Not All Heroes From Earth Are Bad [EN]: Chapter 153

The next day.

After taking a day of rest at the inn, the group headed straight to the royal palace in the capital.

It was to meet King Valter Marriott, Abelson’s father.

“This is the royal palace… It’s incredibly fancy.”

It didn’t seem that big from the outside.

Considering the scale of the Black Star Fortress, any comparison would be embarrassing.

However, the splendor was different.

The royal palace, built with pure white bricks, was as beautiful as a castle from a fairy tale.

“Is it okay to just go in?”

“Yes.”

Abelson confidently walked towards the entrance of the royal palace.

Even though she had been away from the royal palace for a long time, she was still a princess of the Marriott Kingdom.

There was nothing to hold her back.

“This is the royal palace. Please state your identity and purpose of visit.”

A knight blocked the way.

As a knight guarding the entrance of the royal palace, he wore splendid armor, and his voice was weighty yet polite.

‘His skills are considerable.’

The knight was concealing his magical power.

Due to the situation, I couldn’t openly check, but even from the subtly leaking magical power, I could infer his level of handling magic.

“I am Abelson Marriott.”

“Pardon?”

Unlike his previous weighty demeanor, the knight blinked with wide eyes.

“I said Abelson Marriott. Sir Maol. Have you already forgotten my face?”

“P-Princess…!?”

The knight called Maol shouted in surprise.

Realizing his mistake, he composed himself and continued.

“Ahem! It really is the Princess. I am sorry for not recognizing you.”

“It’s alright. It’s been a while, Sir Maol.”

“Yes. It’s already been over five years. I am truly relieved to see that you are safe, Princess.”

“I wish to see my father.”

“Understood. But…”

Knight Maol looked at Choi Hyun-seok.

“Who are the people behind you?”

“They are my companions.”

“Those whose identities are not verified cannot have an audience with the King.”

“They have protected me throughout my journey. I guarantee their identities, so you don’t need to worry.”

“But…”

“Sir Maol, are you not only failing to recognize me but also embarrassing me in front of my benefactors?”

“…”

“It seems the kingdom has changed a lot in five years. A royal palace so cold to a member of the royal family.”

A chill dripped from Abelson’s voice.

Knight Maol quickly lowered his head.

“I apologize! I will contact the inner palace immediately.”

Choi Hyun-seok watched the situation with wide eyes.

‘Abelson seems like a different person.’

I felt it yesterday as well, but Abelson’s atmosphere seems to have changed a bit after the intense training.

She had a cold and rigid atmosphere before, but now it feels like she has added sharpness to it.

It was strangely aggressive.

“Princess, please come this way.”

Soon after, many people rushed out from inside the royal palace.

They guided the group with excessively polite manners.

‘Indeed, the level is different in a royal palace.’

The extravagant decorations continued endlessly as we walked.

Gold and jewels were laid out everywhere the eye could see.

Choi Hyun-seok looked around like a country bumpkin, constantly exclaiming in admiration.

“You can go that way.”

The place we finally arrived at was in front of a huge door.

Perhaps the King was waiting behind this door.

The knight standing in front of the door approached.

“I will check your belongings for a moment.”

Choi Hyun-seok raised his hands, gesturing that he had nothing.

“Thank you for your cooperation. But…”

The knight narrowed his eyes.

“What is this dog?”

“It’s a dog as you can see. Like a pet. Haha…!”

Choi Hyun-seok said, holding Bobo tightly.

“We cannot allow such a beast to enter the audience with the King.”

“Well, uh… This is quite embarrassing.”

Choi Hyun-seok wore an uncharacteristically flustered expression.

‘I can’t tell him to stay quiet if he wants to live, so what should I do?’

I made sure to fill Bobo’s belly before coming, just in case.

But Bobo is unpredictable about when he might cause an accident.

He could turn the entire royal palace upside down.

“The dog will be safely taken care of by a servant here, so please don’t worry.”

“No, it’s not safe…”

“We are used to this kind of thing. Please trust us and leave him with us.”

“No… that’s…”

As Choi Hyun-seok was troubled, Abelson stood between the knight and Choi Hyun-seok.

“It’s alright.”

“Princess…?”

“I will take all responsibility if anything happens.”

“…Understood.”

