"What is this sorry excuse for a shack?! You expect to house a princess here? Have you lost your mind?!"
This is the reception I get when I guide them to the small cabin I'd built for myself.
How the hell am I supposed to "know my place"...
"Would it help if it were bigger? Create House!"
I activated my Rock-Iron Magic and built a structure next to it roughly three times the size.
It was still barely an inn, honestly.
"...Hmph, not bad for a mere adventurer. Very well, Princess, please retire for the evening."
The princess was behind her female knight... and the rest is omitted.
All the subsequent demands—prepare a bath, prepare dinner, stand night watch outside—I'll omit those too.
Just when I was starting to think I might just take her out in the dark...
The princess, who should have been asleep, quietly snuck out and came to where I was keeping watch at night.
"Thank you so much for saving me. Um..."
"I'm Alan, an Iron-rank adventurer."
"My name is Selene. I'm sorry, Alan, I haven't been able to offer you a proper thank-you."
Apparently the female knight, who should have been fully restored after drinking an elixir, had passed out right away—so the princess had come to talk to me herself.
We chatted for a while longer. After that, Lady Selene said "Please accept this as my apology," held out a ring, and went back to her room.
Now, you'd think a ring with a rose-pink gemstone would be worth a fortune, but according to my Divine Eye, it was only worth about a hundred gold coins. More importantly, the skill told me it was "a ring that was a keepsake from her mother, worn by the Third Princess Selene."
I can't take that! Way too heavy!
But because the female knight was always at the princess's side, I could never find the right moment to return it.
It looked like it was going to end up stashed away in my magic bag.
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When dawn broke, I used magic to dismantle both cabins and return the earth to its natural state.
Then I set out for the next town. As for Lady Selene and company—
"What a coincidence. We happen to be heading to the same destination. Rejoice! You've been assigned to escort us. Fall to your knees in tears of gratitude!"
When the female knight started spouting things like that, I wanted to separate from them as fast as humanly possible, so—
"Create Golem!"
Using my Rock-Iron Magic, I created a golem that served as a makeshift carriage.
And with me as the driver, we set off.
Well, it ran on my magic power, so we moved at full speed from the start.
I had to be careful to keep the carriage from jostling, though, because the arrogant female knight would start complaining and hurling insults otherwise.
What would normally take three days, we covered in half a day, plowing through any monsters that attacked by ramming them with the golem-carriage.
"Hmph, you're somewhat useful after all. Shall I recommend you as a palace servant? I'm the daughter of a noble, so I have that kind of clout. But I can't exactly invite a grimy adventurer into the royal palace. Farewell, nameless adventurer."
With that, the two of them strode through the nobles' private gate as a matter of course and vanished.
Of course, Lady Selene was mortified the whole time, subtly bowing her head to me when the female knight wasn't looking.
I finally got free.
No reward for rescuing them from the Royal Orc.
I was looked down on and worked for nothing.
The item I received was, no matter how you looked at it, something I couldn't liquidate.
If I tried to put something like that into circulation, they'd trace it back to me, and it would be execution for lèse-majesté, no question.
So, what do I do now, anyway?
The First Prince has a death sentence out on me.
Even if I make it back safely, he'll just find another way to kill me.
Eventually it might even end up as "The Third Princess died of illness."
Besides, I found out that the First Prince's skill is a Tamer-type.
If he can command Royal Orcs, that's a seriously high-level skill.
Of course, royal skills aren't made public.
I'd get tortured until I revealed my information source and then sent straight to execution.
Not a chance I'd be able to keep quiet about it, no matter what.
Good thing I didn't use my Divine Eye on that princess, either.
The secret to a long life is staying ignorant of things that don't concern you.
So anyway, I paid the entry fee and went through the regular gate for commoners.
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Skills: [Reverse] [Divine Eye] [Sword God] [Gentleman Thief] [Dark Magic] [Rock-Iron Magic]
Rank: Iron