Queen Zara and Princess Kathleen

Guided by Harold, we entered the great hall. We walked down the red carpet. There were white pillars on each side of the carpet and in front of each pillar a guard. The queen and the princess were sitting on a throne on a dais. There were also some people lined up along the walls, but the one who caught my attention the most was a tall guy with black hair who stood next to the queen.

I don't know exactly how many of us are in the group, but I'd say around fifteen. Many gasps and low voices were coming from the group, which stopped when the queen raised her hand.

"You are in the presence of Queen Zara and Princess Kathleen." Said the spokesman who stood in front of the dais. "Be silent, everyone, as her majesty the queen offers her words."

Some of those in the group brought their right fist to their left chest while their left hand was behind their waist and bowed their head a little, seeming to be a greeting. The rest of the group who did not know what was happening, including Ryul and me, tried to imitate the greeting.

"Welcome to Riledo" The queen started the audience. "I welcome you all to my royal palace. I hope you all feel comfortable."

"It is an honor for me to see you, your majesty." A blond guy among the group said.

"I think I know you." The queen said. "You are the son of the Marqués Levine, right!?"

"My name is Gerald. It is an honor that you remember me, your majesty." The blond guy replied.

The only people with high status I know are Mr. Enzo and Kase, and maybe from my bad experiences with them, I automatically think now that wealthy people are bad people. I don't think it's the right way to think. I was lost in my thoughts when I noticed the tall guy with long hair next to the queen staring at me. Did I do something wrong?

The queen turned her attention once more to the group and continued. "Everyone who has been summoned here will be the strength of Riledo in the future. Each of you comes from places both far and near. I see people of different races and social status. Each of you has different dreams and goals, but there is only one thing I ask you all to have in common—your loyalty to Riledo."

The queen is amazing. Her inspiring dialogue, accompanied by her firm voice and the presence that surrounds her, really inspires me to want to do my best. I can see the smiles of everyone in the group with the queen's words. On the other hand, when I turn to see the princess, she seems to be nervous and uncomfortable to be here.

The queen continued with her speech. "To ensure the well-being of the new high-ranking adventurers, new measures have been taken. Before you can join a guild, you will stay for a month in the castle. During that time, we will make sure you are ready. Harold will explain more in detail later. "

"As the queen said, this training will only last a month. During which you will be treated as guests in the castle. You will be given a room, food, and water. Basic equipment will be given to you in addition to other expenses which will be covered by the kingdom. " Harold continues. "Mentors sent by each of Riledo's three great guilds will monitor you over the next month and help you become used to your new skills and magical abilities."

"Wasn't the ritual lacking this time? They are less than last time, and there is no S-rank." A bald man next to the group leaning against the wall said.

"The awakening of an S rank is not a common thing, so it is not wise to expect one at every ritual." Harold replied with a cold smile.

"Tss... Are you sure it wasn't your fault? If the rumors are true, we'll be in trouble if more high-ranking adventurers don't show up." The bald man replied angrily.

Rumors? What rumors is he referring to? Ryul turned to see me, perhaps asking himself the same questions. Simultaneously, I noticed that the tall guy next to the queen continues to stare at me. Now that I think about it, I heard that an S-rank was the queen's bodyguard. I wonder if it's him.

The queen glanced at the old man, who nervously lowered his head and took a step back.

"This year, there are indeed fewer, and no S rank appeared, but in general, the quality of the new adventurers is quite good, and I would dare to say that it has been one of the best groups of new adventurers." Harold replied.

"Is there someone who caught your attention, Harold?" The queen asked.

"Yes, your Majesty." Harold responds while looking at me. "Although there are still several things that I need to confirm."

"I see. Give me your report as soon as you have it ready."

"Yes, your majesty." Harold responded, doing the greeting we did previously.

The queen, once again addressing the group, continued." A banquet was prepared to celebrate your new life as adventurers, so enjoy yourselves tonight, and don't forget that I expect great things from all of you." Then the queen turned her head to see the princess and said, "Kathleen, why don't you give them a few words."

"Ahh?" The princess responded in surprise, widening her eyes. "Y-Yes, mama, huh... I-I mean, your majesty."

The princess stood up. "Welcome to Rile-do." The princess said in a high and shrill voice, which was cut short in mid-word.

It seems that she realized that it was weird that she welcomed us again and how her voice cut off made her face turn completely red. The princess began to tremble, and it seemed that she wanted to say something but the words did not come out. Does she have stage fright? Either way, it was cute. And it doesn't seem like I'm the only one who thinks that because I heard Ryul say the same thing.

