Chapter 47
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 47
Chapter Title: Aftermath
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Aftermath
‘What in the world is this.’
Hartun trudged onward, his breathing ragged.
Of the two he’d just faced, the one built like a mountain was the problem. The man seemed to be wrapped in some kind of blessing, as he’d deflected every last bit of black magic.
‘No, did he just take the hits?’
It had cost him more time than he’d expected. He’d only managed to get past them because the two had inexplicably collapsed at the same time, but the delay was fatal.
The danger had increased exponentially, setting Hartun, a warlock, on edge. His mouth was as dry as if he’d swallowed dirt, and a chill ran down his spine like a knife to his throat.
He considered abandoning the young lady and fleeing, but he quickly shook his head. After all the effort the Society had poured into this, he couldn’t face the Master if he gave up.
No, he didn’t have the confidence he’d survive the Master’s wrath.
“This way! Over here!!”
“Intruder!!”
‘They never get tired of this, do they.’
Hartun swallowed the curse rising in his throat and twisted his hand.
Nothing was more efficient than black magic for dealing with small fry like these. Then again, black magic also made one as weak as an insect before a stronger opponent.
“Crushing Darkness.”
Hartun flung the ‘Crushing Darkness’ that had formed in his right hand.
Two foolish soldiers, trusting in their steel armor, charged with leveled spears and soon met the ‘Crushing Darkness.’
They hesitated for a moment, but there was nowhere to run in the narrow corridor.
*Crrrrrunch—.*
With a satisfying sound, the two soldiers were instantly crushed into pulp.
Hartun was not in good shape.
‘I used too much power on those weirdos earlier.’
Hartun stood still for a moment, catching his breath and focusing on the sounds around him.
There were quite a few people shouting and running about.
If he ran into just four more in this state, he’d be risking his life.
‘At this rate, I’m guaranteed to fail.’
Facing a crisis, Hartun’s mind raced.
He recalled the reason the Master had ordered him to bring the young lady.
‘One beloved by mana.’
Hartun bit his lip, feeling the weight on his back. He placed his options on a scale and weighed them.
Would consuming the young lady’s heart truly raise his power enough to escape the Master’s grasp?
‘But in my current state, there’s no chance of getting out of here alive with her. If I abandon her, I can save myself, but then the Master will…’
Comparing the two possibilities, the option of consuming the young lady’s heart tipped the scales.
The balance had shifted. Without hesitation, Hartun lowered the young lady from his back. She was as beautiful as the rumors claimed, but with his life on the line, he barely noticed.
Hartun leaned her against the wall, then pulled a dagger from his robes.
With a single motion, he tore open the front of her dress.
Given the circumstances, he felt no stirrings of lust.
‘I can do this. The time it takes to absorb the heart is a concern, but any excess will automatically disperse from the vessel…’
Hartun tried to calm his nerves, recalling the time he had consumed an elf’s heart.
Just as he aimed the dagger at the young lady’s left breast—
He heard footsteps from the side.
A woman was approaching from the end of the corridor.
Resplendent white armor and a greatsword on her back. Jet-black hair and emotionless eyes.
Hartun let out a low groan when he saw the crest engraved on the center of the woman’s armor.
‘An Inquisitor… At a time like this.’
The woman approached slowly, her steps even and measured.
Hartun stood and faced her, silently chanting an incantation.
Now that he was facing an Inquisitor, this was no time to think about what came next.
He had little strength left, but he could still handle a single Inquisitor.
‘First, I’ll deal with her, then the heart…’
Just then, the Inquisitor suddenly kicked off the ground and charged.
Her speed was anything but ordinary.
Shocked, Hartun quickly cast the spells he had prepared into the air. First, block the path and create some distance—
*Boom! Boom!*
Even as black orbs rushed her, the woman emitted a radiant light from her body and simply kept running forward.
Hartun’s eyes widened as if they would tear, watching the black orbs vanish harmlessly upon contact with the light.
