To make it not seem unnatural, I entered the inn, and right after that, I headed into the alleyway. 

Grace and Sylvia also followed.

As I concealed my breath under the shade, a figure came into the alley...

It seems like the person who followed us was quite careless when he entered the alleyway because the moment the person walked into the alley, he stumbled on Grace's leg, which had been stretched out, and fell spectacularly.

Grace thrust her sword at the fallen person.

"...Don't move"

The person freezes after hearing Grace's words.

When I put light magic on the tip of Grace's sword, the person's appearance was revealed. When I looked, he was someone I did not know. He was slender but had a fairly good physique. There is no doubt that he has a well-trained body. 

"...You're the knight who was with the Holy Knight"

I tell the man with certainty.

The man remained on the floor silently and did not reply.

I stared at the man and whispered something close to his ears.

"I know, Jael Raimund"

When I said that, the man looked at me surprised.

"...Why do you know my name?"

As one would expect the situation changed, but I said nothing and grinned. (Tl note: don't know if this is correct due to the author making a typo. '流石に状態に書いてましたとは言えずに、ニヤリと笑う')

I checked the man's body and took his ID out of his pants pocket.

When Sylvia saw the ID she was shocked.

"You were tailing us while carrying your ID? Isn't that a little foolish?"

I laughed and answered.

"Well, that's because he is not a pro spy. To follow us in this town an ID is needed to enter and exit. Also, it seems like this guy can't use magic, so he can only keep it on him."

I checked the ID I took, and then handed it to Grace.

"This is...a Knight Badge, isn't it?

Jael Raimund seems to belong to the Western Knights Order"

The Western Knights Order are the Knights led by the Holy Knight, Celestia.

When I signaled Grace with my eyes, Grace lowered her sword and released the man's restraints.

"I will return your Knight Badge the next time we meet.

Please give my regards to Holy Knight, Celestia for me."

The man probably didn't think he would be able to release his restraint so easily.

We watched the man dumbfoundedly stand up on the spot and leave.

The three of us then pulled ourselves together and returned to the inn. Of course, the man from earlier was not tailing us.

"...Are you sure about doing that? Letting him go like that?" Grace asked me.

"Wouldn't it have been better to have hurt him somewhat?"

I laughed at Sylvia's question and said,

"No, it's fine that way. That man is an amateur. It's better to think that it was already factored in that we would find him tailing us. Rather, the Holy Knight is likely to have measured our risk by whether he returned safely or not. So, by returning Jael safely, they shouldn't think that we are dangerous. On the other hand, if you hurt him, our relationship with them will turn sour."

"What will we do with the Knight Badge"

"Make the most out of it. With this, there's a chance we'll see the Holy Knight again."

When I said that, I saw Grace and Sylvia's eyes looking reproachfully at me.

"...Th-that's not what I mean!"

"..."

Why, does it feel like I am not trusted very much...?

"Well, let's leave it at that. The Holy Knight, Celestia, seems to be paying attention to the existence of something that you can't tell by its appearance."

"What do you mean?"

Sylvia questions my remark.

"...Why do you think Celestia had us followed? The reason for separating a soldier from the army, while on their journey, just to tail ordinary adventurers? Celestia is currently heading to the royal capital for some reason, but most likely, during that time, she is distracted by something else and is trying to investigate it. Furthermore, even though she is suspicious of us, she let us through the checkpoint, under her watch, without capturing us, and had a person tail us. This means, that to find whatever Celestia is investigating, the extent that was examined at the checkpoint is not enough information."

"Does that mean...!"

Sylvia listened to my reasoning, and started raising her voice, but did not say the rest of her sentence. Maybe it's not just Sylvia, but the same thing that comes to mind in me and Grace. Isn't the Holy Knight, Celestia, searching for and chasing "demons"?

Of course, this is just my imagination. However, the possibility is not zero. That's why I thought I needed to see the Holy Knight again. Certainly, there is a chance my imagination may be wrong. There is a possibility that she was curious, and decided to tail us, or she was searching for something else, instead of a demon. Either way, if I rush, I won't get good results.

I rounded up my reasoning, told Grace and Sylvia about tomorrow's schedule, and decided to return to my room. We will arrive at the royal capital tomorrow. Perhaps there would be a lot of things that I will come to understand.

The next morning, at sunrise, the three of us leave the inn town. The remaining road is less than the distance I walked yesterday, and the day before yesterday. If all goes well, we'll be able to reach Ansel in the afternoon.

As expected, near the royal capital, there are a lot of people going entering and exiting. There is a group of adventure-like people, and there are also some people who look like merchants.

Later, after our first break, soon after I started walking, I saw many camping tents built along the highway.

"...It looks like that's Celestia's army."

It seems that the Knights of the West, who passed us by the highway yesterday, are camp at a place slightly away from the royal capital. As expected when it comes to the encampment of 1,500 troops, the scale is undeniably quite large. The many tents look like the formation of a single town.

"...Either, the Western Knights Order have not been given permission to enter the castle, or have been ordered to stand by, because there is no feeling of departure, even at this hour."

Grace said, observing the movements of the soldiers.

"If Celestia were officially summoned, then the army not being in the royal capital is strange, or at least that's what I think..."

As proof of my statement, the people walking down the highway are staring at the campsite to see what has happened. As I thought, it is not normal for a campsite to be created at such a place.

"There is also the possibility that they are outside so that they will be able to immediately return to the west..."

Grace's opinion was contradictory to mine.

"Return to the west after arriving right in front of the royal capital, Ansel, without even entering it? If that happens, then dissatisfaction from the soldiers, who have traveled a long distance, will appear. Even if they camp out, I think it would be normal for them to enter the town."

