The royal herald, having dismounted from the Griffin, cleared his throat and solemnly cried out.
“I shall convey Her Majesty’s command!”
Even as he proclaimed it solemnly, his gaze continued to dart toward Solacius’s waist.
“Everyone, pay your respects!”
Solacius and everyone present knelt.
The royal herald solemnly unfolded a silk scroll.
“I commend the efforts of the Subjugation Force that stopped Necromancer Isabel Reverse’s rampage.”
As the letter personally written by the Queen was read aloud, the somewhat excited and disorderly surroundings immediately grew quiet.
“Especially! Upon the wandering knight Roan Shalut, who was the bravest, most honorable, and made the greatest contribution, I bestow the Blessing of the Snowfield.”
Everyone silently lowered their heads and listened to the royal herald read the letter.
“I would like to summon the entire Subjugation Force to the royal palace, but these are troubled times. It would not be good for people of your caliber, each worth a hundred, to leave their posts all at once.”
Small sighs and exclamations filled with both understanding and regret could be heard from every direction.
“As a representative, I invite Roan Shalut to the royal palace. I will personally grant him an estate and title.”
When the reward for Solacius was announced, quiet cheers such as “Ooh! As expected!” rose around him.
“......”
But Solacius, the actual subject of the command, did not look particularly pleased.
“The other members of the Subjugation Force are to remain in Oski, the Royal Direct Domain, and protect the Margrave’s safety. According to each person’s merit, I will grant gold, silver, and treasures through the market.”
With those words, the royal herald finished reading.
“Waaaaah!”
“Congratulations, Knight Roan!”
“Her Majesty the Queen recognizes a Hero when she sees one!”
Cheers finally erupted in earnest.
Everyone applauded and sincerely congratulated Solacius.
“Please receive Her Majesty’s letter, Sir Roan Shalut.”
The royal herald carefully rolled up the silk command scroll again and handed it to Solacius.
“Thank you.”
Solacius accepted the scroll, wondering why the royal herald was behaving so much more politely than before.
“You do not seem particularly pleased. Is there some problem?”
Seeing Solacius’s calm reaction, the royal herald asked with concern.
For no reason, he worried that he had made a mistake.
“Nothing. I am more than satisfied.”
Unlike his words, Solacius was clearly not happy.
‘So I am going there after all.’
Rewards such as an estate and title meant nothing to him.
‘In the first place, I will be returning to Earth, so I do not need them.’
The titles and estates that would make people of this world go wild did not move Solacius much.
He desired high-speed internet and the drama series he had not finished more than any medieval estate.
‘The current progression is clearly different from the original work. But things like this would not change that personality.’
Solacius did not view the letter the Queen had personally written with pure intentions.
He had eliminated many bandits and killed a Necromancer.
Of course, the Queen had to commend those accomplishments.
If she ignored them, it would damage the monarch’s honor.
She probably did not want to give the rewards written in the command, but had been forced to do so.
‘The fact that there are no details about the title or estate is proof of that.’
When he arrived at the royal palace, she would surely throw him a barren plot of land with not even a proper village at the kingdom’s northernmost edge and call it an estate.
‘I heard that the Queen is watching me. Everyone calls it interest, but this is one hundred percent caution.’
Queen Lucifurne hated the Empire and imperial royals.
Then, one day, an exiled royal appeared in Luhan.
He had also eliminated a rampaging Necromancer as though he had been waiting, one who had ignored the Blessing of the Snowfield.
‘I would be cautious too.’
If he went to the royal palace now, he might have to face the Queen in a more unfavorable situation than in the game.
‘This is not good.’
The more he thought about it, the more negative his predictions became, and he furrowed his brow.
“Older Brother, what is wrong? You do not look happy. Is it hot again?”
At that moment, Luna noticed Solacius’s hardened expression and asked worriedly from beside him.
“No, my body is fine.”
Solacius forced a bright smile in response to his sister’s concern.
‘I cannot let Luna get dragged into the Queen’s hysteria as well. With her personality, I do not think she will simply put up with the Queen.’
He suddenly became seriously concerned about what would happen if Luna and Lucie met.
His younger sister was starting to show her original feisty nature again.
Just imagining her encountering the Queen made his head ache.
“Ahem, ahem! Is there perhaps something lacking or disappointing? I will report it once I return to the royal palace.”
