Kays Translations

Chapter 32

While Same and his companions were solving a minor issue…

A far greater problem was about to descend upon the Holy Kingdom of Lendia and its capital city, Lindblum.

At the heart of the matter—the royal palace—individuals who served as the core of the nation’s defense and also wielded great power as its vanguard were being gathered.

These individuals, known as the “Thirteen Knights,” were either knights of the kingdom or members of Lindblum’s General Guild. They were currently sitting around a large round table, alongside the queen who ruled the country, and Burke, the head of the General Guild, to discuss a matter that had recently become a significant concern: the “manufacturing of artificial magical beasts.”

“Everyone, thank you very much for coming. I especially thank the Thirteen Knights for making time despite your busy schedules.”

As the queen expressed her solemn gratitude to them, one person quickly responded with a critical tone.

“Thirteen Knights? I think you mean twelve, don’t you, Your Majesty?”

A slightly rough voice corrected the number of people gathered.

“…No, I have no intention of changing the title. Even if one has left for now… I believe they will definitely return one day.”

From her words, it was clear that one of the Thirteen Knights had renounced the title and disappeared out of sight.

“Now then, Burke. Could you recap the recent incidents in Lindblum for everyone here to hear?”

“As you wish.”

Burke, both the head of the General Guild and one of those responsible for Lindblum’s administration, began explaining the recent events that happened.

“Recently, due to reports of strange monsters near Lindblum—such as powerful wyverns and large, mysterious beasts drifting down the river—we posted high-level investigation requests on the adventurers’ and mercenaries’ guild boards.”

“Ah, I saw those. Actually, I took out a few of those beasts and reported it too.”

The rough-spoken man chimed in, without even bothering to adjust his tone.

“Yes, that’s right. However, it seems those monsters weren’t the only ones. We’ve since received the heads of numerous monsters, ones that appeared further modified or enhanced. Embedded in their foreheads were magical devices of unknown origin.”

At the mention of magical devices, several people reacted sharply.

“W-What kind of structure did they have? What design or function do you think they serve?”

“Currently, the Alchemists’ Guild and the Mages’ Guild are jointly analyzing them. So far, we believe the devices may ‘send signals to control the monster’s will’ or ‘overload the brain with magic power to transform the body.’”

“My, my… That sounds like forbidden magic. I must get involved in this analysis at once.”

The woman who spoke passionately was a member of the Thirteen Knights, clad in a white lab coat.

“And who was the one that brought in these monster heads, Lord Burke?”

“An adventurer. Just a regular one.”

“That’s rather odd, isn’t it? That wild dog over there said he already took some of those monsters out. But now there’s another adventurer capable of defeating even more enhanced versions?”

“Who’re you calling a wild dog, you bath-crazy woman? I’ll dunk you in a tub!”

“Oh, my apologies. But really, don’t flatter me so much, calling me a bath maniac.”

The one teasing playfully, while also voicing doubt about the identity of the mysterious adventurer, was none other than Schuris Veil, an adventurer who had once crossed paths with Same and was also a member of the Thirteen Knights.

“He’s just an ordinary adventurer. So I can’t share too many details, but… he’s a good person. That said, I doubt even I could defeat him in a fair fight.”

Responding to that was Remiya, a woman attending the meeting as Burke’s escort.

Her presence at this confidential meeting made it clear—she, too, was one of the Thirteen Knights.

Though her strengths lay in covert operations and assassination, the fact that even she claimed she couldn’t win against the adventurer caused several members to stir.

“Hmm… Could it be that blonde young man? A rather good-looking fellow, if memory serves. Does he look like that?”

“No, not at all.”

Schuris briefly thought of a mysterious and impressive young man she had recently met, but the description didn’t match.

Though… in essence, she wasn’t wrong.

“Sounds suspicious to me. Just arrest him already and interrogate him.”

“That would be impossible. Lord Burke and I have both conducted several ‘tests’ to understand his nature. We concluded he is extremely virtuous. He’s too valuable to treat as a threat—we’ve decided to avoid any hostile action.”

Remiya thus expressed her assessment of the man called Silent.

“That’s how it is. Some of you may be dissatisfied, but I personally decided he should be granted Sapphire Rank in the Adventurers’ Guild immediately. He not only secured monster samples but also captured a possible key figure in the plot, and repelled and captured guild attackers—all in just two days. He is, quite literally, a ‘rookie with great promise.'”

“That just makes him even more suspicious. Fine, I’ll investigate him myself. Don’t try to stop me.”

“Hmm. Remiya, your thoughts?”

The man continued to act confrontational, still wary of Silent.

To that, Remiya responded:

“We had three members from the mercenary guild affiliated with Lord Vias’s clan ‘Revolt’ help test him. All three were instantly defeated before they could do anything. When asked if he could be stopped if he turned hostile, their reply was: ‘Even our boss might not be able to.'”

And thus, the name of the rough-spoken man—Vias, a member of the Thirteen Knights and head of the mercenary trio—was revealed.

Learning that Silent was potentially as powerful as, or stronger than, himself left Vias with a serious impression—

“Kuh! So my guys said that person is even better than me, huh!? Then they must be really something! Tell me their name—where are they now!?”

“They’ve already left the city and headed west. Most likely toward the port town.”

