Chapter 129
The story continues off the page
The Dare in the Back Room
Two academy girls, one lethal measure, and your slate paying for it
“Oh, you're here. I've been waiting for you. You're a little late.”
Second Knight Order headquarters.
Richard greeted me as I entered. The other knights had already arrived and were waiting for me.
“I'm sorry. I was late because I was helping Her Highness the Princess with her writing.”
“You're a busy man, aren't you.”
“At that point, you're basically a noble. Slaves work all day except when they're sleeping.”
“Ah, right. You're a slave. I keep forgetting.”
Richard coughed awkwardly.
“I'll take that as a compliment.”
What kind of slave in the world helps the princess write, faces the knight commander, and even makes a contract with the emperor?
I let it slide.
“By Her Highness the First Princess, you mean, right?”
Suddenly, a voice came from one side of the formation.
Turning my head, I saw a female knight with short reddish-brown hair staring at me intently.
She was Rosanna, a formal knight of the Second Knight Order. I remembered her because she was the opponent I had dueled yesterday.
To be exact, she was one of the people who had charged at me in high spirits during what was supposed to be a welcome ceremony, only to roll around on the floor with her sword.
“That's right.”
“You said you were helping with the writing?”
“Yes.”
Rosanna's eyes changed slightly.
If a moment ago she had been looking at me like a knight brooding over yesterday's defeat, now her gaze carried a completely different kind of interest.
That look was even more careful and serious than when she pointed a sword at someone.
“Then do you know The Terminally Ill Young Lady Declares Divorce?”
“I do. It's the first work I wrote with Her Highness.”
“Really? That was your first work? Amazing! It's my favorite work!”
In an instant, Rosanna's look toward me changed 180 degrees.
How should I put it.
It was like the look a fan gives when they run into their favorite celebrity on the street.
It was enough to feel burdensome.
“By any chance, who planned that work? Was it Her Highness the Princess?”
“I was the one who suggested we write it, at least.”
“Oh...! Then you planned that scene too? The scene where the grand duke shows up and Isabella spits up blood.”
“I came up with the rough structure.”
“I see!”
Rosanna started chattering excitedly.
“You know, I think that scene is the climax. The moment the grand duke realizes Isabella is terminally ill and his emotions begin to roil. It was excellent.”
“......Thank you for the feedback. Seems like you enjoyed it quite a bit.”
“Of course. I've read it exactly fourteen times.”
Fourteen times.
I don't think I've read it that many times myself, either, but she really has.
“You read stuff like that?”
A new voice cut in.
It was a male knight.
I don't know his name.
Rosanna frowned.
“What, got a problem?”
“No, it's just... it doesn't seem like the kind of thing you'd read, a romance novel.”
“Hey, Hugo. Are you saying I shouldn't read romance novels?”
“When did I say you couldn't? I just said it doesn't suit you.”
“That's the same as saying it doesn't——”
-Bang! Bang! Bang!
Richard slammed the table hard with his scabbard.
“That's enough chatting. What are you doing, embarrassing yourselves in front of the new recruit?”
“But...... sorry.”
Both Rosanna, who had been worked up like fire, and Hugo, who had been teasing her, fell silent at once.
Richard let out a weary sigh.
Judging by that, this didn't seem to be the first or second time today.
It felt completely different from the knights I had imagined, but this might not be so bad either.
“The reason I summoned you all today is different.”
Richard pointed at the map spread out on the table.
It was a map where the structure of the imperial capital could be seen at a glance.
“In two weeks, the Founding Festival will be held in the capital. You all know that, right?”
“Yes.”
Founding Festival.
A festival commemorating the day the Empire's first emperor founded the capital and completed the imperial palace.
It was an event I'd seen several times in the game.
The whole city was decorated with flowers and flags, processions lined the boulevard in front of the imperial palace, and at night mana-stone lamps and fireworks painted the sky.
‘There had definitely been several incidents like that.’
The main goal was to raise stats by clearing various events with Elodie.
You could also raise Aither's affection for Elodie.
‘So it's already that time.’
Well, the academy had already opened long ago. The story must still be moving along even in my absence.
‘Is it... moving along?’
Renoa, who played the role of a bridge character meant to help the two grow closer, had already exited the stage early.
That much meant the events that happened at the academy would probably be gone as well.
And that would make it even harder to build affection or grow stronger.
I was a little worried, though.
‘He'll manage somehow.’
Since I'd already handed him the grimoire, he should be able to manage his growth somehow.
‘Do I really have to romance Aither?’
Before, I had naturally thought the two of them should be together, but now I felt differently.
‘Elodie seems too precious to waste.’
‘I want Elodie to dump Aither and become a great archmage.’
“This Founding Festival is on a larger scale than usual. It's also being held while the First Knight Order is away on expedition, and ambassadors from foreign countries are scheduled to visit, so His Majesty is paying quite a lot of attention to it.”
“So we're in charge of security?”
“To be precise, emergency response.”
Richard's finger slowly traced across the map.
The boulevard in front of the imperial palace.
The central plaza.
The temple street.
The commercial district.
The noble district.
And the canal district, where this incident happened this time.
