Like last night, they all enjoyed their food immensely, devouring the small feast in half an hour at most. Once they were done, the King addressed the most important matter.
"Today, you two have a conference." He pointed to both Aurora and Grey. "Not only do you need to tell the people what happened, you need to tell them that you are okay. That applies to you too, Grey, as you are now the fiancé of the Royal Princess."
"Then, we wish for you two to spend time together." Queen Tyana butted in. "While you two go out, we will spend time getting to know your parents on a personal level. We only talked a little about each other after all; we were more worried about you."
'And that gives you two the chance to grow closer.' She thought. Her husband was aware of her scheme, both because he knew her, and because she had told him. Not only that, he completely consented to the matter. After all, he, the Royal Prince of the last generation, had been swept off his feet by his wife, Tyana, who won the Royal Duels. They were a loving couple.
Grey nodded at this, finding the idea pleasurable. Why shouldn't he spend time with Aurora?
Aurora too liked the idea. As a like-minded person, she understood her mother's intentions. In the courts, being keen was a necessity, and was something Aurora developed for situations akin to this one. Here she was consenting to it, however, instead of being tricked into it. In addition to that, she liked spending time with Grey. She could be herself.
Seeing their reactions, Samantha held back her reservations —they seemed to be okay with it.
"Well then, if that's sorted, off we go." The King spoke up. He stood up, gesturing for them to follow him. Anette moved in front of him, opening the door for him. He went through it, leading the others behind him like little ducklings.
They went down the castle, toward the main entrance. Again, the passageways were winding, but they grew simpler the further they went.
"Will we have a script?" Grey asked. He was aware that most press conferences were scripted and wondered if this one was too. It was helpful for speakers to have answers to possible questions, as it, mostly, avoided possible situations.
"Nope." The King chuckled. "It will be live. I sent a record of what you told us to my writer, and he has yet to get back. I told him to get on it ASAP, but haven't received word. As such, you will have no aid."
At that moment, they arrived before double doors, leading to a giant auditorium.
"Good luck then." He turned to look at them with a smile, pushing open the door.
CHATTER! CLAMOR! CHATTER!
The press room was filled with the loud din of hundreds of reporters, all with a cameraman companion.
"That's a lot of reporters," Aurora spoke, putting on her act. Aurora was now gone, the Ice Queen was here.
Seeing the doors open, all the journalists quietened, leaving the room so quiet a whisper could be heard from anywhere.
The King walked in, followed by the Queen, Grey, and Aurora. Samantha and Lucas chose to stay behind, shaking their heads at Anette who gestured for them to enter.
PIT PAT- CLICK CLACK!
Grey and Matteo's shoes pit-patted on the floor, echoing in the chamber alongside the click-clacking of the women's high heels.
The auditorium was 10 meters wide, and 50 meters across, fitting more than double the amount of concurrent people. Before the mass of reporters was a raised dais, a lone lectern on its wooden surface.
The King stood before the podium and began to speak.
"Hello, my people." His voice reached through the entirety of the hall, being amplified by a microphone hidden at the top of the stand. "I am standing here before you to inform you that my daughter and her fiancé have cleared the Dungeon. Now, they will answer your questions."
After he finished talking, the reporters spoke up again, covering the room in a loud racket. The cacophony continued for a few seconds, before being shushed by a wave of King Matteo's hand.
"Silence." He said softly. A few journalists had been unaware of the King's hand wave, however, his gentle voice silenced them indefinitely. He struck terror into them, pinpointedly attacking their mental state with only his voice and a little Mana.
'Impressive.' Grey thought. 'Life truly becomes a cakewalk at his level.''
"Come." He faced Grey and Aurora, beckoning them. Following his words, they moved to the lectern. He backed away, standing next to the Queen.
A nod of his head let the reporters speak again.
The noise came back, relentless this time, a tirade of questions reaching Grey's ears.
He ignored it, pointing a finger at the closest man.
The elf pointed at himself, seemingly confused, before asking his question.
"Was it a really C Rank Dungeon? If so, how did you survive?"
Grey answered the question, his voice hinting toward a disappointment in the man. "Yes, it was. We survived because I killed the boss."
Chatter began at this, causing Grey to facepalm. 'They don't learn, do they?'
"Quiet down. Raise your hand if you want to ask a question. I'd rather treat you like a child than have you rupture my eardrums." He spoke aloud, with gravitas and authority in his voice.
The journalists followed, and Aurora pointed to one of them. "You."
"What Rank is Grey Heart?"
Grey answered for her. "I'm a D Rank."
"..."
The mouths of each and every person below the dais went agape. A D Rank? 17 years old? Impossible!
They turned to the King, ready to protest. Why'd he bring a liar before them? Yet, he didn't react, neither at Grey nor the crowd.
'Is he telling the truth?' One thought. She raised her hand, getting pointed at by Grey.
"Can you verify the validity of this claim?" She asked.
Grey stilled for a second, accessing his hologram. "Yes, I can."
He tapped a circle at the top of the lectern, activating its hologram. A neon blue square appeared in the air, and a wave of Grey's hand made it change, connecting his bracelet to it.
The screen shifted, filling up with words. Grey mentally commanded his hologram to increase in size, causing the one floating in the air to do the same. Now, everyone in the room could read it.
//
-- Grey Heart (Human, 17)
-- [STR] Strength: (SS) E+
-- [AGI] Agility: (SS) E+
-- [STA] Stamina: (SS) E+
-- [INT] Intelligence: (SSS) SS+
-- [CHA] Charm: (SS) A
-- Attribute: Light, Poison
-- [EFF] Efficiency: 33.7% (SSS-) C-
-- [CAP] Capacity: 18,541 (SSS-) C+
- Rank Calculated: (SS+) D (Anomalous [INT] and [CHA] taken into consideration)
- Brackets: Age group, No Brackets: Overall
-- Confirmed Kills: FWa-Bear x1, EWi-Tiger x1, DL-Bear x1
//
"He is..."
"This is groundbreaking!"
"Monster."
A few whispers came out after seeing his stat card, but he ignored them. He had received a couple of looks in The Island too, but that was from jealous people. It wasn't his concern.
Many hands were raised, and Grey sighed. 'We're never going to get to the main point.'
---
2 and a half hours later, the crowd dispersed, and Grey was mentally drained.
'That was much more demanding than I expected. But, now Aurora and I get to hang out.'
Grey exited the auditorium alongside the others, meeting up with his parents just outside the room.
"How did it go?" Samantha asked.
"Eh, pretty good. Nothing I didn't expect." Grey replied. Whilst he didn't have a script, he was able to come up with good answers pretty quickly.
"That's good then." Lucas butted in. "The adults need to talk now, so go have fun."
He grabbed Grey and Aurora, hoisting them over his shoulders. "Come on."
"Whoa!"
"..."
Aurora was surprised that Lucas grabbed her like a sack of potatoes, looking over to Grey and mouthing 'What the hell?'
However, whilst Lucas hadn't done this before, Grey wasn't at all surprised. It was a Lucas-like thing to do. 'Don't worry.'
Lucas got into a running position and then sprinted at full speed.
The corridors passed in a blur, with Lucas expertly maneuvering his way through them,
In just 10 seconds, they had traveled through a third of the castle.
He skidded to a halt, dropping Grey on the floor and gently placing Aurora down.
'Ow.' Grey thought as he got off the floor.
"Here we are. Now, go have fun." Lucas dashed away, leaving the two to chat at the front gate.
Staring at his quickly disappearing figure, Aurora spoke up. "That's an S Rank for you. Fast."