Hellmode ~A Hardcore Gamer Becomes Peerless in Another World with Retro Game Settings~
chapter-138

It is now October, and our fun dungeon-going summer vacation has come to an end.

I am now 13 years old.

We conquered one A-class dungeon at the end of the summer vacation. At that time, we received an “A-class Dungeon Certificate of Conquest” from the Dungeon Management System, the cube-shaped object.

We went to the Adventurer’s Guild with the certificate. We had already heard about the certificate from the Dungeon Management System to some extent, but we wanted to get information that the Adventurer’s Guild knew as well.

When I showed the certificate to the staff of the Adventurer’s Guild, the staff said with a straight face, “It’s a lie.” There are only a few A-class dungeon conquerors in the Academy city.

The staff all know me since I visit the guild every week to request magic stones. And they also know that I am a first year student at the Academy.

They couldn’t believe our ridiculous speed of conquest. If we don’t use summons to confirm the path or use Frans, it might have taken us a year to conquer it.

The staff told us some of the things that the Adventurer’s Guild knows about S-class dungeons. Apparently, presenting the certificate is a condition for them to provide us with information.

According to the information from the Adventurer’s Guild staff, there is indeed an S-class dungeon. He said that if we collect five engraving, the Dungeon Management System, a cube-shaped object will guide us to the S-class dungeon.

When I asked if there were any adventurers who had been to the S-class dungeon, the answer was that there were none. In the first place, he said, there was no advantage for adventurers to conquer multiple A-class dungeons.

We wanted as many rewards as possible from the bottom floor boss of the A-class dungeon. For that reason, we were going to continue to attack the A-class dungeons.

However, a party of adventurers who conquer A-class dungeons say that one is enough. Of course, they don’t go around multiple A-class dungeons in a day.

If you run into a Dragon-type bottom floor boss that appears every once in a while, a lot of sacrifices have to be made. Not all types of bottom floor bosses are equally strong.

Many adventuring parties disband after obtaining and earning a certain amount of rewards from A-class dungeons.

Some of them dream of conquering 5 A-class dungeons and entering the S-class dungeon, but apparently no one in the recent decades has been able to do so.

“It’s amazing that you’ve conquered an A-class dungeon. I was satisfied with a C-class dungeon.”

When I walked into the classroom in the morning, a slender boy said to me.

He had heard from somewhere that my party had conquered an A-class dungeon, even though it happened only a few days ago. I was bombarded with questions from the students who had completed their summer vacation assignments.

At that time, the boy sitting in front of me asked me if I had time during lunch break because he couldn’t talk to me surrounded by students. Apparently, he had something important to say.

He asked me about the dungeons before we started about the actual matter. I skipped the S-class dungeons and just roughly explained to him about C-class to A-class dungeons.

The six of us were in an abandoned room in the Academy.

The one who called me was Rifol Hamilton, son of Count Hamilton.

Cecile, Kiel and I were the only ones who had business with him, but Kurena and Dogora, who were in the same party, also decided to listen to the conversation. Rifol had no problem with it.

With Cecile, Kiel and me, the business is very predictable.

“So why did you call us here? I don’t think you called us here just to ask about the dungeons.”

“Yeah, it’s about the Carnell Family.”

(I knew it.)

Kiel reacted to the words “Carnell Family”.

Rifol knew that Kiel was of the Carnell Family. He also knew that Cecile was of the Granvelle Family.

As for Cecile, it is quite well known in the class that she is the daughter of Viscount Granvelle. Some of the students from the Granvelle territory have caught wind of Cecile’s presence and come to greet her every morning. They want to be on her good side.

The only one who didn’t know was Kiel, who was sitting a distance away.

“By Carnell Family, do you mean Kiel?”

“Yes, thanks to you, the Royal Capital is in disarray again. Father will be in a lot of work if we let it get any worse.”

Rifol furrowed his brow and gave me a look of annoyance.

(Hm? I haven’t heard anything from the Viscount, but does that mean he’s working pretty hard? But then again, who told him about that? And why hasn’t he said anything about it to me?)

It’s been almost two months since I flew with Poppo summon to the Viscount’s mansion.

“Well, it would be better if your Father does more work, wouldn’t it?”

