SIDE:?

What?　A failed infiltration attempt?
　I couldn't help but raise my voice when I heard the report of my subordinate's horrible mistake.

''I'm sorry!''

Why?　You know how many we've sent in there?　They usually hire one of them, right?　Could it be that the soldiers you prepared were of such poor quality that they couldn't join the Knights of the Middle Nobility?

No, no!　It is by no means that way!
　I'm sure . As far as I've seen, there were at least a dozen guys who could make it in the higher noble knights' order.

''Then how did that happen?''

This time there were only two knights employed by Léonce Muldaine.
　...... Two people?　Two people?

What?　Only two?　You, you have a lot to lie about to protect yourself!
　You're gonna have to lie better than that if you're gonna have it!

'I am not lying!　There were really only two of us.

So he's thinking of going to war with me with just those two men?

'Yes, no ....... Leons originally owned the mysterious Red Knight. ......

Yeah, I know. You wear all red armor, right?　But those guys are too few in number to fight a war. So they don't pose a threat, do they?
　Sure, they're not as strong as we thought.
　But they're not as strong as they should be.

Yes. I think so.
　d*mn it, ......, I can't read what he's thinking.
　What do you want?　Maybe you were aware that there were a lot of spies mixed in and you weren't going to hire anyone other than someone who was really good at it?

So, what are these two guys like?

That's why ...... we know the identity of one of them, but the other one is currently under investigation.

Yeah. Okay, so tell me more about the ones you do know. And if you don't know, tell me what you know.

Yes. Let's start with the one who knows. This is Bernolt, a former S-class adventurer.
　Bernholt?

What?　Um, is that Bernolt, the leader of one of the only three S-class parties in this world?

Yes. Yes, I'm sure.

Why?　How did Bernolt get into his order?
　What possible reason could he have for giving up being an adventurer to become a knight?

That's why ...... last month, Bernold's 'Follow the Brave' organization, which he was a member of, disbanded.
　That party's broken up?

Why?　Those parties were famous for being close, weren't they?　Is someone seriously hurt?

No, they're not. The sorcerer in "Follow the Brave" is pregnant, and they've decided to take this opportunity to disband and work independently.
　Yeah. We've made enough money, so we should each take it easy from now on.

So that's what it is: ....... So how did Bernolt end up joining his Order?

'And it seems to be a whim. He quit his job as an adventurer, and when he had some spare time on his hands, he happened to find an opening and decided to join.
　Freaky. ...... That's what he's always saying.

Maybe not. That guy lives his life on a whim, but he's really a purposeful guy. Otherwise, he'd never get his party to S-grade.

'Yeah, right: ......'
　Well, you'll never know, having never met him.
　I'm sure the sorcerer's belly is full of Bernolt's children.
　The money he's earned so far should be enough to live on. ...... Probably because of that guy, he thought that now that he's got a family, he'd be better off with a stable job.

'Well, okay . More importantly, what's the other guy like?　I'm more interested in that one.
　There's nothing scarier than a lack of information about a mystery woman ......
　We'll have to make sure they do their research.

That's all I know about ...... is that she's a very powerful woman, and that's all I know about .......

'So strong?　Is it as good as Bernold's?



'No, probably not. Leonce had his own men deal with that woman, but with Bernold he was dealing with her himself.

Yeah?　What do you mean?　What kind of test did he perform?
　Why is he dealing with that guy himself?

'It's simple. It was a formality in which anyone who came forward would be dealt with by either Herman Caroon, a disciple of Leons, or by Leons himself.

Yeah. Hermann ...... was given to me a while back. He's the son of Lars Caroon, right?　Originally, he had close to zero magic power, but after Leons taught him something, he became ridiculously strong.

Yes. Yes.

So how strong was Hermann really?
　That information is very important.
　He's one of my key players in the fight.

We didn't fight long enough to determine that, so I can't say: ......

What do you mean?　Did he deal with all of them?

No, Leons only dealt with Bernold.

So who else did you deal with?
　Don't tell me he had more than just Hermann, did he have other strong men under his command?

No, there's no one. No one ever came forward in the first place.

What do you mean?

'First of all, Leons told me to raise my hand if I'm confident in my arm.

Yeah.

So, in the beginning, of course, I mentioned them all.

Well, I guess so.
　No one will take the job if they don't have confidence.
　I can't think of a guy who didn't mention it.

So Leons randomly picked the guy in front of him and had him fight Hermann.

So?

It was an instant: ....... In an instant, the man was knocked down as fast as I could see.
　Ha-ha-ha. Not much.

"d*mn. You know you're a monster. It's not every day you can move something fast enough to be invisible to the naked eye.

'If you ask me, I'm sure you're right: ....... The fight afterwards was so awesome I forgot about it.

And then?　Oh, Bernolt and the mystery woman.

''Yes . Back to the story, the prospective recruits, having been shown Hellman's outrageous strength, stopped raising their hands to see what was going on.

You guys?

'Yes . If I stepped forward in that situation, I would stand out. ......

Yeah. Besides, if he's an examiner himself, it's not too good to be recognized by the public.

