Although they'd decided to find the Boar Hat tavern where Meliodas was, it was a special tavern that could move around, and Charles didn't know where it was at the moment.
There was one thing he could confirm: they needed to determine the current positions of the relevant people, and also find a town to gather more information to pinpoint the exact point in time.
He didn't know whether Meliodas and Elizabeth had met yet. If the plot was underway, they could simply lie in wait at a few key story locations.
For example, the White Dream Forest where Diane, the Sin of Envy, was, or Baste Prison where Ban, the Sin of Greed, was…
At worst, Charles could go to the royal capital of Liones, though waiting there would take a long time before Meliodas's group arrived.
The two of them didn't ride Zhongming; instead, they traveled this world on foot.
Every world had its special scenery, and Charles had learned not to miss the beauty in each place.
While they were making their way forward like a pair of day-trippers, a squad of knights came toward them.
The knight in the lead rode a tall white horse clad in full plate barding, and the young man himself was fully armored as well.
Classic medieval plate looked a bit bulky, but fortunately the youth's tall, straight build carried the heavy armor well.
Beneath his pink hair was a handsome face, marred only by a mask of cold indifference; his blue eyes were like a dead, still lake.
With him present, the knights behind—wearing standard "mob" armor—had almost no presence at all.
Of course, Charles didn't judge by their armor but by the magic he sensed.
It had to be said that in any world, the talent gap between humans and demi-humans was significant.
In Britannia, the average strength of the Fairy and Giant clans far surpassed that of humans—let alone that of the Demon and Goddess clans.
From those grunts, Charles could barely sense any energy fluctuations. In contrast, the young knight carried a turbulent surge of magic.
It was lightning-element power. To be honest, the intensity wasn't bad; in another world he'd rate at least as a first-rate mage.
Unfortunately, what counted as first-rate to ordinary people was just so-so to someone at Charles's level.
As the two parties approached each other, the distance shrank, and Charles noted a detail on the young knight.
Nothing else stood out, except that the scabbard at the knight's waist was empty—the sword that belonged in it was gone.
Charles recognized the young knight: a current "Diamond"-rank Holy Knight of the kingdom, bodyguard to the First Princess of Liones, and the biological son of the former Great Holy Knight.
Gilthunder, arguably the man with the brightest future in the kingdom… seemingly.
Gilthunder's situation was complicated. He had learned the truth about the Holy Knight coup, his father's death, and the Seven Deadly Sins being branded criminals a decade ago.
But to protect the princess he served, he could only pretend to be cold and ruthless.
Early on, to maintain this persona, he did go too far at times—for example, sealing the underground water vein of Bania Village, which lived by brewing.
Charles glanced again at his empty scabbard. By sheer coincidence, he'd just acquired useful intel.
While Charles was thinking, the two sides met.
One of the grunts shouted, "Hey, you commoners up front, you stand before the Holy Knight Sir Gilthunder—make way!"
The most stereotypical lackey line imaginable. Charles had no interest in grandstanding with a public slapdown; he tugged the visibly indignant Stella aside and cleared the road.
He truly saw no need to pick a fight—bullying small fry brought no satisfaction.
But Gilthunder reined in, staring down at Charles from horseback without saying a word.
"Danger!"
He didn't know why, but the moment he saw this unfamiliar man, that feeling suddenly welled up inside him.
Even the white horse beneath him seemed to sense something unusual about the man; its unease carried into Gilthunder.
And this was a warhorse issued to Holy Knights—beasts that could charge without flinching even when facing large monsters.
Though Liones was not what it used to be, Gilthunder still loved his country.
A powerful stranger had arrived—unknown origin, unclear purpose. How could he not be on guard?
Charles looked up at Gilthunder and gave him a cordial nod and smile.
Gilthunder froze for a moment. The other's courteous demeanor made him feel like his earlier impression had been a mistake.
He turned his head, twitched the reins, and urged the horse onward.
"Do you know him?" Stella asked, puzzled.
Charles nodded. "Mm. A pretty decent young man. Thanks to him, I picked up quite a bit of information. Let's keep going.
If I'm right, there should be a village up ahead. We'll wait there. The people we're waiting for should show up soon."
They continued on, and sure enough, a village came into view shortly.
After they introduced themselves as travelers, the village head took them back to his home.
…
"Ha—!!!"
Charles took a drink. "That's nice. No wonder Bania Ale is famous."
Stella, curious about alcohol from another world, took a sip and also looked pleased.
The village head smiled. "Of course. Using the renowned high-quality water source and the special plant 'Grout' that grows beside it—that's how we brew the finest Bania Ale.
It's just a pity it'll be hard to make much more of it in the future!"
"Why? Did something happen?" Stella asked.
Clearly troubled, the village head poured out the recent events to these travelers from afar.
In short, the villagers had served their finest wine to a Holy Knight passing through, only for the esteemed knight to call it "horse urine."
A local child, unable to stomach the insult, tossed a bug into the knight's cup, angering him—so he sealed the village's lifeblood water source.
At this rate, the water would dry up, and the special Grout plants used in brewing would wither.
To outsiders, it might just mean one less delicious drink at the table; to Bania's villagers, it meant losing their livelihood. As village head, how could he not worry?
After arranging rooms for the two of them, the head left. Playing with a bottle labeled with a sheaf of wheat and a maiden, Stella said, "Charles, the village head really is upset. Why don't we help them?"
"No," Charles refused outright.
This wasn't because he was waiting for Meliodas to arrive and kick off the story; he really didn't want to get involved.
From the moment he entered this village, he felt an air of despair.
Some people had tried to pull out the sword Gilthunder had driven into the ground, but Charles could tell even they didn't believe they'd succeed. It was less an attempt than a way to vent their hopelessness.
The entire village was blaming fate. The most ridiculous part was that they didn't dare resent Gilthunder, who had sealed their water with his own hands; instead, they all blamed the child who'd tossed a bug into his cup.
Their pride—this wine—was insulted. They didn't dare resist. The only one who did, the child, drew their ire.
Charles didn't have high expectations for a world with this level of civilization, and he understood the fear ordinary people felt toward Holy Knights.
But he couldn't see any redeeming spark in these people, and he just couldn't muster the motivation.
As expected, he wasn't the protagonist; he couldn't just awaken those around him like some heroes did.
Stella didn't know what Charles was thinking, but she understood him, so she didn't bring up helping again.
Four days passed like that, and then Charles keenly detected a faint tremor in the ground.
He stepped outside and saw a green silhouette on a distant slope slowly approach, then stop outside the village. The green mass burrowed into the earth, leaving only a spire-topped, mushroom-like structure aboveground.
It was finally here: the Seven Deadly Sins' base—the Boar Hat tavern.
(End of Chapter)
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