The casino was quickly taken over by the knights who had joined at the right time. The security forces, who had belatedly learned of the appearance of the imperial knights, rushed out to provide support, and the situation was quickly resolved.

The gambling den that had been plaguing the territory for years was completely suppressed in just two days.

The nobles and wealthy people who were hiding deep underground were arrested all at once, and the restaurants that were operating without even realizing what was happening in the casino were also completely suppressed.

The lord, who was unaware of the situation, ran out belatedly and bowed repeatedly to Laius, and the corrupt officials and police captain who had been accepting bribes in cooperation with the casino were immediately arrested.

And the Third Knights’ advance team, the first contributor to all of this… lined up in front of Laius, bowing their heads obediently.

“It was too much.”

Laius, who still had an expressionless face, but whose eyes seemed to be swallowing everything down, barely managed to utter a single word.

“I’m sure I told you guys to keep an eye on Arendt to make sure he didn’t cause an accident.”

There was nothing to say in defense of that. The knights started to look in different directions and make excuses.

“I’ve never caused an accident. Everything turned out well. As long as we cover it up well…”

“Shut up, please!”

Arthur began to strangle Arendt.

Laius, who had been watching the two people fight with a complicated look on his face, eventually let out a big sigh and wiped his face.

“Everyone except that damn bastard knows very well that having something to cover up is a problem in itself.”

During the suppression process, many people were beaten, including civilians. Of course, they were all illegal gamblers who could have easily been beaten a few times.

Of course, this was a tremendous achievement.

If the suppression operation had been carried out following proper procedures, it would not have been possible to destroy everything in one fell swoop like this.

Still, it was inevitable that his stomach would keep hurting.

Unable to swing his clenched fist at his subordinates, Laius held his own fist tightly.

“Why are you worrying so much? His Highness the Crown Prince will take care of it.”

“Shut up, please!”

When Arendt, who barely managed to escape Arthur’s grasp, started to shout again, Glenn threw a punch at him. However, the blow was useless and only flew through the air.

Laius looked at Arendt with a complicated look.

“Aside from everything else, Merlin, the casino manager, told me that you mixed counterfeit money with real gold coins. As he said, that is a serious crime and one that can’t be avoided.”

The image of Merlin laughing like a madman and talking like that was vivid in his mind. The way he glared at Laius with his blood vessels bursting out and pouring out his hatred towards Arendt was almost like that of a madman.

The knights looked slightly nervous and looked back and forth between Arendt and Laius.

Of course, it was not something they had been paying attention to until now because they were in a hurry, but counterfeiting currency was close to something that should never be done, no matter how purposeful it may be.

If that were to spread throughout the Caerleon Empire, Arendt would not be able to avoid severe punishment.

But Arendt just remained calm.

“Oh, that.”

“This is not something to be taken lightly, Arendt.”

“That was a lie.”

“What?”

In an instant, a dumbfounded sound escaped the knights’ mouths. Laius was also speechless and widened his eyes.

“You were lying?”

“Then you thought it was true? No matter what, I wouldn’t go that far. Do you think I would prepare counterfeit gold coins in advance knowing how things would turn out?”

Arendt continued, shoving his hands deep into his pockets.

“As the destination was a casino, it is true that I prepared plenty of money and jewels, but as I mixed in and observed the atmosphere, I thought it was a fairly effective move, so I just gave it a try.”

“I…”

Arthur, who had been at a loss for a while, licked his lips on behalf of everyone.

“This swindler…”

“I thought the reaction would be quite interesting, so I wanted to say it to his face if possible, but it’s a shame. Could the leader please tell him this instead?”

If Merlin heard these words, he might not be able to overcome his illness this time and might collapse, vomiting blood.

No one wondered why Merlin was so easily fooled by the lie, because the fact that the other person was Arendt was enough to explain it.

Laius rubbed his aching forehead and let out a sigh for what must have been the umpteenth time.

It was fortunate that he didn’t release real counterfeit currency, though…

What should he do with that temper?

“Anyway, as I said at the beginning, we plan to deal with it externally as the Knights accidentally barging into a gambling house where a big fight was taking place. Please keep that in mind.”

“Yes!”

Even if it was covered up, he had prepared enough scenarios to pretend it was a coincidence. Moreover, since the Crown Prince would protect them for now, no one would be able to make a fuss about the method the Knights used.

He wanted to lecture his subordinates a bit more about their rampage, but seeing their disheveled appearance didn’t make him want to do that.

The captain let out a short sigh and said something plain instead of nagging.

“Anyway, everyone worked hard.”

Click.

Only then did a bright smile appear on the knights’ lips. Arendt, as always, just pretended not to hear with an indifferent expression.

The knights, who had been busy cleaning up the casino until the sun set and the moon rose, stayed that evening in lodging specially prepared by the lord.

