Isekai Mahou wa Okureteru! (WN)

Appearances Are Important

A few days had passed since Reiji and the others had left. Traveling alone, and having already confirmed his plans for the day, Suimei left Camelia Palace.

When the others had left the palace, their departure had been met with great fanfare and been accompanied by a parade; Suimei's only companion, however, was silence. That was to be expected, though. Before he'd left, he'd said his farewells to Aster's King, King Almadiyauss, and Felmenia, before silently making his way to the capital of Mehter.

"I never thought he'd provide me with some funds..." he mumbled hesitantly, hefting the pouch in his hands. The sound of metallic clinking could be heard as the bag shook. As Suimei had prepared to leave the castle, Chancellor Gress had handed him this pouch, within which some 20-odd coins were stored.

This had happened just before he'd set out. The chancellor had informed him in no uncertain terms that he should thank the king for his generosity, open disdain in his eyes. After a long-winded and mind-numbing speech, this small bag had been forced into his hands like a divorce settlement and he'd been speedily driven from the palace.

Judging from the chancellor's words, Suimei determined that this had been the King's idea, and that he had ordered the chancellor here in secret.

At this unexpected turn of events, Suimei could only scratch his head weakly.

I was pretty explicit about not needing anything. Isn't this just the King putting me in his debt...

Despite his having protested quite adamantly against any assistance during their discussion in the audience room, he'd nonetheless had some idea that they'd try to assist him somehow. As far as the King was concerned, this wasn't likely part of a scheme or anything, but rather purely out of his good will. Be that as it may, when it came to the "debt" he'd incurred with this favor, Suimei would have preferred to do without. It had not made him happy.

When it came to debts of favors, having someone in your debt gave you the right to call in a favor when you needed help. This had forcefully created a tie between him and the Aster Kingdom. Although he'd never say it out loud, that it had been a fairly underhanded thing to do was indisputable.

The goal had been to take advantage of his goodwill and conscience, to ensure that future dealings with him would be smoother. As the saying went, favors aren't done for others, they're done for yourself.

"Ha... What a nasty trick. Then again, I guess if he couldn't do this much, he wouldn't be fit to be the king of a nation..."

Suimei had considered returning the gift on the spot, but the King had foreseen this, knowing that if he did not show himself, but rather entrusted the task to one of his officials, then Suimei would find it hard to do so. Indeed, if he'd rejected the King's gift to the face of that chancellor with the parted hair, then there would definitely be grave consequences once he'd left the safety of the palace. His desire was to remain as low-key as possible, and depart from the palace in peace. For that reason, he'd had no choice but to quietly accept the gift.

Of course, if the purse had come with strings attached, he'd have had a reason to decline. As it categorically had not, however, finding a reason to say no had been hard, all the more so because it had been money, something he would need a great deal of in the days ahead.

From transportation to lodging fees, from magical components to food, money was necessary for a countless number of things. The more money he had, the better. In his current situation, that was indisputably a major weakness of his. As he weighed the pros and cons, he had, in the end, taken the money.

In any event, an owed favor was still far from an actual obligation. The other party would, in the end, have to rely on his willingness to repay the favor out of good conscience. No matter what were to happen or what were to be asked, if he really didn't want to do it, then that would be the end of it.