Chapter Two Hundred and Seventy-Nine: Empty Guarantee
“Everyone, do you have a moment?”
“Miss Karen, of course.”
The one who welcomed her was a knight with dark navy hair.
Perhaps because they had just obtained medium healing potions for free, he and his companions greeted Karen warmly.
“What business do you have?”
“Um, may I ask your name first? I’m Karen. A B-rank alchemist.”
“Ah, forgive me. It seems I forgot to introduce myself. How rude. I am Alban Court. Please call me Alban. I’m the captain of this unit in the Ehlertt Knight Order—formerly the First Unit, but now the Third Unit.”
It seemed the knights who had been serving Helfried until now were not the First Unit, despite being a unit serving the earl. Because Horst had held the real power, the First Unit was probably occupied by those under his influence. And now that Helfried had regained real power, they were here.
Karen took a deep breath before speaking:
“I came to consult with everyone about the future.”
“Consult?”
“The Knight Captain asked me to help all of you. But until now, I didn’t know how I should help you. So I wanted to discuss how I could be of assistance.”
“…Indeed, there’s no way you could know. Even we don’t fully understand why the Knight Captain sought your help.”
Alban glanced at Gottfried. Sitting alone on a tree stump, he was maintaining his sword with an atmosphere so relaxed it seemed out of place.
“However, I’ve come to fully understand the fact that you have His Lordship the Earl’s deep trust. To think he would even try to excuse himself to you about a commoner’s death.”
“You overheard my conversation with Master Licht?”
“Surely you don’t think we were eavesdropping? We are knights. We would never stoop to such behavior.”
Looking disgusted, Alban jerked his chin toward Urte and Sepl.
“We simply heard the story from them. While you were making potions, talking to Lord Zenkel.”
“I see. I apologize for the misunderstanding.”
“It can’t be helped. You’re a commoner and a woman, and your profession is far removed from knighthood. It’s no wonder you can’t understand us.”
“…You take pride in your work, don’t you?”
“Rather than work, we consider serving as Ehlertt knights to be our mission.”
At Alban’s words, Karen breathed a sigh of relief. Licht had said they might quit being knights, but it seemed they had no intention of giving up. In that case, the chances they would accept Karen’s proposal were high.
“Do you all want to continue being knights?”
“Naturally.”
Alban answered with a bitter expression. Behind him, the knights openly displayed their displeasure. If Karen hadn’t distributed potions beforehand, their reaction might have been much more intense.
While making expressions as if they had bitten into bitter insects at Karen’s rude question, they waited for Karen’s true intention, waiting for her next words.
“Is it possible for you to continue being knights… as things currently stand?”
“…So His Lordship does intend to abandon us after all.”
Alban sharply grasped what Karen was getting at and spat out bitterly.
She didn’t deny it.
For an instant, when she told him she would watch over the knights, Helfried looked not at Karen but into the distance. She thought she saw a cold light flash in his eyes.
Whether he had nodded or not—either way, Helfried didn’t seem to want to actively rescue Alban and the other knights from the Third Unit. Even if the hunting festival ended safely while they continued hiding like this—
It was doubtful whether they would still have a place within the Ehlertt Knight Order afterward. That was why there was one thing she had to confirm above all else.
“Why are you all being treated coldly by Lord Helfried?”
“What will you do by asking that, Alchemist Karen? What exactly can you do? Even if His Lordship favors you, do you think you can change his heart?”
Alban said irritably.
Karen put her hand on her chest and held her head high.
“I might be able to. I’m shown consideration by Lord Helfried, after all… The fact that you were removed from the First Unit means you all incurred Lord Helfried’s displeasure. But the fact that you haven’t been stripped of your positions as knights suggests that you aren’t guilty of any crime.”
“We simply wanted His Lordship to focus on governing the territory for the prosperity of Ehlertt.”
Focusing on governing the territory meant giving up on Sieg, who was suffering from his Bloodline Blessing at the time.
“But His Lordship didn’t do that. The consequences of not holding the hunting festival for years came back to haunt us, and to suppress the expanded monster damage, we entered under Horst’s command.”
“That’s…”
“Is that a crime? We were in the First Unit. For Ehlertt’s sake, in place of the lord who wouldn’t return to his territory, we entered under Horst’s command and tackled various territorial problems. Some of those problems were caused by Horst himself, though.”
Helfried was probably fighting in the royal capital for Sieg’s sake at that time. The Ehlertt territory was neglected during that period.
“Even now, we believe His Lordship should have returned far sooner.”
“…Lord Helfried won’t accept that way of thinking.”
“Weren’t you supposed to be able to change his thinking?”
To Alban, who wore an ironic smile, Karen said:
“I’ll change it. Even if I can’t change that way of thinking itself, I’ll make it so Lord Helfried accepts you all, Sir Alban.”
If the story Alban told was true, there was hope. In the first place, the very fact that he was giving Gottfried an opportunity to help them probably meant Helfried wasn’t abandoning them.
What they lacked was simply an opportunity.
“How?”
“I’ll manage somehow… I’ll change it eventually, so won’t you listen to my request first?”
“Your request?”
To Alban, who looked puzzled, Karen nodded.
“Yes. I want to go to where Mr. Julius is currently clearing the Forest’s Edge Dungeon. I can’t go alone, so I want you all to escort me.”
“Can you fight?”
“I can’t fight, which is why I need an escort.”
Alban made an obviously reluctant face.
Karen pressed her case with all her might so she wouldn’t be refused.
“If you’ll grant me this request, I’ll do everything in my power to make Lord Helfried accept all of you! You just saw how he shows me consideration, didn’t you!?”
“In the first place, why do you want to go to Master Julius? The Forest’s Edge Dungeon is an unexplored dungeon, isn’t it? A dungeon with only ten floors would be child’s play for him.”
“That’s what everyone keeps saying.”
“Has some abnormality occurred? Could it be that you want us to solve that abnormality and thereby let us accumulate achievements?”
Alban gasped as if he had suddenly realized something, but Karen shook her head.
“No, that’s not it. If an abnormality had occurred, Lord Helfried, who has various magical tools, would be the first to notice and would take countermeasures.”
“Then what exactly is it?”
Everyone gave their stamp of approval that there was nothing to worry about with Julius. As a result, Karen’s internal “approval card” had already been stamped over and over again. Even so, not all the gaps were filled.
“No matter what anyone says, I’m terribly worried about Mr. Julius! So I want to go see him right now!”
Without discussing Julius’s circumstances, Karen held her head high with confidence.
“…Don’t tell me you’re trying to make us risk our lives for the mere reason that you want to see Master Julius?”
“I don’t think I’m putting your lives at risk. I can make medium healing potions, and I can even make panaceas. Even my cooking becomes potions. It happens without me even trying. By changing the ingredients, each dish can be taken without worrying about cooldown time, even with the same effect. You should already know something of my abilities.”
Alban and the other knights exchanged glances. Karen’s rare ability had already been demonstrated to them several times.
“With this power, I will protect your lives.”
After declaring this with her chest held high, Karen made a gesture as if grabbing an invisible box and setting it aside.
“…So as for all of you, I’ll manage something about that afterward.”
Having been metaphorically set aside, Alban and the knights stared at Karen in disbelief.
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