Sir Vidocq de Ryker, the most admired swordsman in Svadia and the current leader of the Kingdom Praetorian Guard, the Lion Order, was known as the "Storm Swordsman" for his fierce sword moves and courage, and was once considered the most powerful swordsman in all of Calradia.

And the scene in front of Arthur's eyes was a picture he thought would never appear - this invincible swordsman who had made countless knights and swordsmen bow down to him, and there were times when he was so embarrassed. Arthur guessed in his mind what someone, or rather, something could traumatize Vidocq so badly. But he has more important things to confirm at the moment. "Rum...... Is Master Rum here too?" he asked, but he wasn't expecting an answer.

Vidocq's face was ugly, probably due to injury, and he coughed violently, guilt, remorse, and unwillingness flashed in his eyes, and his fists clenched unconsciously seemed to pinch Arthur's heart, making him gasp. "No, Lord Rum...... It's a long story, but it's ...... Mistress Rum is still alive. Vidocq's mouth moved, and finally he couldn't hold back and added, "For now." ”

It's not good news, but at least it's not the worst, and Arthur is somewhat relieved. "How could you be so badly injured, Lord Vidocq, I can't find anyone in my head who could put you in such a predicament. Arthur asked, he had an answer in mind, but it would take Vidocq himself to say it himself.

“...... It's just that the skills are not as good as human......" Vidocq didn't seem to want to talk about it, he coughed softly a few times, and didn't say anything more. “...... It's a ...... shrouded in black fog Monsters?, hmm. Thinking back to the battle with the monster, Arthur's wound ached. "You met him too?!" Vidocq was a little surprised to hear Arthur's words. "But...... Ah, Mr. Flower must have saved you, otherwise you would not have survived...... Oh, my God...... Thank you Goddess of Mercy, you are still alive. He breathed a sigh of relief, apparently he didn't think Arthur would escape from the monster alive.

Vidocq had lost many of his comrades since he had followed Rum in search of the relics, and he felt a little relieved that someone he knew was spared. "Speaking of which, why are you here? I remember you're a good friend of Eve, and you're working for her, how did you end up in Woodlin? It's not close to Kyle Redan. Could it be that you happened to be passing by?"

Vidocq and Arthur had met quite a few times, and the young countess was often present at the city's events, even at athletic conventions, and Vidocq was impressed by the fact that this clever clerk was always inseparable. But he didn't understand why Arthur was here, and he couldn't think of any reason for that.

Arthur was stunned for a moment, and then thought that Vidocq had been trapped here all along, and should not have known about Eve's coming to the rescue, so he explained to him: "Eve received a request for rescue from His Excellency's loyal men, so Eve ...... Mistress Eve came with us. Arthur still couldn't figure out Vidocq's temperament, so he added an honorific title to his name Eve. “...... I'm ashamed to say that I'm afraid we're trapped here too. ”

Arthur explained it clearly, but Vidocq's eyes revealed more doubt. Vidocq struggled to search for information in his head, but could not answer his questions. "Eve, oh my God...... She shouldn't have come to such a dangerous place......" Vidocq visibly became a little nervous at the hearing Eve's name, he had always been afraid that this messy little girl would do something out of the ordinary. But then, he noticed something else that struck him as extremely strange. "Wait, for help, but we didn't send anyone for help...... Who brought you the news? when?"

Arthur was also surprised, and replied, "We received news about a week ago that a sergeant who called himself Barron had brought him to claim that Lord Rum's army had been trapped by a group of bandits and was in dire need of rescue, and that he had found an opportunity to break out on his own......" he said, and he also had a vague feeling that something was wrong, and he realized that he might have overlooked something.

Vidocq's expression gradually became solemn, he still coughed from time to time, but his spirit was extremely concentrated. "Sergeant Barron was killed, just two days ago, in front of me, and we don't have any troops, this time our team consists of only ten members, except for two sergeants and me, who are all guides. ”

A deep sense of fear rose in Arthur's heart, and he suddenly realized that he didn't know much about the so-called sergeant, but he let his guard down and easily trusted such an unknown man. "No, no, it doesn't make sense, about a month ago, Lord Rum personally came to Kyrrydan to borrow troops, and took almost most of the soldiers with him, and once put Kyrredan in an embarrassing situation where he needed to rely on mercenaries to maintain law and order, this is what I saw with my own eyes, and there is no way it could be wrong. Arthur shook his head, thinking back to what had happened, and he thought that maybe Vidocq had misremembered.

"......" Vidocq's expression got worse and worse, as if he had thought of something, he opened his mouth and bit his thumb, looking very distressed. If so...... One of us must have hallucinated, for I am inseparable from Lord Rum, and I swear by honor that we have never set foot in Kelrydan since the execution of this conciliation plan. Vidocq stared into Arthur's eyes, conveying that he was not deceiving.

Arthur wanted to find the flaw, but he couldn't, he believed that Vidocq wouldn't joke about it, so what he said felt was correct, so...... It occurred to him that Eve had a very different explanation for the Calridan scourge and had proved her right with the ominous sword. In this way, it is really possible that it is my own memory...... Something went wrong.

Arthur's heart raced, and he realized that it was the power of magic, that he had unknowingly been tricked by someone—or something that disturbed his mind, and that he had been kept in the dark from the beginning, that he had not been aware of the suspicions that had been around him for so many days—buildings that looked like catapults had been smashed through, corroded floors, and corpses that were sturdy and strong, and he should have noticed that they could never have been caused by ordinary mercenaries.

For the first time in his life, Arthur had doubts about his own head, and it seemed that for a while, it was in the hands of someone else. Fortunately, it was back in the palm of its hand. Arthur quickly analyzes what had happened all along—borrowed troops, false calls for help, bordermen, and the black mist that appeared on both the monster and Eve...... Arthur strung this information together, and he realized that this was a game that someone had deliberately operated a long time ago. “...... Damn it...... If so...... That's a ......," he couldn't help but think of the worst-case scenario. "It's a trap...... Someone deliberately lured Eve here...... But why?"

Arthur couldn't think of why, but he could be sure that Eve had been caught up in terrible trouble, and that someone was plotting against her in a world that Arthur was unfamiliar with.

Just as Arthur was deep in thought, a wail suddenly came from outside the door. "Heaven above, what's going on!" was Flower's voice, who seemed to be in trouble. Arthur rushed out, and Flower was sitting on the ground, as if frightened by something.

"It's happening—oh my God!" Arthur didn't have time to finish his question, but he also saw what had frightened Flower, Eve, who was entangled in black mist, was staring at them with a look of horror that Arthur was unfamiliar with.