I’ll Use a Reverse-Edged Sword

The knights wearing plate armor and riding magnificent horses looked quite dependable and handsome.
A flag with the symbol of the Castillo family prominently emblazoned on it.
The knights surrounding the trade group in a diamond formation, led by Raymond holding that flag.
All the members of the trade group, led by Wydro Hanson and Luna, were moving with their chests puffed out much more proudly than usual.

“Indeed, having a noble family’s knight order standing firmly-“
“Father!”

Luna stops Hanson, who was about to unknowingly blurt out a cheap exclamation.
In the middle of the trade group’s procession, in a large and splendid carriage, three people were riding: Hanson, Luna, and me.
I could have ridden with the other knights since I had come to the Wydro family on horseback…
But isn’t a son-in-law a guest for a hundred years?
I judged that it would be a better choice to comfortably be together and exchange a word or two, rather than giving the impression of coming to work.

“Are you feeling alright, Miss Luna?”
“What?… What?”

“Well, yesterday, you seemed to choke several times… Although the carriage is large and comfortable, even this can be difficult with motion sickness when you’re not feeling well”
“Hup…”

Even though I had thrown in a worried comment that I didn’t even need to, just to show consideration in my own way.
Luna, displeased about something, ignores me without answering, her head bowed low.

“Ahem… Our child usually has a steel stomach, never getting sick-“
“Dad!”

Seeing Luna shouting shrilly, Hanson also began to refrain from speaking,
so after that, we had no choice but to move for hours in silence, without saying anything.

“Castillo? It looks like a trade group procession, why is the Castillo family accompanying them?”
“Young Master Eden of the Castillo family is engaged to Miss Luna, the young lady of the Wydro family. They’re traveling together, so they’re moving with the family knight order accompanying them like this. Is there a problem?”
“Oh my, what problem? I hadn’t heard that the two families were joining. I apologize for my rudeness. Hey! Open the city gate wide. Hurry up!”

Until we reached Turkun
It was a road where we had to pass through quite a few castles and territories of other nobles.
However,
The flag emblazoned with the Castillo family crest seemed to be a much more plausible pass than expected.
Was it natural in a society where, regardless of my personal reputation, respect between nobles was a basic assumption?
After passing through several castles without a single inspection,
the corners of Wydro Hanson’s mouth were rising high.

“Haa. It’s really convenient, not even asking to check the goods once, and no need to slip any bribes…”

According to his words
When a normal trade group passes through a city gate, which serves as a checkpoint,

there were usually processes that had to be undergone.
But today, this trade journey was progressing smoothly without any obstacles, like a sports car driving on an empty highway.

After traveling for a full day, we took lodgings in the village just before Turkun to briefly rest from our travel fatigue.
It was a measure by Wydro Hanson, considering me and our knights who rarely travel for such long periods.
We took an inn that operates both a restaurant and rooms, and thanks to Hanson generously giving money, the owner and staff were quite kind and attentive.

“I’ll bring out plenty of the highest quality food, as a matter of course. For now, wet your throats with this beer here.”

Perhaps realizing that we weren’t people who would mind the price,
thanks to the owner who was naturally catering to us and providing service, I and the knights could feel the good feeling of being well-treated.

“Alright, everyone’s worked hard, so let’s have a drink and rest well. They say we’ll arrive in Turkun before noon tomorrow, so hang in there just a bit more.”

I went to the table where I had gathered our knights and proposed a toast with words of encouragement.
Raymond, of course, happily responded to the toast, but the expressions of the remaining four knights were not very good.
It seemed that they were quite annoyed by the fact that they had been traveling for over a full day, accumulating travel fatigue, while I alone had traveled comfortably in the carriage.

“Sigh… How long will we stay after arriving in Turkun?”
One of the knights, Talon, asks me grumpily.

“Hmm… about two days for now? While going around greeting people and showing our faces, ah of course, you don’t need to follow me around every time. Once we arrive in Turkun, after that, I and the Wydro family will just go around handling the business we need to handle.”

“Hmm… It’s not very pleasant to just follow the trade group like this without anything particular to do.”

“Isn’t it an accompaniment with the meaning of escort? It means it’s the best possible state if nothing happens.”

Despite his behavior tinged with displeasure, I spoke in a quite benevolent and affectionate tone, as if soothing him.
There had already been two instances where I had shown my strength.
If I get used to solving everything with strength alone, I would become a person unable to gain loyalty or trust from not only the family knights but all other people.

“You’re comfortable riding in the carriage, young master-“

“Would you like to ride in the carriage tomorrow? I’ll ride your horse.”

