Chapter 79

Ricardo and Antonio entered the city through the Second South Gate and headed for the Vizer Castle.

As the castle came into view, Antonio hesitated.

"Do I have to go in too?"

"Just pretend we're here to see the castle. I'll handle the report."

Upon arriving at the castle gate, Ricardo and his companions asked the gate guards to announce them to General Samuele.

"Please show us your identification."

Ricardo showed the guards the identification issued by the Magicians' Guild.

"A member of the Magicians' Guild, huh? The General is busy, so I doubt he will see you."

"Tell him it's about the bear-eating vulture."

"What... You came to report the whereabouts of the bear-eating vulture? Wait a moment."

After a short wait, the General himself appeared and led Ricardo and his companions into the castle.

As they walked, General Samuele asked,

"I was told you know the whereabouts of the bear-eating vulture. Where is it?"

"We took it down."

The General stumbled as if he had tripped.

"What did you say!?"

His loud voice drew the attention of people nearby.

"General, you're being too loud."

"Sorry, but do you have any proof?"

"We brought the carcass."

The General changed their destination to the training ground, where he wanted to inspect the bear-eating vulture's carcass.

The training ground was empty.

Ricardo took the bear-eating vulture's carcass out of his storage crystal.

"Wow, it's true."

The General asked if he could have the head to show the king.

The head, which had been burned by the "Sun Flame Bullet" and was no longer usable as a catalyst, was given to the General.

The slaying of the bear-eating vulture was reported to the king along with the head.

King Althibald nodded in satisfaction after confirming the head, which was larger than a horse's head.

Vittorio, the Chief Court Magician, who had been listening to the report alongside the king, showed a regretful expression, feeling that his prey had been taken away.

Having witnessed the threat of the bear-eating vulture with his own eyes, the king became interested in the magician who had slain it and wanted to invite him to the castle.

"I will summon the magician who killed it and reward him myself."

When Baron Alfredo tried to stop him,

"Please wait. According to precedent, a reward is sufficient. Besides... the magician seems to be on good terms with the Crown Prince."

King Althibald frowned.

"A friend of Gaius... Even so, I cannot withhold the reward."

Hearing that praising Ricardo would boost the Crown Prince's reputation, the king decided not to invite Ricardo to the castle but ordered the General to give him the reward.

"Understood."

General Samuele wondered why the king disliked the Crown Prince so much.

After the General left, the king, Baron Alfredo, and Vittorio continued their conversation.

"Your Majesty, I cannot accept that a single magician from the Magicians' Guild will receive all the glory."

Vittorio appealed to the king.

"What do you mean?"

"Only because our court magicians had already inflicted damage on the bear-eating vulture, a single magician was able to slay it."

King Althibald nodded.

"However, the one who killed it is from the Magicians' Guild, and that cannot be denied."

"That is true, but many court magicians and soldiers were also casualties in the effort to repel the bear-eating vulture. I ask that their honor be considered."

"What specifically do you propose?"

"Invite the families of the casualties to the castle and express our gratitude."

The king agreed.

At that moment, a servant arrived with news from Prince Aurelio.

"Your Majesty, Prince Aurelio has returned after slaying the boar-headed demon in Abate Village."

"Ah, wonderful."

The king expressed his joy. Seeing this, Vittorio suggested,

"Why not hold a triumphal parade to inform the citizens of the capital of this great deed?"

The king was pleased with this suggestion and ordered the preparations for the parade.

While the General was reporting to the king, Ricardo and his companions were walking out of the castle.

"Shouldn't we have gone to report to the king with the General?"

"I don't want to go to such a tense place."

Antonio sighed at Ricardo's honest answer.

"I think it's an honor."

The capital was gradually returning to its former state, and the city was regaining its vitality. However, the workshop district, which had suffered the most damage, was still in the process of rebuilding, and production activities were on hold.

About one-tenth of the people who worked in the workshop district had lost their jobs, and many had moved to the slums.

Only a few, like the weaver Jessica, had found new jobs.

That night, a magician visited the residence of Baron Alfredo, a close advisor to the king.

"The royal family's reputation did not decline as much as I had hoped."

Baron Alfredo told the magician Alberto, who was from the Melvis Duke's family.

"I thought the monster would cause more chaos."

"It was quickly taken down by a member of the Magicians' Guild."

Hearing this, Alberto showed interest.

"The magician who killed such a powerful monster. Who is he?"

Baron Alfredo's face turned sour as he spat out,

"A magician favored by the Crown Prince. His name is Ricardo, I believe."

Alberto recognized the name.

"Again, that boy. He's becoming a nuisance."

"I hope you're not thinking of eliminating that magician. He is a favorite of Gaius."

"I understand. If he dies in an unnatural way, the Crown Prince will investigate thoroughly."

"If you understand, that's good. But why did you use such an uncertain method as the bear-eating vulture? If your goal was to lower the royal family's reputation, there were other ways."

Baron Alfredo asked.

"That was to make the Duke of Apra decide to rebel. The royal family is not foolish; they must have sensed the Duke's intention to rebel, leaving him no choice but to join our side."

"Is that really so? The king did not seem to view the Duke of Apra as an enemy."

"The king may not have, but the Crown Prince certainly did."

Seeing Alberto's thin smile, Baron Alfredo felt fear for him and the Melvis Duke behind him.

Two days later, Prince Aurelio and his companions returned.

A large crowd gathered along the road from the North Gate to Vizer Castle to celebrate the prince's triumph.

Salvatore had the soldiers carry the boar-headed demon's carcass to display their achievement. The citizens were amazed by the ferocious face of the boar-headed demon and impressed by the skills of the prince and his companions.

Amidst the enthusiastic cheers, Prince Aurelio and his companions proceeded. Ricardo, Serge, Pamela, and Monta watched them.