“Regular patrols are handled by the patrol unit. Maintaining order in the markets and alleys falls under their jurisdiction as well. The safety of the imperial palace and the imperial family is handled by the Imperial Guard.”
“Then what are we supposed to do?”
“All the incidents that happen beyond that. Our role is to be the capital's shield and lead the festival safely.”
If nothing happens, it'd be a leisurely job, but there's no way that will happen.
I can already see a future full of hardship.
“Before the festival, each of you will divide up the areas and conduct preliminary inspections. If you find anything suspicious, report it immediately.”
***
And so, the area assigned to me was the artisan district.
Like in the military, the rule was to work in pairs. The person I was paired with was Rosanna.
Originally, I was supposed to be paired with someone else, but Rosanna had strongly pushed to be teamed up with me.
“Nice to work with you, Leon.”
“The pleasure is mine.”
“Can I speak casually?”
“Do as you like.”
“Then I'll speak casually. I'm not a fan of stiff speech.”
Saying that, Rosanna lightly patted my shoulder.
The artisan district was a little ways from the central square.
We left the imperial palace and slowly headed there.
“Why did you want to be paired with me?”
“Obviously to talk about novels. What other reason would there be?”
Well, of course.
“Is it really okay to change teams for such a personal reason during a knight order mission?”
“There's nothing that says it isn't. As long as the mission gets done properly, that's all that matters.”
“You sure do exploit your own selfishness while pretending to be reasonable.”
“Do you think a knight only needs to be good with a sword? Being able to frame what you want as a valid reason is a skill too.”
She wasn't wrong.
Except for how shameless she was.
“So, what's the next work?”
“You're asking that all of a sudden?”
“I teamed up with you specifically so I could ask that.”
So bold.
She was so bold that I had nothing to say.
Normally, knights would be formal, but Rosanna was nothing like that.
It felt like talking to an older mercenary sister.
“Nothing's set yet. As you can see, I'm not in a situation where I can focus solely on writing.”
“Hmm, fair enough. But how did you end up in the knight order?”
“Her Majesty ordered it. She said that if I became useful to the Empire and proved my loyalty, she'd grant me my freedom.”
“Freedom, huh. Being Her Highness the Princess's slave isn't all that bad, is it? I hear you're already getting treated pretty well.”
“The Imperial Knight Order is where every knight in the world dreams of ending up. Imagine working there twenty-four hours a day and not even being able to clock out.”
“Ugh, just imagining it sounds like hell.”
“That's what it is.”
Rosanna nodded readily, as if everything had clicked into place.
“Then what will you do once you're freed? Are you going to keep helping Her Highness with her writing, or stay active in the knight order?”
“I'm planning to go on a journey. There's someone I need to make sure is alive and well.”
“Not going to write?”
“By then, I probably won't need to write anymore. But why?”
Rosanna's gaze quietly sank.
“It's something to celebrate that you've gained your freedom, but I was wondering whether cutting off Her Highness's writing activities would mean a huge loss for the cultural world.”
“So?”
“In that case, keeping you as a slave......”
“Knight Rosanna?”
“Just kidding.”
No, that didn't sound like a joke at all.
You were definitely serious.
“Don't worry. I have no intention of quitting right away.”
“Really?”
“Yes, I still have goals I haven't achieved.”
“That's a relief.”
Only then did Rosanna's fervor subside.
‘So it really was serious after all.’
I swallowed a sigh.
I thought I'd only have to worry about sword threats if I joined the knight order, but I never expected to be threatened over novels.
I wonder if they'll come after me with swords as a group later.
Before I knew it, while chatting about this and that, we had gotten close to the artisan district.
-Clang! Clang! Clang!
The sound of hammers striking metal echoed from all over the street.
Inside the workshops, artisans were sweating as they busily made festival supplies.
“This area is especially chaotic.”
“It's always like this before the Founding Festival. The whole capital gets excited.”
Rosanna looked around as though she were used to it.
“For knights like us, it's a time when our nerves are especially on edge, but for merchants, it's the biggest money-making season of the year.”
“A sales bonanza?”
“Right. When a festival is held, people come pouring in, and where people gather, money naturally starts flowing.”
“Then there must be a lot of accidents too.”
“Of course.”
Rosanna answered without the slightest hesitation.
“It's not just merchants who gather when they smell money. Pickpockets, swindlers, smugglers, all kinds of bastards mix in too.”
“I see.”
“If it ends with a small incident, that's a relief. But if even a fire breaks out in a place with that many people gathered, it'll turn into a major disaster in no time.”
Right.
Big and small incidents come pouring in.
Thanks to that, a bonus event opens up that can boost Elodie's growth.
I remember how I used to plan the optimal route with my limited action points and collect the events.
Of course, now every incident has become busywork I have to handle myself.
I don't want to run into any incidents at all.
‘……Huh?’
Wait a second.
There are a lot of incidents and accidents.
Among them are terrorist attacks that cause huge chaos.
What if I handled all of them?
What if I led the festival successfully?
Wouldn't that be a big help to my freedom?
“Knight Rosanna, I just thought of somewhere I need to go for a moment.”
“You're going somewhere? Where?”
I looked beyond the street where the hammering rang out noisily.
If my memory is right, it should be there.
“To seek freedom.”
The first trigger for the Founding Festival event.