Of course, good words are only good once or twice, knowing when to step on those who try to climb up too much is also the role of a leader.

“Ahem… hmm… That’s not what I meant or wanted.”

As I flexed between soothing and coming on strong unpredictably, Talon began to show quite a flustered appearance.

“Come on, let’s not do this and have a drink each! Cheers!”

Raymond proposes a toast, as if trying to liven up the drinking atmosphere before the mood gets more serious.

That’s when it happened.
The entrance door burst open, and a group of seven entered noisily.

“Who says you’re not doing business! Innkeeper, where’s the innkeeper, come out”

The one at the front was a very large young man with noticeable muscles bulging through his loose clothes.
The others following behind him were also owners of physiques that anyone would recognize as martial artists, but they had slightly more calm and composed impressions than the man at the front.

“Where’s the innkeeper, I said!”

The innkeeper, who had been helping with food preparation in the kitchen, came running out in a fluster.

“Oh my, Lord Heden… Have you come”

Beads of sweat could be seen forming on the innkeeper’s forehead, whether from cooking or from being flustered.

“Who says you’re not doing business? Are you sick somewhere? No, the tables in there are all full, aren’t they?”

The man swept his gaze through the interior of the restaurant and shouted, pointing at me and the knights, and the Wydro family trade group members.

At this, the innkeeper bowed his head deeply and hurriedly answered.

“Oh my, I’m sorry, my lord. Today we have a group reservation, so I thought it would be difficult to attend to you, my lord, so I put up a sign saying the shop was closed.”

“There’s no such thing, what group guests? Are we just one or two day regulars? Is this how you do business? Ah, forget it, just bring out some alcohol and food, we’ll sit over there”

The man points to the one empty table and leads his group to the seats without giving the innkeeper a chance to stop them.

The innkeeper made quite a troubled expression, alternately looking at Wydro Hanson and me,
so I approached him to speak, trying to put his mind at ease a little.

“As he said, since there’s one table left, don’t mind us and receive the guests. Would that be alright?”

While speaking to the innkeeper, I also sought a kind of permission from Wydro Hanson.
It was my consideration to uphold his dignity in a place where all the members of the trade group were together.

“Haha, of course. Of course. Our son-in-law is considerate of even a merchant’s heart, unlike a noble. Well done.”

Hanson gives cheerful permission in a quite pleased voice.
However,
Among those who heard those words, some seemed to find something irritating.
Of course, they were the ones at the front of the newly arrived group of men, the tall muscular man.

“Nobles? So that’s it. I thought it was a trade group, but there are nobles mixed in. So that’s why you closed the door.”

He blurted out as he pleased and then walked up to me and the restaurant owner with a deeply frowning face.

“Regulars or whatever, when rich nobles come, you just throw us away? Is this how a person doing business should act? I’m hurt, innkeeper?”

“Oh no, my lord! As I said, since they were group guests who came first, I received them, and because we’re short-handed, we couldn’t receive additional guests-“

Bang

The man who had been listening to the innkeeper suddenly roughly slams his fist down on the table in front.

“What do you mean it’s not? I’m feeling really shitty now. Are nobles guests and we’re not guests? Are we beggars eating for free?”

“But… you haven’t paid your tab for two months already…”

When the troublesome regular customer who doesn’t even pay properly smashed an innocent table, the innkeeper couldn’t contain his feeling of injustice and quite bravely spit out words.

However,
If rational conversation worked, would they be troublemakers?
The man starts shouting loudly again with a face that looks like it might burst, flushed red.

“With food that tastes like crap, is this how you treat regulars!! Hey, do you want to stop doing business?”

It was beyond a level that could be listened to any longer. We, who needed to rest from our travel fatigue and start moving again tomorrow, couldn’t eat in the same restaurant with such noisy people.

“I take back what I said earlier. I’d prefer if these guests weren’t received, innkeeper.”

Hearing my words, the innkeeper’s eyes grew as if they might pop out, and the man in front started to show a sardonic smile.

“Oh? Noble young master-“

Thunk

The reverse-edged sword at my waist is drawn and thrust into the man’s face simultaneously, then returns to its scabbard.
Of course, the man who was hit by it collapsed straight to the floor on the spot.

“Friends sitting over there, would you take this fallen friend out and find another shop?”

The six companions of the man who had sat down at the table first exchanged glances with each other and then simultaneously stood up and walked towards me.
But it seems,
They didn’t look like they were going to listen to my words and leave to find another shop.