Monster no Goshujin-sama - Volume 13 - Chapter 12

Chapter 12: The Journey to the Imperial Capital

“Nice to meetcha! I’m Mitarai Aoi. In the exploration team, they call me the Stalwart Snow White. I hope we can get along!”

With exaggerated mannerisms, the girl smiled sweetly and bowed. She looked extremely cheerful, as if her small frame was bursting with energy.

“A-Aoi? Really...?” cried Katou, still in Mitarai’s arms. Her eyes were wide as she stared at Mitarai, who looked as if she was going to rub her cheek against Katou. “What are you doing here?”

“Isn’t it obvious? I came to see you, Mana!” Mitarai answered cheerfully, squealing in glee as she hopped up and down, still holding on to Katou all the while.

I could tell how happy she was, but nothing else made sense. I gave Iino another look, and she obliged me with an explanation.

“Before coming to this world, Aoi was apparently Katou’s close friend. I told Aoi some time back that Katou was in Aker, and she’s been thinking about Katou ever since.”

“That’s basically it!” Having finally calmed down, Mitarai joined our conversation and raised her hand, her other hand still holding Katou. “I was so worried, but Aker’s, like, super far away, so I couldn’t really come here. That’s when Yuna-senpai came back from her world tour.”

“She’s referring to when I returned to the exploration team with information about your conflict with the Maclaurin Provincial Army,” Iino supplemented. “When I reported to our leader, he decided to protest the margrave’s actions...and Aoi was his strongest supporter. And then...”

“I asked a huge favor and made them bring me along!”

“She was being unreasonable, and we ended up having to bring her along,” Shimazu said, sighing deeply. She’d been the one responsible for teleporting them with her power. “I told her it’d increase the burden on me. I swear, this girl...”

Despite saying that, Shimazu had brought Mitarai along anyway, so they were probably good friends. Honestly, I didn’t like the idea of someone being here when they weren’t part of the plan, but when Shimazu was cooperating out of goodwill, I couldn’t really object. Well, she was Katou’s friend too, so there was no point complaining. I came to grips with the situation.

Next, we had to get our original plan underway, so I decided to ask Iino and Shimazu about the news they’d brought back from the Empire. That said, if things weren’t going well, it would’ve shown in their attitudes, so I expected good news.

There was no reason to stand around out here, so we moved to my room to hear them out. On our way there, Mitarai joyfully talked to Katou the whole time. She was in high spirits from speaking with her friend after so long. Katou had been taken aback at first, but she also looked to be enjoying herself now. I was glad to see her like this too, and I knew now that it wasn’t simply because she was an “important companion,” thanks to my conversation with Shiran.

I had much to consider with regards to joining the exploration team, but Katou reuniting with a close friend like this was a good thing. That said, the same applied to me. My bespectacled best friend suddenly came to mind.

Kaneki Mikihiko—after parting ways with us near Serrata, he’d accompanied the commander to the imperial capital for her hearing concerning Fort Tilia’s capitulation. If things lined up, he could still be there, meaning we might get to see him if we went. With that thought in mind, our trip to the Empire, which had required so much of our focus and energy, was starting to sound a little fun.

◆ ◆ ◆

The following day, we set out toward the imperial capital. Fortunately, the Holy Church had fulfilled almost all of our conditions, and the travel plan they’d presented had no holes in it. Shimazu’s group had confirmed all the jump points on the way here, and according to them, it was all looking good.

As such, we had no reason to decline, so we started our journey by Fairy Ring. Having gotten accustomed to traveling by now, this method felt strange.

“Okay, shall we?” Shimazu said as she started tapping her heels in a peculiar rhythm.

In an instant, the tremendous amount of mana within her body was released, and the world twisted like some kind of weird joke. I knew that a visitor’s power could influence the world—and had already experienced it several times over—but I couldn’t help but feel that this was absurd. It was as if I were floating for a moment, followed by an odd sensation of being elsewhere, and then the scenery flashed into something else.

