The Golden Knight's Hidden Obsession
The sight of my friend, who usually blended into the background, now standing out in her gleaming golden armor drew the eyes of Elisa's subordinates. They began showing a flicker of interest upon recognizing Nadan, one of the Four Heavenly Kings of the Royal Guard.
“I never imagined we’d run into Lady Nadan in a place like this.”
“Hey… since we’re already here, should we try inviting her to eat with us?”
The demons acted like office workers mustering the courage to speak to a coworker they’d been secretly admiring. It was only natural. In the eyes of ordinary demons, the Royal Guard and the Legion Commanders held a status greater than celebrities. They were heroes representing the nation itself—symbols of power. So Elisa’s subordinates gazed at Nadan with clear fascination and began cautiously approaching her.
“U-um… excuse me!”
“Hello, Lady Nadan!”
“You people… are Elisa’s subordinates?”
Nadan replied in her usual blunt, flat tone. Though her entire body was encased in that heavy golden armor, the clear feminine voice that emerged from within immediately told me she was a woman.
Meanwhile, one of the more outgoing demons among Elisa’s subordinates, encouraged by the fact that Nadan had actually answered them, continued in a slightly nervous voice.
“Yes, that’s correct, Lady Nadan. As you can see, we were in the middle of a patrol with Lady Elisa.”
“I see. Elisa. So you were here.”
With those words, Nadan glanced subtly in our direction. Elisa responded with a pure, genuinely happy smile at seeing her friend. Nadan simply gave a slow nod in return.
Right after that, the demons who had spoken to her continued with voices full of quiet expectation.
“It is truly an honor to meet you like this, Lady Nadan.”
“Actually, we were just about to take our meal break.”
“If it’s not too much trouble, would you care to join us?”
Elisa’s subordinates were being quite bold with their invitation. However, Nadan answered in her calm, unchanging voice.
“I’m sorry. I must return to the royal castle immediately. We can arrange something another time if the opportunity arises.”
“Ah… yes.”
“What a shame… Then we’ll see you next time.”
After cleanly declining their offer, Nadan gave one last subtle glance toward Elisa before vanishing. As her subordinates watched the consistently blunt and distant attitude from beginning to end, they began to feel a touch of disappointment.
“It was a good attempt, but the opponent wasn’t exactly receptive.”
“Lady Elisa?”
“What do you mean…?”
Elisa spoke with a hint of consolation in her voice. Her subordinates looked at her with puzzled expressions. She offered them a light smile and explained.
“That girl has always been extremely shy around strangers. She’s fine with me since we’re friends, but she tends to find interacting with other people quite burdensome.”
“Ah… I see.”
The demons reacted with visible disappointment at Elisa’s words. She added a bit more as if it were an afterthought.
“Nadan Yoshiya. Three hundred and thirty years old, single. She’s the most diligent one among the Royal Guard, but she doesn’t show any particularly noticeable passion for anything. She’s not a bad person, but because of how shy she is, she doesn’t try to mingle with others or show interest in much of anything. You could say she has a rather faint presence.”
“I understand now.”
As if to prove that the word “friend” wasn’t just for show, Elisa rattled off Nadan’s profile without hesitation. The other demons nodded, finally seeming to grasp the situation.
“How should I put it… Now I understand why she can walk around in that flashy golden armor and still not stand out.”
“Still, it’s a shame. I personally looked up to her as one of the Four Heavenly Kings.”
“At least she stopped to say hello because I was here. Otherwise she would’ve just vanished in a puff. Honestly… she really is a troublesome friend in so many ways.”
Elisa gave a wry smile as she spoke. Once the conversation about Nadan ended, the demons scattered to go eat.
Meanwhile, I watched the retreating figure of the demon who had appeared so briefly and then disappeared. I turned to Elisa and spoke carefully.
“Now that I think about it… I believe I saw her once before. It was during the fight with Shude at the Demon King’s Castle, wasn’t it?”
“Shude? You mean that witch from the Magic Kingdom? Probably. I was too busy dealing with Amelda to get a good look myself.”
