After expressing my gratitude to Gildart, I invited him to a meal at the adventurers' guild cafeteria, but unfortunately, he seemed busy with work. Leaving the guild master's office and returning to the hall, I spotted some familiar faces.

“Drain!”

“Oh, Masayoshi! I’ve heard the news! It looks like you secured victory in the duel.”

“Yes. It's all thanks to everyone. If you have time, would you like to join me for a meal? My treat, of course!”

“Well, I haven’t taken on any requests today, and I’m quite interested in the battle against the rumored heir to the Great Mage. I’d be happy to join you.”

“Great. Oh! Milva, Dartle, Tashina! I'm glad I ran into you all. I wanted to thank you as well! If you have time, let's have a meal together—my treat!”

There were also the three B-rank adventurers who had helped with my training before the duel with Ande.

“Oh, if it isn’t Masayoshi!”

“Masayoshi! I heard you won the duel in a landslide! Congratulations!”

“A free meal? Nice! The request I had was one I can take any time, so I’m canceling it today! Thanks, Masayoshi!”

“It wasn’t exactly a landslide, but I managed to win somehow. And it’s all thanks to you all for training with me!”

At the adventurers' guild cafeteria, I gathered Drain and the adventurers who had helped me train. However, I didn’t see Lilith, Ian, or the others. They had probably returned to Egarton, their base of operations, after leaving Bradley. I planned to stop by Egarton later.

“Well then, let’s toast to Masayoshi’s victory!”

“Cheers!”

In the end, Drain, Milva and her two companions, and even a two-person adventurer party who had helped with training joined in. They were all more than happy to share a meal together.

“...I see, so the Great Mage had a disciple.”

“Man, high elves sure are insane! They say barely any of them are left alive these days.”

“If I remember correctly, their beautiful appearance, slow aging, and immense natural magic power made them prime targets for slave hunters, right?”

“Yeah. Even though each individual high elf was strong, their low birth rate meant their numbers were always few. They were outnumbered, and one by one, they disappeared.”

“I see… That’s a tragic fate for a race.”

In this world, high elves had suffered extreme persecution at the hands of slavers and bandits. Ande himself had once been captured as a slave. It seemed like simply living a normal life was difficult for any of the minority races in this world.

“At this point, there are probably more high elves in captivity than those living freely.”

“………………”

Slavery, huh… It was a practice that had existed in my original world as well, but knowing that it was still an active institution was unpleasant.

“Leaving aside the topic of high elves, the fact that both of you were using ultimate-tier magic means that fight must have been on a whole different level.”

“Yeah. There’s no doubt it was a battle where we wouldn’t have been able to interfere at all.”

I shared details of my fight with Ande with them, leaving out the part about my trump card—the weapon from my world—and the details about Ande’s Magic Eraser. While those facts wouldn’t necessarily cause any issues if I talked about them, I decided to play it safe.

“I’m planning to pass by the Basil Plains soon. I might take a little detour and check out the area.”

“Ah… It might be in a pretty terrible state.”

The aftermath of my battle with Ande had left the battlefield in a condition where it could hardly even be called a grassland anymore.

“Now that sounds exciting. Maybe it’ll turn into a tourist attraction or something.”

“Hah…”

If it actually became a tourist spot, all I could do was laugh.

“...By the way, I wanted to ask something. What’s the legal marriage age in this country?”

“Huh? In this country, you can marry from the age of twelve.”

“Oh yeah! Masayoshi, you mentioned that you had someone important in the royal family, and that’s why you participated in the duel! Could it be…?”

“I had my suspicions. Among the royal family, the only unmarried woman is the Third Princess. I think she’s twelve or thirteen this year, so she’s already at the legal age for marriage.”

When I had requested their help with training, I had mentioned that I had someone important in the royal family. So it was no surprise that they figured it out.

“……………… That’s right. I’m still not sure how things will turn out, but it is a possibility.”

“Hey, if it’s you, Masayoshi, you’ve got nothing to worry about!”

“Yeah! You’re the hero who saved the kingdom! There’s no way you’d be turned down!”

“Exactly! You’re strong, kind, and cool—so I’m sure you’ll be fine! …Though it is a little disappointing.”

It seemed they thought I wasn’t sure whether my proposal to Sala would be accepted. There was no way I could tell them that she had already proposed to me, and I was the one hesitating because I was traveling between worlds.

After chatting with everyone for a while, I left some money for the meal and exited the adventurers' guild first. Of course, I left a hefty sum to cover not only the food we had already eaten but also any drinks and additional meals for those who had helped with my training, should they drop by later.

Then, I teleported from Bradley to Egarton.