I just let Estelle do her thing. She's great with going with the flow. She's the embodiment of the sun for a reason you know. Just a bundle of energy and joy. I didn't let her aimlessly, though. I directed Estelle and our group to one of the city blocks. Grancel City is structured pretty nicely. Four blocks with Grancel Castle all the way to the north. You got the North Block, South Block, East Block, and West Block. Easy to memorize, right?
The North Block is mostly reserved for those of influence or have high amounts of wealth. Lots of fancy homes are located here. There's even famed hotels to let important guests stay here if they can't directly rest inside Grancel Castle. Then you have the South Block. This is the place that has many commercial buildings. It is also the site of the city's Bracer Guild. There's only one in the entire city, so don't forget it!
The West Block acts as a residential area for most of the residents of Grancel. It has many, many houses lined up one after another. Because of that, it is the prime location to put the Septian Church so its people can go and pray en masse. Liberl News Service, or LNS for short, is also located here!
Then you got the most interesting block of the four. The East Block.
Our current destination. To the northside is the Erebonian Embassy, and directly opposite to that is the Calvardian Embassy. In the center is the Grancel Marketplace and all the way to the other side of the block is the continent-famous Martial Arts Arena! Every time Grandmother hosts her birthday banquet during the Royal Assembly, she gathers fighters far and wide to hold a spectacle for everyone to enjoy. It might not happen every year but she tries to host it when she can.
As much as I wanted to stop by there first, I had somewhere else in mind.
Our group stopped at the north end of East Block. Estelle looked on with curiosity at its closed gate.
"So this is the place you want to venture into first, huh? Why is its gate closed?", Estelle asked as we arrived in East Block. Because the two of us ran, we were quite ahead from the rest of the group. I could three figures quickly chasing after us in a huff.
"Let the rest catch up first alright?", I said to Estelle.
"Oh alright. I kind of did leave everyone behind.", Estelle replied, feeling guilty.
"You think?", Joshua's voice immediately said once we all regrouped. "Do not forget who it is who is with you, Estelle. Without Schera's supervision, we could be in a world of hurt later. Please reflect on this, alright?", Joshua said with a serious look in his eyes.
"I know, I know. I'm sorry alright?", Estelle replied, pouting.
"Hehe, Joshua's already in his older brother mode I see.", Scherazard said, giggling.
"Say what?", Estelle suddenly asked. "Care to repeat that again, Schera?"
"What? You mean that Joshua is in older brother mode? What about it?", Scherazard asked, confused. Hearing that, Estelle wagged her finger from side to side.
"Tsk tsk tsk. You have it all wrong, Schera! I'm the older one. Joshua is the one who joined the family second. Because of that, I have seniority!", Estelle replied, puffing her chest out in pride.
"Is that right? Then you better start acting the part. You wouldn't want to lead your dear younger brother astray now, would you~?", Scherazard said, teasing Estelle again.
No matter how Scherazard spun her words, she put a tight lock on Estelle.
"Haha, no matter how you look at it Estelle, Schera's got you beat.", I said, letting outa a laugh.
"You always know when to say the right thing, Schera.", Estelle said, sighing in defeat.
"The experience comes with it. In due time, both you and Joshua will be in my same shoes as Junior Bracers!", Scherazard said, smiling at the two.
"Will Estelle really make it like this...?", Joshua said, frowning. He wasn't sure about that.
"Come again?", Estelle snapped back at him.
"Nothing...", Joshua uttered, keeping his words to himself. Hearing this exchange earned another round of laughter from us. It was then we heard a stern voice reach out to us from nearby the gate.
"You lot shouldn't loiter here for too long. This is the Erebonian Embassy. It is currently blocked off to the public. If you have somewhere to be, please head there immediately.", One of the guards said, drawing our attention to him. He was wearing a standard issue of the Imperial Army. A stark contrast from the green uniforms you'd see here in Liberl. That's how you could tell he didn't belong to the Royal Army.
"Actually, we do have business here at the Embassy today. We have a couple guests inside waiting for us to retrieve them. This should suffice.", I said, and reached into one of my pockets. In reality, I activated my Inventory. There's a bunch of miscellaneous items in there now that isn't directly related to my Stats or Skills. I have a bunch of crests lying around that are good to use in times like this.
