Imperial Guard - Chapter 38



Only Noblemtl

Episode 38

Rain Knights

Rael walked around the second area where the Celestial Ceremony was taking place and looked around.

He was holding three rice balls in his hand.

“The giant’s rice ball is also quite edible.”

Rael nodded, bringing the rice ball to his mouth.

After crushing the hopes of the giant kids, he finally managed to get a free meal.

I felt a little bad about taking food away from the kids, but I washed away my guilt by eating free food.

“But where did Reina go? Did she go out to eat because she was hungry?”

I tried to follow Reina and rejoin her, but I couldn’t see where she had gone.

‘Reina is not a child… She’ll take care of it.’

Since he couldn’t explore all of this vast place, Rael decided to find something else to do.

In fact, the goal of the Celestial Emperor was the Blue Tower.

I thought there was nothing left to do… but after walking a little, I remembered something I had forgotten.

‘Carlson. Carlson will be in the west.’

If you listened to Rael, you should be in the Knights of the West.

It was also quite important to check whether he was in the West or not.

‘If it’s not in the west, you’ll have to beat it.’

If you keep calling me “brother, brother” but don’t listen to Rael properly, you need some mental education.

Rael walked towards the Knights of the Silver Cross patrolling the streets.

“Hello, Knights.”

Rael made the sign of the cross and spoke to the Knights of the Silver Cross.

“May the peace of Gaia be with you. What is it, my lord?”

“I came here looking for someone I know. Do you happen to know where a man named Carlson of the Knights is?”

“Carlson…? If it’s Carlson, he’s on the western outskirts.”

“Thank you.”

Rael nodded and headed towards the western outskirts.

‘Carlson. As expected from my brother.’

Fortunately, it seems like he listened to Rael’s words.

Rael decided to let Carlson mess around for once.

“Brother Rael!”

As we approached the outskirts of District 2, a welcoming face appeared.

Carlson was patrolling the area, and as soon as his eyes met Rael’s, he ran towards him.

“I see you’re really in the west, so you must have listened to me.”

“Of course. As you said, brother. … Are you here to check whether I am in the west or not?”

“How could that be? I never doubted you. I just came to see my brother’s face.”

“As expected, it’s Brother Rael···!”

Carlson approached Rael, impressed.

It was already a boring time during patrol.

“Carlson. Where are the kids? Aren’t they here at the Celestial Festival?”

Rael looked around and said.

The children at the orphanage watch the Cheon Sang Je with their teacher, Ms. Sarah, every time there is a Cheon Sang Je.

I had some time left so I planned to play with the kids, but the kids never showed up.

“Oh, that’s right. I was going to tell you that anyway···.”

Carlson hesitated and trailed off.

It was different from his usual personality.

“What’s wrong? Tell me quickly.”

“About two hours ago, some knights I had never seen before came to the daycare.”

“··· What the hell are you talking about?”

Rael frowned and looked at Carlson.

Feeling his gaze, Carlson quickly spoke up.

“The knights I had never seen before came to protect the orphanage… and they told me not to leave their sight for a while and to not go to the Heavenly Palace.”

“···Carlson. I don’t quite understand?”

Knights are the strongest of mankind who can use swordsmanship.

There was no reason for such people to come to the daycare center in District 4.

“I thought it was nonsense, of course… but they said that Brother Rael had hired him.”

“I hired a knight. What the hell are you talking about…”

Rael slowly recalled his memories.

Surprisingly, there was a place to collect them.

‘Could it be Uncle Eric?’

Rael recalled the conversation they had the last time they met Eric.

[··· Is there someone following me?]

[Yes. One crazy guy got involved. That’s why I won’t be going to the orphanage for the time being. I’m thinking of hiring some security guards around the orphanage instead, so please help me, Uncle Eric.]

[Okay. I’ll put one on you as a good guy.]

Immediately after learning that Fermat was following Rael.

Lael had entrusted the gold to Eric and asked him to hire a bodyguard to guard the orphanage.

Because he needed someone to look after him since he couldn’t go to the orphanage himself.

If the knight had been hired under Rael’s name, no matter how much I thought about it, the only person who could have been it was Uncle Eric.

‘But didn’t I tell you to go get the money from Carlson?’

Rael looked at Carlson and opened his mouth.

“Carlson. Didn’t I tell you to go to Uncle Eric and get the money?”

“I was so busy preparing for the Celestial Ceremony that I almost died. When are you going to get the money? I was planning to go after the Celestial Ceremony was over.”

“ah···.”

