Living as an Unemployed in Another World

29 – 2. The Path of the Dagger (10)

10.

The day after the article came.

The Coopers were understandably shocked by the news.

“No, shouldn’t you have called us if that had happened? Say hello.”

“That’s as far as it goes. Nothing happened.”

You mean when you go there, you know what you’re doing and call? I didn’t want to be awkward. Except for the fact that the people who stayed late at night (including Celine) thought they were undead and made all sorts of fuss, nothing really happened. I shrugged my shoulders and Celine, who was moving the plate, added calmly.

“Okay, nothing to worry about. I haven’t seen your face yet, and I haven’t said a word. I don’t know if it’s a human or a ghost.”

“A ghost? What do you mean?”

When Angela asked back with a puzzled expression, instead of Celine, I briefly summarized her yesterday’s events. I added that the meal was brought to the room by chance. Then Mr. And Mrs. Cooper’s expression became a little subtle. Celine feels the vibe too and she talks to them.

“Mom, Dad, why?”

“No…… Listening to it, it seems a little suspicious. Even if there were circumstances, why would he hide his identity so tightly? Besides, I heard you haven’t even stepped out of the room yet?”

Mr. Cooper asked, and I nodded in agreement. In the morning, Celine brought her meals, but she only knocked and knocked on the door, so she said she didn’t see her face. She definitely suggested it to me, but that was only in the sense of helping because the article seemed troubling. I don’t even know why it has to be.

“Isn’t there a wound that can’t be seen by others?”

“Among the customers who come here, those without scars are rarer. It’s not even taboo among adventurers. Besides, if it’s a knight, even if it doesn’t have an eye, who can say anything about it? Anyone would have guessed that it was because he was protecting his master during the battle.”

It was exactly as Mr. Cooper said. Due to the nature of the inn, which accepts people who make a living doing harsh work as guests, even if there are serious wounds, the blemishes on the face do not attract much attention. It is no longer a big deal to receive customers who say that you have one eye and one ear. While Angela was still puzzled, I slowly realized what he was trying to say and opened her mouth first.

“So. You doubt that it might not be a knight, right?”

“…… Okay.”

Mr. Cooper met my eyes and confessed frankly. Beside her, Ms. Angela swallowed her breath lightly.

“What do you mean, honey?”

“They might be camouflaged. Who would dare to call themselves a knight…… As you know, the atmosphere in the town as well as in the fortified city is turbulent.”

Mr. Cooper is looking at the wanted letter I hung on the wall. Angela also noticed the direction he was looking and narrowed her brows.

“In fact, it is impossible for a mediocre rogue or bounty to kill a knight and steal his armor, but a thief with a bounty like that is a different story. Who knows Maybe he’s pretending to be a knight by killing a knight in a surprise attack and stealing his armament.”

“But something like that.”

“At least if I were in the position of that thief, I think I would be less suspicious if I walked around wearing armor than if I was treated like a suspicious person just by wearing a robe.”

The face and voice are certainly hidden, but there is no one other than a knight whose status is not particularly questionable. If you’ve come this far from the city, there’s no other way to get past the checkpoint.

“So, what about not talking at all?”

“You probably want to block out elements that can be specific to someone, such as a unique voice. Rather, because of that, it is conversely suspicious. The thief is a man in his 30s. Age can be identified by age in the voice.”

I narrowed my eyes as I listened to their whispers. I suddenly remembered the story I had with Mira yesterday. Since she is a skilled thief, it was said that she could roughly grasp the strength of a person by looking at them, and she actually judged the knight to be a very strong human being based on that experience. Does being strong mean being strong as a knight?

“Of course, as you said, there may be other reasons, such as simply not showing your scars to others, or your voice. There’s nothing wrong with being careful. If, by any chance, they are accused of hiding a bounty, this inn and my family will be doomed.”

