I Became a Righteous Knight in a Game

Chapter 54

Her real name was Ganesha Edropin, a magician who mainly used healing magic.

Known by the alias "Doctor," she was a character with whom one absolutely had to form a cooperative relationship in the course of completing the 'Romain' quests.

“I asked who you are. If you don't answer properly, I won't let you leave alive.”

Ellie was in a posture as if she would pounce at any moment.

Her eyes were filled with vigilance.

If his answer was not to her liking, Ellie would attack Reinhardt without hesitation.

‘The order has changed a bit, but it’s actually not bad.’

In fact, Reinhardt had been looking for ‘Redfoot’.

His plan was to deliberately provoke them into picking a fight, then beat them up moderately to secure a minimum amount of information before starting.

But the situation had changed.

“I believe I said I am a knight. Knight Reinhardt of the Taton Knights, headquartered in the gateway city of Serigel.”

“And you expect me to believe that?”

“I simply answered the question. If you don’t believe me, there’s nothing I can do.”

“What’s your proof?”

“I came here with Bishop Dalton of the Truma Order. He can prove my identity.”

“I heard new people arrived. I also heard there’s a knight among them. But I heard the knight hasn’t left the Order’s side yet?”

“I set up a double. To escape Redfoot’s surveillance.”

Ellie still did not let down her guard.

But her ferocious momentum had subsided a little.

“Where did you hear that name?”

“From the Paganoa Knights.”

“…Paganoa?”

“Do you know the name?”

“It’d be rarer to find someone who doesn't. Of course I do. They said it’s where the strongest knights in the Empire are gathered. I was also curious why people like them don't help Romain.”

Her tone was resentful.

“But I still can't believe you. You don't look all that great. Why would the Paganoa Knights tell such a story to a knight like you?”

“Alias Doctor. Real name, Ganesha Edropin. A magician whose main magic is of the healing school. She settled in the slums of Romain a long time ago, and for the sake of those who have nothing…….”

“Shut up.”

“…She has willingly devoted herself. There are those who help this Doctor of Romain, and Ellie is the most outstanding combatant among them. The main weapon she uses is…….”

“I said, shut up.”

“Was that a sufficient explanation?”

Ellie had a thoroughly sulky expression on her face.

“Who explains things like that? When asked like that, isn't it normal to show how amazing you are? Like showing off some cool swordsmanship, or a ridiculously expensive and fine sword.”

“I just judged that I could provide proof with the amount of information I know.”

“So you’re saying all that information came from the Paganoa Knights?”

Reinhardt calmly nodded his head.

It was a lie, of course, but Ellie’s vigilance had already loosened considerably a while ago.

“Is there anything else you know about me?”

“You realized your innate talent around the age of ten. After beating up three boys of your age, you thought something was strange…….”

“Stop! That’s enough! How do you know all that?”

“Was that a sufficient explanation?”

The explanation seemed sufficient. The hostility she had shown so openly was nowhere to be found.

Only resentment was left in her gaze.

“If you knew so much, why did you neglect Romain?”

“I do not know. I am not a knight of the Paganoa.”

“Then why did you come now? Did you finally decide you couldn't stand it anymore?”

“That too is a question I cannot answer. I do not know.”

“Why are you looking for the Doctor?”

“To help.”

“What kind of help can you give?”

“I will turn the city of Romain back into a normal place. Through her.”

The plan was already laid out.

In fact, rather than a plan, it was more accurate to say that the flow of the quests he had played in the game of the past was in his head.

The Doctor must be won over.

And Reinhardt also knew the method to win her over.

“Let’s meet again tomorrow. You can wait a day, right? You know our situation.”

This too was an expected request.

“Let’s meet here again. Same time.”

***

Magicians are a valuable resource.

Especially a magician who specializes in healing magic could, if she so chose, live a luxurious life under the patronage of a noble family.

Her freedom would be somewhat restricted, but it meant she could live while enjoying the privileges of a quasi-noble.

Her role would be to occasionally treat the noble or his family, look after the health of the knights he owned, and very occasionally, treat the wounded at the rearmost part of the battlefield when a territorial war broke out.

In return, the magician's abilities would belong to the noble.

If the noble didn't want it, she would have to watch powerlessly even if she wanted to heal someone.

Ganesha Edropin didn’t want that.

She gave up a life of abundance and passivity and settled in a shabby building in the slums of Romain.

She treated the wounds of those without money or power, and gradually her name became known.

‘It’s already been 5 years.’

Among the ‘patients’ she saw were those who had fallen out of favor with the mayor of Romain or Betty Pollard.

It was due to her belief that if someone was hurt, regardless of who they were, they had to be treated.

It was natural that Ganesha’s whereabouts were threatened.

In the end, she had no choice but to hide in the shadows, deeper and deeper.

Fleeing from the mayor and Redfoot.

She had lived leaning on the backs of the citizens who trusted and followed her.

“Ma’am.”

Just then, the citizen who provided this hideout came in.

He bowed his head in greeting and spoke cautiously.

“Ellie has come to see you.”

“Let her in.”