As Solacius was lost in thought, the royal herald asked once more like a puppy desperate to relieve itself.
“No. I am merely humbled by Her Majesty’s grace. This is simply how my face looks, so do not worry.”
Feeling sorry for the royal herald, Solacius forced a brighter expression and showed his satisfaction.
“Whew, I am glad you are satisfied. Then I shall take my leave.”
When Solacius finally relaxed his expression and said he was satisfied, the royal herald sighed in relief and climbed onto the Griffin.
Ordinarily, he would have used his position as a royal herald to receive various forms of hospitality before leaving.
In fact, the merchants, including Kalt, were preparing a lavish meal for the royal herald behind them.
Growl.
The delicious scent entering his nose made the royal herald hungry.
He had been tearing apart tasteless pemmican as he flew through the night, making him even hungrier.
‘Sob!’
But with tears in his eyes, he endured his hunger.
If he lingered around and was noticed by the Queen, who might be watching this situation, it could become a problem.
“It was an honor to meet such an honorable knight! I will see you soon at the royal palace!”
Without looking back, he vanished high into the sky.
***
Lucie, synchronized with Winteira, watched Solacius listen to the contents of the letter she had personally written from the closest distance.
‘Why is he not happy?’
That was why the shock she felt was even greater.
‘He seems to dislike it instead......’
Why?
What was the problem?
She became anxious and impatient for no reason.
No matter how she thought about it, she did not seem to have done anything wrong, yet she somehow felt as though she had made a mistake and should apologize.
‘There cannot be anyone who dislikes an estate and a title.’
Before her regression, it had been a reward she bestowed only at the very end.
‘I intended to let him choose anything among the Royal Direct Domains...... Then I would give him a title suited to the territory he chose.’
The reason she had not specified a separate title or estate was, in her own way, a blank check.
The Queen fell into confusion.
‘Should I ask him?’
In her curiosity and frustration, Lucie considered sending a message to Solacius.
Though there were limitations, she could convey her will through Winteira.
‘But how? What should I say to begin our first conversation?’
But when she actually considered doing it, she could not bring herself to try.
Even if she spoke to him, she did not know how to begin.
“Your Majesty, did you cough?”
At that moment, Vanessa’s voice came from outside the bedroom.
It seemed she had come to offer her morning greetings.
Already confused, Lucie used Vanessa’s visit as an excuse to end her synchronization with Winteira.
***
The food specially prepared for the royal herald ended up being eaten by Solacius and the members of the Subjugation Force.
The royal herald appeared to have something urgent to do and hurried away without eating.
Thanks to that, the delicious and luxurious food became parting meal fare for Solacius and the Subjugation Force.
“It is truly regrettable that we must part like this.”
Representing the merchants, the head of the Kalt Merchant Company spoke with sincere regret.
“If it were up to us, we would escort you all the way to the royal capital, Sir Knight......”
Kalt could not hide the apologetic look in his eyes.
“Your feelings are enough. In any case, it will be easier to travel quickly with only a small group.”
Solacius shook his head.
The Queen had summoned him.
He did not want to go, but because the Queen had called him, he needed to get there as quickly as possible.
Traveling with a merchant company that had wagons would delay him.
“Besides, after only one more day of travel, we will be inside the Margrave’s territory.”
“That is true. The Blessing of the Snowfield is stronger from the inner territory onward.”
“Just when we thought we could finally relax after dealing with the Necromancer, the Imperial Army becomes a problem right away.”
“That is correct. Their movements have been unusual lately. Food prices have risen sharply.”
Solacius and the merchants continued their parting conversation with regret.
“By the way, Sir Knight, do you no longer need magical devices?”
Dominic, a merchant standing beside Kalt, carefully asked.
Magical devices were difficult to obtain, just like food.
Food could still be acquired, though its price had risen.
But magical devices were so scarce that price was secondary. Even having money did not make them easy to obtain.
Most magical devices were military supplies used in war.
“Yes. I do not think I will need magical devices related to cold any longer.”
Solacius comforted Dominic by patting his shoulder, just as he had done for Kalt.
“Is it because of the blue sword you now wear at your waist?”
Though moved, Dominic gazed at the blue magic sword that had greatly eased the guilt he felt.
“It saved me.”
