Declared Dead, Exiled, and Betrayed— Now I Walk Away, but I'll Save One Who Cared - Chapter 32

After the real Royal Knight Order unit arrived, the guild became a flurry of activity.

So I decided to leave.

Meanwhile, Claire wandered back into the tavern…

Which wasn’t even open yet.

“Claire, seriously? You drank all night, just woke up, left, and now you’re already back? The tavern is closed.”

“Stingy. Randy, you’re stingy. I’m a customer. You should treat me like a goddess— Ow!”

“Quit your nonsense and go home to sleep!”

“Fine. If it’s Lax, I wouldn’t mind if he—”

“Enough. Out you go.”

“Muuu…”

“Alright. Return.”

“Agh—”

And just like that, I forcefully teleported her home.

Useful spell, isn’t it?

I hoped she landed on a bed of thumbtacks.

With Claire dealt with, I left the guild and headed toward the lord’s manor.

With the knights arriving, both Lord Riofendarl and Shifa would need to greet them.

I was there to assist.

What a capable man I am.

To be fair, the guild and the manor were practically next to each other—

It would be a stretch to even call it a short walk.

“Welcome to our domain.”

Even before I could enter, both Lord Riofendarl and Shifa had already stepped outside, having noticed the knights’ arrival.

Maybe a scout had announced them beforehand.

“You must be Viscount Riofendarl. I am Rude Eleustral, Captain of the 17th Unit of the 3rd Division of the Royal Knight Order. By His Majesty’s decree, we have been assigned to conduct combat training in the Riofendarl Dungeon. We bring a force of twenty knights.”

“Understood. I appreciate your efforts. Lodgings have been prepared for you—please use them as needed. Should you require anything, you may speak with me, Guildmaster Klein, my daughter Shifa, or her fiancé, Lax.”

“We appreciate your cooperation.”

After the formal introductions, the knights were set to begin dungeon expeditions, working alongside the local guards.

They seemed competent and disciplined—a relief after dealing with the Arknights earlier.

The contrast was staggering.

Speaking of which, Where the hell did those idiots even come from?

Well.

Not my problem.

The Royal Knights would now be stationed in the city, cooperating with the guards in dungeon expeditions.

This was a win-win arrangement.

• • The knights gained combat training and rare monster drops.

• • The kingdom benefited both economically and strategically.

• • The viscountcy gained better security and prestige.

It was His Majesty’s idea—a profitable and logical investment.

At the same time, our adventurers-in-training would gradually begin joining these expeditions.

Their growth depended on how quickly the knights and guards developed, but I had high expectations.

According to the dungeon administrator—whom I had forced into pathetically begging for mercy after some “persuasion”—

Simply hunting monsters and collecting drop items steadily drains the dungeon’s energy.

The more we adventured, the longer it would take for another Stampede to occur.

Everything we did served a purpose.

With adventurers more motivated than ever, morale was sky-high.

And then—

One month later…

Guildmaster Klein summoned me.

I had heard rumors about a Stampede happening somewhere else in the kingdom—

Maybe we were being asked to provide reinforcements?

“What’s up?”

“It’s nothing important, honestly…”

“Okay, I’m leaving.”

“LISTEN, DAMN IT!”

Hearing the words “nothing important,” I had already turned around to leave—

But Klein grabbed my collar.

Damn it.

I should have dodged faster.

“Alright. What is it?”

“It’s something I’d rather not acknowledge, but… it exists.”

“…Go on.”

“Remember those fools… the Arknights?”

“Nope. Never heard of them. Discussion over.”

“Hey!”

Damn, he still had my collar.

Could he not shove his ugly face so close to mine?

“If they all died, it wouldn’t be a problem, but…”

“So? What’s the issue?”

“They were apparently based in Duke Horneld’s territory. Their guild there is now requesting confirmation of their whereabouts.”

“…They haven’t returned from the dungeon?”

“Correct.”

…

How incredibly inconvenient.

This was as frustrating as stepping out of a bath, realizing you forgot your towel, and having to sneak across the room without dripping water everywhere.

…Except I can just dry myself with magic, so it’s not even my problem.

“And?”

“If you happen to explore the dungeon, just write a report saying, ‘They are nowhere to be found. Most likely dead.’ That’s all.”

“Got it. I’ll handle it when I check on the lower-floor boss.”

I had already planned to visit the lower boss chamber soon, so I might as well confirm their deaths while I was at it.

Upon arriving at the boss chamber.

What awaited me was an Archdemon.

A powerful and deadly foe.

This monster was a magic-wielding demon, exuding immense magical energy.

Heh.

This should be fun.

Scattered around the boss chamber were several bodies.

I could pretend I didn’t see them…

“You probably shouldn’t.”

“Yeah… figured.”

Of all people, I did not expect Claire to be the one calling me out.

“Well, whatever. Not like it matters—they’ll die soon anyway, once they get caught in our battle.”

“Oh, that’s a valid point.”

“P-Please… help me…!”

“Ugh, no. Stay away from me.”

“Guh… P-Please…!”

“Damn it… If I knew this would happen, I would’ve spent more time playing around in the Duke’s territory after saving that half-dead woman…!”

…Huh?

What the hell was he talking about?

I considered interrogating him, but before I could, Claire kicked him unconscious.

Oh well.

Might as well take care of the Archdemon first—

Then we could question them properly later.

<< STOP IT, AHHHHH—!!! >>

…

So. **Damn. Loud.

Anyway, time to haul them out of here.

“Nope. Not touching them.”

“Figured you’d say that. I’ll just levitate them with magic.”

“Then that’s fine.”

Why the hell was I stuck exploring the dungeon alone with Claire?

I wanted to complain, but…

• • Michelle was busy training the knights, guards, and adventurers.

• • Meria was helping Klein since he suddenly got swamped with work.

• • Shifa was assisting Lord Riofendarl with his duties.

That left just me and Claire.

So after defeating the Archdemon and emotionally traumatizing the dungeon’s mysterious administrator,

We dragged the Arknights’ battered bodies back with us.

I even healed them, thinking we could get some information out of them.

But the ungrateful bastards just spat insults at us and ran away.

What a waste of effort, damn it!!!