The ingredients were coming together one by one. After managing to successfully negotiate with Star's Holy Thunder, I headed back to the Clan Master's room with my spirits lifted.
First up! An Explorer's Guild recommendation — the familiar-yet-unusually-named Kechachacca Munku! Occupation unknown!
Second up! The vice-master of the Magi's Staff and an assassin of the Abyssal Flame Elimination — Term Apocris! Never met him, but probably a Mage!
Third up! The leader of the famous Spiritfolk-only Party, Star's Holy Thunder — well, more like the leader's favorite, Cryus Argent, who's always getting scolded by the leader for using casual speech! He's participating under the leader's orders. A Mage!
Two slots remained. This was a serious responsibility.
Thinking calmly about it, if Kechachacca was "bitterness," Term was "spiciness," and Cryus was "sweetness," then all we needed was "sourness" and "saltiness(?)" for perfection. In a five-flavors-of-tasting sense.
Alternatively, we could classify Cryus as sourness and add a sweet element. Ideally, I should bring in someone who could lead this Party and keep things running smoothly.
Among the Parties under Footprints, the one that stood head and shoulders above the rest was undoubtedly Black Gold Cross. Another famous Party under our umbrella was the Lantern Knight Order, but they roamed the world seeking battlefields and rarely returned to the imperial capital.
Still, Sven was busy too. He wasn't in the lounge, and he wasn't at the training grounds, so there was a chance I couldn't find him.
This was... a problem. Two slots left — who should I bring in?
Frowning with a serious expression and tilting my head, Citry walked in.
She was all smiles — seemed to be in a remarkably good mood today.
Should I invite Citry? But if I brought Citry, Liz would come along... I didn't dislike Liz, but having her together with His Majesty the Emperor would just ruin the charm of a mystery pot.
"How's the member selection going, Klein-san?"
...She knew already. Did information leak from Lucia?
I stopped thinking for the moment and gave a hard-boiled shrug.
"Two slots left. I've been going over options, but nothing great has turned up. Citry, you want in?"
"No, I appreciate the invitation, but I can't take up a slot myself."
She didn't need to worry about that kind of thing.
Citry circled behind me and deftly wrapped her arms around my neck. Then she whispered in my ear.
"A-a-actually, since I figured Klein-san was struggling, I brought a candidate."
"...Huh?"
Citry called out to the door in a bright voice.
The door burst open, and striding in with heavy footsteps was a full-body suit of armor standing about two meters tall. A large, tank-like build both vertically and horizontally. The armor was, in a rare twist, a baked-on brown color. Full-faced, so I couldn't see the face.
With measured steps, it planted itself in front of me, placed both hands at its sides, and stood perfectly at attention. I was so bewildered I couldn't say anything.
Still keeping her arms around my neck, Citry introduced it.
"The name's Killnight Version Alpha — a recent friend of mine."
"...Is that its real name?"
I'd love to meet its parents.
"Kekeke... Please take this controller."
Citry handed me a box fitted with a small lever, four large buttons, and one small button.
When I pushed the lever forward, Killnight walked forward and crashed into the desk. It kept moving its legs regardless. Was this thing okay?
Citry explained the buttons.
"This button makes it fight, this one makes it defend, run, dance — that's the buttons. The lever controls movement."
I see. Citry's expression was exactly like when a kid gets a brand-new toy.
Ever since we were young, Citry had a habit of showing off whenever she got her hands on new knowledge or items.
There were plenty of things to nitpick, but I reviewed the buttons and said, "Aren't you short a few?"
"I thought there were too many, so I assigned one to dance... Oh, and this small button activates the autonomous thinking mode."
If that existed, I really didn't need the controller.
"Strength-wise, I'd estimate it's around a common Level 6 Hunter. It will absolutely never betray you, so please do take it along! I modified an Akasha Golem!"
Her voice was brimming with passion — she was clearly quite confident.
Also, this was definitely not human, right? It was a Golem? As expected from Citry — always doing something outlandish.
But if Citry vouched for it, it would probably be useful.
I wasn't sure if a Golem counted for the slot, but... for now, one slot filled. It felt like I was one step closer to a truly spectacular mystery pot.
"Got it, thanks — you're a lifesaver. That leaves one slot..."
"Huh? Um... wouldn't that be your slot, Klein-san?"
"!?"
I widened my eyes and counted on my fingers. Kechachacca, Term, Cryus, Killnight — that was four.
Sure enough, including myself, the party would be at the full five. I'd completely forgotten to count myself.
But wait — this was a brilliant realization. If I pretended not to notice and picked one more person, I might not have to go at all.
I furrowed my brow in deep deliberation. The last one was... ...maybe Tino would do? No — I'd been dragging him into things too much lately.
Besides, none of the members I'd originally planned on had ended up joining. If I'd managed to get Arc on board, I would've brought Tino along.
If it came to acquaintances... maybe I'd ask Arnold.
There might still be some lingering friction, but the honor of serving as the Emperor's bodyguard would be the envy of any high-level Hunter. Maybe I could reconcile and end up in his debt.
Heh heh heh — settling a troublesome situation while also gaining a favor. Things were really falling into place.
Could it be that I was actually a master strategist?
I was grinning smugly to myself when Citry released her arms, clapped her hands together, and spoke up.
"Oh, right. About Killnight — it's omnivorous, so it can eat anything. It can survive for a while without food, but if you could give it raw meat or something, that'd be great. I trained it to eat somewhere out of sight, so you don't need to worry about that."
"...Huh?"
§ And just like that, I was flatly refused by Arnold.
His tone was harsh, but his face was pale. Apparently, the incident where I'd turned his companions into frogs was still bothering him.