We went from one church to another. The buildings shared the same basic structure, so things didn’t look all that different after teleporting, but we were definitely somewhere else. The Holy Church had prepared our jump points, so almost all the places we were teleporting to were churches. Any village or town beyond a certain size had one, so it was convenient in that regard.

Incidentally, we were now five days into our journey. Our plan was to arrive at the province under the imperial family’s direct rule within the day. This would normally have taken us three months by regular methods. It hardly felt real. It was almost frightening.

“What a crazy power...”

I figured my idle mumbling was reasonable. The abilities of the exploration team’s nicknamed cheaters, including Iino’s, were far beyond human capability. Such was the strength of the transcendental beings who overturned all logic.

“Not really,” Shimazu said, having heard me talking to myself. She sounded bored. “It’s not all that useful an ability when saviors are expected to be fighters.”

“Not all that useful...?”

I grimaced at her unexpected statement. As the Skanda, Iino could close the distance to her enemies faster than anyone else. Meanwhile, Shimazu’s Fairy Ring ignored the concept of distance altogether. From a certain perspective, it surpassed Iino’s ability in every aspect. However, her personal outlook on her power differed from mine.

“Compared to all the other exploration team members, especially our leader, my ability is no big deal,” she said. “I’m self-aware enough to understand that. I’ll admit it’s convenient, though.”

She shrugged, claiming her ability wasn’t impressive. Due to using so much mana, she seemed somewhat languid. It suited the “cool older girl” impression I had of her.

“In that sense, I think your ability is far more amazing,” she said, looking drained.

“I wonder about that...” I replied vaguely. It didn’t feel right to hear that from the person who’d twisted reality just moments ago. “I’m pretty sure it isn’t.”

As I acted humble, I met Lily’s eyes, and a sudden smile came to me.

“No, I guess I can’t think of a better power to have,” I corrected jokingly.

“Hmph. How nice your love life must be,” Shimazu said, shrugging. She looked teasingly at me and Lily, a friendly smile on her lips.

Fortunately, during our journey, I’d established a good rapport with Shimazu. Given the current state of things, regardless of whether I’d actually join them, it seemed like a good idea to cooperate with the exploration team to a certain extent. On that point, it was reassuring that we got along with Shimazu.

As we talked of frivolous things, the people who’d been waiting for us drew closer and bowed reverently. They were the priests and knights who’d arranged this spot for us.

“We’ve been awaiting your arrival,” a man equipped in the Holy Order’s armor said to Shimazu.

This knight had worked with the local church to prepare this site for us. When Shimazu came to Aker from the Empire, she’d brought knights of the Holy Order’s Second Company, and one had stayed behind at each jump point to get ready for our arrival. They were like the shadow supporters of our journey.

When they informed me of the knights, I hadn’t been able to avoid putting myself on guard, but unlike Travis and his Fourth Company, I didn’t feel anything unpleasant about these ones. They’d likely been careful with their personnel selection.

“Thank you for receiving us,” Shimazu said, bringing her conversation with me to an end. “I’m a little tired. May I rest in a room for a while?”

She immediately asked to be guided to a private room so that she could recover the mana she’d spent transporting us.

“Of course. We have a room ready for you already,” the knight said.

“Thank you. I’ll be using it, then.”

“Sure sounds like a pain,” a hearty voice commented.

Shimazu raised her brow and turned around, where she faced the voice’s owner, Mitarai.

“Seriously? Have you forgotten who increased my burden by one?” Shimazu said.

“Waaa! Crap! Yuna-senpai! Save me!” Mitarai cried.

“Don’t come to me for help,” Iino retorted.

Mitarai tried to hide behind her, but it was impossible to get behind the Skanda. Even among the nicknamed cheaters, none could keep up with her speed.

“Owie! Owie!”

Iino easily pushed Mitarai toward Shimazu, who began rubbing Mitarai’s cheeks. It was hard to tell whether Shimazu was punishing Mitarai or whether they were fooling around as Mitarai squeaked shrilly. After about ten seconds of playing with her junior’s cheeks, Shimazu released Mitarai, looking somewhat refreshed.