Yes. And we weren't sure we could pass that test.
　Then I guess we better just wait and see what else is on the table.
　Ha, that's probably what he wanted.
　Don't tell me you're smart, too.

Well, in that case, I'd give up too. And then you tell me the story.

Yes. Then, with no one else offering, one woman did.

You're the girl. Did you have a good run-in with Herman?

Yes, sir. I said, but it looked like Hermann was holding back somewhat. But he was still fighting at a high enough level to make us give up.
　This woman and this Bernolt are really getting into trouble.
　We're getting worse and worse.

Okay. So, after that, the Bernolt?

Yes. That was a hell of a fight. I'll be honest, it was a crazy fight between those two.

''Of course. Because I'm sure they're both high-powered in the S class. So he won?

''Yes . I withstood Bernolt's onslaught with plenty of time to spare, and ended it with a sword to Bernolt's neck.

Ha ha ha. Is that guy strong enough to take on a Bernhardt?
　He's not as strong as Damien of the Empire or Allen of the Niners, but he's still one of the strongest adventurers, right?


　And you can end it with a sword to the neck or .......

''Yes, sir. That was definitely tame.

Quite a feat. Looks like the Qilin child of the Forster family isn't very good: ....... Huh, I have to fight a guy like that: ....... Hey, Philibert-san.
　I got fed up with this situation where my winning streaks were getting crushed and I got sick of the man who is now irritating me the most.
　He's a braggart who doesn't work hard enough and he's still bending over to hold a woman in his arms.

Shut up. You should just shut up and bring that despairing man in front of me.

''No, my only job is to extend the territory of the kingdom. You'll have to deal with that on your own.
　I wouldn't dare go head-to-head with that creature.
　Best you go up against it and get killed.

What?　You, who do you think is paying you to do this?

Then give me more money. We can't get anywhere with the preparations. This is a good time, okay?　From now on, his strength is going to grow and grow: ......

Shut up!

Haha ...... I wonder when the war will be over.
　He said something painful and sighed at the upsetting orc, and I left the room because there was no point in talking any longer.

　SIDE: Leons.

""......"

　Right now, before I went to bed, Belle and I were huddled shoulder-to-shoulder watching the rat monitor when an unexpected image came on and me and Belle froze.
　Maybe the mouse stuck to the challenger of the day and went away: .......
　This is unexpected.
　I'm starting to feel bad that we're about to find out what we're up against.

Well, it looks like they're not going to attack us anytime soon.

Yeah. Maybe the Philibert family doesn't have that much money to spend on the war anymore. The estate is in shambles, and the fines have taken a lot of money with them.

If the situation was that hard, you could have just given up: ......

Indeed.
　It's going to be much more profitable to run a serious estate.

But I guess it's no longer a viable option. You're already involved in the kingdom.

You're right. I mean, who the hell is that guy, anyway?
　You mean that guy who was listening intently to his men?

'Well?　A royal general or something?
　I'm sure he's the greatest person ever sent from the kingdom, though.

I had a feeling too.

But the way he was acting, I don't think he's ready to start a war. I'd like to think so, but the general seems like a capable guy, so maybe he'll be forced to start a war.

Would that be a problem for you, Leo-sama?

Yeah, it's very embarrassing. Basically, their side is much better prepared for war than ours . Over here, the territory is still barely running smoothly, so it's really hard.
　So I really want them to be quiet right now .

If that's the case, we'll have to go to ...... something to make it harder for them to start a war.
　Quite the Bell!　You know what I'm talking about.

'Well, you're right: ....... From the conversations I've heard, it seems like we're short on money . And I think we're in a situation where we're relying on the Philibert family for money.
　The kingdom is so politically corrupt that there probably isn't that much money in it.
　Really, I feel sorry for that man.

Yeah.

So. I think I'm going to make the Philibert family's financial woes even worse.

'What?　How did you do that?　If they find out, it's going to make Master Leo look bad.

"So... I try not to be a bad person. No, it's more like a good thing that the emperor will reward me.

'What?　What the hell are you going to do?

I'm going to traverse the dungeon.

A dungeon?　Oh, I see.
　Hearing my words, Belle thought for a moment and then nodded in agreement.

'Oh, you get it?　Yes, the dungeons enrich the territory just by being there. But when it's gone, the realm ends.
　Dungeons are dangerous, but they attract adventurers for that.
　For that, the territory would be dependent on dungeons.



Yes. ......

''So, there are two cities in House Philibert's territory that have dungeons: ......

Could it be Master Leo, both of them?

No, no, just one of them will be slow with Hermann and the others. The other one, I have a feeling someone else will traverse it in a night.
　I grinned at him.

"It's not Master Leo. ......

No way... I'm too busy with Hermann and the others and one dungeon to do the other one!
　With open arms, I played a farce on Belle.

"Master Leo, it's deliberate,
　When the farce was over, Belle said that and gave me a stink eye.
　Yeah. You're cute with those eyes too, Belle.
　So, let's get a lot of stuff going for this week's break or ......