Ellie was a grateful colleague who always devoted herself to Ganesha.

It wasn't because she had received any special help.

She was a girl who felt that Ganesha’s actions were right and had stepped up out of a desire to be of some help to her.

“Ma’am! A weird guy wants to see you!”

“Was he a patient?”

“No, not a patient.”

“In that case, there’s no reason to meet, but you must have a reason for saying so, Ellie?”

“He’s an outsider. He said he’s a knight. Where was it, Serigel? He said he came from a city at the eastern edge!”

A knight.

Ganesha calmly waited for Ellie to finish speaking.

“And he seems to have a close relationship with the Paganoa Knights. They said they gave him the information. He knew your name, ma’am, and my name too. And also what I did when I was young.”

“The Paganoa Knights?”

“Yes.”

There were more than a few suspicious points to believe it as truth.

But Ellie had a good eye.

She was still young, and thus had many immature aspects, but still, Ellie was not a naive child.

“He wants to help you, ma’am. When I asked why he didn't come until now, he said he didn't know. Because he’s not affiliated with the Paganoa Knights. Oh, he said that knight is from the Taton Knights.”

“He said he wants to help me?”

“Yes. He’s going to turn Romain back into a normal city. And another thing that happened was…….”

Ellie did her best to explain the situation she had experienced objectively.

She relayed the words of the knight named Reinhardt to Ganesha without adding or subtracting anything.

“So that’s what happened.”

“What should we do? Even if I told him to just get lost… I’m sorry. Even if I just told him to go, it didn’t seem like he would accept it.”

“You agreed to meet again tomorrow, right?”

“Yes. At the place we were at earlier.”

It was suspicious.

But because it was so outrageously suspicious, she thought it might actually be worth meeting him.

However, she needed to confirm before meeting him in person.

“Ellie. Shall we go pray?”

“P-pray? Are you going to the temple? Won’t it be too dangerous? The temple is also boring…….”

“You said a new bishop has come to the Truma Order, right?”

“Yes. He also said he has a close relationship with that knight. Come to think of it, he also said the knight waiting at the temple is a double. That he himself is the real knight, and that knight is a fake. Aah! So that’s why you’re going!”

Ganesha smiled softly.

As she put on the robe hanging on the wall, Ellie hastily followed suit with her own.

An outing for Ganesha Edropin was a rare event.

Ellie was on high alert, scanning the surroundings for any suspicious people approaching, while Ganesha walked through the passersby as calmly as possible, heading for the temple of Truma.

The atmosphere at the temple was noisy.

There were people crying out to be saved, and clergy pouring holy power onto them.

But the effect was not great.

The people who had been bathed in the holy light seemed to get better for a moment, but soon succumbed to the power of the plague.

“No! Don’t take me! Just one more time, just one more time……!”

“We cannot let the plague spread. It would be wise to follow us when we ask nicely. The more you struggle here, the more painful a time you will have after you are dragged away.”

The people who had failed to be cured were wrapped head to toe in robes and dragged away by the hands of soldiers.

The clergy did not stop the soldiers.

If they couldn’t be cured, then isolating them separately was the next best thing, just as they said.

“You can cure that person, can’t you, ma’am?”

Ellie, who was watching the situation, said in a gloomy voice.

“Even if there's a limit to how many people you can heal in a day, you can still heal them, right, ma’am?”

“Yes, Ellie.”

“The mayor doesn’t seem to want that. That pig-like bastard must know too. That you have a way, ma’am. That's why he’s deliberately interfering more. Because he has no intention of curing these people.”

Ellie had an insight that didn’t match her age.

Ganesha was also suspecting the same.

She didn't know why someone like the mayor would neglect the city in such a state, but he clearly had no intention of eradicating the plague.

“I’ll go get the bishop. She said his name was Bishop Dalton.”

Ellie left Ganesha in a safe place and headed for the temple.

Unlike outside, it was quiet. A somber quietness like the atmosphere of Romain.

They were despairing at the fact that there was nothing they could do.

‘It feels a bit awkward to ask.’

Ellie read the room. She looked for someone she could comfortably ask, and then she found him.

“Do not give up! If even we give up, who will save them!”

A fearsome-looking priest was roaring while twirling a mace in the air.

He wore leather armor instead of a priest's robe and held a steel mace instead of a crosier.

But he was clearly a clergyman of Truma.

A sacred and faint light was shining from his mace.

“Um, excuse me.”

“May the grace of Truma be with you! What is it? Sister.”

“Yes, I hope the grace of Truma is with you too, priest. Do you happen to know Bishop Dalton?”

“I am Dalton.”

Unlike his appearance, Bishop Dalton’s smile was gentle.

“You’re Bishop Dalton?”

“That is correct, sister. Please speak comfortably. It is fine even if you are infected with the plague.”

“The knight named Reinhardt is here too, right?”

“Yes, Sir Reinhardt is…….”

“I met someone who said he was Reinhardt.”

Ellie cut in first.

At that moment, a flash of light flickered in Bishop Dalton’s eyes and passed.

“I swear by Truma, the Sir Reinhardt here is a double.”