Chapter 86 : Chapter 86
Chapter 86
‘Her performance is certainly impressive.’
From a position with a clear view of the smithy's main entrance.
Reinhardt watched Evangeline’s battle, inwardly impressed.
Crack-
Every time she swung her sword, frost left a trail in its wake.
With one strike, the enemy froze, and with the next, they became like a completely shattered piece of ice.
‘It’s like casting a wide-area debuff. In a game, it would be described as a slowing debuff.’
Furthermore, the movements of the enemies around Evangeline had noticeably slowed.
It was due to the frost that had spread widely throughout the area.
The cold energy caught the enemies by their ankles.
The slowed enemies could not evade Evangeline’s sword.
‘One of them. No, did two get away?’
Among them, a few lucky individuals were able to flee the scene.
At a glance, it seemed as if Evangeline had missed them, but Reinhardt knew.
She had let them go on purpose.
As previously agreed with Reinhardt.
“Bitdori.”
“Pit.”
Bitdori flew swiftly.
No matter how fast they ran, it was impossible for them to hide from Bitdori’s eyes.
Reinhardt followed behind Bitdori without delay.
I swiftly traversed the snow-covered alleys.
‘I shouldn't catch them. Just enough to give the feeling that someone is chasing them.’
Reinhardt intentionally maintained his distance from the opponents.
I didn’t forget to make my presence known by kicking walls and striking my own armor with my sword along the way.
Then, at a certain moment.
“Pit.”
Bitdori returned to Reinhardt.
“They went into a building?”
“Pit-!”
“Good. Let’s go catch them.”
There was a precaution that should not be forgotten when hunting the wicked.
That was the fact that once you touched them, you had to pull them out by the roots.
If you dug them up carelessly, the scoundrels would hide in deeper, darker places.
When they reappeared later, they were in a state that was much more difficult to deal with.
Guided by Bitdori, Reinhardt arrived in front of a large building.
It was a tavern.
A crude drawing of a beer mug was emblazoned on the shabby sign.
Through the frosted windows, people could be seen emptying their glasses.
‘[Inventory].’
Reinhardt took off his armor and sword and stored them in his [Inventory].
Just changing his clothes changed his image.
He was not a knight now. He was just a passerby that could be seen anywhere in Elmore.
Tinkle-
As I pushed the door open and entered, a wave of warmth hit me.
Reinhardt took off his overcoat and sat at a table.
“What can I get ya?”
“A glass of beer and something to go with it.”
“Something to go with it, ya say. I'll bring it right out. It'll take about 10 minutes.”
The atmosphere was bright.
Trivial conversations were being exchanged among the people.
However, the faces of those who had fled earlier were nowhere to be seen.
“Bitdori.”
“Pit.”
As I muttered lowly, Bitdori quickly darted around the inside of the tavern.
“Piit-!”
Soon, a signal came.
It was the door leading to the tavern’s storage.
That meant the owner had hidden the two of them.
“Any other humans.”
“Pit.”
Bitdori moved again.
Sniff, sniff-
It sniffed the customers and moved around busily, looking them in the eye from up close.
And when it returned to Reinhardt again.
“Piiiiit-”
It was in a very aggressive state.
The creature swung its short arms wildly. It pointed at each and every customer inside the tavern, chirping angrily.
“The leader.”
“Piiit, pitpit!”
For the final question, it pointed to a haggard old man in the corner of the tavern.
He looked as if he could collapse at any moment.
But there was no hint of suspicion about him. If it weren't for Bitdori, I would have just thought he was an old man who liked to drink.
“Here’s the beer you ordered. For the side dish, some lightly roasted peanuts with salt, gurgle……”
The owner, who was bringing the drink, clutched his throat and collapsed.
At some point, a sword was in Reinhardt’s hand.
I hadn't managed to put on my armor. No matter how convenient the [Inventory] was, it didn't
provide an automatic equip function.
“A person died, yet not a single one of you is screaming.”
