episode_0153

“I, Imperial Knights??????”

The Imperial Knights, currently the most powerful group in the Elysium Empire and a military group at the pinnacle of public authority.

They were mentioned as the ones who requested the second plus collaboration.

The eyes of all the Red Fox Mercenary members, except for Ivan and Thomas who had already heard about it, widened.

“Yes. That’s right. The Imperial Knights of the Elysium Empire have requested collaboration with us.”

Jeanne confirmed again.

“Whoa… the Imperial Knights…”

Peter murmured the Imperial Knights with a dazed expression.

It is not easy to get properly involved with the Imperial Knights unless you are a noble of considerable standing.

Most only encounter knights belonging to public safety sectors, such as the management knight order.

As such, the Imperial Knights are a symbol of the Elysium Empire and can be called a group with the best awakening abilities and swordsmen.

‘She didn’t even tell me separately, but it makes sense. What a surprise show.’

Eugene also clicked his tongue and looked at Jeanne’s face.

It feels very cute and charming.

Because she had told Eugene in advance about the Alexandria matter before announcing it.

But for some reason, she didn’t tell me this time.

Of course, it must have been to be as careful as possible, but

Eugene thinks that Jeanne seems to have the intention of giving a surprise show to him and his colleagues.

Glance…! Glance…!

And Eugene’s hunch was accurate.

The reason is that it was possible to clearly confirm it through Jeanne’s appearance of constantly glancing at Eugene.

‘She must be proud. Because she wanted to be equal to other families so much on her own. Even if it can’t be said that she’s really equal, if she’s in a situation where she’s collaborating with the Imperial Knights, she’ll be filled with pride.’

And Eugene is fully aware of what Jeanne wants to brag about.

Jeanne wanted to break away from the shadow of the Grand Duke’s family and become independent.

Realistically, complete independence is impossible, but

She has been hoping for results that demonstrate the personal capabilities of Jeanne d’Arc de Cell Obelian.

If it is said to be a tangible result of achieving that, wouldn’t it be that the Red Fox Mercenary Corps itself becomes a mercenary corps with excellent fame?

Jeanne thought that if the Imperial Knights requested collaboration, wouldn’t that meet the minimum criteria?

“I see… if it’s something the Imperial Knights are doing, the classified information must be at a level that cannot be compared to even noble knight orders.”

Soon, detailed stories related to the second plus collaboration quest proceeded.

Ivan, from the Bronze-level mercenary corps, was no exception, and he couldn’t help but be surprised by the news that a collaboration had come from the Imperial Knights.

He nodded slowly and responded to the collaboration information that Jeanne was newly providing.

“The agreement seems to be more complicated than during Alexandria. It doesn’t seem like a problem that can be handled with documents. It seems like people will have to go back and forth directly. The Imperial Knights have already made such a request.”

Jeanne responded to Ivan’s reaction and said that the agreement between the Imperial Knights and the Red Fox Mercenary Corps would take a considerable amount of time.

The Imperial Knights have requested collaboration, but they are silent about what kind of collaboration it is.

Perhaps because the quest target is subject to high security.

Therefore, they are showing an attitude that they will form their own delegations, meet in person, and understand each other before sharing the quest details.

In a normal situation, it is a situation that should be immediately rejected for being arrogant.

However, the veteran executives of the Red Fox Mercenary Corps, who are well aware of the special nature of the Imperial Knights, are accepting it as a matter of course.

“If we successfully carry out the quest with the Imperial Knights, the settlement ratio with the association will be roughly 9 to 1, right, Marie?”

“That’s how it should be, Ms. Sophia. At that point, associations in other regions will try to bring us in by offering deals.”

Not only is it special, but it is unconditionally beneficial to build a career by collaborating with the Imperial Knights.

The Mercenary Association is under the influence of the Empire, but it is not a complete national institution like the Imperial Knights.

It has a quasi-private company character in which the money attracted varies significantly depending on performance.

Therefore, each of the four major cities of Pedon has one mercenary association signboard, but they compete implicitly to have more powerful mercenaries under their command.

Therefore, if there is a mercenary group that they want to bring in, they unofficially attach various benefits such as settlement ratios to keep them.

“Me, Thomas, and Priscilla?”

After the superficial story related to the second plus collaboration ended,

Jeanne told Eugene to stay behind separately.

When she was alone with Eugene, Jeanne told him additional and key matters.

“Oh, those are the people who have been decided to be dispatched to the Imperial Knights Arena.”

The Imperial Knights, who expressed their intention to learn more about the Red Fox Mercenary Corps in more detail,

requested that a delegation be sent to their arena.

Jeanne, who received the request and organized the delegation, included Eugene Schneider in the delegation.

“Ms. Priscilla is the person requested by the Imperial Knights, Thomas was added as a bridge role, and Eugene, you can think of it as my pick.”

Jeanne explained in detail the background of why the Red Fox Mercenary Corps representatives were selected.

“Hoo… Ms. Priscilla? That’s quite unique. What do you think is the reason why the Imperial Knights want the elf, Priscilla?”

