Ainz Ooal Gown: Noble Knight

A thin cat peeked out from the corner of the wall, gave the unfamiliar army a wary look, and then quickly disappeared into the shadows of the eaves.

Rune pulled on the reins and raised his hand.

"All troops, listen up! Rest here for one day. Everyone is free to move around in the town, but unless there is an emergency, the use of force is strictly prohibited."

His voice carried clearly to every corner of the queue.

"Those who violate this rule will be dealt with according to military law."

Two hundred cavalrymen raised their right hands in unison, clenching their fists and pounding them on their chests.

"As ordered!"

The resounding response echoed across the open space at the town's entrance.

Rune turned around, gave a few instructions to the adjutants behind him about the garrison and duty shifts, and then looked at Sebastian.

"Sebastian, you've traveled such a long way, why don't you rest here for a while today?"

Sebastian nodded slightly: "Mr. Rune, please get some rest as well."

The cavalrymen quickly dispersed and set up temporary camps in an orderly fashion outside the town.

Rune, accompanied by several adjutants, headed toward the building in the town center that displayed the faded flag. It was where the town handled its affairs, and he would receive reports from the border guards there.

Sebastian did not go to the camp to rest.

His gaze swept across the small town. The twilight light bathed the low houses with their gray tiles and white walls in a warm orange hue, and wisps of smoke rose from the chimneys, dispersing into a thin mist in the evening breeze.

Finally, it landed on a building with a faded wooden sign. The sign had a crooked image of a wine glass on it, making it easy to tell that this was a tavern.

Sebastian straightened his clothes and strode toward the building.

He had never forgotten Lord Ainz's instructions.

Information about dragons was the real purpose of his trip.

The tavern door was low, and Sebastian had to bend slightly to get in. The hinges creaked dryly, startling the owner, who was dozing off against the bar.

"Ah, we have a guest."

The boss was a bald old man in his early sixties with a gray beard and a round belly.

He rubbed his sleepy eyes and saw Sebastian's well-tailored black tuxedo. He was taken aback for a moment, then immediately put on a smile.

Chapter 26 The Real Lolita Complex

Notice that Sebastian was dressed in an elegant outfit.

The tavern owner, thinking of the newly arrived troops from the territory of Aindora, immediately turned his gaze to them with eager anticipation.

“Esteemed guest, you must be… Lord Aindora’s attendant?” he said, quickly wiping the bar counter with a cloth. “Please, have a seat. What would you like to drink?”

Sebastian sat down at the bar, not denying the owner's statement, and ordered a glass of ale that locals often drink.

The drinks were served quickly. Sebastian picked up his glass, took a small sip, and calmly scanned the interior of the tavern.

Besides him and the owner, there was only one other drunkard sitting in the corner dozing off, snoring evenly, clearly having been asleep for a long time.

“Boss,” Sebastian put down his glass, “I have something to ask you.”

The shopkeeper paused slightly while wiping the cups, then smiled even more attentively: "Please feel free to ask, I've lived in this town for decades, and I know a little about everything, big and small."

"About dragons."

Sebastian's voice wasn't loud, but it made the boss stop wiping the cups completely.

"dragon?"

The boss blinked, his expression shifting between confusion and amusement.

But he quickly suppressed the urge to laugh, put the cup on the bar, and scratched his bald head.

"The guest wants to inquire about... dragons?"

“Yes.” Sebastian looked directly into his boss’s eyes. “I’ve heard that this country was founded by a dragon, so there must be quite a few legends about dragons.”

"There are legends, though." The shopkeeper wiped his hands with a rag, as if recalling something from a distant past. "When I was a child, I heard from the elders that this country was founded by a powerful dragon hundreds of years ago."

"That dragon was incredibly powerful; a single roar could shatter a mountain. Later, the dragon passed the throne to its human offspring, and I've heard that Her Majesty the Queen still has dragon blood in her veins."

Sebastian frowned slightly. Was the power of that roar comparable to a super-tier magic? Although it was valuable information, it was still far too powerful.

"Then..." he continued, "besides these legends, what else? For example, has anyone actually seen a dragon?"

"Saw it with your own eyes?" The boss thought for a long time, then shook his head. "No, I haven't. Even if there were dragons in the Dragon Kingdom, that was hundreds of years ago. I've lived most of my life and I've never even seen a dragon scale."

Sebastian was silent for a moment.

"Thank you." He stood up, took two copper coins from his pocket, and placed them on the bar. "The wine is good."

Sebastian stood at the tavern door, preparing to push it open and leave.

"Hey, please wait a moment, guest."

The boss's voice came up from behind, carrying the mercenary tone common among businessmen.

Sebastian turned around, and the owner had already put down the rag in his hand and walked around from behind the bar.

A few strands of gray hair on his bald head swayed gently in the dim light as he walked. He reached the door, glanced outside, and saw that dusk was falling and there was nothing unusual.

