《A Story of a Knight In A Ruined Fantasy World》 Chapter 0 - PROLOGUE The land of death was a place where finely grown weeds, sparsely sprouted bushes, and large trees were all twisted. Metal beasts were running on the dead grey ground. Four legs with sharp claws at the end, a thick, strong neck, and serrated teeth, everything from its head to the tail was a strange metal creature. It was called a ¡°Jin¡±. There were other beasts that rode on them. A race that protects fragile flesh by covering its entire body with cloth, leather, and metal. A race that does not have sharp claws and replaces them with metal that has been melted and twisted. Unlike the servants under them, they were beings with warm blood. They were human beings, and to be precise, knights. ¡°Turn left!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll draw its attention, so shoot from there!¡± What the knights besieged were beings called beasts. One of the greatest enemies that threaten humanity in a fallen world. The beings that are said to have been created by evil wizards. The beast they want to catch, the ¡®Knifetail¡¯, resembles a cat. If it wasn¡¯t for its four eyes, three tails with blades on the tip, thorns sprouting all over their body, and a height of 3 meters, someone would have said that they resembled cats. Roar! He made a roar that would make a normal human¡¯s eardrums burst just by hearing it, and the Knifetail swung its tail. The Jin, with the knight on board, flew to the side in an instant to dodge the attack. This creature, mentally linked to the knight it carried, was able to use the knight¡¯s sharp reflexes. ¡°Stab it!¡± Long spears thrust by several knights were lodged in the side of the Knifetail. However, they were caught by the sprouting thorns and did not cause any serious damage. Since it was a Knifetail with strong thorns sprouting all over its body, they had to aim at vital points such as the eyes, mouth, and anus to inflict a fatal blow. It was difficult to target its strong heart, as a heavy cat¡¯s punch awaits in front, and a razor-sharp tail awaits in the back. After all, it was a common hunting method for ordinary knights to continuously stab them in the side and force excessive bleeding. But sometimes there are those who try to take risks. ¡°I¡¯m coming!¡± ¡°Arsene! You crazy bastard!¡± A knight left the ranks and aimed for the Knifetail¡¯s rear. All three tails, which were guarding the rear, left and right, were thrust at the knight aiming for its butt. Unlike most carnivores, who specialize in looking ahead because their eyes are mainly focused in front, the Knifetail had an additional pair of eyes around the temples, making its field of view much wider. The other knights circling around imagined that the charging knight would be torn to pieces in an instant. ¡°Ahhh!¡± The knight, who ran with a fierce roar, held out the shield in his left hand toward the flying blade. The first tail was struck with a shield, the second one he leaned over and pushed it to the side, and the third blade was avoided by bending his back sharply at the same time as the Jin crouched. No matter how good the reflexes of the knight were, it was an act that no one in their right mind would try. As soon as the blade passed by, the Jin, who gained momentum as he kneeled down, leaped forward jumping with all his four legs. The knight finally reached the butt of the Knifetail. Without hesitation, he aimed at the Knifetail¡¯s luscious anus and thrust a 4m spear. Roooaaarrrr¡ª-! A scream that could not be compared with the roar from a while ago, a cry that seemed like the pain of the underworld, was made by the Knifetail. The knight who stabbed the spear bent as much as he could and fell out of the range of the tail that was swung randomly. The knight who had stabbed the spear, with his body bent as much as possible, deviated from the range of the randomly swaying tail. At the word he uttered, all the knights flinched, and quickly got off their mounts and hid behind them. ¡°Explode!¡± The blood and flesh of the demonic beast poured all over the place along with a thundering sound from within. All the other knights hid themselves using their Jin, so only one knight with a spear was covered in the blood of the beast, which was black and sticky like oil. As the knight covered in blood and flesh took off his helmet and shook his head, other knights walked to his side and talked to him. They also took off their helmets one by one to cool their heads, probably because of the heat from hunting. ¡°You¡¯re really crazy, Arsene.¡± ¡°So now you¡¯re complaining?¡± ¡°Of course, I meant in a good way! I¡¯ve never seen anyone kill a Knifetail like that in my life.¡± Another knight next to them intervened. ¡°Of course it¡¯s the first time you¡¯ve seen it. It usually takes hours to catch one. Who puts an explosive spear in its asshole and explodes it?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s be more sophisticated about that. What¡¯s an asshole?¡± The knights chattered all the way to the castle. Chapter 1 - HAPPY SLAVERY It was a beggar-like life and a beggar-like world. A life where you have to work hard every morning with a body tired to death. It¡¯s a routine where people get cursed at for ridiculous reasons and come back late at night, falling asleep as if they were dead. Having a sense of shame that you can¡¯t tell whether you¡¯re a person or livestock, because you don¡¯t even have time to spend your hard-earned money. Could you ever imagine that you¡¯d miss that kind of life? Arsene crouched in a filthy barn, overwhelmed by delusions. ¡®I want to go back, please bring me back.¡¯ He missed even the overtime work and the nagging from his boss. The feel of an insect crawling somewhere on the back, or the straw used as a blanket, that pierced through the hole in the fabric and pricked his skin. All of these were things that he had become accustomed to over the past ten years of being reborn in this world. ¡°Arsene-!¡± Arsene was startled and ran out, stomping his feet at the ranting from afar. As he was running, his toe kicked a stone and started bleeding, but he ran without even showing a sign of pain. Calling him outside the barn was a huge man nearly 2 meters tall. The man, who was looking at the boy run, slapped Arsene on the cheek with the back of his hand. Thanks to the slap with all his might, Arsene¡¯s body swung around and fell to the ground. It would have been a pretty funny slapstick comedy if it wasn¡¯t for the real hit. ¡°Yes, Master Philus¡­ Ah!¡± ¡°You son of a bitch, haven¡¯t I told you to bathe Philia? You want to play with me?¡± The name of the giant who summoned Arsene was Philus. He was the eldest son of Lenock, the lord of Krata Castle. Philia was Philus¡¯s favorite riding beast, a bladed leopard famous for being one of the most ferocious among them. In the first place, Arsene had never even been told to bathe Philia, apart from the fact that bathing a blade leopard is not something that a child should do. ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry, young master¡­ I forgot to give Philia a bath. I¡¯ll do it right away.¡± He was slapped in the face for a nonsensical reason, but Arsene immediately slammed his head into the ground and apologized. It was absurd that he had become more accustomed to that than to the stench of barn bugs and toilets in this world he was reborn. The order to bathe the mount that is no different than a carnivorous beast is just one of them. He was in a position where he had nothing to say even if he was beaten to death, saying, ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of you.¡± When he just joined the army, he thought he would commit suicide due to all sorts of absurdities, but if there was someone to send him back to the Korean army now, he would be able to give his soul to him. ¡°Get out of my way, I¡¯m going hunting with my father in a little while anyway. Make sure you wash her up when we come from hunting this time. If you don¡¯t, you¡¯re going to die!¡± Philus, who had kicked Arsene once more with a throbbing cry, turned around and disappeared. Arsene, who was kicked exactly in the stomach with the front heel, groaned and puked, but only gastric juices came out. It¡¯s only natural since the only thing he¡¯s eaten since yesterday was porridge, which has been cooked by collecting the discarded food. ¡®Fuck, fuck¡­ Dog-like bastard¡­¡¯ In the first place, the name ¡°Philia¡± means ¡°Philus¡¯s companion¡± in the local language. What a perverted bastard to give a female leopard a name like that, ride it, and use it as a stepping stone. Arsene got up from the ground, swearing only inwardly, covered the traces of his vomit with dirt, and looked at the rising sun. It was time to get to work. Very hard, dirty, dangerous work. An office worker who has been constantly working overtime on Earth dies and goes on an adventure in the fantasy world. It was a story that appeared frequently in the novels that Arsene enjoyed reading while on Earth. He can¡¯t remember exactly how he died, but what happened to Arsene, who was reincarnated in a fantasy world, was more or less like a beggar¡¯s fate. This world was a little different from the fantasy worlds that were often mentioned. Should we call it a post-apocalyptic fantasy? Perhaps because of something wrong with the wizards in the distant past, the roughly ruined world is a land of death where dangerous creatures run amok, and if it was not for the ¡®territory¡¯ or ¡®fortress¡¯ containing the essence of ancient magic, it would be impossible to survive. Even then, there were many restrictions. In this world where knights with magical powers and more than humane strength build fortresses and occupy territories, Arsene¡¯s position was unfortunately close to a slave. Even though Sir Lenock, the owner of the fortress, was Arsene¡¯s father. ¡°Hey, Arsene. I heard you got hit by the young master this morning.