Chapter 10
Chapter 10
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: The Beginning of Tragedy
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"What do you plan to do by extending your time on the walls?"
"I have to find something else I can do. No matter what role each knight is assigned, I always thought I needed to find what I could manage. But when I couldn't find anything, I felt pathetic. Today during sparring, though, I realized it. Those days I spent searching weren't wrong at all."
"You're closer to being a Hero than I am, friend. You'll definitely become a great knight and live on in songs."
This time, Bulki lay on the bed and began his story to Iven, who was perched on the edge.
"I was wrong. On my first mission today, there was an unexpected situation. Beastmen were being chased by demons I'd never seen before, and the moment I saw it, I charged out to help them."
"Reckless. But you did the right thing. Still, demons you've never seen before?"
"The beastmen from the western continent seemed to know them. Red Blood Savages, I think they called them? They had fur like roaring flames all over their bodies, and their skin was ashen like it had been scorched by fire. Their leader was much smaller than a Mountain Giant but still twice the size of a normal human. And their strength... when they threw the sword they were holding... it could've crushed our armor like nothing. Want me to keep going?"
Iven, out of habit, jotted down Bulki's tale in the book wedged between the bed gaps. What Iven wrote in that book read like a song or a story, but after that day, he never showed it to anyone.
"It's just like a diary. New demons we've never heard of are popping up more and more. Something's off."
"That's not the point. Because of me, we even had casualties, and I was frustrated, but the captain said..."
"What?"
"That I have the strength to become a Hero, but I don't know what a true Hero is."
"He saw you right."
"And that you do know."
Iven just smiled without answering. Bulki sat up from his lying position and asked.
"What the hell is a Hero, anyway? Iven! I don't even know if I'm qualified to be one. Do you?"
Something deep inside Iven stirred once more.
"I do. All too well."
When he himself had agonized over what it meant to be a knight, had Bulki been fixated only on becoming a Hero? Iven's hands trembled. But he held it back and spoke to Bulki gently once more.
"It's about knowing exactly what you're wielding your sword for. Now it's time to follow your destiny. Of course, you might not be able to save everyone. But you'll lead this world in a better direction."
"What does that even mean? Iven."
Iven turned his head away in the dim lantern light so Bulki couldn't see his smile.
"This world's a total mess, so you've got a ton of work ahead. Don't stop agonizing over it."
"Sometimes it feels like you try to make even simple things complicated."
"Sorry. Anyway, you're heading out tomorrow right away?"
"Yeah. Probably moving out at dawn. The Mountain Giants... we have to wipe them out. If we do it now, it should be possible. Then exchanges with the Sun Forest will smooth out again. Not full diplomacy, but it'll definitely improve things. Ah, is this the direction you were talking about?"
Bulki chuckled. This time, Iven looked straight at him and asked.
"Will I ever get to go on missions like you someday?"
"If you want it, of course."
"I haven't even manifested my sword yet. And the only sign I have is this sticky venom oozing out. Even if it manifests, using poison in battle seems tricky. I hate my sword. I keep thinking what it'd be like if you'd gotten a sword like this. Pathetic, right? And even more pathetic is imagining what it'd be like if I'd gotten yours."
It had been a while since Iven opened up like this, but Bulki didn't notice and replied.
"You'd have done better than me. Stop with the useless thoughts. There has to be something you can do. During sparring, the captain said that no matter what sword it is, the most important thing is the direction its tip points. I don't fully get it yet, but you would, Iven."
"Captain Riu said that?"
"Yeah, Rahav... the sword's tip."
Bulki lay back down and said brightly as always.
"Well, as long as we never point them at each other. Though it'll probably never be forever. You're my conviction, the most righteous sword."
***
"Here it is, Captain Riu!"
Meanwhile, Riu, who had led the unscathed 1st Knight Order, arrived at the beastmen's temporary burrow in the highlands.
"A place like this..."
The outside was roughly covered with tents, but the inside glowed with light from unknown crystals. Beastmen without a home must have been living in places like this scattered across the continent.
"We beastmen wander all over the continent, so we need bases like this. This one's for us pointy-eared civet beastmen."
"Thanks for guiding me. Come to think of it, it must've been a tough decision, but in the chaos, I didn't even get your name. What's yours?"
