Chapter 699

Bear-san, Talk with a Knight

“Yuna-san, I am sensing an enchanted Knight is approaching us.” (Noa)

Noa said as she looked at the staircase. Steady footsteps could be heard coming from there. Then, the owner of the footsteps appeared in the room. It was undoubtedly a knight, just as Noa said.

“I thought a rat entered the room, but it was a bear, huh?” (Knight)

This man...the voice sounded vaguely familiar.

“Cyrus. Why are you here? Didn’t you go outside of town to kill monsters?” (Ronne)

“Ronne-sama is here too, huh? And what are you doing here?” (Cyrus)

“Rather than asking me why I’m here, I’d like to ask you why you’re here. I thought that man told you not to come in here.” (Ronne)

“I was looking for you because there was an intruder in the house.” (Cyrus)

He was looking for intruders? That would mean us, I guess?

“I just came to check the door, which was supposed to be closed, but the lock was broken.” (Cyrus)

“Well, then, since you checked, why don’t you go away now?” (Ronne)

“Not so fast. As a knight in the service of this mansion, I can’t just leave you with two strangers and a bear in this room. Above all, if I see another fairy.” (Cyrus)

The man Ronne called Cyrus looked at Primme.

Primme hid behind me, but it was too late.

Making Primme visible backfired.

“Yuna...” (Primme)

Primme said my name anxiously.

“It’s okay.” (Yuna)

I called out to Primme to reassure her and turned my attention to the knight.

“I’m more interested in the bear girl than anything else.” (Cyrus)

“Me?” (Yuna)

“You fought outside the mansion against ten knights, right?” (Cyrus)

“Were you watching that battle?” (Yuna)

Did he witness my fight?

But that place was quite a distance from the mansion.

“I was expecting somebody to come to the mansion, so I waited.” (Cyrus)

“I’m sure there was no one nearby.” (Yuna)

“There are many ways to see at that distance.” (Cyrus)

Telescopes, magic, sure, there were ways to observe.

But someone would only use them if they knew we were coming.

From what the man said earlier.

“So, was the Lord expecting us to come here?” (Yuna)

“Information is not something that can be concealed. You have to make sure that everyone who knows the information keeps their mouths shut. But I can also make a person talk.” (Cyrus)

When the number of associates with important secrets increases, there will be many targets from which information can be obtained. And from the perspective of the person who wants to gather confidential information, they simply have to get one of those people to talk about it.

So, does that mean someone leaked information about what we had planned?

Was it through threats, coercion, or force?

“The Lord and some of the other knights know about this, too.” (Cyrus)

This man dressed as a bear....

“Pfft.” (Yuna)

I imagined it and burst out laughing.

“What are you laughing at?” (Cyrus)

“I just thought that you didn’t have that much pride at all being a Knight. If you truly are willing to throw away your pride, you have to be willing to do as much as I am doing right now.” (Yuna)

To me, to abandon pride would mean dressing up as a bear, like I do.

“I don’t know what you mean by that, but it’s time to fight. Shall you show me the power you used to fight the knights?” (Cyrus)

He licked his lips.

Apparently, this man was a fighting maniac.

“Cyrus, are you telling me that you would fight with these children? I did not give you the power to do this!” (Ronne)

“Ronne-sama, I hope you understand your position.” (Cyrus)

“What do you mean by my position? Didn’t I ask you only to use my power to protect yourselves?” (Ronne)

“Isn’t that why we have knights protecting you?” (Cyrus)

“I didn’t ask for that.” (Ronne)

“And do you know how hard the knights are working to protect that man?” (Cyrus)

“That’s...,” Ronne trailed off in silence.

“Enough of that. Collecting magic stones is your fault for taking away the adventurers’ jobs. It’s also because you took away the magic power from the residents. Aren’t you ashamed to talk about it as if it were Ronne’s fault and then corner her?” (Yuna)

“That’s right. A Lord’s job is to protect the livelihood of the residents. Of course, he can’t solve every problem, but he shouldn’t make his citizens unhappy.” (Noa)

Noa, who had been silent, raised her voice.

Noa understood what a Lord was supposed to do, even though she was only a child.

“A person who makes the people unhappy for his personal gain is not fit to become a Lord. And a knight who follows such a Lord is also not a worthy knight. A true knight protects the weak and feeble.” (Noa)

“Hmmm, that is the illusion of a child. A knight does not protect the weak. They obey their lord’s orders. If the lord commands them to fight monsters, they fight with their lives. If he orders you to kill a person, they will kill that person. That is a knight who serves.” (Cyrus)

“Will you still do it while knowing that what the Lord is doing is wrong?” (Noa)

“A knight swears an oath to his lord, regardless if that lord is good or bad, and knights keep their oaths. Enough chit-chat. Either way, I am looking forward to fighting this young lady.” (Cyrus)

The man drew his sword.

“Are you going to fight here? Wouldn’t it be a disaster if this room was destroyed?” (Yuna)

“Is that meant as a warning to me or to you?” (Cyrus)

For both of us, of course.

But depending on how much the man knew about how things work here, it would be less concerning for him than for me.

For my part, I’d rather not have this room destroyed right now.

“You don’t seem to have any sense of chivalry.” (Yuna)

“I am honored by your compliment.” (Cyrus)

It seemed sarcastic ad hominem does not work on him.

“Besides, those earth bears are a nuisance.” (Cyrus)

I guess he had seen me use those earth bears, so he decided to fight me here.

I see that this man did not like to fight fair. He just wanted to trample and bully people beneath him, that’s all.

Can’t wait to read more? Want to show your support? Click here to be a sponsor and get additional chapters ahead of time!