NBAA Vol. 8 Chapter 6 Part 2
A few days later, the wolf cart reached the Rudri Wilderness without incident and was running at night.
This wilderness was home to earth dragons, so the wolf cart was heading for the adventure city at night, when the earth dragons were least active.
“We’ve finally come this far… We’ll be able to return to Adventure City soon.”
“There’s a lot to do when you get back to the city. Before the tournament, you need to find out how many of the best warriors will be participating.”
“Leave the information gathering to me, that I can!”
“No, you can just ask Aunt Maria…”
In the wolf cart, Reito and the others chat over a simple meal and discuss what to do after returning to the city. Kotomin, Gonzo, and Mina were already asleep, and Dain was currently driving the wolf cart.
“…I’ve been wondering for a while, but why does Reito call the Hailstorm guild master ‘Aunt’? Are you really a relative?”
“Oh, that’s…”
“R-Reito-sama…!”
During the conversation, Shizune wondered why Reito was calling Maria “Aunt,” and Reito tried to explain the situation to her, but Hanzo hurriedly stopped him and put her mouth close to his ear.
“It’s not good to talk about your relationship with Maria-sama at this time.”
“Eh, why? Even my aunt introduces me to everyone.”
“That’s because Hayate-sama wasn’t there to watch over us. But now that Hayate-sama has returned, we must keep Reito-sama and Maria-sama’s relationship a secret…!!”
“Hayate?”
“What are you two whispering about? …that’s suspicious.”
Reito was puzzled by the mention of Hayate’s name, one of the Swordmasters. But Shizune frowned and questioned him as he and Hanzo got closer and talked.
“What exactly are you hiding? Tell me.”
“Hmm… you won’t tell anyone?”
“I won’t tell anyone. Or maybe you don’t trust your partner?”
“I get it. It’s fine, right?”
“Well, I can trust Shizune-sama, that I do…”
~
In the end, when Reito revealed that he was the prince of the kingdom and that Maria, the guild master of Hailstorm, was his real aunt, even Shizune couldn’t hide her surprise at his origins.
“The prince of the Baltros Kingdom… and you’re also of the Hazuki family of the Four Leaves Kingdom? That’s unbelievable…”
“By the way, what is the common view of me in the world?”
“It is generally said that the first prince was stillborn. His mother, Aira, was also banished from the kingdom.”
The public was informed of Reito’s birth, but officially it was reported that the child was stillborn, and many people were disappointed as he was a long-awaited boy.
Without an heir, the country would not be able to function, and if the king were to face any crisis, the nation could collapse. That’s why many citizens were happy when the current queen gave birth to a prince.
“But what kind of child is the current prince anyway?”
“I don’t know either. Actually, the prince rarely makes public appearances.”
“At one point, people wondered if he was dead because he made so few appearances.”
“I see…”
Reito was curious about the reputation of his half-brother, but it seemed that information about the prince was restricted among the general public, and people have even doubted whether he really existed.
However, rumors were circulating that the prince and princess would be attending the Battle Festival in addition to the king and queen.
“But why are you, the first prince of the kingdom, working as an adventurer?”
“Well… well, family circumstances.”
“What are those circumstances? Just tell me.”
Reito had no choice but to tell Shizune why he was banished from the kingdom and how he managed to survive. Shizune was shocked when he heard that his father nearly killed him and went quiet.
“…Your own father tried to kill his child? Just because it was an unfortunate job… I can’t believe it.”
“That’s not an unusual story. Maybe the deciding factor was that both of the jobs he remembered were unfortunate jobs.”
“Yeah, that’s right…”
It was because Shizune was loved by her father that she felt pity for him when she heard that Reito’s father nearly killed him when he was born.
However, Reito himself never felt any love or hatred for his father. In fact, the only father he could think of was the one who raised him when he lived on Earth.
(I wonder how my mom and dad are doing. Maybe I’ll ask Airis next time.)
Recalling his parents, who should be living on Earth, he had tried to ask Airis how they were doing after he was gone, but even if he had asked, it wouldn’t have changed the fact that he couldn’t return to that world. Still, he hadn’t forgotten about his parents, who he had spent time with on Earth, and decided to ask her next time.
“Now that I think about it, it’s been a while since I’ve seen my mother… I wonder what she’s doing now.”
“Um, were you close with your mother?”
“Yes, we were. She never got angry even when I was playing pranks, she hid me when I snuck out of study time, and she used to lull me to sleep with her lullabies when I was a child. But…”
“But?”
Reito remembered Aria, who loved him just like his mother Aira. To him, Aria was like a family member, an older sister, and a mother.
In the end, he didn’t know what she was thinking, or why she smiled at him when she was killed, but that didn’t change the fact that Aria was still important to him.
“…Now that I think of it, what do people generally think of dad, no, the King? It seems that Aunt Maria dislikes him.”
“Yes… I hate to say it, but compared to the previous king, I can’t help but think that he’s a bit plain. Until recently, I hadn’t heard any good or bad things about him, but there’s no doubt that the incident with the Rotten Dragon has lowered the people’s opinion of him.”
“We had heard rumors about the Rotten Dragon, but in the end we were unable to rush to the scene, and for that we are truly sorry, that we are.”
“Well, that can’t be helped.”
When the Rotten Dragon attacked the Adventurer City, the people knew that the royal capital had not sent troops to help, but had concentrated on defending the royal capital alone.
Naturally, the people around Adventure City were outraged by the kingdom’s actions, and criticized the royal army and the king for not protecting them from the dragon despite paying taxes.
In reality, Adventure City was saved thanks to the adventurers and the guards stationed in the city, and the opinion of adventurers rose instead. After the Rotten Dragon was defeated, the kingdom provided a large amount of financial support to the victims, but the influence of the Rotten Dragon caused the destruction of many villages and towns, and further disrupted the ecosystem, causing various problems.
The kingdom’s army alone could not deal with these problems, so they have no choice but to ask for the help of adventurers.
This was why Maria, who boasted the greatest influence in the adventurer’s guild, has become even more powerful, and the number of people who support her is on the rise.
“… Woof!”
“Nyowaa!”
“Kyaa!”
“Whoa, what’s wrong, Ullr?”
Ullr suddenly stops in the middle of the conversation, causing the carriage to shake violently and waking up the other people who were sleeping inside. When Reito looked at Ullr, who had suddenly stopped, he let out a warning growl, and immediately after that, Hanzo also jumped out of the carriage as if she had noticed something.