250. I Pay My Respects to the Noble Moon of the Empire
250. I Pay My Respects to the Noble Moon of the Empire
***
After using a chanson de geste, the divine presence Roland displayed had reached something truly beyond the human realm.
With a single swing of his sword, countless demonic beasts were cut down and laid upon the cold ground, and each step he took seemed to erase the distance before him, leaping through space to appear throughout the battlefield as he slaughtered the demonic beasts.
"...A chanson de geste?"
Aselin, who had been protesting that they needed to help and provide support, muttered blankly at the sight of Roland.
In Black Ark, only the most exceptional knights could use a chanson de geste.
Aselin, who also served as commander of the Imperial Knight Order, was by no means lacking in skill, but even so, he was nothing compared to a knight who could use a chanson de geste.
Rin, who had been glancing at Aselin, twisted the corner of her mouth with a soft snicker.
'Who's worrying about whom, really.'
In truth, this scene was too ambiguous to even call an awakening for Roland.
It was an episode that could simply be described as showcasing Roland's overwhelming divine presence.
The party had realized that the chanson de geste 'Knight's Song' had been used.
As they all stared at Roland with astonished expressions, Rin suddenly shouted with a voice charged with energy, as if summoning her strength.
"Now!"
Rin's shout rang out as she kicked off the ground with all her might, launching her body forward like a shot, and immediately behind her, the various knights and mercenaries began hurling themselves toward that space overflowing with demonic beasts.
The sight of that wilderness could certainly be seen as a single knight carrying out a one-sided massacre against hundreds of demonic beasts, but if they just stood and watched, there would have been no point in coming this far.
They had to provide meaningful help to Roland.
The reason she had deliberately waited until The Song of Roland echoed through the space was both to impress Roland's divine presence upon the party and because she'd wanted to witness a chanson de geste firsthand.
She'd been curious about how imposing a knight using a chanson de geste could be.
Rin, who had launched herself forward quickly, watched Roland with shining eyes.
The sight of the golden-haired knight slaughtering demonic beasts while enveloped in brilliant light seemed like something out of myth itself.
—!
In an instant, a massive golden line carved through the air, and with that alone, a great mass of demonic beasts screamed and met their end.
The Durandal that Roland gripped with both hands held such a radiant golden light over its bloodstained blade that it felt almost sacred.
At that moment, Roland noticed Rin rushing toward him and glanced her way. Rin immediately sprang into action.
—Ghost Dance.
As the bloodstained Crescent-Moon Weight lashed out savagely across the space, the ground erupted continuously as if under bombardment, and Rin began sweeping through the space itself, erasing countless demonic beasts.
Since she intended to leave a strong impression to raise his favorability, she had used a major technique with the intention of dealing with the demonic beasts at full power, and Rin's judgment could not have been more correct.
"...!"
Roland, who had been watching Rin with a brief look of surprise, expressed his gratitude with a glance and then swung his own sword without pause.
......
Slice. Thud!
As the troll, boasting its massive bulk, had its neck severed and laid its enormous body upon the ground, all the countless demonic beasts that had occupied the wilderness were dealt with.
The moment Rin's party, including Cecilia, joined forces with Roland, the outcome was already decided.
As Aselin had said about why they hadn't helped, the party's strength was so high that it could be called excessive for dealing with demonic beasts.
Rin's party was now at a level that could be counted among the foremost military forces on the entire continent.
Clank. Shing.
After the battle ended, they were each checking their equipment and surveying their surroundings when—
Whoosh!
Roland, who had swung his sword once through the air to shake off the blood on the blade, looked at them with a bright expression.
"I am Roland, one of the Twelve Knights of Charlemagne."
Roland was speaking while looking directly at Rin, not anyone else.
"Rather than speaking to me... I think you should be looking at Princess Cecilia."
Rin let out a small, hollow laugh and pointed at Cecilia, who was standing at a distance, and Roland blinked in surprise.
From the way she had appeared first and had led the party afterward, he had naturally assumed the silver-haired woman must be the leader of the group, so when the word princess suddenly came up, he couldn't understand.
Roland, who turned his head following Rin's gesture, saw the woman dressed in garments embroidered with brilliant golden thread and quickly composed himself.
He immediately dropped to one knee and bowed his head deeply.
"A knight of Charlemagne... pays his respects to the noble Moon of the Empire."
At the sight of him belatedly observing proper etiquette, Cecilia smiled softly and shook her head.
"You may dispense with excessive formality. The situation was urgent, so I have no intention of faulting you."
Cecilia, who had been watching Roland slowly straighten his posture, glanced toward Rin.
'Did you even predict this as well?'
She had intended to come here knowing even the destination where a knight of Charlemagne existed.
Moreover, because they had just helped a knight of Charlemagne, it would have a tremendous influence among the knights going forward.