¡± ¡°Where else did you hear that?¡± ¡°There can be no story in this citadel that your brother does not know. Because I¡¯m Lapram, the ear of the fortress!¡± ¡°You¡¯re a good speaker.¡± It was his half-brother, Lapram, who was sweeping the yard with Arsene. Lapram, who is two years older than him, was a sneaky and mean man, but he¡¯s also the least bad of his half-brothers. He doesn¡¯t necessarily show kindness, but when asked for help, he listens if there¡¯s no harm done. That¡¯s enough to say he¡¯s the best friend in this citadel. ¡°When Master Philus gets back in the evening, I have to wash the leopard, can you help me?¡± ¡°Oh¡­ goodbye. It was fun, brother.¡± ¡°You motherfucker.¡± Arsene swept the yard with all his might, hurling abuse at Lapram, insulting each other¡¯s father at the same time. In fact, he had nothing to say, because if Lapram had asked him to wash the leopard, he would have refused right away. Lapram lamentably started speaking. ¡°I wish we had been born to a knight family¡¯s mother, like the young masters.¡± ¡°We would have been better off than now if our mothers were still alive. How can they treat motherless bastards like this?¡± Why Arsene and Lapram are treated like slaves even though they are of knighthood on their father¡¯s side is because they do not have a mother. It wasn¡¯t in the sense of insults, it was the truth. There were six children Lenock had from other knights and more than sixteen bastards. The children whose mothers are still alive are being taken care of by them. The children whose mothers died, however, were left unattended and had to listen to their every command. It¡¯s like being treated as slaves, and the people of the fort can do whatever they want to them. Even Arsene¡¯s mother was an outsider that Lenock had kidnapped from somewhere. All Arsene knew about his mother was that she was ¡°a woman with unlucky purple eyes.¡± It was also meant to sarcastically criticize Arsene, who has the same eye color as his mother. The fact that closed societies are cruel to outsiders also played a part in Arsene¡¯s poor treatment. ¡°But you¡¯re far better than me.¡± Lapram was treated much better by the people around him than Arsene. Lapram¡¯s mother was once a favorite maid of the lord, even though she died of illness. Thanks to her close friends and family taking care of him, Lapram was in a much better position than Arsene. At least he doesn¡¯t have to sleep in the barn and eat leftovers from the servants. Just looking at their clothes now, Lapram was dressed up in a shirt and pants without holes and even wore shoes, whereas Arsene was dressed in rags full of holes and his feet bare. In the cold winter, to survive, he had to cover with several layers of rags. ¡°Well, my brother lives on top of the castle compared to me.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a wrong thing to say.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not wrong.¡± When he was a young boy, he was raised by maids of the Seongju lineage, but from the age of five or six, he had to sleep in a barn. If it were a child who had no memory of his previous life, he would not have survived to this age. He somehow managed to secretly use well water to wash, and because there might be parasites, he made sure to boil the water before drinking it. He didn¡¯t do anything stupid, such as drinking the blood of a death row prisoner or applying rotten urine to the wound, but just wrapped the wound with a well-boiled cloth. He was confident that just this could help a child survive there, where everyone was extremely vulnerable because of the bad hygiene. About three of his ¡°brothers¡± who were in a similar situation had their lives taken by all kinds of diseases. ¡®Of course, I might die today.¡¯ Among the shallow knowledge of modern people, there is no way to safely protect yourself from a ferocious bladed leopard and bathe it. Because there were no such creatures on Earth in the first place! He had no idea how such a nonsensical task had been pushed onto him. ¡®I pray to the Almighty, Leha, please let Philus die while hunting.¡¯ Arsene swung the broom, praying only inside, fearing that someone might hear him. After sweeping the front of the barracks, the public restroom of the barracks should also be emptied. Of course, the toilet was rural. The first time he did it, he felt like vomiting, even after doing it a few times, he still didn¡¯t get used to it, and every time it was like a new shit. At that moment, he heard a voice calling for a universal worker from somewhere. ¡°Arsene, Arsene!¡± ¡°I¡¯m coming!¡± As Arsene tried to run, lamenting what else he was going to do, the bell rang. In the distance, he could see the servant pulling the string frantically. Sometimes, when a group of monsters or small looters appeared around, they rang the bell, but he had never seen them hit the bell while being that frightened. Maybe that¡¯s why the people around were also looking up at the bell tower, wondering what was going on. ¡°The enemy has invaded! Soldiers go immediately to the wall! The rest of you go home!¡± At that time, Lenock¡¯s chief servant wearing a beast skin armor appeared and shouted loudly. At his voice, soldiers rushed out of the barracks while the others went home in confusion. Looking to the side, Lapram was already running somewhere. Arsene also quickly ran into the barn. ¡°Listen! The enemy has invaded! All personnel except soldiers are prohibited from outside activities until the battle is over! Enter the room immediately! Listen! The enemy¡­¡± Feeling the chief servant¡¯s voice receding, Arsene plunged his body into the pile of straw. The end of the straws stung his body, but his head couldn¡¯t think of a safer place than there at the moment. The main hall in the center of the citadel was a place where he, a mere stranger-born bastard, could not enter, and there was no one who¡¯d let a dirty slave into the house. Crouched in a pile of straw, Arsene was holding tightly a rock the size of a fist he picked up recently, begging again and again. ¡®The Almighty Leha, I beg you. I beg you¡­¡¯ He was an atheist in his previous life, so he laughed at the religion of this world that believed in Leha, but his hard life and fear had magically made the unbeliever a religious man. Maybe because it was a life that cannot be endured unless you lean on something. His throat was dry as he listened to the shrieks and screams from afar, and the sound of swords hitting each other incessantly. [Search everywhere!] [Now this castle belongs to us!] After several minutes or hours, unfortunately, the sound from the surroundings was suggesting a very negative outcome. The first voices were heard here and there, and screams, shattering, and breaking sounds were constantly heard. It was clear that outsiders had succeeded in invading the castle and are now tasting the fruits of the plunder. As he was praying that they could not find this barn, or left, disappointed that it was just a pile of straw, he heard the door open. ¡°What¡¯s this place?¡± ¡°I guess it¡¯s just a barn.¡± Two outsiders loudly entered the barn. Chapter 2 ¡°Is there anything?¡± ¡°It looks like nothing but straws. I¡¯m going first, so see if anyone is hiding.¡± ¡°Oh, let¡¯s go together! You¡¯re so cheap!¡± He could feel the footsteps of the looters talking to each other moving away. ¡®Did they really go? Maybe they¡¯re just pretending to be far away and waiting?¡¯ After a long time in the pile of straw, he was hot and sweaty, but he didn¡¯t dare to even wipe off his sweat. Arsene quickly curled up at the sound of someone¡¯s feet returning, fighting the urge to sneak a look at whoever came. ¡°Ah, damn it. I¡¯m the only one doing this¡­¡± There was a rattling sound, followed by a pok, pok, pok. Arsene thought for a moment what was going on, and then realized that the looter was stabbing the barn¡¯s bales of straw with a pitchfork in the corner of the barn. And the sound was getting closer. ¡°Come out, come out, come out. If you come out now, I¡¯ll cut you into pieces~.¡± The marauder was sticking pitchforks here and there, singing songs that shattered the notion of tones. Arsene realized that he was grinding his teeth unconsciously, and quickly pressed his head and chin up and down to shut his mouth. ¡®Please, please, just pass by.