In this crossover anime, Yoshikage Kira longs for a peaceful life.

"besides,"

Sir Hector paused briefly, gazing intently at Yoshikage Kira: "The grain they attacked was being transported to the manor. But for some reason, the intelligence was leaked, and Sir Vincent, who was guarding the caravan, along with his squire Hesh, the soldiers and serfs protecting the caravan, were all brutally murdered. If it weren't for Lord Kira stopping them and reclaiming the grain wagons, many of our people would likely not have survived the winter."

More than twenty cavalrymen, more than twenty warhorses, and the same number of leather and cloth armor, well-made weapons, and even a traitor within the territory of Ekto, otherwise they could not have so accurately raided the grain transport convoy.

Without a doubt, these people would be a huge threat no matter where they are placed.

It's important to understand that even Sir Hector's territory could only support a maximum of 100 knights, 50 armored knights and 50 squires. This was under ideal conditions; in reality, there were far fewer.

Furthermore, these knights were scattered across various knightly territories within the domain, and only a dozen or so knights could be assembled in a short period of time. If these dozen or so knights were to engage in a direct confrontation with the raiding bandits, even if they were to win, they would pay a heavy price.

Other baronies only have 10-20 cavalrymen, and even if they were all gathered together, it would be difficult to pose a threat to this band of horsemen. In other words, these horsemen, who consist of more than twenty cavalrymen on horseback, could do whatever they wanted in any baron's territory.

If there really were such a powerful bandit force nearby, Sir Hector would have personally led his troops to wipe them out long ago, why would he wait until now?

Yoshikage Kira asked directly:

Whom do you suspect?

Sir Hector's eyes flickered, and he did not answer immediately.

These bandits seemed to appear out of nowhere. Not only were they well-equipped and highly skilled in martial arts, but their intelligence was also incredibly accurate. It was obvious to anyone with a brain that they must have other nobles supporting them.

The baron was unable to deal with such a powerful force, so naturally he had no way to support it.

Only nobles of earl rank or higher can do this!

The number of nobles around London was not large, and the number of nobles above the rank of earl was even smaller, so there were not many suspects.

In fact, his initial suspicions were directed at Yoshikage Kira and Vivian. The former's identity was unclear, so that's another story. The latter, as a princess of the Camelot Kingdom, was no ordinary power, even now that the kingdom was practically defunct; supporting a band of over twenty bandits wouldn't be difficult for her.

But such doubts were quickly dispelled, because these bandits had all died at their hands.

While leaving no survivors raises suspicions of murder to cover up wrongdoing, such suspicions are actually unfounded. No nobleman would waste his men like that; even if he were to kill, he wouldn't go so far as to slaughter their warhorses as well. Even a wealthy family couldn't afford such a waste!

Excluding the self-proclaimed Vivian, Princess Morgan, there weren't many suspects left to begin with.

There were only a few nobles of the rank of count or higher, most of whom did not border his territory and had no conflicts with him on a regular basis.

Sir Hector considered himself to be a man of low profile, well-liked among the nobility, and often helped other less powerful barons suppress bandits; they had no reason to bother him.

Therefore, this person is not only a nobleman, but also a nobleman with whom he has a grudge.

If you were to ask who he had offended, Sir Hector himself would know the answer.

"Earl Walker".

Sir Hector slowly began, “His territory is not far from mine, and those bandits were heading in the same direction as Walker Territory. If they had actually entered Walker Territory yesterday, it would have been difficult for me to lead the knights in pursuit.”

The Kingdom of Camelot is now living in fear. Leading one's knights into another's territory without authorization could be seen as provocation, potentially sparking a war between the two nobles—which might very well have been Earl Walker's original intention.

He deliberately lured them into chasing the bandits into Walker's territory, and then led his knights to kill Sir Hector and his party under the pretext that "trespassing on territory is tantamount to declaring war."

Of course, they could choose not to enter Walker territory, but then they would have to watch the bandits leave with their caravans laden with grain.

He hadn't originally intended to say these things, especially not in front of Artoria.

But since Yoshikage Kira asked directly, he didn't intend to hide it.

Kai silently lowered his head and clenched his fists.

But Artoria couldn't help but ask:

Why would he do such a thing?

Sir Hector paused for a moment, then sighed:

"I'm sorry, Artoria, it's my fault."

He had been trying his best to educate Artoria, but in the end he couldn't bear to let the girl shed her last bit of naivety, and always let her retain that innocent and ignorant childhood.

This was out of his own selfish motives, and it may not necessarily be a bad thing, but it was indeed a dereliction of duty on his part.

"Humans are so complicated."

Vivian muttered something under her breath, and Mei Liuqina nodded obediently in agreement.

Although she didn't understand, since her mother said so, she must be right!

Yoshikage Kira glanced at Sir Hector:

"Aren't you going to retaliate?"

