Chapter 51: To The Holy City

“Alfred!” the Princess jumps to her feet and yells my name as I walk through the door.

I fake startle.

“AH!” I yell back, “Princess, my apologies, I didn’t realize you were here..” I add while looking around the room.

The knight gives me a sideways glance and sighs. I’m not sure he bought my fake surprise.

Princess Sylvie crosses her arms and shoots daggers at me.

“I received the letter you left for the castle,” she says bluntly, “it’s preferable to appear and make reports in person, you know.”

I was trying to avoid an interrogation, but it turned into a house call..

“I’m very sorry, Princess, I heard there was a commotion at the royal castle and didn’t want to be a bother,” I reply.

“Well, there was, until the man you were sent to find came to help,” she says, her gaze still piercing.

“Right.. like I said in my letter, the old man had basically taken care of everything by the time I found him,” I say, “my only request was that he check on the capital if he felt up to it, and the next thing I knew, he disappeared, but it seems he listened,” I continue with a smile.

“Father still thinks a reward is in order, and my knight, Sir Joseph, would like to say a few words as well. Sir Joseph, if you’d please..” Princess Sylvie says and motions to the knight.

The knight faces me and bows his head deeply.

“Thank you, Sir Alfred,” he says while staring into the floor, “the man whose aid you secured saved my daughter’s life. As a father, you have my gratitude.”

“Aha, I really didn’t do much,” I say with a nervous chuckle, “but you’re very welcome for what little I did.”

The Princess unfolds her arms and claps her hands together.

“With that settled, is there something you would like from the royal family? Perhaps we could fund some of your inventions?” she asks with a charming smile.

Balls, Mother really screwed me. But I do need something.

“Now that you mention it, Princess.. the land in the northwest that’s rocky and unable to be farmed – is all of it considered Marquis Duren’s territory?” I ask.

The Princess cocks her head.

“I’m not sure, but I can check.. why do you ask?” the Princess questions me with a squint.

“Experimentation comes before invention, and I need a patch of warm rocky land to test something,” I reply, “ideally, I’d like to own a large plot that I could connect to Marquis Duren’s territory with a road, but any rocky land near the northern coast would do.”

“What an odd request, it’s likely doable since the land isn’t in high demand.. Marquis Duren would probably give you a piece of his territory if we asked, especially if you’ll be funding the construction of a road..” Princess Sylvie says, “but you understand it’s been impossible to grow anything there for as long as this Kingdom has existed?” she asks.

“I understand, and if it’s too difficult a request to accommodate, please forget I asked,” I say with a bow.

“I’ll leave a letter for Father, and we’ll have a response by the time the academy reopens..” the Princess hums with a hand to her cheek while thinking.

The knight is just as lost in thought, probably wondering what use I would have for that area.

“If that’s all, Princess, I need to pack for a trip I’m taking,” I say to pull my uninvited guests back into the present.

“Oh yes, I plan to accompany you back home. Liara sent a letter and said she’s been hunting with your brother Oliver – I thought it’d be lovely to visit your Father’s territory while friends are around,” Princess Sylvie says excitedly.

“Is that so.. my apologies, Princess, but I won’t be heading home until summer break. I booked a trip to the northern continent already, you see..” I say while scratching my cheek.

Please don’t fuck this up, Princess.. I’ve been waiting to do this for years.

The excitement drains from Princess Sylvie’s face as she watches me.

“Oh? Didn’t you promise to return home when your business was finished in the capital?” she asks suspiciously.

“I said I would return home if I was able, but the opportunity for this trip fell into my lap, and I couldn’t refuse it,” I answer solemnly (I’m bullshitting).

“Hmm, and what do you plan to see in the northern continent?” the Princess asks.

“There’s a red fruit that blooms as soon as the weather warms in the northern continent. I’d like to purchase some and try it in a few recipes,” I reply, again bullshit, but no one around here knows better.

This response seems to elevate the Princess’s mood as she cracks a wide smile.

“It can’t be helped then.. I’ll expect a dinner party to try something new when you return,” she says triumphantly.

Damn..

“Of course, your highness, it would be an honor,” I say with my most adult voice and bow.

The Princess and her knight leave, allowing me to flop onto my bed.

Belly flopping onto a soft mattress is a delight, and it stimulates my mind. The uncontrolled movement followed by a soft duck feather embrace is incredible. But I can’t stay like this long, I said I wouldn’t visit the monster continent for an exploration until the summer. And I won’t be going back on that – but it’s different if I go as a means to investigate the church that ran experiments on Victoria.

The adventurers in the Holy City go there as a rite of passage into the church’s ranks. I’ll tag along with a group and get some information out of them, if I happen to explore a bit and fight some wicked monsters, then so be it. It’s for a friend. A friend with fluffy ears and a tail.

***
I arrive at the holy city that afternoon after a supersonic flight over the water. There are so many people wearing robes.. I get that it’s a holy city, but this looks like a big pajama party to me. It’s technically a city-state, but the quality of architecture and the number of goods in the market say all you need to know. This place is rich.

The eastern road into the Holy City is the widest and best-kept road I’ve seen in this world. It runs straight into the main church building at the center of the city, which puts most royal castles to shame. It’s pure white and several stories tall. If I didn’t know better, I’d say it was a Jesuit college building from my last life.