When Abelson spoke firmly, the knight had no choice but to step back.

He turned around and knocked on the door.

“Princess Abelson Marriott is entering.”

***

King Valter Marriott was a middle-aged man with a benevolent aura.

Even though he was wearing ornately decorated clothes and a crown, his generous physique gave off a friendly vibe like a neighborhood 아저씨 [ajusshi – a Korean term for a middle-aged man, often used in a friendly or familiar way].

“I see. So that’s what happened…”

Abelson and the King had a long conversation.

Most of it was about her time as the next Saintess.

She also talked about what happened after being captured by the Demon King’s army, but not in detail.

She ended it by saying that she was being chased by the Holy Empire of Gatrein due to a misunderstanding.

“You’ve suffered a lot for five years.”

The King held Abelson’s hand.

His eyes were moist.

“That hair must also be a disguise to avoid being tracked.”

“Yes…”

Abelson nodded, pursing her lips.

She seemed to be overwhelmed with emotion at seeing her father after a long time.

“Is it okay if I stay here from now on?”

“Of course! Of course, it is.”

“I don’t know how the Holy Empire will react. They already know I’m here.”

“Don’t worry. Our Marriott Kingdom is not that weak.”

The King patted Abelson’s shoulder.

“By the way, who is the man standing behind you?”

“Ah, he is the warrior who protected me during my travels.”

“A warrior…”

The King nodded and approached Choi Hyun-seok.

“This is rude of me. I should have greeted you first.”

“Ah, no. It’s an honor to meet you. Haha…!”

Choi Hyun-seok didn’t know anything about etiquette.

So he roughly bowed his head in greeting.

The knights stationed around him wore fierce expressions, but he neatly ignored them.

Fortunately, the King had a simple personality and didn’t nitpick about etiquette.

“Thank you for protecting my daughter all this time. Rest assured from now on.”

“Yes! Thank you!”

“Hahaha! You’re a spirited young man!”

The King laughed heartily and clapped his hands.

“Well, you must be tired from the long journey, so rest for today. Let’s talk about the rest later.”

“Yes.”

After a brief greeting with the King.

Abelson and Choi Hyun-seok were guided to their respective accommodations.

On the way out.

Choi Hyun-seok subtly stuck close to Abelson.

“Abelson. Are our rooms far apart from each other?”

“Pardon?”

“If possible, please don’t stay too far away from me. I think it would be best to have Abelson’s room and mine as close as possible.”

Choi Hyun-seok whispered, glancing around.

Abelson looked puzzled for a moment, then nodded.

“I understand. I’ll mention it separately.”

“Yes. I’ll explain the reason later.”

***

Despite Choi Hyun-seok’s request, Abelson and Choi Hyun-seok ended up staying quite far apart.

They ended up staying in completely different buildings.

Choi Hyun-seok asked to at least be in the same building, but the royal palace did not allow it.

This was already moved closer at Abelson’s request, so there was nothing more to say.

“I’m sorry. This is the limit.”

That evening.

Abelson and Choi Hyun-seok were having tea in the garden and talking.

“Abelson. Are our rooms far apart from each other?”

“Pardon?”

“If possible, please don’t stay too far away from me. I think it would be best to have Abelson’s room and mine as close as possible.”

Choi Hyun-seok whispered, glancing around.

Abelson looked puzzled for a moment, then nodded.

“I understand. I’ll mention it separately.”

“Yes. I’ll explain the reason later.”

***

Despite Choi Hyun-seok’s request, Abelson and Choi Hyun-seok ended up staying quite far apart.

They ended up staying in completely different buildings.

Choi Hyun-seok asked to at least be in the same building, but the royal palace did not allow it.

This was already moved closer at Abelson’s request, so there was nothing more to say.

“I’m sorry. This is the limit.”

That evening.

Abelson and Choi Hyun-seok were having tea in the garden and talking.

“It’s alright. It can’t be helped. By the way, Abelson… no, Princess.”

“You can call me comfortably as before.”

“Um, I understand.”

After seeing the people around him roll their eyes and scream when he called her Abelson during the day, Choi Hyun-seok called her Princess in official settings.

“So, what’s the matter? What you were saying earlier.”

“I think it’s best to clear the surroundings first.”

“Yes?”

