Leap or Cut (1)
Esteban’s royal capital was one of the safest on the entire continent.
I was able to walk through the alleyways without any worries, and the anxiety felt by the citizens was minimal, as festivals sometimes took place at night.
It may be because the overall size is small and easy to manage, but I will affirm that it is not the only reason.
‘Land of Knights’
The guards in charge of public order in the capital are knights, befitting their brave nicknames. Or it was composed of people with similar skills.
Each person’s ability was excellent enough to easily handle light minor crimes, and serious crimes that were difficult for the guards to solve could be handled without any problems with the help of the Argon Knights, the royal third order.
A safe city ruled by a king of knights.
Nevertheless, looking at the busy daily life of the guards, there must be criminals everywhere who eventually disturb the public order.
“Four criminals caught this morning. One of them has no criminal record and was arrested simply for causing a disturbance, so light action will be taken.”
The captain of the guard let out a small sigh at the voice of his subordinate, who continued to report.
“so? What was the reason for the disturbance?”
“He is a scholar active in a neighboring estate, and judging from the statements of the people around him secured at the time, it seems that he became drunk and ran amok after being scammed. Although it wasn’t exactly a riot, it was lying on the side of the road and being taken over by the guards… … .”
“… … Whoa.”
It was a sigh full of emotion.
I’m already busy, but some kind of scholar ends up drinking in the middle of the day and going out on the street… … .
The captain of the guard, who had been holding his head for a while, said.
“They say they have no criminal record, so just give them a rough ban, and tell them not to do that next time.”
“All right.”
“Oh, wait.”
tall-
The voice of the captain of the guard stopped the body of the subordinate who was about to leave the office.
You forgot the most important thing.
When the subordinate turned to look at him, the captain of the guard asked, trying to unravel his frown.
“And looking at it, what is the name of the scholar who is said to have caused the mayhem?”
“My name is El Bardo.”
“El Bardo?”
It was an unfamiliar style name.
Maybe it’s from the southern continent?
Still, it was not a strange name.
“El Bardo… … El Bardo… … .”
That moment.
“… … Notice?”
Suddenly, the existence of an official document from the royal family came to mind in the head of the guard captain who was counting the reasons for his familiarity.
What was it about?
The guard captain, who had been rummaging through his memories like that, was startled and quickly stood up from his seat.
The recoil knocked the chair over, but I didn’t care.
“… … Prepare the report right now.”
“yes? to whom… … .”
“Forgot how old this bastard is!”
At the foolish behavior of his subordinate, the captain of the guard threw the fountain pen that was lying on the desk.
As the subordinate, startled by this, jumped up and ran away, he squinted his eyes and shouted.
“To His Highness, the first prince who sent the official letter, you idiot!”
“… … ah.”
Edward took migraine pills from his desk drawer, shoved them into his mouth, and patted his uvula, forcing him to swallow.
“Immediately inform Your Highness that a scholar named El Bardo has been captured, and send the guards to track down his location!”
“yes? yes! And I will obey your order.”
“Never miss it! right now!”
There was a sense of urgency on the face of the guard commander who gave such instructions.
* * *
El Bardo?
George raised his glasses, confirming that it was definitely not a Northerner’s name.
“Well, I guess that’s roughly it… … .”
Then, he scratched his head with a face full of annoyance.
“What does that scholar have to do with the temple?”
the capital’s shopping district.
Two figures wearing robes appeared in a lively place with the footsteps of people going about their daily lives.
Contrary to the lively atmosphere of the street, the appearance of the hood with the hem down as if to cover the face could have looked quite suspicious, but the artifact of deterrence of recognition attached to the waist of the two people put it to shame.
Needless to say. The two people refer to me and George, who came out to the streets under the name of a temple.
“Is there any reason for Your Highness to move in the first place? From what I’ve heard, it sounds like they’re being scammed and being chased, but if that’s the case, I’ll just send the guards in and tell them to investigate… … .”
Apparently, even the moment he left the castle with me, he was watching his surroundings and was wary of the baron’s presence.
However, now that he was walking around the capital city, he seemed to have returned to his original slacked appearance, probably convinced that his safety had been secured.
Not some wild herbivore… … .
I looked at him with pitiful eyes and said.
“Opportunities always come from the unexpected.”
“… … .”
“Think of it as part of education and follow it. Anyway, if you get caught by the baron, you won’t see anything good either.”
“Yes.”
“and… … .”
I twisted the corner of my mouth and left a little hint.
“Because it might be your job in the future.”
“Yes… … yes?”
I lengthened my horse’s tail, left the astonished George behind, and entered an alleyway in the shopping district.
After walking for a while, a shabby wooden building at the end appeared.
Only the words ‘Adventure Shelter’ written on the signboard that stood out at first glance made me guess the purpose of the old building.
“It’s an inn.”
“If they were similar, they would be similar.”
At those words, George’s eyes shone sharply.
Apparently, he noticed that something was strange.
The guy glanced around, confirmed a few things, and spoke quietly.
