Chapter 38
The day to leave for Lockfort had arrived.
Only Reinhardt and Fermil were departing.
Miya Luxpenber and Inquisitor Bardo had things to do here in Serigel.
In the first place, the attempt to recruit Reinhardt was just something they did on the side.
“Is this all your luggage? Isn’t it too little? Don’t you need anything else? If you couldn’t get it, I’ll get it for you.”
“I have packed everything.”
“Does all your luggage fit in that bag? Really?”
“It is sufficient.”
Miya actively showed interest in Reinhardt.
It seemed she had no intention of recruiting him, and it looked like she wanted to build a personal rapport.
“What about our Sir Fermil? Isn’t your luggage bag too small?”
“This is enough for me too.”
“Really? But before……”
“It really is!”
“Alright, alright. No need to get angry.”
As Fermil flared up, Miya took a step back.
Reinhardt pretended not to listen but was well aware of the context.
In the past, Fermil must have packed a lot of luggage whenever he went on a dispatch. Meaning, he would have shown behavior unbecoming of a knight.
‘Right, Fermil matured early. It’ll be quite different from the original story, but that’s actually better.’
Reinhardt was pleased with that fact.
It had been burdensome until a few days ago, but now his plans had changed a lot.
Squeeze.
He tied the laced bag to the saddle of the horse he would ride.
‘I don’t know how many times the plan has changed.’
But there was nothing wrong with the plan changing frequently.
This was rather evidence of maintaining a very flexible attitude, accepting changes in the situation with great adaptability.
That is to say, Reinhardt was trying hard to think that way.
“Anyway, Sir Reinhardt! Fighting! Just do as you’ve been doing! I have to go now to talk with Mayor Graham. Our Sir Fermil too! Just like now!”
Miya cheered for the two of them, even adding a rallying cry like ‘Aja-aja’.
Unlike the stoic Reinhardt, Fermil looked as if he didn’t know what was going on.
“The Personnel Officer isn’t usually like that.”
“You mean she’s different from usual?”
“No, her personality was similar. But I didn’t expect her to give up this easily…… Didn’t she offer you to join the order, Reinhardt?”
“She did. I refused.”
“I expected that, but I’m saying this because the Personnel Officer seemed like someone who doesn’t know the meaning of giving up. Strangely, she doesn’t seem to have any intention of doing so with you. Though it’s not something I can’t understand.”
Fermil hadn’t expected it in the first place.
The Reinhardt he had experienced was not a person who would ever bend his values.
To persuade this straightforward knight, perhaps someone of royal lineage, not the Personnel Officer of Paganoa, would have to visit in person…… Fermil was thinking along those lines.
And that was indeed the case.
A person who knew their future was not good could do anything to change the outcome.
***
To summarize the city of Lockfort in one word, it was a peaceful town where agriculture was the city's main source of income.
Of course, being a city, it had a large population.
Compared to a small village, its scale was much larger, but it was difficult to compare it with major cities like Serigel.
‘Lockfort. Lockfort.’
On the fast-running horse, Reinhardt held the reins with one hand and fiddled with the community screen floating before him with the other.
The search term was Lockfort.
But the results were not to his liking.
‘It’s a city with nothing special. A town completely detached from the main story.’
Even the gateway city of Serigel had little significance in the story.
After all, the story of ‘Soul Calibur’ was a flow that took place within the Empire.
Naturally, the gateway leading out of the Empire was of little significance.
And Lockfort was even more so. It was to the point where one might wonder if it was a city drawn haphazardly just to fill the map.
‘There’s really nothing here.’
Reinhardt closed the community window, smacking his lips in disappointment.
In fact, he didn't know much about Lockfort either.
Since it was a place with no special quests, there was no reason to visit unless one had a peculiar purpose.
‘But the fact that there’s nothing here also means the possibility of warlocks being here is low. That’s for the better.’
The Miller Caravan, which had a warlock as its head, had been dismantled long ago.
Then it was safe to say that a green light had been lit for the mission.
It was enough to return to Serigel with a look of regret, having found nothing.
“A unique habit, isn’t it? Reinhardt.”
Just then, Fermil, who was riding beside him, spoke up.
The sight of him waving his hand in the air seemed quite interesting.
“It’s a habit I developed after becoming a knight.”
“May I ask for what reason it developed?”
“It’s an action that comes out unconsciously in the process of positing a virtual enemy and fighting a battle in my head. It’s nothing special.”
“Then you were just swinging a sword just now.”
“Something like that.”
Of course, it was nonsense, but the one saying it was Reinhardt.
Fermil nodded with a deeply impressed face and soon began to wave his own right hand in the air.
‘I should be able to return in a few days. It won’t take more than a week at most.’
Reinhardt estimated the schedule in his head.
It would be hard to achieve any particular results, but he planned to use the time as efficiently as possible.
‘I should just strengthen [Justice].’
