Yuri headed toward the royal castle with Fennec.
The atmosphere was tense.
The townspeople darted their eyes around as if wary of danger from every direction, and whenever they caught sight of Yuri’s group, they quickly looked away, fear etched on their faces.
Normally, when knights appeared, children would trail after them excitedly, but here, the kids hid behind their parents’ legs.
Yuri glanced at Fennec.
“What’s going on? Has it always been like this around here?”
“No, it’s a recent change.”
Though Briol was different, the Holy Kingdom was also known as a land that upheld the teachings of the gods and was relatively free of class discrimination.
But this scene felt more like the Empire.
The imperial capital where Yuri had stayed was mostly populated by nobles and wealthy citizens, so class differences weren’t so obvious. Yet in other parts of the Empire, treatment varied greatly depending on one’s status.
Yuri clicked her tongue.
“The mood’s so heavy.”
“We need to turn things around.”
After several days of riding, they finally arrived at the Holy Kingdom’s royal castle.
The city was clean and well-organized. Rows of white buildings reminiscent of temples lined the streets, and statues praising the gods stood at every corner.
Once inside the castle, Yuri’s group followed Fennec to a nearby inn to settle in.
From the subtle exchange of glances between Fennec and the innkeeper, it was clear the owner was connected to the secret society Fennec had mentioned.
“This place is safe.”
“Are you saying other places aren’t?”
“The castle guards are out hunting troublemakers. Once you’re accused of anything, no matter how small, you’re in for a world of trouble.”
“Is that so?”
The more Yuri heard, the more confused she became. This didn’t match the image she had of the Holy Kingdom.
“So, what do we do now?”
“We move at night. The Holy Knights are waiting for Your Highness.”
“The Holy Knights?”
“Yes. Until then, stay hidden here.”
Yuri was stuck inside the inn. Sitting in her room, she pondered what lay ahead as the day slowly faded.
When night fell, Fennec knocked on her door. Yuri strapped on her guilty blade and stepped out.
“Follow me quietly.”
Yuri glanced toward the others’ rooms, but Fennec shook his head.
“It’s just the two of us.”
They slipped out of the inn separately. The streets were nearly deserted at night. They kept their heads down as they walked through the darkened city.
Soon, they arrived at a tavern with its lights still on.
Most places in the Holy Kingdom’s castle district closed at night, but this tavern was bustling with customers.
Yuri and Fennec took a seat.
“What’s this? Drinking?”
“No. Please wait here for a moment. This is part of disguising our identities.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ll be right back.”
“Okay.”
Fennec tapped the table and stood up.
Yuri watched his retreating figure in a daze, then raised her hand.
“Hey!”
A server approached.
To hide her noble status, Yuri adopted a rough tone.
“Hey, buddy. My throat’s dry as a desert. Bring me a cold beer!”
“Ah, yes.”
While waiting for Fennec, Yuri downed the frosty beer.
“This is killer. Where’d that Fennec guy go?”
As she grumbled, someone suddenly sat across from her.
“Hey, there’s no room left. Mind if I join you for a bit?”
Yuri set down her glass, wiped her chin with her sleeve, and twisted her mouth.
“Who do you think you are, just sitting down at someone else’s table like that?”
“Huh?”
“I’ve got broad shoulders, and this table’s already cramped. You sitting here too—do you think that’s comfortable for me? Get lost!”
Since they had to operate as a secret society, any outsider’s interference could ruin their plans.
And Yuri’s noble bearing was hard to hide, so she scowled fiercely, trying to chase the man away.
But he wasn’t easily intimidated.
“Man, you’re something else. You say this place is too small? Seriously?”
“What?”
“You’re being harsh. Just because I’m alone, you think you can treat me like dirt? You look like you’ve trained hard, but I’m skinny, so you think you can push me around?”
“That’s not it…”
“Hey, brother!”
He gestured toward the tavern’s entrance, and a large, burly man appeared.
He strode in and looked down at Yuri.
“What’s up, kid?”
“This pale guy insulted me.”
“What?”
“He asked to join me, but then started cursing and told me to get lost. If not, fine—but why the insults? What did my mother ever do to him?”
“No, no, I never said those things…”
The big man’s face twisted in disbelief.
“How could you!”
His face was covered in bristly whiskers, giving him a tiger-like appearance.
He looked strikingly similar to the ‘Javid’ mask Jared had worn before.
“Is that true, young man?”
“N-no.”
“Why lie?”
“I really didn’t.”
“This won’t do. Hey, brother!”
The big man gestured outside again, and a short, stocky man came striding in.
“What’s going on, kid?”
“This pale guy insulted our third brother.”
“You little punk…”
Suddenly, Yuri found herself surrounded by the three brothers.
She realized they were sitting spaced evenly around the table, acting like a single group.
“No way…”
Looking around, she saw there were no other empty seats in the tavern. New customers had to wait outside.
She understood their plan.
They wanted to cut in line by forcing someone easy to intimidate out of their seat.
And that someone was her.
“Ugh…”
Had she ever looked so vulnerable to anyone before? The guilty blade at her waist writhed, eager to taste blood.
But Yuri held back.
“Fine. I’ll share the table.”
“You insult my brother and still want to sit here? Huh? Give up your seat and get lost!”
“Hey.”
Yuri glared.
“I know what you’re up to, but today I’ll let it slide. So don’t get angry—let’s just drink together. I’ll buy the rounds. This beer’s amazing.”
Now that it had come to this, the best thing was to keep the peace until Fennec returned.
The three men exchanged looks, then nodded.
The short eldest brother smiled.
“You’re reasonable.”
Yuri raised her hand.
“Hey, bring four ice-cold beers for these three gentlemen! No, make that five—one for me too!”