The luxurious carriage carrying Prince Aurelio passed in front of Ricardo.

"Hey, Ricardo, you also killed a monster, right? Why aren't you walking with them?"

Pamela asked Ricardo.

"The type of monster I killed is different. Besides, the parade is for the prince and his subordinates."

"That person in the carriage is the prince, right?"

Serge's words made Ricardo nod.

"Monta, Anna wants to ride in the carriage."

Monta looked at the prince's carriage with sparkling eyes.

The king hoped that this triumphal parade would boost Prince Aurelio's reputation. He wanted to make Aurelio the new Crown Prince if Crown Prince Gaius made a mistake.

The king had an irreconcilable feeling towards the Crown Prince. Seeing the Crown Prince's face reminded him of his grandfather, King Germano.

King Germano was known as a wise ruler, but he had a fierce appearance like Crown Prince Gaius. He was strict with others and himself and was also strict with King Althibald's education.

If Althibald slacked off even a little in his studies, he would be scolded and had to beg for forgiveness. When Althibald's father and older brother died of an epidemic, King Germano lamented why his excellent eldest son had died instead of Althibald, which left Althibald in shock.

Althibald began to hate his grandfather and, when the elderly King Germano fell ill, forced him into retirement to succeed the throne.

Ricardo received his reward from General Samuele for slaying the bear-eating vulture.

However, Ricardo was more pleased to have obtained the materials from the bear-eating vulture. The feathers, claws, and bones of the bear-eating vulture could be used as wind catalysts. The feathers were grade three, and the claws were grade two, making them suitable for advanced magic.

High-grade wind catalysts were hard to come by, even with money, so Ricardo had not been able to start research on advanced wind magic.

Ricardo took the bear-eating vulture's carcass to Bernaldo for dissection.

The remaining meat was stored in the storage crystal.

The meat was delicious when grilled, but it had a slight, unique odor.

If not for that, it would have been top-quality meat, Ricardo thought regretfully.

After watching the triumphal parade, Ricardo and his companions headed to the restaurant where his mother worked.

A new restaurant had been completed. Named "Unius Restaurant," it was a two-story wooden building with a brick section. The entrance on the first floor had a traditional shop selling Chinese buns and shaved ice.

Although it was the end of summer, many people still came for the shaved ice, making the place lively. In the kitchen, Lavinia, who had been hired as a cook, was preparing cold noodles.

The restaurant only served cold noodles and shaved ice, but they were so popular that there was a long line.

The kitchen facilities were not yet complete, so they could not serve tempura or other dishes.

Incidentally, a sign reading "Cold Noodles Now Available" was posted on the wall, which Ricardo had put up because he felt it was lacking something.

Ricardo asked Lavinia in the kitchen about the bear-eating vulture's meat.

"Meat with a unique odor. The easiest way to get rid of the smell is to use spices."

"Using spices would make it edible, but spices are expensive."

Lavinia thought for a moment.

"Why not try smoking it?"

"Smoking, huh."

Ricardo decided to give it a try.

The next day, the smoked bear-eating vulture's meat, prepared by Lavinia, became a gourmet dish.

Of course, they couldn't finish all the bear-eating vulture's meat with just that, so Ricardo decided to make vulture jerky. He sliced the vulture meat thinly, marinated it in a mixture of salt, dried herbs, and honey, and let it sit for a day. Then, he rinsed it in running water to remove the salt and dried it, using fragrant wood chips for smoking.

The completed vulture jerky was praised by Lavinia as the perfect snack for ale.

"Ale, I'd like to try it."

Ricardo said, and Lavinia laughed.

"It's too early for you."

The housewives working at the restaurant, after tasting it, said it would sell well, so they mobilized nearby housewives to make a large amount of vulture jerky.

The vulture jerky, sold as a limited-time item, became popular and sold out quickly.

General Samuele, who received the vulture jerky from Ricardo, tried it himself and sent half to Crown Prince Gaius and the other half to King Althibald.

After tasting it, King Althibald asked the General,

"The jerky I received from you the other day was excellent. Where did you buy it?"

"It's a limited-time item from a shop that started selling shaved ice this summer."

"Oh, that shop. They sell more than just Chinese buns and shaved ice?"

"Yes, but unfortunately, it sold out quickly because it was a limited item."

"What, it's not available anymore?"

"Since it was made from hard-to-find ingredients, they can't make it without them."

"I see, that's a shame."

General Samuele refrained from saying, "If the court magicians had slain the bear-eating vulture, you could have eaten as much as you wanted," fearing retaliation from the Chief Court Magician.

Three years had passed since Intou Mirai arrived in this world and began living as Ricardo.

At first, he struggled just to survive, but as he gained more knowledge about this world, he began to find it strange.

First, the grains in this world. Wheat, barley, rye, and oats were the main crops. According to the historical knowledge Intou gained from books, the yield of wheat in the pre-scientific and pre-agricultural technology era should have been only a few times the amount planted.

However, the wheat in this world seemed to have been selectively bred, with a yield of about twenty times. The same was true for potatoes and vegetables, which had high yields, making Ricardo curious.

Then there were the existence of magic beasts. They seemed to originate in places called "magical realms" and spread outward.

The closer to a magical realm, the more magic beasts there were, and the farther away, the fewer there were. He had heard that towns far from magical realms did not need defensive walls.

However, the center of the Romanas Kingdom contained the magical realm of Crebres, which was one of the largest in the world.

The magical realms were shrouded in mystery, and there was even a research facility of extraterrestrial beings.

The more Ricardo learned, the more he realized he did not understand the world he lived in.

Chapter 3: The Capital Reconstruction Arc ends here.

Thank you for reading, and please look forward to the next chapter.