...Even though they'd been restored properly — he kept stewing over it. Look at me, for example! After that whole thing, I participated in the White Sword Gathering and somehow got caught up in a poison-spiking incident where Rouke slashed three people! Someone, please help me!
I visited the Explorer's Guild for a coordination meeting.
Waiting in the conference room was the captain of the Zeroth Knight Order — apparently the one who would oversee the Emperor's protection detail this time.
A lean, sharp-looking man in a vivid red suit. He appeared slender at first glance but was actually built solidly, looking far stronger than me.
Without so much as a greeting, the captain reviewed my selection list and frowned suspiciously.
"What is this? Your own Party members aren't even on here."
"Mm-hm, that's right."
"A Level 7 — Term of Still Water, and the Mage from Star's Holy Thunder aside, I've never heard the name Kechachacca Munku. And Killnight Version Alpha? What the hell is this?"
Beats me. I don't know either.
But it was a magnificent mystery pot. Compared to White Wolf's Den's mystery pot, the average level was higher, so it satisfied the condition of being a premium mystery pot. Someone, please help me.
I gave a wry smile and held up my palms in a calming gesture.
"Relax. This is the best-of-the-best Party I could assemble."
"You have three Mages! The balance is terrible! At minimum, you should have included Anthem of Immutable Permanence! I entrusted the selection to you, but I never expected you to make choices this chaotic —"
Admittedly, looking at it calmly, I probably should have included Anthem. I'd gotten into a weird groove midway through.
The balance was admittedly off, but I hadn't known Kechachacca was a Mage.
Yeah — I probably shouldn't have invited a complete stranger to serve as the Emperor's bodyguard.
At that point, Cryus — who'd come along as a bodyguard since we were in the same Clan — barked out in a sharp voice.
"Chatter chatter, how noisy! I'm telling you, since I'm participating, there's absolutely no way any problems will arise! Just relax and enjoy the ride!"
The man he was addressing was the head of the imperial guard and surely a member of the nobility, yet Cryus showed not a shred of deference.
Cryus Argent. A member of Star's Holy Thunder and a first-rate Mage.
Hair of pure silver-white that reached down to his feet, thin violet pupils that glittered like gemstones, and porcelain skin. His features were so precisely sculpted they seemed inhuman — anyone meeting him for the first time would likely feel a faint sense of unease.
He appeared to be a person of almost miraculous perfection at first glance, but only his ears — pointed — served as proof of his Spiritfolk heritage.
The Spiritfolk were a superior race known for their chillingly beautiful features and exceptional magical aptitude. They were few in number but excelled in every ability, and had once been regarded as envoys of the gods.
On the other hand, they openly looked down on humans and were rarely seen in human cities. In that sense, Star's Holy Thunder, who operated among humans in the imperial capital, and Elisa, who had wandered the world, were remarkable eccentrics.
The way his face flushed crimson as he pounded the table was almost childlike, and combined with his stunning beauty, it created an indescribable sort of charm.
Beauty really was an unfair advantage, I thought, watching the scene with a leisurely amusement. The captain seemed to have lost the will to reprimand him too. Yeah, that figured.
"Don't get the wrong idea! Originally, even if he's the Emperor, it means nothing to me, a Spiritfolk! I'm only helping out reluctantly because Lapis gave me orders! For your information!"
Incidentally, his odd speech pattern came from the fact that he'd never had a habit of using polite language in the first place.
When we first met, he'd spoken to me in casual tone, and every word he directed my way was a storm of insults. Lapis had scolded him — he was a Clan Master's guest, for crying out loud, so use proper speech! — and ever since, this was how he talked.
Apparently, Cryus was convinced that adding "desu" and "masu" to the end of sentences constituted polite speech.
I smiled sweetly and said, "I'm the carpet stuffer."
"Hah!? Don't get ahead of yourself, weakling! I'm only doing this because Lucia-san asked me to, got it!?!"
"Mm-hm, that's right."
"In the first place, we only joined your lousy Clan because you promised to hand over Lucia! So hurry up and deliver! How long are you going to stall!?!"
"Mm-hm, that's right."
As lively as ever. I had to wonder how his voice didn't give out at that volume.
For the record, I never promised to hand over Lucia. The condition Citry had offered during the Clan recruitment negotiation was scouting rights for Lucia. And Mourning Specter was a Party with free withdrawal, so that condition wasn't even valid to begin with. In short, they'd been骗ed. They would absolutely never admit that, though.
"Since I'm helping you out! I can handle the bodyguard duty all by myself! You weaklings are unbelievably fragile, so don't even think about coming along!"
"Huh, really? I don't have to go?"
Lucky.
Cryus slammed the table even harder at my wide-eyed reaction, shot to his feet, and pointed at me in accusation.
"Don't be ridiculous! You're seriously going to skip out and make me do all the work?! Save your dreams for bedtime! You're technically Level 8, so act like one! Show some Level 8 dignity!"
"There, there, calm down. Here — your throat must be dry. I'll give you my tea."
When I offered the tea in front of me, Cryus snatched it with an indignant huff.
Incidentally, Cryus's certified level was 3. He had real skill, but he kept getting into fights with his clients.
Getting along well with Spiritfolk required either the kind of broad-mindedness Arc had or the kind of shamelessness I possessed.
But maybe bringing him along hadn't been the right call.
As the captain of the imperial guard stood there, struck speechless and staring at Cryus in exasperation, I leaned back with reckless confidence and declared: "This is a perfect lineup. His Majesty will surely be satisfied. If you have any objections to my selections, feel free to hand the bodyguard duty to someone else."