Chapter 14
Chapter 14
What Are You Looking At, My Noble Knight
“—Ahem. A-are you here!! Sir Rubel!! This is the records officer, Rete!! I apologize for the intrusion—!!”
Creeeak—
The door let out a long groan as it opened.
“Oh, Rete? It’s been a while. What brings you here in person?”
Rete was carrying a large box in her arms, almost struggling under its weight.
“I-I can’t see you…!”
Ah. So she really couldn’t see properly.
Why did she bring so much stuff…
“Give it here. Come inside.”
“Ah!! T-thank you very much—!”
I took the boxes from her and placed them carelessly on the bed, then led her inside.
“So, what’s going on?”
“F-first of all, I have g-good news for you, Sir Rubel!!”
Rete quickly opened one of the stacked boxes and showed me its contents.
Inside was a finely sealed official letter.
“What is this…?”
“T-the recent achievements of Sir Rubel, your contributions so far, and especially the elimination of Radices… you have been awarded the rank of First-Class Knight!!”
Huh?
Huh???
“First-Class Knight? Me?”
“Yes!! These boxes contain the s-supplies and rewards given to First-Class Knights!!”
Rete hurriedly opened the other boxes.
One contained stacks of gold coins, another held a neatly tailored uniform.
Some items looked honestly useless, but there were quite a lot of them.
“And this is the m-most important part!!”
In the final box, she revealed a finely crafted silver medallion along with an official document bearing a high-ranking seal.
It looked like a badge… almost like a pass.
“This is a proof that allows you to enter sacred grounds in other districts!!”
A pass to sacred grounds?
That really does sound like a travel permit.
“Now!! You can freely travel to the northern cathedral, the southern Inquisition headquarters, and the western knight order monastery!!”
“…Is that… a good thing? I don’t really have a reason to go there.”
“W-what you cannot do, and what you can but choose not to do… are different things!!”
Well, that’s true.
You never know when you might need to go somewhere like that.
“So it’s like a sightseeing pass?”
“N-no!! Not at all! First-Class Knights are quite sought after, s-so you may be called to various places!”
Ah… so it means more work.
Probably dangerous assignments outside the eastern district.
“And this is the l-last one!! A residence is also granted to First-Class Knights…! You can live together with your Saint in any district you choose!”
…That’s pretty generous.
So First-Class Knights really get treated well.
If I had stayed an Second-Class Knight, I would’ve been miserable.
“Oh!! And the High Archivist of the Great Library wants to meet you and Lady Adela as well.”
The High Archivist of the Great Library… the bishop of the eastern district.
Someone like that shouldn’t normally meet a lowly knight like me, even if I became First-Class.
“The High Archivist… wants to meet me?”
“They s-said they’ve been closely observing your recent missions!”
Recent missions? I’ve only done small ones after Radices…
“It seems they were especially interested in how you never let your Saint suffer even a single injury!”
Ah… so that’s what it is.
So instead of noticing everything else, they liked that part.
“The High Archivist, Chergel of the eastern district, hereby commends your… ‘ruthless knightly conduct.’”
“…It is an honor.”
Ruthless knightly conduct.
So that’s how I look now.
“And the same goes for Saint Adela.”
…Adela.
They investigated her too?
“‘Her light was not merely that of a Saint accompanied by a Second-Class Knight.’ ‘She bore the knight’s pain yet never lost her distorted smile.’”
Distorted smile?
What is that supposed to mean.
“This is the true image of a Saint… a knight who does not let the Saint suffer, and a Saint who smiles even while enduring pain.”
The High Archivist spread his fingers slowly, rings glinting under the light.
Then he smiled, showing his teeth in a twisted expression.
“This… is the true seed of light that will drive away darkness, is it not?”
That expression… felt wrong.
Unpleasant.
Almost inhuman.
The tall figure of the High Archivist cast a shadow that swallowed us whole, as if the bright room itself was being overtaken.
“Then let me ask you, Sir Rubel.”
“…Pardon?”
Adela turned slightly and looked at me.
What is he asking?
“What are you looking at, Sir Rubel?”
“Looking… at?”
The High Archivist leaned forward slightly.
“Let me rephrase. What do you see when you handle corpses, when you touch the weapons of the lost MiA… what exactly are you looking at?”
My breath caught.
He knows.
How much does he know?
Just from reports about me handling corpses… he figured this out?
“Only performing burial rites for the deceased. I don’t understand what you mean by what I am looking at…”
Thud.
The High Archivist sat down again.
Dust drifted in the sunlight as he exhaled softly.
“…I see.”
He rested his chin on his hand, eyes half-lidded, then spoke again.
“One last time. What are you looking at, Sir Rubel?”
…How much does he know?
Do I answer?
There is no real harm in answering.
But if this strange ability becomes known at the higher ranks… I don’t know what will happen.
Adela might be put in danger.
I shouldn’t have carried Radices’s weapon in the first place…
Drip.
Something red fell onto my cheek.
…What?
I wiped it away gently with my fingers.
Blood?
Why is there blood from the ceiling—
“Gasp…!”
“…!!!”
Adela and I both looked up at the same time.
A chandelier hung from the high ceiling, barely visible in the brightness.
A chandelier decorated with saint statues.
And from it, blood dripped down.
“…Ah. The craftsmanship might have been lacking…”
Craftsmanship?
What is he talking about?
Those statues… are they all—
Ugh…
“Ru… Rubel!!”
Adela called out to me, tense.
You saw it too, right?
That chandelier…
“Stop looking up. Is it that beautiful?”
The High Archivist’s voice pressed down on us.
It wasn’t just intimidation. It felt like something physically weighing on our heads.
We were being forced down, swallowed by his presence.
“Sir Rubel, answer the question.”
“…Haa… haa…”
“What are you looking at?”