Then he lowered his voice and leaned closer to Sebastian.

“Guest,” the proprietor’s eyes gleamed with a shrewd light in the dim light, “as for the dragon, I have indeed never seen it with my own eyes. But…”

He deliberately dragged out the sentence, keeping everyone in suspense.

Sebastian cooperated without urging him.

The shopkeeper coughed lightly, lowering his voice even further: "I do have one of those items here. Are you interested, sir?"

A serious glint flashed in Sebastian's eyes, and his tone became more solemn: "Please show it to me."

The boss chuckled, turned around, and quickly walked back behind the bar.

He pushed open the wooden door leading to the inner room. The hinges made a dry, rattling sound, and the figure disappeared into the shadows behind the door. Then came the rustling sound of something being rummaged through.

Several bottles and jars collided together, making a clinking sound.

A short while later, the boss came out from the inner room.

He carefully placed a long, rectangular wooden box on the bar and pushed it in front of Sebastian.

The box was unpainted, the wood grain was exposed, and the edges were polished smooth and shiny, clearly indicating that it had been frequently handled and rubbed.

"This is it." The shopkeeper patted the box. "It took me a lot of effort to get it."

Sebastian opened the box; inside lay a letter.

The edges of the envelope were slightly yellowed, but it was well preserved.

There was still a red wax mark at the seal, but the pattern on it was already somewhat blurry and could only be vaguely discerned.

“This is…” Sebastian raised his head, his gaze falling on his boss’s face.

"A personal letter from Her Majesty the Queen, imbued with the blood of a great dragon." The shopkeeper puffed out his round belly, his tone full of pride, as if he had written the letter himself. "The real deal."

"How much?" Sebastian asked, putting the envelope back into the box.

“Three gold coins.” The shopkeeper held up three fingers.

A craftsman in town earns about ten copper coins a day, while three gold coins are enough for an ordinary person to live on without wasting money for a year.

Sebastian, without hesitation, took out three gold coins from his pocket and placed them on the bar.

The gold coins gleamed heavily under the light, and the shopkeeper's eyes lit up instantly. He stretched out his short, stubby fingers, picked up the gold coins one by one, and then flicked them near his ear. Only after hearing the crisp buzzing sound did he grin with satisfaction.

"The guest is such a straightforward person!"

Sebastian reopened the box, pulled the letter out of the envelope, and unfolded it.

The handwriting on the paper was crooked and uneven, with letters of varying sizes, some pointing upwards and others downwards, arranged together like a fence bent by a gust of wind.

Sebastian carefully read the text, which contained words of encouragement for the warriors of the Dragon Kingdom.

"To my valiant warriors: You are all heroes of the Dragon Kingdom. I swear in the name of the dragon's blood that as long as you are not afraid, I will not be afraid either. Orcs are nothing to fear. Though I am small, I am not afraid of them. Drodelon Auriclus."

These words are less a morale-boosting statement and more a childish boasting, as if trying to appear taller by standing on tiptoe.

There was no information about dragons in it.

Sebastian folded the letter again, preparing to put it back in the box.

"Isn't it cute?"

The boss's voice suddenly came from the side.

Sebastian looked up and found that his boss was very close, his wrinkled face almost touching the letter, his eyes gleaming with a fanaticism that Sebastian couldn't understand.

“Look at this handwriting,” the shopkeeper said, extending his short, stubby finger to trace the crooked letters an inch from the paper. “It’s clearly the work of a child who just learned to write, writing with great effort. Her Majesty the Queen, so petite, sitting at her desk, holding the pen, writing these words stroke by stroke… just thinking about it makes one feel…”

His voice carried an indescribable sense of satisfaction.

Sebastian frowned slightly. Before he could respond, he saw the boss turn around and carefully take out another letter from a drawer under the bar.

The letter looked almost exactly the same as the one in the box.

The boss didn't open it; instead, he held the letter to his nose, took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and his face showed an expression of being immersed in something wonderful.

"There's also a faint scent of youthful vitality." The shopkeeper sighed, his tone full of emotion.

Sebastian watched all this, and a rare, obvious emotional fluctuation appeared on his wrinkled face.

His lips twitched slightly, and a vein throbbed faintly on his forehead.

The boss had taken his fill of the drug and opened his eyes to find Sebastian staring straight at him.

He immediately hid the letter behind his back, leaned back slightly, and looked wary.

"This one won't do." The boss's voice was a bit firmer than before, with obvious wariness. "This is my personal reserve."

Looking at his boss's possessive face, Sebastian felt as if he had been attacked by some kind of powerful mental magic.

In the end, Sebastian simply nodded slightly, closed the box containing the letter, and held it in his hand.

“…Farewell.” Sebastian’s voice was a tone lower than usual as he turned and pushed open the tavern door, fleeing as if he were running away.