'The Duke? Seriously, I just want a break.'
Ryan's party had barely been back in the capital for a single day, and they had already been threatened with paying a massive compensation in crones.
Despite that, they had gotten out of it for now by accepting the tedious task of gathering materials on the borders of the demon king's domain.
But what was unsettling now was the fact that they were being requested by the Duke.
Someone none of them had ever spoken to before.
Therefore, trying to figure out what the Duke could possibly want from them was something they couldn't even begin to imagine.
"Sophia, explain to me what is going on," Ryan asked with annoyance.
"The thing is, the news that your party is S-rank has already spread throughout the entire capital."
"I get it now. And it makes some sense, but the rumor spread so quickly..." Ryan muttered.
Then Helen turned her back to them and crossed her arms. "...Ah, what a pain. Why do we have to visit that old man of a Duke?"
"Tsk," the guard clicked his tongue.
"Hey Helen! Shut up, stop being disrespectful. Please excuse her," Mirian said, bowing subtly.
The guard walked over to the door and then looked at them with the face of someone who didn't want to be there at all.
"Anyway, we must leave."
"Yeah, yeah..."
Ryan's party followed the guards out, but at the entrance stood a carriage pulled by two massive black horses.
The guard who had spoken to them earlier climbed up front to steer the carriage along with two other guards, while the rest remained at the guild's doors.
Ryan and his party stepped into the carriage.
It was just them inside.
The guard urged his horses forward, and the carriage began to move.
"I've always wanted to ride in a carriage like this."
"How childish of you, Helen."
"Don't call me childish!"
"Alright, don't start fighting in here, you two. Speaking of fighting, that dungeon... I'd like to go back and complete it properly..." Ryan commented, looking out the carriage window.
"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."
"And not only that..." Mirian interjected.
"We could go on wyverns, but only the king's royal fleet utilizes and controls them; that's how it is in every nation. It's not something we can get access to."
"Wyverns? What about dragons? Like the one from before, for example..."
"Tsk, that could be an option, but dragons are only found within the demon king's domains. I think we only ran into that one because it had been sleeping for a few decades..."
'What a pain. If I had known that beforehand, I would have stayed in the dungeon longer. And I still have the stat points I haven't used yet; I must be more careful when using them this time.'
"However," Mirian added.
"Some mages use flight magic, if only we had one in our 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. Didn't I mention that?"
"No, you didn't say anything!" Helen grumbled.
Mirian brought her face close to his out of curiosity.
"What! Really? And why not a Healer?"
"..."
"Forget about that, the party is doing fine, don't complain."
"Well, you have a point. In a way, I think your new strength will help us, and your support buffs are even cooler now. So it's not a problem, I think," Mirian commented as she closed her eyes and made gestures as if trying to imagine it.
Then Helen crossed her legs.
"Anyway, thinking about that is complicated. The problem right now is, where do we find a new party member?"
"Yeah, we need a mage to go back..."
'The carriage stopped.'
The carriage doors opened.
"We're here, you can step down now."
Helen got off first, then Ryan stepped down.
"What's wrong? Don't just stay in there, Mirian." Ryan extended his hand to her; she took it and stepped down.
"Thank you."
"Open the doors!" the guard shouted.
Two guards came out from inside the mansion and opened the doors, welcoming their captain.
"Are those the infamous S-rank adventurers?"
"Hey!" Helen protested.
The captain approached, intervening.
"Yes, I am taking them to see the Duke right now."
"I understand, the Duke is waiting. You may proceed."
"Follow me, and stay close together."
The guard began walking into the mansion's interior.
He led them through the corridors up to the third floor of the mansion, where they entered an empty room with a desk and papers scattered on the table.
"Wait here, the Duke will be right with you. Have a seat."
Ryan sat down on a piece of furniture opposite the wooden desk, and Helen perched herself on the arm of the seat where Ryan was sitting.
'Her and her horrible manners.'
Mirian sat on another piece of furniture.
The guard withdrew. After a few minutes passed, the door opened and the Duke walked in.
"I apologize for the delay. I am Duke August, and the right hand of the king."
Mirian stood up. "A pleasure, I am Mirian, and these are my companions, Helen and Ryan."
"A pleasure," Helen and Ryan responded in unison.
"Alright, let's drop the formalities," the Duke said, leaning back against the desk as he faced 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 responded.
Ryan was observing the Duke.
'Is he really such an important person just because he's the king's right hand?'
"The only other S-rank hero in the capital besides you is William."
Mirian placed a finger on her chin and thought for a moment before responding.
"I've heard of him. They say he never travels in a party."
"He must be incredibly arrogant..." Helen added.
"Yes, he is somewhat arrogant, but that isn't the reason why he travels alone," the Duke commented.
"But I don't think you made us come all this way just to congratulate us," Ryan said as he stood up from his seat.
'He's definitely plotting something.'
The Duke stood up completely and walked over to the window, turning his back to them.
Then, without turning to look at them,
he spoke.
"...You're right about that, so I'll be direct. I want you to disband this party."