"You do?", Estelle asked, not expecting me to say that. I disregarded her comment and instead, I took out one of my crests and tossed it toward the guard. The guard just stared at the crest for a moment before his eyes turned wide and his back ran cold with sweat.
"T-This is...!", The guard said, and panicked. He then looked at me and immediately gave me a salute, which surprised everyone. "I did not realize you were in Grancel today, Your Excellency!"
"Pay it no mind. I'm not here on official business, anyway. Sir Ambassador can continue doing his business as usual. Go inside and tell Prince Olivert the Young Duke has arrived.", I stated to the guard.
"A-At Once!", The guard immediately responded. He scurried on in, leaving the group beside me stunned.
"Young Duke?", Scherazard questioned with great interest. "You sure have a lot of interesting titles, don't you, Your Highness?"
"Haha, I'll leave it all up to your guys' imagination. It's a matter I cannot disclose at this time. Perhaps one day.", I said, and shrugged my shoulders.
"Is that right? Then we shouldn't press on it. I am curious, though.", Kloe said, also interested.
"I don't really get it but that means we can head inside, right?", Estelle asked.
"Not yet. There's an order for everything. Let us wait for the guard to come back.", I said to Estelle.
'Kay.",
It didn't take long for us to hear a loud crash to echo from inside the large Embassy, which caused me to chuckle. They likely figured out I was here. It didn't take long for the gates to open. Even though I said it wasn't needed, I still saw a pompous-looking figure arriving in a hurry. Hot breaths of air escaped his lips. He sure wasn't used to this. He appeared disheveled, haha!
"Alright, who is the one causing such a ruckus in the morning? I am quite busy!", The man said, only to quickly arrive in our direction. "Who was it that presented this crest?"
"That would be me. I apologize for taking time out of your busy schedule, Sir Ambassador.", I said, and greeted the man with a bow. It took him a second to dart his eyes around our group of five, before his eyes landed on me. The violet-haired boy. I was well over five feet tall now, so I'm not like I was before! Likely in a couple more years, I'll be over six feet. I suspect I'll even approach seven feet tall when I finish growing. We'll see.
Saying this, he frowned.
"I...wasn't expecting a visit from Your Excellency, today. But this is the real thing. For that, I welcome you to the Erebonian Embassy. Please come in right away. You may call me Ambassador Crainagh.", The man said, introducing himself to us. I did a gesture of my hand, and the rest nodded. With me in the lead, I followed alongside the Ambassador and we headed on in. The guards soon closed the gate after.
"You sure have some connections, don't you? It's making me even more curious now.", Scherazard said. "Unless it's on official business, we Bracers can't even step foot inside this place."
"You're a Bracer? Now that I think about it, you look rather familiar. I've seen you move around the capital quite a bit lately.", Ambassador Crainagh said, looking at Scherazard. "It's not like you can't enter. We just don't have many requests for you Bracers at the moment."
"I can see that. The gesture is appreciated nonetheless.", Scherazard said, nodding her head.
"Who is this weirdo?", Estelle said, whispering to Joshua. Joshua almost stumbled over hearing Estelle asked that, but kept his composure.
"This man serves our neighbor, Erebonia. It hasn't been that long since we were at war, so don't dawdle in places you shouldn't be. This is the one place to follow Naoto's lead. Got it?", Joshua questioned. It was rare to see Joshua so serious. Even more serious than before. Estelle nodded her head.
"Yeah.", Estelle simply answered. Joshua became surprised hearing that, but it was welcomed. Estelle knew to keep to herself here. As for Ambassador Crainagh, he looked at Kloe again.
"Strange, I get a familiar feeling looking at you too. Have we met before?", Ambassador Crainagh asked Kloe. Kloe simply smiled, and remained aloof.
"We have not. This is the first time we've met. I'm Kloe.", Kloe said, smiling.
"Is that right?", Ambassador Crainagh responded, and looked back at me. "Pardon me for asking, Your Excellency, but this girl beside you is almost your spitting image. Are you two related?"
