Chapter 74: Into The Imperial Capital Again

In the imperial capital of Siafran, the city of Saiverr, a pair of young adolescents is in a luxurious hotel in the affluent section of the city in the afternoon. They spent the morning strolling the city to get more familiar with it, as they would spend a lot of time here.

After deciding to become adventurers for a few reasons, Azrael and Alina are going to meet up with Carlene Helena van Sinclair, a ruling viscountess of the Siafran Empire, to announce that he decided to become an adventurer.

Azrael and Alina are sitting on a couch in the living space of the hotel room, which has been paid for by Carlene beforehand. Since they are in the exclusive area of the city, the pair is equipped in their formal attire to fit it.

While waiting for the other party to arrive, Azrael and Alina have been enjoying the premium drinks served on the table. There are high-quality teas and a bottle of distilled beverage, and they even have refined sugar, which is a rare item in Western Revoria and has to be imported from the Kingdom of Dinral.

Creak.

After waiting for what seems to be half an hour, the door swings open. From there, Azrael and Alina see Carlene walk into the hotel suite clad in her typical aristocratic attire, unlike the white gown they remember she wore a few days ago.

And unlike before, Carlene brings a female servant and a male guard with her. Azrael and Alina briefly stare at each other and immediately recognize that this is a formal meeting before they stand up in unison to give respect to the noblewoman.

"Oh my, it looks like we are late," Carlene greets.

"We did not wait that long, Lady Sinclair." Azrael addresses her with her family name as he and Alina take an elegant bow before her. "It’s an honor to us to meet you. We are terribly grateful for granting us an audience."

Formality is not a strong suit of Azrael even in his previous life, but Alina taught him the basics, and he just manages to pull off a decent greeting to a person of nobility. He has to give credits to his awakened ability to suppress unnecessary emotions like nervousness or awkwardness.

"It’s also nice meeting you, too, Sir Azrael." Carlene then bobs her head once. "Let’s get straight to the point. I have read that you have decided to become an adventurer here in the empire. How about we take our seats to discuss the details?"

◆◇◆

In the room, several minutes after the meeting starts, Carlene is sitting across from Azrael and Alina with her servant standing behind her couch. The guard is standing by outside to guard the vicinity. The room has been secured with Carlene’s magic so that no one can hear anything from outside.

"But are you sure you are going to go with that face?" Holding her cup of tea, Carlene suddenly asks Azrael. "Oh, don’t take it like I find it unsightly."

"To be honest, I am stuck with using this body," Azrael casually replies. "I am so used to it that I cannot change to another identity. Besides, I have done so many things wearing this face that makes it difficult to change or go back."

When Azrael says the latter sentence, he turns his head to Alina by his side. Since he has entered into a romantic relationship with Alina with his current face, changing his appearance would make him feel like he is cheating on himself. He is uncomfortable with that.

"I see." It does not take long for Carlene to figure out what he meant by that. "If you are comfortable with that, I don’t pry into it further. Nevertheless, are you certain that a place to stay is all you need? You know well that the empire would love to provide you with more necessities."

"I actually don’t like being too indebted to the empire. That is why I avoid receiving any sort of monetary assistance. A room in an inn is enough for the two of us."

"If you insist..."

Earlier, Carlene offered Azrael a few gold coins as an allowance to start their adventurer lives in the imperial capital. But Azrael respectfully refused it for the reason that he internally felt like the empire was pushing favors into him, subtly persuading him to fully side with the empire.

Azrael sees it as if the empire were desperate, especially when the threat of a much more powerful force is just around the corner. They need something or someone to even or break the tide of a potential war.

But he mainly thinks that it is more from Carlene than the emperor or the empire themselves. It is possible that the empire does not allocate funds for the monetary assistance, and it mostly comes from the pockets of Carlene.

Not making her empty-handed, Azrael just asked for a space to stay and a portion of the rent. He was fine with a shabby inn room. Other than that, Azrael asked for how things work in the adventurer association. Carlene flashed a smirk before she explained the basics of adventuring such as quests, rewards, and rankings.

"That is all the things you need to know not only in the association but also in the internal affairs of the empire. There is more to it. If you have questions, please don’t hesitate to send me a notice at my estate in this city."

"I understand. I greatly appreciate your help, Lady Sinclair." Azrael and Alina lower their heads for a few seconds before Carlene stands up from her seat and exits the hotel suite with her servant.

Afterwards, Azrael and Alina leave the hotel and walk their way to the inn that Carlene recommended before they go to the Adventurer’s Association building.

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Equipped in their battle gear, Azrael and Alina enter the Adventurer’s Association building located in the middle walls of the imperial capital. The establishment is massive and contains multiple floors, reflecting how much economic value the association has contributed to the empire.

The moment they step in, the pair is amazed by how spacious the lobby is, which takes up two of the three floors of the building. The loud voices of adventurers filled the establishment, and some are even drinking midday. Azrael feels like he is in a pub.

Due to the number of people inside, almost no one bats an eye on them as they walk toward one of the receptionists across the lobby since they are used to seeing new faces every day. The ones who take a look at them mostly just to admire Alina’s beauty. A few of them are thinking why such a fine and delicate woman is an adventurer.

"I have never seen you before; are you new here?" The female receptionist says as soon as Azrael and Alina stop before her counter.

"Much like that, we have yet to adopt in this city," Azrael replies as he takes out a piece of envelope under his light leather armor. "Also, I would like you to deliver this letter to the director."

Azrael then hands the sealed envelope to the receptionist, to which she gracefully accepts. But the moment she lays her eyes on what the insignia is stamped on the red wax, she instantly tenses up and widens her eyes for a brief moment.

When she professionally regains her composure, she looks at them before she takes a deep bow and says, "Please wait for a moment," before she storms to the second floor.

"I knew something was up when she gave me that letter."

"Well, it has the insignia of the imperial family after all," Alina reveals with a low voice.

"Really? That was a surprise. No wonder she was in a hurry."

Azrael has suspected that Carlene was up to something when she gave that envelope to him earlier. He thought that it was just a recommendation letter, but it turned out to be something more than it seems.

He indeed asked Carlene to lessen their hassle in the registrations. He has no idea what the contents of the letter are, but he fears that Carlene might have gone overboard by using the imperial symbol to remind the association how big of a deal he is.

Because of how the receptionist handled the situation, no one seems to notice what is going on. A minute or two later, the receptionist finally comes back to her post with a troubled face.

"I deeply apologize for keeping you waiting, Sir. The director of the Adventurer’s Association wants to see the two of you in his office."