"She is so cute! I think I fell in love!" Ryul said, intertwining the fingers of his hands.

"P-PLEASE DO YOUR B-BEST!" The princess said, practically screaming, and sat down once more on the throne, lowering her head.

The queen stared at the princess for a few seconds and then directed her attention to the group again. "Enjoy the feast."

Once again, the group made the same greeting, and I did the same in the same way. The queen and the princess exited through a door to the right of the throne, followed by the tall guy and some guards. On the other hand, Harold was entertained by talking to the bald man who interrupted him earlier.

"Darx, you don't know how lucky I feel that you are here." Ryul said, relieved. "I never imagined that on my first day in the city, I would be in the castle, or that I would meet the queen. What madness and even more, my result of the ritual."

"Oh, right. You’re a monk. Congratulations, and A-Rank on top of everything." I say with a smile.

“Darx, I have never trained in combat.” Ryul replies. “How on earth do I become an A rank monk if I have no knowledge of fighting? I don’t get it, man. I’m freaking out.”

"It seems that the reason for our stay in the castle is to help people with your problems so everything will be fine. I guess..."

"Dude... What about you? What was your result?"

Without saying anything, I showed my card to Ryul, who, as expected, was completely confused and repeatedly compared my card with his.

"What the hell? Darx, why is your card like this? Is there a class called 'question mark'? It's very weird."

"I know. Even Harold didn't know what happened."

"Is this why you look down? Don't worry, I'm sure it's a cool class." Ryul said, trying to cheer me up.

That's not the reason. To be honest I hadn't even thought about what happened in the ritual since I left the temple. Every time I close my eyes, I remember Amelia's words and see her being groped by Kase.

"Darx... Darx!!"

"Ah, I'm sorry. What were you saying?"

"Stop daydreaming, Darx. It looks like they're already taking us to the feast. I can't wait. I'm so hungry." Ryul said, rubbing his palms. "Do you want to have a competition to see who can eat more?"

"I'm not that hungry." I said, surprised by Ryul's enthusiasm.

A group of maids arrived and Harold joined the group and said. "Please follow the maids. They will take you to the dining room."

The group and I start walking following the maids, when I hear Harold calling me.

"Darx, can you come with me for a moment? It won't take long."

"Sure!" I said, separating from the group.

"Don't take too long, or I'll eat all the food." Ryul said.

Leaving the hall. The group headed to the right as Harold and I took a hallway to the left. Harold kept quiet as we walked through the hallways. After a few minutes of walking, he broke the silence.

"What do you think about the castle? It's impressive, isn't it?"

"It is! Inside and out, it's amazing."

"I understand how you feel. Believe it or not, I also come from a small village, and the first time I was in the castle, I was lost for hours." Harold said while smiling.

"Are you an adventurer?" I asked.

"I took the ritual, and I became an adventurer, but I was never interested in the life adventurers lead. I studied under my teacher, who was the queen's former advisor, and he was the one who brought me to the castle. We've arrived!"

Harold stood in front of a door.

"This is my office. Please, come in." Harold said, opening the door for me.

I entered the office, which has an atmosphere similar to Mr. Enzo's office, when suddenly I heard a noise behind me as if something had fallen. When I turned to see, I saw Harold picking himself up off the ground.

"A-Are you okay?" I said, trying to help him up.

"I'm fine, don't worry. I fall often." Harold said with his glasses misplaced and laughing weird.

Seeing him makes me wonder if he really received his awakening. Harold walked to his desk, where there was a crystal sphere.

"The reason I brought you here is to check your magic power level with the help of this sphere. That will help us to know what your level is approximate."

"I-I see."

"It is a relic left by Zrephia, which will be quite useful this time." Harold said. "Please put your hands on the sphere."

As Harold said, I put my hands on the sphere, and after a few seconds, it began to radiate a greenish color.

"So, green." Harold said, pinching his chin. "That means your magic power is at the level of an E-rank."

"Just E-rank?" I asked, a little disappointed.

"There can be several reasons. This sphere can only detect magic power, and if your class does not have magic abilities even if you are high rank, it will mark the magic power of an E-rank."

In that case, all may not be lost. I still have hope that I can become an adventurer.

"There are still many things about you that I don't understand. I would like to know the opinion of Syvis." Harold said, pinching his chin.