"Haha, we get that a lot. Sadly, we aren't. It just works out like that.", I answered while doing a motion of my hand.
"I see...", Ambassador Crainagh said, and decided not to push it further. As we said that, we finally arrived in front of the large villa. It was just as big as Father's place. "We will soon arrive inside. We are receiving guests at the moment, and they should be in a room nearby. I shall go fetch them at once."
"Thank you. Sorry for intruding.", I said.
"...Is it fine if I stop and have a little break?", Emma suddenly asked, only for me to see hot breaths of air escape her lips. She was quite flushed right now. Somewhat haggard. Unlike the rest, we kind of dragged Emma since she left sprinting from Grancel Castle. I feel a little guilty seeing this.
"Go for it.", I answered, nodding my head.
"Haaa...", Emma said, and collapsed right then and there. Oi.
"You need to work on your stamina more. What'd this last year do to you?", I retorted seeing Emma do this.
"Oh shut it, Naoto. I'm still growing. I'm well underway in my training. This is just a little setback, I promise.", Emma retorted back at me.
"Uh-huh.", I said, smiling. Yet hearing that, Estelle's eyes lit up.
"Training? What training?", Estelle tried to ask.
"Now's really not the time to answer that, Estelle...", Joshua retorted. Thanks to that, we laughed again.
We were now inside the Embassy. It was just as fancy-looking as it was on the outside. You could even see Erebonia's crest on its sparkly floors, all squeaky clean. Several maids moved out and about, doing their daily routines. It was the golden stallion!
Estelle wanted to explore the place, but she recalled how serious Joshua was earlier. She held back. We soon made our way toward the right staircase, leading up to the second floor. We arrived at one of the drawing rooms on the northeast side. We then heard Ambassador Crainagh cough.
"Everyone, please be mindful once you go past this door. This is where Their Highnesses of Erebonia's Imperial Family are staying during their stay here. I respectfully request of you the same, Your Excellency.", Ambassador Crainagh said to us, and looked at me next.
"You can rest assured, Ambassador. We know not to make a scene.", I said, nodding my head.
"Very well. Then follow me."
After saying that, Ambassador Crainagh stepped ahead, and knocked on the door. "Your Highness Prince Olivert, there are people who are wishing to meet with you today. They've arrived."
"That is the most excellent news, Sir Ambassador. Thank you for taking your time to bring them to us. Please, by all means let them in.", A stern voice responded. A very familiar one to Kloe, Emma and I, but not to the other three.
Ambassador Crainagh nodded, and proceeded to open the door. He allowed our group to enter. We immediately saw a golden and blonde-haired man, fully decked out in his royal red attire. Just like before, he stretched his arms out, and sparkles appeared in his eyes. Next to him was the same girl I knew well. She, unlike the man, wore a black school uniform of sorts with a black beret on her head. Seeing us arrive after the door closed behind us, the girl smiled, and greeted us with a curtsy.
"Teehee, I knew you would keep your promise, Naoto. Thank you for coming.", Princess Alfin said, and smiled at me. After placing her tea down on the nearby table, she quickly approached me, and gave me a huge, to which I accepted.
"How could I not? We're exploring Grancel City today. I hope you don't mind that I brought a few guests along, Alfin. It is good to see you again too, Olivert.", I said, and greeted the two. That's right, I was now addressing them by first name. It's something I personally requested. Now they're doing the same for me!
"Oh not at all!", Princess Alfin happily responded. "The more the merrier as one would say. Isn't that right, Big Brother?", Princess Alfin, glancing her eyes at Prince Olivert.
"I couldn't have spoken those words more clearly myself, my dear Alfin~", Prince Olivert said with his iconic smug look on his face. As for Estelle, her mind just fizzled out before she spoke out excitedly.
"Omigosh. Just who is this cutie you hid from me!?", Estelle excitedly asked me, wanting to know the answer. She ignored me outright, and immediately darted toward Princess Alfin, and gave her a big squeeze.
"Umm...Who are you?", Princess Alfin asked, feeling a bit awkward.
"Me? I'm Estelle. Estelle Bright!", Estelle declared, announcing her presence to the room. Yup. That's Estelle alright.