Chapter 94 Holy Kingdom (6)
Holy Kingdom (6)
"It's over."
The sword slid back into its scabbard. The energy that had been raging in all directions had already been neatly gathered away.
The man now looked so immaculate it was hard to believe he'd just been in battle moments ago.
He turned his head to survey the people around him. Then, in a composed voice, he began speaking to them.
"My apologies. Some matters delayed me."
As he spoke, his eyes briefly flickered toward the fallen figures.
They weren't dead yet, but with such excessive bleeding, their lives could slip away at any moment.
He immediately extended his hand, bestowing Holy Power upon them. As an overwhelming amount of divine energy flooded their bodies, their wounds began closing at visible speed.
"This is temporary treatment. Please don't attempt to rise prematurely."
While he spoke, someone came bursting through the Holy Gate. Black hair cascading down to her waist, dark pupils wide with urgency.
A familiar-faced girl came running in frantic haste, staff in hand.
"Where are the injured? Where are they?!"
The girl—Yurp—took deep, steadying breaths as she lifted her head. Her eyes darted around until they landed on me, at which point she gasped sharply.
I gave her a little wave by way of greeting.
"Unnie Id! It's been so long!"
Delighted, Yurp began vigorously swinging her arms back and forth in my direction. The smile spreading across her face made her look somehow squirrel-like, drawing an involuntary chuckle from me.
I felt particular relief seeing how much healthier she looked compared to before.
Last time, she'd been so gaunt her body resembled brittle twigs—enough to worry anyone who saw her.
The fact that I'd been concerned despite having no prior connection spoke volumes.
"You look much healthier now. That's good."
"Ahaha. Just as Unnie Id always said—I should take care of my health."
Come to think of it, I had nagged her about that constantly during the last Subjugation Expedition. Back then, Yurp still carried a sharp edge, so my advice hadn't been well received.
Still, seeing her restored like this meant my efforts hadn't been entirely wasted.
"Yurp."
"Ah! Sorry, Unnie Id. Let's talk more later."
Snapped back to attention by the man's call, her expression immediately turned serious again. Gripping her staff, Yurp channeled Holy Power toward the people he indicated.
"This might sting a bit."
Huuuung...
As golden energy radiated outward, color began returning to the ashen faces of the fallen. Though their wounds had been closed by the man earlier, their complexions had remained deathly pale until now.
Of course, the process seemed painful—more than a few screamed through it. Still, surely this was better than bleeding out on the spot.
"Are there any other injured?"
"None remaining. Thank you for your assistance."
"Oh, it's nothing! This is my duty, Orabuni Ka-il."
So his name was Ka-il. I did feel like I'd heard that name somewhere before.
More importantly—was this man truly Yurp's older brother?
They didn't look particularly alike. At most, their facial structure and the shape of their eyes bore some resemblance.
"You must be Lady Id."
"Huh? Ah, yes."
When Ka-il suddenly addressed me, my flustered response came out slightly squeaky. He didn't seem to notice, simply studying me with quiet intensity.
Ka-il stared at me without another word, his gaze piercing. Under that scrutiny, I couldn't think of anything appropriate to say.
Had I been marked just for chatting casually with Yurp?
"Thank you."
Ka-il bowed deeply at the waist.
The movement flowed with such natural grace that I stood there dumbfounded, unable to react in time.
"Wh-what? No, no, please raise your head!"
I waved my hands in panicked refusal of his sudden formality. He straightened up and continued.
"I heard you saved Yurp."
"Ah, yes."
"She's like a younger sister to me. I've been deeply concerned for her."
As he spoke, Ka-il gently stroked Yurp's head. The affection in his expression was unmistakable.
Not the look of a lover, but rather the warm regard of family.
Yurp, already accustomed to his touch, closed her eyes and accepted the gesture.
They might not be blood-related, but their bond clearly ran deep.
Seeing the once-sharp Yurp behave like this suggested he wasn't a bad person.
"Thank you for saving her."
"Oh, it was nothing."
When he moved to bow again, I hastily stopped him. While politeness was good, this degree of deference felt slightly overwhelming.
If anything, it was making me uncomfortable.
