Dark Knight Kroki

　In the tavern in the outer streets of the Republic of St. Renaria, customers are talking.
　Judging by their appearance, they must be members of some warrior group.
　He looks like a rugged man.
　I listen attentively.

I'm not sure if I've ever heard of it. I'm sure you've heard that the brave man, Rage, failed to defeat the demon king.
I've heard that story, too. It's all very near death, you know.
I didn't think that strong man would be defeated. I knew it was impossible for a human to defeat a demon king, didn't I?
Even the strongest and bravest master is no match for the Demon King. ......
No, I'm talking about the fact that it wasn't the Demon King who killed the hero.
What!　Really?!
Yeah, well, apparently one of his dark knights defeated him.
Wow, I've never heard of such a strong man under the Demon King's command.
Yeah, but we have a problem.
Problem?
For some reason the Demon King has never been able to come out of Nargol before, but apparently he's not.
What!　So the Dark Knight is attacking us, then?
I don't know for now. But since the hero was killed, the movements of demons around the country have become more active. There are also rumors that the dark knight will lead demons from all over the world to attack us.
The Dark Knight is next in line for bravery. ...... It's a disgusting world.

　I didn't drink, but sat in a nearby chair and listened to the guests.
　The gossip is not just about tail fins, it's about tossing.
　I have no intention of attacking them. It's a very good idea to have a good time with your friends. At least that is what I have heard.
　I look at what the guests are drinking.
　The wooden cup contains a barley fermented liquor called ale.
　It is a kind of beer in their world.
　I have never drunk beer or ale, but ale is probably not as good as beer.
　After all, this is a world without a refrigerator.
　It is normal for ales to be unchilled.
　Anyway, I've heard a lot of rumors about Rage.
　I'm sure that this is the city that Rage is based in.

"Mr. Dihardt: ......

　A voice comes from under the chair. There's a rat.
　Nat had gone to the Temple of Raina, the center of the St. Renaria Republic, to gather information.

'Welcome back Nat. Shall we go home then?




Dark Knight Kroki

　I take Nat back to Dzumi's hut.
　Dzumi is gone.
　He's already left the country.
　No, it's not just Dzumi.
　It seems that the people in his warband are gone too.
　Perhaps they were afraid of Rage's retribution.

''Master Dihardt. Yance by the state of the temple.

　Nat gives us information about the temple.
　Nat says that the temple was built by dwarves.
　It seems to be quite solid because it was built by dwarves.
　Naturally, the security is tight, the knights under the direct control of the temple are all elite, and the people are well protected.
　But the problem is not the knights, but rather the magical alarms that are placed here and there in the temple.
　I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about this in the future.
　The temple is where Rage and his friends are supposed to be.
　It's a good thing that you're able to get into the temple, because it's very well guarded, even with the cloak of shadow, it's difficult to infiltrate the temple, and I was waiting for Nat's return here.

'It would be easy for me to get in there, and Jans is ......

　Nat says apologetically.
　The device only responds to objects of a certain size because it can't afford to sound an alarm every time a small animal enters. Therefore, Nat, who is small in size, can easily get in, he says.
　It would have been nice if I could use my own transformation magic, but unfortunately I couldn't.

I'm sure you'll be able to help me out. It helps me a lot. ......

　Nat doesn't have much magic himself, but his knowledge is amazing. This is because his immediate superior was a former god of knowledge.
　However, Nat's greatest strengths are infiltration and intelligence gathering. He once broke into Elyos and became an emissary to a friend of Modes'.
　If it wasn't for Nat along the way, they wouldn't have made it here in one piece.
　I'll have to thank Modes for letting him be my guide.
　In fact, this is how he brought me the information about the temple.

'It's going to be a tough one to infiltrate, isn't it?

　I sigh to myself.

''Um~ Master Dihardt. It's not enough for me to eavesdrop on you, is it, Yance?

　Nat suggests.

'Sure, the information Nat brings to the table is useful, but ......

　But that's not the point of coming here.
　In the first place, we didn't come this far to gather information on them as our enemy.
　The information we get depends on what we are gathering information for.
　If they were to gather information on the opponent as an enemy, they would look into the number of troops, the type of equipment and so on.
　Nat may think he's here to give the brave men a break.
　So if that's what it's all about, Nat will surely bring important information to the table.
　But that's not the case. Nat doesn't always bring me the information I want to know.

'I'm sorry. I need to know what's going on with them with my own eyes.

　I decline Nat's offer.

'So yans or ......'

　Nat's voice was dark, as if he thought he didn't trust me.

'That's not the point, Nat. Let's go eat.

　We leave the hut where we used to roost for the dovetail.
　We stepped out of the hut and stepped on the bare ground.
　Unlike inside the walls, the ground is not paved with cobblestones.
　It was my second day in this Renaria city.
　Walking around the city, you can smell the smell of food from the stalls at lunchtime, probably cereal porridge.
　Many people are going to that stall.
　However, it was dangerous to eat food from street stalls in the outer city from a hygiene problem.
　After all, there is no law, so it is not a quick death, but it usually contains toxic plants.
　That's why I didn't eat anything in the tavern.
　Then why were we in the tavern, it was simply to gather information.
　Myself and Nat decided to have a meal inside the castle walls.
　I put on the cloak of the shadow and enter the castle wall from the main gate.
　The way to activate the cloak of shadow magic is to put on the hood and hide your face tightly. This hidden magic is a spell to distract people's consciousness. When this magic is activated, others will not notice it even if they are around.
　However, it seems to be easily noticed by those who have a certain ability to detect it.
　The inside of the castle walls are clean and well-cleaned, unlike the filthy outer city.
　I go to the bakery I found yesterday.
　There are two types of bread, one made of high quality white barley and the other made of lesser quality black barley.
　The bread made from white barley is as good as bread made in Japan.
　In a different city, I remember the honey bread was very good.
　Is it possible to find the same bread in this city?
　Walking down the street, there's a lot of noise going on.
　I looked through the gap in the people's hedge and saw two armor-clad men walking warily.

