The Undetectable Strongest Job: Rule Breaker Chapter 27

Translator: Kell Editor: Weasalopes

Stealth Kid, on to the Royal Capital

The kingdom of Ponsonia’s royal capital, G . Ponsonia, was also known as the Flatland Capital .

There were benefits to having level land; it was easier to expand towns, transport routes, and agricultural fields . Huge granaries – Ponsonia’s hallmark – spread out far and wide near the capital . During fall, the whole plantation looked like a sea of gold .

The kingdom was surrounded by both allied and enemy nations; the latter was dealt with by n.o.bles who lived near the borders . They were called Margraves, allowed by the kingdom to build their own independent army .

Since the Margraves solidified the kingdom’s defences against external threats, the granaries inside could flourish . Cheaper grain products enriched the ma.s.ses . Ponsonia was at the height of its prosperity like never before . As such, it wouldn’t surprise anyone if the kingdom harbored an ambition to spread its influence abroad .

Being a flat and landlocked nation, Ponsonia was easy to invade . To counter this the army developed something unique – a moving fortress, the Heavy Infantry which Ponsonia was known for . Though not all that mobile, it sported incredibly high defensive prowess .

「So that’s the Heavy Infantry I’ve heard so much about . Their equipment looks light though, if you ask me . 」

A large-scale exercise was being held just at the edge of the royal capital . There were two reasons behind this: First, was to show to people entering the kingdom – spies included – that it had a powerful army . The second reason was extremely simple . Carrying around heavy equipment like that was difficult, so regular training was done inside the capital and large-scale exercises in an area nearby .

「It’s incredible . This is my first time seeing it as well . 」Lavia said .

「You too, huh? But isn’t that basically Ponsonia’s trademark?」

Inside a rocking wagon, Hikaru and Lavia were talking . The other pa.s.sengers were seated a distance, so they could speak in low whispers . They could see the exercise outside the window . It was a remarkable scene . Plate armor covered the infantry’s whole body all the way up to their faces . The plates themselves were uniformly painted in either green, purple, or blue, dividing the soldiers into three units according to color . They had long spears as weapons which had axes as the spearheads – halberds . Hikaru wondered if halberds counted as long spears when it came to the Soul Board stats . The soldiers brandished their halberds, charged, and jumped . They even let themselves be thrown on purpose to practice how to fall properly . There were others that performed backflips .

「…Are they using magic?」

「Of course . It’s not the man himself that’s excellent, it’s the armor . I read that in a book . 」

「Oh, I see . 」

It all made sense now . The plate armors themselves were most likely magic items . They either made one lighter or improved the physical abilities of the one wearing it . A very efficient method indeed . Instead of training the troops one by one, the armor they wore was enhanced, upgrading the whole forces overall . It didn’t work without mana, though . The enhanced equipment could probably only be used for a limited time .

A war without guns, huh… I want to see what that’s like . Though war is pointless anyway .

In a conflict, the fruits of victory pales in comparison to what’s lost . For those defeated, it’s way worse .

「I can see the capital . 」Lavia said .

Hikaru looked ahead . In the distance, he could see what looked like the spires of a castle . Around it buildings sprawled with the castle at the center .

「It’s quite huge . 」

That was Hikaru’s impression at first .

「…You’re kidding . 」

But soon, he started doubting his own eyes . From a distance, the size of the castle didn’t seem to change much, and yet the wagon they were on was already running through town . Hikaru recalled what Jill said about the capital having a population forty or fifty times more than that of Pond . Back then he never really realized how big the number was, but now he gradually did .  What’s with this place? Just how big is it?

「Wait, there wasn’t even any inspection . 」

His voice was a bit loud that a well-built man, who looked to be a merchant, laughed .

「Hahaha! That’s right, kid . There’s no inspection here . A place as big as this, that’s just impossible . 」

He seems to be a nice man, Hikaru thought . He proceeded to thoroughly get some information .

