Chapter 47: Fensteed (2)

"Can I enter now?" 

The two guards were too flabbergasted to speak. One of them started shaking under Van's gaze.

While Van was suppressing the poor Knights with his mana, a man from inside the city approached them. His armour was of a higher quality than the guards', and he had a confident look on his face.

Seeing the man's approach, Van retracted his mana from the two guards.

"Hello sir, what seems to be the problem here?" The man smiled at Van.

From what Van could tell, the man in front of him was a 2nd Boon Grand Knight, a minor rank higher than Van. He could also tell that the man was quite strong, and looked nonchalant about the situation.

'He must be their superior.'

"These guys wanted to take my money." Van pointed at the two guards, who looked even more terrified at the other man's appearance.

"Is that so?" He glared at the two guards that shrunk before him. He sighed. "My apologies sir. They do not know when to be careful with whom they are talking to." 

"It's ok. Can I enter the city now?" 

"Of course, sir, let me take you."

Before Van could refuse, the man had led him into the city, giving him a tour. He showed Van where the Holy Order of Knights resided, the best shops, the city's Church, and more.

"Might I know your name, sir?" The man asked Van as they walked.

"It's Van. What's yours?" Van replied, a little weirded out by constantly being called sir.

"My name is Tristan. If you don't mind me asking, what group are you affiliated with? You don't seem to be a part of the Holy Order. A Grand Knight such as yourself, all alone. It's quite curious."

"Oh, I used to work for a noble, but right now I'm unaffiliated." Van said smoothly. 

The books he studied didn't mention any known factions aside from each race's form of government, and no way was Van going to say he was a part of the Servant Bandits.

"That's… quite impressive." Tristan nodded to himself. Reaching the Grand Knight rank without any outside help was truly a feat. "I take it you will be joining the expedition to the Hero's tomb, then?" 

"The what?" Van raised an eyebrow. Tristan explained it upon realizing Van didn't know what he was talking about.

"In around 3 months the tomb of the Hero Arturnus, you know the one, will be opened for exploration for the first time in nearly a hundred years. It is said to hold great treasure and artifacts that had some relevance to the ancient Heroes that fought the Demon King. You are familiar with the story, yes?" 

Van nodded, beginning to paint a picture in his head.

"Yes, well, when Arturnus passed, it is said that a Goddess blessed his tomb in honor of him, but years after he was buried, the Hero Elise, the mage, entered his tomb and completely changed it up with magic. It's currently a changing, dangerous labyrinth that opens once every hundred years, only allowing entry to those on the 2nd rank of their paths, such as Grand Knights, High Mages, and so on." 

Van liked what he was hearing. He might just want a piece of what's in that tomb.

"Now that it's going to open again, everyone wants whatever's in the tomb. Every group out there is going to send their people to find the treasure. I tell you, whichever race gets what's in that tomb, they might change the balance of things." Tristan's face darkened.

"Are you gonna join the expedition?" Van asked Tristan, who quickly shook his head.

"No, no, I couldn't. My duty is here, with the Holy Order. Besides, I do not like risking my life so easily." They stopped in front of a tavern, one that Van had asked him to bring him to. 

"However, if you are going to join the expedition, then I wish you luck. Goodbye, sir Van!" 

Van waved goodbye to Tristan as he departed.

'You know,' He thought as he entered the tavern. 'That might just be the first normal, delightful interaction I've had in this world.' 

He felt that Tristan was a good guy. He hoped that they wouldn't meet again in the future, since Van was basically planning on killing the poster boy of the Holy Order of Knights.

Van sat down at the bar and ordered an ale, which was the cheapest drink. He was no stranger to alcohol, given the times his bullies would force him to get drunk back on Earth.

He looked around, noticing that there were 2 Grand Knights present. The first was a female knight surrounded by her comrades, and the second was a lone man sitting in the corner.

Not wanting to approach a group, Van opted to sit next to the lonely guy in the corner.

"Hello, I'm a Grand Knight, just like you." Van spoke to the guy, who irritatedly looked at him. "I was wondering if you knew anything about the upcoming expedition to Arturnus' tomb?"

The man rolled his eyes.

"Grand Knights and others enter the tomb and try to find treasure, but die in the process. Anything else?"

"No no, I mean like… Where is the tomb? When is the expedition exactly? What kind of stuff to expect there? Who will go there? And-" 

"Woah woah, slow down kid." He sighed. "Tell you what. You buy me a couple of drinks and a meal, and I'll tell you what you want to know."

Van's eyes glittered. A little bit of coin for easy info was all good to him.

"Sure. Barmaid!" Van waved over the nearby barmaid and ordered a bunch of liquor and a full meal for the man next to him.

Slightly surprised, the man simply shrugged before telling Van everything he needed to know.

A couple hours later, Van was laying in bed, thinking about everything the man had told him. He had rented a room in the tavern, paying for 3 months. He decided that he would stay here in Fensteed while preparing for the expedition.

'I'm gonna need to find some really good stuff there if I want to kill an Elite Knight.'