“Father, do you really have to go?”

Mikael lifted the bag filled with clothes and tied it on his back. “You’ve been asking me the same question since morning.” He smiled wryly at his daughter. “Elaine, it’s an order from the king. I have no choice but to go.”

“But what’s the point of monitoring that garbage?” Elaine rolled her eyes and sighed. “I heard from Uncle Gerald that even Lord Drakus himself does not wish to be associated with that one.”

After the declaration of the competition for the throne, Mikael, along with twenty-seven other knights, had been gathered in the throne room. The king personally assigned duties to each of them. They were to disguise themselves as ordinary citizens and evaluate the twenty-eight candidates for the throne. To do that, they would need to go to each candidate’s domain themselves and monitor them closely.

“Elaine, even if it seems pointless, this is a task personally entrusted to me by His Majesty. I cannot fail my liege. I have to complete this task, no matter what.”

He also knew that the candidate he was going to monitor had the least chance of winning the competition.

Mikael grabbed the skin flask on the table. Although he was a knight by profession, he no longer wore plate armor. His beloved sword hung on the wall instead of on his hip. Instead of armor, he wore a dirty-looking tunic. The hem was covered in moth holes, the leather belt around his waist with cracks. Combined with the cheap-looking bag on his back, it would take no more than a glance to guess that he was a serf of the kingdom.

Seeing his father dressed in rags, Elaine was frustrated. After all, although they did not own land, they were still a family of knights. A noble by title and peerage.

“This is stupid.” Elaine shook her head.

Her father glared. “His Majesty’s decision is not wrong. Even though Lord Lark Marcus has been thrown away to that small town by his own father, he’s still a candidate for the throne. He is still one of the sons of Duke Drakus.”

“But, father, His Majesty should have given you a better candidate to monitor, at the very least! You’ve heard the rumors about him, right? If he treats priests and nobles like dirt, then how much more for the commoners?” Elaine worried that since her father was disguising himself as a serf, he would be in danger once he arrived at that town. All kinds of bad rumors surrounded Lark Marcus.

Mikael placed a hand on his daughter’s head, ruffling her hair. “Your father’s a knight, Elaine. Even if I meet a band of thieves along the way, I’ll survive. A mere kid, even if he’s a noble, won’t be able to kill this war veteran.”

Elaine knew his statement was not simply self-confidence. The title of knight was only bestowed to those that have trained themselves in mana. Magicians were regarded as sages, and the people of the kingdom considered knights to be God’s soldiers. They were adept at both magic and swordsmanship.

Even though she knew that her father was strong, Elaine could not help but worry. “When are you coming back?” she asked, her voice soft and soothing.

There was a small pause. “I don’t know. I didn’t get to ask His Majesty about that. He only told us to secretly monitor the candidates and send reports every now and then.”

“You’ll give the reports personally, right?” Although Elaine knew the answer to this question, she still asked.

“You know that’s impossible. Blackstone Town is almost two months away from the capital.”

Her father would use a messenger to send regular reports to the king. Realizing it could be years before they see each other again, tears welled in Elaine’s eyes. Ever since her mother died, Mikael had been her only pillar of strength. And now, he was leaving her behind to complete this task.

“My child will be born soon.” Elaine touched her abdomen. “Can’t you stay for a month more? Father, at the very least, see your first grandchild before you go.”

Although Mikael was torn inside by this fact, he did not let it show on his face. He had already resolved himself to complete this task for the king. He smiled and did not reply.

After a few more seconds of silence, Elaine sighed, walked toward her father and hugged him tight. “I will miss you, father. Please, be safe.”

Mikael knew he had raised a good daughter. If his deceased wife could see her now, she would have been very proud.

“Of course.”

***

After leaving the inner district of the capital, Mikael went to One Stop Clop—the only company that accepted his request to travel all the way to Blackstone Town. Although the price was a bit steep, Mikael did not mind. After all, the royal palace paid his expenses.

The only other downside was that the company would stop at all the cities along the way, before finally transporting him to Blackstone Town. Merchants were coming with the caravan, and they would need to stop and trade with the other cities.

“Ah, Mikael, is it?” said a fat merchant. He was the leader of the caravan and the owner of One Stop Clop. “Ready to meet your old man in Blackstone Town?”

According to his script, Mikael was a serf traveling to Blackstone Town to meet his dying father. This was why he willingly paid a hefty sum to the transport merchant, although he was allegedly only a commoner. Since this was a task personally entrusted to him by the king, aside from his daughter, he told no one else about it.

Mikael looked at the six carriages lined up in front of them. Workers were loading crates inside, while merchants wearing gaudy clothes facilitated the transfer.

“I’m really glad you’ve let me join this caravan, sir.” Mikael bowed his head. If his daughter had seen this, she would have reprimanded him for bowing his head to a mere merchant.

Mikael could not help but inwardly smile at the thought.

“You have money. That’s enough reason to let you in.”

The logic of merchants was simple. Mikael found it easy to blend in with their group. To the merchants, money was above the law. Even if Mikael was a fugitive, the transport merchant would still have let him in as long as he paid.

“Those are…” Mikael looked at the naked men and women boarding the fourth carriage.

The transport merchant looked in the direction Mikael was looking. “Ah, slaves. Caught by the New Moon Syndicate. Nasty creatures, those guys, but really effective. Make them work for you and they won’t even complain.”

Mikael understood why the merchant called those slaves nasty. Even from this distance, he could see the animal-like features of the captives. Unlike normal ears, theirs were like those of a cat or a dog. Some even resembled lizards and monkeys. He was certain those slaves were beastmen.

Mikael narrowed his eyes. “Forgive my impudence, sir… but will there be people willing to buy them? I mean, they’re beastmen. They’re treated even lower than animals.”

The transport merchant chuckled. “Keep going west of here and you’ll arrive at Lion City. You won’t believe this, but the lord of that city loves to collect beastmen as pets. I’ve heard that he sometimes kills them for the meat. I’m not really sure ’bout that one, but who cares? It’s good profit.”

Mikael connected the dots in his mind. The One Stop Clop agreed to transport him all the way to Blackstone Town because they were heading that way already.

So, this group is actually going to Lion City in the first place. They’re selling those beastmen there, huh? I’m a bit worried about the lord of that city. Eating beastmen meat? I should make a report to His Majesty about this.

Since beastmen were not considered humans, due to their resemblance to demons, there was no law prohibiting anyone from enslaving them. Even if these merchants massacred these beastmen, they would not be punished. But Mikael decided that he should report the consumption of beastmen meat. It made him question the lord of Lion City’s sanity. As a knight, it was his duty to report these kinds of things.

The cage containing the captives was shut. After the signal from the leader of the merchants was given, the caravan starting moving.

Their final destination would be Blackstone Town.