How to Live as a Knight After the Ending - Chapter 56
Only Noblemtl
Episode 56. Royal Guard (1)
After completing his mission, Ossian continued to focus on training himself to wield his sword.
Now that I have awakened to the Holy Light Sword and the Holy Cloud Silk, I have made considerable progress thanks to my repeated efforts to learn how to handle them more efficiently.
Even if it were just that, it would have been a satisfactory achievement,
Surprisingly, the more I refined the two techniques, the more the possibilities for new paths began to dawn on me.
‘But it’s only a faint possibility. I have a vague feeling that something like this could happen, but it’ll take a lot of time to properly implement it.’
There is no need to feel impatient.
Because we had already obtained everything we needed.
As Ossian left the empty lot that had now become a permanent training ground, he found Ronan sitting at a bar table reading a newspaper.
“It looks like the peace delegation is finally arriving.”
It was something Ronan said after glancing at the article on the front page of the newspaper he was reading.
The story came up so often that even Ossian, who had little interest in current affairs or the atmosphere, got tired of it.
Ronan quietly folded the newspaper he had spread out and placed it on the bar table.
“There’s been so much talk up until now. I understand why you’re making such a fuss.”
“I think it was called the Kingdom of Charles.”
It was the first time Ossian had heard of it.
It’s been too long since he knew the background of the gaming era.
It was a natural course of history for existing kingdoms and empires to collapse and new dynasties to emerge.
Still, judging from the location on the map, it was a place I remembered.
It was famous for its fertile land, wide plains, and pastures where cattle and sheep were raised, and it was a place where mercenaries and bandits often appeared.
There were a lot of subquests, so I vividly recalled the times when I used to do reputation work there.
“But is it really that surprising that the Kingdom of Karleang is making a peace treaty with Tirna? It seems like they weren’t usually on bad terms.”
“It’s not just a problem for the Kingdom of Charles. The city of Tirna is not looked upon favorably by the surrounding kingdoms.”
“Is it because it is the city of freedom?”
Tirna was a city, but at the same time it was almost like a country.
A mega-city state made up of 50 districts.
At the same time, regardless of social status, even the despised Ain race could rise to high positions if they had the ability.
From the perspective of a kingdom where the caste system is still prevalent, Tirna would be a city that fundamentally denies itself.
But that doesn’t mean you can mess with Tirna carelessly.
Tirna was too large to be called a mere city.
Not only was the infrastructure in Tirna great, but the city of Tirna itself had a huge military force that could reduce any kingdom to ashes.
According to military sources, the power that Tirna possesses is enough to wage war against the entire continent.
The reason for this is simply that the city of Tirna is not ruled by a single individual.
As is typical of a city, there are countless leaders in Tirna.
Starting from the five mayors, and then each minister, high-ranking civil servant, and the chief administrative officer, the district governor.
In addition, there are also key figures from the rooftops, large corporations, and the military.
Tirna is a place of opportunity open to everyone.
Since they all have their own authority and voice, important matters are decided through strict meetings.
Naturally, a major issue like war has to be rejected through internal meetings.
“Since Tirna is not moving, the surrounding countries have two choices. They can either join hands with Tirna and accept their culture, or they can try their best to eradicate them from this continent.”
“The Kingdom of Charles V was a typical latter type of country.”
“I don’t have good relations with many kingdoms, but the Charles Dynasty was particularly bad. What should I say about that dynasty? The vanity and pride of the nobles were particularly bad.”
Ronan shook his head as if he was going crazy.
“It’s a place ruled by people who are just born with good bloodlines and have no ability.”
Ronan’s sharp words and actions are unusual.
Ossian looked at Ronan with a slightly surprised look.
It was only for a moment, but for the first time, I felt emotions from Ronan as he spoke about the Kingdom of Karleán.
“Ah. Of course, that doesn’t mean Tirna is right or just. It’s nice to hear that it’s a city of freedom, but there’s darkness here too.”
“I guess so.”
Excessive ability-based thinking.
Those without ability have nothing to say when they are eliminated from society. And there is even a culture that takes it for granted.
Moreover, as its nickname, the City of Gold, suggests, Tirna is a place where money solves many problems.
Even if you commit an illegal act, you can get away with it if you have money, and even if you don’t commit a crime, you will be punished if you don’t have money.
As for which is better between Tirna and the Kingdom, it is true that it is difficult to say which is better as they both go in different directions.
The conflict with the Charles V kingdom was ultimately a battle between ideologies, not between good and evil.
“But then the Kingdom of Charles suddenly sent a peace envoy. Did they suddenly change their mind?”
“I’m curious about that too. I don’t understand why they’re trying to shake hands with a smile when they were just biting each other the day before yesterday. Well, I guess that’s common in the international community… … .”
“In short, it seems like the back is rusty.”
“Yes, I don’t feel good. At times like this, it’s right for us to just sit back and watch the situation unfold.”
“Is this what they mean by avoiding the rain?”
“Very accurate.”
Ossian scanned the words written on Ronan’s folded newspaper.
The sentence that said that the Kingdom of Charles V had made up its mind this time and was sending a royal family member as a delegation was particularly striking.
Princess Orlean.
Even if she is a young princess who is last in line to the throne, the title of royalty carries a special weight.
Because of that, there was talk that Tirna was also considering this incident quite important and would hold a grand welcoming ceremony.
The gist of the judgment is that even if the relationship is bad, there is no need to make a fuss in this situation.
