Chapter 49

When the hero was born, Goldcastle was in a festive mood all day long.

Everyone blessed the birth of the hero, and celebrations broke out in every corner of the streets.

But Ariel just slept in the lodging.

After sleeping soundly until evening, she bought dessert from the bakery in front of the lodging, ate it, and then went back to sleep.

Except for pulling the hero’s sword at dawn, she did nothing all day.

To some, it might seem lazy, but at least no one in Ariel’s party thought so.

Dragons and fairies were naturally lazy races to begin with.

Adventures are fine, but just lazing around in bed doing nothing is also fine.

The same went for Ghost, the wolf.

Since they were in the city, Ghost preferred lying in the lodging’s yard, basking in the sunlight, rather than wandering around crowded human places.

Outside, fireworks exploded and cheers echoed, but Ariel’s lodging was as peaceful as another world.

And the next morning, a visitor arrived at that peaceful lodging.

*Knock knock.*

At the sound of knocking, Rakia opened the door with magic.

Standing at the door was Sion.

“Ah, this is the place. I looked for a while. Can I come in for a moment?”

At Sion’s question, Rakia nodded.

Currently, only Rakia was in the room, while Ariel and Roo were sleeping in the yard, hugging Ghost.

“This place seems quite expensive. Are you staying here because of the wolf?”

Sion entered the room, looking around, and Rakia sat on the bed, crossing her arms and glaring at Sion.

“State your business, human. If it’s trivial, I’ll turn you to ashes right now.”

“……”

Seeing the magic circle drawn beneath his feet, Sion looked slightly bewildered.

Outside, Sion’s treatment had completely changed.

Originally a vagrant child, he was now the continent’s only chosen hero, selected by the gods.

No one dared to treat Sion carelessly anymore.

After all, when the war with the demons broke out, Sion would be the one to save humanity.

But that had nothing to do with Rakia.

To Rakia, whether a hero or an emperor, humans were just an inferior race.

“…Can you remove this magic circle first? It’s making me uneasy to talk like this.”

Sion said with a pale face.

Even though he was a hero, Sion had only pulled Excalibur a day ago.

He didn’t feel any stronger yet, and most importantly, he hadn’t even communicated with Excalibur.

It’s said that heroes communicate with Excalibur.

No one knows exactly how it works, but the former hero Leonhardt often held the sword and talked to it alone.

Excalibur is said to lend power or give advice to the hero, but Sion hadn’t felt any of that yet.

Everyone praised Sion as a hero, but he himself couldn’t tell what had changed.

People from the Imperial Capital provided lodging, food, luxurious clothes, and a lot of money, but Sion felt no different from his vagrant days.

Thus, Rakia’s magic circle was still a threat to him.

“Hmph.”

On the other hand, Rakia didn’t like Sion much.

No particular reason, just that Sion had pulled the hero’s sword, which she couldn’t.

A mere human doing what she couldn’t was unacceptable to a dragon’s pride.

Still, Rakia didn’t set Sion on fire because she thought Ariel wouldn’t want trouble.

Ariel seemed to prefer peaceful resolutions in any situation, and Rakia followed her lead.

Rakia waved her hand, and the glowing magic circle beneath Sion disappeared.

Only then did Sion sigh in relief and state his business.

“Hey, remember what I said before? That I’d repay your kindness. When you helped me.”

Rakia nodded slightly.

“And?”

“I came to repay that kindness. Tonight, there’s a banquet celebrating the birth of the hero. I want to invite you. Normally, only nobles can attend, but I was told I could invite family or friends. There’ll be lots of delicious food. This is Goldcastle, after all. The wealthiest city in the Empire. The banquet will be incredibly luxurious.”

“Hmm…”

Rakia scratched her head.

For a moment, she thought, “A human banquet?” but the mention of delicious food was tempting.

“I’ll ask Ariel when she wakes up.”

“Okay, thanks. Here’s the invitation.”

