I Will Be the Greatest Knight-Chapter 268: Mage in Disguise

The man in front of the two knights was far from the Stanley they remembered.

Replacing his usual robes was the dark green tunic of a traveler. His outer coat was dark brown and just enough for the weather, but would soon be too light for the winter that was looming just over the horizon.

What was most surprising was the small sword sheathed at his side. It was common for people to carry swords, but not those who were so prideful of the mana they possessed.

The moment Irene said Stanley’s name in disbelief, the old man stood up so quickly that one would think he wasn’t a century old.

"Shh!" the mage snapped, and he placed his wrinkled, spotty hands over the knight’s mouth.

However, Felix was on his toes the moment the interaction didn’t go as expected, and he was there with his sword in hand.

"Now, now," Felix interjected. "Mind the knight."

The mage merely became obedient, and he sat back down.

"Knight?" he asked the two. "How nice of you to finally get titles. At least you got something from the war."

"Ah, all of the mana stones from the Duke’s treasury weren’t enough?" Irene quietly wondered so others wouldn’t hear.

"Or all of the spoils that the goblins had left in the hills?" Felix asked.

He was referring to the hoarding the goblins had taken to before they were all wiped out. There were plenty of pieces of gold in the mountains that were still found during the cleanup. Since it was beyond even what His Grace had in his treasury, the knights decided that the mages could take the rest. Commander Lothian did not need more spoils of war, after all.

Rather than entertaining them, the mage scoffed.

"You don’t know me," he told them sharply, but under his breath. "Don’t expose me in this township full of mage opposition."

"You misunderstand us," Irene persisted, a bit louder than before, which caused Stanley to reel. "We’re merely here to have a drink with a traveler and see if the trail is safe. It is our job as knights to test out that sort of thing, isn’t it?"

The mage wanted to argue. Irene could tell that if he were in his usual robes, he would have pulled them tightly over his body, as he often did when he was irritated. All he could do was grasp the mug on the counter before him and grumble one way or another.

There was mostly silence as the three of them sat down and drank their ale. The pub was loud, so it didn’t feel so out of place. Most solo travelers stuck to the counters along the bar anyway because it meant they didn’t have to interact with others, such as those at the tables where plenty of others were sitting.

Stanley found the bottom of his mug much earlier than the others because he had been sitting there for a while. When he was done, he pushed it forward and tossed a coin at the barkeep. He was finished and desired to be alone.

However, he felt the knights’ eyes on him, and he cut off his own path forward. He turned around with an exasperated sigh.

"Follow me if you must know," he muttered, then turned on his heel and rushed out of there.

Irene turned to Felix, who shrugged and nodded. They had nothing else to do until the next day anyway.

The knights gave the barkeep a few coins as well before turning to follow Stanley out of the dining hall and to the opening that connected the inn to the pub, since there wasn’t one directly in the inn.

The two almost lost the mage as he disappeared up the stairs, but, because of how slow he moved, they caught up to him before he could turn down the L-shaped hallway and disappear for good.

Before they could go into the room, he turned around abruptly and looked down either side of the hallway, left and right. He motioned for them to go inside.

"What is so important—" Irene began, but was quickly cut off.

"Shh!" Stanley snapped.

As he always strangely seemed to, the mage suddenly straightened out when he was allowed to conjure his mana. It was like expressing his abilities made him feel lighter.

With his hands out and fingers splayed, the only evidence that he even used magic was the fact that it all of a sudden became unbearably quiet in that place. The knights felt like their ears had pressure over them, and it was uncomfortable to adjust to for a moment.

"We’ll speak quickly or we’ll suffocate in this noise barrier," Stanley insisted as he sat down heavily on the creaky bed against the wall.

However, it was clear to Irene and Felix that he had somehow moved the bed away from the window where the beds in the inn normally sat. He was paranoid for some reason. It was starting to make Irene feel paranoid after all they had been through the last year.

"What is so important that we need a noise barrier?" Felix wondered.

"Polona," the mage uttered. "Ever heard of it before?"

The knights exchanged glances. They both wore concerned expressions.

Even though they were knights prepared for what the worst Peroda had to offer, they also preferred the trips that lacked monsters

"The Monster Country," Irene confirmed. "We both studied the monster books as apprentices."

She momentarily recalled their monster presentations where Felix had dragons and she had wyrms. It felt like a lifetime ago.

"That’s right," Stanley confirmed. "But that isn’t all. There’s been strange activity there that the mages of Nickron are investigating. They’ve blocked Siverly and me from being able to go into the monster country to see about it ourselves. That is why I’m hiding here, waiting for the others to find more information. In history books, the last time this happened was because of the awakening of a magical beast. Lava flows, earthquakes, and disturbance in the mana field that surrounds the monster country..."

Felix recalled the lessons he learned about dragons since that was the beast he was required to present to the others.

"You think a dragon would awaken after this long?" Felix asked in disbelief.

"No one has seen a dragon egg even longer than the last time we’ve seen dragons," Stanley mused. "The only possibility of a dragon appearing is if there are still eggs out there somewhere. But our time outside of Nickron has taken off from their council of trusted mages, so there is nothing any of us can do to seek more information..."

"Will this do anything to the monsters’ usual movements?" Felix wondered. "Will we see more monster activity as they escape from the east?"

"You’ll have to tell me," Stanley responded with a smirk.

"We’ll be sure to have another mage send you a letter when we do," Irene agreed sarcastically.

"You won’t find many mages, they’re all east now..."

The mage trailed off, then his sharp, grey eyes turned to the knights.

"And here I am telling it to the knighthood," he scoffed. "It is no wonder we have been exiled from ever returning to the island."

Rather than allowing the mage to continue feeling pitiful, Irene decided she ought to speak up.

"Which is why we need you now in the knighthood more than ever," she explained. "You have nowhere to go, and we’re in dire need of a mage. Isn’t that right, Sir Felix?"

Her green eyes went to Felix’s, and she silently asked him to forgive her for overstepping her bounds, considering these were decisions he should be making and not her. Even though he agreed before that having mages around would be a good thing for the knighthood, they hadn’t come up with any solid plan or proposal to bring back the mages.

Stanley was getting slower, but he was still helpful, considering all he had done for them during the war. His research on cleansing magic that took away the black poison was what kept the knights alive in the first place. Even if the act of cleansing someone of the black poison was ugly, it was lifesaving.

"That’s right," Felix agreed, silently reading the message that Irene was sending him. "We still need to cleanse the barracks of the poison and have a healer nearby for the various injuries the knighthood may face."

"I’m getting too old to be the only mage in a knighthood of that size," Stanley argued. "I will do it, but only if you keep looking for more mages. The others have gone back to the Idona, the forests near Nickron and Polona..."

He stroked his beard thoughtfully for a few moments.

"Most of the knighthood is still in Hydrogia," Irene reminded him. "At least, until they’re summoned back or a Duke is named."

"Very well," Stanley responded. "I will return when I see fit, after I’ve searched for a bit of information. Don’t hold your breath."

"Winter is coming quickly, mage," Felix reminded him.

"You don’t have to remind me of that," he snapped.

To prove himself, he went to a chest against the wall and violently tugged out a drawer.

Revealed to the knights were piles of red mana stones. It was clear the mage had been cold enough already to seek the help of warming stones.

Irene couldn’t help laughing lightly at this.

"We will be heading out in the morning," she explained. "Let us know if we can help you find some warmer clothing for the winter, at the very least."

Stanley dismissed them shortly after that, and after taking down the noise barrier. Being around knights, he found it to be particularly exhausting.

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