¡¯ As he was clenching his teeth, shouting inwardly, something passed in front of his eyes. Arsene fell into a moment of panic at the fact that a pitchfork was struck in front of his nose, about 3 cm to 5 cm away. Ironically, thanks to that, he wasn¡¯t able to make any sounds again. ¡°I told you there wasn¡¯t anybody, damn it!¡± Arsene regained consciousness only when he was startled by the sound of a slamming door. He must have been holding his breath without realizing it, and his breath reached under his chin. ¡®Damn, I¡¯m tired.¡¯ Then he felt something wet and hot running through his pants. ¡®Thank you, Leha. Really. I don¡¯t have anything, but I¡¯ll donate a lot when I get rich.¡¯ Arsene, who expressed his gratitude to God while holding a stone instead of a relic, spent time praying, waiting for the sound to subside. Time passed, and as his pants got cold, a new threat arrived. There had been a foul smell of something burning combined with the bloody smell from before, and the smell got so bad that it was hard to breathe. It was clear that the looters set fire to the barn or the fires set elsewhere spread to it. ¡°Oh, come on.¡± After carefully walking through the piles of straw, he looked back and saw a few piles of straw burning. It has become impossible to hold out in the barn until it is safe. As soon as he carefully stepped out of the barn, a sharp shout pierced his ears. ¡°What¡¯s with that little boy?¡± It was only then that Arsene was able to face the looters who had invaded the fortress for the first time. He looked like he¡¯s dressed in rags, a face that has not been washed for ten years and was full of soot and dirt, his face didn¡¯t even show the color of his skin. In fact, Arsene was also wearing rags, but the atmosphere itself was different. If Arsene was a poor man or a beggar, the expression ¡®wild man¡¯ was just right for the looter. ¡°Catch him!¡± Arsene ran to the other side with all his might as soon as he was pointed at by them. He¡¯s not well-nourished, so he didn¡¯t have a big and strong physique, but he was naturally agile and his feet were fast. In addition, the looters did not want to exhaust themselves to catch a small boy who was neither a grown-up soldier nor a coveted pretty woman. Thanks to that, the looters were quickly left behind. But he was not in a situation to be relieved. ¡®I don¡¯t think there¡¯s an answer to that.¡¯ Perhaps the area has already been swept away by looters, as the corpses of the dead and broken doors were eerie. He thought it would be okay to hide in any of the houses there, but he couldn¡¯t feel safe no matter which building he was hiding in as the fires were moving from place to place. He had to hide in a place that would never burn. ¡®The well!¡¯ Recalling that there was a well nearby, Arsene leaned down as much as he could and crept toward the well. Fortunately, he was able to arrive at the well without encountering anyone. He looked into the well and saw a body floating. He didn¡¯t know who it was, but he thought it was a good thing, so he went into the well and hid under the body. Fortunately, he was able to stand on my feet because the water level was low. It was disgusting and uncomfortable to use a human body like a blanket, but it was bearable because the slaughter of small animals had strengthened him. ¡®Ha-ha, is that even important in a life-threatening situation?¡¯ If he holds out there for more than a few hours, he¡¯ll suffer from hypothermia, but up there, he¡¯s going to be stabbed or burned to death, so that wasn¡¯t the time to argue. He was thirsty, but didn¡¯t feel like drinking from a well that contained blood from a body and dung filth. ¡®Deep in the mountain, there¡¯s a little spring, Who comes to drink from the spring¡­¡¯ (Korean children¡¯s song, ¡°Little Spring¡±) Arsene spent time in the well, singing in his heart. There were a few steps he heard going his way, but there was no problem, as whenever he heard something, Arsene stepped back after putting the body above him. How long has it been? He decided to go up as he couldn¡¯t stand the feeling of his teeth shaking because of the coldness, not fear. The calm at the top also raised hopeful conclusions that the looters might have fallen out already. When he was about to climb up the rope to get back up¨C ¡°Huh?¡± With a popping sound, the old rope could not withstand Arsene¡¯s weight and broke. Fortunately, he didn¡¯t get hurt because he didn¡¯t go up much, but this situation itself was enough to hurt Arsene¡¯s heart. In a situation where no one could help, he was trapped in a well that was 3 to 4 meters high. ¡°No, wait! What the fu*k¡­¡± He tried to climb the wall to try to get out somehow, but he couldn¡¯t. This needlessly well-made well was hardly a structure to climb, as there was hardly any space for the fingers to hold onto. Once, twice, and several times in a row, he tried to climb up, but after going up about a meter, it was smooth and there was no place to hold with his hands. Unless it was a professional climber, there was no way an ordinary child like Arsene could climb it. ¡°The Almighty Leha, I pray again. Please save me this time, too.¡± Arsene prayed standing in the well, hoping that he¡¯d eventually turn around and become a prayer meta. Of course, he wasn¡¯t just praying in despair. He tried to walk outside by tying the shoes of the corpse to the rope that had fallen off, and he used the gravel on the floor to frantically cut the wall of the well to make a groove for his hands and feet. But all he could do was pray after everything was ruined. He also began to fall asleep for a while, perhaps because he had been in the water for a long time already. It is said that frustration is the way to raise a man, but you have to live to grow. ¡®Oh, damn it. I¡¯m really going to die if I sleep.¡¯ He tried to wake up by slapping his cheek until the end, but his consciousness continued getting blurred. A blurred consciousness, water that is no longer cold but feels warm, and a body that slowly sinks into the water due to lack of energy. Arsen¡¯s unconscious body drifted into the water. A miracle happened when he took one step towards his death. Long ago, ancient wizards built castles and territories, which were basically based on mana centers flowing through the land. Naturally, there was also a center under the fortress of Krata, and there was a lot of magical power flowing there. Normally this magical energy just flows without meaning, but the situation changed when Arsene¡¯s half-dead body touched the bottom of the well. Even within the whole fortress, the closest to the ground was the well, and as the body was in a suspended state, touching the base of the well, a part of the mana permeated Arsen¡¯s body. Normally nothing happens, but his body, which became extremely sensitive to external stimuli in the state just before his death, instinctively sensed the magic and swallowed it. It was the catalyst that revealed the power of the knightly bloodline that Arsene inherited from his father. The body, which was able to circulate its own mana, transmitted the mana received from the bottom of the well to the heart, and the mana emitted from it was carried into the blood vessels and flowed all over the body. The mana in the blood circulated throughout the body, supplying oxygen and energy to the body and brain, which had slowed due to the cold, raising his body temperature. Arsene, whose consciousness suddenly returned with the sensation of his body warming up, jumped to his feet. ¡°Kuh-huh, huh! Weak¡­¡± Arsene, who came to his senses after throwing up the water with long nausea, felt much better in the well than before. In addition, the cold that made him feel like dying just a moment ago was gone, and an unknown power surged from his body. Only then did Arsene realize that he had stepped on death and back. And the power that he just received. ¡®Is this¡­ mana?¡¯ He felt hot blood circulating all over his body, and he was energized. Arsene immediately took out a pebble under his feet and stamped the wall vigorously. Unlike a while ago, the walls of the well began to crack after hitting them with gravel a few times. It would be difficult to break out of the well after completely crushing it, so he made enough space to put his hands and feet in it, stepped up there, and repeated the same work. After going back and forth several times, breaking some pebbles, Arsene was able to step on the ground again. ¡°I survived!¡± He screamed with joy without knowing it, but when he saw the situation around him, his mood quickly subsided. The wreckage of the burning buildings was reflected in his sight, and the floor was full of corpses, whether they had been burned to death or burned after death. The castle protected by ancient magic was intact, but probably no one was alive inside. He carefully looked around and listened, but there was no sign of anyone moving. Arsene, who confirmed that all the looters were missing, entered the castle hall. Inside, there were only bodies rolling around, and all the priceless items were robbed by the looters. They were so thorough that all that was left was a piece of furniture that was too heavy to take with them. ¡°Rick, Ria, Auden, Erta¡­¡± All of Lord Lenock¡¯s immediate descendants, who were eligible to enter the castle, died there. Since the grown children went hunting with their father, they were all children of Arsene¡¯s age. The children¡¯s mothers and servants were all dead. And Arsene was a scavenger looking for something to eat to survive among the bodies of his siblings. Fortunately, there wasn¡¯t Lapram¡¯s body, who was closest to him. It might be out there somewhere. ¡°The plague.