I'll Borrow the Second-in-Command (6)
"Aaaargh! My arm! My arm!"
"Come on now, I barely squeezed it. Quit the theatrics."
"Is a knight even allowed to do this to people? No matter who you are—aaaagh!"
"Then who told you to go around hitting people who were minding their own business?"
"This is assault! Guards! Guaaaards!"
The thugs' earlier swagger had evaporated completely. Five minutes into the scuffle they were already admitting defeat, howling for justice to save them. As if answering their desperate summons, the tramp of guards' boots soon approached.
Quick on the draw, as expected of the capital's protectors. I waited with a thoroughly bored expression until they drew near, then spoke in the leisurely tones of a proper noble.
"Mm. Hard at work, I see."
"What in the world is going on here… Wait—Sir White Knight? What business could you possibly have with the likes of these…?"
"These fellows laid hands on me first."
"Pardon?"
The guards' faces immediately filled with pure disbelief. The thugs, of course, began to protest their innocence with belated, frantic complaints.
"Th-that's all lies! He started it! He just walked up out of nowhere, then started wailing like he'd been hit when we hadn't even touched him—!"
"I already took them for a rotten lot, but their skill at framing people is first-rate too. I wonder how many victims they've made like this."
"That's not what happened! Please, believe us! He's the one in the wrong!"
"Of course I used force as well. No helping it, then. Arrest me too. Truly grateful for all the work you do keeping the peace."
Unlike the thugs shrieking their grievances, I politely offered out my wrists. The moment our attitudes diverged so cleanly, which version of the truth the guards would choose was already decided.
"It seems these idiots caused the knight some trouble. We'll handle it from here—please feel free to go about your business. Our apologies, Sir Knight."
"Not at all. Though it rather looks as though this isn't the first time these fellows have done something like this. You haven't simply been letting them run free all this while, have you?"
"Th-that's… we have a great deal of official business to attend to…"
"As if I wouldn't know how busy you all are. Sorry if I put you on the spot for no reason. Here—it's not much, but take this and grab a meal."
"Oh, you really shouldn't… Thank you, Sir Knight! We'll give it our all from now on!"
The guards bowed with genuine gratitude, then turned a frigid stare on the thugs. That alone was enough to seal the men's fate.
In this world, money and power really are everything. I quietly repeated the newly reaffirmed truth to myself.
"Being a noble is convenient. You can pull something like this and no one can argue."
"That may be true, but solving things this way… I never would have imagined it."
"Doesn't everyone do it like this? Maybe you're just too uptight, Lu."
"Is that so? But this is… no… even so… ugh…"
Lu seemed to have fallen into a deep crisis of values. Just as I was about to offer a bit of consolation at her grim expression, a young girl shuffled over and tugged at my sleeve.
"Um… Sir Knight…!"
"Hm?"
"Thank you so much for helping us. It's nothing much, but please take this…"
In her awkwardly extended hands sat a single fruit I had never seen before. It was unremarkable in shape, yet when I took a bite a pleasantly tart flavor spread across my tongue.
Not even sweet—Lia would like this exactly. The thought struck me, and I asked without much consideration,
"Not bad. How much for one of these?"
"Pardon?"
"One for Lia, one for each of the kids, and a few for the Merchants' Guild… could you spare about ten baskets?"
"But I only have eight left…"
"Then just give me everything you've got. Oh—leave out the bruised and rotten ones, and shake the dirt off, please."
I carefully emphasized the point in case any rejects snuck in, but instead of answering the girl simply stared up at my face. Before long her clear, bright eyes began to grow damp.
And that emotion quickly spread to everyone nearby. The gathering crowd ringed us in, each person voicing their own impressions in words I only half understood.
"The White Knight himself came all the way out here for our sake…"
"…So he has that side to him as well. I always thought he was nothing but stiff and inflexible."
"I've never seen him go this far for anyone. Could it mean the war situation has improved?"
"True—if a man who's spent his whole life on the battlefield is showing his face on the streets, maybe…"
"…Mm. The rest of the fruit looks fine."
I stopped listening halfway through; none of it interested me. But just as I was about to set off again, another hand caught my collar.
