The next morning, I immediately invited Sebastian and Fienne to my room to hold a strategy meeting. Sebastian seemed to understand the gravity of the situation.
"Pinch? I think it's an opportunity... After all, the knights are assigned by His Majesty, and Lord Leo's excellence is best known by Lord Al, isn't it?"
"Hmm..."
"Y-You're sighing now! ? I can tell you're mocking me!"
With no choice, I began to explain to the agitated Fienne. In fact, Fienne's thoughts weren't entirely wrong, but only half right.
"This matter is both an opportunity and a pinch. The opportunity is that Leo has a chance to become the ambassador. The pinch is that if one of the three rivals becomes the ambassador, we'll lose sight of the back we've just seen. Even as the fourth force, we still fall short of the other three. If any of the three becomes the ambassador, we can barely keep up with the other two, but we don't have the strength to do so. Unless something extraordinary happens, we'll likely be out of the imperial succession race."
"S-Such is the case!? T-This is serious! We need to do something quickly!"
Fienne, who started to panic, stood up from her chair and began to pace around the room. I ignored her and asked Sebastian.
"Have you gathered any information?"
"Not much. The knights were only informed yesterday. It seems it was decided almost exclusively by His Majesty and his close aides."
"In that case, it will be difficult to play any tricks. The outcome will depend on the candidates' abilities and luck..."
Whether we encounter a rare monster or not is purely a matter of luck. No matter how skilled one is, it's meaningless without the opportunity to showcase it.
"I have another piece of information. The knights predict that the venue will be in the eastern part of the empire."
"Eastern part? Why?"
"Because the eastern part has suffered the most from monster attacks, and the adventurers' efforts to eliminate them have not caught up. Additionally, while other regions have been assigned knight squads, the eastern part has been left untouched."
"Intentionally leaving the eastern part as the venue. Father would indeed do something like that."
We can't hunt monsters across the entire empire, so narrowing it down to a specific area was expected, but the eastern part. If the region hit by monsters becomes the center of the festival, it will attract tourists and make reconstruction easier. It's quite like Father to do something like this.
"The plan is for the knights to hunt monsters in the eastern part for several days, and each knight squad will select one of their own. His Majesty will then review and decide the winner. It's said that the news has spread, and merchants are already flowing into the eastern part."
"Merchants won't miss an opportunity to make money. This will make the festival even bigger... Important figures from various regions will come to watch, and it will become a complicated situation."
"A, Lord Al! I have an idea!"
"Let's hear it."
Fienne clapped her hands and raised her hand to speak. It's a waste not to listen, even if I don't expect much. Fienne isn't stupid; she just isn't suited for strategy. There's a chance she might come up with a good plan.
"I think Lord Al should come in first!"
"I was a fool to have a little hope... Fienne, Arnold must pretend to be incompetent. Suddenly showing his true abilities would be unnatural."
"Oh, that's right... But, isn't there no other sure way...?"
Fienne is right; me coming in first is the most certain way. With Silver participating, no other candidates or knights can match me. However, doing so would mean losing our trump card and make it harder to put Leo on the throne. If I'm nominated, it will split the valuable votes.
No matter how I think about it, it's a bad move.
"Let's think of another way."
"But, in this situation, we have almost no options. The other three could guide rare monsters to the eastern part or keep track of their locations, but we lack the manpower to do so."
"I understand. They will definitely do that. We can do something similar. If I, as Silver, drive the monsters to the eastern part, it will work."
"N-No! That's not right!"
Fienne was the first to oppose my plan. Sebastian and I chuckled at her reaction. She's just like Leo.
"That's right. Doing so would force the eastern people to suffer until the festival starts. We won't do that. Leo would never approve of it."
Personally, I don't want to do it. As an adventurer, I have pride and don't want to do it. But if I have to, I might. However, it's different now. If all the other candidates become tyrants, it would be a different story, but for now, it's just about my and Leo's, and my mother's lives. I can't make the people suffer for the sake of my own and my family's safety.
"That's a relief..."
Fienne sighed in relief and then quickly bowed her head.
"Again, I was rash... I'm sorry! Lord Al wouldn't do such a thing!"
"It's fine. You should speak your mind. Your thoughts are always on the right path."
"What do you mean...?"
"I mean I like you just the way you are, Fienne."
"M-Me!!"
Fienne covered her blushing face with her hands. She was embarrassed, but it was Sebastian who said it, not me.
"I don't remember saying I like you?"
"Then, do you dislike me?"
"No, that's not it..."