‘What kind of Inquisitor is this! She’s at least on the level of the Knights of the Holy War…’
Faced with the woman’s unexpected prowess, Hartun swiftly abandoned the plan he had formulated.
Confronting a Knight of the Holy War head-on was, even for Hartun, no different from putting his own neck to the blade.
‘Survive first. The Master’s business comes after.’
His decision made, Hartun shoved himself through a hole in the adjacent wall.
The musty smell characteristic of a castle vanished, replaced by the crisp night air.
The ground was far below, the trees planted around the castle looking like miniatures, but Hartun jumped without hesitation.
He knew his chances of survival were greater jumping than facing that woman.
The cold night air scraped against his body, making it hard to keep his eyes open, but Hartun quickly chanted a spell.
“Not a fall, but a…”
Just then, Hartun felt a cold sensation on the back of his neck and turned his head.
The woman was falling after him, her greatsword aimed true. Her short black hair fluttered like wings, and the greatsword gleamed coldly in the moonlight.
“Judgment upon the demon—”
A voice as clear as the dawn air tickled Hartun’s ear.
And that was the last thing he ever heard.
***
‘Ugh—tastes awful.’
To wash away the filthy taste lingering on my tongue, I rinsed my mouth with the wine from my waterskin and spat it on the ground.
The sensation of something hard passing down my throat was so dreadful I never wanted to experience it again.
‘Has anything changed?’
I tilted my head, tapping my stomach with my fingers. It felt a little sore, but also strangely full.
‘Hey.’
- …
I could definitely feel the tenant’s presence, but there was no answer. He was probably busy with that power stuff he mentioned.
‘Hmm.’
I glanced down at the woman’s corpse for a moment before moving on.
I didn’t know the full situation, so I had to keep moving.
As I made a round, I spotted a familiar face.
The young lady was slumped against a wall, unconscious.
‘Is she an exhibitionist?’
Just like last time, her breasts were exposed.
I nodded to myself, figuring it might be a secret hobby of a noble lady. For a noble, this was pretty tame.
Then it occurred to me.
‘Not much to look at.’
Perhaps because I’d seen that massive thing earlier, my impression was different this time. I took out the handkerchief I had tucked in my inner pocket.
It was one of a bundle I’d bought from a coachman long ago.
‘I feel like this has happened before.’
A sense of déjà vu washed over me as I went to place the handkerchief over her.
“Mmm…”
The young lady started to stir.
Startled, I smacked her on the back of the head.
‘Yep, this has definitely happened before.’
I placed the handkerchief over her and nodded.
Just then, a loud *thud!* came from below.
I peered through the nearby hole and saw the Inquisitor diligently smashing some guy’s head with a mace.
Then, as if sensing my gaze, the Inquisitor looked up.
Her night vision must have been good, because she saw me and gave a nod.
I nodded back.
She immediately went back to tenderizing what was already a pile of mush.
‘Hart-something, was it?’
They said two people had entered the inner castle. I guess that meant they were both caught.
With the young lady safe as well, it seemed the incident was more or less resolved.
“Report!!”
“Move it! Find the young lady!”
Hearing the sounds of the inner wall guards busting their asses, I quietly slipped out of the inner castle.
The long night was finally coming to an end.
***
Her mind was a tangled mess, but Nova’s hands moved diligently nonetheless.
She could have used a second body to manage the aftermath of the night’s events.
‘Three soldiers dead, four injured. Two inner wall guards dead, two injured.’
The casualties were fewer than expected, but it wasn’t a problem that could be dismissed as mere numbers. Nova bit her lip as she moved her quill pen.
‘The magistrate will handle the soldiers. I shouldn’t worry too much about it.’
She focused only on the expenses that needed to be processed.
By the time she had finished most of the work, the sun was rising.
“Aron.”
Nova quietly rolled the name around in her mouth.
The unbelievable sight she had witnessed last night came flooding back.
The way he had single-handedly confronted the demon, drawing out his aura to finally sever its neck—it was the stuff of heroic legends.
‘…Maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration?’