"Um… Sir White Knight! If it isn't too much trouble, might I ask one favor as well? We're truly in need of help…"
"I'm about to go buy stationery, though."
"I own that stationery shop! For some time now Count Gramont's carriage has been parked permanently across the entrance. If this keeps up we won't be able to do business at all."
"Him again? What's his excuse this time?"
"It's always the same. The moment business starts picking up he finds some pretext to harass us, and if we want the trouble to stop we have to pay him… We've taken such heavy losses because of it…"
As he made a pitiful face, the other merchants nearby sent him looks of pure sympathy. Curious about Lu's reaction, I glanced over and received a rather complicated expression in return.
"This one is definitely illegal. The fine for it is so trifling, however, that for a count it is simply more profitable to extort a large sum once. A thoroughly base act, unworthy of a noble."
"If it's illegal, can't we just move the thing?"
"Paying the fine once grants a grace period in which the carriage may be relocated. So the count simply moves it aside for a while, then parks it in front of the shop again… which makes us the ones breaking the law if we remove it ourselves. And he is clever enough to pay every fine on time."
"Is that so? In that case I think I can solve it."
"Would that be… legal?"
Instead of answering I simply met Lu's eyes with a blank face. She immediately shook her head in firm denial.
"We must not break the law. I know you are not familiar with the statutes, but we still cannot give them any excuse to catch us out."
"So as long as it's not illegal, it's fine?"
"What? Well, that would be acceptable, but… no, even so…"
"I'll help. Provided you knock a little off the price of the stationery."
I finished before Lu could tack on anything else. At that the stationery shop owner's face finally brightened into a smile.
Fortunately Lu, perhaps because helping people was involved either way, did not press the matter further. That decision, however, proved to be a fuse—requests from others began pouring in at once.
"S-Sir Knight! Would you listen to my story as well? It's about those ruffians from earlier… No matter how many times I report them to the guard, nothing happens!"
"Sir Knight, mine also involves the count… It's a humble matter, but I swear I'll repay you!"
"Please hear me out too, Sir Knight!"
"Sir Knight! Sir Knight!"
"…Mm."
Pitiful people begging for help from a country bumpkin like me. Once I heard the details, though, every single problem was trivial. The whole lot of them felt solvable inside a single day. And if they were offering payment on top of that, I had no reason to refuse.
More than that, the setup felt oddly familiar. A street I'd never visited before. People pleading for help. Bystanders looking awkward. Unable to shake the sense of déjà vu, I muttered under my breath,
"This situation feels weirdly familiar."
It has been conclusively confirmed that the aide who previously accompanied the White Knight is the same individual as the Black Lady's closest confidant.
This information has not been disclosed to kingdom officials or the Knights of the Round Table. As a result, the majority of the public continues to mistake the subject for the White Knight himself, while a portion of the citizenry believes she has returned after achieving final victory in the war against the dark forces.
This is, of course, untrue. The Black Lady's power base remains fully intact—as do the Dragon of the Northern Mountain and the Vampire Elder of the South Forest.
Of particular note is that the White Knight has delegated all external activities to this aide and is personally supervising the work from behind the scenes. The pair have been focusing exclusively on resolving citizens' grievances and offering aid, a pattern that matches the subject's earlier activities in Beimesher with perfect consistency.
While multiple interpretations are possible, the most plausible is that this constitutes a sophisticated political campaign designed to elevate the White Knight's popularity within the kingdom. The Round Table has taken notice of the maneuver and several members have already begun countermeasures.
In light of the above, the likelihood that the aide has been the White Knight's double agent from the beginning has also risen significantly.
Accordingly, effective immediately, the subject's designation shall be changed from "Black Lady's Closest Confidant" to "White Knight's Closest Confidant."
Recent reports further indicate that the Black Lady has departed Beimesher and is advancing on the capital together with her forces. As with the decisive battle at Ernia, the movement is unprecedentedly bold; real-time tracking of her progress is required.
Additionally—though still unverified—the pack of monsters that previously assaulted the White Knight's residence is said to have flown toward the South Forest. Source confirmation and post-incident handling are necessary.