novelraw Chapter 114 : Chapter 114
Chapter 114 : Chapter 114
Chapter 114 : Erundel
Heeeeigh!
"Erundel... it hasn't changed."
A massive fortress wall dyed by the setting sun. From the street where countless people could be seen entering through its open gate, Anthony's horse came to a halt.
Thanks to him, Muno too was able to stop the sprint that had continued for half a day.
"How is it, Sir Muno? The scenery of the largest city in the south?"
To Rantor's question, who stood beside him, Muno gave an unrelated answer.
"Hoo-uk. Huk. The Red Iron Knightly Order's horses... are they all... usually like that?"
"Hmm?"
Muno's panting gaze was not directed at the distant fortress walls of Erundel, but at Anthony and Rantor's horses.
He couldn't help it.
'Even for a fine horse, there's a limit...'
As the matter was of great importance, they had spent all their time running, except for one meal a day and about four hours of sleep.
Thanks to that, they were able to cover a distance that would take two weeks by horse in just five days.
On the first day, he didn't know much about horses, so he just let it be, but even now, after running at full speed for five days, the two men's horses looked perfectly fine.
Even though a 6-Star knight's body, while probably lighter than his own, would be a mass of weight far exceeding that of an ordinary person.
It was embarrassing to the point that he, who prided himself on having endurance and speed that transcended his species, was panting.
"Are they horses that have learned some kind of Corporeal Arts?"
To the half-complaining, half-joking words, Rantor gave a strange smile.
"I can't tell you about these Red Iron horses, it's a royal secret."
Pfrrr.
'Could it be true? No way, right?'
The smile on his face as he proudly stroked the horse's mane was strangely unsettling.
"And, who's the bigger monster for keeping up with such horses on foot?"
Seeing Rantor laughing at his flustered state, it felt awkward to ask any more.
'Red Iron horse? It looks ordinary, but it even has a name...'
He had thought there were no similarities between the two horses, but upon closer inspection, they both had a red dot-like mark between their eyebrows.
'After I clean out all those bugs, I should ask for that horse as a reward... no, forget it.'
He felt a pang of envy, but it was only for a moment.
Now that he had solidified his own path and was on the verge of another evolution.
'If I just evolve one more time...'
His body weight would skyrocket again, and then even that Red Iron horse or whatever it was would have trouble carrying him and running at full speed.
"In the end, I'm destined to be on foot for the rest of my life... aigh..."
"Hmm? What was that?"
"No, it's nothing."
As his street life complex was needlessly brought up again, he quickly shook his head to clear his mind of idle thoughts.
Except for the constant appearance of enemies threatening his life, everything in his current life was more abundant than his past life.
The constant stream of useless thoughts was probably just a victim mentality stemming from the experiences of his past life.
Wait a minute...?
'...Wouldn't it be better to live a slightly less abundant life without enemies threatening my life?'
So my life is, f*ck...
Complex thoughts once again took over his mind.
"...Sir Muno!? Sir Muno!?"
"Ah! Yes?"
"My goodness. You're good at everything, but the problem is that you sometimes zone out and get lost in thought."
"Ah. Zoning out? I'm sorry. It's a habit, I'm trying to fix it."
Actually, it's not working well. Damn it.
"...Hitting what?"
"Ah, it's nothing."
"Hmm. Anyway, as we discussed, we'll first enter with our identities concealed and start by searching the city. We'll first inspect the inner castle..."
"If nothing unusual is found, we'll expand the search area to the villages outside the castle. I remember."
"That's right. Take this."
Rantor nodded and threw a small silver rod-like object.
"...What is this?"
He asked back, looking at the silver rod that seemed to contain a faint amount of mana.
"It's a consumable artifact. It changes the color of armor or equipment. The duration is one week. However, be aware that the effect disappears if it receives a shock beyond a certain degree."
"Ah..."
For both the Red Iron Knightly Order and himself, the most conspicuous thing was, after all, the color of the armor.
"The identification plaque is here..."
Fwip.
Another silver steel plaque flew over, engraved with the unfamiliar personal information: 'Knight Lumpen, of the Capital's Outer Castle Guard.'
Seeing that it also contained a slight amount of mana, this too was an artifact.
"That identification plaque can be used continuously by changing the name, so never lose it."
"...Yes. Understood."
"Three knights entering together will likely draw attention, so we'll enter at different times. And..."