“There is a hidden surveillance. I don’t think it was built with good intentions.”
“okay. It is the place where the forces of the underworld are located in the back alleys.”
I nodded my head at the guy’s conclusion.
No matter how good the security of Esteban is, there are always criminals who want to cause chaos.
Of course, there was no way the royal family would admit this, so if you wanted to do something illegal, you had to run away from their eyes and into the shadows.
“no wonder… … I guess they didn’t wear a robe to keep from getting cold in the autumn wind.”
George shrugged and started following me into the inn.
The first thing I saw when I entered the interior was the employees busily serving food under the soft orange lighting.
And after that, the mercenaries were chatting loudly while holding a glass of wine.
Although it was not a building made for good purposes, the appearance was not much different from that of a commoner’s inn.
said George, who sat down at a table suitable for the mood.
“So, out of many, many places, why did you come here?”
“According to the investigation by the guards, the courteous scholar visits the inn at this time every day.”
“Why are you in a place like this?”
“It’s a place like this, so you’re going to visit.”
He said that after being swindled, he took on a huge debt and fled from the pursuit of creditors from a neighboring estate.
Of course, you can’t make a living in a normal way in a situation where you are being tracked.
That’s why there would have been no choice but to flow into this place, a place where people are rare.
At least, since it’s a place where no information is left, and you can avoid being pursued, you must have judged it to be an appropriate hideout.
furthermore.
“I couldn’t have survived without drinking every day. Seeing as he was drunk and spilling information, I don’t think it was a very good decision.”
“Well, what a great scam I was… … .”
“Even if I couldn’t, I would have owed more than 10 million gold.”
“Kak!”
An eye-opening amount of money.
“Is that real?”
“They say it’s a scam related to investment in research.”
“… … .”
Because of this, George stuck out his tongue and frowned arrogantly.
Of course, this was a fact neither known to the public nor discovered by the guards.
However, the whole story of the incident was already being drawn in my head.
Why is an ordinary scholar being chased by such a huge amount of debt?
And the method of ‘fraud’ he is talking about and what the background is.
‘I was able to catch the back for sure this time.’
The fact that he issued an official document to the guards to keep an eye on the scholar who went wild as planned.
Hearing the name El Bardo and leaving the temple. Because in the end it was because of that.
“Is that why Your Highness came in person? If it’s an investment fraud of that amount, there must be rotten nobles involved, too?”
“well.”
I shrugged my shoulders at George’s guessing question.
It’s pretty close to the point, but the most important thing is missing.
After all, the main point of this case was only ‘Why did you do that?’
Soon after, the boy laughed and said.
“Well, the bottom line is that you have to wait tediously for the target to arrive.”
“Yes. According to the information, it will probably arrive soon.”
“… … It’s probably like going to a bar under the guise of waiting.”
That’s what he said, but it was a good thing for him.
At least it was more reasonable to leave the temple for a rest than to be in the palace where Baron Vidor was waiting.
At that time, an employee who noticed them sitting in their seats approached them with quick steps.
“Welcome, guest! you want to eat? What kind of order can I help you with?”
chuck-
The menu in the waiter’s hand was spread out on the table, and I took one look at George’s face before opening my mouth.
“First, ask for a beer and a hot chocolate.”
“All right!”
“Hey, wait!”
It was George who stopped the waiter from leaving.
When I looked at him wondering what was going on, he said without hiding his absurd expression.
“What is it? The childlike choice of that hot chocolate!”
“This is your drink. Don’t you need it?”
“Your Highness isn’t the same age as me, are you? It’s not like they treat children, what about hot chocolate… … Oh no, by the way.”
George glanced at the waiter and said quietly.
“Beer, is that a cheap drink only mercenaries drink?”
There was another point where the guy was embarrassed.
Among the names written on the menu, there were certainly quite a few wines enjoyed by nobles.
It was sold at a price considerably higher than the market price, but it was not that burdensome.
But out of so many drinks, choosing beer… … .
“I know.”
“… … .”
From noble mtl dot com.
Of course, no matter what he thinks, it’s a pretty satisfying choice for me.
The many wars they went through before returning.
The pleasure of passing a beer glass while smelling the sticky scent of blood in the thick dusty wind was like longing for me.
Rather, since there was no delivery to the capital, it could be said that it was a drink I wanted to drink on purpose.
That’s when George’s expression became distorted beyond description.
“How are you? Why is this a hard-to-see face?”
A soft voice came from behind.
I turned my gaze and looked at the protagonist of the voice.
The man who leisurely approached me from a table in the corner was clearly an unfamiliar face.
“Would you like me to buy you a beer?”
But instinctively, I felt its identity.
His presence, which was infinitely light and made him feel as if he were walking on the wind, was a unique attribute of ‘that man’ that no one could imitate.
The man who approached put his lips to my ear and whispered softly.
“Long time no see. older brother.”
Albedo Esteban.
Although he is the second prince of a country, he struggles to escape in pursuit of freedom.
… … It was a unique species.