Chapter 414: 412

The nobles watched with caught breaths as the cardinal, an important person in Elmea's Church, sat on a chair next to the king's throne.

After the cardinal was seated, the members of royalty entered the room.

They were all the children with a chance at inheriting the throne.

Including Princess Leirana, who was good friends with Cecile's brother Thomas.

(I guess they're here to learn how such rewards are handed out.)

Some of them were really young, but even they could learn something.

Only one of them would become the next ruler, but the rest would still become entitled to large territories, with nobles and people to manage.

Lastly came Inbuel and his queen, with his hair swept back and looking like the antagonist or villain in a western film.

"Let's begin this ceremony then. There's an esteemed visitor from Elmea's Church amongst us, but it's customary to reward those who served our country first. Rodan, please step forward."

The Prime Minister announced and the cardinal bowed slightly.

He would wait for his turn.

Rodan would be rewarded first, and the matter with the Evil Cult would have to wait.

But the fact that they had to inform the cardinal of that showed just how much authority he had.

"Y-yes."

Rodan had gotten too absorbed in the sight of it all, so he was slightly distressed.

But no one blamed him.

This happened almost every time a commoner was surrounded by royalty and nobles like that.

Allen paid special attention to Rodan's movements, so he could relay them in detail to Theresia, Mash, and Muras.

Rodan walked forward a bit and nervously knelt down, looking at the Prime Minister for approval. The Prime Minister forced a cough, indicating it was alright.

"Alright, Rodan. You were born in Grandvelle's territory, where you displayed courage and loyalty, greatly serving Kurena Village, and Rodan Village, of which you became chief. Your efforts have been recognized, and you shall be entitled to your own land."

(Oh?! So dad is getting knighted then?)

After that, the Prime Minister detailed more of Rodan's life and work.

Rodan had started working for his village at an early age, risking his life hunting boar.

Eventually he rounded up more people from the village, producing large amounts of Great Boar meat every year.

Viscount Grandvelle eventually noticed his leadership talent, appointing him as a new village's chief.

Only a few years passed after that, and the new village was already fully developed and active.

"What, in just a few years? Is that even possible?"

"He hunted 30 boars every year?"

"So Allen's father was also a hero."

(Hm? Viscount Grandvelle bought all that boar meat though.)

The nobles started talking with each other.

Those who owned land felt like Rodan's speed was extraordinary.

Meanwhile Allen began thinking about the boar meat Rodan gathered in the village.

The taxes on developing villages were still active, so there was no real reason to hunt so much.

For those in the capital, that would look like they were willingly supporting Grandvelle with everything they had.

The Prime Minister continued talking.

"It's only been two decades since Latash's outer territories began being developed. The only person who helped build two villages in that time is Rodan, and Rodan alone."

Once the Prime Minister was done talking, the king gave Rodan what looked like a brooch, which a knight delivered.

"Rodan, please continue leading my people."

"Y-yes Your Majesty."

Rodan answered without raising his face, not looking the king in the eyes as he was instructed.

Clap clap clap

Allen began clapping, which seemed to make the other nobles wake up and they clapped as well. Even the cardinal started clapping.

Rodan had been born a serf, but his lifestyle had left a strong impression in the kingdom.

Allen did not really care much about the kingdom, but he was glad Rodan's efforts had been recognized.

The land Rodan was entitled to was limited to his lifetime though, and was not hereditary.

Allen being Rosenheim's Chief of Staff, or that he had created Allen's Army, had no influence on Rodan obtaining his land.

Still, oftentimes the local feudal lord would assign the child of someone owning a plot like Radan to continue managing that area.

If Allen had to take care of Rodan's land in the future, he would need to rescind his position in Rosenheim and Allen's Army.

"Cough Now it's time to reward the heroes who displayed more power than the Evil Cult that started in the Holy Land, and rescued that continent. Cecile, please step forward."

The Prime Minister tried to clear up his throat a bit before changing topics, moving on to reward those who had worked defeating the Evil Cult.

"Yes."

Rodan stepped back, and Cecile went forward.

"According to reports from the Holy Land, Cecile Grandvelle rescued their capital Theomenia, and performed magnificently in Clebeur. Hence, her family will be known as a Dukedom now."

"Ohhh!! Grandvelle finally became a duke."

"He was just a baron a few years ago."

"Hey, don't say that, you might be removed from the faction."

"W-what do you mean? I'm just pointing out what happened a few years ago."

The Prime Minister began loudly announcing Cecile's feats.

He also read a letter of gratitude the Holy Land had sent.

That letter had also been planned during the Five Continents' Alliance meeting.

When Allen started working in Grandvelle's house, it was still a barony.

By the time he started attending the Academy he was a Viscount, and now he was Duke Grandvelle, putting him on the same level as higher ranking nobles.

All of that had passed in just four years, which meant Grandvelle had gone up two positions in just a handful of years, leaving many other nobles jealous.

There was largely a sense of jealousy hearing Grandvelle's reward, unlike the admiration for Rodan.

But there were some nobles who tried to stop those jealous voices from being heard.

There were many factions there, and Grandvelle's was getting the closest to the throne, so it could be dangerous if they insulted them too much.

(So they're just knee-deep in their faction wars like always.)

