Up until now, swordsmanship was a means of making a living for me.
Although my teacher, Captain Geloic, occasionally gave me stingy compliments, that guy’s words weren’t reliable. In conclusion, this was the first time I’ve received such praise for my swordsmanship.
All I did was just work hard. To be honest, my swordsmanship hasn’t been of much use in handling drunken troublemakers or dealing with neighborhood complaints, but I still didn’t slack off in practice.
For some reason, receiving praise all at once for those days made me momentarily emotional.
“Um, Captain Clara? Have I said something presumptuous?”
“Ah… No. Thank you for saying that.”
I waved my hands in nervousness and tried to cover my blushing face.
“However, since our knight order’s circumstances are not favorable, helping you in your swordsmanship… I’m not sure.”
“I understand! I’ll learn by observing during work!”
“If you don’t mind, we can also schedule some time for sparring.”
“Wow, I’m so happy!”
Lan grabbed my hand and enthusiastically shook them, almost jumping up and down. I ended up shaking hands with her with an awkward expression.
At that moment, the door to the knights’ office opened again.
“Hello! Good morning… Huh?”
Billy, who entered brimming with energy, blinked at us.
“Is there a guest?”
“Ah… Say hello, Billy. This is Sir Lan Maple, who will be working with our knight order starting tomorrow.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Lan Maple.”
After shaking hands and exchanging greetings, I briefly explained how Lan came to join our order. Billy, whose eyes were sparkling, exclaimed loudly.
“As expected, the higher-ups have recognized our knights’ efforts! That must be because you were amazing, Captain Clara.”
“No, it’s not because of my amazing performance… It’s thanks to everyone’s hard work in their own roles. You’ve all done well.”
“Captain…!”
Although it was an indirect compliment, it seemed to touch Billy deeply, as his eyes began to well up.
However, the warm atmosphere was quickly overshadowed when Billy blurted out a nonsense remark.
“Oh, then Sir Lan will be my Junior?”
“….”
That was the most ridiculous remark I’ve heard from someone who considers an elite Diamond Knights his Junior.
I tried to quickly smooth things over, but Lan responded with a smile.
“Yes, that’s how it should be. I’ll be in your care, Senior.”
“…!”
Billy’s grin widened to the point of almost reaching his ears. Given that he had always been the lowest-ranking troublemaker with no Junior before, it was understandable that he was very happy….
I looked back at Lan, feeling apologetic. But she just smiled with a flawless expression. Could she really be an angel?
“Oh, this reminds me, I heard there’s one more person from the Ruby Knights who is supposed to be here. Hasn’t that person arrived yet?”
“Oh, that’s, um…..”
Even in this warm atmosphere, our Sir Sein was not present. It was a usual occurrence.
“Well… he’s someone who is…. very busy, so his work hours are flexible….”
“Aha, I see.”
I broke out in a cold sweat, hoping that Lan’s impression of our knight order wouldn’t get any worse.
Please don’t run away! How long has it been since we’ve had such a capable person come to our knights!
“Billy, bring out the tea. Lionel, do we have any cookies left? Sir Lan, if you have time, please feel free to have some tea.”
“Oh, I have plenty of time, but you don’t have to worry about me….”
When Lan waved her hand, flustered by our hospitality.
Rrrrriiingg!
A loud bell rang abruptly, breaking the harmonious atmosphere.
Since Billy had gone to prepare the tea, Lionel answered the call instead of him.
“Hello, this is the Ruby Knights headquarters. Yes… Yes?”
I watched with a sense of foreboding, when an ominous phrase struck the air.
“A request for dispatch?”
As soon as I heard that, I hurried over and gestured to receive the call in Lionel’s place.
“This is Clara Weyburn, the Captain of the Ruby Knights. Why would you need the dispatch?”
[The Imperial Treasure and Relics Management Office has requested escort for an investigation of the underground waterways.]
Imperial Treasure and Relics Management Office…
It was a word that gave me only ominous premonitions.
“I understand… Do we have to send it right now?”
[I’d like to ask you to do so. Please send someone to the eastern entrance of the underground waterways.]
“Yes. I’ll send one person.”
I hung up the call and immediately lifted my head to instruct.
“Billy, stay on standby and handle any other deployment requests that come in.”
“Yes, Captain!”
“Lionel, take care of the office and let Sir Sein know the situation when he arrives. I’ll contact you if we need additional support.”
