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Volume 11 Chapter 3 Part 8

Miria’s goods have been purchased at 30% Discount. However, because we don’t have to buy fish to eat, it offsets that.

Miria takes out 1 silver coin to pay and puts the returned 2 copper coins back in.

The hooks may seem expensive. However, if you consider that it’s nobles’ hobby, they aren’t that expensive.

I leave the fishing tackles shop, return home, pick the fishing gear up and Warp to the seashore off Hafen.

Because Hafen is in the north, is that why it doesn’t feel as hot here as in Quratar? Still, the temperature isn’t low enough to keep her from jumping into the water. However, that Roxanne has already instructed her, she won’t.

「Don’t stray away from here till I come pick you up.」

「Okay.」

After telling her not to wander around, I move to the lodge in the Imperial City.

I appear in the lobby of the lodge.

In the lobby, there are people gathered at the end of a long corridor. Is there some meeting taking place?

Sebastian comes out from inside and meets me.

「We were waiting for you, Lord Michio. Lord Ester came but has left on account of an urgent business.」

「Is that so?」

「He should be back before long.」

「What has everyone gathered for?」

I pointed my finger towards the place where the people were gathering and asked a question. I noticed that the person who was behind Sebastian earlier was also in the crowd.

I wonder if the morning assembly for the staff of the lodge is exactly the same as the afternoon assembly in terms of the time? Or are they perhaps on a break before the assembly right now?

Unfortunately, I could not see Sherry anywhere around here.
However, I noticed that the woman who took her to the Empire Liberation Society’s reference room was indeed present here.

「What about you, Lord Michio? I think Lord Ester will also be joining us pretty shortly.」

Regardless of my willingness to do so, I was invited to participate in this event as well.

Sebastian then leads me to the place where all of the people are gathered.

「Arriving right now!」

Midway through the way, someone’s voice resounded across the room. As soon as Sebastian heard that voice, he started running, reaching the head of the entire crowd in no time at all.

Judging by that reaction, someone pretty important has probably arrived just now.

The gate at the end of the corridor slowly opens.

Which reminds me, that gate was said to be for the staff’s use only, but just now Sebastian said that Ester is going to be coming from there?

Both sides of the gate slowly swing open, facing outward of the lodge, which makes it a Japanese-style gate.

For some reason, the main gates in this world all open inward, and so does the one at my house back in Quratar.

Therefore, it’s a rarity to see a Japanese-style gate opening outwards. It’s actually my first time seeing one.

When the gate opens, Sebastian and everyone else behind him lowered their heads as if on command.

Ah. I wanted to do so as well, but I was late.

Well, whatever I guess. It should probably be fine, since from what I remember, this entrance is supposed to be the one for the exclusive use of the lodge’s staff anyway.

If they are all reacting in such a way, then I wonder if that means that someone who is going to be superior to even Sebastian, the General Secretary of the Society is going to go through it right now?

Are they the Chairman of the entire Empire Liberation Society, perhaps?

In any case, the atmosphere in here feels terrible, almost dangerous, even.

And since the people around me lined themselves up at the either side of the gate, then this probably means that the newly-arrived guest must be someone really important after all, huh?

I can also see both the Duke of Hartz and Baron Ester standing close to the gate.
Out of all the people who are present here at the moment, I am the only one who has yet to bow their head like the rest.

I wonder if I have screwed up big time?

However, it’s too late for me to correct myself with it right now.

The only thing that is left for me to do is to try and read the atmosphere and the mood in the room correctly and act accordingly.

Two people, Baron Ester and the Duke of Hartz, then come out of the crowd and come over to us.

Huh? Why? What is going on? Why are they coming over to us?

This is getting too surprising for me.

「Sebastian, I trust that there was no problems in particular?」

「Yes, there was none, Lord Ester.」

「Good. Well then.」
Ester then exchanges a few brief words with Sebastian and halts in front of the gate. Splitting away from the Duke of Hartz, each of them stood at one side of the gate, turned around towards the center of the room and then bowed their heads.

When the two of them bow their heads, three men come out of the crowd at the other end and approach us.

