Ch.183183. Not Okay At All.

“All the proud heroes of the Eastern Continent have gathered.”

As soon as we arrived at the Imperial Palace, we were guided by the butler directly to the reception room where Emperor Malius Silonia was already waiting.

I paid my respects alongside Jawil Wilson with utmost courtesy.

“Selden Alphonse, I am honored to meet Your Majesty, the Star of the Eastern Continent.”

“That’s enough, sit down.”

“Then, excuse me.”

As Jawil Wilson and I sat on the sofa across from him, Emperor Malius opened his mouth wide.

“What’s… wrong with your face?”

“Arohaogi huangsonghaona…”

I cut off Jawil Wilson’s words and bowed from my seated position.

“Jawil Wilson here accidentally disturbed a beehive on our way and got his face stung by bees.”

“…My goodness… How large were these bees? Are you alright?”

“Fortunately, I was inside the carriage at the time and avoided the trouble.”

It was a poison I had urgently requested by letter from the Poison Mistress of Hongwaru.

A poison that posed no threat to life—just a few drops on the lips caused rapid swelling, resulting in this condition.

Fortunately, while visually uncomfortable, it didn’t impede movement at all.

Moreover, she said it would subside cleanly within three days. What a beautiful poison, isn’t it?

Well, it was also the only solution to seal Jawil Wilson’s loose lips.

His Majesty the Emperor looked at Jawil Wilson with concerned eyes.

“Are you sure you don’t need to rest?”

“I’m fwine.”

As soon as Jawil Wilson finished speaking, I opened my mouth.

“He says his pronunciation is slurred, which is uncomfortable, but moving around is fine. And he doesn’t want to miss the honor of an audience with Your Majesty.”

“…It seemed like he just said he was fine?”

“Having spent quite a long time with Jawil Wilson, I can tell just by looking at his eyes.”

“Then I’ll take it that he’s fine.”

“Yes, Your Majesty need not worry.”

Emperor Malius slowly nodded and took a teacup in his hand.

“Selden Alphonse.”

“Please speak, Your Majesty.”

“I couldn’t sleep for days after hearing the shocking news.”

“Which news are you referring to?”

“Didn’t you stop the monster wave that occurred in Lake Territory? You won’t say it was just luck again, will you?”

At Emperor Malius’s question, I smiled gently as if I had been waiting for it.

“Of course, it wasn’t something that could be resolved by luck. It was thanks to the defensive formation I had prepared in advance working properly.”

“I heard from those who investigated Lake Territory that building the defensive formation cost a considerable amount of money?”

“That’s correct.”

“Even though you say you prepared in advance, how did you decide to invest such a large sum in Lake Territory without being certain that a monster wave would occur?”

Another expected question.

Maintaining my smile, I continued.

“As you already know, Lake Territory has the Forest of Death, doesn’t it?”

“Yes. I heard it was named so because once you enter, you cannot come out.”

“Actually, though I didn’t go too deep, I entered several times with the knights. We even hunted monsters there.”

At my words, Emperor Malius’s eyes widened.

“You entered the Forest of Death!? Even before the monster wave occurred?”

“Yes, and I felt something ominous then. It was just a feeling, but I became convinced that a monster wave would occur soon.”

“What kind of feeling…”

“There was something indescribable. And while the construction process was difficult, I thought that if the defensive formation was properly established, the people of Lake Territory could live safely for the rest of their lives.”

Emperor Malius let out an exclamation at my rapid response.

“For the safety of the villagers… to have such admirable thoughts at such a young age.”

“You flatter me.”

“The monster wave has elevated your status.”

“In truth, it was already happening so I had no choice, but when I safely installed the defensive formation, I prayed that the monster wave wouldn’t occur.”

“I’m sure. Even after building the defensive formation, even you couldn’t have been certain it would definitely stop the monster wave.”

That’s right.

I expected the monster wave to occur as in the original story, but I couldn’t guarantee that I would definitely survive.

Of course, that’s why I prepared so meticulously, which allowed me to save Lake Territory safely.

“That’s correct.”

