Your Majesty, Dinner Is Ready. - Chapter 36

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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 36 — Merely a Status Abnormality
Eastern District, District 3.
The cultural quarter: Vibrant Promenade.
“Your beverages, sir.”
The server set three modest cups on the table.
Two held coffee of unusual color and aroma.
The third was simply milk.
“Let’s taste it while it’s warm.”
I sipped the warm coffee.
‘Oh.’
Perhaps it was because the barista had used the Barista’s Mystery of Chef Class to prepare it.
I hadn’t expected much, but the fragrance was surprisingly delicate.
Only, something felt slightly wanting, so I asked the server to add about fifteen spoonfuls of sugar, and only then did it suit my palate perfectly.
I sipped my coffee slowly, then ventured a question.
“Pendrick, how does it taste?”
Pendrick, who had been sipping his coffee, smiled awkwardly.
“Coming from a rural area, it feels rather unfamiliar to me.”
That was his earnest way of saying it tasted bad.
…….
Meanwhile, Rosalia was contentedly drinking her milk with her veil drawn slightly down.
“Take your time. The conversation will be lengthy, so do ask if you need another round.”
We had come to this café to discuss exploration party matters at leisure.
Unlike modern chain establishments, the atmosphere resembled a tavern, and the prices on each menu item were forbidding enough that only explorers of decent means could afford it.
“I’ve lived long enough to visit every sort of café. This is even my first time stepping outside during work hours….”
Pendrick pushed his coffee cup aside slightly and looked around the interior with wonder before turning to me.
“You come to such expensive places so casually—I’m honestly taken aback. Were you perhaps quite successful as an explorer in District 6?”
“Hardly. Where do you find a sociologist who earns well?”
I had hoped for a positive response, but my logic proved too airtight. Pendrick could only smile sheepishly and say nothing.
I lowered my voice and spoke again.
“The Rosalia beside us is ‘the Deep Shadow’—bodyguard secretary to the youngest heir of the Brytes Family.”
“Ah!”
The fledgling swordsman’s eyes widened, and Rosalia promptly drew a money pouch from the shadows, revealing the coins within.
“Why suddenly flaunt your wealth? That money must be returned to your master once the mission’s over, mustn’t it?”
…….
The assassin’s pupils—which had gleamed like a nouveau riche—trembled ever so slightly.
“In any case, let’s turn to the matter at hand.”
After ordering biscuits to accompany my coffee, I regarded the sword Pendrick had been cradling all this while.
“I’ll need to examine its condition more closely. Would you mind handing it over briefly?”
“…Yes.”
Pendrick hesitated for a moment, then carefully unwrapped the cloth protecting the blade and passed it to me.
‘…My.’
I had unconsciously stared at another’s beloved with shameless admiration.
A masterwork blade of mystical teal, its flat adorned with seven luminous gemstones like stars.
Its craftsmanship was so refined it seemed fashioned by a master sculptor—and even Rosalia’s eyes widened at the sight.
《Artifact — Astremia of Joy》
《One of the ‘Emotion Series’ created by the ‘Perfect Exploration Party,’ an organization of legendary Craftsman Class explorers. Each time one of the stars on the flat illuminates, the wielder gains access to a new ability.》
The Emotion Series artifacts each bore a word denoting some specific feeling in their names, and every single one boasted a fearsome arsenal of powers.
Their acquisition conditions were notoriously obscure and intricate, but once obtained, they remained invaluably useful until death.
《To think a greenhorn swordsman possessed such a rarity! Surprising indeed—but I trust you didn’t single out this brat merely for possessing a fine blade.》
—So you’re the Sociologist Kar?
Astremia of Joy.
Pendrick’s inanimate girlfriend—his Ego Sword—spoke with displeasure.
—Might you refrain from staring so intently?
“My apologies. Your beauty quite stole my gaze without my meaning to.”
—I appreciate the compliment. Among my siblings, I’m rather remarkable for my appearance.
