Once the royal feast ended, the trio was given a private chamber by the king. Now, founding themselves alone in a quiet chamber, far from prying eyes and ears of any noble and guard, the tension they'd been carrying from the royal feast began to show, making the room atmosphere heavy up.

Sat on the edge of a worn wooden table, arms crossed and eyes are, Rimuru scan the room as if he expecting hidden spies in this room.

Rudeus on the other was laying on on of the bed, arms behind his head and looking far too relaxed for the situation.

Meanwhile, Rory paced the small space, her usual playful grin was now replace by a more serious expression-though her trademark mischief still visable.

"Well, this has been fun," Rudeus started, breaking the silence with his usual casual tone. "I mean, knights, feasts, royal treatment-I'm not saying no to the good life, you know?"

Stopped mid-step, Rory shooting Rudeus an exasperated look as she asked him. "Rudeus, you really don't get it, do you?"

Rudeus blinked, clearly confused. "Get what? We saved a princess, got invited to a castle, and now they want to make us knights."

Rimuru sighed, rubbing his temples at Rudeus some what naive trait. "Rudeus, think for a second. Doesn't any of this feel... off to you?" He pause a moment, thinking about the moment where the king ask them to be knights then said "The king's eagerness, the princess's hesitation"

Rudeus shrugged. "I mean, sure, it's a little weird, but isn't that just how royalty is? Politics and all that confused stuff."

Rory rolled her eyes dramatically, muttering something under her breath about "Naive boys" before addressing them both, especially Rudeus. "Listen up, because I've seen this kind of thing before. Kingdoms don't hand out knighthoods to random strangers without a reason. The king's up to something and I bet it ain't anything good"

Rimuru nodded, his expression grim. "Agreed. The princess wanted to say something back there but couldn't duo to the queen and that's a big red flag."

Leaned against the wall, Rory crossing her arms as her lips curled into a wry smile. "And let's not forget the obvious: something about this kingdom stinks."

Tilt his head a bit, Rudeus about to speak up but suddenly got intervene by Rory as she said "And no it not because of Rimuru Eating to much fish in the feast"

"Hey?!!" Rimuru speak up, clearly not happy about that.

Though Rudeus chuckled at the joke, but the weight of Rory's words wasn't lost on him. "Okay, okay, so maybe something does smell fishy." Then he pause for moment just to ask Rory "But why go through all this trouble just for us?"

Rory tapped her chin thoughtfully as she answer the question. "Could be a lot of reasons. Maybe they want to use us to bolster their military, scare off neighboring kingdoms, or deal with internal rebellions. Or... maybe it's something worse. Either way, it's not going to end well for us if we're not careful."

"You've dealt with kingdoms and politics before, haven't you?" Rimuru ask while glanced at Rory.

smirked, Rory confidence return his question while holding her hand out to look at her newly polish finger. "Oh, you could say I've had my fair share of encounters with power-hungry monarchs. They all follow the same patterns. Butter you up, make promises, and then" glancing at Rimuru with a grint "bam!-you're already their puppet ready to be use."

finally looking a bit concerned, Rudeus scratched his head. "So, what do we do? I mean, I don't exactly want to get dragged into some war or royal drama." pause then he continue "but it not like we have many choice right now"

Hearing that Rimuru think up a plan as he stood firmly and walk across the wooden table. "We play along, for the moment. But don't commit to anything until not until we figure out what's really going on. And if things go south... well, we'll deal with it."

Rory grinned, her eyes glinting with amusement when she hear that they would deal with it. "Smart move, slime boy. But let's be clear: if they think they can manipulate us, oh they're in for a rude call up."

Rudeus sighed, his goofball demeanor giving way to a rare moment of seriousness. "Alright, I'm with your plan. But- can we at least enjoy the free food a little longer before everything falls apart?"

Rory snorted. "Sure, Rudeus. Enjoy your last few bites of luxury before it turns to ash in your mouth."

With their plan set-at least for now-stay obsessed till they know what going on or atlest till they press to fight, but one thing is clear. Whatever game the king was playing, they would be ready for it.