“Tell me their name—and what they look like, too.”

“I refuse. I will not leak information that would needlessly reduce our fighting power.”

“Fine then. I’ll just search every town to the west, one by one. It won’t take long to track the movements of a new adventurer.”

Vias laughed with glee, as if he had just found the perfect playmate.

But Remiya thought to herself, “He probably won’t find them.”

They were an enigma. Even Remiya herself couldn’t uncover where they had come from.

Which led her to a conclusion: They came from outside her intelligence network.

“Perhaps they came from Golda, the neighboring country locked in a cold war with us, making it hard to investigate their interior.”

“Most likely, they caused confusion and then returned to Golda.”

“Let’s set aside the matter of that adventurer for now. Regarding the artificial magical beasts—have we already found a lead that connects to the mastermind behind their actions?”

The Queen stepped in to steer the conversation back on track, moving away from the detour about Silent.

“Just before the upcoming Founding Festival, a large number of artificially controlled monsters have been discovered. It’s likely they were planning something around the festival. So the question is—who’s behind it all? I’d like to at least have a constructive discussion about that.”

“The problem lies with the captured guild attacker. Her name is Fulerika. She was once a Royal Knight of Lendia and the youngest ever to be selected as a member of the Queen’s Guard. She succumbed to power, betrayed her mentor, and abandoned the country. Now, she’s returned. This is no longer just a case of a hidden domestic enemy…”

A murmur spread through the room.

“That adventurer defeated that bitch?”

“Yes. He had her on the verge of death.”

“…Kuhaha, now that’s impressive. He’s on my level. I like that he didn’t hold back, even against a woman.”

“In that case, I ask that you refrain from trying to investigate him.”

“Hmm… That woman once bared her fangs at our nation… Still, letting such a powerful adventurer leave the city just before the Founding Festival may have been a waste.”

At the Queen’s musing, someone responded quickly.

“What are you saying, Your Majesty! There is no need to rely on some mysterious adventurer. Have you forgotten that I was the one who once defeated Fulerika and banished her from the country? As long as I and the Knights are here, Your Majesty’s safety is assured.”

A female knight clad in armor spoke up in rebuttal.

“Oh my, is my cute little sister jealous of that adventurer? Come now, it’s good to have more dependable forces. From a ruler’s perspective, it’s only natural to want to keep someone who might help strengthen the nation.”

“Guh…! Sister, please be quiet.”

Shuris chimed in teasingly. It seemed that the armored knight was Shuris’s younger sister.

“Hmm, forgive me. I didn’t mean to belittle you. As Shuris said, I just felt it was a shame. Forgive me.”

“Your Majesty… I apologize for overstepping.”

And so, the discussion continued—on who the true mastermind behind the attack and the artificial magical beasts might be, and what countermeasures they could take.

“Good work today, Shuris!”

A few hours later, as Shuris left the royal palace, she was greeted by a woman from the same clan—Alice.

“Hehe, were you waiting for me? Thank you, Alice.”

“Oh, not at all! How was the meeting?”

“Hmm… let’s see. I guess I got some worthwhile information out of it…”

The conclusion had been:

“Since the large-scale attack by the monsters was prevented in advance, the enemy will surely try something next. Whatever method they use, we must stay alert and be ready to respond decisively.”

—In other words, a conclusion with no actual concrete plan.

But Shuris was fine with that.

“The Thirteen Knights are a group of individuals who act independently and freely. This kind of vague directive is exactly when they can operate at their best” 

She thought.

“Alice, for a while, I want you to keep an eye on everything coming into the city from the outside—objects, rumors, people, animals, all of it.”

“Everything… Understood.”

“And… speaking of people coming from the outside, has that guy tried to contact us yet?”

“You mean… Same-san?”

Shuris asked about Same—the man who had strangely lingered in her thoughts and even popped into her mind during the meeting.

Her instincts told her that Same might somehow be connected to the current incident.

No matter how he was involved.

“There’s been no report of him visiting the clan home yet.”

“I see. Another thing—I was out inspecting a campsite along the highway until yesterday, right? I heard something major happened at the Adventurers’ Guild or the General Guild while I was gone. I’d like the details.”

“I left the report on your desk, but…”

“Did you now? It might be under a bath towel…”

Bath maniac.

Later, Shuris would end up reading the slightly damp report.

“Uhh… this should be the place, right?”

The street where the General Guild was located naturally had a lot of foot traffic from people who had business there.

And as the name implied, the General Guild was truly “general.”

Adventurers, explorers, mercenaries, scholars, merchants, blacksmiths, apothecaries, alchemists, magicians, cooks, inventors, artists, carpenters, farmers, and housekeepers—

All these kinds of people came to the General Guild.

Consequently, the street it was on also had shops catering to all these professions.

Of course, there were streets more specialized by trade, but Guild Street, where the General Guild was located, had at least some stores relevant to every profession.

Even if there were only a few of each, the sheer variety made the total quite impressive.

In short, Guild Street was the liveliest part of town.

“Hmm… so there are a lot of clan homes around the outskirts, huh…”

And so I had come to visit the clan home of Glory Knights, one of the most impressive buildings among them all.

Now then…

I wonder if they’ll grant my request—

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