Chapter 34: Problem Solved!

Saiba, Lily, and Lazaro all begin heading back to Riveria City, following the same path.

As they approach, the city is bumbling with noise and it seems like it has returned to normal. At the gates, two Royal guards are stanced up and keeping watch. They hold their weapons out and block the entrance while shouting,

"Halt, adventurers! We need to perform a check before letting you enter!"

Saiba replies,

"A check? But I'm the hero. Why do you need to check me?"

Out of nowhere, a familiar face pops up and shouting,

"Hero! Long time no see!"

A tall, blonde-haired man wearing a red cloak is standing before Saiba. It is none other than King Gladius IV, the King of Estrelia. Saiba waves while saying,

"Hey, Mr. Gladius! Long time no see!"

Very tense, Lazaro quickly gets off of his scaled horse and bows down while saying,

"Great King Gladius! It is a pleasure to be in your presence!"

Lily overhears the commotion and hops out of the wagon. She notices Gladius and does the same as Lazaro while saying,

"King Gladius! It is a pleasure to meet you!"

Lily sees Saiba and notices his casual speech-pattern. She quickly pulls him off of Uma and forces him to bow down as well. King Gladius says,

"Raise your heads! These are your companions, I assume, Hero?"

Saiba nods. Gladius sticks his hand out and announces,

"My name is King Gladius IV! It is nice to meet you two!"

Lazaro goes first and shakes the King's hand while nervously shouting,

"I am called Lazaro Alberoth! It is a pleasure to meet you as well, Great King Gladius!"

Embarrassed, Gladius mumbles,

"You don't need to call me 'Great King Gladius'..."

Lily goes next and shakes Gladius' hand as well while saying,

"My name is Lily! It's a pleasure, King Gladius!"

Gladius replies,

"Oh Lily! Long time no se- I mean! It is nice to meet you as well!"

Gladius asks,

"So, what brings you all here to Riveria City?"

Saiba answers,

"We were going to get some new armor!"

Gladius replies,

"What about the armor I gifted you?"

Saiba pulls out the halved chestplate and shows it to Gladius. Gladius examines it and says,

"This does seem like a problem... It's also quite hard to fix, right?"

Saiba replies,

"Yup! That's why we decided to get new armor instead!"

Gladius changes the subject and asks,

"Lazaro, you said you are an Alberoth, right? Do you know anything about what happened to this city, by chance?"

Still tense, Lazaro answers,

"I am a former Alberoth to be exact, King Gladius! I heard Alberoth Electric was the cause of the recent robbery, King Gladius!"

Slightly weirded out, Gladius replies,

"I see... In any case, you are correct! Alberoth Electric were the ones that caused this mess!"

Saiba realizes something and shouts,

"Oh right! We forgot to ask the Alberoths about this!"

Gladius asks,

"Were you in contact with the Alberoth Family recently?"

Saiba nods and says,

"We need to go back and ask them about this! For Fielsworth and Riveria!"

Gladius replies,

"You don't need to worry about that, Hero! Me and my people will handle that matter! You have a more important mission to complete, don't you?"

He starts to walk away while adding,

"It was nice to see you again! I hope we see each other again soon!"

As Gladius marches out of sight, the guards return to their straight stances and let Saiba, Lily, and Lazaro through.

They decide to head to the armor store that Geoffried recommended. The tall old man, Vincent Calerus, stands at the counter. He seems cheerier now as he says,

"If it isn't the Hero and his companion! It seems that you've gained another adventurer as well!"

Saiba waves at Vincent while saying,

"Heya Mr. Calerus! You seem pretty upbeat!"

Vincent replies,

"Of course! Thanks to the King Gladius' help, Riveria City has been able to return back to its former glory!"

Saiba chuckles a bit and says,

"That's good. About the armor-"

Vincent cuts him off and explains,

"The armor, correct? You are in luck! The King returned all the stolen items this morning! I'll let you have a look!"

Like the professional he is, Vincent takes the armor and quickly displays it all in the proper areas. He presents the armor while saying,

"Feel free to browse the selection! All the armor is premium-grade and expertly chosen by me! I have the duty of upholding the motto of Calerus Armor, 'Only the best and out with the rest'!"

At the same time, Saiba begins searching through the rows of artisanal armor.