Chapter 191

The 3rd Knights Order’s departure.
It has been another three days since Alizée called me in.
Although I’ve been holed up in the Marquis Vardmoi's mansion during this time, there seemed to be some commotion outside today.
Marquis Vardmoi's mansion is located in the prime area of the noble district, so it should be free from surrounding noise.
What’s going on?
I’ll ask one of the servants.

"Excuse me, is something happening today?"

"Yes. Today, by the order of the Minister of Military Affairs, the 3rd Knights Order is heading out to investigate the anomaly in the western forest. The lively voices you hear now are for their send-off."

"I see. So, will the western road be passable again?"

"Well... that remains to be seen."

"Huh?"

I assumed that if the Kingdom's Knights Order was dispatched, exterminating the monsters in the western forest would be a simple task, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.
Apparently, the 3rd Knights Order is composed of third and fourth sons of high-ranking noble families who have nowhere else to go.
They are not very strong.
I was told that they are not just 'not very strong' but outright weak.
The grand send-off they’re receiving seems to be a demonstration to motivate the spoiled 3rd Knights Order members.
Can a unit composed of people like that be relied upon?
Once the commotion outside dies down, I’ll head to the Adventurers’ Guild to gather information.

The lively send-off lasted for about an hour.
After things quieted down, I visited the Adventurers’ Guild with everyone from the Wildcat Claws.
However, the Guild was crowded with adventurers, and the atmosphere was tense.
What’s going on?

Keuko checked the situation for me, and it seems that not only merchants, carriages, and buses heading towards the western road from the Royal Capital, but all roads have been blocked for the past two days.
The gates are closed, so they couldn’t even go hunting.
This situation seems to be the reason why the 3rd Knights Order was dispatched.
Initially, the Ice Wolves were only spotted around the western forest, but now they’ve been sighted all around the Royal Capital.
This forced the Kingdom to reluctantly order an investigation.
The reason for this delay is that the country doesn’t want to spend its budget on national defense.
In the past, even when monster hordes attacked near the Royal Capital, the national army was not mobilized, and adventurers were left to deal with it.
Because the Kingdom didn’t pay adequate rewards at that time, a rift formed between the Adventurers’ Guild and the Kingdom.
Now, for any defense-related requests from the Kingdom, the Guild demands upfront payment; otherwise, the reward would be zero.
It must be frustrating for the adventurers.
By the way, weren’t the Dribs Golems also left unchecked?
I wonder what eventually happened to it.

There didn’t seem to be any more information to gather at the Adventurers’ Guild, so I returned to the Marquis Vardmoi's mansion and waited for the 3rd Knights Order to come back.
However, even by nightfall, there was no word of their return.
The outcome became clear the next morning when a few Knights came back battered and bruised.
Yep, the 3rd Knights Order was annihilated.
I had a feeling this would happen.

What do you think about this chapter?