First of All, I’m Drinking - Chapter 96

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 96

Clatter- Clatter-

The carriage passed through the main gate of the Imperial Capital and entered inside.

In the distance, I could faintly see the residence where I used to live in the past.

I often used to drink tea with the children who would suddenly visit the reception room without a word.

I wonder who lives there now.

“So this is the Argent Imperial Palace.”

Ragnor stuck his face out the window and admired the scenery of the Imperial Capital.

“How does it compare to the Papal Palace of the Holy Kingdom?”

Max asked with a grin.

“Just in terms of appearance, this place is much more splendid. The Papal Palace has a rather gloomy atmosphere.”

“I see. I’d like to hear Meirei and Asel’s impressions too.”

Meirei looked at Max for a moment, then turned her gaze to the window as if uninterested.

“…It’s big.”

That was the end of Meirei’s impression.

I also briefly added a comment.

“At least there won’t be time to feel lonely. With such a scale, there must be many people living here too.”

“Haha, that’s true. But once you live here, it’s surprisingly quiet.”

The carriage headed straight toward Taeyang Palace.

Guards lined up in two rows simultaneously raised their flags and shouted.

“For the eternal prosperity and peace of the Great Argent Empire! We greet Prince Max de Argent!”

“For the eternal prosperity and peace of the Great Argent Empire! We greet Prince Carno de Argent!”

Disciplined movements and dignified voices.

Ragnor raised his eyebrows in admiration, while Meirei still seemed indifferent.

“From now on, we will go to have an audience with His Imperial Majesty. I will teach you the etiquette for the audience.”

The knight briefly explained the audience etiquette.

Since I already knew all the content anyway, I half-listened and let it pass through one ear.

Eventually, the carriage stopped in front of Taeyang Palace.

We got off and followed Max and Carno’s guidance up to the Audience Hall.

“From here, you three have to go.”

Max and Carno patted our shoulders.

“You can do well, right? Just do as you learned.”

“Don’t worry.”

I answered on behalf of everyone.

The two stepped back two steps with gentle smiles.

As the massive sliding doors opened to both sides, magnificent golden light leaked through the gap.

A long red carpet spread out beneath our feet.

And at the end of the carpet, on the platform, the Emperor sat on the golden throne.

“Come in, heroes of Millennium Academy.”

The Emperor’s voice echoed through the Audience Hall.

The Blood Martial Emperor, Brunei de Argent.

No emotion arose when I saw my father’s face for the first time in four years.

I was just as calm as an inanimate object.

Since my reincarnation, I had never once thought of that human as my father.

Step.

We followed the etiquette the knight taught us, placing one knee on the ground while keeping the other knee up, and bowed our heads.

“We greet His Imperial Majesty, the eternal sun of the Empire.”

As the three voices echoed, the Emperor waved his hand.

“Raise your heads.”

We raised our heads and looked at the Emperor.

“I heard there was an unfortunate incident at Millennium Academy. The Empire is greatly at fault for not detecting the demon priest who infiltrated in disguise beforehand. If it weren’t for you, the casualties wouldn’t have ended at this level.”

The Emperor looked at each of our three faces once and continued speaking.

“Therefore, I wish to bestow rewards upon you who bravely fought against the Demon Cult’s attack. Each of you, tell me what you want within reasonable limits.”

Within reasonable limits.

As soon as I heard those words, I decided what to request.

Among the three, Ragnor was the first to speak.

“I came to study in the Empire because there were no worthy opponents in the Holy Kingdom, but instead I learned here that I was a frog in a well. The world is vast and there are many geniuses. I want to improve my level to surpass them. Please grant me a spiritual medicine.”

“You mean a spiritual medicine that enhances aura achievement?”

“That’s correct.”

“Good. I will grant you the Five Spirit Pill.”

The Five Spirit Pill was quite a rare and expensive spiritual medicine, but it couldn’t compare to the Magic Spirit Pill.

‘As expected.’

Originally, I was also going to request a spiritual medicine.

Because of the memory of winning the Silver Rite in the past and receiving the Magic Spirit Pill as a reward.

However, the Magic Spirit Pill is among the highest grade elixirs that increase the user’s magic power.

From the moment the Emperor said to request within reasonable limits, I knew it would be difficult to receive the Magic Spirit Pill.

“Next is Asel. Tell me what you want.”

I answered without delay.

“I would like to receive a sword.”

“A sword…”

“Yes. Since I’m a commoner, I haven’t had the opportunity to handle good swords since childhood. I would like to have a sword worthy of being my trusted weapon with this opportunity.”

“Good. I’ll send you a suitable sword.”

The saying that a craftsman doesn’t blame his tools is false.

For a strong swordsman, a sturdy weapon that can withstand their aura is essential.

Imperial weapons are crafted by the continent’s finest blacksmiths.

Even if I received the lowest quality weapon among them, it would be better than the weapons at the Pluton Sect.

A weapon I could use as my level rises and even after becoming a Sword Master.

Today was the best opportunity to obtain such a sword.

“Finally, Meirei. Tell me what you want.”

“…”

Meirei’s lips trembled.

Was she nervous being in front of the Emperor? She didn’t seem like that type of person.

“Information…”

Finally, her mouth opened.

“I want information about my mother. Where she is now, what she’s doing…”

Mother?

I never expected such words to come out, so both Ragnor and I looked at Meirei in surprise.

The Emperor let out a contemplative sound.

