"Why in the ancestor's name are we here?" I asked myself as I glanced around uncomfortably.
The room where we were located was a ballroom in the center of the emperor's palace. It was jam packed with nobility ranging from petty barons to province ruling dukes who were staring at us like we didn't belong, and to be fair to them, we didn't.
After arriving at Altenweil, the emperor had given a speech of gratitude to the assembled armies from outside the gates where they had set up camp. Once the speech was over he had ordered food to be provided to the men while he rewarded the nobility and had a separate feast with them. Being commoners, I assumed that the Yankee Party would be staying outside the gates, but the Imperial Guard had dragged us along with them to the party with the Nobility. Apparently we were going to be rewarded for our part in finding Tatsuki, as well as for what we did in the battle.
So here we were, standing around completely out of place in our dirty and sweaty armor, while everyone else had fancy clothes and smelled like they had just bathed before coming to this feast.
"No clue." Delimira said as she munched on a pastry of some kind. "At least the food is good and plentiful."
"I'd give all the food in here for a mug of good dwarven ale." Bekhi grumbled. "And where did the rest of the Imperial Guard and the Emperor go off to? Didn't they say that we were just going to be guarding his majesty?"
I didn't have an answer for that, they had ditched us one by one to go prepare for the ceremonies and had left us alone with the nobility. At least we had the pretense of guarding the summoned heroes to look busy.
"Would you like something to drink, Delimira?" Tatsuki asked, holding out a wine goblet out to her. He was giving off major crush vibes and Delimira blushed slightly as she took the goblet from him.
"Thanks, Tatsuki." She washed down the pastry before handing the wine back. "Don't you have to be somewhere? The emperor mentioned something about rewarding you for how you fought in the battle."
"They told me I could just wear my dwarven armor for the ceremony." Tatsuki responded. "Besides, I wanted to see if any of my classmates are here since the emperor put out a call for any summoned heroes to be brought here today. Do you smell any people like me here, Gerde?"
Gerde was a bit sleepy since it was getting late and we had been marching all day, but hearing her name said, she made a valiant effort to follow the request. She sniffed with her cute little beastkin nose for a minute or two before silently pointing in a direction and then going back into her catatonic state.
"Good evening, demihumans." A noble emerged from the press of the crowd in the direction Gerde had pointed in. "If you are here to serve food, then I don't see why you need to be wearing armor, or why you must smell so bad. Or is that just how all you lower races smell?"
"Sato!" Tatsuki noticed a smallish Japanese kid walking beside the noble and began speaking to him in their language.
"Ah, another summoned hero." The noble said, his eyes looking at Tatsuki with an analytical and greedy eye. "You dwarves must have been the ones to find this one. Tell me, does he have a particularly useful Celestial Gift? The one that dropped into my lands merely received the blessing from the god of music. Useless."
The noble must have harshly squeezed the arm that he was holding to restrain Sato because his face started twitching in pain.
"Sato!" Tatsuki took a judo stance and threw a punch at the noble for daring to hurt his classmate. I thought that it would go poorly for Tatsuki, since the nobles I had seen in the Imperial Guard were extremely good fighters and a simple punch wouldn't even faze them. However, the blow landed square in the arrogant noble's face and he went down like a bag of rice.
"Uh oh, this could be bad." Bekhi commented. "But at least you did it before I could."
I looked around to see if anyone was going to object, or make some attempt to arrest us. But surprisingly no one even flinched, they just pretended that they couldn't see us and kept talking to each other in their noble manner.
Tatsuki and Sato spoke to each other rapidly, I assume over recent events but since I couldn't speak Japanese and Tatsuki wasn't wearing his translator, we couldn't understand a word he was saying. Eventually he turned to us to explain their conversation.
"Everyone, this is my younger classmate, Sato Tetsuhiko, he says that he got dumped in that asshole's orchards, and when he took a single apple he was arrested and thrown in a cell. He only got out of it a couple days ago." Tatsuki then went through the group and introduced each of us. But before we could talk any more though, a halfling farmer and his wife walked up with another summoned hero shyly walking behind them.
"Well, lookie here, Cassy. Someone actually speaks that gibberish our guest is always using. Think they can talk to her for us?" The halfling farmer was the very picture of a country bumpkin, from the straw hat on his head to the sturdy boots on his feet. His wife looked similarly bumpkinish, with tanned skin and callused hands from working the fields. The summoned hero behind them definitely did not match with them. She looked like a beautiful makeup artist streamer had been dumped in a farm and then worked there for a couple months in a kitchen.
