Chapter 46
Knight Fermil’s connections were solid.
To the extent that he was on familiar terms with a professor from a place like the Floran Imperial Academy.
“I told him she learned and used magic on her own. He then became even more passionate himself. He said that child is a true genius.”
Irien’s genius had been proven long ago.
The fact that she had used magic on her own without anyone’s teaching was enough to turn the entire academy upside down.
Even the fact that she had ‘read the grimoire by herself’ was on a shocking level.
“For the life of me, I don’t know how she read it. Aren’t these characters completely different from the language we’ve learned?”
The grimoire that Irien always carried with her was worn and old.
However, the writing on the pages was not so faded that it couldn’t be recognized.
“If we could understand it, she wouldn’t be a genius.”
“You’re right.”
Irien’s entrance exam was the very next day.
In reality, though it was called an exam, it was just a formality.
They were so desperate that they were even saying they would send someone to Lockfort to personally escort Irien.
“Someone will come tomorrow. They said there’s no need to prepare a separate carriage. It seems there’s someone among the faculty who can freely traverse space.”
“That, that is truly a magician.”
“He is a man worthy of being called a magician.”
From a knight’s perspective, magicians were incomprehensible humans.
It wasn’t a matter of their personality or actions.
It was an expression that came from the fact that the power they wielded was, to them, like an unknown territory.
“I’ll be back after coordinating some details. We should probably send her off without letting others know, if possible.”
Fermil said he had to conclude the conversation and left again.
And
Dirk, whom he met next, came to find Reinhardt with tears of joy in his eyes.
“Thank you! Thank you so much, Sir Knight!”
“There’s no need to thank me. It’s possible because Irien was born with talent.”
“I know! I know very well that our Irien is a genius! But if you hadn’t helped us, Sir Knight, our Irien would probably have spent her whole life……”
“There’s no point in assuming things that haven’t happened. Wipe your tears, it’s an unsightly sight.”
“Yes, sir, sob!”
Dirk, who had been bawling, blew his nose with a loud honk.
Even so, he wore an expression that couldn’t hide his gratitude towards Reinhardt.
It was only natural.
To the extent that the expression ‘a pearl in the mud’ was an understatement, Irien’s potential was truly limitless.
And it was Reinhardt who had provided the opportunity for that pearl to shine.
“Our Irien also roughly knows that you helped her, Sir Knight. She’s still young, so she doesn’t know how much of a help it was, but in just a little more time, Irien will know too!”
“I didn’t do it to receive thanks. You know that, right?”
“I know it all too well. That’s why I’m even more grateful. Please wait just a moment, Sir Knight. It will only take a moment.”
Dirk said so, then went into the room and brought Irien out.
Irien was looking up at Reinhardt with innocent eyes.
“Now, Irien. What did I say you should do at times like this?”
“Thank! You!”
Irien placed both hands on her navel and bowed her head.
Reinhardt almost let out a chuckle without realizing it, but he held it in.
“I will! Learn hard! I wanted to learn magic!”
“Who did your brother say you should thank?”
“Thanks to Sir Knight Reinhardt!”
“Then what should you say?”
“Thank! You!”
Irien bowed again. This time, Reinhardt couldn’t hold back the smile that escaped.
In any case, the current Irien was extremely cute.
So much so that it was hard to imagine she would one day become an enemy of humanity.
“And shall we show him what we practiced?”
“Ah! Right!”
Irien, as if she had just remembered, raised her dainty hands and focused her mind.
Wondering what she was doing, Reinhardt watched quietly.
A reddish energy seemed to form at Irien’s fingertips, and soon it began to take shape little by little.
‘Does this even make sense.’
Reinhardt inwardly admired the magic that unfolded next.
The carefully bloomed flame took shape.
The flame was in the form of a knight holding a sword.
And in front of it was an unidentified monster. In fact, it was closer in appearance to a teddy bear than a monster.
The knight swung its sword. The teddy bear monster raised both hands and disappeared as if running away somewhere.
The performance ended there. Irien bowed deeply in an exaggerated manner, like a host who had finished a show.
“Thank! You! I practiced hard!”
Clap, clap, clap.
Reinhardt applauded. Beside him, Dirk was clapping his hands incessantly, as if he couldn’t be more enthusiastic.
Irien smiled shyly.
Even though she had displayed a talent worthy of being recorded in history, she seemed happy just to have received praise.
“You did really well, Irien. Now, shall we go to brother Luke for a moment?”
“Okay!”
Irien trotted away into the room.
The sound of a murmuring conversation could be heard. He didn't know if it was Luke or Hark, but judging from the voice, it was clear they were holding back tears.
“She’ll do well.”
“Yes, she will do well. Irien will do really well.”
“Then that’s settled. She’s leaving tomorrow, so go and talk to your heart’s content. Once you’re apart, it’ll be hard to go see her for a while.”
“But is there anything else I can help with……”
“No. I don’t want to see you sniveling anymore, so get out of my sight.”
Dirk teared up again. It was not a pleasant sight to see such a menacing-looking fellow in that state.
Reinhardt pushed him into the room.
The sound of conversation grew louder. Irien’s laughter and Dirk’s laughter could be heard from outside.
‘This is good enough. I’ve put Irien on the right track.’
With this, humanity was able to reduce one powerful enemy.
Reinhardt was satisfied with that fact.
And.
‘Shall I clean up the rest?’
Reinhardt still had things to do in Lockfort.
***
The captain of the Lockfort guard cried and laughed.
To be precise, his mouth was smiling, but his eyes were tearful.
“Thank you…… so much. Thanks to you, Sir Knight, Lockfort’s public security has…… improved this much…….”
Reinhardt had sucked Lockfort dry to its very marrow.
He had personally caught and thrown into prison the ‘Burden’ and ‘Moria’ gangs that he hadn't been able to subjugate before, and in addition, he dealt with every single organization that had formed and operated on a small scale.
The result was simple.
A crying and laughing guard captain, and criminals in a prison that had far exceeded its proper capacity.
“I only did what was natural.”
“……Thanks to your efforts, Sir Knight, there’s a story going around that the criminals in Lockfort have been wiped out. By any chance, when are you returning to Serigel, where you were originally stationed?”
“I’ve finished my business, so I should be returning soon.”
“I see!”
The guard captain let out a long breath.
It was surely no illusion that it sounded like a sigh of relief.
Reinhardt chuckled inwardly. It was as if he could see the guard captain’s hardships right before his eyes.
“I’ll trust you and leave it in your hands, so deal with all the criminals justly and fairly.”
“I will work as hard as you trust me. In fact, to deal with all of them, I have no choice but to work hard.”
“……Hmm? You seem somewhat uncomfortable. Ah, perhaps there’s someone left who still needs to be caught? If so, I’ll patrol for a while longer……”
“No! Absolutely not! It was out of gratitude! I said it with gratitude!!”
“I see. Understood. Keep up the good work.”
In any case, there were no more criminals to catch even if he wanted to.
This was because he had found every single one that had even a slight scale, and even the petty criminals who committed things like pickpocketing had all vanished recently.
[The effect of ‘Justice’ has been enhanced by your Righteous choice.]
*Stat increase per stack +2
The reward for cleaning up Lockfort was an additional enhancement of [Justice].
[Justice]
*Reinhardt’s exclusive skill
*Effect per stack: All stats +68
This was a sufficiently satisfactory level of achievement.
2 points when he first arrived in Lockfort.
7 for defeating the warlock.
And an additional 2 for the final cleanup.
[Justice] was enhanced by a total of 11 points, and considering the 3-stack state, it was as if all his stats had increased by 33.
Having finished his last task, Reinhardt began preparations to return.
He packed his things, woke up Bitdori who had been sleeping on his shoulder, and then met with Fermil.
“You, Reinhardt, are really, how should I put it. Quite consistent.”
“I’m always just doing what I must as a knight.”
“That’s what I mean.”
“You also did what you had to do. If it weren’t for your help, Irien wouldn’t have been able to enter the academy, and the process of executing the warlock wouldn’t have been so smooth either.”
Fermil wore a thoughtful expression for a moment.
“……I see. I think I finally understand what you mean.”
What did he mean, he understood? Reinhardt thought as he looked at Fermil.
“I also just did what I had to do. There was no need to think complicatedly. I am a knight, and I do what a knight must do. Indeed……”
To Reinhardt, it was just nonsense he had spouted lightly, but to Fermil, it seemed to have become a topic that left him with things to think about.
“Where are you returning to? Serigel? Or the Paganoa Knights?”
“I will return to the knight order immediately. Ah, there’s no need to worry. I won’t report about Irien.”
“Is that alright?”
“Well.”
After answering so, Fermil added after a beat.
“In the end, aren’t regulations up to interpretation? I will report everything related to the warlock without omission. I believe that is what I must do.”
It seemed his habit of spouting nonsense had been contagious.
But there was no need to correct it.
Whatever the reason, he seemed to be growing in a direction that was convenient for Reinhardt.
“……I should be returning first. Let’s meet again, Reinhardt. I’ll give your regards to Dame Evangeline, Inquisitor Bardo, and Personnel Officer Miya.”
“Let’s meet again. It was a rather enjoyable time.”
Reinhardt’s short and blunt farewell.
At that, Fermil’s expression became brighter than it could ever be.
He was about to say something, but Fermil just nodded his head vigorously.
Beyond the gate, the horse carrying the knight receded into the distance.
“We should go home too.”
“Pit!”
“You went through a lot this time too. Thanks to you, we were able to catch all those bad guys.”
“Pitpit! Piiit?”
Bitdori was still healthy and energetic.
And there was a strange change.
‘Its eyes seem to have gotten a little sharper. No, rather than sharp…… should I describe this as having grown eyebrows?’
Reinhardt held up a finger in front of Bitdori and moved it around. Every time its gaze followed the finger, the ‘eyebrows’ twitched.
‘……It’ll be easier to read its expressions. Well, anyway.’
It was now time to return to Serigel.
Reinhardt said his farewells to Dirk, Hark, and Luke.
When they were about to show tears again, he gave them a few punches to make them go back in.
He heard that Irien had successfully entered the Floran Imperial Academy. The news was that an old magician with a long white beard had come and taken her away as if serving royalty.
And on the way back.
When he opened the [Community] while on horseback.
[Breaking) Super-large DLC has appearedㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[Isn’t this from that serial post guy??]
[No way, was that actually viral marketing??]
The community was on fire with a new topic.
And it was a topic very deeply related to Reinhardt.