Chapter 188

Chapter 188
## Chapter 188

### The Imperial Palace (2)

The Fifth Princess’s Palace was tucked away in a quiet corner of the grand imperial grounds.

Conventionally, a person returning home or visiting someone’s residence would pay their respects to their parents or the owner of the house. However, when the host in question happened to be the sovereign of a vast realm, a simple greeting was never out of the question. In that regard, a formal midday banquet governed by rigid decorum and intense protocols was bound to be an exhausting and stifling ordeal for anyone unfamiliar with high society.

“Man, I absolutely despise those formal gatherings. Why can’t I just enjoy a meal in peace? Do I seriously have to attend?”

Within the champion’s circle, Harley, the rugged tribal combatant, was the epitome of that sentiment.

“Hmm…”

“Indubitably…”

Isea, who had journeyed alongside him for quite some time, and Riley, who had only recently joined their ranks, both signaled their solemn agreement. The memory of him savagely ripping into raw griffin flesh remained burned into their minds. His everyday demeanor, rough vocabulary, and unconventional attire made him entirely unsuited for the refined atmosphere of a royal banquet.

“…To be honest, it should suffice if only the Saint attends as our spokesperson. It might sound self-deprecating, but the three of us would essentially just be background decoration there.”

Shrugging her shoulders slightly, Isea offered the remark casually after exchanging a quick look with Riley.

“Our status is fundamentally different from the Saint, who is utterly indispensable to the world. The court only extends this hospitality to us out of respect for his grand reputation.”

Furthermore, unlike the other two who possessed noble lineage, Harley held no allegiance or title, utterly lacking what high society deemed ‘refinement.’ Had it not been for his status as a vital member of the vanguard, he likely wouldn’t have even crossed the threshold of the imperial grounds.

“Ah— in that case, I shall also beg off from the event.”

Geos injected himself into the conversation eagerly, having waited for just such an opening. Though he held noble blood within the Lesque Kingdom, he had spent his life being subtly marginalized due to his commoner heritage, leaving him completely estranged from courtly functions. His utter lack of interest in statecraft meant he had rarely even looked upon his own sovereign. Naturally, Hesperon, who was merely accompanying them as a tag-along, was never even considered for the guest list in the first place.

“So that means we get to dine in comfort? Honestly, I’ve been quite curious about the culinary talents of the palace chefs, so this works out perfectly! Ahahaha!”

“Very well, I shall coordinate with my personal culinary staff. You will be provided with whatever dishes you desire.”

Ultimately, the arrangement was finalized: only Heinrich, Riley, and Isea would proceed to the midday banquet with the sovereign. As the trio departed to change into appropriate attire, Harley and Hesperon gravitated toward Geos, initiating a relaxed dialogue.

“Well then, shall we make our move? I’m eager to find out what kind of meat they serve in this palace.”

“Oh! This will be my very first taste of high-end cuisine in this world, so I am incredibly thrilled. Granted, I’ve sampled plenty of delicacies using my unique trait, but a proper sit-down meal is different.”

“Now that you mention it, did you say you originated from an entirely different realm?”

“Correct. But please, feel free to speak casually with me, elder brother! You can just call me Heron. Oh, would it be alright if I address you as brother?”

“Bwahaha! You’re a remarkably direct fellow, aren’t you? Let’s go with that, Heron!”

“Wow~ having such a powerful brother makes me feel incredibly secure!”

The two continued their lively chatter, trading warm praises. In truth, considering their actual dynamic, it was essentially a one-sided display of camaraderie, yet to an outside observer, it appeared perfectly natural.

“Ah, Sir Geos, you are welcome to address him as Heron casually as well. Wow~ I must say fortune smiles on me to have crossed paths with such incredible individuals the moment I ventured out. Hahaha!”

“…Understood, Heron.”

Naturally, the underlying motive behind this display of friendliness was the man standing beside them, Geos Calkin.

‘I must foster a close bond between him and Hesperon.’

Prior to their departure from the Rohan Duchy to this location, Geos had privately and cautiously approached Heinrich with a revelation. He had mentioned an acquaintance who claimed to be a traveler from another world, suggesting that valuable intelligence might be gleaned from him.