Sato and Tatsuki rushed to greet the new summoned hero, while Miyata, who had been hanging out with Sir Richard, bounded over to give her a hug. She burst into tears over being able to finally converse with people who spoke her language, and it was several minutes before any of them began translating for us.
"I'm sorry, it's just been so long since I've been able to have a conversation I just got overwhelmed. I'm Yashima Kama, but you can call me Kama." Through the translation efforts of Tatsuki and Miyata, Kama then told of her time in this world.
According to her, she had appeared in the midst of a backwater halfling town that was so far away from anything that no one even knew that the empire had gone to war. It wasn't until the emperor's son had sent out word to all the nobility to keep an eye out for summoned heroes that the Puddlefoots (That was the halfling's last name.) had connected the dots and brought Kama out to Altenweil.
"Now that you can understand me." Miyata translated for Kama. "I just want to say thank you for taking such good care of me. Even when I was completely helpless and alone."
"Tweren't nothing." Mr. Puddlefoot said, awkwardly scratching his sideburns. "I must say, if the young lass is taken in here, we'll sure miss her cookin'. It was almost like she was blessed by the goddess of cooking herself!"
"Actually, I was." Kama said through Tatsuki. "When I was summoned here, a person calling herself Coginio the goddess of cooking gave me her blessing. But I wouldn't have been able to do much if Mrs. Puddlefoot hadn't shown me how to use a wood fire and the iron pots and pans."
Before we could talk any further, an Imperial Guardsman walked over and told us that the emperor would be coming down soon, and as since we were commoners, he had been assigned to guide us through the imperial procedures. So he instructed us to follow his example and only speak when the emperor spoke to us directly.
A few minutes later a bunch of trumpets sounded the salute and the Imperial Guard marched in and set up a lane for the emperor to walk down. The emperor then slowly walked down through the bowing nobles as a minister called out his imperial titles and roles, and there were a lot of them.
I lost track of them around fifteen, but they included such high titles such as Defender of the Halflings, Ally of the Dwarfs, Winner of the Gladenkirchen Martial Arts Tournament, and of course Emperor of the Throndian Empire. Truth be told, they were scraping the bottom of the barrel for some of them, and they were still talking when the emperor took his seat on his throne.
After the minister, who I later learned was the Minister of Imperial Titles, finished his recital of the emperor's greatness and stepped aside, it was time for the awards ceremony. Another appropriately named minister, the Minister of Imperial Rewards, stepped forward and spoke for the emperor. Telling of each noble's brave deeds and actions before, during, and after the battle, and allotting them various rewards on behalf of the empire. They started at the top of the ladder with the Dukes going first, granting them additional titles and tax benefits for a certain number of years or generations depending on their contributions. Then they went down to the Counts, then the Viscounts, then the small-time Barons, and finally the landed knights who were at the very bottom of this feudal totem pole.
It took an hour or two to get through everyone, and just when I thought it was over and I could get Gerde to bed, (She was starting to drool on my shoulder while fast asleep.) the Minister called out. "Now bring forth all summoned heroes and their protectors. They shall be rewarded as their deeds merit."
The Imperial Guardsman then led us, along with the Puddlefoots, to the front area where he directed us to kneel behind the summoned heroes. Glancing to the side, I noticed there were a couple other summoned heroes that we had not met yet, they were kneeling in front of Barons whom the emperor had not commended for their actions. The noble that Tatsuki had punched out was kneeling behind Sato, and looking only a little worse for wear. Also, Sir Richard, who had been commended for his performance in the battle, was kneeling behind Miyata. Evidently he was going to be rewarded for finding her, as well as the extra land he had received from his battle prowess.
The Minister went down the line and named each of the summoned heroes, and with the use of a translator who spoke 'the hero tongue' he welcomed them to the Empire and guaranteed their positions as royal wards, even though the crisis that they had been summoned to take care of was already over. One or two of the Japanese students tearfully asked if they could be sent back home to their families, but unfortunately there was no known way to do so.
When the Minister came to Miyata, he gave Sir Richard a decent chunk of change for finding and bringing Miyata to the fight, and as for Miyata, he asked her if there was anything she wanted as a reward for taking part in the battle.
"I want to go with Kvalinn and be a Yankee adventurer!" The minister's eyebrow twitched in annoyance, but he spoke gracefully.
"I'm afraid that is impossible. You are now a royal ward, and as such you will be attending the Imperial Academy. Perhaps after graduation you can become an adventurer. That is, unless the Empire believes your god given gift would be more useful elsewhere." He then moved on to the Puddlefoots.
However, there was a slight hiccup in the proceedings when Mr. Puddlefoot turned down any reward.
