After we defeated the bandits that tried kidnapping the nobles, a group of guards got to the scene, and we spent quite some time talking to them.
They made a bit of a fuss when they noticed they couldn't fully inspect all my information, but Harvey helped me out and told them that I was traveling with the 4th Knight's Order and that my information had been confirmed with them already.
The knights that were escorting the nobles ended up taking them to their home shortly after the other guards arrived to talk to us.
I felt kind of relieved since it meant I wouldn't have to interact with any nobles and just explore the city with Vespera. But it wasn't that easy because as the questioning ended, another guard came over and told us that "Duke Gale Sephyr" wanted to meet the citizens who helped protect his daughter.
'Hmm? Did he say Gale Sephyr? I-isn't that the name of the kingdom!?' I pondered, and after seeing Jackson's surrendering face, I could confirm that these guys who wanted to see us were, indeed, royalty.
If it had been only me and Vespera, I would have declined and just kept on going with my sightseeing tour, but having an actual royal knight with me made it almost impossible to say no. Even if I did, Harvey was just going to annoy me the entire time until I said yes and ruin the trip anyway, so we ended up reluctantly going to the Duke's mansion.
After the guards guided Harvey, Jackson, Vespera, and me to the place, the maids greeted us at the gate and took us inside the mansion.
The courtyard was big enough that it took us several minutes to reach the main building, filled with flowers and fountains that surrounded the white marble path.
Once we were inside, we were greeted by the two young nobles we saved earlier, and they officially introduced themselves to us.
The boy's name was "Reinar Sephyr". He was a kid my age and the youngest of the Duke's family. He shared the same silver-colored hair as his sister and seemed to be pretty shy.
The girl's name was "Triana Sephyr," an 18-year-old and the second child of the Duke. She was the one I had saved and noticed her different-colored eyes that were radiating some sort of energy.
My curiosity ended up getting the best of me, so I used "Inspect" on her without anyone noticing.
The spell usually created a glowing tablet that told you all the information, but I had managed to make a variation that showed me the information right through my eyes, meaning I could inspect people without being too obvious.
The problem was that I could only see the general information, so if I wanted to know more about a person's skill, I would have to use the regular "Inspect" spell.
Age: 18
Skills: True Color Eye.
MP: 10,000
Titles: Spiritualist.>
'Huh? She has a special skill…and a title?' I thought as her information appeared in my field of vision.
'Aw, man… How am I supposed to know what it does? I can't just inspect her normally in front of everyone. That is considered rude… True Color Eye? Spiritualist?'
My train of thought was swiftly interrupted by the maids who, after the introduction, guided us to a meeting room with a few couches and a fancy coffee table in the center.
The four of us visitors sat on a couch across from Lady Triana and Lord Reinar. The girl seemed to be looking at me a bit strange as if she didn't trust me inside her home, and the boy seemed too shy to talk to us.
'Is this where I'm supposed to make some small talk?' I thought, feeling a bit nervous since the nobles weren't saying a word.
"Ahem-" I cleared my throat, ready to say the first thing that came to my mind.
'Nice weather, isn't it? This is a nice place, it must have cost a lot… no, no, that's just dumb…'
Just as the panic started to set in, the double doors to the hallway opened, making way for the Duke and the Duchess to walk in as the butler introduced them.
Duke Gale was a tall, slim man who seemed to be in his 40s. His hair was the same silver color as his children, and his eyes were as blue as the ocean.
Duchess Karina, on the other hand, was blonde with emerald-colored eyes.
'Those Sephyr genes must be extremely dominant, huh?' That's all I could really think when I looked at them.
Before we arrived at the mansion, Harvey did tell me some information about them. I didn't really ask, but he still lectured me about it since he thought I was, in his words: "Way too ignorant about the country you live in!"
He told me that Duke Gale was the younger brother of the Queen. It caught my attention when he said that since usually, the man was supposed to take the throne, even if they were the younger brothers. But, from what I could tell, that wasn't really a normal practice in this world.
He said that whenever someone married into the Sephyr family, they also changed their last names. It didn't matter if you were the bride or the groom.
Not only that but apparently, all of the Sephyr children had silver hair and blue eyes, with slight variations in their eye colors being darker or lighter.
I didn't really believe Harvey at first when he said that to me, but seeing it in person was convincing enough for me. The Sephyr gene was truly powerful.
We stood up as the butler introduced their names, and then we replied in courtesy. When the tension finally died down, and the Duke sat down, we were finally able to talk a bit more freely.
"Well, now that you are here, there is no need for formalities. Let me cut to the chase… I wanted to thank the four of you for saving my daughter." said Duke Gale with a genuine expression of gratitude, then lowered his head.
Harvey stood up and started making a fuss, saying to raise his head and that there was no need for him to do that.
After everyone had calmed down, the Duke went into more detail: His daughter Triana awakened her skill a year ago, and right after it happened, different criminal organizations tried to kidnap her. Even going as far as to send a group of them inside the city.
When I asked what her skill "True Color Eye" did, he said it allowed Lady Triana to see the real intent of a person. Meaning that she could easily tell if someone was trying to be deceitful or corrupt by simply looking at them.
Of course, it was a power that lots of people in politics would kill for.
"So, now that you know what position we are in, I'll go ahead and tell you this…" continued the Duke.
"My daughter seems to have some problems reading the intent of these two individuals next to you, sub-commander Harvey…" he said while glancing at both Vespera and I.
Harvey turned his head to look at me, but all I could give him was a shrug since I truly didn't know what they meant, but the tension in the room was getting heavier.
"Umm, maybe it doesn't work on me because of some skills I have myself… I can assure you we are not here to bother anyone." I said, trying to come up with an excuse, but the reality was that I didn't know why her power didn't work on me.
'If I had to guess, it was probably my title. Maybe you can't read someone considered a demi-god? But I can't just say that!'
Harvey interrupted us and explained to the Duke that we were actually on our way to the capital to meet the king, then went on to tell him all of my achievements.
Killing the Goblin King, creating the healing, MP potions, and holy panaceas, developing End Town, creating shampoo and soap, and killing the wyvern.
It was quite embarrassing to have someone just brag about your own achievements to someone else. But the noble family seemed absolutely stunned.
"Y-You are the master alchemist that brewed the potion that cured my sister!?" Exclaimed the Duke in disbelief.
"All this time, I thought it would be some old wise man in some magical forest… This is incredible…" He muttered to himself, but we could still hear him.
"And to top it all off, he must also be an incredible fighter to take on such high-level monsters…"
The Duke was too deep inside his head to keep talking, so the Duchess continued the conversation:
"Young man, can I ask you… How did you manage to make those miracle potions?" she asked.
"Umm well… I just started experimenting with different materials I found at End Forest until I eventually got it right." I said, and the Duchess widened her eyes in surprise.
"So… It is true that you live in End Forest…"
'Huh? Why does she look so disappointed?' I thought. "Umm, yeah. I guess I do live there."
The Duchess looked down and gripped the bottom of her dress with frustration.
'Wh-What did I say!?'
"Unforgivable… To have such a wonderful and talented kid living alone in a dangerous forest… No! I will not allow it!" said the Duchess as she stood up with a confident and demanding tone.
'I suppose her mother's instincts were kicking in or something…'