#74 Phantom Dauphin (18) – For Order, Disregarding Order

Though somewhat humiliated by the Dauphin, the Sarnoss Knights were, at their core, the strongest of the strong, the most powerful of the powerful.

Whether by familial power, personal strength, or the reputation of the group, few within the Virka Kingdom could compare, and short of being the ‘Lord’s Son,’ they rarely abandoned their high and mighty attitudes.

These were the kind of men who’d beat up a captain of the guard for their own amusement and then replace him. It was obvious how they’d treat commoners.

But at this moment, the extremely ominous atmosphere pervading all of Levbruk was such that even they instinctively checked their surroundings.

“Alright, fine, let’s say a man can show off a little. Let’s say he can make a mistake. But… they fail, and because they don’t want to take responsibility, they pin the blame on someone else? Even someone who was doing their job just fine before they arrived? Is that something a real human being would even *think* of doing?”

“You call yourselves knights, the pride of Sarnoss, when did shitting all over the family’s honor become something to be proud of?!”

“Hey, you gangster sons of b*tches!! Don’t you have any shame?!”

The knights’ reputation, which was never particularly good to begin with, was now beyond comparison to what it had been.

In the past, people would grumble and whisper about them behind their backs. Now, they were openly shouting insults to their faces.

Even the nobles were no longer favorably disposed towards the knights.

“Th-these…idiots! If you were going to do it, you should have at least not gotten caught!”

“Ugh! Those blockheaded swordsmen are trying to use their brains when they’re obviously not made for it, and now they’re ruining *our* reputations!”

“Brother! Brother!! How did you end up like this! The Knights took you away supposedly to protect you and yet look at what they did!!”

Immoral scheming? No matter.

In fact, one could even give them credit, for at least trying to do everything they could.

But their incompetence, allowing the main base to be ransacked in a single night and the ‘secret conversations’ between nobles to be leaked to the outside, was simply unforgivable.

Because of them, the entire nobility of Levbruk was now branded as villains!!

The Knights initially tried to excuse themselves by claiming that “it was all forged with magic,” but none of the citizens believed them.

If only the cards had been displayed, there may have been some suspicion. But with the targets right there beside them, wouldn’t it be odd for only the voices to be fake?

‘A failure for which there is no excuse.’

Inside the mansion.

The eyes of the Knight Commander, who always coldly looked down on his surroundings with a confident air, were now trembling violently.

He hadn’t even realized that all of his charges had been kidnapped.

His plot to reverse the situation had been turned against him.

Either one of these things happening would have been mortifying enough to report to the Count. That both had occurred, simultaneously, was unthinkable.

Even that, in a state beyond remedy.

He still couldn’t grasp it.

“How… how in the world?”

Dauphin had used a tunnel for his crime.

And a tunnel, by its very nature, demands a tremendous amount of time and effort to prepare.

Magic might shorten the duration somewhat, but even so, if someone had been digging such a tunnel beneath the earth, the Knight Commander himself couldn’t have failed to notice the magical power and vibrations.

There was only one conclusion.

“He must have made preparations well in advance. Predicting that we would gather the protected individuals at the mansion if the situation became unfavorable!”

The Knight Commander felt a surge of rage, like blood rushing backwards, coupled with a chilling shiver down his spine, at the thought of being played in the palm of a mere thief.

Seeing the Knight Commander in a state of disarray unlike any he had witnessed before, the Vice-Commander spoke cautiously.

“Regardless of Dauphin’s schemes, wouldn’t the important thing be what we do now?”

“What we do now? With everything already finished, what is there to even do?”

“Have you forgotten? The Count’s order was ‘Capture Dauphin and bring me his head.’ We only escorted the dignitaries as a means to lure him out; the essence of the order was not that.”

It was sophistry.

It was true that the Count had directly demanded Dauphin’s head, but it was perfectly clear that this meant resolving the city’s situation and bringing the head along with it.

“Do you think the Count will forgive us if we do that?”

“If the Knight Order ends up ‘defeated’ by Dauphin as things stand, that is precisely the kind of thing that will truly be unforgivable. You know that!”

The Sarnus Knight Order is the pride of the Count’s family.

The Knight Order’s military might isn’t the Count’s entire strength, but there’s no doubt it’s the most symbolic group.

And yet, that symbol, being unilaterally manipulated and defeated by a mere thief?

Would people still fear the Knight Order after this? Would they pay them respect?

And would the Count forgive them for turning the family’s pride into a laughingstock?

The Knight Commander’s gaze turned coldly resolute.

“…Is there a way?”

“Dauphin is extremely concerned about the safety of the commoners. There have been several nobles who, after being victimized by him, attempted to retaliate against the commoners, but all were thwarted by Dauphin’s intervention.”

In other words, threatening the commoners physically could draw Dauphin out.

“Target the slums. They have nothing to lose anyway, so it won’t have much impact on taxes, and those people shouting outside will shut their mouths after seeing blood before their eyes.”

The notion that the Knight Order, which is supposed to maintain order and fight external enemies, would brandish their swords against the very people of the territory was insane.

However, the Knight Commander knew.

A force feared has endless uses, but a force looked down upon has no value.

“The Order, summon all of them.”

Grit grinding against grit, the Knight Commander gripped the pommel of the sword at his hip, fingers tightening.

*

The Guard Barracks prison.

“So, everyone outside is cursing the Order and the nobles, and their voices are filled with longing for the Captain! Since your name’s been cleared, it’s only a matter of time before you’re released!”

“…I see.”

Dahlia, on the other side of the bars, gave a small, troubled smile at the Eighth Squad officer’s enthusiastic report.

Of course, she was glad her name was cleared, and grateful that the citizens missed her.

