A Knight’s Humility and a Witch’s Clues

“Then I’m afraid I can’t help you,” Sir Olcott declared plainly.

“Forgive me, but my sole duty here is to guard the imprisoned witch; nothing else concerns me, nor am I permitted to interfere.

You understand, I cannot break the rules.”

“Yes, I know… But… very well.”

Ultimately, the representatives of the two great families failed to receive the answers they sought and departed in dejection.

Iordera quietly pushed aside the screen, emerging from behind it.

“Were those the affluent members of the two great families?”

“Indeed.”

The white-haired loli clicked her tongue in amazement.

Listening to those individuals speak, with ‘more than half of it is our property’ on their lips at every turn, their ostentatious wealth was truly astounding.

“By the way,” she asked, “what exactly did you mean by ‘cannot break the rules’?”

Sir Olcott furrowed his brow, glancing at Iordera several times.

‘Never mind,’ he thought.

‘After all, this white-haired loli had been here for so long, and with a witch constantly engaging her in conversation, she likely already knew most things she shouldn’t, so revealing a little more wouldn’t matter.’

The Black Knight explained, “The power disparity between myself and the top experts of Juneburg is simply too vast, a common occurrence when Royal Knights undertake missions abroad.

Should a Royal Knight choose to intervene in local affairs, it would irrevocably shatter the existing balance.”

He gestured towards the door.

“In a dispute where both sides present their own account, how can one accurately determine who is right and who is wrong?

A single misjudgment could severely tarnish the reputation of the Royal Knights.

Hence, we have a rule: when on assignment in a foreign land, we must not meddle in any local matters.”

“Couldn’t you have simply turned them away from the start?” Iordera found it even more perplexing.

“Why go through the entire procedure?”

He even adjusted his collar and uttered ‘Please enter.’

Sir Olcott revealed a trace of helplessness, uttering two words: “Humility.”

“Understood.

A knightly virtue.”

‘This ‘virtue’ truly is quite troublesome,’ she mused.

“Ah, right,” Sir Olcott said, collecting himself.

“What was it you came to see me about?”

“Oh, me.”

Iordera reached into her pocket, her fingers brushing against the gift box, and suddenly felt a pang of hesitation.

Both previous visitors had come bearing gifts.

Poli had presented an entire golden box.

Though she hadn’t seen the offerings from the two great families, their status and demeanor alone suggested that their gifts would be extraordinary.

‘They probably had diamonds embedded in their boxes,’ she imagined.

‘Her own, by comparison, seemed rather meager…’

Sir Olcott watched the white-haired loli dawdle for a considerable time, before finally producing a gift box from her pocket with some effort.

“You came to deliver a gift too?!” The Black Knight’s eyes widened.

“Ahem, don’t make it sound so dire; I’m simply giving a present,” Iordera stated, placing the box on the table.

“I’m not asking for a favor.

I merely feel indebted to you for such an excellent position.”

Sir Olcott’s eyelid twitched.

“At any rate, there it is.

If you don’t want it, just discard it.

It’s only worth a silver coin, after all.”

Iordera tossed out the words, puffed out her chest, and turned to leave.

‘That’s right, she was giving a gift to repay a debt, not to solicit a favor, and she was nothing like those two who came before.’

‘There’s nothing to be embarrassed about!’

Sir Olcott chuckled helplessly, and raising a hand, he opened the box, to find a single pencil within.

“What good is this to me… though it’s true I don’t possess one.”

****

Iordera jogged back to the cell, pulled over a stool, and settled down.

Hecate tilted her head, observing her.

“Nothing to do today?”

“No, there’s plenty to do,” Iordera replied.

“I’ve just returned from Sir Olcott’s, taking a brief rest.”

“Is that so?”

“Indeed.

I just gave him a gift,” Iordera mused aloud.

“It turns out there’s quite a lot he’s too embarrassed to buy for himself and bring home, not just pencils.”

Hecate’s expression registered surprise.

“Really? What else?”

“There were textbooks, and mock exam papers from the Continental United Academy.

I saw him looking at them in the library last time, and he claimed he was ‘just browsing.’

Yet, today he secretly bought them and took them home.

If I hadn’t happened to be by his desk, I never would have discovered it.”

Hecate lowered her eyelids, her expression thoughtful.

“By the way, you mentioned you had many things to attend to today,” she smoothly changed the subject.

“Anything you can tell me about?”

“Nothing much, just helping a neighbor find a few people,” Iordera replied.

“My neighbor came from the next town over, and some young people they brought with them went missing, so they asked me to inquire about them.”

“The next town over?” Hecate smiled.

“Juneburg only has one neighboring town, you know.”

“Oh, is that right?”

“Yes, it’s called Ironhammer Town.”

Hecate suddenly leaned forward, bringing herself closer to Iordera.

“If they are young people from Ironhammer Town, then what a coincidence—I happened to encounter one.”

“Encountered?” Iordera was slightly startled.

“But you’ve been in prison all this time…”

“The day you were absent previously, the one who took over the jailer’s duties was a young man from Ironhammer Town named Frank.”

Iordera instantly perked up.

“And he…?”

“He seemed to have committed some offense, and was apprehended outside.

After I exposed him, he immediately suffered a mental breakdown and went mad,” Hecate shrugged her delicate shoulders.

“He then assaulted the cell, was injured, and escaped.”

“Committed an offense? What kind of offense?”

“How would I know? You’ll likely have to ask him yourself,” Hecate said, slowly shaking her head.

“He’s undocumented, with hardly any money on him, and injured, he wouldn’t be able to leave the city.

The only place he could go is the Bamboo Hamlet, in the westernmost part of the city.”

‘The westernmost Bamboo Hamlet…’

“As for his appearance, he’s 1.8 meters tall and quite handsome.

However, being injured, he would likely appear disheveled and unkempt.

His injury is on his right arm,” Hecate finished.

“That’s all I know.”

“That’s quite enough, thank you, Hecate,” Iordera said, rising to her feet.

“I’ll go look for him now.”

‘Truly, this witch is a good person,’ she thought.

“Go quickly and return soon,” Hecate said gently.

“I wish you success.”

‘Listen to that, she even wishes me success.’

The Bamboo Hamlet, situated in the westernmost part of the city, was a fringe area, a blend of urban and rural, and quite a distance away.

Fortunately, in her puppet body, as long as she was well-fed, she could run all the way to her destination without feeling fatigued.

The Bamboo Hamlet was a quintessential urban-rural fringe, its homes simply constructed from bamboo.

It was a place of pervasive poverty and disorder, so much so that even masked figures shunned its patronage.

Iordera, such a petite and adorable loli, arriving here, drew many gazes.

Numerous ill-intentioned individuals began to covertly draw nearer.

That was until she shattered a scrap of iron on a trash heap with a single knuckle punch.

“A truly adorable little girl has come to the Hamlet.”

“Don’t go near her; one punch from her could kill you.”

“Is she here for entrapment?”

“I don’t know.”

The Bamboo Hamlet harbored no secrets; any news swiftly permeated every corner.

As Iordera stepped into the Hamlet, the surrounding populace gave her a wide berth.

The white-haired loli stood in the center of an open space, producing a gold coin from her pocket, and flicked it lightly between her fingers.

Clink—!

The crisp sound of the gold coin drew the attention of the onlookers once more.

“Hey, I’m looking for someone.”

****