The sky had turned orange by the time Kaiser and Sol-yure occupied a room inside the Baron's castle. The Holy Light Soare rested, replaced by the goddess Sierra and her two loyal apostles, Amiru and Amaru.
Because they shared a room at the inn, the servants made them stay in one room. Perhaps the Baron's servants misunderstood the relationship between the two, but neither Kaiser nor Sol-yure denied or tried to explain the misunderstanding to any of the servants.
When the servants left them alone in their room to "rest comfortably," Kaiser looked out at Tomavel from the window. Staying at a higher floor allowed Kaiser to see almost the entirety of Tomavel.
The dim light of candles began to fill every building in the streets, and people started rushing back to their homes. As far as Kaiser knew, processed technology from magic objects had not yet appeared, and probably would not come to Tomavel anytime soon.
"For some reason, the demon beasts aren't showing up at all today, huh?"
"Coincidentally, today the Lord Baron also received a Knight as a guest. Perhaps that Knight has been hunting demon beasts on the way here?"
"Make sense."
The voices of patrolling soldiers passing by could be heard from behind the walls of Kaiser and Sol-yure's room. Not because the walls were thin or the insulation was poor, but because of his enhanced senses as a Knight.
Kaiser specifically heard the soldiers' discussion because he knew the culprit who caused the demon beasts not to attack or approach the city at all.
"Why only target demon beasts?" Kaiser asked the Sacred Beast.
"I just don't like them," Sol-yure replied. "They were created by gods when they were gradually discarded from Nousterra to rival us."
"—Sacred Beasts."
Sol-yure nodded. "And of course, they are just imperfect creations. Even the creator of Magic Patterns can create a better imitation of us than the gods."
"Interesting...."
Kaiser wondered what would happen if this information spread to the outside world and reached the ears of scholars and messengers of the gods. What would they do with this information?
Traveling together with Sol-yure was a very right decision.
"If demon beasts were created by gods, where do humans and animals come from, is it the same?"
"I don't know. Not every god belongs to this land in the first place."
"... I see."
Sol-yure raised her eyebrows with interest. "I thought you would be more surprised."
"Not really. It's natural that you don't know. The creation of life is no small matter for me. I would be more surprised to get the truth this quickly."
There was a possibility that by knowing all this, Kaiser got targeted by many. There was a possibility that the information itself was false. The one he was talking to was a creature capable of manipulating the world to her whim. Right and wrong cannot be distinguished if you only look from one perspective. In fact, it isn't even certain that there is a right or wrong side—there is only a difference in perspective between the two.
"Why is it like that?"
"Doesn't ancient information hold a terrible curse or something like that?"
Sol-yure smirked faintly. "Indeed it does. I once heard from my people about a human who lost his head because he couldn't bear the reality he received."
Sol-yure paused. "However, such things are rarely found now, considering that humans themselves have stopped being human—Knights and Mages, I mean."
"The noble of this land is one of the few pure Children of Nous. Unfortunately, his son follows the path of a Knight rather than being proud of his pure bloodline from Nous."
"No human likes being weak, especially with dangers like demon beasts," Kaiser replied.
It didn't mean you couldn't kill demon beasts as a human. Kaiser was sure technology could do something to ward off demon beasts, but—could humans still be considered human when they didn't value their own kind?
"... To me, humans are not defined by their bloodline. Even if by bloodline he is a pure Child of Nous, I won't be able to consider him human if he is a goblin in a human body."
As for how someone is considered human, Kaiser had no qualifications to judge objectively. However, he had the right to judge whether someone deserved to be respected as an equal individual or not. Human in the sense of morals and mentals.
He was in a foreign world with no one by his side. All his experiences from childhood to adulthood were based on his master and all the villagers of the place where he was cared for.
Kaiser was just a stranger without qualifications.
He was an ordinary human.
—Knock, knock.
A knocking sound was heard from behind the door, followed by the voice of a castle servant calling out to Kaiser and Sol-yure. "Sir, Lady, my apologies for disturbing your time, dinner has been served."
They even got them dinner? What is the price for all this?
"Alright, we will come," Kaiser replied to the owner of the voice. "Let's go, Sol."
Kaiser and Sol-yure follow the servant's lead to the dining hall of the Baron of Tomavel. When they reached the hall, the Baron was already seated with his wife, his son, and his son's new concubine, who was properly dressed as part of the Baron's family.
