The sudden commotion not only snapped Shien out of his thoughts as he listened to Vivian, but also left Lumya and Merika startled.
"So many people!"
"Why are there so many people?"
Lumya and Merika cried out in surprise.
On the island in the middle of the lake, before the royal castle, countless people had gathered, and a clamor rose and fell without pause.
The people gathered here were the commoners, adventurers, and nobles they had seen earlier. There were so many of them that it was a veritable sea of people, with nothing but a dense mass of heads in sight.
There had to be at least tens of thousands of them.
Shien was already standing fairly far back, yet he could still feel the heat rolling over from the sea of people ahead. Just thinking about it made it clear how many people it took to create such a sight.
These people also seemed to be expecting something. They whispered among themselves while repeatedly looking toward an open-air platform above the royal castle, like frenzied fans awaiting their idol's appearance onstage, their eyes and expressions brimming with excitement.
If the Knights had not been maintaining order nearby, then with their excitement and numbers, it would have been impossible for chaos not to break out.
Shien was dumbstruck, and Lumya and Merika were no better off. Only Vivian and Tier continued talking as though nothing were amiss.
"It's been quite a while since I came back. Has the number grown again?"
"Just how far does that Princess intend to spread her charm before she stops?"
"Well, she probably never intended to spread it on purpose."
"That's why she's called the woman even the Goddess would envy, isn't it?"
Vivian and Tier held such a conversation, and the amount of