“What is it?” Mitarai asked, cocking her head upon noticing my gaze.

“I was just thinking how well you get along,” I answered.

“Oh?” Shimazu shrugged. “Anyway, I’m going to go get some rest.”

“Right. Good work today.”

Shimazu walked off with a priest and a few knights. The remaining priests turned to us.

“And how are you doing today?” one of them asked.

The question wasn’t directed at anyone in particular. It was meant for all of us, including Gerbera and the others who could easily be identified as monsters. The priest’s expression was much stiffer than when they’d been talking to Shimazu, and even the other priests and knights looked wary of my servants. They were no doubt frightened, but we couldn’t do anything about that.

In Aker, I had the reputation of protecting elves from their historical enemy, the Maclaurin Provincial Army. What’s more, we’d carefully mingled with their people to create friendly relations. However, the priests we were passing by on our journey were different. We had no reputation of helping their people, and we had no time to mingle. Still, all things considered, they were controlling themselves pretty well.

Despite his stiff expression, the priest who greeted us remained courteous to the end. “We’ve prepared rooms for all of you, so if you require them, please let us know. You are, of course, free to spend your time here too.”

We were executing our journey by Fairy Ring in three travel windows: the early morning, right after noon, and in the evening. No matter what we did, we had to interpose time for Shimazu to recover mana.

The time we spent in transit was far shorter than the time she needed to recover. For example, we made approximately four jumps within a single window. She needed several minutes to concentrate her mana to activate her ability, but the four jumps together didn’t take more than thirty minutes. Once those were done, we had to wait until the next window.

It was early morning right now, so Shimazu would be resting until noon. That didn’t mean we could leave the church, though. The grounds had technically been cleared of people, so it would be fine to walk around a little, but considering the possibility that someone might spot us, it would be dangerous for Gerbera or the others to go out. At most, we could go to the garden.

They probably wouldn’t question me or Lily leaving the church grounds, but even so, with the current state of things, we had to always consider the worst-case scenario. I wanted to keep all my companions nearby.

Fortunately, churches were built to accommodate a fair number of people. Unlike during our journey to Aker, we didn’t have to huddle together in cramped spaces. It was just a little boring. We had nothing to do but wait quietly. The same went for the dragons of Draconia. The civil officials from Aker were here for work, so they sometimes used this time to hold meetings regarding the upcoming negotiations. In the end, we all passed the time at our own leisure within the confines of the church. It was different for those who didn’t have any work and had no reason to accept such boredom, though.

“I guess I’ll take a look-see around town,” Matarai said, an excited look on her face.

She didn’t need to stay cooped up in the church. Among everyone here, she had something of a unique position, so maybe it was inevitable for some sort of trouble to come up.

“Last time I came here, I found some tasty food stalls,” she said with a smile, her ponytail swaying. “Mana! This time you’ll come with me!”

During our journey, Mitarai had called out to Katou frequently. Their conversations were generally friendly; they’d been close at school, so they got along well. Nevertheless, in this one instance, things were different.

“No, I’ll refrain,” Katou said, looking troubled. “I have something to do.”

“Awww. That’s no fun,” Mitarai said, obviously displeased. “C’mon Mana, let’s go!”

Mitarai pulled on Katou’s arm.

“Ah.”

She easily pulled Katou along. They were both petite, but Mitarai was known as the Stalwart Snow White. The difference in strength between them was greater than that between an infant and an adult. Well, even if that hadn’t been the case, it might’ve been hard for Katou to refuse an invitation from her friend when she looked so excited about it. And just like that, Mitarai happily started dragging Katou away.

“Okay! Off we go!” Mitarai shouted.

There was no malice behind her smile. She was being somewhat forceful, but she was just inviting her close friend out to play. To her, this was the same as usual. For example, this exact same exchange might have happened between them had they continued their high school lives, graduated, and gone on a trip to some unfamiliar lands.

Katou was good at looking after others. If that happened, she would smile like there was no helping Mitarai, go for a walk around town with her, and somehow or other enjoy the time spent with her friend. However, that wasn’t the case here. “The same as usual” was already a thing of the past.

