Chapter 738 ·The One Sung About

Chapter 0738 The One Sung About

Translator: Jay_Forestieri

Editor: Tseirp

“That poor captain. He was stiff as a board, wasn’t he? All because of Abel’s pressure interview.”

“What the hell is a pressure interview?”

Watching the patrol ship running ahead of the Skidbladnir from the deck, Ryo gave the poor man a sympathetic look while Abel shrugged.

“During his conversation with Abel, he was sweating terribly, you know? That isn’t normal.”

“Don’t ask me. I didn’t say anything particularly special.”

“Didn’t you put some kind of frightening pressure on him?”

“Something like Ryo’s ‘pressure’? It wasn’t showing at all, was it?”

“Pinpoint pressure that only works on the person you target...”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

Paulina happened to be passing by while Ryo and Abel were talking.

“Those people also knew the ‘Song of the Liberation War of the Kingdom of Knightley,’ so it seems they were surprised when His Majesty, who is sung of in it, appeared.”

“A song?”

“The royal capital has fallen. It has fallen into the hands of the King’s brother and the Empire. The people’s lament covers the skies of the kingdom...”

“Huh? How do you know that song?”

Paulina hummed the tune, and Ryo was astonished.

That song was supposed to have spread through the Eastern Countries...

“We heard it when it spread through the Western Countries, but recently, it has also been spreading through the Dark Continent.”

“Before... a year ago, when I was in the Western Countries, it hadn’t spread at all.”

“That’s right... The first time I heard it was in the Goslon Duchy, half a year ago. Now, many bards, including those on this Dark Continent, are traveling around singing it.”

“Even here, there are traces of bards...”

Ryo was astonished by Paulina’s report.

Abel silently shook his head slightly.

He had a look on his face as though he had given up on various things.

It had spread through the Eastern Countries.

Now it was spreading through the Western Countries and the Dark Continent as well.

Apparently, being famous was troublesome.

Paulina returned to work, leaving the two alone once again.

“So, Abel is one who is sung about.”

“It’s not just me. Back in the Eastern Countries, there was also the ‘Ballad of Duke Rondo,’ remember?”

“That was that. It should have been limited to the Eastern Countries.”

“...I don’t think that’s the case.”

Ryo voiced his wishful thinking, and Abel denied it.

“In any case, it’s good that it looks like we’ll be able to enter peacefully.”

“That much is certain.”

“Now I just hope it stays peaceful while we’re there...”

“I don’t know why, but when you say it, Ryo, I suddenly feel uneasy.”

“How rude! I’m a duke who loves peace!”

“I see. Ryo loves peace, but peace just doesn’t come looking for him.”

“What a thing to say...”

Ryo let out a small sigh and shook his head.

The Skidbladnir entered the port of Borne.

The sight soon spread throughout the city of Borne as a rumor.

“A ridiculously huge ship just came in!”

“The patrol ship was leading it, so some important person must be aboard.”

“I’ve never seen a ship shaped like that. It’s not a ship from this continent.”

“Is it from the Western Countries? Even so, you’ve never seen a ship like that, have you?”

“Let’s go see who gets off!”

Such conversations took place here and there, and by the time the Skidbladnir came to a stop inside the harbor, a crowd had already gathered at the port.

Amidst all this, a gangway was lowered from the ship.

Twenty knights came down and lined up at the foot of the gangway.

At that point, anticipation began to build within the crowd.

There was no doubt that some important person was going to come down.

And so, the person who descended was...

A single man.

His clothes, primarily red and white, were neither particularly flashy nor gaudy.

Yet even from a distance, it was clear that they were well tailored and stylish.

The man himself also...

“Ohh...”

“He’s quite dashing... but who is he?”

“He must be royalty from somewhere.”

“A prince from the Western Countries?”

Without anyone having to explain, there was an air about him that made it obvious at a glance that he was royalty.

The murmuring spread.

“Abel, you are the center of attention.”

“A crowd had gathered before I knew it.”

Ryo and Abel were ‘walking’ toward the lord’s residence.

That’s right, neither by carriage nor on horseback, but on foot.

Of course, the Royal Knights serving as their escort were walking as well.

“Shouldn’t we at least have loaded a horse for Abel onto the Skidbladnir...?”

“You want to make that horse experience that storm?”

“...That would be cruel.”

“Whether I ride a horse or walk, my worth doesn’t change. If we had the room to spare as we do at home, I suppose there would be a need to ‘show’ it, but this is a foreign country. As long as they don’t look down on us, that’s all that matters.”

Abel had accepted the situation.

A king was someone who was always being watched.

That was true both at home and abroad.

Therefore, he could not afford to show an undignified appearance.

Even so, he did not think it was right to put a horse on a ship just for the sake of appearances.

