Contract with the Runaway Knight
The request with Isabella concluded at Kidichi Hill. As much as I wanted to push on into Kidichi Territory to confirm the caravan had reached safety, that was impossible. In this world, men were considered inferior to women, and black-haired individuals were despised. The nobles would surely subject me to even harsher discrimination. They might brand me a cursed being and hunt me like a witch. I'd risked my life protecting their caravan—I had no interest in entering noble lands just to be pelted with stones.
“Let’s head back.”
We decided to return to the farm village of Kron, retracing the same path we had taken.
“But… why are you following us?”
“Me?”
An unexpected addition had joined me at my side. The one clad in heavy armor was Vera—the apprentice knight stationed in Kidichi Territory and the person who had officially marked the end of this request.
“I promised to take full responsibility for you and escort you all the way back to the village.”
Isabella must have handed her a pouch of coins and instructed her to protect me. Yet for someone given such a duty, she looked far too cheerful.
Half of that is definitely a lie.
Judging from Vera’s personality, she seemed to relish breaking free from routine. She had quietly tailed me during the goblin subjugation and glowed with pride whenever she accomplished something on her own.
She isn’t here to protect me… She wants to test her sword skills.
The fact that she had stayed behind alone and waited for me was probably something she had begged Isabella to allow. They could have left any member of the caravan, yet Vera had chosen to wait. That told me everything.
“It’s strange. It hasn’t even been a few days, yet you already have two companions.”
“You’re still as chatty as ever.”
“In the territory I can’t speak freely because of my sister. She says it’s unbecoming of a knight. Since I’ve finally escaped, I’m going to let it all out.”
She did seem far more liberated here. Like a bird that had flown from its cage.
“After you escort me, you’ll have to return alone, won’t you?”
“With my level of skill, I can manage by myself just fine.”
“...”
This was dangerous. Vera appeared to have considerable connections within Kidichi Territory. If anything happened to a woman of her status while she was returning from noble lands… a knight—her sister—would come looking for me. And the moment she saw my black hair, she would draw her blade without hesitation.
“Go back.”
“I was asked to do this!”
“The three of us are enough. If a knight from a noble house like you gets into trouble, I’ll be the one suffering the consequences later.”
Vera glared at me.
“So you think you need to protect me too? I’m not weak.”
Her words carried deep resentment—the same emotion I had sensed during the goblin subjugation. The desire to prove herself and verify her own strength suggested personal circumstances at play. Even so, I could not accommodate her.
“I’m saying this because I don’t want to protect you. If you die or get injured later, your sister from Kidichi Territory will come after me demanding accountability. My life would be forfeit.”
During the goblin subjugation, if I had failed to save her when her armor was crushed against her stomach, her sister would have come for me. Things might have spiraled to the point where I was branded the villain.
“I told you, you don’t have to protect me.”
“I have no choice but to protect you. The situation leaves me no other option.”
“I don’t like this. I’m not going.”
“This is…”
My head throbbed. Yet if I beat her and drove her away by force, she might be left isolated on the roadside and attacked by someone.
“You’re making this difficult.”
“You’re a man, and you’re weak. I’ll protect you.”
“I already refused.”
“Then I refuse your refusal.”
Just how much did she hate her territory to cling to me this desperately? Her tantrum resembled a cornered monster using its final means of survival.
“Master doesn’t like it, little knight.”
Syucali, unable to watch any longer, stepped forward.
“I don’t know what scheme you’re hiding, but understand this—if you don’t tell the truth, we cannot travel together.”
Syucali had already seen through the lie. She knew Vera was using us as an excuse to run away.
“And if something happens to a noble house’s daughter wandering outside alone, won’t the first people she met end up taking the blame?”
“I won’t let that happen.”
“With just words?”
Syucali smiled and produced a sheet of paper.
“That won’t do~”
Where had she pulled that from?
“You have a secret you don’t want to reveal? Then we cannot travel together unless you sign a contract.”
Syucali thrust the contract toward the stubborn Vera.
“What? I’m not doing that.”
“A true knight values leaving a record through contracts rather than mere words. Why do you think the adventurer guild requires request forms to be written out?”
Vera frowned. She understood the implication. Words could be twisted by anyone. A formal request or contract forced careful consideration. Having traveled with Isabella, a noble, Vera knew exactly how important such documents were.
“A knight who takes responsibility with nothing but words? Such a person doesn’t exist in this world. We have no reason to travel with someone suspicious.”
