996. Imperial Capital
You must be about to rest, right? I have prepared a meal.
Did she prepare in advance? How did she know?
With these thoughts, Krang cast his gaze toward the back of the woman named Ilain Rengadis. He saw several people with bushes and dirt clinging to their boots. There were also three or four others still catching their breath and shrugging their shoulders, and every single one of them was a nimble beastman.
Suin.
Although Dunbakel’s sense of smell is said to be special even among beastmen, even without that special quality, a beastman’s sense of smell was clearly superior to that of other species.
A trained beastman becomes an outstanding ranger.
Just because I entered the Empire, the common sense of the continent did not change.
I waited for them to come, observed them, and prepared the meal.
He boiled the stew and prepared the food very slowly, then calculated the time when his party would arrive before releasing the aroma in earnest.
From the perspective of the person receiving this, it must look like magic.
It was similar to what Crys does. It makes the opponent feel like they have predicted everything.
That big-eyed guy didn’t intend all of it, though.
That guy often moves on the fly, adapting to the moment rather than expecting.
The woman who was the owner of the merchant guild, smiling sweetly right in front of me, resembled Crys yet didn’t. She had calculated exactly which side of herself to reveal. She had shown them her abilities.
That’s fun.
Krang continued to smile as he observed the situation. Upon closer inspection, the majority of those approaching were fully interested in Enkrid, not him. It was as if they were merely greeting him and ignoring him.
“So you two are the famous Witch of the Black Flower and the Witch of Gold. A fairy and a witch. A rare combination.”
“Duke Ilaine.”
Seriana responded to her words. Ilain merely acknowledged her with a nod and waited for the two women’s reaction.
Esther remained silent as usual. Sinar didn’t even give her a glance.
“Temares, what do you think of this woman?”
Sinar roughly sensed the criteria Yongin used to evaluate people. She was a merchant, and a woman at that, armed with cunning. Regardless of the exterior she wore, the words that would come out of Temares’s mouth were obvious.
You stink. You’re ugly.
Lemon-colored blonde hair and deep, sunken yellow eyes that looked like gold. Speaking with such mysterious eyes, the strange sensation stemming from that imbalance was enough to leave one bewildered. It was exactly what Sinar had intended.
Ilain was speechless for a moment. Encred, who had been listening nearby, spoke.
You’ve become devious, Sinar.
Sinar skillfully responded to those words.
So doesn’t that make it look more attractive?
Krang, watching from the sidelines, barely managed to suppress a laugh.
Those two never changed, no matter where they were. Ilain was a merchant. That is why he was not pleased with the current situation. He had invested his actions and words, but instead of making a profit, he hadn’t even broken even.
Still, his emotions aren’t showing on his face.
Seriana was no lowly person, but this one was also a formidable figure. Is
the Empire’s embrace truly deep and vast?
All these people work for the Empire. That was quite impressive.
“……You’re an interesting person.”
Ilain was a woman brimming with confidence. That is why she was not swayed by the words of others. In
other words, she skillfully brushed off whatever Yongin said. It was time to be treated to a meal. A beastkin knight within the merchant guild stared intently in this direction.
It must be a news article?
Krang lacked the discernment to recognize a knight, but he possessed the intuition to gauge an opponent’s skill through other means.
That beastman had been staring intently at Encred for some time, and it was obvious from the angle at which the corners of Rem’s mouth curled up, having noticed this. Meanwhile, Encred ate his food heartily. He knew how to sleep when it was time to sleep and eat when it was time to eat. It was an attitude to emulate.
Only after watching them eat did the Royal Guard get his own meal.
You don’t have a single attendant.
Ilain spoke. Krang shrugged his shoulders and replied.
As you can see, it is more comfortable without it.
He has spent more time wandering the continent than as a king. In terms of physical strength alone, Krang was no pushover. Though, he certainly couldn’t be compared to a knight.
Anyway, could this really be called field food? The thoroughly simmered chicken stew and the thick, golden-brown bacon looked like the kind of food that spoils easily.
Cold object.
There must have been many valuable items placed in the merchant tent set up in the back. Krang looked around while eating and drinking, pretending to be uninterested.
Although the Rengadis Merchant Guild belonged to the Empire, its name had spread across the continent, and Rengadis’s combat merchants were even more famous.
Combat merchants were a small group of peddlers who traveled across the continent and were skilled fighters. They roamed about for trade even when bandits and monsters ran rampant on the continent. Krang knew a fair amount about them, as he had encountered one of them a long time ago and traveled with him for a brief while.
There are also several combat peddlers.
