Episode 13: Invitation to the Citadel of Ezerland (from the Sword Saint of the Sun) I
The morning after Kian had a threesome with Esther and Arueno, he was in a rather sleep-deprived state.
「The morning sun was dazzling ....... And the room smells terrible.」
Kian opened the two windows of the room, mumbling in a whisper.
The cool morning air was coming in, replacing the lewd smell of the room.
It made him feel a little better.
「Phew. ......」
Last night's sex lasted about three hours ― that is, before the Pig's Foot Pavilion closed and then went downstairs to have another round of drinks with Serena and Robert.
The drinking session ended around the time the day changed, and after helping clean up, Kian returned to his room to find that the room was in a terrible state of disrepair, with a terrible man smell and semen smell.
The bed sheets in particular were a wretched mess.
They were a soggy mess.
The floor was supposed to have been cleaned once, but upon closer inspection, there were several areas that were heavily soaked with droplets of someone else's lewd fluids.
There was no way he could sleep normally.
He even woke up several times during the night to go out the window to get some air.
Although the East End is relatively warm, the nights are quite cold, so he was forced to wake up by the cold air every time he went outside.
The result was dark circles under his eyes.
(When we have sex, the stronger the smell, the more excited I get, but not once I leave the room afterward. The level of smell lingers in my nose. ......)
Kian raised an eyebrow at the sweet smell that lingered on his hands.
He'll have to get some deodorant from somewhere, since telling Esther would be too much.
It's a pain in the ass, but it's a small price to pay for being two-timed.
『Three-timing, though.』
「Can't you do something about my sex drive when I'm wearing you? If I keep adding women at this pace, as Serena said yesterday, one day I will go bankrupt financially」
『Before that happens, you will have to rise to the level where you can build a harem. Either that or you can cut someone off. I advise you, for your own sake, if you're going to throw away that High Elf hag, you'd better run away from this East End. With the current you, you would be easily cursed and killed.』
「It's not funny, even as a joke.」
『If you think rationally, you should prioritize. Some women are considered sex friends』.
「――――」
Vowing never to add more than three women, Kian changed into his Coat of 'Twilight'.
Work is off until the test results come back.
He should probably spend some time today buying deodorant and procuring weapons.
(But ...... this makes me want a big house with a bath. Though it's too big a dream for me, living as I do for the day.)
× × ×
Rubbing a thyme leaf in his hand, Kian walked downstairs.
Downstairs, as usual, he could smell a delicious aroma wafting from the kitchen.
It was probably Pigfoot and his daughter preparing food.
In the hall, some waiters were cleaning the floor and tables with brooms and rags in their hands.
「Oh, it's Kian! Morniiing~」
「Good morning, Moimoi-san.」
「Kian has a guest~!」
Red-haired, freckled waiter―Moimoi said so and pointed with her thumb toward the entrance of the Pig's Feet Pavilion.
「A guest?」
Kian turns his head toward the street from the entrance.
From where he was standing, it didn't look like anyone was on the street.
「She said she was waiting outside the store, so I guess she must be somewhere around the side?」
「I see. Thank you very much.」
「Sure, sure. She was some kind of rich-looking Dark Elf Woman. You can't be left out of this one either, Kian.」
Moimoi leaned on her broom and showed her teeth.
(Dark Elf?)
『Did you know any adventurers like that?』
(I don't remember. But after doing adventure for over a decade, it's possible that we may have known each other at some point. Anyway, I'll go outside.)
Kian thanked Moimoi once more and walked quickly out of the "Pig's Feet Pavilion".
The dazzling morning sun shone on his body.
Outside on the street, adventurers were passing by.
He felt a presence and turned to his right to see a dark elf woman standing there, just as Moimoi had said.
Brown skin and long silver hair.
She was slender and tall.
Her profile was sharp and beautiful.
Her nose was high and her lips were thin and pale.
She turned her body slowly toward him without seeming surprised as if she had noticed Kian's presence a long time ago.
「Are you the adventurer Kian-dono?」
She straightened her back.
The dark elf's gray eyes are fixed on Kian.
Her long silver bangs were parted in two, and a tuft of them brushed against her cheek as she turned around.
「Yes, I am, but you are ......?」
「Pardon me.」
She brushes a lock of silver hair to the side of her cheek and bows with her hand on the breast of her shirt.
The rapier on her waist swung with a clink.
「I am Aisha, a knight belonging to the Order of the Sun, squire to Sir Oswalt of Ramsey. I hope to make your acquaintance from now on.」
「Likewise. Aisha-san.」
Kian shook her hand as she took off her leather gloves.
