Chapter 1219: Peridot

『Great. We’ve arrived earlier than expected.』

（Nn. Everyone did their best.）

Our friends from Raydoss, especially the villagers, reached Bulbora by mustering every last bit of strength. March of the Valkyrie helped once we made everyone Fran’s subordinates, but the villagers still had a rough time.

Despite being in an enemy nation, I could see them breathing a sigh of relief upon reaching a safe haven. Oh, and yeah, we’ve already told them they were in Kranzel.

They were surprised at first, of course, but Sibylla quickly calmed them down. It’s truly remarkable how much trust Raydoss citizens place in the Red Knights.

Upon our arrival in Bulbora, a female clerk dressed in a robe was waiting for us. Her black hair was tied in a short bob, and was overall pretty plain, to put it bluntly.

We left the Red Knights to defend the villagers, then approached the woman with Sibylla and a few of her friends.

「I have been awaiting your arrival.」

「You’re Esmeralda’s subordinate?」

「Yes. Please call me Peridot.」

At first glance, Peridot appeared to be an unassuming clerk. However, Fran, Sibylla, Madred, and I could sense her strength.

Klikka seemed not to fully understand, so Peridot’s abilities must be considerable.

「…And they told me Kranzel’s intelligence division was nothing to be worried about. What a joke…」

「Fufufu.」

Peridot simply laughed off Sibylla’s words, but there could be no doubt to her abilities. Well, I suppose an individual with exceptional abilities might not necessarily translate to the strength of the organization.

After all, Raydoss’s spies did a number on Kranzel before Esmeralda returned from retirement.

「Is this everyone?」

「Nn. No one’s missing.」

「I can vouch for that too.」

Peridot nodded quietly in response to Fran and Sibylla’s words, pointing to the carriages lined up beside the main gate.

「Please head over to those carriages. We will take you to the temporary accommodation, which is a building formerly used by the knights.」

I remember seeing that the last time we came to Bulbora. There was some kind of barracks for the knights at the edge of town.

Many of the knights must have been deployed to the border, or lost their lives in the war. Thus, the building was currently vacant.

「…They don’t need any checks before entering?」

Normally, any non-nobles would get checked at the gate.

「As we have no diplomatic relations with Raydoss, there’s no point in checking if they have identification. We wouldn’t be able to determine if it’s genuine or not.」

「I see.」

I’m sure Peridot could be asking for a lot more. For example, she could try taking away their weapons, but that would certainly sour relations. Not to mention how Sibylla and Madred won’t be willing to hand over their relics.

Bulbora would take significant damage if the knights fought back. Thus, it’s better to show some flexibility and make sure they stay quiet.

「Do not worry about the lord, the Adventurer’s Guild, and the knights, as we have already informed them. Also, several trading companies have promised to cooperate. The carriages were lent to us by the various parties.」

The carriages with decorations and armor must belong to the lord and the knights. The large ones used for transporting goods were from the trading companies. The smaller and somewhat dirty ones must be from the Adventurer’s Guild.

I guess anyone who gets stuck in the guild carriages will have to deal with it.

「I must apologize to the knights, but could you continue walking a little farther?」

「Roger that, we appreciate your help. Klikka, guide everyone to the carriages.」

「Yes.」

「Biscot… Or rather. Bisdra, behave yourself.」

「Kyua!」

Biscot, aka Bisdra, nodded cutely. I was wondering if that name was actually acceptable, but it seemed fine since he nodded in response.

The villagers boarded the around twenty carriages, and the Red Knights formed a solid defensive formation to guard them. Kranzel may be friendly for now, but it’s still enemy territory. I suppose they won’t let their guard down.

Fran and Urushi followed behind the last carriage. I doubt anyone will try to run, but we should watch just in case.

Well, we arrived at the knight hall without incident though.

They called it a “hall”, but it looked more like a stone fortress. Apparently, this building served as an emergency evacuation point back when Bulbora was still small. Thus, it was built big and sturdy to accommodate many people.

Maids guided the villagers off the carriage and into the hall.

That said, the maids were clearly working for Peridot, since their movements had similar sharpness to members of the intelligence division. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were trained as maids for infiltration purposes.

The real question is if they’re battle maids who have trained hard enough to get as strong as Quina. I guess it’s possible, but they didn’t seem that strong… I hope?

「Once again, I am Peridot, the one who will taking care of you all.」

「Yeah, we’ll be relying on you.」

「Kyua!」

「Fufufu, nice to be working with you too.」

Bisdra made some sort of “Glad to have you!” hand raising gesture. Peridot laughed and softly poked him on the nose in return.

At first glance, it looked like a kind lady playing with a baby dragon. But despite the size, a dragon is a dragon. Most ordinary people aren’t able to touch one so fearlessly.

Which made it clear that Peridot was no ordinary person. I don’t know if this was her natural response or if she was deliberately acting this way as some form of intimidation.

Though I guess Esmeralda’s right-hand woman probably wouldn’t play around a lot.

「You will be living here for the time being. However, I cannot allow you to leave the premises. This applies to both the knights and civilians.」

「Yeah, I know. We’re not asking for freedom of movement in enemy territory. You will be doing something about our food though, right?」

「Of course. We intend to treat our guests fairly.」

「Thanks.」

「There are benefits in it for us as well.」

「Is that so?」

「Yes it is.」

Peridot smiled politely, but there was an unspoken pressure behind her words.

Concepts like human rights and foreign aid don’t exist in this world. Kranzel wasn’t going to help anyone on good will alone.

Peridot must have decided that supporting the villagers was an effective way of placating and/or stalling the Red Knights. I bet they know a bit about how the knights work due to info from captured prisoners.

「I look forward to working with you.」

「Yeah, the feeling is mutual.」

Peridot and Sibylla shook hands, though neither appeared to be genuinely smiling.

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