“You don’t have to worry too much. This matter will be handled by the city officials and the county anyway. Our problem solvers don’t have to worry too much.”
“Yeah, that would be normal.”
Even as he answered like that, Ossian couldn’t take his eyes off the newspaper.
I don’t know why.
However, every time I read a newspaper article, I had a strangely uneasy feeling that was hard to express in words.
‘I really hope you don’t worry.’
Ossian thought so and tried to shake off his discomfort.
*
As time passed, the day of Princess Orlea’s visit to Tirna drew near.
As always, Ossian appeared as Violet Fox.
There was no need for the problem solver to go to the office often, but there was nothing special to do either.
There was at least a space to train behind the Violet Fox Tavern, so Ossian had less reason not to come.
Daughter.
As I opened the door, the sound of bells rang out pleasantly.
As always, Ronan would have opened the door to the store and greeted me with a smile.
But today wasn’t like that.
Because the guests arrived first.
He was a man in his fifties, dressed in quite luxurious clothes.
Violet Fox has quite a few clients who ask for short assignments like this.
Most of them were people of considerable wealth who could afford the high commission fees on their own.
This man, who appeared to be dressed in luxurious clothes, was the same.
Even so, Ossian had an intuition that the middle-aged man was different from other clients.
It was not only his clothes that were the issue, but also the expression on Ronan’s face as he sat across from him.
‘hmm.’
Ronan’s face was no different than usual.
An expression that looks like a mask, with eyes wide open and a never-ending smile.
For some reason, Ossian had a feeling that Ronan was in a very bad mood right now.
“… … I think you understand my offer. I’ll take this.”
The middle-aged man, who noticed Ossian’s appearance, picked up something from the table and quickly got up from his seat.
He glanced at Ossian, then passed by with a look of surprise in his eyes.
Ossian glanced at the back of the man leaving.
It was unnatural for him to leave his seat, as if he had said something he shouldn’t have heard.
“You can tell at first glance that he’s not your average client.”
Ossian asked, leaning back against the bar table.
“Are you an acquaintance?”
“It was someone I knew exactly.”
“It seems like we didn’t have a very good relationship.”
It wasn’t a huge surprise that Ronan had an acquaintance.
Ronan himself must have hated it. Everyone has relationships they dislike.
‘There’s no need to dig into that. It’ll just hurt Ronan’s feelings.’
Ossian was thinking about what to make for lunch if Ena came to work.
Thanks to the recent popularity of Ena’s cooking, the Violet Fox Tavern has been getting quite a crowd at night.
As a result, Ena became very busy and had no time to breathe, so if you wanted to eat her cooking, you had to wait for a time when there were no customers.
“… … The man who just left is Frenfitz. He’s the man who took care of me, no, my mother, in the past.”
It was at that moment that Ronan suddenly spoke.
*
Ronan recalled his meeting with Frenfitz a little while ago.
As usual, I was walking into Violet Fox and reading the morning paper.
Then the man suddenly opened the door and came in.
“Were you working in a place like this?”
“… … You are a completely unwelcome guest.”
“It’s the same for me too.”
“Why did you come to see me? I remember you telling me not to see each other again.”
“I have come to ask for a favor.”
Frenfitz naturally sat across from Ronan.
“When you think about what happened that day, you shouldn’t dare sit in front of me, right?”
“Are you saying you won’t accept any requests?”
“Our office can accept any level of requests. That’s fine. And your request, even though I haven’t heard it yet, already smells like danger.”
Frenfitz didn’t even think about hiding those words.
Instead, he quietly took something out of his pocket and placed it on the table.
Ronan’s eyebrows twitched when he saw that.
“Don’t you want this back?”
The corners of Ronan’s eyes twitched for a moment.
Ronan, trying hard to suppress his emotions, stared at Frenfitz.
His squinted eyes were now even thinner and longer than before.
“Are you threatening me now?”
“If that’s what it sounded like, then there’s nothing I can do.”
“If you’re coming to me with this, you must be in a very desperate situation. Your attitude of trying to cling to power by any means necessary is truly pathetic.”
“… … Did you know?”
“I heard that those damned followers lined up for Princess Orleia. Everyone knows that. They worked so hard to get what they wanted, and it was a rotten rope.”
Frenfitz responded to Ronan’s provocation with a laugh.
“Well, it ain’t over till it’s over. You gotta use whatever you can. And that’s not what’s important right now, is it? Don’t you want this back?”
The item that Frenfir offered.
It was a pendant necklace. It looked old and worn.
It didn’t look luxurious at all and looked like a cheap product that you can find on the market.
But to Ronan, it was something special.
“But since you’re running a problem-solving office, you should leave your request here in accordance with the official request.”
Frenfitts tossed the documents he had brought in front of Ronan.
Ronan didn’t take it, but Frenfitz didn’t care.
Because I know he won’t be able to refuse anyway.
Ronan held the papers with trembling hands.
Just as a sneer was forming on Frenfitz’s lips, the door to the tavern opened with the sound of a bell.
*
“The man who betrayed me for power asked me for a favor.”
Ossian stared at Ronan without saying a word.
‘Why are you suddenly saying that to me?’
I was just sitting there thinking about what to have for lunch today, when I happened to hear the request.
But that doesn’t mean he’s not interested, so Ossian decided to listen anyway.
I was also curious as to what the content was.
“The content of the request is… … the escort of Princess Orlea.”