Volume 10, Chapter 20 – Commendation Invitation?

“We will be arriving at Lord Schumann’s residence shortly. Please, honored guests, do not be overly surprised when you see Lord Schumann. If the guards deem any of your actions to be a threat to Lord Schumann, they may take impolite measures.”

After stepping down from the carriage, a civil official in a simple robe, surrounded by a crowd of Norta soldiers holding long spears, explained the situation to Yisi’s group.

When Yisi’s group of three undid the barrier at Cornelia’s Mansion and rejoined Camilla and the others waiting at the main gate, an envoy claiming to be appointed by Schumann, the city lord of Wilfred, approached Yisi. According to the envoy, his purpose in finding Yisi’s group was to present a commendation for Laxy’s heroic defense of the city yesterday. As for how he found them, even if the envoy didn’t say, Yisi could guess. He must have found the inn she rented last night. Based on the innkeeper’s explanation, he learned she would be going to the North District exchange to buy a house, and from the man minding the shop, he learned she was at this abandoned mansion.

Since it was a commendation and not a mandatory summons, the envoy showed no intention of forcibly taking Laxy away if she refused. Yisi thus left the decision to Laxy herself. Laxy, however, emphasized that she wasn’t the only one who defended the city yesterday and hoped the others who contributed could go as well. After the envoy inquired and agreed, Yisi’s group boarded the carriage to the residence and now found themselves in front of the city lord’s mansion.

Additionally, to prevent Edith and Refina from arriving at Cornelia’s Mansion and finding no one there, Yisi specifically asked Miss Solanya to wait at the mansion gate to pass on a message for her. As payment, Yisi gave Miss Solanya a silver coin. However, according to Miss Solanya, she had already earned a large commission fee just from being entrusted with recruiting maids, guards, and gardeners. Passing on a message for Yisi was a small matter that could be included as a bonus service, so she did not accept the silver coin.

Walking at the front of the group and following the civil official, Yisi asked curiously.

“May I ask what Lord Schumann plans to reward us with?”

“My apologies, I was not informed of the details either. I only know that Lord Schumann thinks very highly of your heroic deeds, honored guests. The ones the rebels attacked yesterday were the current Emperor of the Norta Empire, Gloria XVII. You all made a fine showing in front of His Majesty, earning Lord Schumann a great deal of face. Lord Schumann’s reward will certainly not be small.”

“Hoh.”

Yisi let out a small breath. It seemed she could look forward to the reward on Laxy’s behalf. For Laxy, as a God-Forged angel, helping humans was her duty, and being thanked by human superiors was an affirmation of her identity as an angel. Although Laxy hadn’t said a word in the carriage, maintaining her reserved angelic image, the slightly upturned corners of her mouth had long since betrayed her joyful heart.

“This place is different from the city lord residences I’ve seen before…” Mary said, looking around as she passed through the main gate and into the corridor. She frowned slightly, as if in thought. “Mmm… I know! It’s like Margaret!”

Mary probably meant that it felt more like a place where everyone worked together than a place to live, and Yisi felt the same way. The city lord’s mansion here was just a five-story building, separated by a low fence and possessing a modest courtyard. The building had neither magnificent reliefs nor the luxurious decorations of a noble’s estate. The corridors were filled with residents in ordinary clothes and busy staff. Compared to a city lord’s mansion, this place was more like a government office for handling residents’ affairs, lacking any function for the city lord’s pleasure.

Well, it made sense on second thought. A city administrator and a noble were two completely different concepts.

“Wait. Setting the rest of us aside, My Lord is the Hero who bears the future of the continent on her shoulders. You must not allow My Lord to kneel before Lord Schumann.”

Laxy’s dead-serious statement caused the civil official to slow his pace, his expression becoming complicated.

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“I’m afraid that won’t be possible.”

“Then please allow me to decline Lord Schumann’s invitation. Laxyphinia is My Lord’s servant, not a hero of the Norta Empire. I will not permit My Lord to bow and scrape for my sake.”

“But… besides Lord Schumann, there is another person in the room…”

Seeing the civil official’s pained and conflicted expression, Yisi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. For reasons similar to Laxy’s, she would feel bad if Laxy gave up the commendation because of her. Yisi took out the robes and staff symbolizing her status as a Cardinal from her storage.

