Chapter 16: Meanwhile (Third-Person Perspective of Other Characters)
At nearly the same time that Hugh and Rouge were watching the announcement of the entrance exam results at the Royal Academy, a knight dispatched from the Royal Castle was making his way to a hideout of a human trafficking organization discovered in the port district.
The man who stepped down from the carriage was a lean, middle-aged figure clad in armor with blue lines on a white background, accompanied by a matching cloak. His dark brown hair was unkempt, and he sported a scruffy beard.
As he walked with a slouched posture while yawning widely, the passing guards and other knights who had been dispatched earlier stopped to salute him.
“Good work!”
“Yeah, good work,” he replied casually, raising his left hand slightly in acknowledgment. No one showed any signs of dissatisfaction; in fact, some of the guards brightened up at having received his acknowledgment.
“That’s the vice-captain of the Royal Knights Order…!”
“Roan Ashblade, the one with the Sword Master Skill!”
Roan sighed at the chatter of the guards behind him.
(That’s why fieldwork is such a hassle…)
When had the reactions of the young knights and guards towards him begun to change?
It had been nearly twenty years since he joined the Knights Order. Although the Kingdom of Reese was in a peaceful era, it didn’t mean that the knights were free from battle.
Even if they weren’t sent off to war, monster extermination, skirmishes with bandits, and confrontations with criminal organizations were everyday occurrences. Roan had always been at the forefront, swinging his sword as a member of the Knights Order.
In the early days of his service, he was cherished, then trusted as he became a mid-level knight, and now, at an age where he could be considered a veteran, he found himself increasingly respected.
He recalled the time when he first joined the order, filled with admiration for the veteran knights, including the then-captain and vice-captain.
(I’ve really aged, haven’t I…? I’d like to retire like those captains did and spend a quiet life with a wife and daughter. …Not that I’m married, though.)
“Haah…”
With a deep sigh, he entered the warehouse that had become the hideout of the human trafficking organization. A young female knight, still retaining a youthful appearance with her purple hair tied to the side, rushed over to him upon noticing his arrival.
She came to a sharp halt in front of Roan, extending her right arm to her forehead in a crisp salute.
“Good work, Master!”
“Hey, who’s your master? Alissa, I’ve told you to stop calling me that; it leads to misunderstandings.”
“I’m sorry, Master!”
“If you’re really sorry, then change how you address me… Seriously.”
Roan let out yet another sigh, not even bothering to count how many times he had done so today, muttering, “Whatever,” in exasperation.
Alissa Swift was someone he had known since before she became a knight, and ever since he had helped her during a certain incident, she had continued to call him “Master.”
While it wasn’t incorrect given his Sword Master Skill, it was quite embarrassing to be addressed as such by a young unmarried woman.
What made it even more troublesome was that it led to misunderstandings. No matter how many times he told Alissa to stop, she never listened, and to outsiders, it appeared as if Roan was the one insisting she call him “Master.”
As a result, he was constantly burdened with unnecessary worries. Recently, he had started to let Alissa handle fieldwork while he waited at the Royal Castle’s command post, taking separate actions…
“I can’t believe the culprit behind the serial disappearance cases that had been causing a stir in the Royal Capital was subdued by a single student.”
“Technically, it was during the entrance exam at the Royal Academy, but yes.”
“Come to think of it, today is the day of the entrance exam. They didn’t actually take him into custody, did they?”
“Rest assured, the guards delivered him safely to the academy.”
“Then that’s a relief. With such a grand performance, there’s no way he would fail, and we can conduct the interrogation later.”
“Are you going to personally interrogate him, Master?”
“Who knows? I’d like to at least see his face.”
He was genuinely intrigued by the boy who had single-handedly subdued a criminal organization without killing anyone.
That said, dealing with crimes occurring within the Royal Capital was primarily the responsibility of the guards. It wasn’t necessary for a knight to step in and risk drawing ire unless the situation warranted it.
However, that was only the case if this incident was an ordinary one. When a knight was dispatched from the Royal Castle, especially the vice-captain Roan, it indicated that the situation was far from typical.
“Have any connections been found…?”
“A few suspicious documents. They’re thin threads, though.”
“Then we’ll have to follow them.”
In cases involving the Royal Capital, and indeed the entire Kingdom of Reese, jurisdiction shifted from the guards to the Royal Knights Order. The order had long sensed the shadow of foreign influence or the power struggles over the next king in the ongoing serial disappearance cases.
Alissa had already begun her investigation, and it seemed there were indeed some connections.
“Also, I’d like you to take a look at the list of victims.”
As Roan scanned the list handed to him by Alissa, his eyes widened at a particular name.
“Is this a coincidence…?”
“According to the guards who heard the circumstances, they believe it’s just a coincidence.”
“Even so… It might be best to report this to that person, just in case…”