Chapter 33

"However, Vendelin is amazing. The first time I had an audience with His Majesty was when I was in my forties, after defeating an old fire dragon."

"Um, what should I be careful about?"

Using the summer break at the Adventurer's Preparatory School, I was heading to the capital by magic airship to attend Ehrich's wedding, the brother I was closest to.

During the journey, Brantark, who declared himself our guardian, encountered an ancient dragon that had already reached the end of its lifespan and had become undead, leaving only bones and a magic stone.

Even though it was just bones, the sudden appearance of an ancient dragon and the fact that it had become undead despite having reached the end of its lifespan filled the ship with a heavy atmosphere.

Was that big dragon really an ancient dragon?

To begin with, can ancient dragons become undead?

Furthermore, would they come out of their usual territory into human territory?

After all, ancient dragons live for tens of thousands of years.

In recent years, they have been treated almost like mythical creatures due to the lack of sightings, but according to scholars who study them, ancient dragons definitely exist.

They are rarely seen because ancient dragons are a higher class than the attribute dragons that Brantark and others have defeated, almost like spirits.

They are so deep in their territories that humans simply can't find them.

"Even though they are half-spirit, they are aggressive and can become undead."

"I don't know all the details about them."

There were many questions, but since I couldn't run away from it forever, I cooperated with Brantark to successfully perform the rites for the ancient dragon.

The rites, in the end, were not much different from slaying or extermination, but since I used holy magic to purify and stop its activity, it would be considered a rite according to the church.

By using a large amount of magic power, I stopped the undead ancient dragon's activity, leaving behind only bones and a huge magic stone.

It's like a tiger leaving behind a magnificent skin, but the difference is that the things left behind are worth a fortune.

Materials from a dragon's body, even from a wyvern, a small species, are traded at a considerable price.

Especially, the materials from a large dragon called an attribute dragon, which Brantark defeated before, are so valuable that it is said that they are considered rare even if they appear in the market once every fifty years.

Blood, flesh, skin, bones, and a magic stone much larger than those of other monsters.

The materials from attribute dragons are so valuable that they are said to be traded at an astronomical price.

I was listening to Mr. Alterior's explanation in the carriage.

After being greeted by a knight at the magic airship port, I boarded the carriage prepared by the knights without even seeing Ehrich, who was supposed to pick me up, accompanied by Mr. Alterior.

By the way, Brantark had already left the port for some business, and El and the others were unfortunately left behind at the port with the soldiers to explain to Ehrich.

In any case, since El and the others, including me, were staying at Ehrich's house, we had to meet up with him no matter what.

"Especially, this time it's an ancient dragon that has no record in the past."

According to Mr. Alterior, ancient dragons do exist, but they live deep in the territory of monsters where people can't enter, so no one has actually seen them.

With a lifespan of tens of thousands of years, there was no one who knew that they died of old age or became undead after death.

"Then, how did you confirm that the bone dragon was an ancient dragon?"

"By the size of the skeleton and the magic stone."

The bone dragon was easily over fifty meters long.

Even a small wyvern grows to about five meters in length, and an attribute dragon is said to be about thirty meters at most.

Therefore, it was difficult to explain the existence of the bone dragon without considering it an ancient dragon.

"So, His Majesty wants to have an audience with me, who obtained such a rare ancient dragon's bones and magic stone?"

"Isn't that a bit too humble?"

"What does a minor noble's eighth son have to offer?"

"It's not about expectations or anything like that."

My thoughts about the king were only to that extent.

It was a similar feeling to how I thought about the royal family in my previous life. I had no anti-government sentiments, no resentment or desire to overthrow, but I didn't fervently worship or support them either.

I was from a remote area in the south and had no connection with the royal family, so I had no real sense of the fact that I was going to have an audience.

The most accurate answer would be that the king was too far above me.

I was so nervous about meeting him that I thought it would be better if I never met him in my life.

"I think my father only had an audience when he inherited the title."

The ceremony for the change of the head of the house is a rule that even the smallest noble must have an audience with the king in the capital.

So, my father must have met the king once, but in reality, it was only that one time.

It was unlikely that the king remembered one of the many minor knights.

Minor nobles living in remote areas like my father rarely have the opportunity to go to the capital, and as the king of a country, he is very busy, so even if they came, it wouldn't be easy to have an audience.

"However, is it really okay for a busy king to have an audience with a small fry like me?"

In my heart, I was hoping for a response like, "It's too busy, so it's okay not to meet."

"An audience with the king takes time to apply for. Even for me, it takes at least a week."

Even for a powerful merchant like Mr. Alterior, it takes a week to have an audience with the king. Could I really have an immediate audience?

My mind was gradually filled with anxiety.

"Don't worry. This audience was realized because the king himself wanted it."

The knight in luxurious armor who was guiding us to the castle began to explain the circumstances of the audience.

"Mr. Vendelin defeated a legendary ancient dragon. Next, he protected the valuable national asset, the magic airship, along with its passengers. Many of the passengers on that ship were from powerful noble families and merchants. Finally, he successfully obtained the ancient dragon's bones and the huge magic stone. The king has something he wants to ask Mr. Vendelin."

Since the king has something to ask, I can have an immediate audience.

