"...Where am I from?"

"Yes."

Rutie pulled her chair closer and asked.

"I'm dying of curiosity as to where such a strong swordsman suddenly appeared from."

"It's not something to die over."

"The royal family and we have also looked into it. The sudden appearance of a strong man, the Red-Eyed Devil. About his identity."

So the royal family had been investigating me too. Interesting. They probably tried to find out through the Thieves' Guild as well...

Shushruta knows where I'm from. And my affiliation. Did Shushruta keep quiet about my identity? No, wait, had a report already gone up before that? I think Shushruta's fellow disciples had blabbered about my information.

Then did the Thieves' Guild hide my information? Even from the royal family?

"So?"

"But we couldn't find any information about a black-haired, red-eyed swordsman with a sharp impression anywhere."

"Hmm."

The Thieves' Guild had protected my information. Even from the royal family. That leads to the conclusion that they are a somewhat trustworthy ally.

'Thieves' Guild. Ally.'

I put that fact in my head for now.

"Where on earth did you suddenly appear from? Did you fall from the sky or something?"

I looked at Rutie, who was spewing words in her excitement, then turned my gaze away.

"Are you all curious too?"

Van Dyke of the Iron Spear opened his mouth for the first time. His voice was as heavy as his appearance.

"It's honest to say I'm curious. With skills like that, it's impossible for your name not to be known. Yet no one knew anything."

"Is that so?"

It seems there's a lot of curiosity about my identity. I subtly tested him.

"Do you have any guesses?"

Van Dyke, as if he had been waiting, shared his reasoning.

"Personally, I suspect you came from outside the continent."

"Hmm."

"Am I right?"

"I wonder."

I turned my gaze and met the eyes of our simple, manly Sir Victor.

"Are you curious too?"

Victor nodded.

"I am."

Finally, I looked at the ice sculpture that was still motionless.

"Our severe winter, cold hands and feet, cold ice sculpture sir, are you curious too?"

"...Pfft."

Rutie tried to hold back her laughter, but a little escaped. When Frost looked at her, Rutie turned her head to the other side and pretended not to know.

"...."

Is this why it's important who you're with? Just as I become a brat when I'm with the mercenary guys. She, who had seemed cruel and dangerous, looked like a cute younger sister next to the Knight of Frost.

What would Sir Ashley say if she saw this? No, it seemed Rutie had intentionally never shown this side of herself to Ashley. That must be why Ashley is so wary of her.

I thought it was a good thing I had sent the others out. Otherwise, I wouldn't have seen Sir Victor's bare face without his helmet, nor would I have seen this unexpected side of Sir Rutie. It seemed the two sisters also had a deep story that I didn't know. Of course, it was none of my business.

Anyway, I looked at Rutie, who was desperately holding back her laughter by pinching her thigh, and Frost, who was staring at her intently... and then drew his gaze to me.

"Stop glaring at the innocent Sir Rutie. Is it a crime to laugh?"

Frost looked at me.

"I wasn't glaring."

"Then?"

"I was just looking because she was laughing."

His expression was so cold that just looking felt like glaring.

"Anyway. If our ice knight sir is curious, I'll answer. How about it? Sir Sernov."

"...It's Serkov."

"Sernov, Serkov, whatever."

"...."

At that, all eyes naturally turned to Frost. They didn't say it, but everyone was asking for the same thing. But of course, the two dark men were particularly taciturn at times like this and couldn't dare to say such things to their superior... so they found someone who could do it for them.

The gazes of the two Royal Knights standing behind Frost moved to Sir Rutie. Rutie, receiving the intense gazes of her two seniors, hesitated for a moment, then cautiously called out to Frost. It seems even she found the Knight of Frost difficult to deal with.

"Um, Sir Serkov."

Frost looked at her.

"What is it, Sir Rutie."

Rutie flinched at the stiff and cold reply. But Rutie, receiving the gazes of the two knights filled with intense encouragement, gathered her courage and opened her mouth. ...In many ways, I thought she was an indispensable talent in the Royal Knights.

"Honestly, aren't you curious too, Sir Serkov? Where the Red-Eyed Devil was from and what he was doing."

Serkov seemed to think for a moment, then simply nodded.

"I am."

Rutie immediately looked at me.

"Did you hear that? He said he's curious!"

...Looking at it this way, why does Rutie seem more like Ashley's younger sister?

Anyway, a promise is a promise. I decided to reveal my identity. It wasn't something to drag on like this. What's so great about it? I had just thrown out a bait for fun, but I didn't know they would pull on it so passionately.

I chose my words while receiving the heated gazes of the four knights. Can I meet this expectation?

I slowly opened my mouth.

"Sir Rutie."

"Yes?"

"You asked if I had suddenly fallen from the sky."

"Yes, I did."

"Well... it's similar, if you can call it that."

"Similar?"

"It's true that I fell from up there."

I paused for a beat, then said.

"I fell from the Mist Cliff."

"...!"

Surprise flashed across the faces of the three knights looking at me. Even Frost's eyes widened slightly.

Sir Rutie stammered.

"From the Mist Cliff... you fell?"

"Yes."

"Lies."

"I'm telling you, it's true."

Rutie looked at me as if she was seeing a ghost.

"How... are you alive?"

"That's what I'm wondering too."

"...."

The knights were at a loss for words and all closed their mouths.

I said nonchalantly.

"If you don't believe me, you can ask Uncle Hans."

"Hans?"

Van Dyke reacted to the unexpected name.

I looked at Van Dyke and explained.

"Uncle Hans saved me when I fell from the cliff. He is my benefactor."

Rutie clapped her hands.

"Ah, so that's where you got the Dagger of Ophosis!"

"Exactly."

"Ah..."

