TFCG 71

Chapter 71

“Are you all right, Adrian? You don’t look well. Are you feeling sick?”

I carefully approached Adrian and asked in a small voice.
His expression had been stiff and rigid, but he forced a faint smile as if to show he was fine.

“I’m fine. It’s my first time visiting the Aither region as well, so I suppose I’m a little tense.”

“……”

Was that really all?

If he said so, then perhaps it was true—but somehow it seemed doubtful that simple nervousness would make him look that troubled.
He was never the most energetic person to begin with, but today, the depth of worry on his face made him look utterly dispirited.

Darren, who overheard our conversation, approached the two of us and opened his mouth.

“Hey, Adrian. Are you, by any chance….”

Did he know why Adrian was acting like this?
I perked my ears, waiting for his next words.

“Is it teleportation motion sickness? Seriously, man.”

Darren blurted out something utterly absurd.

“What nonsense are you spewing? Do you think Adrian is you?”

Rena said, shocked. And honestly, that perfectly echoed my thoughts.

Sure, teleportation sickness was rough, but there was no way Adrian would look that grim because of something so trivial…!

But the conversation didn’t last long.
The clock struck nine, and it was time to depart for the Aither Desert.

“Well then, it’s time.”

At Clemence’s voice, the once noisy companions immediately shut their mouths.

“When we arrive at the Aither Desert, we can head straight to the royal palace. The king’s side formally requested aid from our Hero Party. They’ll provide lodging as well.”

Belinda adjusted her glasses as she spoke, and I heard Rena mutter:

“…Well, at least we won’t suffer like we did in the Silvagrove Forest. They invited us themselves; they won’t refuse to give us information this time.”

It was reasonable.

The exclusivity and territorial attitude in Silvagrove had caused endless headaches.
Like Rena said, there would be no need to run around gathering information from the locals this time.

…Well, to be precise, the original plan was that I’d be the one suffering alone.

In the original game, the others would have fallen victim to the nightmare demon’s curse and unable to wake up.
I would’ve had to endure every hardship by myself.

Of course, I’d already prepared the solution beforehand.
For me, this region was basically free loot.

“Well, then. Safe travels.”

Clemence’s gentle smile was the last thing I saw before my vision went dark.

And when it brightened again—

“Ugh… so hot…!”

—an overwhelming wave of heat struck me.

The air smelled of dusty sand, and the sunlight was so scorching it felt like the top of my head was burning.
I could still vividly remember the sound of water from the fountain plaza, but there was not even a sliver of doubt about whether the teleportation failed.

The increase in temperature alone made it obvious we’d arrived somewhere entirely different.

I snapped my eyes open—sand stretched endlessly in all directions.

The water-like sound came from a massive fountain shaped like a lion beside the teleport arrival point.

Oh, now this looks truly exotic.

I glanced around.
Angular limestone structures filled my vision—thick walls and small windows.
The architectural style was entirely different from anything in the Edaphosia continent so far.

As I admired the scenery—

“Ugh.”

—familiar retching sounded behind me.
The others were once again collapsed from motion sickness.

“Is everyone okay?”

While patting Rena’s back and checking the others, footsteps echoed from a distance.

“Are you the ones from the Hagion Hero Party?”

I turned toward the voice.
A man wearing loose local clothing, with a curved crescent-shaped sword at his waist, approached us.
His dark skin and attire made it clear he was a native.

A long scar ran from his right cheek down past his lips to his chin, giving him quite a fierce appearance.

To me—someone who’d played Edaphosia—his face was familiar.

Luckily, he had also come to pick us up in the game.
Otherwise, I would have instinctively thought, Who on earth is this guy? and drawn my weapon.

“Yes, that’s us. We’re from the Hagion Hero Party.”

Since my companions were still half-dead from motion sickness, I stepped forward to greet him.

“I am Shamshir, sent by the royal palace to escort you. This way, please.”

The man—Shamshir—guided us, and the subordinates behind him picked up our luggage one by one.

Compared to the past, when I had to arrange inns myself, this was an unbelievably generous reception.

As we followed the royal guards—

“Hey, hey, Captain. Can we trust these people? Did you see that scar on his face? What if we get kidnapped?”

Darren whispered just loud enough for us to hear.

Moments ago he was dying from motion sickness, and now that he had revived slightly, this was the nonsense coming out of his mouth.

“…Is that really something you should be saying? Have you looked in a mirror?”

A retort came immediately—Rena, of course.

“What? What’s wrong with me?”

Darren raised his voice in indignation.

I discreetly gave Rena a thumbs-up.
Honestly, aside from the scar, Darren looked just as intimidating as Shamshir.

Worse still, that burly exterior paired with the fancy private-school-like uniform he wore made him appear downright bizarre.

While we chatted like that, we eventually arrived at the lavish royal palace.

Perhaps because the region wasn’t humid, the moment we stepped indoors we felt a noticeable coolness.

“You seem tired from teleportation. We’ll take you to your lodging first. Then one representative may go meet His Majesty.”

Shamshir guided us to a separate palace.
And naturally, the “one representative” meant me.

…A king. Meeting a king alone!

Even though I’d been in this world for quite some time, I’d never met anyone high-ranked.
Mid-Isle was too small for social hierarchy to matter, and Silvagrove was democratic.

But Edaphosia was vast and housed a variety of political systems.

The Aither Kingdom was, literally, a kingdom—ruled by a king.

For someone like me, who got nervous even meeting a district assemblyman, meeting a monarch alone was nerve-racking.

Lost in such thoughts, we eventually arrived at the ornate detached palace prepared for us.

There was even a large artificial pond in the garden, and the entire building was decorated lavishly.

Adrian, Darren, and Leo were led to the men’s quarters; Rena and I were guided to the women’s quarters, where a giant king-sized bed awaited.

There was only one bed, but it was so large that even picky Rena could sleep comfortably without worrying about touching me.

“Ugh… I’m dying…”

Without even removing her shoes, she collapsed onto the bed.
The sickness must have really hit her hard.

“Then rest. I’ll go attend the audience.”

I said so, but my feet didn’t move easily.

Just as I was about to leave, I remembered something and took out a Mist Crystal from my inventory, placing it on the bedside table.

Rena noticed immediately.

“…Why a Mist Crystal?”

“Oh, it’s dry in this region. I brought it so the room would be more comfortable. But how did you recognize it right away?”

“There’s one at my family home. It’s much bigger, though…”

Still lying down, she lifted her arms to show the approximate size.

At least 30–40 cm.
Compared to that, the palm-sized Mist Crystal I brought wasn’t even worth considering as a Mist Crystal.

As expected of a noble family.

She wasn’t even going to ask, What’s that?
I had been fully prepared to deliver the classic line: Ah, do you not know? This is called a Mist Crystal…

But instead, a strange sense of defeat washed over me.

Well, I couldn’t possibly know more about this world’s items than someone born and raised here.

Putting that aside, I left the room.

As if he’d been waiting, Shamshir immediately approached.

“Let us go, Hero of the Goddess. His Majesty awaits.”

So he, too, already knew my identity as the Goddess’s Hero.

I always kept the hand with the divine marking hidden under gloves, so they must have researched beforehand.

Still, I had no intention of asking how they discovered it.
It would be stranger for a royal palace not to know such an important fact.

Still… how am I supposed to greet a king?

I knew nothing of this country’s etiquette.
Was I supposed to kneel? Avoid eye contact?

But I wasn’t one of his subjects.
Strictly speaking, I was meeting him as the representative of the Hagion Hero Party.

Being too submissive might make us seem weak…