997. Lord Donapa
It was the group that entered first, leaving behind those lined up in front of the city wall. Four soldiers guarding the system stood on the left and right, blocking their path.
It is a good day.
One of the soldiers, presumed to be the highest-ranking of the four, spoke.
He was wearing studded leather armor, and the joints were made of tightly spaced chains. I wondered if it was a type of armor I had never seen before, but its effectiveness was evident at a glance.
We considered defensive capabilities while maintaining mobility.
He wore a short club and a long sword at his waist, and held a spear in his hand that was neither long nor short.
It is efficient.
Encred thought so upon seeing the soldier’s armament. He must have been trained to skillfully handle all three forms of weaponry: spears, swords, and blunt weapons.
One of the soldiers stepped forward and looked around the group. He was a soldier with reddish hair and narrow eyes, and he was the gatekeeper.
I heard they are coming.
After exchanging greetings and wishing him a happy day, I stepped aside without picking a fight. No, I guided him. The people standing in line at the castle gate peered in and looked up. “Who is going in first? What is it? He must be a noble.”
It was a tiring schedule.
The gatekeeper bowed his head more deeply to Seriana than to anyone else. He had shown respect to Balmung, but he expressed even deeper reverence toward Seriana.
Naturally, he had just pulled the carriage over to one side. Horses and carriages were gathered in the wide open space next to the guard post, where those who had not been able to pass through the gate and those undergoing investigation were gathered.
It was after passing the vicinity of the guard post.
I’d love to show you around the city, but I suppose we’ll have to put that off until later.
The female assassin who had been acting as a coachwoman spoke, and the party naturally followed her.
There were five long avenues leading to the castle gate. In front of the leftmost of these paths stood a guard post—a building slightly taller than an average human male, open on all sides with no windows and covered only by a roof—and the party passed by it.
It was not a path usually taken by just anyone. Two additional soldiers stood guard in front of the post, but neither of them particularly turned their gaze. They merely glanced briefly and turned away as if brushing past.
It’s not that I don’t seem interested.
Were they soldiers with strict discipline? They appeared so. There wasn’t much difference in caliber between them and the soldiers guarding the border.
Although they had entered in disregard of the rules, no one was making a fuss behind their backs. The class system was clear here as well.
After all, no one would pick a fight on the road where a noble’s carriage passed.
Encred concluded that the five main avenues all served different purposes.
For instance, stalls were scattered to the left and right of the road directly ahead, and it was the widest of the flagstone-lined paths.
Carriages loaded with all kinds of goods came and went ceaselessly along it. It looked chaotic just to look at, yet for the people for whom this had become their daily routine, they walked, ran, sold goods, and ate things like potatoes right where they sat, all without a second thought.
Nowril was chaotic, too, if you could call it that.
It can’t be compared.
The difference in population density was also evident. Giants, ploks, beastmen, fairies, dwarves, and humans.
Except for the dragonmen, everyone was visible and packed tightly. It felt like looking at a wheat field overflowing with a bountiful harvest.
“You damn bastard, are you picking a fight?”
True to a place where people live, a fight broke out on one side. It wasn’t far away, so it was clearly visible and audible. Encred and his entire party walked along, taking in the scenery. After all, isn’t watching a fight the true spectacle of a city?
A beastman let out a fierce roar, and Prosecutor Frock, standing opposite him, hooked his hand onto his loop grip. In response, the beastman’s claws shot out.
It looked as though they would explode at the slightest touch.
“stop.”
A soldier in charge of security approached and stopped them. It wasn’t that the soldier was incompetent, but he wasn’t at a level to intervene between the two so unhesitatingly; yet, he did just that. The funny thing is, that stopped the fight. Even while snorting in frustration, both the beastman and the frock obeyed his command.
Absolute power.
It was a strange remark that came to Enkrid’s mind as he looked at it, and Krang shared a similar thought.
It was an aspect of the city and system where status and the rule of law, rather than military force, took precedence above all
else. The group averted their gaze and walked along the main road to the left, where few people passed by and only groups of soldiers standing guard were visible.
‘Did Nowril’s outer road model this place after this?’