The hospital room fell silent for a moment. The knights were lost in their own thoughts. It seemed they were seriously contemplating the height of the Mist Cliff and the possibility of surviving a fall from there.

A moment later, Sir Rutie, who had been in agony, muttered.

"But, it doesn't make sense..."

I left her alone since I had nothing to say, and a follow-up question flew at me.

"If that's the case, did you come from the Maia Kingdom?"

"That's right."

Rutie quickly exchanged glances with her seniors.

"Then... were you a Royal Knight there?"

I shook my head.

"No. I was far from being a knight. Didn't I say I wasn't a knight in the first place?"

"Then?"

"I was a mercenary."

"A mercenary?"

I asked slyly.

"Have you heard of the Sherwood Mercenary Corps?"

"...The Sherwood Mercenary Corps!"

It was the voice of the taciturn Victor. His eyes were wide open.

"Ah, you know of it?"

"Of course. I do."

To think that the mercenary corps I belonged to was well-known even in a distant foreign land. I felt good for no reason and a smile escaped me automatically.

How foolish. What's so good that I'm smiling?

"Isn't that the mercenary corps from the Maia Kingdom where Gustan of the Greatsword is?"

This time, Van Dyke asked. He too couldn't hide his surprised expression.

I nodded.

"That's right. He's our proud captain. Though his messy beard is a flaw."

Frost, who had been listening quietly, muttered as if to himself.

"You're from the Sherwood Mercenary Corps?"

"Yes. Got a problem with it?"

Frost slowly nodded as if he understood.

"Now I understand your skills. And your mysterious power."

Well... the mercenary guys were all extraordinary individuals, so I could understand Frost's reaction. Though I didn't know they were this well-known even in other countries.

Rutie asked Victor.

"The Sherwood Mercenary Corps that Ashuban mentioned is that Sherwood Mercenary Corps, right?"

Victor nodded.

I wondered why she was asking Sir Victor and looked at him, and explained.

"Ah, Sir Victor is a former mercenary. So he would sometimes tell us about the Sherwood Mercenary Corps."

"Oh. You're a former mercenary?"

At the unexpected fact, I looked at Sir Victor, and he nodded.

"That's right."

"So we're from the same school."

No wonder he felt familiar. Come to think of it, he used the dual axes like an expert. I wonder if they were his favorite weapons during his mercenary days. It wasn't that strange, as it was common for people to switch from mercenary to knight, and from knight to mercenary.

"Nice to meet you."

Even though we had already greeted each other once, I went out of my way to hold out my hand and shake hands with our former mercenary, manly Sir Victor. Victor smiled faintly and shook my hand back. I felt a sense of camaraderie from his warm hand.

As soon as I let go of his hand, a barrage of questions from Rutie flew at me.

"I heard the Sherwood Mercenary Corps is full of monsters. Is that true? That all of them are platinum-rank mercenaries."

I didn't like that a monster was calling others monsters... but I nodded. It was true, after all. All the members were not just gold-rank, but platinum-rank.

"It's true."

...Except for me.

And there's one more thing that's wrong. Not everyone is platinum-rank. Not me, and not the captain. The captain is one rank above that.

"Wow..."

Rutie let out a pure exclamation of admiration. Why was she so surprised? I think the people here and the mercenary guys are probably similar. If they were to switch to being mercenaries, they would be platinum-rank too.

But since knights and mercenaries are not often placed on the same level, I could understand to some extent. Mercenaries had a strong image of being riff-raff, while knights had the image of strong elite swordsmen selected by the country. Among them, the Royal Knights were the elite of the elite. In that they were a gathering of monsters, they were not much different from the Sherwood Mercenary Corps.

In the first place, it was ridiculous to compare the Royal Knights and a mere mercenary corps. That must mean the Sherwood Mercenary Corps is that amazing. To be this well-known even in other countries.

My chest swelled with pride.

I suddenly wondered who would win if Frost and the captain fought. When I didn't know much, I vaguely thought that the Knight of Frost, one of the Eight Sword Masters, would naturally be stronger... but now that my realm has deepened and my eyes have been trained, it has become even more uncertain. To be honest, the captain is also monstrously strong and wouldn't lose out anywhere.

The Heavenly Demon, unable to contain his curiosity, asked.

[Is that captain of yours that strong?]

Of course, I would have to see the captain now to grasp his realm relatively accurately, but anyway, he also had a power that transcended imagination, so it was difficult to compare him with Frost. It might be that I'm just making a rough guess because I haven't seen the end of both Frost's and the captain's strength... but that's how I thought at the moment. It was difficult to gauge which of the two was stronger. Especially since the captain had never used a famed sword.

The Heavenly Demon smiled.

[I'm looking forward to that.]

As I was organizing my thoughts... Rutie's excited voice broke my reverie.

"What about the Red Witch? I heard she burns people to death while smiling. Is she as ruthless as the rumors say? Oh, and what about the Two-Faced Demon Swordsman?"

I smiled and answered.

"That one, you see..."

For a while, I excitedly explained about the mercenary guys to Sir Rutie, who was asking about this and that. It must have been a rather interesting story, as the other knights also listened silently.

By the time I had somewhat satisfied Sir Rutie's curiosity, I remembered something and urged them.

"Ah, only you all should know that I'm from Maia. I'd be grateful if you could make sure it doesn't reach the ears of that sly Black Prince."

Van Dyke nodded.

"Don't worry about that."

Hearing a heavy man like Van Dyke say that was as reassuring as beef jerky.

Rutie asked.

"So, are you planning on going back to your hometown now?"

I nodded.

"My promise with the Black Prince was up to this point. I have to go back too."

At that, Rutie narrowed her eyes and said.

"What about our Ashley?"

"...? What do you mean, what about her?"

(End of Chapter)