As the group was leaving, they were halted by a man wearing a polished white armor. Looking at the engravings on the front it seemed to be one of the knights under the kingdom. The elephant head was its proof, the proof of the Bellua Kingdom.

The man spoke after a bow:

???: May I have a bit of your time, Sir Shen.

They all looked at each other before Shen sighed and had them go back to the Mansion first. As Shen was left with the knight, he was now free to spoke further.

???: Sir Shen, a Royal one wishes to have a meeting with you, could you come this way please?

Shen: I am not very used to being summoned, you see.

As Shen was frowning in displeasure because he hated to be told what to do, the royal knight was in a tough situation. He had been sent forth to bring back this man to his Princess... Yet, her and the rest of the group went to wait for him in a café not far. They expected him to bring back a rank A delver by himself?

Did they not think of what would happen if he rejected? Apparently not. To a royal, being told a negative was likely a very strange and novel event. However, to this very knight, if he was told a negative, he was fucked.

Shen noticed the perspiration on the face of the knight and it was likely not due to the heavy armor.He thought for a moment and after a moment, agreed to follow the knight:

Shen: Alright, lead the way.

"Shen: I came here to talk with the King anyways, might as well get it done right now. I would have rather waited for a situation where he would have had to come to me but...I guess this is already quite alright. Let's see what he's made of. I hope he knows where that is"

He was led, surprisingly, to a café. A place, while reserved for nobilities and wealthies, that is beneath a King. This was slightly surprising but he thought that it was not a bad choice for an incognito rendez-vous. Turned out the entire establishment had been reserved. However, he was very surprised by the one waving her hands at him.

It was a blonde youthful beauty with bright green eyes wearing a pearl colored gown with runestones incrested that shined in the light from the windows. She was smiling brightly at him and excitedly waving.

Stolen story; please report.

While he hoped and believed he would meet the King, it turned out to be a young princess. This brought a single thought to his mind:

- Waste of time -

To think it was a Princess...And such a young one at that? How old is she anyways? Never mind that. If she's alone with only her entourage, it means she is an unmarried one if he could trust the books from the Library. So, an underaged and unmarried princess... Yeah, she would have zero power in the country and absolutely no information worth the name.

He sighed as he sat in front of the giggling girl. Since he ended up here, he was forced to act on as while she was useless and powerless, she might still go blabbing about him being a bad guy to her father... He would have to entertain her slightly, just in case.

Shen: An honor to meet you, My Princess. I was told you wished to meet me?

'Princess: Holy Gods, he is even more handsome face to face and what elegance! He's so dreamy!'

Princess ???: Yes! I was very impressed by your capabilities today and couldn't but be curious about you! News of the previous duel also came to me prior to our meeting today.

Shen: I see...And what might this Princess want from this adventurer?

Princess ???: I was very interested by your armor, to be honest. It is not everyday that you see such an artifact.

'Shen: It's just a black ensemble of a sweatshirt with no sleeves and pants though? Could it be that she noticed the enchants?'

'Maid ???: Oh fuck, I'm screwed'

Shen: Is that so? I don't think it would be the kind of item that Princess would wear though?

Princess: Fufu~ You're right~ But it doesn't mean I can't appreciate its appeal! I wonder since when have you been using it~?

'Princess: I wonder what face he will make when I told him I was the one to gift it to him!'

'Maid ???: This is bad'

Maid ???: My Princess, wouldn't asking such private questions be slightly innappropriate.

Shen: Not at all, I don't mind.

'Maid ???: Ah...I better get ready to flee tonight'

Shen: I have always been using this very armor since I started this journey. I enchanted it with a friend long ago to be self-generating and auto-cleaning which is why it retains such a state.

'Shen: It was a birthday present from her after all...'

'Princess ???: Eh? It's not the one I offered him?'

The princess turned to glance at her maid who had told her it was the armor in question...The maid was looking elsewhere. It did not take long for the naive young princess to put two and two together. The maid had lied. But by how much though?

Princess ???: I see. But I am curious about something. Why not wear the armor that the Royalty offered you?

'Shen: What the fuck is she on about?- Wait. Could it perhaps be...'

As Shen saw the glance made by the Princess towards the maid and the change in the girl's expression, he had a guess about what truly happened. The princess wanted to give him a present but she had no power whatsoever to do so yet her maid did not want to hurt her feelings and lied.

Shen sighed. What a troublesome waste of time indeed.

Shen: I did not want to wear such a beautiful and strong armor for this kind of fight. After all, I couldn't have forgiven myself if there had been a scratch on it.

At that moment, witnessing Shen lying with a smile, both the Princess, the maid and the guards were very surprised.