The Burden of a Knight's Oath

Cain had never really been on good terms with knights. Back when he was the guild leader of the Red Zone, there was a bounty on his head—small as it was—so whenever knights passed by, he had to hide, whispering, "Shh! Hold your breath!" It was a habit born from those days. Whenever knights came looking for him, his immediate, instinctive response was always: "Tell them I'm not here!"

"If it's not that, then what is it?"

"Well, they're knights from the Erangs Kingdom. They say you swore a knight's oath to the 4th Prince, Cain."

"Uh... what?"

Come to think of it, he did recall something like that happening during the Nevuchadnezzar subjugation quest. Cain suddenly felt a wave of anxiety. Usually, when high-and-mighty nobles suddenly sought someone out, it was because they were desperate. Why would the 4th Prince be desperate?

"What is it? Why is he calling for me?"

"I don't know either... but wouldn't it have to be that? The Demon Realm subjugation quest."

"The Demon Realm subjugation quest?!"

Startled, Cain quickly opened the community boards. What on earth had happened while he was busy messing around with the Chimeras in the mines?! Oblivious to Cain's inner turmoil, the Power Warrior guild member continued.

"I'm so jealous, Cain. You're going to play a leading role in this quest too, aren't you? It's every player's dream—to make a massive impact in a major quest! If you pull off a great feat just once, billions of people around the world will remember your name. You can become an overnight star. And here you are, doing these kinds of quests not just once or twice, but multiple times..."

Cain was the ultimate role model, the dream of every member of the Power Warrior Guild!

Of course, the man himself was sweating bullets.

'This is weird! Something is definitely wrong!'

Hanging around Tae-hyun had drastically leveled up Cain's danger-detection abilities. It was a sixth sense forged in the fires of actual combat! And right now, that sense was screaming at him.

"Why would the 4th Prince call you?"

'Exactly! Why on earth is he calling me?!'

"Search... date courses. Search... how to date..."

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Lee Da-bi was busy planning, her eyes glued to the internet search results. Watching her, her younger sisters whispered among themselves.

"I think Sis is plotting something evil. She usually looks like that when she's about to cause massive chaos with the Power Warrior Guild."

"Definitely... Just look at her face. This is clearly a matter of life and death."

She had the deadly serious expression of someone about to commit a murder!

"Hmm... Oh, there's a guide on the wiki?"

Da-bi muttered as she scrolled through an incredibly detailed wiki entry about romance and dating.

'...Wait, this is a bit weird...?'

"...??"

Da-bi clicked on another article. Naturally, it was just as useless. By this point, she realized the truth. This was a scam! If it were Cain, he would have been completely fooled and tried to copy it, but Da-bi was not Cain. She made a cold, rational judgment: The people who wrote this have never been in a relationship! Da-bi shut down her browser and decided to rely on her own brain. It was an exceptionally wise choice.

"Sis, why are you turning on the AC? Summer is practically over."

"It's hot today."

"No, it's not..."

"It is hot today. Got it?"

"...Okay."

Da-bi's younger sisters trembled in fear. Sis is terrifying today! Normally, Da-bi was extremely frugal with the utilities. Living in a fancy house was one thing, but wasting electricity on AC was another! Why was someone so thrifty suddenly blasting the air conditioning so hard?

"I'm here... Huh? Is it hot today?"

Tae-hyun asked in confusion as he opened the door and stepped inside. The weather outside was actually quite brisk.

"I turned it on in case you were hot!"

"Uh... right. Yeah, if it's hot, we should turn it on."

Tae-hyun tilted his head. Did Da-bi always get hot this easily?

At Tae-hyun's arrival, the sisters' faces lit up with instant understanding. Ah, so that's what this is about! No wonder their sister had bought premium instant ramen instead of the budget brand a few days ago...

"So, where are we going?"

"Yes! I've prepared everything!"

"Wait... where exactly are we going?"