"Beggin' your pardon, your majesty. But we Hayblossom folk are a simple bunch, and highfalutin rewards don't suit us."
"Very well." The minister said with his eyebrow twitching yet again. "If a simple reward would suit you best, then you shall receive a grant of Imperial land." He attempted to move on but Mr. Puddlefoot interrupted him.
"Beggin' your pardon again. But we already have more than we can tend to. More would just go to waste."
"Very well." The minister said with a sigh. "You shall be granted five hundred gold coins."
"Beggin' your pardon… Again. But we wouldn't have enough money in Hayblossom to make change for all that gold."
"A title then?"
"I'm just a humble farmer, your majesty. A title would just puff me head up when I'm drinkin ale at the Lazy Guard."
The minister's eyebrow was now angrily twitching like a toddler told to sit still. He glanced at the Emperor, who nodded with approval to whatever the minister's silent request was. "Well then, Mr. Puddlefoot. What is it that you desire, should it be within his majesty's power, he will grant your wish."
Mr. Puddlefoot thought for a moment before replying. "Well, I'm not sure I understand what all this royal ward business is, but if you could have the young lass visit now and then, it'd be greatly appreciated."
Heaving an annoyed sigh, the Minister nodded. "We will attempt to arrange it during the academy breaks."
"Thank ye, your majesty." Mr. Puddlefoot bowed while still kneeling with his hat in his hands. The minister then moved on to Tatsuki, telling him that he would be well taken care of as a royal ward and asking if there was anything he wanted.
"I would like to travel as an adventurer as well, with the Yankee party." Tatsuki awkwardly glanced back at Delimira with major crush vibes.
Expectedly, the Minister turned down his request, and told him that he would be taking Takamori's place as the Empire's hero. Subtly telling both the nobles and the summoned heroes that Takamori was completely out of the picture.
Finally, the Minister turned to me and my party. "Kvalinn Runecursed. You have the Empire's gratitude in not only finding the summoned hero Tatsuki, but in bringing him to the battle armed with your people's armor and weapons. In addition to that, you and your party performed admirably in the battle. Slaying the majority of the monster leaders without the aid of the Imperial Guard. For these actions and many more that you performed on the campaign, the Emperor is awarding you the title of Viscount."
This announcement caused an uproar in the hall. Everyone from the lowest Baron to the most powerful Duke objected to me getting a noble title. Frankly, I was on their side. Getting a noble title and lands to take care of sounded like way too much work, and I wanted to spend my time making gadgets and tech.
"Your majesty!" One noble burst out. "Naming a demihuman as an Imperial Noble is completely unacceptable!"
"I must agree." Another noble said in restrained fury. "Demihumans are not capable of meeting the expectations that the people require of nobility."
"A dwarf! Your majesty, surely there must be many humans who would be much better nobles than this dwarf."
There were about a hundred other objections to my ennoblement, but they were all ignored by the emperor. He just stood up and let his emperor's aura do the talking for him until all the nobles were silenced and bowing respectfully. I took advantage of the silence to voice my own objections.
"Your majesty, I must agree with your nobles. A Viscountship is too much for me-"
"Silence, Kvalinn." The emperor boomed out, before turning to address his nobles. "Kvalinn Runecursed, took down the werewolf leader on his own with runed weapons of his own creation. He also has the ability to make runed weapons with elf magic lines. Not only that, he has adopted a beastkin child, and an elf apprentice. Making him a viscount would bring our empire into closer relationships with the dwarves of the north and south, the elves of Issanore, and potentially bring the beastkin of the Eternal Forest out from their isolation.
"Finally, if Kvalinn can make weapons that can turn back the hordes of goblins, think of what he can do to turn back the Zaihanian slavers, the Westian raiders, or the beastkin revenge squads. Would not peace from these threats be worth having a dwarf among our ranks?"
A few nobles still glared at me as if I were the scum of the earth, but the rest of them took the emperor's words to heart, and seemed satisfied that I was getting the short end of the stick in being set up to fail as a bulwark against aggressive nations. Hopefully my future territory wasn't too big. I still wanted to spend my time in front of a forge making gadgets.
"Congratulations, Kvalinn." The emperor said with a small grin hidden by his beard. "We will meet tomorrow to discuss your new territory and my plans for your future."
He then sat down on his throne, and the Minister, with a gesture of his hand, allowed everyone to rise and begin the party. Everyone was celebrating their new titles, lands, and rewards, except for me. I was busy grumbling about all the paperwork I'd have to fill out as a member of the nobility and how much work was going to be loaded onto my shoulders so that the emperor and the other nobility could rest easy in their beds.