Nova shook her head slightly.
“Aron. Knight.”
Muttering to herself, Nova continued her line of thought.
Aron was a former knight who, for some reason, had fled to the far eastern castle of Cathdic.
She didn't know the exact reason for his flight, but she had a guess…
‘He probably beat some noble to death for looking at him the wrong way.’
Considering his usual behavior, he was more than capable of it.
Nova nodded at her own deduction.
‘His refusal of a position higher than patrol leader was…’
He must have refused it to avoid his name becoming known or encountering someone from his past, should he attain a higher rank.
Finally, all the pieces of the puzzle were falling into place.
His casual insults toward the Lord and his rough treatment of commoners were clearly natural mannerisms stemming from his past as a quasi-noble.
After all, depending on their skill and the lord they served, knights were often treated as superior to lower nobility.
‘Aron. Knight.’
Nova imagined Aron standing solemnly in a magnificent suit of armor.
It suited him, in a way, but it was also hideously unfitting.
The thought of Aron speaking elegantly like a knight with a solemn expression on his face gave her goosebumps.
Rather than a posturing knight, the current Aron was much more…
Nova hastily slapped her own cheek.
She must have been losing her mind from lack of sleep.
‘Anyway…! The important thing now is to keep Aron here.’
Ever since Knight Toik had gotten his neck stupidly snapped, Adela was the only knight of House Pulpuchu.
In such a situation, Aron, a former knight…
‘The words feel so wrong in my mouth.’
Regardless, keeping Aron was crucial for Cathdic Castle. That was all there was to it.
With that, Nova began to ponder how to keep him here.
‘The problem is his past identity being revealed.’
Or him receiving excessive attention as his deeds become widely known.
Nova nodded and scanned the report she was preparing for the Lord. There were quite a few empty spaces regarding the events of last night. In those empty spaces, she inserted Knight Ben’s name instead of Aron’s.
Nova had a gut feeling this was the right answer.
Don’t bother Aron.
Helping him remain here, finding small joys as a patrol leader, was the best way to keep him around for a long time.
‘He’ll leave someday, though.’
Aron was not a man who could be contained in a backwater place like this.
Frustrated, Nova tapped her heart protector with her finger. It was definitely too small.
She shook her head slightly and continued her thoughts.
‘As for the reward… I can persuade Ben to pass it on to Aron.’
Nova nodded.
Ben might question it, but he wouldn't refuse an offer to bolster his own achievements.
As the plan began to take shape, a memory she had tried to suppress resurfaced, grating on her nerves.
‘But that bastard… after the demon, he even went for the young lady…’
Nova bit her lip, glancing down at her heart protector.
‘Aron. Knight. That riffraff bastard.’
*Crack—.* The quill pen in her hand snapped in two.
*Knock, knock.*
“Come in.”
The door opened, and the kind handmaiden, Blossom, entered. She politely placed a teacup in front of Nova.
Nova had told her countless times not to be so formal with a fellow commoner, but Blossom still treated her as she would a noble.
Blossom was as stubborn as she was kind, so Nova had more or less given up.
A fragrant aroma filled the room.
Feeling a wave of fatigue, Nova was stretching her neck when her eyes narrowed.
‘Were they always that big? We were the same when we were kids…’
“Excuse me, Blossom.”
Nova quickly stopped Blossom, who was about to leave after a polite bow.
“Yes, Lady Nova.”
“Um…”
“Yes.”
Nova hesitated, unsure how to ask, but she couldn’t think of a tactful way to phrase it.
She looked at Blossom for a moment, then—
“Why are yours the only ones that are big?”
“Pardon?”
“We were about the same when we were kids. What’s the reason?”
Blossom’s eyes widened at Nova’s strangely sharp question.
Though taken aback by the out-of-place question, the ever-kind Blossom frowned and thought hard.
She then drew upon all her knowledge to tell Nova various things.
For example, she earnestly explained that eating lots of nuts was said to be effective for breast growth.
