That sentence—barely audible—and Enea's unsettling gaze slightly disturbed Lucas. But since the boy quickly returned to a more neutral expression, Lucas decided not to dwell on it. After all, the sentence had been too vague to interpret clearly, and it had sounded more like something Enea had muttered to himself.
"It's a pleasure to meet you both, Roterberg, Enea. You also intend to participate in the Tournament of the Golden Tree, correct? If you don't mind, could you tell me your reasons?" asked Lucas in a regal tone, though his voice still betrayed a hint of curiosity.
"That's right, Queen Alberia," Roterberg replied confidently. "I want to show as many people as possible the beauty, strength, practicality, and above all, the sheer awesomeness of the weapons I craft. It'll be a great opportunity to promote my weapon shop back in my homeland and demonstrate my skill as a master weaponsmith!" He ended with a hearty laugh that echoed through the throne room.
"As I'm sure you gathered from my brief exchange with your captain of the royal knights," Enea began, his voice calm yet tinged with a disquieting enthusiasm, "I enjoy fighting. I simply want to participate in the tournament to face interesting opponents."
Lucas noticed a faint smile forming on Aislyra's lips after hearing Enea's response.
"I understand," Lucas said. "Whatever your motivation may be, I'm glad you've all decided to take part."
He then turned his attention to Caesar. "By the way, have you already decided where you'll be staying while in the capital? As we discussed earlier, you're welcome to stay here at the palace, at least until the end of the tournament. What do you say?" he asked politely, though his tone remained dignified.
"Thank you, Queen Alberia," Caesar replied with composed courtesy, "but we've already reserved four rooms in one of the best hotels in the city. I believe we'll stay there. I wouldn't want our presence here to cause any trouble—especially given that your chief knight already seems to have taken a disliking to Enea. So, with your permission, we'll take our leave to pick up Emeralda and return to the hotel. We're quite tired and would like to explore the capital tomorrow."
"I understand," Lucas said with a nod. "Then, if it suits you, would you and your party care to join us here at the palace for lunch tomorrow?"
"Gladly," Caesar answered, a faint glimmer of anticipation in his eyes. "I would never refuse an invitation to a good meal."
"Perfect. Then, Katerina, would you be so kind as to guide Caesar and his group to the Royal Knights' barracks so they can pick up Emeralda? I trust you to prevent any sort of confrontation that might arise," said Lucas, turning to Katerina.
"Of course, Your Majesty," she replied, bowing briefly before walking toward Caesar and his companions. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Caesar. I am Katerina, Queen Alberia's personal maid. If you would do me the honor of following me, I'll take you to Lady Emeralda."
"The pleasure is mine, Katerina," Caesar replied with a graceful smile. "And I must say, like your queen, you are also an exceptionally beautiful woman. We will gladly follow you."
"Thank you," said Katerina flatly, her tone as calm as ever.
With that, Caesar, Roterberg, and Enea followed her out of the throne room, thus ending the audience with the hero of Leore.
Once they had left, the six ministers bowed in unison before the throne, and the guards silently exited the chamber. Then Sequoria, turning toward the ministers and Aislyra, spoke in a regal voice.
"Ministers, Aislyra—what are your impressions of Leore's hero and his party?"
Scuro was the first to respond. "From what I've observed, they appear trustworthy—especially Caesar. Despite having been, in his previous life, a kind of military conqueror, he doesn't seem to bear any ambition for domination in this world. His regal demeanor aside, I believe the Kingdom of Leore has once again summoned an excellent hero. Emeralda seemed to respect him, and I trust her judgment."
He paused briefly, and his expression darkened. "However, I'm uncertain about the boy who stopped Fortore. He was... difficult to read. But one thing's certain: he's extraordinarily powerful. Very few people could block Fortore so easily. And what troubled me most was that I didn't sense even a trace of mana from him during the encounter. That leaves only two possibilities—either he's extraordinarily skilled at concealing his mana, or he wasn't using any mana at all."
"That's impossible, dog," interjected Lucrio, visibly baffled. "You, of all people, should know that elves are naturally physically stronger than humans, and Fortore is among the strongest elves in this kingdom—especially with physical enhancement spells. Outside of a minotaur or a combat-grade homunculus, I don't know of any humanoid race that could parry Fortore's strike without using a spell."
"I agree that it sounds impossible," said Scuro, his brow furrowed. "But did any of you sense even the slightest trace of mana coming from that boy? Even for a highly trained assassin, it's nearly impossible to completely mask mana use from people this close."
"Yes, Minister Scuro is correct. I couldn't detect any mana either," added Heve, the Minister of Health.
