35 – 2. The Path of the Dagger (16)

16.

The air is heavy. It was not the usual inn appearance. With only six or seven people occupying the entrance, silence descends in the hall full of violent adventurers.

It deserves it. Among the adventurers who stayed at the inn in Cornfield, no, among the adventurers based in the East Side guild, there would be no one who did not know their true identity. The hands and feet of Count Louver, who rules this territory. Among them, only the core members of the Knights, each in a position to own a war horse, were seated.

It’s not cheap chain mail, you can tell just by looking at the fact that all of them are wearing plate armor close to full armor. Each of those armors is worth more than ten gold coins. Most of the adventurers were psychologically intimidated towards them, who were wearing armor that was more expensive than the weapons they considered their own lives. A knight and an ordinary adventurer cannot be compared in terms of social status, pocket circumstances, and perhaps even military force.

If there had been a party with Gerald, who has recently been gaining fame, the atmosphere might have been a bit tense. The He possesses and the fame that followed are not things that even a knight can underestimate. But even so, whether they could stand up to them was another matter. After all, it wasn’t Count Louver’s knights. He is not particularly notorious, no, he is a person who is no different from the king of the periphery, whom most people call Seonggun. Those who want to be hostile to him basically cannot exist.

Although he is a bit stiff, he dared to steal valuables from the castle and run away. Even if they were forced to conduct an investigation after stripping everyone naked, leaving one piece of underwear behind them, there would be complaints, but there was no way they could refuse. Before long, Mr. Angela apologized and hurriedly called Mr. Cooper from the backyard.

“Are you the owner of this inn?”

“Yes.”

Seeing Mr. Cooper limping on his prosthetic leg made of wood, the knight commander swallowed a sigh, then softened his voice a little by stroking his chin. Well, I don’t think they want to make the appearance of persecuting Youngmin for nothing.

“We are pursuing a man who dared to steal from the lord’s mansion. Three days ago, the lord stole the precious treasure without fear and ran away. Did you know about this news?”

“I am hearing this for the first time.”

“Hmm. I guess so. I’ve given orders to tighten the checks in the city, so you won’t be able to escape to another city by boat. The same instructions were given to the checkpoint, so there is a high possibility that the culprit is hiding somewhere in the territory.”

Then he paused for a moment and looked around. By emphasizing his appearance that keeps countless people silent, he shows off his status and authority in advance to violent adventurers.

“We are already searching for forests and abandoned houses where we can hide, but the lord ordered our knights to personally visit and investigate places where there are many people. Will you cooperate?”

“Of course. But how…….”

At Mr. Cooper’s question, he said nothing and ordered the knight standing behind him to bring him a bag wrapped in cloth. He held the object aloft and spoke loudly as if declaring.

“This is a magic item bestowed upon me by the lord! It has an effect that reacts when the object you are looking for is nearby. The lord is eager to get the treasure back. Me too. If stolen treasure is found at this inn, this item will respond. And, if that’s really the case…… Innkeeper, you won’t be able to escape the charges either.”

Mr. Angela covered her mouth and sighed. Celine trembled beside her, holding the hem of her dress. I chewed on her lips. …… Also happens like this

From nob le mt l dot com

No matter what the facts were, if a person suspected of being a thief came out of the inn with a wanted letter, at least the inn was not enough to be suspected of hiding him after being promised a price. Even if it turns out later that it’s not true…… In this world where the level of civilization remains in the Middle Ages, is there any guarantee that the aristocracy will conduct a “Reasonable and human rights” Investigation against the common people? Probably not.

I turned my head to the force that gripped my left arm during the conversation. The pink hair that grew from the top of her head swayed here and there. Looking down at Mira, the daylight was suspiciously pale and hardened.

Yes.

I knew.

Among these many suspects, only I know who is the culprit.

A conversation between the two of us yesterday. Because all the clues to all the puzzles were there. Mira unintentionally revealed the whole truth to me.

──For Master…… Have ever been Master’s goal was to ruin their scheming and reveal the truth.

A thief with a large bounty in the capital. Perhaps the true identity is the person Mira talked about, ‘Teacher’. The “Enemies” He faces are probably the pagans who serve the evil spirits the knight told me about.

–I mean Master. That person…… The person who insisted with his whole body, ‘I am a suspicious person’ even with a child’s eyes. It was an instant. There were several guards at the entrance, but they disappeared and reappeared with a flash of a hand, and after defeating all those who were imprisoning us, we freed them all.

A thief with excellent skills. A man in his 30s with scars all over his body. It also matches the montage of the wanted letter. According to Mira’s description, it’s easy enough to break through the guards and rob a few mansions.

——Even though he was such a skilled thief, he never entered a dungeon. Isn’t your job to deal with monsters? If he had been an adventurer, he would surely have succeeded.

A man who developed his skills to deal with people. A person who waged war against the pagans deeply rooted in the capital. However, a man who did not choose a head-to-head match against them with enormous power and wealth, but ruined their plans by stealing items they valued.

──After living so intensely day by day…… I ended up leaving…… However, now that I am I will continue to do what Master was doing.