Reinhardt summed up the surrounding atmosphere in one sentence.
In a situation like this, shouldn't at least a single scream have erupted?
Not like now, where everyone was staring at him with tense eyes as if by agreement.
“Draw your weapons. Or run.”
“I-if we run, will you let us live?”
“Of course not.”
There was no back door here.
Reinhardt stood with his back to the wall with the windows and scanned his surroundings.
Extras like these, even if there were dozens of them, could be dealt with in an instant.
The reason I was taking my time was the old man sitting in the corner of the tavern.
“Who are you?”
“I am Fermil, a knight of Paganoa.”
“I see. A welcome name.”
The old man nodded, then lightly tapped the table with his half-full beer glass.
Thump-
The eyes of the people who had filled the tavern lost their focus.
“We’ll meet again.”
The old man’s farewell was the signal.
“Kaaaaaaak!”
“Kill him!”
The minions charged all at once. They looked as if they had no thought other than to kill Reinhardt, disregarding their own lives.
The old man could be seen walking leisurely through the gaps between the charging humans. Reinhardt found it so absurd that he snorted.
“Bitdori.”
“Pit.”
“Stop him.”
“Piiit!”
Bitdori shot out, and Reinhardt’s sword drew an arc.
Thud, the sound of the old man being thrown into the corner of the tavern was heard.
The sword cut down another enemy.
Two strikes were enough to fell over a dozen enemies.
“Pit! Pit! Pit! Pit!”
Bitdori was excitedly throwing punches.
It looked for all the world like it was grooving to a rhythm.
After watching for a moment, Reinhardt grabbed the creature with his right hand and pulled it away from the old man.
“Piiii!”
“Wait a moment.”
The warlock was practically crumpled, breathing heavily.
He spat, ptooey-, and out came a broken tooth and blood.
He looked at Reinhardt with eyes he had struggled to open.
“You, who are you.”
“I believe I said I was Fermil, a knight of Paganoa.”
“Fermil. I know the name Fermil as well. You seem to be in a good mood after successfully completing your mission in the Palma Mountains.”
“Has the news already reached that far? More importantly, you also seem to be in a surprisingly good mood. Why is that?”
“Hehehe.”
The warlock chuckled sinisterly and continued with a question.
“I will explain to Alexa. Where is Alexa?”
Who is Alexa.
Reinhardt thought for a moment, but it wasn't a name that came to mind.
‘A character that wasn’t in the original game.’
If they were a member of the Paganoa Knights, I remembered most of their names.
But Alexa was a name I was hearing for the first time.
It meant it was a character that didn't exist in the original game, or in other words, a character who had already died in the past.
“Didn’t you say your name was Fermil? I’m talking about your senior knight who always travels with you.”
Fermil's senior would have to be a knight.
“Are you talking about Sir Alexa?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t know why that name is coming from you.”
“Because I am in a cooperative relationship with the Paganoa Knights.”
This time, even Reinhardt flinched.
‘Could he be playing a role like Jenkins?’
The possibility was high enough.
I had already encountered a warlock who was on the side of humans.
But if that were the case.
‘Jenkins said he had never harmed a human. And the commander of the Paganoa Knights was not the type to make sacrifices or anything of the sort. But that’s based on the original game.’
The current commander might have a different personality.
The flow of time was bound to carve the stone that was a human being and change its shape.
However.
“Alright. Wait a moment.”
“Hehe, by all means.”
Reinhardt had a way to check.
[Search: Alexa]
Reinhardt scanned through the posts that mentioned Alexa.
Since it was a character that didn't exist in the original game, naturally, most of the posts were from [Possessors] like Reinhardt.
<Fermil>
[Traitor executed]
[The reward is so, so good lol]
[I took all the equipment Alexa used and sold it off, got over 6,000 gold lol]
<Evangeline>
[There was a double agent pretending to be a double agent.]
[Everyone, be careful of Sir Alexa. He’s on the warlock’s side.]
