Knight's Qualifications (9)
I went to find Erin the day after my date with Camilla, and knelt before her.
"I'm sorry..."
"...Sorry for what?"
"I'm sorry for everything!"
"So what exactly are you sorry for?!"
I kept repeating "I'm sorry" until the words "it's okay" finally came out of Erin's mouth. If I had been eloquent, I might have itemized my mistakes one by one and begged for forgiveness. But no one knew better than I did that my way with words wasn't great. So all I could do was apologize endlessly.
"Haa... That's enough now, get up, oppa."
"Okay."
"...Be honest. You do feel sorry toward me, right?"
Maybe because I jumped right up the moment she spoke, Erin doubted the sincerity of my apology.
My knees hurt...
Pressing my knees against the hard wooden floor had hurt more than I'd expected. So if my apology didn't seem genuine...
I'll kneel again.
As I started to lower myself back down, Erin pulled me to my feet.
"I get it! I get it, so stop!"
After a bit of commotion, we could finally have a proper conversation.
"First off, our plan? You personally turned it all to bubbles, oppa. Just in case, but do you have any other plans in mind?"
"Um... no."
"Yeah, figured. I shouldn't have expected anything from you, oppa." Seeing her smack her own forehead, I felt awkwardly guilty for no reason. I didn't regret what I'd done. It was just that Erin had suffered because of me.
"Still... I do have a backup plan in mind?"
"...For real?"
"Yeah. But you'll have to roll around a bit for it, oppa. If you don't want to push Camilla too hard, don't you need a substitute?"
It was better if I had to roll around myself. Seeing someone else suffer bothered me more than my own hardship.
"You know about the banquet next month, right?"
"Next month... Yeah, I remember."
"You remember what happens there too?"
"...Yeah."
The banquet for academy students was a festival loaded with meaning. Inside the academy hall, you could dance freely and enjoy the food. Outside, it turned into a massive festival with stalls everywhere. And it was the event where demons first raided.
"The raiding demons were three low-grade and one mid-grade, right?"
"You remember spot-on. The mid-grade appeared in the central hall, and one low-grade in each of the other halls."
And it was an event where the player inevitably had to fight the mid-grade demon. But now that I knew about the raid in advance, I couldn't just sit back and watch.
"Her Highness Lucia said she'd prepare for this by adjusting the knight deployments and increasing the guards. I'm also engraving magic circles in key spots ahead of time."
"So that's why you've been so busy lately."
"Yeah, unlike certain someones leisurely dating around."
I shut my mouth at Erin's sharp jab. But I couldn't hold back the curiosity her words sparked.
"So, what about Alessia? I haven't seen her around lately."
"Ah, that milk cow... No idea. Whatever she's scheming to stay out of sight these days."
Erin emphasized it strongly to me.
"She just gives off a weird vibe, you know? So watch out for that Alessia bitch for a while. No telling what crazy thing she'll pull out of nowhere... Ah, how did the conversation veer off like this again."
Maybe the topic drift gave her a headache, because Erin started rubbing her temple. I had a feeling she might get mad again if this kept up.
"We'll control the raid on our side that day. We don't know how they breached the academy, so prevention's impossible, but we do know the targets."
"What should I do?"
"I'll filter out as many monsters as I can. Oppa, you handle the mid-grade demon."
Mid-grade demons weren't common foes in the game. They only started appearing sparingly in the late game. Unless the demon king revival trigger fired, they were basically boss-level. This one was the same. It wasn't designed for the player to beat—just to stall until the knights arrived.
"You want me to take down a mid-grade demon...?"
"Are you insane? How could you solo a mid-grade demon at your level right now?"
"But you just said to handle the mid-grade one?"
"...I must not have explained well. Sorry. That's not what I meant."
Erin placed something in my hand. It looked like a bracelet, but up close, it was etched with countless magic circles.
"It's a bracelet that blocks attacks. I tuned it to handle a mid-grade demon's strikes dozens of times. Just wear it on your wrist and take the demon's hit."
"And after I take the hit?"
"You'll get flung pretty far from the demon's attack. While you're like that, watch Camilla's reaction. She won't abandon you and run. But in a situation where you're in danger, can she really not pick up her sword?"
Erin's plan sounded effective even just hearing it. My only worry was that it was basically mentally cornering Camilla again.
If it feels off, I can jump in right away.
At least showing her I was fine would reassure Camilla. That was the key.
"But Camilla knows about the demon raid... Do you think she'll even go to the central hall?"
"Of course she'll go."
"Why?"
"You think she'd give up her chance to dance with you in the central hall just because of some demons? Even if I had to pick up a sword and fight them, I wouldn't miss that."
It was Erin's conviction, laced with personal bias.
※ To think Erin's words were spot on.
When I asked Camilla what she'd do about the demon raid, her answer was firm.
"Just run away!"
She stubbornly insisted on the central hall, with no option to go elsewhere. It made me wonder if dancing there held some special meaning for her. Of course, I didn't ask. It didn't matter either way.
"It's about time..."
The sun had already hidden its massive bulk, and moonlight now illuminated the world. In the middle of a bustling street teeming with people, I waited for Camilla.
Hope my outfit isn't weird.
I didn't know much about fashion, so these were clothes Alessia had picked out for me. When I asked what she'd been up to lately since I hadn't seen her, she just smiled without answering—but she put real effort into selecting my outfit.
Then, amid the countless people, I spotted red. Not sure if "a crane among chickens" fit perfectly, but it was the best phrase I could muster. Like a single rose blooming in a field.
Camilla stood out, refusing to blend in, radiating a massive presence all her own.
"I didn't... keep you waiting, did I?"
I answered her cautious question.
"No, you arrived right on time."
I hadn't checked the hour. Early or late, what did it matter? Her arrival made it the appointed time.
Camilla's dress combined red and black—like the academy uniform colors—but the vibe was worlds apart. The red-based gown accented with black fit her red eyes and hair as if they were one.
"Wish my words were better."
"What do you mean?"
"You look really beautiful tonight, Camilla."
I wanted to shower her with fancy compliments, but "beautiful" was all that came to mind. Luckily, it seemed enough. Her face flushed red, and she shyly took my hand.
Hand in hand with Camilla, we entered the central hall, already alive with students enjoying the banquet. Some chatted while snacking along one wall. Others debated intensely. More danced in the center. Everyone reveled in their own way.
Camilla led me to the middle of the hall.
"Rion, you remember how to dance?"
"...A little?"
My dance experience was just some middle school festival back before transmigrating. I'd gotten crash courses from Erin and Alessia, but...
Honestly, I'm nervous.
The innocent girl vibe was gone; it felt like harsh Gangnam Sparta instructors drilling me.
Camilla smiled softly, as if she'd expected it.
"I'll lead, so just follow me, okay?"
The moment Camilla and I were about to start dancing—
Crash!
The central hall's windows shattered, and demons burst in. The raid hit far faster than in the previous loop—too quick to compare.
Students panicked and fled at the sudden demons. But Camilla and I couldn't look away.
Three pairs of wings on the demon's back. That meant the one before us wasn't mid-grade—it was an upper demon.
"Die, all of you."
Attacks from the upper demon began pouring down from above.