"Orabuni, that's enough. You're making Unnie Id uncomfortable."
"Is that so? My apologies if I've caused you distress."
As he spoke, Yurp stopped him from bowing again. It seemed such speech and behavior were deeply ingrained in him.
Ka-il wore an awkward expression, perhaps feeling a little sorry for having made me uncomfortable.
After a brief pause, he spoke in a straightforward tone.
"Please rest comfortably as an honored guest of the Holy Kingdom."
"Sure. Thanks for the welcome."
"Then, I must take my leave now."
With those words, Ka-il vanished once more. His figure disappeared in an instant before my eyes.
That speed—achieved purely through physical prowess, without even a trace of Holy Power.
Between that and the strike from earlier, he was clearly no ordinary figure.
"Well then, Id unnie, see you later."
"Yeah. See you later."
Yurp gave a small wave before stepping back inside the palisade.
As I watched her retreating figure, Silpi approached my side.
Unnoticed, he had been standing quite a distance away.
Why were you so far back?
Through our Link, Silpi let out a deep sigh. His odd reaction made me want to question him further, but he spoke first.
[Contractor, do you know nothing about Ka-il of the Numen Holy Kingdom?]
I've heard the name somewhere, but not in detail.
[Sometimes I wonder if I'm the one with too much common sense or if you're the one severely lacking it.]
Well...
I opened my mouth to retort but found nothing to say.
It was true—I really didn't know much about this world.
Part of the reason was that I hadn't been in this world for long, but still.
[Ka-il. The Guardian of the Holy Kingdom, and a man who stands at the very cusp of being the strongest.]
That guy just now?
I already knew he was formidable from that single strike earlier, but to think he was that level. The title was far too grandiose for a single person.
[Yes. In terms of pure combat ability alone, he ranks within the top five in this world.]
The reason the Holy Kingdom could dispatch elite holy knights to the subjugation expedition.
The reason the Arieh Empire didn't dare invade Numen during the war.
All of it was because of that man's existence, Silpi explained.
So the one capable of defending the Holy Kingdom—a nation closer to a city-state—single-handedly was the man I had just met.
...Huh. Kinda breaks the immersion.
A title that grandiose almost made it feel like a parody.
Like some overpowered character straight out of an elementary schooler's imagination.
It reminded me once again that this world was from a RoFan setting. Still, a one-man army-level cheat character?
Judging by his looks, he definitely fit the male lead archetype. His slightly androgynous features might be a sticking point, but plenty of female readers were into that.
...But if a character like Ka-il existed, that guy would've definitely mentioned him.
The friend who introduced me to this RoFan had an obsession with overpowered combat characters.
There was no way he wouldn't have brought up someone like Ka-il.
Maybe it's from some side story the author planned?
The more I thought about it, the more frustrated I became.
If only I had read the original work myself, I could at least make some guesses.
Honestly, he should've been the one to get isekai'd into this world, not me.
He'd probably be exploiting every hidden setting like cheat codes, living the high life.
Knowing his personality, he absolutely would.
So that's why you kept your distance?
[I've never had good experiences getting noticed by guys like that.]
Memories, huh? Must be a personal rule Silpi developed from experience.
Come to think of it, he had lived quite a long time. Sensing my thoughts, Silpi spoke up.
[I'm 200 this year. Still young.]
That's considered young?
[By human standards, around 10 years old?]
That wasn't young—that was practically a child. Then again, Silvana, the Forest Spirit, had treated Sally and Silpi like kids too.
Their lifespans were far longer than I'd expected.
Elves, who coexisted with spirits, also had considerably long lives. In a way, it made sense that spirits lived so long.
Well, enough idle thoughts. For now, I should focus on what needed to be done. Just as I was thinking that, Abel approached.
"Are you alright?"
"Yeah. No problems here."
His response was a skeptical glance. The way he hummed doubtfully made me sigh involuntarily.
Sure, I had faked being fine plenty of times before, but...
Being doubted this much still stung a little.
Abel seemed to notice my gaze and chuckled.
"Just teasing. No need to glare at me like that."
His expression flipped in an instant, a smile replacing the suspicion as if it had never been there.
"Sigh. Got it."
