( Leo's POV )
A grand welcome awaited Leo when he returned to Crest-Hill Barony, arranged by the Emperor.
Military personnel belonging to the Royal Army, waited for him and Ben dutifully at the Barony's entrance, holding large banners and giving the duo a traditional salute.
"Ho—, never thought I'd see the day when the Empire hails me as a hero," Ben said, stroking his chin in amusement as he read the text on the banner that the royal army personnel were holding.
[ Crest-Hill Barony welcomes the returning Hero's Ben Faulkner and Baron TheBoss ]
For Ben who had spent his entire life as an outlaw, getting a military salute out of nowhere felt comedic, however, although he did not take it too seriously, he waved the saluting soldiers politely, acknowledging their efforts to greet him.
"Carriage driver, pause the carriage…. They seem to be wanting to hold a dialogue" Leo instructed, as the carriage driver immediately pulled the reins, stopping the carriage for Leo and Ben to dismount.
"Sir! I'm Lieutenant Sara Sir! I have been deployed here urgently to pass these imperial orders to you–" a blonde woman said, as she passed a letter containing the imperial seal to Ben.
"Boy, it seems the reply we were seeking has arrived earlier than expected–" Ben said, opening the letter, as he read the instructions contained within.
For a moment, he frowned upon reading the letter before letting out a deep sigh as he passed it to Leo to take a look.
[ Respected Ben Faulkner,
Esteemed assassin Ben Faulkner, the common man of Unity Empire, thanks you for your unparalleled contribution in capturing the Demon Whisperer alive.
As a non-combatant myself, I cannot even begin to fathom how difficult it would have been to capture such a slippery enemy alive, however, I thank you sincerely that you did.
It is the belief of Commander Thalion, that for an asset this valuable, the demons might consider launching a counter-operation to try and recover him, and it is our fear that the Crest-Hill Barony might not be safe enough to hold him.
Instead, we request you to deliver the prisoner to the custody of Duke Nico Paz, in the Southern Duchy's main city of Thumba, and considering how this is a matter of national importance, we request that you move immediately.
The promised rewards for capturing the Demon Whisperer alongside additional compensation will be given to you once you complete this additional mission, so please cooperate with us until then.
-Yours thankfully,
Julien D Evanus ]
As Leo read the letter, he could not believe the level of shamelessness it contained.
The two of them had just returned from completing a near impossible mission, yet instead of letting them rest, the Emperor wanted them to travel for another 3-4 days non-stop and to reach the Southern City of 'Thumba'.
"What is this forcefulness master? I mean what they fear is not baseless, but it's surely not reasonable either.
We have other responsibilities except the Demon Whisperer, we can't just abandon the Barony for 8-10 days all of a sudden" Leo complained as Ben pinched his nose and let out a deep sigh.
"I don't think they are forcing you to come kid…. I guess I'll take this mission on my own" Ben said, however, Lieutenant Sara immediately intervened.
"Actually, Baron TheBoss also has no option. There is a second imperial letter addressed to him" Sara said, as she passed a second letter to Leo which was essentially the same as the first one apart from a difference in name.
"So…. We have no option to decline?" Ben asked, scratching his head to which Sara replied with a shake of her head.
"I'm afraid not…. I'm under strict orders to escort you immediately….. in fact we should already be on our way" Sara said, as she clapped her hands twice and immediately all the saluting soldiers fell into two files, covering Leo and Ben's carriage from both sides.
"After you…." Sara gestured as she followed Leo and Ben into the carriage where they were holding Eren and then urged the carriage driver to drive them to Thumba.
From start to finish, she gave Leo and Ben no other options and the warm greetings were nothing more than an empty show.
"You see boy…. This is why I have the urge to kill Julien sometimes" Ben said, as Leo began laughing out loud at this comment, especially after seeing how Sara's face blackened at this comment.
She tried to ignore it, and focus on the Demon Whisperer, however, the journey to Thumba was long and she was supposed to share a carriage with two of the biggest goofs in the entire Empire throughout.
********
( Meanwhile Elena )
It was several months into the game that Elena finally learnt how to access the Global Rankings.
Not being tech savvy, she never really explored the available options in the system screen before, until a kind player whom she used to give free meals to on a daily basis taught her how to do it.
[ Global Level Rankings :-
1)'TheBoss' - Lv.310
2)'Leo Skyshard' - Lv.300
.
.
.
]
Once Elena opened the Global Rankings and noticed her son being number 2, she could almost not believe her eyes.
"Rita! Rita! This list…. It shows a Leo Skyshard on number two… is that true?" Elena asked the kind girl who was helping her explore the system screen as Rita nodded in acknowledgement.
"Yeah… Leo Skyshard, the richest player in the game…. Who doesn't know him, he's awesome!" Rita said, as Elena gasped at this response.
"That's my boy!" Elena said with pride, as she almost teared up looking at what a formidable man her son had become.
"That's your son? No way!!! Elena Skyshard…. Leo Skyshard….. oh! It all makes sense now–" Rita said, as she seemed to suddenly realize that Elena's gaming I.D.
was called 'Elena Skyshard' too.
"You must send your son a friend request…. If it's you he will surely accept it…." Rita said excitedly, as Elena tilted her head in confusion.
She had no idea how a friend request worked and it took Rita a good five minutes to teach her how to send one.
However, once Elena sent a friend request to Leo, she felt very excited, as if her son accepted it, she could then chat with him on a daily basis, which sounded like a dream come true.
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/// A/N - This bonus chapter is sponsored by Patron BookWorm0711. Please thank her in the comments for the same.
Since this is the last month before WSA evaluations begin. A castle this month for the book really helps it out big time. ///