Holy Knight Yohan (4)

Before I knew it, the season was drawing to a close.

I had learned a few more holy magic spells from Sophia, while Cheonsol refined her martial arts. I also made several trips to the dwarf workshop in the Starting Village to sell goods. Unfortunately, nothing of Rare grade ever dropped, so I never made a fortune — but the profits were still pretty decent.

I put the money toward upgrading the workshop and furnishing the bedroom. Sophia just muttered, "It's not the right time yet," and kept saving every coin.

If you sorted people by spending habits, Sophia's thriftiness was far more admirable than my habit of blowing cash the moment I earned it, so I kept my mouth shut. Honestly, I wasn't about to complain that the goddess I served was good at saving money. If she'd had a wasteful streak, I might have considered open rebellion — but she didn't.

"That's enough training for today. Good work."

"Thou hast worked hard."

As soon as the day's holy magic practice ended, Cheonsol brought over a towel and a water bottle. I'd made those myself, too.

"Thanks."

"Think nothing of it. Tending to one's husband is only natural."

"..."

I was wiping my face with the towel Cheonsol had handed me when two children and one egg came barreling over.

"Mad Demon!"

"Dad..."

Roll, roll, roll!

Well-fed on blood, Lan-lan-i had grown large enough to pass for an upper-elementary schooler. Evni, who had originally been bigger than Lan-lan-i, had fallen behind in growth. Unlike vampires, who matured quickly, the slow-growing elf blood mixed into Evni made that inevitable.

As for Lulu, I still had no idea why she hadn't hatched. Maybe this egg form was her final form.

Rattle! Rattle-rattle! Rattle!

"Why are you getting mad?"

Tremble-tremble!

For an egg, she sure had a temper. I ignored Lulu as she rolled indignantly in place and scooped up the two kids.

"Mad Demon good!"

"Like..."

Lan-lan-i climbed onto my shoulder and rubbed her cheek against mine with abandon. Evni, looking bashful, just pressed her face lightly against me.

"Lan-lan-i! Evni! Climb down this instant! Canst thou not see that Mad Demon is straining under the weight?"

"Mad Demon tired?"

Lan-lan-i tilted her head.

"Not even a little. My daughters are light as feathers."

"Kya-ha-ha-ha!!"

I was playing with the kids when Sophia hesitantly spoke up.

"Sorry to interrupt while you're playing with the kids, but... we're doing a battle today."

"Finally!"

The battle I'd failed even after using my ultimate technique — at last! I had no idea how many days it had been. The sun never set in the Divine Realm, so keeping track of dates was a nightmare. Apparently that was because our broke goddess Sophia had never purchased the Day/Night feature.

At last...

The slave spirit, who had been feeding nutrients into the garden trees, muttered under his breath. Lan-lan-i jabbed a finger at him.

"Bring him too! It's more fun watching from up high!"

"Good idea. I only need myself in the coaching box, so I'll put the kids and the slave in the spectator seats."

I am not particularly fond of that plan...

The slave spirit looked like he desperately did not want to be dragged to a battle. Why would he hate a chance to escape garden duty?

The cushioning is poor, it shakes, and while a short ride is not so bad, watching an entire battle from up there is...

"Hmm. So you were planning to enjoy a brief stretch of freedom while we went off to battle."

Ah... yes.

"A slave, cutting corners? How insolent. Even among the servants of this lady's former order, there were heretics who tried to shirk their duties."

Cheonsol drew her sword halfway from its scabbard.

"Punishment is in order."

I actually love being a chair! I shall serve you most comfortably!

"Thou shouldst have said so from the start."

Cheonsol sheathed her blade with a faint smile. Damn, she was cool. I was already in love with her, and now I was falling for her all over again. She was so cool I wanted to invent a title for her.

"The Swordswoman Who Makes Spirits Cry..."

Lirota, who had been crumpled in a corner sniffling, wiped at his eyes.

"What manner of title is that? It is mortifying — cease at once."

"Got it."

A good ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠husband listens to his wife.

Sophia let out a sigh.

"The regional broadcasts are all over, right? I'm starting the matchmaking now."

"You still haven't started it?"

"I have to talk about it first, then start. Okay, doing it now."

A message appeared indicating that a match was being sought.

"So why the sudden urge to battle, anyway?"

"I've taught Yohan most of the holy magic he can learn at ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠his level, so now he needs to hone it in real combat. And we need to start raising experience, too. What was your exp at again?"

"Let me check."

That was the experience from three battles a day plus training, right up until the divine power awakening. Cheonsol had more exp than me. Whenever a female minion showed up, she stole my turn and went out herself — so it couldn't be helped. Winning a battle gave experience to every minion in the entry, but scoring the win yourself earned you more.

"That's a solid amount of exp. You'll hit Level 2 during the regular season."

"Wouldn't it have been fine to hit Level 2 first and then start battling?"

"You can think that way if you don't know any better."

Sophia crossed her arms and swaggered like a senior holding court at a drinking party. Honestly, it was a little annoying.

"The timing when we stopped battling was exactly when Level 2 minions started showing up. No matter how reliable Yohan and Cheonsol are, closing a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠level gap is hard. Even the Sword God — the Rank 1 minion — supposedly couldn't beat a Level 2 minion while he was still Level 1."

