Chapter 19
Chapter 19
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Translator: Ruby
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: Must Have Been a Subordinate Knight
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I received what wasn't quite a request from Diaz.
"Still, as a member of the same knight order, shouldn't you show your face at least once?"
"Hmm..."
It was about Klaus, who was receiving treatment at the archdiocese's infirmary due to his injuries.
I was slightly worried about getting nitpicked like with Andrew...
'If I don't go and they come looking for me later, that would be more awkward, right?'
I thought it might be more comfortable for me to make the first move.
Besides, though Klaus didn't seem to know, it was also because I had released that demon beast that he got hurt.
"Alright. I'll just show my face briefly."
"Yes."
And so we arrived in front of the treatment room.
Diaz opened the door for me, and I went inside.
A private room with no one else there.
On the wide bed in that place, Klaus's figure could be seen.
When the door opened, he also turned to look this way.
"Oh. Isn't it our new face knight?"
"..."
Klaus frowned and sat up.
"No need to get up."
"Oh come now. How can I do that when our new knight has come? Hahaha! Ow. It hurts when I laugh."
I looked at his abdomen.
Bandages were wrapped around and around.
"How's your condition?"
"A bit stiff. But that's because I'm getting old, so you don't need to worry about it."
"Seems fine then. I'll be going now."
"Hey. Why are you trying to leave already? There's plenty of fruit here, eat some before you go."
This guy.
He seemed to have quite good social skills, more than I expected.
After thinking for a moment, I plopped down in the chair placed beside him.
"Sir Diaz? Could you bring some of that fruit? I'd appreciate it."
"Yes."
When Diaz brought over the basket, Klaus pulled out an orange from inside.
"This one's really sweet. It's been so long since I've eaten such delicious oranges! Puahahaha! Ow. My ribs..."
He laughed at his own dad joke and then clutched his ribs by himself.
He was a strange person.
"Hey. That's actually a pretty good joke though."
"Must have been a subordinate or subordinate knight."
"...How did you know?"
It would have been more surprising if I didn't know.
"That aside. You really fought well."
When talk of his profession came up, Klaus's expression completely changed and became serious.
He was definitely a knight through and through.
"Moreover, that ability of yours to handle lightning... it was truly awe-inspiring. Is it a power you received from Straun?"
I thought for a moment...
Then nodded my head.
I thought it was necessary to appropriately disguise my power.
No one would know yet what I had obtained from Straun.
Rather, throwing out something like this would be less suspicious.
"Hmm. I knew it. My ability, as you saw, is the power to handle fog. Though it was completely useless this time."
"You fought well enough. The compatibility just wasn't good."
"You have a talent for pretty words! Haha! Ah. I keep forgetting."
He rubbed his ribs and continued speaking.
"I've been stuck in a rut for a while because of being in the Seven Knights. Phew. Given my age, I think I need to start exercising a bit more from now on."
"..."
Klaus seemed to think my words were empty flattery.
'But they weren't empty words.'
Honestly, this time it was just that the compatibility was bad.
Klaus was definitely someone who belonged in the ranks of the strong.
How many humans could fight alone against a large-scale demon army like that?
Still, well, saying he would strive harder.
For me, it wasn't bad news.
Because he would be helpful when the great invasion happened someday.
"Seems like I've said everything I wanted to say. I'll be going now."
I got up from my seat.
"Geez. Such a cold person. Anyway, I won't forget this debt. The price of saving my life, I'll repay it when I get the chance."
"Do that."
"Are you thinking of leaving Siforeо? In my heart, I'd like you to just stay here. We could spar occasionally too."
Sparring?
I felt even more strongly that I should leave.
"I have a lot of work."
"I see. I guess being the seventh member means you have a lot to do. I understand. I shouldn't detain a busy person any longer. Please take care of yourself."
"I will."
"Ah, and."
I stopped briefly while leaving the treatment room.
"About your sword. Wasn't that from Straun's storage?"
"Probably."
"Hehe. How about changing it to something better?"
Hmm. Certainly.
The Space Cut unique skill was a technique that couldn't be used without a sword.
If by any chance the sword broke?
A precious means of attack would disappear.
As I nodded, Klaus added more words.
"Stop by Rezeta and meet someone called Garun. If you mention my name, he'll treat you well. Haha!"
'Garun?... A familiar name somewhere... Ah!'
His nickname came to mind after a while.
'The Blacksmith Specter Garun.'
In the main story, he had been dead for a long time already.
He was a blacksmith specter.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"This one... you're saying this is the demon archduke Arcbiton from those old books?..."
Archbishop Tebenon looked down at the charred corpse with a dark expression.
He felt a chill run down his spine.
Such a monster had been right here underground in Siforeо.
Making those hair-raising horrible sounds.
Archbishop Tebenon asked the priests.
"Are you certain?"
"Yes. We've completed verification several times. Particularly, the ancient texts had descriptions of skin that swords couldn't penetrate, and that part matches exactly with Sir Klaus's testimony."
"Someone of Sir Klaus's caliber wouldn't be unable to handle a sword, and his sword couldn't have been dull either."
"That's right. Besides that, looking at the records of such bizarre appearance and the capabilities it showed, we can be certain."