“…That’s it. It was the nuts. I especially hate nuts!”
The kind Blossom didn’t mention that she, too, disliked nuts.
She couldn’t bring herself to say it, seeing the bright look on Nova’s face as if she’d found the answer.
“Could you get me some nuts?”
“Yes, Lady Nova.”
The kind Blossom simply bowed her head.
***
‘Ah, fuck.’
I muttered a low curse at the pain in my stomach.
I knew it. I shouldn’t have eaten something that looked like a rock.
At the time, I was high on the thrill of battle and the aura rush, so I’d swallowed it without a second thought. The consequences, however, arrived the next day.
I shat blood this morning.
‘Hey, Quick Shot.’
- I believe I told you I don’t like that name.
‘The thing I ate better have an effect, right?’
After going through all this, even shitting blood, I wouldn’t be able to take it if he told me it did nothing.
- Heh heh. I will show you. Draw your sword.
His confident reply was a small relief. I firmly bolted the door and drew my sword.
- Behold.
With a voice full of arrogance, aura filled my entire body and enveloped my sword.
I felt a vitality and strength I had never felt before.
A brilliant blue light shimmered over my body and my sword.
It was as if my entire body was burning with a blue flame.
‘So this is why those knight bastards hop around like they’re on drugs.’
I couldn’t help but marvel at the overflowing power.
Right now, I could probably take down not just a wall, but the castle gate…
As I was subconsciously licking my lips, the aura suddenly vanished.
It felt like it had lasted about four seconds.
- Haaa… heee… haaa…
With a ragged breath, the tenant’s voice cut off.
The original duration was two seconds, and now it was four…
‘So I’ve doubled my premature ejaculation time.’
Doubling the time was a huge improvement, but it was still just four seconds. And four seconds was still premature.
‘Well, at least it’s increasing.’
What was important was that I saw potential.
I forced myself to nod.
I’d been running into demons a lot lately. If I just picked one up and ate it whenever I got the chance…
‘Eventually, I’ll really look like a knight.’
A bitter smile formed on my face at the thought.
A knight…
*Knock, knock.*
The sound snapped me to my senses.
I quickly held my breath, pretending no one was there, but…
“Honorary Friar Aron. I know you’re in there. It’s time for midday prayer.”
Hearing the confident voice, I shook my head.
The fact that he’d come at noon instead of the morning was, I supposed, a consideration for my night shift yesterday.
‘For fuck’s sake. What are those demon bastards doing? Why haven’t they gobbled up this diligent abbot?’
Maybe I should have caught them a little later yesterday.
I scratched the back of my head in annoyance and opened the door.
As expected, the abbot was standing there with his usual lofty posture.
Come to think of it, it was pretty amazing that the abbot, who had no combat skills apart from his holy power, had jumped down from the castle wall. A truly remarkable abbot who didn’t spare his own body.
“I was worried when you suddenly disappeared yesterday. Did anything happen?”
“I think something is about to happen right now.”
“You’re right. For clergymen like us, nothing is more important than prayer. The scriptures say to prioritize prayer over meals. Prayer is food for the soul, you see.”
As the abbot rambled on, I simply walked past him. He followed, still talking.
The fact that I was slowly getting used to this guy was irritating. I ignored him and went downstairs alone.
In the empty hall, the refrigerator was sitting by herself, fiddling with something. The back of her round head looked somewhat ominous.
I gave it a gentle pat and sat down. The abbot sat across from me.
“Is she your daughter?”
“No.”
“Is that so? Her expression bears a subtle resemblance to yours…”
“Excuse me?”
“Ah, my apologies if that offended you. That was not my intention.”
The abbot’s swift apology to my question was incredibly grating. And he was apologizing to the mini-fridge, not me.
‘Why is this bastard apologizing?’
As I narrowed my eyes, the abbot wore a genuinely apologetic expression. Something felt very off.
The mini-fridge nodded and then spread her hands with a confident look.
Resting on her small palm was an ice sculpture of me with my arms crossed.
