Regular Patrol (2)
Arnold steadied himself, realizing his flustered demeanor had only given the other man an opening.
A knight was one who held honor sacred above all else.
He could not allow himself to be swept along by such utter nonsense.
I mustn't get caught up in his pace.
Arnold went to push up his glasses with his middle fing—
Gooooooo
...and immediately switched fingers, crushed beneath an eerie, oppressive force.
"A-ahem. No matter how much favor you may enjoy from the Lord, I am currently serving as Acting Commander—"
The words came out in a rapid-fire stream.
In the middle of it, Orion gave his shoulder a couple of pats.
"Obviously it was a joke. You actually took that seriously?"
The finger that had pushed up his glasses trembled violently.
Arnold was the descendant of a fallen noble house.
He had joined the knight order hoping to restore his family's name once more.
And right now, Heily—the Lord's closest aide and secretary—was watching this entire exchange.
If he lost his temper and let his emotions show here, nothing but severe disadvantage would follow.
Arnold drew a deep breath and forced down the rising fury.
"...As if I would take such absurd remarks seriously—"
"Ah, right. There's something I'm curious about."
Arnold's words died in his throat.
He was being ignored.
Even as a fallen noble, he had never been dismissed quite this thoroughly.
Just as his teeth began to grind—
"Can you use that Aura thing too?"
"Pardon?"
What on earth was he talking about all of a sudden?
His indignation vanished in an instant.
Arnold wore a thoroughly bewildered expression.
But then, assuming he was being mocked, he adjusted his glasses.
"...I don't know what you mean by that, but Aura is a fundamental skill for any knight. As Acting Commander, there's no way I couldn't—"
"So you can use it, then?"
Kh...
Having his words cut off yet again, Arnold clicked his tongue.
He desperately wanted to punch the man, but that simply wasn't an option.
Arnold let out a sigh of pure resignation.
"Haa, yes, I can use it. More importantly, what of it? You can use it too, can't you?"
Was he simply curious about the meaning of Aura?
It didn't make sense.
Arnold had watched the duel between Orion and Albert up close.
He knew Albert's decision to use Aura against a fellow person had been wrong, but Albert's Aura had been precise and clean.
Anyone could have predicted that if Orion hadn't deflected that attack, he would have died on the spot.
And yet he had survived.
Not only that—he was stronger than Albert. Strong enough that the Knight Commander hadn't even been able to lift a finger before being defeated.
How could someone like that not know what Aura was?
...Or so he had thought.
"Hmm? I don't know how to use it."
"...What?"
Arnold's mouth fell open.
Those pure eyes.
That face tilting curiously as if he truly didn't know.
He didn't look like someone telling a lie at all.
Was this advanced acting?
Arnold adjusted his glasses with trembling fingers and even stammered.
"N-no, I mean Aura—the technique of using the mana within your body to reinforce yourself or channel it into a weapon to create a blade of energy!"
"Mana? Blade of energy? Oho, there's something like that?"
Orion's eyes sparkled with genuine interest as he listened intently to Arnold's explanation.
Th-this can't be possible.
His throat closed up; no words would come out.
He had defeated someone clad in Aura with pure physical power alone?
And not just anyone—Albert, whose character may have been rotten but whose combat ability had been considerable?
"Don't lie to me!!"
At last Arnold's composure shattered.
Even with Heily standing calmly right beside them.
Orion covered his ears and grimaced.
"Eesh, why are you suddenly yelling?"
Arnold had originally joined for the sake of restoring his family, but living here he had gradually come to embrace the creed of a knight.
A statement that shook that creed was something he, as a knight, could not tolerate.
Arnold shouted as if throwing down a gauntlet.
"Come to the knight order in three days! I must see with my own eyes whether those words are truly true!"
Orion beamed as if this were perfect timing.
"Ohh. Then what if my words turn out to be true?"
"Then I'll become your secretary or whatever you want. Not that such a thing will happen, of course."
He hadn't even said anything particular, yet he'd gotten exactly the result he wanted.
His business concluded, Orion turned and waved.
"Okay. See you then. You're gonna teach me that Aura thing, right?"
"Hmph. Just show up."
After leaving the knight order, Heily and Orion climbed back into the carriage.
"S-sorry. You must have been bored?"
