Ossan Saikyō Chapter 12 Part 16
When we left the castle and returned to the inn, it was already time for dinner.
After changing clothes and taking our seats at a table in the inn's dining hall, we decided to exchange information about what had happened today.
“My side went as I told you on the way back. We made it through the 5th floor of the Royal Keystone without any problems. The Boss was a rare Boss, too, but it wasn't particularly difficult.”
“It was A-Rank, wasn't it? The fact that you can say that was no problem means you've finally started to realize your own strength, Soushi.”
At Rani's words, even I had no choice but to nod.
“Yeah, I suppose I have. After what happened this time, I feel like I've finally understood just how significant it was that I defeated a member of the Twilight Kin.”
“Yesterday's reward was amazing too. And this time you even saved Her Majesty the Queen, right? Didn't they offer to make you a noble?”
“His Majesty did mention it. Of course, I turned him down. Mariane, how common is it for an adventurer to become a noble?”
“Recently, Viscount Varius is an example. In his case, however, he was originally born into a Viscount's family, so he was essentially granted permission to inherit the family after distinguishing himself.
…
Other than that, if you include those who serve noble families in the form of a knightly title, there should be more than thirty who are still alive, even among those serving families of Viscount rank or higher.”
“Like the〈Crimson〉Anatolia, then. There seemed to be a few in the Royal Family as well.”
“There is no one better suited to guarding nobles than former adventurers. It is quite common for trustworthy high-ranking adventurers to be recruited. There will certainly be more people approaching〈Saul's Guidance〉from now on.”
Hearing Mariane's words, Freynil looked at me.
“But you have no intention of becoming a noble, do you, Soushi-sama?”
“No. Just as I told His Majesty, I have no intention of taking on something that doesn't suit me.”
“I thought you were wonderful when you turned him down, Soushi-sama. When you said that you intended to reach the pinnacle as an adventurer…”
“No, I didn't say that. His Majesty simply misunderstood me. I only said that I wanted to find out my own limits as an adventurer.”
I tried to explain myself, but did I really come across as saying something like that in front of the King, the Chancellor, and the Princess?
If so, from everyone else's perspective, I was basically just an embarrassing middle-aged man getting carried away.
And I still had to go to the castle for another two days…
As I sat there dumbfounded, Sphenia smiled brightly and took my hand.
“I would certainly like to see how far you can go as an adventurer, Soushi-san. I myself am aiming for A-Rank, and I feel that if I am with you, I could rise through the ranks quickly. But I think your belief that A-Rank would not be the end is wonderful.”
“Come to think of it, I don't think I want to stop at A-Rank either. With Soushi, we could go even higher, right?”
“I will follow you wherever you go, Soushi-sama.”
“There are also voices within the Guild calling for an official rank above A. If〈Saul's Guidance〉continues to achieve even greater accomplishments, that movement may accelerate.”
At this rate, they were seriously going to turn me into some painfully overambitious middle-aged man aiming to become the strongest despite his age, so I hurriedly changed the subject.
“By the way, Fray, what was Her Majesty the Queen like?”
“Yes. At first, she seemed to be suffering terribly, as though the light of her life could go out at any moment. But as soon as she drank the《Elixir》, her complexion improved, and she recovered enough to speak with us.”
“It works that well? The《Elixir》really is amazing.”
“His Majesty and Big Sister Margalotte were also astonished. However, it seems Her Majesty had been unable to eat properly for quite some time, so she will be resting and recuperating for a while.”
“I see. Did you try «Absolution»?”
“Yes, I did. The royal physician also said that it had a powerful effect.”
“That's impressive. Then Her Majesty should recover even more quickly.”
“I hope so. Also, Big Sister Margalotte said that she wanted to apologize to you, Soushi-sama. She said that she had said something terrible to her benefactor.”
“I think what she did was understandable, considering she is the Princess. I could tell how much she cared about Fray.”
That said, as a Princess, she probably couldn't simply do nothing. Another reason not to want to go to the castle was piling up. Being apologized to for something I wasn't even bothered about was stressful in its own way.
“Speaking of the Princess, she really seemed to like the playing cards. Didn't she say she wanted you to make some for her too?”
“She did. I thought they were quite interesting myself, so I can understand why the Princess would want some.”
When Rani and Sphenia said that, Mariane nodded.
“Soushi-san, why don't you take the playing cards to the Toronto Trading Company? If they think they can sell them, I'm sure they would be happy to handle them, and they would probably end up presenting them to the Royal Family naturally as well.”
“You mean the Toronto Trading Company would start making and selling playing cards?”
“It's a possibility. I also think playing cards might sell, but there is no way to know for certain.”
“Hmm…”
This had suddenly taken a strange turn.
For one thing, I felt rather uncomfortable bringing something I hadn't even invented myself to a trading company.
I had made them without giving it much thought as a pastime for long journeys, but I had never considered the possibility that they might actually be sold in this world.
I had already spread knowledge from modern Japan through things like training methods for skills, but perhaps I needed to think carefully about just how far I should go with that.
As I tilted my head, Sphenia looked at me curiously.
“Is there a problem?”
“Well, I didn't actually come up with those myself, so I was just wondering whether it was really okay to spread them around.”
“Since the Princess already knows about them, the matter will probably reach His Majesty the King as well. If you receive a formal request, it would be difficult to refuse, wouldn't it?”
“True. If it comes up tomorrow, I suppose I'll go to Mr. Toronto. I don't know what the trading company will decide, either.”
I said that, but considering how little entertainment there seemed to be in this world, I had a feeling Mr. Toronto would definitely be interested.
If the Princess demanded that I make some for her, I would just have to accept that I had been foolish this time around.
Until now, I had only thought about making a living as an adventurer, but perhaps I could actually do reasonably well in business in this world by making use of my knowledge of modern Japan.
Even without knowing how to manufacture things, simply knowing what kinds of products would appeal to people was an overwhelming advantage.
Thinking about it that way, perhaps my existence had a much greater significance to this world than I had imagined.
No, honestly, as a middle-aged man, the last thing I wanted was to get involved in something like that.
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E/N:
Well, at least the Princess won't always be prickly. And modern knowledge-cheat ftw!
Stay tuned!
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