「That makes sense . So can you go anywhere in the capital?」

「Closer to the royal castle, there’s an area called the n.o.bles district . In addition, there’s also the first and second residential districts . They’re within the walls, and there’s inspection before anyone could enter . 」

「I see . It doesn’t feel that safe knowing inspection is only done over there . 」

「It’s all right . Even though this area right here is far away from the castle, it’s still part of the royal capital, so there are guards patrolling around . It’s strange, though . We would’ve seen one or two of those patrols by now, but I haven’t spotted one today . 」

Patrols? Will they do surprise inspections? Feeling a s.h.i.+ver run down his spine, Hikaru looked outside the window . All he saw was wagons and civilians walking – no patrols . A lady sitting beside the merchant, who appeared to be his wife, spoke .

「It’s because there’s a war happening soon, Dear . 」

「Ah…」

Their expressions grew dark . The kingdom couldn’t spare men for patrol due to war preparations . The large-scale exercise could have been a bluff, then – to show that even though the kingdom was preparing for war, it still had plenty of soldiers available .

「Anyway, why are you headed to the capital? Me, I have a store…」

The couple seemed to be worried about them since they were kids . They offered help, but Hikaru gently turned them down .

There’s some nice people around here . I guess that’s only natural…

And so Hikaru and Lavia entered the royal capital without any trouble at all .

「I have received the package . Thank you . 」

The royal capital’s Adventurers Guild was approximately ten times bigger than the one in Pond . They had seven receptionists at the counter . Though for its size, it felt deserted . The war was probably affecting the guild as well .

Hikaru’s job was to deliver one sealed letter addressed to a merchant in the capital . The request was fulfilled once he handed it to the guild . Delivering the letter from the guild to the man himself was a different request in itself .

Just like in j.a.pan, there was a postal service in this world as well, where letters were delivered from one town to another . Although the service was available only to major towns . Adventurers with spare time would deliver letters to remote areas like villages deep in the mountains . Even then, the success rate was low .

「Oh . With this delivery request complete, only two more requests for you to be promoted to rank F . 」

This was one of the reasons Hikaru took the delivery request . Right now he was rank G . He wanted to climb to rank E so he could enter the dungeon managed by the Adventurers Guild .

The condition for promotion to rank F was to complete requests that required going from one Adventurers Guild to another . The simplest requests one could take in this case were either Delivery or Escort jobs, but there wasn’t anyone eccentric enough to hire lowest-ranked adventurers as escorts .

「Do you have any reasonably easy requests available?」

「We have a lot right now . We’re short-handed at the moment since adventurers are also being recruited for the war . 」

「Adventurers sent to war, huh…」

「Yes . That means His Majesty is serious about this . 」

The receptionist looked sorrowful . She couldn’t criticize the king in public .

Hikaru checked every last bit of request on the request bulletin board . Delivery in the capital, a.s.sisting in a major cleanup, helping the elderly, carrying luggage… pretty much the same as the ones in Pond . They were only rank G requests, after all . No jobs that required fighting was available; since the military used the area around the royal capital for exercises, they’ve already killed all monsters . But there could still be something…

「Find any?」

「Should be enough . Let’s go find an inn . 」

They left the guild . Hikaru started planning in his mind about the things he needed to do while in the royal capital .

「We’ve got a long day ahead of us . 」Hikaru said .

「You look like you’re having fun, though . No, wait . That’s not right . In your case, it looks like you’re planning one of your schemes again . 」

「Weird . That doesn’t sound like a compliment . 」

「I regret not being of any help in your night activities . 」

「You don’t have to worry about it . With my current abilities, taking you with me is a bit of a tall order . 」

「You won’t tell me what you’re up to, will you?」

「Sorry . It’s a secret for now . 」

Hikaru still didn’t want to tell Lavia everything, including his abilities . It wasn’t like he didn’t trust her . He just didn’t see any benefit in telling her right now .

「I think you won’t get bored, though . 」

「Why not? I think I’ll be extremely bored without you around . 」

「What are you saying? We’re in the royal capital, Milady . 」

「And? I’m not going outside . 」

「There’s a huge bookstore here . 」

Lavia’s eyes widened .

