We brought Lanivia with us and followed Dex to the gate of the royal castle. Several soldiers stood guard, and Dex handed two sealed letters to one of them.
"I'm Dex, the Guild Master of the Adventurers' Guild. Please deliver these to His Majesty the King."
"Understood. Please wait here."
The soldier hurried through a small side door next to the main gate. When he returned, he brought with him a finely dressed man who looked rather important.
"I am Brand Edkara. His Majesty has ordered me to escort Adventurer Karen and Adventurer Lina."
Dex wasn't allowed to enter? Why? I pointed toward Dex and asked Brand:
"Just the two of us? What about the guild master?"
"No need to worry about me. You two go ahead."
Dex answered before Brand could. His face said he was delighted not to follow us inside. Just how suffocating was the atmosphere in there for Dex to look that relieved?
"Fine then."
At that moment, Brand extended a hand to stop Lina.
"My apologies, but pets may not enter."
A pet? Lanivia was our family! How dare he call her a pet? I stepped in front of Lina and addressed Brand firmly.
"She is not a pet. She's a dragon, and she's with us."
Brand immediately lowered his hand, placed his right hand over his left chest, and bowed slightly.
"My apologies. It was my oversight. Please, enter."
With Lanivia permitted, we followed Brand into the royal castle. The halls were vast and beautiful, and Lina and I exchanged silent looks of awe along the way.
Soon we were brought to a chamber filled with gathered nobles. At the far end, sitting on a finely crafted chair, was a silver-haired middle-aged man. The crown on his head made it obvious—this was the king.
The nobles around us stood in neat rows. Though they showed no hostility, their constant murmuring created an uncomfortable atmosphere.
Brand led us before the king and knelt.
"Your Majesty, I have brought them."
"You've done well, Edkara. You may stand aside."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Brand rose and stepped back into the crowd.
Then came the stare-off. The king looked at me, and I looked right back, waiting for him to speak first. One of the nobles snapped before he could.
"How dare you! In the presence of His Majesty, yet you do not kneel!"
"..."
Lina and I ignored him completely.
I had already instructed Lina: Stay quiet. Don't react to anything they say.
We didn't kneel because we intended from the very beginning to establish ourselves as people the country could neither recruit nor eliminate. Our first impression must make that clear.
That noble didn't matter.
Only the king's reaction did.
I kept my eyes locked on him, arms naturally folding over my chest as I waited.
The king raised his hand, silencing the noble, and finally spoke.
"I am Leon Edward Aimebisalon, King of Aimebisalon. You two must be Karen and Lina, correct?"
I briefly wondered about the middle name—is this real name of king?
Whatever, it wasn't like I'd be calling the king by name anyway.
"Yes."
"I have already read in the letter that you hunted down Samidoride. Could you allow me to see it with my own eyes?"
"Of course. But we should move to a larger area first."
I wasn't sure exactly how big this room was, but it definitely wasn't big enough for Samidoride. Also, the atmosphere was suffocating.
"The knight training grounds are spacious. Let us go there."
The king rose, leading us and the nobles outside to the training grounds. The area was about the size of two football field—large enough more Samidoride.
The knights who had been training quickly stopped and lined up after being ordered to do so by what seemed to be their captain.
But I noticed several knights staring at Lina. Her snow-white hair always drew attention, and inevitably, her beauty captivated them even more.
Once the knights stepped back, I walked to an open section of the field and took out Samidoride's body. The king, nobles, and knights gasped in shock.
King then sent someone to confirm its identity. While we waited, Lina and I stayed near the king. My hands felt empty, so I folded my arms again.
After a while, the scout returned, bowed, and reported:
"Your Majesty, it is indeed Samidoride."
"Good."
"Your Majesty, shall we begin disassembly?"
The knight commander asked the king, who turned to look at me as if seeking my permission—it made sense; the corpse belonged to me.
I nodded. Free help with disassembly? Of course I'd agree.
"Proceed."
The knight commander immediately ordered his knights to begin dismantling Samidoride. They moved slowly and nervously, terrified that anything might be damaged…
Or rather—completely inexperienced. Watching them was almost painful.
Watching the knights work, I could tell it was going to take a long time. So I pulled out the request form and spoke to the king.
"Your Majesty, while they're dismantling it, shall we discuss the reward?"
"Well. Let us return to the hall."
The king stood up again, but I gestured for him to wait and said,
"Right here is fine. No need to waste time."
