The Exiled Knight Takes Up Life as an Adventurer — A Former Captain's Secret Power and His Carefree Days in a Distant Land - Chapter 6

Early the next morning, I set out from the inn, fully equipped.

“Oof… everything still hurts. Damn muscle soreness.”

The aftereffects of yesterday’s physical exam were hitting hard.
Rubbing my sore arms and thighs, I made my way back to the Adventurers’ Guild.

“Good morning, Mr. Mardin!”

The receptionist greeted me with her usual bright smile.

“Morning. I’m counting on you today.”

“Yes. Then, please submit the fifty-gold coin exam fee.”

“Here you go.”

I placed a leather pouch filled with gold coins on the counter.
She opened it and began counting.

“That’s exactly fifty gold coins. Thank you.”

Spending that much money in one go…
The last time I’d done something like that was when I had a famous blacksmith forge me a custom weapon.

That just goes to show how valuable an Adventurer Card is.
Even so, it was half of everything I had. If I failed the test, it would be a huge blow.

I had no choice but to succeed—even if it killed me.

“Mr. Mardin, these three will be your examiners for today.”

To ensure safety during the subjugation exam, three examiners would accompany us.

The lead examiner was a man in his fifties with silver hair, a former B-rank adventurer.
The second was a current B-rank adventurer in his twenties.
The third, a woman in her forties, was an instructor for dismantlers and porters, participating as part of her own certification test.

“I’m Mardin. Pleased to meet you.”

I shook hands with the silver-haired chief examiner.

“Mr. Mardin, your exam target is the Snow-Swimming Lizard, Cagwell.”

“Cagwell, the Snow-Swimming Lizard?”

“Yes. It’s a D-rank monster. You’ll need to hunt three of them.”

I mentally flipped through my knowledge from the monster compendium.

◆◆◆

Snow-Swimming Lizard – Cagwell
Rank: D
Type: Quadrupedal Reptile
Length: Approximately 2 medelt (meters)
A small reptilian monster native to cold forest regions.

During snowy seasons, it moves through the snow using its short limbs and long tail, almost as if swimming.
Its body is covered in shimmering, pale blue scales.

Its jaws are about 50 sedelt (centimeters) long, filled with countless tiny fangs.
Once it bites down, prey can’t escape.
It preys on small animals, fish, and other small monsters, swallowing them whole.

As a winter-active species, it hibernates from spring to autumn.

The Cagwell is only active during winter.
Given that it’s early summer now, they should already be in hibernation.

“Isn’t it hibernating this time of year?”

“That’s right. You’ll need to locate its habitat, identify a den, and then carry out the hunt.
The basics of any quest—survey, discovery, tracking, subjugation, and report.”

“Understood. Are there any conditions for how I complete the hunt?”

“None in particular. Hunting or capturing is fine.
Once you’ve taken down three, the exam ends.
However, since the dismantler and porter exams are running alongside yours, we’d appreciate minimal damage to the bodies—if possible. Hahaha.”

“Got it. I’ll keep that in mind.”

“We’ve scheduled about a week for the exam, so take your time.”

“A week… I’ll do my best to wrap this up in under five days.”

I had a deadline—the enforcement of my exile.

“By the way, Mr. Mardin, what weapon are you using?”

“Ah… well, to be honest, I don’t have one. It’s a little embarrassing.”

“…You don’t have a weapon?”

About to take on a monster-hunting exam, and I was unarmed.
Since the new lord arrived, I hadn’t been allowed to carry a sword.
And with all my property confiscated, the weapons and armor I kept at my estate were gone.

I still had my Threadfil, but on its own, it wasn’t exactly a weapon.

With that, we boarded a small airship owned by the Guild and set off.

The passengers included myself, one dismantler, two porters, and three examiners—a total of seven.
One of the porters was also acting as the airship pilot.
Apparently, piloting was part of their exam as well.

Airships had appeared just a few years ago, suddenly and without warning.
They supposedly flew by using lighter-than-air gases, though I didn’t know the specifics.
They were manufactured in the rising power known as the Kingdom of Larche.

The arrival of airships had completely changed daily life—and even the nature of warfare.

Despite traveling 200 kidelt (kilometers), we departed in the morning and still hadn’t reached noon.
By horseback, that would’ve taken at least three days.

The porter carefully landed the ship in a clearing deep within the forest.

I knew little about airships, but I had to admit—it was impressive technology.

I took out my map and glanced at the chief examiner.

“I’ll begin my survey.”

