Chapter 28 : Subscription

Suddenly, the carriage rattled and came to a stop, and the coachman woke up the Spirit Masters.

“We’ve arrived. If you have any business, you can stop by Hafel.”

The blonde-haired girl, who usually didn’t sleep much, was the first to open her eyes.

“…I fell asleep for a moment. Was everything alright, Saya?”

She reached for the spot where her hand should have been, but found nothing.

The girl, feeling puzzled, turned to the side.

“…Saya?”

The black-haired girl who had been sitting beside her until she fell asleep was nowhere to be seen.

The horse carrying Princess Isabel and me approached the castle gate.

The gatekeepers, holding spears, stopped us.

“Stop. What business do you have at the castle?”

Princess Isabel tapped my shoulder.

“…Saya. Can you let me down for a moment?”

I grabbed her waist and gently lowered her from the horse.

She removed her hood and approached the soldier.

“Could you open the gate? I would appreciate it if you could inform His Majesty that I have arrived.”

“Princess…!?”

The soldier, recognizing her face, immediately bowed and instructed the others to open the gate.

As the gate creaked open, she turned to me, who was still standing awkwardly.

“What are you doing? Aren’t you coming, Spirit Master?”

“Am I… also meeting His Majesty…?”

Seeing my bewildered expression, she burst into laughter.

“Of course. How can the hero be left out?”

“…Hero, haha…”

I felt more like a thief than a hero.

I smiled awkwardly, handed the horse to the soldier, and followed her.

Flick. I felt the curious gazes of the soldiers on me.

‘It’s spacious…’

From the entrance, a garden of unimaginable scale stretched out, far surpassing the academy’s.

“Is it okay for a commoner like me to enter the royal castle?”

“Don’t say that. His Majesty values equality over status more than anyone.”

The Emperor of the Armonia Empire.

I had once shared a meal with him during the appointment ceremony.

He appeared to be in his early 40s and had expressed a personal liking for me.

I never imagined I’d meet him again under these circumstances.

The grounds were so vast that it took a while to reach the main building of the castle.

The maids who greeted the princess seemed shocked by her injuries.

“This is the audience chamber. His Majesty is already aware of the situation, so let’s prepare to meet him.”

After roughly wiping the bloodstains and dirt from my clothes, I followed her into the audience chamber.

“Princess Isabel, I have returned early from my outing.”

She greeted the emperor politely, so I knelt on one knee beside her and lowered my head.

“That’s enough. Both of you, rise. Isabel, were you hurt?”

“…My shoulder, a little…”

The emperor stood and examined her wound.

His expression darkened as he inspected the injury.

“…Who did this?”

The pressure in his voice was palpable, as if he would immediately execute the culprit.

Since that culprit was me, I stood there sweating profusely.

“…It’s a wound caused by an arrow fired by the traitor Julius and his followers.”

‘Thank you…’

Fortunately, she had decided to fabricate a plausible reason.

I didn’t even want to imagine what would happen if Isabel had told the truth.

“That Julius… betrayed us…?”

The emperor seemed deeply shocked by the princess’s words.

Isabel handed over Julius’s one-handed sword, which had stabbed me, to the emperor.

“Julius’s sword and the wound on the Spirit Master who was struck by it are the evidence. Spirit Master, show the wound…”

“Ah… Yes!”

I unwrapped the bandage on my shoulder and revealed the wound to the emperor.

The size and shape of the wound perfectly matched Julius’s sword, leaving no doubt about its origin.

“…It’s true. Oh my god…”

The emperor’s face reflected both the betrayal of a knight who had served him for five years and the relief that his daughter had been saved.

After a moment of deep thought, the emperor’s expression hardened with anger.

“Send soldiers to thoroughly search the road to Hafel. If you find Julius and his followers, kill them on sight.”

“…Understood.”

After issuing the brutal order, he turned to me with a calmer expression.

“We meet again. The black-haired Spirit Master. Your name was… Saya, wasn’t it?”

“…That’s correct.”

It was a brief meeting, but he still remembered me.

“I don’t know the circumstances, but thank you for saving my daughter.”

He approached me and placed a hand on my shoulder.

“I knew I liked you. I owe you an unexpected debt…”

“…It’s an honor.”

The emperor stepped back and gestured for a glass of alcohol.

“It’s not enough to simply send you away. How about we have a drink together?”

“…Yes?”

He quickly brightened and slung an arm around my shoulder.

“…Your Majesty, the Spirit Master is injured. Please refrain from drinking today…”

Isabel, standing beside me, interjected coldly.

“Don’t be like that. Let’s have a drink together after such a long time. Especially at times like this, we should drink and forget.”

‘…What kind of situation is this?’

The emperor, who had seemed so dignified and intimidating moments ago, now clung to me like a friendly uncle.

“…Ha. I’m sorry, Saya. His Majesty is quite the lover of alcohol.”

Even with my limited social experience, I knew how to respond.

