Chapter 33
Reinhardt rested for a day.
His stamina was fully recovered, and his appearance was so pristine that it was hard to believe he had fought a battle with a demon.
And the sa was true for Bitdori.
“Ppit? Ppiit!”
It was more energetic than ever.
In fact, the reason Reinhardt had rested for a full day was because of Bitdori.
Just until yesterday, it had been listless and busy dozing off all day long.
‘Co to think of it, spirits themselves recovered quickly. No matter how much damage they took, they were full of energy after a day.’
Reinhardt calmly retraced his mories.
Bitdori might be a Light Spirit. That guess had long since beco a fact.
If it just continued to grow like this, it would beco the figure he rembered from back then.
“Let’s grow up right, Bitdori. The right way.”
“Ppit?”
“You have to be a good kid who listens well.”
“Ppit! Ppi-bit!”
At the vigorous reply, Reinhardt nodded his head.
If it grew up just like this, he could ask for nothing more.
The Light Spirit he had seen in the ga was, honestly, a bit of a handful.
‘What’s important is how you raise them. What fault do kids have?’
Reinhardt had to be a good parent. If he raised it wrong, he might get grabbed by the collar by a fully grown Bitdori.
Step.
Coming out of the sickroom, Reinhardt first put on the robe he had prepared.
He returned to the Taton Knights and sought out the commander’s office.
“Commander. It’s Reinhardt.”
“Who? Sir Reinhardt?”
As soon as he knocked lightly, the door to the commander’s office burst open with the sound of soone rushing over.
Ethan Taton’s expression was of a kind that was hard to describe.
He was clearly happy and pleased to see him, but it was an expression that had other emotions mixed in, rather than pure joy.
“Is it alright for you to be moving already? No, this isn't the ti for that. Co inside first. I can’t let you be exposed to the cold wind.”
“I am fine. I have fully recovered.”
“But you faced a demon. There might be sothing that hasn’t shown up yet. Are there any such symptoms? Suddenly feeling strange, or angry, or having a headache……”
“None. I am perfectly fine.”
“I see. If you say so, then I guess that’s how it is.”
Only then did Ethan Taton seem sowhat relieved.
It seed he had been very worried himself.
No matter how much of a knight commander he was, he did not know much about demons.
After all, he had almost never seen such a being in his entire life.
“Sit down first. Yes, sit here comfortably…… Would you like a cup of tea?”
“I’m fine.”
“My apologies. You were never one to enjoy tea. I’m sorry. I’ve been a bit out of sorts lately. I an, honestly, right? A demon! I’ve never seen a monstrous thing like that in my life!”
“You’ve seen warlocks before, haven’t you?”
“No, Sir Reinhardt. Not at all. If it weren't for you, I would have thought demons only ca out in fairy tales.”
Ethan Taton seed sowhat flushed. It was not clear what exact emotion it was.
Reinhardt maintained his usual poker face and listened to his words.
“But not only did you find them, this ti……”
He trailed off for a mont, then Ethan’s expression completely changed. He asked with a brightened face, shedding his gloom.
“So, have you gotten much closer with Sir Fermil?”
“We moved together as companions.”
“Companions! You have a knight of Paganoa as a companion!”
“Yes.”
“As expected, you don’t need to do anything…… no, this isn't the ti for such talk. More importantly, a reward has arrived from the City Hall. The mayor sent it himself.”
“I do not need it.”
“Please accept it. It’s your freedom to use it wherever you want after receiving it. If you refuse this ti as well, the mayor will probably……”
He didn't need to hear the rest to know what it would be.
It was obvious that it would be followed by content like he would be more annoying, or he would be clingy.
“In that case, I will accept it.”
“An excellent decision. Here, this is a comndation delivered directly from the Serigel City Hall in the Count’s na, and this is the prize money. I don’t know how much it is. I deliberately did not open it.”
Reinhardt accepted it as if he couldn't help it.
This ti too, he could either donate it where it was needed, or just hold onto it for a while and use it where necessary.
The pouch he received was quite heavy.
Seeing the ssy, lumpy pouch, it seed to contain jewels or sothing of the sort, rather than gold coins.
“Sir Reinhardt.”
Then, Ethan asked a question.
The joyful expression was gone, and anxiety was written on his face again.
“Surely, more of those things won’t pop out, will they?”
“I cannot say. For such a matter, it would be better to check with Sir Fermil.”
“He only said he couldn't tell in detail. Yes, it’s only natural that you wouldn't know either. I’ve said sothing unnecessary. Don’t mind it too much. You must be tired as it is.”
Ethan waved his hand dismissively. But even as he tried to hide it, the worry in his eyes was clearly visible.
‘Is this bastard going to say he’s closing the business?’
Reinhardt beca anxious.
Ethan Taton was running the knightly order as part of his business.
The mont the risk beca greater than the expected profit, there would be no need to operate the Taton Knights anymore.
“Commander.”
“Hm?”
“I will not leave Serigel. Even if the sa thing happens again, I can produce the sa result.”
“Of course, I have no doubt that you would.”
“A knight of the Taton Knights has defeated a demon. Although there was help from Sir Fermil, I definitely drove that creature out of this place with my own hands.”
“Well, I of course……”
He answered reflexively, then paused.
Ethan paused for a mont before opening his mouth again.