“Understood.”
After quickly organizing the rest of the works, I looked back at Lan with an apologetic face.
“Sir Lan, I deeply apologize for this, but it seems I have to leave right away.”
“No, you don’t need to apologize! If it’s alright, may I accompany you as well?”
“Yes?”
“I have my armors on, I think I could be of help.”
I couldn’t help but widen my eyes in surprise.
To voluntarily offer to work even though it was her day off and she hadn’t officially started her position yet? At this point, I couldn’t help but wonder, is she truly an angel or just a pushover?
‘She must have been exploited quite a bit by the Diamond Knights….’
With a sympathetic heart, I spoke kindly.
“Sir Lan, it’s your day off today. Our order isn’t so strict. We don’t expect you to assist even on your day off, and there won’t be any consequences if you choose not to.”
Lan smiled warmly after hearing that.
“Oh, I didn’t think of it that way at all. I just said it because I thought it would be a good opportunity!”
“A good opportunity?”
“Yes! I can observe Captain Clara’s skills firsthand. Even if nothing significant happens while I’m with you, I can consider it a valuable training experience.”
“….”
“Ah, of course, if it’s a burden to have me come along, please feel free to let me know!”
I found myself unexpectedly touched and stared at Lan with a sense of awe.
Oh my… We have such a talented person in our knight order?
‘I’m afraid this luck might come with a price… What if I end up with a broken arm today or something?’
I quickly grabbed Lan’s hand and shook it up and down.
“No trouble at all! If Sir Lan is willing, it’s reassuring just to have you with us!”
“Then I look forward to working with you!”
“Yes!”
I happily put on my cloak and left the knights’ office with Lan.
***
“Greetings, we are from the Ruby Knights. I am Captain Clara Weyburn, and this is our temporary member, Sir Lan Maple, who is joining us today for training purpose. Thank you for having us.”
“Oh, welcome, sir.”
The security guard in charge, who was standing in front of the entrance to the underground waterways, came running, wiping his sweat.
“I apologize for contacting you so suddenly. The Imperial Treasure and Relics Management Office decided to investigate the underground waterways today. However, we felt uneasy with just our Security Forces, so we reached out.”
“Uneasy?”
“Yes. Actually, we’ve received several reports of demonic creatures sighted in the underground waterways in the past. Of course, we’ve patrolled and investigated the area each time, but we haven’t encountered any. It could be prank reports, but….”
“But if there are indeed demonic creatures inside, it’d be dangerous for you so you reached out to us. You made the right decision.”
The Security Forces had some Spirit users, but most of them were ordinary people.
In order to deal with the demonic creatures, attacks with Spirit were essential. It would be difficult to deal with them alone.
‘Nevertheless, the underground waterways investigation….’
Similar to the ancient temple from before, the Empire has a rich history with traces of ancient civilizations scattered throughout.
The underground waterways were no exception, they were supposedly completed around 3,000 years ago.
Many believe that such feats would have been impossible even with the technology and magic of that time, making it one of the Empire’s seven great mysteries, or so Lionel mentioned before.
Anyway, since it was such a mysterious infrastructure, it seemed to hold value as a cultural asset, and there were still areas that have not been fully discovered. So the security officer in charge explained that the Imperial Treasure and Relics Management Office conducts regular investigations.
‘And there is also the possibility that demonic creatures might be nesting in the undiscovered areas….’
It seemed unlikely that we’d encounter demonic creatures so easily, but today, with the unexpected stroke of luck which was Lan Maple, we might be in for something.
According to the law of consumption of total luck(?) we should brace ourselves for anything that might happen because of that.
“But, what about the people from the Treasure and Relics Management Office…?”
“They’ll be here soon. Oh, that carriage coming from over there looks like that.”
We stepped aside and saw the carriage approaching soon.
As soon as I saw the face of the person getting out, I knew my ominous feeling was correct.
“Thank you for your hard work. I look forward to working with you today.”
“Yes, greetings! Are you the officer from the Treasure and Relics Management Office who was supposed to investigate the waterways today?”
“Yes. I’m Mark Baker.”
The person introducing himself as Mark Baker…. He was wearing glasses, a wide hat pulled down low as if to hide his face. Although he had a shabby attire, his striking appearance couldn’t be obscured by the glasses.
In other words, he was Ludger Kassen under an assumed name.
‘Why on earth…?’
