The Water Magician

The next day.

The four returned to the Holy Capital and investigated Count Padawan's House.

"The territory is located in the western part of France, but it's not that large. Just like Tomazo, it seems to be a family that has produced quite a few Holy Knights and abbots. The current head of the family is Tomazo's father, Ilario. They have a mansion in the outskirts of the Holy Capital... since the territory is too far away, if they were to store anything stolen from the vault, it would probably be at that mansion on the outskirts."

Eto shared what he had found with the other three.

Eto was quite adept at this kind of investigation.

"Alright, then let's investigate that mansion," Nils decided, and the other three nodded in agreement.

"It looks suspicious at first glance. Well, you can't really see it, but it looks suspicious..." Ryo said.

It was a strange way to put it, but the other three understood.

The four were situated on a hill.

From there, they could see the mansion of Count Padawan in the distance.

However, there were quite a number of golems stationed along the road leading to the mansion.

"Golems? Do nobles also have them?"

"No, apparently nobles in France can't have them," Eto responded to Nils's question.

"So that means those golems are either from the French government, the church, or arranged by some influential person," Nils concluded.

"There are about twenty of them," Nils added as Amon counted the visible golems.

"Twenty golems and fifty people... If you want to hide something secret, I think you should be a bit more discreet," Eto remarked.

"Yeah... This looks like it's clearly stating, 'There's something suspicious here,' to those who know what to look for," Ryo agreed with Eto's observation.

"Well, since it's not in the town, even with this level of defensive strength, ordinary people wouldn't know. We are suspicious and watching from a distance, so it seems obvious to us," Nils noted.

"Do you think they are actually expecting someone to attack?" Amon questioned.

"Probably. In that case, they are likely trying to repel them with sheer force," Nils replied, Amon asked, and Eto agreed.

In the meantime, Ryo was probing with his active sonar.

(Those golems are indeed the Holy Knights from the Republic... swords in their right hands, small shields in their left... equipped just like during the Republic. They are official French golems. With fifty people, it seems they aren't knights based on their equipment... What does that mean? If they have deployed Holy Knights, it’s like indicating they have the backing of France, right? Yet, the people guarding them are probably just adventurers.)

Ryo conveyed the information he gathered through active sonar.

"Could it be that they already know who their attackers are?"

"...The knight order is coming here?" Eto speculated, and Amon jumped in.

"In conflicts between knight orders, who knows what might happen... they might have hired adventurers to soften the blow."

"I see..." Nils added, and Ryo nodded.

Given the circumstances, it seemed plausible.

"Regardless, the main force of the counterattack will likely be the Holy Knights."

Just then, Ryo's passive sonar detected something.

"Horsemen... about fifty are approaching."

"Is it the knight order?"

"Yeah... it's that third detachment. Captain Bashrel is among them."

"They also managed to arrive here despite the stolen items from the vault being here. They are quite capable," Nils said, crossing his arms in agreement.

It's true; they arrived remarkably quickly... perhaps they cross-examined information obtained by other groups.

In gathering information, numbers are strength.

"Among the Templar Knights, there are those who follow Cardinal Camilo's orders and those who follow Cardinal Oskar's orders... is that it?"

"That’s possible," Eto speculated, and Nils agreed.

The Templar Knights are said to number over a thousand in total.

Of course, not everyone is in the Holy Capital and its surroundings; they are scattered across France.

Still, it’s a fact that a considerable number are present in the Holy Capital, and the command structure must be quite complex.