To be honest, Rael didn’t really care either.

There was so much work to do, and the money I gave Eric was enough to hire a pretty decent mercenary.

Carlson figured that even if the mercenaries came late because he was late telling Eric, he could send them back for a small fee.

‘But the Knights aren’t quite right.’

I have no idea what Eric did, calling the Knights for a few Imperial gold coins.

Is this perhaps the price of negotiation?

“What order is it? Have you heard the name?”

Rael asked the name of the Knights.

If it was an unheard of knightly order, I thought it might be possible.

“Yes, I heard. They’re called the Knights of Rain.”

“···what?”

Rael frowned at the familiar name.

The Knights of Rain.

The largest knightly order in the Empire, and the one that crossed swords with Rael in the Celestial Temple just hours ago.

‘Why the Knights of Rain?’

The Knights of Rain are one of the strongest knight orders in the Empire.

It means that it is not a place that a bar owner in District 4 can call.

‘What was Fermat trying to do? No. Fermat would have moved the tower. He wouldn’t have moved the knights.’

Is this the sect’s reward for Rael who hunted the mid-level demon?

No. If it was a religious order, it would have moved the Knights of the Silver Cross, and it doesn’t make sense that the reward was to protect the orphanage in the first place.

I wondered if it was because I met Rain in the Celestial Palace, but that was highly unlikely.

When I met Rain, he was wearing a mask. There’s no way he could see through the dragon’s magic.

···I really don’t know even though I know.

There have been a lot of strange things like this happening in District 4 recently.

The Knights of the Silver Cross and the Knights of the Rain are the same.

They weren’t the type of people to wander around places like District 4.

‘···Ah, something is bothering me.’

Rael’s senses responded.

Like the Knights of the Silver Cross, I somehow had a feeling that this incident might have something to do with Rael.

Knock- knock knock-

At that moment, a familiar sound of a bucket was heard.

It was the bagger’s signal.

When he turned his head in the direction of the sound, he saw a beggar looking at Rael.

*

“··· Gaksi-tal? Why is that a person’s name?”

“I don’t know either. I heard he was a famous bounty hunter in District 4.”

Rain nodded as he listened to the adjutant’s report.

Just a little while ago, information was provided on tracking down the man who destroyed the Rain Knights’ event venue.

The strange appearance of a white mask with red dots quickly gathered testimony.

‘I can’t believe that such a strong person only works as a bounty hunter.’

Of course, it is possible that the information is incorrect.

More than 30 people in the Knights Templar had seen the masked man, but no one could remember the mask properly.

It was clearly a magical tool with high-level magic attached to it.

‘It seems like a very high-level magic… This is really giving me a headache.’

I was looking forward to a new wind of change in the empire… but I couldn’t even have a proper conversation with that man.

Rain stood up from his seat with a regretful expression.

This celestial festival left him with many regrets.

“The stage was also broken… This year, the Blue Tower attracted more attention than us.”

Getting attention from the Heavenly Festival is essential to Rain’s self-esteem… but she hasn’t been able to properly attract attention this year.

Because a large-scale event was held at the Blue Tower in which even commoners could participate.

Thanks to this, the interest that used to pour into the Knights of Rain every year has noticeably decreased.

‘Fermat must be a guy who is only interested in betting and gambling… It’s strange.’

The reason why the Knights of Rain can receive attention from the Heavenly Emperor is because the strongest player on the continent is playing with people directly… But with the appearance of Fermat, the name Rain has lost its luster.

Although Rain is a strong beginner sword master, he is still lacking in skills compared to Fermat, the strongest magician in the empire.

‘Wait a minute, is Gaksital also the Duke of Permat…?’

Suddenly, I remembered the guy who ruined the Rain Knights event this year.

High-level magic contained in the mask.

There are not many people in the empire who can use such magic.

‘Damn it. Fermat. Were you that jealous of my fame?’

Lane clenched his fists and trembled.

Fermat. It was clear that the wizard had been restraining himself.

“Captain. Are you okay?”

The adjutant spoke cautiously to his strange behavior.

“Damn it. There’s nothing we can do. Let’s stop here for this year’s Celestial Festival and go back to District 1.”

Rain said with regret.

I’m disappointed in the wizard Fermat, but I can’t fight him.

“Okay. I’ll pass this on to the members in District 4 as well.”

“Huh? There’s a member in District 4? Is that the case of the Gaksi-tal investigation?”

“No. His Highness the Grand Duke gave orders.”

“··· Ah. That was District 4.”

I remembered.

There was an order from the Archduke, the master of the Rain Knights.