Was there some dungeon to clear in Seoul? Why did she look like a soldier preparing for a suicide mission? Tae-hyun couldn't wrap his head around it, but he followed Da-bi out the door anyway. Behind his back, the sisters cheered quietly so Tae-hyun wouldn't hear.

"Fighting!"

"Go get 'em!!"

"It's not like that at all!" Da-bi hissed back.

Once Da-bi left, the two sisters looked at each other. What should they do now?

"...Want to eat that premium ramen since it's been a while?"

"Shall we?"

When you don't know what you're doing, stick to the basics. That was Da-bi's philosophy. When it came to romance, she was the ultimate novice! If a beginner like her tried to copy advanced techniques from the internet, it would only backfire. She decided to take a humble, classic approach.

'Lunch, then the movie theater, then a cafe, then dinner. Lunch, then the movie theater, then a cafe, then dinner. Lunch, then the movie theater, then a cafe...'

Da-bi repeated the sequence in her head like a player memorizing a skill combo! Watching her constantly mumble to herself, Tae-hyun cast a worried glance her way.

'Is Da-bi doing okay lately? Is she going through something?'

No matter how he looked at it, she was acting completely out of character.

"Huh? Isn't that Kim Tae-hyun?"

"Wait, really? It is! And that's Lee Da-bi next to him, right?"

"Whoa... is that actually Kim Tae-hyun? This is my first time seeing him in person!"

"He looks way more..."

"Handsome?"

"No, way scarier."

"Right? His eyes look incredibly sharp..."

"Gasp. Do you think he heard us whispering?"

"Oh no, did he?!"

Meanwhile, the surrounding crowd recognized Tae-hyun and Da-bi and began to whisper. Tae-hyun clicked his tongue.

'Ah. I didn't think about this.'

Come to think of it, his level of fame was completely different now. Besides, before moving into the team house, Tae-hyun had been a creature of habit, only traveling between his home, Yang's Gym, and his favorite blood sausage soup restaurant. Even after becoming famous, he rarely had to interact with the public. It was the same even after moving into the team house...

He had stepped out without a second thought, but coming to a bustling downtown area meant they were bound to draw attention. At this point, practically everyone in the country recognized their faces.

'I should have brought Cain.'

Cain was an incredibly useful tank in situations like this. He was a tank in Pan-On, but he was also a tank in real life! If you just threw him out there, he would draw all the aggro and absorb everyone's attention.

As this unexpected situation unfolded, Da-bi's eyes shook with panic. This was definitely not in the plan!

"Da-bi, what's wrong?"

"Oh, n-nothing. If we just keep walking straight... uh... I mean..."

The voices of the onlookers drifted into the ears of the flustered Da-bi.

"Are they ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠on a date?"

"Nah, they're on the same team."

"People on the same team can date."

"Wait, wasn't Kim Tae-hyun dating Lee Se-yeon?"

"They debunked that ages ago."

"Where there's smoke, there's fire. There's definitely something going on with the way they're looking at each other. Look at how intense their gaze is."

Tae-hyun was amazed that people could interpret a look that said 'I'm going to kill you' as something romantic!

"Da-bi, calm down... What did you want to do?"

"Eat lunch, watch a movie, and go to a cafe..."

"Then we can just do them one by one."

"I don't think we can with so many people around... Everyone is already misunderstanding..." Da-bi whispered in a panicked tone. She had brought him out to give him a good time, but she hadn't expected things to get this complicated.

"Who care if they misunderstand? It'll blow over eventually anyway. Look at Lee Se-yeon. We survived even those horrific rumors, didn't we?"

"...I-I don't think they were that horrific..." Da-bi instinctively defended Se-yeon.

"They were horrific."

"Ah, yes."

Tae-hyun was absolutely unyielding on this front!

Da-bi hesitated. The restaurant she had picked for lunch was a place that practically screamed "romantic date." Could they really go there with everyone watching them like this? Sensing her dilemma, Tae-hyun spoke up first.

