[Following the appearance of the invisible dungeon over the Roen River in Aegon, a new unique dungeon has appeared in Nostram's Central Park. The Global Alliance claims that the local guilds will be capable of clearing the dungeon on their own. Three S-rank Chosen from the Evorian Republic have already confirmed their participation.]
"That dungeon looks nasty. I wouldn't be surprised if vampires come out. Speaking of, I think there were vampires among the fairies. They were beautiful so I thought they were succubi at first until I saw them drinking blood."
"Honey, do I have to be wary of monsters now?"
"What? Of course not! Just thinking about getting my blood sucked dry is horrifying. It's fine when I do it, but I don't want to be the one being drained. Ow!"
Erta smacked Caelum on the head either because she was jealous of the beautiful monsters or she was annoyed at the bad joke he made.
Reynor just stared at them blankly. They seemed to be doing much better than the last time they met, but they were back to their usual routine which made him feel really awkward.
They were once again meeting in the café near Halo. This being the third time, the store manager had come out herself to serve them. The customers were also starting to get used to their presence. The two in question, however, were just watching a news report on a tablet.
"My lord, are you not going to that dungeon?"
"No, it's too far. Besides, they said they could handle it. If there's an emergency, then we'll probably have to go though."
"More importantly, Mr. Reynor, do you know of any good jewellery stores around here?"
"Jewellery? What for, my lady?"
"She wants to buy rings."
"Ah, then I can take you to where Lady Ceres always buys her accessories."
"It's fine, just tell us where it is. We don't want to impose on you any more than necessary, Mr. Reynor."
"Very well, my lady. And please, Reynor is fine. You are already a part of the House of Grace after all. I am always at your service."
Reynor had already accepted their relationship to be that of a married couple even without legal procedures. It was because he knew that it would be difficult for them to wed since Erta came from a different world.
And he had already expected this outcome since the day he found them in Sylven Cathedral. One could say that they were already wedded at that moment. After giving them the location of the jewellery store, Reynor proceeded with the main topic.
"My lord, the meeting with the Crown Princess is in three days. Are you ready?"
"What's there to be ready for?"
"True. It's not like you're going there for anything important. Would you like me to accompany you just in case?"
"No need. We don't plan to stay long either. Call me discourteous, but there are a lot of other things I'd rather be spending time on."
With the main topic being pushed aside like a waste of time, their meeting ended quickly. Caelum and Erta would be staying a little longer, but Reynor had other work. As he was about to leave, Caelum asked a question.
"How is Ceres?"
"...To be honest, my lord, she's not doing well."
"I don't know how to feel about that."
"Yes. Me too, actually. I understand that it was wrong for her to say such things, but I also understand why she said them. For what it's worth, I do think she's repenting, my lord."
"That's good. I can only hope she will endure until I'm ready."
"Please don't let her wait too long, my lord. No matter what you think, to Lady Ceres, you are the only family she has left."
"...I know."
With their conversation having ended, Reynor left the café. Erta comforted Caelum by feeding him cake. Once they had finished three slices of different cakes, they left for the jewellery store and bought a pair of rings.
Erta insisted on having them as it was a unique tradition of Earth. Although he was sure that rumours about it would spread right away, Caelum did not mind. Everyone could see that they were together anyway so it did not matter.
Although it would be a lie to say that he was not annoyed at the fact that his personal life was being treated as a tv drama, he could only get used to it. That was what fame does to a person.
Time passed, and the dreaded day arrived.
It seemed the royal family had thoroughly sought them out since a car was waiting in front of their apartment to take them to the palace. They accepted the offer readily and left to meet the Crown Princess.
The trip was silent or perhaps awkward depending on whose perspective. The people sent to escort Caelum and Erta were terribly nervous as the two did not even speak to each other, not to mention their escorts. But in truth, they just did not want others to hear their conversations.
[I honestly can't think of any reason for them to meet with us. It's not like we're even closely related by blood.]
[If that princess tries to seduce you, I will burn the whole place to the ground.]
[Okay, don't burn the palace. That's arson. Also, the princess has a fiancé. I don't think she'll be doing that.]
[Honey, how can you be so innocent at times like this?]
[Stop, you're making me blush.]
[That wasn't a compliment!]
Such was the conversation happening in their heads. They were terribly bored since it took too long for the car to arrive at their destination. But at the same time, they did not really want to fly either.
Meeting the royal family was a bothersome matter for them so they were trying to delay it for as long as they could. But in the end, they were still seated on a sofa in a guest room with the Crown Princess seated across them.
"Good morning! It is an honour to finally meet you, Lord Grace and Lady Ki'ana. I am Margaret Aegon. You may call me Margaret."
"The honour is ours, your highness."
"Very good. I know you both must be very busy so allow me to get straight to the point. On behalf of the royal family, I offer you our support in all your activities in the future."
[It seems I won't have to burn this place down after all.]
Ignoring Erta's remark, Caelum fell silent at Margaret's words. He thought deeply about what kind of support he needed, but he could not think of any. Such an offer was honestly meaningless to him.
"What do you mean exactly by support?"
"Whatever it is you may need, the royal family will make sure you have it. I know that the House of Grace has its loyal vassals and Halo, but having the backing of the royal family should also help, no?"
"True, but like you said, we have our vassals and Halo. What else do I need that they couldn't provide?"
"Then how about this? With my authority as a council member of the Global Alliance, I will make sure that none of those idiots ever bother you again like they did before."
"Ah… Your highness is an A-rank Chosen after all. Do you really have the power to influence the GA to such a level?"
"Of course. People aren't aware of the inner workings of the organisation, but it's horrifying. The five largest guilds in the world ultimately treat the rest as their subordinates. It is their envy of your recent achievements that has led to that sorry affair regarding the island."
"If what your highness says is true, then I don't see a way for you to influence the GA at all."
"Don't worry. Even if the governments of the world are gone, politics is still alive and well. It is especially so within the Global Alliance. The five large guilds may be acting as leaders, but they are no better than children seeking attention."
"Very well. Although we don't really care about the GA, it would be annoying if they antagonise us at every turn."
"It is precisely because of that attitude of yours that they think of you as a nuisance. You are not affiliated to any guild yet you have too great a power and fame. On that note, why not register Halo as a guild? Or better yet, just make your own guild?"
"We have no intention of doing that, your highness. The Global Alliance can play around all they want, but we will focus only on our goals."
"Which is what exactly?"
"To win the war."
The meeting with the Crown Princess ended not long after, and the royal family announced their full support for Caelum and Erta.
The Global Alliance was silent, but they were definitely surprised, especially the five large guilds leading them.
While the world's attention was once again centred around them, Caelum and Erta were instead preparing for their next steps.