Published: July 3, 2025
The third day passed without much change from the second day.
And then came the fourth day.
The day of destiny.
On this day, Ryo was in high spirits from the morning.
"Hehehe, it's finally here! Finally, my ambition will come true!"
"What are you talking about, ambition...?"
While Abel was having breakfast, Ryo was only drinking coffee.
It was quite rare for Ryo, who often says, "You have to eat a proper breakfast!" as if it were a catchphrase, to skip breakfast.
"It's ramen! Finally, I get to eat that ramen! After enduring for decades... how long I've been waiting for this day!"
"Decades? I hope that 'ramen' you're talking about is the same as what you think it is."
Abel said this without sarcasm or any particular intention, simply stating what he thought.
However, the shock it gave Ryo was immense.
Ryo froze in his delighted state, his expression turned to ice... then after a moment, as if creaking, he turned only his head toward Abel.
"...There’s a possibility that it’s not that 'ramen'..."
"No, it’s just a possibility, only a possibility."
Seeing Ryo’s extreme change, Abel felt scared and tried to calm him down.
"If that were to happen... I'm sorry, I would freeze the entire land..."
"Hey, wait, stop that!"
To continue negotiations with the desperate officials, Abel prayed for the 'ramen' Ryo wished for to appear.
In the morning of this day, Abel himself was attending a simulation battle organized by the knight orders of the land's nobles.
He didn’t particularly dislike watching the simulation battle since it didn't require flattery... but the problem was the "noble's knight orders."
"Dealing with nobles is such a hassle..."
Fortunately, the second prince of the Naitorei Kingdom's mutterings went unheard.
Once the negotiations with the officials began, Abel headed to the simulated battlefield by carriage, and after Ryo left the guesthouse in a carriage to meet Duke Alba, the adventurers were guided to the Duchy Castle.
They were taken to the Duke's Reception Room.
The group that was brought in consisted of Mew and her party, a total of five people.
Due to the compatibility with close combat specialists in the knight orders, a c-rank party with many mages was selected for this delegation escort.
It is said that women have a higher affinity for magic than men, so among adventurers, there are often more female mages than male ones.
The party that Mew belongs to, 'Valkyrie,' is a rare group with three mages, and all five members are female.
Perhaps because of that, the camaraderie among the party was very good, and they basically went everywhere together.
When Mew was called by her grandfather, the Grand Duke of Land, the other four naturally followed her from behind.
Of course, Mew had obtained permission from the Grand Duke in advance.
Upon entering, they found Grand Duke Cyrus Theo Santayana of Twilight Land already waiting.
"Grandfather..."
"Oh... Mew, it's been a while."
What stood before them was not the face of a lord governing a country, but simply a grandfather who was happy to see his granddaughter.
The simulation battlefield was located on the outskirts of the public capital.
By the time Abel arrived, the four knight orders had already finished lining up.
"Lord Abel, thank you for coming."
As Abel stepped down from the carriage, four well-dressed young men welcomed him.
"I am Count Regio Robert, presiding over this simulation battle."
"I am Abel, an a-rank adventurer."
With that, they shook hands.
The other three were also nobles: a viscount, a viscount, and a baron.
In other words, they were the lords of the four knight orders this time.
(A gathering of young nobles... each leading a knight order of about forty men... It's surprising that even a baron commands a force of forty. Kenneth and Baron Heyward probably have none... They might be a passionate young group.)
As Abel observed the knight orders, he had such thoughts.
"Now then, Lord Abel, let us head to the viewing area. After the simulation battle, we would appreciate it if you could share your thoughts and observations."