A few hours later, at the gate of the royal city, Satou Kazuma and Aqua arrived under the escort of Reinhardt.
Felt was not interested in this kind of thing, so she stayed behind with Old Man Rom to look after the house.
Beatrice, on the other hand, followed Satou Kazuma to the royal city.
Since signing the contract, Beatrice had been inseparable from Satou Kazuma.
The royal city stood on the high ground in the center of the capital, looking like a coiled silver-white dragon from afar. Magnificent buildings stood tall within it, and golden dragon runes were printed on the city walls.
Satou Kazuma had already investigated Lugunica beforehand. This country seemed to have a worship of dragons that went beyond ordinary faith.
Although he couldn't be sure if some rumors were true, Satou Kazuma was certain of one thing: dragons really existed in this world.
A world of swords and magic, how could it be without such fantastic creatures!
"Aqua-sama, this is the royal palace."
Reinhardt stopped. Standing before him was a magnificent and luxurious building, making anyone in front of it seem incredibly small.
Many officials and nobles in luxurious clothes came and went, which was enough to show that the upcoming royal selection was an extremely important event.
"Are you Aqua-sama and Satou Kazuma?"
Just then, another voice belonging to an unfamiliar man sounded from the side. Satou Kazuma turned to look and saw a purple-haired man of about Reinhardt's age walking up to them and bowing respectfully.
"Please allow me to introduce myself. I am Julius Juukulius, a member of the Royal Knights. I have long heard of your heroic deeds and thank you for your contribution to Lugunica."
Julius had a smile on his face.
"Is that the one called Aqua?"
"The fifth candidate who caused the miracle earlier."
"I heard she even defeated the notorious bowel hunter from the northern lands. She is definitely not an ordinary person!"
The eyes of the people around them almost simultaneously fell on Aqua and Satou Kazuma.
This made Satou Kazuma feel secretly pleased. He followed up on the man's words and said:
"Not at all. It's my duty to protect the safety of the people!"
"Kazuma-sama's chivalry is truly admirable. But... is Aqua-sama feeling unwell?"
Julius turned to look at Aqua, who hadn't said a word from beginning to end.
"Aqua-sama's throat is a little uncomfortable today."
Satou Kazuma said immediately.
Actually, it was Satou Kazuma who told Aqua not to speak for the time being.
With Aqua's intelligence, it would be terrible if she said something wrong.
For today's royal selection, even Satou Kazuma, who hated troublesome things, had to prepare several drafts of speeches.
After all...
If they were exposed, it would mean losing their lives.
Even though Aqua could revive him, and he could see the kind and gentle goddess Eris again, Satou Kazuma still wanted to avoid the pain of death as much as possible.
Besides, he might be hunted down by the entire country. He just wanted to live a peaceful life.
Although Aqua's eyes showed a hint of resentment, she still followed Satou Kazuma's instructions and tried not to speak if possible.
"I see. We can have Ferris help take a look later. He used to be a member of the Royal Healing Institute, so he should be able to—"
"No need."
Satou Kazuma gave his answer without thinking.
The nightmare from last night surfaced in Satou Kazuma's mind once again.
It was a good thing he hadn't spent too much time with Felix, or he might have developed an even stronger psychological scar.
"Okay..."
Satou Kazuma's quick refusal surprised Julius. Just then, his eyes noticed Beatrice beside them.
His expression changed instantly, as if he had seen something incredible. He actually knelt down:
"I didn't expect such a high-ranking spirit to attend such an occasion!"
Julius's words were full of respect.
"Hmph!"
Beatrice proudly turned her head away.
"Is Betty so famous?"
Satou Kazuma looked at Beatrice beside him in surprise. Not only Julius today, but also Miklotov yesterday knew of her existence.
"Of course, Betty is Betty after all!"
Beatrice replied with her hands on her hips.
"After all, Julius here is also a spirit user."
Reinhardt said with a smile.
Julius had the blessing of attracting spirits, making it easy for spirits to like or get close to him. He could share vision and talk with spirits. Because of his superb swordsmanship, he was the only spirit knight in Lugunica, so he knew a lot about things related to spirits.
"Could it be that she became famous from being a shut-in for four hundred years?"
"BaKazuma!"
Beatrice clenched her fist and lightly hit Satou Kazuma on the back.
"Sorry. Let me introduce her. This is Beatrice, my contracted spirit!"
Satou Kazuma raised his head with some pride.
He knew that there were only a handful of people in this world who could contract with a great spirit.
And he was one of them!
Although Beatrice couldn't use her full power because of him.
But there was no doubt that he was a great spirit user!
"So Kazuma-sama is a contractor. Amazing."
Julius sincerely expressed his admiration to Satou Kazuma.
"The meeting is about to begin, so we'll go in first."
Reinhardt said to Julius.
"Yes, I'll wait here for Anastasia-sama."
"Anastasia-sama?"
Satou Kazuma recalled that he had heard a similar name before.
Anastasia Hoshin, one of the candidates.
"Kazuma-sama, Aqua-sama, and Beatrice-sama, let's go in first."
"Okay."
Not long after Satou Kazuma and the others left, a petite woman appeared in front of Julius.
She had long, light purple curly hair that was soft and fluffy like clouds. Beneath her hair was a cute, almost childish face.
Anastasia Hoshin.
One of the five candidates.
"Julius, were those people Aqua and Satou Kazuma just now?"
Anastasia asked curiously, her eyes looking towards the royal palace.
Although she had a very cute appearance, her accent was very unique.
Anastasia had heard about Aqua, but she was not in the royal capital at the time, so she was not able to witness it in person.
"Yes, Anastasia-sama."
Julius nodded respectfully.
"What do you think of them?"
