Chapter 74 : Married Knights
Married Knights
Gregory carefully examined the faces of the two people who entered the tent.
And the moment he saw their faces, his body froze.
'Wh-why are these people here?'
Gregory thought that Ernest, who had been angry, had calmed down and come back in.
"Are you Gregory?"
They saw through Gregory's identity immediately. Gregory took a step back, gripping his sword tightly. Seeing him like that, the two mysterious people burst out laughing.
"What a funny guy."
Garneth Velocher and Seria Lasentia.
They were the main perpetrators who had brutally torn apart Blandi Kingdom's regular soldiers in his previous life. Gregory tensed up the moment he saw their faces, remembering the time he fought a bloody battle with them.
Right now, Ernest didn't even register in his mind. The murderous intent he felt for some reason made him think he needed to get ready for a fight at any moment.
But Garneth and Seria's reactions were different.
Garneth, who wore armor that looked quite sturdy, raised both hands to calm Gregory down.
"First, calm down. We're not your enemies."
With long silver hair, clear blue eyes, and a cold beauty, Seria wore slim silver plate mail and supported Garneth.
"Darling, I think we scared the knight order member. Let's introduce ourselves first."
The comrades, except for Gregory and Ernest, listened to Garneth and Seria's story.
But Gregory still couldn't hide his shock. Their aura and presence seemed to rival Walter's.
Gregory might have been even more tense because he knew their true identity well.
Among knights in Arme, there were only a handful of married knights. Their teamwork shone brighter when they were together, and he unconsciously judged that if they joined forces, they could surpass even Walter in strength.
The fact that these two had killed over twenty knights of Blandi Kingdom and thousands of regular soldiers came to Gregory's mind, and he shuddered.
'It's lucky these disgusting people are at least our allies. No, wait, that means there must be similar skilled people in Blandi Kingdom for sure... When will I ever reach that level of skill?'
As Gregory absentmindedly let their story wash over him, the two of them explained their position.
Both talked so much that information flooded out, but to summarize:
Currently, radiant Order's commander Parsei determined that many traitors were hiding within Arme, and concerned about war with Blandi Kingdom, sent them here after their recent deployment.
He assured that, as for Gregory and his comrades, there were no traitors among them.
Their duty was to root out traitors here and, after dealing with them, send them to the Radiant Order.
They explained that they had clarified from the start that they were not the enemy because Gregory seemed unusually tense before they could even start talking.
They even showed the Radiant Order's insignia, so it was definitely not a lie. And since Kylas had said the two deployed members were them, everything made sense.
"So, Gregory, what do you think?"
Garneth asked.
Gregory responded respectfully.
"May I ask why you're interested in my opinion?"
Garneth and Seria exchanged glances and laughed.
"Puhahaha. That's because... we don't know who you folks are."
Gregory chewed over the meaning of those words.
'Wait, how do they even know I'm Gregory?'
He definitely hadn't introduced himself to them. If they didn't know who his group was, they shouldn't have known which one was Gregory. Yet, right after coming in, they addressed him by name and kept talking directly at him.
Gregory felt uneasy knowing the two already knew him. He wondered if they might actually be enemies feigning as allies to target him.
But then Garneth confidently put both hands on his hips and said,
"Are you curious how we know you? Judging by your expression, that's it, isn't it?"
Gregory, being spot on, couldn't say anything. Garneth and Seria looked him straight in the eye and questioned him so confidently, it made him mistakenly believe they knew every member's identity.
Actually, they'd only explained why they'd come here, not how they knew about Gregory.
'It was my mistake to let my guard down when I wasn't even sure who they were.'
As Gregory was feeling confused, Seria agreed with Garneth's words.
"When you say it like that, it sounds weird!"
"Oh, really? Honestly, you just look the strongest."
"That's right. Actually, we've only heard about your achievements until now!"
"Of course, we just figured the strongest-looking person in the group must be the protagonist of the rumors. Judging by your reaction, it seems we got it right."
Only now did Gregory have all his doubts dispelled. Even though the two had been busy with deployments, they had heard of Gregory's achievements through Walter and Parsei.
In those circumstances, such misunderstandings could occur.
"So that's what happened. In that case, I think introducing ourselves and getting to know each other is more important than the traitor issue."
Alessandro objected to Gregory's words.
"What are you saying? You know better than anyone that we don't have much time. We have to wipe out the enemy."
Gregory disagreed with Alessandro.
"No, the fact that they're here means Blandi Kingdom definitely sent reinforcements too. Which means there may be more enemy troops than we previously investigated."
Garneth clapped at Gregory's words and laughed grandly.
"As expected of the hero in the rumors—smart! Even with us joining, now isn't the time to attack recklessly."
Gregory stared into empty space and said,
"For now, I think returning to the commander is the right choice. We've already fulfilled our role just by buying time. The other knight orders will start joining us soon, too."
Alessandro was thoroughly confused by the situation. What was with all this traitor business, and who were these people who suddenly appeared? His mind was racing.
"So we're just going back? We haven't wiped out the enemy yet!"
"We don't have enough information yet. We need definite support and should switch to a defensive posture first. Plus, now we've confirmed there really are traitors inside, so that's enough for now."
Finally, Alessandro couldn't hold back and asked Gregory,
"Who's the traitor anyway? Why won't you tell us in detail?"
Gregory said that, as it was classified kingdom information, it was too sensitive and he would explain it once they were somewhere safe. He couldn't risk information leaking outside the tent.
Patting Alessandro on the shoulder, he said,
"It's awkward to talk here. I'll explain everything in detail once we're back at the knight order's hideout."
Then Adrian asked Gregory,
"By the way, what are you going to do about Ernest if we leave now?"
"Don't worry about that. That's my responsibility. For now, head back."
Garneth, overhearing Adrian and Gregory's conversation, hazarded a guess.
"Oh, was that guy who stomped off earlier Ernest?"
The reason he guessed this was because, judging from what happened, that man must be Ernest. He'd met him at the tent entrance, and the guy looked quite angry.
Gregory asked,
"Did you see Ernest?"
"I saw someone passing by when we came in, but I don't know if he was Ernest."
"It's fine. I think I know where Ernest is. This situation is my fault, so I'll try to smooth things over with him."
Gregory worked out a way to persuade Ernest and, feeling certain this place was too dangerous, gave the order to retreat.
Basically, while Garneth and Seria were higher-ranking knight order members than Gregory, during an operation, command naturally remained with the original leader, so Gregory's orders were followed.
Even if Garneth and Seria had held command, they were of the same mind as Gregory, so they would have given the same order.
Gregory added,
"Let's get to know each other's faces back at the knight order hideout. It should be safe there, and we'll have time."
Adrian, looking visibly tense, whispered to Gregory.
"W-we're supposed to introduce ourselves to each other? Th-that's too nerve-wracking..."
He was trembling as he spoke, despite never having stumbled over his words before.
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