Chapter 2626 – Dark Moon

London Knights.

They were, in name and reality, the most powerful military force in Neo London.

If the London Guard were the police responsible for Neo London’s security, the London Knights were a special military unit that maintained Neo London’s existence.

The London Knights stepped in to resolve issues that the London Guard’s usual level of force couldn’t handle. However, the London Knights weren’t under the London Guard. While they cooperated with the London Guard, they were an independent organization. The only entity that could directly command the London Knights was the Neo Round Table Council.

The London Knights were divided into four knightly orders: Wales, Ireland, England, and Scotland.

‘Once they move, they’re known for wiping out all the dangerous elements in London. But they don’t move easily. Most information about the London Knights is classified, so the information released to the press is limited.’

But those London Knights had moved.

It wasn’t incomprehensible. This was District G, commonly known as a wealthy neighborhood. It was where lower nobles, quasi-nobles, and some knights mainly lived. It was a bit of a backwater for a count like me, but I liked the quietness of this neighborhood.

‘A 7th-grade magic like Thunder Break fell in this kind of neighborhood… It’s understandable why the London Knights would be dispatched.’

The London Knights’ transport helicopter landed on the ground. The doors of the transport helicopter opened, and knights wearing the latest full plate armor, commonly called Powered Armor, disembarked. Naturally, their faces were hidden by their helmets.

Among the knights of the London Knights, only a few, including the commanders, had their personal information known.

Landing lightly on the ground, they moved swiftly, subduing and restraining the maids and butlers who were still alive.

Then, one of them, a knight wearing a particularly luxurious-looking powered armor, approached. A red dragon was painted on his left shoulder. He was from the London Knights’ Welsh Order.

The knight approached me and removed his helmet.

It was a woman with fiery red hair. Her eyes were also red, like her hair. She was a striking beauty with distinct features.

“It seems we were too late. Count Meyer.”

“…I never thought I’d meet Armina Braver like this.”

“You know me?”

“There isn’t a citizen of Neo London who doesn’t know you. Who wouldn’t know the Flame Knight, a future candidate for the Welsh Order Commander?”

“Is my fame greater than that of Count Meyer, the owner of the room-temperature, ambient-pressure superconductor?”

Armina stared at me intently. It was a gaze that seemed to appraise me, as if measuring my worth.

“Ahem.”

I coughed slightly, feeling a bit burdened. Her gaze shifted.

“I apologize. I was rude, meeting a celebrity.”

“…That gaze just now didn’t seem to be for that reason alone.”

“I was also curious about Yuria’s master.”

“Yuria? Ah. I heard that Yuria was part of the Knight Training Academy before she met me.”

“Yes. She was my classmate and friend. We haven’t been in touch much lately… But she’s in the Maid Academy, so it can’t be helped. I’m sure you’ve heard a lot about me from Yuria.”

Armina spoke as if it were obvious. Her eyes sparkled when she said Yuria’s name.

Unfortunately, I had never heard any stories about Armina from Yuria. In the first place, Yuria didn’t talk much about her past. Since I was the same, we didn’t ask each other about our pasts.

“Well, I’ve heard a bit.”

“I’m sure. Yuria and I have been roommates since we were young, so it’s impossible for her not to have mentioned me.”

“Childhood friends?”

“We’re more than that.”

More than childhood friends… Lovers? No. Yuria didn’t seem interested in Armina at all. When an interview video of Armina happened to play on TV when we were together, she didn’t even bat an eye.

It wasn’t that she disliked her, but rather, it was the gaze of someone looking at a 100% stranger who had nothing to do with her.

“Honestly, I think Yuria should have become a knight… But it’s her choice, and it’s not something I should say to you, Count.”

She already said it.

Armina glanced at me briefly, then immediately turned her gaze to the restrained maids and butlers.

“We will take them for interrogation. If you wish to interrogate them yourself, please contact the Neo Round Table Council.”

“…Aren’t you being too confident after arriving so late? I almost died here.”

“We deployed as quickly as possible. The council’s approval was unusually fast.”

That wasn’t wrong. The battle between me and the enemies, including the conversation, didn’t even last five minutes.

“If you’re dissatisfied with our slowness, you can subscribe to London Knights insurance. Only those who are insured can be deployed without the Neo Round Table Council’s approval.”

“I know. Isn’t it the most expensive personal insurance in Neo London?”

The insurance subscription fee alone was 1 billion credits, with a monthly maintenance fee of 100 million credits. And on top of that, there was a deployment fee every time they were dispatched.

“It’s expensive, but the service is guaranteed. If you subscribe now, we’ll give you a London Knights longsword replica as a gift.”

“That’s quite an attractive offer. Unfortunately, I don’t need it.”

I wasn’t disappointed at all.

Subscribing to this reliable insurance required implanting a terminal in your body. This terminal allowed you to call the London Knights if you lost consciousness or were in a dangerous situation. The problem was that the London Knights received real-time information.

The London Knights claimed they only received biometric information, and that information was regularly discarded. Of course, idiots who believed that without question wouldn’t survive in this city.