After a quick dinner, Arendt went straight to Laius’s room.

Knock, knock, and without waiting for an answer, he opened the door wide and the captain greeted him without a trace of surprise.

“Come in.”

“Did you find the location of that quarry?”

Arendt asked a question without even saying a greeting. Laius, who had become accustomed to his rude manners, answered right away.

“Merlin tried to keep quiet, but his men confessed readily. Sir Kendrick has decided to lead the First Knights himself, so things will be settled quickly.”

He heard that they would depart as soon as they were contacted, so they would be able to confirm the results by the time they finished their work here and return to the palace.

“What about the internal documents?”

“The money was recovered intact. There was no time to destroy the evidence.”

“Hmm, I’m sure His Highness the Crown Prince will like it.”

Arendt nodded with a disinterested expression.

“All the people you brought out were examined by a healer. The healer said that they were all malnourished, but there were no major problems. Most of them were sent home, but…”

“Most of them?”

When Arendt frowned slightly at the strange nuance, the captain answered.

“The siblings are being protected for the time being because they have nowhere to go. Their father was taken to a quarry, and their house was taken away when they were kidnapped and torn down. I checked and found that a different building has been built there now.”

“You even managed to confirm that while you were so busy?”

“Because it was necessary,” Laius answered calmly.

“The boy asked me to thank you in particular, and the other people who were held captive. Especially you for your hard work.”

“Of course they should be grateful after all my hard work.”

Arendt shrugged.

“But there’s another problem. What’s really going on behind the scenes?”

“Yes, Merlin is just a manager, and the real owner of the casino is someone else. We need to catch them.”

As if he had been waiting for that question, Laius nodded.

“However, it is not expected to be easy. It has been confirmed that there are several other administrators like Merlin, but it is difficult to find traces of the person that Merlin mentioned.”

“Is that it?”

“Yes, there was nothing in the archived documents that could be used to identify the person. The only clue was the signature left on the documents, so it became quite a headache.”

“Signature?”

At this point, Arendt also began to get interested. This was an area that was not properly mentioned in the novel. However, Arendt stopped for a moment when he heard the name.

“Rebecca.”

“…”

“I don’t know if it’s a pseudonym or a real name, but judging from the common signature left behind, it’s probably the owner of a guild.”

When Arendt just blinked, Laius thought that his explanation was insufficient and added something.

After a brief pause, Arendt tilted his head.

“Is this a name that even the captain doesn’t know?”

“It’s a common name, but… I can’t think of anything. The fact that they’re running a business of this scale illegally without anyone knowing about it means that it’s very sophisticated.”

Laius furrowed his brows as he spoke with seriousness.

From that reaction, Arendt could really see that Laius knew nothing. If he didn’t know, then the other knight commanders and the Crown Prince were probably in the same situation.

If he thought about it, it wasn’t that strange.

Rebecca’s name, who had been running a vicious business underground, only became known when the civil war was in full swing. Rather, he couldn’t understand why he didn’t think of Rebecca while destroying such an illegal casino.

Arendt asked, his expression sharp.

“Are you going to conduct a separate investigation?”

“Yes, now that we’ve caught their tail, we can’t just leave them alone. Furthermore, we’ve confirmed that they’ve been committing fraud, extortion, kidnapping, and imprisoning citizens of the empire.”

A firm answer came from Laius.

Arendt nodded vaguely, pretending not to listen.

‘It’s like this that things get entangled.’

She was a big shot in the underworld. Later on, she joined the rebels, that damned cult…

The mercenaries hired by Rebecca gained a terrible reputation on the battlefield.

Arendt, who had been lost in thought, suddenly came to his senses at the sound of Laius’ voice.

“Just keep this in mind for now. Take it.”

“Yes?”

Before he knew it, the captain was handing him something wrapped in cloth. It was a sight that made him feel a bit uneasy.

As he unwrapped the cloth, his sword appeared in the light, just as he had expected. It seemed to be the one Laius had taken away when Arendt was dragged to prison.

“I found it in the warehouse.”

“Oh, right. Thank you.”

Arendt took his sword, speaking in a completely ungrateful tone.

Unlike the other knights who carried disguised swords, Arendt was armed with his original sword.

Since he was still an apprentice knight, the sword he used was not one bestowed by the emperor, but one he personally brought with him when he joined the ranks.

As he was about to leave the room without even saying goodbye, Laius called out to him.

“Arendt, trouble…”

“I’m going to brag about this. I plan to gain things from His Highness the Crown Prince later.”

Laius closed his mouth. Taking advantage of the gap, the insolent apprentice knight slipped out of the captain’s quarters.

Laius let out a deep sigh as he watched the door close again.

In any case, it was right to say that Arendt ran around here and there and solved this problem from beginning to end.

It would be easier to just worry about the Crown Prince’s well-being.