Chapter 484 – Departure
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I accepted Saren and Caria’s offer and decided to become the leader of the Mongoose Knights.
The vice-captain was Caria.
There was also a cute rebellion from the existing knight commander, Caria, who said that in order to become the leader of the Mongoose Knights, you had to defeat him…
By defeating Caria, I was able to easily take the position of knight commander with five subordinates.
“You’re subduing thieves and monsters?”
Saren looked puzzled by my sudden suggestion. I have to say I was a little surprised.
Is it because I’m trying to do my job as a knight commander too casually?
Or maybe it’s because it’s my first time doing something decent.
“It seemed like the people of the territory were suffering especially from the southern thieves.”
“Is that so?”
Although my suggestion was unexpected.
Saren said that I would voluntarily eliminate one of the ghosts in the territory, and of course she had no reason to stop it.
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The morning of the expedition dawned.
-Crash. Crash.
I wore armor while being attended to by Karen and Hilda.
The best thing about becoming a knight commander is that I received expensive armor and horses for free.
The armor of the Mongoose Knights had a slightly plain design.
It just feels like a medieval knight’s armor.
The color was plain silver, and the chest had a simple shape engraved on it, whether it was a snake’s head or an animal.
It is said that the Mongoose Knights were created at Caria’s initiative, so she engraved her favorite animal.
Still, it was light even though it was made of metal, perhaps because it was armor with some magical treatment. There was no difference in weight compared to the leather armor I was wearing before.
It was said to have adequate magic resistance, and there was no discomfort in moving.
Perhaps because of magic, it shows technological prowess that is not far behind that of Earth in this respect.
The clothes were like wings, and Karen and Hilda had the appearance of knights that no one could ignore.
“Aren’t you nervous?”
They became the Mongoose Knights and this could be said to be their first mission. Me too.
“It’s okay.”
Hilda… She must have fought a lot with thieves while working as a mercenary.
Karen also shakes her head to indicate that it is okay.
“Let’s go.”
After putting on all our weapons, we headed to the place where the troops were gathered.
Caria, vice-captain of the Mongoose Knights, and two knights are gathered there.
Anton and Patra were originally Saren’s bodyguards. They were also members of the Mongoose Knights.
First, Saren’s protection was left to the Black Bear Knights, and they participated in this subjugation.
It wasn’t just the knights who gathered.
There were also 14 soldiers.
6 knights and 14 soldiers.
It’s not like I’m going to kill an ogre-level monster… It doesn’t feel like it’s excessive.
The Knights alone are not enough, there are too many, but soldiers are a kind of workers.
To serve knights.
If you do not bring soldiers, the knights will have to build a camp, keep watch, and do all kinds of chores.
“Captain…”
“Hmm? What is it?”
Anton spoke to me.
Anton is Saren’s bodyguard.
He was also a member of the Mongoose Knights, and was the only man other than me.
Lucky guy.
It must be said that this is the only prison of the Mongoose Knights.
“Is it okay if I go on like this?”
“What do you mean?”
“I left the protection of Saren to the Black Bear Knights…”
“…”
Saren has entrusted the protection to Anton and Patra of the Mongoose Knights.
However, the Mongoose Knights appear to be anxious as they entrust the protection to the Black Bear Knights, saying they are suppressing bandits.
Anton seems displeased with the Black Bear Knights getting closer to Saren.
The Black Bear Knights have previously expressed their wish to protect Saren.
There is no chance of Cyrus being reinstated.
Since he had done something so far, he seemed to want to show off well from now on.
I wasn’t interested in such useless things as the knights’ war of nerves.
I was satisfied with just the honor of being a knight commander.
As a knight commander, it was important that I could just beat up most of the guys and not get in trouble.
“Huh… The knight… Has already fallen into politics like that… Why don’t you just become a bureaucrat? I’ll tell Lady Saren well.”
“Oh, no.”
“Didn’t I tell you before? If you want to join the Black Bear Knights, just tell me. If you want to be Lady Saren’s escort, join the Black Bear Knights and do it.”
“S-sorry.”
This guy had been refusing even when I offered to send him to the Black Bear Knights.
Only when he disappears will my harem… No, it will become perfect only when the Mongoose Knights’ prison is freed.
But I was being stubborn.
To put it bluntly, if you want to get ahead, you should join the Black Bear Knights.
The Mongoose Knights may be closer to Saren now, but in the end, the main force of Ramona territory is the Black Bear Knights.
In order to be equal to or surpass them, the number of knights must be increased… I had no intention of increasing the number of members.