The further into the city you go, the more people you find in pajamas, but the adventurers’ guild is close to the church, so I can’t avoid it. The front of the guild has an archway and double swinging doors. It’s like a mini castle. I step in and find tens of tables packed with armor-clad adventurers and pajama-wearing worshippers. There are two floors, and the upper one looks just as packed. The left wall has a sort of restaurant and bar counter, while lines of receptionists sit behind glass to the right.

I walk up to the first available hot receptionist.

“Excuse me, Miss, I have some questions if you can spare a moment,” I say with a polite bow.

The girl behind the counter has red hair, blue eyes, and curves that could keep a gaggle of children well fed.

“Yessir, ask away,” she replies cheerfully.

“Are there any adventurers with plans to visit the monster continent? If so, I’d like to tag along,” I say.

“What’s your adventurer rank?” she asks while grabbing a pen.

“I’m not an adventurer, Miss, just a swordsman who’s looking to test his blade,” I reply.

Her hand stops moving, and she looks up at me.

“I’m sorry, sir, but the guild requires the rank of A or higher to participate in sanctioned monster continent trips,” she says firmly.

“I see.. and there’s no way around that?” I ask.

She hums with a hand to her cheek before a light flashes in her eyes.

“Parties are allowed carriers who don’t have to fit into the rank requirements, but we’ve been considering changing that rule since carriers don’t often return..” she answers, trailing off at the end.

Hmm, I could carry bags and interrogate whoever chucks magic from the back lines. Maybe everyone will be in trouble and need help, and I can whip my sword out to save the day. It sounds kinda fun…

“I’d be happy to carry bags for a group,” I reply with a beaming smile.

The girl raises her eyebrows at me for a moment before sighing and moving her pen again.

“Right, can I have your name?” she asks.

“Sio,” I answer.

“Sio, unusual name.. let’s see..” she mumbles while thumbing through a stack of papers, “there’s a party who lost their last carrier looking to leave as soon as possible.. but they’re a rowdy bunch..” the girl says with a crooked smile.

“Rowdy is fine, are they here?” I ask and look around the room. Everyone here seems rowdy for a holy city..

The receptionist leans forward and scans the room before turning around and walking out of the reception area. She moves to a vantage point that lets her look upstairs before waving at me to follow her. I follow her to the second floor, where she stops in front of a large table with five adventurers sitting at it.

“Good afternoon,” she says politely, “I’ve found someone willing to be a carrier for your trip, please meet Sio,” she adds and motions to me.

“Hi everyone, it’s a pleasure,” I say with a small bow, then look around the table.

Three guys in the middle with girls on either end, and everyone looks young? The girl on the right looks like she’s twelve. The guy in the middle has sick spiky red and black hair, though. The guys on either side of spikey have buzz cuts and enough armor on to give them heat exhaustion, but the girl on the left looks like a succubus. Dark hair, wide brim hat obscuring her face, and enough skin showing that I’m actually worried she’s going to catch a cold. She definitely has a stripper name, but what a group.

Spikey stands up to talk first.

“I’m Mike, but everyone just calls me Spike,” he says (nailed it), “we’re the orphan crew,” he adds with a smirk.

Orphan crew? So, they all have abandonment issues.. that explains how the succubus is dressed at least.

The child on the right stands up next.

“My name is Seira,” she says politely, “to my right are Jack, Spike, Norman, and Celeste,” she adds, and motions to everyone in the party.

Stripper name.. god I’m good.

“Thank you for giving everyone’s names, Miss Seira,” I reply, “when would everyone like to depart?” I ask.

Jack and Norman turn to Spike, who is shooting me daggers.

“I’m not sure you understand, no one is going to be upset if we don’t come back.. do you have people that would miss you?” he asks.

“Hmm yea at least ten, maybe more..” I reply while thinking about who would be sad if I never went back to Sante.

“Then do something else,” Spike says while making a shooing motion with his hand, “the monsters there are beyond imagination. The whole continent is fangs, claws, guts, and blood – that’s your guts and blood by the way,” he adds with a serious look.

“Nah, I’ll be fine, I’m pretty good with a sword,” I say cheerfully. I’ll kill him with kindness.

Spike slams his hands on the table and lowers his head.

“You really don’t understand. Our last carrier didn’t last a day, and our trip was cut short when half of us were injured,” he says, then looks to Seira with a grimace. She tucks her chin and looks down.

“I don’t know if everyone will make it back, but I will, so you shouldn’t worry,” I say, “anyway, when do we leave?” I ask again.

Spike looks at me with an unreadable expression.

“AHAHAH, he’s funny, he’s definitely going to die, but he’s funny.” Spike chuckles and slaps his knee, “We’ll head out tomorrow morning, meet here at first light,” he says.

I bow to the table and head for the shops. Clothing stores carry the local pajamas, so I grab a few sets for myself and Victoria before finding a line of crop stalls. I passed over most of the fruits and vegetables I didn’t recognize when I was last here, but this time I’m stocking up. There’s the prickly green fruit, a striped orange, and something like a cantaloupe. I buy some of each and toss them in storage, then head out of town to set up my house.