Your Majesty, Dinner Is Ready. - Chapter 25

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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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Chapter 25 – Odillon
“You’ve arrived?”
As I waited briefly at the door, a shadow detached itself from the building’s outline, gliding forward smoothly.
It was the elf Rosalia, capable of expressing every intention through her eyes alone.
“Did you rest well, sister? The last expedition was enjoyable!”
……
Marlin offered a greeting, but as expected, no warm reply came back.
Still, she’d grown accustomed to it by now — Marlin didn’t mind at all anymore.
“Shall we go?”
A nod.
We followed Rosalia’s lead toward Odillon’s residence.
“Couldn’t we stop and buy some apples on the way? I’m hungry.”
The cold elf ignored whatever was said to her and moved quietly northwestward through the main street.
Marlin’s eyes widened as she confirmed the direction of our destination.
“Wait—are we heading to the wealthy district?”
District 6 of Pletica, which fell under the Johwa Church’s jurisdiction, was a poor area where the destitute, heretics, vagrants, and criminals gathered together.
However, the wealthy neighborhood to the north—adjacent to District 1 where the rich lived—was an exception, and Odillon, who had originally come from a family that built its fortune through information trading, lived there.
“Kar, are people like us really allowed to go to such a grand place?”
“Come to think of it, you shouldn’t. The two of you should head back.”
……
“If you’re going to look at me like that, why did you ask in the first place?”
The assassin’s pace—walking ahead in silence, eyes fixed forward—was somewhat too quick for the heretic and the children to keep up with.
Rosalia, not entirely devoid of consideration, slowed her steps slightly from time to time, preventing the unfortunate mishap of anyone falling behind from exhaustion.
Tap.
After a long journey, Rosalia came to a stop by the roadside and gave my shoulder a light tap before gazing ahead.
Rosalia’s gaze fell upon an elegant, antiquated manor standing in the heart of the wealthy district.
《Brithes Family Detention Center for Rule Violators》
I could ignore the impertinent skill’s window.
“Is this the villa where the young master resides, belonging to the Brithes Family?”
The taciturn assassin gave a slight nod and threw open the door that faced directly onto the street.
A loud creaking sound rang out, revealing an elaborately decorated interior that epitomized the typical aesthetic of the wealthy.
“…Wow.”
……
The brother and sister, who had lived their entire lives in squalor, stood with their mouths agape.
Had they suffered culture shock?
A sudden pang of guilt struck me.
Children that age should be surrounded by nothing but beauty, yet here they were, forced to live in a town of heretics—home to all manner of eccentric madmen and lunatics.
“Welcome.”
As I led the stiffened siblings inside, an elderly man with neatly brushed white hair tied back greeted us.
《Sergius, butler of the Brithes Family (human, 73 years old). A long-serving butler who has been attending to Odillon—cast out to District 6 by order of the family head—and his mother.》
“Welcome, Kar.”
“Thank you for the invitation.”
“The young master is waiting for you. I shall show only Kar upstairs.”
“What about the children?”
“Your two wards will…”
Butler Sergius tilted his head, and a maidservant from the back stepped forward with a respectful bow.
“Please follow this girl. The young master has instructed us to feed the two siblings well, bathe them, and outfit them in new clothes.”
“We don’t have to pay for any of this, do we…?”
“Of course not. Please enjoy everything freely.”
“How kind of you!”
The butler, his expression warm with a gentle smile, led me to the central staircase and ascended to the topmost floor.
The corridor had doors at both ends.
Sergius went to the left, knocked softly, and carefully opened the door.
“You’ve come.”
A room whose interior decoration screamed excess, reflecting the owner’s character perfectly—every surface adorned with lavish embellishment.
Odillon sat on the sofa with his legs crossed, sipping wine.
“Come, have a seat.”
As I settled onto the chair opposite him across a large table, Butler Sergius placed a wine glass before me.
A small plate of cheese cubes in a bowl accompanied it.
“Please, enjoy.”
“Thank you.”
As I picked up and nibbled on a piece of cheese with an impressively refined flavor, the butler withdrew, leaving just the two of us.
Crackle!
The severe beauty-obsessed evil god reacted with excitement to Odillon’s appearance.
I didn’t quite catch all the sudden outpouring of sentiment, but since it included messages that were rather vulgar and embarrassing, I decided to simply ignore them.
What a ridiculous woman.
“The Heretic of Twisted Truth, Kar.”
The young master, who had been quietly sipping wine, suddenly opened his mouth.
“I hear that the moment you received the invitation, you accepted it without a moment’s hesitation. Should I interpret that as meaning you’re willing to form an expedition team with me?”
“That’s correct. I was deeply impressed by the skill Rosalia showed during the last exploration.”
“Sister, is it? You’ve grown close already?”
“We’ve already become close like siblings.”
Rosalia, who had moved to stand behind Odillon at some point, narrowed her eyes and regarded me intently.
The meaning was probably: our little brother is so cute.
“Anyway, well thought out.”
The young master pulled a stack of documents from beneath the table and slid them toward me.
“Let’s work well together from now on. It’s a contract. Fill it out. If there’s anything that doesn’t sit right with you, speak up.”
“Understood.”
He’s not the sort to play games with wording, but that doesn’t mean I can just blindly sign either.
I examined every word written in the contract carefully before signing it.
“Is there any part you’d like to revise?”
“Honestly, it’s perfect. Genuinely impressive.”
Profits from dungeon expeditions are distributed strictly according to individual merit, with sentimentality and other unproductive emotions excluded, while also guaranteeing each person a minimum income to prevent resentment.
