Chapter 86

A few minutes after I spent time puzzling over the mystery of the stolen honey, the answer finally arrived at our feet.

“Woof.”

“Oh, you made it. Thanks for the hard work, Pro.”

Pro, the wolf familiar with his usual menacing, scarred face, had arrived at the scene. He was as fluffy as ever, yet his expression remained perpetually terrifying. I’d finally gotten used to him, so I gave him a light pat on the head, but he brushed it off and leaned his chin toward my hand. Apparently, he wanted me to scratch under his chin. When I obliged, Pro let out a low growl that sounded like a murderous threat.

“Grrrrrrr…”

“I see, I see, does that feel good? You’re such a lovable guy.”

“Wait, isn’t that wrong!? Doesn’t he sound incredibly grumpy!?”

“Stop it, Orcus-san! If you do that any longer, he’s going to bite your throat off!”

In contrast to the lighthearted atmosphere I was creating with Pro, Sedona and Koruka-san were terrified by the wolf’s intimidating visage. It was a natural reaction, I suppose. Even I still found him a bit scary.

When I opened the small pouch tied to Pro’s body, the key ring was inside. Since he’d already locked onto the scent, all we had to do now was track him down. Looking closer, I noticed a piece of paper that looked like a note tucked in with the keys and pulled it out.

It stated that the Royal Foreign Hazardous Species Countermeasures Knights would move to secure the culprit while subtly obstructing the Holy Shield Knights. It’s easy to forget, but this was a race where the first one to the finish line wins. If the Holy Shield Knights got their hands on him first, our petition as a commoner knight order would be easily brushed aside. In that case, the fake Varna might face the first public execution this country has seen in a long time.

He was a criminal and a stranger, but I still wanted to avoid a death if I could.

Incidentally, Pro spent the time enjoying the way Koruka-san jumped in surprise with teary eyes when he suddenly approached her. He really was quite the mischievous brat. Conversely, perhaps sensing Sedona’s immense, hidden power, he was on his best behavior and didn’t pester her. I suppose that’s just animal instinct.

Now, unlike other familiars, Pro couldn’t talk. It seemed this was omitted because the higher the intelligence and capability of a beast, the more difficult the familiar contract became. In other words, whether Pro could perform his job depended entirely on my instructions and how I handled him.

“Alright, Pro, track the scent soaked into these keys. I’m counting on you!”

“Woof!!”

Giving a powerful bark, Pro began walking through the town without hesitation, relying on the faint trail of scent.

—At that moment, I had already made a blunder.

Pro had started moving, chasing the scent clinging to the keys, but I never even imagined there were “two candidates” for the destination in this case. No matter how high the intelligence, misunderstanding is inevitable even between humans when communicating via words.

Thus, our group set off toward a location that was as close to the correct answer as possible, but definitely not the right one.

Our group moved quickly under the guidance of the terrifying tracker Pro, but the women kept a distance from the front because his face was just too scary. Looking at that mug, a different kind of anxiety arose—what if he just tore the fake Varna’s throat out the moment he found him?

I don’t know who said “appearance is 90% of everything,” but it seems there are parts of the animal world where that holds true, too. The two of them were thinking—quite rudely toward Pro—that they wished I had dispatched a cuter tracker with round, sparkling eyes that bounced along while walking.

“……Orcus-san, so you’re a wolf-tamer. If I were to live with you, would I have to take care of lots of beasts?”

“Eh…? N-no, I don’t think Orcus-kun personally keeps animals… Say, Koruka-san, are you really into Orcus-kun? You’ve been getting close to him and talking about living together since earlier…”

“Uwaaaah!? Wh-wh-why so suddenly!? That was just a figure of speech! Just a ‘what if’ scenario!”

Varna looked back, wondering what the shouting was about, but because of the distance and the bustling town noise, he didn’t seem to hear the conversation. “Hurry up!” he waved. Koruka’s face was visibly flushed as she hurried toward him. Even to someone as dense about romance as Sedona, it was clear that her reaction to being teased had hit the mark.

A woman who genuinely falls for Varna.

For some reason… that didn’t feel good.

If it were a new friend or a fan she could talk with about Varna, she would have been happy. But hearing the words “Varna’s lover” made Sedona feel strangely unpleasant.

‘It’s a strange feeling. Like Varna-kun is being taken away from me.’

To Sedona, Varna was someone rare at the academy who didn’t care about the Scuderia name or status, a presence like a sword master, someone she could cling to like an older brother or teach like a younger one. Varna was always flanked by Astraea on the right, and the left was Sedona’s reserved seat.

It seemed that gave the instructors the impression that Varna was the one rampaging the most, but that wasn’t true. For both Sedona and Astraea, being by Varna’s side was where they felt most comfortable. But if Koruka and Varna ended up in a mutual relationship, she felt like her place by his side would be taken.

