Dark Knight Kroki

　The Republic of St. Renaria is one of the most powerful of the many groups of states.
　It has several satellite cities, and the central city of Renaria has a population of about 200,000.
　However, that's only 200,000 citizens, and the population would increase even more if those without citizenship were included.
　The Republic of St. Renaria, as the name of the republic implies, is ruled by a regent whose term of office is four years rather than a hereditary king.
　As for the selection of the Regent, unlike ordinary elections in the Republic, the Temple of Raina chooses one from among those recommended by a certain number of citizens.
　Moreover, the Temple of Raina has veto power over the policies of the regent and the resolutions of the people's assembly, which is organized by those with citizenship rights.
　In other words, the politics of this country cannot be conducted without the will of the Temple of Raina. It can be said that the Temple of Raina is the highest authority in this country.
　The Temple of Raina in this Republic of St. Renaria is the most sacred place for the worship of the goddess Raina, and devotees come to worship her from all over the world.
　It is also visited by many people who are not followers of the Goddess Raina because it is a rich country.
　As one of such visitors, I came to this country.

'What are you going to do now, Master Jans or Master Dihardt?'

　Nat on his own shoulder asks.

'Yeah, yeah. ....... Let's find a base for now.

　Saying this, I walked around the city outside the city walls.
　When you become a large city, it is possible to have an outer city.
　The outer city is a city built outside the city walls.
　As long as it is an outer city, you don't need to be a citizen to enter the city, so you can come and go as you please.
　Normally, it is dangerous to stay outside the city walls at night.
　However, people who don't have any citizenship have nowhere else to go, so they have no choice but to live in the outer city.
　The people in this outer city may be people from a ruined country or criminals who were driven out of the country.
　Because of this, it is very unsafe.
　Normally, it is the duty of a knight to protect the security outside the city walls.
　The inside of the walls are guarded by vigilantes and guards, while the knights protect the safety of those who travel the streets outside the walls.
　Demons frequently appear on the streets, and if they are not exterminated, no one will pass through the streets.
　It is a larger area than in a city and you have to fight against dangerous demons. That's why you need to be able to ride a horse and still have a high fighting ability to be a knight.
　In addition, the knight is required to be loyal to the king and the state because the person with such a high fighting ability can't afford to rebel against the state.
　However, a knight will only protect the citizens of his own country and the citizens of the cities with which he has signed a treaty.
　Knights do not protect people who do not have citizenship.
　Therefore, if non-citizens kill each other in the outer city, the knight will not do anything.
　On the other hand, if a non-citizenship holder harmed a citizenship holder, the knight would kill the non-citizenship holder.
　As far as the knights are concerned, the people in the outer city are not too different from monster beasts.
　But if this is the case, why don't the knights get rid of the people in the outer city?
　That's because even if they are a disruptor of public safety to a knight, they are attractive to merchants as cheap labor.
　A labor force that is much cheaper than hiring an ordinary citizen contributes to the development of a city.
　This is why the outer city is allowed to exist. But only as long as the citizens are not harmed.
　As I walked around, I saw a rattling person pass by.

'Where will you be based, Yans?'

　Nat, who has moved to his own bosom, asks.

'I'd like to find an innkeeper if I could: ....... But it's going to be hard to find a decent inn outside the city walls.'

　The best place to use as a base of operations would be the inn inside the city walls.
　However, I can't even enter the city walls because I don't have citizenship of any country, and I can't stay in the inn.
　I can sneak inside the walls, but if the innkeepers get suspicious, it's over.
　I wish I could use magic to manipulate my consciousness, but I don't have that ability.
　So, let's find a place to stay in the outer city.
　I walk through the outer city.
　The unpaved, bare ground has puddles of water on it from yesterday's rain, which stains my shoes every time I walk.

It looks better than the last time I was here: ......

　I mutter to myself as I look around.
　This is the third time I've come to a city with an outer city.
　The previous two were much less safe.
　After all, there are usually dead bodies lying around.
　It was the first time to see a dead person killed and turned into a corpse.
　But I just felt a bit of disgust and nothing more.
　In my original world, I think I would have made a big deal out of it.
　Maybe coming to this world has affected my spirit.
　The first time I was surrounded by demons, I wasn't that scared.
　Rather, I was much more afraid of Rage and Shirone.
　The same may be true of Shirone and her friends.
　I've heard that Rage, Sirone and others have defeated many demons.
　Wasn't it scary?
　I find a place that looks like an inn as I'm walking around thinking about it.
　However, I walk past it.
　Because I have no money.
　I decided to look for a place to shelter from the wind and rain for now.
　I went to the outskirts of the outer city to find a place to shelter from the wind and rain.




Dzumi, a man who is a warrior crumbling

'd*mn it ....... What am I going to do about it? ...... I'm .......

　No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn't come up with a good idea.
　I can't do this without drinking.
　I feel a little sick.
　I decide to go into a secluded area and throw up a little.

'Hey Dzumi!

　As I throw up, I hear a voice behind me.
　Dzumi, that's me.
　That's not my real name. It's just shortened to Dzumi because I look like a rat.
　When I turn around, there are five men standing around a large bald-headed man.
　They all have familiar faces.
　They are all familiar faces, men who were members of the freedom fighters I belonged to.
　I don't want to see them. I've sobered up.
　I belong to the warrior corps in the outer city of St. Renaria.
　It's a gang of hooligans.
　It's an organization for the extermination of civilian demons that are not controlled by the state, unlike the knights.
　However, they have never exterminated demons.
　They deal with the same people.
　They are a group of shitheads who get their daily bread by robbing the weak. That's the organization I belonged to.
　If you want to live in this outer city, you have to belong to an organization somewhere.
　So I can't complain if a shitty organization will let me join it.
　However, the warrior group I was supposed to belong to in order to live is trying to kill me, which makes me cry.

