Your Majesty, Dinner Is Ready. - Chapter 122

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 122: You Weren’t My Friend?
Sergius, the butler, is the chief of Odillon’s pale shadow operatives.
He planned to eventually hand the position to Merlin, who could be called his direct disciple, though that day lay far in the future.
“Welcome, Kar.”
A basement that was never used for sinister purposes.
Sergius, who had been organizing information collected by pale shadow operatives working undercover throughout the 6th District, greeted me.
“Is something the matter? Has Rachel been causing trouble or refusing to follow orders?”
“Not at all. Rachel is, in fact, a most excellent housekeeper.”
Thanks to Rachel taking over household duties, both Odillon and I had seen our quality of life improve considerably.
Especially Abel, who had previously handled the housework, seemed quite satisfied now that he could focus entirely on cooking.
“I see. I should raise Rachel’s wages a bit.”
Sergius nodded and opened his mouth again.
“So, what brings you here?”
“Do you happen to have a spare Mage Tower Communication Device?”
“Of course. Let me give you one.”
Sergius retrieved a small book-like object from where various supplies were neatly arranged and handed it to me.
A Tamdok Mage Tower Communication Device.
It was an expensive product fully compatible with all other communication methods made by the Mage Tower.
“As expected of you, Sergius. Thank you.”
“Not at all. If something is merely expensive, it poses no particular hardship for us.”
Indeed, the Brithes Family’s wealth far exceeded that of the Ash Gray Wolf Guild.
Even though Odillon had been cast out by his family, he was still receiving an allowance.
It wasn’t as though it was his own fault that he’d been banished.
Before leaving the basement, I posed a casual question.
“By the way, hasn’t Michelle come by today either?”
……
Sergius exhaled deeply and fussed with his necktie for no particular reason.
“I’m not quite sure where she is either. Michelle travels between various cities, enjoying herself, and only returns when it suits her.”
Odillon’s mother, Michelle Brithes.
An eighth-tier rogue ranked eleventh on the Twelve Heroes Ranking.
She would be a truly reliable member of the team if she were with us, but in reality, it was difficult to even meet her.
“She did send word recently. Apparently, she’s been drinking and hitting people again….”
Michelle was living proof that skill and character don’t necessarily go hand in hand—a reckless troublemaker through and through.
The reason she lived in a villa in the 6th District rather than the main residence wasn’t due to harassment or marginalization, but simply because she was constantly causing incidents and had been cast out along with her innocent son.
“Kar, if you happen to know of a way to cure someone of their dissolute nature, would you teach me?”
“Give up. It’s incurable. Her son doesn’t listen to her either, so what good would any advice I offer possibly do?”
“How unfortunate.”
As if remembering the trials of supporting such an extreme liability, Sergius gazed into space for a moment.
“In any case, I must return to my duties now.”
“Understood. Once I finish this exploration, there may be work that requires your assistance. Would that be acceptable?”
“Of course.”
“Good to hear.”
I bade the butler farewell and made my way to a room at the far end of the second floor.
There was a plush bed and sofa, a set of light refreshments and tea, and a room that carried a natural fragrance.
On the ceiling was painted a cute character with eyes, nose, and mouth on a crescent moon.
《Location – Moon Expedition Party Rest Hall》
《A rest hall for you and your members, constructed with the wealth of the Brithes Family. Simply being still in this room gradually alleviates fatigue.》
“Kar’s here?”
“You’ve arrived.”
The tails of the siblings, who had been chatting softly with Pendrick, both swished simultaneously.
“Captain, are you done with your business? Should I gather the other members now?”
“If you would, I’ll reward you with a kiss on the cheek.”
“Ugh! I think I’d rather decline that reward?”
Pendrick laughed heartily and left the room.
Settling onto the plush sofa, I casually flicked Merlin’s hair and retrieved the communication device I’d just received.
The usage was simple.
I just had to open the book-like device and input a number combining digits and letters.
– The Tamdok Mage Tower is always with you, citizens of Pletika!
After the promotional hold music from the tower had finished playing.
– About time you reached out.
A dry voice emanated from the communication device.
Hunter Pierre.
The third son of the ‘r’ family.
– Are you prepared?
“Yes. Of course.”
