A Gentle Noble's Vacation Recommendation

This happened before Rizel returned to the Capital City.

At the South Gate of the Capital City, two gatekeepers were on duty in front of the guardhouse. It was a bit early for lunch, so their “guard duty” mostly consisted of briefly checking the permits and cargo of passing trade caravans.

Passing permits for the Capital City were hard to obtain, so almost only familiar faces passed through. On the other hand, the Commerce Nation (Malcaid) only required identification to enter, but since many people applied for entry, inspections were strict and busy.

“Time for a shift change soon, huh?”

“Yeah.”

The two gatekeepers chatted while looking up at the blue sky dotted with white clouds.

The next rush of adventurers wouldn’t come until around dusk. There wasn’t even a single carriage in sight. Of course, they were not neglecting their vigilance, but too much tension would be tiring, so they allowed themselves to relax a bit.

“Hey, haven’t the adventurers been rowdier lately?”

“They’re basically rowdy by nature, aren’t they?”

“Yeah, I guess so…”

The older gatekeeper scratched his head with a troubled expression in response to the younger one’s words.

He seemed to have something bothering him. The younger gatekeeper shook his head, as if to say “Here we go again,” and tried to think of any clues himself.

“Ah, maybe you’re right. This morning when I asked to see their Guild Cards, one of them just said, ‘Memorize my face or you’re neglecting your duty.’”

“We’re not neglecting anything, that’s why we’re asking to see it.”

“Exactly.”

The younger gatekeeper nodded deeply, then tilted his head.

But this kind of thing was routine. Adventurers generally tended to resist the military police, so they were used to it. The adventurers might be annoyed, but they weren’t seriously insulting anyone.

And because of this, outsiders say, “Adventurers in the Capital City are pretty well-behaved.” He often wondered what things were like in other places.

“Oh, by the way, isn’t it more like the adventurers were a bit quieter before?”

“Huh? Why would you say that—ah…”

It wasn’t entirely off the mark, the older gatekeeper said, gazing over the empty grasslands where no one passed.

He recalled a certain adventurer—surrounded by other adventurers, he himself was an adventurer, yet remained pure and noble as ever. But he was never isolated, and he blended his presence naturally among those around him.

“You mean the Noble, huh?”

“If you say it like that, the knights will give you a fierce look.”

“You said that in front of them?”

“My bad.”

Most knights were from noble backgrounds, and their loyalty was to the king in this country.

Naturally, their respect extended to the nobles supporting the king. They treated even their own parents with unwavering respect, which was their pride as knights.

If they actually saw Rizel, the military police thought the knights would calmly understand that this was unavoidable.

“Yeah, that Noble. When he’s around, those guys behave themselves, or at least more or less.”

“Well, I wouldn’t say they’re exactly well-behaved.”

“That’s true.”

“Anyway, I get what you mean.”

The older gatekeeper placed a hand on the sword at his waist, gently swaying it as he smiled wryly.

It was hard to say exactly what had changed, but something had definitely changed. Whether it was for better or worse, the gatekeepers could at least talk about it with a smile.

“Where was he headed again?”

“South. Astarnia.”

“Picking a strange place… It’s amazing you even know that.”

“Just heard it in rumors.”

The younger gatekeeper gave a sly smile, causing the older one to laugh unexpectedly. He never thought the relocation of a single adventurer’s base would be the subject of gossip until he met Rizel.

So many adventurers leave or visit the Capital City daily. Even a strong impression party, once unseen for a while, might just be thought to have “moved their base,” and their whereabouts would only be known among adventurers who had contact.