"Walker territory has at least a hundred armored knights, and Ector territory did not suffer any direct losses in this incident."

Sir Hector did not give a direct answer, but his implication was that he intended to drop the matter.

Although two knights died in Ector territory, Walker territory also lost more than twenty knights.

The grain trucks were also intercepted, so in the end, they still made a profit.

It won't do them any good to insist on fighting to the bitter end.

Therefore, the best approach is to act as if nothing happened.

Artoria lowered her head, biting her lip with some resentment.

Although she wouldn't oppose her adoptive father's decision, she still felt resentful!

Weren't those who died human beings? Didn't their lives matter?

Why do we just leave it unattended even though we know who the murderer is?

She doesn't like this!

Chapter 238 The Saxon Barbarians

Artoria did not train in the morning.

Because she was to accompany Sir Hector to the funeral of Sir Vincent, to offer condolences to his wife and family.

But this funeral made the girl feel even heavier, and she remained silent with her head down throughout the entire funeral.

When Sir Hector expressed his condolences to Sir Vincent's wife, Artoria did not join him. She stood by the stream near Sir Vincent's house, gazing blankly at the flowing water.

"Artoria, what are you thinking about?"

The footsteps grew closer, and Artoria turned around to see a tall man standing beside her.

The girl bit her lip tightly and whispered:

"Teacher Kira, I know Knight Vincent. Among all of Hector's knights, Knight Vincent's strength ranks in the top five, so Hector often asks me to duel for practice."

“I once thought that a knight as noble as him would surely achieve extraordinary feats on the battlefield, and even if he died on the battlefield, he would die with honor. But he died in obscurity. People will only remember that Knight Vincent of Hector was easily killed by a group of bandits, but no one will know that a nobleman was backing those bandits. Such a death is utterly dishonorable!”

A knight who dies in a duel with other knights will be mourned.

If he dies on the battlefield, people will praise him regardless of whether he has achieved extraordinary feats before his death.

But if a fully armed knight is killed by bandits, people will only think that he is unworthy of the title and unworthy of being called a knight.

Knight Vincent's lands will certainly be reclaimed so that they can be reassigned to other knights in the future. His family may receive some compensation, but at most they will only be free citizens with some land, unable to maintain their current comfortable lifestyle.

All of this was because Knight Vincent died in a bandit raid, not on a real battlefield.

The girl clenched her fists, her mood sinking further.

She could understand her adoptive father's actions, of course. Hector was just a baronial territory, and it was difficult for it to compete head-on with Walker's territory.

Even if war were to break out, and even if victory were achieved, it would be a Pyrrhic victory. At that point, even more knights would die in the war, and the losses would only increase further.

Even so, the girl still felt somewhat unwilling.

Can you ride a horse?

Artoria was caught off guard by the question, and her expression showed some surprise:

"I do know how, but why do you ask?"

Just like swordsmanship, horseback riding is a required skill for a knight.

She received Sir Hector's instruction from a young age, so naturally she could do it.

Yoshikage Kira suggested:

"Let's go on a trip and relax."

"Huh? But I have so many things to do..."

“There’s no ‘buts’ about it. I’m a teacher, aren’t I? Your whole day belongs to me; it’s part of the teaching process. Don’t worry, we’ll be back before evening.”

"Hmm~, okay."

Artoria originally intended to refuse, but was eventually persuaded by Yoshikage Kira.

It wasn't that she wanted to go on a trip; it was mainly because Kira Yoshikage was right. He was the teacher, and she had been his student all day. Since Kira Yoshikage said it was part of the teaching and that he would be back before evening, she had no reason to refuse.

"Then let's set off."

Yoshikage Kira pointed to the horses grazing on the slope behind him, which he had seized from the 'horse bandits' yesterday.

Artoria asked, somewhat puzzled:

"Huh? But there's only one horse here. Should I go and borrow another one from Hector?"

"One is enough; I've never ridden a horse before."

"Huh?"

Artoria asked in surprise, "But Kira-sensei, aren't you a knight?"

What knight can't ride a horse?

"I never said I was a knight."

Yoshikage Kira remained calm. How many modern people can ride a horse? And how many people have even had the opportunity to come into contact with a horse?

Let alone ordinary people, even children born on the grasslands don't all ride horses to school every day.

Artoria was speechless for a moment, but upon careful recollection, it seemed that Yoshikage Kira had never actually called himself a knight; it was the rescued peasant women who had been calling him 'Knight-sama'.

Artoria approached the horse and skillfully stroked its back to soothe the warhorse, which was still a stranger to her.

After completing these necessary preparations, Artoria mounted her horse and gripped the reins with both hands.

Kira Yoshikage followed suit, mounting his horse. Even with someone pressed close behind, Artoria, raised as a boy, didn't fully grasp the differences between men and women, nor could she understand the implications of overly intimate contact. Therefore, she felt nothing amiss, only offering a kind reminder: