Translator: âHakouâ Editor: âWeasalopesâ
The stage moves to the imperial capital to the south. The time was after the arrival of the C-class Knight who acts as a messenger from the northern city.
In a room of the court, the Emperor, the Knight Commander, the Marquis, and Count Rosehip gathered to discuss the matter.
ãCount Rosehip, your performance at the Battle of Landburn, and defeating of the Heavy Stone Golem in the Giant Pit, was truly impressiveã
A large man in his prime bows his head after being praised by the middle-build emperor who was also in his prime.
Count Rosehip will now lead the Rose Knights under his command to the northern city. He was pulled out of the defense base against the Kingdom because the elves were now considered the biggest threat to the Empire.
The topic of conversation soon turned to things about the elven race.
ãStill, to think that their goal was to keep the Empire from winning too much. I guess they couldnât figure out who the Ghost Knight wasã
Count Rosehip cocked his thick neck with a sullen expression.
When the Ghost Knight appeared and defeated the Imperial Expeditionary Force, Count Rosehip thought about who would benefit the most.
And the answer he arrived at was the Kingdom. This is why he considered the Ghost Knight to be the Kingdomâs secret weapon.
ãThe worldâs greatest magical resource, the World Tree. The elves wanted to keep it to themselves, and they didnât want the human race to uniteã
Now, however, that was what he thought. It was the frontier count, the lord of Landbarn, who said it, but it was also the common understanding of the round table.
ãThe elves are a long-lived race, skilled in magic, but they do not have a large population. They must have feared the power of numbers of the human raceã
The one who wrinkled his brow and said that was the white haired Marquis. He was the one who led the expeditionary force to the Kingdom.
Looking at him sideways, the Emperor opened his mouth.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
ãA Knight who is said to have sided with Sir Reaper in the Great Pit, and the Knight of the Kingdomâs merchant guild who excels in long-range magic attacks. There are still many things to worry about, and we still couldnât figure out the answersã
We should make the best decision we can. Everyone nodded at those words.
The Emperor then changed the subject and asked Count Rosehip.
ãEven so, I still find it surprising for Lord Reaper. I thought he would want to go to the frontline in the northã
The Grim Reaper likes to fight. Therefore, he would have preferred the northern border, where tensions with the elves were rising, rather than the border of the Kingdom, where there was no movement.
That was what he thought.
ãAlthough as a result, it saved me the trouble of persuading him. As expected, we canât let both the Rose Knights and Lord Reaper leave Landbarnã
Count Rosehip opened his mouth, showing his agreement.
ãLord Reaper must have known that one of us would have to stay in Landbarn. Besides, he had the golems in the Great Pit to play withã
The old Knight Commander nodded and interjected with his words.
ãDidnât he spend his days searching for heavy stone golems and metal golems? Only Lord Reaper who would call them as playmatesã
âIndeedâ, chuckles filled the room.
When the laughter subsided, the old Knight Commander cleared his throat. He brought up a different topic.
ãBy the way, have you all heard about it? The matter regarding a herd of large magic beasts that tried to attack the Northern Cityã
The Emperor and the Duke nodded unhappily with serious expressions on their faces. Only Count Rosehip stroked his chin and expressed his doubts.
ãBut it was a herd of Capricorns wasnât it? That was unusualã
The Emperor and the Duke raised their eyebrows suspiciously, while the old knight commander expressed his agreement. After glancing at the two of them, the old knight commander replied.
ãI know what you think. Capricorns, despite their appearance, are actually magic beasts that are gentle in nature. I donât think they would charge towards the border lined with Knight for no reasonã
The emperor and the marquis opened their mouths and exchanged glances at the unexpected information. The old knight commander continued, pretending not to notice their shocked state.
ãThe Viscountess seems to think that the elves may have lured themã
The room became silent for a moment before the old knight commander voice echoed.
ãIt may be a prelude of a full-scale invasion. So this time, I think I will also head to the Northern Cityã
At his sudden declaration, the Emperor looks back at him in silence. ãWhat do you think, Your Majesty?ã he continued, and the Emperor replied bitterly.
ãWhat are you going to do about the imperial capital?ã
The old knight commander replied with his hands on his hips and his chest out.
ãThe vice commander and the Imperial Army will stay behind. Only I along with the commander Knight will be heading northã
The Emperorâs expression twisted, and the old knight commander closed one eye in a mischievous way.
ãIâd love to see these elven Knights with my own eyes, and besides, Iâve had enough with the paperwork in the capital. Writing detailed documents is too much work for an old man like meã
With a sigh, the Emperor consented, and the Marquis and Count Rosehip chuckled again.
***
Here, the stage shifts to Tauroâs home in the southern part of the red-light district in the royal capital.
The wind is still cold, but the sunshine is warm. Feeling the signs of spring approaching, I went out to the garden forest.
ãI canât just leave it to Imosuke and Dangorou, as a lord, I have to take a look around once in a whileã
Iâm talking to myself like Iâm a smart guy, but itâs actually because I had some free time. I had finished breakfast, cleaned my room and washed my laundry, so I had nothing to do.
There was no business at the merchant guild today, and brothels wonât open until noon.
ãOh? Youâre taking care of the Pomelos today too huhã
As I approached the only pond in the garden, I saw Imosuke on one of the trees that grew by the edge of the pond.
ãI seeã
Apparently, it is very important to take care of them this time of year.
Although it looks like a fifth instar larva of a swallowtail butterfly, Imosuke is actually a spirit beast. And heâs an expert on plants.
I looked down at the pond and saw a turtle swimming around the middle. It was fun to see the daily lives of my familiars, so I followed him with my eyes.
ãHm?ã
Now that I looked closely at him, I saw a group of small, four-legged creatures riding on his back. As I crouched down to stare at them, I let out a voice in surprise.
ãYou already brought them over?ã
Last night, we decided to invite a magic beast that would eat the poisonous mushroom, ãWhite Ladyã.
Since heâs a long-lived turtle, I imagined that he would do that much later.
ãItâs a trainingã
When I turned my head to the waves coming from my feet, I saw a dung beetle looking up at me. I donât understand what he means, so I just replied with a question.
ãTraining?ã
Dangorou nodded and explained.
He will go to the spirit lake and bring back a herd of magic beasts on his back. Zaratan wanted to get a feel for it before carrying it out.
So the general, Dangorou, ordered the Heavy Lancers to ride on the back of the turtle.
ãâ¦Now that you said it, it is Heavy Lancers on his backã
When I looked at them more closely, I saw the familiar Heavy Lancers from the garden forest. And since one of them is a little bigger and a little different in color than the others, it is likely that the chief himself is riding on the turtleâs back.
ãOhh, theyâre doing the transfer practice too huhã
After reaching the other side of the pond, the Heavy Lancers on Zaratanâs back dismounts, circles around, and climbs back on.
After retreating slowly, the turtle begins to turn around. I can see from here that he is being quite careful.
ãBecause they fell earlierã
Dangorouâs words made me rethink a little. I thought he was exaggerating or that he didnât have to go that far.
But as expected, rehearsing is an important thing.
ãAre those who fell okay?ã
Dangorou moves his antennae. The Heavy Lancer could swim, so I shouldnât worry.
After that, me, Dangorou, and Imosuke leisurely watched until the Zaratan approached the shore.