Chapter 38

He guided the two to a VIP room that connected to a balcony overlooking the hall on the second floor.

This place hadn’t been planned for use this time, so it had been closed off, but it turned out to be just right.

Here, other nobles wouldn’t bother to come… would they? Well, it’s better than having them together.

He told Mastema to bring the food, and she went down from the balcony.

That girl really is… she can do anything reckless, so she doesn’t have common sense.

“…I imagined a more terrifying figure,” the princess said, opening her mouth.

Well, from the princess’s perspective, Mastema was summoned at the cost of a significant portion of the country. The princess herself was on the brink of death from losing a lot of blood.

Frankly, it must be traumatic. She probably didn’t even want to see her.

“Well, the impression is accurate if you saw her when she was summoned. Now she’s just messing around,” I said.

“Is that so. In the end, it’s because our country couldn’t stop that man,” she replied.

“That’s right.”

It really is. I want them to reflect. Don’t let such a suspicious guy into the military’s core. The princess looked downcast at my words.

She might be much cuter than she looks.

It’s not her fault, but having faced death, I couldn’t help but say something.

“Don’t bully her too much,” the empress intervened, unable to bear it.

Now that I think about it, these two were originally friends.

“In the end, the worst was prevented. Your efforts were significant, Ahavain,” she said.

“Thank you very much. I’m deeply honored by your praise,” I replied.

“Inside, you probably think it’s a bother, right? Normally, saving the kingdom from a crisis would be enough for a noble commendation,” the empress continued.

“If I were to be ennobled, I couldn’t take orders from the empress anymore. Nobles have guaranteed independence,” I said.

“There you go again. Well, never mind. If I made you a noble, your descendants might take over the country in the future,” she said with a hint of humor.

“Would my descendants really do something so troublesome…”

The empress took out a small tool called a fan adorned with gold and opened it with a pleasant sound.

She brought it to her mouth, hiding her lips.

Wow, she looks incredibly beautiful. She was already beautiful, though.

“So, what do you want? The kingdom is willing to open its treasury for you,” the empress said.

The princess nodded in agreement.

I know. There’s almost no money left in the kingdom’s treasury. I remember talking to a moneylender about how tough the reconstruction is. The country is half-destroyed, after all.

Is it something from the kingdom’s treasury as a reward? Well, I’m a bit interested.

“Well, please give me the money when you can. Anything other than money would be troublesome,” I said.

“The kingdom also has that ore,” the empress offered.

“I don’t need it. Do you know how much it cost to process it into a small dagger? There’s no way I’d need it for a third time; it’s only meaningful because of that,” I replied.

Well, if it’s processed armor, I wouldn’t mind receiving it, but that’s precisely what the kingdom needs for its future.

In the end, after discussions, I decided to buy government bonds with slightly better interest rates from the kingdom. The empress will subsidize half of the purchase price as my reward.

This is the reward, they say. Others might hate it, and I’m not particularly happy about it either. If the kingdom doesn’t recover, the bonds will become worthless.

However, given the empress’s determination, that probably won’t happen.

These two, with their cute faces, had this as their goal. The kingdom wants money. The empire wants to aid them. But the empire’s internal checks among the royals are too strong, making it difficult to move.

The aid to the kingdom might end up being just a token budget.

The empress led the army to the kingdom because of the huge benefits of effectively making it a vassal state. If the empress were to spend money on the reconstruction, the future impact would be significant, making it difficult.

However, an adventurer like me buying government bonds to support the kingdom is not a problem.

Successful adventurers possess enormous wealth. Some might want to turn that wealth into a stable income.

The empress rewarding me personally for slaying the demon is not something other royals would interfere with.

They wouldn’t want to incur my wrath either. In fact, one of the royals insulted Kasugal, and I ended up blowing them away along with their royal guards.

I still remember the face of that terrified royal. I think it was the empress’s cousin? Since then, they never faced me again.

I don’t mind anymore since they apologized. Kasugal was pale and tried to stop me.

So, in short, the empress finds it easy to use me favorably. Since it benefits me, I don’t mind…

I was made to write a certificate on the spot. The quantity of government bonds… these documents are hard to read. I should show them to Noel.

Good grief, my assets might have increased, but my cash has decreased again. And significantly.

I don’t have enough cash on hand, so I might have to sell some of my hoarded gold and silver.

As I was doing that, Mastema jumped onto the balcony with the food.

“That’s bad manners.”

“But this is faster.”

“Normal humans don’t do that.”

“You’re saying strange things. Ahavain, I’m not a human.”

“That’s right. Just go get the next dish.”

“Okay,” she said and went to get more food.

Wait, now that I think about it, there are only three of us here. Does that mean I’m the one who has to serve?

As I arranged the plates, I looked down at the hall and saw Arnella efficiently serving. She skillfully avoided harassment and worked smoothly. It seemed that things downstairs had calmed down.

Arnella noticed me and gave a small bow. I quickly beckoned her over. A capable slave is worth having. Especially if they’re more competent than their master.

Without running, Arnella arrived promptly. She hurriedly greeted the two royals.

I took Arnella to the balcony and whispered to her.

“Master, what is this…?”

“Unexpected guests. So, please serve these two. I’ll make sure no one comes in.”

“Aren’t these two the empress and the princess? Isn’t it rude for me to serve them?”

“It’s fine since you’re my slave. I’m glad to have such a capable slave.”

“Yes…”

With an air of resignation, Arnella headed to the balcony.

Oh, it looks like Mastema startled Arnella when she came back up. I forgot to mention her.