I, Reincarnate as the Leader of the Villainous Knight Order - Chapter 179: The Royal Family's Forest

Chapter 179: The Royal Family’s Forest

About thirty minutes after leaving the royal capital, we arrived at the forest. I instructed the coachmen to return in three hours and headed deeper in.

“If it’s this close to the royal capital, I’d think adventurers would’ve picked the fruit clean.”

“Ah, that’s fine! This forest belongs to the royal family. So if anyone’s caught, they’re severely punished. Since I’m part of the Magic Tower, there’s no problem for me though!”

“Wait a minute. We’re allowed to be in here too, right?”

If we were the only ones punished, that wouldn’t be funny.

“Don’t worry. You saw the small settlement on the way here, right? They’re monitoring people heading into the forest. Regular people don’t know that, of course. The carriage we came in had the royal crest. So they know we’re authorized. And since I’m with you, it’s fine either way. I also reported it to His Majesty through Lord Frederic.”

“Frederic… Ah, the Magic Tower Master. I guess someone like him can meet the king easily, huh?”

“Well… more like, he’s of royal bl00d. Um… the current king is his nephew, I think? So, the soldiers follow the Magic Tower Master’s requests. But when it came to the previous master’s requests, they wouldn’t comply unless offered magic tools in exchange! To get monster materials, he had no choice but to accept those conditions!”

Remembering the days of the previous master, Aria began fuming with puffed cheeks.

“Lord Frederic is royalty!? And he still became the Magic Tower Master? That’s rare. Must have had a ton of magic power… wait, should I be calling him Frederic-sama?”

“Rumor has it he was the child of a low-ranking concubine. So he wasn’t treated properly as a royal. That’s why he aimed to become the Magic Tower Master for authority. He prefers being addressed by his title rather than by royal status. When his lineage is brought up, he smiles, but he’s definitely in a bad mood.”

Apparently, he’s surprisingly sensitive to social cues.

“So the previous master had to offer something in return… does that mean he was a commoner?”

“No. He was born a noble. But he said he gave up his status and stopped using his family name. Well, I suppose it’s expected that nobles and royalty are treated differently. But he was completely looked down on. He was eccentric—didn’t care about others’ attitudes, or maybe just wasn’t interested at all…”

“I see. I’d heard he only cared about research, but he was quite the oddball.”

“I won’t deny it.”

Saying so, Aria shrugged as she walked.

“If someone like you calls him an oddball, he must’ve been seriously eccentric~”

“Everyone would agree—wait, did you just call me an oddball too!?”

“Huh? You didn’t know?”

She sharply turned around and glared at Simon. He tilted his head like he had no idea why she was mad.

Maybe he didn’t mean any harm and just spoke his mind. But that glare is well-deserved.

The other subordinates also looked at him with exasperated eyes.

“Hey! He’s your subordinate, right!? Teach him some manners!”

“He was already like that when he joined our order. Nothing I can do about it.”

“Simon always says whatever he’s thinking, after all.”

“Jest, that’s harsh!”

Even Jest, giggling, said it. It left Simon sulking. But honestly, he had it coming.

“It’s not harsh. That’s why I like you, Simon.”

“Jest…!”

“Don’t be so loud. Remember, there are monsters here. We don’t even know their habitat zones.”

About ten minutes into the forest, a sweet scent drifted in the air.

Reddish, almost black fruit—like cherries, figs, pomegranates, and jujubes—were growing in clusters.

“Whoa! What is this place!? It’s an all-you-can-eat buffet!”

“Come on, Simon! We were just told not to be loud! I get the excitement though.”

Since we had official permission to be here, gathering some fruit should be fine. Still, Simon’s attitude made me worry he might go overboard.

Because the monsters are carnivores, the fruits—despite their lush ripeness—hadn’t been eaten at all.

Now those untouched fruits were being ravaged by my subordinates.

“Don’t forget this is the Eldrasia Royal Family’s forest!”

“Mmm! Ptooey. I’ve seen these cherries before but never eaten them! There’s a pit inside!”

“How do you harvest these, I wonder? Do you just pull—ugh, something white came out!”

“Ah, Arnault, that white sap might cause rashes. So be careful. Dried figs are sold in the capital, but this is my first time seeing fresh ones. They smell sweet.”

“Huh!? That’s a fig!? Looks totally different from the ones sold in the capital!”

These guys… they’re so distracted by the rare fruits they’re not listening to anything.

True, the fruits here are considered luxury items in the Kingdom of Rafios. But they’re getting way too excited.

And Simon just pops unfamiliar food into his mouth without hesitation—that’s dangerous.

“You fools! Get a grip! Do you even remember why we came here!?”

“”””Yes, sir!!””””

After their crisp reply, we noticed how quiet it had gotten.

Jest tugged on my sleeve. He pointed toward Aria, who was crouched silently on the ground.