Chapter 45

Lancelot and the others moved in and seized the Miph Casino.


“Damn it…!”


“Stop them!”


The casino’s resident security guards rushed out, weapons in hand, but it was all for nothing.


They simply collapsed helplessly.


With the casino occupied and not a scratch on us, we all loosened up a bit.


“Aren’t these guys a bit too weak? They’re about on par with squires, if you ask me,” Lancelot commented.


“…Some squires do possess strength,” Rowen muttered.


“Hm? Oh, I wasn’t talking about you, old man.”


The two chatted idly as they looked over the fallen guards.


“So, what now? We can’t just stay here forever, can we?” Lancelot asked me.


Apparently, sitting around here didn’t suit his taste.


“You’re right, my good knight. We can’t stay here forever.”


“Then why did we come here?”


“Why else? To minimize the damage.”


“…Minimize? Am I misunderstanding what ‘minimize’ means?” Lancelot appeared genuinely baffled. He glanced around, as if to ask, “You call this minimizing?”


“A sparrow cannot fathom the mind of a phoenix.”


“…And what’s that supposed to mean?”


“It’s an old Eastern proverb. You should read a book or two when you get home. The ladies hate ignorance, you know.” I patted Lancelot’s shoulder and stepped forward.


I could hear him grumbling behind me, but I didn’t bother responding.


After all, I really was trying to minimize the damage.


If I leave things as they are, gambling will only cause more harm.


Most of the people in the territory had already lost everything to gambling.


At this rate, we’d return not with a merchant guild, but saddled with even more debt.


If we ever wanted to make honest money in the future, we couldn’t let them stay addicted to gambling.


Which is why I made a mess of things.


I turned my head and surveyed the inside of the casino.


There wasn’t a single machine left in working order, and the dealers were all trussed up with ropes. The rest of the staff were in the same sorry state.


It was only a matter of time before someone from the guild noticed something was off and started making plans to bolt.


So we had to make our move before they did.


“If everyone’s finished tidying up, let’s get going,” I said.


“Where to?”


“Where else? The Miph Merchant Guild, of course.”


* * *


Crash!


“Make way for the new recruuuuit!” Lancelot kicked the guild’s front door clean off its hinges and bellowed at the top of his lungs, cackling all the while.


The main entrance disintegrated, giving us a panoramic view of the interior.


“What the…?”


“Which lunatic is making a scene in here?!”


The employees of the Miph Merchant Guild started murmuring anxiously.


Their door had just been smashed in by a man laughing to himself. When he began spouting nonsense, fear was the only logical response.


“…Is it truly impossible for you to do anything quietly?” I asked.


“You never told me to be quiet, did you, Boss?”


“…”


…What a maniac.


I sorely wished someone would teach that idiot the meaning of common sense.


“Ha…” With a faint sigh, I followed Lancelot through the door he’d just demolished.


Inside, the guild looked surprisingly normal. Wooden decorations, a bit of marble here and there. Even a few modest ornaments.


It hardly looked like the lair of some shadowy villain plotting the downfall of Miphra Territory.


One of the nervous guild employees asked, “Wh-who are you?”


They must have heard the way Lancelot addressed me.


I cleared my throat and looked them over, saying, “Did you just ask who I am?”


Well, it would be rude not to answer.


With my friendliest smile, I rummaged in my coat and pulled out the letter of delegation—just like a city guard proudly flashing a warrant after a successful investigation.


I unfolded it with a flourish and continued, “Secret Order of Knights, reporting in!”


I’d always wanted to say that at least once.


* * *


The guild employees stared at me in silence, their faces frozen in utter bewilderment.


It was the exact same look they’d given Lancelot. The sort of expression reserved for madmen.


Hmm… Even I had to admit, being stared at like that stung a little.


Surely I wasn’t that bad.


In any case, I folded the letter of delegation and slipped it back into my coat.


“Well, that was just a joke. In reality, I’m here as a courier, delivering this letter of delegation.”


“…A courier?”


Their faces broadcasted disbelief, while their eyes said, “What kind of courier struts around dressed like a nobleman?”


Mm… Sharp, these folks.


But since I was only stating the plain truth, I didn’t let it bother me and instead looked for whoever seemed to be in charge.


“All right, fetch your supervisor. Oh, and no need to call for Makio—he’s already signed off on this paper and headed back to his hometown.”


“…The Trademaster has gone home?”


“That’s right. If you don’t believe me, I can show you the letter again.” I nodded with a perfectly straight face, utterly unbothered.


Makio’s hometown was probably hell itself, so this was, in its own way, a statement of fact.


I could look up at the sky with not a shred of shame.


“…Very well, for now. But there aren’t many higher-ups present. Would you mind waiting here a moment?”


“Go ahead.”


I nodded, and the staff member hurried away.


And then, in the blink of an eye…


“Here they are!” The staff member returned, accompanied by a small group of men.


“These are the ones?!” one of the newcomers cried out.


“Yes, yes sir!” With a posture so polite it nearly bent him in half, the staff member bowed to the men—clearly the higher-ups of the guild.


“Hmm… So that’s how it is.”


The men the staff member had brought stared at me, sizing me up.


But only for a moment.


The one at the front, radiating a certain swagger, stepped forward and held out his hand. “Mind showing me that letter of delegation? I’m a naturally suspicious man.”


