The morning after spending the night.

Ivan and Phonia's slave collars had already been returned to the Lagroi Marquisate, and we had the butler write a completion certificate for the designated request. I was really glad we didn’t have to face that eldest son directly.

From there, we headed to the castle to deliver the Sea Emperor Turtle's head. Naturally, Ivan and Phonia were staying behind at the inn. Since we were going into the castle, Nir was also staying behind.

"This castle is huge too."

"I feel like it's even bigger than the Arclight Kingdom's royal castle."

At the six points of a hexagonal structure, tall spires towered, with the royal castle standing at the center. A moat and outer walls surrounded it, and a bridge at the main entrance had a few people going in and out.

"No point in just staring at it. Let’s go."

I massaged my furrowed brow and crossed the bridge toward the main entrance. It seemed the line of people had just cleared, so we reached the front without waiting.

"State your business."

A gatekeeper, clad in a uniformed set of armor and wielding a spear, concisely inquired.

"We brought war spoils on behalf of the Imperial Army’s request."

"Hmm."

After handing over the request document, he carefully examined its contents and then glanced past us. Checking the document once more, he nodded several times despite looking a bit puzzled. Then, after issuing orders to his colleague, one of the guards ran into the castle.

"Very well. Take the war spoils to the knight order's training grounds. It's that way."

After returning the request document, he pointed eastward, away from the castle's center.

"Understood."

With no trouble, we entered the castle and made our way toward the training grounds. But now I was wondering—what exactly is the difference between the 'Imperial Army' and the 'Knight Order'?

"Is that it?"

Following the stone-paved path, a walled facility came into view. A roughly two-meter-high wall enclosed the area, preventing visibility of the training exercises inside.

After a similar exchange at the entrance, we stepped into the training grounds. It seemed to be about two hundred meters in each direction. There was definitely enough space to place the Sea Emperor Turtle's head here… though, wouldn't that interfere with training? Well, that wasn’t my concern.

"Hmm, you must be…"

"I'm Shu, an adventurer."

"I'm Rio, also an adventurer."

"We've brought the Sea Emperor Turtle’s head."

A man clad in particularly ornate armor called out to us, so we handed over the request certificate and introduced ourselves.

Since they had known the Sea Emperor Turtle would be arriving soon, the knights were only using half of the training grounds for their drills.

"Ah… I am Herbert Jackman, vice commander of the Imperial Guard Knights. I’ve been informed of this. Go ahead and bring it out."

"Understood."

Rio stepped into an open space and placed the two massive turtle heads there. A few knights let out short screams, but as expected of those stationed at the royal castle, they quickly regained composure and focused their attention on the heads.

"I’d heard about its size, but… this is even more than I expected…"

The vice commander approached the heads, patting them and knocking on them with the back of his hand to check their hardness. Since the shell was much harder than the head, cutting it off hadn’t been too difficult.

Once he finished his inspection, he turned around with a bright smile.

"This is quite a sight. Thank you."

"No, thank you."

He extended his hand, so I shook it. Rio did the same before receiving the request completion certificate from him.

"With this, the job is done. Now, about the reward for the Sea Emperor Turtle subjugation… but before that, may I ask something?"

"What is it?"

Was there something else besides the reward?

"His Majesty the Emperor wishes to personally thank you both. Could you spare some time for that?"

Hmm. The conversation I had been expecting had finally arrived. Honestly, I didn’t really want to meet him, but considering it was this vice commander’s request, I felt inclined to agree. He was likely a noble as well, but his attitude wasn’t high-handed. Compared to the nobles we’d encountered so far, he was on a completely different level.

"…Understood."

Exchanging glances with Rio, we both nodded.

"Much appreciated. I’ll escort you. Follow me."

Following the vice commander out of the training grounds, we entered the central castle. We turned several corners, climbed a flight of stairs, and passed through a large door guarded by personnel before being led into a room.

"Please wait here for a while. Once His Majesty is ready, we will summon you."

"Understood."

"If you need anything, feel free to call upon the servants."

With that, he quickly exited the room.

The room was about twelve tatami mats in size. A table with tea and sweets was placed between two facing sofas. The decorations were refined rather than gaudy, making it a fitting reception room for a castle.

"I will prepare some tea for you, so please take a seat and wait."

A maid, who had been waiting in the corner of the room, began brewing tea with graceful movements.

Sighing deeply, I sank onto the sofa beside Rio. We had followed the vice commander here on a whim, but now I already wanted to go home.