With brisk steps, Char delved deeper and deeper into the forest. Someone was out to kill him—he could feel it.
People from the Royal Knights, for sure. I’ve sensed this same ominous presence at the barracks numerous times.
If he was going to fight back, it was better to do so in a desolate spot where no one would notice. He was pretty sure they were going to make their move soon. Since he had faced similar threats at the schoolhouse as a child, his instincts around this were sharp. The time he’d spent at the Royal Knights had unearthed many memories from his youth—ones he didn’t particularly wish to revisit.
This place really reminds me of the schoolhouse.
Ever since Lam came into his life and reformed the House of Mercure, he’d found this kind of atmosphere incredibly unpleasant, more so than he ever had before. He’d been much more numb to his emotions as a boy. Perhaps the fact that he was feeling anything at all now was proof that he had regained his sanity.
He’d left Thibault behind on purpose, since Char had sensed he wasn’t being targeted by those stalking him. If Thibault was in the vicinity when the knights came for Char, he might get caught up in the attack, and Char very much wished to avoid that—he was far too defenseless.
He couldn’t believe how anxious he felt about someone else’s well-being. It was almost like Lam had rubbed off on him.
This thought would never have even crossed my mind before.
It clearly was one of the many changes Lam had brought into his life. The old Char would’ve just thrown Thibault to the wolves, claiming it was his own fault for being unable to defend himself despite being a knight.
Then again, it wasn’t like Char’s current conduct didn’t come with its own set of issues. He had endeavored to drag as few people as he could into this dangerous situation, but...an unexpected guest had decided to join them.
Char glanced beside him and let out a sigh. A slim young man with red hair and suntanned skin was following him enthusiastically. He was none other than Ves—a lumberjack and the man who’d ended up first overall at the Royal Knights’ admission test.
I can’t believe he can keep up with the twins and me. I have to change my plans because of him.
He’d initially intended to leave him behind with Thibault. Since he didn’t know the man yet, he wanted to remove as many uncertain variables as possible from the situation. Sadly, things hadn’t gone to plan.
Seriously, how can he keep up with us Mercures? I’m walking at pace on purpose here.
His and the twins’ physical abilities were a result of the grueling training they’d gone through as children. It wasn’t something anyone could easily replicate.
Char surreptitiously observed Ves.
Lam told me that he was informed about old magic like hers. As I thought, I need to keep my guard up around him.
Though they were more or less working together at the moment, Char still had no idea what Ves’s true motives were. He didn’t seem to harbor any malicious intent toward him or the twins, but he had deftly dodged all of Char’s attempts to figure out why he was so familiar with Lam’s spells.
“Lord Char, the knights are going to make their move soon, aren’t they?” Fouet mused from behind him.
They had just reached a clearing in the woods where they could move about freely. It was the perfect place to take a stand against the knights.
“We can fight them if they attack first, right?” Barre asked, eager for a fight.
Given his personality, he must’ve built up quite a lot of pent-up frustration since joining the knights. But he was right; they needed to deal with the knights—and the sooner, the better.
“Let’s intercept them here.” Char nodded.
However, there were still a couple of issues to deal with first.
“What should we do with him?” he whispered to the twins, throwing a glance in Ves’s direction.
This had nothing to do with him, but if he stayed, he would undoubtedly get dragged into the scuffle.
“I’m not sure how to deal with the knights either. I’m not that good with discreet spells, and things might get out of hand if we overdo it,” Char added.
They were currently undercover in Hanche, so this time, they couldn’t rely on large-scale spells to wipe out their opponents, lest they cause an international incident. The best course of action would be to use smaller spells to deal with the throngs of knights one by one, but Ves might accidentally become collateral. Char didn’t know what his true abilities were yet, and he hadn’t used a single spell so far, so he couldn’t count him as part of their combat force.
“Fouet, keep Ves safe. Barre and I will do everything we can to thwart the knights without causing a fuss.”
“Yeees, Lord Char. I completely agree; ensuring our friend over there is safe is crucial,” Fouet replied, delighted at the prospect of taking it easy.
All of a sudden, Ves—who had stayed quiet all this time—spoke up. “That’s nice of you. Thanks, but I don’t need protection. I can handle myself just fine. In fact, I’m pretty sure I’m stronger than all of you.”
“You heard us, huh?” Char said, turning to face Ves.
