Chapter 147
Chapter 147
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 147
Chapter Title: I've Made It (8)
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Even without the power of their Blessing, a knight was still a knight.
For an ordinary person, keeping up with one was no easy task.
But that didn't mean it was impossible.
I had managed to follow Roman’s ridiculously fast breakthroughs even when my legs weren’t at their best.
Compared to that, this was nothing.
“Like hell it is…”
But that judgment turned out to be completely wrong.
Rangfin Haime’s charge was certainly slow enough to make one yawn compared to Roman’s breakthroughs.
That was precisely what made it hell.
It was the exact opposite of Roman’s case, which was equally difficult for friend and foe to follow.
Keeping pace with Rangfin Haime wasn’t that hard.
The problem was that the same was true for the enemies.
Foes rushed in from all directions.
Those at a distance threw short spears and fired poison darts.
Those who got close clung to us tenaciously, thrusting with their swords and spears.
I had to block them all.
So that Rangfin Haime could focus solely on the enemies in front of him.
It was hell with Roman, but this was a different kind of hell.
Without Baegya, it would have been several times harder.
“Huu, huu.”
My arms and legs felt as heavy as if they were tied to iron weights.
That wasn't a metaphor. It was literal.
*Jangle, jangle.*
The surface of my shield was studded with hand axes and poison darts.
Among squires, we called this “flower arranging,” a metric used to prove how passionately one had fought.
In my past life, my own flower arrangements were second to none.
But that was all in the past.
The weight of the hand axes added directly to the shield's own was a considerable burden for me now.
I threw the shield away.
Fortunately, there were plenty of replacements for the discarded shield lying all around.
“Yelp!”
I tripped one of the smaller dog-heads, knocked it down, and snatched the shield it had clearly looted from one of our soldiers.
“Grrr!”
I followed Rangfin Haime again, and when the shield grew too heavy, I picked up a new one.
“Heok, keok.”
Around the time I had picked up and discarded the fifth or sixth shield…
*Thud.*
Rangfin Haime suddenly stopped and looked back.
“……?”
His gaze was viscous, its meaning incomprehensible to me.
The emotions swirling within it were anything but simple.
Of them, I could only read two.
An inexplicable bliss and greed.
It was completely out of the blue.
But what was even more unexpected was…
“You, carry my shield.”
…Rangfin Haime’s next words.
He had offered to make me his squire several times before, but this time, the weight of his words was entirely different.
It had to be.
This wasn’t a simple proposal.
*A black knight’s sword is his pride and a symbol of his conviction, offered to the lord he will serve for life.*
*A knight’s shield is his life and a symbol of his trust, entrusted to the one he can rely on most.*
If you were to ask which was heavier, it was obviously the former, but that didn't make the latter any less significant.
Knights never entrusted their shields to just anyone.
This was especially true for high-ranking knights.
Be it talent or character.
Meeting their lofty standards was a difficult task even for the world-renowned geniuses.
Of course, there were people like Roman who would toss their shield to someone they just met simply because it was a hassle, but he was an exception.
It was common to keep a talented individual by one’s side for a long time, verifying their worth, before finally bestowing the shield upon them.
So, in short, Rangfin Haime’s proposal meant he was willing to skip that entire verification process.
I must have misheard.
The blood trickling down must have clogged my ears.
Either that, or my brain had gone haywire from being shot by so many goblin poison darts.
But that wasn't it.
“Become my shield bearer.”
Rangfin Haime said to me once more.
His tone was so earnest, it was almost like a courtship.
“……?”
I scanned Rangfin Haime’s entire body.
It seemed I wasn't the one whose head had been addled by goblin poison.
But no matter how closely I looked, I couldn't see a single poison dart on his body, nor anything resembling one.
*Nod.*
As I was silently nodding to myself, impressed with my own good work, that viscous gaze snapped me out of my thoughts again.
Rangfin Haime was still looking at me.
His face was so serious it looked desperate.
“Krawr!”
If it hadn’t been for the dog-heads charging at us just then, he would have surely demanded an answer from me on the spot.
The battle, which had paused for a moment, resumed.
I once again zipped around, following Rangfin Haime.
It was the same.
Except for Rangfin Haime occasionally looking back at me, nothing was different from before.
I gritted my teeth and pretended not to notice his gaze.
Once this moment passed, Rangfin Haime wouldn’t make the offer again.
The heat of battle sometimes made people irrational.
That's what I believed.
It didn't take long for that belief to be shattered.
“The enemy is retreating!”
At the Valkyrie’s signal, the demi-humans pulled back like a receding tide.
Exhausted, I collapsed right where I stood.
The battle itself was draining, but Rangfin Haime’s sudden actions had worn me out even more.
As I sat on the ground, gasping for breath…
*Stare.*
I felt Rangfin Haime’s gaze on me.
I shuddered at the fervent emotion within it.
If it weren't for the blood covering my entire body, he would have seen the goosebumps on my skin.
*Scurry.*
I fled toward the soldiers.
In my mind, I was escaping Rangfin Haime’s inexplicable favor, but it wasn't a very good choice.
“……?”
