Teir couldn’t help but be taken aback by the actions of the Seventh Lord.
Even though they knew each other, he didn’t expect that the other would not pretend to recognize him in a place like this.
Of course, it wasn’t just Teir who was surprised.
King Longford widened his eyes at the incomprehensible situation unfolding in front of him, and Seri was half stunned.
It’s only natural to be so. Why the hell was the Lord of Calderic saying hello to Teir out of the blue?
How did they know each other?
Under the focus of attention, Teir hesitated, not knowing how to react at the moment.
The Seventh Lord opened his mouth again and asked.
“When did you return to the kingdom?”
“...Ah, yes. I just returned today.”
Teir replied in a bewildered voice.
The Seventh Lord nodded and moved on again, but not before saying one last thing.
“See you later.”
It was only a few words of conversation, but it caused the atmosphere to turn into a calm storm.
The Overlord and the Seventh Lord went inside the castle, and there was a chaotic commotion with the people who remained.
'What is that, really...'
Teir looked at their backs as they walked away, then turned his head at the gaze he suddenly felt.
Jordan and Olivica were staring this way, unable to close their gaping mouths, as they stood on Kajor’s side.
“Oh, Brother. What the hell was that? Huh?”
Seri, who came to her senses belatedly, asked in an urgent voice.
Teir sighed lightly without answering. That was also the most confusing thing for him right now.
***
As soon as we arrived, I ran into that guy.
As we entered the palace following the King of Earth Hill, I thought about Teir.
‘Go back to your place’—those were the words I told him before.
It was just something I said that could easily be ignored with little thought, so it wouldn’t be strange if nothing had changed. But in the end, he still came back.
“Seventh Lord, if it’s not a bother, could I ask how you know Prince Teir?”
Then the king of Earth Hill opened his mouth.
He seemed to be very concerned since earlier. He’s probably curious about my relationship with his son.
I answered without hesitation.
“It’s nothing special. It’s just a chance meeting in the Fifth Lord’s territory.”
And I owed a debt that I was very grateful for.
Thanks to the map Teir gave me, I gained the mystery of [Super Sensory]. Something that I probably would not have been able to get originally.
“...Is that so?”
The King nodded with a strange expression and did not ask further.
Come to think of it, it would probably be absurd from his point of view.
Maybe he would think that his son went around Calderic to meet all the Lords and that the other might be planning something.
I was walking through the halls of the palace, thinking about this and that, when I saw a group of people approaching from the other side.
A young woman, an elderly man, and a small old man standing in the middle of them, looking a little older.
A few attendants and knights followed behind the three.
“...”
As soon as I saw them, I immediately guessed their identities.
The old man in the middle was the emperor of Santea - Grandios.
The man standing to the left was the Spear Saint Cayden, one of the Five Stars of Santea.
And the woman on the right... was probably one of the princesses, but I didn’t know who exactly.
The steps stopped for a moment, and the Overlord looked at them, facing the front with a smile.
After a brief silence, the first to speak was the emperor.
“Long time no see, Overlord. It looks like you just arrived.”
A low, cracking voice echoed through the hallway.
He had a level that could not be said to be high, but he certainly exuded a strange sense of intimidation that was difficult to describe.
I couldn’t help but feel that it was like the time I arrived in this world and met the Overlord for the first time.
Not that the emperor himself felt as powerful as the Overlord, but for other reasons.
For one, he was the emperor. He was the leader of the faction where the hero belonged.
The hero who was the most important part of the main storyline of the RaSa worldview.
“Yes. Long time no see, Emperor.”
The Overlord answered in a voice mixed with laughter.
She used honorifics with minimal respect for the King of Earth Hill, but not for the Emperor.
And the emperor didn’t seem to pay much attention to that either. His gaze fell on me.
“...You must be the new Seventh Lord of Calderic. Nice to meet you.”
Apparently, he recognized my true identity at a glance.
No surprise. Of course, the emperor must have found out information about me, and right now I was standing right next to the Overlord.
Naturally, the conclusion that I was the new Seventh Lord was inevitable.
“By the way, didn’t the hero come to this meeting?”
“That’s right. She didn’t come.”
“Ah, that’s too bad. I couldn’t see her face last time, so I was looking forward to it this time.”
The Overlord grumbled like that with a sign of genuine regret.
“Then I’ll see you again at the meeting.”
And there was no further conversation.
It wouldn’t have been a chance meeting. The emperor’s purpose was just to meet the Overlord for a moment.
The woman standing next to the emperor lightly bowed her head to me and the Overlord, while the Spear Saint Cayden glanced at Asher standing behind me.
Then they passed by and went on their way.
“...”
I slowly looked back.
Asher’s expression hardened. It was an expression I had never seen before.
Her clenched fists were trembling, and I could feel that she was barely suppressing the seething anger that was about to explode at any moment.
