Level Down 41 (Patreon)

Volume 1 Chapter 41 - Reason for Reward

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After the conferment of rewards to the key figures in the successful defense of the stampede of the Dragon Dungeon, Naveen, the Lord of Lilac City, headed to his office.

The reward paid to the adventurers starting with Kenneth was by no means small, but even so, it can be said that the amount is small compared to the last time when the city suffered damage.

One of the reasons for this is that the reward for Allen, who had done the most of all, was not money, and moreover, it was something that Naveen could manage to some extent at his discretion.

Arriving at the office, Naveen left his knight escort in front of the room, and went inside alone. He frowned slightly at the pile of papers related to the recent stampede neatly stacked on his desk and turned his gaze to the person sitting on the sofa in front of him as she comfortably sipped a cup of tea.

Noticing that Naveen had come in, the person slowly placed the cup in her hand on the desk and smiled softly at Naveen.

“Welcome home, Uncle Nav.” (Iseria)

“When you’re the one who says that, I feel like I'm also getting old.” (Naveen)

“Fufu. So how was it?” (Iseria)

“Yeah. Everything ended just as you expected. I thank you for your advice, Iseria.” (Naveen)

As Iseria giggled, Naveen briefly told her about the conferment of the reward while sitting down on the sofa opposite of her.

The way Naveen sank into the sofa to rest his tired body where there was not even a single servant, let alone a guard, showed his trust in Iseria.

Seeing Naveen like that, Iseria personally poured tea into the cup in front of him, and Naveen's eyelids twitched at that natural movement.

“You're used to it.” (Naveen)

“Yes. A kind person told me that delicious tea has magic, so I did my best to learn it.” (Iseria)

Saying that, Iseria giggled while looking meaningfully at Naveen. Naveen replied with a wry smile at Iseria as he put the tea she had brewed into his mouth.

The taste seemed to have deteriorated a little because it had been some time after it was brewed, but the taste of Iseria's brew reminded Naveen of the past.

Of the young Iseria when, although she didn't know anything, she lived happily while surrounded by servants in a small miniature garden isolated from the outside world.

“Iseria, what happened in the capital? Why are you here alone?” (Naveen)

Naveen asked Iseria exactly what’s been weighing on his mind since he reunited with her.

The way Iseria smiled quietly in response to that question made Naveen feel that, although she still had some traces of her childhood on her face, there was a shadow that wasn't there back then.

Then, slowly, Iseria opened her mouth.

“His Highness Sharolic, the second prince, he...” (Iseria)

“I got it. I’d rather not hear any more.” (Naveen)

Naveen immediately judged that this was not something he should hear, and forcibly stopped Iseria from speaking. Iseria's smile deepened slightly at that, and didn't say anything further.

Silence reigned for a while, and only the faint sounds of the two of them relaxingly drinking tea echoed in the room. Naveen was trying to sort out the situation from the fragmented information he had obtained while remaining calm and not showing his inner irritation.

The ‘Sharolic’ that Iseria mentioned is the name of the second prince of the Eliard Kingdom, to which Lilac belongs. He is not the child of the queen but of a concubine, but that concubine is from a marquis family and is officially recognized as a member of the royal family, making him the second in line to inherit the throne.

Above all, he was the only hero egg in the royal family, and he was also quite popular as one of the captains of a unit of knights in the capital.

But that's just on the surface. In reality, there is more than one hero egg among those who have royal blood. Because Iseria, the person in front of Naveen, is exactly that person.

A maid the king laid his hand on became pregnant, and Iseria was born from her. Since she was from a baronet family, which was the lowest end of nobility, according to custom, maids who become pregnant with the king's child are to be given a certain amount of money and returned to her parents' home.

On the condition that they do not reveal whose child the child is, more than enough money to support the child will be paid in the name of pension, and although the father is not present, the mother and daughter can live without any inconvenience. That was how it’s supposed to be.

But fate was cruel. Iseria that was born was a hero egg, what’s more her maximum level was 999, which had unprecedented potential.

