After the sun had set for a while, though it was getting a bit late, my grandfather and I went to join the banquet that the people of Kukuri Village had prepared.
Because we were late to join, we got caught up by a group of uncles who were already a few drinks in, but the aunties came to our rescue, and we escaped unscathed.
However, those same aunties then surrounded me, patting me all over to confirm something.
And once they finished their inspection, the aunties all burst into tears at once.
Caught off guard by the sudden turn of events, I was confused when Uncle Mark came up from behind and placed a hand on my head.
"Sorry for suddenly falling apart like that, Tenma. Everyone just couldn't believe you were really alive."
According to Uncle Mark, no one had fully believed his story yet. They'd been waiting in the garden while finishing preparations, but once the prep was done and it was just waiting, a strange tension started to hang in the air.
The uncles couldn't stand the suspense and started drinking to distract themselves, so by the time we arrived, they were already well into their cups.
The aunties hadn't been drinking, but upon seeing my form and touching me to confirm it, the thread of tension finally snapped, and they started crying.
"But it's really wonderful. That you're alive, Tenma."
As she said this, Martha pressed a card into my hand.
"This was entrusted to me by Celia... she asked me to give it to you..."
It was Mother's guild card, a memento of her.
"Thank you, Auntie..."
I took Mother's card, then pulled Father's card from the Magic Bag I was carrying and stored it in the same place.
"Anyway, today is a day for celebration! Let's make a racket like the old days!"
With Uncle Mark leading the charge, the banquet began.
I heard my grandfather's house had soundproofing magic applied, so everyone enjoyed themselves like it was the Kukuri Village festival—drinking, eating, singing, and dancing however they pleased.
There were about forty people here now. More than half the village had been lost in that incident, and apparently there had been around ninety survivors at first.
However, after that, a further dozen or so people lost their lives due to infections and injuries caused by the zombies.
With half the villagers dead and houses destroyed, living in Kukuri Village the way they used to was impossible. For a time, all the survivors relocated together to Russell City, but from there people drifted off to stay with acquaintances and relatives, so in the end, only the people gathered here had chosen to live in the Royal Capital, Uncle explained.
"Living in the Royal Capital really puts into perspective how little money life in Kukuri Village cost."
But as luck would have it, most of the people here were former adventurers, and even those who weren't had experience venturing into the forest to hunt back in Kukuri Village, so as long as they didn't live extravagantly, they earned enough to get by.
As we talked about such things, the conversation gradually shifted to the story of everything that had happened to me up to now.
The topic of Slarin and the others came up, so I took them out of my bag and they joined the banquet.
Everyone was quite startled when they first saw Solomon, but since Solomon behaved himself calmly, by the end they were all eating food together.
After that, the banquet continued until the middle of the night, and in the end everyone passed out drunk and slept in the garden.
As for me, I rarely get drunk in the first place, so I didn't end up blackout drunk, but the accumulated fatigue must have caught up with me—using Shiromaru as a pillow, I fell asleep.
That day I slept soundly. Could it have been the nostalgic atmosphere?
Someone must have covered me with a futon while I had already drifted off to sleep, because when I woke up in the morning, I was holding a futon.
The sun had already risen and the surroundings were bright. The cool morning hours had long since passed, and it was a bit warm.
Almost the same moment I woke up, Shiromaru sprang upright with great energy.
"WOOF!"
Shiromaru was apparently demanding breakfast, barking loudly and wagging his tail.
As if in response to that sound, groans could be heard from all around.
It sounded just like the groans of zombies, and for an instant I tensed up—but looking more carefully, it was just Uncle and the others suffering from hangovers.
"What kind of noise are you making, you lot!"
Such voices rose up here and there.
It seemed the aunts were scolding the uncles. Yet with each scolding, the groaning only multiplied.
At this rate, someone passing by might report the knights' quarters to the authorities — like saying, "There's something really wrong with that house!"
To avoid that, I dug through the medicines in my bag and handed out hangover remedies to anyone who needed them.
Since I distributed fast-acting pills, the groaning gradually died down.
That said, the medicine only relieved the headaches from the hangover — it did nothing for the nausea, so the uncles lay around sipping water and soup little by little... though the fact that nobody threw up was probably a miracle in itself.
The aunts, on the other hand, were perfectly composed. It seemed that in Kukuri Village, the women held the superior rank when it came to heavy drinking.
Even while scolding the uncles, the aunts tidied up from the banquet, put together breakfast (or was it lunch?), and chatted with laughter in between.
"Morning, Tenma... Looks like you're not hungover, huh."
Aunt Msa peered at my face to check, then scooped food onto a plate.
"Here, Tenma! It's bread, soup, and some leftovers from yesterday."
When the aunt handed me my breakfast, Shiromaru poked his head out from behind me.
He had the unmistakable look of someone saying, "Hurry up — I'm next in line." Solomon was lined up behind Shiromaru too.
"Shiromaru eats like this every time, but this one's a big eater too, isn't he?"
The uncles aside, the aunts were picking out meat and vegetables from yesterday's leftovers for Shiromaru and the others.