"We'll get separate lodgings, and meet under 'that tower' at midnight after the search."
"That's right. If we find a trail of the cultists before nightfall..."
"We'll send a signal in our own ways. I remember."
"Good. Vice-Commander?"
"Yes. I'll go first. And Sir Muno."
"Yes?"
"It's not often a knight comes running, covered in dust and without a horse, so think of a suitable excuse. Ahem."
...Damn it.
- Squeal.
Even the cry of an unknown bird flying overhead felt like it was mocking him.
'...I miss Miya.'
That black shadow reminded him of the baby dragon he had held in his arms for just a few days, and his mood sank for no reason.
* * *
"Sir Lumpen? Don't tell me you just ran all the way here...?"
"Ah, I ran into some robbers on the way. I beat them all up, but my horse..."
"Oh dear, what a shame."
The captain of Erundel's north gate gestured towards the inside of the city gate with a face that didn't look the least bit pitiful.
Muno continued to respond with a nasal voice to the gesture of that person, who was just indifferently and cursorily checking his identification plaque.
"By the way, why do you keep holding your nose while you speak?"
"Ah, I have a... a peculiar constitution..."
Actually, it was because of the smell.
Unlike Ironheart, Erundel's fortress walls had no special measures, and a foul smell of filth wafted from the entrance of the city gate.
'I heard that many large cities still don't have sewage systems.'
Damn it.
Erundel must have been one of those 'old-fashioned' large cities.
Fortunately, the guard captain didn't seem very interested in him, or rather, in any of the people passing through.
"Ah. Hah, I hope only good things happen to you in Erundel."
"...Yeh."
Sighing, he stepped into Erundel.
The silver armor revealed through his robe looked a little awkward.
But even more awkward was the scene that soon unfolded before his eyes.
"Imperial silk for a mere...!"
"Northern monster hide! For winter clothes with strong and tough leather...!"
"Fruit! Get your fruit here!"
Waggle waggle.
Buildings and people that filled his vision.
A large city with a resident population of 200,000 within the high and wide fortress walls that deserved the description 'massive', and a total population of over 500,000 when including the surrounding villages and territory.
It might have been a scene befitting the reputation of the largest city in the southern region of Iron and a trading city close to the border with the Empire, but.
Considering the report he had heard beforehand, the one that had become the reason for this mission, it was a very strange thing.
- Dozens of people are going missing in Erundel every day.
'...Was the report wrong?'
A scene that looked so peaceful it made him think that.
Even when he extended the Demon Devourer's senses as far as he could among the bustling crowd, not a single speck of demonic energy was detected.
And around that time, he began to get used to the city's smell of filth.
"Hmm..."
Scratch scratch.
In a city with a population of about 500,000, more than ten people went missing a day.
If something like that had happened in Korea in his past life, there would probably have been an uproar.
'Was that report really wrong...?'
But he couldn't jump to conclusions.
Circumstantially, it was more likely that the information about the incident was being blocked, rather than the royal family's information being wrong.
So, investigation first.
'First, I need to find Rauel...'
He fully utilized the Demon Devourer's senses, searching for the shape or smell of a familiar person in his surroundings.
'This really makes me feel like a dog.'
After three evolutions, almost all of his physical abilities had been amplified equally.
Among them, his sense of smell, which was already sensitive, had developed even further.
He had definitely felt that fact recently while hunting on the streets.
So, he had tried it, thinking that he might really be able to find people by their scent like a dog, but.
He couldn't feel anything right away.
Thinking of Rauel for no reason only brought to mind the party's request.
- A colleague you trust? Well, if you take responsibility, it should be fine.
- If that's the case...
- Don't forget one thing, this mission is the King's command before it is your revenge. Think carefully about how far the responsibility for your mistakes will reach.
- ...I will still take responsibility.
- Hah...
Heh.
The permission he had obtained by pretending not to understand Anthony's negative gaze and Rantor's indirect refusal.
But he truly believed that Rauel would be helpful.
'In this kind of situation, a former assassin would be more helpful than me, who knows nothing, or those lofty knights.'
Of course, he was a little doubtful whether Rauel had entered Erundel faster than the party that had sprinted like crazy, but.
- I'll go ahead and investigate, and when Sir Muno arrives, I'll find you right away.
- How?
- ...It's a trade secret.