“Understood.”

“May I capture the Cagwell if I find one?”

“Of course. We’ll be observing from a distance and scoring your performance.
If anything happens, we’ll step in to rescue you—but if it comes to that, you fail the exam. So don’t push too hard.”

“Got it.”

I grabbed my gear and disembarked.

The instructors, dismantler, and porters followed from a distance.

Once in the forest, I began my search.

Though I didn’t have much monster-hunting experience as a knight, I had enough knowledge to go on.
Cagwells were known to build their dens beneath large boulders.

“That hole looks promising.”

There was a sizeable gap between the rock and the ground—big enough for a person to crawl through.
Without a doubt, it had to be a Cagwell den.

“Guess I’ll get started.”

I placed a ring-shaped loop of Threadfil at the entrance.
Then, I pulled a smoke bomb from my bag, lit it with flint, and tossed it inside.

Even if it was hibernating, smoke would force it out.

Sure enough, a Cagwell burst from the hole—and was instantly snared by the Threadfil.

Once flipped onto its back, the monster went docile.

“Alright. That’s one down.”

I quickly took out some rope and bound its limbs while it was still calm.
Since this was also part of the dismantler’s exam, I had deliberately chosen to capture the creature alive.
It would make for a better specimen.

“Time for number two.”

I set up another loop of Threadfil at a different den.

◆◆◆

“W-Wait, Chief! Isn’t that guy… a little too efficient?!”

One of the instructors—the active B-rank adventurer—spoke in disbelief.

“He’s Mardin. Former commander of the Ilgrad Division, Moonshadow Knights. Known as the Threadmaster.”

“Huh? So… he’s actually famous?”

“Oh yes. Among the elite of the Moonshadow Knights, he was one of the top three.”

“Th-That impressive…?”

“Indeed. Honestly, he could probably pass the A-rank exam without breaking a sweat.”

“Then why is a knight of his caliber taking a C-rank adventurer test?”

“He was stripped of his title under the new regime—and exiled.
He’s likely taking the C-rank test to secure the Adventurer Card needed to leave the country.
The kingdom’s loss, truly. A foolish decision.”

The two continued watching Mardin’s hunt unfold.

They kept their blades drawn in case of emergency, but it soon became clear—there was no need.

“Out of all the exams I’ve ever overseen, this one’s ending the fastest.
Perfect marks, no question. Hahaha!”

The two instructors began walking toward Mardin.

◆◆◆

I had successfully captured three Snow-Swimming Lizards, Cagwells.

To keep them from moving, I had bound their limbs and mouths with rope.
Now it was time to hand things over to the dismantler and the porters.

“Chief Examiner. All three have been captured. That concludes my trial, right?”

“Of course, Mr. Mardin. We’ll formally notify you of the results later, but… there’s no doubt you passed.”

“Glad to hear it. Will I be able to receive my Adventurer Card right away?”

“We’ll do our best to expedite the process. Since we’ll be back today, we can have your card ready by tomorrow at noon.”

“That would be a huge help.”

“…Planning to leave the country, are you?”

“Huh? D-Don’t tell me—you already know?”

“Hahaha, of course I do. Threadmaster Mardin, former commander of the Ilgrad Division.”

“Haha… You flatter me.”

“A knight of your caliber being exiled—what a loss to the nation.”

So he knew who I was.
And even about the exile… That part was admittedly embarrassing.

“But for us, it’s a blessing that you’ve chosen to become an adventurer.
Your presence will raise the bar for everyone.”

“Huh? No, I’m just planning to live a quiet life from here on out.
I’m only getting the Adventurer Card so I can cross the border.”

“Do you know where you’ll go?”

“Haven’t decided yet.”

“I see. Still, I do hope you’ll continue your journey as an adventurer. Hahaha.”

I glanced over at the Cagwells I’d captured. The dismantler had already begun her work.

She was a young woman.
I’d heard that many dismantlers were female.

“She’s quite skilled.”

As I approached, the female examiner supervising her smiled and looked over at me.

“Mr. Mardin, your capture technique was excellent.
Honestly, I’ve never seen monsters caught so cleanly in a subjugation exam. Quite extraordinary. Fufu.”

The dismantler’s instructor chuckled lightly.

Once the dismantling was complete, the porters quickly performed preservation treatment on the bodies and carried them efficiently to the airship.

Moments later, the airship took off.

“We’ll arrive at the Guild by this evening.”

Just as the porter had said, we returned to the Guild just before sunset.