The maids and butlers were dragged into the transport helicopter. One of them, Shea, shouted at me, looking back.

“Master! Can’t you give me one more chance?! I’ll be truly loyal! Am I going to be executed?!”

“Your employment contract ended when you betrayed me. Execution is 100% certain, so write your will. Oh, unless you have more money than me, that is.”

“Master!! Please!!”

I gave her a carefully crafted middle finger. Did it lack dignity? It was nothing.

Armina, who had been watching from the side, asked me.

“Licensed maids and butlers rarely betray their employers… You must be incredibly unlucky. Or your enemies are formidable.”

“Finding someone you can trust in this city is as difficult as picking a star from the sky. I’m about to develop a distrust of humanity.”

“You seem rather calm for someone who feels that way.”

“Actually, I never really trusted the maids and butlers from the start. It’s a relationship based on money. I know well that you can’t buy trust with money alone. If they get more money, they’ll easily betray me, like now.”

But if it wasn’t just about money.

If I had the same outstanding authority as other nobles.

Or if I were a 7th-grade mage. Would Shea and the other employees have dared to betray me? Of course not.

“Yuria wouldn’t have betrayed you.”

“I think so too.”

“…To be honest, Yuria is too good to be under you. Can’t you let her go? I’ll return ten times the amount of sponsorship you’ve invested in Yuria.”

Armina looked at me. Her red eyes seemed to be burning.

“My relationship with Yuria isn’t just about money. Yuria takes a portion of the profits from the restaurant company I own. Sponsorship? It’s an amount she could easily refuse if she wanted to.”

“Then what kind of relationship do you have with Yuria?”

I paused for a moment. The moments from when I first met Yuria until now flashed through my mind.

She had approached me as if it were fate.

And at some point, she had openly seduced me.

“…Explaining it doesn’t seem cool.”

“…Huh?”

Armina looked at me as if she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. I avoided her gaze and looked at the transport helicopter.

Soon, she headed towards the transport helicopter for the last time. Just before getting on the helicopter, she said to me.

“I was quite surprised by your skills, Count Meyer. Looking around, I see several pieces of equipment designed to kill mages. Yet, you not only survived but also subdued your enemies. Many people will reevaluate you.”

“I was lucky.”

“You’re good at jokes. That bald man you killed is called Flack, the mage stalker, and he’s famous for hunting mages. He’s not someone you can kill with luck alone.”

“…Come to think of it, aren’t you taking the corpse?”

“That corpse is your property. If you wish, we can dispose of it for you free of charge.”

It was the corpse of a 6th-grade warrior. It was worth hundreds of millions, even billions of credits. If you were lucky, you could get even more.

“I was just asking. I’ll take care of the corpse myself. I would have been a bit angry if you had tried to take it.”

“We’ll be heading back now. Oh, using attack magic within the city is illegal. Especially large-scale attack magic like Thunder Break, just casting it is enough for us to be dispatched. However, in this case, we’ll let it slide as self-defense. The Neo Round Table Council seems to think quite highly of you.”

It seemed the Neo Round Table Council had some influence.

It was natural for them to give me some leeway. If I went down, the Neo Round Table Council would also suffer losses. Above all, I was 100% the victim in this incident.

The transport helicopter rose into the air and disappeared.

I looked around at the mess and sighed.

‘Hiring employees will take time as well as money. I can’t just hire anyone….’

Above all, the building that had collapsed from the first Thunder Break. The bill for that would surely come to me. Even though it was the enemies who used the building as a lightning rod, those enemies were all in prison, so I wouldn’t be able to receive compensation. If I were a building owner in this city, I would sue me to try and get money out of me.

‘I can’t pay for the entire building, so I’ll need a lawyer… No, it would be better to hire a law firm. Next is….’

Click!

The sudden sound of a shutter.

I turned my head to the side. Aisa was standing in the corner of the garden with a camera.

“That was great just now. The ruined land and the look of despair on the landowner’s face! The knight will probably look quite pretty in the photos!”

“…You didn’t show your face when the London Knights came. You were there. Your stealth skills are impressive.”

“It’s a reporter’s skill. The London Knights… I don’t have a good relationship with them.”

“Why?”

“I’ve written a lot of negative articles about the London Knights.”

“…I hope you write a good article this time. Make me look like a pitiful victim as much as possible.”

“Don’t worry. I’m a reporter who seeks the truth.”

If that were the case, the Liberals newspaper wouldn’t have such a bad reputation. Instead of arguing, I put on a pitiful expression.

“Please.”

Aisa hesitated for a moment, then smiled.

“If you treat me to a good dinner tonight, I’ll consider it.”

“I’ll give you the best treatment.”

Aisa wrote an article on the spot. She wrote and uploaded an article in almost 10 minutes.

“You have to release these kinds of articles right away. There are a lot of trash reporters in Neo London, so if the first article is positive, most of the articles that follow will be positive.”

“Because they copy and paste?”

“You know the habits of trash reporters well.”

I left the ruined mansion to the remaining employees and headed to District C for dinner. Our destination was a famous hotel. And we parted ways the next morning.