[Theorad Pov]
I woke up to the sound of birds chirping outside the window. I stared blankly at the front with cloudy eyes, then hurriedly raised my upper body and wiped the saliva from my mouth.
"I fell asleep?…"
I sat in front of my desk all day trying to catch the culprit, and it seemed that I fell asleep without realizing it. No one would have seen me asleep, but I felt ashamed for nothing.
Clearing my throat and patting my cheek, I came to my senses and pulled out a map among the cluttered paperwork.
A map in which a special section of the three areas that make up the city is circled. Yesterday, I continued to look at the testimonies of the local residents and identified the contradiction, and I arbitrarily specified the location of the criminals' next crime.
There is no guarantee that it will appear in this section, but the probability is the highest. The problem is that there are nine circled sections.
'It wouldn't be difficult to catch the culprit if all available members of the Knights, let alone His Excellency, were involved.'
Doing so would increase the anxiety of the local residents. The large-scale movement of soldiers and knights was enough to put pressure on the entire territory.
At best, it was to catch ten robbers, but I didn't want to cause a fuss. Moreover, even with this number of enlisted soldiers and knights, if the culprit is not caught, my reputation will go downhill.
'I needed to be careful.'
'I'll have to visit the nobles who suffered damage and listen to their stories.'
It is difficult to further narrow the scope based on the testimonies of the local residents. If so, it was necessary to obtain a proper eyewitness account, even if it was by selling out.
'Let's call Marhan and go on patrol.'
As I made up my mind and was going through the paperwork, I heard a knocking sound out of the blue. Is she an elf? Just in case, I was silent, and I heard a low-pitched voice from beyond the door.
"Your Excellency Regent. I am Hildes Proheim. I'm sorry to interrupt you during your busy schedule, but could I talk to you for a moment?"
'Hildes Proheim?'
He was the leader of the Blue Banner Knights, founded by Count Pelgaroin, and a great man who was recognized as a provost minister by the Imperial Court Certified Swordsman Association, the "Hawk of the Unspoken".
In the Orc Conquest War eight years ago, he was appointed as a Bannerlet Knight and commanded numerous troops, so there was no one in the county who didn't know Hildes.
It makes me nervous because a person with a lot of bones came to visit me. I cleared my throat once and then spoke.
"Of course. Please come in."
With my permission, the door opens, and Hildes, with his beard neatly shaven, enters. A friendly smile hangs under the wrinkles of his eyes, which show off his skill.
Even in peacetime, I can feel the discipline that has been caught in the appearance of wearing light armor. Hildes strode toward me with his helmet tucked at his side and bowed his head.
"On behalf of the Knights of the Blue Banner, I greet Your Excellency the Regent. Sorry for the late greeting."
"Hey, don't do this. I know better than anyone that the Templars are busy with robberies. Please raise your head."
"I can't help but admire your generous words. Your Excellency the Regent."
He raised his head. A mischievous smile hung on his lips.
"It's been a long time since we've seen each other face-to-face like this. You grew up really great. Even the elders who passed away first will surely be proud if they see Prince Theorard of today."
I feel embarrassed when I suddenly receive a compliment.
"Not quite like that."
"Be humble. I heard from one of my subordinates that the Regent has not stepped out of the room since he entered the office. I can clearly see that you are engrossed in your duties, so how could I refuse to look good?"
"That... is the knight commander making fun of me right now?"
Having come to His Excellency's castle as the regent, it is only natural to be engrossed in my duties. I did the obvious thing, but I wondered if I was making fun of myself for being proud.
Hildes laughed at my crooked attitude and put the helmet on the desk.
"Since there are a lot of nobles who neglect their duties and seek only their rights, the Excellency Regent deserves a high evaluation. I can't help it if you regard my sincerity as a joke."
"It's enough to stop blowing me off. By the way..."
After looking at Hildes' breastplate, I tilted my head. It was because a deer running through the forest was drawn to the edge of the breastplate. It was a picture that did not go through a professional engraving technique but was roughly scratched with a sharp object such as an awl.
"Why is the forest painted on the breastplate? I haven't heard of the knight commander being interested in the forest."
"Ah. You mean this? Yesterday, I took off my armor and exercised near the training ground, and when I finished the exercise and went to get my armor, His Excellency the Regent's slave was scribbling on my breastplate. Aren't she really bold?"
Hildes chuckles. On the contrary, I gasped in embarrassment. Could it be that the 'little mistake' the elf said yesterday was scribbling on the breastplate of the knight commander of Count Pelgarin?
'It wasn't a small mistake in the first place!'
Anyone can see that this is intentional, you crazy bitch! I got up from my seat in a cold sweat and bowed my head to Hildes.
"Sir, I'm sorry! It's because I mismanaged the slaves!"
"Your Excellency Regent? There is no need to apologize."
"But it's my fault! I will take responsibility and compensate you, so claim the damage to the Viscount Deharm!"
"Well, I know what His Excellency is thinking, but I quite like this."
'Uh? Do you like it? Raising my head in wonder, Hildes Proheim tapped the picture on his breastplate with a serious face.
"Isn't it good? In the forest, branches seem to be fluttering in the wind that blows at any moment, and the dynamism of the deer playing is not the only one. It was not drawn on paper, and to draw such a beautiful picture on a curved breastplate is something that not even a great artist could do."
"Come to think of it."
As Hildes said, she drew well. Where did she learn to draw? While I was staring blankly, Hildes Proheim picked up the helmet that had been placed on the desk and put it on my side.
"Anyway, I have to go to work now. I just came here to say hello."