"Syvis?" I asked.

"Oh, Syvis is one of the three mentors who will be in charge of you and the rest. She is the one sent by Oblivion."

"Oblivion...?"

"Mmm, Is something wrong?" Harold asked after seeing my expression when he mentioned Oblivion.

But it's not like I can tell him why. After all, Kase and Amelia are part of that guild. And the reason for my discrepancy is because of them. At this point, I want to think about them as little as possible.

"Syvis is quite knowledgeable about Zephia, so I would like to know her opinion. But at the moment, she is not in the castle."

"What does Zrephia have to do with all this?" I asked, confused.

"How much do you know about Zrephia?" Harold asked.

"From Zephia!? Not too much. I just know that it was the ancient capital of the human territory, but it was destroyed long ago in the war against demons."

"You are correct! However, since it happened a long time ago, much of Zrephia's history has been lost in time, but even in these times, there are relics left by them, which are far beyond the knowledge we have now. It was certainly a more advanced civilization, and there is a curious fact about the royalty of Zrephia."

"A curious fact?"

"It is said that the royalty of Zrephia had red eyes."

"W-What?"

"Of course, I'm not implying that you have a connection. It's impossible. Since the fall of Zrephia, there have been no records of someone else with that color of eyes, but I still think it may be a clue to understanding what happened in your awakening."

What Harold said took me by surprise. I know it is impossible, but I have always wondered why my eyes are this color.

"For now, I will search the records about your parents and their ancestors. From tomorrow you will start training with the rest, but since your combat level will be lower than the rest, I will make sure to give you special treatment until we understand what is happening with you."

I hate the idea of getting special treatment. I don't want to be a hindrance to others. Can I really improve?

"Don't worry too much. I have an auspicious feeling that great things await you. Besides, Syvis will have no sympathy for you. In a way, I feel bad about what awaits you." Harold said, laughing nervously.

"Eh? What do you mean?"

"Tomorrow, you will understand it yourself. Just promise me that you will not die." Harold said, putting his palm on my shoulder.

"W-Wait a minute. What is happening tomorrow? Who is Syvis?"

Harold said nothing more about it and after giving me directions on how to get to the dining room, I left his office. I don't know who Syvis is, but now I'm worried about what awaits me. It seems that the special treatment is not in a good way.

I walked through the corridors of the castle, following the directions Harold gave me. I thought that Mr. Enzo's mansion was luxurious, but seeing the castle I now know what real luxury means. Everything is very nice with pictures and decorations everywhere. Although I have to admit that the corridors of the castle at night are a bit scary. There are no ghosts here, right?

In my house in the village, I can get from my room to the main entrance in five seconds. But I have already been walking through the castle's corridors for almost five minutes and I still have not reached the dining room. I was starting to wonder if I got lost when I suddenly felt someone behind me.

When I turned to see, the tall guy who was next to the queen during the conference stood two steps away from me. How did he get behind me without me noticing? What does he want?

"You surprised me. I thought it was a ghost for a moment." I said it half-jokingly, but he didn't smile.

"Did you see her?" He asked.

"Eh? See who?" I asked, confused.

"Did you see the goddess during your ritual?" He asked while he got closer. "Harold told me what happened, so tell me if you saw her."

"I indeed saw someone, but I don't think she was the goddess. The person I saw seemed to be imprisoned somewhere."

"It doesn't really look like it's the goddess." He said, speaking to himself.

He talks like he knows what the goddess looks like. Who is he? Maybe I made a mistake in telling him what I saw. I have to learn to keep my mouth shut.

"Who are you? Have you seen the goddess, or how do you know?" I asked, not wanting to be the only one questioned.

He didn't answer my question and walked past me, ignoring me.

"Wait..." I said.

He stopped and, without turning around, said. "You better not tell anyone else what you saw in the ritual. There are people in the castle you should be careful of." After saying that, he continued walking. "My name is Zhoron." He said, disappearing into the shadows of the night.

What was that? Just as he arrived, he left. My senses are very good, but I still couldn't detect when he approached. He said his name was Zhoron. I know that name. Once again, I turn to see the place where he left. I was not mistaken. Zhoron is the name of the S-rank, who is the queen's bodyguard.

The Spear Dragon.

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Zhoron/Lancer

Rank-S

He's a serious guy who doesn't show expressions. One year after he became an S-rank for some reason, he decided to take command of the queen's safety.

He was raised among dragons, and even his weapon and armor are made with dragon scales.