[If you miss him, he turns into a Death Knight and comes for you again!]
The decision was made.
[Fermil] and [Evangeline] testified that Knight Alexa was a traitor.
“Hey.”
“Speak. Young knight.”
“Fermil is a knight who uses a spear, not a sword. You didn’t even know that?”
Stab-
Simultaneously with his words, Reinhardt thrust his sword.
The warlock’s eyes widened and trembled, then lost their strength and stopped.
[You have executed the warlock.]
[The effect of ‘Justice’ has been enhanced by your righteous choice.]
*Stat increase per stack +7
“Spouting bullshit that won't even work. Just wasted my time.”
“Piiiiit!”
Bitdori excitedly punched the air.
It looked just like a general announcing a victory.
‘By the way.’
Reinhardt had obtained new information.
And it was content that had to be handled very sensitively.
‘So there was a traitor in Paganoa too.’
***
Hasker’s Smithy had regained its stability.
Guards dispatched from Elmore’s City Hall were circling the area for investigation, and some knights based in Elmore had also been dispatched.
“These are the minions of a warlock.”
“I see……!”
Normally, when an incident like this occurred, there would be an investigation, the sequence of events would be examined, and testimonies would be cross-referenced to see if they were true or not.
But that was only when the perpetrator was an ordinary person.
A Knight of Paganoa.
Especially when the protagonist was someone exuding a noble aura while clad in cold energy, such unnecessary investigation processes were always skipped.
“Thanks to you, a crisis in Elmore has been resolved. Dame Evangeline, if it’s not too much trouble, could I ask for a moment of your advice as a knight……”
“I apologize, but I do not have the time right now. I must move immediately to carry out my mission.”
“Dame Evangeline! Did you say these are the minions of a warlock?”
“Yes.”
“Then that means a warlock has also infiltrated Elmore!”
“That is correct. But they have likely already been dealt with. My fellow knight moving with me has already taken action.”
“A fellow knight……!”
“It is Sir Fermil, a knight of Paganoa.”
A wave of admiration spread.
Knights of Paganoa.
At the news that two of the Empire’s finest knights, who fought against demons, had visited Elmore.
‘……To tell so many lies.’
Evangeline felt a strange sense of guilt.
Even though it was at Reinhardt’s request, lying was an act a knight should not commit.
‘But if it’s Sir Reinhardt’s request.’
However, the other party was Reinhardt, and didn't exceptions always exist for any matter in the world?
To Evangeline, the existence of Reinhardt was an ‘exception’ in itself.
She was indebted to him for an immense favor she could never fully repay, and Miya Luxpenber had vouched for his good intentions.
Above all, Reinhardt’s usual words and actions.
He was just where he needed to be, doing what he had to do.
Hearing such things made one think that perhaps he had been chosen by the gods.
Evangeline appropriately concluded the situation and slipped out of the crowd.
No one stood in her way.
Because there was no one with enough guts to dare block a Knight of Paganoa.
“Reinhardt…… no, Sir Fermil.”
Reinhardt was at the pre-arranged location.
“The warlock has been dealt with. It seems he was a follower of Agrio-s.”
This time too, Reinhardt had done what needed to be done.
He had dealt with none other than a warlock, but the way he spoke, it felt no different from the atmosphere of having mowed the lawn in front of his house.
Perhaps because of that, Evangeline could only react calmly.
“……Yes. I introduced you as Sir Fermil to the City Hall. Not many people know your face, so there shouldn't be any burden on your activities.”
“That’s a relief. I still have things to do here. Dame Evangeline, it seems you will have to leave first, and I have an item and a message to deliver separately to Personnel Officer Miya.”
The item was predictable.
It would be a request for the Paganoa Knights to manage the Sealing Stone, just like before.
But a message to deliver.
To the puzzled Evangeline, Reinhardt spoke as if delivering a sentence.
“Sir Alexa of the Paganoa Knights is a traitor.”