Elric immediately left the mansion and headed toward the village with Tiria.

The sight that greeted them upon arrival was enough to make one frown.

“Hmm… this is serious.”

Several houses had collapsed.

The torn-up ground and the broken palisade in the distance clearly showed that something had forced its way into the village and wreaked havoc.

It must have been that demonic beast.

“I’ll go speak with the village chief for a moment.”

“Very well. I’ll wait here.”

He could have gone with her, but Elric chose not to.

He believed it would be faster to investigate on his own.

Perhaps things would have been different ten years ago, but during his years as a mercenary, Elric had encountered demonic beasts countless times. In wars, it was common to strategically use their habitats.

Now, he had reached the point where he could identify a beast species just by traces alone—so it made sense to rely on the most certain method.

First, Elric headed to the outskirts of the village and examined the broken pieces of the palisade.

‘Was it cut?’

That’s what it looked like.

If it had been smashed head-on, it wouldn’t have broken so cleanly in a straight line.

Since it was said to be a wolf-type beast, the likely candidates were a Blade Wolf or a Calyso Wolf—both known for their long claws or horn-like features.

There was one more clue.

‘The number of casualties is lower than expected.’

Considering a demonic beast had invaded the village, there were no signs of deaths or funerals.

At most, there were a few injured people—and this made the beast’s identity even clearer.

‘It’s a Blade Wolf.’

Among demonic beasts, it was a high-ranking species.

It used mana to coat its claws with blade-like energy. Not only did it hunt for survival, but it also hunted for sport.

The fact that it had only instilled fear and left meant it was likely a precursor to a future hunt.

If they had been any later, a great disaster would have struck the village.

‘They’ve run into a nasty one.’

What should he do?

Just as Elric was thinking—

“My lord.”

Tiria had returned.

“I’ve heard most of what I need. Let’s head back to the mansion.”

“Ah, yes.”

So she had already finished?

Well, considering her personality, she must have skipped all formalities and gone straight to the point.

Elric boarded the carriage with her and only then heard what she had learned.

The more he listened, the more convinced he became.

It was definitely a Blade Wolf.

Now the problem was whether she knew that.

“We should begin the hunt as soon as possible. We don’t know when it will come down to the village again.”

“Have you identified the species of the beast?”

“The villagers couldn’t clearly identify its form. However, they recall seeing something like a massive blade, so we suspect it to be a Calyso Wolf.”

Elric’s expression hardened.

‘No…’

There was an immeasurable gap between a Calyso Wolf and a Blade Wolf.

How could a beast that wielded mana be compared to one that relied only on its body?

If they went hunting under the assumption it was a Calyso Wolf, the hunters would likely return as corpses.

‘To hunt a Blade Wolf, you need a knight.’

And not just any knight—a mana user.

Unless someone could coat their blade with mana and directly cut through the beast’s claws, casualties would be inevitable.

As Elric struggled to find a way to explain—

“…Ah! Then a knight will be deployed, right?”

Territory knights were, by default, mana users.

Even one such person would be enough.

So he asked—

“Hmm?”

But the answer was completely unexpected.

“What do you mean? Our territory has no knights.”

Elric’s mouth fell open.

He wanted to call it nonsense, but he couldn’t.

Tiria’s explanation followed immediately.

“The last knight of our territory was Sir Zigg of the Wibin family. He retired eight years ago due to old age.”

“And you never appointed another?”

“No. Partly because there was no suitable talent… but more importantly, knights are not cost-effective.”

It was the change of the times.

Now, the force that dominated battlefields across the continent was gunpowder.

“…That makes sense.”

Knights were incredibly expensive—from recruitment to training to maintenance.

In contrast, a single musket could turn a farmer into a soldier.

With enough skill, it could even kill a trained knight.

While muskets were also expensive, they still cost less than raising a knight.

In a small rural territory like this, there was no need to maintain knights.

Just give guns to trained soldiers—that was enough.

A sense of bitterness filled Elric.

He still admired knights and respected their strength.

After all, he himself had risen to the peak of swordsmanship as a war mercenary.

‘The fall of knights…’

A phrase he once heard on the battlefield now felt real.

“…Did I upset you somehow?”

Tiria asked carefully.

Elric quickly composed himself and shook his head.

“No. It’s just… unfortunate. My childhood dream was to become a knight.”

He smiled faintly and added,

“Still, there are things guns cannot do that knights can. I hope you’ll reconsider recruiting one.”

After all, how could bullets ever completely surpass a knight’s blade?

Even Elric himself was confident he could wipe out hundreds of musketeers alone—and he had done so before.

“For the future of the territory, it would be wise to have at least one knight.”

Just after he spoke with certainty—

“I will reconsider it… No, if that is your judgment, then it must be right. After all, you are the lord of this territory.”

Elric flinched.

“Lord?”

“…It’s nothing. Just a cold wind.”

He turned his gaze outside.

Then—

Rustle—

Her fur cloak spread over his shoulders.

Elric stiffened.

“This is…”

“You said it was cold. The cloak is large enough for both of us.”

Their bodies grew closer.

Their arms touched.

Their fingers brushed, exchanging cold.

Her nose had turned slightly red.

“…You look cold too. You don’t have to do this.”

“I can endure it. Your well-being matters more, my lord.”

“…That…”

“I’m fine.”

Her tone was firm.

Elric couldn’t refuse.

The carriage rattled on.

At some point, their fingers intertwined—little fingers hooked together.

Neither knew who started it.

The next morning—

After much discussion, Tiria decided to deploy a knight for the hunt and requested one from the neighboring territory, Gideon.

Elric expected the process to be difficult, but Gideon agreed surprisingly easily.

The two stood at the mansion gate to welcome the knight.

“The Wibin and Gideon families have maintained relations for over five generations. There was no difficulty. Besides…”

“Besides?”

“…You’ll see.”

Tiria shook her head.

Elric tilted his head in curiosity.

Then—

“There he is.”

Elric looked up.

A man approached on a sturdy brown horse.

His full plate armor reflected the winter sunlight.

He was large and rode confidently.

‘Well-trained.’

Elric assessed him.

Then he saw his face.

“…!”

Elric’s eyes widened.

“Whoa there~”

The rider slowed down.

His face was firm, but there was a playful glint.

Elric recognized him.

Even after ten years.

“Luiten!”

It was his childhood friend—the butcher’s eldest son.

Luiten grinned brightly.

“Boss! Long time no see!”

It was a completely unexpected reunion.