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Translator: Kazumi
Editor: Silavin
The meeting with the King continued, and although Rein, who directed the merchant convoy, should have represented the King in the meeting, Kousuke had already become the representative the King was speaking to.
Rein had no inclination to step in. He planned on leaving the matter to Kousuke to handle. As for the King, he was only intent on speaking with Kousuke.
“Well, let’s put the matter of the subjugation aside, the main topic is about what happened during the escorting request.” As soon as the King said this, he noticed that some of the people who were standing in the room reacted to his words.
Kousuke could not really tell, but it was clear to Mitsuki. It was she who told Kousuke about it telepathically.
Still, even when he knew, Kousuke pretended not to notice it and tilted his head.
“Is there something wrong?”
“…Hmm. After all that has happened, you’re saying that?”
“I believe that being an adventurer is a job that requires deliverable results rather than caring about the process.”
King Ernest’s mouth turned up at Kousuke’s simple answer.
Kousuke’s words were tantamount to saying that what happened along the way was unimportant. In fact, being an adventurer was a job that requires nothing more than the successful completion of a request.
Kousuke’s words may be a bit direct, but he was not wrong.
In addition, he was implying that they have done their job well, so the King need not force more onto their plate – that they had already washed their hands clean of this whole ordeal. Specifically, they were telling everyone that they did not want to get involved in this power struggle.
“That is certainly true. But sometimes, we want to know your opinions.”
“Opinions? To the government that would simply release the attackers without any regard for our opinions?”
Kousuke’s directed words stunned those around him.
That included Rein and the others.
The only ones who did not have a change in their expressions were Kousuke, Kouhi and Mitsuki.
Kousuke’s words now were tantamount to saying, ‘What is the point of asking for our opinions when you’ve released the criminals without a second thought?’
It was beyond sarcastic and was tantamount to directly criticizing the King.
Even King Ernest was stunned by those words.
Soon, a man interrupted him.
Normally, it would be considered disrespectful to interrupt the King, but he must have decided it was the right time for the King to stop talking.
“You! I have been listening to you from a while ago, you are far too rude!”
“Rude, you say?” Kousuke let out a single sigh before looking in this person’s direction.
“How is this being rude?”
“What?!”
“Isn’t that just your opinion? Our opinion has already been conveyed to the patrolmen in that town and yet they released them, right? In other words, isn’t this a decision made by the country? If our opinions did matter, would that have happened?”
Kousuke’s last words were directed at King Ernest.
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King Ernest was inwardly surprised. He did not expect someone to point it out so directly.
To put it bluntly, somewhere in the back of his mind, he had thought of them as just mere regular adventurers. That his words about ‘hearing their opinion’ was just platitudes.
However, such thoughts were blown away by the conversation they just had.
He knew, if he was not careful, he would be taken advantage of.
King Ernest immediately changed his mind.
He changed his mind about the summons. He initially wanted to host this because of curiosity, and wanted to play around a little. But now, he had a feeling he was about to witness an important national discussion.
“…Indeed, you are right.”
“What?!”
“Your, your Highness!”
King Ernest kept his gaze fixed on Kousuke while lightly raising his right hand to suppress the surrounding noise.
Kousuke also directly met his gaze.
He was not looking back at Kousuke with a strong gaze, but was simply facing him in a normal manner.
Only a handful of people could meet the gaze of a King, who had ruled for more than 20-plus years. In a sense, only those who were in a similar position could withstand his gaze, which could be considered intimidating.
Kousuke, however, could take in that gaze as if it were normal.
The atmosphere was so different from what it had been a few moments before, so much so that the others had all fallen silent.
The people in the room were all skilled at reading the atmosphere. They noticed the tension between Kousuke and King Ernest.
“Hmmm. You are right to be concerned. Then, let me declare it here and now. You will not be held accountable by the country for your words from now on.”
The people around him peeled their eyes at these words. Such a thing was rarely allowed, even in an informal setting.
It was only when the other party was recognized as an equal to the King, or on special occasions such as this one, which hardly, if ever, occurred.
“I thank the King for his exceptional consideration.” Perhaps sensing the mood, Kousuke said this and slowly lowered his head.
After that, the conversation between Kousuke and the King continued in an indifferent manner.
As for the content of the conversation, he spoke objectively about the events during the escort request from Kousuke’s point of view.
This however excluded Kousuke’s thoughts and feelings at that time. He knew that it was meaningless to express his opinion in such a situation. It was up to the King to decide what he thought of the whole situation.
Kousuke also believes that it was not his place to interfere more than necessary.
“…Hmmm. What you’ve said is insightful. Let me thank you again.”
“No. I’m glad I could be of help.”
The conversation between the two continued, still tense as ever.
No one was interrupting their conversation at this moment in time.
“By the way, I’m going to ask you, since you are not my subordinate, would you like to work for me?”
“I’m honored to receive an invitation, but…”
“I will surely meet any demands you have.”
What was important to the people around them was brought up between the two men, and ended quickly and without any time to stop it.
The King invited Kousuke with the best of intentions. However, he doubted that Kousuke would accept it.
The reason he asked Kousuke to become his subordinate was because he understood that there were people who were curious if he was going to recruit Kousuke.
He too wanted to take a chance, but he knew that most likely, he would be rejected.
At the same time, he also made sure to check on those who were relieved to see that Kousuke had refused.
For King Ernest, speaking with Kousuke was important, but the reactions of his subordinates were more important.
It was fair to say that this was why he set up this meeting, and continued talking for so long.
Considering this situation, it was fair to say that this discussion produced excellent results.
Without being able to interject, the rest could only watch the discussion between the two men as it continued without delay.
Especially after the change in the King’s mood, no one was able to follow the conversation between the two sides.
They were communicating on such a high level, but that was because they were watching from an onlooker’s perspective.
The meeting finally seemed to be coming to an end, but no one had expected the trap that awaited them at the very end.
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