"If it's your business, is it related to robbers called the Ten Enemies?"
"There is that, but for now, the first thing to do is to settle the labor-management dispute among the witches residing in the county. It should be dealt with before leaving the Church of Balance to avoid unnecessary noise."
"Ah. Right. It's a lot of trouble."
"It's hard work. His Excellency the Regent, who is busy trying to catch the robbers, is doing it. I just move my body. Anyway, why do so many troublesome things happen these days?"
Hildes Proheim let out a short sigh and smiled awkwardly.
"I'll tell you again, you are in a lot of pain because you are taking on the role of regent at a time like this. If the robbers would at least turn themselves in, it would make things a little easier for His Excellency the Regent."
"Embroider.... I think so too, but I don't think those who plan a crime this meticulously will give themselves up."
"It is true."
He opened his mouth as if thinking of Hildeath, who had been clicking his tongue in pity.
"Ah. Just in case, if you ever catch the heads of the robbers, try interrogating them yourself. The method of killing is very similar to the culprit that His Excellency the Regent was tracking down three years ago."
Was it the man who had brutally murdered the woman's husband and burned down the house three years ago? Recalling fragmentary memories in my head, I nodded my head in dismay.
"Okay. If we catch it, we'll investigate."
*
The basement of the Black Wheat Fields Tavern.
Ten robbers, collectively known as the 'Ten Enemies', shed silly laughs as they inspected each weapon.
"Boss. Did you see the knight's bastard go back in vain yesterday? They came close to it and returned without getting anything."
As the one-eyed sub-head giggled, the hooded boss laughed at him, showing his buck teeth.
"It's thanks to the foolish villagers that sided with us when we scattered some of the money the nobles robbed. The righteous have horns. They won't even know how much we hurt them."
"Oh. What do idiots know? hahaha"
Laughter erupted from the cellar at the joke of the docking station. The boss poured a glass of moonshine into his mouth against the background of his men's laughter. The sweet and tangy taste is excellent.
'Stupid knights!!'
He had been robbing the nobles for a month already, and they hadn't been able to get a clue about this, let alone a proper investigation.
It's not that they don't understand. In order to make the investigation difficult, some of the residents of the territory were bribed with money to make them testify falsely, and some of the extorted money was sprinkled on an unspecified number of people, so the public sentiment naturally turned to his side.
It was enough to even give him the stupid title of 'enemy of the ten', so he said it all. Still, if the tail is long, it will be caught someday. He will only rob for another month and then run away to the principality.
While he was making plans in his head, the assistant manager leaned forward and smiled sinisterly.
"Boss. You know the girl who gave us milk a week ago, saying thank you? The girl is good and has a smooth face, so would you like to visit and eat together with her before leaving the county?"
Like a man crazy about women. The boss clicked his tongue and nodded his head.
"Okay. When it's time to stop playing bandits, I'll give it a go. Let's kill her whole family and fuck her all day long."
At the words of the boss, his subordinates cheer. He felt some kind of joy in the fact that he fucked a pretty woman.
But the cheers did not last long.
Bang!
The planks blocking the door to the cellar are thrown off and roll on the floor. The startled boss turned his head and saw a woman with beautiful silver hair and sparkling red eyes standing on the threshold.
'Elf?'
Her ears were pointy, and she was extremely beautiful.
He was at a loss for words at the sight of a fairy-tale-like race, but the elf opened her mouth, brushing her hair that had flowed forward behind her ear.
"My toy broke because of you guys. I'm here to fix it, so don't rebel. Guys, go to the count's castle right now and confess the crime you committed. You can roughly say that you turned yourself in because you were afraid of Theorard."
What kind of bullsh*t is this? The elf blinked her eyes indifferently as the boss laughed at her despondently.
"What are you going to do if we refuse? Seduce us?"
There was a casual spread of laughter among the subordinates. Surrender? If he was going to surrender, he wouldn't have committed the crime.
"The crazy bitch will be fucked first and sold to slavery."
As the boss frowned and raised his weapon, his subordinates each grabbed their tools and giggled. Seeing this, the elf sighed and spread her hands.
"Ten seconds."
"Ten seconds? Are you saying you'll give you ten seconds to drop my weapon?"
He can't even laugh because it's so absurd. It is possible to amputate for four years in ten seconds.
"Nine."
Bang!!
The head of his subordinate explodes, and his brain splashes everywhere. The headless neck spurts blood like a fountain before collapsing to the floor.
'What, what? How?'
The boss can't properly judge the situation at this absurd sight. While everyone hesitated and panicked, the elf folded another finger.
"Eight."
Pop!
The head of another subordinate at the end of the group exploded, spraying blood on the wall. The body that lost its head stumbles and then crashes into a wall and collapses.
"Noah!"
"Aahhhh!! DEVIL!!!"
The fear-stricken subordinates collapse one by one and scream. Only then did the boss, who grasped the situation, look back at the elf with his whole body trembling.
'This, this....'
Spreading ten fingers did not mean ten seconds. It was just a finger pointing at their lives. The moment one more finger is folded, someone here dies.
As soon as he thought that it could be him, his legs gave out, and all he could do was scream that he wanted to live.
An elf's third finger that folds slowly. The frightened boss threw away the weapon he was holding and knelt on the floor.
"Please, forgive me..I will surrender."
His voice trembles and does not come out properly. Tears flowed from his dilated pupils, and the boss screamed desperately.
"I will surrender, so I ask for your forgiveness, Please!"
At that terrible cry, all of the men threw down their weapons and surrendered.