Time to Grow (9)

After climbing down from the machine, I saw Arthur sitting cross-legged on a flat rock in front of the tent, staring up at the night sky with a look of dissatisfaction.

Sigh... I’m not a nanny. Why do I have to go around cleaning up after grown adults?

As I slowly approached, Arthur, who had been gazing at the stars, lowered her head and locked eyes with me.

"Why did you come down instead of staying up there?"

"..."

When I got close, Arthur asked me why I’d come down here.

"A moment ago... why did you do that?"

"A moment... ago?"

"Yeah."

I approached her cautiously and asked why she had acted that way earlier.

"...Well... how should I put this? When I saw that 1,000 coins had been won right in front of me, and then I saw you and Cheonma... I don't know, I felt like I was possessed. I suddenly felt an urge to tease you."

"...Isn't that just instinct?"

"Instinct? You call that instinct? Isn't that a side effect of the Gacha?"

Arthur countered, insisting it was a side effect of the Gacha.

Whoa there!

A side effect of the Gacha, she says!

The Gacha is innocent, my friend!

And... "the moment you saw me and Cheonma"...?

Isn't this just the instinctive reaction of a 'Beet-ik'—a show-off—trying to keep a fellow Gacha-user in check?

"How could that be? Did you feel like someone was controlling you while you were Gacha-ing?"

"...No?"

"A Grandmaster, who is on par with a master of the Hyungyeong realm, shouldn't be susceptible to something like that. Don't you think?"

"...You're right. Why did I do that earlier..."

It wouldn't be easy for absolute masters, who are immune to all poisons and can dodge most mental magic with superhuman senses, to be swayed so easily.

Which means... you must have wanted to do it subconsciously.

"This is just my opinion, but... it seems like your true nature manifested subconsciously."

"...W-what? Are you... are you saying I'm trash right now?"

"No, but... it would be easier if you just accepted it that way."

"May I ask if you're in a hurry to die?"

"No. Hehehe."

"Ugh... seriously... was I really this kind of person...?"

Arthur, who had been talking with me, was angry at my joke, but soon she seemed lost in shock, questioning herself about whether her true nature was really that of trash.

"I was just joking, don't kill me. I didn't mean it like that."

"...A joke...? A joke... a joke....... Then what?"

Arthur, who had been deep in shock, asked with a chilling expression at my mention of a joke.

I could be in big trouble for one joke...?

"Um... this is just what I saw and felt... so just take it as a reference. Just a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠reference, okay?"

"...Fine."

"The way I saw you and Cheonma... your ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠personalities? Your temperaments seemed to click."

"...Me and Cheonma?"

"Yeah. Among the martial arts heroes, I felt that Cheonma had a fairly strong sense of jealousy and competitiveness."

"Martial arts... faction?"

"Oh? Yeah... that's just a nickname I gave to the groups of heroes from the same worldview."

"...Heh. Then what about us? What nickname did you give us?"

"O...oh?"

"...Oh? Did you just say 'oh'!? Are you saying you didn't even think about us?"

Arthur, who had been sitting cross-legged watching me, uncrossed her legs and jumped up at my hesitant response.

Look at this girl...?

Why are you getting angry here?

Is that really the point you're focusing on?

You're pouting because I didn't give you a nickname?

Her behavior is kind of cute...

But who am I?

Of course, I knew that would happen, so I had already thought of one!

No wonder you and Cheonma have the same code!

"Of course..."

"Of. Course?"

"The Knights of the Round Table."

"...W-what?"

"In the world I came from... you were called the King of Knights. But since you're not alone now, I called you the Knights of the Round Table."

"...How... how did you know we were the Knights of the Round Table!?"

"You were really called that!?"

So you were really the King of Knights in your world too? And you were called the Knights of the Round Table...

...The legend of King Arthur... the historical accuracy was incredible...

No... since the worldview is different... is it not?

I don't know.

"In the world I was in, it was passed down that you were the King of Knights... so that's how I learned it..."

"...Passed down...?"

"Yeah. I'm a person from thousands of years later. And right now, the worldview is completely different."

"...This is complicated..."

Arthur seemed to have a headache from my words about things being passed down for thousands of years and the different worldviews, so she pressed her temples with both hands.

"Anyway... when I look at Cheonma... it doesn't feel like she's trying to suppress others with the thought that she's superior... but rather that she finds joy in competing in good faith with someone of equal or higher ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠skill. Looking at Hwaryeon and Judang, who came from the same world, Cheonma seems to be the leader of the three. In my eyes as a third party."

"...And?"

"Strangely... the way she treats you... it's like she considers you an equal competitor. In other words... she probably thinks of you, Arthur, as the leader among the three, including Merlin and Lancelot."

"..."

Perhaps it was an unexpected remark, as Arthur blinked rapidly while looking at me.

"When, where did you feel that?"

"Whenever the heroes' opinions needed to be unified, they always looked at you first."

"...You noticed that?"

"Of course. I'm Sergeant Kim, the boss of the soldiers. That kind of social skill is standard equipment."

"Boss...? Pfft... Hahaha!"

Arthur burst into laughter at my remark about being the 'boss'.

I continued talking as I watched her.

"In other words... if you look at you all, you've always been in the position of the strong, right? So... you probably didn't have anyone to joke around with... that is, friends. From Cheonma's perspective, Hwaryeon and Judang... hate jokes. Arthur... from your perspective, Merlin...? Hmm... no matter how I look at it, she likes jokes, but she's more obsessed with experiments than jokes. Lancelot? Hmm... I won't say any more. Just looking at the two of you, one might think it's a parallel theory."

"...Parallel theory?"

"There's such a thing. The conclusion is... since 'you strong ones have no friends to joke with,' it seems you feel joy by respecting each other while bickering, that's my answer."

"..."

"I've talked too much. Anyway... I hope you two talk it out well... and offer an apology, of course."

"...Yeah... I understand what you're saying. I'll keep it in mind. And... I was planning to support you with coins even before you said anything."

"Hmm... then I jumped the gun? I won't interfere next time. I should stop acting up."

"...But it means you're interested in your colleagues and talking to them. Keep doing it. It will be helpful to everyone."

"Yeah..."

Thinking that things were somewhat resolved, I asked Arthur a question I had been keeping in my heart.

"Um... Arthur?"

"...Yeah? Why?"

"I have one thing to ask... is that okay?"

"What is it? What could it be that you're asking with such a serious face?"

Arthur must have thought my expression was unusual, as she took a few steps and came right up to my nose.

"I heard... that there were 12 heroes... but there are only 6 here now...?"

"Yeah. But why? Is there a problem?"

Would there not be...?

Six people have gone missing!

"Th... did you... perhaps have a falling out with the other 6...?"

"...What are you talking about... Oh? Wait a minute... did I... no, did we not tell you?"

"...? You didn't even treat me like a colleague, so why would you have told me...?"

I couldn't bring myself to ask Arthur if the other 6 heroes had split into factions over trivial things like they had, but I managed to ask.

Arthur looked at me with an expression of disbelief, as if asking what I was talking about, and then it seemed she realized she had never given me any information.

"S... sorry... but... don't say it like that..."

At the mention of not being treated like a colleague, Arthur became visibly dejected and said in a small, deflated voice.

"The other 6 are probably active on the opposite side from us right now...?"

"..? This isn't the end?"

"Yeah. We're in the East. They're in the West right now."

What!?

A double front line!?

Back in the tank country, we deployed a double front line and it failed...!?

Hey... I didn't bet on the wrong side, did I...?

Tell me it's safe, quickly!

...

By the way, just how wide is this world to have... a double front line?

.

While I was admiring the world for its unexpectedly massive scale, Arthur smiled brightly and spoke to me.

"Hehe... by any chance... can you show me your ability? I was so distracted earlier that I couldn't see it well..."

"My ability? Wait a minute... now that I think about it, I haven't checked my ability even once since I generated the skill. Status Window!"

As expected, the changes and added lists were well-organized in the status window so I could see them at a glance.

Hmm...

First of all, the items... nothing stands out, so rather than the Appraisal skill, should I try activating the Aegis skill?

"Alright... hey, move back a little. Okay, that's enough. Now, here I go?"

"Okay, okay!"

Arthur's eyes sparkled as she stepped back to a certain distance following my gesture.

"Aegis."

.

..

...

Whoooooooosh-

A pure white liquid of unknown origin, a color completely different from before, erupted from my body.

Soon, the liquid that wrapped around my body covered me entirely.

"All done."

"This is... what kind of ability is this? The effect is truly magnificent... It's like Merlin's wide-area light skill went off right in front of my eyes..."

Just as Arthur said, looking around me, it boasted enough brightness to dye the mountain pure white; perhaps, according to Arthur's expression, it demonstrated the efficacy of magic used by a 9th-class mage. To understand it easily, it was like a lighthouse in Guro—a light that never goes out even at night and provides IT services.

I kindly told Arthur that the Aegis skill had both attack and defense capabilities.

"This...? It has the ability to both attack... and defend...?"

"...What? Y-you can attack and defend...?"

Arthur looked at me with wide eyes, as if she couldn't believe my words.

She doesn't believe me...

How...

Should I try a test?