First of all, Eugene was more curious about the fact that the Imperial Knights picked the elf Priscilla than the fact that he was included.

“According to Ms. Priscilla’s prediction, those friends also seem to have unresolved questions related to the quest they are in charge of. So, she is guessing that they are trying to ask the elf herself. I thought it was highly likely when I heard that. Because they have set up security so that they will not tell you the quest target in advance. Moreover, no matter how much the Imperial Knights are, there are not many opportunities to bring an elf directly to the arena.”

“Ah~”

Jeanne crossed her legs and answered Eugene’s question.

Honestly, Jeanne also tilted her head when the Imperial Knights requested that the elf Priscilla be sent as a representative.

Then, when she heard the thoughts of Priscilla, the person in question, she was greatly convinced.

And that made it possible to interpret to some extent the background and attitude of the Imperial Knights requesting collaboration with the Red Fox Mercenary Corps.

“Then, there’s nothing to lose on this side, right? It’s actually a request for help.”

“You can definitely see it that way. That’s why I said okay sooner than I thought. Because I don’t think I’ll be going in unnecessarily.”

A de facto request for help with special merit,

Generally, it is impossible for the Imperial Knights to request collaboration from mercenary groups because their strength is insufficient.

Then there are two possibilities. Either they have to do really menial work,

Or the mercenary group has a special merit.

Eugene and Jeanne think they belong to the latter.

“No matter how much the Imperial Knights are, they can’t know all the small mercenary groups. I think our mercenary group’s name became known nationwide due to this Alexandria quest, and they recognized us. In the meantime, when they saw that there was an elf in the list of mercenary members, their eyes widened.”

Jeanne recited to Eugene the Red Fox Mercenary Corps choice process of the Imperial Knights that she inferred.

Successfully carrying out the plus-marked Alexandria quest was a move that was worth impressing on higher groups that were looking for talent at the national level.

The same goes for the Imperial Knights,

In many ways, the pieces fit together perfectly.

“Elves are beings that are difficult to meet even if the Emperor requests it. They must have been surprised to see an elf in the mercenary group. And then they must have thought that they could bring in that picky elf relatively easily.”

Elves are reluctant to get involved with humans politically and in terms of military secrets.

The only area where they have exchanges is the religious area.

Because the reason is noble.

So the Holy See sometimes interacts with elves, but it is difficult for the imperial family or the Imperial Knights to come into contact with elves.

But they discovered an elf who was living a mercenary life.

From the Imperial Knights’ point of view, it can be said to be a golden goblin.

“Hmm… I see… but the reason you’re sending me instead of going yourself is because there might be someone who recognizes you?”

When the question about Priscilla was somewhat resolved, Eugene immediately changed the subject to Jeanne.

The reason is that when he thought about it, Jeanne picking him seemed like she was sending him as her replacement.

“That’s right. However, what’s a little different from other times is that after looking at the atmosphere there and identifying the person in charge, if there’s no problem, wouldn’t it be okay even if they knew my identity? That’s why I’m sending you. In other words, it means I want you to go and scout properly.”

Jeanne nodded slowly and agreed with Eugene’s suspicion.

The people in the Imperial Knights are on a different level from the nobles of the noble knight order.

Of course, there are almost no young ladies who dominate society who enter the noble knight order.

But it’s not that there are none at all, so Jeanne is trying to send Eugene as a proxy to see how it goes.

So she was trying to figure out whether it would be okay to have her identity revealed, and if not, she was trying to set it up in her own way.

“Okay, I understand. To be honest, I thought I would be a useless person going to a place like that, but if such a mission is given, it’s easy for me to mix in with the delegation.”

Although it is a proxy attendance, Eugene is satisfied that a clear mission has been given.

“Wow… then I’ll be setting foot in Helios, the capital of the Elysium Empire, for the first time in my life. Will it take about three days to get there? If I take it easy?”

“It’ll take about that long. There’s no need to rush like when we went to Alexandria.”

The Imperial Knights have the Imperial Knights Headquarters and the arena.

The headquarters is mainly where the internal affairs of the Imperial Knights are handled, and the arena is where training and management take place.

Both core institutions are located in Helios, the capital of the Elysium Empire.

“Do you have any more information you know? Didn’t you reveal the name of the person in charge like during Alexandria?”

Eugene Schneider, who had received the mission, asked if there was any prior information he could refer to.

“I heard the name of the person in charge, but… honestly, I’ve only heard the name a few times before, so I don’t know her that well.”

Scratch…! Scratch…! Scratch…!

Jeanne scratched her head without confidence, thinking that she would not be able to fully respond to Eugene’s request.

“The eldest daughter of the Bayern family, Victoria von Bayern, is in charge of this quest and is the person who will meet with us.”

The person the Red Fox Mercenary Corps representatives will meet at the Imperial Knights Arena is none other than the youngest Sword Master and the genius young lady Victoria von Bayern, who has been named the youngest Saber.