''This is, this is the Lord Commander ....... What's going on?''

　I laugh and look at the Commander.
　He's a big man with a bald head and a scar on his face.
　His belly sticks out a bit, but his arms are thick and he looks very strong.

'Where have you been, Dzumi?　You're in trouble, you have to stick it out to the heroes.

　The Commander laughs.

'Why do I have to be pushed out by a brave man? ......

　I shouted, almost crying.

'Han! That's because you killed the brave woman's father!
It wasn't me! I didn't do it!　That man was killed by the Lord Commander!　I killed that girl I was after because she became a brave woman!
Hey, hey, don't shout at the top of your lungs!

　The Commander comes closer.
　I step back.

'A brave man who was nearly killed by the Dark Knight has recovered, and he's trying to take my place for fear of retribution!
Shut the f*ck up!

　The commanders draw their swords.
　If they don't, they will be killed.
　But even if I try to escape, my legs don't move well due to the alcohol I've been drinking.
　Am I going to end up here?
　I didn't want to. I don't want to die.

"Hey, can I have a minute?

　Suddenly, I am approached by a voice.
　It's a young man, judging by his voice.
　The Commander and the others turn around.
　I can't see the leader because he is in the shadows.
　However, the person who called out to them passes through the group leaders and comes to me.
　A person dressed in a black hooded robe stands in front of you.

I'm sorry ....... Could you please tell me what you just said?

　A black hooded figure asks me.
　I can't see what he looks like because the hood hides his face.
　Who are you?
　But that doesn't matter. I don't care who listens to me.

"Yeah, that's great, I'll listen to you ....... No, I'd rather you listen to me: .......

　I'm going to tell you the story of my life.

"Wait a minute, brother. You'll get us in trouble if you hear that story!

　The Commander thrusts his sword into the neck of the black hooded figure from behind.

'Um ....... I don't think you can complain about being hit back when you stick your sword at someone.''

　As he says this, the black hooded figure grabs the Commander's sword. Then the Commander's sword disappears in black flames.

''Na!　What!　A sorcerer?!

　The Commander lets out a surprised voice.

'I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to stop you from speaking for a while,'

　The black hooded figure turns around and suddenly the commanders fall over.
　I don't know what happened.
　All of the commanders are holding their mouths.
　If you look closely, it looks like their jaws are off.

''Fuga ...... Fuga ......''

　The Commander looks at the black hooded figure as if he wants to say something.
　His eyes are stained with fear.

'You can go if you won't tell anyone about what you've met here.

　The black hooded figure says this and the commanders run away.

'Well, ....... Can you tell us the full story? The brave man is ...... rage is alive, isn't he?

　I nodded at his words.





◆Dark Knight Kroki.

　Myself and Nat move to the place where the man who calls himself Dzumi usually roosts.
　Dozumi's roost is a wooden shack on the outskirts of the outer city.
　It has holes in many places and looks as if it could break down at any moment.

'I didn't know that happened: ......
'Hehe, that's right mister: ......'

　According to Dzumi's story, the leader of the warrior group he belonged to had his eye on a woman who was intercepted by a brave man.
　Even though it's called a seizure, it doesn't mean that the leader was just forcing the woman to go out with the leader.
　The Commander threatened the woman, telling her that he would kill her father if she didn't do what he said.
　The woman is not a citizen of St. Leonard's Republic, so she is not protected by the law and has no choice but to follow the Commander's wishes.
　That's when the heroic Rage appeared.
　The woman asked Rage for help. The woman was beautiful, so Rage helped the woman.
　The leader had no choice but to back down because he couldn't make an enemy of a brave man who was recognized by the Temple of Raina.
　However, rumors circulated that Rage had died at the hands of the Dark Knight.
　Because of Rage's death, the women can no longer receive protection, and the women's father died at the hands of the Commander.
　But Rage was alive.
　As expected, murder is not allowed in the outer city either.
　Even when the woman's father was killed, the murderer was apparently hidden from view. But there's no way Rage wouldn't retaliate for such a thing.
　That's why the Commander was afraid of Rage's retaliation and wanted to offer the sacrificial sheep.
　That's the Dzumi in front of me.
　However, I don't think that such a thing can deceive the eyes of Rage and the others, but I don't know what the Commander is thinking, so I'll keep it quiet.

''Thank you, for giving me good information,''

　I take some gems out of the bag at my waist and give them to him.
　Dzumi opens her eyes and looks at the jewels.

'This is ....... 'Are they real?'

　Dzumi looks at the gems from different angles and even chews on them.

'Less?'

　Dzumi shakes her head when she hears herself asking.

'If this is the real thing, I can run away from this place to another outer city. But mister, are you sure?　I don't care if you give me something this good.

　Dzumi mumbles a bit and exclaims.

'Good, because you gave me the information I needed: ....... Besides, I'm getting this roost, right?

　Dzumi shakes her head this time as she asks herself.

'Of course!　You can have a roost like this for your husband!　I'm getting out of this town!　Your husband can use this place as he pleases!
You can tell me all about it later: ......
'You can ask me anything you want!　I don't care if your husband is a demon!

　Dzumi laughs and shakes her head.
　Now we have a base of operations.
　Now we just need to figure out how to find out about Rage and the others.