¡± I searched all over the castle hall, repeating the insults that he didn¡¯t know whether they were addressed to the looters or to himself, but nothing came out. Maybe because they live without it, they really stole everything without a handful of flour. There was no income to be gained except by stripping off the clothes of one of the dead brothers. He didn¡¯t want to wear them because it was too dreary, but he had no choice but to do it as even the clothes soaked in blood with holes at its stomach were much better than the rags Arsene was wearing. After the investigation, the moment he opened the door of the castle building, a filthy vagabond stood right in front of him with a knife that looked like a machete. ¡°Oh, sh*t. Did you hit your head?? It must be painful, I¡¯ll go after¡­ Eh?¡± It wasn¡¯t hard to guess that he was in the same league as the looters he saw earlier. ¡®I thought they were all gone!¡¯ It was rusty, but when a man with a sword that was stained with blood stood in front of him, his body stiffened as if he had met a snake. Arsene knew he had magical powers, but this did not give him any confidence to go against an opponent with a sword, as he had never fought before. The swordsman was also stiff at the moment because he didn¡¯t know there was another living person, but Arsene was small and young. When he found out that he was even scared, he smiled dejectedly. ¡°It¡¯s just another bastard. I¡¯ll send you to the underworld myself¡­¡± The swordsman who was approaching, swishing his sword from side to side, suddenly stopped talking and looked at Arsene¡¯s face. He also briefly caught a hideous smile on the face of the swordsman, who was staring intensely. Arsene instinctively felt the intention on his opponent¡¯s face, and he felt goosebumps all over his body. ¡°You look pretty cute. I¡¯d like a kid like you.¡± It was lust. The swordsman with his sword stuck in the ground grabbed Arsene¡¯s stiff arms. It was natural to let your guard down. Although he was not tall, an adult who is 170 centimeters tall can beat a child who was one or two heads smaller than himself with bare hands. Unfortunately, however, Arsene had the magic he had just acquired. Arsene¡¯s body, which came out by activating his magical power, was stronger than expected, and by shaking off one of his arms, he was able to shake off the swordsman¡¯s hand in an instant and thrust his fist into his stomach. It was a punch that had enough power to subdue it in one shot with a speed that he couldn¡¯t even react to. ¡°Kah-Heuk! Keuk!¡± As soon as the swordsman, who had one of his ribs broken, sat down, Arsene climbed right over him. His body was so light that he could shake it off with all his strength, but he didn¡¯t give it any chance, and slammed his fist right into his face. Each time a fist filled with power like one or two sledgehammers landed, the swordsman¡¯s face was stained with blood. ¡°Die! Die! You fucking dog, die!¡± Arsene was half panic-stricken by the threat to his life and chastity, the fear that he might be hit back, and the excitement of using violence. He didn¡¯t stop until his teeth broke and flew around, and his hands fell to the ground. He could barely calm down after he punched dozens of times. ¡°Haak, hak¡­ Haa¡­¡± The swordsman had already stopped breathing. Realizing that the situation was still dangerous, Arsene quickly looked around and pulled out the sword that had been stuck in the ground. When he opened two leather bags hanging from the body¡¯s waist, they contained water and several dried jerkies. He didn¡¯t know how many more would come, or if that was the only one left behind. Arsene, with a sword in one hand and a bag in the other, stepped toward the west gate of the citadel. Chapter 3 It had been over ten years since Arsene was born, but he knew very little about the outside world. This is because the only way he could learn about the world was through the sagas of knights and servants who could go out and about, or the stories of other adults. Their stories were a mixture of facts, bravado, and superstition, making it impossible to tell what was real and what was fake, and most of them were unreliable information. As they said in the first place, it would be absurd for the chief servant and the soldiers to be smashed by a gang of looters. When he talked about his saga, didn¡¯t he say that he slashed dozens of marauders with a single swing of his sword? Contrary to their bravado, they were helplessly defeated and killed by some looters who may not even be in the hundreds or thousands. ¡®From here on out is the territory outside the fortress¡­¡¯ Walking a little further past the barrier, commonly called ¡°The Fortress,¡± there was a part where the color of the land changed. The interior of the fortress, where he was born and lived, was a brown soil no different from the earth, but there was a section where the color of the ground changed as if an invisible wall had split it. The light purple soil made him feel bad just by looking at it. Since crops couldn¡¯t be planted on this land, people had to eat the meat of the hunted beasts or a small number of crops grown in the narrow fortresses and sell the hides and bones of the beasts to merchants who come and go from nearby forts or territories. [The air outside is simply awful. A trained person like me can stand it, but an average person will get dizzy and fall to death even if they walk around a little!] He recalled the words of a soldier who was engrossed in his pride with a sullen face over a glass of wine. It was not possible to determine whether Arsene, who had awakened his mana, would be able to withstand it better than the soldier, or whether the young body would be able to withstand it even if it had mana. In the first place, he had never learned exactly how mana works. According to the stories he picked up over his shoulder and his own experience, it was certain that he had a much stronger physical ability than the general public, but would it give him resistance to external poisons? If there was no resistance, the only thing waiting for Arsene after leaving the citadel was death. [I heard that if you eat the one-year-old grass, it reduces the poison.] [Didn¡¯t you hear that eating a horned wolf¡¯s heart strengthens the ability to withstand poison?] He remembered all the folk remedies that other adults taught him, but there was no way to trust them nor practice. The one-year-old grass was weak, but it was a plant that was stepped on and removed as soon as it looked poisonous, and the horned wolf was a kind of magic creature. Except for the method of using materials that are not available right away, all that was left was the tale that if you step on the ground with only one foot, less poison enters. He couldn¡¯t openly say ¡°You¡¯re talking nonsense¡± in front of the servant who told him the story, but that was the only answer he could think of when he heard it. ¡®I have no choice but to go.¡¯ For safety reasons, it is best not to breathe outside air, but this citadel was no longer safe. Lord Lenock, who usually returns within a few hours if he goes out hunting, did not return, and the fortress that was not guarded by any living person did not play a meaningful role other than to prevent poison. It was only normal for soldiers to shoot bows from the citadel or swing their spears and defeat small looters, but now they were all dead. If rumors of a fortress that has already been targeted and looted spread and another gang comes to use it as a shelter, he will die or become a slave immediately. Arsen, who had learned this, mustered up his courage and took a few steps out of the realm. ¡°Well.