The confident declaration, brimming with vanity, drew a grin from Pendrick.
Spotting that expression, Rosalia flinched quietly and shifted her chair slightly away.
—Pendrick surrendered to it readily enough, but I find it difficult to trust you still.
Astremia’s form trembled slightly.
—The Cult of Evil God has become a force of little consequence, or so I’m told, yet I remain afraid. So I hope you’ll understand if my natural aversion shows through.
If he’d been thoroughly deceived by a socialite in the past, this reaction was unavoidable.
In any case, these seniors were utterly useless.
Come to think of it, the Tomb of Earth Elves had provided decent experience points, so I could call it useful at least once.
“I’m quite all right, actually.”
I flashed a smile designed to raise favorability points, leveraging the half-elf’s singular advantage: Charm.
“In fact, I’d have been disappointed if you placed blind faith in someone you haven’t even properly conversed with yet.”
Distrust is a special survival ability granted to reasoning creatures.
Though not to Odillon’s degree, I don’t blindly trust others either.
– That would make sense. You’re searching for companions whose lives you’ll entrust yourself to, after all. For my part, I’d have preferred to join an exploration party led by someone competent like Pendrick. Not some pathetic guild that can’t even recognize talent when it sees it.
“Then you needn’t worry anymore. We are precisely the exploration party you’ve been seeking.”
– Can I really have hope?
“Of course.”
Our interests aligned well enough. Now came the time to prove our worth.
– Socialite Kar. So what’s the method to cure me?
“Before I explain, might I examine Astremia more closely once more?”
– Fine. I’ll grant you time to admire my noble form.
“I’m truly honored.”
Pendrick’s expression darkened noticeably as he listened to our conversation in silence, apparently seized by jealousy.
Rosalia, for her part, shifted her chair further aside in response.
“Let me see….”
As I surveyed Astremia’s blade essence, the Eyes That Discern Truth swiftly diagnosed the illness of the Narcissism Ego Sword.
《7th-rank Black Magic – Curse: Lethe’s Wave》
《Once the curse activates, all memories fade after a certain period of time, leaving the victim an idiot. Time remaining – 27 days.》
A curse typically used to render enemies mentally incapacitated and powerless.
Once the curse fully took hold, Astremia would be nothing but a pretty ordinary blade.
An Ego Sword cannot manifest its inherent power without a sense of self.
“A dreadful curse indeed.”
I opened my mouth quietly after finishing my observation.
“This is a machination designed to utterly destroy Astremia. If she weren’t an artifact, she’d have become an ordinary blade long ago.”
A 7th-rank high-level Black Magic curse was strangling an Ego Sword born from the hands of history’s most gifted craftsman explorer.
“You have 27 days to lift the curse.”
“…….”
Pendrick, unable to keep his hands still on the table, laughed weakly.
“…To see through it all at once. You’re indeed the socialite of whom Lidni speaks so highly.”
Pendrick, cradling his beloved once more, exhaled softly and slowly caressed the blue-green blade.
Spark.
In response to those eyes filled with devotion, she sent forth a fierce surge of current.
Along with encouragement to continue their faithful practice with such fervor.
“During my time on the Eastern Continent, a Labyrinth spawned near my neighborhood.”
Unaware that his appearance had earned him the profound attention of Sue, Pendrick began his tale.
“As misfortune would have it, my mother was caught up in that Labyrinth, so I had no choice but to rush inside myself before the Labyrinth response team arrived.”
“That’s where you met Astremia?”
“Yes. She was embedded in the ground, wrapped in some kind of chains. She was already cursed from our first meeting.”
A device implanted by her creator to grant a promising swordsman a tragic backstory.
Pendrick was a companion character who could only be recruited in the latter half.
A black mage massacre specialist consumed by rage—Pendrick, wielding a sword from the Emotion Series.
“Do you have any idea who might have done this?”
“I’m afraid I don’t know that much.”
In truth, I did know, but pretended not to.
