In accordance with the order, the members of the Torch Knights, including the leader, raised their hands in salute and then came to a halt.

There are two main factors that determine the power of a party. There are two main factors that determine the power of a party: the strength of the individuals and the cooperation between the members.
In order to defeat powerful phantoms and demons that ordinary people can't handle, the strength of each individual who has trained tirelessly must be increased several times through cooperation.

The Ghosts of Sorrows is more of a type that relies on individual strength, while the Torch Knights is the opposite.
Perhaps these differences are also connected to the differences in their activities.

The Torch Knights were like a real order of knights, just as they were when I first met them. No, in fact, they seem to be more sophisticated. I mean, have the numbers increased a bit?

An ironclad will that does not waver even in the midst of the public eye. As I am being saluted, I am also attracting attention, so I hurriedly say.

'Well, well, well, people are watching, so make yourself comfortable.

'Salute, stop!

They all move in unison to release the salute.

In the first place, the Knights of Light's client is not me, but Citri. I've heard that they support you financially and in terms of supplies.

The Order is driven by profit, not reason. That's why the position of the Order of the Light has changed in the Footsteps of the Beginning, and how it treats me has also changed.

I'm the boss because I'm the leader of Sitri's party, and because I know that Sitri is close to me.
In a way, it is much easier for me to deal with him than it is for him to trust me in a strange way.

The performance of the salute was probably a clever way to attract more customers. Merchants and nobles would prefer a well-organized mercenary group to a rough mercenary group.

Luke, who loves to fight against strong men, frowns and calls out.

'Don't tell me that the lights are also going to be at the Martial Emperor Festival?'

''Yes, I got an offer from ....... 'Senken, you too?

There are various participants in the Martial Emperor Festival. Sometimes it's the leader of a state-owned knight order, and sometimes it's a member of a widely-known mercenary group.
The Order of the Light is famous among merchants and nobles, so it is likely that the leader of the Order is a member of the Order. If the leader of the Order were to participate in the Martial Emperor's Festival, the mercenary group would become even more famous.

Luke had an indescribably subtle expression on his face.
The reason why Luke the Manslayer doesn't immediately slash at the lights is because she is the type of person who doesn't fight futile battles (literally, battles that don't bring in money), so she doesn't mesh well with Luke.
Luke didn't want to kill her unilaterally, he wanted to kill each other. Our clan's motto is to get along well with each other, and Luke, who is very polite in a strange way, is following it very well.

The lights quickly checked Citrie, Lucia and the others, and looked up at me.

'I'm sorry, Master, but we can't go easy on you. We don't get paid that much.'

As long as you get paid, you'll go easy on him. ...... As usual. It seems that the lights have mistakenly thought that I was going to compete.
He must have heard the gossip.

I'm sure you've heard the gossip.

That's ---- my real one!!!!

Although everything was different except for the name and the two names (which the other side seemed to call themselves), I'm sure that the always dignified Light would roll his eyes if he knew about Kulahi's existence.
I smiled and pretended to be hard-boiled.

'I'm sorry too, but the real me won't go easy on you. I'm not proud of it, but the real me is pretty strong. I'm not proud of it, but the real me is pretty strong.

'Well, the fake me can whip off my cloak if I want to.

The lights easily roll their eyes. It's not like he's going to roll his eyes before facing Krahi.

I'm sure you'll be able to figure out how to do it. I'm sure you'll be pleased with the results.

'Well, well, well, I'm just here to watch the game, so ...... the real deal is with Luke and the others.'

He hurriedly made peace with the situation. You're not going to be mad later when you find out that I'm not really going to ...... play, are you?

It's okay, it's okay. I'm sure that even the lights that rarely stop by the imperial capital in the first place know that I'm a pacifist and always wanted to retire from hunting.

As usual, the members of the Knights of the Light had a certain air about them.
Hunters who are recognized as high-level hunters often have an atmosphere that is clearly distinguishable even to the average person, but the atmosphere that the members of the Order of Light have is quite similar to the one that the Knights show on their triumphant return.
Is it because of the charisma of the leader of the Knights of Light that they are so well organized? I'd like to learn from him too, since I'm always getting swept away by Luke and the others.

The relationship between the Ghosts of Sorrows and the Order of the Light is delicate. It's neither good nor bad. Rather, since they've been in the Imperial Capital for very little time, their relationship with us is fundamentally weak.
However, the response from the Order of the Light was favorable.

Since they recommended it, we sat around the table together. The main members of the Order, including Lantern, entertained us.

'It is fate that we have met here. Drink as much as you like, I'll serve you.

That said, it's Citri's treat. She seems to be quite fond of the Order of the Light. Maybe it's easier to settle things with money.

That's what she said. That's what the customers want. Don't waste Sitri's goodwill! Drink! Don't forget to thank him, not many customers are so generous. Salute!

Itadakimasu!

Everyone saluted again. Citri blinks in disgust.
They seem to think it's enough to salute. And isn't that a strange use of the word master?