“…Don’t say that. I mean, are you really a former serf? You don’t look like one at all.”

I was speaking to the Count’s heir in an informal manner. I had previously told him that I was a former serf. If he keeps on going like this, Rifol would be the next Count Hamilton. Because he is the legitimate son of the current head, both Cecile and Kiel listened to our conversation in silence.

There is a parent-child like subordinate relationship in the Nobles. A higher rank Noble (parent) takes care of a lower rank Noble (son) when their territories are nearby or bordering each other.

The Granvelle Family and Carnell Family share the common parent Hamilton Family of the neighboring territory. The Hamilton Family did nothing despite knowing the fact that the two Families did not get along well.

It could be said that the Carnell Family’s mess from last year was also the result of the Hamilton Family not doing their job. I don’t know how much Viscount Granvelle relied on the Hamilton Family, but I’m sure he did a certain amount.

In addition, the Hamilton Family was not able to say too much to the Carnell Family, who had Mithril ores in their territory.

“‘The Royal Capital is in disarray? Does that mean the Viscount has done something?”

I need to ask him what’s going on at the Royal Capital and what he did.

Rifol told us what happened at the Royal Capital in the last month. An incident occurred in the Audience Hall where Royals and Nobles were lined up.

The Viscount kneeled down before the King and said to him, “Thank you for considering the revival of the Carnell Family through the work of the Viscount Carnel’s son, Your Majesty!”

The King replied with, “What?” and the Audience Room was in an uproar. The situation became like, “What are you talking about?”

The Viscount added, “Why are you hiding it, Your Majesty? Didn’t a Royal Messenger go to the Carnell territory and tell his son that if he were to work for the Royal Family for 5 years, the Carnell Family will be revived with him as the head?”

When the King heard that much, he seemed to understand everything. The Royal Messengers are the hands and feet of the Royal Family. The Nobles cannot move them. Only the King and the Royal Family with the right to inherit the throne can move the Royal Messengers.

If the King doesn’t know, then someone in the Royal Family has moved the Royal Messenger. The Royal Messenger may move for personal reasons, but if what the Viscount said was true, the Messenger would have wrongfully used the King’s name. There is no way he would be allowed to use the King’s name to do something personal.

“What is the meaning of this?” The King asked the Princes and Princesses present in the same audience room. But no one answered. They shook their heads in ignorance.

The King again asked the Viscount, “Is that true?”

The Viscount replied with, “This is the travel record of the Royal Messenger,” and showed the travel record of the Royal Messenger’s Magic Ship to Viscount Carnell’s territory.

(Last month, which means he spent a month looking into it.)

“Yeah, so you’re telling me that he found out who sent the Royal Messenger to Kiel?”

“No, the Royal Messenger said he didn’t know anything about it and denied it till the end. But you see, the Royal Messenger sent to Kiel and the Royal Messenger that went to the Viscount Granvelle’s house last year were both working as the hands and feet of a certain person.”

The Royal Messenger remained. However, the Royal Messenger is a person who works for the Royal Family. Basically, they work on an exclusive basis, so if you look at the names on their travel records, one can easily tell who they are working for.

“Um, who did he work for?”

(I have a feeling that if I ask any more, it’s going to be a big deal.)

“The Crown Prince,, he’s the nephew of the King, and he’s going to be the next King.”

“Does the Crown Prince, by any chance, have children?”

“I believe he has a 10-year-old daughter. I believe she has a Talent as well.”

Rifol seemed to be completely aware of Kiel’s situation. He knows a lot for some who have stayed in the Academy City to conquer the dungeon during the summer vacation. I wonder if he has a Messenger coming to the Academy on a regular basis.

“But Viscount Granvelle seems to have bitten someone that even His Majesty the King can’t touch, so we’re in trouble.”

The relationship between the King and the Crown Prince is unknown, but since the King is over 70 years old and the Crown Prince could inherit the throne at any moment, the King couldn’t touch him.

(Oh, yeah, there’s still someone out there safe and sound even after kidnapping Cecile.)

It didn’t matter to me that the Crown Prince would be the next King, since he committed an unforgivable crime.

As a result of the Granvelle Incident, many Nobles were captured and the Royal Messengers involved were disposed of. However, there was someone behind the commotion that occurred last year that even the King could not touch.