At this point, I suppose we should view this as preparation. They knew they were coming and were waiting. Even for the Empire’s top merchant guild, knights aren’t exactly common.
“It looks like they really went all out with a welcome tailored specifically for Encred.”
Krang came to that conclusion, and he was right.
“You must be wondering why I came in person, right?”
Elaine attempted to skillfully lead the conversation.
“No.”
“Not at all.”
Sinar and Esther answered at the same time. It was impossible to take the lead in the conversation in this situation.
“…You are truly difficult people.”
A beauty capable of shaking up a castle wore a troubled smile. However, strangely enough, even though she was being rebuffed like this, no one easily stepped forward.
You already coordinated your story, didn’t you?
“I told you not to get involved no matter what.”
Krang watched, grasping the dynamics of power.
Then why are they going out of their way to step in and act like this?
I don’t know about that either.
After a few words were exchanged and the meal was over, Encred raised his sword.
Come out.
Suddenly? Well, he is a friend who has acted like that more than once, though.
At those words, the Beast Knight rose from his seat. Although he didn’t see anything, had they already silently gauged each other and finished preparing for battle? Judging by their expressions, that seemed to be the case.
A reddish stain ran around the corners of the Beast Knight’s mouth, as he had torn off the half-cooked meat rib by rib.
“It is Rubrataiga of Rengadis.”
“Enkrid of Naurilia.”
He was a friend who looked like he was packed with muscle right up to his head, but he knew exactly where he was and how he needed to act. With that in mind, he referred to himself by putting “Naurilia” before “Border Guard” and drew his sword. The two fought fiercely once again.
Krang, watching from the sidelines, had no idea what was happening.
“Do you think you can win?”
So I asked the head of the Royal Guard.
“Would I know just by watching? However.”
“However?”
“It is hard to imagine a Mad Knight Commander losing.”
“I feel the same way,”
Krang thought as he looked at Rem. He was overflowing with confidence. He would win.
His captain wouldn’t maintain such an attitude if he felt he was going to lose or if the situation was dangerous. Saxen spoke from right behind him, having arrived without anyone noticing.
“He wins. He is slightly better than the knight Phalan I saw before, but he is pretty much the same.”
Krang got goosebumps at the sudden sound, but he nodded without showing it.
When did this guy get here? He’s a ghost-like friend anyway.
Just as he said, Enkrid won. The friend’s face, having finished the fight, was filled with a look of joy accompanied by a faint blush.
That method.
Encred says.
“I didn’t know it would get stuck there.”
Suin received it. One was standing, while the other had their hand on the ground. As they looked at each other, their eyes were devoid of even the slightest hint of malice. “He
is different from Knight Palan.”
Judging by Krang’s own perception, Palan was somewhat messy, but this Suin now seemed like a clean field, even in his heart.
It’s beautiful.
Yongin mutters.
Yeah, that’s one of the standards, too.
For reasons unknown, Yongin suddenly found himself repeatedly remarking on the beauty of anyone he saw who met a certain standard. The same was true for Krang.
“You are a king? You are a beautiful king.”
What is a beautiful king? Krang continued to watch the situation as an observer.
Although the fight was lost, Ilain’s expression was bright.
“You are truly skilled. You are one of the top three practitioners even within the Lubra guild.”
Even after that, Elaine threw bold remarks at Enkrid several times, going beyond mere kindness.
“How about the lady of the merchant guild next to the Black Flower and the Golden Witch? I think a nickname like ‘Lady of the Scales’ would be nice.”
It was half a joke, but it was a joke with a barb from the start. “
So you’re after Encred.”
Well, it didn’t work at all. The fairy snorted and gripped his sword. A beastman knight blocked Ilain’s path.
“You’d better refrain from saying things like that. That fairy seems half-crazy.”
The beast knight spoke. Krang remembered those words because he had heard them several times.
Are there many crazy fairies in the Empire?
Even though it seems like there are no monsters or bandits to be seen in this vast land, this is also a place where people live.
‘I suppose there are problems of their own.’
No, there will be many.
That is the conclusion I reached while talking with Seriana. If there were no problems, there would be no reason for the rule of law or philosopher-kings to exist.
A world where people live.
However, it was a world that was somehow different from what he had known until now.
Krang became an observer and a spectator. Whether fortunate or unfortunate, despite being a king, very few people paid him any attention. This was because their interest was so great in Encred.
The tent provided by the merchant caravan was even equipped with a cot.
That’s right.
Krang fell asleep early. Outside, the sound of Encred fighting a beastman again could be heard.
“You want to do it one more time? I like you, human.”
Suin is a species that is honest in expressing its emotions. He showed boundless favor to Enkrid.