"Welcome, Sir Kaiser. Please have a seat." With a smile, the Baron welcomed the arrival of the two.
"My apologies for keeping you all waiting," Kaiser replied with a slight bow before taking a seat on one side.
"I am the Baron's wife, Edina. Your etiquette is very good, Sir." The Baroness gave her greetings.
"Thank you for your compliment, Lady Baroness."
"This is the first time we meet, Sir Kaiser. I am Lorde, the Baron's son. Thank you for helping Sir Cines bring my concubine to Tomavel."
"I am the one who should thank Sir Cines and you for guiding us here and providing this wonderful place and dinner."
"Since everyone has arrived, let us eat first. We can continue our discussion after we finish dinner."
"Yes, my lord." Baroness replied.
Two servants approached Kaiser and Sol-yure's side.
"Do you need assistance with your cutlery, Sir?" a middle-aged butler asked Kaiser and the other maid asked the same to Sol-yure.
"No need, thank you."
"Certainly, Sir."
[Do all human Knights learn like this now, Warrior?] Sol-yure's voice sounds inside Kaiser's head.
His golden eyes glanced toward the Sacred Beast, who was eating, perfectly mimicking the movements and dining etiquette of the Baron's noble family.
[I don't know,] Kaiser replied.
[But in my case, I have dealt with important people like this before.]
Of course, that did not happen in this world.
The candles had burned halfway down, and the dinner was finished. Servants began refilling their cups with alcohol.
"Your etiquette is very good, Sir Kaiser. Did your Master teach you that?" As the host, the Baron began to open the conversation again.
"No, Lord Baron. It was Lady Solus who taught me all of this."
Sol-yure cast a brief glance at Kaiser.
"It's true, Lady Solus has perfect etiquette," the Baroness commented with a smile. Her eyes were fixed on Kaiser. "But you yourself are also quite experienced, Sir Knight."
"I wonder if my concubine could receive etiquette lessons from Lady Solus," the Baron's son interjected.
"A good idea, Lorde," the Baron replied. "Of course, we will pay a proper price for it."
[Sol?] Kaiser turned toward Sol-yure, asking mentally.
[This is your right to choose.]
[You trapped me in this choice, Warrior.]
"My apologies, Lord Baron, Madam Baroness. I cannot give an immediate answer because I need to discuss it with Sir Kaiser."
[Oh, since when did you become so adept at talking to people?]
[Since just now. I am mimicking their way of speaking and yours.]
The Baron's family was not disappointed, they understood the situation. "Very well, you are wanderers, I understand that you cannot decide immediately, but do not take too long."
"Of course, Lord, Lady," she replied.
Dinner concluded after small talk that consumed one candle. Kaiser and Sol-yure returned to their room.
"What's wrong, Warrior?"
Sol-yure looked in the direction of Kaiser's gaze.
A sword was leaning against the side of the table.
"... It seems there will be some trouble in this place." Kaiser approached his sword. Picking it up and pulling the hilt, he drew out a blade. The clean white blade was already stained with blood. Someone's blood.
"Someone dirtied your sword," Sol-yure remarked.
"The target is the Baron's family, and the scapegoat is me."
"Scapegoat?"
... Is there no term for scapegoat in this world?
"It means that I am the one who will be blamed."
In this era, no one can distinguish one person's blood from another. Unless there is a mage who can read traces, Kaiser is the culprit.
Unless the real culprit is found, Kaiser and Sol-yure, who are outsiders, will be suspected.
"Since you already know all this, will you make a move to find the culprit?"
"Of course. Anyone who looks for trouble with me will suffer the consequences."
With his sword strapped to his waist, Kaiser leaped out of the window and climbed to the highest point in Tomavel, the peak of the Baron's castle.
[What are you looking for here?] A small black snake crawling on Kaiser's shoulder asked.
"I'm not looking, I'm observing. The culprit will definitely target either the Baron, his wife, or his son. At this peak, I don't have to worry about missing anyone."
[What if the target is not the Baron's family?]
"Would the Baron punish a Knight if I have justification for that action?"
"Child of Nous...."
Kaiser could feel the frustration in Sol-yure's hiss.
He did not deny the Sacred Beast's dislike. Humans are always same in any world.