Chapter 252.

Around late lunch, a brown-masked Taurus came up to the deserted eastern outer wall. There was a familiar red-masked woman and a man wearing a yellow-green mask who he had not seen for a long time.

He greeted the man in the yellow-green mask. "My god, isn’t it Capricorn? Long time no see. But I can’t believe I’m meeting you inside the empire."

The man wearing the yellow-green mask called Capricorn replied sarcastically, "You speak as if I’m somewhere I’m not allowed to be.”

𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

Taurus scratched his cheek in a quandary at the terse response. "It’s not that, but I thought that when you would come to the empire’s capital, you would have a plan and enter the Imperial Palace and attack General Bloody."

Capricorn, whose aura had been responding peacefully and sarcastically to Taurus’s words, was full of killing intent. "Bloody, don’t say the name of that f**king son of a b*tch in front of me!"

Taurus shook his hand in bewilderment. "It was not deliberate. I apologize."

When the killing intent erupted, the red-masked Scorpio quickly put up a barrier to prevent it from spreading to the outside.

"Goodness! Hey! How can you just suddenly spout killing intent? The security is already tight for the welcome parade for the Fairy Tribe delegation, jeez!” Scorpio said so but chuckled leisurely. It was a tone that it would not matter even if security guards or knights charged at them immediately.

It’s the same with Capricorn, and he snorted. "Humph! So what if those rag-tags come here!"

At Capricorn’s imposing manner, Scorpio flicked her index finger from side to side and spoke as if trying to reason with a child. "Whoever said to fear the guards? It’s just that ignorant, savage guardian knight. It’s just that it’d be annoying if he growls at us all day because he feels threatened. Let’s not scratch it and have it turn into a pimple."[1]

Capricorn snorted at Scorpio but seemed to accept it as he withdrew his aura. Even for him, who had a temper, the Fairy Tribe’s Guard Knight was a formidable opponent. This guardian knight was a monster who wandered around the battlefield in a relaxed manner even after single-handedly cutting down 10,000 demons during the reign of the Demon King. It was clear that he would still be strong until his death due to the characteristics of a Fairy’s body that aged very slowly. No, there was a possibility that it was stronger.

Listening to the conversation between the two, Taurus suddenly asked, finding something odd, "But what was your motive for wanting to meet all of a sudden? We’re not even that close."

Usually, when Scorpio did something, she was either alone or with Saggitarius. Sometimes with Libra, but not much. Taurus, who rarely worked with her, was curious that he was suddenly called.

"What motive? Isn’t that too much, considering our relationship?" She laughed playfully.

Taurus and Capricorn felt goosebumps and took a step back.

"Oh my, why such reactions? I’m going to get hurt. Huhuhu." Scorpio smiled and pointed to East Capital Station, which was visible from the outer wall.

The train had just arrived there and a long line of honor guards, military bands, and knights of the capital were on standby for the parade. The spirit emitted by numerous high-ranking knights gave off a solemn and magnificent feeling even before the parade began. From that, one could confirm the power of the empire.

"Come, look, that’s the power of the empire. On the other hand, we can only mobilize a few people within the empire at the most. They, who have such power, are moving to form alliances with the Fairy Tribe. What do you think that means?" Scorpio asked.

Taurus answered seriously, "Does it mean the empire will become stronger?”

Scorpio smiled playfully at Taurus’s answer and shook her index finger from side to side again. "Hohohoho! Isn’t that too naive? It’s too much of a one-dimensional answer to say that the empire will become stronger.”

Taurus tilted his head at her. "Hmm, then I don’t know. Does this delegation have any political meaning?"

Scorpio pointed her finger at his question. "That’s right. Considering that you can think a little now, unlike before, you must have studied a little?”

Despite her subtly looking down on him, Taurus proudly extended his chest and let out a snort. "Ahem! I’ve made some efforts."

Having expected an indignant reaction from him, Scorpio lost her mood, sighed, and said, "Well, that’s right, as you thought, for political reasons, they are receiving the Fairy Tribe delegation. The empire is preparing now."

Taurus looked at her as if he couldn’t understand why she was reacting like that, and asked, "What is the empire preparing for?"

Scorpio answered with a playful and brutal smile as if she had never lost the mood, "The empire is preparing for war."

Taurus’s mask under the brown mask became horribly distorted.

-o-

Today, I briefly took over the reception desk on behalf of Fiona, who was having a meeting with senior civil servants on the fourth floor. For some reason, however, the Adventurers’ Guild was empty despite it being the peak time.

"What’s going on?" I wondered aloud.

Hameln was organizing the requests to be put on the request board, he smiled and said, "I think it’s because today is the day the Fairy Tribe delegation arrives at the capital."

"Is it already that day? It was only a few days ago when I received an official message to keep a low profile, saying that the Fairy Tribe was coming. Time flies."

