"A-ahaha, I know... t-this... you can have it!"

Reluctantly, I brought out my BBQ skewer-kun.

"O-ooh, what it may be?"

Fey asked with a baited breath, drawing everyone's attention for the second time.

"You know, I plucked it out of a rusty train car in the ruins. A-and it may look like any other metal, but do not go over its appearance! It easily pierces through the frog's meat, has a great resistance to heat when I use it for BBQ, and more importantly, It's this thing that helped me open the door to warehouses. ...I really have no idea what I would have done without the company of this metal rod—no, my support in trouble, the BBQ Skewer-kun!"

I declared it with all the grandeur I could muster… but everyone’s gaze had already drifted off into the distance. Their eyes no longer bore a reflection to the void, instead it felt like they'd somehow staring at the profound principles of the universe. 

The worst offender had to be that old hag. She had even stopped paying attention to my words midway, and was entirely focused on easing her headache. 

Fey, though, suddenly jumped from her seat and came up to me, accepting the BBQ Skewer-kun with a huge smile tugging on her lips. A giggle floated from her as she held it closed to her, as if it was some irreplaceable treasure.

"Thank you, Allen... I will treasure it."

Sigh... At a corner of my mind, I had this expectation that she may not take any interest in her, but it's not like I could try to talk her off. I heard she had worked hard for my sake. 

I guess, this is what they mean by 'sometimes, you have to lose in some situation’,' eh? 

"And I know how to handle the rest."

Then, in a barely audible voice, she whispered the end of her sentence in my ears. 

......Though to me, I felt like that mother who had been sending her child off to wed, I had to steal my heart as I said my farewell to the My BBQ Skewer-kun. 

◆◆◆

"H-hey, we should at least be glad that we no longer have to deal with the second Steinberg, don't you think so? And I believe this calls for the continuation of the banquet tonight, what do you say?"

When the room was swarming with a stale awkwardness, Ignis-san inserted it to dissipate the air. 

But, really, another banquet? Just how much he likes them... Meanwhile, my body was screaming to just get a goddamn rest. It happened because I couldn't catch a slight wink of sleep yesterday at all.

Though, I had my excuse perfectly aligned today—

"I apologise, but I have a train to pick up tonight."

I had just explained when Marquess gave me an intense glare.

"We do not have leeway to crack jokes. You didn't think you can depart on your trip, without cleaning up the mess your little adventure created, did you? There's so much to report to His Majesty, with everything in details pertaining to the nest's cleanup and its blockade among other things, and that had to be done in absolute secrecy. There's so much to do... Wait, now that I recall back, you also caused quite a ruckus back at Eclair, eh? Boy, have you ever heard of taking a slow approach. At Least, stay here for the duration of summer vacati—"

"I am simply a provisional member of the knight order, while what I did was within my capacity as one explorer, unrestrained by the ties of the kingdom. I have explained everything that had to be discussed, and I believe my obligation ends here. Well, I do extend my apology to you, Satowa-san. With the Rootzenia mine being caught in explosion, I believe I can withdraw myself from request, right? So, I need to go—"

I cut off Marquess's explanation, and asserted my opinion, leaving no room for argument. 

"Because someone else need me more. I can't fall behind here."

"......Oh, and where might you be leaving for? What is more important to you that you feel the right to swipe away the current predicament?"

Marquess inquired, her bloodshot eyes, a consequence of hanover, opened wide. I also was straightforward with my reply, not that there was anything to hide.

"Rosemieur Empire."

My response got everyone wide-eyed this time. 

"......*Sigh* Really? Right when His Majesty is on his foreign trip, whose final destination happens to be the Empire, and the 'observation of the Rising Dragon Tournament' being the primary reason?"

"—Marquess Dragoon."

Marquess's expression scrunched in bitter sigh, while her response earned her a glare from Ronfo-san, his expression grim. 

"Hey, I know what, and what not to ask."

Well... this was quite easy? Truth be told, neither of my reasons had anything to do with His Majesty, so the misunderstanding was a product of her own imagination. 

I could guess though, what led to the misunderstanding. Rosemieur had stationed their army at their border, right at the face of the Kingdom in the name of Hellrowcaust subjugation. The situation back then was a mere spark away from turning into full blown war. 

But, in a twist of fate, Hellrowcaust's migration took it turn in Empire's direction, and the army ended up take their arms to... clean Hellrowcaust, just as they'd pretexted. As of yet, the Empire is still clinging to the facade.

In these tense circumstances, the King’s diplomatic visit to the Empire was rumored to be the last shot at avoiding war — a mission so critical that failure could very well result in a formal declaration of hostilities.

The rumours in the street were that there was nothing like the enchanting capital of the Empire, so I made up my mind to visit it at any cost before the powered keg between two nations exploded.

The Rising Dragon Tournament Marquess spoke of was an event for the up-and-coming mages to show off. And Rudolf Austin, the brutish command—I mean, vice-president of the Magic Research Club, had been chosen as the representative from our Kingdom. 

What's a friend if they're not in their good and bad times, right? I had wanted to cheer for him. And, I am just saying 'what if', if he happened to have convoy of girls swoon—ahem, cheering for him like what happened with Dol... then It would be my responsibility to take care of that. It was something that I, the great Allen Rovenne, the 'magi of love,' alone could achieve, and I couldn't afford to dilly-dally here on silly nonsence!!!

The scenario alone had me exuded a battle spirit borderline on bloodlust from my body, opening my bloodshot eyes wide. 

Marquess captured that too, eventually expelling a heavy sigh.

"......good grief. It's just one misfortune after another for Dragoon. Of course, I am glad we had at least avoided any collateral damage, but gain had been abysmal to say the least. I would have asked you to return the favour one day, but... I leave it at your discretion, when you want to do that.”

Marquess grumbled, though little did she know, what she asked meant nothing in my diary of youth. 

"I am indeed grateful for everyone's support. Had you not drawn one of Steinberg, odds are that I might not have been standing here, alive. I will definitely replay this favour one day."

I said, giving my shoulders a shrug.

◆◆◆

This incident would become the turning point of history for 'Ren, the Mad Hound,' a upstart explorer who started his journey of fame at the outskirts of the royal capital, his title rising waves throughout the continent. 

His comeback from the jaw of death—the tale of [I'm Back] was nothing short of legendary. The encounter with the Steinberg had become its focal point, with how he escaped, and subjugated it with a lack of bare minimum preparation. 

Allen may be smug of himself, of brushing off the incident as mere coincidence, a naive look if one may describe, but the others were not sure to believe on the surface. How was it that a spark ignited an explosion in the coal mine right when he was making his escape, but fire didn't engulf him? A second coincidence?

Well, either he was the child of some divine being to have cracked luck, or maybe, there was a more down-to-earth scenario—that the coincidence happened to be a well thought plan, and the explosion was triggered by him? 

When stuck against a monster of legendary reputation, no one would ask others to stick to the basics—to fight it head on with mere sword. The traps were a valid option, or in other scenarios, taking advantage of the terrain was another way to handle the situation. Either way, the baseline was to contain the consequence from reaching commoners first. 

Allen had managed to protect the people at the expense of his life, and brought down an atrocious monster alone, making it back alive. This incident would be ingrained for eternity in the records of Yuglia Kingdom, while also earning him a promotion to A rank. 

—An A-rank explorer at the age of 13 was unprecedented, and this news made a huge splash throughout the continent. Maybe, it might not be as sensational as it appeared, but when it was coupled with how Mad Hound destroyed an entire ancient ruin with no remorse, the heat was bound to be picked up.