“Actually, I quite enjoy alcohol too…”

“Oh…! I knew it!”

I was more afraid of what might happen if I refused.

“Hey! Bring some drinks!”

At the emperor’s command, the dining table was quickly filled with food.

I hesitated, unsure where to sit, until the emperor gestured to the seat beside him.

“Sit next to me. Since you’re the hero of the day, I should pour you at least one drink.”

“…Thank you!”

Sitting right beside the emperor—was this really okay?

“As I said, she’s injured… Ha.”

Across from me, Princess Isabel sighed and sat down.

“I’ll make sure it’s moderate, so you can drink without worry. Isabel.”

The emperor ignored her protests and poured alcohol into my glass.

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

“…Come to think of it, I heard you’re a dark-type Spirit Master.”

“Yes. That’s correct, but…?”

“…This is quite a coincidence. There was another dark-type Spirit Master who shared a drink with me at your age, in a similar situation.”

‘Another dark-type Spirit Master…’

I tilted the bottle of alcohol toward his glass.

“It’s about the current Imperial Spirit Commander, Sir Violet.”

As expected, it was Commander Violet.

“The story might be a bit long. Is that alright?”

“Of course.”

He quickly emptied his glass and continued.

“It was the day I was crossing the border with the queen, who was in her final month of pregnancy. For some reason, Sarkas that had strayed from their territory attacked the carriage we were riding.”

“Sarkas attacked…?”

“That’s right. When the monsters swarmed, even the hired knights couldn’t hold their ground and fell. Fortunately, one rookie knight knew how to handle Sarkas.”

“Was that knight Spirit Commander Violet?”

“Exactly. He was incredibly talented. He wasn’t a nobleman, and his equipment was poor, but his skills were extraordinary.”

Isabel chimed in.

“His Majesty tells this story so often, it’s practically worn out. If it weren’t for Sir Violet that day, I wouldn’t be here today.”

‘Rookie knight…’

There was something odd about his story.

“…But isn’t Sir Violet a Spirit Master? Why do you call him a knight…?”

The emperor answered my question.

“At that time, he was a knight. He had no connection to Spirit Masters. He said he was born in Luden and didn’t even know about the manifestation ceremony.”

“…I’m hearing this for the first time.”

It was hard to imagine.

The man who always wore pure white armor and had noble, flowing hair was once a commoner from Luden.

“He had a cheerful personality, so we often shared drinks. But after he subdued Gula of Gluttony…”

A shadow crossed the emperor’s face.

“…What happened after that?”

“…It’s nothing. He stopped joining me for drinks after becoming the Spirit Commander. Just an old man’s grumbling.”

Had something changed after Gula’s subjugation?

It was something I couldn’t know without asking Violet directly.

The emperor emptied another glass.

“Ah, that’s good.”

The atmosphere grew lively with alcohol, and I began to feel a sense of familiarity with the emperor, who had initially seemed so intimidating.

“I’m sorry, truly sorry.”

“…Yes?”

“If you were a man, I would have suggested an engagement with our Isabel.”

“Father!”

At his joke, Isabel, her face flushed from the alcohol, shouted.

“Haha! It’s a joke. Just a joke. It’s just that you seem to be of marriageable age.”

“Even so, the joke is too much, Father…”

Caught between the two, I could only laugh awkwardly.

“That said, I still need to reward you. Is there anything you want?”

“Reward…?”

I hadn’t saved Isabel for a reward, so I was at a loss when the emperor asked directly.

Honestly, just being treated to a feast like this felt like a luxury beyond a commoner’s wildest dreams.

“You don’t need to feel burdened. What can’t I do for my daughter’s savior?”

“…If that’s the case…”

I racked my brain, and an idea struck me.

“Your Majesty. Would this kind of request be possible?”

“Tell me.”

The emperor readily accepted my audacious request.

I drank so much with him that day that, despite being quite drunk, I couldn’t even feel the pain in my shoulder.

It wasn’t until morning that I was seen off by the princess and prepared to return to the academy.

“Spirit Master… no, Saya.”

As I mounted the horse and prepared to depart, the princess stopped me.

“Will we see each other again?”

“…Of course.”

After a brief farewell with Isabel, I set off.

The excessive drinking from the previous day left me nauseous the entire ride back to the academy.

That day, I was punished for abandoning the mission and assigned to a week of cleaning duties around the academy. As an aside, I also received quite the scolding from Luna.

A day later, Cled gathered the four of us.

“This is a letter that arrived at the academy. It’s related to your team, but I don’t know why the emperor sent it.”

He tore open the letter and read it aloud.

“A message from the emperor… The combat grade of the team to which Spirit Master Saya belongs… is promoted to the highest grade… That’s all…?”

Everyone except me stared at me in disbelief.

‘No, he actually did it…?’

The emperor had truly listened to what I said during the drinking party.

“Saya. What on earth did you do outside…?”

Cled, looking exhausted, rubbed his temples.

What could I do? It was His Majesty’s will.