And the feeling of satisfaction at the Order taking a blow… she couldn’t deny she felt it.

Even so, Dahlia couldn’t bring herself to smile brightly.

*In the end, Dophin walked away the victor.*

She had strived to stop him, wielded her spear to capture him.

But the Phantom Thief she had fought against had confidently claimed victory while she was gone.

Even after all this, Dahlia would still be a guard, Dophin would still be a thief, but their paths would never cross again.

Judging by Dophin’s actions up until now, he would simply leave for another territory.

Only now did Dahlia clearly recognize the bitter emotion clinging to her heart.

It wasn’t that she felt defeated as a guard because the Phantom Thief had won.

It was that, as Dahlia the person, she regretted not having properly finished their contest.

*…At this rate, I won’t even be in a position to scold the other squad members who root for Dophin.*

Oblivious to Dahlia’s inward sigh, the officer exclaimed, “Ah, right!” and fumbled to pull something out.

Dahlia tilted her head, seeing what appeared to be a book.

“What’s this?”

“It’s a gift for you, Captain! They were originally planning to give it to you directly once it was finished, but since only us squad members can visit you now, they asked us to deliver it. Uh, well, they said the age was a bit older than yours, and they were generally average-looking, but with somewhat mischievous eyes? Yes, that was the feeling they gave off. Do you happen to know who it is?”

Dahlia’s verdant green eyes widened.

She took the book through the bars and began to examine its contents.

Dahlia wasn’t one for reading much to begin with.

She had learned a bit of reading from her father, but even he wasn’t particularly cultured, so Dahlia struggled to read anything beyond simple sentences once the content became even slightly complex.

However, as she read this book, Dahlia didn’t find any difficulty in understanding it.

For one, a significant portion of the pages were filled with illustrations, and the explanatory text avoided any of the complicated vocabulary that nobles might use.

More importantly, Dahlia already *knew* this story.

Knowledge wasn’t needed, only instinct.

“What is it, Squad Leader? From a cursory glance, there didn’t seem to be anything strange painted in that drawing…”

Interpreting Dahlia’s dazed reaction as concern, the squad member questioned her with a worried expression.

But before Dahlia could respond, a sound reached both of their ears.

《─Hear ye, all who dwell in Levruk.》

A bizarre voice, like the echoes of a cavern compressed into sound.

Dahlia realized it was an amplification by magic, and reflexively focused her hearing.

No, in truth, there was no need to focus.

The sound was reverberating throughout the entire city.

《The Dauphin and his cohort are spreading crude, fabricated rumors to mislead the people.》

《Originally, we, the Sarnos Knights, sought to protect Levruk with the honor and pride befitting knights. However, due to the Dauphin’s vile machinations, we have been unjustly framed. We have thus deemed it no longer viable to maintain our current methods.》

《Therefore, from this moment forth, our knighthood will purge the entirety of this city’s slums.》

Dahlia, for a moment, doubted her own ears.

But seeing the squad member on the other side of the prison bars also looking stricken with shock, it seemed what she had heard was not a figment of her imagination.

《The slum dwellers, those who fail to fulfill even the most basic duties of subjects, are parasites sucking the city dry. The Dauphin has sated his vanity by showering them with riches stolen through thievery.》

《Furthermore, some residents, succumbing to these pitiful tactics, have gladly become the Dauphin’s lackeys, dedicating themselves to receiving just a little more honey. All acts of collaborating with a thief and profiting from him are, naturally, crimes.》

《Therefore, we, the Sarnos Knights, shall right this wrong with justice.》

Justice.

The moment that word entered her ears, Dahlia felt a revulsion like insects crawling beneath her skin.

Not because of the meaning of the word itself, but because of the actions of those who would use it as a pretext.

《This is an act for the sake of Levruk, and, furthermore, for the entirety of the Sarnos County.》

《Should anyone obstruct our path, whosoever they may be, we shall deem them to be the Dauphin in disguise, or an accomplice who has profited from the Dauphin’s thievery, and we shall cut them down.》

《Therefore, we implore all innocent citizens, who bear no guilt, to not cause any disturbances and to go about your business, so that you might avoid being harmed by a misunderstanding.》

《That is all.》

Dahlia could no longer restrain herself.

Crack!

In a single instant, she shattered the shackles, specially designed to restrain knights. She then strode to the prison door and forced it open.

No, she simply tore the iron door clean off its hinges.

Kwajik!

“W-what are you doing… ah, ugh…”

The guard, poised to intervene in Dahlia’s sudden outburst, hesitated, fear gripping him at the sheer ferocity of the spectacle.

The squad members were just as stunned.

“C-Captain?”

“My armor—no, even just my lance. Where is it?”

“Uh, it’s, it’s…”

“Quickly!”

“B-brought to the 8th squad waiting room, Captain!”

Dahlia shot off the ground.

She knew her actions were criminal.

She knew she was utterly negating the maxim she had long endured—‘to maintain order and discipline’—even when angered, frustrated, or even wronged.

Knowing all that, Dahlia moved.

She couldn’t *not* move.

‘*Whatever anyone says, I believe what I do leans towards good. Not absolute, perfect good, but at least an action skewed towards the ‘good’ side of the scales. If that’s the case, simply act! Surely it’s a simple thing!*’

‘*We cannot simply assume that playing around is not helpful. It may be difficult to immediately put it into practice, but at least it can serve as a criteria for judgment when you experience something later, can’t it?*’

Different.

Or perhaps not so different. Ignoring the sensation of two men’s voices merging, Dahlia ran and ran, hoping she wasn’t too late.

For the laws and justice she alone, with ‘him’, had debated, argued, and built.