Chapter 17

Chapter 17

One week after Jake received his mercenary badge...

Imperial knights and soldiers entered Lutetia City through the western gate.

They were not ordinary knights from some neighboring territory.

They were the emperor's knights.

As the knights crossed the streets in magnificent armor, passing citizens and mercenaries stared in surprise.

Lutetia City was a place where Rangers handled law and order.

Seeing imperial knights here was unusual.

Jessica was among the people standing there with her mouth open.

She had come to this gate every day, hoping to confirm Jake's prediction.

After traveling together for so long, she had decided to trust him.

Even so...

Watching his prediction become reality before her eyes was shocking.

Jessica decided to add fortune-teller to Jake's list of possible backgrounds.

A short while later...

The knights and soldiers disappeared toward the inner fortress.

Jessica immediately ran back to the inn.

She needed to tell Jake they had arrived.

The inner fortress of Lutetia City was not located in the center of the city.

It was built against the massive western wall.

Unlike ordinary castles, the residence of the Lord of Lutetia had not been constructed to protect the lord himself.

It was a fortress connected directly to the Great Wall.

Beauty and comfort had both been abandoned.

Everything about the structure existed for one purpose.

Fighting enemies coming down from the Great Forest.

After crossing the central avenue and arriving at the inner fortress, the knights immediately requested an audience with the lord.

They had come to announce the accession of the new emperor...

And deliver an imperial order.

"So."

Unlike most rooms in the fortress, the audience chamber had at least been decorated somewhat.

The lord of this territory...

One of the empire's few dukes...

Sat there with a frightening smile.

"That bastard who dumped my daughter finally decided to send someone?"

Duke Lutetia.

The current head of House Lutetia, which had defended the empire from the Great Forest for generations.

He was both a skilled mana-using knight...

And a true Ranger who had survived countless battles.

Naturally...

He was not pleased that knights serving the emperor who rejected his daughter had arrived.

He had nearly left for the Imperial Capital to attend the wedding when he received the absurd news that the engagement had been broken.

For a brief moment...

He had even considered marching on the capital.

He regained his reason quickly.

But even now...

If circumstances allowed, he would happily turn the entire empire upside down.

"Still..."

The duke leaned back.

"I suppose I should at least hear what they have to say."

He waved one hand.

"Let them in."

The doors opened immediately.

Three knights entered with disciplined steps.

They stopped before the lord and bowed.

"I am Knight Samuel, carrying orders from His Majesty the Emperor."

The knight in the center spoke for the group.

The duke looked at his insignia.

"You didn't come from the Imperial Capital."

His eyes narrowed.

"You're from the Eastern Imperial Direct Territory?"

The knight's crest was not that of the Imperial Guard.

It belonged to the imperial direct territory located northwest of Lutetia.

Apparently...

This was not simply some official sent to smooth things over.

The duke's mood worsened further.

"Yes."

Samuel nodded.

"By His Majesty's command, we were selected from the direct territory."

He respectfully presented documents.

"Here is a letter written personally by His Majesty, along with an imperial order."

The duke disliked everything about the situation.

Still...

It was a letter from the emperor.

He stood and accepted both documents personally.

First, he broke the letter's seal and read.

The letter was written in a cold, official tone.

It expressed regret that the emperor had been unable to marry the former crown princess.

It asked for the duke's understanding.

It also stated that the emperor understood why the duke had not attended the coronation...

And hoped House Lutetia would continue serving the empire faithfully.

That was the end.

The duke's face became completely expressionless.

Then he opened the imperial order.

Its contents were simple.

He was to provide every possible support for the knights' dungeon exploration.

The duke stared at the document for a long moment.

Then closed his eyes.

After a while...

"What do you need?"

He spoke without opening them.

Samuel somehow understood.

"A mage."

The knight answered.

"Rangers."

"And mercenaries capable of assisting with dungeon exploration."

The duke opened his eyes.

Deep inside them...

Angry flames burned.

"A hollow letter of regret."

His voice was quiet.

"And an order demanding support for dungeon exploration."

Mana began boiling around his body.

"Looks like our family has properly earned the new emperor's hatred."