‘…She’s gotten up to the torso now.’
Why was her sculpting skill improving?
My head throbbed, and I pressed my temples.
“Oh—quite the skill. It’s a level of detail I’ve never seen, even in the capital. Such a young believer is truly remarkable. She seems to have a talent for sculpting…”
The abbot praised the refrigerator effusively, and her chin lifted with pride.
Why a piddling mage was puffing out her chest at praise for her sculpting skills was beyond me, but I forced a smile.
“A…mazing. You’re the best.”
As I patted her head and praised her out of habit, the corner of the refrigerator’s mouth twitched.
“Not yet.”
Muttering softly, the refrigerator suddenly put on a serious face, her brow furrowed in concentration.
Soon, the ice sculpture of my upper body floated into the air and began to spin.
It even moved from side to side in a flashy display.
‘This is driving me insane.’
Watching an ice sculpture of myself float around in front of me was not a pleasant experience.
But seeing the expectant look in the refrigerator’s eyes, I clapped and cheered. In response, she lifted her chin and her lips twitched.
“So she was a mage, not a sculptor. But why on earth would she use magic for something like that…”
I found myself nodding in agreement with the abbot’s quiet muttering.
The refrigerator, seemingly oblivious to the abbot’s voice, moved her hands in a dazzling display.
Following her movements, the ice sculpture of me spun spectacularly in the air before suddenly flying off.
The ice sculpture hit the table and, of all things, split neatly into two pieces—head and body—before falling to the floor and shattering.
A strange chill ran down my spine, and I rubbed my neck.
“Ah, I can just make another one.”
With a completely unconcerned look, the refrigerator flicked her index finger as if to say not to worry.
“…You little shit.”
I couldn’t stop myself from muttering under my breath.
***
*Ughhh…*
Ben slowly opened his eyes.
‘The last thing I remember…’
Ben clutched his throbbing head, slowly piecing together his memories.
‘I had won, but I was ambushed and fell outside.’
That’s right. I won.
Ben muttered quietly to himself.
“…I won.”
He said it out loud, just to be sure.
His senses returning, the first thing Ben did was check his attire.
It was just as it had been when he collapsed.
That was to be expected. According to Imperial law, a knight’s body could not be touched without the knight’s permission or permission from the Empire.
‘A hypocrite…’
Ben rolled the unpleasant word around in his mouth.
It was a line of thought that would not end well if he dwelled on it.
Shaking it off, Ben rose from his bed.
The spot where he’d been pierced had new flesh, as if someone had applied a potion. There were no visible wounds, but he felt weak, likely from blood loss.
‘I don’t know how Aron managed to move at all.’
Even he, a knight renowned for his sturdiness, felt this exhausted. It was astounding that Aron, who wasn't even a knight, had moved like that.
As he was stretching his body—
*Knock, knock.*
There was a knock on the door.
“You may enter.”
As soon as he gave permission, the door opened and a beauty with orange hair walked in.
He recognized her.
She was a commoner, but she held a fairly important position in the castle.
“I am Nova. Are you feeling alright?”
“I am fine. What is it?”
The woman’s emotionless voice made Ben feel somewhat uncomfortable, and he unconsciously straightened his posture as he replied.
Even though she was using honorifics and he was speaking down to her, he was the one who felt more awkward.
“The Lord will summon you later to speak with you, but first, as a resident of Cathdic Castle, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the knight who protected us.”
The woman’s emotionless words made Ben frown.
“I protected Cathdic Castle?”
“Yes, Sir Ben. You fought off the demon and the warlock who infiltrated Cathdic Castle, and you pursued and beheaded the demon.”
‘What is this scheme?’
Ben narrowed his eyes, studying the woman before him.
He had won, that much was true, but he certainly hadn’t beheaded it.
“I cut off the demon’s head?”
“Yes. However, in the process, Sir Ben sustained life-threatening injuries. Outer Wall Patrol Leader Aron found you and administered first aid using his own potion. The abbot said that if he had been even a little later, your life would have been in danger.”