I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about this. What are you doing?

　In this Republic of St. Renaria, it's not the king or the regent who can give orders to the knights, but the head of the temple.
　And the basic knights are tasked with either guarding the temple or maintaining security on the city streets.
　They don't walk through the city this way fully armed, Nat says.
　There are two women walking behind those knights.
　Both are quite beautiful girls.
　The woman walking in front looks like a well-bred young lady and her hair is bright and strong.
　The woman walking behind her is small and her hair is tied back in a high bun. The two are conversing, and while the woman in front of her speaks with a great deal of expression, the woman behind her moves her mouth as little as necessary.
　Even from a distance you can tell that the clothes they are both wearing are of the highest quality. They seem to be quite rich.
　And the knights walking in front and behind them seem to be their guards.
　Who are they?

Oh, Master Dihardt. That's the bombastic princess.

　Nat says, pointing to the woman walking in front of him.

'Exploding Princess!

　Explosive Princess is too weird a name. When I wondered, Nat explained to me.

I heard that a man once tried to mess with the princess and was beaten by magic," he says. I'm sure you've heard the name "explosion princess" because the power of the magic was so high that it wiped out several unrelated houses.
Haha. ......

　I make myself sound dumb at Nat's explanation.
　And those knights seem to be the ones the temple put on to keep strange people away from that explosive princess.
　Aren't they guards? I wanted to rush in.
　A total of four of those knights were escorting around the two of them a bit apart.

And that bombshell princess is the sister of a brave man, Yance.

　Nat's words surprise me.
　The brave man's sister! If that was the case, then she was Rage's sister.
　It's surprising that Rage had a sister, but it was also surprising that those summoned weren't the only ones who came to the Demon King's Castle.
　How many people were summoned?
　I wonder about myself.
　I was alone in my time.
　It's a bit frustrating, but this is an opportunity of sorts.
　Could I hear the conversation between those two?
　I listen.
　I can't hear anything.
　I have become a superhuman in this world. If I listen carefully, I can hear voices from some distance.
　But I can't hear anything they're saying.
　Let's follow them. I thought about it.

"I'm sorry, Nat. Can you give me a minute?
I understand.

　Nat gets off his own shoulder.
　Normally it would be better to speak to the other person from the front, but you don't want Shirone to be able to tell you about yourself if possible.
　I put on my cloak of shadow and activate the hidden form of magic.
　The two of them are walking in the direction of the bakery where I was planning to go.
　You don't follow, you follow them.
　That's when they got a little too close.
　I thought I heard them both.
　More, I want to hear it, and I get even closer.
　When I got quite close, suddenly I could hear their voices normally.

'So, Kaya, the bread there was good~'

　I hear Rage's sister's voice.

'Please wait! Miss!
What is it, Kaya?

　The unmistakable voice of her companion stopped her.
　It was then.
　I bent over as quickly as I could.
　Something passes at high speed across my face, where my chin used to be.
　A turning kick.
　The woman who was walking behind Rage's sister jumped and let out a circular kick.
　It was also precisely at the chin, despite the fact that she was looking back.
　If she had reacted a little later, she would have been hit for sure.
　And if it had hit her on the chin, she would have been in a coma.
　She twists her body and does a heel drop.
　You can almost see the inside of her skirt, but that's not the point.
　I roll to the side and avoid her heels.
　The cobblestone pavement where her heel fell is shattered and a crack runs through it.
　The girl immediately chased after it.
　It's a swift attack, but it's an attack that may have been too hasty, or it may have thrown you off your game.
　I immediately took her hand and threw her away.
　I knew it was bad.
　This is a technique that should be done head first.
　I hurriedly put my hands on her back to make her fall off her hips.

''Ugh!''

　A woman moans.
　How much it would hurt, even if it was her ass.

'S-Sorry!

　I can't help but apologize.

'Kah!　How dare you do this to Kaya!

　Rage's sister is coming towards us.
　However, she hooks herself on her own leg and almost falls over.
　If she falls like this, she'll probably hit her face on the cobblestone.

''Don't risk it!

　Unexpectedly, I catch myself catching her body.
　Huh.
　I feel a soft touch in my hand.

'What are you doing?!

　I apparently grabbed his chest when I accepted it.

'You hentai!

　A strong slap comes flying in.
　I couldn't get my hands off my chest, so I get beaten to a pulp.
　That's when the hood comes off.

"Oh, shit!

　I hid my face as quickly as I could and hurriedly left the place.
　A group of knights who noticed something unusual rushed up to me.
　I flipped one of them off and entered the shadow of the road.
　How far did I escape? I found myself in a hut in the outer city.
　I take a breath there.
　I remember her movements. That movement is some kind of kung fu movement.
　And perhaps it's the kung fu of the world I was from.
　She was also a summoned person. And it is the movement of a person who has had considerable training.
　But it's more than that.

It was a failure. ......

　I mutter to myself.
　This is going to be difficult to gather information from now on.
　What should we do now?

"Master Dihart~. Are you okay, Yance?

　Nat comes over here.
　I look at Nat and think.
　You want me to be honest with you?
　It's easy to gather information if you're a nut.
　In the meantime, he and the brave men are supposed to be enemies.
　What would Nat think if he heard that he didn't want to fight with them too much?
　But there's nothing we can do about it.
　I think to myself.
　Then I look at my left palm.

'It was soft: ......'