It was time for the Carpi Alliance’s first collaboration.
“Our expedition will enter the Dungeon around tomorrow morning. Does that suit your schedule?”
– Perfect timing. We’re planning to deploy a total of thirteen members on our end. Can you handle that?”
“Of course.”
– Understood. Then please do receive us well.
Pierre ended the call without emotion.
Merlin, who’d been perking up his ears beside me, tapped my shoulder.
“Kar, who was that?”
“A friend, that’s all.”
I patted the back of his head, and Merlin’s eyes narrowed.
“Kar, you have a friend?”
“Didn’t you ask me that before? Of course I do. We’re just not that close yet.”
“…If you’re not close, they’re not really a friend.”
“Is that so? I didn’t know.”
So the neighbors in Socialite Town who flinched whenever I greeted them weren’t my ‘friends’ after all?
Today, my world collapsed….
“A sponsor certainly wouldn’t have leisure to socialize with friends,” Abel said quietly.
He opened his mouth softly.
“Could it be that you’re planning to explore together with another adventurer?”
“Something like that, but a bit different.”
I withdrew a Spirit Water from the Mage Tower Refrigeration Tool and sipped it as I continued.
“My friend is going to show up with a whole bunch of Lawless types to plunder the place. Then our expedition just needs to deal with those Lawless members.”
“…Pardon?”
“…What did you say?”
Both siblings’ tails stiffened simultaneously.
“My muscles get sore at crucial moments, so I can’t fight the Lawless properly if I’m fatigued. Let’s get proper rest today. Sound good?”
“Not at all!”
Merlin grabbed my right arm and shook it urgently.
“What are you scheming this time!”
“Merlin. You’re making me dizzy.”
“You pushed yourself too hard in the Guild War — you should rest for a while!”
“How can I do that?”
I’m human too, and I can’t survive without proper rest.
But I don’t want to rest too long either.
Prolonged peace makes it feel as though I don’t truly exist in this world.
“Didn’t I tell you before? I’m going to keep chasing my goals without pause from now on, so don’t complain about hardship later.”
“…Yes, you did.”
The Moon Expedition Party must drive forward toward its goals without hesitation.
“Merlin. That wasn’t just a lighthearted joke to lift the mood?”
I will conquer the Nightmare Dungeon one day.
With the members I’ve brought together, one by one.
The next Dungeon we enter will serve as a means to take several strides toward my ultimate goal.
“…There’s nothing we can do about hardship.”
Merlin let out a small sigh, then immediately squared his shoulders with determination.
“Come to think of it, I already resolved to face hardship willingly back when we cleared the Luminescent Ant Cavern, so there’s no reason to be taken aback. I’ll do whatever you ask, with all my heart!”
“Well done.”
I ruffled Merlin’s hair for a moment, then waited as the other members began drifting into the Rest Hall one by one.
“What’s the matter?”
Bartimir, who’d been training in the practice room, trudged over and plopped down onto my lap.
……
Then Rosalia came in through the door normally and sat in a chair near the sofa.
She had a blob creature perched on her right shoulder.
– Squeak!
And on her left shoulder sat an unfamiliar pure-white blob-like creature, trembling softly.
“Sister, what’s that one’s name?”
“…Shilshil.”
“What a magnificent name. You’re the best, sister.”
When I extended my palm, Rosalia gave me a light high-five—quite different from Odillon, who would have pouted at such a gesture.
“I’ve brought everyone, captain!”
Pendrick arrived last, accompanied by Luxerion, who had taken a while coming from Artea Monastery.
“Greetings, Kar.”
Luxerion was breathing a touch heavily, as though he’d hurried to get here.
I waited for our priest to catch his breath properly, then moved Bartimir aside and stepped toward the center of the rest hall.
“I’ll now outline the Moon Expedition Party’s schedule going forward.”
I’d already sketched out roughly a year’s worth of activities in my mind.
That said, the schedule wasn’t entirely finalized.
Being ‘J,’ I possessed the disciplined, systematic intent to change my mind as circumstances demanded—all very calculated.
“First, the good news: tomorrow morning we’ll be entering a Dungeon, and my Lawless ally will be following us in to plunder alongside us.”
“Oh!”
“…….”
