I, Reincarnate as the Leader of the Villainous Knight Order - Chapter 134: Let’s Go to the Royal Capital 2 [SIDE Ryuka]

Chapter 134: Let’s Go to the Royal Capital 2 [SIDE Ryuka]

“Huft…Huft…”

“Haah… Haah…”

By the time the two carrying their dead comrades had reached their physical limits, we arrived at Faol, a town at the edge of Count Staal’s territory. Incidentally, the other two had been taking turns carrying the heads. As we approached Faol’s gates, about ten people standing there screamed and hurriedly cleared the way.

At the same time, the gate guards rushed out in a panic. Well, that’s to be expected. All the bandits were covered in bl00d and looked terrible.

“Stop right there! What are those corpses!?”

Unlike in the capital or the royal city, the gate guards here were soldiers, not knights. So they cautiously approached with the tips of their spears pointed toward us.

“These guys are bandits who attacked me on the road. I fought them off and brought them here.”

“What!? Hey, get some backup and bring ropes!”

One of the guards shouted, and another ran off toward the gate. The remaining one looked me up and down, questioning me.

“And you? You don’t look like an adventurer…”

“I’m Van— no, I’m a freelance knight right now. I’m on my way to join the royal knights in the capital.”

“A freelance knight…? You mean the kind of knight who’s so skilled they get to choose their own master? You don’t look it.”

“…Heh, if you’re fooled by appearances, you’re not fully competent yet.”

The soldier was clearly older than me, but I responded confidently. Like with Justin, people often underestimate me because of my slender appearance. But under my clothes, I have well-defined muscles that anyone would admire.

“But, looking at the cut marks, I can tell you’ve got skill… Ugh.”

The soldier, looking at the severed wounds, suddenly turned away and covered his mouth as if about to vomit. While this was happening, four soldiers came running from beyond the gate. They were carrying ropes and stretchers. The remaining bandits glanced around, looking for a chance to escape. But when I dramatically reached for the hilt of my sword, they sat down, defeated, and laid the bodies on the ground.

The bodies were placed on the stretchers, and the four remaining bandits were bound and taken away. I was then summoned to the guard post for questioning. I answered everything truthfully. Apparently, those bandits had bounties on their heads, so they handed me a pouch filled with several gold coins.

“Bounties on such small-time bandits? Count Staal’s territory sure is generous.”

“No, no, those guys were elusive and skilled, causing us trouble for months!”

The man who had first pointed his spear at me changed his attitude as soon as he learned that I had been a company commander in the Vandière Marquisate’s knight order. My identification has the marquis’ personal endorsement, which boosts my credibility considerably.

“So, they caused a lot of damage?”

“Yes, just yesterday, an adventurer escorting a merchant got seriously injured, and even the merchant’s eight-year-old child is still on the brink of life and death… Just between us, the priest in this town is greedy. Treatment at the healing house here costs much more than in other towns, so they couldn’t afford magical healing and are barely keeping the child alive with potions.”

The gate guard whispered bitterly, and I placed the pouch of gold coins back on the table.

“Give this to the merchant. It should be enough to get the child healed by a high-ranking priest.”

“Huh…? Well, fifteen gold coins would definitely cover it… but are you sure?”

“Yeah. I didn’t take them down for the bounty. They just happened to cross my path. If the child’s badly injured, they should use it.”

“This… this is the nobility of a true knight! Understood, I’ll make sure it gets to them! Oh, the merchant will surely want to thank you, so why don’t you come with me?”

The guard looked at me with sparkling eyes, clearly misunderstanding something. I only thought that since it wasn’t money I originally intended to receive, it should go to the victim.

“No, it’s getting dark, and I need to find an inn.”

“In that case, I’ll have one of my men guide you to a good inn! There’s one that’s become popular recently because they serve food that’s trending in the royal capital!”

“Sounds good. I’ll take you up on that.”

“Yes, sir!”

It was already dark when we left the guard post. Even though the days were getting longer, I might’ve gotten lost without a guide. Fortunately, the recommended inn had a vacancy, and I got to try the trendy royal capital cuisine.

In the inn’s dining area, the guest seated next to me was eating a meat dish I had never seen before. Curious, I ordered the same thing. It turned out to be one of the famous dishes here. The aroma of the food filled the hallway where the rooms were, probably because the dining room was on the first floor. That smell was what made me crave the dish.

“Here you go! One large serving of Horned Rabbit Karaage set meal!”

As steam rose from the hot dish, I blew on it to cool it down a little. When I took a bite of the meat, its juices burst out from the firm texture. It was a taste and texture both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. What is this!?

“Munch, munch… gulp. No wonder it’s popular in the royal capital…! Hoo, hoo… and another bite.”

“Hey there, young man! Seems like you’re enjoying that karaage, huh? Can you believe it? This karaage recipe was created by none other than the Commander of the Third Knight Order from the royal capital himself!”

As I was absorbed in eating, the innkeeper struck up a conversation.

“What!? The captain of the Third Knight Order… you mean Justin de Vandière?!”

“Don’t go calling him by his name like that! You never know who’s listening! But yes, Lord Vandière himself! When I saw the recipe, I was so surprised, I double-checked it three times!”

“Huh… Justin made this, huh…?”

My small mutter went unheard by the innkeeper, sparing me a reprimand. I recalled a maid mentioning that Justin once made sweets for Alexei and Lady Angel, though I hadn’t believed it at the time. But maybe it was true after all.

Still in disbelief, I couldn’t stop eating until I had polished off the last piece of karaage on my plate.