“I wish other territories would follow Lake Territory’s example… Could you provide the blueprints for the defensive formation?”

“I was already planning to organize them properly and send them by letter.”

“Thank you. Thanks to you, other territories will also have a higher chance of stopping monster waves.”

I adjusted my posture while sitting on the sofa to continue the serious conversation.

“Since we’re on the topic of defensive formations, may I offer an opinion?”

“Go ahead.”

“I would like Your Majesty to bestow honor plaques to families whose territories build defensive formations using my blueprints.”

“Honor plaques?”

“If you ‘order’ them to build defensive formations, the nobles will strongly resist, citing the enormous cost, and even if they do build them, they’ll try to cut costs as much as possible.”

Emperor Malius nodded at my words, as if seeing the point.

“Hmm, and this would be resolved with honor plaques?”

“It’s about touching the ‘honor’ that nobles value so much. The defensive formations must be built voluntarily to truly shine.”

Emperor Malius let out a hearty laugh.

“Haha! I thought you were quite clever, but even that was underestimating you.”

“You flatter me. I simply thought about how to spread the blueprints to more territories since Your Majesty began investigating the construction of defensive formations.”

Emperor Malius, who had been smiling contentedly, turned his gaze to Jawil Wilson.

“By the way, what a pity… I had many questions for you as well.”

I smiled slightly at Emperor Malius, who let out a short sigh.

“If you have any questions, you can ask me.”

“You?”

“Yes, I heard everything about what happened in Cataria Territory before Jawil Wilson was injured.”

At that, Emperor Malius opened his eyes slightly wider and leaned toward me.

“Is that so?”

“Yes, and although Jawil Wilson currently cannot speak, he can communicate through actions and will correct any misinformation I might convey.”

Jawil Wilson nodded as if he had been waiting for this.

His Majesty the Emperor stroked his chin and spoke.

“Hmm, according to the report, five Black Hounds invaded the Delphinium flower field, and Jawil Wilson lured them into the Forest of Destruction?”

“That’s correct.”

“And he dealt with all five Black Hounds in the Forest of Destruction?”

“Yes.”

Jawil Wilson nodded with a tense expression.

Even without being able to speak, this much…

Just as I was convinced that requesting help from Hongwaru had been an excellent choice, Emperor Malius continued.

“But why did he lure the Black Hounds to the Forest of Destruction instead of dealing with them on the spot?”

“It was to ensure the safety of the people of Cataria Territory.”

“Couldn’t he have lured them in the opposite direction? That area is a sparsely populated coast and wouldn’t have had monsters appear like in the Forest of Destruction.”

Jawil Wilson’s face was already drenched in sweat.

I was also taken aback by the unexpected question, but managed to hide my expression.

“He says he wasn’t familiar with the geography. It was Jawil Wilson’s first visit to Cataria Territory…”

Emperor Malius continued while glancing at Jawil Wilson, who was nodding quickly.

“I heard that five Black Hounds and the corpses of other monsters were found in the Forest of Destruction. Are you saying Jawil Wilson handled all of this?”

“…Yes, that’s correct.”

“He dealt with five Black Hounds simultaneously, plus other monsters at the same time… Are all the knights of Alphonse Territory that strong?”

I smiled gently at His Majesty’s words.

“I was also so surprised by Jawil Wilson’s news that I grabbed him and asked, but he said he ‘was lucky.'”

“He was lucky… Haha! Now I see it must be a habit of the Alphonse family.”

Emperor Malius gave a meaningful laugh and then stood up.

“I’ve arranged a ceremony tomorrow to honor your achievements, so please rest for today.”

As Jawil Wilson and I also stood up, we paid our respects while Emperor Malius turned to leave the reception room.

Creeeeak—! Bang!

As the door closed, the tension dissipated.

It felt like facing an old fox.

As if he could see through everything from the top of his head, so to speak?

Of course, even His Majesty the Emperor wouldn’t be able to discern that it was the work of a dragon.

“Phew…”

Just as I let out a sigh of relief, the reception room door opened.

Creeeeak—!

And.

As she entered the reception room, I stared at her and thought:

There was still one more mountain to climb.