As I drink, I check on the status of the Order of the Light.
It seems that the Order of the Light has returned from their usual tour of countries, chasing bounty hunters and participating in battles, to attend the Martial Emperor Festival.
They hunted the orcs that were attacking the village, crushed the beastman bandits, and raided the treasure house for fun.

I'm not sure what to make of it, but I'm sure it's a good idea.
Luke seems to have set his sights on the other customers and is looking around the bar with a keen eye reminiscent of a bird of prey.

As the members of the Torch Knights served him drinks, he asked them what he had been thinking about.

'Speaking of which, has the number of people increased?

'Mu......?

The light's gaze sharpens.

...... Did I say something strange?

The Torch Knights are a type of party that does not have a base. They travel from country to country, and when they find a promising member, they may scout him or her out. And although it's originally undesirable for the party to increase its members at will, Footprints of the Beginning has tolerated it.
I don't remember the number of members, but at a glance, I feel that there are a few more. Maybe two or three?

But I must have made a mistake. There was no way I could remember the faces of the members of a large party that rarely visited the Imperial Capital. I smiled deceptively.




'No, ha ha ...... I thought there were a lot more. Well, I guess ...... there are ten ...... or eleven more of us.'


I'm just kidding. No matter how large a group the Torch Knights are, ten is definitely not a large number.
You'll be able to get a lot more than that with the help of the internet.


'Hmm,............, you have a good eye as always. It's true that ............ eleven more people.'


What? Seriously?
No, no, no, no. No matter how you look at it, eleven people have not increased. Is this a reply to the ...... joke, or is it an invitation to make a joke?

I don't know if it's okay to interrupt. ...... If this were an arc, I would interrupt immediately, but it's a light.

I'm not sure what to make of this,

'It doesn't look like there are any more members. ...... Where are the new members?

'Yes, they are on a secret mission. We've become famous, and we have many enemies. Let me apologize for the delay in reporting.'

The lights bowed deeply. ...... yeah yeah .......

It's just a smart joke. And not a single member in the room has been added! I don't know what to do in many ways.
Moreover, the Order of the Lamp has always been famous and had many enemies, but now it seems that they have even more enemies. I laugh.

'Raise your head, Light. You're free to increase your numbers. See, that was the condition when we asked you to join the clan, wasn't it?

'Mr. Cry doesn't think anything of it. The Order of the Light has helped me a lot, and I'll tolerate it as long as it doesn't cause any trouble.

'The Order of the Light helped you ............? Yeah, yeah, that's right. I've always been taken care of by them, and it's nothing to add more people. Ha-ha-ha.

Yes, at most, ...... Eva will only be in trouble. The clan has a duty to manage its members.
If Eva finds out about this, I'm sure she'll give me a hard time, but she's always given me a hard time, so it won't matter if I get one or two more.

But ...... you're right. I want a reason why Eva can't get angry.

The lights nodded plausibly.

'Thank you for your generosity. We have a lot of money to make during the Emperor's Festival. A number of us have been awarded prizes in other countries.'

'Hmm? What is it? What's this interesting talk?

'What's that? What do you want me to kill?

I see. ...... So that's what Citri was talking about the other day. I've heard that there are some nasty people who interfere with the Emperor's Festival. ...... But they're working hard even before the tournament.

I'm not sure if you've seen this before, but I'm sure you have.
In the event you're not sure of what you're looking for, you'll be able to find out more about it here.

'Indeed, this Martial Emperor Festival is particularly bad. It's too much for me to handle. The Thousand Swords, the Zekage, and even the Master--I'm sure you're aware of that, but not a few of them are targeting you.

'Woohoo!

'Yay!

'Yay! No! I don't know what you've come all this way for, even after giving up so many things...''

The intelligence quotient of Lise and Luke dropped drastically, and Lucia made a loud comment.
It seems that they were caught in the heat of the Martial Emperor Festival. They want to do some preparatory exercises before the main battle. There is no way to stop it. ...... I want to go sightseeing.

And then I thought of a good idea and snapped my fingers. I'm not sure what to do, but I'm sure it's a good idea.

'That's right. I've been working with some people to help me with some things in that area. Would you like to meet them?

'Mu......?


The Fox Mask Society. They're a weird bunch, and they've gone in some weird directions, but their passion is real. From what I've seen in the basement, there are some good men in the group.

They asked me to order them around. So I gave them orders.
But if you think about it, dealing with an underground organization (even if it is a secret organization) is not something you want to ask a simple fox-faced fan club to do.

In that respect, the participation of the Lanterns would give us some peace of mind. After all, the Order of the Light is not a fox mask enthusiasts' group, but a professional organization with a long track record. As mercenaries, they would be accustomed to working with other teams.

It's good that the fox mask lovers have a strong ally, good that the Order of the Light has more people than less, and good that I--good.

Today I'm--I'm brilliant.

And then I remembered something important. I squint and look at the light and say.

'Oh, yeah. First, I need you to get me one of those ---- fox masks! The more unusual, the better. Of course, it could be all red to match your equipment. ...... Can you prepare it?'