Kochugunshikan Boukensha ni Naru

Translator: SFBaka

Editor: Thors Stone

After taking a bath and freshening up, I promptly put on my imperial military uniform. Man, wearing a long-sleeved military uniform after so long actually feels kinda weird. And to think wearing this was the usual norm before getting caught up in our current predicament.

Our ride should be coming soon. I went down to the dining hall, where we would all meet up to catch the carriage once it arrived.

Oh my! You look quite dashing in that outfit, Alan-san! Whats the occasion?

The inn proprietress Kira-san looked very surprised when she saw me in my get-up.

We were invited to attend a dinner banquet by the Commerce Guilds Silas-san in his mansion later tonight. Thats why I dressed up like this. Are you familiar with Silas-san?

Theres practically no one in this city who doesnt know of Silas-sama. But those sure are some elegant-looking clothes, Alan-san. You really resemble a noble with those on.

Its my only good suit. Can I get some tea?

Yes, of course. Please wait for a moment.

I told Kira-san that we didnt need dinner tonight and waited for the girls to come down. Before long, Cleria and the others went down to the dining hall as well.

Whats with those clothes, Ria!?

I got surprised when I saw the dress Cleria was wearing.

Instead of a military dress, the clothes Cleria was wearing were something lots of imperial citizens often bought when they go to Earth for a vacation. I think it was called something like goth loli cosplay fashion. Since it was something fairly novel to imperial citizens, it caught on and became an overnight fad, but I didnt think someone from the Iris Conrad actually bought a set.

Are you surprised? Its a really stylish dress, right? Sharon and Selena told me they werent going to wear it, so I borrowed it for myself.

Sharon and Selena were both giving me an apologetic look. Maybe it wasnt their idea to bring it but the dress was pushed onto them by Iris.

The black and white frilly dress looked quite extravagant and did suit Cleria well, but it was still a cosplay item. But since Cleria, who looked fairly knowledgeable about this worlds fashion trends, seemed to approve of the dress, I guess it should be fine.

Sharon and Selena both wore imperial design one-piece dresses, which were staples at social events like parties or weddings. In other words, they werent worn for business but to enhance a girls loveliness in social gatherings. Both of them wore dresses of similar design but different colors. Sharons dress was wine red and Selenas was navy blue. They both enhanced their individuality and put emphasis on their being twins. Both of them were still young ladies, but the dresses gave them a sort of adult charm while not diminishing their cuteness. It was pretty nice.

Elna also wore a dress of imperial design, and although it wasnt strictly a formal dress, it still looked quite prim and proper when she wore it. The dress was dark green and suited Elna well, but she wore a leather belt on her hip with the electromagnetic bladeknife sheathed on it. Well, she did leave her sword, but having a combat knife equipped while wearing a party dress was still a weird combo.

Since everyones all dressed up, I should probably give a compliment or two.

The dresses look great on you, everyone. Youre all very pretty.

I-I see. Well, it does feel nice to wear these sorts of foreign dresses along with Elna, Sharon, and Selena.

You have a visitor, Alan-san, Kira-san informed. A dressed-up Karina-san was standing behind her.

Ive come to fetch you, every

She froze up in the middle of her greeting. Were imperial dresses no good after all?

Excuse me. Ive come to fetch you all. If your preparations are done, please come up to the carriage, Karina-san continued.

Thank you very much. Shall we, everyone?

The carriage waiting outside was pretty fancy, which was to be expected for something that was used by a wealthy household. It was several notches above our own carriage. We promptly boarded it and went on our way. Karina-san kept scrutinizing our outfits even after we boarded the carriage.

After five minutes or so, we arrived in front of a large mansion that was pretty much akin to a small castle.

Please come this way, everyone.

We were guided inside by Karina-san and were brought to a spacious reception room.

I will check up on the dinner preparations. Ill have them bring you some tea, so please relax and wait here for a short while.

Karina-san went out of the room and a guy who looked like a butler brought us tea.

Hou, this is quite a splendid room.

