Ainz Ooal Gown: Noble Knight

We've arrived at the Adventurers' Guild.

The guild master of the Yelantil Adventurers' Guild, Burdon Iinzak, personally stood at the door to greet them.

Chapter 41 Prime Minister of the Dragon Kingdom

After a day of rest, Aindora's troops set off again.

The outline of Tarbach gradually blurred behind the group, eventually disappearing behind the treeline at the bend in the mountain road.

Two hundred cavalrymen marched southeast along the main road in the northern part of the Dragon Kingdom, their hooves making uneven sounds as they trod on the long-neglected stone slabs.

This road is completely different from the smooth highways within the kingdom. Wild grass grows in the gaps between the stone slabs, and in some sections, the entire stone slab has disappeared, revealing the gray-brown soil underneath.

Occasionally, one could see farmers working in the fields, straightening their backs and scrutinizing the cavalry with their cloudy eyes.

Someone recognized Rune, who was walking at the front, and bowed silently in greeting.

Rune nodded to them.

The capital of the Dragon Kingdom was closer than Sebastian had anticipated; they arrived in just two days.

The first thing that catches the eye is a city wall.

Sebastian narrowed his eyes slightly. The city wall in front of him was much higher than the city wall of Yelantil, a border city of the kingdom.

The grayish-white boulder rose from the ground, casting a wide shadow in the sunlight.

The upper part of the city wall was added later, and the stone materials and craftsmanship are not quite in harmony with the original wall.

This aligns with the Dragon Kingdom's annual policy of dedicating most of its national resources to defending against orc invasions.

The Holy Kingdom also faced continuous raiding pressure from the subhuman tribes of the Abelion Hills, so the Holy Kingdom built a "Great Wall" on its eastern border that was more than 100 kilometers long.

The Dragon Kingdom, on the other hand, was even more stretched thin when facing the Orc Kingdom, as evidenced by the fact that it had not built any defensive structures similar to the Great Wall.

The Dragon Kingdom could only concentrate its existing national strength on reinforcing the defenses of the cities that had not yet fallen, in order to resist the invasion of the Orc Kingdom.

Compared to the raids by the subhuman tribes in the Abelion Hills, the attacks by the Orcs have gradually evolved into a full-scale invasion of the Dragon Kingdom.

Rune already knew this from the latest battle situation.

When he met with the border guards in Tarbach, he discovered that the situation in the Dragon Kingdom was worse than in previous years.

The army set up camp on an open area not far from the outer city of the Dragon Kingdom.

This has always been Rune's encampment. The terrain is flat, the water source is plentiful, and it is about a mile from the outer city.

Rune issued a series of instructions, including setting up camp, patrol rotations, water allocation, and horse care.

The adjutants received their orders and dispersed, while the soldiers began to get busy. The sounds of hammering on tent stakes and the neighing of horses mingled together, echoing over the camp.

“Sebastian, let’s go.” Rune straightened his clothes. “Let’s go see Her Majesty the Queen.”

Sebastian nodded slightly.

Rune entered the capital with only a few personal guards.

Before leaving, Sebastian glanced back at the camp.

Tachimi was standing at the edge of the camp, carrying tent materials with several other young soldiers.

The boy's short, bright golden hair stood out in the sunlight. He was bent over, carrying a bundle of canvas, his face flushed red.

Seemingly sensing Sebastian's gaze, he straightened up and waved vigorously in their direction.

Sebastian nodded, turned around, and followed Rune's group.

As is customary, Tachimi, being a new recruit, can only be stationed outside the city this year.

Despite being hit by a series of disappointments, Sebastian was still somewhat worried about Tapimi.

Rune was very happy about this, and left the task of welcoming the man to Tapimi.

Ever since Sebastian met Tapimi, Rune has been sleeping much more soundly.

The city gates of the capital were thicker than the city walls, with two iron-clad oak doors half-open so they could be quickly closed at any time.

Even though the battle line was still some distance from the capital, the soldiers guarding the city were just as vigilant.

After passing through the routine checkpoint, Rune and his party passed through the city gate and entered the capital.

Sebastian withdrew his gaze from the city gate and began to carefully observe the capital of the Dragon Kingdom.

The streets were much wider than those in Tarbach, but the buildings on both sides were far less impressive than the city walls, and some were even inferior to those in Yelantil.

The gray-white stone walls have become mottled under the erosion of time, and many houses have windows that don't even have glass, but are just boarded up, leaving a few narrow gaps.

Many of the shops along the street display patterns related to dragons.

Sebastian felt he had finally come to the right place.

The procession stopped at the entrance to the royal city.

