To the Jenkins Household
I headed to the Jenkins estate to get to the bottom of things. After promising Wesley I’d follow through, we left the training grounds behind.
“Hey, are you really fine going alone?”
“No problem. Besides, you’re heading out on an expedition tomorrow, right?”
“Well, yeah… but I could still ask Vice-Commander Bellows to swap me into a different assignment.”
“This isn’t like the incident with Hank where the culprit was with the knights. Plus… seeing how Jenkins is trying to keep this from blowing up, I want to see what moves they’ll make. Especially since Lowell, who seemed close to them, went so far as to use forbidden magic—something illegal under kingdom law.”
“… Yeah, true.”
Going with a small, sharp team was the smartest move here, and after a bit of back-and-forth, Gary accepted my reasoning.
… If this were Miracca, she’d stubbornly insist on coming along no matter what. Choosing Gary for this was definitely the right call.
By the time we got back to town, it was already night.
“Sorry, Gary. I basically ruined your day off.”
“Didn’t I already say it’s fine? I wasn’t planning anything until the evening anyway. Speaking of which… you staying for dinner?”
“Yeah, but no drinks. I don’t want anything affecting my visit to the Jenkins tomorrow.”
“Always the responsible one. Alright, then. A proper, wholesome dinner it is.”
“Sounds good.”
With that, Gary and I headed off into the capital’s streets in search of dinner. Now… just how will the Jenkins family react?
◇◇◇
Early the next morning.
After getting ready, I mounted my horse Leon and made my way to the Jenkins estate located near the capital.
I didn’t make an appointment, so it wouldn’t have been surprising if they turned me away at the gate. But the moment I mentioned I was a Holy Knight, they let me through without resistance.
Figured. For a family aiming to climb the ranks by exploiting a duke’s weaknesses, treating a Holy Knight poorly would be a stupid move.
—But that thought was quickly overturned.
“… What is this?”
From the moment I stepped inside the estate, something felt off. At first glance, there were plenty of servants bustling about, and it looked like a wealthy household. Yet… I could sense multiple hostile presences from various corners of the property.
It wasn’t hard to guess—they were spying on me, probably from different rooms or hidden spots.
But given how sloppily they were hiding and how easily I could detect them, these weren’t trained professionals. Most likely, hired thugs bought off with coin.
I’d wager someone inside figured a knight might come sniffing around and prepped a bunch of goons to ambush anyone who got too close—eliminate the problem and erase any evidence.
Either way, depending on how this meeting with the family head goes… things could turn violent.
Not that I’d mind. A little scrap would make collecting irrefutable evidence much easier.
What do you think about this chapter?
