Chapter 31: Imperial Kingdom

“How the hell did you get this?” The receptionist asked.

“I found it in a wardrobe at the Ruins. Speaking of ruins, the Thorned Bandits are also there but I think they’re dead” Jerry sarcastically responded.

“Seriously, do you know what this is?”

“No idea. I assume you’re gonna enlighten me?”

“Larry, what you have handed to me can turn the tide of a war with just it’s presence”

“Great. How much is it worth?”

“Do you not know what this means?”

“Yea. Don’t care. How much is it worth?”

“5 thousand gold coins. My offer”

“How much are forts worth?”

“10 thousand on average depending on the castle’s size”

“Do you see the problem here?”

“Fine, 20 thousand”

“Get the Guild Master”

“Wait, wait, I get it. I’ll cut you a fair deal. 100 thousand by the Guild”

“What’s that mean”

“We owe you 100 thousand gold coins. You can get things from us through connections and shops from our debt to you”

“Sounds like a scam”

“It isn’t!”

“What about, 99 thousand in the Guild and 1 thousand up front, right here”

“Fine. Still works for me”

The receptionist then took the sword cautiously and went to the back. Each receptionist area was its own station and the back led to what Jerry thought a main large back area where things happened.

“Where the hell did you get that! Quick, someone get a pillow and cloth!” A shout could be heard from the back followed by screams of shock.

‘Ruh roh’ Jerry thought in his head.

The door then burst open showing a man with a monocle with a purple fur coat looking very shocked.

“You were the one that brought the Legendary King’s Sword?” The man asked.

“If that’s what the name of it is, then yea”

“May I ask where you found it?”

“The ruins that I took the job offer”

“Do you know the history behind the sword?”

“No. Keep it short”

“But the sword has such a vast history! I can-”

“Keep it short or I’m taking it back”

“Yes! It was made by the Legendary Blacksmith H-”

“No names”

“It was made by great people and enchanted by a great mage! It was used by the Empire’s King long ago and drove off wave after wave of attacks that seemed hopeless! When the King finally fell on the battlefield from the Imperial Kingdom’s army and tried to be taken, organized bandits showed up and took it for themselves!”

“Cool. Now give me my cash”

“Do you not car-”

“Nope”

The receptionist then came from the back with a bulging sack of cloth in her hand.

“Larry, here’s your 1 thousand gold coins” She said holding it out towards Jerry.

“Can I also-” Jerry was about to request for another job before he was interrupted by a familiar voice.

“Larry! Where’ve you been? The ceremony is today!” Jerry turned to the voice to find Kopes standing there in a black suit.

The more Jerry thought, the more it made sense. It took a day to get to Klopm Village, another day to the ruins, a day of scavenging total and then two days to come back.

“I’ve been hunting!” Jerry said.

“What’ve you been hunting that is so important?”

Jerry gestured to the receptionist and the man with a purple coat.

“The Legendary King’s Sword” the man said.

“What a find! Now you have to come, Larry!” Kopes said followed by a laugh.

“I politely decline”

“You have no choice”

“I rudely decline”

“You still have no choice”

“Why?”

“So you can receive recognition for your find”

“No thanks. I got my cash and I’m happy with it”

“What have you got to lose? It’s a Royal Party, you get some ladies by your side, you get a good meal, and you meet Larmen the Hero!”

Jerry looked at Kopes through his visor for a moment thinking about what he said.

“My time” Jerry said before walking towards the Guild Lodging area.

_________________________________________

“Elizabeth! Look! Look!” Alice said, pointing to a stand.

“What’s that?” Elizabeth asked.

“It’s model of Larmen!”

“Really? Let me see!”

Elizabeth quickly went up to the stand that Alice was pointing to and looked over the wares with Alice.

The shop had models of the Heroes that were sent to defeat the Demon Lord. Of course, they never really defeat the Demon Lord. In truth, Jerry was the one that killed him and he has been off the Empire’s and Imperial Kingdom’s grid. Elizabeth knew that, but had to keep it a secret and keep Larmen in line.

Elizabeth had to meet with the others before the party, but she had enough time to stick with her sister for a while before the meeting.