¡± As soon as he came outside, the smell of the air itself changed. There was a sweet, disgusting smell from an old trash can. In case he felt dizzy later, he took a few deep breaths with his feet slightly crossed in order to quickly pass the area, and after he got a little used to the disgusting smell, he didn¡¯t feel weak or dizzy anymore. Arsene, having confirmed some degree of safety, moved forward. The destination was the Beluan Territory, which is said to be located all the way west of Lenock¡¯s fortress. As the sun was setting soon, he had to navigate through the constellations, sleep in the woods, and then set off. The choice of this method was largely influenced by the fact that he heard the story of Sir Lenock, a knight in my own way. The night is safer than the day. Most beasts sleep at night. If you don¡¯t make a commotion, there¡¯s little risk of being attacked. Only the looters attack at night.] The reason is unknown, but the beasts do not attack at night. When an enemy attacks, it moves for self-defense, but does not attack preemptively. It wasn¡¯t 100% reliable information, but he decided to believe it and go to sleep in the forest. At least he knew which direction was west of the citadel, so he kept walking with his back to the citadel until sunset. He was worried about what would happen if a gang of looters or beasts appeared, but he was lucky and never encountered the enemy. After walking like that for several hours, perhaps thanks to the awakening of his magical powers, even at night, his field of vision did not narrow as much as he had expected. Previously, even inside the citadel, the lights were rarely turned on at night, so even if it was a little late, he could not walk around, but now he could see the objects around in considerable detail only with the faint green moonlight. It¡¯s much more inconvenient than during the day, but at least it¡¯s enough to identify trees and judge the surrounding environment. Perhaps because of the moonlight, he felt like he was wearing night-vision goggles. Arsene himself did not notice, but his magical eyes were shining like a wild animal¡¯s in exchange for seeing through the night. ¡®I think I¡¯ll go to sleep now.¡¯ The night was a good time to travel as you weren¡¯t attacked by the beasts, but if you do not arrive at your destination by the next morning, you have to sleep among the beasts who are actively roaming around looking for prey. On top of that, he was very tired because he was nervous after going through the crisis of life and death several times that day. He picked out a bush nearby and reached out to sleep, but pulled out his hand in a stinging feeling. ¡°Oh, s*it.¡± Maybe it was because it was night and his vision was blurred, so he didn¡¯t know it was a thorn bush, he reached out and stabbed his finger. Sucking on the tips of his bloody fingers, he carefully scoured the surrounding bushes, and plucked out the thornless ones to create a light hideout. Surprisingly, nearly 80% of the bushes in that area were thorny. ¡®A world that does not welcome other creatures¡­¡¯ Thinking that even the plants outside were surprisingly combative, Arsene, who made simple beds and blankets out of bushes, closed his eyes and went to sleep. Despite his uncomfortable bed, his consciousness subsided as if he was falling into the sea, perhaps due to fatigue. Despite being so tired, he had a dream. In the dream, the man Arsene had beaten to death the day before appeared and swung a sword at him. Over and over again. The next morning, Arsene opened his eyes in a dreary mood, feeling the sunlight coming down through the trees stinging his eyes. He lifted the thicket covering his body and took his sword and bag, thankful that he didn¡¯t fall asleep forever overnight due to the poison. First, he took out a piece of jerky from his leather bag, put it in his mouth, then put some water in it. It was one of the techniques he learned while living in this world, as the jerky soaked in water and made it soft and easy to chew. Because he was thirsty, he drank water occasionally and ate a piece of beef jerky before he got back up and started walking. The only answer was to go west in the direction secured yesterday. The sun was shining brightly, but unfortunately, the surroundings did not look beautiful. The ground was still a dull purple, and the trees were growing from side to side. Some grew up twirling around like a spring. Sometimes, there were hard and sharp leaves, so I had to cut off the branches that blocked his way with the sword he brought, instead of just using his hands. It occurred to him that if looters lived in forests like this, he would understand their madness and violence. It was such an unkind and bizarre space that even high-class religious people would complain of mental illness. How long did he walk? A subtle tap came from Arsene¡¯s sensitive ears. Realizing that it was the sound of footsteps, Arsene immediately stopped and listened. Something was approaching at high speed from the back. He tried to look around for a place to escape, but the sound of footsteps approached him in an instant and appeared through the grass, revealing its identity. It seemed that he was planning to attack from behind at once, but when he saw the blade, he hesitated a step and barked as hard as he could to express his resolve. ¡°Bark!!!¡± What appeared was a wolf-like low-level beast, a horned wolf. It looks quite alike, but it was about half as big as a wolf, with its jaws split from side to side and a goat-like horn. There was a myth that eating its heart would help you overcome the poison. Other than that, there was absolutely no information about the horned wolf that Arsene knew. At times he saw the bodies of the hunted horned wolf. Unfortunately, the information he knew was of no nutritional value, as he was looking at the horned wolf in front of him now. ¡°Grrrrr!¡± Unlike the appearance of the horned wolf, he roared low and hovered around Arsene. He probably came to hunt because he thought it was a wounded animal after smelling blood. However, the opponent seemed to be in conflict because he was a human holding a knife without any sign of injury. The area around there was near the Krata castle, where the horned wolves were frequently hunted, so the humans were judged to be a natural enemy rather than an easy-to-eat prey by the horned wolves. That¡¯s why it didn¡¯t immediately attack but hovered around. To the horned wolf, Arsene was smaller than other humans and looked like a cub, but with the same sharp fangs. ¡°Come on, come on, doggie¡­ Let¡¯s break up with each other, huh? There¡¯s nothing good about fighting.¡± Arsene stepped back slowly with his sword out in front. It reminded him of a story he had picked up from Earth, that when you ran into a beast, you should never turn around and run. It was not known whether it was applicable only to cats, all wild animals, or even the beasts of this world, but at least it was clear that running back and being attacked was the worst development. Because he didn¡¯t know how strong the horned wolf was, he didn¡¯t know if he could win by fighting, but if he started bleeding while fighting, it could gather all the beasts of the forest. In line with Arsene¡¯s slow retreat, the horned wolf also slowly advanced and barked as if threatening. Unfortunately, it soon became clear that it was wrong to confront the horned wolf. A little distance apart, the horned wolf raised its head toward the sky and let out a long howling like a wolf, and a howling sound similar to that of the horned wolf was heard in the distance. ¡®You¡¯re telling me it is the same as a wolf?¡¯ The horned wolf was also a pack animal, even though it was much bigger than a wolf. Realizing that he had no choice, Arsene clenched his teeth and swung the sword at the horned wolf in front of him. It was a much faster and stronger swing than that of an average person, but due to lack of skill, he couldn¡¯t cut off its head and just injured its shoulder. When Arsene rushed in, the horned wolf, who was charging against him, jumped undauntedly despite its injury, and when Arsene instinctively raised his left arm and tried to block it, it bit his arm. Arsene shrieked at the sharp tooth sensation, swinging the sword in his right hand and cutting the horned wolf¡¯s belly. ¡°You son of a bitch!¡± After several stabs and kicks with his feet, the weakened horned wolf pulled its strength from its jaw and fell to the ground. The sight of blood spurting from the hole in his arm made him sick, but unfortunately, there was no room for first aid. There were three additional horned wolves appearing through the bushes here and there. ¡°Oh, Misters Wolves. This guy here wasn¡¯t killed by me¡­ You wouldn¡¯t believe me if I said that, would you?¡± Arsene, who had a gut feeling that the lie had failed as they growled with their teeth exposed, immediately turned around and ran as hard as he could. The howling heard from behind was full of hatred for the prey that killed their companion. Chapter 4 (TL/N: The lords of the fortresses were generally knights, that¡¯s why they are addressed usually as Sir.) ¡°Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!¡± Arsene raced through the forest screaming. He was scratched by thorn bushes and cut his face and legs on sharp leaves as he ran recklessly without following the road, but he couldn¡¯t care less. Three horned wolves were running while growling from behind. The moment they catch him, he will get bitten by the horned wolves¡¯ teeth and his whole body will be torn apart. ¡°I¡¯m gonna die!¡± Excited by the smell of blood, the flock of horned wolves did not get tired and maintained their speed despite running for quite a long time. Fortunately, Arsene¡¯s running speed itself was a little bit faster, so he was keeping a distance, but the difference wasn¡¯t overwhelming enough to run away completely. There was no chance of escaping in the first place as it kept smelling of blood. So far, he¡¯s been maintaining his stamina, but he wasn¡¯t sure how much longer he could run. Whether it was because of his magical powers or his superhuman strength in times of crisis, he was able to sprint much longer than an ordinary person, but his breathing was close to the limit. In at least one minute, he will run out of stamina and come to a standstill. A blue wave spread out in front of Arsene, who was running wildly. It was the Tyren River that he had only heard of. Even at a glance, the river was tens of meters wide and the current was so fast that he wouldn¡¯t even manage to swim. ¡®Damn it! Now of all times!