Chapter 17: The Path I'll Tread

As always, Giliath demands your power stones!

*

With the passage of time and our fun coming to an end, Hilda, the Head Maid, called for us. We all regrouped. Father joined my side as Colonel Bright rejoined with Lena and Estelle. There was Hilda now too, who was in charge of guiding us through the palace. I knew most of the way now, as we had some fun both inside and on the open terrace outside. Estelle was with me, and Lena was there to keep a watch over us. I didn't really go into what time it was during all of that now did I?

It is presently 2PM on November 1st, S1187. The flight from Erebonia's Capital to Crossbell City took a few hours. We departed Trista around 8AM, and hung out inside General Craig's house for about twenty minutes, before spending the rest of that hour heading to Heimdallr Airport. By the time we arrived, it was 9AM, right on time for the airship departure. Thanks to the wonders of orbal energy, boarding only takes a couple moments compared to my previous life. We arrived in Crossbell City around 11:30 AM, which had another twenty minute layover. After that, the distance from there to Liberl was much shorter. We arrived in Grancel City around 12:30 PM. We had a quick bite out, and the events that took place around the castle happened shortly before 1PM. Finishing all of that off was the one hour of having fun with Estelle.

And now, it is back to the present time, which is 2PM. The weekend had just finished, and it was Monday. Funnily enough, we still use the same days of the week. I know some fantasy stories like to introduce their own calendars, the only difference we really have here are the years. The Septian Church has been around for the past 1187 years, so that is why it is denoted S1187.

Keeping that in mind, Hilda guided us through the castle along the long, long red carpet. I mean, this carpet was LONG. It connected all the way from the interior of the second floor, throughout the entire terrace and into the Throne Room inside the tower that was situated at the other end. Father could be seen holding me, and likewise, Lena was now holding onto Estelle. Both of us became quite tired during that. This is something I'm going to have to get used to. Kids like me sleep a lot. Like A LOT A LOT. Estelle was already rubbing her eyes as we walked, haha!

It was approaching time to take a nap, that was much true. But there was a time and place for everything. The best event had yet to come. Her Majesty granted us the opportunity to have an audience with her. She holds one of the highest amounts of influence in all of Zemuria! Not just anyone could meet with Queen Alicia like this.

Walking along the terrace, we arrived in the Throne Room. Its hall was very, very long. I saw a regal throne situated in the back, and Queen Alicia was propping herself on top of it. She currently wore a serious look on her face. I knew this was all too real, and I didn't shy away. I kept my gaze forward. She saw this, and curtly smiled at me. It does make me wonder what's going on inside her head right now. Still, we all arrived nonetheless, which included Hilda.

It was Colonel Bright's this time to take a step forward ahead of us, and knelt down before Queen Alicia. They were not slacking off when it came to this scene. Being formal plays a huge role, especially if you're a noble. It's called etiquette, and if I really do become a noble later on, it'll be something I have to learn.

"Your Majesty, I now present to you, Brigadier General of the Erebonian Empire Imperial Army, Giliath Osborne and his son, Naoto Osborne.", Colonel Bright declared, kneeling down before Queen Alicia.

I knew I had to keep my face forward, so I did. My eyes remained locked with Queen Alicia. I didn't dare shift them away. We were in the presence of Liberl's Queen, for Aidios's Sake! If I did such a thing, it would show a sign of disrespect. While keeping my eyes forward, I did look around. That much I could do. Most of this hall was decorated in either pale purple or white marbled stone. It mirrored the interior of the castle we were just in, so I didn't find that surprising.

I could see Liberl's crest on a giant banner beyond the throne. Most countries had their own insignias, just like how you would come across one owning their own land. For Liberl, it was the White Falcon. The very same bird I had the opportunity to cross paths with earlier, Sieg.

Apart from that, there was the red carpet. It very much reminded me of another popular fantasy in my previous life, Overlord. The colors were obviously different, but it was quite imposing, to say the least.

Looking at Queen Alicia again, I took a moment to ponder her current position. She likely should have retired by now, or up until the Hundred Days War. Crown Prince Judis was set to ascend the throne, but he was met with that unfortunate accident. Because of that, Queen Alicia resumed governmental affairs. There was a very good reason for that.

Princess Klaudia is far too young to consider handling such matters right now. Just like Estelle, Elie, and me, she also was born the same year we were. She should be approaching two years old, just like us. There are quite a few characters amongst its cast that are born around this time. It didn't end with Princess Klaudia.

'S1186 really is an auspicious year to be born, isn't it?', I thought to myself, musing at that fact.

Anyways, it is sad to say my exploration of Grancel Castle came to an end. I met several maids along the way apart from Hilda. Each one displayed a surprised Pikachu face, and seeing that look never got old. It wasn't completely out of order, though. These maids were notified by Hilda beforehand, so I wonder if they tried to play along, knowing that we're kids? I wouldn't have been surprised if that was the case, haha!

Oh, and I probably should have mentioned, Lena and Estelle didn't come with us into the Throne Room. It was quite sad indeed having to part ways like this, but Her Majesty granted an audience to us, and not to those two. We might have only spent a short time together, but it was apparent Estelle enjoyed it. Cassius remained to do that formal introduction for us, but even then, I saw him salute Her Majesty, only to depart the Throne Room thereafter.

It was just Queen Alicia, me, father, and Hilda now. It's possible Cassius might introduce her daughter to Her Majesty at a later point in time. They'd be staying inside one of Grancel Castle's guests rooms for the evening. I was able to confirm that much.

Shortly before arriving in the Throne Room, Giliath paused to have a little chat with me. I could see the seriousness in his eyes, so I bet he wanted to tell me something. My ears remained perked as he began to speak.

"Naoto, in just a few moments, I will be introducing the two of us to Her Majesty. I want you to watch how I do it. You will have to learn these mannerisms and proper etiquette in the coming future. For now, you can watch how I interact with the Queen.", Giliath said to me. "All nobles will require this in due time before they debut in high society. This shall serve as a good lesson."

"I understand, father.", I answered with a nod. "Did you have to do this too?"

"I did not have the chance to study proper etiquette, unfortunately. It was your mother with the special background, not me. I was born a commoner. I am sure you will have your own trials to face because of this, son.", Giliath said, answering me. He smiled, seeing me go into my thoughts.

So this new life of mine really is going to tread the path of nobility...

I know you can go several different directions here in Zemuria. You can become a Bracer. I see them as social workers. They have their own moral code to go by, trying to maintain peace with the common people, no matter where you went. Besides that, you could become a police officer or detective, which was a main focus on the Crossbell games. Then you have the soldier route, which is what Cold Steel focused on, even though it played a heavy focus on being a student. Thors' main role is to train new soldiers after all.

And then you have more gray-area people, such as "Jaegers" aka Mercenaries, or those who do odd-jobs or flat out take work that you can't rely on the Government or Bracers for. There are also private companies or security companies that do their own bidding too.

We call this the Gray Area. If you decide to become a Bracer, that'd lean more toward Law, while you have under-the-radar types of organizations like Ouroboros who belong to Chaos. I know Daybreak introduced this system, so I'm curious to see if the Gamer System will play along with it.

But it sounds like I won't be treading any of these paths.

The path of a noble...huh?

I might be able to enjoy this.