Inside a dark bakery.

The knights placed the captured man in a corner and sat around a single communications crystal globe.

After receiving the report, Laius muttered in a complicated manner.

-…Richt.

“Yes, sir.”

– I’m asking just in case, but did you try to stop him?

“Sorry.”

Richt answered gloomily. He knew very well that, far from dissuading Arendt, he had actively participated.

Laius, beyond the communication port, was silent for a moment.

Although the process was somewhat rough, it would have been difficult to dig up this much at such a rapid pace without Arendt’s method.

Arendt, who had been silent, raised the corners of his lips slightly.

“That was really cool. After stalking the person, he made a clean attack in a place where there were no people. He deserves to be called a model knight.”

“You told me to do it, you little shit!”

“Who said what?”

– Sigh, let’s stop fighting and just talk.

When Arthur immediately started to vent his frustration, Laius intervened, rubbing his forehead.

Arendt shrugged and opened his mouth again.

“We’ve figured out what we need to know, so it’s okay if we go back. If we just drag this old man and the clerk we just brought to the palace and tease them, they might reveal all sorts of things they know.”

– That means it’s still possible to learn more information, but you’ll miss out on the opportunity that comes your way.

Laius found hidden meaning in Arendt’s words.

Arendt nodded slightly.

“That’s right. Also, if they are under a memory suppression spell, even if we take them to the palace, the results will be the same as before.”

– …

Laius remained silent for a moment, his mind seemingly in turmoil as he considered various matters.

The knights also waited without rushing.

And after a moment, Laius’ answer came from the sparkling crystal orb of communication. It was a firm voice that ended the conflict.

– A knight cannot retreat before an enemy. You have freedom in your actions.

“Yes.”

“All right.”

Richt and Arthur answered without a moment’s hesitation.

Laius added.

– Don’t do anything dangerous. We’ll find a solution here too.

With a bang, the light disappeared from the crystal ball.

Arendt sat down with his legs crossed and sighed again.

“Okay, then we’ve decided what to do.”

Their gaze naturally turned towards the man lying on the floor.

The man, whose spine was tingling, twitched and twisted his body, but it was impossible to break free of the bonds that Arthur and Richt had fully demonstrated their skills in.

“Oww! Oww!”

“He’s lively. Did you find out who he was?”

“A private mercenary who operates from another city. He goes by the name of Saif. I don’t know if that’s his real name, but either way, he’s not a very good guy.”

The answer came back from Richt.

Arthur added to that.

“He extorts money from travelers under the pretext of being escorts, and his main source of income seems to be hunting and selling animals that are prohibited from being hunted. He has also been involved in several violent incidents.”

“Aha.”

“And I also secretly checked the identities of some of the travelers wandering around the town. Their circumstances were almost the same. Some were wandering mercenaries, some were fugitives, some were criminals.”

Some of them even visited the bakery this afternoon. It was surprising that the city was able to maintain peace despite such men running wild.

Arendt rolled his eyes and turned to Saif, who was flopping on the floor.

“I guess I’ll have to ask that old man for more details.”

Arendt jumped up from his chair and walked with unsteady steps to crouch down next to him.

As Arendt got closer, Saif’s rebellion grew more intense.

“Mn!”

“Sir, what did you say? Hey, you’re dying to tell us about this and that?”

Arendt tilted his head expressionlessly.

Then the man began to look at Arendt with menacing eyes.

“Oh? What’s with those eyes? Aha, you’re so grateful that I saved your life when you deserved to die? Well, well. You should be grateful.”

“MN!”

A muffled sound burst out from between his gagged mouth.

To a normal person, it would have sounded like something along the lines of, “Shut up, you damn brat!”, but to Arendt, it was a little different.

“It’s okay if you don’t feel that moved. If you become a knight and harm people recklessly, it’s useless.”

“Mn!”

“Huh? That’s not it? Then what is it? Oh, are you trying to rebel?”

Saif’s face crumpled.

Arendt met his gaze and continued speaking in a low voice.

“Hey, that’s not it. There’s no way people are that stupid. Right? You just heard the story. You probably have a rough idea of ​​who we are.”

Arendt raised his index finger and poked the man’s chest.

“Think about it carefully. Do you think you can win if you release this now and fight us?”

“…”

“The Imperial Knights are the best swordsmen in the country, you rotten bastard. If you want, I can let you experience it for yourself. Oh, maybe you already experienced it.”

“…”

“But it’s a bit annoying. If you keep being so uncooperative, wouldn’t it be easier to just torture you?”

As Arendt, with his clean face turned to the moonlight, poured out such words indifferently, Saif’s face grew increasingly pale.

Arendt’s golden eyes glowed eerily.

“No. Since I’ve already caught it, I might as well put it to better use. If I give it a few air holes, it might make you more talkative. Right? And give you some scars to help you with future sales.”

“…”

“Then live a more honest life. You only do bad things, so you get involved in things like this and it’s only going to get worse for you.”

At that moment, Saif saw Arendt lightly touching the sword he had tucked away at his waist.

His bones froze.

It was only then that it really hit him.

This guy was serious.