¡¯ Arsene immediately turned right and ran along the riverside. However, he felt his feet gradually slowing down as if he had sandbags tied to his legs. As the horned wolves¡¯ panting was getting closer and closer. Suddenly, water splashed from the river and something popped out. Shaaaaah! With a noise that sounded like a snake¡¯s inflated hissing several times, a legged killer whale jumped out of the river and caught a horned wolf that was chasing Arsene. Truly, it could only be described as a legged killer whale. The killer whale opened its large mouth and bit the horned wolf in the middle, using its two front legs to press down on the other two. It seemed that those bitten and caught under its front legs were dead or fainted, as they didn¡¯t even move. ¡°¡­Ah.¡± Arsene, who met the blue eyes of the killer whale, exclaimed unknowingly. After several seconds of looking in each other¡¯s eyes, the killer whale, which seemed to have lost interest, went back into the river silently. Together with the three horned wolves that he caught. ¡°I survived¡­¡± Only then did Arsene, whose legs gave in and collapsed, crawled off the riverside on his knees. Even if the killer whale had just eaten and didn¡¯t attack, he didn¡¯t want to stick to the place where his kind or an equivalent predator might pop out. He spent some time leaning against the tree and wondering if he should thank the killer whale for getting rid of the horned wolves, or if he should thank Leha for sending the killer whale. He caught his breath and as strength returned to his legs, he patted his butt and stood up. First, he had to figure out where he was. ¡®Should I continue my way west?¡¯ Originally, he believed that he would come out if he went west from the fortress, but the information became meaningless because he was chased by a pack of horned wolves and ran everywhere. What do you do when you can¡¯t tell if your current location is north or south of the route you were originally going to? After a brief thought, Arsene took a new route from the river. He thought that he would eventually come to a city if he kept going upstream along the river. ¡®My goal was to reach a city anyway.¡¯ Arsene sat down near a brook that had branched out of the river to wash himself. The scratches and cuts from the leaves and thorns were stinging, but it was much better than drawing monsters with the smell of blood. Fortunately, his healing ability has improved as well, so the shallow cuts and scratches were almost healed. His left arm, which had been bitten hard, didn¡¯t fully heal, but the bleeding stopped and a thin crust appeared on top. ¡°It¡¯s almost like a cheat.¡± His strength, his speed, and his stamina improved, his resistance to poisons increased, and he even had a light regeneration ability. That¡¯s why many people in the fortress wanted to be knights. It was not until Arsene gained his mana that he felt that Sir Lenock wasn¡¯t as easy as he had thought in the past. Arsene thought he was just a middle-aged man who was always wandering around drinking, but he¡¯s trained his mana and combat skills for much longer than that. In addition, the fierce beasts he met outside were also the kind of beasts Sir Lenock usually hunted. The last killer whale, though, may have been a different story. In that sense, he couldn¡¯t even imagine what had happened to Sir Lenock and his sons. He went hunting and met a strong beast and died? Or did he die fighting the marauders on his return? Maybe he didn¡¯t die, but just didn¡¯t come back from the hunt? In fact, while he was preparing to leave the fortress, he hoped that Sir Lenock would return. Of course, it wasn¡¯t something like the affection for his father, who didn¡¯t even care about him, it was because of a very realistic reason. If Sir Lenock had returned, Arsene would have been the most likely successor to Sir Lenock, rather than one of the illegitimate bastards. Perhaps he could have pulled out all the teeth of Philus, who was treating him like a bug. He could have learned how to use the power of mana properly and how to fight. But waiting for Sir Lenock, who might not even return from a dangerous place like the empty fortress, was too risky. ¡®Now, let¡¯s go somewhere.¡¯ Arsene, keeping a distance of about 20 meters from the river, embarked on a journey that might take days. ¡°I¡¯ve arrived¡­¡± Four days later, Arsene was finally able to see the world¡¯s ¡°territory¡± for the first time in his life. There was a huge amount of land in the territory that was incomparable to the fortress, and brown soil stretched beyond the horizon. Green wheat fields, corn, and other crops that were not yet ripe were being cultivated. Now, just looking down at the scenery from the top of a hill, Arsene thought that it was like a completely different world from the fortress where he was born and raised. It looked like a pastoral and peaceful country farm. The scale of the fortress, located far away, was also different. Maybe it could accommodate thousands to tens of thousands? ¡®The vegetables we buy at our fortress come from this place.¡¯ As he walked down the hill and looked at the border, he heard a horn coming from far away. Looking back, two soldiers on top of a two-legged lizard-like mount were running armed with spears. Its speed was so fast that it was comparable to the speed at which Arsene was sprinting. In other words, it also means that it is similar to the speed at which a horned wolf runs. ¡°Stop! What the fu*k are you doing!?¡± ¡°Just move and we¡¯ll blow a hole in your head, you tramp!¡± When the soldiers, who stopped on Arsene¡¯s left and right sides, pointed their spears, he calmly put his hand on the sword and took a step back. He had already thought about how to deal with the soldiers. If Arsene hadn¡¯t been a knight, he would not have claimed an aristocratic status that he could not prove, but if he could prove it, there was no reason to bend. As Sir Lenock had done to his retainers in the past, he tried to imitate his overbearing attitude to the fullest extent possible. ¡°I am Arsene, the son of Lenock. My father is Sir Lenock, the Sir of the Krata in the east, and even though I have not been ordained, I am still a knight, so be polite.¡± ¡°¡­knight?¡± As the soldier¡¯s face was falling, he turned his eyes and looked up and down at Arsene. He fought and ran away several times without washing properly and changing his clothes for four days, so his appearance was no different from that of a beggar, but he was so confident that the guard could not judge recklessly. In addition, the clothes were tattered from top to shoe, and it was a pretty luxurious material. At least it was different from what ordinary people usually wear. The older soldier, who appears to be a senior among the two, asked with an ambiguous look. ¡°Um¡­ so, can you prove it?¡± Arsene, who thought he nearly believed him after using honorifics instead of informal speech, laughed inside. ¡°See for yourself.¡± Arsene went straight to a tree nearby and smashed it using all his might with his fist. Unfortunately, he couldn¡¯t break it down at once because he was a little weak, but when he hit it four more times, a scene was created, in which something that could be called a log if it got a little thicker, was broken down. Arsene lifted up the tree he had smashed, looking at the guards whose eyes were wide open, perhaps astonished by the power of a small child. It was a result that could never be made unless he was a knight. The soldiers quickly got off the ground. Even though he was young, they didn¡¯t have the guts to have a conversation with a knight. ¡°Does this prove it?¡± ¡°Of course it does! Your name is¡­¡± ¡°Arsene. Arsene son of Lenock.¡± Arsene, who looked at the now completely low-key soldier, threw the tree he was holding next to him. He held it because he shouldn¡¯t show them a weak side, but he felt burdened to keep holding it, because it was tiring. He was worried that the rank of the knights might fall due to the large size of the territory, but fortunately, it worked as well as Arsene expected. Sir Lenock, the only knight of the fortress, reigned almost like a living god over people, so this treatment would be appropriate. ¡°May I call you Sir Arsene?¡± ¡°I¡¯m still not¡­ Well, call me whatever you want. I¡¯ve come to visit the territory. Can you call a superior who has the authority to allow me to enter?¡± ¡°Please wait a moment. Panto! Tell the administrator right now! Tell him that a young knight is here!¡± ¡°All right, Sir!¡± The old soldier, who saw his subordinate running quickly toward the fortress, smiled a little obsequiously and nodded. ¡°I sincerely apologize for the rudeness a while ago. Because of the work we do, I sometimes get a little sensitive. I just¡­¡± ¡°You mean insulting me by calling me a tramp?