“No, are you saying only the captain will have fun?”
It meant that Rem was going to step forward as well. Krang let those words slip to the side and fell asleep immediately.
They had accompanied the merchant caravan for two days, and while the head of the Rengadis caravan seemed to have Encrid as his target, nothing was achieved in the end. Nevertheless, the woman named Ilain turned away without a second thought.
“Back when we were sending a hawk to border guard, Elaine Gong was mentioned before me, but he flatly refused; yet now he’s acting like this.”
Seriana came and spoke to me in a whisper.
It looks like you don’t get along well.
Krang asked indirectly. Their relationship didn’t seem very pleasant.
“She’s not exactly a good person. She became the head of a merchant guild backed by the power of the Empire, yet she skipped the oath of loyalty.”
So that is what is unpleasant.
Is he a bureaucrat of the Empire with only one foot in it, and the owner of a merchant caravan? Is he a typical opportunist?
For two days, Krang had been near the caravan, picking up bits and pieces of gossip, and had exchanged a few words with Ilain Rengadis.
This was not done with any ulterior motive or purpose, but out of pure interest.
“There are no other merchant guilds in the Empire besides Rengadis.”
All I managed to salvage was this one remark, but that wasn’t a small thing either.
Lockfried pursues mutual growth.
They do not view merchant guilds as competitors, but rather dream of a structure where everyone prospers together.
Rengadis is different. They are a monopoly. They manage and distribute everything themselves. Rather than a merchant guild, they were a kingdom in themselves.
Even as we passed through the road again, guests kept arriving.
“You are the Demon? I am Namar of the Lightning Hand. Can we duel?”
He was a Black man with a face so pitch black that he likely wouldn’t need any concealment at night. Judging by the
fact that Temares didn’t say much, he wasn’t trying to hide any sinister intentions or approach with any ulterior motives.
He had literally come after hearing rumors about the mad knight order from the continent.
As much as you want.
Encreed welcomed them all. However, he did not stop the moving carriage. He simply took advantage of the spare moments along the way.
Those approaching also seemed busy.
Perhaps it was a relief, but there was no surprise attack of the kind that had occurred at the beginning. Even if there had been, it wouldn’t have been of much use.
“Well, people just keep coming.”
The female coachwoman and assassin, who had probably just leaked all the information about the party, spoke with one eyebrow furrowed.
Speak from a distance.
Saxen showed wariness as he looked at her.
Krang encountered three more Imperial Knights who paid no heed to his presence. He simply watched, as he couldn’t understand the fighting process.
Following the man named Lightning Hand, two more people took the carriage, and Encred exchanged sword blows with all of them. He sparred seriously with some, and lightly with others.
“Your skills are truly outstanding. I hope you will stay in the Empire.”
In the meantime, there are also articles that reveal their true feelings.
Do I not even matter to you?
If asked whether the knight’s intentions were malicious, that was not the case either. He had purely suggested that Encrid take something better.
It simply meant he was a tactless knight. With that, I picked up the pace a little and visited two more new imperial cities. The cities were all large, and their walls were high.
There are many mountains to climb to reach the capital, the heart of the empire.
If a fight were to break out, simply knowing the terrain of this area would be helpful.
Krang habitually memorized the shape of the surrounding land, the topography, and the layout of the cities. He even found it amusing in the process.
The Empire was certainly more advanced than the continent. This was true of the food culture, but daily necessities were far more sophisticated compared to the continent. For instance, even a single wooden bowl was properly carved. He wasn’t impressed by the bowls themselves, but rather by the wide variety and high quality of the various goods sold in the shops.
“Generally, the level is high.”
The objects used and the level of consciousness of the people living there were like that. On top of that, all species were mingled. It was a place distinctly different from the continent in atmosphere and scent.
Giants and Frocks shared drinks, and humans and beastmen
strolled like lovers. I observed all of it, taking in what was worth taking in and letting go of what was not. I carefully observed what left a deep impression and could apply, and skipped over what I couldn’t understand.
If Crys had come, he would have excitedly examined everything closely. Moreover, while there were differences from the continent, there were also many similarities.
Unifying the currency and the language.
Was it intentionally designed to evolve into a similar style?
I don’t know. Krang arrived at the imperial capital with doubts in mind.
Could such grandeur be described in words? Krang had no confidence in his ability to describe the gates and walls currently before his eyes.
Golden trees were carved into the pure white gates, and the towering walls stretching to the left and right were certainly too high for even a knight to cross.
He didn’t even feel like counting the number of spires. The outer gate opened, and Krang and his party stepped inside. Finally, it was the imperial capital.