She shook her head to clear her thoughts. Now is a mission, Sedona told herself, forcibly suppressing her murky emotions.

‘The current Varna-kun is Orcus-kun, and Koruka-san is a nice person, so it’s strange to think like this. For a while… I’ll try not to think about it.’

Pushing her wavering heart deep inside and masking her expression with a persona, Sedona started to run.

The story of when she learns the true nature of those feelings is still a long way off.

Around that time, two men and one woman were sitting on the terrace of a coffee shop on the outskirts of town.

One of the men sat hunched over, shoulders shrinking, and although the woman had her head up, her complexion was poor. The two were wearing matching outfits, suggesting they were a couple. Why, then, were they shrinking as if in fear of something?

It was because of a large, rough-looking man who had barged between them and placed a hand on the woman’s shoulder.

The man downed the coffee served by the clerk in one gulp, and without seeming to taste it, he tilted his head back and let out a crude, dirty belch.

“Mmm~, this is cheap coffee. Bitter. Terrible. Not worth paying for. Hey, shopkeeper, I’m drinking this mud water that’s not even worth paying for, so the shop should be thanking me instead.”

“Eh! No way… that coffee was made with top-class beans specially ordered from overseas…!”

“I don’t need to pay, do I? I’m the strongest in the Kingdom, you see. I drink much better coffee every day. You understand?”

“Hii…! P-please forgive me! You don’t have to pay!!”

The clerk, startled by the sword half-drawn at the man’s waist, backed down immediately. Perhaps that improved the man’s mood, as he issued a word of forgiveness: “As long as you understand.” Though, in this case, the one at fault was clearly this large man—the Fake Varna.

Incidentally, the real Varna’s favorite drink was a dirt-cheap dandelion and acorn blend. In terms of not appreciating the flavor of high-end coffee recommended by Astraea, the real one might actually have inferior taste buds.

The Fake Varna had suddenly appeared before the couple a little while ago, forced his way into their table because the woman looked attractive, and started sipping their coffee. Before he’d even taken a sip, he hadn’t tried to hide his bad mood, and the opponent appeared to be an armed knight. No one around them had the courage to turn him away.

“Coffee breaks are so important, aren’t they? It clears my head… Hey, why are you two being so quiet? You’re supposed to agree with me.”

The man of the couple jumped at the impact of the fake kicking the table and bowed his head, saying, “S-sorry!!” The Fake Varna poured his half-finished coffee onto the man’s head. The man let out a stifled groan at the high-temperature liquid, but he couldn’t fight back and just kept his head bowed, coffee dripping off him.

When the woman tried to rush to the man, the fake gripped her shoulder tightly.

Her face contorted in pain from the sharp agony, and she leaned limply against the chair.

It feels good to be allowed to do whatever I want, the Fake Varna thought with a smug grin, but he soon returned to a frown, remembering that the feeling came from his need to hide.

‘Damn it… it’s great that I transported the “goods” this far, but having the keys swiped is such bad luck. Luckily, there was a spare, and I don’t think whoever picked up those keys would be able to find the keyhole, so I’m safe there… but my luck just isn’t turning around.’

He remembered that young knight he had encountered the other day.

The Fake Varna hated guys like that—guys who flaunted their annoying sense of justice and ruined his opportunities. A self-satisfaction idiot who doesn’t care about others and only believes in his own justice—that’s what the Fake Varna always thought knights were.

He’d thought he would just beat up the young, reckless guy and be done with it, but to think he would know the real Varna and be a knight connected to the Royal Palace… he truly had no luck. If he had drawn his sword there, it would have become an “incident” he couldn’t explain his way out of, so he had no choice but to run.

The streak of bad luck continued. Beyond that young man, he’d been pestered by a drunk knight, and he’d spotted several other knight-like people around town afterward. He learned later that some knight order was apparently staying in this town. No wonder I keep seeing so many knights, he cursed inwardly.

“Honestly, if I don’t finish this soon…”

“Excuse me, do you have a moment?”

“Huh? Who are you to suddenly—!? …”

Turning around at the sudden voice from behind, the Fake Varna finally noticed the situation around him and was struck with horror.

Before he knew it, everyone except himself and the couple—the staff and the other customers—had vanished, and in their place, four well-groomed individuals were surrounding him in a rigid, standing-still posture. Everyone had their hands clasped behind their waists, watching the Fake Varna with cold, emotionless gazes.

That inorganic, flawless appearance.

The Fake Varna, who was no ordinary person, instantly sensed that the people surrounding him were some kind of “professional.” The people around them had probably been cleared out by these besiegers.

A criminal organization? A public organization? Either way, this was very bad.

A line of cold sweat ran down the back of the Fake Varna, who was pretending to be calm.

“……You are the knight who has appeared in this town four days ago, aren’t you?”

“……”

“What is your name? What is your affiliation? Knights have an obligation to carry their swords, but do you know what kind of serious penalties await those who do so without that obligation?”