Anastasia asked.
"I can't tell from such a short encounter, but I feel that Mr. Kazuma is not an ordinary person. He contracted with a great spirit."
"I see. The upcoming royal selection will definitely be very interesting. Let's go in together."
"Yes."
...
Satou Kazuma followed Reinhardt into the royal palace hall. The gold and jade walls were printed with dragon patterns. Compared to the royal palace, even the luxurious Roswaal mansion paled in comparison.
"Wow..."
Aqua, who had been silent for a long time, couldn't help but exclaim.
"Useless goddess, are the buildings in your divine realm not as good as this?"
Satou Kazuma asked in a low voice.
"..."
Aqua just looked at him and nodded.
"Hey, hey, hey, I told you to speak as little as possible, not not at all. Besides, you already made a sound just now!"
"Okay! There's nothing in the divine realm, it's so boring!"
Aqua shook her head and replied.
Although Aqua's current idea was to defeat the Demon Lord of this world as soon as possible and return to the divine realm.
But there was one thing that had to be said—
This place was indeed much more interesting than the divine realm.
"You must be Aqua-sama and Satou Kazuma."
Just then, a strong female voice came from behind them.
"That's right."
Hearing that the voice belonged to a woman, Satou Kazuma immediately turned to look at her.
In front of him was a spirited young woman with amber eyes beneath her long green hair, projecting an incredibly sharp gaze, as if she could see through people's hearts. With delicate features but giving a serious impression, she wore a military uniform, revealing a powerful presence.
A smile appeared on Satou Kazuma's face. After all, the beautiful girl in front of him seemed relatively normal.
Just as Satou Kazuma was about to speak, another somewhat familiar voice sounded from the side.
"Oh my, if it isn't Kazuma-sama! Long time no see, meow!"
As if triggering a switch in his body, Satou Kazuma turned around to face the source of the voice faster than Aqua could react.
Felix.
"Eh! Kazuma-sama is so excited, meow!"
Felix looked at Satou Kazuma in surprise.
"No, it's nothing."
Satou Kazuma shook his head.
That bad memory instantly flooded his mind again.
Why, why!
Why have such a face, but be a man!
"Kazuma-sama has already met Ferris, hasn't he? He is a member of the Knights like me. And this person next to us is the head of the Karsten family, Crusch-sama, who is also one of the candidates."
Reinhardt introduced them to Satou Kazuma.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Aqua-sama, Kazuma-sama."
Crusch nodded slightly to the two of them.
Satou Kazuma's eyebrows twitched slightly.
Wait a minute... head of the Karsten family?
Turns out to be a girl?
Satou Kazuma once thought that she might be a middle-aged woman. After all, the heads of noble families were generally not young.
Wait!
Satou Kazuma suddenly thought of something. He glanced at Felix beside him, then looked at Crusch.
This guy, wouldn't he also be a man pretending to be a woman? Probably not, right?
Thinking about it carefully, the people participating in the royal selection this time were called Dragon Shrine Maidens, who should all be women.
Of course, that was just in theory.
If people who believed themselves to be women were also included...
A pervert, definitely a pervert.
The Dragon God is also a pervert.
Satou Kazuma carefully sized up Crusch. She was wearing a military uniform, so you couldn't see any curves.
Could it be...?
An ominous feeling arose in Satou Kazuma's heart. After hesitating for a moment, he asked:
"That... Crusch-san..."
"I'm sorry, Kazuma-sama, but please don't call me 'san' if you don't mind."
Crusch said with a serious expression.
The moment he heard these words, Satou Kazuma gasped, feeling as if his heart was about to stop suddenly.
This person, is he really the same as Felix?!
"Because I don't want people to see me as a weak woman. I can step onto the battlefield to resist enemies just like men! So Kazuma-sama, if you don't mind, just call me Crusch."
Crusch said firmly.
Hearing Crusch's words, Satou Kazuma finally breathed a sigh of relief, feeling as if tears were about to fall for some reason.
She, she really a girl, after all.
"I'm very sorry, Crusch. You can just call me Kazuma too."
Satou Kazuma said with a smile.
"Yes. But why do I feel like you have a relieved feeling, Kazuma?"
"It's nothing."
Satou Kazuma waved his hand quickly.
"I apologize for my interruption just now. What were you planning to ask?"
"Oh, oh. I was... I was thinking about asking what the relationship between you and Ferris is?"
Satou Kazuma made up a reason.
"Ferris said that last time, Kazuma's memory seems to be very bad, meow! Ferris is Crusch-sama's knight, meow!"
Felix said proudly, then walked up to Crusch.
But Crusch frowned slightly:
"Kazuma-san, that probably wasn't what you wanted to ask just now, was it? Is there something you're uncomfortable asking about?"
"Huh?"
"I can sense the emotions of others from the wind and determine whether a person is lying. That's why I can tell that the question you originally wanted to ask wasn't this."
The corners of Satou Kazuma's mouth twitched slightly.
Was the person in front of him a human lie detector?
Yikes...
The question in his heart just now was definitely not something he could say.
After all, the Karsten family that Crusch belonged to seemed to be a very powerful existence. If he asked a question like, "Are you a cross-dresser?" he would probably have a miserable death.
Moreover, if the person in front of him really had the ability to detect lies... that would be terrible...
Aqua's identity would be at risk of being exposed!
"It's not a big deal. By the way, Crusch, is that ability of yours a blessing?"
"That's right."
"Could you please do a test with me?"
"Oh? If there is anything I can do to assist then I am willing to do my best."
"Thank you so much!"
Satou Kazuma grabbed Aqua, who was staring at the surroundings in a daze, and pulled her over:
"Aqua, introduce yourself to Crusch!"
----
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