“From what I know, there aren’t even three mages in the Magic Kingdom who can match Shude’s level. If she could stand against someone like that, she must be no ordinary fighter.”
“She’s definitely not ordinary. If we’re talking purely about raw combat strength among the Four Heavenly Kings, she’s the strongest. On top of that, I heard… she’s apparently planning to participate in the upcoming Narsil selection tournament.”
“I see… Depending on the matchups, she could end up being one of our opponents.”
“Yeah. It does seem likely.”
Elisa spoke with a rather solemn resolve. But separate from her attitude, I found myself recalling the presence I had sensed from Nadan just moments ago.
What should I call it… At first glance, it felt like she really didn’t like me…
The momentary sensation had been similar to hostility. Though I couldn’t see her expression because of the helmet, I could tell it was definitely not a good feeling.
I don’t have any particular connection with her, but… I should still stay on guard. She might simply hate humans as a demon.
“Haa…”
Having slipped away from Elisa’s group, Nadan entered a deserted alley. A heavy sigh immediately escaped her lips. Her body, hidden beneath the golden armor, made it impossible to see her exact condition. Yet at this moment, she was trembling as if trying to suppress some powerful emotion.
Her breathing was ragged, and the aura radiating from her made it clear she was in a state of great agitation. Within that visibly unstable state, two fierce emotions were writhing inside Nadan’s heart.
To suppress one of them, she pulled out the pendant she always carried. Inside it… was a small portrait of the person she had just seen. A portrait of Elisa.
It was dangerous… Elisa… You’re unfairly beautiful today too…
The small silver-haired friend she had run into purely by chance. Nadan struggled desperately to calm her pounding heart as countless images of her flooded her mind.
Aah… Elisa… No matter how many times I see you, you really are the best… Those sparkling red eyes, that skin like white jade. How can you be so beautiful? The moment you looked at me with those eyes, I thought my heart would stop…
To an outsider, they were simply ordinary friends. But for Nadan, Elisa could never be considered an ordinary friend.
Long ago, when Nadan was still a mere military officer, she had met Elisa by chance. The moment she laid eyes on her—already one of the Four Heavenly Kings—Nadan fell in love at first sight. It was like a single flower bud blooming in the middle of a barren, desolate life that had held no interest in anything.
That feeling gave a single clear purpose to Nadan’s previously dry and monotonous existence: no matter what it took, she would claim her. She would possess that being of absolute beauty known as Elisa.
As part of that goal, Nadan threw herself completely into combat training and the path to promotion—things she had never cared about before. In the process, her latent natural talent revealed itself. Before long, she rose to become one of the Four Heavenly Kings and naturally grew close to the woman she had always admired, becoming her “comrade.”
Having successfully become Elisa’s friend just as she had always wanted, Nadan believed that half the battle was already won. Though her timid personality prevented her from being more aggressive, the bridge had been built. In reality, they often ate together and spent time alone, so their relationship had already gone beyond simple friendship.
However.
In recent days, an unexpected variable had entered Nadan’s otherwise smoothly progressing plan.
The hero… Some random pebble that rolled in from who knows where dares to get in my way…
The hero who had suddenly appeared at Elisa’s side. The moment Nadan saw them together, she instantly understood. Elisa’s heart now held feelings of love toward the hero.
For Nadan, whose goal had always been to conquer both Elisa’s body and heart, this was an absolutely unacceptable situation. Even earlier, just seeing that filthy hero fooling around with Elisa had filled her with gut-wrenching rage. She had been forced to flee the scene with all her strength just to hold it back.
But suppressing her emotions like this was only a temporary measure. Even now, Nadan was sharpening the blade of her fury against that filthy hero, waiting for the chance to deliver retribution.
And that chance would come on the perfect stage—the Narsil selection tournament that would be held soon.
I don’t particularly enjoy fights that build up stress, but once I get serious, I don’t lose to anyone. Hero… I will definitely crush that filthy arrogance of yours.