The words were terrifying enough.

Combined with the mana surrounding the duke...

The three knights felt chills run down the backs of their necks.

"Leave."

The duke spoke.

"I'll support you with a mage and Rangers."

Then he added,

"But you'll find your own mercenaries."

It was not the level of support they had hoped for.

Still...

The knights accepted.

The atmosphere alone felt dangerous enough that their heads might be cut off at any moment.

They could recruit mercenaries themselves.

As long as Lutetia provided capable Rangers and a mage, that would be enough.

The knights left the audience chamber.

The duke watched them disappear.

Then he spoke seriously.

"That insane emperor feels like he's deliberately trying to provoke me."

Standing beside him was Baron Andrew Lutetia.

The duke's capable adviser...

And cousin.

"It seems His Majesty, after obtaining his new knowledge, wishes to establish a different relationship with us."

Nobles who had served the imperial family for generations knew one thing.

Just before a new emperor took the throne...

Somehow, he would acquire strange and remarkable knowledge.

The ability to identify talented people before they became famous.

The locations of hidden dungeons.

And the ability to identify potential future threats.

"I heard his personality was rotten, but I still tried attaching Rachel to him."

The duke clicked his tongue.

"Looks like that was too much after all."

"An engagement being broken before the coronation is not unprecedented."

Andrew answered.

"I don't think you need to be too discouraged."

In the end...

The duke had become a terrible father to his daughter.

But as the head of a powerful noble family potentially threatening the emperor...

He had felt he had little choice.

"The problem is that this time we seem to have been properly marked."

"This happens whenever a new emperor ascends."

Andrew remained calm.

"Besides, because of the Great Forest, he cannot directly attack us."

"But we can't take revenge either."

Relations between House Lutetia and past emperors had never been friendly.

Even when things were less extreme than now...

They had constantly snarled at one another like cats and dogs.

But because of the Great Forest...

Neither side could truly fight the other.

Only suspicion continued growing.

"For now, I think we should observe the situation."

Andrew continued.

"His Majesty did at least formally express regret. It doesn't seem like he intends to cause something immediately."

"This really is a damnable position."

The duke groaned.

"I can't move even one step according to my own personality."

He sighed.

"If it were a monster, I could just charge straight at it without worrying about anything else."

For a noble...

Especially for the daughter of a ducal house...

Having an engagement broken was a devastating humiliation.

The duke was an excellent field commander.

But he was also the head of one of the empire's greatest houses.

He looked down at the letter.

"And he wants me to do work for him, but all I receive is this arrogant letter."

The duke frowned.

"I can't tell if that's just his personality or if he's testing me."

Andrew nodded.

"That also makes it difficult for us to sabotage him openly."

"That doesn't mean I'm going to let him succeed peacefully."

The duke crumpled the order.

His eyes sharpened.

"Which mages are currently inside the fortress?"

"Lady Amber returned with the young lady."

"Tch."

The duke clicked his tongue.

"She's already suffered enough away from home."

He sighed.

"But if there are no other mages, there's no choice."

He continued giving orders.

"And choose Rangers of knight-class ability."

"That's excessive support."

"If we can't make the expedition fail..."

The duke smiled slightly.

"We can always take a share of the success."

Andrew immediately understood.

"Ah."

He nodded.

"Then I'll choose unit commanders capable of using their heads."

The duke nodded in satisfaction.

Then he stood.

"This emperor probably knows the locations of several worthwhile dungeons."

"If that's true, this territory will become much busier."

He looked toward Andrew.

"There may be more situations like this in the future. Prepare properly."

Then his smile turned dangerous.

"Eventually, I want us to be able to hit back."

"Understood."

The two left the audience chamber.

The duke waved toward Andrew.

"Take care of it. I'll go see Rachel."

"Please comfort her properly."

"She looks much better than I expected."

The duke gave a small laugh.

"She learned how to put brandy into milk tea somewhere. Now she's even drinking with me."

Andrew made a troubled expression.

"Even so, as a duke's daughter, perhaps you should discourage her from drinking too much."

"Her marriage to a noble is already ruined."