However, in the middle of his intense life, he is attacked and counterattacked by the cultists, and dies as it is. However, Mira, who developed her skills as a thief, took over the work he was doing.

──Although I’m a bit down now, I’m waiting for the right time…… Let’s see, one day everyone will know what he was doing.

However, Mi-ra, who did not reach the original level, was discovered during the crime and escaped. He runs away from the royal capital as it is and settles down here throughout the winter. And up to now——a story that is absurdly simple, grand enough to be dismissed as delusion, and ironically able to resolve all doubts.

Mira probably didn’t know that I was affiliated with a paladin. Because talking about heresy is a secret between the two of you. So I opened my heart to me without hesitation, and I expressed most of the stories in a lump…….

“… ….”

It is very likely that Mira, a seemingly delicate woman, was able to pretend to be her own person and continue her crime with the help of some item I do not know. It was because I had grown tired of magic that changed her appearance as well as the structure of her body under her witch. However, now such efforts are in danger of being exposed and all the truth.

I closed my eyes tightly. And she fell into her delusion that she would throw her away right away and put an end to everything. A poor woman whom she had just met, surrounded by numerous knights, and having her punished according to the law as ‘reasonable’, she somehow manages to preserve the peace of this inn in the future. And before long, I’m still looking down among the people surrounding the cold corpse that is not even allowed to be buried…….

A bloody sight creeps up between the closed eyelids. And again I felt a thick tremor running down my arm.

──Can you believe it? My father, who was a knight respected by everyone, sold my mother and me for the sake of my future…….

Yes, you were afraid of knights because of what your father did. I forgot that the reaction he showed against the paladin was not simply an act of numbing his feet and hiding his hands. Since he is under the illusion that many knights are glaring at him, it is not unreasonable for him to be swallowed up in fear regardless of whether he is able to escape.

“…… X feet.”

I quietly cursed. Fortunately, the voice was not too loud, so no one could hear it. I clenched my fists, feeling the fishy taste of blood from my torn lips.

What should I do?

If Mummy is taken away like this, Mr. Cooper will also be investigated. If that happens, the peace of the inn can no longer be maintained.

So is it right for me to throw this slender woman to them as food? If that happens, I will be able to keep my unchanging daily life, but I will not be sure about the human being at this moment for the rest of my life.

What did Mira do wrong in the first place? If cults are bad, and if they’re bad guys who treat people’s lives like bugs, isn’t there nothing wrong with stealing their things? ──X-foot, that’s just my opinion. It’s not a logic that works for them.

“Well then, assuming permission has been granted, I will proceed with an investigation against the personnel in the hall immediately. First of all… ….”

Mira’s room is right next to mine. After the investigation in the hall is over, I will go up to the second floor and search the rooms, so it’s only a matter of time before the crime is discovered.

What should I do?

What should I do?

How the hell…….

After repeated agony, I felt that people’s eyes were focused somewhere. I opened my closed eyes and belatedly looked around the hall. And I met the eyes of the cathedral knight who was coming down the stairs.

He stared at me as if he needed an explanation, but I just shook my head. Anyway, it’s true that there’s nothing you can do about it.

“Who are you?”

As the two of us were exchanging glances, the captain of the knights first recognized him and spoke to him. Although it has scratches, full-body full plate armor is not something that can be obtained by the general public. He looked puzzled as to whether there was a knight dressed like that in our territory.

Involuntarily, I looked at the knight commander and him alternately. Oh my gosh, do you need an interpreter? No, I’m not using another language, so interpreting is not the right word. While I was worrying unnecessarily, he skillfully pulled out a tethered insignia from the slit of his armour, and showed it to them.

“Cathedral article…… !”

The crowd is agitated by his reaction. Most of the adventurers who knew him simply as a knight would have regarded him as a subordinate of the knight commander when the two met. However, cathedral knights, even though they may not belong to the same company, are clearly divided in their ‘class’ as knights. The captain of the knights cleared his throat and moved towards the stairs with a rustling sound. It was a moment when everyone realized that the one who acted first was in a more regrettable position.

“Keuheum, nice to meet you. I never thought I’d be able to see a cathedral knight I’d only heard about in a place like this. It is an honor.”

“… ….”

“I heard that you and the Heretic Inquisitor visited the lord’s mansion not too long ago. I didn’t expect you to refuse the lord’s offer and stay in a place like this. I am Derek, the leader of the knights who protect the territory.”

A handshake between knights. Obeying etiquette, he held out his hand first, but the cathedral knight did not take it.

What are you doing? What are you going to do by deliberately antagonizing the people of the Templars? In a situation that even I would have wondered about, he looked in my direction again. Only then did some people’s eyes turn to Me and Meera, who was hugging me.

Why are you staring at me like that?

What do you know?

I put a lot of questions behind…… He pursed his bloody lips, hoping he would spot them through the cracks in the helm.

Help me.

I bet a thread of hope that if it were you, you would be able to help me in a situation where I couldn’t do anything about it.

And…… The knight who served the god of order faced the knight commander with a confident step, as if standing between them and me.

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