Th Palace

The next day, when Yuga woke up, he experienced the treatment that Nolans had mentioned, being treated as an esteemed guest of the Arus royal family.

There were maids to assist him in dressing.

Yuga's original clothes had been damaged during the battle in the forest. Moreover, in Nolans' eyes, Yuga's attire was likely considered quite unusual.

Nolans had already shown remarkable restraint in not questioning Yuga's origins, which surprised Yuga.

The clothes Nolans had prepared for Yuga were incredibly extravagant and perfectly matched the style of clothing worn by the Arus Empire's nobility.

Next came a sumptuous breakfast.

Although Yuga was staying in a side palace within Shadowsong's residence, Shadowsong and Hubert had already left early, so Yuga ate breakfast alone.

Even though he was dining alone, it felt like a feast for ten people with a wide variety of dishes.

Nolans had even arranged a personal maid to attend to Yuga's needs.

This maid, named Vira, was the one who had prepared Yuga's clothes. She appeared to be around twenty-five years old with shoulder-length brown hair and wore a maid's uniform. She might not be considered exceptionally beautiful, but her presence was pleasant.

However, all of this made Yuga feel strange once again.

If he was being treated as a guest, shouldn't it have been Shadowsong who hosted him? Why was Nolans responsible for everything?

Yuga should have been a guest of Shadowsong, right?

After finishing breakfast, Vira respectfully asked Yuga, "Master Shimizu, would you like me to show you around the palace?"

"Um, can I?" Yuga asked, surprised.

Wasn't the palace a highly confidential place for a country? Would it really be okay for an outsider like him to wander around freely?

Vira nodded and said, "Lord Nolans has given permission for you to explore."

Yuga didn't expect Nolans to be so accommodating and agreed, "In that case, please lead the way."

He was unfamiliar with this place and was eager to learn about his surroundings.

So, Yuga followed Vira out of Shadowsong's palace, with Gardevoir quietly trailing behind him.

Since entering the palace, Gardevoir had behaved like an ordinary Pokémon, not uttering a word and suppressing her presence completely.

Except for Yuga, Shadowsong, and Hubert, everyone who had seen Gardevoir treated her as a regular Pokémon.

The Arus royal palace was magnificent, filled with various palaces and exotic plants.

Without Vira guiding him, Yuga felt he might easily get lost in this grandeur.

As a "country bumpkin," Yuga couldn't help but be impressed.

Although the ancient technology from a thousand years ago wasn't as advanced as in the modern Pokémon world, the wisdom of the people from this era was not to be underestimated.

Just in terms of architecture, Yuga felt they were not far behind modern times.

"Is Master Shimizu a Monster Trainer?" Vira asked cautiously as they strolled through the palace, occasionally glancing at Gardevoir.

In ancient times, they referred to Pokémon Trainers as "Monster Trainer."

However, during this era, there were no handy items like Poké Balls, and Pokémon couldn't be carried around. So the prevalence of Monster Trainers was quite low, and they were mostly exclusive to the nobility.

That was also why Emperor Rode's army was always able to suppress rebellions.

"Well... sort of," Yuga replied vaguely.

Even though Vira found Yuga's response odd, she interpreted it as an affirmative answer.

"Your accent doesn't sound like someone from around the capital," Vira commented.

Because Yuga was essentially relying on the system's translation, his way of speaking was somewhat different from the locals.

Yuga couldn't understand his own words, so he didn't feel strange about it.

However, when Vira mentioned it, Yuga realized the issue at hand. Although he had been consciously learning the Arus language, becoming fluent in a foreign language wasn't something that could be achieved quickly.

However, because Yuga needed to rely on the system's translation to speak, his speech rate was quite slow, which conveniently aligned with the excuse given by Shadowsong and Nolans that his throat was not in good condition, hence he rarely spoke.

While conversing with Vira, Yuga was unconsciously led to the palace gardens.

The garden in the Arus royal palace was vast, covered in lush greenery, vibrant flowers, and exotic plants. It was a place of natural beauty.

Yuga had barely begun to appreciate the breathtaking scenery when he saw a group of men and women approaching him.

Just as Vira was about to guide Yuga away, an elegantly dressed man in blue stepped forward.

"This must be Mr. Shimizu who saved Prince Shadowsong. On behalf of the entire Arus Empire, I would like to express our gratitude," the man in blue said sincerely.

Yuga was still wondering who this man was when Vira whispered softly in his ear, "This is Lord Leon, Nolans' younger brother."

It all made sense now. No wonder he knew Yuga's identity.

"Hello," Yuga replied simply once he knew Leon's identity.

Leon had heard about Yuga's existence from his brother yesterday, so he didn't mind Yuga's reserved manner.

"I'm hosting a garden party with some people around your age, and Mr. Shimizu here seems to be of a similar age. Would you like to join us?" Leon extended an invitation to Yuga.

Yuga didn't say much and simply shook his head, declining Leon's offer. He had a strange feeling about Nolans and Leon's family and didn't want to get too involved with them.

"Oh, that's a pity. I was hoping to get to know Mr. Shimizu better," Leon expressed his regret.

Leon didn't seem upset about Yuga's refusal, but the same couldn't be said for the people behind him.

"Who is this person? How dare he refuse Lord Leon's invitation!"

"Yeah, who does he think he is!"

"Doesn't he realize how honored he should be to receive an invitation from Lord Leon?"

"He's just some wild kid who came out of nowhere, and yet he acts so arrogantly!"

"Lord Leon tried to talk to him, and he didn't even respond. So disrespectful!"

...

The crowd quickly became noisy with various complaints.

Since there were too many people talking, the system didn't provide translations for Yuga, so he had no idea what they were saying. But even if he had known, he probably wouldn't have cared.

Leon heard the accusations from the people behind him but chose to ignore them, maintaining a friendly smile as he continued to look at Yuga.

"Hey, kid, what's your problem? How can you treat Lord Leon like this?" One of the men who was particularly displeased with Yuga's arrogance stepped forward and confronted him.

These nobles were used to giving orders and couldn't tolerate Yuga's indifference.