"The Talented Dragon Hides Its Claws" ~ The Eldest Son of the Baron Family, Called Useless, is Actually One of the World's Strongest ~ - Episode 20

The two crossed the vast territory of the marquis and passed through the gate of the checkpoint once again.

“Surprisingly, it wasn’t bad at all, Grace too.”

“I agree.”

“So far, everything is going smoothly, but the journey is still just beginning…”

“The Astoria Empire boasts an area that ranks among the top three on the continent.”

Unfortunately, passing through the Grace Barony doesn’t mean you’ll immediately see the capital. As the name suggests, this territory is located on the outskirts of the empire, so it’s not an exaggeration to say that the real journey begins here.

Today, unlike yesterday, we were constantly engaged in lively conversation during our travels. The reason for this goes without saying.

“It was more prosperous than Arden by more than ten times.”

“The marquis in the Empire is equivalent to a count. If they weren’t thriving to this extent, as a citizen of the Empire, I would actually be worried.”

“Now that we’ve absorbed the Mantesa and can hold our heads up a bit, how about we start a war with Grace next?”

“Huh?”

“Just kidding. I’d get instantly defeated.”

The ranks of imperial nobility start with baron, followed by viscount, count, marquis (or count of the marches), and duke. In principle, above these are the royal family, grand duke, and emperor, but I will explain that later.

Ryu and Stingray then crossed the mountainous region, crossed the great river, and passed through the vast forest. Occasionally, they encountered low-ranking monsters and bandits, but each time, Stingray easily dealt with them. Although there were days when they had to camp out, the two had become quite close through that incident, so they didn’t have much trouble. Well, rather than saying they had become close, it might be more accurate to say that Ryu kindly forgave and accepted Stingray, who

And finally, I have reached the destination of my journey.

“Is that the imperial capital, Weir…? No matter how you look at it, it’s way too big…”

“I have stayed here for a few months, but no matter how many times I see it, it’s just breathtaking…”

Before the two of them stood a fortress city of a scale that could hardly be described as “huge.” On the walls over twenty meters high, imperial flags were lined up, and beyond them, the imperial palace, the residence of the royal family, peered at them. It could certainly be said to be a fitting capital for the renowned empire.

“Axel and the others, you all did a great job too.”

“Vroom vroom”

Since the most esteemed family in the empire resides here, the identity verification when entering the city is far more stringent than anywhere else. By the way, the Wheel Gate is divided into two sections: one for the general public and one for the nobility, so of course, the two of them line up in the latter.

However… since the nobles who usually come and go here all use luxurious carriages, the two Ardennes who were riding horses stood out in a bad way.

“Who on earth do they belong to?”

“At first glance, they seem to be the young master and his attendant.”

“He’s probably just a noble from the countryside anyway.”

“If only they didn’t try to show off and just lined up with the general public.”

They say whatever they want.

“Don’t we stand out a bit? Us?”

“If you keep looking at me like this, it makes me a bit shy.”

“Please take it seriously.”

Even when it was our turn, we were still suspected by the guards.

“Um… I apologize for the rude question, but are you really a noble?”

“Wait a minute, our noble crest is somewhere…”

Ryu stuck his hand into the item bag and rummaged around.

“Alright, found it.”

“This crest belongs to the Earl Arden family, doesn’t it? My apologies.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m used to this kind of thing.”

“I think that’s questionable too, but…”

After that, I was finally able to enter the city.

“Isn’t the headquarters of the Adventurers’ Guild and the Merchants’ Guild here?”

“Yes. That’s why there are so many B-rank or higher adventurers and renowned trading companies around.”

“Isn’t Stingray also registered as an adventurer? What rank are they?”

“In my case, I’m just registered as a knight on the side, but I’m currently at C rank.”

“Eh… if you had been serious about your activities, you would have been at B rank by now, right?”

“Yes. Probably.”

“That’s amazing.”

“Not that much.”

Since the day to receive the elixir is the day after tomorrow, I first headed straight down the main street under Stingray’s guidance to find a place to stay.

“This is the headquarters of the Adventurers’ Guild, isn’t it?”

“Whoa…”

“So, that’s the headquarters of the Merchant Guild.”

“Whoa…”

Ryu’s vocabulary is so vast that it causes a collapse.

By the way, these are the headquarters that oversee the guilds within the empire, while the “Supreme Headquarters” that oversees the guilds across the entire continent exists separately.

Turning off the main street and entering the Inn Street. The capital is visited not only by the empire’s citizens but also by many people from across the continent, so there are countless inns. Inbound tourism is one of the important sources of revenue for the empire.

“And here is the inn where I used to stay.”

At the end of Stingray’s finger, there is a small but clean and atmospheric inn. A place where you can feel the owner’s dedication at first glance is relatively trustworthy.

“Then, shall we stick to this place again this time?”

“Understood. Since I’m on friendly terms with the owner, please leave the check-in to me.”

“Understood.”

The two rented two private rooms and decided to rest today.

On the way to the room, Stingray murmurs.

“I was fine with a double room again this time, you know.”

“The level of perversion is also C-rank…”

“Hey! Don’t say weird things!”

For the sake of Stingray’s honor, let me explain: from a knight’s perspective, allowing the master to stay alone in a room is a significant concern both for security and loyalty. There isn’t really any other reason for it… probably.