¡± The embarrassed look on his face said, ¡°I didn¡¯t do it,¡± but the soldier didn¡¯t say it out loud. As soon as he realized that Arsene was a knight, he was quick enough to show respect, and apparently, they were the same age. ¡°Okay. I¡¯m not in a good mood right now, and it¡¯s not a big deal because I was dressed like this. Just talk to the administrator, please.¡± ¡°Of course. Knight-nim is not only strong at a young age, but also smart!¡± Arsene, who smirked as if he was dumbfounded by his flattery, looked at the fortress with his arms crossed. The old soldier stopped talking nonsense and bowed his head, perhaps understanding that he did not want to talk more. After a while, the soldier who had gone before came back with a few other riders. Most of the riders looked like soldiers, except two of them, who were a middle-aged man with a bulging belly and a giant armed with full-body armor. Considering the size of the mount, he seemed to be at least 2 meters high. Feeling a strange pressure emanating from his body, Arsene had an intuition that he was a knight. As he saw nothing in the past when he saw Sir Lenock, it seemed that only the knights could feel it. A middle-aged man got off the ride and greeted him with a respectful expression. ¡°My name is Rude, the second executive officer of the Beluan Territory! The knight¡­ where¡­ is he?¡± Seeing that there were only two older soldiers and Arsene, the administrator looked confused for a moment. Arsene changed his attitude and spoke in the most polite tone possible. ¡°Nice to meet you, executive officer Rude. This is Arsene, son of Lenock. I am the knight you are looking for.¡± Arsene could read the thought from the administrator¡¯s face, ¡®What kind of nonsense is this?¡¯ Chapter 5 ¡°That young man is a knight, administrator.¡± As if he had read Rude¡¯s expression, the knight behind him said with a smirk. The knight was riding a mount that Arsene saw for the first time in his life. A creature that looks like a four-legged dinosaur, whose body is made of metal from its legs to its head. It was a completely different existence from the other mounts, which were obviously living beings. ¡°Is this your first time seeing a Jin?¡± When Arsene unknowingly looked at the mount with a curious expression, the knight questioned him. Only then did Arsene, realizing his mistake, corrected his expression and made excuses. ¡°It¡¯s my first time seeing it. My father used to ride a different one.¡± ¡°If he¡¯s a knight of a fortress in the outskirts, that¡¯s to be expected. The jin will eventually be destroyed if a wizard doesn¡¯t take care of it.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± The administrator, who had been quietly listening to the conversation between the knight and Arsene, intervened. ¡°So¡­ Sir Arsene, you mentioned that you¡¯re the son of Sir Lenock. Are you sure you are referring to Sir Lenock from Krata Fortress in the east, who regularly trades demonic by-products with our estates?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Unfortunately, powerful looters have recently stormed in and the fortress has been occupied, while the fate of my father, Sir Lenock, is unknown. As you can see, I¡¯m still young, so it¡¯s hard to take care of my body.¡± ¡°Do you have any proof that you really are the son of Sir Lenock?¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid not.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ ¡° Administrator Rude, who was squinting and tapping his chin as if measuring his opponent¡¯s words, asked as he looked at the knight next to him. ¡°Do you have any ideas, Sir Palato?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you think the administrator¡¯s judgment is more important than the opinion of a swordsman like me? First of all, it¡¯s true that he¡¯s awakened his magical powers. And he has pretty good potential. It¡¯s not easy to have that much power without at least one of your parents being a knight.¡± After pondering for a moment on Palato¡¯s advice, Rude made a decision. It was difficult to prove his identity, but he awakened as a knight at a young age, and his speech and behavior were also precocious for his age. He concluded that it would be more beneficial to treat him as a knight of the territory than to kill or drive him out. Of course, it was a matter for the lord to decide whether to accept him as a knight of the territory, but the lord he knew was not that great of a person who would want to miss a knight that came in for free. ¡°Um, first of all, I would like to invite you to the lord¡¯s residence by my authority, Sir Arsene. But until we are sure of your identity, you must leave your weapon with us and accompany our soldiers.¡± ¡°All right.¡± After all, it was nothing like a treasured item or heirloom, but a sword stolen from a plunderer, so Arsene calmly handed the sword to the soldier next to him. Slowly walking towards the lord¡¯s residence, Sir Palato spoke first. ¡°But you look young. When did you awaken? You¡¯re small for a knight.¡± ¡°I¡¯m ten years old now. I awakened it recently.¡± ¡°I envy you. It¡¯s better when you¡¯re younger. I was barely awakened when I was almost 20.¡± With such grumbling words, Palato took off his helmet and hung it on the saddle. What was revealed was the face of a man in his mid-thirties who grew a beard and had unusually curly hair. Contrary to his pleasant voice, his cheekbones were raised and his cheeks were drooping, making him look depressed. ¡°You¡¯ll most probably have a hard time in a while. For a few months after awakening, you¡¯ll get taller incredibly fast. Especially when you¡¯re in the growing period. After hearing that, he realized that both Sir Palato and Sir Lenock were tall, more than 2 meters. Sir Lenock was tall as well as his son Pilus, so he thought it ran in the family, but if he became a knight, he would grow taller. ¡°I¡¯ve only seen my father, are all the knights tall?¡± ¡°Of course. I¡¯m also pretty small among the knights. The tallest knight I¡¯ve ever seen seems to be over nine feet tall.¡± Since it meant that he was about 270cm tall, Arsene was doubtful. ¡°Maybe because you¡¯ve awakened at a young age, which is a period of growth, so maybe you¡¯ll get as big as that knight.¡± ¡°I really hope I won¡¯t get that big.¡± As they talked, they crossed the farmland and entered the village where houses were built here and there. The villagers looked tired, but they were dressed in fairly neat clothes and they didn¡¯t look malnourished. Looking at it, Arsene realized once again how terrible the fortress he had lived in was by the standards of this world. Except for the castle, it was like an ordinary medieval farm where neither monsters nor looters appeared, compared to that place that looked like a beggar¡¯s den at the end of the century. The villagers, who saw the administrators, knights, and soldiers, all bowed their heads and expressed obedience. Compared to the fortress, where there was relatively little distance between soldiers and the general public, the difference in status there was much more noticeable. ¡®That¡¯s good.¡¯ Compared to a commoner, Arsene was now going to live as a knight, so it wasn¡¯t a bad thing at all. He had no intention of being bound by the notion of a past life without a class system. Arsene looked at the jin, the mechanical mount on which Palato was riding, and asked. ¡°By the way, is that jin a living thing?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know either, but the wizards say that they are magical creatures, so it¡¯s like they¡¯re living beings¡­ but it¡¯s a bit vague to see them as living because they don¡¯t need to eat and drink. If the driver provides his mana, it can keep moving and never gets tired. In addition, the jin and the knight are connected in spirit, so I can direct the action I want right away. It¡¯s not without reason they say that you¡¯re a true knight only with a jin.¡± With those words, the jin, who Palato was riding, tapped all four feet and shook his body. ¡°It¡¯s like this. Oh¡­ Just in case, I don¡¯t mean to insult your father. The knights who command the fortresses of the frontier are noble people who do not hesitate to do hard work for the peace of mankind. The fortresses are small and often have no wizards, so it¡¯s hard to repair the jin.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. There were no wizards in the fortress I lived in.¡± Arsene calmly agreed with Palato¡¯s rather apologetic comment as he tried not to have a slip of tongue. He never thought of Sir Lenock as a real father, so he wouldn¡¯t have been offended if Palato intended to insult him. In fact, Palato described the knights of the outlying fortress, including Sir Lenock, as ¡®noble people¡¯ in a way to console him, but how many of them actually are like that? Most of the knights of the fortresses were either pushed out of a place such as a territory by a political mistake or caused socially unacceptable problems and were close to being expelled. Or he wanted to be king in a small and shabby place because he didn¡¯t want to obey any lord and bow to his knight seniors. ¡®It doesn¡¯t matter if he¡¯s dead or alive.