Oh, so orcs in this world don't do the violation thing.
The female knights weren't covered in white turbid liquid or anything like that—they'd just been punched to death and left there. Surprising.
And behind the only surviving female knight was a girl wearing a robe that looked obviously high-quality, even to an outsider.
Must be a noble.
I hope saving her doesn't turn into some huge headache.
While I was still deliberating, the female knight's sword was knocked flying. She put up a feeble counterattack with fire magic, but the follow-up blow sent them both soaring through the air.
Whoa, they're flying totally parallel to the ground—just like in a manga.
No more time to hesitate.
I'll save them for now.
I'll figure out the rest later.
Right beside me—
Black Steel—
I swung the sword and launched a blade flash.
The sword flash tore through the air trailing a gust of wind and bisected the orc that had been about to punch the female knight to death—splitting it clean through the upper and lower halves.
"Bmuh?"
Those were its final, idiotic words.
The remaining four orcs all turned to look at me at once.
Don't look at me!
I activated [Divine Eye] to get a better look, and—these were Royal Orcs.
The market price is nothing to sneeze at, but apparently this meat is quite the delicacy.
That said, it seems to be a high-difficulty ingredient — unless you've honed your [Cooking] skill considerably, you won't be able to draw out its full flavor.
Fair enough, but what really catches my attention is this piece of information: "Master of the Royal Orcs: Mercurius Gloria."
This is the Kingdom of Gloria.
Mercurius is the name of the First Prince.
Ugh, this is getting bad, isn't it.
In more ways than one.
Those two are also nobles important enough to have the First Prince trying to kill them.
Ah — the remaining four are charging this way.
I fling a wide horizontal sword slash in a single sweeping arc.
The orcs' lower halves took two or three steps away from their upper halves, then collapsed with a thud, spurting blood as if remembering belatedly that they'd been cut in two.
Threat eliminated.
For now, I stash the bodies in my magic bag and approach the female knight who'd been protecting the girl.
The girl sheltered behind her looked up at my face and whispered, "Help me..."
I've come this far — I'm in too deep to walk away now.
If she's a noble, I might just score a hefty reward.
With that thought in mind, I pull out an elixir and slowly drip it into the dying female knight's mouth.
"Gu—*cough*! This is... my body is healing? Right — the princess! Princess!"
The fully recovered female knight ignored me entirely and turned to the princess to confirm she was safe.
"Thank the gods, the princess is unharmed... You there — I owe you my thanks. Hm, some adventurer, are you? Well then, I commend you for a job well done. Carve this honor into your heart — the honor of having saved the princess!"
Behind the female knight, her mistress—the princess—wore an apologetic expression.
"Right, first I’ll recover the other Princess Guards into the magic bag… then we’ll need to arrange for a proper funeral back at the castle. The carriage is wrecked, and it’s already nightfall. You there, adventurer! Prepare suitable lodgings worthy of the princess!"
Behind the knight, the princess was vigorously shaking her head from side to side.
"Yeah, yeah, I get it. I’ve built a cabin that’s at least livable, so head over there."
"You intend for the princess to walk on foot! What an unthinking lout!"
Even if she says that, the place is some distance away. If I use Spatial Step to get back there, I’ll be leaving you two behind.
"The carriage is broken, and I was on foot from the start. I’m sorry, but you’ll have to walk."
Just as expected, the princess was still looking over from behind the knight with that apologetic expression.
When your master is this intimidated and you don’t even notice, does that make you a failed knight or what?
Besides, I haven’t even gotten either of your names yet.
They’re over there, sneering at some lowly adventurer without even bothering to ask.
I could look them up with the Divine Eyes if I wanted to, but honestly, I don’t even feel like it anymore.
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Skill: [Reverse][Divine Eyes][Sword God][Gentleman Thief][Dark Magic][Rock Iron Magic]
Rank: Iron
Thank you always for your readership!