Once we’d had our fill of the street food crawl, we made our way to the Royal Capital Adventurer's Guild.
The building was far more magnificent than the guild in Tsudon we usually frequented, and it was so lively that the roar of the crowd was audible even from the street.
"I have ar-rived, dao! Boku is here!"
As soon as Alto shouted that and practically kicked the guild doors open, the clamor inside died an instant death.
Everyone shifted to hushed whispers.
...I suppose it’s a game mechanic to make it easier for players to talk.
"Alto-shi, doesn't it feel like you’re being treated like something people absolutely shouldn't touch, ssu?"
"Eh? Isn't this just what guilds are like, o?"
No, it was definitely just that they were terrified of Alto. I knew it.
"Seriously, Alto, what on earth did you do?"
"Boku just did my Adventurer Registration normally and cleared requests normally, dao. Just like at the food stalls, Boku didn't stay long because Boku had to meet up with Tria, o."
"For someone who didn't stay long, you've certainly been etched into their memories as a symbol of terror."
As I slapped Alto on the back, several small screams rose from the crowd.
Give me a break. They were reacting like I’d just slapped the hide of a legendary dragon.
"Ah, Boku remembered, dao! Boku definitely punched a D-Rank Adventurer who tried to pick a fight just like this, dao!"
"Ah, the adventurer guild classic. A self-proclaimed 'veteran' punk adventurer picking on a rookie?"
"Dao, dao. Boku is sure he said something like, 'I'm gonna go call my Aniki!' and ran off. Then he came back after getting beaten to a pulp by that very same Aniki, who bowed his head and said, 'Please forgive him,' dao."
"I see, I see. And you generously forgave them?"
"Dao, Boku punched the Aniki to call it even, dao!"
I see... Nothing strange about that.
I wondered what on earth people found so problematic about Alto's behavior.
"Wait, Alto-shi, you punched the Aniki-san, ssu?"
"Of course, dao! Because the Aniki beat up the punk that Boku was supposed to thoroughly pummel. In other words, that's kill stealing, dao!"
"True. Kill stealing is poor form."
"No... wasn't that more like him taking responsibility for his subordinate, ssu?"
"And because of that, the Aniki took responsibility by letting Boku punch him, so calling it even was the right move, dao!"
"Exactly, Penpen. If things could be settled with a soft punishment within the group, then in the extreme, a murderer would be forgiven if their parents just gave them a spanking, right? At the very least, the person in charge has to take the hit. That's the basis of being a working adult, you know?"
"Hmm, it feels like that makes sense, but also like it doesn't, ssu...?"
Penpen tilted her head in confusion.
Actually, if she settled the whole thing with just one good strike against the boss, she was being remarkably lenient.
"Well, let's just report our arrival for now. This was for the Royal Family Event, right?"
"Ah, right, dao. Hey, Elf-san! It's me, dao—Alto, dao!"
"...Alto-sama, welcome back. I am relieved to see you are safe."
Ah, her face twitched for a split second, but she recovered instantly. A true professional.
"By the way, the correspondence from the Tsudon guild mentioned that after accepting the request, only Alto-sama had departed for the capital..."
"Nn-o? It's a Nominated Request for three people, so the three of us came together. Was that an issue, o?"
"...I see. No, there is no issue at all, certainly."
The Elf-san offered a radiant smile. Definitely a veteran.
"Well then, I shall go summon the member of the royal family who is your client. I apologize for the inconvenience, but would you mind waiting in the lounge? If you find yourself with nothing to do, a Waiting Time Skip is available. I also recommend taking the time to rest or make yourselves presentable."
Apparently, they even had shower rooms available for the staff. It was common practice to let adventurers use them before an audience with high-ranking nobles or royalty.
"Oh, then let's just use the Skip in the room until the royal shows up, o."
"Sounds good. I want to get this moving. As for our appearance... well, let's tidy up. We are meeting royalty, after all."
"Right, ssu. There’s no reason not to, so I'll skip, ssu."
"The member of the royal family has arrived."
"Oh, that was fast, o!"
"Sure was!"
"It felt like an instant, ssu. Though judging by the sun, less than an hour has passed, ssu."
Furthermore, Tria-chan must have taken the initiative to groom and clean the body during the skip; we were looking perfectly presentable.
Now then, let’s see the face of this royal client of ours.