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Ryu's POV
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"Captain?" (Ryu)

"Hm?" (Captain)

The look on his face makes me believe he is genuinely confused.

"Hey hey, were you really an adventurer?" (Raeli)

Raeli seems like the complete opposite of Captain and jumps on the opportunity.

"Ah? Oh, yeah, I used to be an adventurer." (Captain)

"Really? What rank were you? What was the biggest monster you fought? Did you go solo or did you party up?" (Raeli)

She hounds him with questions, seemingly overwhelming him.

"What rank? Ah, hmmm..." (Captain)

During the anticipation, Raeli's eyes sparkle with delight.

"... SS." (Captain)

...

"SS? SS? Wasn't there only 4 SS adventurers?" (Raeli)

"Only 4?" (Ryu)

"You didn't know? Ah, you wouldn't. The Adventurer Guild places ranks on people who can take on a monster of that rank alone and win." (Etsu)

"Doesn't that mean... He can take on a dragon alone?" (Raeli)

"Haha, in my younger years, I doubt I'd be able to kill one now." (Captain)

"You speak like you've killed one?" (Raeli)

"He did. If you didn't know, he was the first SS adventurer." (Etsu)

"Eh?! Wait wait wait. Isn't the first SS adventurer - or you, I suppose - supposed to be the Hero?" (Raeli)

"Hero?" (Ryu)

"You don't know about it? Have you seriously been living under a rock? Let's see, about 15 years ago, all the demons from the demon country invaded this continent, so all the countries joined together to form the Daemonium Earumque Oppres Alliance, or the DEO Alliance." (Raeli)

"And the Hero?" (Ryu)

"He joined the war about a year in as the countries were running out of soldiers, so they started hiring adventurers. He supposedly single-handedly wiped an entire demon squad of 30 demons, killed their leader and killed the rest of the demons!" (Raeli)

"And this was..." (Ryu)

"Your Captain!" (Raeli)

Wait, what?

Captain is a Hero?

"The thing from the books?" (Ryu)

"Ah, not that extreme. I didn't have a holy sword, neither do I have an affinity for Holy magic. I just have my trusty sword here, and my muscles." (Captain)

He flexes to prove a point.

"... So does it exist?" (Ryu)

"Does what exist?" (Etsu)

"The holy sword?" (Ryu)

"It doesn't. After all, the books say a Hero killed a demon lord, but we know that they don't exist." (Etsu)

"It doesn't? Damn, here I was hoping to kill one to secure my spot." (???)

Butting into our conversation, an unfamiliar voice comes from our side.

"Hm? Ah, Your Royal Highness!" (Raeli)

As if on instinct, Raeli does the same mechanical movements she did with me and Vice-Captain, only more refined towards this person.

"Crown Prince, what are you doing here?" (Etsu)

"What do you mean? I'm here to celebrate your naming. Ah, and stop that 'Crown Prince' and 'Royal Highness' stuff, it makes me feel lonely." (Crown Prince)

"How else are we going to refer to you then?" (Captain)

"Hmmm... Ah, how about Subaru?" (Crown Prince/Subaru)

"By your name?! How could I--" (Raeli)

"Are you disobeying the orders of the Crown Prince, Raeli Veinklief?" (Subaru)

"O-of course not, S-S-Subaru." (Raeli)

"Good!" (Subaru)

He turns to look at me with interest in his eyes.

"But you... Are you willing to die?" (Subaru)

"Why?" (Ryu)

"Well, not bowing to me can be tantamount to treason, you know?" (Subaru)

"Are you stupid enough to point it out?" (Ryu)

"... Hahaha! God, where did you find this kid?" (Subaru)

"By the look of what just happened, by the side of a road, apparently." (Captain)

"... I suppose that's not far from where we did..." (Etsu)

"You're entertaining, much better than the other knights who only care for etiquette." (Subaru)

"..." (Ryu)

The Prince simply puts on a large grin as he looks at me, before turning away.

"I'll put in a good word for you, alright?" (Subaru)

"...?" (Ryu)

"Is that idiot going to..." (Etsu)

But before Vice-Captain could react, the Crown Prince was already mixed into the crowd.