‘Based on his accounts, he has resided in this realm for a minimum of two decades. If those claims hold weight… he is a permanent resident who has abandoned all hope of going back.’

A permanent resident.

This term designated those who had forsaken the pursuit of accumulating cosmic progression markers to return to Earth, choosing instead to fully integrate into this alternate existence. It was a destination chosen by individuals who possessed negligible ties to their original home and had forged far deeper roots in this land. Heinrich, of course, had only ever learned of such people through secondhand accounts.

Consequently, this presented a stellar avenue to interview one firsthand and extract vital context.

‘From the perspective of a fellow earthborn individual who recently arrived here, it makes the most sense for Geos, a trusted comrade, to bridge the gap and introduce Hesperon directly.’

While it wouldn’t be overly complicated for Heinrich to secure an audience himself, the depth and nuance of questions he could pose as a reawakened individual from Earth operated on a completely different plane than the inquiries allowed to a Saint of this realm.

“Alright, enough standing around, let’s go devour some meat! My stomach is roaring!”

“Haha! Brother, it has scarcely been two hours since you devoured a massive portion of meat as a mid-day snack. Come along, Sir Geos!”

Regardless of the culture or realm, sharing a meal remained the ultimate method for forging alliances. Harley, the untamed and fierce tribal warrior, alongside Hesperon, the naive and clumsy young traveler, walked confidently toward the dining hall, guiding Geos along as he followed with a thoroughly bewildered expression.

—

Gario Carte Azeria, the reigning sovereign of the grand realm.

A man rapidly approaching his sixtieth year, he possessed thinning silver-blonde hair and piercing, sharp emerald eyes that projected the aura of a seasoned frontline commander rather than a cloistered intellectual.

“You must be exhausted from your lengthy travels. Reports of your tireless endeavors to safeguard our world have reached my ears, and I feel a pang of regret that our formal meeting has been delayed until now. Furthermore, you have successfully liberated Princess Riley during this campaign.”

“Think nothing of it, Your Majesty. The immense burdens of your office are well understood by all. Preserving the unity and peace of this sprawling dominion amidst such chaotic times is a monumental undertaking in its own right.”

Naturally, a midday meal featuring the Emperor of the Azeria Empire—the dominant superpower across Auterica—and the Saint of the Main God Church was never destined to be a simple culinary affair. The mood was somewhat softened by the fact that Heinrich attended in his capacity as the vanguard commander rather than a formal envoy of the clergy; had that not been the case, the suffocating political weight in the room would have stripped away anyone’s appetite.

‘Ugh— I really should have found an excuse to stay behind. I only agreed to come along to offer moral support to Riley, but… how am I supposed to swallow food in an atmosphere this tense?!’

Evidently, the environment was far from conducive to enjoying a meal. Isea groaned internally, carefully monitoring the social cues while idly shifting the food on her plate. Though she had zero desire to eat, sitting completely idle while the rest of the table dined would be a breach of etiquette.

“Viscount Isea Pristine.”

Suddenly, her posture locked up. The abrupt invocation of her title by the sovereign startled her, causing a wave of anxiety despite her having committed no offense, purely due to the preexisting stress of the room. Yet, the panic vanished in the blink of an eye.

“Yes, Your Majesty. I am at your disposal.”

She may have once been an ordinary schoolgirl back on Earth, but she was now a grand spellcaster who had shattered the boundaries of mastery and was currently knocking on the gates of absolute ascension. Her fleeting dread was merely a relic of her teenage identity; the moment duty called, her psyche anchored itself, allowing her to view the interaction with detached, analytical clarity.

“The capital has been buried in chaos, which is why I am only raising this matter now. Our domain managed to retain its dignity solely due to your valiant contributions. You can expect formal recognition once the administrative dust settles. I look forward to your continued service to the realm.”

He was referencing her official integration into the champion’s party as the close ally of the Saint and her tireless efforts on the battlefield. While she had initially taken action out of a desperate bid to rescue Riley, she saw no reason to reject imperial accolades.

“The honor is mine, Your Majesty. I merely performed the duties expected of me.”

