I, Reincarnate as the Leader of the Villainous Knight Order - Chapter 144: To the Destination

Chapter 144: To the Destination

Ten days after receiving a secret order from His Majesty, preparations for departure were complete. Although the citizens had not been informed about the demon god subjugation, a crowd had gathered on the main street by the time we set off, seemingly from some leaked information.

While we were away, the apprentices would return to training with the Second Knight Order. But they would still live in the new dormitory on the grounds of the Third Knight Order. Perhaps because they were in an environment where they wouldn’t be discriminated against due to their background, several of them had visibly grown in just a few days.

The knight in charge would likely be astonished by their progress during the training starting tomorrow with the Second Knight Order. He would realize just how inexperienced he was as an instructor!

“There are a lot of people here,” 

Jest murmured, glancing around while riding my beloved Eleanor beside me.

“Yeah? Ah, well, Ernest is with us this time. I guess the rumors have drawn the townsfolk together.”

The subjugation team was led by the First Knight Order, headed by Ernest. Half of the First Knight Order remained behind to guard the royal family at the castle. But the knights accompanying us had expressions of those resigned to death.

That was understandable; after all, nobles would surely have learned about the Evil God subjugation in history. The last revival of the Evil God had pushed the world to the brink of destruction and marked the beginning of this nation with the emergence of new countries.

Following the First Knight Order, we of the Third Knight Brigade were next in line, followed by a carriage carrying the Saint and Jeanne, and finally, the Holy Knights at the rear. Although the reputation of the Third Knight Order had been rising recently, it still couldn’t compare to the popularity of the First Knight Order and the Saint. The loud cheers as we passed by clearly illustrated that.

“Still, compared to before, we’ve become quite popular, haven’t we? Look, almost everyone is smiling and waving at us!” 

Simon remarked as he waved back at the crowd while we moved down the same main street we had taken toward the Taleraan Margrave.

“True, when we headed to the Taleraan Margrave, no one came to see us off. Well, there were a few who looked at us like they hoped we’d die. They were mainly those whom Simon had fought with.”

“Why is it just me?” 

Simon shot a glare at Arnault, who was teasing him.

Hearing their banter, Ryuka, who was next to Justin’s team, tilted his head in confusion. 

“Is that so? I knew the Third Knight Order’s reputation wasn’t that great, but I didn’t know we were so disliked.”

“That’s because you, Vice Captain Ryuka, weren’t in the royal capital. Six months ago, Simon would pick fights right away, he was terrible at flirting with girls. And despite that, he was pushy. I thought a third of the bad reputation was thanks to Simon.”

Simon began to heat up at Arnault’s deliberate sigh of exasperation. I handed the reins to Jest and gently covered his ears with my hands.

“What did you say!? Arnault, you’ve fought and tried to hit on girls too! I know you ended up in a messy situation where the other guy came to beat you up!” 

“I just brushed off the sparks that were thrown at me. As for the girls, it was consensual. That time, the ex-boyfriend was jealous and attacked me. Don’t lump me together with someone who got hit after trying to mess with a girl who already had a boyfriend!” 

“What did you say!?”

Calm down, me. Thankfully, our voices likely didn’t reach the gathered townsfolk over the cheers. I forced a smile and slowly turned to the two of them, speaking in a low voice.

“Simon, Arnault. Do you both realize what kind of moment this is? We’re about to head off to subjugate the Evil God, and here you two are bickering in front of the citizens. What do you think they’ll think if they see you arguing like that? At the very least, save such ridiculous squabbles for after we leave the royal capital.”

“Yes, sir!” 

They replied in unison, straightening up in their saddles.

Turning back around, I removed my hands from Jest’s ears and regained hold of the reins as we exited the royal capital.

It would be faster to cross the great river flowing beside the royal capital to reach our destination. But with such a large group, there weren’t enough boats. So we had no choice but to take a detour. Occasionally, monsters might emerge from the scattered mountains and forests, but there were no foolish bandits willing to attack our group.

Since there were also carriages carrying the Saint, Jeanne, and necessary experts and workers from various fields, the journey took twice as long as when we headed to the Taleraan Margrave. According to the novel, we should have some time before the revival of the Evil God, so there was no need to rush. But since no one but me knew when that revival would happen, they were likely feeling anxious inside.

About ten days after we began our journey, Jeanne’s behavior had noticeably changed. In fact, she had seemed preoccupied with something since we heard about the location of the Evil God’s revival.

Perhaps because we were now just two territories away from reaching the peninsula that marked our destination, she seemed to be sensing something. When we arrived at that day’s campsite, I decided to talk to Jeanne.

“Jeanne, is something wrong? If there’s anything bothering you, please tell me.”

“Master…. I wanted to believe it was just my imagination, but it seems that it’s not. It appears that Jest’s father is at the location where the Evil God is sealed.” 

“What…!?”

I wanted to say it was impossible, but Jeanne’s expression made it clear that she wasn’t joking at all.