“I see. A knight of Taton defeated a demon.”
“That is correct.”
“You are right, Sir. You are a knight of Taton. And you will continue to stay here.”
“I certainly will.”
Ethan had the expression of a person who had unearthed a forgotten treasure.
Hearing Reinhardt’s words, he had clearly understood what kind of situation had arisen.
Vitality returned to his face. Only then did Ethan Taton beco the excited middle-aged man he always was.
“I was worrying about sothing so useless. You are absolutely right, Sir! If I look at the bigger picture……”
Incomprehensible muttering followed.
After watching such an Ethan for a mont, Reinhardt got up from his seat.
“I will be going now.”
“Get plenty of rest, Sir Reinhardt! It’s noisy outside, so it would be best to wear a robe when you go out!”
He had sufficiently conveyed what he wanted to convey.
Ethan, with a renewed sense of motivation, saw Reinhardt off.
‘With this, he won't be talking about closing the business.’
The Taton Knights must continue to exist.
No matter how much he was revered as the hero of Serigel or what not, the mont the Taton Knights disappeared, he would lose his justification for staying here any longer.
‘To do business, you need to have a big heart, Ethan.’
The aning of Reinhardt’s roundabout words was simple.
Instead of thinking about raising his value by selling off a knight, he should rather use Reinhardt’s na to elevate the Taton Knights to the ranks of a prestigious order.
With Reinhardt, it was possible.
A knightly order that possessed a knight who had defeated a demon was surely one of a handful, even by the standards of the entire Empire.
Fwump.
Reinhardt pulled his robe down deep. He took off his armor to hide his build.
“Ppit? Ppiii……”
Bitdori, touched by the hem of the robe, was startled and opened its eyes for a mont, then quickly fell back asleep.
It seed quite tired, so Reinhardt did not bother it.
Reinhardt observed the city’s atmosphere in the central square of Serigel.
Unlike the higher-ups, including the mayor, who were frantically busy, the ordinary citizens were enjoying an atmosphere similar to a festival.
‘So noisy.’
He could even hear strange songs from all around.
Valiant knight, light that cuts through darkness, and so on—seeing the lyrics, it was clearly a song related to Reinhardt.
‘Excellent. A good flow.’
It was worth the trouble of staging the incident in front of the city gate.
More than one or two people had seen what happened that day, and especially the soldiers who were on duty on the city walls played a key role in spreading this rumor.
While on duty, they were dressed in armor and carried swords, but the mont they got off work, they returned to being the ordinary citizens one could see anywhere in Serigel.
The words they told their families and friends had by now grown flesh and swelled into a massive rumor.
“We will erect a statue! If not a statue of Sir Reinhardt, the pride of Serigel, what else would we erect!”
“Hear, hear! Let’s do it!”
“Since support from the City Hall has been promised, we need not worry and should secure high-quality materials……”
The blacksmiths, holding hamrs, were clamoring about erecting a statue.
The citizens cheered enthusiastically, and a person who seed to be a City Hall official nodded beside them.
It seed they really intended to build it.
‘Excellent. Very good.’
If just a few more days passed like this, Reinhardt’s plan would be in the safe zone.
‘At this point, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say I've beco the mascot of Serigel.’
He had beco a kind of local specialty.
And so.
Just as there was good news, there were also problems that Reinhardt still had to think about.
[The Fading Light recovers a significant amount of its energy…….]
It was a ssage that had appeared when he defeated the incarnated Agrio-s.
It hadn't just recovered its energy, but the ssage said it had recovered a ‘significant’ amount.
And one more thing.
[You have successfully repelled the threat of evil!]
[The effect of ‘Justice’ has been greatly enhanced through a righteous choice.]
*Stat increase per stack 7
Thanks to defeating a demon, no less, the effect of [Justice] was enhanced by a whopping 7.
It was certainly an encouraging fact, but the problem was.
‘The phrase about regaining my calm didn't appear.’
The buff was still applied to Reinhardt.
He glanced up and saw a clear ssage floating there.
[Injustice has been detected.]
*Track down the evil.
*If you ignore the injustice, the effect of [Justice] will decrease.
[Buff Applied: Justice x3]
[All stats increase by 171.]
Even after dealing with Agrio-s, the mission still remained.
And it was a very vague mission that did not even tell him the exact details.
***
Taton Knights, Reinhardt’s quarters.
Fermil, who had returned after handling all sorts of matters, was uncharacteristically calm.
Normally, he would have been the type to chatter on about who he t, what he accomplished, and what this or that matter was about, but now he was just acting as if he were nonchalant.
“The religious orders that have settled in Serigel seem to be planning to expand their temples a bit. I think it’s probably because of you, Reinhardt.”
“Is that so? Good.”
“Even if a similar incident occurs again, it will be much easier to deal with it then. After all is said and done, there’s no one better than a cleric for dealing with demons.”
Reinhardt looked at such a Fermil with an ambiguous expression.
He felt a sense of crisis similar to when he had faced Ethan Taton.
‘What’s wrong with this bastard now?’
Fermil had changed. That fact alone was enough for Reinhardt to feel uneasy.
And after a mont of silence, Fermil spoke.
“Also, a reply to the letter I sent to the knightly order has arrived. It seems I’ll have to ask you for a difficult favor, Reinhardt.”
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