The blonde female knight took me in
The blonde female knight took me in
The Blonde Female Knight Accepted Me
Blue Tooth Forest. It was far from the forests I had known before.
From the very entrance, I could feel hostile gazes crawling over me, and a terror so immediate I almost pissed myself.
It felt exactly like when I first stepped into Professor Scarlet's mansion.
"This isn't a very nice feeling~."
"It's a wonder a forest this dangerous even exists."
"The path is all damp and gross, too. The whole trail is nothing but mud."
As if they sensed the exact same things I did, the summoners nearby were all scanning their surroundings with extreme caution.
"You feel it too, newbie oppa?"
"Yes... it does feel like needles are poking at me from all sides."
The pipe-smoking nunim who had been riding a trail of cigarette smoke flew over to me and called me oppa. Anyone could see I looked younger than her. She must just want to seem young herself.
"Day 5 oppa has a good feel about him. Your name was Park Ja-geun, right?"
"Yes. May I ask your name, dongsaeng?"
"Dongsaeng? Hoo-hoo. You've got the basics down at least~ I'm Evelyn. Oppa~."
Having heard exactly what she wanted, the nunim's sharp expression melted into a smile, and she swooped in right next to me, practically trying to stick to my side.
"Hey, old lady, if you keep that up the newbie is gonna bail. Tone it down."
"I'm still in my early thirties, what do you mean old lady?"
"So you're confessing your age now, old lady."
"Young man... do go on."
When summoners gather, idle friction tends to spark up here and there. You could say their personalities are all so strong, their opinions clash just as hard. From a third-party perspective, it was nothing short of entertaining to watch.
"Is it the forest's influence? Everyone's turning so irritable... Newbie, you should meditate so you don't get tainted too."
Suddenly, a man in a wide-brim bamboo hat and clothing that looked like traditional Hanbok told me to meditate.
"Instead of meditation, how about prayer... If you lean on Lord Fores, your worries will vanish and only happiness will fill your heart."
A woman in a gray dress with her face covered had somehow come up beside me and was clasping her hands together.
This gathering was truly nothing less than a mix of oil and water that refused to blend.
It was becoming clear that I was probably the most normal person among them.
'But anyway, I don't have time for this.'
My real target was the female knight commander riding a horse over there.
I'd written down that the reward would be sex, but I didn't want some empty shell where I just blindly collected a reward. What I needed was genuine sex where I got to know her heart step by step.
Only then, I thought, could I truly enjoy it and receive a perfect score on my rating.
But in reality, I couldn't even manage a greeting. On top of that, when I looked around, there were so many nuisances everywhere that I simply couldn't reach the knight.
"An attack from the front!!"
"Monsters are coming from the sky too!!"
The gazes I'd been sensing in the forest finally bared their claws and made their move against the escort.
In that instant, the bickering summoners all vanished right before my eyes.
"Keuraaa!"
"Are these some kind of dinosaur-like monsters?"
"Those are called drakes, young man."
"Thanks for letting me know, old lady."
The summoners reappeared at the front where the female knight was. The man in the fedora hat who'd said he'd protect me was also there, pistol in hand.
Just as promised, the summoners were fulfilling their escort role, slaughtering the horde of monsters at the front. But when I looked closely, it seemed like there were a lot of people hovering near the female knight.
"Just leave this to me, okay?"
"Don't cut in line."
There were summoners here—way, way too many of them.
At this point, it almost looked like they were protecting the knight commander outright, not the princess.
'What are they aiming for...?'
I thought hard about why they were protecting the female knight that fiercely. It seemed like every single summoner was moving to attract her attention, and putting on a forced show to leave a good impression.
'Ah... it's the rating.'
I quickly realized it after watching the summoners' actions. Come to think of it, every one of them had a Summoner's Book.
In short, their goal was the same as mine.
Earning rating points. Rating points were a currency you couldn't get in the real world.
Since that currency let you do impossible things, they were all working hard to win the female knight's score too.
"I already took down five of them!"
Some raised their voices to openly flaunt their worth.
"Are you injured anywhere?"
"Remarkable. To take down that blue drake in a single blow..."
"Just trust in me, Brass."
Some timed their appearance like a hero at a moment of crisis to express goodwill.
Everyone was working their hardest to earn a high rating.
As a Day 5 summoner, I hadn't even realized the competition among the summoners had already begun.
"Hm... this isn't going to work."
Even if I was late, should I try to latch onto the golden noona now and appeal to her?
Even if I moved right away, it didn't seem like golden noona would pay any attention to me. With all those highly capable summoners sticking to her like glue, what method could I possibly use to overtake those veteran water-soaked relics and make myself stand out?
On top of that, I had almost zero combat ability. At best, I had some defensive ability using a spirit. I had invested all my stamina solely into meeting beauties, so catching dinosaur-like monsters like that and appealing to her was close to impossible.
'Ah~ screw it, noona's rating. I give up.'
I decided to boldly throw in the towel and just go for emotionless sex.
I set aside the female knight and looked around. Everyone except me was moving frantically. Moving as a whole, the scene reminded me of the barren-land operations back in my military days.
'Just sitting still makes my body itch. Maybe I'll do something... If there's anything I can even do.'