Krang’s eyes scanned the road and the surroundings. It was a road similar to the outer ring road of Nowril. It looked larger and longer, though.
We call it ‘Root Road’.
Celiana added a fitting explanation. It was Balmung, of course, but those who recognized her earlier had been bowing respectfully with a stern posture. Even the soldiers who seemed to be gatekeepers were doing so.
Two soldiers guarding the entrance to the path called Root Path bowed deeply as they looked at her.
“Root path? Is there a separate meaning to it?”
Krang matched her pace and asked. Two soldiers stared intently at Krang, but their gazes were by no means pleasant. Malice and hostility were subtly mixed in. Should I say it was as if they were asking, “Who do you think you are to dare speak to us?”
Encred looked back at the two soldiers. “
I don’t like your eyes.”
As the knight watched with such a mindset, Balmung subtly absorbed that intensity.
“Understand. Duke Seriana holds a somewhat special position among the soldiers guarding the system.”
It was said to imply that it was inevitable for her to look with disdain at a stranger who dared to speak to her. Of course, Encreed ignored him and suppressed the two soldiers with an intimidating presence.
It may have looked like she was picking a fight without reason, but that was not the case.
It was the Emperor who had invited her to the capital. Even if the welcoming crowds weren’t showering her with flower petals, she could not simply let two soldiers glare at the King of a nation.
Encreed was unpretentious, but she had not forgotten where she was and knew exactly where she stood.
She had set out as the King’s Guardian Knight. She could not just sit by and watch soldiers with such ominous eyes.
Naturally, seeing Encreed step forward in this manner, Saxen and Rem exuded a similar aura.
“Eyes?”
In the meantime, Esther asked Encred for his opinion. It would make a very good example if he were to gouge out his eyes for a moment.
The legs of the two soldiers trembled. No matter how well-trained they were, the majority of this party were knights.
“Well, this is something.”
Balmung licked his lips. Those two soldiers had indeed crossed the line a bit.
How dare you be rude to my guest?
Seriana scolded the two soldiers. Immediately, the two soldiers knelt on one knee.
“Forgive me.”
“I am sorry.”
“It’s alright. Just make sure you keep an eye on those eyes.”
Seriana spoke as if she had swallowed a block of ice and walked past the two. Then, she returned to a kind tone and finished what she had been saying. Since
what she was going to say was interesting and she had also scolded them harshly, it was difficult to pressure the two soldiers any further.
To be precise about the meaning, it signifies that this root ultimately connects to the tree known as the Imperial Palace. There are five main roads in the system; this is the Root Road, the largest is the Leaf Road, and the others are called the Fruit Road, Flower Road, and Branch Road.
At those words, Sinar looked at her. It was because it was similar to the way the city of Kirhais is distinguished.
The beginning of the system was the City of Fairies.
Seriana finished speaking. Instead of answering, Sinar looked at her with cold eyes. She was still a target of suspicion.
“Are you saying fairies founded the empire?”
Krang asked the last question. As we walked past two soldiers, a carriage emerged from a gate large and high enough for three or four people to stand hand in hand by the roadside.
There were four soldiers pulling the carriage. All four looked in our direction, bowed, and then led the carriage.
“Please get in.”
Naturally, Seriana led everyone. The female assassin who had joined them on the way here stepped aside.
“That is the end of my role. See you again. Georg’s Master.”
At those words, Saxony’s eyebrows twitched. So you knew me.
Was saying I was handsome and pretending to be interested just to cause unnecessary confusion?
“It must be a joy to see that face again. The Knight Commander is handsome, but you’re more my type.”
Judging by what she added, she didn’t necessarily intend to cause confusion. Rem chuckled at the remark, but Saxon ignored her.
“You will understand what you are curious about once you go and meet His Imperial Majesty. It is coming up soon, isn’t it?”
Seriana looked much more at ease from the moment she entered the island. She looked as if she had returned home after a long journey.
Then, Krang, Encrid, Saxen, and others boarded the carriage, and Balmung volunteered to be the coachman.
“I’ll handle it. If I leave it to you guys, we’ll just end up shedding blood for no reason.”
At Balmung’s words, the soldiers stepped back. Yet, no one asked who the party was.