Bartimir, who understood the true flavor of exploration, cheered; the rest of the team fell silent.
– Um, Kar?
Astrímia, nestled in Pendrick’s arms, spoke carefully.
– The Lawless would already be on your tail because of the Guild War victory anyway. Why deliberately draw them in?
“I’ll explain now. Surely I have some knack for logical exposition, being a Socialite and all?”
I popped an apple-flavored candy into Merlin’s mouth and continued.
“As I mentioned at the Ash Gray Wolf Guild victory banquet, your collective abilities remain sorely lacking. Of course, present company excepted, sister.”
I gave a thumbs-up, and Rosalia quietly bobbed her head.
“So this Dungeon exploration was chosen with an emphasis on strengthening the Expedition Party’s overall combat capacity.”
Without Rosalia—a Level 6 Assassin—our current state would be critically weakened, making any high-Rank Dungeon utterly out of reach.
Therefore.
The next phase of operations would be exploratory missions focused on gradually raising each member’s specifications.
“Expect heavenly training for you all.”
“Captain, isn’t that normally called hellish training?”
“Why would I send my precious team members to hell? If you’re going to suffer anyway, you might as well sweat in the peaceful embrace of paradise.”
“Oh, now that’s brilliant! Such an unexpected paradigm shift!”
As Pendrick, the eternal optimist, shrugged enthusiastically, Astrímia let out a hollow laugh.
– So what do the Lawless have to do with training…?
“Those are two separate matters with no direct connection. That’s why we’ll split into two teams for this exploration.”
I swept my hand like a Conductor as I spoke.
Shra-la-la.
Soon, four small, adorable golden ravens materialized in the air and began fluttering about the rest hall.
[Illusion].
A Tier-5 Secret Art of cataclysmic upheaval, obtained as the price for offering an Eclipse Wyvern whose Soul Tier far exceeded my own.
Its mental strain was so severe that I couldn’t use it often or for long.
“Those chosen by the adorable golden ravens form Team One.”
The intricately flying ravens alighted one by one on each team member’s body.
Merlin, Pendrick, Bartimir.
Team members who had received Martial Arts-Type Mystery instruction from the Ash Gray Wolf Guild’s vice-commanders.
The composition was completed with the addition of Luxerion.
“You’ve all safely received the Secret Arts from the vice-commanders, but you won’t be fully comfortable with them yet.”
Martial Arts-Type Mysteries required time to be fully internalized, demanding constant practice.
“So train properly in this Dungeon. Luxerion, you’ll provide support to the other members.”
“So the rest form Team Two?”
“That’s right.”
Myself, Abel, and Rosalia.
Members who didn’t require intensive focused training yet.
I needed to elevate my Growth-Type Mysteries in Tier, but that was more efficient to do after reaching Level 5.
“Team One trains, Team Two faces the Lawless. Simple enough?”
“Mom, so which Dungeon are we going into?”
The demon-type being asked, suddenly animated with excitement.
“I have a feeling it’s ‘that’ one? Am I right?”
“You likely are. Surely we wouldn’t be thinking of different Dungeons?”
“Want to say it at the same time?”
“Let’s.”
We counted one, two, three aloud, and then we spoke.
“The Tower of Trials.”
“The Tower of Trials, exactly!”
Our minds had aligned, as I’d expected.
I sat on the armrest of the sofa beside Bartimir and draped my arm across the shoulders of the demon-type being girl with her sharp, elegant features.
“It’s certainly a rigorous dungeon, but excellent for training.”
Luxerion, a dungeon management priest of the Lamp of Inquiry who had absorbed knowledge of countless dungeons, murmured this matter-of-factly, and Merlin asked carefully.
“What sort of dungeon is it?”
“Kar, would it be all right if I explained in your stead?”
“Of course. In situations like this, it’s better to have the dungeon management priest step forward rather than me.”
“Thank you for trusting me.”
Luxerion smiled gently and began his explanation in a soothing, pleasant voice.
“The Tower of Trials is a dungeon managed by the Harmony Cult. Its rank is…”
The sleepy-eyed priest paused for a moment before continuing.
“B-Rank.”
Our next expedition would be the Moon Expedition Party’s first foray into a B-Rank dungeon.

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