¡¯ It was no exaggeration to say that what Lord Lenock did as a father to Arsene was really life-threatening. From the moment of birth till now, in Arsene¡¯s memory, Lord Lenock had never considered him a son and had never done anything for him. It wouldn¡¯t be surprising if he didn¡¯t even know Arsene¡¯s name. If Arsene had no memories of his reincarnation, he might have longed for his father¡¯s affection, but Arsene, who had already been sufficiently loved by his father in his previous life, did not dare to seek affection from his current ugly father. Since he has been able to inherit the lineage of knights and make a living, it will be enough to give them a minimum amount of respect, at least on the surface. After passing through the village and crossing the gate of a large castle, administrator Rude called a maid. ¡°Sheila! This is a precious guest, so prepare clean clothes that fit and give him a bath, a meal, and a place to rest.¡± ¡°Yes, sir.¡± After Arsene followed his maid to bathe and change into new clothes, he was able to eat warm and delicious food for the first time since his reincarnation. Even though servants sometimes served delicious food when he was younger, it was at most roughly-grilled beast meat. By comparison, the meal served to him now was freshly baked warm bread, chicken stew, and fruit pie, so it was incomparable. It was enjoyable except that two armed soldiers were always following behind. I washed up and ate well, so I was sleepy, but I still had work to do to fall asleep. He took a bath, ate, and now was sleepy, but he still had work to do before he could fall asleep. Just in time, a knock on the door was heard. ¡°Come on in.¡± It was administrator Rude who opened the door and came in. ¡°Sir Arsene, the lord wants to see you.¡± ¡°All right.¡± Arsene replied and stood up, but the administrator did not intend to guide him, and just stood there blankly. He opened his mouth carefully as Arsene was thinking about what was going on. ¡°Well, let me first say that I don¡¯t mean to insult Sir Arsene. Have you ever learned from your father about the manners of meeting the lord?¡± ¡°No. I didn¡¯t learn anything at all. It would be an honor if the administrator could teach me.¡± At Arsene¡¯s words, the administrator warned him of some rhetoric and actions he shouldn¡¯t use. Fortunately, there weren¡¯t that many things, so he was able to understand them quickly. Since the lord was waiting in the first place, there would have been no time to teach him complicated things. After passing through the neat marble corridor filled with ancient magic, he was able to reach the lord¡¯s office after turning several times. The administrator said, carefully knocking on the door. ¡°Lord, Sir Arsene is here to see you.¡± ¡°Let him in.¡± After a deep, low voice opened the door, the administrator took a step back. When Arsene entered the room, a man who appeared to be in his early 40s was sitting on a large chair, and behind him stood Palato whom he had seen a while ago, and a female knight he had never seen before. ¡°It is an infinite honor to meet the lord. I¡¯m Arsene, son of Lenock.¡± ¡°I am Nut, the lord of Beluan. So, Krata Castle¡­ Sir Lenock¡¯s son?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right.¡± Surprisingly, the lord was not a knight. Arsene believed that the lords of territories were also knights, the same as the lords of the fortresses, but after he thought about it, it was natural. A gangster in the neighborhood needs to fight well to become a boss, but the boss of a giant mafia organization doesn¡¯t have to be good at fighting. The larger the size of the organization and the stronger the force that can be exerted, the less they need individual power. ¡°Sir Lenock trained as a knight in our Beluan territory when he was young. Did you know?¡± ¡°Ah¡­ yes, I heard about it in passing.¡± ¡°He was also a friend who spent his childhood with me. He was a good man and a good knight. If I hadn¡¯t made a stupid choice¡­Well, I heard Sir Lenock¡¯s life or death is unknown.¡± ¡°When the looters invaded the fortress, he was out hunting, but he didn¡¯t come back that evening. Usually, he came back in the late afternoon. It was too dangerous to stay in the fortress, so I don¡¯t know what happened after that.¡± ¡°I hope he comes back to us in good health. I don¡¯t think there¡¯s any doubt that you¡¯re Sir Lenock¡¯s son. You look like Sir Lenock from childhood. I mean, he used to make girls cry when he was a kid.¡± The attitude of the lord, who giggled as if recalling a pleasant past, was fresh, but what he said was even more shocking. Lenock, as Arsene remembers, was always a drunken, red-faced, beardy middle-aged man. When he heard that Sir Lenock made a girl cry, he thought it was because he was a rapist, not a playboy. He was still pretty, so Arsene thought he had a decent face, but the thought of him growing up that same way was terrifying to imagine. ¡®I need to take care of my face from now on.¡¯ ¡°So, do you want to entrust yourself to me temporarily until Sir Lenock returns?¡± The lord¡¯s eyes were sharp as he asked the question. In other words, the question was, ¡°Did you come here to eat until your father comes back?¡± Seeing that he was sensitive even about feeding only one child, he thought that even if it is a territory with a large territory, it would not have enough resources. ¡°If the lord allows it, I would like to train and serve as a knight in this territory.¡± In the past decade, he had fully felt how powerless and miserable the weak in that world was. Living as an ordinary person in the midst of looters, beasts, and many other threats is like holding onto a wooden plank and wishing to survive in the raging waves. Arsene wanted strength and power. To be respected by everyone, so that no one could harm or ignore them. At Arsene¡¯s words, Lord Nut grabbed his chin and stroked his mustache with his other hand. ¡°Sir Palato.¡± ¡°Speak, my lord.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that he was quite good as a knight?¡± ¡°The potential of a knight is either present or absent, so it is impossible to judge it haphazardly, but if he is nurtured well, he may become something like Sir Ramune.¡± When the name of the strongest knight in the Beluan territory came out, Nut¡¯s mouth was filled with a satisfied smile. In fact, even if the quality of the knight was insignificant, the knights are so rare that they cannot be ignored, but talented knights were especially rare. ¡°In the name of Lord Beluan, Arsene, I will train you as a knight under Lord Palato.¡± Then he held out his left hand, which had his signet ring. For a moment, Arsene stood still, not knowing what he wanted, and Administrator Rude, who was standing behind him, coughed and whispered in his ear. Arsene couldn¡¯t have known such customs, as Rude only taught him simple manners and not how to swear loyalty. ¡°Get down on your knees and swear allegiance to the lord. All you have to do is say, ¡®I swear upon my name, I will never betray unless I am betrayed by the lord.¡¯¡± Hearing his whispers, Arsene quickly knelt down on one of his knees and bowed his head, reciting the oath. To be honest, he thought it was a formality close to a skit, but people there were greatly governed by this ritual, so he had to follow it. ¡°As Arsene, the son of Lenock, I swear upon my name, I will never betray unless I am betrayed by the lord.¡± ¡°I, Nut, son of Delos, the lord of Beluan, swears that you, Arsene, will be protected under my name unless you betray me and the land. I swear in the name of the almighty Leha.¡± Chapter 6 ¡°This is the dining room.¡± ¡°The dining room.¡± ¡°People usually come to eat at 7 a.m., 12 p.m., or 6 p.m., but they can eat at any time they want, too.¡± ¡°Who usually eats here?¡± ¡°Most of the household members living in the manor eat here. Those who are married and live outside the manor eat outside. The servants have a separate dining room.¡± ¡°Can I eat here too?¡± ¡°Yes, most squires live in the manor and usually eat here. However, if you want to eat separately, please let us know and we will bring you a separate meal.¡± ¡°Just like this morning.¡± Arsene nodded quietly and memorized the location of the dining room in his mind. After meeting the lord, he slept all day from early evening to rest his tired body, and the next day, he followed his maid around to learn the manor¡¯s geography. The size of the manor was so huge, that it wasn¡¯t wrong to say he learned geography. It was six stories high and there were various types of facilities on each floor. The dining room they just arrived at seemed to be able to manage dozens of people at one long table. ¡°Then I¡¯ll guide you to the training field¡­¡± The maid, who was about to lead Arsene to the next place, looked ahead, then squeaked and took a step back. In front of the maid was a girl with short black hair. She was at most the same age as Arsene. Her face was painted with red and blue paint, making it difficult to recognize her appearance. In her left hand, she held an unidentified wooden stick. ