Chapter 05
Cleaning up the situation happened faster than expected.
About ten merchant staff moved busily here and there, and I was waiting while watching that entire process.
“Sir Knight. As you said, it seems it will be organized soon.”
Then a merchant staff member approached and reported. I nodded and asked.
“You said Rom Caravan, right?”
“Yes. That is correct.”
“And you are a senior member of the Rom Caravan.”
“That is correct, Sir Knight.”
Senior member was a rank one step higher than regular staff.
He handled things more neatly than I expected.
“How long will it take to return to the Empire?”
“If we speed up as much as possible, we can return within two days. Also, it would be difficult to take all the carriages. We will leave some behind and retrieve them later at the merchant group level.”
“Do so.”
“Thank you. Also, it seems strong sleeping drugs were used on the victims captured as slaves. We found related poisonous herbs in the owner's carriage.”
Since they intended to use them as slaves anyway, it wouldn't be a type that harmed the body.
I nodded.
“Cover them with warm blankets. And if there are additional measures needed, do them.”
“Yes, Sir Knight. We will take measures so no problems arise until return.”
The senior member bowed politely and tried to leave.
At that moment, I caught him.
“Wait a moment. What is your name?”
“It is Malcolm.”
“And you probably know my name.”
“I heard you are Sir Reinhardt.”
I naturally checked the information.
The opponent's name is Malcolm.
And my name, naturally, was Reinhardt.
“Malcolm. Do you also know which knight order I belong to?”
“Yes? Ah, yes. I heard you are a member of the Taton Knights.”
“The city where the Taton Knights are located?”
“We are returning to the city of Serigel. It is where the Taton Knights are located.”
City of Serigel.
Name of the Knight Order, Taton.
‘Knowing this much is enough. I can find the rest myself.’
Since the community opened, finding data wasn't difficult.
I looked straight at Malcolm. He had a somewhat puzzled expression.
“You must have felt it was a strange question.”
“Yes? No. I just…….”
“I needed confirmation. Because it is a situation where it wouldn't be strange to receive mental shock. Fortunately, it doesn't seem to be such a case.”
Only then did Malcolm’s eyes open wide.
It was an expression that he realized my intention.
“I have worked in the merchant group for 15 years. I have experienced situations worse than this.”
“That’s a relief. Are the other members like that too?”
“No. But I will check. Just as you did for me, Sir Knight.”
Malcolm stepped back with an expression of being moved rather than suspicious.
It didn't take long for the situation to be completely organized.
“We are ready, Sir Knight. We will escort you to the carriage.”
***
The carriage ran fast along the official road.
Perhaps running at full power, it was a much faster speed than when heading to the Gamudan Kingdom.
‘Now I can live a bit.’
I thought looking out the window.
Instead of the smell of blood, clear air was rushing in.
Inhaling deeply at that, I chewed over the situation I was in.
‘Anyway, I am Reinhardt, and the group I belong to is the Taton Knights. The base is the eastern gateway city, Serigel.’
I found all the necessary keywords.
I don't know why Reinhardt is in a place like this, but anyway, I had accurately grasped the current situation.
Swipe.
I wiped my face with both hands.
‘So if I think again from the beginning.’
My brain began to spin fast.
The moment I fell into this world.
Conversation with the mercenary while riding the horse.
Community, arrow stuck in the carriage, bandits appearing, and the physical and mental changes experienced afterwards.
The memories were vivid. Because they were things experienced just now.
‘The fact that this place runs on the same rules as the game is certain.’
Reinhardt confronting injustice gets angry, and extremely angry Reinhardt cannot be controlled.
If he punishes villains, the effect of [Justice] increases.
If he doesn't and ignores them, the effect of [Justice] decreases.
‘The point where the Justice skill activated was when the bandit group appeared. When I heard the word slave. And when I confirmed the fact that they were actually transporting slaves.’
It meant he didn't get angry with just simple suspicion.
If there were no certain clues, Reinhardt didn't draw his sword.
‘Just earlier was like that too. If the owner had made excuses saying no, it wouldn't have gone to Justice 3 stacks. Though a mission to check additionally might have popped up…….’
That too was ultimately something one could only know when the situation occurred.
Anyway, it was much easier to handle than if he had just obediently admitted it like just a moment ago.
I stopped thinking there.
I opened the interface and executed the community.
‘I should clarify what I can confirm.’
There were three keywords to search.
Reinhardt.
Taton Knights.
And, Gateway City Serigel.
[Search: Reinhardt]
Maybe there might be helpful information.
With faint anticipation, I pressed the search button.
But the result wasn't very satisfactory.
[Seriously can't save this guy Reinhardt?]
[Died again…….]
[Guys should I just discard him and take Evangeline??]
As always, only meaningless posts were output in rows.
Content about falling into the game or meaningless messages popping up was not visible at all.
‘Can’t be helped.’
I resigned and moved on to the next.
The keyword searched this time was the ‘Taton Knights’ I currently belonged to.
[Lol are these guys even knights??]
[List of Eastern Empire Knight Orders.txt]
[Is this just junk item?]
The result wasn't much different this time either.
The Taton Knights were an extra group, and honestly, even as I remembered, it wasn't exactly an important name.
‘I have no choice but to confirm the knight order side directly after returning. Although…… I did cause an accident.’
Though somewhat worried, there was no other way.
I shook off the lingering attachment and moved to the next keyword.
The search term this time, Gateway City Serigel.
Fortunately, Serigel was a city with some recognition in the game too.
Before possessing Reinhardt, it was also a place passed by occasionally while performing quests.
[Gateway City Serigel Overview…….txt]
[Since it's a gateway city, there are always many people. So many incidents and many quests. Travelers, adventurers, merchants, criminals, regardless, a diverse composition…….]
[Anyway, it's a city where there's a lot to pick up overall. If you judge properly at the branching points, you can secure quite a bit of profit.]
As expected, rich information was contained in the community.
Of course, I don't know how it is at the current point in time, but anyway, I crammed the information into my head one by one.
[Mayor of Serigel? This bastard is just god lol]
[If you build up favorability with the mayor a bit, just think of the game progress as becoming smooth.]
[Instead, if you get too close, you unconditionally become a criminal. You can't leave Serigel at all so it's better to draw a line appropriately lol]
“I didn't know this. That there are cases where you become unable to leave Serigel.”
Summarizing the overall atmosphere of Serigel, it was a somewhat passable city.
The surface is peaceful and bright.
But the city's high-ranking officials were involved in all sorts of dirty work.
“Anyway, it means there won't be things causing accidents as long as I don't get involved with the higher-ups.”
It could be called a fairly sound city for this much.
It seems I can start more smoothly than I worried…… It was the moment I thought that far.
“Sir Knight.”
Knock knock.
At that time, Malcolm, sitting in the coachman’s seat, knocked on the small window.
“Speak.”
“We will arrive in Serigel soon. Which way should we go? Should we go to City Hall, or…….”
“Let’s go to the Knight Order.”
“Understood. We will take you to the Taton Knights Headquarters.”
Because I looked into the community all day, it felt like time passed in an instant.
Glance.
I checked outside the window.
The majestic walls unique to a gateway city were visible in the distance.
Below that, five or six checkpoints were seen.
I pursed my lips.
‘Gateway cities usually have strict inspections. If things go wrong, a lot of time might be taken here.’
But since I was a knight, it would work out somehow.
Even more so since I wasn't an external knight but belonged to a knight order based in the city of Serigel.
And when the carriage arrived at the checkpoint.
“Isn't it Sir Reinhardt?”
The soldier who was wearing a strict expression smiled brightly as soon as he saw me.
“Open up quickly! It is Sir Reinhardt of the Taton Knights!”
And he wasn't even doing the inspection properly, just flinging the gate open.
‘They come out this favorably? To the extent of not even inspecting?’
I closed my mouth for now and watched the situation.
It seemed Reinhardt was already quite a famous figure.
Enough for even the guard in charge of inspection to memorize that face.
“It is an honor to meet you, Sir Reinhardt! Good work!”
“Mm, keep up the work.”
When I nodded appropriately to the soldier who even saluted, he showed a reaction of being deeply moved.
‘Are they letting me off because it's Reinhardt? No. If it was this personality, he would have warned them to do the inspection properly.’
I glanced behind as if passing by.
The soldier was dealing with the next personnel with a brutal expression as if asking when he had ever smiled.
‘It’s correct to think of it as a knight's privilege. Since it's a knight order based in Serigel too.’
These details were content hard to figure out from game play or the community.
Because the content I knew was strictly the parts played ‘as the protagonist’.
‘I need to keep my wits about me. To not show awkward behavior at times like this.’
Reinhardt had to be Reinhardt.
To not buy misunderstandings, I had no choice but to keep my five senses tight and read the room anytime, anywhere.
‘That is that.’
We entered Serigel, and the carriage was rolling.
Looking out the window, I felt like a child going to get beaten.
‘What do I explain when I go? They were all criminals so I executed them all?’
It was the biggest crisis I faced right now.
To the Knight Commander who entrusted the mission with trust, how will I explain this situation.
No matter if it was slaves or whatever, killing them all on the spot was clearly an action with room for problems.
‘If it was a normal case, I would report the fact to the Commander, and the Commander would convey the news to City Hall.’
But for me, it was an intolerable matter.
Because I had a personality where I had to draw my sword to be satisfied when facing those who committed sins worthy of death.
“Sir Knight. It is the Taton Knights.”
And the time approached. I stared intently at the Knight Order Headquarters visible through the window.
The scale of the building was considerable.
Two knights with helmets pressed down guarded the iron gate, and beyond that, at the main entrance, a statue holding swords in both hands stood firmly.
Tap tap.
I knocked on the coachman’s seat window.
The carriage stopped smoothly, and one of the knights guarding the entrance approached sending a sharp gaze.
Click.
I opened the door and got off. Then the approaching knight showed a dramatic attitude change.
“K-Knight Hummel! No abnormalities during duty!”
It was a salute with sharp angles.
Even in the affiliated knight order, it seemed Reinhardt was receiving considerable respect.
“You’re working hard.”
When I threw a word while reading the room, Knight Hummel quickly tidied his appearance. Only after neatly putting up even his slightly disheveled hair did he take a seemingly at-attention posture and answer.
“Thank you! More than that, Sir Reinhardt. I heard you definitely took charge of the Rom Caravan escort, have you returned already?”
“There was a somewhat unsavory incident.”
“Yes? If you say unsavory incident…….”
I paused for a moment.
I pondered whether it was better to convey this news to the Commander directly, or if it was better to borrow a third party's mouth.
‘It’s better to convey the news first right now.’
It was a situation where I didn't know the relationship between the Knight Commander and Reinhardt yet.
Furthermore, if the Knight Commander made a remark defending slaves or something.
‘If I draw my sword against the Commander, I really die. Here today.’
I let out a short sigh and looked at the knight.
“The owner of the Rom Caravan I escorted, and the accompanying mercenary corps, were transporting slaves to the Gamudan Kingdom. Therefore, they were executed as sinners.”
I poured out the words quickly.
The reaction came back a beat late.
The knight opened his mouth blankly and widened his eyes.
Only after that did the knight ask back.
“Yes?”