“……What?”

“You don’t know? Well, I suppose that’s expected. It’s a law you wouldn’t be familiar with, having traveled here from overseas. Though, that won’t serve as a pardon.”

“You… how did you find that out!”

“There is no need to tell you.”

Seeing that reaction, the Fake Varna thought, I’ve been had, and agonized inwardly.

If they had known from the very beginning that he wasn’t a real knight, they could have just caught him by surprise. If they knew he came from overseas, they could have just said so in the interrogation room. The fact that they went out of their way to mention it here meant they hadn’t been sure and were testing him. He didn’t know where he’d slipped up, but sensing instinctively that this was bad, the Fake Varna attempted to pull the woman he had been holding onto him all at once to use her as a hostage—

“Assault against a commoner. Your list of charges just grew.”

The hand that had been clasped behind the man’s back shot out with incredible speed, and a sharp, piercing pain ran through his arm’s joint. The instant his hand went numb from the pain, someone else ripped the distance between the woman and the Fake Varna wide open. The woman joined the man she had been tied up with, and the two escaped.

‘Damn it, I screwed up!!’

The fact that his shield had been stolen in an instant confirmed it.

These people were members of an organization directly under the Kingdom.

He had foolishly assumed that the kingdom was peace-addled and ignorant of the front lines, but that seemed to be a misconception. There was no way an organization that maintained the peace, even on the surface, would lack the manpower to suppress criminals.

The encirclement tightened. His lifeline was fraying. Everything would have gone perfectly if he had just cleared one more hurdle—the moment he thought that, the situation changed.

“——You people over there, what are you doing! I am Knight Bevion of the Royal Foreign Hazardous Species Countermeasures Knights!”

“And I am Knight Caliban of the same order. I can’t just stand by and watch a commoner’s trouble, so you’re going to tell us what’s going on.”

“Same here, Knight Calme! If my eyes don’t deceive me, you just assaulted a commoner!? Y-you’re going to tell us what’s going on!!”

Three young knights stormed in, as if they had timed it perfectly.

The men surrounding the Fake Varna stared, their eyes wide, clearly having not expected this turn of events.

“Wha!? …We are people of the Kingdom! This falls under our jurisdiction!”

“You got proof of that? Proof that you guys are the real deal, huh!”

The dark-skinned man who had introduced himself first—Bevion—spoke with spirit, and one of the surrounding men responded with an expression as if he’d just bitten into a bitter bug.

“Guh, the Pig-Hunt Knights… We are knights belonging to the Holy Shield Knights! We are currently in the middle of a mission, and for good reason, our identities remain concealed!”

“Could you tell us the details of that mission? Just by words alone, we can’t judge if your actions are legitimate, can we?”

“……Do you really think you ‘Pig-Hunt Knights’ have the right to know that? You commoners!”

“If that’s the case, we cannot judge if you are truly the Holy Shield Knights or if you are truly carrying out your mission legitimately! We, the Royal Foreign Hazardous Species Countermeasures Knights, are detaining you to confirm the facts!”

“Don’t talk nonsense! Detaining members of a knight order requires the agreement of the four Knight Commanders! Are you intending to defy the rules!?”

“As long as your position and the legitimacy of your actions aren’t proven, we have a duty according to the code of chivalry to stop you. If you don’t like it, you’ll have to tell us everything. Suspicious individuals!”

“That’s how it is!! Now, let’s hear what you have to say!!”

While the two factions exchanged fierce words, Calme, one of the young knights who had intentionally stalled for time, watched closely with his eyes. He saw the exact moment the man seized a gap and fled the scene with incredible speed.

One of the men who had been outmaneuvered and lost his target tried to pursue him, but Calme instantly whipped a crossbow from his waist.

“Don’t move!”

The shout was so compelling and convincing that it didn’t sound like it came from the timid Calme, and the Holy Shield Knights stopped for an instant—meanwhile, the Fake Varna left the scene. Calme felt like he wanted to plant an arrow, even a blunted one, into the Fake Varna’s back if he could, but that wasn’t possible since they had a mission to execute.

The man who had lost his target because of Calme glared at him, veins bulging on his forehead in anger.

“You… you understand the meaning of aiming a weapon at a knight, do you not! I’ve remembered your name, Knight Calme…!?”

“I only said ‘don’t move.’ I wouldn’t seriously shoot an arrow at a commoner, would I?”

His crossbow hadn’t even had an arrow set in it from the start.

In other words, pointing a crossbow with no attack power couldn’t be called a threat or interference. It was just a misunderstanding on the part of the Holy Shield Knights, who had taken the bait on their own.

And thus, due to the “highly legitimate interference” of the Royal Foreign Hazardous Species Countermeasures Knights, the Fake Varna escaped. Unaware that the path of his escape led straight into the dead end Varna had set up—