Pitch-black darkness enveloped the walls of the kingdom.
Despite the late hour, the area around the castle gate shone brightly, and there was a reason for that.
A long line of people trying to pass through the gate had formed around it.
The guards lit fires here and there in accordance with their duties and inspected them.
“Please present your identification.”
The soldiers demanded identification, or something that could prove one’s identity, from those seeking to pass through the gate.
“Mm, an adventurer, I see. No particular issues… Pass!”
Those whose identities were certain were allowed through the gate without much fuss.
On the other hand, those whose identities were unclear exchanged a few words of argument.
“You don’t have identification? Then you cannot pass!”
Those whose identities could not be confirmed had to turn back the way they had come.
The guards continued repeating this troublesome process.
“Next!”
After letting another person through, a soldier called for the next.
The next in line was not a single person.
“Huh…”
It was a merchant caravan.
It was not particularly large in scale, but there was a freight wagon, and quite a number of merchants and escorts around it.
At a glance, there seemed to be a little over twenty people.
“I am Riana, leader of this caravan. We’re still small, so we don’t have a name in particular.”
In other words, they were wandering merchants.
Moreover, the one leading the caravan was not a man, but a woman.
‘She’s young for a caravan master.’
She was far too young to be a wandering merchant.
The soldier looked at the identification Riana handed him.
“From the Adonil Kingdom, huh… You’ve come a long way.”
The Adonil Kingdom was a nation adjacent to the White Order at the southernmost end of the continent.
As such, it was far from here.
“Name’s Riana. This is certain, yes?”
“I swear it in the name of the Goddess.”
“No need to go that far…”
Since it was a country neighboring the Order, there were many who followed the Goddess.
The woman before him was probably of the same sort.
The soldier gave a brief laugh at her words and returned her identification.
Next, he intended to inspect the merchants and cargo behind her.
Occasionally, suspicious individuals would slip into merchant caravans.
He raised a torch and checked the merchants’ faces and identification one by one.
As he did so, he looked at a sheet of paper in his hand.
A wanted criminal was drawn on the paper, and he was checking to see if anyone matched it.
“Mm, looks fine. Next, I’ll inspect the cargo.”
Then he approached the freight wagon the merchants had brought.
But Riana stepped in front of the soldier and blocked him.
“What is the meaning of this?”
Naturally, the soldier replied to Riana in an angry voice.
“I’m truly sorry. The truth is, we have goods under contract that we must deliver, and we have very little time.”
“Your personal circumstances are none of my concern! Everyone must be inspected under the same rules!”
The soldier scolded the young caravan master who had blocked his way.
He was already tired from the late hour, and the line showed no signs of shrinking as it stretched on and on.
In an already irritating situation, a mere caravan master was delaying his work.
The soldier’s face gradually reddened.
Just as he opened his mouth to say something,
Riana secretly handed him something.
“You must be tired, aren’t you? Once your shift ends, it would be best to have a drink with a simple bite to eat.”
“Ahem, ahem.”
The soldier cleared his throat a few times, then checked the pouch in his hand.
It was quite heavy.
‘…!’
It was even gold coins.
A brilliant golden light shimmered through the gaps of the pouch.
The soldier glanced at the pouch and wore a briefly conflicted expression.
‘They must really be in a hurry. There are security forces inside anyway, so it shouldn’t matter.’
He was working late at night while everyone else was asleep.
Therefore, receiving this much seemed acceptable.
“Ahem. Everything has been checked. Pass!”
The soldier’s tone became polite.
“This is a separate matter, but the current situation in the Seil Kingdom is not good.”
The soldier whispered quietly to Riana, who had slipped him the money, and gave her a warning.
It was a kind of repayment.
“Why is that?”
Riana asked the soldier back as if she knew nothing.
“In a few days, the Order will be visiting the kingdom. Personally, I recommend that you finish your business and leave this place before then, Caravan Master.”
“Thank you for the kind advice.”
The young caravan master thanked him with a smiling gaze.
And Riana did not forget to leave a final farewell.
“May the Goddess’s protection be with you…”
Soon, the people passed through the castle gate together with the freight wagon.
From here on, it was the Seil Kingdom.
* * *
The people who had passed through the gate continued walking.
After some time, they arrived before a certain building.
However, the exterior of the building they saw was extremely old.
“Huh…”
The building looked so poorly maintained that a sigh escaped their lips.
“Take everything out.”
Riana, who stood at the front, pointed at the cargo and gave an order.
At her command, everyone looked around once, then began unloading the wagon.
Since it was late at night to begin with, there was no need to be too mindful of their surroundings.
Still, there was no harm in being careful, so some of them kept watch.
The rest quickly set the cargo down on the ground.
First, swords were laid on the ground with metallic clinks.
They were objects far too unusual to be goods traded by merchants.
Once all the swords had been taken out, next came armor.
It was not armor made of steel, but a type of light armor made by layering thick leather.
As they took the armor from the freight wagon, the people put it on immediately.
After they had all donned the leather armor, they fastened swords at their waists.
Once everyone had finished preparing, they began entering the building one after another.
Unlike the building’s decrepit exterior, the inside appeared to have been maintained to some degree.
When they entered, an old butler was the first to welcome them.
“I greet the noble knights!”