“Of course.” I took out the letter and handed it over.


The man stroked his handlebar mustache as he glanced over the document, and then, quite suddenly, his face turned red and he began to tremble.


“…What is the meaning of this?!” He glared at the letter of delegation, his breath coming in harsh, ragged bursts. “Is this really true?”


“It’s written right there, clear as day. If you’d like, feel free to compare the handwriting.”


“Damn it all…!” Still trembling with agitation, the man clutched the letter in a death grip.


Judging by his face, he’d been quite certain he’d be the next Trademaster. And now, out of the blue, some other name had turned up in “ink.”


No wonder he was about to burst a blood vessel.


The men who’d been hovering behind him shuffled closer, craning their necks to get a look at the letter.


“What’s the matter? Something wrong?”


“Let me see that too.”


And then, as one, their faces went stiff and they began to tremble.


At that moment, the first man snatched the letter back and tore into it, shredding it into pieces.


Rip! Rip! Rip!


Bits of paper danced through the air.


“Haa…” The man steadied his breathing, forcing himself to calm down, then flashed a thin, sardonic smile. “Oh no… Got so worked up, my hand slipped.”


“It happens to the best of us.”


“Thank you for your understanding. But now, there’s no way to verify what was written here. We’ll just have to wait until the Trademaster arrives in person and settle things then.”


“Y-yes! That’s the right thing to do!”


“Of course, absolutely!”


His companions let out sighs of relief and nodded, their faces lighting up with smiles.


Since the Trademaster hadn’t shown up himself, they were likely convinced something had happened to him.


And since he wouldn’t be appearing, they seemed quite sure of their victory.


However…


I stooped down, as if this was all nothing more than a minor inconvenience, and began picking up the scraps of paper.


“Hm… Can’t we just do a handwriting comparison?” I asked.


“With the letter torn to pieces like this, I doubt that’s possible, wouldn’t you say?”


A handwriting comparison, difficult…?


I curled my lips into a smirk and handed them a fresh sheet of paper.


The words “Letter of Delegation” were boldly written across it. The moment they saw those three characters, their faces froze.


“Good thing I anticipated something like this might happen and prepared several copies in advance. The one you ‘accidentally’ tore up was just a duplicate, so there’s no need to worry.”


“…”


“Oh? Why so quiet? Surely you didn’t intend on stalling for time with this little stunt.”


As I kept smirking at them, their faces crumpled like laundry left out in the rain.


But only for a heartbeat.


“Screw it, just kill him!” the first man shouted.


At his command, the knights standing guard around him all charged at once.


Every single one of them looked to have reached the level of Aura Expert.


I snorted, thoroughly unimpressed. “Mm… I’d say that’s a bit much for a welcome.”


While I stood there, Lancelot came barreling in, spear at the ready, and barked at me. “Ugh! Why are you just standing there gawking?!”


“I’m waiting of course, knowing you’d intervene.”


“Bloody hell!”


Clang!


Lancelot swung his spear, blocking the knights’ swords.


At first, he managed to fend them off by making good use of his weapon’s reach, but before long, the strain started to show and he began to falter.


“Aren’t you going to help?!” Lancelot yelled.


Honestly, he had the patience of a boiling kettle.


I clicked my tongue at him and leisurely crossed my arms.


Kai started to move toward Lancelot, but I held up a hand to stop him.


“Wait,” I ordered.


“…Are you trying to get him killed?”


“Hardly.” I let out a small, amused snort and watched Lancelot struggle.


Up until now, I’d nearly always been the one at the center of our fights.


Sure, Lancelot, Roxen, and Kai had taken part, but let’s be honest—their opponents hadn’t exactly been world-class.


That wasn’t enough experience to help them grow.


Kai’s got talent. He’s even managed to take on a high-tier assassin by himself, so he’s been improving fast. But Lancelot? Not so much.


Lancelot’s talent was average, or maybe just a hair above it.


He was decent enough with a spear, but his self-taught swordsmanship was steadily eating away at whatever skill he had.


My knight’s current state was concerning. If he kept following me around, it’d be a miracle if he didn’t end up as a roadside casualty.


At the very least, he needed to be able to keep himself alive if he wanted to tag along.


“There’s nothing like a real fight to break a bad habit, you see,” I murmured, keeping my eyes on Lancelot.


His opponents were several knights, each just barely qualifying as an Aura Expert. It was the perfect level of danger—enough to sharpen your instincts.


“Hey! I said help me!” Lancelot yelled.


“Stop whining,” I replied.


“Whining? I’m not whining! You’re crazy, just standing there watching!”


“Need I remind you, I’m the one being guarded, and you’re the bodyguard? This is exactly how things are supposed to work.”


“…You’ve got to be—!” Lancelot’s face crumpled as he swung his spear, clearly wanting to curse but running out of words.


“Remarkably easy to read,” I said, shaking my head at him. Then I pulled out my bow.


I aimed it straight at Lancelot and called out to him. “First things first.”


“What now?!”


“What do you think? Try not to die.”


“What?!”


“I sincerely hope you have a good sense for real combat.”


Suppressing a snicker, I let the arrow fly.


Whoosh!


The arrow sped straight toward Lancelot, and—


Thock!


It struck Lancelot right in the thigh.

SomaRead | From a Broken Engagement to the Northern Grand Duke's Son-in-Law - Chapter 45