I suddenly had this idea. If that person was really a thief, wouldn’t he rather have been caught by Mira? If they were of the same thief class, it would be easier to recognize each other. She had to consider that she never suspected him. Of course, we cannot deny the possibility that the bounty will simply excel in acting. No matter what you say, the investigators turn on the lights in the royal capital to find him, but he’s the one who finally ran away.

“Well, then what should I do?”

“Since it’s only at the stage of suspicion, there’s no need to be rude to the customer. But whenever the opportunity to verify your identity arises, you will have to be firm in your demands. If it were a woman, the problem would be solved at once, but as far as I know, there are no female knights in our estate, and from what I hear, they have a pretty physique, right? Such heavy armor is difficult for non-men to bear.”

“Hmm.”

Mr. Cooper, a former adventurer, must be speaking. It was hard for me to believe that the aura belonged to a delicate woman. He looked at Celine’s profile from afar, who hadn’t heard the two of them talking while washing the dishes, and then put a thick hand on her shoulder and whispered.

“Jin, when you bring me lunch later, you should poke me.”

“What? A knight with a carving knife?”

“Stop making silly jokes. They told me to open the door slightly, or that they would bring it inside because it was easy to spill. I don’t think people wear armor all day long in their rooms.”

“Yes, what.”

I was nervous as if I was interrogating someone I didn’t know well, treating them as bounty, but I replied that I knew for now. It must be a bit burdensome to leave it to the only daughter. If the innkeeper couple approached intimately, they might be suspicious. Coincidentally, I did something favorably yesterday, so I thought it was good.

No, I’m not going to do this here. I have no choice but to go find Mira and ask her to keep an eye on him. She went back to her room, saying that Mira was sleepy yesterday, so she had to go first. Finally, on the desk in my room, there was a model of the dagger I had finished last night.

I must have an excuse, I was about to cross the hall and climb the stairs, but before they brought me a meal up there, he came down the stairs, clad in the same full armor as yesterday.

“Uh… ….”

“… ….”

“Good night, sir?”

Nodding. As expected, an article that replaces expression with action without saying a word. Did it just happen now? If so, you might be a late sleeper like me. Or, unlike me, it could be that he opened his eyes late simply because he was tired of traveling. Whatever it is, it’s just my hope that he isn’t a bounty.

Looking back slightly, Mr. And Mrs. Cooper’s plans are also embarrassed. I hope you didn’t overhear us? I guided him to his seat with the most natural expression on his face.

“Do you want to eat? The menu…….”

Oh. But the knight turned the helmet, no, turned his neck and looked somewhere else. I’m talking, where are you looking? It was only then that I noticed that at the end of that direction there was a wanted letter for a bounty that I had nailed.

It’s a big deal. Didn’t you really hear that? If it’s a bounty, it’s a problem, and if it’s a real knight, it’s a problem. The former would do us no harm, and the latter would damage our reputation. Anyway, this inn was a problem because even if one of the stairs was in the way, there was no noise prevention at all.

Now he turned his head to me. Gulp, I don’t know the facial expression, but I couldn’t bear to control the moving neck. And he…… Suddenly, he grabbed my hand,

“…… Come here.”

I’m surprised. I couldn’t help but be startled by the somewhat artificial, overly deep voice. Did you just say that? I forgot I was looking at me and glanced in the direction Mr. And Mrs. Cooper were. Did you just hear me? Mr. Cooper said that you can judge a person’s gender or age by voice, but something is foreign to begin with.

Where else? As if he had no intention of clearing up the doubts that popped into my head, the knight dragged me upstairs through the stairs with irresistible force. Oh my life I thought that if I lived carefully with witches, I would die of graceful old age. I had no choice but to close my eyes tightly.

Rather than that, you can feel the trembling in the hand you hold, just like a nervous person. Being pulled is just because the difference in strength is too great, and in fact, it may be that you are pulling enough to resist. But it can’t be. I indulged in sweet imagination until the last moment of my life…….