Chapter 41 – Invitation to the Royal Castle

“But even taking that into account, the monsters that appear in the labyrinth are completely different from everyone in the settlement.”

“How so?”

“Everyone seemed to have their own personalities, and individual preferences too. The monsters in the labyrinth are somehow… compared to everyone in my memory, they lack those qualities. Yet when it comes to fighting, they’re strangely quick-witted.”

Hmm. To begin with, they weren’t “spawning” but were born in the labyrinth. Irmhild definitely said they lived together as a community.

“I’m not quite sure. Did you have parents?”

“Yes.”

Nodding as if it were natural, Irmhild smiled nostalgically.

“There were rules in the village. Like not going outside. Not letting anyone in, and such.”

Indeed—as far as I know, I’ve never encountered monster species friendly to humans, or monsters exhibiting friendly behavior toward humans inside the labyrinth.

Even when being controlled, they’re allowed to live while retaining some degree of free will.

Hmm. The image that comes to mind is isolation or protection… perhaps? Then by whom? For what purpose?

“Who decided these rules?”

“Hmm. I never really questioned it. Now that you mention it, who was it? How strange.”

Irmhild tilted her head, resting her cheek on her hand.

“Um…”

“Irmhild has always been like this,”

Sheila said.

…Even without being under control, this is… perhaps she’s just carefree by nature.

“Well, in any case, I don’t think that settlement exists on the shallow floors.”

“Is that so?”

“Based on my research about the labyrinth, I’ve never heard of monster settlement floors. Considering the situation and purpose of the settlement, it seems they don’t want anyone intruding, and they don’t want the residents going outside either.”

“Hmm… Then it might be impossible to search for it as things are now.”

Irmhild let out a sigh.

Just then, a knock sounded. Heather appeared at the door.

“What is it?”

“There’s someone here who says they wish to see Theodore-san.”

“Understood. I’ll be right there.”

“Eh? Ah, no. Wait a… moment.”

I had responded to Heather, but she turned around as if trying to hold someone back.

“My apologies. As I said earlier, please wait in the lobby. They’re currently receiving visitors.”

“No, I don’t mind. It’s urgent business.”

“Please wait. Chester-san.”

“It’s fine.”

They were going back and forth like that.

Well… it’s not really fine though.

When I glanced at Sheila, she was frowning with displeasure. Of course she would. She had been quite cautious even about me meeting with Irmhild.

In urban areas—especially here in Termwills—there’s relative tolerance toward different races like Elves and Dwarfs. This foundation is what leads to acceptance of friendly and harmless monsters. The Adventurer Guild being knowledgeable about monster realities also plays a part.

But that’s just tolerance. I wouldn’t say there’s no discrimination or persecution.

Grace faces similar circumstances. As long as she wears the Cursed Tool, she has no bloodsucking impulses so she causes no actual harm, and since it’s not visible from appearance, she can remain separate from such matters. Otherwise—even as a half-breed, she would likely be treated the same as a Vampire. So I can understand Sheila’s concerns.

For now, being cautious when you don’t know the other party is probably correct. I should go out and not let them enter the room.

When I peeked out from beside Heather, I made eye contact with a brown-haired man. He wore a surcoat with an emblem and carried a sword.

Judging by his attire—he must belong to the Knight Order. Around 20 years old. He had a seemingly refreshing smile, but my current impression isn’t very good. I can’t yet tell if it’s intentional or just his natural disposition.

“Hey, you must be the rumored magician.”

“Theodore Gartner.”

“I’m Chester Glenbell. I’ve brought an invitation to the soirée being held at the Royal Castle. Well, I went to your house yesterday but you seemed to be out, so it was a wasted trip. After searching around, I heard you were diving in the labyrinth.”

“Is that so.”

“Well, from our perspective, we made it in time so that’s good. It’s in five days. There’s an event being held at the Royal Castle, and they want you to attend since you defeated the Demon. An invitation for you was arranged on short notice.”

“An event, you say?”

“Nothing major. Though His Majesty is scheduled to attend.”

…Five days from now. Doesn’t seem very urgent at all. Rather than a summons from the Royal Castle, it feels more like they’re calling the rumored person as a surprise guest.

But why would a knight be delivering invitations?

Well, I won’t ask. I’d be troubled if I pressed and got stuck in conversation here.

The Royal Castle’s Mage Corps and Knight Order don’t get along well, so it probably doesn’t have a good background anyway.

“Understood. Then I suppose I can’t refuse to show up.”

“Yeah. Well then, I’ve properly delivered it.”

Chester withdrew and left quite easily. What was that all about?

“I’m sorry, Theodore-san. I told him to wait in the lobby.”

Heather bowed her head.

“No, if he enters on his own, there’s nothing you can do. More importantly, who is he?”

“He’s someone who’s been making a name for himself in the Knight Order recently. Rumored to have considerable skill. Um. He mentioned an event in five days. It’s probably the Knight Order’s dinner party. This year, since His Majesty is attending, it was planned to be grand… but with the Demon incident, are they really proceeding as scheduled?”

So a knight came because it’s hosted by the Knight Order. Well, that’s an easy-to-understand reason.

“Um. The timing of inviting me means… they probably want to make it an occasion to celebrate defeating the Demon.”

“Ah, that seems likely…”

At my words, Heather frowned slightly.

Several soldiers died, but if they restrained themselves because of that, all their preparations until now would be wasted.

Since it’s being held at the Royal Castle, and with the King attending… well, they probably don’t want to cancel so easily.

So by calling me, they’re course-correcting to make it a victory celebration or an occasion to honor the brave soldiers.

That would make my attendance necessary. They call it an invitation, but I’ve become an essential component, and they probably really want me to attend. That’s why they used the vague term “event” instead of calling it a dinner party.

They probably wanted to deliver the invitation as soon as possible to secure my agreement and make the event certain. Using a famous knight as messenger might be to show they value me, or to create an atmosphere where I can’t refuse. His initial demeanor was that of a pleasant young man.

Since I agreed easily, he withdrew right away, but if I had shown reluctance, he might have persisted.

…Well, their personnel selection was completely wrong though.

I don’t really know Chester’s character, but if he’s naturally like that, he might be useless except for martial arts and unsuitable as an envoy. If he did it deliberately, I can infer he was bitterly dissatisfied with being used as an errand boy by his superiors.

“Will you be attending?”

“Well, I’ve already accepted the invitation.”

From my perspective, I had expected something like this would happen sooner or later after defeating the Demon.

I still want to dive in the labyrinth for a while, and I’d be troubled if people decided my position without me being present.

If it’s unavoidable, then by attending and expressing my position and thoughts, I might be able to reach a good understanding with the important people.

Also, I want to do some probing about the information I got from Linette.