How to Live as a Wandering Knight

“W-What, not a s-surrender but a surprise attack to take over the city? W-Wow, you’d deserve the title of a siege expert, w-wouldn’t you?”

“You flatter me too much.”

“N-No, I’m really impressed. I-I’ll definitely report this victory to His G-Grace, the duke.”

Count Ganolwood’s face was filled with satisfaction. Unknown to others, but Sir Karpati could tell.

‘𝘏𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘢𝘯.’

Count Ganolwood was not a bad person, but neither was he kind. He belonged to the category of being particular and quirky. It was surprising to see the Count look at someone with such an affectionate gaze.

It made sense though. Had Sir Karpati been younger, he would have openly shown his joy.

Although the city had few soldiers, a city was still a city. Holding up against its walls could give the attackers a headache. But to have ended it so swiftly. . .

“H-How is the city now?”

“There are a few scared people, but overall it’s peaceful. The magistrate and council members, and sub-captains have been captured and imprisoned.”

“W-What about looting?”

“Except for the residences of the magistrate and council members, we didn’t touch anything else.”

“. . .!!”

Count Ganolwood was more surprised by this than the city’s capture. It was astonishing that Johan had restrained himself, but even more so that he had controlled the other mercenaries and warriors.

The mercenaries were greedy madmen for gold, and the tribal warriors believed in ‘𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘱𝘢𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦?’

Whatever he did, it was chillingly impressive control.

Count Ganolwood felt cold sweat running down his back. Bravery was one thing, but how could someone of his age control his subordinates so strongly?

“Is there a problem?”

“N-Not at all.”

As Johan asked with a puzzled look, Count Ganolwood regained his senses and nodded. Now was not the time to be amazed. He had to get back to work as soon as possible.

“If you looted the magistrate’s residence, a lot of documents must have been lost. Oh, that’s unfortunate.”

“I had the documents separately secured. It seemed important, so I gave the order.”

“. . .W-What in the world. . . w-why did you only appear now?”

Count Ganolwood looked at Johan with a moved expression.

If there had been knights like Johan, or even just one, how much easier would it have been for him?

Thinking of the many battles he had fought and the aftermath he had to deal with, his voice couldn’t help but tremble.

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

𝐚𝘸ė̇𝐛𝘴𝐭𝚘ʀ𝐢𝚎ṡ.ᴄȯ̇ṁ

Johan and his soldiers were given a rest. Even when the main force arrived, it was impossible to bring all the soldiers into the city. If they did, the city would be in chaos.

It was only natural that those who showed bravery as the vanguard were given special privileges.

Even after the city was occupied and the aftermath settled, there were still annoying matters to deal with.

Things like showing an example to the towns in the south that remained defiant, even after the change of leadership. Such tasks did not necessarily require Johan’s intervention.

‘𝘉𝘶𝘵, 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘳𝘺.’

Johan wanted to see the town promised by the duke himself. After all, he had to return after appointing a manager there. . .

“Good. Let’s take a walk.”

“Are you looking for something?”

“Quick on the uptake, aren’t you? Yes. Umdim may not be a big city, but its location is not bad. There could be interesting things to find.”

The city itself was not very large, but the river connected to the Edene Sea, facilitating various trades.

It was natural for Suetlg, who was mostly in the Empire, to look for unique items.

“By the way, did Caenerna run amok?”

“Yes, she shot flames everywhere.”

“You managed not to kill her.”

“We had an agreement beforehand. . .”

“Not many can keep their promises. You did well. I was worried you might be taking magic too lightly. . .”

Stung by Suetlg’s words, Johan felt a twinge of guilt. Suetlg spoke sternly.

“In magic, arrogance must never be entertained. As seen with Caenerna, even the most skilled and experienced wizard can be consumed by magic.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Yes. Hmm. . .”

When Suetlg and Johan stopped, the staff of the trading company hurried out. They had eyes and ears; they couldn’t be unaware of those who had taken over the city.

“Is this lapis lazuli? I would prefer if there were other malachite.”

“We have a rare item imported from the east.”

“Bring it. I’ll pay a fair price.”

In a situation where they couldn’t complain even if robbed, they were grateful for such words. The staff carefully brought out the items.

Johan, not particularly interested in gems, wandered around, rummaging through various things. The staff watched him with worried expressions.

They couldn’t stop a knight from rummaging, nor could they just leave him be, feeling uneasy. . .

“Looking for something?”

“I need to meet Repiata-gong for dinner and am looking for a gift.”

“Ah, it’s indeed better to prepare that in advance. How about a sword? There seem to be some items from the east, and eastern swords are not bad.”

Sometimes, swords made by experts in the east were sharper and cooler than those made by Empire’s experts.

Though publicly denounced as heretics and evil, there were no nobles who disliked treasures brought from the east.

“I’m not sure if he can handle a sword. . .”

“He’ll learn if necessary. It’s the thought that Count s. This one is good. It sounds like there’s water inside.”

“You’re not just saying that because you’re distracted by the gems, right?”

Suetlg did not answer, seemingly lost in thought. Johan clicked his tongue and turned his gaze elsewhere.

Repiata’s invitation was understandable. It was only natural that he should be congratulated for successfully completing such an expedition.

Moreover, rumors had it that this time the city of Umdim would be given to a child of Brduhe. Among Brduhe’s children, only Repiata had joined the army. Hence, it seemed likely that Repiata would receive governance over the city.

Gaining a city without much effort, it would never be too much to call upon him several times.

‘𝘏𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘴 𝘰𝘥𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘰 𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘺-𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥. . . 𝘉𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨.’

Still, as a knight, one couldn’t just go casually. No one would criticize for going empty-handed, but it was better to adhere to customs.

‘𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘴 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘶𝘱 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘦𝘵.’

“Ah. Now that I think about it, I heard that Repiata-gong is fond of books.”

“Is that so?”

Johan was delighted. When offering a gift, it was always best to give something the recipient liked. He said to the merchant,

“If you have any useful books, bring them to me.”

“Just, just a moment, please. I’ll call someone who can read the ancient imperial language.”

“I can read it, no need to worry.”

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

𝘢𝐰𝙚ʙ𝔰𝘵𝐨𝔯𝔦𝔢𝙨.𝚌𝔬𝚖

“The duke has employed a demon!”

“How many times must I say it’s not a demon. It was a human!”

“If that’s not a demon, I’d rather gouge out my eyes, damn it!”

The defense captain sighed. Never had he thought the fierce and rough mercenaries would be so terrified.

Honestly, he couldn’t say he didn’t understand their feelings. The enemies that sprung from the darkness were indeed terrifying.

No, while others had ambushed, they were merely ordinary mercenaries. Only the knight leading the mercenaries was exceptionally fierce.

━𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐡! 𝐀𝐧 𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐡! 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐬! 𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐚 𝐚𝐜𝐤━

With one hand, the knight grabbed the spear shaft, snapped it, then grabbed the neck and threw it aside. He handled the well-dressed soldier as if tossing a child.

The terrified soldiers ran back, trying to close and bolt the thick door, but the knight smashed it open with his axe and entered.

With fires blazing all around and the cries growing louder, the situation was chaotic. As the demonic-looking knight approached, the soldiers, petrified with fear, went mad. They abandoned their oaths, dropped their weapons, and fled.