117: Disguised as a noble? That's some proper rank you've got there.

The night they arrived at Goldendown.

The main members of the group gathered once more at Kyle's manor.

The conference room felt cramped, packed to the brim.

As if to loosen the mood, Kyle began with a thank you.

"Craft-sama. I must say again how grateful I am. You protected Maina. I truly appreciate it."

"...hmm."

Maina, already seated on my lap, dipped her head slightly in response to Kyle's words.

"I put everyone in danger. I can't figure out how to make up for it. How should I face all of you?"

Kyle's face was dark. Seems like he's holding this meeting to question himself to everyone. But that's the wrong approach.

This time, there's no doubt in my mind—the blame lies with me.

"No. It should be me who's being blamed for putting both of you in danger."

When I bowed to the two of them, Raidock shook his head.

Raidock was attending the meeting with Solal, the two of them together.

"Not true, Craft. From my point of view, it wasn’t just Kyle-sama and Maina-sama. You were under our protection too. We’re the ones who failed."

Soral, sitting beside Raidock, lowers his head, clearly frustrated.

Evie, the eldest of the Cassper sisters, slumped down on the opposite side of Solal.

No. Raidock-sama was the commander. We were the ones closest to him, guarding him—we bear the responsibility.

Alphard sighed, standing behind Kyle.

Don’t say foolish things. I’m Kyle’s guard. No matter what anyone says, all the responsibility falls to me.

Another voice reached Alphard.

Julara’s here as the representative of the lizards.

"No. This time. The responsibility lies with us, the lizardfolk. We had to answer with our lives for Kyle’s kindness."

Most of the main members present sank into silence.

We’d been blaming ourselves, each other—then the heavy mood shattered with laughter.

"Boohahahahah! Seriously, you lot!"

"...We’re talking seriously here, Van."

I gave him a sharp look, but he just grinned back, smug as ever.

"Hmph. If we’re going by that logic, then I—the adventurer who swore to protect Kyle and Maina at all costs—should be the one to bear the blame."

Van waved his hand dismissively, like it was nothing.

"This whole thing? It was simple. Too simple. More like we walked into a warzone and got caught in the disaster. Nobody’s at fault."

"But Your Majesty..."

"Say 'responsibility'—what exactly are you planning to take responsibility for? Zero dead. Everyone with injuries has been treated. The swamp lord's been toppled. There wasn't even a reason for you to take responsibility in the first place."

"Ah..."

I let out a dumb sound without meaning to.

Sure, if you just look at the results, it was a massive success, right?

Van kept going, looking at Kyle, who was still dazed.

"Hmph. Kyle. You're the one who succeeded. The responsibility you should take is that of a victor. As the representative of victory, stand tall. That's your job."

Kyle blinked, then straightened up just like Van said.

"...Yes!"

"Good."

Damn, he's the real king.

Thanks to Van, the thorns in my chest—all the weight I’d been carrying—were washed clean away.

We were light-hearted now. For the short time between here and the Marquis’s estate, we’d be busy again.

And then... the day came.

◆

“Festival!”

Van’s usual shout echoed through the air.

While Kyle was scrambling to keep up with all the chores piling up in his absence, the work from Zaid’s village, the preparations for the victory celebration, and getting ready to head to the Marquis’s estate, Van—damn him—was out every day like he was on some sightseeing tour!

But I couldn’t just leave him alone, so I ended up tagging along under the guise of escorting him—me, Raidock, and Solar, plus the three Cassper sisters. And for some reason, Jitarou was stuck with us too.

“Festival, Van! Festival!”

“Yeah! This is something, Jitarou!”

“The Golden Dune Festival’s something else!”

They were practically made for each other—grinning, slinging arms around one another, swinging empty bottles like they’d been friends since birth.

“Why the hell does he fit in so well?”

Raidock muttered, shaking his head.

" dunno. somethin’ like… typical Jitarou, I guess."

Van and Jitarou were shouting at a nearby woman, “Hey! You! C’mon, let’s swap addresses, names, ages, hobbies, and favorite foods!”—then bolting away like old pals.

...No, seriously, what the hell’s going on here?!

"Huh... Kyle’s probably grinding through the ceremony right now. I didn’t come here to be dead weight. I wanted to see Kyle lookin’ cool."

"Couldn’t agree more."

