The soldiers are gathering, it's noisy.
For the record, I'm just trying to get home. It's the soldiers who are making the noise.
The soldier thought it was a bad idea to draw his sword and stood blocking the corridor. A human barricade.
After a short conversation, which was not even a catch-phrase, a voice called out to me from behind.
"Count Hendler! Your audience is ready! Please come to the audience room!"
It was almost like a scream. It was butler-san.
"Please tell His Majesty that I am not in the best of moods today, and that we will have to call it a day."
"Huh?"
I'm not feeling well. Please tell His Majesty I'm leaving."
I think I'm really mean.
But I don't like the way you keep me apart from Ins and then turn to me when things get bad.
"Count Hendler, don't be so cruel."
Who is it now? Well, he's the first minister, isn't he?
I remember meeting you once when I became an earl, but I don't remember your name.
[Marquis Akramakan Bamil. Master]
[Oh, yeah, that's the name. Thank you, Ins.]
Thanks to Ins, I know the name of the first minister.
But that doesn't mean I'm cured!
"Bamil-sama, it's been a long time."
Yeah, it's been a while.
"It's been a long time since I've seen you, but I'm not feeling well, so I'm going back to the villa."
"Count Hendler, you know that's not going to work, don't you?"
He is a gray-haired old man, but his eyes are sharp. He's still active.
"But if you continue like this, you'll be behaving badly in front of His Majesty."
"I'll tell him that. Now, to the audience chamber!"
Now that the big guy's out, let's settle this once and for all.
We'll see what happens at the audience.
I followed the First Minister and arrived in front of the audience hall.
Behind a large door, the king and his nobles await, [[Search]].
Most of the nobles are hostile to me.
"Lethia wait here for me."
"Okay."
I'll make Lethia wait in the hallway and I'll go into the audience chamber alone.
Last time I came here when I was knighted, but what will be the outcome this time?
When I stopped at the place where the First Minister told me to stay, the First Minister went to the King's side and asked him something.
I think he's overhearing that I'm in a bad mood (really a bad mood).
The King nodded once and the First Minister moved to his position and looked at me.
"Your Majesty, it gives me great pleasure to see your face." "Your Majesty, it gives me great pleasure to see your face."
As a courtesy, I'd like to say hello.
"Count Hendler. You've come a long way."
I bowed my head lightly and stared at the red carpet in front of me, arguing in my mind that I had not come here because I wanted to.
"Your Majesty, may I ask you a question?"
Let's get this over with and get out of here.
"Hmm. First Minister, please explain."
"Yes. Then let me explain. A high-ranked demon has been spotted in one of the dungeons in King's Landing. We think this may be a sign of the stampede."
I know that. So tell me exactly what you want me to do.
"With all due respect, I cannot allow a stampede to occur in the royal city where His Majesty resides. Therefore, I order Grose Hendler to prevent a stampede in the dungeon."
The words were thrown at me as planned.
But I'm not going to just accept it.
"With all due respect, I'd like to confirm a few things, if that's all right."
"Forgive me, I beg you."
The King himself replied, not the First Minister.
"Thank you, sir. Now, let's get to the first question. I thought the dungeon was under the jurisdiction of the Adventurer's Guild, but what does the Adventurer's Guild do?"
Someone's getting more aggressive after hearing what I said.
As I mentioned earlier, most of the nobles here are enemy reds.
[That's Count Almond Surjain, Deputy Guildmaster of the Adventurers' Guild in King's Landing.]
The adventurer's guild in the capital is the headquarters of the kingdom of Delbarth, and the person in charge is called a guildmaster, not a branch chief.
There are three sub-guildmasters, and that blonde-haired, brown-eyed man before 40 is one of them.
The fact that he is a nobleman and a deputy guildmaster suggests that he is a link between the country and the adventurer's guild.
"The Adventurer's Guild has already sent several strike parties, but the results have not been encouraging."
The first minister replied.
"The Adventurer's Guild, experts in defeating demons, sent out a strike force and failed?"
A bit of sarcasm, and the Earl of Armond Surjain will grit his teeth.
If you can't hide that, you'll be a second-rate politician.
"Regrettably, that's correct."
Apparently, the First Minister will be handling my questions.
"So, what are the Knights of King's Landing doing?"
If there is a stampede or signs of one, the Lord's Army will act as backup for the Adventurer's Guild.
If it were a provincial army, the lord's army would move and the country's knights would rush in as reinforcements, but since this is the royal capital, the knights would move from the beginning.
That's why someone's been trying to kill me.
[Count Bernoulli Kashova, Commander of the Order.]
He is a middle-aged man with brown hair and brown eyes, wearing a big metal armor and wearing a sword near the king.
In general, he has a powerful face, but there is nothing to see in his abilities.
"This dungeon has been confirmed to be a grassland, but it is originally a cave type. In a cave, the Knights can't fight in groups, which is their forte. Therefore, the Knights are on standby."
Do you think I'm an idiot for waiting for that reason?
Just because it was originally a cave doesn't mean it's still one.
You know for a fact there's a confirmed prairie?
"Huh? If the Order isn't moving, why would they give me the order to take them down?"
These words caused an uproar in the audience hall.
They should not be questioning the order when the nobles think it is impolite to ask questions.
It's none of my business. If you want to play noble, you can do it where I'm not.
But their words have no weight.
"Quiet!"
When the first minister blackmailed the nobles to control them, the nobles stopped talking privately.
"Count Hendler, the reason is the same as I told you. I don't think the Order can defeat them effectively."
When the nobles stopped talking, the first minister spoke as if to remind them.
"I understand that the Order does not have the power to control the dungeon."
"You-sama! You insult the Order!"
The Knight Commander, who was incensed by my words, raised his voice.
"Insult? First Minister, wasn't what the First Minister just said about the Knights not being able to quell the possibility of a dungeon stampede?"
Who knows what the Order can't handle, so you're asking me to handle it?
"Just let him say it!"
"Stop!"
"Heh, Your Majesty... sorry."
The knight captain was stopped by the king, and he bit his teeth to endure the regret.
"Gosh. Count Hendler is right. I can't blame him for taking it that way. But the Order can't devote its strength only to dungeons. We don't want to use the Knights, the keystone of our national defense, for nothing."
After the Knight Commander had calmed down a little, the First Minister continued to speak.
Isn't it national security to contain the stampede? This guy sounds like a sophist.
"But why me? I'm not an adventurer, and I'm not a knight."
No, I'm not obligated to use combat power at the request or order of my country.
There are other noblemen who have the strength to fight, so you can't name me until later.
"I can't take it anymore! Are you still a nobleman of the kingdom? If you're a nobleman, it's only right that you stand up in the face of the crisis in the capital and defeat the demons in the dungeon!"
There were many nobles standing on both sides of me, and one of them on my right spoke up.
He is an aristocrat, muscular, with a grim beard, and a warrior-like man.
"That's right! If you're a royal noble, it's only natural that you stand up to the crisis in King's Landing!"
The first minister couldn't hold back his voice. Yeah, that's what I've been waiting for.