After listening to me and Grace argue, Sylvia looked surrounding and began to speak in a teasing tone.

"But the soldiers are waiting around the royal capital, so it might look different depending on how you take it."

"A different look? What do you mean?"

"I mean it might look like they're trying to attack the royal capital."

Listening to Sylvia's remarks, various ideas come to me. From that, some ideas come to mind and start to connect. 

I quietly said to Sylvia.

"...Sylvia, that idea might not actually be wrong."

"eh...?"

Sylvia was surprised at my statement. 

The three of us continued going straight to the city gate. We crossed a bridge over a wide moat and entered the city. There was an inspection at the gate after crossing the bridge, and we showed the Adventurer's Guild's registration card.

...I was asked the purpose of entering Ansel, but this time it seems that I can pass without any problems.

The inside of the royal capital was more luxurious than anywhere I've ever seen so far.

It had a large stone-paved road, a large fountain, and many of the buildings were decorated with stone, making it extravagant. There were street stalls on the road and many people coming and going. There were also a lot of lively voices surrounding us, which gave us a feeling of bustling businesses. The scale of the buildings are overwhelmingly larger than that of the port town, Ashbell.

The presence of the royal palace in front of the city is significant, and it is understood that it is a special city. I say that it is because of the royal palace, but it seems that the depth of history, as a city, is also different.

"Grace and Sylvia, is it your first time in Ansel?"

I asked the two of them.

"I've been here several times" (Sylvia) 

"A long time ago, I stopped by once for a short visit" (Grace) (Tl note: in English, it is uncertain who said what so I put the names next to what they said)

They each gave their own answer to my question. It seems it's only the first time for me...

"Kei, the Western Knights Order are camping outside so it should be safe, but just in case I want to secure rooms."

"That's true"

I agreed to Grace's proposal and asked the owner of a nearby stall where the lodging district was.

When the owner of the stall found out that I wasn't a customer and was just asking for directions, he made an unpleasant look. Reluctantly, I bought two fruits from the stall and gave them to Sylvia and Grace. The stall owner, surprisingly quickly changed his mood, and told us the direction of the lodging district.

"...By the way, what's with the campsite outside?"

I took the chance, while I was there, to throw out a question.

The stall owner started talking as if he was waiting for that question.

Maybe this kind of profession is not possible without rumors.

"That's the army of the Silver War Maiden, Valkyrie. The Western Knights Order, for some reason, that I do not know, suddenly returned yesterday and the royal capital has been in an uproar. Even the gatekeeper was not told that they were returning, is the story. And then when I thought that the Knights Order were going to enter the city, they started making camp outside. The captain of the Knights Order also headed towards the royal palace and didn't come out, so no one knows the situation. The guys who were working away from their home in Ansel are now secretly meeting their family at the campsite. The people who are meeting for the first time in a long while seem to be having a very emotional reunion at the unexpected timing.''

While saying so, the stall owner grinned.

I continued asking questions.

"Did the Knight Commander go to the royal palace alone?"

"No, I saw it when they passed in front of me yesterday. I'm pretty sure there were about 10 people with her.”

That scale matches the number of people who entered the waiting room at the checkpoint.

"Did anyone, other than the captain of the knights, not return?"

"No, it seems that everyone, but the Knight Commander, returned. It is also rumored that they are in the building, just ahead of this road, with branches of each Knight Order. However, some people went to see it, but it seems that no one will be able to enter. I wonder if that's really the case..."

I feel like I heard quite useful information in an unexpected place. I thanked the stall owner and decided to head to the lodging district.

While talking with the owner of the stall, I looked at the direction of the waiting Grace and saw her looking at the apple in her hand while smiling with satisfaction. On the other hand, Sylvia was biting into the apple, which was already half-eaten.

We quickly found an inn.

I thought that the cost of lodging in Ansel was high, but in reality, it wasn't that high.

In the inn owner's words, the appearance of the Western Knights order yesterday was supposed to be a good time to make a profit, but unfortunately, the inn owner was disappointed because contrary to what he thought, the Western Knights Order did not enter the city and started to make camp. Until this morning, he seemed to have raised the price waiting, but it seems that he lowered the price because he understood that they would not enter the castle today.

He complained, "Why don't they enter the castle?"

After securing the lodging rooms, we decided to head to the building with the Western Knights Order's branch. Direction wise, it is located on the opposite side of the  inn on the street, and is quite a distance when walking. When I walked for about 15 minutes as the owner of the stall told me, I could see the building.

...But the situation is strange.

"...There's a crowd."

"Did something happen?"

Sylvia and I looked at each other.

We approached the building with a slight tread. 

The people crowding around are not soldiers or knights. They are regular citizens.

The crowd surrounded a building that seemed to be the branch of the Western Knights Order, but in the center of their gathering, we saw something like a "poster."

"What is it?"

"It seems that something is posted...I'll go check it."

"Please do"

Grace said, and then she smoothly and swiftly went through the gaps between people and went forward. There is no other person, other than Grace, to entrust this kind of task too. After a while, Grace who checked the notice returned to me while avoiding the crowd. 

Grace's face was slightly strained.

"Kei..."

 Grace spoke out with a voice higher-pitched than usual, but I cut off her report and began to speak over my shoulder.

"...The content of the bulletin is that "The Holy Knight Celestia was detained", wasn't it? "

When they heard that, Grace and Sylvia were surprised for different reasons.

"...Is that true?"

Grace nodded quietly at Sylvia's question.

"Yes, it is exactly as Kei says. It was written that "the kingdom detained the Holy Knight Celestia on suspicion of rebellion. Kei...why did you know what the poster said?"

I didn't answer right away and began to ponder while looking at Grace's face.

―Little by little, something was starting to connect in me.