Abelson wore a puzzled expression.

Currently, there was no one around her by her order.

However, Choi Hyun-seok was frowning and looking somewhere.

“One in the bushes right behind us. One on that tree. Two on that building over there. And it seems like there’s one behind that wall too.”

Choi Hyun-seok said, quickly scanning the surroundings.

Abelson was flustered and checked the direction Choi Hyun-seok pointed.

Her face hardened.

When Choi Hyun-seok pointed it out specifically, she was also able to detect that someone was there.

“What is the meaning of this…”

At Abelson’s words, a knight in plain clothes came out of the bushes.

He walked with his shoulders straightened, and Abelson’s expression hardened even more at his confident attitude.

“I clearly ordered that no one be around.”

“I apologize. We cannot allow an outsider to be alone with the Princess…”

“Shut up.”

Late at night.

Abelson’s voice echoed coldly.

“This is your last chance. Make sure no one is around. I don’t know if you’re too stupid to understand, but this includes you too.”

“…Understood.”

The knight retreated with a stiff face.

Only then did Abelson let out a sigh of relief.

“Hoo, it’s quiet now. I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright. Haha! I feel good seeing so many new sides of you.”

“…”

Abelson’s face turned slightly red.

She seemed to realize what she had said and done belatedly.

“Never mind. I’m just kidding.”

Choi Hyun-seok chuckled and called Rachel.

“Rachel. Can you block out the nearby sounds?”

“Yes. I can block the view if you want!”

“That’s alright. It’ll be a problem if they barge in again saying something happened. Just block the sound.”

“Okay!”

Rachel used magic to block the noise.

As soon as they were completely alone, Choi Hyun-seok brought up the main topic.

“I’ll continue what I said earlier today.”

He continued with a serious expression.

“The atmosphere is strange.”

“Atmosphere?”

“Yes. It was the same when we were talking to the King earlier. And now, people are gradually leaving the royal palace.”

“Yes…?”

Since coming to the royal palace, Choi Hyun-seok had not let go of his tension for a moment.

In preparation for any eventuality, he spread his magic widely to check the surroundings for any threats.

As a result, Choi Hyun-seok was able to see many people moving busily within the royal palace.

“At first, I thought I was being too sensitive, but now I’m sure. Something is wrong.”

“What specifically is strange?”

“The knights guarding this place. That is, the people you said were the royal knights have all left.”

“Yes? What does that mean…?”

The Royal Knights were the most important force guarding the royal palace.

They protect the royal palace under any circumstances.

It was almost unheard of for them to leave the royal palace as a group.

“Could it be because of training…?”

“Even if it’s training, do they empty the royal palace like this? Without leaving even half of them behind?”

“That’s not true, but…”

“The Royal Knights, the core force of defense, leave the royal palace at this point when Abelson arrives.”

“…”

“I don’t want to suspect Abelson’s father, but shouldn’t we prepare for the worst?”

Choi Hyun-seok continued with a heavy expression.

“And we’ve already had a similar experience.”

“A similar experience…?”

“Gadrac Fortress. Do you remember?”

Gadrac Fortress, the headquarters of the 8th Division.

At the time, the commander of the 8th Division, 악어 Gratt [Ageo Gratt – 악어 means crocodile in Korean], launched a counterattack against the humans by leaving the fortress in the face of a large-scale human offensive.

At that time, most of the forces had emptied Gadrac Fortress, but Choi Hyun-seok and Abelson were the only ones left in the fortress for some reason.

“As it turned out, it was a setup with the humans, and we would have died if we had stayed in Gadrac Fortress.”

If they hadn’t made the decision to leave the fortress to save Raidrun at that time, they might have died.

“Removing the defensive forces and inviting an external enemy. Only the stage has changed from Gadrac Fortress to the royal palace, but isn’t the situation almost the same?”

“…”

It was too coincidental to be called speculation.

Abelson was confused.

‘Why would Father…?’

I don’t want to believe it.

But if I don’t trust Choi Hyun-seok, there’s no one else to trust.

At that moment, Choi Hyun-seok smiled comfortably.

“Don’t worry too much.”

“…”

“I’m not saying we should do something right away, I’m just saying we should be careful for now. I could be wrong.”

“Yes…”

Abelson’s face was dark as she nodded.