Katou’s face convulsed slightly. She was keeping up appearances, but those who were really close to her would notice the minor change in her expression. Essentially, Katou couldn’t walk outside without me or Rose nearby. It wasn’t just limited to going outside either. There were men among the delegation from Aker and the dragons of Draconia.

As Mitarai dragged her along, Katou ended up separated from Rose. That was all it took for her to break down. At this rate, she would collapse the moment she stepped out of the church.

“Wait,” I said, knowing this and calling Mitarai to a stop. “Sorry, but I’ve got something I need Katou to do.”

Katou looked relieved. In contrast, Mitarai’s expression darkened.

“Awww, that again? You say that every time,” she said.

She must’ve been honest at heart. She frowned, discontent clear on her features. Wondering what I should do, I received support from an unexpected ally.

“Hey now, we’re not here to play,” Iino cut in chidingly. She was throwing me a lifeline. “Katou has things to do too. Don’t get in her way.”

“Well yeah, but ya know...”

Mitarai’s enthusiasm plummeted. As fellow nicknamed cheaters of the exploration team, the words of her respected senior worked well. Mitarai turned around.

Meeting Mitarai’s eyes, Katou looked down apologetically. “Sorry, Aoi.”

“Aah, it’s fine. I should be the one saying sorry. You’re so busy and all.”

Mitarai let go of Katou’s hand, then clapped loudly and bowed. She was a little willful at times, but she wasn’t so selfish as to force her indulgences on others.

“Okay, then I’ll be off for a bit,” she said, quietly turning on her heels.

She sounded so disappointed I felt a little sorry for her. She said she’d found a tasty food stall, but just maybe, she’d simply been looking forward to going out with Katou. She had no ill intent. Nevertheless, had I let her continue, it would’ve become a disaster, so I’d had no choice in the matter.

“You okay?” I asked Katou after watching Mitarai leave.

“Oh, yes. I’m fine. I was just a little shocked.”

Despite saying that, she didn’t look fine—her expression was stiff, and her body was tense. I couldn’t blame her for it. Mitarai hadn’t meant any harm, so she’d acted without hesitation, but at that rate, Katou would have been dragged outside.

Worried for her, I walked toward Katou, and she approached me too. We closed the distance to one appropriate for friends, then took another step. Now close enough to touch each other, she leaned against me, making my heart thump. She seemed to be unconsciously trying to find peace of mind. With that, her tensed muscles finally relaxed.

“Thank you...” she said.

Perhaps due to the backlash of the mental stress, the smile she looked up at me with was more natural than usual. It was a defenseless smile that showed her relief came from the bottom of her heart. Knowing that she was letting her guard down, it was poison for the eyes now that I was aware of my feelings.

“Aah, it’s fine. Don’t worry about it,” I said.

I let my eyes wander and met someone’s gaze. Iino was watching us, making a scary face. She signaled me with her chin to come to her. She apparently had something she wanted to talk about.

“Okay then, Katou. See you later.”

Because of what had just happened, it was better for Katou to go to a private room rather than hang around this area where other men were present. Making that decision, I talked it over with the priest, then left Katou to Rose before going to Iino.

◆ ◆ ◆

“What?” I asked as I got to Iino.

She grabbed my hand and wordlessly dragged me away.

“H-Hey.”

“Just come with me.”

Lily followed along, but Iino only gave her a glance before she kept going.

The three of us went over to the wall a small distance away from everyone else, which indicated that Iino wanted to talk in private. Although, at this distance, Gerbera would still hear us, and Lily was tagging along. In that case, there was someone specific she didn’t want listening in.

Iino came to a stop, then slapped my hand violently away. She looked utterly displeased.

“Hey, Majima, can’t you do something about this?” she asked.

“That’s out of the blue. What’re you talking about?”

“Obviously about Aoi and Katou,” Iino said, her eyes glancing around the church. Katou and Rose were just on their way farther inside. “She hasn’t told Aoi about her fear of men, right?”

“Doesn’t look like she has.”

