The Knights of Rondan.
Well, I had seen them before after evading the Watcher.
Of course, they hadn’t come crashing in like this; they had appeared after I completely escaped from the underground prison.
They kill Outsiders and arm themselves with gear made from them.
And that gear is totally cool too.
How can I resist this?
Ugh, I’m dying.
“Especially the armored one looks the coolest. When I got to wear it later, it’s the best appearance from the Outsider gear known to man.”
“I’m a fan of the White Mask lady. That dual-wielding and dashing motion is seriously badass.”
“Goddess of War is great too. Even though she’s big, her actions are so cute, like a little animal.”
“Isn’t there no other axe user besides this one? Axes are inefficient anyway.”
“What about the leader of the Knights?”
“Yikes, no way, I’m not going there. Let’s keep that discussion off the table.”
There were many fans of Rondan’s Knights in the community.
It was so prevalent that comments like ‘The main body of the Snow Castle is this knight order, lol’ popped up frequently.
The uploaded pictures looked cool and appeared refined.
In my head, I had definitely imagined them as a stylish group that fought Outsiders and used the weapons and armor made from them.
“…?”
What is this?
Is this really the Knights of Rondan I knew?
Well, considering my super cowardly mode, it made sense that the Knights clad in Outsider-made armor looked kind of cute.
However, the imposing Outsider armor had been replaced by teddy bear costumes, the magnificent twin swords transformed into plastic swords, and the heavy, serious axe turned into a toy.
At least to my eyes, the old Knights of Rondan had long since disappeared.
It would be more realistic to say they had brought toys from an amusement park and were playing knight games.
The absurdity had subsided, and now I was on the verge of laughter.
“…Why is this guy smiling like that?”
“Uh, right? Has he reached enlightenment or something…”
I accidentally laughed while just thinking about it.
I mean, who wouldn’t find it funny seeing someone in a teddy bear costume standing there so seriously?
Of course, maybe it was only me who saw it like that.
“Hey, stop that.”
“Eek!”
Meanwhile, Agartha tried to quietly sneak away again, but when a knight held up a plastic sword to block her, she turned pale and retreated.
What looked like a mere toy to me seemed terrifying to Agartha, whose body was trembling.
We were on the verge of some cognitive dissonance here.
The woman in the white mask whispered in Agartha’s ear.
“Don’t move. If you do, I will cut you in soul. This one eats souls, you know.”
“…Eep.”
It really was a threatening sword, as even Agartha, usually playful, was stuttering now.
Moreover, the Hunter had already raised his hands, surrendering and showing he had no intention of fighting.
Well, that was a normal reaction.
But because of my super coward mode, my brain wasn’t comprehending the seriousness of the situation.
As I was blankly observing, the hooded girl with the toy axe tapped my shoulder.
Gingerly turning my head that way, the girl trembled as she spoke.
“Please stay still… I, I’m quite strong, you know? If you resist, I can’t help but hurt you…”
No matter how I looked at it, she seemed to be in a position of power, so why was she acting like she was the one at a disadvantage? Was she just really timid?
She had shown some introverted traits in the game, but in real life, she looked even more crumpled up.
Wouldn’t you want to join my Super Coward Club?
Of course, even if you did, I wouldn’t share this mode with you.
That just wouldn’t be possible.
“Please don’t do anything.”
Even though it was pointing a toy axe at me, it wasn’t scary, but if I were to actually get hit, I imagined it would hurt like crazy, right?
With her appearance, I had the delusion that if I just brushed my finger against the blade, not a drop of blood would come out.
Honestly, I thought I had been quite lucky until now.
If it hadn’t been for the words engraved on the wall and the community posts I had read, I wouldn’t have made it this far.
Not wanting to get hurt, I decided to comply.
“Yep!”
When I replied with unnecessary enthusiasm, she seemed startled and shivered, showing a fragile demeanor that didn’t match her size.
How had she managed to survive in a place full of Outsiders with that personality?
Not being familiar with the story, I only knew their faces but not the underlying details.
Meanwhile, a man in a teddy bear costume came out holding a piece of paper.
“Contaminated by Outsiders?”
“We performed the Blessing Ceremony, so there are no issues.”
He seemed to be reading something that looked like a list of prisoners.