The sovereign offered a terse nod in response to her modest reply before shifting his intense gaze toward Riley. For a fleeting instant, his harsh countenance softened as his eyes locked onto her, but he instantly reestablished his rigid composure, addressing her in a measured, even tone as though no time had passed.

“Your safe return is a relief, Princess Riley. You have endured a harrowing ordeal.”

“…You have my deepest gratitude, Your Majesty.”

“However, there is a particular matter I require enlightenment on…”

The dialogue carried a distinct stiffness, lacking the warmth typical of a father and daughter reuniting after a lengthy separation. It was clear this distance wasn’t merely a byproduct of the formal setting; their exchange flowed with a practiced, detached familiarity.

The inquiry raised by the sovereign was, naturally, the single burning question on everyone’s mind: how she had managed to break free from captivity entirely unaided.

‘This is certainly an enigma that cannot be swept under the rug. The logistics of it defy conventional logic.’

Heinrich agreed silently, using his utensil to cleanly slice through his portion of meat. Had it been anyone other than the Saint delivering the princess back to the capital, reestablishing her claim to her royal standing would have been a bureaucratic nightmare. In point of fact, her political adversaries were currently whispering a myriad of dark conspiracies in the shadows, kept in check only by the immense weight of the Saint’s backing.

Rumors swirled that she was an imposter flesh-shaper mimicking the princess, that her body harbored a dormant plague meant to decapitate the empire’s command structure, or that her mind had been broken, transforming her into a sleeper agent for the Immortal King. Every single one of these theories hinged on the premise that Hans had permitted her departure intentionally.

“My liberation was accomplished solely due to the unique capabilities of a fellow captive who shared my confinement. Breaking out would have remained an impossibility without his intervention. I simply had the good fortune of being placed in the cell adjacent to his.”

With complete composure, she began outlining the sequence of events: her loss of contact with the Crown Prince following their capture, the emergence of the individual possessing unusual traits, the subsequent clandestine lessons in arcana, and the sudden dawn of an escape plan. Naturally, she carefully excised any mention of her internal friction with the Crown Prince. There was absolutely no tactical advantage to airing internal family strife and generating unnecessary complications.

“Hmm—”

Upon the conclusion of her tale, the sovereign closed his eyelids tightly, exhaling a profound, heavy breath. He had harbored faint hopes for a different outcome, but her testimony effectively extinguished any prospect of the Crown Prince engineering a similar escape. Furthermore, there appeared to be no replicable method to exploit for a rescue mission.

Princess Riley’s deliverance was the product of an astronomical alignment of variables, a sequence dictated by sheer serendipity and fortune. It was a microscopic probability that by all rights should have failed to manifest. Yet, because it had crossed into the realm of reality, it could not be dismissed.

When blind chance coalesces into an undeniable outcome, and a mathematical improbability manifests before one’s eyes… humanity typically defines it as ‘destiny.’

With a soft rustle of fabric, the sovereign opened his eyes once more, redirecting his focus toward Heinrich.

“…If memory serves, the second assembly of the Continental Summit is fast approaching.”

“That is correct. We are less than a fortnight away from its commencement.”

Though his schedule had been entirely consumed by the activities of the champion’s party, he maintained a steady stream of intelligence from ecclesiastical channels. He was well aware that the Saintess was currently pushing herself to the brink of exhaustion managing the logistical preparations.

“I shall be appointing the Fifth Princess, Riley, to serve as the chief plenipotentiary representing the Azeria Empire’s delegation.”

The Emperor delivered the decree in an unshakeable, calm cadence. Following the abductions of Crown Prince Simon and Princess Riley, the second and sixth princes had been locked in a fierce political tug-of-war to secure that very appointment. However, now that she had walked back through the palace gates, those machinations were rendered utterly irrelevant.

‘Finally…!’

In unison, Riley and Isea tightened their hands into fists beneath the table. Though the title was technically that of an envoy, the declaration had been issued directly by the sovereign in the presence of the highest authority of the Main God Church. The political ramifications carried far more weight than the literal appointment.

The moment Riley’s political campaign—which had been forced into a temporary stagnation—flamed back to life, it immediately began fracturing the foundations of her rivals’ coalitions.