Compared to the Kingdom of Lorenti, the Dragon Kingdom's capital city is not as tall, nor does it have defensive walls.

Sebastian looked at the open palace gate, beyond which was a straight stone path lined with neatly trimmed low shrubs.

Further on is the main building of the royal city, a stone palace.

There was no moat or barbican.

From the outer city to the royal city, the journey was unimpeded.

If the enemy breaches the outer city, they can walk directly along this stone path to the throne.

'Have you already prepared to die for your country if the outer city falls?'

Sebastian nodded slightly, his opinion of the Dragon Queen rising to a higher level.

At the entrance to the royal city, a man was already standing there waiting.

He was wearing a dark suit, with regular features, a polite smile, and his full head of silver hair was neatly combed, even his sideburns were trimmed.

Prime Minister of the Dragon Kingdom, Olden von Bergman.

Rune had dealt with this prime minister on several occasions when he came to support the Dragon Kingdom, and knew that this man was not as simple as he appeared on the surface.

"Your Excellency Aindora!" The Prime Minister stepped forward, opening his arms in a warm embrace. "It's been a long time! You are as radiant as ever!"

“Lord Bergman, you’re too kind,” Rune replied just as warmly, giving the Chancellor a light hug before releasing him. “How is His Majesty?”

"His Majesty is well," the prime minister said with a smile, his gaze passing over Rune and landing on Sebastian, who appeared to be his steward, behind him. A hint of inquiry flashed in his eyes. "And this is...?"

“My… dearest friend.” Rune stepped to the side and made an introduction gesture, “Sebas, from the Bahars Empire, has come with me to the Dragon Kingdom to experience the customs and culture of your country.”

The prime minister bowed slightly: "Welcome. The Dragon Kingdom may be small, but it has places worth seeing."

Sebastian returned the greeting, secretly pleased with the way his close friend addressed him.

Looking at the other party's amiable appearance, Rune harbored many criticisms of this cunning old prime minister.

The fact that he could calmly ask Drodelon Auriclus to disguise herself as a loli, thereby making the Dragon Kingdom's only adamantite-class adventurer team, Crystal Tears, fight to the death, is remarkable.

Rune felt that the prime minister was the real lolicon, as he was so good at understanding the psychology of lolicon.

This kind of humanoid walking loli detection radar is far too dangerous.

Chapter 42 Black Scale Dragon King

“Your Excellency Aindora, please.” The prime minister stepped aside and gestured an invitation. “His Majesty has been waiting in the hall for some time.”

"Thank you for your trouble."

Rune strode toward the royal city, Sebastian following half a step behind him, while several guards, guided by the gatekeepers, went to wait in the side hall.

The prime minister walked beside Lu En.

"Your Excellency Aindora should already be aware of the situation this year," the prime minister said in a low voice. "The orcs' offensive is more ferocious than in previous years. Three towns have already been lost on the front lines, and the garrison has suffered heavy casualties."

Rune nodded: "Captain Marco already told me about it when we were in Tarbach."

“So…” the prime minister paused, his gaze sweeping over Lu En’s face, “this year, I’m afraid we’ll have to ask Your Excellency for even more help. Our country will do its utmost to ensure the supply of the necessary materials.”

Rune could rarely sense Chancellor Bergman's sincerity; the Chancellor's love for the country was probably no less than that for the Lolita Queen.

Looking at the prime minister's face, which was smiling slightly ingratiatingly for the sake of the people, he suddenly felt that the man wasn't so bad after all.

“I will do my best,” Rune said.

The prime minister's smile deepened, and the two walked along the stone path past the neatly trimmed bushes toward the palace.

Sebastian followed behind, watching Rune's retreating figure with an innocent smile.

'Lord Rune is still as popular as ever.'

The group entered the palace.

Inside the palace, one wall is inlaid with a large relief sculpture, the dragons are carved so lifelike that they cast shadows of varying depths in the light pouring down from the high windows.

Rune noticed something.

It's too quiet.

He had walked this corridor leading to the reception room more than once.

At this time of year, attendants would stand respectfully on both sides, their hands at their sides, dressed in uniform.

Occasionally, one could hear the hurried footsteps of the clerk passing by.

But today, the entire corridor is deserted.

Rune frowned slightly.

He turned his head to look at Chancellor Bergman beside him.

The prime minister was walking half a step ahead of him, with his hands behind his back.

A polite smile graced his wrinkled face, his gaze fixed straight ahead, revealing nothing unusual.

But Rune still sensed that something was wrong.

He looked away and sighed silently to himself.

'...It's happening again.'