At that moment, everyone in the room—except Lucas—widened their eyes in collective shock.
"I see…" Lucrio muttered, his tone defeated. "If even you, Heve, say you didn't sense anything, then it's highly unlikely that he was hiding mana. Which means... he truly didn't use any."
That statement weighed heavily on the room. Heve was widely acknowledged as the most sensitive mana-reader in the Kingdom of Yggdora. If she couldn't detect anything, then there was likely nothing to detect.
For a few long seconds, silence lingered over the throne room. Then it was Lucas who broke it.
"What if that boy—Enea—isn't human?" he suggested.
Scuro paused to consider the idea, then slowly responded. "He definitely couldn't be a minotaur. Even if he used a spell or artifact to hide their distinctive traits—horns, ears, and tail—his build was far too lean and short to fit the profile. If he were one of those rare homunculi designed specifically for combat and granted free will, that would make more sense. But to my knowledge, the Kingdom of Leore has never employed such creations…"
He trailed off, clearly deep in thought.
But after a few seconds in which Scuro and most of the ministers remained deep in thought about the mysterious boy, they were interrupted by a sudden, reverberating clap of hands.
"Ministers, there's no point in worrying too much about it now. That boy named Enea has done nothing to suggest he's an enemy. Besides, we'll surely learn more about him during the tournament. There's no need to overthink it," said Sequoria in a regal, yet motherly tone.
"You're right, Lady Sequoria," Scuro replied, while the other ministers nodded in agreement.
"Well then," Sequoria continued, turning to the remaining ministers, "has anything else about the hero's party caught your interest?"
"I-I'd like to speak with Mr. R-Roterberg in p-private," said Macro, his foggy glasses glinting with enthusiasm. "I had a-already heard about him before m-meeting him today. He's considered o-one of the finest b-blacksmiths and craftsmen the kingdom of F-Felsmassiv has ever produced. I'd l-love to discuss his weapon and artifact crafting m-methods."
"I see. I'll try to arrange a private meeting between the two of you during tomorrow's lunch," said Lucas with a small smile.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Macro replied, bursting with happiness.
After a few more seconds of silence, Sequoria turned back to the ministers who had yet to speak.
"Do the rest of you have anything to add?" she asked.
But the other ministers only shook their heads.
Sequoria then shifted her attention to Aislyra. "What about you, Aislyra? Do you have anything to share?"
"Honestly, I'm not too concerned about what Enea is," Aislyra answered with a grin of excitement. "He didn't seem to harbor any ill will toward the queen or the kingdom. The only thing I care about is how strong he is. Along with Caesar, I can't wait to face him in the Tournament of the Golden Trees."
"That's just like you, my daughter," Sequoria said with a wry smile. "But this time, I agree—though not about fighting him. He hasn't shown any hostility, so there's no need to worry about him for now. Our real concern is the assassin who has yet to make his move, and the person who hired him. I doubt anything will happen during the tournament, especially with the number of powerful warriors present, but regardless, we must tighten security for both the audience and the participants. I believe we should double the number of guards this year."
"You're absolutely right, Lady Sequoria. And as you know, I've already begun implementing security measures to ensure the tournament runs flawlessly," said Scuro.
"I know, Minister of Defense, and please continue your efforts," Sequoria said in a warm but firm tone.
Scuro nodded silently.
A few seconds later, the doors to the throne room opened once again, and Katerina re-entered.
"His Majesty the Hero and his party have left the palace without any incident," she reported calmly, returning to her place beside the queen.
"Perfect. Thank you for escorting them, Katerina," said Lucas.
Katerina responded with a polite bow.
"Well, now that Katerina has returned and the hero has left the palace, if there is nothing else, you are all free to return to your duties," Sequoria announced regally.
The ministers nodded and began to leave the room. As they departed, Sequoria walked up to Lucas and leaned in to whisper in his ear.
"My son, after your training with Katerina and your sister, come to my chambers. Bring them with you."
She then exited the throne room as well.
'What could she want to talk about?' Lucas wondered. A couple of possibilities immediately formed in his mind, but he wasn't sure which was right.
Later, as instructed, Lucas completed both Katerina's magic lesson and Aislyra's combat training. After a brief lunch, he now stood in front of Sequoria's room with Katerina and Aislyra at his side.
For some reason, he had an odd sense of déjà vu.
After knocking, Katerina opened the door—and in that instant, a situation Lucas hadn't experienced in nearly two weeks repeated itself.
A white blur burst from the room at immeasurable speed and wrapped itself around him in an almost suffocatingly warm embrace.
"Welcome back, my son. Your breasts are as fantastic as ever," said the blur in a voice overflowing with maternal affection.