"As the monarch of this nation, I must conduct the granting of rewards through formal procedure. Otherwise, I cannot answer to other countries."
I understood his reasoning. This was an important matter; of course he needed to give the reward formally—otherwise other nations would gossip.
But from the audience chamber to the knight training grounds, we had already spent more than ten minutes walking. Ten minutes! And now we'd need to walk another ten minutes back? Just how free was this king?!
Of course, I couldn't say that out loud, so I phrased it differently.
"It doesn't have to be inside. Doing it outside once in a while should be fine, right?"
What I meant was: no one said it must be done in that room. Any place should work.
Also, I didn't want to leave. I needed to keep an eye on the dismantling of the Samidoride, to prevent anyone from secretly taking materials away. To put it simply—I didn't trust them. Who knows what orders might be given once we're gone? They might declare the smidolid theirs.
I've already said I won't create any weapon or existence that could threaten me, especially not a Samidoride's magic core.
"You insolent wretch! What attitude is that toward His Majesty?! A mere commoner, daring to instruct the king!"
It was that noble again. Hm, textbook noble tone—truly a standard noble. And he wasn't wrong; pointing fingers at the king should normally get me punished or executed. But I wasn't afraid, and I continued ignoring him.
He kept insulting us, but I only watched the king, waiting for his decision. His judgment would tell me whether he was a conservative ruler or an open‑minded one.
And from what I knew, he leaned toward open‑minded—he even allowed commoners to attend school, saying it was for the sake of talent. A good mindset for a progressing nation.
After thinking for a moment, the king finally spoke.
"…No problem. We shall conduct it outside. Doing so occasionally is acceptable. Someone, bring ten white gold coins."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
As expected, the king wasn't the type to be chained by pointless formalities. My opinion of him rose. After ordering the coins, he looked back at us.
"Karen, Lina—state your wishes."
Finally. I'd been waiting for this moment since the first time we met. I took Lani from Lina's arms and presented my first wish.
"You've seen this little dragon. Her name is Lanivia Dokamir. Please recognize her as a citizen of this country."
This was crucial if Lani was to live in the capital. I didn't want people treating her as a pet. My goal was for Lani to be treated the same as us—a valued citizen.
"She is the child mentioned in the report—the one who lost her father, correct? But… is she not dangerous?"
A reasonable concern. Dragons are classified as monsters, so I needed to prove Lani was harmless.
"Lani is only fourteen days old. She poses no danger. And we will raise her properly. She's not like the wild dragons outside."
"That alone is no guarantee."
True. It didn't guarantee she would never cause trouble. And the king had no idea how we would raise her. If Lani harmed innocent people, we would bear responsibility—so I answered him.
"If she ever kills the truly innocent, then I will deal with her myself."
Damn it. All because of Samidoride—the pleasure it took in mindless killing made people assume Lani would inherit the same nature. It pained me to say such words.
After looking at Lani, the king made his decision.
"Well. From this moment onward, Lanivia Dokamir shall be a citizen of aimebisalon. No one is permitted to regard her with prejudice."
"Thank you very much."
Still holding lanivia, I bowed to the king. He continued.
"State your second wish."
"Please grant us a plot of empty land in the capital."
The king looked surprised.
"Empty land? You do not want a noble title? Why?"
Of course he expected me to ask for a title. But no thanks—that would mean working for the king. I was aiming for a simple, peaceful life. I wanted no part in political scheming.
"We prefer to live as commoners, so we need a house."
"If a house is what you want, why ask for empty land? I can give you the grandest mansion in the capital."
He could, but we didn't need a huge, extravagant place—it would be a nightmare to clean. And after spending so much time on level ninety‑something of the dungeon, my preferences had changed. So I answered him.
"Because I want to build it myself."
The house I planned would have electricity and needed to be built from the foundation up. Even if the king gave me a mansion prettier than the royal castle, I would tear it down and rebuild it.
"You can build a house?"
The king was stunned. To him, an adventurer knowing how to build houses must be strange. And yes, it was strange—but my brain held knowledge of modern construction.
"Of course."
"Someone, bring me a list of all empty land in the capital."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Seeing my confidence, the king simply waved his hand as though giving up and ordered someone to gather the available plots.
Our wishes were finished and approved. I turned back to look at the Samidoride's corpse. Its head, limbs, and tail had already been cut off. Next, they would begin extracting the magic stone—without causing any body parts to vanish.