“Ugh… Fine! I’ll write it! I’ll write it!”
Vera had been cornered. At her reaction, Syucali gave a small laugh and winked at me.
She really was skilled at handling people. Come to think of it, she had avoided any major friction with Eos as well. Perhaps she possessed a genuine talent for managing others.
“Good. The contract terms are as follows.”
1. Party A and Party B shall travel together to Kron Village.
2. Should any harm befall Party B during the journey, Party A bears no responsibility.
3. All information seen and heard during the journey must remain strictly confidential.
4. Violation of any clause shall result in the violator becoming a slave.
“How is it?”
“Give me a pen.”
“Here.”
Vera checked the contents and signed without hesitation.
“I’ll organize this properly and send it to Kidichi Territory once we reach Kron Village.”
“Wh-why send it to the territory?! You never said that!”
“Your guardian needs to know. That way, if anything happens to you, they’ll see the contract and understand.”
“No…! Invalid! It’s invalid!”
“You already signed it~”
Syucali dodged Vera’s frantic reach with ease and slipped the document into her cleavage.
The contract stated that Vera would accompany us to Kron Village. It declared that we bore no responsibility if she suffered any accident during the journey. Furthermore, it allowed us to inform relevant parties that we had safely arrived. And if something happened to Vera while she returned alone, the blame would not fall on us. We would be inside the village while she remained on the open road.
“So, what is your guardian sister’s name?”
“I’m not telling you.”
“Hehe~ I figured you’d say that. That’s why I planned to find out the moment we reached the village~ A knight from the Kidichi family? She must be quite famous.”
“You…! You scammer!”
“Sorry, but Master said he didn’t like it and you kept clinging anyway. We had no choice but to settle it with a contract, right?”
“Ughhhh…!”
Unable to refute Syucali’s words, Vera’s face simply flushed crimson. She looked furious, yet there was nothing she could do in her current position.
“Haa… Fine. Do whatever you want. I wasn’t planning to go back anyway.”
“That’s a rather dangerous thing to say, isn’t it?”
“It’s better than living as a wanderer until I die. How long are they going to treat me like a child? I’m a knight now too.”
Indeed, there was no way she had been lingering alone at Kidichi Hill without reason. Vera had already been planning to run away.
“So disappearing was already decided.”
“It’s fortunate we made her sign the contract. Her sister the knight… you said she fought evenly with Margaret, correct?”
By creating this document, Syucali had prepared evidence for when Vera vanished and we eventually encountered her sister. At the very least, they wouldn’t try to kill me on sight.
“Well done.”
“Hehe~”
Syucali beamed at my praise.
Our paused steps resumed. With the contract secured, my only thought was returning to the village.
“As expected, the monsters have gathered.”
“This… is going to be a headache.”
Beast monsters were devouring the corpses of the attackers who had assaulted the caravan. With bodies strewn across the area, reaching the village would not be easy.
“Leave it to me.”
Vera drew her sword.
“Grrrr…”
The monsters, sensing their meal might be stolen, threatened us the moment she unsheathed her blade.
Whoosh!Slash!
Vera demonstrated noble swordsmanship—fast, clean, and refined. It was identical to the style I displayed. Or rather, I had perfectly copied hers.
“It is remarkably similar to Master’s.”
Eos, watching from behind me, offered a quiet comment. As a demon, she enjoyed observing others’ abilities. She had instantly recognized the similarity.
“You’re not wrong.”
Whirr…
I drew my sword. The one I had purchased had melted away, so I picked up a blade lying near the corpses. Mana still flowed through it, so it would serve well enough for now.
Kaiser Swordsmanship
I hunted down the beast monsters blocking our path.
Slash!Whoosh!Splatter!!
“Huh…?”
Amid Vera’s puzzled exclamation, I continued dispatching the creatures. Six-legged boar-like monsters, wolves, goblins—everything that had emerged from the forest to feast on the corpses.
“We don’t need to kill them all. Let’s cut through this section quickly.”
Nodding in agreement, we forced our way through the corpse-strewn path at speed.
“No more corpses from here on.”
We roughly shook the blood from our bodies and took a brief moment to catch our breath.
“Hey, black-hair. What was that swordsmanship?”
Vera, having watched me hunt the monsters, now showed clear interest.
“How are you using the Kaiser Sword Style?”
She looked as if she believed it was something that should never have been possible.