At first, they had been startled to see Solomon, showing a mix of surprise, a little wariness, and considerable fear. But by now, they hardly seemed to mind.
"Sure, we were a little... no, pretty shocked and scared at first, what with him being a dragon. But when you look closer, he's actually cute. And more than that — he's prettier than that thing."
"That thing" must have referred to the Dragon Zombie. I wasn't happy about them lumping Solomon together with that, but it couldn't be helped. If anything, I was impressed by how quickly everyone had adapted.
"Come to think of it, Tenma — are you going to be living in the Royal Capital from now on?"
"No, I'll be staying there until the tournament's over, but after that I'm heading back to Seigen to keep pushing through the dungeon."
As I answered between bites of breakfast, the aunts exchanged startled, complicated looks.
"Well, why not just live in the Royal Capital while you're at it!"
"That's right! We finally got to see you, and now..."
"Why don't we all live together in the Royal Capital!"
The aunts started clamoring, trying to persuade me.
"Enough already!"
It was the uncles who put a stop to the aunts' racket, rising to their feet while holding their heads.
"Tenma isn't a little kid anymore! Tenma has the talent to command even dragons, and is destined to become an adventurer whose name will echo through history... We don't get to decide Tenma's future just because it's convenient for us. Besides, it's not like this is the last time we'll ever see Tenma, so we ought to smile and watch over him... in place of those two..."
Uncle Mark's words silenced not only the aunts but even the uncles who had been helping with the persuasion.
In that delicate atmosphere, Grandpa — who had been forgotten up until now — spoke up.
"M-Mizuuu..."
...He still seemed to be suffering from his hangover.
But that, of all things, seemed to ease the tension in the air a little.
"It's not like we'll never see each other again, so let's do this again sometime — eat, drink, and make a racket! Just like we used to!"
The aunts reluctantly accepted my proposal and agreed to support me for the time being.
After that, once breakfast was finished, everyone began to disperse in small groups, and in the end only Grandpa, Uncle Mark, Aunt Martha, and I remained.
"So, Tenma — what are your plans going forward?"
"For a while, I'll be building up experience through training and quests. Then I'm planning to enter the martial arts tournament."
There was still about a month and a half until the tournament.
But preparations for a festival seemed to be underway all over the city, and I could hear people talking about it everywhere.
"Is that so... Then you'll at least be staying in the Royal Capital until the festival wraps up, right?"
Aunt Martha said that, then fell into thought about something.
After chatting about this and that for a while, the others headed home.
"Well then, let's head back to the castle for now... Grandpa?"
Looking over at Grandpa, who hadn't said a word in a while, I saw him leaning against the base of a nearby tree in visible discomfort... from a hangover...
It seemed the medicine hadn't worked very well, and his hangover hadn't subsided.
There was no way I could walk around with Grandpa in this state, so I carried him inside and let him sleep in one of the rooms.
Just to be safe, I asked Slarin to look after him and left out some water and medicine, so there shouldn't be any problems.
From Grandpa's house to the Royal Capital's castle, it was a little over ten kilometers as the crow flies, or about twelve kilometers if you followed the road.
The fastest way would be to fly straight to the castle, but doing so would likely cause unnecessary trouble.
So I decided to run to the castle as a training exercise, and as expected for the central part of the kingdom, there were tons of people.
The people served as perfect obstacles, and I think it made for quality training... I say that, but I got way too absorbed in it. By the time I realized what had happened, I'd run in the opposite direction from the nearest gate in the wall to Grandpa's house.
On top of that, I got suspected by the guards at the gate, which cost me even more time.
Fortunately, several knights from the First Knights Order who happened to pass by vouched for me as a guest of the royal family, but honestly, if a sweating, out-of-breath kid asked me to let him in, I'd probably be suspicious too.
The guards apologized, but I told them it was no big deal and passed through the gate.
Later, I remembered I had the crest I'd received from Duke Sanga and decided to use it next time.
With all those little mishaps, it was three hours after leaving Grandpa's house that I finally arrived at the castle.
The castle guards, at least, recognized me, so after a brief check they let me in.
When I reached the castle entrance, Jeanne and Aura were there to greet me.
"Welcome back, Lord Tenma."
"Welcome back."
The two of them bowed in unison.
"My Lady, Lady Maria is waiting for you. Please allow me to show you the way."
With those words, Aura took the lead.
Her appearance was thoroughly unsettling — I was starting to worry whether she had eaten something strange. Behind me, Jeanne followed in silence… honestly, it was eerie.
And nearby — whether they thought they were hidden or not — I could sense Aina's presence as well.
I was led to Lady Maria's room, located on the floor above the Audience Chamber.
This castle apparently had the royal family's quarters on the upper floor above the Audience Chamber.
"Pardon the intrusion, Your Majesty the Queen. I have brought Lord Tenma."
Aura knocked on the door. From somewhere nearby, Aina gave off an irritated aura — I didn't know what had rubbed her the wrong way, but I could feel it.
"You may come in."
From inside, Lady Maria gave us permission to enter.
Only then did Aina approach silently from behind Jeanne.
"Excuse me, Lady Maria. Lord Tenma, right this way."