The priest showed the open book to Archbishop Tebenon.
On that page, there was a picture with the name Arcbiton written on it.
"If you look now, you can see it appears somewhat gaunt compared to this picture in the book."
"Indeed."
"It seems to have been sealed and starved for quite a long time. Because of that, it appears to have weakened considerably. Nevertheless, it remains a terrifying existence. In any case, recently the underground seal was damaged for some reason, and cracks formed large enough for this one's hand to emerge."
"So through that hole this monster kidnapped people, causing the disappearance incidents?"
"Yes. That's correct."
"You've managed to find out the details in such a short time. You've all worked hard."
At Archbishop Tebenon's praise, the senior priest shook his head.
"Actually... we didn't discover the matter about the underground seal cracks."
"Hmm? What do you mean?"
"Sir Rohan told us about it. We heard he met Search Reconnaissance Team Sir Albert underground."
That explained it.
For such a difficult case, it seemed like they had reached a conclusion too quickly.
Of course, the priests weren't lacking in skill either, but originally cases involving demons were mostly difficult to find clues for.
That aside.
Archbishop Tebenon had one thing he couldn't understand.
"Why was Sir Rohan there..."
"Sir Albert cautiously speculated that he probably went to independently investigate the underground horrible sounds and disappearance incidents."
"My word. The more I hear, the more remarkable Sir Rohan's sense of justice is. So, how did Sir Rohan discover the seal and cracks?"
"This is a bit hard to believe... but he figured it out just by looking..."
"..."
Really, the more he heard, the more fascinating this person was.
Was it because he was the seventh knight who filled a position that had been vacant until now?
He seemed different in essence from ordinary people.
Archbishop Tebenon became curious.
Just what level was this person called Rohan at?
How great a deed had he accomplished?
"This Arcbiton... No. I don't even want to say the name. Supposing Sir Rohan hadn't been there, if this monster had run wild... what do you estimate the scale of damage would have been?"
The priests who had been answering without hesitation until now couldn't easily answer that question alone.
They just glanced at each other.
Then the senior priest carefully stepped forward and answered.
"According to the old books, its original rank was a high-level demon. Among them, it was of noble class. You should think of it as similar to the current demon legion commander level. Sir Klaus was also injured while rescuing a child in the middle of battle... At minimum, about half of Siforeо would have been reduced to ruins. If the response had been slower, we estimate that Siforeо would have been devastated and we would have had to consider moving the capital as well."
Archbishop Tebenon sighed.
"...My word. I'd have nothing to say to the royal family."
The reason the religious order could become this powerful was thanks to support from each kingdom.
And the background of that support was the justification of protecting them from such demons.
In this case, it could be said that the religious order had failed to fulfill its role.
If they seriously attacked him about it, he wouldn't have anything to say even with ten mouths.
Not only that, if Arcbiton had caused great damage, it was obvious that censure from the religious order's general assembly would also be unavoidable.
'No. I would have already died before hearing such censure.'
This entire city owed its life to Sir Rohan.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The next day, at the great assembly hall of Siforeо Archdiocese.
A bishop-level meeting.
There, I learned how I had been able to use the Ring of Black Thunder.
Through Archbishop Tebenon, that is.
"Our Siforeо Archdiocese bishop council has chosen Sir Rohan as the inquisitor representing Siforeо."
'So that's why this worked.'
I fingered the ring on the index finger of my left hand.
"Should you wish to relinquish the position of inquisitor, you may do so at any time. Right now as well, of course. Will you accept the position of inquisitor?"
Why even ask?
There was no reason to refuse.
I had been worrying about how to obtain the position of paladin anyway, and here it was rolling in by itself.
I nodded my head.
"I will."
"Good. Now you, Rohan, are a family member of our Siforeо Archdiocese and a member of the Arlem Order. If anyone bares their teeth at you, we will stand together against them. You, Rohan. Do not fear and stand against evil."
With that, I obtained the special position of inquisitor.
There were some minor gains as well.
'The Paladin class... doesn't seem to be visible.'
Nowhere could I see the playable character Paladin class.
That meant.
'Even if I intercept the items that character would obtain... there's no problem.'
Thanks to that, I could comfortably choose my next destination.
The physical limitations I had felt.
I needed to resolve that.
Of course, I did have stamina comparable to special forces veterans or athletes.
But that was only high-grade by human standards.
'Demons are different in every way. To struggle this much just to catch one mob I'd never even seen in the original...'
From the battle in Siforeо this time, I had become slightly dispirited.
Because I realized once again that I was too weak.
Everyone around me praised me so much that I thought I was something special...
'No. I was too conceited.'
Like Klaus, I too needed to strive harder.
Both in skill and stamina.
A method to solve the stamina aspect... I recalled that it existed in the Paladin class's side mission.
'The Phoenix Flower. By now it would have already been harvested.'
If the Paladin had existed, I would have avoided it.
But having confirmed that wasn't the case, there was no reason to leave it alone.
Feeling that I had no time to delay, I left Siforeо that very day.
And...
A small cabin somewhere in the forest.
[Little Herb Shop]
I set foot in the building with that sign hanging on it.