Bear School Astartes

The knight who appeared so arrogant before the mercenaries was surprisingly obedient in front of the chief priest of Meretelli, who had delivered him in Nanik.

"I don’t want to be like this either, Mum."

The tall, armored man bent over and spoke softly.

"But now, those White Rose Knights are too eye-catching in front of the Duke... they think about them for every matter!"

"When the issue of the Ponta River Valley came up this time, we local knights all wanted to follow the Duke, but he only took the White Rose Knights. We didn’t even get a chance to show our faces."

"Show your face?" Nanik looked at the other seriously, causing the armor components on the person’s body to clatter loudly. "Do you think this situation is one where people can gain fame and notoriety?"

"Seward didn’t bring you along, isn’t it because of your current state?"

As he spoke, the chief priest’s eyes examined the other’s body, seeing that although the leather straps of the armor had been loosened as much as possible, fat from under the silk shirt still squeezed out through the gaps.

Nanik seriously said, "This is a matter of life and death! Can you wake up a bit? Just do it for your mother!"

The knight nodded, turned around, and continued to command a group of mercenaries and warriors, but still had an unconcerned look on his face, muttering under his breath.

"A matter of life and death, just a creature never seen before?"

"Whether it’s a creature or not is still uncertain. It might just be the Squirrel Faction from the mountains, coming and going swiftly, maybe even with mages, killing all the villagers in the mountains."

"With such a large lineup coming together, even if the creature isn’t scared off, it’ll be killed, what’s the danger?"

At this moment, the sound of hooves came from the group of Divine Hall buildings.

A team of knights in bright armor and moving in unison approached, with Knight Samarish’s eyes turning suddenly serious.

The rest of the mercenaries, already mounted and adjusting their packs, also looked in that direction.

Although Samarish, as a local knight in Elrand, had been out of practice for a long time, he had at least received a proper knight’s education.

Just a glance was enough to know how unusual this small team of knights was.

This level of coordination, and the uniformity in the riding process... even the core teams inside the White Rose couldn’t match!

No flags were flown, and the leader was a ’giant’, astonishingly tall, wearing a hooded cloak.

In another situation, Samarish’s first thought upon seeing this ’giant’ might be about the newly popular Magic Cloaks.

But being escorted by such a group of knights, even without a flag, could it be...?

A legendary figure and story flashed through his mind, although he had slight doubts about the story’s credibility, the protagonist’s reputation and status were indisputable.

If he were face-to-face, he should at least formally pay his respects.

But Nanik didn’t give him the chance to find out.

Appearing from the Divine Hall as the chief priest, Lann, under the guise of a ’supporting knight’, greeted the other party.

No unnecessary words were spoken, and in Seward’s current state of lacking people and combat power, the knight responsible for deployment had no reason to refuse.

Before leaving, Nanik pulled Lann to the side, lowering him as he seriously looked at him.

"Remember what I told you earlier, child."

The plump elderly woman patted Lann’s arm forcefully, as if to use that strength to help him remember.

"Don’t be influenced by those who are careless, that thing is not simple!"

Lann nodded, "Thank you for your guidance, I will remain cautious."

"Mhm, go on." Nanik smiled after hearing this, "I don’t see any bad omens on you, much better than that unlucky Geralt. Haha, I quite like you."

With the blessing of the chief priest of Meretelli, Lann fiddled with the ring on his finger, summoning the Qilin that had spent the night outside.

In reality, Samarish had already fully confirmed his identity, but since the person behaved this way, it was equivalent to stating they didn’t want to cause a stir.

Anyone with a bit of intelligence should understand, so Samarish wisely didn’t shout about it everywhere.

The mercenaries, who had been making a racket, were barely organized under the knights’ supervision, and without a doubt, Sachia was the most striking rose among them.

Even Samarish repeatedly maneuvered his horse close to her, hoping to create an ’accidental’ physical contact.

In one continuous rush, urged on, after saluting Nanik who provided them with hospitality and rest, they immediately sped towards the northeast of Elrand.

This was the area where the land met the Ponta River and the Mahakan Mountains.

During this time, Samarish maintained a considerable, yet not suspicious, level of respect towards Lann and the Ember Knights. This made Lann feel that this long-neglected local knight was quite adept socially.

On the other hand, not all of this knight’s social skills were directed towards Lann and the Ember Knights.

