Chapter 50

“Without an invitation, you cannot enter the banquet hall.”

The guard spoke firmly, raising his spear. It was a clear expression of intent to forcefully stop anyone trying to enter without permission.

“But we were invited!”

Rakia shouted angrily.

“We just lost the invitation! We definitely had it earlier, but we left it in the carriage!”

“…It doesn’t matter what you say. Rules are rules. I was ordered not to let anyone in without an invitation.”

“Sigh…”

Rakia let out a sigh and glanced at Ariel. Ariel was wearing a slightly gloomy expression.

Not being able to enter the banquet hall because of a missing invitation—what about the chocolate cake? That’s what she was thinking.

Seeing Ariel’s expression, Rakia glared coldly at the guard.

“Then there’s no choice. We’ll have to force our way in.”

Rakia began gathering mana. A blue haze rose around her.

“I’ll show you what happens when you dare stand in Ariel’s way, human.”

“…Huh?”

The guard flinched and took a defensive stance, while Ariel tried to stop Rakia. If Rakia used magic here, it would cause a huge commotion.

Just then.

“Ariel!”

A voice called from behind.

“You came after all!”

Turning around, Sion stood there. His hair was neatly styled, and he was dressed in luxurious clothing, completely different from before. Hanging at his waist was Excalibur, the symbol of the hero.

“Thanks for coming!”

Sion smiled and approached, accompanied by a well-dressed girl.

“Ah, hello…”

The girl bowed her head slightly.

Sion’s younger sister, Clara.

Clara, who had previously been disheveled with messy hair, now looked completely different. Her hair was neatly braided, and she wore a dress, resembling a high-ranking noble lady.

“But what are you doing standing outside?”

Sion asked, looking at Ariel, Rakia, and the guard.

Rakia pointed at the guard as if tattling.

“He won’t let us in because we don’t have an invitation. How rude.”

“An invitation?”

Sion tilted his head.

“Didn’t I give you one?”

“We lost it.”

“Ah.”

Sion chuckled and looked at the guard.

“It seems my friends lost their invitation. Can’t they come in with me?”

The guard’s demeanor had already changed. He stood at attention, his expression stiff.

It was understandable. Sion was currently being treated with utmost respect by all the high-ranking nobles of Goldcastle.

In the Empire, the hero was a unique existence—the savior of humanity, a being with power rivaling even the royal family. For a mere guard, dealing with such a figure was no easy task.

“Y-You may enter. I didn’t realize they were friends of the hero. My apologies.”

From the guard’s perspective, he was just doing his job diligently, but in such situations, backlash was common. Some temperamental nobles would slap or spit on guards, or even fire them for such incidents.

Of course, Sion wasn’t like that.

Just a few days ago, Sion had been a vagrant, so the guard’s overly respectful attitude was actually a bit overwhelming for him.

“It’s fine, haha. Thank you, then. Carry on.”

Sion bowed his head politely to the guard and led Ariel, Rakia, and Clara into the banquet hall.

“Hehe, consider yourself lucky, human.”

Rakia tapped the guard’s shoulder as she passed.

Rakia’s words were sincere. The guard could have easily been engulfed in flames without even realizing it, but he had no way of knowing that.

*

“Hey, isn’t that her? The elf from back then.”

“Yeah, it’s definitely her. The one who sent Cobin flying in Sierra.”

“How is she here? And why is she with the hero? Did she charm the hero too, after Kal?”

“Seems like it. Men really do love elves.”

“Then what happens to Kal now?”

“He’ll probably fight the hero over her.”

“Wow, how exciting.”

“…What’s exciting?”

The noble ladies whispered as they watched Ariel enter the banquet hall.

Many of the nobles who had attended the banquet in Sierra were present, and they all recognized Ariel.

However, Selly and Kal, who could be considered somewhat close to Ariel, were nowhere to be seen.

The two had returned to their families shortly after the princess’s birthday party.

“Lady Ariel, should we try that? No, wait, that’s a huge piece of meat! Is that a whole roasted Minotaurus? Well, it’s still made by lowly humans, but it looks delicious!”

Rakia looked around excitedly, her eyes darting everywhere.

The banquet hall of the wealthy city of Goldcastle was truly impressive.

The food laid out was luxurious and abundant, enough to make anyone’s mouth water.

“I-I’ll start with that…”

Ariel pointed to the table with desserts.

There, a towering chocolate cake stood like a mountain.

While Rakia preferred meat, Ariel had a sweet tooth.

So Rakia headed toward the meat, and Ariel made her way to the desserts.

“…Thank you all for coming to celebrate the birth of the hero. I hope you all enjoy yourselves.”

The head of the Baraton family, the hosts of Goldcastle, gave a brief speech, and the sound of musical instruments filled the air.

