They didn't get far, both figuratively and physically. The knight's order post was nearby, but when they queried the knights, they were essentially turned away at the door.
"Hm? You were unjustifiably captured by the knights? The knight order has the authority to question citizens. Please return to the said knight order and answer their query."
"They said we killed Alex. We already told them Alex was killed by bandits, but they didn't believe us!"
"So, what did you expect us to do? Guard you all day? Go and talk to Balto's knight order? We already gave them our reports. The said reports also mentioned the death of Alex Balto. Looking at the corpse, his neck was indeed cut by a sharp object. However, the cut was too clean. So, maybe the knights suspect you killed him in his sleep?"
"How could that be true? You guys are ridiculous!" Rebecca said, annoyed.
"Regardless, you did bring the bandit's head. Our scouts have also found the rest of the bandits' corpses. We believe you to be innocent. But as of this moment, we can only ask you to cooperate with Balto's knights' query. Lord Balto has yet to query Horaine's knight order, after all."
"Fine!" Rebecca huffed as she left the knight's order. Cecile went pale at the mess they got themselves into.
"Are we going back to Balto's villa?" Cecile asked.
"Of course not. The knight said Lord Balto has yet to query Horaine about Alex. This means those knights acted without orders. If we meet them, they will kill us. Let's go to the market to buy supplies, then we need to travel to the royal capital to meet my father. It's better if we travel via carriage."
"Our money was stolen by the knights...."
"Let's go to the adventurer's guild.... we can take some quests to gather money or send a message at least..."
"But... we don't have any weapons or anything to sell to the guild..."
"Ugh! We have to stake our inn to at least retrieve our gear," Rebecca said furiously. Cecile was downcast at the loss of their belongings. The knights had taken their money pouches when they were captured, leaving them penniless.
When they scouted the inn, there were no knights there, so they rushed in, but the receptionist called them.
"Customer, sorry, but knights in red armor emptied your room this morning."
"Hah? You let them rob our room without a fight? You knew they weren't Horaine's knights, right?"
"Well, they said they belonged to Count Balto. They were kind of rough, so we had to let them in to mitigate the damage. Regardless of their affiliation, we must obey a knight," the receptionist said.
Knights were treated like military or elite police. Their actions were backed by law. Any kind of disobedience was punished regardless of whether the knights acted according to the law or not. If they didn't act according to the law, they would be punished or even stripped of their rank later. But as long as they remained knights, citizens must obey them.
"Have you reported this incident to Horaine's knights?"
"Yes. Our employee just left to report it."
Whether it was good luck or bad luck, the girls missed Balto's knights by a hair. If they had arrived just a bit sooner, they might have encountered the knights and been captured.
"... So, what do we do?"
"I will ask the adventurer's guild to mail my father for help," Rebecca said.
However, the knights were thorough in not letting the girls go. A knight was stationed a distance away from the adventurer's guild. Rebecca then soon fell into despair. Luckily, the knights were distracted by a wandering chick. As they were catcalling her, Rebecca's group then used the chance to slip inside the adventurer's guild.
"Greetings, Miss Rebecca. Some knights were looking for you," the cold receptionist greeted her.
"Yes. They want us dead. You must help us!"
"However, there is nothing we can do. We can't afford a direct confrontation with knights. All citizens must obey knights. We could send a complaint to the capital if you wish. Their higher-ups will handle the rogue knights. We can't do anything since knights are outside of our jurisdiction."
Many people see adventurers as a stepping stone to being recruited as knights. Alex himself was one such example. He might have flunked the class, but if he could prove to be a successful adventurer, he could still be a knight. The guild would also gain prestige for it, so even though the adventurer's guild had autonomy, they wanted to avoid going against knights. Moreover, accepting Rebecca, who was a nobody, would put much work on the receptionist without profit. The cold receptionist was not eager to defend her.
"Ugh! Then, at least, let me write a letter. I want to talk to my father, Count Evesys!"
"Of course. That would be 10 silver."
"...our money was taken by those knights..."
"Then..." The cold receptionist was about to deny her request but rethought her answer. The adventurer before her was also a noble, and angering her might put her in the crosshairs of other nobles. So, she reluctantly agreed. "Very well. I will waive the cost for now. Please don't forget to pay us back when you hear from Count Evesys."
"Thank you!" Rebecca's face lit up. She then wrote the letter. Just then, a knight entered together with some adventurers. The uniform showed it was Balto's knight. Surprisingly, he ignored Rebecca. Either they didn't care or were too busy with the crowding female adventurers. No organization is 100% corrupt. Balto's knights were the same. Many might get fired, but some found their way to get recruited by the second son, while others tried to mingle with adventurers in hopes of being accepted back as adventurers. Not everyone here was planning to exact revenge on Rebecca.
The one who entered was one such person. As soon as he learned about Alex's death, he cozied up with fellow knights and the second son. When he failed, he returned to the adventurer's guild. He simply greeted the receptionist, looked around for quests, and left. Rebecca breathed a sigh of relief. Not even two days had passed since Alex's death; Balto's knights were still in chaos.
"Now what? Going to the royal capital would take at least two days, even with fast horses. We can't survive that long," Nana asked.
"I guess we have to make a run for it," Rebecca said, downcast.
"We have no weapons..." Nana continued. "It would be suicide."
Rebecca looked at her belly. "Let's try the forest around here. If it doesn't work out, then I guess we have to give up."
"Rebecca?"
"I think I know what it is that invaded our body. It's unbelievable. But if I am right, then we just had ridiculous luck on our side. Please keep this a secret, though. If anyone knew, we could get killed," she whispered to Cecile and Nana.
Then, as Rebecca suggested, they went outside. The guard was too lazy to care for three girls who went out unarmed and with light clothing. The town's guards worked for a minimum salary, so they gave a minimum amount of work. Their job was to question people who came in, not people who went out.
"So, what is it that inhabits our bodies?" Nana asked once they were a bit far from town. Hiro was sweating hard. If they knew he was a parasitic tentacle, what would they do to him?
"I think it is a [symbiote]. But I have never heard that it could be found in the wild. Not that I know much about them anyway."
"What's a [symbiote]?" Cecile finally asked her.
"I am not sure." Rebecca shrugged.
"Eh?"
"I just heard from my brother, okay! They said great nobles would receive a symbiote from the king, and anyone who received it would be peerless in battle or something. I have never actually seen a [symbiote]."
All information about symbiotes is classified by the state. Any noble or knight knew the term [symbiote]. However, very few knew what they truly were, and fewer even got the chance to see one outside their host. Rebecca knew about symbiotes because her oldest brother harbored one. He often said that having a [symbiote] feels like having something else invading your soul and body. That's the basis of her analysis of Hiro's species.
"I see. I certainly received some kind of boost since yesterday. You might be right!" Cecile nodded after hearing Rebecca's shallow knowledge about [symbiote].
"Eh? Stat boost?"
"But I get hungry quickly, though. I think the power has some restrictions or costs." Cecile nodded.
"Then it is settled! It is a symbiote! Amazing! I never thought all three of us would have it!" Rebecca quickly cheered. She was so excited her worry seemed to be blown away. "I guess the kingdom lied to us. What a joke! So, everyone could have a symbiote, huh? They said only a select few could have it. My second brother was refused to become a symbiote's master!"
"Was it really amazing?" Nana tilted her head.
"Of course. Anyone who has it will be guaranteed to become the head of the house. I heard this country only has 20 or 30 [symbiote] max! This is a small country, though. The Exal Empire has over 200!" Rebecca was excited.
"Eh? Really?"
"If we have a symbiote, a forest like this will be no problem!" Hiro was thankful Rebecca misunderstood his species. But thinking like that was dangerous. He emerged from her and hit her on the head with his tentacle.
"Ouch! What's your problem?" Rebecca protested when Hiro smacked her head.
"I think it doesn't like it when you talk about it like that." Cecile smiled wryly.
"Ah, I forgot they have some sentience, but why doesn't it ever talk to us, I wonder? My brother said his symbiote never shut up."
"Well, that's for later. So, you think with this [symbiote], we can travel through a forest full of monsters safely?"
"So, can you do it?"
Hiro then made a wooden sword for Cecile. He emerged from Cecile and reshaped his tentacle to form a sword-like shape, but Cecile rejected it. Since the sword was still attached to his body, he converted it back into a fleshy tentacle.
"Thank you... but I can't use this. Wooden swords are for training, and we can't harm monsters with them."
"Does it only make wood? Nana? Do you have a bowstring?" Rebecca asked. Nana shook her head.
"Ugh! Can you make something else?" Rebecca looked toward Hiro, but he retracted himself.
"So, now what?" Nana asked.
"Wait! Make me a spear and a shield, please," Cecile asked.
"Ah! Good idea."
"I haven't trained with it for a while, but it's okay. There are only goblins around here and in the capital."
"Me too. I think I can manage." Nana nodded.
"I can't fight, okay? But I can help you with magic."
"But your staff..."
"Well... casting offensive magic is out of the question... but we need water or fire, right?"
"Alright, Let's go!"
Hiro guided them to some trees and sucked nutrients out of them. Then, as they requested, he made spears for Cecile and Nana. When they saw how Hiro made the tree die, they thanked him. They figured out who had killed the bandits.
"I never thought a symbiote could be so strong. It took down over fifteen bandits!" Cecile was excited, and Rebecca was baffled.
"Well, if it could do that, there is no need for us to arm ourselves, right?"
"No. We still need to at least kill a wild boar or something. We can't go far without food. And his technique seems to decompose or make the target shrink."
"You are right."
"Rebecca, you are so lazy with your physical exercise. That's why you didn't grow!" Nana muttered. Nana was comfortable talking with Rebecca despite her being a noble. They had heart-to-heart talks with each other when they were under Alex's wing.
"Everyone has their own strengths, okay." Rebecca puffed her cheeks. She had low stats, but with Hiro's enhanced growth, they should get better.
And so the trio of girls and their tentacles moved on toward the forest.