The one leading them is a stern-faced, middle-aged man with a thin beard on his face.

He seems to be at least an Earl, but he definitely must be someone more important than that, because if he was just a simple earl, then the Duke would not be bowing his head to him like he was doing right now.

Behind the middle-aged man was yet another person. I used 「Identify」on him to see who he was, and what it revealed…

The Emperor, Gaius Principus lmpera: Male, 33 Years Old
Job: Adventurer Lv.41
Equipment: Orichalcum Sword, Sacred Silver Meshwear, Sacrificial Misanga

… was that this man is apparently the Emperor.

That is definitely someone great, and it also explains why is even the Duke bowing down to him so reverently.
What do I do now? The only reason why I know that this guy is actually the Emperor is because I used 「Identify」on him, so if I follow after the others and bow my head in a hurry, that will only make me look suspicious.

However, if I just continue to stand around like I am right now, then won’t that just be straight-up inappropriate?

I should have read the mood in the room better.

Reading the mood in the room is so important.

Since I’m in the back though, I should probably be safe. Or so I want to think. For the time being, I will just keep both my profile and my head low and see what is going to happen.

Even though he is the Emperor, he is wearing a casual tunic.

As for the Sacred Silver Meshwear shown by my 「Identify」Bonus Skill, he must be
wearing it underneath all of his clothes.

I guess in this world there is no such thing as kneeling three times and kowtowing nine times when you are meeting with the emperor.

In any case, the Emperor entered the lodge, and Baron Ester and the Duke followed right after him. I went inside as the last one, and then the doors were closed behind us.

Sebastian then stepped forward to greet the Emperor.

「Your Majesty Lord Gaius, please forgive me for the discourtesy of my receiving Your Majesty in such a place.」

「Do not be worried about it. We are well aware of the Empire Liberation Society’s rules, after all.」

「To think that I will be able to receive the admission of Your Majesty in my generation… it brings me such a great joy which this lowly one can’t bear. I’m extremely happy.」

「From now on, please take care of Us.」
The Emperor and Sebastian had a conversation like that.

If this is supposed to be his admission ceremony, then that means that he was not a member of the Empire Liberation Society, which actually checks itself out with the knowledge that I possessed, stating that the current Emperor was not a member of the Society.

So I didn’t hear it wrong, it would seem.

But wasn’t today’s admission ceremony supposed to be mine, with the appointed time and place and everything?

Hello, does anyone remember that I am also here?

「Oh, Michio. So you came here too, huh?」

Only then Baron Ester finally notices me and speaks to me.

I wanted to give him a piece of my mind and complain, but I swallowed my words down at the last moment.

「….. Yes, I arrived just now.」

「Just in time. It may have upset them but it shouldn’t have offended them, so don’t feel like there’s anything for you to worry about.」

「Uh-huh.」

I don’t want to even think about offending this guy, because I know that he’s the Emperor.

「In the Empire Liberation Society, official position isn’t relevant after all.」

The Emperor doesn’t plan on introducing himself as an emperor, it seems. But even if he were to introduce himself properly, how would I approach the matter of talking to him?

Should I keep on pretending that I don’t know that he is the Emperor?

「Who is this person?」

But when the Emperor saw me talking with Ester, he interrupted us and spoke.

How strange. The vibes that he was giving off were not the ones of finding faults in others… or maybe it is a matter of reading the mood in the room correctly?

「This is Michio, and he is scheduled to partake in the admission ceremony today.」
「My name is Michio.」

As expected of a person ruling the entire empire, even Ester was speaking to him with the highest degree of respect, so I also read the atmosphere correctly and greet him respectfully.

I also bow my head to him, albeit not too deeply.

「Michio, our name is Gaius. You may address us as such.」

Well, well, now that’s a strange first-person way of speaking there. But even if he introduced himself with that peculiar 「Our name is Gaius. You may address us as such.」, Brahim language does not seem to have the special first-person way of speaking, so instead it translated it the way I heard it. I wonder if his way of speaking became so Japanese-like because I already know that Gaius is the Emperor, or is there perhaps some mysterious translation function that has been added to the Brahim language in my head?