The conversation was over, and since Celiana and Balmung were together, there was nothing left to argue about.
The carriage they had transferred to also seemed to have some kind of device installed, as it shook less than expected given its speed. The rest of the party boarded the carriage following behind, and even then, there wasn’t enough room, so they even provided a horse. And so they continued on and on. The capital was vast. After traveling for quite a while, looking ahead, the Imperial Palace came into view in the distance.
It is resistance.
Unlike the outer fortress, the inner fortress looked like a dull, gray block of stone, aside from its size. Its appearance clearly bore the traces of a long history. The soldier guarding the front had a different aura from those seen before.
Did you finally come?
There is a man who acts like he knows Balmung after seeing him.
“You?”
There was one woman who suddenly looked at Encred and acted as if she knew him.
Both were knights. The Empire was overflowing with knights. Moreover, the two standing in front of them were not of low caliber.
Even compared to Count Coty.
“I don’t think I’ll be pushed back that much.”
Along with this thought, Encreed stared intently at the woman asking him.
If you stare at me with those eyes.
The woman paused for a moment, then continued speaking.
“My heart is pounding. Is it because you like me?”
“No.”
Sinar was the one who answered. He was faster than anyone, stepping forward as if to completely block the gaze of Encred and the female knight.
The female knight’s gaze shifted to the fairy. The woman had an impressive appearance, marked by a scar running from her lip to her ear.
She was just so-so in looks. Compared to the fairy, she was like a firefly in front of the sun, but perhaps she was still charming in her own way.
Her dull yellow hair looked more like just yellow than blonde, and her hair was dry and brittle, as if she usually paid no attention to her appearance.
Encred thought of Aesia, and the female knight spoke, her lips curving slightly upward.
“I am Borshnada of the Imperial 1st Knight Order.”
“I am Sinar, your fiancée.”
When the fairy answered again, a knight named Borsina tilted his head.
If you explain it like that, who would know?
Encred got out of the carriage with a single word and continued speaking.
“It seems you already know, so I suppose I can skip the introduction?”
“Is this Encred of the Madman?”
While Borshina was speaking, the male knight also chimed in.
Count Coty praised me without ceasing.
Did they send a letter by flying a crow on the way?
Or perhaps there is a means within the Empire to convey information, even for such trivial matters?
It seemed likely the latter.
Well, that was just a thought of Krang as he listened to the knights’ conversation. Encred watched the two knights with an indifferent gaze.
These two looked quite amusing. Their determination to take on each other was clear.
In this light, Balmung was the gentleman. These two didn’t exactly hide their aura either.
It was just as they were briefly gauging each other’s strength.
“Yes, it is you guys.”
Behind the two knights emerged a man wearing a doublet that seemed tightly cinched around the neck and a flowing robe. He wore two jeweled rings on each hand and had a moderately toned physique. In other words, by any measure, he was not a knight, nor did he have a body of regular training.
He stood between the two knights nonchalantly and looked at Encred. Without needing to scrutinize him two or three times, he was an ordinary person. At least, that was the case through the eyes of a knight.
Lord Donapa.
Seriana called out to him. “Lord” meant a nobleman who owned a territory. Within the system, it was a title reserved for nobles who possessed significant influence.
“Seriana, so, did you enjoy the trip?”
This man was the one who had pushed Seriana into this situation. Seriana narrowed her brows, then relaxed them as she answered.
It was better than expected.
As he did so, he subtly revealed his displeasure. The man, Donapa, nodded without even smiling.
His attitude made him seem like someone with a clear sense of his own world, regardless of what the other person said. Krang, who had been watching him quietly, suddenly spoke up. Depending on the situation, a single word can be shocking, and this was exactly that time. It was a remark thrown out purely on a hunch, yet it was truly fitting.
“assassin?”
It was after a very brief silence. Donapa was not flustered.
“Yes, I sent you, King of Naurilia.”
Krang looked at him calmly. Their eyes exchanged, but the atmosphere wasn’t as rough as expected.
Krang didn’t get angry, and Donapa acted like someone who had simply done what was expected of him—fulfilled his duty.
The atmosphere didn’t get too strained because they seemed like people who had just met while doing their own thing.