It is not easy to increase the number of articles.
No… When I think about it, it may seem easy, but then I need to refrain from attracting too much attention.
“It’s surprising that the leader said such a normal thing.”
As I was desperately looking for Anton, Karia intervened.
“Are we ready?”
“We are ready.”
It was time to stop nagging.
I spoke to Caria while riding Karen’s warhorse.
“Then let’s leave.”
-Go!
The Mongoose Knights and soldiers headed to the south gate.
This is because the place where thieves haunted was the southern road.
Citizens look at us in amazement as we march.
I stopped the moving troops in front of the Terra Bridge Temple.
“Temple?”
Karia tilts her head.
“Wait here.”
“Are you planning to meet Lord Hestia?”
“Okay. I’ll talk to Hestia for a moment and then come out.”
After saying that to Caria, I entered the temple alone.
“Ah! Lord Bark.”
Priestess Io welcomes me warmly.
“Have you come to see Lord Hestia?”
“Please.”
“Would you like to wait inside?”
“No, the members are waiting. I plan to just look at their faces for a moment.”
“Is that so? Don’t worry! I’ll load it right away!”
Io runs excitedly, wondering why it feels so good. And not long after, Io appeared with Hestia.
“Bark. What’s going on?”
“We’re going out today to subdue the bandits. It’ll take about a week. You say you’re escorting Cyrus tomorrow? Then, there’s no time to see it other than now, right?”
“That’s right…”
“…”
“…”
There is an awkward silence.
Neither of them are people who talk a lot.
She didn’t have anything else to say because she only wanted to make a mark on her.
I have maintained an ambiguous distance from Hestia so far.
I can’t help it.
Because there are things about me that she cannot possibly forgive.
“I just wanted to see your face. Then let’s go. I hope we can meet someday.”
“Thank you, Bark. And I’m sorry.”
“I’m sorry…”
Hestia said goodbye.
But I knew that I would meet her again.
Behind Hestia, Io’s eyes are filled with tears as he holds her hands tightly.
She was a truly sensitive priestess.
I pretended not to notice Io’s appearance, turned my back and headed towards where the knights were waiting.
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The Mongoose Knights left the south gate of the city and entered a quiet road.
It is said that a fairly large group of thieves appears to have formed in the south.
I think the Black Bear Knights patrolled periodically… But it had a reputation for being just for show.
This is because there is no way thieves would mess with a knight who proudly roams the streets.
The thieves just stay quiet and start stealing again when the patrolling knight passes by.
In such a situation, it is a foolish idea to expect bandits to attack us with this many troops.
How many knights are riding warhorses? Will the bandits attack us?
Of course, the Mongoose Knights did not go out with the intention of doing superficial patrol like the Black Bear Knights.
Malignant tumors must be rooted out.
What we were targeting was the thieves’ stronghold.
Even so, I had no intention of wandering around looking for their places.
Where is their hideout?
Fortunately, I knew people who were qualified to find such places.
It was a bloodhound.
“Nari, this way.”
A shy-looking man points to the inside of the forest off the road.
This man named Dagri was a guide sent by Tyrone, the leader of the bloodhounds.
Dagri goes into the forest.
The forest was a bit difficult to enter on horseback.
However, it wasn’t to the point where I couldn’t drag it in.
I got off the horse, grabbed the reins, and entered the forest.
The forest road wasn’t that rough, so the movement itself wasn’t difficult.
As I was moving along with Dagri for a while, an arrow came flying from somewhere.
“Raise your shield! Arrows are flying!”
At Anton’s shout, the soldiers raise their shields and crouch like turtles. The knights turned their bodies to dodge or struck away arrows with their hands.
There was no damage because there were not that many arrows raining down like in a war.
Between the trees in the distance, I could see about ten archers shooting arrows.
The bandits seemed to have noticed that we were heading towards their residence and were trying to keep us in check somehow.
“Deal with Anton.”
“Old!”
The bandit archers hastily shoot arrows at Anton, who rushes at him like lightning. However, the arrow was cut off by Anton’s sword before it could reach.
The archers, startled by the sight, scatter in all directions and run away.
The movements were quite agile.
However, Anton is a knight who enhanced his physical abilities through magical power. The distance soon narrowed.
Anton, who went deep into the forest chasing the thief archer, returned with a bloody sword.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t catch everything.”
No matter how much a knight he was, he couldn’t catch all the humans running away in different directions.
“That’s enough. Dagri, continue to guide me.”
“Yes, sir.”
We began moving deep into the forest again, following Dagri.