Allen felt like nobles were always discussing the factions in the Academy or the palace, and they never really went anywhere with them.

Meanwhile the king took a sword and tapped Cecile's shoulders with it.

Inbuel stepped back and returned to his throne, while Cecile stepped back, looking down.

That ceremony symbolized her becoming the kingdom's sword.

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"Next, Kurena and Dogora. You two will become barons. You may receive your own territory if you keep making our kingdom proud, so we're expecting great things from you."

""Yessir.""

(They're still nobles in name only, without any territories.)

After that, the Prime Minister read more letters, this time from Carvaluna which had been saved by Kurena, and Clebeur, which had been saved by Dogora.

Barons were the lowest ranking nobles in this world.

That meant that Kurena and Dogora would need family names now.

But it was merely a title for them, and if they wanted to have their own land, they would need to continue working.

There was a chance that continuing to fight the Demon King's Army in faraway lands would be enough for them to reach higher positions.

Allen figured that the king wanted them to keep working and bringing honor to Latash for them to obtain land and increase its area.

Whether weapons would be allowed in an audience hall was a question Allen always had, both when seeing a king or an emperor. This time they were allowed to bring their weapons.

Allen was not being rewarded himself, and he had been allowed to bring weapons in the past.

So no one had to surrender their weapons before entering, and they were allowed to enter as they came.

Thanks to that, the Divine Artifact Kagutsuchi was at full display on Dogora's back.

The king stood up again, took a sword from a knight, and tapped Kurena and Dogora's shoulders with it.

(Oh? I feel like Kagutsuchi has gotten a bit redder.)

As Dogora became the center of attention, Freya seemed to react as well.

The audience hall felt slightly warmer as well.

The Prime Minister announced that Kurena and Dogora's families would be adjacent to Grandvelle's. Basically Grandvelle would watch and nurture them as nobles.

This also meant that Grandvelle's territory would now be occupied by three families, Grandvelle, Kurena's, and Dogora's.

"Lastly, Kiel Von Carnel. Please step forward."

"Yes."

The nobles looked nervous hearing Kiel's name.

He was still young, wearing a gilded coat, probably only becoming an adult recently, had become pope apprentice.

That had been relayed to the entire world through magic devices.

Together with the news, there was also an important announcement though.

It was mainly a warning to Kiel's homeland, Latash. All nobles there still remembered it vividly.

'Anyone who dares interpose Kiel Von Carnel's holy duties will receive divine punishment from Elmea's Church.'

The Holy Land had sent a cardinal, a position directly below pope, to wait in the capital for one month before this ceremony.

That was probably done to pressure the king to conduct the ceremony.

"Kiel Von Carnel did not only save the Holy Land from the Evil Cult, but also showed kindness and forgiveness to those turned by the path of…"

(Is it me, or are his notes for Kiel way longer than for anyone else?)

The paper listing everything the Prime Minister had to say about Kiel was held awkwardly in his hands, being long like a roll of toilet paper.

He continued reading from it for ten minutes straight.

"..."

Kiel continued looking conflicted during that time, looking down while thinking of something.

"Due to all these merits and achievements, Kiel Von Carnell will regain his position as viscount, and the territory of Carnel returned to his name… Does that sound fair?"

The Prime Minister announced that Carnel's territory would be returned to how it used to be.

The other nobles just watched in silence, afraid of saying something against the church.

That was a considerable reward to be gained from a single battle.

Four years passed since the late Viscount Carnel started a rebellion.

Only four years had passed, and Kiel had regained his old position and land.

"I-I apologize for my intrusion, but may I request a change of my reward?"

Kiel kept his head low as he spoke to the Prime Minister.

"Hm? You desire even more land or a higher position then?"

Kiel had already tried to request that before, but he decided to listen to him here.

"Wha-?! Isn't asking for more a bit excessive?"

"Both Carnel and Grandvelle have been large territories though."

"If he's not happy being a Viscount, does that mean he desires the same position as Grandvelle?"

The nobles who had been silent all this time began talking at once.

Territories owned by nobles varied in size, being smaller the closer they were to the capital.

There were more people living near the capital, and the price of land was also higher.

Carnel and Grandvelle's territories were quite far from the capital, meaning they were considerably large.

At one point it was possible to mine mythril in those areas, which helped both houses purchase more land from the royal family which was struggling economically at the time.

Thanks to being so far from the capital, and the fact they bought even more land, meant the territories were larger than what the average noble obtained.

That was also how Allen could hunt goblins and orcs in a larger area.

The Carnel territory had grown a lot in the last century, thanks to their interactions with the royal family.

Any person, Kiel included, would have to be satisfied obtaining all of that.

Meanwhile Allen felt like the nobles made way too much fuss over land and position.

"Cough"

Then the cardinal forced a cough, telling them to finish listening to Kiel's request.

All the nobles went silent instantly.

"Tell me then, what do you desire, Kiel?"

The king spoke up, addressing Kiel.

There was a short pause as Kiel gathered his courage before answering.

Would it be more land?

A higher position?

Or both?

The nobles wondered that, as their eyes focused on Kiel.

"...I only desire my father and mother's pardon. Would it be possible for them to be freed from jail?"

As he said that, Kiel closed his eyes and bowed even more.

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