The meaning of the 'Knights of Charlemagne' was by no means small among knights.
It would make winning the hearts of knights who currently supported other members of the imperial family all the easier.
That thought flashed through Cecilia's mind in an instant.
Clank.
"As expected of a knight of Charlemagne, the power of a chanson de geste is truly extraordinary."
Aselin, who had sheathed his sword after the battle, smiled brightly at Roland, and Roland smiled back softly.
"I felt the Empire's swordsmanship was no ordinary art either."
As they exchanged greetings one by one, they fell into amiable conversation.
As one of the most renowned knights, a knight of Charlemagne, his reputation was exceedingly good, and there was no one who disliked him.
After explaining the circumstances that had brought him to this strange space, Roland naturally accompanied the party to the next village.
'Things seem to be going well.'
Even as she thought that, Rin made no particular move to approach Roland.
She considered it enough that the princess's party had grown close to Roland.
Later, when the party stopped to rest and have a late lunch—
Roland approached Rin first.
When Rin turned her head to look at him, Roland offered a small greeting.
After exchanging a few words, Roland looked at her right hand as if fascinated.
"That weapon bound to your hand... is it called a Crescent-Moon Weight?"
"Yes. Sir Roland, you're quite knowledgeable about it?"
When Rin responded to his mention of the Crescent-Moon Weight, Roland showed a bright smile.
"Along with Her Highness the Princess, the renown of her party is famed across the entire continent. How could I not recognize it?"
"...Is that so?"
"Yes. And the sight of you wielding that Crescent-Moon Weight a moment ago was quite impressive."
'He's a knight, yet so courteous.'
They had only exchanged a few words, but that was the first thought that came to Rin's mind above all else.
Knights were treated like nobility in this world, so encountering such a courteous knight was rare.
Moreover, considering the fame of the Knights of Charlemagne that resounded across the continent, such humility was even more remarkable.
After conversing a little more, they were able to end their talk in a relatively pleasant atmosphere.
"Then I shall take my leave. I enjoyed our conversation."
"Yes. Likewise."
Rin stared blankly at Roland's back as he returned to his original spot.
'How interesting.'
It felt refreshing to have met and conversed with a courteous intellectual for the first time in a while.
That was because most of the people she had met so far were the type to boast about themselves.
But when someone like Roland, who was genuinely great, approached her while lowering himself, it felt strange.
It was odd to think that the name Rin had spread so widely that even a famous knight knew of it.
"A knight who can use a chanson de geste."
Rin muttered quietly, and the lyrics of the chanson de geste Roland had just recited still lingered vividly in her mind.
"...Does it matter."
Rin, who knew everything about what fate awaited Roland in the distant future, briefly looked at him with sympathy and pity in her eyes.
But that emotion lingered only for the briefest moment, and it did not stay long in her blue eyes.
***
The hour when the morning sun slowly spread its range and began to show its light.
6 a.m.
Rustle, rustle.
Serin, who had been tossing and turning, blinked blankly. Through her thoroughly disheveled silver hair, her eyes were unfocused and vacant.
"...Ah."
It was too vivid to call a dream, each memory rising as if she had just experienced it, drawing her into a strange feeling.
Beings she could never meet again, and the many memories she had experienced in that world.
"...It was a dream."
Even as she muttered blankly, she felt as though lingering attachment would well up for no reason.
It wasn't something that could be called a simple dream, because it wasn't a false illusion—it was one of the past memories that rose vividly.
It had been a time when she had adventured through a vast world, growing her power day by day and feeling satisfaction in building up her strength.
Serin shook her head in regret.
Click.
Brushing her disheveled hair back with a broad sweep, Serin picked up the smartphone nearby.
Checking the date, it was Friday, August 27.
The day the scrim was scheduled.
"Right."
Then Serin blankly touched her face and brought her hand to her forehead.
All she felt from the hand against her forehead was a faint warmth. It didn't feel burning hot like fire or cold to the touch as it had just yesterday.
'I'm glad it's better.'
She felt relieved that she would be able to carry out the scheduled scrim without any issues, but at the same time, a hollow laugh escaped Serin.
"And of all things, I dreamed about something related to Charlemagne."
She wondered if it was a coincidence, and laughter came out for no reason.
It felt strange that the episode where Roland first recited a chanson de geste still came back so vividly.
"The Song of Roland."
As she muttered it offhandedly, suddenly, as if it were a link connecting everything—
Several thoughts came to her all at once.
First, the mythic item she had obtained just yesterday.
—Durandal.
The line saying the active skill 'The Song of Roland' could be used came to mind.
"As endless pain accompanies me..."
Serin, who had absentmindedly muttered the opening of the chanson de geste, suddenly felt as if her head had cleared.
The scrim against Team Charlemagne, which she had honestly been half-neglecting.
It felt as though she had grasped a massive clue about that scrim.