The petty criminals in Serigel had been all but wiped out.
It was because Reinhardt had scraped the bottom with a fine-meshed net.
But Lockfort?
It was like a golden fishing ground full of lively fish. It was a spot where a fish the size of a forearm would be hooked just by casually casting a fishing rod.
The fact that the rumors hadn’t spread this far yet was also to Reinhardt’s liking.
Even if he walked around with his face exposed, there would be almost no one who recognized him.
“Fermil. When we arrive, we move separately.”
Reinhardt, who had formulated a brief plan, said.
Fermil, who was still waving his arm, showed a quizzical expression.
“Why?”
“To do what needs to be done. I’m the type who finds it hard to concentrate on a mission when I’m with someone.”
“Hmm, I see. If that’s how you are, then it can’t be helped. I will do my best to find traces of the warlock on my own.”
“And one more favor. You said we have to meet the mayor when we arrive in the city, right? You do it.”
After all, the two of them were knights from another city.
Also, there had been a disgraceful incident in Serigel recently, and the reason for visiting Lockfort was also related to that.
Naturally, they had to go through the formal process of meeting the mayor in person, greeting him, sharing their schedule, and getting acquainted.
“It’s not a difficult request, but the one who resolved this incident was not me……”
“That doesn’t matter. I want to focus on the mission as soon as possible. Also, Lockfort will want a knight from Paganoa more than me.”
“That’s not important at all…… No, I understand. I’ll do it. I understand what you want.”
Fortunately, Fermil was proficient in such matters.
After all, as a knight of Paganoa, he had met high-ranking officials often, and before he came to his senses, he was a person who valued camaraderie with nobles more than chivalry.
‘Then I can just pass this problem to Fermil. As soon as I arrive, I can just go for a patrol.’
It was a schedule that had only been annoying, but thinking about it this way, it felt like a good thing.
How long had they run like that?
Soon, a gate of modest scale came into view.
Compared to Serigel, it had a look that would better suit a neighborhood bakery.
“We’ve arrived. I will take care of it myself. You don’t want to make a name for yourself here, do you?”
“Exactly.”
“Just trust and leave it to me. I will handle it for sure.”
The two pulled on their reins in front of the gate.
Soldiers could be seen approaching with a look of ‘what if’.
It seemed they had already been notified.
That is, that the great knight of Paganoa would be visiting soon.
“H-Halt! There will be a t-t-temporary inspection!”
It was like a military base visited by a division commander.
A stiffly frozen soldier stopped Fermil with a trembling voice.
The soldier’s eyeballs rolled around frantically. A sound of swallowing dry saliva, gulp, was loud enough to reach Reinhardt’s ears.
“Yes, you’re all working hard. I am Fermil, a knight of Paganoa.”
“Y-Yes, sir! A means to prove your identity……”
“Why go to such lengths. You know that I am a knight, and I know that you have been waiting for me for a long time. Isn’t that so?”
“……Yes! That is correct!”
“The mayor must be waiting. Please bring me a glass of cool water. Where is the stable? Now, there’s no need for everyone to be so tense. You haven’t committed any crimes, have you?”
It was a completely different appearance from when he dealt with Reinhardt.
At his skilled response, the soldiers were busy being completely drawn into his pace, stammering.
In fact, this was the normal level for a common soldier.
Even a place like Serigel, being a gateway city, could be considered well-trained.
“Ah, this is the knight who came with me. Sir Reinhardt, would you like to go in and wait first? I will handle things here and follow you in.”
“I will.”
Thud.
Reinhardt dismounted and handed the reins to a nearby soldier.
His movement was as natural as Fermil’s, so the soldier couldn’t even bring up the matter of an inspection.
“Reinhardt. Don’t you worry and do what you must do right away. I will go straight to the city hall.”
“Thank you.”
“I am glad to have been of help.”
Fermil whispered in a voice just loud enough for Reinhardt to hear, and then began to handle the soldiers at the gate again.
Thanks to him, Reinhardt entered the city comfortably.
He felt sidelong glances because of his armor. But unlike in Serigel, no one rushed to see his face.
Because this world did not have a developed internet.
Whatever happened in a city far away, to the people living here, it was no different from an event in another world.
‘Is this what it feels like to be a celebrity?’
While he was glad that no one recognized him, he also felt a strange sense of disappointment.
“Bitdori.”
“Ppi.”
Bitdori, who was sniffing on Reinhardt’s shoulder, answered promptly.
Throughout the journey to Lockfort, the little one’s eyes had been sparkling as if it found the new world fascinating.
It was the same now.
Seeing it look like a little kid who had discovered something new, Reinhardt gladly made a request that the little one would want.
“Let’s catch the bad guys. Find them and let me know.”
“Ppi!”
After answering energetically, Bitdori instantly flew away somewhere.
The light spirit, which had begun to understand words, had the ability to find a destination more accurately than a Google Map.