Chapter 81: The Knight of Justice
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 81: The Knight of Justice
Baek Ahyeon smiled faintly as she watched Jeong Jina’s happy expression. She felt the urge to see the man’s face fall in disappointment once more, but she had to restrain herself. The Savior’s command was absolute. She had to befriend Jeong Jina as much as possible and move with him.
When the food arrived, Baek Ahyeon and Jeong Jina slowly began to eat. Unlike the chilly atmosphere of their first meeting, the mood had become quite pleasant.
After the meal, he asked her out again, but Baek Ahyeon had other things to do and had to refuse his offer. They were only able to part ways after promising to meet again the next day.
As soon as Baek Ahyeon entered her room, she hurriedly sent a signal to deliver the good news.
[My Savior… My Savior…]
[Baek Ahyeon.]
At the familiar voice, a shiver ran through Baek Ahyeon’s body. It was a feeling as if his voice alone could make her entire body grow moist.
[Was there any progress?]
[Yes… Yes! There was, my Savior. I don’t know the exact timing, but it seems the Saint Knights Order within Legius may be departing for an expedition soon.]
[Explain in detail.]
[Yes… Yes! It seems the Saint Knights Order came all this way while searching for a Murderer Clan they had been tracking since the western city of Aia. I believe Jeong Jina has been tasked with finding and eliminating that Murderer Clan.]
[Interesting.]
[Yes… a-and, it’s not certain, but I… I think I might be able to join them on that expedition, my Savior…]
[…]
The lack of a reply made Baek Ahyeon suddenly anxious, and she bit her lip. She worried that she might have overstepped her bounds. But thankfully, that didn’t seem to be the case. After a moment of silence, the Savior’s voice returned.
[You did very well. I will grant you a reward when we next meet. Tell me what you desire.]
The offer was so tempting it made her eyes fly open. She was so excited that she shot up from her seat without thinking. However, Baek Ahyeon forced herself to calm her racing heart and slowly sat back down. How could she dare tell the Savior who had rescued her what she wanted? In the end, knowing she would regret it, Baek Ahyeon squeezed her eyes shut and cried out in her mind.
[A… a reward is unnecessary. I am not worthy. To even speak of a reward… S-Simply being allowed to serve you like this is thanks enough.]
[You truly are a loyal follower. How could I not cherish you? I am always grateful to you.]
[Thank you! Thank you!]
It felt as if the emptiness she had carried all day was being filled all at once. The sheer pleasure of it made her body tremble again.
[It would be good to grow a little closer to him. Do not worry, my young follower. I will not ask anything else of you. Your body is mine and mine alone. Remember this always.]
[Yes! Yes! My Savior. From a single strand of my hair to everything inside me, it all belongs to you, my Savior. All of it is yours.]
Her heart filled to the brim with joy. She felt like she was truly flying through the sky, so much so that she could barely keep her wits about her. It was the happiest moment she’d had since coming to this continent. Thinking that she wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight, Baek Ahyeon continuously stroked her face with her trembling hands.
The words she had just heard wouldn’t leave her mind.
And so, Baek Ahyeon smiled happily.
*
In the days that followed, Baek Ahyeon began to meet with Jeong Jina more proactively. Thanks to this, she thought he was under the delusion that they were dating, but it wasn’t a significant problem. For Baek Ahyeon, of course, it was all an act to use him. She said nothing about the attitude he maintained.
“Ahyeon-ssi, how about we go out together today?”
“Ah, I’m sorry, Jina-ssi. I have something else I need to do today.”
As time passed, Jeong Jina grew bolder. Even though it was all for her Savior, Baek Ahyeon found his actions extremely unpleasant. Like right now. She felt him subtly reaching for her hand, and she quickly pulled it away.
Her reborn body, down to a single strand of hair, belonged to the Savior. She could never let a man like this touch her. Looking at Jeong Jina, who wore an expression of having made a mistake, Baek Ahyeon slowly opened her mouth.
“I’m sorry. To be honest… I’m still a little uncomfortable…”
“No. I… I understand. I was too hasty. I apologize.”
Amusingly, this only resulted in Jeong Jina cherishing Baek Ahyeon even more. Baek Ahyeon thought she would never be able to forget the look on his face at that moment.
The plan, too, was slowly but surely taking shape. The archers of the Saint Knights Order had begun to track down the location where the Murderer Clan was hiding, and all that was left was to decide when to depart on the expedition. Baek Ahyeon once again entered her room and began to send a message to her Savior.
*
I began to slowly formulate a plan with Hakajin. It was all because Baek Ahyeon had worked harder than I expected. To be honest, her unique ability could truly become a bomb on our side, so I wanted to dig into it more, but I decided to just watch for now.
The reason was that I saw no need to needlessly put her on guard. My first reason was my judgment that her mind was quite broken. Regardless of the circumstances, she placed her absolute trust in me, the one who had rescued her from hell. There was no need for me to be the one to plant the seeds of anxiety. If a seed I carelessly planted were to explode, it would lead to a truly absurd situation.
What she needed was not suspicion, but trust. Funnily enough, this plan—or non-plan—was yielding results beyond imagination.
