Chapter 34
Chapter 34
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: How the No.1 Ranked Hero Protects the World
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Alright, at least I've gotten the minimum message across to the hunters.
Of course, there were still parts that worried me. Defenders would mostly be inside the castle, but I wondered if the message had reached those in siege positions.
Still, since they were coming here under the curse by borrowing the form of "possession," they must have basically possessed residents of this castle. So even if they'd chosen siege positions, there was a chance they were still here.
In any case, this was something I had to leave to luck.
Please, just stay put in a safe place until I clear this dungeon.
To make that happen, I had to defend this castle until the eighth night no matter what, and lift the ghosts' curse.
First, I looked down from the ramparts to see how people inside the castle were moving. Everyone in my view was bustling about.
The basics of a siege defense were food supplies, followed by weapons. Sure enough, soldiers and civilians alike were tearing down their houses to make even one more stone.
It was hard to find hope on the faces of those dismantling their own homes, but there was no despair either.
They were all just desperately trying to survive the day.
Unaware that they had already died in the past, and that even their grudges were now treated as a dungeon clear mission.
I soon clicked my tongue and shook my head. With nothing to do, useless thoughts kept creeping in.
I couldn't change their past anyway, so dwelling on it would just make me uneasy.
In any case, what I had to do now was clear.
First, I needed to carry out the system message from earlier. The overarching mission given to me was ultimately to protect what the Knight Captain was supposed to safeguard.
On my way to the inner castle to meet the Castle Lord, I naturally ran into countless soldiers and castle folk.
Even as they hurried about, everyone who saw me stopped to salute or bow.
I kept nodding back one by one, and by the time I reached the inner castle, my head was pounding.
In this desperate situation, you'd think someone might blame me or even draw a sword, but they all showed only respect.
At this point, I was starting to get genuinely curious about how this man had lived his life.
Even Prince Lucas of a kingdom didn't receive this level of respect just walking the streets—what kind of life had he led to earn such deep admiration?
Lost in those thoughts, I arrived at the inner castle before I knew it.
As I entered the castle and passed through the grand hall, a white-haired old man in full butler attire came rushing toward me.
"Captain, you've come. The Castle Lord is waiting."
"Huh."
I couldn't help but slap my hand over my mouth at the sight.
It wasn't a problem with the butler grandpa himself—it was the name floating next to him: none other than... Sebastian.
I nearly burst out laughing at someone else's name.
Not me, of all people. Why does he have such a perfectly fitting name for his job?
Butler Sebastian looked at me with concern.
"C-Captain? Is something wrong? Are you hurt...?"
"Oh, no. I was just on my way to the Castle Lord."
"Yes, I'll guide you."
This place seemed like a class-based society like Tartarus—should I be using informal speech?
But no system message popped up, and Sebastian didn't seem puzzled by my tone, so the Knight Captain must have been a polite sort.
As promised, Sebastian hurried ahead of me.
In the old man's hand as he climbed the stairs from the grand hall was a pitcher full of water.
"Shall I carry it?"
"Please don't take this old man's one and only job, Captain."
"One and only?"
"What else can I do? Of course, if the enemy storms the Castle Lord's tower, I'm prepared to shield him with this body."
"Don't say that. That's why I'm here."
At those words, Sebastian turned and smiled at me.
There's always something oddly piercing about the smile of an old man who's seen it all.
"Of course. If only ■■■■■ had ■■ with ■■ earlier......"
This time, quite a bit of noise cropped up. It even made my ears ring for a moment.
I bit my lip without showing it.
The path to the Castle Lord was far more complex and longer than I'd imagined.
Up the stairs, down the hall, then up another long set of stairs.
Along the way, I had to support the tiring Sebastian.
We arrived at the highest spire in the inner castle.
At the top, a heavy wooden door came into view. Sebastian politely knocked with the iron ring on the door.
No reply came from inside. But Sebastian opened the door without waiting.
"Please speak freely. I'll wait here."
"...Understood."
I entered the room through the open door.