“Thought so. That just now was because of that too, wasn’t it?”

The reason Mitarai had tried taking Katou into town without me or Rose was that she had no idea how much of a burden that would be on Katou. If we told her, Mitarai would likely stop inviting her. Iino was right, but telling Mitarai was another matter entirely.

“We can’t do anything about that,” Lily cut in. “There are things you can’t say because you’re friends.”

Katou probably wanted as few people as possible to know what had happened to her. Even if it was a close friend...or precisely because it was a close friend who’d known her before, she didn’t want it to be known. If she told Mitarai that she was afraid of men, Mitarai might guess what’d happened, which was why she couldn’t tell her.

Katou always gave off the impression that she’d figure something out, but she was really awkward sometimes. The earlier incident made that apparent.

“Hmph. I know that. I’m telling you to do something about it regardless,” Iino said, glaring at me for some reason even though Lily had been the one to object. “You’re not going to tell me it has nothing to do with you, are you? Aren’t you a man?”

She was being unreasonable. What did being a man have to do with it? On the other hand, it was true that something had to be done. In the end, I wanted to establish a good relationship with the exploration team members, and Mitarai was one of their top brass, so it wasn’t a good idea to piss her off for no reason. Even disregarding such interests, I couldn’t turn a blind eye to the situation. Just as Iino said, if Katou was troubled by this, I couldn’t act as if it had nothing to do with me.

“I guess we can make something specific for Katou to do ahead of time,” I said. It was better to have a reason for Mitarai not to invite her at all rather than have Katou reject her invitations. “We’ll have to figure out a way to tell Mitarai about it beforehand.”

“Oh, well, leave that part to me,” Iino said. “I’ll mention it casually. That should keep things from escalating.”

She looked reluctant, but contrary to her expression, she was being cooperative. It was unexpected.

“Is this what you wanted from the start?” I asked.

“It is, but don’t misunderstand,” Iino answered, the displeasure on her face getting even worse. I was starting to wonder whether I was the only one she showed this side of herself to, but that didn’t make me happy. “Aoi is precious to me, so it’s obvious I’d do this much for her.”

“I see.”

Thinking back on it, Iino had gone out of her way to return to the destroyed Colony, and had even run all around the world just to help her comrades. As a particularly close friend, it was only natural for her to be worried about Mitarai.

“Well, either way, I’m grateful,” I said.

“Hmph. There’s no need to thank me. That’s all I had to say. See you.”

Now that we were done talking, Iino briskly walked away from us. She was as cold as always. It felt natural at this point, so it didn’t anger me, but for some reason, Lily was making quite the astonished face as she watched Iino walk away.

“Lily? What’s up?” I asked.

“Aah, hm. It’s nothing,” she said, shaking her head. She pulled herself together and looked at me. “More importantly, did you notice, Master?”

“Notice what?”

“Iino probably thinks you and Katou are lovers.”

“What?”

I hadn’t expected that, but now that I thought of it, Iino’s wording had been a little odd.

“Oh, that’s why she mentioned that whole ‘being a man’ thing.”

It’d been so abrupt, but if she had misunderstood, then it made sense.

“That might be the reason she’s always so grumpy,” I said. “For the fastidious Iino, maybe she’s actually keeping her anger in check pretty well.”

“I wonder about that. I don’t think that’s it at all.”

“Hm? What do you mean?”

“Nope. It’s nothing. I doubt there’s anything we can do,” Lily said, shaking her head and taking my hand. “More importantly, wanna go see Katou? I’m sure seeing your face will bring her peace of mind.”

“Sounds good.”

I was, in fact, worried about Katou, so I nodded and started heading her way with Lily.

Despite such troubles, our journey by Fairy Ring was going smoothly. That evening, at the church we were to spend the night at, I met the vice marshal of the Holy Order, Gordon Cavill.

◆ ◆ ◆

“Are you Sir Gordon?”

We met the vice marshal of the Holy Order within the province under the imperial family’s direct rule.

“I heard you’re responsible for the arrangements of our journey. We are much obliged.” I shook his large and rugged hand.