It meant that they all went to see the welcome parade of the Fairy Tribe.

To be honest, I didn’t know because I wasn’t interested. It was the Central Ceremony Department, not the Adventurers’ Guild, that greeted the delegation and took care of them.

Come to think of it, since we’d received a letter for a retired civil servant yesterday, they might come to visit once. But since we couldn’t just call out someone who had already retired, in all likelihood, the matter would end with Guild Director Glont.

"Oh, that’s why Senior Demuir has been restless since this morning.”

Unless they were secretly called two years ago due to the currency reform, a grand welcoming parade would have been held to welcome a nation’s delegation. If it was a grand parade, it would make sense for Demuir to be so restless. It was even more so, especially because he could see the Fairy Tribe’s Guardian Knight that he respected in the children’s tale with his own eyes.

Hameln smiled and nodded at me. "Yes, that’s why he even got permission directly from the Guild Director-nim to leave for the afternoon since this morning.”

Is that why I couldn’t see Demuir?

I thought he was quite passionate to even take a half-day off to spectate.

Wait, the fact that Demuir took a half-day off means that I have to do the accounting paperwork that he needed to deal with? But he took the half-day off without telling me!

Well, it’s not that difficult so it doesn’t matter. I guess I’ll have to take a lot of snacks from him later.

Hameln had finished organizing the request documents, he left the bundle of documents and stood up. "Since I’m done organizing the requests, I’ll head out for a little while."

"Why, Hameln, do you want to go watch the parade?"

He answered my question with a smile. "You’re not wrong, but it’s different because I have official duties." He pulled out the letter that I interpreted yesterday. "Guild Director-nim asked me to take yesterday’s letter to the Central Ceremony Department, which is welcoming the Fairy Tribe delegation."

"Oh, please go ahead. I’ll put it on the bulletin board."

Hameln bowed his head once apologetically and left the Adventurers’ Guild.

It felt good to see the empty and peaceful Adventurers’ Guild Hall without anyone inside.

Ring! Ring!

While enjoying the silence, the door of the Adventurers’ Guild opened.

I greeted mechanically, smacking my lips, "Welcome."

Inside was a pair of weirdos in hooded capes. On a hot day in early summer, it wasn’t even a mountainous area, but they were wearing such thick hooded capes. It was obvious that they were weirdos.

One was nearly 180cm tall and the other almost two meters. The skin under their hoods seemed to be very white. They must be weirdos of a high-ranking family.

But the aura I could feel from the bigger weirdo was very strong. It was to the point I thought that this weirdo could even be stronger than my uncle or aunt.

I inwardly tensed up at their sudden appearance and prepared to draw my Holy Sword and slash at any time.

The weirdos looked around the inside of the Adventurers’ Guild, then came up to the desk where I was.

"What can I help you with?" I smiled and asked according to the reception manual.

The smaller weirdo replied, "I’m here. To meet. Someone."

It was a woman’s voice. She spoke with poor pronunciation in short bursts as if she were unfamiliar with the empire’s language.

She was similar to my height, so she was very tall.

"You’re here to meet someone? Are you a client who left a request to the Adventurers’ Guild? Or did you make an appointment with us to meet someone else in particular?"

The woman in the hooded cape was taken aback by my question.

"Uh..."

As she panicked, the 2-meter tall hooded cape weirdo took a step closer and laughed. "Hahahaha, she’s still not good at the empire’s language, so she can’t understand if you say it that fast and that long."

Listening to the voice of the hooded cape weirdo laughing cheerfully, it was a man.

Then the woman shouted urgently in the Fairy Tribe’s language.

"Marsen-nim! If it is discovered that you are here and not guarding by Khan Palamut’s side, things will get complicated! So please allow me!"

"It’s okay, it’s okay. I’m just here to meet an old friend. And just in case, I got permission from Palamut.”

That weird hooded cape must have been designed to cover the Fairy-specific pointed ears.

By the way, isn’t Marsen the actual leader of the Fairy Tribe delegation?

If I pretend to be friendly for no reason, things might get annoying. In this case, it was best to pretend to not know anything.

I let go of the Holy Sword in my arms. Attacking an envoy who came to the empire would not be a matter that would not pass over with just a laugh. Above all, Marsen was a monster that stood shoulder to shoulder with my great-grandfather.

I asked in the empire’s language, grinning as if I had never planned to cut him down with my Holy Sword, "May I ask you once more? Did you make a request and are here to meet an adventurer, or did you make an appointment with a specific person?"

Marsen answered my question with a pleasant smile, "Of course the latter, Crow friend."

At the same time as Marsen’s words, explosive martial aura and mana collided between me and him.

The hooded cape woman next to him raised her aura to withstand the sudden whirlwind created by the collision of martial aura and mana. Her hooded cape blew off in the gust of wind, revealing her pointed ears.

1. Don’t poke something unnecessarily, and have the situation get worse.