Chapter 529: Arrival at the Royal Capital of the Kingdom of Raven

At last, dinner was brought in.

It had been a long time since I’d felt the passage of time drag so slowly. That alone was proof of just how uncomfortable the wait had been.

At Sophia-sama’s urging, I began to eat. This stay was never meant to be part of the plan, and yet the meal laid out before us was just as lavish as the one from the previous night. I was deeply grateful, of course—but a small worry tugged at the back of my mind. The Raven Kingdom should be trying to save every coin it could right now.

Still, the aroma was irresistible.

“Thanks to Sophia-sama and Erwin-sama, we were able to gather a great many of the materials needed for the magic potions. Truly, thank you very much.”

“I’m glad we were able to be of some help, even if only a little,” Sophia replied warmly.

“As for tomorrow, I was hoping to venture deeper into the forest to search for mana grass…”

“The depths of the forest, huh…”

Erwin-sama fell into thought. Just as I expected.

They couldn’t very well allow an important guest to be exposed to danger. Even if the monsters that appeared around this area were mostly weak, once you went deeper into the forest, the situation could easily change.

And there was another problem, too.

There was no guarantee that mana grass even grew deep within this forest in the first place. That uncertainty was a serious drawback. Traveling all that way only to come back empty-handed would be hard to justify.

It was then that a quiet cough cut through the air.

Giovanni-sama.

“Professor Julius, that won’t be necessary,” he said calmly. “We anticipated this possibility, so earlier today, we ventured deep into the forest ourselves and gathered mana grass.”

Giovanni-sama smiled gently in our direction. The other royal court alchemists wore the same expression. It seemed they had decided that gathering materials from the nearby areas was more than enough for us alone.

They were absolutely right.

“As expected of you, Giovanni-sama. And my thanks as well to all the royal court alchemists. With this, we should be able to depart for the royal capital as early as tomorrow.”

“Then let us do so,” Sophia said with a bright smile. “I only wrote in the letter that we might be delayed by a few days, so even if we depart tomorrow, there will be no issue at all.”

Sophia-sama’s smile was relaxed and confident. It seemed there was no strain on the schedule after all. Erwin-sama, seated beside her, nodded in agreement.

I had been the one to ask them to delay their plans, after all. I did feel bad about that. But thanks to it, we were able to collect the materials we’d need going forward. We’d also gathered a fair number of small magic stones—more than enough for trial production.

“Then I’ll make preparations for tomorrow’s departure after dinner.”

“We’ll make our own preparations as well,” Sophia replied.

After that, the conversation turned to the journey ahead. I had already traveled to the royal capital once before, but this would be Giovanni-sama’s first time. Naturally, the itinerary was arranged so that there would be no need for camping along the way.

The food here was exceptional, brimming with the bounty of the mountains. I didn’t know the names of all the dishes, but one in particular stood out—a dish containing something thick and silky, much like grated wild yam, with a rich, satisfying texture. There was also a game dish made from some kind of mysterious meat. It had a pleasant chew, yet was wonderfully juicy.

When I asked about it, I learned it was made from the meat of a rare bird that lived only in this region.

“It seems we’ll have to say goodbye to these delicious meals for a while,” I said.

“Julius-sama… please come again anytime,” one of the staff said earnestly. “We’ll all be waiting for you.”

The chefs and servants alike had tears glistening in their eyes.

They weren’t joking. They truly meant it—and that sincerity made me genuinely happy. Maybe I really would sneak back here from time to time.

Thanking everyone once more, I savored the meal to the very last bite.

The next day, we set out for the royal capital of the Raven Kingdom.

Music drifted softly from within our carriage. According to the guards, the same music could be heard coming from the carriage ahead of us as well. It seemed the phonograph was already proving its worth.

“Do you think this will help make the long carriage ride a little less boring?”

“There’s no doubt about that,” she replied. “Come to think of it, Sophia-sama and Giovanni-sama were quite interested in this carriage as well, weren’t they?”

“Seems like it. Sophia-sama had heard about it from Sister-in-law Daniela, but it sounded like this was Giovanni-sama’s first time hearing of it. This might make its way to His Majesty the King.”

“If that happens, we may start seeing more orders for this new type of carriage.”

“I hope so.”

Should I invite Sophia-sama and Giovanni-sama to ride in this carriage at least once?

…No, on second thought, now that I knew what comfort felt like, I really didn’t want to climb back into one of those old, rickety carriages.

I’d think about it after we arrived at the capital. It would be fine to let them use it when we weren’t. Lending it out then would be the simplest solution.

After passing through several towns, we finally arrived at the royal capital of the Raven Kingdom.

At a glance, nothing seemed to have changed since our last visit. The cityscape was the same, and the streets bustled as they always had.

And yet—

When we met with His Majesty the King and the nation’s key figures, a subtle weariness could be seen in their expressions.

“Julius, I’m glad you could come,” the king said warmly. “The royal court alchemists from the Spencer Kingdom have also been eagerly awaiting your arrival.”

As we entered the audience chamber, His Majesty greeted us with a smile. I apologized for our delay and once again explained the reason. The king accepted it immediately, then went on to brief us on the current state of affairs.

“My apologies for troubling you. It seems we’ve been able to secure medicinal herbs and other materials around the capital itself. However, I’ve been told we don’t have enough surplus to send to other territories. Developing new magic potions will consume large quantities, after all. Your efforts are truly appreciated.”

The king nodded again and again as he spoke.

Thank goodness, I thought. I wasn’t reprimanded for acting on my own.

As for the measures taken to deal with the tainted land, I decided to speak directly with those in charge. His Majesty must be extremely busy, after all. The fact that he had taken the time to meet with us at all was proof enough of how favorably we were being treated.

Once the audience concluded, we were immediately shown to our rooms within the castle. Our luggage had already been brought in.

After thanking Nero, I allowed myself a short rest.

From here on out, it would be time to gather information—and once that began, there would be no time left to rest at all.