“Look! It’s you!” Alice said with a model of Elizabeth in her hand.

“Hero Elizabeth! What an honor it is to have you at my stand. Please, take one of each free of charge to show my gratitude to you for protecting my family” The stall owner said.

“Isn’t that too much?”

“Not at all! After all, because of you, I still have my shop and my son who was conscripted came home alive. I am forever in your debt”

“Then I guess I’ll take you up on that offer” Elizabeth said with a smile before picking a model of each member up.

Elizabeth quickly looked at Alice with a smile before she noticed someone behind her.

She had to go to the meeting now. The person behind Alice was an Imperial Spy signaling that the meeting was soon.

She nodded before looking at Alice.

“I gotta go to the palace, Alice. Political stuff you know? You can keep exploring the city and go about. Don’t worry about getting lost or cash. There’ll always be someone watching you” Elizabeth said as she handed her the models.

“W-What?” Alice asked but failed to get an answer from Elizabeth who was sprinting towards the palace.

Alice looked at Elizabeth as she ran off into the distance, leaving the models with her. She had no idea what she meant by there’s someone always watching her as she thought it was impossible for someone to watch over her at all times.

‘Oh well’ Alice thought as she started to wander the streets of the Imperial Nation that she her sister had lived in for many years.

Alice wandered and wandered, looking through the wares of different stands but was unable to find anything that interested her. Now, she stood outside the adventurer’s guild which had an angry person speaking to the guild master with a crowd of people nearby watching.

“The fuck you mean Larry won’t go?” A man asked. He wore leather armor and had a worried look on his face.

“He refused stating that it’s a waste of his time” A man in golden armor said. He had a refined face with a tired face painted over it.

“The finding of the Legendary King’s Sword is immense! He can’t just simply decline the invitation to the party as well!”

“I’m sorry, but I already explained it to you. He doesn’t wanna go, and we can’t force him to either. Besides, he’s new! Just a week in the guild at best. He’s a rookie!”

“Yea, a rookie that beat you in a fight. I don’t think he’s just a rookie, Guild Master Kopes”

Kopes sighed at this moment before looking the man in the eye.

“Look, he doesn’t want to go. I have matters to attend to, so please return the message. Goodbye” And with that, Kopes turned around and headed inside.

“W-Wait!”

“Guild business only after that door! No political stuff please!”

“Bastard” the man whispered under his breath as he stormed back towards the palace.

Alice now filled with interest stepped into the Guild Hall.

The Legendary King’s Sword was a story that Alice had heard when she was younger about a King that wielded it and fought off hordes of his enemies. The exact details of the story were hazy to Alice as she hadn’t heard it since she was taken to the Demon Lord.

The moment that Alice stepped into the hall, it felt like she entered another place entirely. It didn’t feel like the Imperial Kingdom, the Demon Lord’s castle, or the Empire. Instead, it felt like someplace that she had never been before with it’s stone walls and wooden floor and furniture.

It was also more active than the streets of the Imperial Nation which was a shock as the Adventurer’s Guild was an independent group as compared to a nation it resided in.

She looked around the hall, finding men with large armor and drinking while telling epic tales of their adventures while women laughed along with them.

Alice wandered inside it a bit before she laid her eyes upon a man in all black and a familiar equipment scheme of a particular person that she knew. A strap of some cloth like material suspended a metal object from his neck while it dangled in the air and arms rested upon it.

‘Jerry?’ Alice thought as she walked closer towards him. She felt that she owed much to him, but hasn’t been able to repay him yet. She wanted to set it right with Jerry so she didn’t feel indebted to him but wondered what she could do.

She now stood at his side now as he stared at a job offering board looking for something to do.

“J-Jerry?” Alice whimpered out.

Jerry knew who the voice belonged to but kept his stare at the board to find something to keep him occupied.

“Alice”

“Is that you?”

“No, it’s my handsome doppleganger, Harry. I also go by Larry here. Not Jerry.”

“Sorry, Jerry”

“Larry”

“Sorry, Larry” Alice quickly corrected as she looked down towards the ground in shame.