Also serving as the commander of the Holy Order’s Second Company, Gordon had ordered his subordinates to get everything ready for our trip. It would’ve been difficult for us to travel safely if we’d only relied on the Fairy Ring’s high-speed travel.

“Think nothing of it, Mister Majima. We should be the ones thanking you for making the long journey,” Gordon replied calmly.

As expected of a man of his position, he didn’t look the least bit perturbed by my servants. On the contrary, I sensed something like respect in his expression. According to Iino, the inhuman acts Travis had committed against Aker’s reclamation villages had pained Gordon deeply. Perhaps he acknowledged me to an extent because I’d protected the elves.

“The current chaos we find ourselves in cannot be resolved without your cooperation, sir,” he said. “It is only natural for us to protect you when you are going out of your way to come from such faraway lands. I swear by the honor of the Holy Order that, even during your stay in the capital, I will give everything I have to protect you and yours.”

“I’m glad to hear it. We’ll be in your care,” I said.

After finishing our greetings, we took a seat.

“Let me cut right to the chase. Can I ask you something?” The reason I was meeting Gordon before reaching the capital was that I wanted to ask him something as soon as I could. “It’s about what I requested the Holy Order look into.”

“Understood,” Gordon replied immediately, having expected me to ask about this. “About this so-called Angel Puppeteer, Ottmar Valhalder, right?”

“Yes. I heard from Iino that you were the one investigating it.”

By the time we set out for the imperial capital, the Holy Church had fulfilled most of our conditions, but they hadn’t completely fulfilled all of them. The investigation into Ottmar Valhalder had still been underway.

It wasn’t because Gordon and his knights were negligent, of course. Gordon had done everything his job had asked of him, well beyond just the inquiry. For example, he’d withdrawn all former orders from the Fourth Company’s departed commander, prohibited them from taking missions indefinitely, and commanded their immediate return to the capital so long as it was possible. All those who disobeyed would be severely punished too. Sadly, there was a reason none of this could be applied to Ottmar and his knights.

“Mister Majima, I believe Miss Iino and Miss Shimazu have already informed you, but there is no man named Ottmar Valhalder affiliated with the Holy Order.”

One of the conditions I’d set out from the beginning was finding out where Ottmar’s loyalties lay so I could identify the person who’d ordered Ottmar to attack me. I wanted to put a stop to them, but I couldn’t do anything if that person wasn’t part of the Holy Order. This had been an unexpected development for me, but it must’ve been a tremendous shock for the Holy Order. After all, one of my conditions for participating in these talks had yet to be fulfilled. When this fact was established, some of the knights had gotten indignant.

“Isn’t it impossible to find an invisible man?”

“In that case, does that mean he had no intention of helping resolve this situation?”

“Isn’t he just looking for an excuse not to come, saying we failed to fulfill his conditions?”

Such accusations had been rampant. It was idiotic from my perspective, but if I were in their shoes, it’d be hard not to be suspicious of the same things.

Gordon had suppressed all such opinions, claiming I had no such intentions, and the two from the exploration team had told them that I was doing no such thing. Iino’s words had apparently been particularly effective. Shimazu had told me about it. Iino had spent time with the Holy Order looking into the fake savior incidents, so they trusted her quite a bit. In this respect, she lived up to her reputation as the world-traveling Skanda.

I’d chosen my conditions as the minimum requirements for us to hold these talks, but I’d never dreamed that it would turn out like this. When I’d been told that my “unreasonable demand was moments away from breaking down all chances of peace talks,” a cold sweat had run down my spine.

At any rate, having barely avoided an unfortunate disagreement, Gordon had been actively investigating this matter while also handling various preparations for my arrival. He’d looked into any saviors who had similar abilities and searched for their descendants to find any clues that could lead to Ottmar Valhalder. As a result, he’d discovered a few things.

“I heard from Iino,” I said. “She says you discovered the savior whose ability matches this Angel Puppeteer, as well as the lineage that inherited their blood. She also mentioned it was all thanks to your hard work.”