Her hands were cool.
Her silver hair shook, and he smelled a sweet aroma.
(What is this smell? Incense ......?)
「It smells like thyme. Did you cook?」
The dark elf who called herself Aisha looked down at Kian's hand and said so.
「Ah, yes. There's a little bit of yesterday's ...... smell of work on my hands, so I was rubbing thyme on them to get rid of the smell.」
「I see.」
「So, what can I do for you, Aisha-san? Oswalt-san, by any chance, from yesterday's exam?」
「Indeed. He is the blonde man who dived into the labyrinth with you. He was wearing the emblem of the Order of the Sun as earrings.」
「Of course I remember him. I also remember that he seemed to be a great man in the Citadel of Ezerland. So he was a knight.」
Kian said with a smile, and Aisha put her hands on her hips.
「To be precise, he is a knight and a nobleman, a lord of the northern commercial city of Ramsey and its environs. Kian-dono, my Lord has a quest that he would like to ask you for personally.」
「A personal request for me, a lowly adventurer?」
「Indeed. He would like you to come to the training camp of our Order of the Sun near the citadel. Would you accept this quest?」
You are asking me if I'll accept this quest, but this is practically the same as being forced to do so.
There is no way that a mere lowly adventurer can refuse the request of a nobleman who owns a territory.
「Of course. But first, may I just send a letter to my partner in the party?」
「I don't mind. But please do so promptly. I will open the transfer gate, so let's jump together to the vicinity of the training camp.」
Saying that she took out a shining white and silver bow from her back.
Looking at the bow, Kian finally remembered her.
(I see, this Aisha woman is that heavily armed bow knight who had come to pick up Oswalt.)
Kian didn't recognize her right away because she looked totally different from when she was wearing armor.
「Shall I get a pen and paper? Do you want me to leave a letter on your partner's desk?」
「No, thank you, I have my own. I'll have the crow carry the letter.」
Kian then used graphite to quickly scribble down his business on a note and called one of the crows that were waiting nearby and tied it to its leg.
「Please deliver this to Serena at the Pumpkin Pie Pavilion.」
The crow cawed and flew off into the blue sky.
Aisha, watching the scene, muttered, "You use a mysterious technique, don't you?"
「I'm ready. We can go anytime.」
「Well then.」
Aisha nodded and raised her white silver bow.
Perhaps that thing is both a bow and a sorcerer's staff.
A tremendous amount of magic power was released from the dark elf knight, and the space in front of her became greatly distorted.
「I will maintain the gate, so please jump in first.」
Stabbing her bow into the ground, she pointed to the shimmering space that rippled across the landscape.
Some of the adventurers passing by on the street noticed the transfer technique and began to send them curious glances.
Kian nodded and leaped into the shimmering space in front of him.
「―――」
Kian has been transferred many times by Arueno, so he is already familiar with the sensation.
So the sensation of spatial transfer did not make him flutter but instead raised the question of why the dark elf woman had not sent Oswalt and the others with this yesterday
(It's a useless question since it's not going to get an answer.)
By the time he got to that thought, Kian had landed in the hills a little ways off the road west of the East End.
It was further west from the area where he and Robert and the Falcon Clan had gone on their quest before.
Green hills of various sizes spread out around him, and the place where Kian had been transferred to seemed to be the highest of them all. Thanks to this, he had a panoramic view of the surrounding hills.
Green, green, green as far as the eye can see.
The sky is a cloudless blue.
It was as if the world consisted of only two colors.
『Hou, this is a superb view. How beautiful』
(Yes, it is. but...)
Kian looks back.
he could see the outer wall of the Citadel of the Frontier Count of Ezerland in the distance. There was a drawbridge in front of the castle gate, and even though it was early in the morning, several people were coming and going.
The fantastic sight of the hilly terrain was instantly transformed into the appearance of a modern fortress city.
『Oops, there's a sudden sign of people.』
(That is the stronghold of the Frontier Count of Ezerland, which is also the largest city in the territory of the Frontier Count of Ezerland.)
A foreign object appeared in a fairy-tale-like landscape dominated by blue and green.
It is a towering white stone wall.
But that is not to say that it ruins the scenery.
The fortress city was as big and heroic as a warship floating on a hillside, and it was beautiful enough to be the subject of a landscape painting.
A great fortress on the frontier, with its white and red spires.
No invader can come near it, no stronghold of a frontier nobleman can compare to its majesty.
This is the Citadel of Ezerland.