Her gaze was fixed on the back of one of the three walking away. I followed her gaze and looked at their backs.
The Spear Saint...
I knew why she reacted this way.
The Spear Saint Cayden.
Who could keep their composure when the enemy who annihilated their whole tribe was right in front of them?
Just not pulling out the sword right away and not attacking was already great.
“Asher.”
When I called her name, Asher closed her eyes once, then opened them, then looked away from the three people walking away.
“...Apologies.”
I wanted to say something, but I couldn’t think of anything to say, so I decided to just stay silent.
Turning my head, I saw the Overlord looking at Asher with a gaze full of interest.
***
After being guided, we moved to the accommodation where we would stay during the conference, and since it was just the right time, the Overlord and I had lunch together.
The reason for not having a meal with the king was because the talks were about to begin, and there was a banquet after that.
While sitting face-to-face with the Overlord at an unnecessarily long table and eating in silence, she asked.
“The escort knight of the Seventh Lord, is her name Asher?”
I stopped the knife I was cutting the meat with and looked at her, feeling perplexed inside.
I thought she didn’t care because she had said little until now, but she suddenly mentioned Asher like this.
“The Chief of Staff said that the Seventh Lord had taken an apprentice holy knight, so I was interested. If the Seventh Lord hadn’t taken her, she would have been able to join the Black Star Knights.”
“...”
She said it with a smile, but somehow it sounded like she was blaming me a little.
Come to think of it, the first time the Overlord saw Asher was at her castle before we left for Earth Hill.
If it was her, of course she would have known Asher’s level at first glance.
To be honest, I also had a bit of a guilty feeling for taking Asher away, so I just kept silent.
“Is it true that Kajol might issue a war warning to Earth Hill on this conference?”
When I subtly changed the subject to talk about the meeting, the Overlord let out a small smile and nodded.
“Yes. Why did you ask?”
“Are you willing to get involved?”
“No, no. Of course, the emperor will also not.”
The answer to the question came right back.
The war between Earth Hill and Kajor was one of many episodes in the main story.
Even in the game, neither Calderic nor Santea interfered in the war, so I already knew the Overlord’s intentions.
Of course, I also knew why she didn’t want to interfere in the war.
“By the way, Seventh Lord seemed to care about that prince, don’t you? You said hello to him on purpose. I wonder what kind of chance meeting you two had.”
“There’s no need for the Overlord to care about that.”
The Overlord shook her head.
I thought for a moment.
As the Overlord said, talking to Teir on earlier was partly intentional.
Because, first, I was thinking of helping the Earth Hill Kingdom.
I had a debt to Teir, and above all, in the game’s main story, this war ended with Earth Hill’s victory.
It was because of the activities of the player playing the game.
So, in fact, it was not an act of trying to calculate what could be beneficial.
I just want to minimize the potential danger as much as possible by following the game story line as closely as I could.
Well, I had to see how things would go once the talks start.
***
“Brother, can you talk to me? What the hell were you doing outside to get acquainted with a Lord of Calderic! Huh?!”
“It’s not like that...”
Teir moved on, thinking that Seri, who was chattering next to him, was noisy.
King Longford was already seated and waiting when he opened the door to the room.
Next to him stood another man, Lucas, his older brother and the first prince.
“...Welcome.”
“Uh, yes.”
Teir responded awkwardly to Lucas's awkward greeting.
Longford clicked his tongue and gestured his chin towards one seat.
“Sit down.”
“...No. I’ll just stand there.”
Teir stood at a distance on the other side of Lucas, and Seri quietly stood beside him.
The atmosphere calmed down for a while.
Longford, who was looking at Teir with complicated eyes, finally opened his mouth again.
“Teir, my son. What the hell have you been doing outside?”
“...”
“The Seventh Lord said that you had a chance meeting in the Fifth Lord’s Territory. Can you explain it more clearly?”
“Yes...”
Teir obediently explained what had happened in relation to the Seventh Lord. From the story of the crazy young lady who tried to cut off his own arm until how they parted.
The three of them all tilted their heads as if they didn’t understand.
“Is that really all?”
It was because they couldn’t understand why the Seventh Lord showed interest in Teir just from the story they heard.
Seri, who was deep in thought, opened her mouth with a slightly excited expression.
“Anyway, he’s a Lord of Calderic. I don’t know why, but if he liked my brother...”
“That’s the problem. You can’t be sure of their intentions, so we have to be more careful. They’re dangerous people you can’t handle.”
At Lucas’ words, Teir thought to himself.
No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t believe that the Seventh Lord had any special ulterior motives. Why would he even have that in the first place?
It’s probably not just because of that map.
Of course, this was an understandable reaction because he couldn’t figure out the reason for the Seventh Lord’s action in the end.
Longford, who was rubbing his forehead with a distraught expression, asked again.
“Teir, what kind of person was the Seventh Lord from your point of view?”
