The Nymph Wants to be Plundered - Chapter 121

“Commander Iel! By decision of the tribunal, the criminal Lya should leave the castle today if possible. Since the guard unit cannot be deployed, they’re asking if the First Knight Order could provide assistance, and whether a consultation is possible…”

“I’ll go now.”

What incredible timing to find an excuse to leave this place—what good fortune. Instead of forcefully pushing away the vine-like arms clinging to him, Iel politely cut her off with words.

“I would appreciate it if you could carry out your duties as scheduled.”

“Ah… but, Sir Iel? Did I hear correctly? Lya—you mean the one who was training as a guardian…?”

“It was classified until noon, but the story will gradually come out, so look into it separately. Well then, I’ll be going.”

“Wh-what about this?”

The elf, unwilling to let Iel slip away so futilely before her eyes, clutched a few arrows and asked again.

“Feel free to put away the arrows. As you said, the time has come for that, so it doesn’t matter.”

Feeling like he had barely escaped from a tigress made greedy by mating season, Iel left without looking back. A few spores from the World Tree that rarely circled around him were hovering near his shoulders, but Iel’s mind was already busy changing deployment plans and had no time to look at them.

Whether transporting the criminal by cart or taking her by carriage, it would be better to depart while the sun was still up, even if just a little. Though he wasn’t sure if that would work out well.

It seemed the judge had made an unreasonable decision because Lya had so disrespected the authority of the court and caused such a scene, but Iel had no intention whatsoever of opposing it. Since it was better to drive out what needed to be driven out quickly, Iel pondered repeatedly.

While walking and thinking about who would be good to send along, he had somehow arrived near the agora where residents were gathering and buzzing with conversation.

“Did you hear? A guardian was banished for recklessly using weapons right in front of the sacred grounds!”

“Yeah, yeah. I heard she tried to kill that nymph? Not Nike, the other one.”

“Yeah. The trial was held a few hours ago. There was evidence and witnesses, so she couldn’t make excuses and the sentence was confirmed as is. Whew! I had no idea she was that kind of person. I just thought she was quiet and just followed around that… who was it, that… guardian? That pretty-faced guardian.”

“Stop talking about that person, Lya. He’s not even an official boundary guard.”

“Oh, right, right. Your sister was a boundary guard too, wasn’t she? If you know anything, tell us about it. I want to hear too.”

‘Is this where it starts?’

How many decent knights were there who could escort a prisoner to the Island of Solitude without mixing in personal feelings? Their endless whispering continued until the few names he had narrowed down in his mind became blurred. Even birds fly away after wetting their beaks without chattering any more. With his head beginning to ache, Iel hurriedly passed by the busy gossiping residents.

Until now, things had been quiet thanks to Brax keeping mouths shut, but a boundary guard trainee causing a major incident at the castle—right in front of the sacred grounds, no less—was no ordinary event. For the next few days, it was obvious things would be as noisy as a flock of sparrows flying in.

That evening.

Though there were streetlights within Jupiter Castle, it was customary to rarely light them, only checking them occasionally. Especially around the World Tree, this was done out of respect. Most elves had bright night vision anyway, so when absolutely necessary, they would carry their own lanterns.

However, today was an exception. The banishment order for a certain elf, carried out as hastily as roasting beans in lightning, had drawn all the residents who should have been asleep in the deep night out of their homes. As if mocking the criminal being driven out under cover of darkness, the brightly lit streetlights illuminated all directions, as if to say “look here.”

“There it comes! The escort carriage!”

“It’s a carriage I’ve never seen before?”

Among elves, to apply as a boundary guard required reaching a considerable level of physical strength. Therefore, carriages meant to confine powerful criminals, regardless of their material, were enchanted with special magic so they couldn’t be torn apart from the inside. An elder clicked his tongue at the sight of the special carriage that had been used in ancient times and stored away for hundreds of years now crossing the main road.

“Tsk tsk, it’s been a while since I’ve seen a castle banishment order with my own eyes. And it’s due to a boundary guard trainee’s misconduct, no less. What times we live in, what times. I thought that carriage would never be used again.”

As soon as the elder finished speaking, other elderly elves chimed in one by one.

“In the future, the qualifications for boundary guard applicants should be examined more strictly. What kind of disgrace is this?”

“The current leader is Brax, right? Hmm, I had a good opinion of him, but perhaps because he doesn’t handle his subordinates severely enough, something like this has happened in the end. Those who are well-regarded by everyone always end up this way.”

Before the carriage had even finished passing by, the elves were busy chattering among themselves. They believed in Brax because he had a good nature and was affable, but in the end he couldn’t prevent the misconduct of the trainee under his charge, how could one recognize a malicious person beforehand, what were the guards doing until a riot broke out in front of the sacred grounds, and so on….

Cutting through the endless chatter, the carriage carrying the criminal departed on a distant journey from which only the elf inside could never return. The carriage’s condition wasn’t very good due to being hastily brought out. Forget about painting—seeing the scattered clumps of dust that fell as if leaving footprints in its wake, Polyxene coughed.