“That’s more praise than I deserve. I simply did what I must,” Gordon replied.

“I’m grateful for your efforts. Have there been any developments in your investigation since then?”

“Yes. I visited the family and asked for their story.”

Despite being so busy, he’d gone around gathering information personally. He probably had this kind of disposition to begin with, but he was likely spurred by the trust Iino had in him too.

“I’ll start with the conclusion,” Gordon continued. “I can confirm that a man like Ottmar exists. His name is different, but his age and appearance are a definite match. He was a member of the Holy Order ten years ago.”

“Ten years ago...? As in past tense?”

“That’s right. After looking into it again, I managed to confirm it. An entire group of knights was annihilated while out on a mission. Records indicate he was one of them. Our investigation had focused on a man named Ottmar currently affiliated with the order, including the possibility that he was using an alias, but we hadn’t thought of looking into records of the dead from ten years ago.”

That was understandable. It wasn’t as if a computer stored all their data, so there was a limit to what they could search. Their management was scrupulous as it was to have proper records in the first place.

“Everything from this point on is simple conjecture,” Gordon said. “It is believed that Ottmar ran away while out on his mission. There are many cases where the dead cannot be retrieved, so all those who do not return are generally treated as deceased. Our opinion is that Travis then picked him up.”

“Picked him up?”

“Yes. Running from monsters is a great dishonor for a knight of the Holy Order. The man we believe to be Ottmar Valhalder comes from a noble family, as minor as it is, so the dishonor of cowardice would’ve been a major problem for them. We believe Travis took advantage of that to order him around. Travis excelled at manipulating others through their weaknesses.”

Only that last sentence came out with an air of irritation. The Holy Order had its own set of problems, it seemed, but I set that aside for now and kept my thoughts on the present.

“In other words, Ottmar and his group are former knights of the Holy Order?” I asked.

“The particulars may go beyond what we know, of course... Either way, it has recently come to our attention that Travis had something like a private army that moved on his whim because of blackmail. It wouldn’t be strange for former knights to be among them. The valuable magic tools of the great saviors might also have been in the possession of such people.”

Ottmar had claimed not to be part of the Fourth Company. If he was part of Travis’s private army, then his statement wasn’t a lie. Still...

“Senpai,” Katou cut in. She’d recovered from the little incident and now spoke calmly. “This doesn’t quite click with what I heard from you and Rose.”

“Yeah. I was thinking the same thing,” I agreed.

“What do you mean?” Gordon asked with a dubious look.

“The Ottmar we met acted like a model soldier,” I said, remembering the expressionless face of the man who’d almost seemed like a puppet himself. “I feel like threatening him wouldn’t be enough to manipulate him.”

“Mrgh...”

“This is nothing more than our impression of him, though. We don’t have any proof or anything.”

This wasn’t the kind of thing we could find an answer to on the spot. In order to be ready for anything, it was best to make up for a lack of definite information by narrowing down the possibilities. It was a boon to find out that Ottmar wasn’t an official knight of the Holy Order.

If that was the case, he was limited in what he could do. On the off chance that he was still after my life, I had official knights guarding me. Having the power of their organization behind us made a big difference. Also, as for whether our guards could be trusted, it seemed that wouldn’t be a problem. I could tell that much upon meeting Gordon.

“I will give out detailed instructions to my subordinates, including what you just told me, and commence our duty of escorting you,” Gordon said, interlacing his rugged fingers on top of the table and squeezing them. “I will also devote myself to your protection. On my honor as the Radiant Wings of the Holy Order, I will protect all of you.”

I could sense his ardor for completing his duty in his words. He conducted himself as a knight much like Shiran did. Not everyone of the Holy Order was like Travis. There were also those who were distressed by the current situation and doing everything in their power to resolve it. I believed I could trust him to escort us all the way to the imperial capital.

Now accompanied by an escort detail, our journey to the capital proceeded smoothly. It was only a little farther to our destination. However, that was when we encountered something unexpected. At the town right before reaching the capital, we saw an army of two thousand men under the command of Margrave Maclaurin.