Sion handed over the invitation.

Rakia took it and examined it quietly.

A luxurious-looking invitation.

It listed the banquet hall’s location and start time.

“I really hope you can come.”

Sion said with an awkward smile.

*

Ariel woke up a few hours later.

When she woke up, Rakia told her about Sion’s invitation to the banquet.

As Ariel looked at the invitation, Roo muttered beside her.

“That kid really hit the jackpot. Becoming a real hero… I kinda saw it coming, but still.”

“Hmph.”

Rakia snorted.

“He just got lucky. If I had used magic, I would’ve pulled the hero’s sword. Definitely. Anyway, Ariel, are you going to the banquet?”

“Yeah.”

Ariel nodded slightly.

Sion had gone out of his way to invite them, so there was no reason not to go.

Besides, there’d be lots of delicious food at the banquet.

When she attended Sierra’s banquet before, the chocolate cake was incredibly tasty.

Remembering that chocolate cake, going was a must.

But the problem was.

“Then, sister, what about Ghost? It’d be hard to bring Ghost to a gathering of human nobles…”

At Roo’s words, Ariel glanced at Ghost.

Indeed, bringing such a large wolf to the banquet seemed impossible. People would surely be scared and wary.

“Or, I can stay here with Ghost. You and Rakia can go to the banquet. I’m tired of places with lots of humans anyway.”

Roo said with a bright smile, and Ghost also nodded slightly, agreeing.

Ariel wasn’t thrilled, but since the banquet wouldn’t last long, it seemed fine to go for a bit.

“Thanks, Roo, Ghost.”

Ariel petted both Ghost and Roo.

Ghost closed his eyes, accustomed to it, while Roo fidgeted, looking embarrassed.

*

The sun was setting.

After generously providing meat and fruit wine for Ghost and Roo, Ariel and Rakia left the lodging.

They were heading to the banquet.

The banquet hall’s location was on the invitation, but since it was Ariel and Rakia’s first time in Goldcastle, finding it wasn’t easy.

They wandered for a while, and eventually, Rakia stopped a passing coachman, showing the invitation and asking for directions.

“Take us there immediately, human. Or else…”

It was more of a threat than a request, but when Ariel took out gold coins from her inventory, the coachman readily let them into the carriage.

Riding the coachman’s carriage, they soon arrived at the banquet hall.

It was the Baraton family’s grand mansion, dazzlingly decorated from the entrance, and the building was almost as grand as a palace.

A mansion so luxurious that commoners would be overwhelmed at first sight.

In front of such a mansion, Ariel and Rakia got off the carriage.

At the entrance was a massive iron gate, guarded by guards.

As Ariel and Rakia approached, the guards scrutinized them sharply.

Most attendees at the banquet were high-ranking nobles.

Naturally, they were elegantly and luxuriously dressed.

To the guards, Rakia was decently dressed, but Ariel’s attire seemed out of place at the banquet.

Just ordinary adventurer’s clothes.

No one had come to the banquet hall dressed like that today.

Moreover, Ariel and Rakia were alone, without any escort knights or attendants.

They were also young, and most importantly…

‘An elf?’

The pointed ears peeking through Ariel’s silver hair were sharp.

She wasn’t human but an elf.

The guard blocked Ariel and Rakia with a stern face.

Sometimes, uninvited guests come to the banquet hall.

They might want free food, or have some shady intentions, or other reasons.

To prevent such cases, the guards were paid to protect this place.

So, it was natural for the guard to block Ariel and Rakia.

“May I see your invitation?”

Ariel and Rakia looked young, but the guard used polite language.

He couldn’t yet determine their status.

At the guard’s words, Rakia rummaged through her dress pocket.

Then, with a panicked face, she looked at Ariel.

“Ariel, the, the invitation, it’s gone. I must’ve left it in the carriage.”

“……”

The guard’s gaze turned cold as he looked at Ariel and Rakia.