I remember you asked me to send a few loyal knights to a daycare center.

I think that was zone 4.

“Then I will reinstate everyone except for the members in District 4.”

“How many people are out?”

“There are five people in total.”

“Then let one person come back.”

“yes?”

The adjutant blinked at the sudden order.

“If you are a loyal knight, I cannot leave. I will also go down to District 4.”

Rain took his sword.

If it was the Grand Duke’s order, he couldn’t be left out.

It was perfect timing, as I also needed to find out about the bounty hunters in District 4.

“Yes? The captain can’t go. If the captain was needed, His Highness the Grand Duke would have personally pointed out the captain.”

“There’s nothing to do here anyway.”

“Even if the Heavenly Emperor withdraws, we must protect the area we are in charge of···.”

“Does it make sense for the captain to personally participate in the security? We are the only knights of that stupid order in the capital.”

“If the captain said he wanted to do it, why did he tell me···.”

It was Rain, who liked being the center of attention, who gave the order to face the people directly.

The adjutant of the Knights of the Rain Order had a resentful expression, but met Rain’s eyes and lowered his head.

Anyway, no matter how much I said, it was the adjutant who ended up losing out.

‘You probably want to go out and play anyway.’

In the absence of the Knight Commander, his work must be handled by his lieutenants.

The adjutant raised his head, licking his lips.

“The day of my regular report to His Highness the Grand Duke is approaching. I plan to go and do something. I’m not going out to play.”

“Well then… I understand.”

The adjutant nodded immediately.

Only Rain knew the location of His Royal Highness the Grand Duke, who was in hiding.

If you were going out to play, I would have stopped you, but if you were going for a regular report, I couldn’t stop you.

“By the way, I haven’t heard that His Highness the Grand Duke is sponsoring a daycare center… Do you have any other clients?”

“Yes. My name is Rael.”

*

“Fermat stopped investigating me?”

Lael followed the beggar into the alley.

“Yes. They suddenly asked me to stop the investigation altogether. They said they didn’t need the information we’ve investigated so far. I don’t know why.”

“···Well, what’s good is good. Don’t worry about the reason.”

Rael said with a regretful face.

‘I guess I didn’t fall for that lie.’

I still remember the look on Fermat’s face as he was moved by Tia’s magic.

It’s obvious that they would have stopped investigating because of the dragon or something.

“Okay, and some knights I’ve never seen before showed up at the orphanage.”

“I already heard that. Hey, you said you showed up two hours ago, isn’t that too late to tell you?”

When Rael glared, the beggar flinched and began to make excuses.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I was in charge, but I missed you at the Blue Tower event…”

“Next time, let all the beggars around you know about this and get it to them as quickly as possible. Got it?”

“Okay, I will definitely do that.”

“If you’re late like this next time, you’ll fall behind.”

“Yes. I will definitely tell the captain!”

In fact, since there is a distance between Zone 4 and Zone 2, 2 hours is considered fast, but if you grind at this time, you will do well later.

Rael had already become a master of dealing with medieval people.

“The Knights of Rain. What is their exact size?”

“There are five Knights. As soon as we arrived at the orphanage, we called out Rael’s name and began guarding the perimeter.”

“You’re not doing anything weird?”

“Yes. I get along well with the children.”

“···Ha, I don’t think anything will happen. I’m worried for no reason.”

The Rain Knights are different from the neighborhood thugs.

The Knights of the Grand Duke, the only Duke of the Carmen Empire and second only to the Emperor in power.

It’s unlikely that he’ll do anything weird, but…

‘Still, I need to see his face to see what kind of guy he is.’

I trust Uncle Eric, but I don’t trust the Knights Templar.

The positive image associated with the word knight has completely disappeared when we look at the knights of medieval fantasy.

If there is even the slightest possibility, it is better to check it out yourself.

“I’m going to the daycare, so take good care of the surrounding area. Okay?”

“Okay! Okay, I understand.”

After greeting Carlson, Rael headed straight to the orphanage.

Today was the first day of the Celestial Festival, and the terror attack would not begin until the fourth day, so there was still plenty of time.

“···uh?”

After running for over an hour, we arrived at the daycare center.

Rael doubted his eyes and checked the knight’s face.

“Haha, that’s right. The old man is a knight. Now, do you want to see the sword?”

Rain, the commander of the Rain Knights.

He is a knight at the beginning of the Sword Master ranks, one of the strongest on the continent, and the person whom Rael struck down with his sword and ran away just now.

‘···Why is that person here?’