「Well? There’s bound to be lots of adventure novels—」

「Let’s go get a room, quick! Preferably one with a huge table where I can use all the magic lamps I need!」

Hikaru couldn’t help but smile seeing Lavia in high spirits .

「…That’s all for my report to His Majesty tomorrow . 」

The inquisitor had visited the captain of the Order of the Knights in the middle of the knight in his office located in the royal capital . The office itself was inside the castle grounds, in a solid, stone-built building .

It was a dreary and austere room with no fancy décor . The inquisitor was seated on a chair made of oak that had no cus.h.i.+on . Opposite of him was the same kind of chair that was big enough for the inquisitor, but was too cramped for the man sitting on it .

He had thick legs like logs . His body, as huge as two people, had barely any fat, and his muscles pulsed . The man had a heavy, thick neck; if his head were to be slammed to the ground, he would surely be fine . And yet his eyes looked kind and gentle .

The knights’ captain . He was about forty years old, with a huge scar on his face . His blonde hair was trimmed short which would surely remind Hikaru of a baseball player .

「Sir Lawrence?」the inquisitor asked the captain who remained still .

「Oh, sorry . I was just thinking about what you said . There are many inconsistencies indeed . 」

Contrary to his looks, the captain had a youthful voice and just like his eyes, it was gentle . But as his robust body suggested, he wasn’t just kind – he was that, and a lot more . This man, known as a Master Swordsman and a Master Fencer, had undergone extraordinary training . Although using the word “training” was questionable – his regimen involved being at a hair’s breadth from death, after all .

「So that’s your report to His Majesty?」

「Yes . 」

「Hmm . 」

「I am fully aware that my report contains things that will bring dishonor to the order, but I cannot change any of it . Discussing this with you right now is not exactly right, either . 」

「I understand . I am not worried about that . 」

The King’s sword and s.h.i.+eld – the knights, and the people who maintain public order, the inquisitors, belonged to different sectors with separate chains of command . Informing the Order of the Knights of what an inquisitor had gathered before making it public was therefore an ultra vires act . But the matter at hand concerned the Order and he believed Captain Lawrence D . Falcon to be a trustworthy man, so he explained things to him first . Of course, the inquisitor had consent from the bureau as well .

「East was inexperienced . Heavy punishment awaits those who sully the honor of the knights . He can only atone for his mistakes with death . 」

「I suppose . 」

「So he belonged to the 6th squad . They might be slacking off . I must personally whip them back into shape . 」

The inquisitor closed his eyes upon hearing the captain’s words .  Perhaps East is actually fortunate to be sentenced to death, he thought . Lawrence said he was going to work them hard personally . People in town knew how severe his training regimen was .  I just hope there won’t be any casualties .

「Hmm? Who’s there?」the captain asked .

A knock came at the door . A young knight from the Order stepped into the room .

「I apologize for coming here late at night, Captain . 」

「It must be urgent . Forget the pleasantries . Just tell me what you’re here for . 」

「Sir!」

The knight, whose face was pale as a sheet, cold sweat glistening on his forehead, shot a glance at the inquisitor . The inquisitor was about to get up from his seat, thinking it was a private matter, when the captain raised his hand to stop him .

「He’s good . Now, your report . 」

There were two possibilities as to why he allowed the inquisitor to stay . Perhaps it was to return the favor since he was considerate enough to inform the captain of his report before submitting it . Or it could be that his instincts were telling him that the young knight’s report had something to do with the inquisitor’s report as well .

「Yes, Sir . 」the knight said, swallowing to wet his tongue . 「The commander of the 6th squad, Scott F . Lands was attacked in his bedroom at his own home . Fortunately, he only suffered multiple broken bones, and his life isn’t in any danger . According to him, it was a kid that attacked him . He wore a cloak that covered his whole body and a mask of the Sun G.o.d . 」he said in one breath .