He wanted to believe in that incomprehensible confidence for once.
"Hey, young knight! Come take a look at these imperial weapons~!"
"Sir Knight! First time in Erundel!? Our Angel's Staircase is the best lodging..."
While moderately ignoring the sharp-eyed hawkers who approached him after seeing a part of his armor revealed through his robe, he carefully looked around.
All he could feel were the unfamiliar smells of the market here.
'Is it because I like pork that I'm particularly good at finding wild boars?'
Just as his trust in his own sense of smell began to dwindle.
'...Oh! Found you, Rauel.'
He felt a familiar scent approaching from a distance.
'It works?'
Of course, it didn't seem like he could track from as far away as he had hoped, but at the very least, he could immediately feel that a 'known scent' was approaching.
Not long after that, familiar arrowheads and a dagger were detected nearby.
'The Demon Devourer's detection range is the widest, followed by smell, and then metal detection, I guess.'
As Muno was sorting out the ranking of his search-related(?) senses, a familiar voice rang in his ear.
"Sir Muno, over here."
"Rauel."
When he turned his head as if he had been waiting, he saw Rauel, dressed in a shabby robe similar to his own.
She wore a black mesh-like mask under her hood, and under her loose robe, she seemed to be wearing tight-fitting black leather armor.
It was a very suspicious attire for an ordinary woman to be wearing in broad daylight.
"You're not surprised? Ah, right. The weapon is really..."
Putting aside how she had found him right away when she wasn't a bloodhound like him.
"No, you, in that state right now...?"
"There are more strange people here."
Rauel, who smiled sweetly from under her mesh mask, shrugged her shoulders instead.
After hearing her words and looking around again, the sight of the city with various people walking around caught his eye once more.
Half of the passersby were hiding not only their bodies but also their faces with robes.
And about another half were openly carrying weapons.
"The resident population is large, but the floating population is much larger. To the point where no one cares about something like this."
A dry laugh escaped at Rauel's words.
Come to think of it, it certainly seemed that way.
He knew the population here was less than half of Ironheart's, but the number of people he could see right now was much greater.
"It is said that most of the missing people were outsiders, so it took time for the incident to become known."
"Hmm?"
"The place Sir Muno mentioned, it's the data investigated by El."
What she handed him was a thin booklet.
"To summarize, as many as fifteen or sixteen people are disappearing a day. It is presumed to have started three months ago when Marquis Deorte Osnal led the family's elites to the capital..."
He had met the lord of this city, Marquis Deorte Osnal, before.
'That bald old man...'
The biggest supporter of the 3rd Prince's faction.
"...They say they can't find a trace of the suspect. It seems they targeted powerless vagrants, outsiders, or those who have no one around to report them missing. I too, for two days, only caught the tail of one..."
"Two days?"
"Yes. That's when I arrived."
Hul.
What on earth did you ride to get here, I wonder.
Rauel continued to speak, unconcerned.
"Anyway, I caught one of the kidnappers, but even his head exploded in the process of capturing and torturing him. It seems there was some strange kind of restriction on him. These guys, could they be the same organization as the ones who attacked you at the royal castle, Sir Muno?"
Gray eyes shining brightly from under the mesh.
Seeing those eyes, another dry laugh escaped.
Rauel seemed to be overly competent.
Just as he was about to say some words of praise.
Swoosh.
'Hmm?'
Muno unconsciously turned to look at a young man with pure white hair who was brushing past him.
A heavy weight hidden within an ordinary gait. The resulting ripple in the surrounding air had caught his sensitive senses.
A youthful face that could be called a boy's if not for his build, which was close to his own.
'At least 4-Star. At that age?'
Moreover, at that moment.
The red eyes of that pure white-haired young man were also looking back at him with a strange gaze as he brushed past.
For some reason, he also got the feeling that he had 'recognized' him.
Eyes that quickly scanned his armor and entire body.
'He's not a Magic Knight. He's not, but...'
I felt strangely unpleasant.
When his eyes met those of that unusually handsome young man, the strange smile on his lips was as if.
- You're worse than me.
It felt like it was conveying those words.
'What the...?'
It must be an absurd victim mentality.
There's no way he could communicate with a guy he was seeing for the first time with just a look.
Strangely, he felt a strong conviction.
Was that why?
"...Rabbit?"
At the words that slipped out without him realizing it, he saw the young man's face contort.