A horse required space aboard the ship, food, care... and many other things.

“Well, surrounded by this many knights, no one is going to think little of you.”

“I agree with that.”

Both Ryo and Abel said this while looking at the Royal Knights walking around them.

As expected of the knights.

They were carrying out their work with perfect professionalism.

Their gazes reached beyond the Kingdom knights.

“The buildings... brick?”

“Looks like it. It’s completely different from the Central Countries and the Western Countries, and of course the Eastern Countries as well.”

There were many one-story buildings made of brick.

The city itself was quite lively, and there were many street stalls along the roads.

“Every now and then, something smells really good...”

“There are a lot of stalls selling grilled fish.”

“As expected of a port town.”

Abel and Ryo both loved delicious food.

So they also liked buying things to eat as they walked, but even they...

“In this situation, it’s impossible to buy something from a stall and eat it while we walk.”

“Yeah.”

Even Ryo understood that it was impossible, and naturally, Abel agreed.

However, appetite was one of the three great human desires.

To satisfy it, they had to overcome every possible obstacle...

“Why don’t we buy enough for everyone in the knight order and all eat while we walk to the lord’s residence...”

“Rejected.”

“We could demonstrate to the whole world that this is the style of the Kingdom of Knightley...”

“Rejected.”

“If such a group came along, the lord here would tremble in fear and comply with our demands...”

“Absolutely rejected.”

Every proposal from the Premier Duke was rejected by the king.

Once you rose to a high position, even buying food from street stalls became impossible.

How pitiful.

The patrol captain, Nau, had probably already sent word ahead.

When the group arrived at the lord’s residence, the master of the building came out to greet them in front of it.

“His Majesty King Abel, welcome. I am Chukudy, Lord of Borne.”

“Chukudy-dono, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I am Abel, King of the Kingdom of Knightley.”

Abel was shown into the conference room.

It was a spacious conference room, large enough for not only Ryo but also ten members of the Kingdom Knight Order to enter.

Chukudy had been considerate enough to allow them in because, when meeting the lord of a country he was visiting for the first time, in a foreign land, it would be understandable for the king to feel reluctant to have the knights guarding him leave his side.

“Chukudy-dono seems like a capable man.”

Ryo murmured.

The murmur was audible to Abel, who was sitting beside him, but Abel merely shook his head silently.

“When you mention the Kingdom of Knightley, your kingdom sent a delegation to the Van De Vie Theocracy in the Western Countries, right?”

“Yes, you are well informed.”

“That inauguration ceremony a year ago... our country also sent a delegation, including our chief.”

“I see.”

A year ago, it had been the inauguration ceremony of the One Hundredth Pope.

Ryo had also been there.

Abel had not... he had been on the battlefield against the Djinn Garwin.

A great many difficult things had happened to both of them...

“I heard that when the delegation from the Eastern Countries of the Dark Continent fell into danger in the arena, they were helped by people from the Kingdom of Knightley. On their behalf, allow me to express my gratitude.”

“Ah, please, think nothing of it.”

Chukudy bowed his head, while Abel nodded magnanimously.

Sitting properly beside Abel, Ryo nodded only in his heart.

After all, Ryo was one of the people who had helped them.

(I was transferred to the Central Countries through the mana of the ‘Coffin’ and Merlin-san’s power... But the three from ‘Room 10’ are probably still in the Theocracy even after all that, aren’t they?)

During the year that Ryo and Abel had been sent flying to the Eastern Countries, it seemed that a system had been established for exchanging information between the Western Countries and the Central Countries through the efforts of Marquis Alexis Heinlein, the Prime Minister, and the genius alchemist Viscount Kenneth Hayward.

Using special alchemy devices... Of course, unlike the real-time communication of Ryo and Abel’s ‘Soul Resonance,’ it was not possible to communicate in real time, and apparently an enormous device, so large that it was difficult even to move, had been installed in the Kingdom delegation’s residence...

In any case, a system had apparently been put in place that allowed information to be exchanged, even if it took time.

According to that information, the three members of ‘Room 10’ were doing their best as well.

(We’re going to the Western Countries after the Dark Continent, so I’ll ask them to show me that alchemy-tool communication device when we get there.)

Ryo made up his mind.

Just then.

The hallway suddenly grew noisy.

Ryo and Abel, along with the master of the room, Chukudy, tilted their heads in puzzlement.

After a while, someone burst into the room, barely bothering to knock, and shouted out a report.

“Terrible news! A stampede has occurred!”

“At a time like this...”

Chukudy’s face twisted.

“We’ve sent out the ‘Observation Birds’ and are checking the details, but...”

“What about the signal flare raised from the watchtower?”

“...Red.”

“A scale that could potentially require abandoning the city...”