So she'd chickened out because she was scared of breaking the undefeated streak. I didn't feel like getting smacked, so I kept quiet.

"So higher level is always better, then?"

"Usually, yeah — but there are events with level restrictions, too. Oh? Got one!"

Just what kind of god and minion had we drawn? My heart pounded — thump-thump, ba-dump-ba-dump.

Stepping into the Colosseum after so long felt good. Even the faintly dry air, so different from the lush Divine Realm, was welcome.

"Waaaaaah!!!"

What the hell was that noise? Which bastard was ruining my concentration?

"Minions! Cheer louder! Louder, louder, louder!!"

A man on the opposing side leapt into the air. His body moved with the vigorous force of a fish bursting up from the sea. And filling the enemy spectator stands — at a glance, well over a hundred minions — waved objects that looked like idol light sticks.

"Meschu-nim! Meschu-nim! Meschu-nim!"

"I can feel your devotion! Come on! You do it too!"

The object the man threw bounced off the transparent barrier and fell. Sophia murmured blankly,

"Rank 41... Meschu?"

"That's my name, baby!"

Meschu, picking up the fallen light stick, winked with pure delight. Cheonsol squeezed her eyes shut.

"I have forsaken my eyes. Truly repulsive."

"Gross!"

"Ugly..."

"Khup!"

Whether he heard Cheonsol and the kids or not, Meschu clutched his chest. The tactless slave muttered,

For that level, he's actually pret—

Roll-roll! Rattle!

Thwack.

Lirota, smacked by Lulu, shut his mouth. Cheonsol fretted over Lulu in alarm.

"Art thou unharmed?"

Rattle-rattle.

"Fortunately the shell is unmarred. Lirota! When a fragile child collides with thee, thou ought to dodge!"

I am sorry...

"Weeping solves nothing! Cease that sniveling at once!"

Yes...

With this many people around, it was pure chaos. Next time I was leaving Lirota behind.

"Sophia-nim. That guy is Rank 41?"

"Yeah. He's famous as a particularly... unique god."

"How so..."

I didn't need to ask what made him unique. The relationship between Meschu and his minions looked exactly like an idol and his fans.

"Meschu-nim is so cool!"

"Meschu-nim is so handsome!"

"Milky-white Meschu! We love you, Meschu!"

"Yeah, he's unique all right."

"True. But don't let your guard down."

Sophia dropped her voice low.

"He's a god who's held his ranking even with a full entry. He has minions strong enough to crush every challenge from lower ranks."

"He might even have a Level 2 minion."

Sophia and Cheonsol's warnings put me on edge. Was the undefeated myth about to end here?

Honestly, losing wouldn't be the end of the world. If you added up every defeat I'd suffered in virtual reality, it would easily top several thousand. Everyone has a newbie phase. Sometimes you're off your game, or a tiny mistake snowballs into a loss. That's just how it goes.

"Sophia-nim. You don't need to worry about me. Defeat is familia—"

"If the undefeated streak breaks, the divine power that rolls in every day gets cut in half."

I glared at Sophia in irritation. I'd been trying to look cool for once, and my goddess had to go and kill the vibe. Cheonsol was looking at Sophia like she was garbage. The goddess, belatedly realizing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠her mistake, started scrambling for excuses.

"Nooo, of course I was worried about Yohan too. You've never lost even once, and if you run into a Level 2..."

"My master contemplates defeat before the battle has even begun. For a warrior, that is a truly foul habit."

"Uh..."

Sophia, at a loss for words, glared at Meschu instead. Meschu, basking in his minions' cheers, winked back.

"You lot look pretty fun yourselves! You're that infamous Mad Human team everyone's talking about, right?"

"Th...at's right!"

"Just how far has the rumor that Mad Demon is a Mad Human spread? Even in the minion community, his notoriety is considerable."

"It's circulating in the human community too."

More precisely, posts titled "Isn't Carverworld a Mad Human?" kept popping up on a regular basis. I had no idea how they identified me from a few posts. All I'd done was share some tips for dealing with female minions.

Ungrateful bastards. Next time I saw a human race in battle, I was going to beat them even harder than other races. You lot abandoned any courtesy between kin. You started this...

"Yohan's got good fighting spirit. Since he's out here for training today, let's send Yohan out first."

"Understood."

"If it's the Mad Human, I've got to send out a matching minion! Come forth!"

Meschu struck a ridiculous pose and scattered flower petals into the air.

"Play! Play! Cheerleader!"

"Our! Mascot! Cheerleader!"

"Run hard! Go! Cheerleader!"

The moment Meschu's minion appeared, the cheering kicked off. The cheer squad waving their light sticks in perfect unison was so impressive you had no choice but to acknowledge it.

"Cool! Lan-lan-i wants to cheer for Mad Demon too! Play! Play!"

"Play... Krista..."

Huh? What? Why'd you summon me? Look at that? Why are they acting like that?

Rattle~ Rattle-rattle~

Our side's minions were enjoying themselves, but I could not contain my rage. In all my time participating in the Game of the Gods, I had never been this angry. Even when I'd taken a tactical nuke of flame online back on Earth, it hadn't been this disgusting.

"The cheerleader is... a guy..."