And so, mother and daughter were separated. Iseria was raised in a sort of half-confinement in an isolated part of the royal palace where no one could come near. Of course, young Iseria has no such awareness. Because that small miniature garden was everything to Iseria.

Even if someone planned to use her as a piece that could be conveniently used in an emergency without anyone else knowing about it.

With Naveen's thoughts sorted out to a certain extent, a question suddenly arose within Naveen. He had some idea as to the cause of Iseria's expulsion, but he knew there was someone who would be the first to oppose it.

The person who led Naveen to meet Iseria was...

“What is Mentor Melchizelem doing?” (Naveen)

“Ojii-sama has work in the royal court, so he stayed behind in the capital. ‘Think of it as a good opportunity to escape from the miniature garden. First, head to Lilac and ask for Naveen,’ he said.” (Iseria)

Hearing Iseria’s words as her expression softened upon hearing the name Melchizelem, Naveen felt his long-held doubts melt away.

Melchizelem is a semi-legendary figure who has reigned at the pinnacle of magic in this country for many years as the chief magician in the royal court. Even though Naveen is the son of the Lilac house of count, one of the richest houses in the country, Melchizelem would not normally associate with him.

However, Melchizelem called out to Naveen, introduced him to Iseria, and revealed the secret of her birth.

The question of why he did that has been in Naveen's mind all this time.

The answer was the situation right in front of him. Naveen wondered since when and how long had he imagined that a situation like this would happen and took steps to prevent it, and he was once again fearful of Melchizelem's deliberation, but he also felt his mouth relax at the fact that such a man deemed him trustworthy.

Naveen put down the cup that was hiding his mouth and slowly looked at Iseria.

“I seem to have been helped before I could be of help.” (Naveen)

“It's just a coincidence. Besides, I'm a hero egg after all.” (Iseria)

Those words reminded Naveen of Iseria when she was a child, when she pestered him to talk about the hero Artigald with sparkling eyes.

Naveen coughed a little, trying to cover up the fact that he was about to reach for her head as he had done at that time.

“By the way, was it really enough to just give Nella citizenship? Considering his achievement, I could have given him a court rank or reward of some kind.” (Naveen)

“Yes. Nella-sama wishes to live freely, not attached to status or money. In fact, if you poorly try to tie him down, he will run away. I think secretly backing him is just the right relationship.” (Iseria)

“I see. It'll be troubling if a hero runs away.” (Naveen)

Naveen replied with a wry smile to Iseria's confident words.

Naveen had ordered an investigation into an unidentified being called Nella, but it wasn't just to confirm whether he was a disturbing element. It’s normal for such beings to hide their existence, yet Nella's actions were too conspicuous.

Rather, the main purpose of the investigation was to see if it was possible to somehow win Nella over.

All of the ogre kings’ magic stones that Nella had sold through the Guild were obtained by the Lord, Naveen. Magic stones of monsters as strong as ogre king hardly ever appear on the market, and he had succeeded in getting them after several bothersome negotiations.

Naveen judged that if he could get Nella into his hands, his value would be immeasurable.

Naveen, who was scheming to create a connection even if it was by force, was stopped by Iseria, who came as a key figure in the defense against the stampede. Following her plan, Naveen succeeded in building a somewhat good relationship with him.

A certain connection of Nella becoming a citizen of his territory.

“Then I'll be leaving. Uncle Nav too, I hope you don't push yourself too hard.” (Iseria)

After saying that, Iseria stood up and glanced at the documents piled up on his office desk, to which Naveen replied, “Yeah.”

Toward the back of the girl, who was no longer an innocent girl who didn't know anything, instead had grown up to the point where he could feel her will as a human being, Naveen called out.

“Iseria, do you know Nella's true identity?” (Naveen)

Iseria stopped at those words and turned around to look at Naveen with a big smile on her face.

“No, not at all. Because, to me, Nella-sama is Nella-sama.” (Iseria)

Leaving those words behind, Iseria left the office.

After staring at the door for a while, Naveen took his gaze away and looked at his office desk. Then he let out a big sigh.

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