Aina opened the door herself and ushered me inside.
"Lady Tenma, I'll be borrowing Aura and the others."
At those words, Jeanne and both turned pale, but neither protested nor resisted — they simply followed after Aina.
"Tenma, come on in."
"Pardon me."
When I entered the room, I found Lady Maria and Lady Isabella seated in chairs.
"Sorry about this, Tenma. There's something I wanted to ask you about."
Lady Maria gestured to the seat across from her, and the moment I sat down, she launched into her question.
"What are you going to do from now on, Tenma?"
"From now on? Well, first I'll train until the martial arts tournament..."
I was about to count off my fingers and lay out my future plans, but that didn't seem to be what Lady Maria wanted to hear about.
"No, Tenma. Not that. I mean what are you going to do in the long run? Specifically, things like marriage."
"Huh? Marriage? ...I haven't really thought about it yet... Why do you ask?"
At my words, Lady Maria and Lady Isabella exchanged looks that said "just as I thought."
"Tenma... you've caught the attention of quite a few nobles."
"I did fight nobles back in Gunjou City... so my reputation's probably not great."
The two of them looked exasperated at my words.
"No noble worth their salt would care about that lot. The ones who have their eye on you are mainly viscounts and below — the ones with multiple daughters."
"These lower-ranking nobles are trying to use you by setting their daughters in your path."
Hearing it put that bluntly, I couldn't help but understand... or rather, I couldn't play dumb anymore.
"Mainly because of your relationship with Solomon and the royal family."
Aside from associates of Duke Sanga and Marquis Samons, not many people would know about my strength as an adventurer. So the ones trying to bring me in were likely those connected to Solomon the dragon, those who wanted connections to the royal family, or the Reformist Faction.
"Yes, that's exactly right. And most of them are acting on orders from higher-ups within their own factions... They're probably planning to bring you in to strengthen their faction however they can."
Lady Maria seemed somewhat annoyed.
"So, Tenma, how about getting married? Or an engagement would be fine too!"
"Mother-in-law... the way you're putting it, it sounds like you're the one proposing to Tenma."
"Well, that wouldn't be good! ...But, Tenma. Isn't there anyone nice among the Royalist Faction or among the unaffiliated?"
The way she asked was so playful that I briefly ran through the women I'd met so far — unmarried only, of course.
"...I don't think so, no. Up until now, I haven't really been thinking about things like that, and..."
The moment I said that and turned to face them, I thought I caught a brief flicker in the eyes of Lady Maria and the others.
"That's true enough. It was sudden, after all... But, Tenma, do remember that you've stepped into that kind of world now. There might be people who won't give up and will start poking their noses in — trying to make you an adopted son of some Royalist Faction noble, or arranging an engagement with a relative of the faction."
Perhaps I had been mistaken about that look in their eyes, because Lady Maria and the others offered their advice with warm, easy smiles.
After that, we spent our time chatting about one trivial thing after another, and after about an hour I took my leave of Lady Maria's room.
"Seems like Tenma's gone..."
"Yes, it does..."
Once Tenma had left the room, Maria and Isabella allowed just enough time to finish one cup of tea each before they began to speak — just to be safe.
"I saw it clearly, you know! The look on Tenma's face when the topic of women came up!"
"Yes, I saw it perfectly well! That was the face of someone remembering a particular person!"
It seemed what Tenma had seen had not been a mistake after all.
"I don't know who exactly, but we already have candidates from our prior research!"
"The fact that someone came to mind in the flow of that conversation means he must hold at least some degree of fondness for that person!"
"In other words, there's a possibility that if the person who came to mind were the one, Tenma might actually be willing to get married!"
"Yes, the probability is certainly higher than searching from scratch!"
The two of them were getting excited discussing Tenma's reaction. They looked just like a pair of innocent young girls...
"This is just a gut feeling of mine, but... I think Tenma prefers someone older. After all, in Kukuri Village it seems there was no one around except people older than him."
"Then again, he might feel the opposite — a desire to dote on someone younger, perhaps!"
The two of them shared their various thoughts one after another.
"Let me see... My top candidate would be Primera, second would be Chris, and third might be Lina."
"I'd say my top candidate is the three cat sisters, second would be Primera, and third would be Jeanne."
The two of them continued announcing their respective predictions one after another.
"Lina doesn't seem like a candidate, does she?"
"Well, in her case, I get the feeling she'd force herself on him and things would just… go from there… One wrong step and she'd practically be a stalker… But more importantly, isn't it unfair that the top candidates are three people?"
"The three cat sisters are triplets, so if any of them were to get married, I think all three would at once! It'd be a harem all in one go!"
The two of them grew increasingly carried away — saying things like Tenma could probably handle all three at once, or that he'd get all clingy when it was just the two of them — and before long, they had blown past marriage entirely and were already talking about naming Tenma's children.
If someone who didn't know them had seen these two just now, they probably wouldn't have realized they were the queen and the crown princess.
The topics they were discussing and the atmosphere were just that ridiculous.
Their conversation continued until Aina, who had come to check on them, noticed what was going on.