“I recall that when we met His Majesty Adonis on the street earlier, there was a special rule that envoys from other countries and high-ranking nobles did not need to perform the kowtow. If I am a Cardinal of the Ymir Church, can my family and I be exempt from kneeling?”

The civil official’s eyes widened.

“A-A Cardinal? Er… Of course you can. But, as a Cardinal, why did you not inform us in advance?”

“I just wanted to come to Wilfred City to spend the cold winter, I had no other intentions. Deliberately notifying Lord Schumann would place too much emphasis on my status. I don’t like attracting attention.”

“I see. Honored guests, we have arrived.”

When the group arrived at a door that was clearly different from the others, the civil official stopped and gestured to the two guards standing watch——the Omniscient Map showed that both guards were level thirty.

A strange allocation of strength.

Even if Wilfred City was the Norta Empire’s most important coastal trade city, placing two level-thirty warriors to guard the city lord’s office was overly cautious. A level-thirty warrior, in the Hels Kingdom’s army, would at least be an officer commanding a thousand-man contingent. Yet here they were, acting as guards. It was too much of a waste.

Could there be someone of even higher status in the room?

When Yisi shifted her gaze to the Omniscient Map, her eyebrows rose involuntarily. Just as she had guessed, there was a character in the room with a much higher status than the city lord——General Carl, whose head she had shoved into the floor like planting a radish, and the supreme ruler of the entire Norta Empire, Adonis Eli Gloria.

She was surprised for an instant but quickly calmed down. Even if Adonis was in the room, there was nothing to fear. She was Yisi now, not Viel. Adonis wouldn’t connect Viel and Yisi. Besides, Viel’s encounter with Adonis had lasted less than half a minute; it was impossible for Adonis to have remembered Viel’s face.

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But why is Adonis in the room? A coincidence? Or have they found out that Camilla is the First Princess? But if it’s the latter, the envoy should have shown an attitude of welcoming the First Princess, not focused on Laxy.

No, I should think about this from another angle.

If Adonis wanted to seek power from an angel, then it would make sense. In the eyes of humans, angels are messengers of the gods. As the supreme ruler of a country, it’s very normal to want to meet an angel. If Adonis proposed a request to keep Laxy, she would just refuse on the grounds that Laxy already belonged to her, and that she herself was a Cardinal of the Ymir Church.

“Honored guests, I must ask once more, are you carrying any weapons? Before entering the room, please hand over any weapons to the guards for safekeeping. If any weapons are discovered on your person after entering, you will be treated as someone with ill intent.”

“We’re just meeting a city lord. Is all this caution necessary?”

Camilla frowned.

Yisi, who already knew the answer via the Omniscient Map, advised with a wry smile.

“Well, it’s just a commendation anyway. It’s fine to leave our weapons outside.”

Led by Yisi, everyone handed their weapons to the guards at the door for safekeeping. It was worth noting that Camilla did not hand over the Twilight of Eternal Frost. Tiffany, perhaps disliking the demand for her weapon, deliberately spat up a half-human-sized short staff from her throat. The sloshing sound of liquid from within her body gave the civil official a bad fright.

“L-Lady Cardinal, and this child here wearing the top hat, do you two not have any weapons?”

Yisi glanced at Tina and smiled at the civil official.

“No. If a Cardinal’s staff counts as a weapon, then I can hand it over to you.”

With that, Yisi made a motion to hand over the staff. The civil official, aghast, pushed the staff back to Yisi.

“No, no, that wasn’t my intention! A Cardinal’s staff doesn’t have magical effects; it doesn’t count as a weapon.”

It seems he took what I just said as sarcasm.

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Yisi didn’t know what to say. But since he didn’t press the issue with Tina, it was probably best not to deliberately explain the misunderstanding. Although Tina was interested in human culture, it didn’t mean she would tolerate humans indefinitely. As a Demon Lord born and raised in the demon world, Tina viewed humans as pets, like cats or dogs. Yisi could tease Tina because she was stronger than Tina, and Tina couldn’t do anything about it. If it were anyone else, the ending would likely be a puddle of flesh.