“I’m fuckin with ya. How’re you?” Jerry asked as he turned to face her.

Alice immediately looked up and faced Jerry in the eye through his opaque visor.

“Good! What about you?”

“Great. So, what do you want to talk about?”

“Oh, just wanted to say hi”

“Well, Hi. Now that’s done, anything else?”

“I uh” Alice wanted to keep talking to Jerry, but had nothing to say.

“Uh?”

“Want to walk around the Imperial Streets with me?”

“Hmm”

Jerry thought for a moment before looking back at the board and remembers finding nothing of value other than quests far out or too simple.

“Sure. I got some cash”

“Great!”

Alice’s smile seemed to reach from ear to ear as she heard the answer.

“Quit that. Your smile’s too big and scares me, man”

“Ah, Sorry”

Jerry let out a small laugh.

“What’s so funny?” Alice asked.

“Look, Alice. I’m usually joking when there’s nothing to do. Don’t take things I say seriously and just have fun with it and say something witty back” Jerry said with a laid back attitude.

“Sorry, Elizabeth has been drilling me with keeping a maiden act when I’m in public” Alice said with a sigh.

“Fuck that. Just be yourself. Not like people around here cares who you are” Jerry responded.

“Is that why the everyone hates you?”

“Too soon” Jerry said with a small laugh.

“Well, let’s walk!” Alice said with a nice smile.

“Well, lead the way”

__________________________________________________________________________________________

“Sorry I’m late!” Elizabeth said, gasping for breath.

“Don’t worry about it. Besides, it’s just between us” Scharla said.

“So, should we start the briefing?” Jepal said.

“Why are you in charge” Elizabeth asked.

“Because I made the plan that you desperately need” Jepal said with a sinister tone.

“Tch. Continue” Elizabeth replied as she took a seat around a table. The table contained the Demon Commanders, Scharla, Janice, and her.

“Alright, as you know, the Demon Lord is dead no thanks to Jerry. However, you all needed Larmen to kill him with the support of the four other nations to embed their names into history and keep the population in check for a very long time since they were getting restless. Nobles, Kings, Queens got screwed out of this because of him. Now, we have to talk about something that didn’t even happen and sell it to the population and stop rumors of Jerry actually killing the Demon Lord from slipping out. If we can do that, we all can live comfy, easy lives with Larmen the Hero by our sides as we attempt to marry him. Any questions before we continue?”

“Why did you switch ships?” Elizabeth asked.

“Because Larmen is stronger than Jerry, and he’s abandoned the task of being a Demon Lord leaving us jobless and on the wrong side. Anything else?”

Jepal looked around the room to find no hands raised to ask questions.

“Good. Now, the plan is simple. We’ll simply slip him some powder that the Empire is known for provided by our dear King. Then Rose will simply implant memories of fighting the Demon Lord and killing him, thus giving the memories, and us the easy life. We’ll strike at the Imperial Party tonight!” Jepal said.

“Why are we going for an easy life? This isn’t really fun is it?” Kasune asked.

“Girl, I’m tired of serving different people and breaking my back. If you want to find a master, then go for it” Jepal said as she took a seat at a chair.

“Isn’t this mean and illegal?” Janice squeaked.

“Yea. But at the same time, I don’t care and nor do the others” Jepal said as she kicked her feet up.

“This isn’t really fair! I’ve been asking myself this for a while now, but why does Jerry get all the problems while we get all the credit? I was chosen to risk my life and everything I had to help slay the Demon Lord! Not sit at a table and talk about how we’re gonna change the memories of the man I have to dedicate myself to!” Janice snapped. She had had enough of the talks of doing immoral things that she had been told not to do.

Janice didn’t really care about who killed the Demon Lord for her country was the one that suffered the most from the initial attacks from the Demon Lord. During the first attacks, she had seen many lost and fell timid because of it, still bearing the grief caused by it.

No response came as Janice’s eyes started to tear up from the memories surfacing. The silence seemed to last an eternity before she broke the silence by storming out the room and slamming the door shut behind her.

“She’ll be fine” Jepal said.

‘I hope’