The duke shrugged.

"She might as well live the life she wants."

"If she wants to become a knight, she can become a knight."

"If she wants to marry someone she loves, I'll let her."

If she wants to become the lord...

The final thought passed only through the duke's mind.

At the same time...

Jessica had rushed back to the inn and was questioning Jake inside his room.

"How did you know a group of knights would come?"

"The previous emperor also sent knights to explore dungeons immediately after his coronation."

Jake answered as though it were obvious.

"There should be records here too."

"Some of the older people probably remember it."

Jessica looked annoyed.

"What mercenary pays attention to stuff that happened that long ago?"

Jake's answer had been far too calm.

Still...

Jessica's displeasure did not last.

She had more questions.

"But are those knights going somewhere near the dungeon you know?"

"We'll have to see where they recruit mercenaries for."

Jake answered.

"But probably."

"Wait."

Jessica narrowed her eyes.

"Don't tell me they're going to the exact same dungeon you want."

"No."

Jake immediately denied it.

"That's impossible."

The dungeon Jake wanted had been discovered only after the emperor died in his future.

It was a smaller satellite dungeon attached to an enormous dungeon that had not yet been discovered.

The smaller dungeon had been found by accident long after the main dungeon was excavated.

The knights who arrived now were almost certainly here to find that enormous dungeon beside Jake's target.

It contained many treasures.

Magical equipment.

Mana stones.

And it was supposed to be discovered not too far into the future.

If Jake did not want someone else to take everything first...

He needed to act before other dungeons.

Still...

He could not tell Jessica all of that.

He trusted her a great deal.

But not completely.

Maybe it's better that she doesn't know.

Jake hesitated.

Or maybe I'm the one deliberately keeping a wall between us.

Jessica was not entirely happy with how many secrets Jake kept.

But perhaps because of the affection built over two months...

She did not press him.

Instead, she focused on the plan.

"So..."

She leaned closer.

"We join the knights' expedition, travel all the way to their dungeon, and then slip away to ours?"

"The dungeon we're going to is not very deep."

Jake nodded.

"We only need one or two days."

Fortunately...

Jake's target was not the nearly impossible dungeon in which Jessica had died in the future.

"Hmm."

Jessica thought.

"Then maybe we can find some time after their dungeon exploration ends."

"Or we could arrange to remain with the outside support team."

Jake said nothing.

He was certain that even if they separated from the expedition, returning would not become a problem.

But he could not explain why.

Jessica thought for a while.

Then confidently hit her chest with one fist.

"We'll decide depending on the situation."

She grinned.

"I'll handle that part."

"I'll leave it to you."

Jake paused.

"But will joining the expedition itself be difficult?"

He frowned.

"This is an exploration led by imperial knights. Competition seems like it would be intense."

Jessica laughed.

"Don't worry."

"There won't be competition."

Her grin widened.

"They probably won't even be able to fill all the positions."

She lifted her chin.

"I can predict that much."

It had been a while since Jessica looked so confident.

The next day...

Her prediction came true.

A recruitment notice appeared prominently on the guild request board.

[Imperial Knights Recruiting Dungeon Exploration Personnel]

Guild employees even ran around directly informing mercenaries.

But both mercenary companies and parties reacted with complete indifference.

Some mercenaries actually spat after reading the notice.

Apparently...

It was not merely about poor conditions.

"The conditions are the biggest reason, though."

Jessica explained.

"Mercenaries go into the Great Forest because they want to make money."

"But when you work with imperial knights, it's hard to keep even a scrap of treasure."

She shrugged.

"And if you do something wrong, you might get your head cut off for treason."

"Who would join that easily?"

Jessica's expression hardened.

"Plus, after what happened with Lady Rachel, the atmosphere is terrible."

Jake glanced around.

"Is it okay for us to participate, then?"

"Everyone's going to complain."

Jessica snorted.

"Let them."

"What are they going to do if they don't like it?"

She still had plenty of resentment from recent events.

"And besides..."

Jessica suddenly raised one hand.

"We know someone involved."

A female mage entered the guild office together with several knights.

Jessica pointed toward her.