They had been speaking as quietly as possible and shouldn’t have been audible to the young man from where he stood...unless he had magical assistance.
He definitely used a spell.
Yet it had felt so natural that Char hadn’t noticed it.
Barre, always quick to lose his temper, glared at Ves, a glint of challenge sparking in his eyes. “Oh, you’re that confident in your magic abilities, huh? I’d love to see what you’re capable of.”
He had a tendency to stir the pot. Incidentally, he also seemed to have forgotten all the times Lam had kicked his tail when he’d challenged her.
Then again, most mana wielders aren’t particularly talented, so I can’t blame him for being curious, Char thought.
But now wasn’t the time to fight one another.
“Stop it, Barre. We need to deal with the knights first,” he gently chided his aide.
Discontent crossed Barre’s face, but he nodded reluctantly. “Yes, yes. Can we knock them all out? It might interfere with our duty to keep the guests safe, though.”
“The ‘guests’ are self-proclaimed big shots of the Faith, so who cares about what happens to them? In fact, the Faith doesn’t exist anymore. They’re nothing more than a bunch of frauds taking advantage of their former position to stay in Hanche for free.”
“Oh, wow. They’ve swindled an entire country. That’s impressive!” Barre exclaimed with fake enthusiasm. “They really are the scum of the world!”
“More importantly, I’m worried about Lam,” Char said. “She was calm when I last saw her, but we can’t ignore the possibility that she might lose her composure depending on how things go on her side.”
“And if she does, she’ll definitely go over the top with it. I still haven’t forgotten about the stinky hair balls and the durian stench she cast on the bishop.” Barre grimaced.
“The Tête Kingdom kept her rampage under wraps, but there are still rumors circulating about it among those who know. She risks doing much more than just causing a fuss here.”
All of a sudden, a new mana signature appeared in the air. The next instant, the very woman they had been talking about materialized in front of their eyes. She turned toward them, clad in her Royal Knight uniform, her hair fluttering in the wind.
“Ooh, it’s the madam,” Barre commented.
“Is something the matter? Do you have an urgent message for us?” Fouet asked.
“Nope. I just came to report that I did my part,” Lam replied with a smile. It seemed that things were already settled on her end.
Char noticed that her mouth was moving as if she were eating something.
That smell... Is it durian?
Perhaps the guests of honor had been served durian, and Lam had snatched it from their tent. As it was considered a luxury fruit, they had never been served it at the mess hall, and Lam had been very disappointed. Char was glad she could finally indulge in her favorite food.
“Sorry to interrupt your snack, Lam, but what about the weapon...?” Char asked.
“Oh, I’ve taken care of it. I was worried about you, so I came to see how you were faring,” she replied.
“Well, that was quick. Did you find proof of the Faith’s plot for Thibault?”
“I did. The female knights’ duty was to entertain the people of the Faith, so I was able to get close to them much more easily than I anticipated. It went even better than I expected.”
“Entertain...?” Char echoed.
“Apparently, the female knights take on the role of entertainers to cut costs—or something like that.”
“That’s...strange. Hanche isn’t supposed to be that poor a country. Could it be that the captain has been embezzling the funds allotted to the Royal Knights and pocketing them for himself?”
Now that Char thought about it, Gahariet had been the only one drinking fancy alcohol during meals. Apparently, he often went out into the city to gamble as well. Being the son of a marquis, it was likely that no one had been able to do anything to stop him.
“Anyway, how are you three doing? Barre seems oddly murderous...”
“That has nothing to do with the situation at hand. Don’t worry,” Char replied. “But it’s just as I suspected: Some knights have been making unusual moves today, including the captain. They seem intent on taking their revenge on us.”
“That captain never learns.” Lam sighed.
“Well, I’ve been more or less expecting that he would try to retaliate. I left Thibault behind so that he wouldn’t get tangled in this chaos. I seem to be their main target.”
“Because of what you did at the welcome party, perhaps? The captain’s legs have become awfully short, after all. Well, that’s on him, though.”
“Truly. If he had behaved around women, he wouldn’t have ended up like that.”
Lam nodded. “His legs shouldn’t be this short unless he was very aggressive with his sexual harassment.”
“He must’ve been,” Char replied after a pause. “If I had known, I would’ve adjusted my spell to make the changes a little less drastic.”