The knight explaining the situation seemed to be in a position close to the king.

"So, Captain Warren of the Royal Guard came to pick us up personally."

"Indeed, his appearance and flawless movements show that he is a great person."

"Captain Warren is from a similar background as you. He is in this position solely because of his abilities."

Standing over 180 cm tall, with golden hair, blue eyes, and a handsome face, Captain Warren was born the third son of a minor noble family.

Hearing that he was a third son, I somehow felt a sense of familiarity.

In this world, there is a strict line drawn between the eldest son and the others.

"You know a lot about him, Mr. Alterior."

"Well, Warren is technically Brantark's disciple."

"Is that so?"

Not only my master, but also having a disciple in the Royal Guard, Brantark seemed to have a wide network.

"I can't use magic, but I have a lot of magic power thanks to Brantark's guidance."

I noticed that I had more magic power than an average person thanks to Brantark's guidance.

However, with this level of magic power, I could only cast a few fireballs a day before running out.

In battle, it could be a trump card, but it wasn't enough to be a decisive blow.

"Captain Warren can't use magic."

To be precise, he can't release phenomena created by magic power externally.

Instead, he uses his magic power to enhance his body and weapons, a talent as a magic knight, which led him to become a captain in the Royal Guard, according to Mr. Alterior.

There are a certain number of magic users who enhance their bodies and weapons with magic power, and their strength is overwhelming compared to those who have little magic power.

Those with little magic power can't split a large rock in two or shatter it into pieces with a mass-produced sword, no matter how much they train.

Well, even ordinary people in this world use a small amount of magic power unconsciously to enhance their physical abilities, so they are much stronger than ordinary people in my previous life.

"I learned how to control and conserve magic power from Master Brantark, and I am very grateful."

Indeed, that's why he doesn't take the arrogant attitude common among the nobility and their children.

He treats even a child like me with respect and is a captain in the Royal Guard, so he must be very popular with women.

No, it's better to say that he has the king's trust.

"Also, when I was a little older than Mr. Vendelin, I met Lord Alfred once."

At that time, Brantark introduced me, saying, "He's technically my disciple, but he has already surpassed me."

"From Lord Alfred, I felt something I couldn't imagine from his gentle appearance. That's what a top-notch magician is like."

Indeed, my master looks like a tall, handsome older brother, but he is a top-notch magician.

He is a typical example of "looks can be deceiving."

"However, I also feel a similar sensation from Mr. Vendelin. He looks like a young boy who is still growing and is deeply interested in the world."

"Of course, Vendelin has already surpassed Alfred in terms of raw magic power and maximum output."

He must have heard it from Brantark.

Mr. Alterior seemed to know my current strength.

"I see, that's why the king wants to meet you in person."

The carriage left the port and passed through the town, going through the lower town, the civilian district, the commercial district, the industrial district, and the noble district in that order.

As the capital of a country, the scale and the number of people were incomparable to Breichburg.

"We are about to arrive at the castle."

After about an hour in the carriage, we arrived at the castle.

"Big... It's a waste to compare it to my home, but it's much bigger than the castle of the Breichrader Margrave."

Looking up at the castle, we arrived at the main gate, but the gatekeepers let us through without checking our identities because of Captain Warren.

Inside the castle, soldiers, knights, nobles, and maids were walking around or working.

The castle was full of vitality.

However, I noticed that people were paying attention to us.

"The story of the ancient dragon's defeat has already spread throughout the capital. Moreover, one of the two who accomplished it is a twelve-year-old Mr. Vendelin."

As Captain Warren said, people were indeed paying attention to us.

It felt like being a panda at Ueno Zoo.

With Captain Warren leading the way, we walked through the castle for a while and finally arrived at a luxurious door.

This was the audience chamber.

"The king is a friendly person, so as long as you follow the basic etiquette, there should be no problem."

"I was asked by Brantark to give you this advice, but I'm not worried about Vendelin."

Just as Mr. Alterior said that, the luxurious door in front of us opened, and we could see a red carpet on the floor and a man sitting on a raised throne.

On both sides, there were several guards and a few high-ranking nobles.

"Mr. Vendelin von Benno Baumeister, who defeated the ancient dragon, and Mr. Alterior Marchen, the representative of Mr. Brantark Ringstadt, have arrived!"

As a person who seemed to be an official loudly announced our entrance, we approached the throne, about three meters away, guided by Captain Warren.

Captain Warren returned to the position of the guards, leaving only me and Mr. Alterior.

I was so nervous that I forgot what to do, but Mr. Alterior knelt and bowed, so I followed his lead.

"It must have been a sudden call. You may raise your head."

When the king said that, I raised my head and saw a middle-aged man with a noble appearance, looking to be in his forties, smiling.

Indeed, the royal family seems to have many handsome men and beautiful women.

The king must have been very popular with women when he was young.

I might be saying this because I'm not popular with women.

In short, handsome men are the enemy.

Except for Ehrich, of course.

"Let me introduce myself again. I am King Helmut the Thirty-Seventh of the Helmut Kingdom."

"My name is Vendelin von Benno Baumeister."

"Hmm, you really are young. How old are you?"

"Yes, I am twelve years old."

And so, my audience with the king began.