“And that is all that happened during this bandit subjugation.”
I silently nod after hearing Richard’s report.
When he stops talking, I get the feeling that there is more he wants to say, but I ignore it.
“And was he helpful?”
“Yes… If that boy… If they weren’t there, we would have been the ones who were wiped out.”
“They? All right… Good job. Take it easy and rest.”
I point to the door with my eyes, and he bows and leaves.
I’m glad he is a good learner and a rational person, or he would have probably thrown more words at me.
I watch the door for a bit after Richard leaves, and then give instructions to my butler.
The instructions are to be carried out in three days. He is to be allowed to board a ship to Altair, and receive the permit. And I also ask him to take care of the formalities and contacting the ones responsible for the ship.
I should probably call him here and give him the permit myself, but I’m hesitant to do so.
Honestly, I’m scared to see him.
The guy himself isn’t scary. In fact, he feels rather unimportant.
What scares me is the whole situation around him.
I dismissed the thoughts in my head asking who he was exactly, but my instincts tell me not to get involved with him.
I ask the butler to leave, and slump down deep in my chair.
It was the day after I met him…
◇ ◇ ◇
“Mister Sadd, you have a visitor.”
“Visitor? I don’t have anything scheduled today. Who is bothering me while I work?”
It was so annoying. My plans were disturbed the previous day, and they were doing the same thing again?
I raised my head with anger, and felt my blood freeze.
“C-captain Alfriede!”
In front of me stood Alfriede, the captain of the dragon king’s royal guard.
She has green eyes, and hair flowing down to her waist. Her facial features could be described as being like a work of art, but her expression seems put on, making her emotions hard to read. She looks to be in her twenties at first glance, but her dragon ancestry means she has a long lifespan, so it’s said that her appearance has been the same since the days of my grandfather. Maybe even further back.
Her eyes moved, and even that was enough to make me nervous.
“I-is there anything you need?”
“I have an order from the king.”
That emotionless voice brought me a fear I can’t describe.
I accepted that official letter with trembling hands, and read it.
“Do you understand?”
“Y-yes.”
“Then carry it out.”
“B-but this…”
I didn’t say any more. There was anger in those eyes.
I got the distinct feeling that my head would fly if I said another word.
I calmed myself. Taking an outsider to Altair is seen as something shameful. That place is seen by people of the Dragon Kingdom as a holy land.
These thoughts went unexpressed, but I was against sending slaves there. But it was the dragon king’s decision, so there was nothing that could be done about it.
Even I can’t go to Altair without a good reason. But the dragon king was giving me permission, with conditions attached.
That meant it was my job to fulfill them.
“Excuse me. I will make arrangements immediately.”
“Good. Then make preparations when he arrives.”
I didn’t understand what she meant at the time, but the next day when I sent a messenger to the inn I heard about, I was told he accepted a quest and left the town.
That meant all I could do was wait, and prepare in any way I could in the meantime.
The quest directed to me was one to hunt bandits. We also patrol regularly, but we hadn’t heard of any rumors about bandits that would warrant dispatching knights.
Of course, there was a chance that it simply wasn’t reported to me.
And they wanted me to include him in that quest to take down the bandits.
I remembered hearing he was a merchant, and wondered if he wasn’t just going to be a hindrance.
Not to mention that they even specified what knights were going. Not just the number, they named specific people.
It was the dragon king, so surely there was some sort of meaning… But it was a waste to wonder what it was.
Surely it wasn’t something for a regular person to understand.
◇ ◇ ◇
After remembering all that, I think back to what Richard said.
If it wasn’t for him, the knights would have been wiped out.
That means he’s better than the knights.
But that’s not all that sticks out to me.
The slave crest. I’ve heard of it. It was something used to identify slaves before the advent of slave collars.
That technique was supposed to have been phased out after the introduction of the collars, and yet, all the bandits had that slave crest.
Did they wander in from some other country? Or…
It gets stranger the more I think about it, and that guy is at the center of it.
I smile to myself awkwardly, thinking that he’s on my mind again after I decided earlier to not think about it anymore.
“I need to get this out of my hands as soon as possible. I don’t know what’s going on, but it’s none of my business.”
My job is to govern this town, Marte, and prevent any disasters from befalling this Dragon Kingdom.
I’ve been hearing rumors about demons appearing, and I need everything to be ready just in case too.
Then again, when Alfriede’s face pops into my mind, it makes me wonder if I’m not worried over nothing.
In a way, the reason why this country can stick to its policy of isolationism is because of its strength. Although geography plays an important part too.
It’s said that with ten members of the royal guard around, it would be impossible to capture a single town. Not that I or anyone around me can know that for sure.
I straighten my back on my chair, and do my job as I always do, going through the same documents as always.
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Thx for chapter. So the permit to get to the area they want is sent but some of his team are in town. I wonder if mc will go here or will the noble have his servant let them know they can leave. The dragon king granting permission is also interesting is he expecting something from our mc
Thanks for the treat.