Solacius nodded as he ran his fingers over the magic sword that he no longer let leave his waist even for a moment.
“It seems that even the heavens have recognized Knight Roan.”
“A sword that falls from the sky like a meteor!”
“To think things one would only see in myths are unfolding right beside us!”
Everyone here had sworn Mana Oaths or Divine Oaths.
Solacius did not particularly hide how he had obtained Winteira.
Everyone was amazed, but at the same time, they immediately accepted it.
Like watching a beautiful cluster of stars in the night sky.
“Right! Come to think of it, I hear there has recently been a major political development in the royal capital.”
“A development?”
“Yes. I heard that Grand Duke Lucas Evergarden, the former Royal Consort, has returned as Regent.”
“There are widespread rumors that he made something like a furnace and presented it to Her Majesty, and that achievement allowed him to return.”
‘The former Royal Consort? Regent?’
Solacius’s eyes widened at their words.
Something that had never happened in the original work had occurred.
“But I do not like it. If he was the former Royal Consort, was he not the person most responsible for what happened that day?”
“Exactly. No matter that he is Her Majesty’s father, it is too excessive. He returned merely because he made a furnace, and as Regent at that.”
“Her Majesty’s temperament is too kind, and that is the problem. Look at how she forgave and embraced the sinner from that day.”
Solacius silently listened carefully to their conversation.
‘In the original work, Lucifurne resented her father, Grand Duke Lucas, while also missing him.’
When he committed suicide, the Queen had been deeply saddened.
Considering the Queen’s feelings for him, Solacius did not find it impossible that Lucas had returned merely because he made a furnace.
‘The problem is what kind of butterfly effect changed the Regent’s mind.’
Solacius understood it as the Regent moving first.
In reality, Queen Lucifurne had secretly gone to him and asked him to return, but outside, the story was known in reverse.
‘If it is not a butterfly effect? There is no rule that says things must proceed exactly as they did in the original game. But...... Lucas returning as Regent makes no sense.’
As he continued thinking, a possible answer came to his mind.
‘Regression, possession, reincarnation!’
If it was not a butterfly effect, then it had to be one of those.
He had experienced it himself, so there was no reason that other people could not have regressed, possessed another body, or reincarnated.
‘Is Lucas a regressor?’
Considering the possibility, Solacius gave the theory that the Regent had regressed more weight.
Possession and reincarnation were also possible, but based on the rumors he had heard, regression seemed more likely.
‘If regression is real...... the question is when he regressed.’
In the original work, Solacius had never met the Regent.
He had only heard that Lucas had confined himself and committed suicide when the Curse of the Snowfield worsened.
‘Lucas committed suicide when the Queen’s Curse of the Snowfield worsened. At the time when the rumors about Solacius were at their worst.’
His brow furrowed at the even deeper difficulty of the situation.
The farewell meal ended with hopes that they would meet again.
Solacius departed amid everyone’s hospitality, riding the black horse Manhattan Cafe.
Luna flew beside him in short little bursts while seated on her broom.
Luna’s air conditioner function was no longer needed, so she sat comfortably on her broom as she flew.
A wandering knight and a young witch.
They were alone, but there was no cause for concern.
They were inside the Margrave’s territory.
From here onward, the Blessing of the Snowfield was strongly spread.
Because of that, monsters, beasts, and bandits rarely appeared.
For this moment, Solacius set aside his troubled thoughts about the royal capital.
He enjoyed a peaceful journey through this fantasy world for the first time in a while.
Though the journey was peaceful, he felt disappointed.
‘I wish even a pack of beasts would appear.’
He ran his fingers over the blue magic sword at his waist.
It was human instinct to want to try a new weapon after acquiring it.
Since obtaining Winteira, he had not used his Sun Abilities even once.
‘There is not a single beast.’
Solacius withdrew the mana he had infused into his eyes.
Occasionally, beasts or monsters that defied the Blessing of the Snowfield and followed their instincts would appear.
Solacius hoped for such an event, but regrettably, none had happened yet.
“Luna.”
He lifted his head and called to Luna, who floated high in the air on her broom.
“I know! I know! If I see anything, I will tell you right away!”
It was the umpteenth time her older brother had urged her.
“Seriously...... I graduate from being an air conditioner, and now you are making me into some kind of radar!”
His younger sister complained.