"Not at all. Since we'll continue to have dealings with the knight order, it was good to see you building rapport."
"Uh... Well, that's a relief."
Building rapport, was it?
He decided to just let it slide.
After that, the two continued their work.
Originally today's main duties had ended with the knight order business, but since they were already out, they decided to finish the regular patrol work that had been scheduled for three days later as well.
A kind of inspection, you could say.
As the Lord, investigating whether the territory's people had any issues with their conduct or work.
First was the hotel.
He'd heard that even on this barren Northern Continent, quite a few tourists flocked here during spring and summer.
Mostly nobles, at that.
Which explained why the hotel looked, even from the outside, like it would cost an outrageous sum per night.
While Heily spoke with the manager, Orion toured the hotel interior.
"Whoa, all this belongs to the boss?"
There looked to be over ten of them...
Next was the railway.
Railways connected east, west, south, and north, centered on the Imperial capital.
In each direction, one inexpensive train with plenty of seats that commoners could use, and one bourgeois-exclusive train primarily used by nobles.
Two trains each direction—eight in total currently in operation.
"Whoa, all this belongs to the boss?"
"Not all of it. The Lady holds a thirty-percent stake in this railway."
Thirty percent is a lot.
Isn't that like owning thirty percent of Korail stock?
So jealous.
Next was the guild.
Here too, Orion realized a shocking fact.
"Whoa, all these commission fees are the boss's money?"
All the money he'd received until now had been her money.
So he'd basically been living on the boss's money this whole time?
Oh, shit.
Orion and Heily passed through restaurants, armories, and other minor stops, only managing to return to the mansion by evening.
"Hwahh."
"You've worked hard."
They visited the office to make their report.
"You've returned."
Karen spoke without looking up.
Countless stacks of documents piled high.
Orion had been about to put on a show of how tired he was, but seeing that, the urge vanished completely.
Heily approached to hand her the report.
"Ah, thank you."
Busy spinning her pen, Karen read the report and nodded.
"Well done. This should be fine."
Heily whispered something in her ear.
Karen's eyes widened slightly.
"Oho. You—it seems you were more helpful than expected?"
She must have relayed what happened at the knight order.
He might have scratched his head in mild embarrassment, but seeing how busy she was, he didn't feel like it.
"It's nothing. More importantly, is there anything else we can help with?"
"How did you know? I just so happened to have something for you two."
An ugh slipped from Orion's mouth.
The sun was already setting.
He'd only said it out of courtesy...
He regretted it, but seeing how busy she was, he couldn't really complain either.
Karen handed Heily a single document.
"My apologies. Business is about to start soon, but please visit just this one more place."
"Yes, understood."
Heily took the document and returned to where Orion stood.
Orion casually checked the title of the document.
Red...Light District?
"Huh?"
Had he misread it?
"Could you show me that for a moment?"
"Yes, here you are."
Orion rubbed his eyes and took the document from Heily.
Red-Light District.
He'd read it correctly.
"Wait, there's an entertainment district like this in the territory?"
Karen answered as if it were nothing.
"You didn't know? If you keep going that way, you'll find it."
"That's not the point..."
Ugh.
Didn't the lord of a territory normally frown on this kind of unsavory business?
"...Boss. You're more open-minded than I thought."
"What is that look for? Stop complaining and hurry along."
And so the two were shooed out.
Orion, wondering if this was really okay, asked Heily.
"Uh, um... This is the kind of place I'm thinking of, right?"
"Most likely, yes."
As Orion stood there looking conflicted, Heily spoke up to help him understand.
"It's all right. The Lady does not deal in things like drugs or gambling that serve no benefit."
Uh... So that means she does deal in prosti— ahem.
"Unlike other regions, this Northern Continent has few proper outlets for desire. There aren't many other forms of entertainment, and most of the territory's people either hunt magical beasts or do physical labor."
"I can understand that."
Wasn't there research that people who exercise a lot have higher libidos? He thought he'd heard that somewhere.
"Some people view it rather negatively, but it's also true that the establishment of the Red-Light District has brought meaningful benefits to our territory."
"Benefits?"
"Yes. Serious crimes such as molestation and sexual assault have decreased noticeably compared to before, and for some reason tourist numbers have also been gradually increasing."
Ahem.
He had a pretty good idea why.