?...."
"Hahaha, you are a big scaredy cat! While it is true that even you might be outclassed by the Royal guards and the king there, I believe they wouldn't hurt you. That's because they are not barbarians, they are royalties."
"I see.... Is it fine for us to stay there for nearly a month? I mean, we are outsiders, and we don't even know the proper ethics to the castle."
"Don't worry, I don't know any ethics either haha! I think we can personally request someone from the castle to teach us these ethics."
"I see, that could be fun, because I have never had any dealings with nobility before. Besides, we are both ladies, we should learn to act like one right?"
"Indeed. I don't look like it but I do like to dress up and improve my image. You might even find these ethics useful in the future once you are back at the Central Continent, and is making a big name for yourself!"
"No way you jest. I can't wait to visit the castle, do you think we'll be welcomed there?"
"I suppose. I mean, we are the audience of the king right? Even if they don't like us they have to welcome us, that is just what royalties are like."
"Since you did ended the Great War, and was branded the Magic God after all, are you familiar these royalties and the likes?"
"I visited some royals a few times in the past but that was with other people as well that didn't know these ethics, so I never bothered to learn a noble's manners. In that sense, no, I'm not familiar with them."
"I see. We can learn together then."
"That's what I've been looking forward to."
We continued down the main highway. The city itself is build on a plain that has some amount of fauna around. Outside the city itself are farmlands again, but those aren't as huge as human cities because a large portion of the demon race doesn't need to eat food from farms, and some doesn't even need to eat at all, like automatons, skeletons and wraiths.
I thought that undeads didn't need to eat at all but I was wrong. They actually need to eat to stay alive, and being an undead is rather difficult as well since you must put a lot of effort into your appearance and your body.
This city lies right in the middle of the Bostnia continent, as Lynn had showed me before on the map. This meant that we are at least half way through the Bostnia Continent already. This journey is a bit shorter than I expected, but honestly that just goes to show how far we have come together.
Before I know it, this sight of a desert wasteland and sands everywhere had became a common sight for me. Though I won't ever get used to the desert heat and the chilly winds during the night, I had grown acustomed to this land already.
And just like how I have become more used to my environment, I had grown more used to Lynn now as well. She no longer seems like a stranger to me anymore, and is more like a good friend.
Just like all the city we have visited before, this city also have a giant river cutting through the center. It's most defining feature would be the giant castle in the middle that is surrounded by water from this very river.
Trenches were dug out to allow these river water to flow properly, and a giant circle was dug out surrounding the perimeter of the castle itself, forming a beautiful mini island with a giant castle on it surrounded by a river, just like a castle straight out of a cartoon movie of Disney.
In accordance to the blue walls of the city, the castle walls is blue in color as well. The decorations on the castle wall is much denser packed and more detailed than the ones on the wall outside. The castle only word that you can describe the castle with is 'gorgeous'.
We crossed a big arc bridge over the trench surrounding the castle, that led to the castle's main gate. As we approached the gate to the castle, a group awaited for us.
A butler that appears to be an undead, and along with him is 2 maids that are.... insect? They covered their face with some sort of mask that has a painted face on it.
I can't tell what type of insect they are solely because of their heavy makeup and their maid uniform which covered the body.
At least they look humanoid, even though I feel off about insects... Their human hand seems to be mechanically attached to their insect arm.
"(Oh, it's you again, the court magician.)"
Lynn immediately talked with them.
I can only understand a bit of what they are saying, but it appears that Lynn have talked with this butler here before. Since I don't know the demon language I'll just remain silent and watch.
"(It is an honor for you to still remember me, Magic God Lynn. It is but a misunderstanding, but I have been rude to a guest. That shall not be allowed in this castle.... As an apology, I will personally escort and help you two to get used to your stay at the Blue Keep.)"
"(Very well. We'll be in your care then. As an introduction again, I'm Lynn, the Magic God. This girl here is Kyrielle, she is my travel companion, and she can't speak in the Bostnian language.)"
