After receiving jii-chan's errand, I quickly prepared and headed to the royal capital.
Upon arrival, I immediately set about the clan-assigned business, moving to secure an appointment with our sponsor for negotiations.
This time's negotiation partner is a noble.
Not someone you can meet easily.
We'd already informed them in advance that a visit was planned soon, so the earliest meeting would be tomorrow or the day after. —Or so I thought, but they wanted to meet right away, and the discussion with the sponsor began smoothly.
"Well, well—I never expected Orun-kun himself to come."
In a certain room within the royal castle, seated across a desk from me, a middle-aged man spoke in a friendly tone with a smile.
He is Count Bowell.
One of the sponsors I visited last month, and since his younger brother is the commander of the Central Army's Second Division, he wields considerable influence over the Central Army.
My coming here was largely coincidental, but he seems to have misunderstood, and there's no need to correct him.
"...Our clan takes this incident very seriously as well. We won't take the field, but we won't hold back on cooperation."
"So you still won't join the battlefield. Having your help—the one who repelled the empire's [Hero]—would have been reassuring."
"Yes. I'm sorry. The situation in Reglif territory involved various overlapping factors that led me to participate, but I have no intention of directly involving myself in war."
"No, it's understandable. Besides, relying entirely on explorers even in times like these would call our nobles' very existence into question. This is a fight we should lead from the front."
Count Bowell's eyes were sharp, carrying the weight of resolve.
The coming war is, for this country, a battle to avenge their king.
The enemy—the empire—surpasses the kingdom in both territory and national strength.
With the possibility of their [Hero] taking the field, even a generous estimate puts the kingdom's chances of victory low.
Even so, the kingdom will fight.
It could be seen as reckless bravery, but I can't bring myself to deny it.
I don't want to think about it, but if my comrades were unjustly killed, I'd probably act similarly.
That said, with the kingdom's low odds of victory, we should prepare now for what happens if they lose.
"—Now then, let's get to business. Our Second Division's requests are as stated in the document. We'd like priority supply of the magic stones and labyrinth materials you obtain."
Count Bowell voiced his demands.
As he said, these were the terms already presented in writing beforehand.
For reference, the Central Army—royal forces—consists of four divisions plus the royal guard protecting the royal family.
Each division has defined roles; the Second Division's primary duty is repelling foreign threats, earning them the nickname "Spear of the Royal House."
That said, with no major deployments in decades, some say that spear has rusted.
...Anyway, back on topic.
"Yes. Prioritizing supply to you is no issue. However, for payment, we'd like rates to follow the standard pricing."
I responded with the terms we'd already decided within the clan.
The value of magic stones and labyrinth materials fluctuates depending on the time.
Magic stones remain relatively stable, but labyrinth materials can skyrocket in value if a previously worthless item suddenly becomes key to a newly developed useful magical tool.
To prevent economic chaos from such shifts, magic stones and labyrinth materials have set "price rates."
They don't fluctuate drastically, but determining those rates is one of the Explorers' Guild's duties, updated periodically.
The details get complicated, so I'll skip them—but essentially, labyrinth material prices aren't fixed.
"Yes, no objections here."
"Thank you. Then next—"
From there, we hammered out basics for future dealings: transport routes, delivery frequency, and so on.
Once the discussion wrapped, a clerk beside Count Bowell handed over a contract transcribing what we'd agreed.
I reviewed every clause, confirming nothing disadvantaged us.
The terms ended up slightly better than the clan's hoped-for conditions, so the exploration management and procurement departments shouldn't complain.
"No issues with this content."
"Yes, none here either. Then let's make it official."
"Understood."
After mutual confirmation, we each signed and sealed the contract.
"Contract complete. I must say, I didn't expect Orun-kun to be such a skilled negotiator. I thought as an explorer you'd push for more favorable terms for your side. I feel like I caught a glimpse of why "Golden Dawnlight" managed to navigate so well despite being a party."
"You're too kind. If Your Excellency had truly pressed, I'd have had no choice but to concede."
This negotiation's outcome was already somewhat predetermined.
That's why I could handle it.
If it had been something that could sway the clan's future direction, no matter what I said, they wouldn't have deferred to me.
"Hahaha! No such thing. The talk wrapped up nicely, so normally I'd invite you to dinner, but I'm sorry—my schedule is packed for a while."
"Not at all. Sorry for dropping in so suddenly. I look forward to your continued support."
"Yes. Likewise, please take care of us."
◇
After finishing negotiations with Count Bowell, I obtained entry permission and browsed random books in the Royal Library while waiting for someone.
Hearing approaching footsteps, I closed the book and turned toward the sound.
"Orun-kun, it's been a while."
There stood Abel Edington—the person I'd been waiting for.