The clauses regarding what responsibility one must bear for acts of betrayal stretch across nearly ten pages.
A contract fitting for a man who distrusts humanity.
Every aspect was written to maintain what could only be called a “contractual relationship”—keeping emotional distance at all times.
“Honestly, I quite like it. Even with close colleagues, these matters need to be crystal clear. How many adventurers do you think have died in dungeons, stabbed in the back by their own expedition teammates?”
I’d actually experienced that more than once.
Playing as a heretic long enough gives you the kind of solid mental fortitude to treat your allies’ betrayals as just minor incidents in everyday life.
“Exactly. If you trust flimsy emotions like camaraderie, betrayal is all but inevitable. That’s why you need a contract that completely seals off any possibility of treachery.”
The young master put the healing artifact, the staff-like Consoler, in his mouth and nodded.
“So now, shall we begin a constructive discussion about the expedition team’s future?”
“You’ll lead the expedition. Any objections?”
“Who in their right mind would object to being made leader?”
“And I’ll take charge of the expedition’s operations. You can leave all financial matters, coordination of conflicts with other expeditions, and the procurement of equipment, artifacts, and mystical texts entirely to me. If you’d rather not—”
“I’m more than satisfied.”
With me leading the expedition, possessing all manner of dungeon knowledge and crisis management expertise, and Odillon managing operations with his wealth and information network, who could possibly stand in our way?
We were already, in all but name, the finest expedition team imaginable.
In fact, we might as well have already become one.
“Do you have any dungeons picked out for the next conquest?”
“Of course.”
“I’ll show you the list of dungeons I’ve already compiled. Look over all of them and decide.”
With the young master possessing zero social graces, our conversation was utterly free of filler.
Since the god was growing bored with demanding male fellowship as a form of religious devotion, she continued to make provocative requests through her shrine maiden.
“That said, there’s something we need to prioritize even before dungeons.”
“I know. Right now, the expedition team’s composition is far too sparse. It would be difficult to handle every situation.”
Still, whatever I say, he understands immediately, and with so much knowledge in his head, he’s easy to work with.
The complete opposite of Marlin, who asks dozens of questions a day because her dungeon knowledge is critically lacking.
At least I’m teaching her and she’s gradually improving.
“A heretic to lead the exploration. An assassin to dispatch powerful enemies. With just these two, it’ll be difficult to conquer a D-Rank Dungeon.”
“Don’t forget we also have Marlin and Abel.”
“They’re still growing, aren’t they? If they’re not fully developed yet, their potential doesn’t matter—it’s meaningless right now.”
“The siblings are what you might call support. They’re still in the midst of growth, but since I plan to teach them actively, they’ll soon blossom into proper adventurers in their own right.”
Besides, being beastfolk who grow faster than humans, both of them will have reached adulthood with sturdy builds within two years at the most.
Even so, they’d still be too young to form the backbone of the expedition, but they could certainly handle supporting roles for others.
“That said, it’s a fact that we need talented individuals who can contribute to the expedition’s strength right now.”
“I agree. You’d want to recruit colleagues of the Warrior and Mage classes, wouldn’t you? Isn’t that so?”
“That’s right.”
The warrior, holding the vanguard and protecting allies safely.
The mage dealer, known to have the greatest impact on expeditions.
Only with both vacant classes filled could the exploration party truly be considered complete.
“District 6 lacks suitable warrior and mage talent. Do you have any recruitment candidates in mind?”
“Of course! I have my sources.”
《A correction: A wise person lacks sufficient faith, so he does not in fact know everything. Where exactly are you getting your information?》
I set aside the pointless fact-checking and spoke the name of my first recruitment target.
“Pendrick. A swordsman-class explorer residing in District 3.”
“What’s his potential?”
“A swordsman destined without question to rise to the ranks of the Twelve Heroes.”
…….
Pendrick.
Among all my warrior-class colleagues, he was unquestionably the one with the greatest potential.
Odillon, having exchanged glances with Rosalia, inhaled and exhaled smoke from the Consoler.
“How likely is it he’d join our exploration party?”
“He’s already affiliated with a guild, so if we simply asked him to come along, he’d refuse.”
“But you know how to recruit him regardless.”
“Yes, naturally.”
I smiled with the mysterious air of a heretic.
“As I’ve said repeatedly, I have my sources.”
《Another correction: You actually don’t!》
Why was he so oblivious?
I was in the middle of building an image to increase my devotees.
“Very well. I’ll attempt to bring this Pendrick into the expedition team as you suggest. What is your plan?”
“I’d like to visit him in person and speak with him directly. Since he’s to become a fellow member, it wouldn’t do to send only your servants without sincerity, would it?”
“Then I’ll have Rosalia accompany you. Go yourself and return.”
“Understood. It seems I’ll have quite an enjoyable outing with her.”
Rosalia’s eyes narrowed again as she looked at me.
The meaning was unmistakable: I’ll enjoy myself too!
“Now we must discuss the matter of a mage…”
“I do have someone in mind for that position.”
“Who?”
“I don’t know yet.”
“What do you mean by that?”
I told Odillon what had happened in the Tomb of the Earth Elf.
“So, there exists an explorer who activated the hidden piece—the one that strengthens the leader entity—before you did, and took it all the way to completion?”
“That is correct.”
“Why are you convinced this person is a mage?”
“Surely it’s obvious.”
There was no room for doubt.
“Only a mage could clear the Tomb of the Earth Elf alone.”
Mages were a filthy cheat class, blessed with the creator’s favoritism.

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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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