Soon, mugs of beer were set before them.
The four of them drank together.
“As expected, Holy Kingdom beer is the best. The Holy Brewery’s really stepped up their game lately.”
“No, no, brother. The Grace Brewery is the best.”
“I think the Faith Brewery’s better, don’t you guys?”
Yuri chimed in.
“When it comes to Briol, the Knight’s Brewery is top-notch, fellas.”
Drinking made friends of them all. They shared stories about their favorite beers and grew closer.
More rounds came, and their faces flushed with warmth.
The eldest brother spoke.
“Hey, young friend. Sorry about earlier.”
Yuri shook her head.
“It’s alright. That’s just how life is.”
“You seem skilled with that blade. Why did you just give up your seat? You didn’t seem scared of us.”
Yuri gave a bitter smile and took a long drink.
“Times have changed.”
“What do you mean?”
“A shadow has fallen over the Holy Kingdom. The days when children played freely until nightfall are gone. It’s a gloomy era. So it’s no wonder people have lost their peace of mind, brother.”
The three men looked at her. Yuri raised her glass.
“What I saw earlier wasn’t three thugs trying to steal a seat, but three lonely men trying to find a place where they could be respected—even if only in this tavern.”
Silence settled over the table.
The second brother, the burly one, suddenly held out his hand. Yuri clasped it firmly, making a sharp sound.
“Sorry about that.”
“No worries.”
“You’re right, young friend. Honestly, I’m practically unemployed. I used to hold a top position everyone respected, but after an accident, I lost my abilities and started to falter. My comrades hide the truth, afraid I’ll be looked down on. So I pretend to be fine, but behind my back, I’m treated like dead weight…”
“That’s rough, brother.”
Yuri clinked her mug with his.
Then the short eldest brother spoke.
“I had a brother too. Not these two, but a real sibling. One day, he got mixed up with some high-ranking official and tried to sell the family treasure. Things went wrong, and he ended up in prison. Now I have to take responsibility for everything. It’s hopeless.”
“That’s unfortunate, brother.”
Yuri clinked mugs with him as well.
Finally, the quiet youngest brother spoke.
“I…”
“You?”
“I just do what these two tell me. No story of my own. I live a simple life, no worries.”
“Unlucky, brother.”
Yuri didn’t clink mugs with him.
“A world where a simple life is something to envy—that’s the Holy Kingdom for you.”
The second brother looked at Yuri.
“Young friend, what’s your story?”
“Me?”
“You’ve got a look in your eyes like you’ve got a story too.”
“Well, as for me…”
Yuri gave a bitter smile.
“My older brother tried to kill our father. He might have already succeeded—I don’t even know. After that, everyone just disappeared. It’s a total mess of a family.”
“Oh my…”
“Good grief…”
“My condolences.”
The four of them raised their glasses and drank in silence.
“Shall we order another round?”
“Sounds good.”
“Let’s do it.”
“A nice, cold one…”
Just then, Fennec, who hadn’t shown up for a while, suddenly appeared.
He looked down at Yuri and the three brothers.
Though he kept his expression neutral, there was a faint trace of disdain flickering in his eyes.
“So, you were drinking.”
Yuri said.
“Sorry about that. These guys just suddenly joined me…”
Then the second eldest brother spoke up.
“What’s it to you? Can’t a guy have a drink? Huh?”
“Let’s get up.”
“What’s life even about, huh? I was just having a beer with this guy. Got a problem?”
“Let’s go.”
“Ah, damn it…”
They seemed like old acquaintances.
Yuri glanced back and forth between him and Fennec. With a sigh, Fennec looked at Yuri and whispered quietly.
“This is the Holy Knight.”
“Huh?”
After leaving the tavern, they headed into a nearby alley, opened a shabby door, and went down into the basement.
Inside was a surprisingly spacious and clean room, nothing like the rundown exterior suggested.
As soon as Yuri sat down, she pointed at the three men whose faces were flushed.
“So this guy is the Holy Knight? Really?”
Fennec, sitting beside her, nodded.
“Yes.”
“Well, I thought a Holy Knight would be more… neat, slender, kind of like Laurent—a handsome young man…”
“That used to be the case.”
At that, the Holy Knight raised his eyes sharply.
“What’s wrong with that? I’m not ashamed of how I look.”
“You’ve got beer on your beard.”
“Ahem…”
“Let me introduce him properly. This is Francesco, the Holy Knight.”
Yuri shook hands with Francesco.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Yuri Briol.”
“Francesco, let’s have a drink again sometime…”
He grinned, pretending to clink glasses, but he didn’t look anything like the noble Holy Knight of the Tenth Legion.
Fennec then introduced the eldest brother.
“And this is the dwarf, Umstein.”
“Pleasure.”
“Nice to meet you…”
Yuri, shaking his hand casually, suddenly widened her eyes and stared at him.
“What?”
“Umstein.”
“No, the one in front of you…”
“He’s a dwarf.”
“Why?”
Umstein’s eyes went wide.
“Why? Because I was born a dwarf.”
At first, Yuri hadn’t thought much of it, but now that she looked closely, it wasn’t just his short stature—his big nose and sharp eyes set him apart subtly from humans.
Dwarves, along with elves, were considered legendary races. While elves had the last of their kind, Inariel, and their hidden sanctuary in the World Tree Forest was known, dwarves remained shrouded in mystery.
All that was said was that they hid somewhere deep beneath the mountain ranges, like a legend.
“Oh my…”
Yuri’s gaze shifted to the third brother.
A Holy Knight, and a legendary dwarf—both here.
Now, she couldn’t even begin to guess the identity of the youngest.
Finally, he spoke.