[COOL COOL COOL COOL COOL!!][Defying the heavens!][Is he in the demolition business?][Demon Lord confirmed. What kind of protagonist starts off this strong?][In love, in love!][HUBBY!!!]
The final battle had pushed everything to a climax. Under Gojo Satoru's watchful gaze, the popularity points soared, finally settling at a staggering 12,000.
'That was pretty easy,' Gojo thought leisurely.
"Can I have another plate of biscuits? Thanks!" Gojo suddenly raised his hand and called out to Reinhard.
While reviewing the broadcast, it felt so much like watching a movie that he had unconsciously polished off all the snacks in front of him.
"You certainly have a healthy appetite."
Reinhard, having finished the basic questioning, offered a gentle smile.
"I've prepared rooms for you here. If you don't mind, please stay the night. We need to keep the broken blade as evidence for now. I've already submitted the report for the bounty; it will be issued to you once the details are verified."
"Much appreciated." Gojo leaned back in his chair. "As I thought from the moment I met you—you're a good guy."
"By the way, because of the Royal Selection, some... unusual people may appear in the Capital during this period. The Knights will be increasing patrols, but please be careful. If you run into any trouble, you can come to me. Just try..."
Reinhard hesitated for a moment. "Try not to cause another commotion as large as today's."
"Since it's your request, Reinhard, I'll certainly listen. Don't worry, we'll keep it low-key."
"Then I shall take my leave. If you need anything else, feel free to ask the staff," Reinhard said politely before standing up to depart. Julius followed suit after a brief nod of farewell.
Once the two left, only Gojo's group remained in the room.
"Hah... Honestly, what a mess."
The moment they were gone, Felt face-planted onto the table. Her slender face looked quite adorable as her cheeks squished against the wood.
"Being this dispirited doesn't suit you at all," Gojo said lazily, resting his elbow on the back of the bench.
"Don't act like we're best friends; this is only the second time we've met," Felt mumbled weakly, protesting his familiarity.
"I have to say, Felt, you really are in a tough spot," Subaru Natsuki added, nodding in empathetic agreement. "Given the situation, unless you pray that girl doesn't actually take the throne, your only option is to flee the country."
"The climate in the Holy Kingdom of Gusteko is too harsh. I don't know much about Vollachia, so if we go anywhere, it should be Kararagi. I hear the atmosphere there is more relaxed. Even an old man and a kid like us could make a living there," Old Man Rom joined the discussion.
Gojo Satoru blinked, looking at the three of them. They seemed to be discussing something he was completely unaware of.
"You guys are too much. Isolating me and talking about things I can't follow... Are you leaving just because the warehouse was destroyed? If so, I'm truly remorseful—"
"No, that's not it," Subaru rubbed his forehead, sighing. "You were so distracted while Reinhard was talking—stuffing your face with biscuits—that you didn't hear a word he said."
Gojo turned an inquisitive gaze toward Felt. She sat up, patted her cheeks to wake herself up, and spoke dejectedly.
"That woman, Elsa... the person she hired me to steal from is named Emilia. She's one of the four current candidates for the throne of Lugnica. And the thing I stole was her Insignia."
"If any candidate loses their Insignia, they basically lose all hope of becoming King."
Upon hearing this, Gojo's face lit up with admiration. He clapped his hands. "Impressive, Felt! I thought you were bold enough just stealing from me, but I didn't expect you to have the guts to rob a Royal Candidate."
Felt glared at him, teeth clenched. "You jerk, do you take me for a moron? I had no idea about any of that! If I did, there's no way I would have taken the job!"
"But from the way Reinhard spoke, shouldn't everyone know about the Royal Selection?" Subaru asked, puzzled.
"That's 'everyone else,' not me! When you're spending every ounce of energy just trying to figure out what you'll eat tomorrow, you don't have time to care about politics. Who becomes King has nothing to do with me; they never make our lives any better anyway," Felt crossed her arms, wrinkling her nose in annoyance.
"If you put it that way, I suppose I misunderstood you. Turns out you're just a massive klutz with bad luck."
"Ha?! You really did think I was an idiot, didn't you!" Felt barked, looking ready to give Gojo a piece of her mind.
The room became rowdy for a while. After a good bit of bickering, Felt finally settled down.
"Actually, I don't think you need to be in such a hurry to leave," Gojo suggested, facing the situation. "We should learn more about the personalities of these candidates. Then we'll know if there's actually any danger."
"But before that," Gojo continued, "can someone explain this 'Royal Selection' to me? That girl Emilia... even if she is a spirit-user, as a candidate, shouldn't she have more than zero attendants with her?"
Even though Emilia had shown great magnanimity by forgiving Felt previously, Felt couldn't rest easy until the potential fallout was settled.
"I'll explain," Old Man Rom coughed, beginning slowly. "About a year ago, for reasons unknown, the entire Lugnica Royal Family died out from a mysterious disease. For this country, the Royal Family is indispensable because, long ago, they signed a covenant with the Divine Dragon. Should the nation face a crisis, the Dragon will intervene to protect it. Under that premise, after the bloodline ended, the Dragon Tablet—which connects us to the Divine Dragon—prophesied that five Dragon Maidens would appear..."