'The Duke? I really need a break.'
Ryan's party had barely been in the capital for a day and they had already been threatened with paying the krone compensation.
Despite that, they got off the hook for now by accepting the tedious task of gathering materials at the borders of the demon king's domain.
But what was unsettling now was the fact that they were summoned by the Duke.
A person none of them had ever spoken to.
Therefore, figuring out what the Duke could want from them was something they couldn't even begin to imagine.
"Sophia, explain to me what's going on." Ryan asked with annoyance.
"The thing is, the news that your party is S-rank has already spread throughout the capital."
"Now I get it. And it makes some sense, but the rumor spread so fast..." Ryan muttered.
Then Helen turned her back to them, crossing her arms. "...Ah, what a pain, why do we have to visit that old Duke."
"Tsk." The guard clicked his tongue.
"Hey Helen! Shut up, stop being disrespectful. Please excuse her." Mirian bowed subtly.
The guard walked to the door and then looked at them, with the face of someone who didn't want to be there.
"Anyway, we need to go."
"Yeah, yeah..."
Ryan's party left following the guards, but at the entrance was a carriage pulled by two massive black horses.
The guard who spoke to them earlier got in front to drive the carriage with two other guards. And the rest stayed at the guild's doors.
Ryan and his party got into the carriage.
It was just them.
The guard urged his horses forward and the carriage began to move.
"I always wanted to ride in one of these carriages." Helen stated.
"You're so childish." Mirian said in a mocking tone.
"Don't call me childish!"
"Enough, don't start fighting in here, you two. Speaking of fighting, that dungeon, I'd like to go back and clear it properly..." Ryan commented, looking out the carriage window.
Helen looked at him thoughtfully and replied.
"I'd like to as well, but that will be difficult..."
"Why do you say that, Helen?" Ryan looked at her, puzzled.
"Isn't it obvious? We need to fly there." Helen replied with a sigh.
"And not just that..." Mirian intervened.
"We could ride wyverns, but only the king's royal fleet uses and controls them, that's how it is in every nation. It's not something we can access."
"Wyverns? And what about dragons? Like the one from before, for example..."
"Tsk, that could be an option, but dragons are only in the demon king's domains. I think we ran into that one because it had been sleeping for a few decades..."
'What a pain. If I had known that earlier, I would have stayed longer in the dungeon, and there are still the points I haven't used. I need to be more careful using them this time.' Ryan thought.
"However." Mirian added.
"Some mages use flight magic, if we had one in the party. But Helen is a sword user and I use bows. And you, Ryan, are a support..."
"Actually, I'm a priest now. I changed classes in the dungeon, did I not mention it?"
"No, you didn't say anything!" Helen grumbled.
Mirian brought her face closer to him with curiosity.
"What! Seriously? And why not a Healer?"
"..."
"Forget about it, the party is doing well, don't complain." Ryan added.
"Well, you have a point. In a way I think your new strength will help us, and your support buffs are cooler now. So there's no problem, I guess." Mirian commented as she closed her eyes and made gestures like trying to picture it.
Then Helen crossed her legs.
"Anyway, thinking about that is complicated. The problem now is where we find a new party member."
"Yeah, we need a mage to go back... but, right now I want you to pay attention, don't cause trouble with the Duke. You know he's backed by the church." Mirian said in a worried tone.
"Tsk," Helen clicked her tongue. "That damn church, just because they have the only SS and SSS ranks they want to dominate the other nations. I imagine that Duke doesn't want anything good with us."
'So that's what it's about. I already thought it was weird they came without arguing, they don't want trouble with this church.'
The carriage stopped.
The carriage doors opened.
"We're here, you can get out now."
Helen stepped down first, then Ryan followed.
"What's wrong, don't just stay in there, Mirian." Ryan offered her his hand. She grabbed it and stepped down.
"Thanks."
"Open the gates." The guard shouted.
Two guards stepped out from inside the mansion and opened the doors, welcoming their captain.
"Are those the infamous S-rank adventurers?"
"Hey!" Helen protested.
The captain stepped closer, intervening.
"Yes, I will take them to the Duke right now."
"Understood, the Duke is waiting. You may proceed."
"Follow me, and don't wander off."
The guard started walking into the mansion.
He led them through the hallways up to the third floor of the mansion, and they entered an empty room with a desk and papers scattered on the table.
"Wait here, the Duke will be right with you. Take a seat."
Ryan sat on a couch across from the wooden desk, and Helen sat on the armrest of the couch where Ryan sat.
'Her and her awful manners.'
Mirian took a seat on another chair.
The guard left. And after a few minutes, the door opened and the Duke walked in.
"I apologize for the delay, I am Duke Agust. And the king's right hand."
Mirian stood up. "A pleasure, I am Mirian and these are my companions, Helen and Ryan."
"A pleasure." Helen and Ryan replied in unison.
"Alright, let's skip the formalities." The Duke leaned against the desk, facing them.
"First of all, allow me to congratulate you on reaching S-rank. In this nation, we have very few adventurers with that rank."
"Thank you very much." Mirian replied.
Ryan was observing the Duke.
'Is he really such an important person just for being the king's right hand?'
"The only S-rank hero in the capital besides you is William."
Mirian placed a finger on her chin and thought for a moment before answering.
"I've heard of him. They say he never travels in a party."
"He must be very arrogant..." Helen added.
"He is somewhat arrogant, but that's not the reason he travels alone." The Duke commented.
"But I don't think you had us come here just to congratulate us." Ryan said, standing up from his chair.
'He's definitely plotting something.'
The Duke stood up fully and walked over to the window, turning his back to them.
Then, without turning to look at them.
He spoke.
"...You are right about that, and I will be direct. I want you to disband this party."