The banquet had officially begun.

*

Ariel scooped a portion of the chocolate cake onto her plate with a small shovel-like tool and brought it back to her seat.

As she looked at the chocolate cake on her plate, a smile spread across her face. It was a smile filled with happiness.

At that moment.

Rakia was glaring at the boys surrounding her.

They were noble boys who had been captivated by Rakia’s beauty.

The boys nervously introduced themselves or asked her to dance, but Rakia harshly rejected them.

“Get lost, lowly humans.”

If there had been a hot-tempered noble boy among them, he might have retorted.

But the boys who approached Rakia weren’t like that.

They all flinched at her harsh words and retreated.

After shooing the boys away, Rakia approached Ariel with a plate piled high with meat.

“Lady Ariel, human banquets are really fun.”

Despite having just wounded the hearts of the noble boys, Rakia wore a bright smile.

“Being able to eat such delicious food to your heart’s content—I think we should come here often.”

This banquet was held to celebrate the birth of the hero and to strengthen relationships among the nobles through socializing.

But Ariel and Rakia had no interest in such things.

Their only concern was the food.

Ariel stabbed a fork into the chocolate cake and stuffed it into her mouth.

“!”

The sweetness filled her mouth.

She remembered what Selly had said—it felt like her brain was melting.

Honestly, it wasn’t that extreme, but it was sweet enough to make her tongue feel like it was melting.

It perfectly suited Ariel’s taste.

Munch, munch.

Ariel eagerly devoured the chocolate cake, while Rakia tore into the meat on her plate.

As the two enjoyed their happy moment, someone approached.

“Hello?”

A soft yet dignified voice.

Ariel looked up, her mouth full of chocolate cake.

A man stood there, smiling gently at her.

He had light blond hair and a long face.

“I’m Jerome. The eldest son of the Baraton family and Cobin’s older brother. I heard about what Cobin did to you at the banquet in Sierra. It was rude of him. Even though he’s my brother, he’s really immature. After you beat him up, he couldn’t get up for a while. Serves him right.”

Ariel tilted her head at Jerome’s words.

The name Cobin didn’t ring a bell, but she did remember fighting someone at the banquet in Sierra.

Though she hadn’t beaten him up—just hit him once.

“Anyway, I wanted to apologize on behalf of my brother’s rudeness.”

Jerome smiled as he spoke.

“I’m sorry. I’ll make sure to keep a closer eye on him from now on. Can you forgive him?”

“……”

Ariel nodded.

Cobin wasn’t someone she remembered, and she didn’t hold any grudge against him.

So she could easily forgive him.

That way, Jerome would leave quickly, and Ariel could continue eating her cake.

*

Sion, surrounded by nobles in the banquet hall, excused himself to get some fresh air and stepped out onto the terrace.

In truth, he was escaping. The way the nobles treated him was overwhelming.

Just a short while ago, he had been a vagrant. Now, suddenly, he was the hero destined to save the continent. Sion still couldn’t quite believe it.

Honestly, if demons attacked right now, he wasn’t sure he could fight.

He had spent his life as a vagrant and had never even swung a sword before.

Swoosh.

Sion drew Excalibur from his waist and stared at it.

“Am I really the hero…?”

When he first heard about the hero selection ceremony, he had been incredibly excited.

If he became the hero, he could escape his life as a vagrant.

He wouldn’t have to starve Clara anymore, and they wouldn’t have to shiver in the cold.

So he had to pull Excalibur and become the hero.

He had been so determined that he couldn’t sleep at night.

But now that it had become reality, it was hard to accept.

“Why was I chosen…?”

Of course, he wasn’t unhappy with his current situation.

The people from the Imperial Capital were treating him very well.

Sion was living a luxurious life he had never experienced before.

Soon, he would go to the Imperial Capital for hero training, and he would stay in the Imperial Palace.

The Imperial Palace—a place he could never have dreamed of as a vagrant.

Yet, Sion couldn’t fully rejoice because of his anxiety.

The anxiety that maybe he wasn’t really the hero.

The thought that maybe something had gone wrong, and he, unqualified, had luckily pulled Excalibur.

The reason was clear—he couldn’t communicate with Excalibur.

The previous hero, Leonhardt, was said to have conversed with Excalibur, but Sion had no such experience.

When he tried to talk to Excalibur, it was like talking to himself.

So, Sion’s doubts grew day by day.

Maybe I’m not the hero, he thought.

“Sigh.”

Sion sighed and tried to sheathe Excalibur.

Regardless, people now believed he was the hero.

So he had to act the part.

If he didn’t, Sion would just be a vagrant kid.

[…You… kid…]

Just as Excalibur was about to be sheathed.

[Can… you… hear me…?]

A strange voice echoed in Sion’s mind.