Trimperials?

As they waited for their meal, Melvin could feel the tension getting stiff since he was intrigued by Vahenna's past.

Vahenna was stroking her forehead. "I forgot the full detail, that was 10 years ago, but they were called the Trimperial by my father. This is the only thing that I can remember from back then, King William Vulhelm the ruler of this country, used to be the ruler of the Trimperial."

"Trimperial? What is that mean?"

"I have no idea, but that's what we call our enemies. I didn't ask much when I was a child. I wasn't interested much in politics back then. I thought all I wanted to know was which enemies to cut down. But one thing is for sure, they have the most powerful army on the continents, probably even the whole world.

Melvin gestured at her. "Then continue."

Vahenna gave a single nod. "Since the Sillians were losing, King William fleed the mainland of the Trimperial. That country was called as Mendovia. He then hid into Rezgareth, which was known to be dangerous due to the presence of beasts like veil spiders and goblins."

Melvin smiled. "I see, it all makes sense why the King banned the word."

Vahenna then lowered her voice into a whisper. She made sure none could hear her. "The ones who were left defending the Trimperial kingdom were his children. One of them was Princess Maurice Vulhelm, the 2nd in line to the throne. She was a child back then but I was trained by my father to become her royal guard."

"So where is the Princess now?"

Vahenna sighed. She clenched her fist. "After I find my sister, I'll set out from this island and find her. I have a duty to fulfill but the last time I saw her, we were riding a ship to find reinforcements. We got attacked by the enemy. I hope she's fine."

Rederick and Celine went close to Melvin. They were interested to know about the King's taboo.

"Please tell us, sir."

"That's right Mr. President."

"Alright." The words coward and thin-skinned if caught in public were punishable by the King. Since after the King fleed the capital, he was mocked by his people. They called him out names and finally, it caused the King to snap and thus banning the word.

Several men were thrown into the dungeons due to this event. If caught by the guards personally, it could lead to execution.

Rederick almost burst out laughing but he held it in.

Celine felt bad about it. "This is just sad. It's not something that we can laugh at."

"It seems the king is bad at taking criticisms." Seriously, Melvin was irritated. He felt bad for the King's children, forcing them to fight on their own. If he could, he wanted to confront him. The King would not even survive the age of the internet.

Then the waiter came with their orders. They were served with a plate of wild boar meat, with some veggies like potatoes and corn. It was the most expensive dish on the menu. Melvin took a bite and noticed the meat was too salty.

It left him with a bad after-taste. The potatoes looked shriveled and filled with dark marks. The corn however was short and had fewer kernels. The meal in the town was better.

Celine then squealed in surprise. It caused her to jump a bit. She moved away and pointed at the floor. "Co-co-cock--"

"Huh? Cock?" Melvin raised his eyebrow.

"Cockroach!"

Melvin and Rederick peeked at the bottom of the table. Cockroaches were hiding underneath the wooden floorboard. They were then feeling grossed out. He grabbed the plate and smelled it. There were some weird scents left on it. It seemed like it wasn't washed well.

Melvin was close to barfing up. He didn't finish his meal and lied down on the table. "What are the health inspectors doing here in the town?"

"Health inspectors? What are those?" Shira asked.

"Seriously? We can be eating donkey dung and no one would care?"

Rederick slammed his arms on the table. It surprised everyone in the room. "Gah! Let's confront talk to the manager." He was mad.

Melvin stood up and accompanied him to talk with the owner. They went to his room and knocked on the door first. "Hey, sir. We have some complaints."

The door opened and it was an old man with a grumpy look. "What is it?"

"You're sanitary is bad, cockroaches on the floor, low-quality food, and dirty plates. We want a refund for our money." Melvin said.

The old man harrumphed. "Heh, you must be dreaming. Be thankful that you have some food to buy. In fact, it's the first time someone wanted a refund."

"There must be a law right that prohibits this practice?"

The old man raised his eyebrow in disbelief. "Heh, law? Why would the king care about how I run my restaurant. He has tons of problems that he should worry about."

Rederick cracked his knuckles. He showed a threatening face. "Old man, law or not, if you are going to continue this practice, we'll break your legs ourselves."

Then to their surprise, someone tapped their shoulder. Looking behind them there was a giant man with buff arms and body.

"Uh, yo," Melvin said.

Afterward, Melvin was thrown outside the restaurant. "Ah!" He was captured by Vahenna. He sighed.

Rederick got thrown as well and he was going towards Celine. Expecting to get caught, Celine moved away and he slammed on the ground. "Oomph."

"Celine, that's cold."

"Red, I will get injured if I try to catch you."

In the doorway of the restaurant, the owner was upset. "Don't come back!" He grunted and slammed the door.

Melvin stood and scratched his head. "What the hell was that guy?"

Vahenna strokes her chin. "That guy is from the Hav race, they are said to be giant people. Though they are a rarity nowadays."

Melvin stared at the bridge to heaven tower. "If we can't access that then that means we are stuck here."

Vahenna went close to him. "Hmm, why do you want to climb up there? It's only for the holy members of the church."

"I'm trying to call my countrymen. The only way is to climb from a high location."

Vahenna tried to recall something. "Actually, when I was working with Lord Harges, I overheard that the church had a magic beacon. It can send up a light into the sky. But the council should agree with it and the King as well."

"Really?"

Vahenna nodded. "Yes, there is even a grand council meeting a week from now."

Melvin smiled. If there was a beacon in here that could send lights into the sky, that would notify his people back there in Vesna. Then that might be the best option. "Make the council agree, huh? So, when can I freely talk with the King and the council."

His team was surprised. They all knew how uptight the King was. They were starting to get worried.

"Hey, Mr. President, are you sure about this?"

"Definitely." Melvin stood firm and faced into the direction of the inn.

Afterwards they made their way in the inn, Vahenna felt satisfied seeing Melvin. He was different than what she expected. He wasn't like any lower branch nobles or any nobles at all. He was in a different league.

He was even better than her previous master. Right now, Vahenna didn't have any regrets. Except if only Melvin found her 10 years ago. She was even starting to feel bad since after this she would leave. She wanted to work for him even longer.

When they arrived at the inn, Melvin purchased some rooms for them to stay. It was the most expensive inn on the block so it was somewhat decent. He planned to split the boys and the girls.

"Vahenna, Celine, Shira you take that room besides from us." Melvin pointed at a door.

Vahenna and Celine gave a nod, but Shira stayed with him. "Sir, I can't leave you unaccompanied."

"Don't worry, I'll be fine. Now, you can join the girls."

Shira seemed hesitant. "Are you sure? I can stay outside your door you know."

Slaves were seen to be clingy to their masters that some were even expected to go with them to their bed. Unlike Vahenna, Shira was a slave even before she was born so it was hard to change her mentality.

"I'll be fine."

"Okay." Shira then turned away and entered their room.

Melvin and Rederick were left on their own. He whiffed his own suit and he was starting to smell bad. He needed to change and clean his clothes soon.

Going inside, it was a moderately sized room. There were several beds sparsely allocated across the room space. Melvin removed his suit and lied down on the ground. "We need to buy new clothes while we wash these."

Rederick sat on his bed. He caressed the cushion. "These are feathers, huh? It's soft."

Melvin nodded. "That thing is very expensive. Since they don't have much livestock around here to gather some feathers nor do they have cottons." They could feel they were in a modern home, but it cost him about a total of 5 gold for the month. They learned that 1 gold was enough for a peasant to live a family for a month.

"I hope we don't encounter any problems soon. Things are problematic in the medieval period."