"If you're uncomfortable because of all the eyes, let's go next time. When ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠there's no one watching."

"N-next time too?! Together?!"

"Huh? Yeah."

Tae-hyun looked at her as if wondering why she was making such a big deal out of it. Da-bi nodded vigorously in response.

"Yes... Yes! Let's do that!"

With that, Da-bi turned around, absolutely thrilled. She was so excited that she completely forgot she had come out with Tae-hyun and started heading back home on her own.

"Da-bi... I'm still here..."

"Ah!"

"Why?!"

Cain yelled, his blood boiling. This wasn't his fault! They had left without telling him a single thing!

"Just ignore it."

"This... this reporter bastard... I've memorized his name!"

"And what are you going to do now that you've memorized it? Sue him?"

"No! Every time I attack in the tournament, I'm going to scream his name and tell him to die!"

"..."

Tae-hyun was utterly speechless at this unexpectedly petty revenge method. What a bizarre guy...

"...Just sue him. I'll ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠introduce you to a lawyer."

He could ask his father for a connection, or if all else failed, he could tap into Chairman Yu's network. The Yuseong Group's legal team! It was a massive powerhouse with over several hundred lawyers, widely considered the top law firm in South Korea. They were legal titans who had even put up a spectacular fight when Chairman Yu's son, President Yu, tried to dodge taxes and faced a massive fine! Of course, once Chairman Yu found out, he slapped his son across the face and made him pay the fine anyway...

"Pfft. I can afford to hire my own lawyer now too."

Cain shrugged. With how much money he was making these days, of course he could hire a lawyer. Naturally, Cain had no idea what kind of lawyers Tae-hyun was actually talking about. If he had known, his jaw would have hit the floor.

"And I'll solve this with my own hands!"

"..."

"..."

Everyone in the room thought, 'I don't think that counts as solving it...' but they kept their mouths shut. Well, it was Cain, so he'd manage somehow!

"Oh, right! Why did you two go out to play without me?!"

Cain suddenly remembered, looking incredibly aggrieved. Why leave him out!

"Gasp! Senior! Look out the window, a wyvern!"

"What?!"

While everyone's attention was diverted, Jeong Su-hyeok and Choi Sang-yun grabbed one of Cain's arms each and jabbed him right in the solar plexus.

"Urgh!"

"Please be quiet. Unless you want to die."

"Deok-su, shut your mouth. If you ruin this now, he might actually end up single for the rest of his life."

"W-what did I even do wrong...!"

Looking out the window, Tae-hyun and Da-bi suddenly realized something.

"Come to think of it, there's no way a wyvern would be in the real world."

"Right?"

"Whew, I guess I've been playing too much Pan-On lately. My mind is playing tricks on me..."

"Oh, right. Kim Tae-hyun..."

Grab—

As Choi Sang-yun and Jeong Su-hyeok reached out to grab his arms again, Cain shrieked in terror.

"No! This is different! This is actually different!"

"Cain has too many arms, it's hard to hold him down..."

"Hey, can't we just chop some of them off? It's a bit creepy."

A small consideration, but a massive emotional wound! When Cain glared at them, the two quickly averted their eyes.

"What's different?"

"I... I got a message from the Erangs Kingdom telling me to participate in the subjugation. What do I do?"

"You? You haven't done anything for the Erangs Kingdom, so why would they contact you to join?" Tae-hyun asked, sounding skeptical.

Cain answered cautiously.

"Well... I did get close to the 4th Prince and swore a knight's oath to him..."

"You did what?"

"Sounds like he co-signed a loan..."

"No way. Even for Cain, there's no way he'd do something so reckless..."

The group whispered among themselves. Surely he wouldn't have sworn an oath so carelessly!

"You just said you'd be his knight verbally, right? You didn't actually swear the official oath, did you?"

"...I did..."

"..."

"..."