“Hmm, unfortunately, even I cannot easily find information about someone whose face and name I don’t know.”

Meirei seemed anxious and swallowed her saliva.

“I don’t know anything except that she has blonde hair and blue eyes. And she was a Sword Master.”

“A blonde, blue-eyed female Sword Master… There’s no one who immediately comes to mind among those I know. I’ll give orders to my subordinates for now. If we find someone who matches those conditions, I’ll contact you.”

“…Thank you.”

Meirei bowed her head.

The Emperor spoke solemnly.

“Now that I know what you all want, I’ll prepare them quickly and send them to each of you. And this might be meddling, but isn’t this the first time all of you are visiting the Imperial Capital?”

The three of us looked at each other in confusion and then answered.

“Yes.”

“It’s my first time.”

To be precise, those were Ragnor’s and my answers.

Meirei was just bowing her head with an unreadable expression.

“If you want, you can tour the Imperial Capital before returning. I’ll even assign you a guide if necessary.”

A tour of the Imperial Capital.

For ordinary citizens of the Empire who would never have a chance to set foot in the Imperial Capital in their lifetime, this was a proposal that would interest everyone.

“I’m grateful for your kindness, Your Majesty. I was already deeply captivated by the beauty of the Argent Imperial Palace, which is so different from the Papal Palace of the Holy Kingdom.”

Even Ragnor, who was from the Holy Kingdom, had his eyes sparkling as he eagerly accepted the offer.

“…Then I’ll also take a look around before returning.”

Meirei also seemed interested in the keyword of exploring the Imperial Capital.

With both of them accepting, it wouldn’t look good for me to be the only one to decline.

“Thank you. I’ve always been curious about what the Imperial Capital was like since long ago.”

* * *

In the end, the three of us decided to tour the Imperial Capital before returning home.

We didn’t take a separate guide.

“Are you coming with us, Asel?”

“No, I’ll wander around separately.”

“Got it. What about you, Meirei?”

“…”

Meirei didn’t even answer and just left.

Ragnor scratched the back of his head, looking embarrassed.

“Well, I’ll go sightseeing too then. See you later at the dormitory.”

“Take care.”

Ragnor also bid me farewell and walked in the opposite direction from Meirei.

Left alone in front of Taeyang Palace, I looked up at the sky.

Blue sky and white clouds.

The sound of larks occasionally carried on the wind.

‘Should I visit that place?’

The palace where I used to live.

I wanted to go see that place.

However, visiting there directly might arouse unnecessary suspicion, so I decided to stop by other places first.

The first place I visited was the Palace of the 1st Empress Sabina.

This was where I captured a familiar and found evidence that Sabina was colluding with the Demon Cult.

I also fought a battle with Lipton, Cardinal of Baal.

The buildings that had been destroyed in that fight had been completely restored.

‘It seems Sabina hasn’t been caught yet.’

I had never heard news anywhere that the 1st Empress had been deposed.

She was probably still living normally while hiding the fact that she was colluding with the Demon Cult.

After escaping from the Imperial Capital.

I had thought a lot about how to capture Sabina, who was definitely connected to the Baal Sect.

The conclusion was.

‘There’s no answer.’

The Argent Empire, the world’s strongest nation.

The 1st Empress of such an empire.

Breaking through countless security forces to subdue Sabina was nearly impossible.

So I had no choice but to leave it alone even knowing about it.

I could only wait for an opportunity to come someday.

‘…Today isn’t that opportunity either.’

No matter how much of a student I was, the Emperor wouldn’t let outsiders loose in the Imperial Capital without any safety measures.

There were definitely eyes watching me from somewhere.

I moved my steps to another place.

The garden where I used to practice swordsmanship with the children was blooming profusely with flowers.

Despite it being autumn, colorful petals were in full bloom under the sunlight.

Palace of the 3rd Empress.

When I reached the front of the palace where Ellia had lived, I stopped walking due to the bitterness rising from within.

The palace was empty.

It seemed no one had moved in after Ellia’s death.

Perhaps because of this, the windows that weren’t properly maintained were covered with dust.

“…”

I passed by the Palace of the 3rd Empress and continued walking.

After walking for a few more minutes, I could see the palace where I used to live.

Unlike the Palace of the 3rd Empress, there seemed to be new residents, as maids were diligently sweeping the courtyard.

The building also looked clean and well-maintained.

“Who are you.”

I turned my head at the sudden voice.

“Who are you to be loitering in front of my house?”

The distinctive blue eyes of the Argent Imperial Family.

It was a young man wearing a Millennium Academy uniform.

Looking at his tie color, he seemed to be a third-year student.

“I’m Asel from the 1st year Swordsmanship Department of Millennium Academy. I was wandering around here and there after receiving permission to tour the Imperial Capital on my way back from an audience with His Majesty.”

The young man raised his eyebrows slightly.

“Ah, so you’re an underclassman. I’m Robert de Argent, 3rd year Swordsmanship Department.”

Robert.

Robert de Argent…

‘I’ve heard that name somewhere.’

Ah.

I remembered.

At the 1st Empress Sabina’s birthday banquet four years ago.

[You provoked me to make me feel bad, right?]

[…What?]

[You’ve been looking at us with that fucking annoying expression since Seria and I came up to the platform, all of you sitting here. It was so shitty that I deliberately provoked you so you’d feel shitty too.]

He was one of the cadet branch royals who got cursed out by me.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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