Me and Raidock both let out a dry laugh.

In the center of the square, three Hydras’ heads were laid out, decorated to the max.

Creepy as hell, but the more you deck them out, the more they start to look almost... cute.

"Ah! Craft-san! You did it!?"

"Whoa, so there was a giant Hydra this whole time!?"

"Damn it! If I’d known, I’d’ve joined in!"

Adventure seekers had gathered around the free wine dispensing.

Those who’d joined this expedition and those who’d stayed behind in Goldendawn were shoulder to shoulder, clinking cups.

“Reclaiming the swamps! That’s humanity’s dream! Millions of rice grains to fill our bellies!”

“A grand achievement, second only to King Vaindeck Midlights von Maugary! Craft-san!”

Vaindeck... what?

Ah. That’s Van’s real name. Sounds like it’d catch in your throat.

I lean in and whisper to Van.

“Grand achievement? What’s that about?”

“Details aside, it’s the biggest thing I did to get ahead of my brothers and become king. Not quite as big as this swamp, but still a massive swamp I cleared and turned into rice fields.”

“…Damn impressive.”

“Damn impressive, right? You impressed?”

“Just a little.”

“Then treat me to one of those meat skewers over there!”

“Yeah, yeah.”

I shrugged and pulled out some change.

◆

"Hey, Craft!"

"What is it, Lord Van?"

Deadpan, with a hint of sarcasm.

"Isn't it about time for the concert... (......)?"

Before I could answer, Jitarou spoke up.

"Chichichi! Wrong, Van! It's not a concert—it's a stage live!"

Van scowled and crossed his arms.

"Can't tell the difference. If it's singing and music, it's a concert, right?"

"No, no! That's the thing! You gotta see it to get it. Anyway, no need to grab seats—just gotta move, so let's go already!"

At Goldendoon, it had become a tradition to hold stage live performances at every big festival, no matter how often they came around.

It started with a small festival in the frontier village. No acts were lined up, so we asked Leifan to perform songs and dances. That was the beginning.

That time, Jitarou took charge of everything. It went over so well with the locals, even a fan club for Leifan was formed.

Ever since, it’s been Jitarou producing—there’ve been a few live shows that were nothing like regular concerts.

“This time it’s not my production, so it might be kinda boring, huh.”

“Nah, just the duo of that stiff-necked knight, Persia, and Leifan, head of the Production Guild? Can’t miss that.”

“True that!”

With strong pressure from the townspeople, Leifan and Persia’s stage act was set again. Me and Jitarou were both busy—Jitarou didn’t even ask, but ended up stuck with us—and somehow, Akindoo heard about it and stepped in to take charge of this one.

“Alright, let’s see what you’ve got!”

Jitarou was lounging back in the VIP room with total ease, but as soon as it started, that ease vanished completely.

He was pulling off the methods he’d produced before with flawless precision, turning the whole thing into a stunning stage performance.

When Persia in men’s clothes and Leifan in a frilly outfit stepped onto the stage, the roar of the crowd shook the ground.

Leifan grabbed the amplification magic device.

‘First song: Welcome to Frontier Stardust! Duo version!’

No one could even guess how many mages had been hired—the stage was flooded with dazzling colored lights, and the custom glitter-embroidered costumes sparkled like mad.

Yeah.

The duo of Leifan and Persia? Way too much firepower.

The crowd was so worked up they kept fainting one after another, carried out in waves.

“Bwahahaha! What’s this? What’s this? Nothing like the concerts I know! This is something else entirely!”

“Sick, right?”

“Mm! Stage live! I’m into it! ……Hmm. Should I do this in the capital too?”

I thought Van muttered something ominous, but the cheers drowned out the second half.

And so, the stage live ended in a roaring success.

Jitarou, who’d been having a blast from the start, suddenly snapped back to reality and curled up like a shrimp.

“Guhhh! Next time! Next time, I’ll plan something even more epic!”

Something’s off. I’ve got a bad feeling about this.

Van, meanwhile, had been pointing at Persia the whole time, laughing his head off.

Seriously. You’re laughing too hard.

Volume 3 of “Vam’s Alchemy: Bestselling Now!”

Van… way too free with it…

● When Zaid revived, he was completely bare-bottomed!

That was the thought I had, but Kyle was draping the cloak over him, so he was basically just in a pareo state, lol.