The people who had entered the building were clearly supposed to be merchants, yet the title that came from the butler’s mouth was different.
At the butler’s welcome, Riana, who had been called caravan master until just moments ago, opened her mouth.
“Brother, it seems you have been well too? The building looked as though it was about to collapse, so I thought something had happened.”
However, coldness clung to Riana’s voice.
“T-that is, here in the Seil Kingdom, the Order’s influence…”
The butler also sensed her coldness and tried to say something, but—
Slash—
Riana’s sword pierced the butler’s throat first.
“Cough! Grrr—”
Clutching his throat as blood gushed out, the butler stared at Riana with a hollow expression.
He tried to say something, but blood boiled in his throat.
“To think you would dare maintain a sacred building granted by the Order in such a state. You deserve to die a hundred times over.”
Her actions were violent.
At the very least, they were not actions a caravan leader could take.
Leaving behind the butler who had died with his throat pierced, she looked at those she had brought with her.
“We are the Order’s proud knights. We must fulfill our duty as paladins.”
They were not actually merchants leading a caravan.
Their true identities were paladins of the White Order.
“In a few days, the delegation will arrive. Until then, gather as much information as possible.”
The Order’s delegation was scheduled to arrive in the Seil Kingdom in a few days.
And they were nothing more than an advance party sent to gather information before the delegation arrived.
No one knew this fact except for a few nobles of the Seil Kingdom.
If they were discovered, it would become a major diplomatic issue.
For that reason, although they were paladins, they had no proof that revealed their status as paladins.
To begin with, they carried nothing related to the Order.
The equipment and weapons they had hidden in the freight wagon were all ordinary items.
Even the equipment they wore now looked like the attire of ordinary adventurers.
No one would think they had any connection to the Order at a glance.
In short, this mission was a special one in which they belonged to the Order, yet could not put the Order forward.
“Our objective is the Seil Kingdom. Find as many weaknesses as you can. If there are none, create them.”
She spoke without hiding her true intentions.
This had been the purpose of the advance party from the very beginning.
‘Pressure the Seil Kingdom.’
It was the directive that had quietly come down.
“I command you in the name of Riana, vice-captain of the paladin order.”
Riana, vice-captain of the paladin order.
At her words, the people bowed their heads.
In truth, Riana was the adjutant of the captain who led the paladin order.
However, after the previous vice-captain, Berter Leobain, went missing, the position had become vacant.
Thanks to that, Riana had taken over the vice-captain’s seat in Berter’s place.
She was not the official vice-captain, only acting, but it did not matter.
She was not attached to the position.
It was enough as long as the Order grew.
The happiness of the Order was her joy.
“I will say it once more. Never tarnish the name of the Order.”
Any being who tarnished the Order in this process would be executed.
“As soon as day breaks, let us first search for information regarding Yuel, who went missing.”
The disappearance of Priest Yuel.
It was the incident that had prompted the Order to dispatch paladins and inquisitors to the Seil Kingdom.
* * *
Day broke.
“As expected, the rats have come in.”
Though she had worked through the night, there was no trace of fatigue on her face.
Rather, she was smiling.
It was the smile of a child who had found a toy.
Celia briefly closed her eyes and organized her thoughts.
—The Order’s paladins have infiltrated the kingdom.
It was information she had uncovered while staying up all night.
“Mm, what shall we do?”
The reason she had found out that information was thanks to the testimony of the elf Nariel.
After Celia brought Nariel to her side, she naturally questioned her about various things, and one of them included the matter of the noble who had commissioned her.
Of course, the one who had requested the commission from Nariel was not the noble himself.
It had merely been a subordinate.
Fortunately, however, elves were a race with sharp eyes.
Nariel traced back through her memories and recalled the appearance of the person who had given her the commission.
Then she told Celia the features of the appearance she had seen.
—A white-haired old man, with a beard and large scars on his left eye and hand.
Based on that information, Celia relayed it to Princess Irena through a shadow.
“Princess Irena is certainly capable.”
As it happened, the person existed in Princess Irena’s memory.
And they were able to find out which noble that person belonged to as well.
“As expected, bringing Princess Irena to our side was a good choice.”
Celia nodded with a satisfied expression.
In truth, she had implanted only one simple thought into Princess Irena.
‘Serve the Great One.’
She had implanted only that simple thought, and the rest of her actions flowed according to Princess Irena’s own will.
By now, she was performing her role extremely well.
Thanks to that, they learned that the one who had sent the adventurers to the mountain range was Count Beaton, and immediately had a shadow keep watch on him.
“To think they were entertaining such an amusing idea…”
It would take at least several days for the White Order’s delegation to arrive in the Seil Kingdom.
Yet they had secretly sent some paladins ahead of them.
“Mr. Shadow, relay this to Princess Irena.”
The shadow behind Celia bowed its head.
“Tell her to deliver the gift I gave her to the nobles.”
Celia intended to use this opportunity to deal with the nobles, who were thorns in her side, and take the kingdom into her hands.
This was an act for the Great One she served, and an act of loyalty.
* * *
—A special mission has occurred!
—Dispatch Maru (★★★★) to the dungeon “Nest of the Evil God.”
—Reward: Maru (★★★★)’s 5-Star Transcendence Ticket