A scout rustled out of the bushes with a piece of fresh bark. The Knight Captain's expression turned troubled.
"This is the Knights' Order's mark... It means they 'were' stationed here."
But the exposed fibers on the bark were fresh.
"Look on the bright side. Maybe the Ratfolk just corrupted them. It happens all the time on the southern battlefield."
"...We don't have proof it was them."
Maybe they had simply camped here. Maybe they were hunting the killers too. Maybe they'd had no choice...
Three Knights' Orders were stationed in the capital: the Royal Guard Knights' Order served the Royal Family, the Golden Lion Knights' Order served the Noble, and the Retainer Knights' Order served the Holy Grail Knights.
When the Fifteenth Holy Grail Knight, Kleber Frankel Perkins, left for the border, he took nearly half the Retainer Knights' Order with him. That left only the Royal Guard knights and the Golden Lion knights active. The Cavalry squad accompanying Annan belonged to the latter.
The knights camped in the forest belonged to the former.
"Did they spot you?" Annan asked the scout. When the answer came back no, he said, "Then let them."
Annan had the group use Disguise to look as if they were passing through and hadn't noticed the other knights. As the star of the Otherworld's first Magic Film, he taught the knights how to act as they approached the Cavalry's camp.
First, the Scouts spotted one another. Then the other side's Knight Captain came out to check their identities. The Cavalry verified who Annan's group was, and Annan's group did the same for them.
The Royal Guard Knights' Order squad said they had taken a secret assignment and needed to remain in the forest for a while.
"What about you?"
"We're on an assignment to