[Your body is your own.]
At this simple phrase, she had become fanatically enthralled. Her class itself was ‘Pagan,’ a special class she obtained by believing in me. I didn’t think she would ever betray me, but the loyalty she was showing now was beyond anything I could have imagined. Literally, if I told her to die, she would die.
She was blindly obedient, but she was competent. It was enough to make me feel sorry for that fellow named Jeong Jina. Just then, a signal came from Baek Ahyeon, so I pushed my magic into the ring and began to connect with her.
[My Savior…]
[My apostle.]
[Yes. I am the Savior’s apostle. I am the Savior’s.]
[Report.]
[Yes. I cannot confirm the exact date yet, but it seems the Saint Knights Order has succeeded in catching a lead on the Murderer Clan. They are being careful with security, worried that the Murderer Clan might catch on and flee. I am so sorry for not being able to provide precise information.]
[It is fine. You are doing more than enough. Do not be impatient. Do your best in your assigned task, but always think of your own body. I do not wish for you to be harmed.]
[Yes… sob… thank you. Yes! My body is yours, my Savior. I will never let it be harmed.]
With those final words, I cut the connection. Seeing Baek Ahyeon crying with gratitude made my heart ache a little. She was someone who had truly lived a hellish life. As such, I was the only one she could lean on, and seeing her do her absolute best to meet my expectations honestly made me want to keep her by my side.
But she was more useful among humans. I had recently heard that her followers had grown to about forty, and that a few of them had been granted the class ‘Martyr.’ They were very useful assets that I could use someday. I even thought they might be usable in this very operation.
It wasn’t as if the Saint Knights Order or the Sky Dragon Guild didn’t raise their own squires. And even if not squires, the weak who could clean up the messes of the powerful were needed everywhere.
I nodded and turned my head to the side. The tribe members who had been waiting for me to finish my communication with Baek Ahyeon were surrounding me. Gark and Hark, the loyal Five Goblin Siblings, Hakajin, Jung Hayeon, Mev, and even Ragia—all the clan’s executives were putting their heads together for a single battle.
Of course, the loyal Five Siblings were of no help in a meeting like this. But they needed to experience it. Just as strength grows the more you use it, the same goes for the mind. A day would come when the opinions of these naive but not foolish siblings would also be put to good use. I began to tell them the contents of my conversation with Baek Ahyeon, and their faces soon began to brighten. The first to speak was Hakajin.
“However, the fact that we cannot confirm the location of the battle beforehand is quite concerning.”
“It can’t be helped. It seems they are taking their security quite seriously.”
“But since you said the two human groups will be clashing, the number of possible locations for the fight is likely quite limited. Especially if one side is in hiding. It could be a cave or a forest that doesn’t attract much attention, or they could be hiding inside a dungeon after clearing it. In that case, I will determine our course of action based on a few possible scenarios.”
“That’s the most likely possibility.”
As the meeting slowly progressed, Ragia looked at us and opened her mouth.
“However. Is there really a need to wait for them…”
Her tone was extremely cautious, but I knew what Ragia was trying to say. Mev must have realized it too, because she quickly spoke up before Ragia could finish.
“Can’t we also find the Murderer Clan’s location, Chief?”
Mev, who was usually on the receiving end of Ragia’s jabs, looked as if she had finally landed one of her own today. At Mev’s words, even the Goblin Three Sisters looked at her in surprise.
“That’s our Mev!”
“Mev’s mind is brilliant!”
I glanced at Ragia, and seeing her smiling as if she found their reaction amusing, it seemed she wasn’t particularly offended.
“Can you find them?”
“The humans found them, so there’s no reason we can’t. This ‘forest’ is our territory to begin with. We can definitely find them.”
Mev looked cute as she boasted with such confidence. If Mev could really find the Murderer Clan’s location as she claimed, it would give us a few more options to work with. Hakajin also nodded at Mev’s plan, and Jung Hayeon, who rarely spoke during meetings, opened her heavy lips for the first time in a while.
“I should place my roots in the surrounding area as well. It might help in finding them.”
I nodded. We might not be the Saint Knights Order, but my tribe was competent. Soon, the decision was made to prioritize investigating the locations Hakajin had pointed out. The task should have originally fallen to Ragia, but since Mev had suggested it and was so enthusiastic, Ragia had no choice but to concede. Thanks to this, Mev’s pride swelled.
With that, the meeting came to an end, and everyone began to leave my tent to attend to their respective duties. Mev grabbed Jung Hayeon and darted out like an arrow, while the loyal Five Siblings and Hakajin placed their hands on their chests in a disciplined manner before exiting the tent.
“For Blood Dagger.”
“For Blood Dagger.”
The one strange thing was that Ragia hadn’t left and was staring intently at me. When I looked at her with a curious gaze, she slowly flicked out her snake-like tongue and opened her mouth.
“Since our Chieftain is so passionate, I find myself with nothing particular to do right now… I was wondering if it would be alright to spend a little time with you.”
Watching Ragia slowly approach me, I couldn’t help but think that it would be a long, long time before Mev could ever truly get one over on her.