The way the soldiers were looking at me wasn't much different from Rangfin Haime’s gaze.
***
“Phew.”
A sigh of relief escaped me.
It was a relief that the enemy wasn't blocking our path, but it was an even greater relief that Rangfin Haime didn't press me for an answer.
Of course, that didn't mean he had come to his senses.
I could tell just by the clingy glances he sent my way from time to time.
“Hmm.”
The situation had gotten to the point where I was seriously wondering if goblin poison had some unknown effect.
I had heard that among the stars in the sky, there were beings who wielded the power to shoot arrows that amplified a person's impulses and desires.
Perhaps the goblins received the blessing of such stars.
Of course, it was a ridiculous thought.
The blessings of the stars were for humans alone.
There was no way a star would bless goblins, the most insignificant and base of all demi-humans.
“Everyone, just a little more! Friendly territory is just ahead!”
I continued to encourage the soldiers, pushing them to pick up the pace.
Honestly, I wasn't sure if I was doing it because I was wary of the Valkyrie's motives for retreating after only expending her own army with little gain, or if I just wanted to get away from Rangfin Haime as quickly as possible.
It wasn't important.
“I can see the outpost up ahead!”
What mattered now was the fact that we had returned from the plains safely.
Perhaps they had received reinforcements over the past few days, as there were quite a few flags flying at the outpost.
The soldiers' mood, which had been somber due to the grim war situation, also seemed lively.
“It’s all thanks to the Centurion!”
But they were saying it was thanks to me.
“……?”
As I blinked, not understanding, Centurion Bravos laughed heartily and slapped me on the shoulder.
It just happened to be the shoulder that had been hit by a hand axe, so tears welled up in my eyes.
I didn't show any sign of pain.
This was probably their way of welcoming back a comrade who had returned alive.
“Ah, um. My apologies.”
That's why the Centurion's apology felt a bit sudden.
“It’s alright. You don’t have to apologize… Where are you looking right now?”
The Centurion, sweating profusely, wasn’t looking at me.
I followed his gaze and saw Rangfin Haime.
“I should go and rest.”
Our eyes met. He said one thing and then disappeared deeper into the camp.
As the Centurion glanced back and forth between me and the direction Rangfin Haime had gone, I asked for an explanation again.
“Ahem. Do you have any idea how many of our men you saved?”
“I didn’t count them, so I don’t know for sure.”
“Three whole centuries.”
In other words, the return of allies thought to be dead had a significant impact on the soldiers' morale.
“Half of them were injured and were immediately sent to the rear, but we plan to re-deploy the rest to the front lines after they get some rest.”
“They must have been through quite a shock in the last battle. Do you think that’ll be possible so soon?”
“That, too, is thanks to you.”
“……?”
Centurion Bravos chattered on excitedly.
I let his grand praises of ‘hero’ and whatnot go in one ear and out the other, but the gist of it was this:
Many of the soldiers who had returned from the jaws of death had requested to be sent back to the front lines to repay their life debt.
“As you know, a Centurion is a position elected by the soldiers’ vote. It’s fundamentally different from the position of a Millenion, who is appointed and dispatched from the mainland.”
I was vaguely aware of that much.
“In other words, your case could be considered a half-measure. You were appointed by the direct authority of a Millenion, not elected by the soldiers. Ah. Of course, I’m not saying you’re lacking. It’s just the procedure. Don’t misunderstand.”
“I’m not misunderstanding.”
“Good. Anyway, because of the process, we couldn’t assign many soldiers under your command.”
An appointed commander, not one who had climbed up from the bottom.
My military achievements were certainly respectable, but not to the extent that soldiers would volunteer to leave the Centurions and units they had followed for years, sometimes over a decade, to serve under me.
“But the situation is different now.”
The Centurion grinned.
“All the soldiers you personally rescued from the jaws of death have come out in support of you.”
“Does that mean…”
“It means you’ve become a real Centurion now.”
Congratulations.
The Centurion repeatedly congratulated me.
“Look at me. I’ve kept you friends who’ve just returned from the brink of death for too long. But please bear with me. I just wanted to deliver the good news as quickly as possible.”
After another hearty laugh, the Centurion personally led me and the search party into the camp.
Just as we were about to enter…
“Wait.”
The Centurion stopped us in our tracks again.
Then, he suddenly straightened his back and stood at attention.
“Troops, attention!”
I reflexively started to stand at attention, but I soon realized the command wasn’t for me.
*Click.*
Soldiers, who had gathered around us at some point, snapped their feet together.
“Salute Centurion Yan and the search party!”
They drew their swords in unison, pointing them diagonally toward the sky.
“To your indomitable courage!”
The Centurion winked at me as I stood there, bewildered.
It was a show of gratitude for me and the search party, who had once again achieved a miraculous feat.
I couldn't help but smile.
Our accomplishment wasn't just rescuing our allies.
I was already curious to see the expressions on their faces when the Decurions later saw the heads of the orc chieftain and shaman in the pouches at my waist.
I wasn't impatient.
They would see it soon enough, anyway.
For now…
“I’ve made it.”
The fact that I now had a fully formed unit under my command was more important.