Unexpected Welcome
"Wait, what's going on here?" Adrian asked, confused.
Horace looked up at Adrian, who was standing in front of him, then looked down again.
"We were assigned by His Majesty Marcus to pick you up," Horace replied.
"Pick us up? To where?" Elsa asked.
"To our royal capital, Fredonia," Horace answered.
"Hmm, is it far?" Elsa asked.
"One week by ship, followed by three days by carriage," Horace stated.
"Okay, that's far. Maybe we should just use Galvin," Adrian suggested.
Adrian closed his eyes for a moment. Soon after, "thump... thump!" a large dragon descended above them. Then Adrian pointed upwards, and "poof!" smoke enveloped the dragon. "Kyuuu!" A small red dragon immediately flew down and landed on Adrian's shoulder. Elsa immediately stroked Galvin, who was now small and looked pleased to be petted. When they both turned, they saw the soldiers and Horace looking terrified.
"Uh... what?" Adrian asked.
"Th-the Calamity Dragon Galvineel from the legends," Horace stammered, pointing at Adrian's shoulder.
"Wait, what did you just say? Legends?" Elsa asked.
"Th-that's right, the Calamity Dragon Galvineel, the dragon of the Great Hero Javis and Great Sage Irisphilia who fought and defeated the Demon Lord 100 years ago. Forgive us for daring to come to your land," Horace said.
Adrian and Elsa immediately looked at each other, both unable to believe what they had just heard.
"Okay, so Dad and Mom are legends in this world, unbelievable," Adrian muttered.
"Hehe, they're still full of surprises for us, huh?" Elsa replied.
"Excuse me, but what are you talking about?" Horace asked, not understanding Indonesian.
"It's nothing, but how are you so sure we are Javis and Irisphilia?" Adrian asked.
"Actually, His Majesty Marcus ordered us to test your abilities first before confirming, but we've seen Galvineel up close, so we're certain," Horace answered.
"Commander Horace, forgive me, but His Majesty's orders must be followed," a soldier from behind said.
Adrian and Elsa looked at a large soldier, a bear beastman, carrying an axe and wearing armor.
"Don't be rude, Grizo, step back!" Horace yelled.
"But I'm still not convinced, Commander!" Grizo shouted back.
"Um... what do we have to do to convince you?" Elsa asked.
"A one-on-one duel with me," Grizo replied, pointing his axe at Adrian.
"Grizo, I'm warning you, step back!" Horace yelled.
"It's okay, I'm willing," Adrian said.
"Wait a minute!"
Elsa ran inside. Shortly after, she came out carrying a sword that had originally been in Adrian's secret room. She handed the sword to Adrian, and as soon as Adrian drew it,
"Oh no... the holy sword Volrandan! Retreat, Grizo! Not just anyone can use that sword," Horace exclaimed.
"Huh... really?" Adrian asked, confused.
"Let me borrow it."
"Thud!" As soon as Elsa took the sword, it immediately fell to the ground and sank into the earth.
"Heee... it's really heavy when removed from the sheath," Elsa said.
"Are you serious?" Adrian asked, crouching down.
"Sriiing!" Adrian effortlessly picked up his sword and raised it. He twirled the sword as he had learned from Jimmy's book, then,
"Let's go," Adrian said, getting ready.
But Grizo had already put his axe on the ground and was prostrating himself at Adrian's feet, trembling with fear.
"Forgive me, I was only following His Majesty's orders," Grizo stammered.
"Please forgive us, we didn't mean to offend you. Please forgive Grizo, if you want to punish anyone, punish me and don't destroy our kingdom," Horace pleaded.
"Huh? Destroy?" Adrian and Elsa asked, surprised.
******
Ancient Promises and Modern Schedules
After that, Adrian and Elsa asked everyone to stand up. Then they invited Horace into their house and sat on the sofa, while Galvin flew around inside the house. Only then did Horace explain what happened 100 years ago and the promise they made to return and replace the demon lord to destroy the two kingdoms that betrayed them.
"Those two kingdoms no longer exist. They merged into one kingdom, which is the Fredonia Kingdom," Horace said.