"Well, nothing we can do about it now." (Captain)

"You're too relaxed." (Etsu)

"What can we do? It's just a recommendation." (Captain)

"Maybe, but it's from the Crown Prince." (Etsu)

"Exactly. We can't refute it." (Captain)

"That's true, but..." (Etsu)

"Don't bother thinking about it, you'll get your head all mixed up." (Captain)

"Right..." (Etsu)

Having finished with the conversation, Captain walks back towards the crowds, probably to socialise a bit more.

I already knew I wouldn't enjoy myself here.

I've been to a few parties like these before and they were all the same... Well, not the way they end, I suppose.

Unless...

"Why'd all the servants look tense?" (Ryu)

I look over to Vice-Captain.

"They did? Maybe because of the party?" (Etsu)

"Maybe, but some of them looked scared, almost." (Ryu)

"Hmm. Raeli, what would the servants be in charge of for events like these?" (Etsu)

"Huh? Umm, the food, the drinks, bringing in guests, laying out tables, chores like that." (Raeli)

"... I need to check something." (Etsu)

As if he had realised something, Vice-Captain sped off towards the tables on the other side of the hall.

It was hard to see from where we were standing, but it looked as if he was testing the food from each plate.

Then he suddenly placed both hands down on the table, almost steadying himself.

"Is that... Raeli, don't eat." (Ryu)

"Huh? But..." (Raeli)

"Don't." (Ryu)

"Sure..." (Raeli)

Hearing her words of confirmation, I walk back into the crowds at a faster pace than normal, searching for Captain.

I find him quickly, and interrupt his conversation with a noble.

"Somethings wrong." (Ryu)

"What do you mean?" (Captain)

"Vice-Captain. He ate some food, now I don't think he can stand." (Ryu)

"Where?" (Captain)

I point through the crowds towards Vice-Captain, who is only barely visible.

"Shit. There's poison in the food." (Captain)

"What do we do?" (Ryu)

"Go tell the King, I'll do something." (Captain)

I don't bother replying and instead push through the guests of the party, searching for the Royals.

It takes a few minutes, but I find both King and Queen talking to a group of nobles who obviously seem to be sucking up to them.

"Your Majesty. Don't eat the food." (Ryu)

I interrupt them without a care and warn the King.

"The food? Why?" (King)

"We think there's poison in it." (Ryu)

"Poison? What a crude way of assassination. I'll have it all thrown away at onc--" (King)

In the middle of the King's sentence, the large windows that surrounded the hall all smashed in unison.

Glass sprinkled onto the ground, giving anyone under them a few cuts, including me.

At almost the same instant, black-robed figures leaped through the now open windows and land on the ground without a sound.

Even the way they walked didn't make noise, so the only way you could distinguish them was through sight.

Instinctively, I reach for my hip, where my sword would be but my hand fails to grasp it, since I hadn't brought it with me.

Thanks to the sudden action, the nobles in the hall start to panic, running around and trying to escape, all while shouting for their lives.

Luckily for them, the figures seemed to pay no attention to them and continue moving forwards towards me.

There only seemed to be about 3 from where I was facing, but considering all the other windows were smashed, it's safe to say there'd be about 9 of them.

I think it's safe to assume they're assassins, and so I move closer to the King, keeping him in my range, so I can defend him.

"--u!" (???)

Over the screams of the nobles, I think I could hear my name being called, so I divert my attention for a few moments to search for the person who called me.

"Ryu!" (Airi)

Over to my left, across the hall, Knight was waving towards me, and I could see the Crown Prince standing near her.

I quickly point towards the King and Queen who were near me and see her nod before turning my attention back towards the assassins.

They didn't stop their advance when I was looking away, and now they were a little further than a dash away.

I put myself into a ready stance, prepared to go into a fight.

Seeing this, the assassins seem to move faster, as if wanting to get it over with quickly.

Taking a deep breath, time slows down, and I have time to think.

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Author Notes
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Whew, another chapter done.

This one was incredibly hard to write, since I didn't know where I wanted to take it half way through, so I decided to build on some of the dialogue that was said in the early parts of this chapter.

To me, this event seems fine, but I'm not sure whether this story just goes from one action scene to another, or whether there just enough time in between to not just be constant fights.

I'm not sure though, but I'm going to continue writing what I want, so thank you for reading the chapter!