Chapter 441: Thank Yous

　Marquis Vandyne and Aeris were set to be escorted to the marquisate by Tauro and Ragune’s abilities.

Aeris also wanted to finish up what she had left to do in the Marquis and prepare for her journey.

Tauro himself had plenty of things to do in the Graundewald territory.

Even if he entrusted everything to Haku as the heir apparent, he still has his responsibilities as his half-brother.

　First of all, the formal procedures for officially adopting Haku were required, and as a son of the Graundewald family, he was also required to have some level of knowledge.

Although Tauro was no longer recognized as the heir, he was still one of the children of a respectable count’s family.

Additionally, regarding the agricultural reforms Tauro had proposed within the territory, it was often necessary for the proposer, Tauro himself, to attend the meetings.

A few days later, finding time amidst such busy days, Count Graundewald finally took Haku and headed for the royal capital.

Just like with Tauro, this was for the purpose of completing the formalities of becoming adopted by a noble family.

At this point, Tauro was to accompany them as well.

Normally, it shouldn’t have been necessary for Tauro to go, but, naturally, Prince Fleue was in the royal capital.

Since he wanted to express his gratitude for the gifts he had received, he decided it was time to visit the royal capital after so long.

　Ragune, Ankh, and Zion all also agreed.

Aeris, who was in the Van Dyne marquisate, could be summoned anytime using Ragune’s “Dimensional Corridor,” so arrangements were made to call her once they arrived.

Thus, Tauro and the rest of the, “black Golden Wings,” set off once again for the royal capital, accompanied by his father, Count Graundewald, and Haku.

“Brother, what is the royal capital like?” Haku asked as they were jostled around in the carriage.

“The territorial capital is big and impressive, but the royal capital is even larger. And above all, there are overwhelmingly more people,” Tauro explained, recalling how he felt when he first saw the royal capital.

“Larger, huh… I grew up in a village, so I was already surprised when I came to the territorial capital. I can’t imagine something even bigger,”

“Hahaha! When I came to the royal capital as a child, I was overwhelmed too. I thought my own territorial capital was the best. Everyone is surprised the first time they see the royal capital,” Count Graundewald seemed to be looking forward to seeing Haku’s surprised expression.

Tauro could relate to his father’s feelings because when he first saw it, he was also awestruck, staring up at the castle walls. He was excited to see how Haku would react as well.

　A few days had passed since we left the capital.

　With the royal capital just around the corner, we decided to stay the night in the town before.

　There, I overheard a conversation between two merchants who seemed to have come from the royal capital.

“—A visit from our ally nation, the Kingdom of Luwan?” 

“I heard that the delegation includes that ‘Saint’…!”

“Wait. Is that true? A ‘Saint’ hasn’t appeared in about a hundred years, right?”

“Apparently, one appeared in the Kingdom of Luwan, and they’re here to request a detailed appraisal from the prime minister of this country.”

“If that’s true, then their Kingdom’s  value will rise significantly…”

“Right? I can smell the profits in the air.”

Hearing that rumor piqued Tauro’s interest a little.

But, this means Prince Fleue might be very busy.

Tauro felt disappointed at the possibility that he might not be able to meet him this time.

After spending a night in the town, the group arrived at the royal capital.

Count Graundewald cleverly had the carriage stopped right in front of the castle gates to let Haku take in the sight of the royal capital.

Haku stared, his mouth agape, at the towering castle walls and gates that stretched out far into the distance.

Seeing Haku’s reaction reminded Tauro of his own reaction when he first came to the royal capital, making him chuckle softly.

“Oh, brother! Don’t laugh! But I do think the territorial capital is still quite impressive!” Haku exclaimed, feeling embarrassed from being laughed at.

“That’s true. The territorial capital is indeed impressive and a wonderful place. Perhaps you can learn some good things during your stay here.”

“Yeah!” Haku nodded earnestly, respecting his brother-in-law Tauro’s words.

Seeing this exchange between the two sons brought a smile to Count Graundewald’s face, and he felt a renewed sense of joy at getting to raise such a commendable pair.

“Well then, the formalities are complete, so let’s enter the royal capital,” Count Graunute said, prompting the group to get back into the carriage.

After entering the royal capital, the group headed straight to the Graundewald residence. But on the way there, the atmosphere in the royal capital was electric with excitement over the ‘Saint’s arrival.’

“Simple portraits are being sold everywhere,” Tauro remarked while looking out from the carriage.

“That’s true. It’s the first time in over a hundred years that a ‘Saint’ has descended, so maybe it’s understandable that people are making a fuss,” Count Graundewald acknowledged the commotion around them.

“I heard that a great blessing is bestowed upon the country where a ‘Saint’ appears,” Haku chimed in, revealing knowledge he had picked up from somewhere.

“Really I know about the ‘True Saint,’ this… it feels very surprising,” Tauro murmured to himself.

“Huh?” Haku couldn’t quite catch Tauro’s words and asked him to repeat himself.

“Nothing. But it feels more like they’re coming to show off, requesting a confirmation from an allied nation and all that,” Tauro said, sensing the diplomatic games between nations.

“Hmm… That may be the case. It is strange that the Kingdom of Luwan decided to announce the appearance of the ‘Saint’ in their country at this timing. Even though they are an ally, they are asking the Prime Minister of another country to appraise it under the pretext of confirmation, so they may be  using it as a diplomatic bargaining chip.”

Count Graundewald agreed with Tauro’s keen observations.

“Could the Kingdom of Luwan have any motive other than showing off?” Haku voiced his question.

“I don’t know for sure, but one possibility is that they want the prime minister’s endorsement to internationally elevate the name of their Kingdom. And after that, the only thing I can think of is they could leverage the ‘Saint’ as a card in diplomatic negotiations with other countries,” Tauro shared his thoughts, which were sharp but, of course, just his conjectures, about something that had nothing to do with him personally.

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