The only light in the high spire's chamber came from a tiny window—no lavish decorations like the rest of the castle. The small room held nothing noble: just a bed, a few books, a water bowl, and bread crumbs.
It looked less like a Castle Lord's quarters and more like a prison cell for a criminal.
And despite the window flung wide open, a foul stench hung in the air.
The smell of rotting flesh.
The Castle Lord, lying on the bed, slowly turned his head toward me.
The Castle Lord's face was entirely covered by a mask. A thin silver mask hid everything, leaving only his eyes visible.
Eyes that had lost their original color—pure white. Those eyes were fixed on me.
I'd expected a name floating next to him like with others, but the name part was blurred like noise.
Since I'd only received fragments of the Knight Captain's memories, I had no idea what illness plagued the Castle Lord or why he was rotting alive.
His body was shrouded, so I couldn't even tell if he was male or female.
All I knew was that he'd been suffering for a very long time, delegating most of the castle's authority to the Knight Captain.
Yet the Knight Captain never acted without the Castle Lord's input. Even with full delegation, memories remained of him diligently climbing this spire every time.
And the first time the Knight Captain ignored the Castle Lord's opinion was with the surrender. Probably because the Castle Lord was one of the things he wanted to protect most.
But that choice had led to the worst outcome, leaving regret even in death.
"Ah......"
A trembling voice leaked from behind the mask as he saw me. The faded white eyes shook for a long while.
To him, I must have looked like his loyal Knight Captain on the eve of battle. It was only natural.
- You must act as that person.
In the end, all I could do was imitate.
"Castle Lord."
I approached the bedside, knelt, and met the gaze of the reclining figure.
A long silence was needed before his voice emerged.
Finally, it came—slow and wretched.
"You've come... Knight Captain."
"Yes."
"The situation? I heard there was talk of surrender."
Sebastian must have relayed the gist. I answered the question concisely.
"We're awaiting the battle."
"I see."
Then came a not-so-short silence.
The Castle Lord slowly turned his gaze from me to the window.
Did he want to see outside?
I tried to help, but he moved his fingers in a gesture refusing me closer, so I left him be.
Soon, fully turning away from me, the Castle Lord slowly spoke.
"I'm sorry."
An unexpected apology.
For a split second, I pondered how to respond, then found my answer.
Given how revered he was by the castle folk, the Knight Captain must have truly been a knight among knights. The kind of real knight straight out of a fairy tale, fulfilling his duties.
What such a knight would say to his lord before the final battle was surely set in stone.
So, with a slightly light tone, like a student raising a hand with the right answer, I replied.
"Protecting this castle is my duty."
"Duty......"
I could see the eyes behind the mask blinking several times.
The emotions reflected in them were unreadable.
"To think I've been bound by such trivial words all this time."
A single phrase that meant nothing to me, utterly unrelated.
The heavy voice from one rotting alive tore mercilessly at my clumsy imitation.
I shut my mouth.
I couldn't possibly respond to that.
No—from the start, I shouldn't have answered so lightly. This wasn't for me to reply to.
In my silence, the Castle Lord finally closed his eyes.
As the resolute gaze vanished into his blackened, dying eyelids, he truly looked like a corpse.
"Go now. Finish your duty."
......Until now, I'd thought I'd been handling the role of the Knight Captain I'd possessed pretty well.
No system interference meant I was objectively doing fine.
I'd managed so well because Tartarus, where I'd lived for ten years, was a class society, and one of my comrades was nobility—I'd seen plenty up close.
But in the end, I could never grasp the feelings of a knight serving his lord.
Lucas was my comrade, not my lord.
So this emotion welling up inside me now...... was the Knight Captain's, unknown to me.
Seeing him turn his face to me stirred something roaring within.
My throat tightened with what filled my chest.
Just sadness, affection, pity. It dazzled my eyes like brilliant light.
You wanted to give your life for this person.
A sentiment I could never comprehend.
Yet I couldn't help it—I bowed toward the Castle Lord, who couldn't bear to look my way.
To fulfill the system's directive.
"...As you command."
- The sixth morning phase ends.
- Wait time granted until the sixth day begins.
- 01:00:00