“Prisoner name: Agartha. Charges: 3 counts of theft, 2 counts of intimidation, 7 counts of gambling. Several other attempted crimes are suspected.”
Agartha blushed as if hearing an embarrassing story and glanced at me and the Hunter with sidelong glances.
Whoa.
Theft, intimidation, gambling?
She was a real outlaw, wasn’t she?
When I looked at Agartha with cold eyes, she seemed to send me a look that said, ‘This isn’t the time for that?!’
I couldn’t even make a joke.
While scratching my head, the woman in the deer mask aimed her plastic twin swords at me, analyzing the situation.
“Agartha, huh? That’s an alias. I’ve heard there’s a class system even among thieves, and using an alias means she must be one of the notable ones.”
When the timid girl heard the masked woman’s words, she seemed at a loss for words, nodded twice, then forced herself to reply.
“Uh, um, y-yeah, that’s right.”
Suddenly, Agartha’s shoulders began to shake.
Did she think the conversation was veering into a bad direction? She started to babble and move her mouth energetically.
“No! I’m a completely good thief, you know? If you just let me out of here, I promise I can…!”
“Next.”
The man in the teddy bear costume neatly interrupted Agartha’s words and turned his attention to the Hunter.
It was amusing to see Agartha’s pupils shrink, but it also felt a bit pitiful…
Well, it was her karma, so what could be done?
Standing before the Hunter, the teddy bear man squinted and looked at the paper again.
“Prisoner name: Hunter. Failure to comply with official duties, unauthorized hunting of Outsiders… Defiance against the direct order of Her Highness the Princess?”
His voice dripped with anger at the words ‘defiance against the direct order of the Princess.’
It clearly showed his strong loyalty to the Princess.
I had already heard about this before.
Defying the command of Her Highness the Princess, one of the absolute authorities in Snow Castle and its surroundings, is not something anyone with a shred of common sense would contemplate. You could very well end up with your head on the chopping block for that!
“I’ve heard of the Hunter. You’ve even gone so far as to erase your name to avoid being targeted by Outsiders? They’ve been talking about you in other cities, it seems,” the woman in the mask intently evaluated the Hunter.
The Hunter, clearly displeased that someone had investigated him, clicked his tongue and turned his head away sharply.
“What a scary person.”
I thought she was just teasing, but the axe-wielding woman was genuinely trembling in fear as she scanned the Hunter’s height.
I mean, why would YOU, here on official duty, be the one scared?
…Honestly, even I felt a bit overwhelmed at first, given the guy’s aura.
But after some time, he turned out to be just an annoying old man, really.
“It’s an immediate execution!”
“Deputy Director, that’s not why we’re here,” interjected the man in the teddy bear costume, frustrated.
The woman in the white mask replied with a stern voice, “The Hunter is valuable. There’s still use for him.”
Though the teddy bear man continued to glare at the Hunter with seething anger, he clicked his tongue and closed his eyes in acceptance.
“Tsk, damn Hunter.”
It seemed that the white-masked woman held a rank higher than just a member, perhaps of a squad leader.
The teddy bear man let out a sigh and began walking towards me.
Knowing it was almost my turn, he sighed again.
Here we go again.
I had hoped I wouldn’t be called out, but alas…
Well, let’s hear why I’m here, I suppose.
Honestly, as long as it’s not something like running around naked or some lewd public indecency crime, it should be fine.
As I thought that, the teddy bear man finally started to speak.
“Prisoner name: Leydan Tanton.”
Please let it be something harmless.
If the charge turns out to be a serious crime, the Hunter and Agartha might think I’m weird.
I could easily lose my life on the spot, you know!
And that’s something I definitely want to avoid!
Being whacked with a plastic sword? Don’t put me in that situation!
But usually, things don’t go as one wishes, and terror filled me instead.
Finally, the teddy bear man began to list my accusations.
“Mental derangement, Outsider… attempted rape?”
“…Huh?”
I couldn’t help but voice my shock at the more shocking crime revealing itself.
My voice echoed, and all sound fell silent.
All eyes turned to me.
The Knights stood in shock, mouths agape, staring at me; Agartha looked at me as if I were some kind of monster, and the Hunter displayed disgust openly.
I had no idea if this was really true, but the timid girl with the toy axe was shaking, her panic completely visible.
“W-Wow…”
Oh hell, no!
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