As the eldest son of Count Edington—the major sponsor of "Silver Moon Rabbit of the Night Sky"—I'd talked with him quite a bit during the labyrinth survey in Reglif territory, bonding over our shared love of books.
"It's been a while, Abel-sama."
"...Thank you for coming. Straight to the point—I'd like to change locations. Is that all right?"
The reason I'd wanted to come to the capital was to meet Abel.
Some time after repelling the empire's invasion in Reglif territory, he'd apparently returned to the capital.
I'd learned that from a letter he sent—thanking me for that incident, plus wanting to discuss newly learned information about labyrinths and great labyrinths, asking me to come to the capital when I had time.
"Yes. No problem."
Led by Abel, I arrived at the Edington family estate in the capital and was shown straight to his private room.
It wasn't as book-filled as his room in Reglif territory, but still quite a collection lined the shelves.
"Once again—thank you, Orun-kun, for protecting Reglif territory from the empire's invasion. Thanks to you, damage within the territory was kept to a minimum. And I'm sorry for forcing you into battle."
Abel bowed deeply while offering his thanks.
He's right—on the surface, the labyrinth survey was the pretext for calling me to Reglif territory, but the real reason was anticipating the empire's invasion.
He'd even put my comrades in danger.
From my perspective, what they did was unforgivable.
But that's just my viewpoint—ultimately, a matter of my emotions.
To me, it was utterly unjust, but I can understand their actions.
They were simply desperate to protect their territory.
"It's already over. No real damage came to us, so it's fine now."
"...Thank you."
"So, what would you like to discuss today?"
I didn't want the mood to stay heavy, so I asked Abel in as bright a tone as I could manage.
Receiving my question, Abel gave a troubled smile and spoke.
"Yeah... I really wanted to talk about the sanctuary—the great labyrinth—but the recent incident changed things. I need to return to Reglif territory soon. Sorry for calling you all this way."
I'd received his letter last month.
At that time, no one could have predicted the current situation.
"...I see. Sorry for intruding when you're so busy."
"No, no! I'm the one who summoned you, so don't worry about that. If anything, I'm sorry. "Silver Moon Rabbit of the Night Sky" will be busy too. Haha... I'm always causing you trouble..."
"Don't worry about me. I happened to have other business bringing me to the capital anyway. Even without your letter, I'd have come."
"I see. That's a relief. But sending you off empty-handed would trouble my conscience, so I'll share some information not yet public. Though it probably won't stay secret long."
The king's death alone is major news—there's more?
I urged Abel with my eyes to continue.
Receiving my gaze, he nodded once.
"The content is that reports of magical beast overflows have come in from multiple labyrinths within the kingdom."
"From labyrinths inside the kingdom...!?"
"...Yeah. It feels like someone intentionally timed it with His Majesty's assassination to weaken the kingdom's strength."
Magical beast overflows are rare.
Dozens of labyrinths are confirmed within the kingdom, yet overflows happen only a few times every few years domestically.
Abel's view is that labyrinths were artificially created.
Last year's Thanksgiving saw simultaneous overflows around Tsutorail, with Philly Carpenter highly suspected as the mastermind.
Now, overflows in multiple domestic labyrinths seemingly synchronized with the empire's atrocity.
Putting it together, it's impossible not to see—the shadow of the Cyclamen Order.
"...Thank you for the valuable information."
"You're welcome. I'm glad I could talk with you before returning to Reglif territory. This might be... the last chance."
He also shared rough movements of various influential noble factions we hadn't fully grasped.
Then Abel left the capital to return to Reglif territory.
Among those seeing him off—including me—his face as he said "Farewell, Orun-kun" with lowered brows and a smile left a strangely strong impression.
◇
Some time after night fully fell, I headed toward the apothecary's shop using the memo from jii-chan.
Main streets had magical tools emitting light at regular intervals, keeping them bright, but the downtown area felt less lively than I remembered.
Given the situation, it might be unavoidable, but seeing the kingdom's greatest city so subdued was lonely.
Lost in idle thoughts, I felt a gaze from behind.
(Not Titania the fairy. I'm not manipulating ki right now anyway.)
The gaze carried no particular hostility or malice, yet it made no effort to hide—leaving an uncomfortable feeling of constant scrutiny.
Even after turning into an alley with fewer people, the sensation persisted, so I turned into a darker side path. The instant I did, I negated gravity on myself with my ability, manipulated ki, and leaped straight to a rooftop.
Peeking slightly over the edge, I saw a small figure rush to where I'd just been.
Looking around, probably searching for me.
The person wore a black hooded cloak covering their head, hiding their face, but from height, likely a woman or child.
After a moment, the figure visibly slumped in disappointment, shoulders dropping, before trudging back toward the main street.
...What was that about?
Puzzled, I descended from the building discreetly and continued toward the apothecary's shop.