The culprit was a 9th-level black mage—a being no weak socialite could hope to contend with.
“Things have been truly difficult lately. Even though the curse hasn’t fully activated yet, Asmi’s condition deteriorates with each passing day.”
Asmi was a pet name for Astremia.
“…….”
Rosalia shifted her chair once more, ultimately pressing herself directly against my side.
“Just days ago, she momentarily forgot my name.”
“So you made your decision quickly.”
“Yes… honestly, it was hard to believe readily, but I had no other choice.”
The swordsman’s eyes, as he caressed his beloved, bore the accumulated weight of all the heartache he’d endured.
“I came to Pletica to earn money for Asmi’s treatment, but I’ve hardly had the chance to enter any Labyrinths, let alone build a reputation as an explorer. That’s why I had no choice but to work at the inn.”
Just another promising explorer scattered across Pletica.
Pendrick is a swordsman with a brilliant future ahead of him, yet he hasn’t fully bloomed just yet.
But I intend to help him flourish magnificently from this moment forward.
“Pendrick, you can rest easy now.”
I spread both hands wide open.
“You’ve met me, Kar.”
I have the power to change Pendrick’s fate.
I can prevent Astremia’s downfall.
I possess both the ability and knowledge to help the one I love spend her days in happiness.
“Tell me, Astremia—has your mind softened at all?”
— Still, it’s too early to trust and rely on you so completely.
The star-studded blue-green Ego Sword released a mental sigh before continuing.
— That said, there’s something worth hoping for. Every Black Mage I’ve met since coming to Pletica failed to identify the curse on my body, yet you discovered it in mere seconds.
That was probably because Black Mages are a despised, squalid class with few talented practitioners—but I simply nodded along.
— I’ve made my decision. Kar, I’ll be relying on your Exploration Party for the time being.
Swordsman Pendrick.
Ego Sword Astremia.
Recruitment successful.
“Our founder, the Young Master, has trouble trusting people, so we’ll draw up a Contract later.”
— That won’t be difficult. But what’s the name of your Exploration Party?
“The Moon Exploration Party. Quite a lovely and adorable name, wouldn’t you say?”
— …….
“Why have you suddenly gone silent?”
As Astremia fell quiet, Rosalia turned her head away from me with a slight sigh.
“The Moon Exploration Party? That actually sounds charming and fun.”
Only our good-natured Pendrick, who possessed the trait of Boundless Sociability that prevented any discord with his comrades, offered such a positive response.
— Now then, would you mind explaining how you intend to cure me?
“Certainly. Allow me to explain.”
I dipped the biscuit a server had just brought into my coffee and spoke again.
“Curse removal is typically possible only through a Priest-class practitioner or certain rare artifacts and treasures. The problem is that a Priest capable of dispelling 7th-rank Black Magic Curses must be at least an Archbishop, and artifacts are prohibitively expensive.”
“Both seem impossible to obtain at present. Does that mean you know of an alternative method, Kar?”
“I do.”
A Curse is rather troublesome, but ultimately it’s nothing more than a Status Abnormality.
There are any number of ways to remove it.
The 7th-rank Black Magic will complicate things somewhat, though.
“The path revealed by the divine revelation of the Precursor of Twisted Truth leads to none other than a Labyrinth.”
The means to heal Astremia lay within a Labyrinth somewhere in District 3.
“Pendrick, are you familiar with the Labyrinth called the City of Pleasure?”
“Yes, of course! It’s an E-rank Labyrinth you explore for fun rather than for conquest, isn’t it?”
— …….
The assassin, who dislikes leisure, suddenly grabbed my wrist and fixed me with a stare.
“Wait. I haven’t finished speaking yet.”
If it had been a mere ordinary E-rank Labyrinth, I wouldn’t have brought it up at all.
“Everyone, I suggest you steel yourselves.”
This time, I too needed to be grave.
“Though it hasn’t been officially revealed, the true rank that should be assigned to the City of Pleasure is C-rank.”

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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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