"Over here! The princess's carriage wheel is stuck in the mud! We need backup! If wyverns swoop in now, we're done!"
Rear support seemed the most fitting. Especially for that long, eight-wheeled carriage plastered in gold.
I slipped to the rear, sprayed blood into the air, and summoned a spirit.
"Whoa! Where is this? There's fighting going on!"
I immediately initiated blood sharing with the water spirit that formed from coalescing droplets.
- We're in the middle of battle. Help me pull out the carriage wheel. And on the way, help those injured people over there, too.
"Okay! Got it!"
Once information faster than words flowed into the spirit, the water spirit darted off at once.
It helped the soldiers in golden armor one by one, heading for the carriage the princess was aboard.
"We couldn't see your wounds because of the mud. Thank you for washing it away!"
"It was nothing..."
While heading toward the carriage, I also pushed every fallen soldier out of the road, finally arriving at the carriage.
"A long log!! We need a long pole! The wheel is stuck too deep; one person's strength isn't enough!"
"I'll help."
Using blood magic, I extended a long red bar and rammed it under the wheel.
"You are..."
"I'm a summoner. The front seemed well-covered, so I came back here."
"Thank you! All right! Everyone! Grab the bar this summoner-nim made and push down! We'll pull the wheel out with all our might!"
A weapon of blood that even slime acid couldn't melt. Its strength and durability were so excellent, it withstood the weight of dozens of people and lifted the wheel. Then, with the water spirit's power, the muddy ground gradually dried up.
"It's out! Move the princess's carriage to the roadside!"
The long carriage that had been hindering the battle finally moved. But the crisis didn't end there.
"Too late! Fireballs incoming!"
"Shields!! Over the shields!! Protect the princess's carriage! Block them even if it means throwing our bodies!"
The next peril arrived right as the carriage started moving. The wyverns flying in the sky spat fireballs from their mouths.
The summoners blocked some in midair, but they were overwhelmed trying to stop every attack, and the remaining fireballs came flying through.
- Spirit! Block the fireballs!
When I shouted in desperation, the water spirit shot over in front of me in an instant. In that moment, the spirit kicked up a spray of water in all directions and collided with the massive fireball.
- Kwaang!!
The two heavy forces slammed together, sending shockwaves and debris flying everywhere. The soldiers were hit by the fragments, but fortunately, it didn't seem deadly, and they rose up again and gathered in front of the carriage.
"We... we're alive...!"
"This isn't over yet. Please form a defensive line right away."
"Understood! Everyone, into defense formation!"
The woman holding a book took command of the soldiers.
The defensive line that had looked like a ragtag mob gradually took shape to protect the carriage.
Even so, the fireballs falling from the sky were threatening. Because of that, I had no choice but to stand as close to the carriage as possible and fight against the fireballs to protect them.
"It's over..."
After a long, desperate struggle, everyone was sprawled around on the ground in a state of complete exhaustion.
I was no different, leaning against a nearby tree and keeping my eyes shut as much as possible.
"Princess!"
I was quietly trying to conserve my stamina when a desperate voice from afar made my eyes snap open on their own.
That gallant voice belonged to none other than the female knight. Her blonde hair streaming behind her, she was sprinting toward the bus-like carriage.
Since she was the princess of the kingdom whom she was sworn to serve, it was obvious she came to check if the princess was safe the very moment the battle ended.
I needed to meet her right away and earn points, but right now I was completely wrecked and didn't even want to move.
'Ah, forget it~.'
I just shut my eyes and turned my head.
"Knight Commander-nim... you've come."
"Siena! The princess!?"
"She is fine. A summoner-nim appeared at the critical moment, so we were able to pull through."
"A summoner... what a relief... I will go see the princess for a moment."
The knight commander stepped inside the long golden carriage.
She stayed inside the carriage for a while, then stepped back out.
"Siena, where is that summoner now?"
"He is over there, resting against a tree. After all, he alone must have blocked dozens of wyvern attacks."
"Her Highness also asked whether he was all right. I shall go check on him..."
"Knight Commander-nim..."
"What is it?"
"That man is none other than Park Ja-geun."
"Park Ja-geun? Who is that?"
"I mean the one they say will take the Knight Commander-nim's first night."
"....I see. If he not only volunteered to support us in this hellish forest but also risked his life to protect the princess's carriage, then I shall smile and be with him."
"If that is the Knight Commander-nim's wish... Understood. I will ask nothing more."
"Siena. It seems you thought he was acceptable too, after seeing him."
"N... no. If the Commander-nim saw him and didn't like him, I was going to look for an alternative reward!"
"Hut... I understand. Siena the Civil Official."
Watching Siena complain with irritation, Knight Commander Hena turned her head and walked toward the tree where he lay sleeping.
Siena bit down hard on her lower lip, watched the scene from afar for a while, then soon turned her head away.
The female knight gazed at the man sleeping while leaning against the tree.
'So this man is Park Ja-geun...'
On the surface, a perfectly ordinary impression. His looks gave off a vibe similar to a junior soldier who'd served right after her.
She stood there, scrutinizing every single feature of Ja-geun's face. Even as she denied to herself that it was at all interesting, she kept looking at him, there, asleep on the spot.