Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 112: The Captain and His Knights
The next day, Black-Gold Wings guided the investigation party to the remains of the dungeon.
They encountered several monsters along the way, but the knights dispatched them so easily that Tauro’s party never needed to intervene.
The quest truly required nothing more from them than guiding the route.
As soon as they arrived, Tauro led Sharga and Joshna into the cave.
“This construction certainly resembles that of several known dungeons. But it no longer glows. Just as Tauro explained yesterday, this dungeon is dead. The peculiar discomfort one normally feels upon entering a dungeon is completely absent as well.”
Sharga continued deeper as he spoke. After that, he and Joshna explored every corner of the dead dungeon with the absorption of children given a new toy.
Two knights followed close behind as guards, but the researchers hardly noticed them.
Tauro showed them where the pedestal had stood, then took the pedestal from [Magic Storage] and restored it to its former position.
“I see. So it really was located deep inside. Fascinating…”
They examined every part of the pedestal as well.
Once Sharga and Joshna became engrossed in proposing hypotheses and discussing them with each other, Tauro returned to Aeris and the others outside.
The area before the cave had become unusually lively.
The knights appeared to be cheering something on.
When Tauro emerged, he found Shin and Rumeya facing two knights with weapons ready.
At first he feared a dispute had begun, but both Shin and Rumeya were smiling.
Apparently, they were testing their abilities against the knights.
Aeris had even taken up position behind them like a second in a prizefight.
“Listen, both of you! They’re stronger opponents, so treat this as a chance to learn and give them everything you’ve got!”
Aeris… Shouldn’t you be stopping them?
Tauro stared in disbelief, but the knights seemed to be enjoying the diversion.
Their captain raised no objection. The knights assigned to guard duty remained at their posts, and he appeared content to let those on break enjoy the match.
The spectators expected a quick victory for their comrades. Instead, Shin and Rumeya’s teamwork kept the two knights off balance.
Rumeya served quite literally as Shin’s shield, while Shin combined acrobatics with ever-changing swordplay. Together, they steadily overwhelmed their opponents.
“Are adventurers in the E-rank range this strong nowadays?”
The watching knights’ amused laughter turned to astonishment, and their cheers grew more heated.
“You’re Tauro, correct? I heard that you trained those two. Is that true?”
The captain noticed Tauro and approached him.
“I taught them a little about the fundamentals and how to move in battle. Everything beyond that came from their own hard work.”
Tauro answered honestly.
“Remarkable. At your age, you’ve studied several martial disciplines deeply enough to teach them to others. What weapon do you specialize in?”
His interest piqued, the captain continued questioning him.
“At present, I mainly use the bow. Our team needed someone to fill that role.”
“At present…? I see. You’re an adaptable fighter. I follow that path myself. My skill is [Weapon Master].”
Tauro was astonished. [Weapon Master] was rare even among advanced skills.
The man was clearly worthy of commanding the unit.
“Unfortunately, I possess only a single garbled skill.”
“Is that so? And yet, at your age, you chose to become an adaptable fighter… You must have worked extraordinarily hard.”
The captain seemed easily moved to tears.
Merely imagining the hardships Tauro must have faced brought moisture to the kind man’s eyes.
“Whoa!”
An especially loud cheer erupted.
Shin and Rumeya had apparently won.
The knights showered them with praise. Even the two defeated men offered compliments as they shook hands with their opponents.
It was an unusual sight.
Many royal-capital knights came from noble families. Even in a friendly match, some might have reacted angrily to losing against commoners.
“Surprised? There are actually no nobles in my unit. Since I come from a commoner family, my superiors assigned other commoners to serve under me.”
“That explains it. No wonder the atmosphere is so friendly.”
“Ha ha ha! There are plenty of fine knights from noble families, you know. Though their presence does make everyone more cautious.”
The captain laughed, then suddenly seemed to remember something.
“I forgot to introduce myself! My name is Taichi. Forgive me!”
He apologized while giving Tauro a hearty slap on the back.