The castle of the beautiful and fragile Princess Mariabelle Danofern.
This is the phrase that bards always use when they spin a tale about Ezerland.
Incidentally, her father's name was placed at the end of the sentence before he was replaced by Mariabelle.
The castle of Godfrey Danofern, the valiant knight-nobleman.
「――Is this the first time you have seen the fortress this close up?」
A calm voice calls from behind.
It is the dark elf Aisha.
She points her silvery white bow at the fluctuations in the space she has just passed through and cuts the connection to the art of transfer.
「I cannot transfer beyond this point due to the warding. We will have to walk over there on foot.」
She pointed to a place where many wooden fences were planted on the right side of the Citadel of Ezerland.
The shadow of a tall tower can also be seen.
That must be the training ground of the "Knights of the Sun".
「There is not a military training camp inside the fortress, is there?」
「Yes. It is because of the complicated position of the "Knights of the Sun".」
Aisha started to run down the hill.
Kian followed her.
「Complicated position? Since it is a knighthood, isn't it authorized by the princess of Ezerland to operate?」
「Kian-dono, how much do you know about the "Order of the Sun"?」
「Eh ....... It is one of the knightly orders in Ezerland, isn't it? The famous "Order of the Sun" is its vice-commander.」
「Yes, that's correct. What about the others?」
「No. ...... Since you call it a knighthood, I can only assume that they are doing military actions under the princess.」
As Kian said this, Aisha, who was on the road at the foot of the hill, continued to speak.
「Now is the heyday of mercenaries. There are few places where you can eat with only one knighthood. The "Knights of the Sun" are indeed authorized by the princess and serve her, but their essence is something much different」
「Let's see..」
Kian interrupted her once because he felt the conversation was about to get lost.
「In other words, what is this "Order of the Sun" to which Aisha-san and Oswalt-san belong?」
「To explain that, I have to start with the origin of the Knight. Do you know about the existence of the "Demon of Thorns"?」
「Nope. ......」
「According to public records, it was a disaster-class monster that occurred in the northern part of Ezerland 80 years ago. It was intelligent, had sharp fangs, and was able to manipulate the people it hurt by turning them into a thing called a "Blood servant". Some bards describe it as a "Demon king".」
Aisha continues as she rushes down the road.
「The power of the "Demon of Thorns" was so great that the Count of Ezerland called for brave men from all over the country to defeat it. Those who answered the call of the Count of Ezerland included the nobles of the surrounding lords, knights, and adventurers, as well as ordinary citizens and serfs working in the manors. However, because of the emergency situation, the people were sifted out based solely on their abilities, regardless of their status, and an elite army of heroes was organized. That was the predecessor of the "Order of the Sun".」
「I see. ...... So you are the descendants of the party of heroes who gathered to defeat the Demon King, the "Demon of Thorns"?」
「That's an adventurer's way of putting it.....After the defeat of the "Demon of Thorns", the Order of Knights lost its raison d'etre, but since all members had been knighted by the Frontier Count, the Order continued to be authorized as it was. However, since they did not receive a satisfactory salary, the members of the "Order of the Sun" began their own activities to earn money. This could be trading, working as a banker, or working as a blacksmith or other craftsman. The Knights had a rule that members had to give their wealth to the Order, so as they all made a living in this way, they came to have economic power as well as a military power.」
「In other words,......, serving the Frontier Count of the Ezerland in military action is ostensibly a job, but behind the scenes, each of them is doing something else, and that is how they earn the money they need to live day to day.」
When Kian asked this, Aisha nodded.
「We are the knights of Her Excellency Mariabelle. There is no doubt about that. ......, but we are actually economically and militarily independent. From my perspective as a squire, I would say that there is no doubt that there is only one lord, Sir Oswalt.」
「I see. It is complicated.」
「I know, right?.」
Aisha smiled at Kian and put her face back in front of him.
「Oswalt-sama is a descendant of a person who joined the "Heroes Party" as a lord nobleman. He is a great man who is active as a banker while ruling Ramsey as a lord.」
「Why would such a person make a personal request to me ......」
「You will have to hear that directly from Oswalt-sama.」
Aisha said and pointed ahead.
A simple gate made of a wooden fence can be seen at the top of the hill.
They are already in front of the training camp.
They were running along the road at a very high speed while they were talking.
Aisha shouted loudly to the two men of the guard standing in front of the wooden gate.
「It's me! It's Aisha! I've brought a guest! We're going to Oswalt-dono now! Make a way for us!」
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Tftc
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