"(H-hi...!)" I awkwardly tried to say hello in the demon language. The pronounciation was slightly off, but I think they understood it.
"(Greetings as well, young miss. I am Mesto, a royal court magician, and also one of the qualified butler of this castle. These two here are maids of the castle.)"
"(I am Lucia. I am an arachnoid.)"
"(And I am Linia, also an arachnoid)"
"(It's nice to meet you three, Mesto, Linia and Lucia. Kyrielle and I will be in your care from now on until the next month.)"
"(Very well. Linia, escort the Geen lizard to the stable. And Lucia, help carry the guest's luggage.)"
"(Understood.)" (2x)
One of the maid received our luggage. And then, after that we all followed the butler inside the castle.
As we walked inside, I noticed how beautiful the castle is. The floor is made out of smooth marble, the walls are painted elegantly white and most important, then entire castle itself appears to be really clean. This is indeed a royalty's castle.
On the walls, ceilings, and doors are beautiful decorations of flowers, animals, and monsters. Beautifully decorated lamps are hanged on the wall, and a big blue carpet is put on the floor if the hallway. On the wall I could see paintings of some important people as well.
"Do you find these decorations fascinating?"
Lynn asked me after she saw me staring at the layout and the design of the castle.
"Yes! They are gorgeous!"
"I see, then after all that trouble I have made the right choice to bring you here."
This castle has a really massive hallway, with many doors that leads to the insides of the castle. Its layout is a giant square, so you walk to the furthest end of each hallway, eventually you'd loop back to where you started.
"(Lynn-dono. I'll now explain the layout of the castle. In short, the castle's first flo-)"
The butler as he was walking, he started talking to Lynn again. After their conversation, Lynn told me what they just talked about.
"The castle is divided into 4 floors, with big stairs that lead to each floors. Right now we are on the first floor, which is the ground floor. The ground floor consists of ceremonial rooms like the throne room, the ball dance hall, also the main banquet hall but that is not used for ordinary dining purposes."
"I see. "
"Then second floor is used for daily needs. There's the main dining hall, the bath house, the the gym, and more."
"There's even a gym?"
"Yep. Many guests requires daily workout to feel normal, like orcs and some sentient animals like cats."
"I can use it then? "
"Obviously. But aren't you a kid, are you sure you should be working out like that?"
"I mean, our walks are already a workout itself. Besides, before all this happened I do workout at least once every week."
"I see. As for the third floor, it's primarily used for pleasure. There's bars, library, relaxing room, and even a spa salon that we could use. "
"Mmm."
"The fourth floor is used for living. On that floor there is many socializing places with seats for people to sit on, many windows and balconies for sight seeing, and there's the residential suites, we will be mainly staying there."
"I can't wait to look at the scenery."
"I know right? Now, we will head to the fourth floor and get to our room. "
Lynn started to talk to the butler again.
"(By the way, do you have anyone that can teach us royalty ethics? You see, we are commoners, and we would like to learn to be respectful and polite when living under this castle.)"
"(We certainly have people who can do that, all maids know and can teach about the manners of royals. And although rare, we do have maids trained in the human language to help assist with other humans that may find themselves a guest of the king. As such, I can assign them to you as an advisor and have them teach you the ethics and culture of our people. Lucia here is one of such maids.)"
"(Can you, Lucia? Can you understand and speak the Northern Language that I am speaking with Kyrielle?)"
"Yes, Howard-sama."
Woah, she can speak our language?!
"Just calling me Lynn is fine. Kyrie, she can speak in our language, so you can find Lucia here for help if you need anything. "
"Mmn! I'll be in your assistance then!"
"Of course, Buffet-sama."
Buffet-sama? That sounds really weird....
"Just calling me Kyrielle is fine, ahaha..."
"...Very well, Kyrielle-sama."
"(So, where will our rooms be?-)"
We proceeded to head towards our rooms in the residential suites.
(Chapter 44, end)