[Hours later]
Explorers were the ultimate power, individuals capable of wielding the long-lost art of magic and holding the power to properly fight against the threat of monsters and demons, creatures despite the fading presence of magic and mana, persisted and existed even though previous understanding of such creatures stated that they were beings made of mana.
It was quite unfortunate, mana in the air dwindling and fading, leaving humanity at the mercy of monsters and demons who were supposed to fade out of existence in the same way magic seemed to do.
Of course, it wasn't all bad, the phenomenon of magic may only be wielded by a very select few but magic crystals still existed and thus allowed for magicless men to be able to build and create magical items to combat threats to their homes or nations
This evened the playing field a little bit. However, Explorers were still the ones with the greatest power and were subjects of both greed and jealousy from various peoples.
Currently within the central continent, the continent of Sol, there was a particularly prosperous and large kingdom, the Lionheart Kingdom.
This kingdom was located in the southern region of the continent and boasted an expansive territory that dwarfed the majority of its neighboring kingdoms, only second to the northern empire.
The royal palace of this kingdom, a beautiful and complex structure made from beautifully carved white marble and grey stone, was currently in an uproar with whispers and gossip, as the second youngest princess was suddenly married off to an unknown individual.
There was no warning or preparation, a man wearing no armour at all suddenly arrived with the dead body of an A-class monster, A Gryphon, and demanded the second youngest princess's hand in marriage and the King agreed to it no problem.
There was no deliberation or moments of consideration. The king simply agreed to the man's plea and married his second youngest daughter to him. It was abrupt and unexpected.
"Your Majesty, please reconsider. Marrying the princess to an unknown man is a bit hasty"
At present, the nobles who had quickly gathered due to this sudden move and a meeting were being held in the King's throne room. The man who was given the princess has left the castle, but he has promised that he wouldn't leave the kingdom.
"Reconsider? Duke Lionmane, you and I both know she was not worth anything even as a princess"
The King answered, his voice deep and intimidating, of course this was greatly enhanced by his stature that nearly reached 2 meters in height, not only that his eyes had a menacing glare that made men shiver with a glance.
His skin was a darker shade of brown, and he had golden piercing eyes, a thick beard covering nearly half his face.
"Even so your Majesty, to give her away so quickly, the man only gave us the behemoth, there is no proof he is truly an explorer"
Duke Lionmane reasoned, his words receiving nods from the other nobles in the room. Duke Lionmane was a man of average height with long blonde hair that reached past his shoulders. He was handsome and had vibrant blue eyes.
He also had strange ears that were pointed, almost like knives. It is speculated that his family has elven ancestry.
He was also connected to the Royal family via his Eldest son who had married the king's oldest daughter.
"I have to disagree with you, Duke Lionmane"
Another noble spoke. He was a man of short stature with short black hair, and he too had fierce golden eyes like the king. However, his skin was much darker in complexion.
"The man brought the dead body of a Gryphon with him. The fact he brought it means, at the very least, he is connected to someone powerful"
Duke Lane Nir Leonhart, cousin to the current King, explained. His words too received nods of approval from the rest of the nobles in the room, some even humming at the realisation.
A Gryphon was an A-class monster capable of destroying whole armies by itself. The creature was massive, about the size of a two-story building. It had the torso of an eagle and the lower body of a lion. Its talons were akin to steel, capable of tearing a full-grown man apart. Its hind legs were powerful enough to break bones with a casual kick.
Its hide was practically impenetrable to normal weapons, its bones almost as dense as steel and it was resistant to fire and poison, it was capable of holding its breath for a full ten minutes, poorly enchanted magic items would barely harm it; only specialized individuals like explorers could take it down.
One could overwhelm it with numbers, but there would be massive casualties before the creature is felled.
In ancient times when magic and mana were plentiful and the average man could wield magic to kill such creatures, back then an explorer would be overkill, and 5 men with haphazardly enchanted weapons could defeat the beast, however now an army of 500 had trouble taking it down.
"Are you saying we should welcome this man simply because he might have connections to an explorer?"
Duke Lionmane questioned. He had great reservations regarding a foreigner being suddenly allowed to roam around the kingdom. He could see the potential of using such a powerful man, but the Duke preferred security over power.
"Yes, that would be useful to us. His connection can bolster our military might"
Duke Leonhart affirmed. The Lionheart Kingdom was not a weak nation by any stretch. However, it's difficult to bolster the kingdom's army without seeming suspicious to neighboring nations. Having a one-man army makes things easier.
"It is as Duke Leonhart says, if we can tie that to man our kingdom, our might would be unmatched, and giving up a useless princess to him is hardly an expense"
The king voiced, and the nobles agreed, as they whispered amongst themselves about what such a powerful individual could bring
Duke Lionmane, however, was yet to be convinced. However, he decided to concede, and any more pushback might be taken as a slight towards the king.
"Very well, your Grace"
He took a bow, signaling that he would not oppose the issue, although he did plan to launch an investigation and find out who that man truly was.
"Your Grace, if I may speak"
Another man from the crowd of nobles spoke, his voice was deep, and his form was huge, towering over the rest of his peers like a bear. He had a thick beard, and unlike usual, his body was not armed with any magic items.
"Yes, Marquis Bearheart"
King Harold gave his permission.
"While I understand your reasons, an explorer is a powerful asset but let us not forget the empire in the northern parts of the continent is expanding and would likely send people to entice us before laying a trap to have our rulers replaced by a puppet they control"
Marquis Bearheart reasoned, it was always a surprise to the King how a man like Bearheart could be so paranoid, he was no coward that much was true however for a warrior to be so overly cautious was strange.
"So you're saying this Arthur Bright fellow might be an agent of the empire sent to either overthrow me or at least disrupt and cause chaos in my kingdom?"
"Yes, you're Grace"
Bearheart nodded and his Majesty hummed in contemplation, The Lionheart Kingdom was in the southern tip of the continent and controlled most of the southern region, and the Empire in the north had plenty of obstacles before it could reach the south.
"I see your point Marquis and I understand your concern, but I don't believe that's the case however I will have people look into Arthur Bright's past, at least have them dig deeper and harder than what I was already planning to have them do"
King Harold answered, and Bearheart nodded to his words. What mattered to the Marquis was that his voice was heard, and he had done his duty as part of the noble court.
"Even if he turns out to be an agent of the empire, I don't believe my decision was incorrect. We can use her to get information on his plans"
He explained, standing firm with the decision he made regarding his daughter, in fact, it was more likely that he believed that she would be more useful now that she's married than she would have been had she stayed unmarried.
"I understand your grace, may I also assume that you have also issued a gag order? Given the uncertainty of the Explorer's origins and loyalty, I believe it would be prudent to keep this news amongst those who work within the castle and ourselves."
Marquis Bearheart stated, from what he knows and understands. The explorer was armorless, and the body of the Gryphon was kept inside a [Holding sack]. As such, only people within the palace saw it and knew of the Explorer.
"Of course, Marquis, do you take me for a fool? I issued a gag order the moment I heard word there was an explore at my gates"
Answered King Harold, his words and tone harsh. The Marquis gave him a bow and offered an apology.
Explorers were a coveted group of people, mostly for their strength and ability to battle monsters as such letting it spread that there was an explorer in your Kingdom was essentially inviting every opportunist to poach said Explorer off your hands