Once all preparations were complete, the civil official opened the room door and, with exceptional respect, made a “please enter” gesture.

“Then, honored guests, please come in.”

◇

Adonis, waiting in the adjacent room with her arms crossed, showed no expression on her handsome face. However, Carl, who was responsible for Adonis’s safety, could tell from her occasional pacing that Adonis was internally expectant.

With a click from the door, Adonis stopped pacing. Carl smiled, bowing his head to Adonis.

“Your Majesty, the angel has arrived.”

“Mm. Schumann is quite fast at finding people.”

This room was separated from Laxy’s group by only a single wall. Because the wall was inscribed with special magic, those inside could hear the voices outside, but those outside could not hear the voices inside. Therefore, even if Adonis and Carl spoke loudly, Laxy couldn’t detect anything amiss.

Adonis’s lips curved.

“I wonder what kind of surprise this angel will bring me.”

“If she is willing to serve Your Majesty, you will certainly be able to advance further in the study of smithing. The knowledge of divine-era magic, never before mastered by humans, will flourish in Your Majesty’s hands.”

“Carl, why have you also learned to flatter like those civil officials?”

Carl’s head bowed even lower.

“This subject only ever speaks facts.”

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“It’s precisely because you only speak facts that it makes one so happy, hehehe.”

As long as she grasped the knowledge of divine-era magic, the empire could manufacture magic airships on its own. Although the empire already possessed aerial combat power like the Griffin Knights, it was still far inferior to magic airships. It took at least five years of training for a Griffin Knight to go from learning basic combat skills to becoming a qualified warrior, and that didn’t even include the investment of raising a Griffin from chick to adult. Magic airships, on the other hand, completely outclassed Griffin Knights in this regard. They were simple to operate, and one could become proficient in piloting them in just half a year. Furthermore, unlike the three-person maximum capacity of a Griffin Knight, a magic airship could carry up to a hundred people.

Therefore, Adonis had always had an idea: load a large number of magic casters who hadn’t learned ‘Flight’ magic onto magic airships, then dispatch ten or more airships to an enemy fortress and conduct carpet bombing from above, thereby achieving the objective of destroying the enemy fortress. If the enemy dispatched ‘Flight’-capable magic casters or warriors like wyvern riders, her side could dispatch Griffin Knights to eliminate the threats to the magic airships.

Although this fantastical idea had received affirmation from a host of generals, including Carl, the plan had always been shelved. This was because the number of surviving magic airships was too small, and the empire lacked the ability to modify them——the current magic airships were slow and easily affected by wind, making them insufficient for combat. However, if she learned the knowledge of divine-era magic and added ‘Acceleration’ magic circles and the ‘Protection of Wind Evasion’ to the airships, these two defects could easily be remedied.

In Adonis’s view, the angel’s appearance was undoubtedly a blessing for the empire. Never mind making the angel belong to the empire—Adonis held no expectations in that regard—even just learning the knowledge of divine-era magic from the angel would be enough to greatly increase the empire’s strength. This was the reason Adonis was here.

I wonder if this angel can respond to my ideals.

Knock, knock.

Two consecutive knocks on the wall interrupted Adonis’s thoughts. Like someone who had received an oracle, Adonis’s whole body jolted, and Carl straightened up beside her.

“Your Majesty, Schumann has finished the commendation. It is time for your entrance.”

“I know. Let’s go out.”

“Yes.”

Adjusting her collar in a non-existent mirror, Adonis tried to make the anticipation on her face disappear, becoming as serious as possible. Once she was fully prepared, she stepped toward the partition door. Carl pushed it open, and she walked out.

Her gaze first fell on the angel, who had pure white wings, a tall stature, and an extremely strong presence. She nodded to the angel in acknowledgment, then looked at the others. Unlike her initial thought that only the angel would be present, there were five extra people in the room who were not part of the invitation. Before she could even get a good look, Adonis turned her head back to look at the city lord of Wilfred, Schumann, who was beside her.

Schumann, sensing Adonis’s confusion, hurriedly explained.

“Your Majesty, the angel was not the only one who participated in defending the city yesterday. Her companions were also involved. They are Yisi Enya, a Cardinal of the Ymir Church, and her family.”