He frequently patrolled back and forth among the mercenaries, under the pretense of Prince Seward’s orders, urging them to hurry to the rendezvous point.

But he always unintentionally mentioned, when passing by Sachia, that he was recently divorced and although he had a daughter, she was very well-behaved.

If she were a woman yearning for noble life and riches, she’d probably already understand what he meant.

Even the mercenaries around knew, but they didn’t say much, just someone tilted their head and spat a thick phlegm onto the ground.

At the same time, muttering, ’Who knows if it’s a real divorce or just ready to divorce at any moment’ kind of thing.

But for Sachia...

"I sympathize with your situation, Knight Samarish."

The female warrior on horseback seemed to be on a tour, looking around with interest at the surrounding scenery, while earnestly speaking to the knight who came close.

"But the fact that once-loving people later go their separate ways is also a fact to accept. At least your wife left you with a lovely daughter, didn’t she? You should care for her well."

The knight with peacock tail feathers on his helmet was directly stunned.

If it was a euphemistic rejection or a perfunctory excuse, he wouldn’t even feel frustrated.

After all, wanting to climb into the bed of a good woman requires effort.

But when he saw Sachia’s eyes when she spoke—sincere, clear, sympathetic.

...This woman seems to be seriously talking to him!

Does she not understand what I mean?

Does she have a problem with understanding?

"Pfft~" a light laugh that was abruptly stopped and held back came from the back of the team.

Samarish turned his head to see that the source of the suppressed laughter was the tall figure leading the Ember Knights’ team at the front.

So he trembled all over, pursed his lips, and lowered his head without speaking further.

But actually, he was a bit too sensitive.

Lann didn’t mean to stop him because Lann also knew that a woman like Sachia, who had ideals and skills, wouldn’t take something like ’becoming a noble lady’ as her goal.

He was just laughing... In many ways, Sachia indeed has a depth of thought that can’t be matched by ordinary warriors, mercenaries, or even nobles.

But at the same time, she seems to lack perception in certain areas, which is low emotional intelligence.

This contradictory complex made Lann even more interested in her identity.

But this is ultimately a minor detail; the most important thing right now is to solve the problems occurring in the Ponta River Valley.

If the situation here collapses, then the economy of the Northern Territory would almost collapse as well.

For public reasons, how can the Four Northern Countries compete with Niflgaard with an economic collapse?

On a personal level... his current wealth depends on eighty to ninety percent on the Northern Kingdom!

The remaining ten to twenty percent is the share of Valyrian Steel exported overseas.

Although the performance of this steel is indeed outstanding, in this vast and poorly communicated world, it still belongs to ’new materials’.

Perhaps on other continents, those buyers with power and influence haven’t heard of this product yet. Let alone sending ships to buy goods.

Riding fast all the way, although the formation was chaotic, because there was a local knight leading the way, they had a smooth journey after all.

This group of mercenaries, who seemed like rabble, actually reached the ferry by the Ponta River at noon.

The next step was to switch to an inland riverboat, heading towards the direction of the river valley, which would be much faster than taking the road along the river.

According to Samarish, basically, they could reach the temporary station of Duke Seward before dinner... if the way was smooth.

This local knight considered his mission accomplished upon reaching the ferry.

His task, rather than transferring these summoned mercenaries to Duke Seward, was more like being an insurance watching over the mercenaries.

To prevent some of them from running off with the small deposit and their horses.

In this day and age, when it comes to business, it’s always necessary to prepare in several ways.

And once on the boat, these people could no longer run.

The inland riverboat was similar to what Lann had taken before, with a spacious platform large enough to squeeze many people and their cargo.

After all, it was rare for the boat to have passengers for the entire journey; most would take one or two stops.

Obtaining a larger cargo volume through short-term tight squeezing is a means for the river company to increase profits.

The mercenaries’ more than a dozen horses, along with the Ember Knights’ ten warhorses, were surrounded in the center of the deck, with everyone’s equipment and supplies outside, to prevent the horses from running out and falling into the water.

They had not yet entered the Ponta River Valley, so the banks of the Ponta River were still open plains, with farmers busy in fertile fields, windmills, and scarecrows standing quietly.

But if you look further along the river, you can see the terrain on both banks gradually beginning to rise and undulate, pinching the river water in between.

Because the flow rate remains unchanged, but the riverbed area becomes narrower, the farther you go, the faster the river’s flow, becomes more turbulent.

So much so that it gradually produces a thunderous roaring sound.