"Oh my goodness, so that's the story," Adrian said, shaking his head.
"Hahaha, this is kind of funny," Elsa replied.
"Forgive us, we truly didn't mean to offend you," Horace said.
"Haaah... don't worry about it. We have no intention of becoming demon lords or anything," Adrian said.
"But please don't bother us here," Elsa added.
"So... you're not willing to come to the palace?" Horace asked.
"Hmm, we want to, but tomorrow is school," Elsa replied.
"School?" Horace asked, confused.
"Ah, she means academy. We're attending an academy in another world," Adrian clarified.
"An-another world? Do you intend to bring an armada from another world to attack us?" Horace asked.
"Oh my god, no! Ugh, this is hard to explain. (He turned to Elsa) Elsa, get a can of soda and a shotgun," Adrian said.
"Oh, okay," Elsa said, immediately standing up.
Soon after, Elsa came back carrying a hunting shotgun and a can of soda. Then she gave the drink to Horace and told him to finish it.
"W-what is this?" Horace asked.
"Just try it first," Adrian replied.
Crackle! Adrian opened the can and gave it to Horace, who observed it, confused. He slowly brought the can to his mouth, and as soon as the drink touched his throat, he couldn't stop drinking. After it was empty,
"Now put that can on the window."
Horace stood up and placed the can on the window. Galvin landed on Adrian's shoulder and covered his ears with his wings. Elsa also covered her ears. Then, "brataaat... brataaat... clang!" Adrian fired his hunting shotgun at the can on the window.
"Waaaaa!" Horace immediately dove to the ground, covering his ears and looking in pain.
"Hey, look," Adrian said.
Horace looked. He saw many holes in the wooden wall and the can shattered into pieces from the shot.
"See? We don't need an armada to destroy your kingdom, so we're in another world just for the academy," Adrian said.
"Good grief, I thought it was something serious. Turns out he just wanted to explain that. What a hassle," Elsa muttered.
"Haha, sorry. If I didn't explain it like this, they'd be ready to welcome another armada from another world again. It's a shame to make them wait for something uncertain, right? We'll give them something certain," Adrian said.
"Hmm, yeah, I guess so. Whatever," Elsa replied.
Elsa raised her hand and rubbed the wall from a distance. All the holes in the wall, the broken window, and the shattered can returned to their original state. Horace, seeing this, immediately knelt again.
"Forgive me, I will convey to His Majesty Marcus that you are not willing to come to the capital," Horace said.
"Oh, it's not that we're unwilling, just wait for vacation," Adrian clarified.
"Yeah, that's right. Tomorrow is still school day. We'll come during the end-of-semester break," Elsa added.
"We'll come by ourselves later, using Galvin, so no need for an escort," Adrian replied.
"V-very well. I will convey that to His Majesty. I respectfully ask to be excused now to immediately return to the capital," Horace said.
"Okay, please do," Adrian replied, placing the shotgun on the table right next to Horace.
Horace bowed, then went outside. As he opened the door, Adrian and Elsa were surprised to see the soldiers rolling on the ground, covering their ears.
"Oh, so the sound reached outside?" Adrian asked.
"Of course, it was loud!" Elsa replied.
From the doorway, they watched Horace organize his troops, and they orderly headed towards the ships on the beach. "Click!" Adrian closed the door again.
"Why do I feel so tired now?" Adrian asked.
"Yeah, even though we only intended to pick vegetables initially," Elsa replied.
"Let's just go back and order online," Adrian suggested.
"We should have done that from the start. What about Galvin?" Elsa asked.
"Oh, right," Adrian replied.
Adrian stepped out into the yard briefly and released Galvin, then he went back inside and, with Elsa, entered the still-open portal. Meanwhile, on the ship at sea,
"Commander Horace, so what's the plan?" Grizo asked.
"We report to His Majesty. Do not disturb them. Have their faces painted, and when they come, we will welcome them. However, the nobles will likely not accept them so easily and will surely offend them both. We must be careful," Horace said.
"Understood, Commander. The important thing is His Majesty knows first," Grizo replied.