Translator: Kazumi
Editor: Silavin
“Well. I’ve heard most of what I wanted to hear.”
King Ernest prefaced his speech with this, then turned his gaze away from Kousuke and toward the others.
Rein and the others, who met his gaze, nervously stiffened.
“Don’t be so nervous. I was just trying to reward you all. What would you like?”
The group stiffened more than ever at the sudden offer.
Kousuke, seeing this, gave a wry smile and offered a helping hand.
“Your Majesty. They are too nervous to come up with something on the spot when suddenly asked.”
“…Hmm. That’s a problem. If it were possible, I would have liked to hear everyone directly without any meddling in between.”
Hearing King Ernest’s words, Kousuke understood.
If the King allowed others to know about the reward in advance, the additional opinions of bureaucrats would be inevitably involved. Therefore, he wanted to know what they wanted as a reward by asking them directly.
However, Rein and the others truly did not know what they could ask for. Having a middleman come between them could be a breeding ground for corruption, though it might give them more time to consider.
Rein and the others were still frozen in place, so Kousuke decided to help them out.
“Remember what we talked about during the escort request? I don’t think there’s a problem with the reward we talked about at that time.”
Rein and the others were stunned by Kousuke’s words.
It was true that during the trip, they had jokingly talked about what they would like if they were to receive as a reward.
They just did not expect that they would actually have the opportunity to receive a reward.
“Is it really alright?” Claire was the first to recover, as she fearfully asked Kousuke.
“Yes, I don’t think it will be a problem. It is as the King had just said.”
“Is there something you want? Just tell me. If not, you have nothing to worry about, depending on what you want, I’ll think about it.”
The King was on board with Kousuke, trying to reduce the pressure they felt.
Meanwhile, those next to the King were unable to stop him, and some of them looked as if they were clenching their jaws.
Perhaps convinced by Kousuke and King Ernest’s momentum, Claire gulped once and then softly said what she wanted.
“If so, then… I would like to request new weapons for each member of my party, if possible… ”
She was so tense that her speech was a bit difficult to hear. Even so, she managed to mention what she wanted.
Hearing this, the King had a scowl.
“What? That’s all you want? Very well then. I will send weapons for your members later. What about the others?”
“I’d like a peddler’s wagon if possible… ”
The other two followed Claire’s lead and offered their own wishes.
“That’s not much of a request. All these shouldn’t be a problem. Consider them fulfilled.”
The King’s words made Rein and the others’ faces light up.
Seeing that they were satisfied with their rewards, the King finally turned his attention to Kousuke and grinned.
“Well. I suppose your side will be the most troublesome.”
At these words, Kousuke shrugged his shoulders.
“I don’t think so… I do have two requests.”
“Hmm?” The King, not expecting Kousuke to request two rewards, tilted his head.
This unprecedented request caused a stir among those around him.
“I’d like to assure you first, it’s not about money or anything.”
“Hmm… Fine, have at it.”
“Alright then. First, I’m going to ask you a certain question, and I want an answer to it. Of course, I’ll leave it up to you to give me an answer or not.”
The strangeness of the request immediately made the King piqued. It also caused those around him to have a change in mood.
It was unheard of for someone to want to be rewarded with an answer to a question.
For Kousuke, the answer to this question was precisely why he agreed to the King’s summons.
Perhaps sensing Kousuke’s intention, the King’s expression, which had been pleasant until then, returned to becoming solemn.
“Hmm… Say it.”
“Yes… Did you get the expected results you wanted from this request?” This was the question Kousuke wanted to ask the King.
It might seem like he was simply asking about the offerings. However, they both knew this was not the case.
What Kousuke wanted to ask was the original purpose, from the transportation to the offerings itself.
However, if Kousuke asked directly, he might not be able to get a proper answer because of the presence of the people around the King.
Still, he dared to ask in this manner because he knew that the King would understand his intention.
To begin with, he noticed something strange about the requests this time.
The contents of the offerings itself were materials from monsters that most high-ranked adventurers could hunt. It would have been easy enough to obtain them – if one had the money to pay. It was not something he needed to go through the trouble of informing the people around him of it, much less make the transportation hold such importance.
Moreover, Heino told Kousuke that the transportation of the offerings had been done for a long time, though the contents have changed. This was since the very beginning of the founding of the Kingdom of Tausen.
If that had been the case, it was natural to think that there was another purpose for doing this.
Kousuke thought about various scenarios that would work in this situation, but he could not come to a conclusion.
However, Kousuke, who had not been certain until he met the King, now had some guesses. So, he asked the King.
He asked to confirm.
It did not matter if Kousuke did not get an answer from the King. He was just satisfying his curiosity.
“Hmm… ” Upon receiving this question, the King stared at Kousuke for a moment, then looked around some more before answering.
“Ah. Well, you could say a very nice item had been brought in. That’s why I had to reward everyone.”
The King’s attitude was more than enough to get an answer. Although, from his words, it could be assumed that he was not really talking about the offering.
“I see. That’s good to hear.” Kousuke also concisely answered.
Only a very limited number of people were able to realize the true meaning of the exchange between them.
From what Kousuke could see, only one of the King’s close associates seemed to have noticed.
The rest of them did not seem to understand the meaning behind their words.
This transportation of the offerings was being done so that the Royal Family could keep an eye on the movements of the nobles in the country.
In this case, there would usually be a dispute between the First and Third Knights, but there were also many other movements happening behind the scenes. Something Kousuke and his colleagues might be unaware of.
The Royal Family were watching over their actions, and watching how the nobles acted.
In some cases, those who went too far would be punished.
In this case, nobles were using a criminal organization to target the lives of those transporting the offering.
Kousuke did not know whether the Royal Family had anticipated this, and had sent a request to the Adventurers’ Guild. Nevertheless, those who targeted the Royal Family’s offerings would probably be punished accordingly.
Kousuke did not know what the punishment would be like, or if there was another deal going on behind the scenes.
Kousuke believed that the transportation of the offerings was, so to speak, one of the means by which the Royal Family governed the country.
He could see from the King’s current attitude that he was not mistaken.
Thus, he did not intend to say anything more. The rest would be decided by the King and the country.
As Kousuke had mentioned before, the role of an adventurer was to accept requests and accomplish them.
The client’s original intentions were irrelevant, as long as they were not used to commit a crime. Therefore, this time, he received the answer in the form of a ‘reward’.
As a result, he was more than satisfied with the answer.
Now, he has received his first rewards.
Kousuke wanted one more reward.
King Ernest would later tell his Son, his successor, that this ‘reward’ was not so much for Kousuke, but rather for the Tausen Kingdom.
Silavin: There was an error with Chapter 1 of Book 3 Volume 2 (The Chapter 1 I posted was actually chapter 2). I’ve uploaded Chapter 1 and had to shift up all the chapters. Sorry for the inconvenience.