"Ah! I'm the crescent moon patterned spot on the third stripe. Just call me Spot. It's too much. If it weren't for the knights, I wouldn't even be alive. And if we can't complete the Sun Forest commission, my family and I will starve this month. That's just how it is for beastmen."
Riu dismounted, took a guba from the bag fixed behind the horse's saddle, and handed it to Spot.
"You'll get the rest once the Red Blood Savages' lair is confirmed and we return to Sonain. I'll handle it personally, so no one will skim it off."
"Oh my, 20 guba for this? Thank you so much!"
"Knight Order! We're camping tonight. Take two-hour rotating watches, then move at dawn. Sort supplies and set the watch order before sleep. Dismissed."
Riu called back Spot, who was about to enter his burrow.
"Spot, do you have more to tell me about the Mountain Giant that appeared in the Sun Forest?"
"Ah, yes! Anything you're curious about?"
Riu sat on a nearby rock, drank some water, and asked.
"Isn't the Sun Forest at the northeast edge of the continent? I recall reports that the Mountain Giants who survived the second demon invasion moved near Haipoji Mountain in the northwest. So where did the ones near the Sun Forest suddenly come from? Are they as mysteriously origin-less as the Red Blood Savages?"
"I'm not sure. They did pop up out of nowhere. But something strange happened. Don't the sun fairies usually dislike mingling with humans?"
"And?"
"Before I left, I saw a weird human near the Sun Forest."
"Weird human?"
Spot licked his small hands as if rummaging through fuzzy memories, then continued.
"He had a huge golden spear. I didn't see his face, but his armor was all tattered, like a corpse-eater. And what can I say... it might've been my imagination, but it wasn't a horse or a turtle... anyway, he was riding some bizarre creature."
The moment Riu heard that, her expression sharpened astonishingly.
"Golden spear?"
"Yes. I saw that guy coming out of the Sun Forest."
"Eden..."
"Pardon?"
Riu stared only at the cloudy night sky, as if her head ached. Her face showed intense anger, but her eyes looked so sad.
She spat out words laced with a sigh.
"Has the world already twisted as he said..."
Those were the last words to her from Eden Sonain himself-the great empire's holy spear, former 1st Knight Order Captain, wielder of a sword as radiant and golden as the one Bulki had drawn-before he abruptly left the order and vanished.
"We need to hurry the subjugation."
***
The next day, since Bulki was in a rush, their departure times aligned, so the two prepared breakfast together for the first time in ages.
"Come back safe, Bulki."
"If Lije comes, tell her to wait at an inn near the market for a few days. I'll make sure to cover the cost, so she should stay. It's been forever since we've all been together."
"Sure."
Right then, the dormitory door opened, and a young man in priestly robes appeared. Iven thought he was a priest rushing to bless Bulki, but he called a different name.
"Iven of the 3rd Knight Order?"
"Yes? What is it?"
"The Saintess orders you to change into 3rd Knight Order armor immediately and come to the grand cathedral."
"From the Princess?"
Iven asked again in surprise, but Bulki excitedly chimed in from the side.
"The Princess must know how hard you've been working and wants to commend you! Getting a private audience before me? I'm jealous!"
"R-Really?"
The priest smiled mildly and handed Iven the princess's edict. Iven immediately knelt and waited for the priest to read its contents.
"In the name of Mariel Sonain, princess of the empire and high priestess of the Secular Church, your merits are hereby commended. The princess will discuss your knighthood promotion personally, so take this edict to the Saintess's chamber in the grand cathedral. Imperial Decree 171055."
It truly commended Iven's merits and mentioned promotion to knighthood.
"Knighthood promotion..."
Unlike the test Hyeon had mentioned to Iven before, knighthood promotion meant elevating from a mere document handler like Iven-not to captain level, but to senior knight, one who had awakened their sword name and manifested its power, beyond regular knight.
"By the empire's command."
The priest handed the edict to the thrilled Iven and left the room. Bulki grabbed Iven in a tight hug, then gripped his shoulders to congratulate him.
"Iven! Congrats, friend. When you get back, let's throw a party with Lije!"
But the three friends from the Brnaun coastal village never gathered again.
The one who killed Iven was none other than Bulki himself.