An Old Country Bumpkin Returns Home

I walked through Bartlreen in the middle of the day, something I rarely did.

The city was in an uproar—not just because of the festival, but even more so in the wake of the attempted assassination of a royal earlier. Even as I walked, I spotted several people loudly spreading all sorts of stories, true or otherwise.

Well, people love gossip wherever you go. Whenever something sensational comes up, it inevitably becomes a topic of conversation.

After a commotion this public, imposing a gag order wouldn't do much good. Above all, far too many people had witnessed it.

Still, among the things I overheard, there were a few voices praising the Rebellio Order of Knights and speaking favorably of us, the ones assigned to protect the royals.

Hmm, I suppose that was the result of their usual work—their grassroots outreach, so to speak. If people started criticizing the Order of Knights in a situation like this, who knew what might happen?

And many of the things being said mentioned Allucia, the Order's commander.

That was only natural; she was very popular. I'd be in quite a pickle if somehow an old guy like me ended up at the center of attention.

"Maybe I should pick something up on the way home... No, it doesn't really feel like the time to bring home a souvenir..."

With more free time than I'd expected, I considered stopping by a shop somewhere, but what I had to tell Myui was pretty serious...