The dress-wearing Cleria, who was now in full-on noble lady mode, toured the room with Elna and inspected the furnishings. Us imperial folk sat quietly on the sofa and enjoyed the tea.

Arista-sama, Ive guided Alan-sama and his party to the reception room.

Thank you. The preparations for the banquet are proceeding well Hm? Whats wrong, Karina?

Its about the clothing of Alan-sama and his party, milady.

Oh, its fine Karina. Even though tonight is a banquet, its still catered toward adventurers. Its fine to overlook the way they are dressed even if they dont fit a dinner banquet.

No, thats not it milady. Rather, its quite the opposite.

I see. I understand what youre trying to say. You are concerned that father and I will make them uncomfortable with the way we are dressed when we go out to meet them later, correct? But of course. Why didnt I think of this earlier!? Whatever should we do? Father would be fine, but should I change my dress into something more simple?

No! Thats not it, milady! Alan-san and his party are dressed in noble attire. I cannot even imagine just how much those clothes are worth. Even a single article is fit for royalty! That is especially the case for Alan-sama and Ria-sama.

Eh?

They do look quite exotic, but I am quite sure even Silas-sama will find it difficult to procure such splendid articles.

So even father will not be able to purchase them easily, you say It cant be helped. In any case, we cannot keep them waiting indefinitely. Please lead them to the banquet hall.

Yes.

After a while, the man dressed as a butler finally led us to the room where the banquet will be taking place. The room had a long rectangular table placed in the middle of it that could probably seat about thirty or so people. There were several men and women standing by on both sides of the room who were probably this mansions service staff.

Before long, Arista-san, Natalie-san, and Karina-san all entered as well.

When she saw our get-up, Arista-sans eyes widened and she froze up. Are these clothes really not suitable?

Thank you for tonights gracious invitation.

I should give my greetings first as the party leader.

No, its our pleasure. Thank you all for coming. We are grateful that youve accepted our invitation for tonights banquet. Actually, my father received an unexpected visitor earlier, so he is still busy entertaining them. We apologize for the delay, especially since we were the ones who invited you all in the first place.

We dont mind at all. It was something unexpected after all. It could happen to anyone.

I do not know when they will finish, so how about we start without him?

After the staff led us to our seats and we made ourselves comfortable, Silas-san entered the room as well. He was also surprised when he saw our outfits.

Oi, oi, you all sure put on some really fancy clothes.

Man. His being frank and easygoing like this sure was a relief and served to lighten the atmosphere. It looks like Silas-san was the straightforward type. Thats cool with me.

We heard it was a dinner banquet, so we dressed up for the occasion.

I see. Im sorry for being late. I received a sudden guest, you see.

Was there any problem, father?

No, well, a General Orc was actually taken down after so long, you see. Kevin went over and asked if the Commerce Guild was willing to buy its head. That fellow was really enthusiastic about it too.

Oh! That was probably the head we brought to the guild. Kevin-san was pretty good. If he manages to sell it for a nice sum, our reward will probably go up as well.

My! Well, isnt that wonderful? Wasnt someone from the royal family asking about it a while back? Arista exclaimed.

That Kevin knew of it and went straight to me. How vexing. I managed to see the article, and it was truly a splendid specimen. You look like youre quite amused, Alan. Do you find this story interesting, perhaps?

This is bad! I was grinning from ear to ear while thinking of the reward. Instead of clumsily making excuses, it would be best for me to come clean, I guess.

No, its just that the General Orc head was probably the one we brought to the Adventurers Guild. I was just glad about the prospect of our reward going up. Im sorry.

What!? You say you all managed to hunt down a General Orc?

Yes. Oh, but Im not entirely sure if the head Silas-san saw is really the same one we brought to the guild. But its true that we did bring an orc head to the Adventurers Guild yesterday.

A General Orc is actually pretty rare. Theres no doubt its the one you all defeated. However you managed to hunt down a General Orc by yourselves?

Thats right. We hunted it down with the five of us. It was quite a huge fellow. It was probably more than three meters and twenty centimeters.

Wha-!? It was that large!?

Yes. It had a really fierce face too. Oh, but I guess youve already seen it as well.