The woman’s constant emphasis on ‘Aron’ made Ben see how things had unfolded.
‘Aron saved me again.’
Aron had caught a demon before.
And this time, his opponent was less skilled in combat than the last. Plus, Ben had pushed it to its limit, so it must have been heavily damaged.
‘Even so, he has no aura. How did he do it twice…’
A natural question arose, but this was the friend who had saved his life. Ben dismissed the thought.
“The Inquisitor rescued the young lady, so you need not worry.”
“I see. Is the young lady alright?”
“…Yes. She is perfectly fine.”
Ben nodded at the woman’s slightly hesitant reply.
“The Lord will be granting a reward. How would you like to handle it?”
Ben didn’t know why she was asking about the reward, but it worked out well for him. He wouldn’t have to bring it up himself.
“Aron, that friend of mine, saved my life. Give it all to him. I have no need for it.”
Ben said without a hint of hesitation.
It was a small price to pay for having his life saved.
Besides, just like last time, he had taken the credit, so he felt rather guilty. The feeling of repeatedly stealing his friend’s accomplishments weighed heavily on him.
“Yes, I understand.”
Was it his imagination, or did the corner of the woman’s mouth twitch upward slightly as she bowed her head? With that, she left the room.
Just then, something fell from her person.
Looking closely, he saw it was a walnut.
Ben lost interest and sat on the windowsill.
‘Still not enough.’
Glancing at the gaping hole in his left shoulder, Ben picked up the sword lying next to him.
Just being unshakable was not enough.
***
“I’m telling you, this isn’t Cathdic’s inner castle. This is Bolt Castle.”
Purin, an outer wall guard of Bolt Castle, stroked his beard as he looked at the man before him.
Why was this man looking for the inner castle of Cathdic, a full day’s journey away, here of all places?
If it had been anyone else, he would have slapped them around a few times and sent them away for joking, but the man’s sheer size prevented him from being so careless.
“Are you certain of that?”
The deep resonance in the man’s voice made Purin tremble.
‘What… what is this guy?’
*Gulp*. Purin swallowed hard and nodded.
“Hah—I must have taken a wrong turn again. I thought I followed the directions perfectly…”
The man laughed, seemingly dejected, and the oppressive pressure that had been bearing down on Purin vanished in an instant.
Just as Purin was sighing in relief, finally able to breathe—
“Aaaahhh!”
Screams erupted from inside the castle.
He turned his head to see Knight Petrun on horseback, riding at high speed through the streets.
The man was deliberately weaving through crowds, laughing heartily as people scrambled and fell in surprise.
‘That damned bastard…’
He was doing it just because he found people’s startled reactions amusing. Some had even been injured by his malicious pranks, but he didn’t care at all.
Knight Ben used to stop his crazy antics, but with Ben away from Bolt Castle for so long, there was no one left to control him.
‘Fucking knights.’
Knights were quasi-nobles, so the guards couldn’t stop them. It had to be the lord or another knight, but no one in Bolt Castle was willing to get on a knight’s bad side for the sake of commoners.
As far as Purin knew, Ben was the only knight who would speak up for commoners against one of his own.
“Is that a knight, by any chance?”
“…Pardon?”
“That man, I asked if he is a knight.”
The man’s eyes sparkled like a child before a sweet treat, making Purin feel uneasy.
Still, there was no reason not to answer.
“Yes, he is a knight.”
…Though he’s a riffraff bastard who’s barely worthy of the title.
Purin forced himself to swallow the rest of the sentence.
“Good, then I’ve found the right place.”
The man grinned, his mouth splitting wide. It was the grin of a predator before its prey, and Purin swallowed hard.
“Oh, knight, oh, knight.”
Run far away.
That way, the fun will last longer—.
The man stepped forward, humming a song in his deep voice.
It was a familiar song.
A song he used to hum as a child while wandering the fields to catch bugs.
But the lyrics were different.
Purin stared at the man’s broad back and gulped.
He had a very bad feeling about this.