Chapter 152: In the Hands of the Worthy

High-ranking knight Josel was perplexed.

This was Count Zander’s territory, the headquarters of the Knight Order. He had come to inquire about the investigation of the knight murders with no particular expectations, but the knights had all placed short swords on the table and asked him to take custody of them.

Three short swords lay on the table, and the knights all bowed in silence. Josel couldn’t make heads or tails of this situation. Their response didn’t answer his question about the progress of the investigation into the knight killer.

“…I’m sorry, um, could someone explain this to me step by step? What are these short swords for?”

“We would like you to keep them, Josel-sama.”

“Why?”

The conversation wasn’t going well. Josel was growing increasingly frustrated, and his forehead furrowed. The knights seemed to sense the tense atmosphere, but they were merely looking at each other without offering any explanation.

“Speak up! Hey, you there, speak!”

Josel pointed at one of the knights who had handed over a short sword. Unable to evade the direct question, the knight reluctantly spoke.

The other knights breathed a sigh of relief at not being chosen. Such an attitude also irritated Josel.

“We’d like you to hold onto these short swords because the murderer might target us.”

“That’s quite a serious matter. If the murderer comes to us, we can apprehend them and save the trouble.”

“No, it’s precisely because of that, Josel-sama. We judged that it would be more certain if you, the strongest among us, held onto them…”

The knight’s voice gradually grew softer. Josel didn’t understand what had been said for a while. Then, as he chewed on the knight’s words and grasped their meaning, anger surged through him.

Josel slammed his fist on the table, making the three short swords momentarily float in the air. He had changed his direction to the table instead of hitting the knight on impulse. He didn’t entirely regret not striking the knight.

“So, because you don’t want to fight yourselves, you thought of using me as bait!?”

“No, it’s not like that at all. We simply believed that having the most powerful person, Josel-sama, hold onto them would be the safest option…”

They probably thought they were trying to appease Josel with this explanation, but it only added fuel to the fire.

“You are knights, aren’t you? Fighting is your job! If you leave even fighting to others, you’re no longer knights; you’re just freeloaders!”

“Even if it’s you Josel-sama, your words are too cruel.”

“I see, you still have enough pride to get angry. That’s fine, it’s admirable. So, what are you going to do? Are you going to tell your dad? Or perhaps challenge me to a duel for your honor!?”

The knights couldn’t offer any retorts to Josel’s fiery words. However, it didn’t mean they had changed their minds. They were just cursing their fate for being in this situation.

Getting angry at these idiots wouldn’t lead to a solution. Josel took a deep breath and tried to speak to them as gently as possible to avoid scaring them.

“First of all, what does it mean that you’d be targeted if you have these short swords?”

Josel picked up one of the short swords from the table and drew it. It wasn’t a masterpiece, but it had an impressive blade. Josel had heard that this was made by Lutz.

One of the knights hesitated for a moment before speaking.

“…The murderer is likely Donald.”

“Yeah? Who’s that?”

“Do you recall the knight who cut his own face with a sword, Josel-sama?”

Josel could never forget. It was the incident that led to everything, the beginning of his acquaintance with Lutz and the others. There was a fool who had the audacity to stroke Tsubaki before it was imbued with magic, and he ended up with a deeply cut face. Josel, hearing about the commotion, retrieved Tsubaki and handed it over to the enchanter Gerhardt.

“After receiving treatment for the wound, he visited the headquarters for a while, but he disappeared about a month ago.”

Josel wore an irritated expression, as he hadn’t received any such report. But now wasn’t the time for that. Josel clenched his jaw and urged the knight to continue.

“A few days ago, he returned to the headquarters by chance. And then… well, he said to us, or rather, to the five of us with these short swords, ‘You guys are not worthy of these short swords. Hand them over.'”

“That’s quite abrupt…”

“We heard that he had been in the mountains training and earning a living by hunting monsters during his disappearance. His eyes were shining with madness; he didn’t seem sane.”

While Josel wanted to say something like, “he’s better than you guys” he couldn’t praise someone suspected of murder. So, he just nodded in agreement.

“We naturally refused his demand to hand over the short swords. But a few days later, one by one, they were killed…”

“Both of them were owners of the short swords, I assume.”

To dismiss this eerie story as mere coincidence was unsettling. Encounters with cursed swords could significantly alter one’s fate. 

Josel didn’t know how the former knight Donald had changed after being slashed by the cursed sword Tsubaki, but the possibility that they couldn’t handle him now, given the way the knights acted, was concerning. Since there was a potential threat, he couldn’t turn a blind eye to it, especially as a high-ranking knight.

As for the target, it could be Lutz, Gerhardt, or even the count himself. With such danger looming, Josel, as a high-ranking knight, couldn’t simply ignore it. In terms of owning Lutz’s work, Josel wasn’t exempt from this either.

“Alright, I understand. I’ll take these short swords.”

Josel collected the three short swords and the knight hesitated to say.

 “Umm we’re just lending them to you. Once this matter is resolved, please return them.”

Josel was hit by another wave of anger, he had lost count of how many times today. These knights were pushing their responsibility onto him, claiming they didn’t want to be targeted. Yet, they were treating him like he was doing them a favor. 

Josel drew one of the short swords and struck it down onto the table with a thud, making a hole in the table that reeked of alcohol and saliva. This was a testament to Lutz’s craftsmanship; the blade remained unscathed.

“Choose. Are you giving up these short swords, or are you going to fight Donald yourselves…!?”

The knights couldn’t say anything in response to Josel’s stern voice. They only glanced at the short swords that were being drawn away, showing neither approval nor disapproval.

…Donald had said one good thing at least. These guys are not worthy of being the masters of these short swords.

With a click of his tongue, Josel left the Knight Order’s headquarters. Information had been gathered, but he was in a terrible mood. He couldn’t help but praise his own restraint for not drawing his sword. 

What would Josel have thought when he learned that his sword, ‘Night Killer,’ was created with these rogue knights as the intended adversaries?

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