Although he was called a knight, he seemed closer to Saif in terms of human qualities.

Before he knew it, Saif was lying down quietly, sweating profusely.

Arendt asked him once more.

“Oh, did I misunderstand? You weren’t rebelling? You lived your life like a piece of trash, but you’ve changed your mind and want to help subdue the bad guys?”

Saif nodded vigorously.

Arendt’s eyes narrowed.

“No? You’re saying you’d sacrifice your life to uphold your duty to the end? Well, that’s fine too. That’s what a human holding a sword should do.”

“Mnn!”

“No? You meant to cooperate from the beginning, didn’t you?”

Saif, who had been squirming like crazy, shook his head again. Before he knew it, his hair and clothes were soaked with sweat.

Only then did Arendt click his tongue and sit up.

“Anyway, you piece of trash. You’re lucky.”

Arendt drew his sword and easily cut the ropes that bound Saif. Saif, who had been waving his hands in the air, quickly threw off the gag and gasped for breath.

“Ugh!”

“Are you happy? Are you so happy? You’ve done nothing but bad things your whole life, but you can finally help someone.”

“Yes! I’m happy!”

Saif quickly knelt down and shouted.

Honestly, at this point, it was hard to tell who was the worse guy.

Arendt dragged a chair over and sat down in front of Saif. Then he unsheathed his sword from his waist and slammed it against the floor.

Saif shrank down, his body disproportionate to his large size.

“Then let’s start from the beginning. What is moonlight business?”

“It’s…”

Saif glanced sideways at Arthur and Richt. The two men looked disgusted at Arendt’s antics, but they stood there blocking Saif’s escape route precisely to prevent him from running away.

The moment when he was kidnapped by those two people without being able to fight back flashed through his mind again. Eventually he gave up and hung his head. After a brief pause, Saif’s mouth opened.

“… It’s about the exchange that opens underground here.”

“Exchange?”

“Yes, it’s been rumored among the mercenaries… You can obtain items that are hard to obtain. The contact person is the clerk. If you tell the clerk that you want to participate, he will allow you to enter the secret space at night.”

“You’re saying that you were doing that under the bakery? Sir, do you know what the sign on the bakery sign says?”

“That’s…”

Saif swallowed dry saliva.

“It’s literally a sign. That sign is where the business is… The exchange isn’t always in the same place.”

“The exchange is mobile?”

“Yes… The person in charge always changes. I don’t know the details, but I think it was around last year that this bakery was designated as a trading post.”

“Where was it before?”

“It used to be a general store in another city. It closed down and moved here. I don’t know much more than that. Really.”

As Arendt rolled his eyes, Saif added hastily.

Richt, who had been listening quietly, frowned slightly.

“That symbol seems to be a symbol of a periodically moving exchange. Those who want to trade come looking for it. Is that a famous story among mercenaries?”

“No, it’s not famous. It’s just a rumor… It’s usually dismissed as a ghost story or nonsense. The people who believe that and come here are the customers.”

“So the person who runs the exchange isn’t the owner of this bakery. Rather, it’s more like a consignment? Is that why this city is so peaceful?”

Arthur also muttered, resting his hand on his chin.

If the existence of the back is known to those living in the back alleys, the city where the exchange is located has no choice but to exercise self-restraint.

It is not because they have any great influence. Rather, it is because the identity of the power behind them is not clearly known, so they cannot speak carelessly.

If you act without paying attention, you never know what might happen.

“Those in high positions must know about the existence of the exchange. That’s why they restrain those below them.”

“Yes, perhaps. I also keep my subordinates from coming near here. It would be a problem if they were not allowed to go in and out of the exchange.”

Saif, who had been watching the three people for a moment, added.

“Are you… going to barge in?”

“Why do you ask that?”

Arendt frowned. Saif waved his hand in horror.

“No, that’s not it! It’s just, like I said, there’s a big hand moving behind this place. If you mess with it recklessly, it’ll be like poking a hornet’s nest…”

“Sir, are you stupid?”

“Yes?”

Saif blinked stupidly.

Arendt nodded to Arthur and Richt.

“Who has the biggest back here?”

“…”

“No matter how great theirs is, it’s nothing.”

Yes, these humans were thugs with the imperial family as their protector.

Arendt nodded in satisfaction as he watched Saif open his mouth and close it.

“I guess you finally understand.”

“Arendt, don’t say that His Majesty the Emperor and the Imperial Family are your backbone.”

Richt pointed out calmly, but of course, Arendt pretended not to hear.

Arendt kicked Saif, who was on his knees.

“Sir, please guide me.”

“Yes?”

“You take the lead. You know where the entrance to that secret exchange is. You seem to be a regular.”

“No, but…”

Saif’s face turned pale. But Arendt was merciless.

“What? You don’t know? Hey, then it’s useless to just sit here…”

“No! I will guide you!”

Saif immediately fell flat on his face.

Richt and Arthur, who were watching, felt a little complicated.

It was because it was difficult to readily conclude whether Saif was being overly subservient, or whether Arendt was being cruel, having easily subdued a man who had been acting as a mercenary without actually firing a single punch or knife.