"Then, you like me. That's good, Fienne."
"Y-Yes!"
Seeing Fienne's beaming smile, I felt deflated. In the end, we didn't come up with a good plan that day, so we decided to think about it individually and bring our ideas back.
■■■
The next day, I was out on a mission as Silver. I received a high-rank request from the adventurer guild. I rarely move more than twice a month, but it seems there really are a lot of monsters in the empire. However, it wasn't a monster that could challenge me, an SS-rank adventurer. The monster was a red Cerberus, a particularly strong individual that had defeated many adventurers and was designated as a bounty by the guild. It was an AAA-rank, the same level as the King Minotaur I defeated before. Cerberus itself is a rare monster and not native to the empire, having escaped from adventurers and entered the empire.
While I was quickly dispatching the Cerberus, a cavalry unit approached from a distance. They were moving at a high speed. Whose cavalry is this? The nearby lord should have been informed by the guild that Silver was sent to hunt the Cerberus...
"Hey, you there! Was that explosion just now your doing?"
"What if it was? Why don't you introduce yourself first?"
I answered the question from behind while collecting the fangs and turned to face the cavalry. I froze when I saw who was there.
"…!?"
The person on the horse was a stunningly beautiful girl. She had long cherry blossom-colored hair and emerald eyes. Her straight posture and strong gaze were elegant and powerful, like a sword. I knew this girl, and I knew her well. I hadn't interacted with her for years, so I didn't recognize her by voice alone, but I recognized her immediately by her appearance. In this empire, the combination of cherry blossom hair and emerald eyes belongs to only one family.
"I am Elna von Amsberg, Captain of the Third Knight Squad of the Imperial Guard. I came here upon hearing about the Cerberus. Did you perhaps slay it?"
Amsberg. The name alone makes the surrounding countries tremble. They are descendants of the hero who defeated the demon king that shook the continent about five hundred years ago. After the demon king's defeat, the emperor at the time wanted to keep the hero in the empire, but the hero refused titles and rewards, preferring to travel. The emperor then devised a plan to keep the hero by granting him the only noble title in the continent, the "Heroic Duke." The head of the Heroic Duke family is considered higher in status than a prince and kneels only to the emperor. However, no one complains about this treatment because the family has continued to achieve outstanding results for centuries. They are the protectors of the empire, and Elna is the heir to the "Heroic Duke Amsberg" family. She is also my nemesis from childhood, who bullied me and called me weak, instilling a sense of inadequacy in me. I might as well say it was bullying.
I took a step back, unable to speak at first, but then remembered that my face was hidden by a silver mask. Right, I'm not Arnold but Silver. Elna is nothing to fear!
"Can't you see? It seems the young lady of the Heroic Duke family has poor eyesight."
"What did you say...?"
Ah... Shit!! I let my long-standing resentment get the better of me and spoke in a provocative tone. This is bad!!
"From your attire, you must be the SS-rank adventurer Silver, right? You seem to be getting quite cocky just because you've had a bit of success."
Elna smiled, but I know her. She often smiles while angry. This is an angry smile.
This is bad... There's no benefit in confronting Elna. I need to defuse this situation...
"Staying in the capital, you're even called the protector of the capital these days. Is that a challenge to my family, the Amsbergs?"
"The people call me that, not me. I have no interest in the title. Don't worry."
Okay, how does this sound? I'm trying to show that I'm not an enemy...
"Are you saying my family is obsessed with a small title? Or that we don't even care? Either way, that's a provocation, isn't it?"
Ah!! It's no use! The first impression was so bad that anything I say will be taken negatively. Elna is super competitive. Once she's challenged, she won't stop until she completely defeats her opponent.
Damn! I'll let out my long-standing resentment. It seems impossible to build a friendly relationship now. I sneered at Elna.
"Hmph, it seems you've been quite aware of me. The Heroic Duke family seems to value their reputation a lot. Not being able to tolerate someone else being praised is quite petty."
"Wh-What!? You! I won't tolerate your rudeness to my family!"
"Rudeness? I was just doing a job for the guild and slaying this monster. But from your words, it seems you intended to hunt it if I hadn't. That's a clear provocation to the adventurer guild, isn't it?"
"Not at all! I was just thinking of the people!"
"Captain, let's back down. Even if there was a miscommunication, the guild had issued a request. The fault is on our side. We need to hurry back to the capital."
"Damn...! Silver! Remember this! The protectors of the empire are the Heroic Duke family, the knights, and the soldiers, not the adventurers!"