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After returning to the Royal Capital, Fang Li's entire group first went to the Adventurer Guild to report the incident regarding the graveyard.
Since that graveyard was a forbidden zone, it naturally posed significant danger.
Due to the prevalence of the Undead within, no one dared to enter and build proper tombs to let the dead rest in peace. As a result, the graveyard was mostly used for corpse dumping.
Those dumped there included heinous criminals who were executed, innocent people persecuted by tyrannical nobles, accidental deaths, and nameless deceased with no relatives to claim them.
Undead are beings born from unresolved resentment of the dead.
Under such treatment, nearly every corpse dumped there would become an Undead. Some even evolved into high-level Undead, posing a grave threat to humans.
Both the Royal Family and the Adventurer Guild had issued strict bans on corpse dumping, but shameful deaths still occurred far too often in this world to completely prevent the practice.
Thus, the graveyard became a forbidden area overrun with Undead. If left unchecked, it was only a matter of time before an Undead army would emerge from within.
However, with the Kingdom and the Adventurer Guild focused on resisting the Demon King's army, they simply couldn't dedicate full efforts to eradicating this hidden threat.
Therefore, the Adventurer Guild periodically issued subjugation quests, calling for high-ranking adventurers to enter and eliminate as many Undead as possible to reduce their numbers.
Now, with Fang Li's group having defeated countless Undead and slain the Vampire who commanded them, there was no way they would miss out on the corresponding reward.
In the end, considering the sheer number of Undead defeated and the fact they eliminated the commander, the Guild not only paid the standard reward but also issued a special bonus. The entire group earned a hefty sum, and Fang Li's Quest Points increased dramatically.
And with that,
"The 5,000 Quest Points required for Main Quest II are finally complete."
Thus, not only was a Side Quest completed, but Fang Li also managed to advance another step in his Main Quest.
As for his rank, Fang Li had already advanced to Level 45.
Just five more levels, and he would reach Level 50, becoming a top-tier adventurer and completing Main Quest I as well.
Additionally, Main Quest V, which required 30,000 Exchange Points, was more than halfway done. Main Quest III, which required slaying a Demon King army leader, had already been completed. At this point, Fang Li's Dungeon Quests were nearly finished.
"Only Main Quest IV remains."
The condition to complete Main Quest IV was to acquire an Artifact.
In that regard, Fang Li technically already met the requirement.
After all, Iris's Holy Sword was still in his possession.
However, there was no way Fang Li could hand over the Holy Sword just to clear a quest.
In the Royal Capital, although many Hero Candidates owned Artifacts, it wasn't like Fang Li could just go and rob someone of their prized possession for no reason.
"Guess I'll have to figure out another way."
With that thought, Fang Li led Kazuma, Aqua, Megumin, and Darkness back to the Royal Castle.
During their stay in the Royal Capital, Fang Li's entire group had already been there for about a month.
In that month, due to all the incidents that occurred, Fang Li and his companions had become completely famous.
And during this period, Iris seemed to be incredibly busy.
Most likely, the matter of her previously announcing Fang Li as her fiancé had caused quite a bit of aftermath that she now had to deal with.
So during this period, Fang Li had very little interaction with Iris.
Of course, the reason wasn't just due to being busy.
After that kiss, there was a period where Iris would blush and run away the moment she saw Fang Li. Even after she calmed down, various excuses kept her from spending time with him.
And Fang Li was absolutely sure.
"The one coming up with all those so-called excuses must be Claire, right?"
Otherwise, no matter how busy Iris was, there was no way she wouldn't meet with Fang Li for an entire month.
After all, that lonely little princess probably wanted nothing more than to stick to Fang Li every day and have him take her out to play.
Given that, it was obvious someone was interfering behind the scenes.
Until today, when Iris finally couldn't bear it any longer and officially summoned Fang Li and the others to meet her.
At that point, not even Claire could stop it.
Under those circumstances, when Fang Li's entire group entered the audience chamber, Claire, standing beside the throne, gritted her teeth and glared at Fang Li like an angry guard dog.
Rain, on the other hand, was massaging her forehead in frustration, apparently having been caught between Iris and Claire's drama one too many times.
As for Iris, when she saw Fang Li appear, a wave of relief finally appeared in her eyes, as clear as water. She gave a shy yet joyful smile.
"Aaah…"
Claire let out a sound of pure pain.
Fang Li could practically hear Claire's inner monologue:
"Why can't Iris-sama show me such a cute smile?! If I could just have one, just one, I'd pay any price for it!"
Yeah, she was definitely thinking that.
Otherwise, she wouldn't be glaring at Fang Li with increasing resentment.
"Um…"
Just as Iris was about to speak, Claire's suppressed resentment finally burst out, and she directly cut Iris off.
"This time, Iris-sama summoned you here solely to deliver the previously mentioned special reward." Claire stared daggers at Fang Li as she spoke. "There is absolutely no other reason."
…If Claire hadn't added that last part, maybe it would've sounded a bit more convincing.
Still, everyone's attention had already been drawn by her words.
"Special reward?"
Kazuma, Aqua, Megumin, and Darkness were momentarily stunned, then one after another, their expressions lit up with interest.
"A special reward, huh?"
Fang Li also remembered.
Indeed, during the celebration banquet, Claire, on Iris's behalf, had mentioned a special reward.
Only, that time it got derailed by Mitsurugi Kyouya's challenge and Iris's shocking announcement, so the matter had been dropped.
Now, it seemed like Iris had gotten so fed up with Claire blocking her from seeing Fang Li that she brought the "special reward" back up as an excuse to summon him and the others.
"Alright then, Iris-sama." Claire urged her. "Please hand over the reward quickly, and then return to your work."
Hearing that, Iris looked up with a pitiful gaze at Claire.
"P-Please don't look at me like that, Iris-sama! I can't take it!" Claire wavered instantly and quickly turned to Rain. "R-Rain! Hurry up and bring out the reward!"
"Understood…" Rain replied tiredly.
She then took out a box and walked over to Fang Li.
Fang Li accepted it directly and opened the lid.
Kazuma, Aqua, Megumin, and Darkness immediately crowded around.
The next second, upon seeing the item inside, Megumin let out a surprised cry.
"It's actually this thing?!"
(End Of This Chapter)