{Chapter 43} Leave From Here
After finding out the na and address of the branch president, Anna didn't ask any more questions.
She just sat there, slowly sipping her drink, treating it as a pre-work relaxation.
...And ever since she returned to this town and beca a knight, she hadn't had a single drop of alcohol.
She didn't even have the ti to drown her sorrows in drink...
Day in and day out, it was all about patrolling, patrolling, and more patrolling.
Along the way, she had to deal with drunkards, holess people, and even diate couples' quarrels.
Since when did knights have to get involved in marital disputes?
Every ti she patrolled, she couldn't even show a hint of displeasure to that guy, Philsey.
He always reeked so badly that it made her wonder if he ever bathed.
Yet, despite that, he could afford to wear expensive-looking clothes every day and sit in an office...
Every day when she got ho, she had to figure out how to maintain that set of battered armor...
Just last night, she was too lazy to take care of it, and this morning when she glanced at the armor on the rack while changing, she noticed rust spots had already ford in places where her fingers frequently touched.
The more Anna thought about it, the angrier she got.
She couldn't care less about the nonsense of savoring the drink slowly to appreciate its richness.
She tilted her head back and downed the drink in one go.
Under the astonished gaze of the barmaid, Anna slamd her cup on the table.
"Give an Empire Bomb!"
"Huh?" The barmaid was startled by Anna's sudden change in mood.
She let out a cute gasp and hurriedly picked up a cocktail shaker.
Just as Anna was watching the barmaid mix the drink, soone suddenly tapped her on the shoulder.
Anna jolted and turned around, only to be startled again.
Helga, who had just been in line and making a fuss, was now standing behind her, looking at her with a half-smile.
"Miss Barmaid, this round is on ."
As if she could read Anna's thoughts, Helga simply called out to the barmaid who was still mixing the drink and then sat down right next to Anna.
"Oh, and get a large Buslan!"
"O... okay!"
Not wanting to watch the flustered barmaid, Helga turned her attention to Anna:
"What are you doing here?"
"Just gathering so information, related to the branch president of the Adventurers' Association," Anna whispered, keeping her voice low. Helga didn't ntion Anna's na either.
"...Is there sothing wrong with this person?"
"Yes, he might be planning to invite soone to dinner."
Anna suddenly blurted out this seemingly nonsensical statent.
Helga raised an eyebrow, a sharp glint flashing in her eyes, but she quickly masked it.
"I see... Need any help?"
"Yeah, of course."
As Anna said this, she inexplicably felt a sense of relief.
This was, after all, the Adventurers' Association, a place full of people and gossip.
No matter how softly the two of them spoke, there was always a risk of being overheard.
Although their conversation was already quite suspicious, so "code words" could help throw off any eavesdroppers.
Fortunately, Helga still rembered the "code words" they had co up with during their childhood gas.
This might just be a little secret unique to Anna and Helga.
"Glad you need help. Just let know when you need ."
Watching the barmaid place a large glass of Buslan wine in front of her and a small cup of Empire Bomb in front of Anna, Helga took a sip of her drink and slowly swallowed it.
"...How many years has it been since we last saw each other?"
"Ten... no, eleven years, I think."
Anna hadn't expected Helga to bring this up. After thinking for a mont, she answered.
"...Eleven years, huh? Ti really flies," Helga said, her tone carrying a hint of resentnt.
"You went to the capital to attend the Knight Academy. Why didn't you co to see ?"
"Did you forget? I just told you, I forgot your address," Anna replied with a bitter smile.
"I even forgot the address of our family's mansion in the capital... How could I possibly rember yours?"
"You could have asked around," Helga said, now sounding like a sulky teenager, completely devoid of her earlier boldness.
"...I did try to ask around, but the academy was a closed-off environnt. My roommates were all nobles from out of town and didn't know your address... And I didn't get along well with the others."
The Knight Academy reflected the kingdom's rigid class hierarchy.
Nobles from better backgrounds didn't want anything to do with Anna, a down-and-out noble.
Even though Anna perford well at the academy, well enough to graduate as an F-rank knight without having to serve as a squire for half a year before promotion, none of her classmates from the capital bothered to associate with her.
Anna's social circle was limited to her few roommates. While they were wealthy, they were all regional nobles, a step below those from the capital...
"How annoying."
Helga muttered this but didn't say more. Instead, she raised her glass to Anna.
"A toast?"
"Sure."
The two glasses, one large and one small, clinked gently, and both won downed their drinks in one go.
"If possible..." After putting down her glass, Helga hesitated but finally spoke up, "Don't stay in this town for too long."
"...?"
"The Kingdom... there's so movent." Helga chose her words carefully to convey what she knew. "Since the new king took the throne, our new monarch is really..."
"Still as naive as ever?"
"Yeah, that's the idea." Helga nodded.
"Anyway, due to so... health issues with the king, the Imperial Council seems more inclined to... 'stir up so minor conflicts.'"
"...It's fine." Anna shook her head.
"After this whole thing is over... I don't want to stay in this border knight corps anymore."
One gold coin a month? Screw that!
I'd rather be taken care of by Louise or Helga than keep working in this dump of a knight corps.
If I resign on my own terms this ti, instead of getting fired like in the first simulation, I can keep my F-rank knight status.
At most, I'll beco a "free knight."
Once I get promoted to D-rank, I'll have a fiefdom anyway. Why would I stay in this border knight corps?
If I have nothing to do, I can just beco an adventurer like Helga... After all, a knight is a hot commodity.
Those adventurer teams would definitely fight to have join.
Even if I don't join any of those teams, I can form a new one with Helga and Atala.
If Louise wants to quit too, I'll bring her along... We don't have to go fight so demon king or anything, but it's still better than being a lousy border knight!
But first, I need to deal with that branch president who wants dead, along with his accomplices.
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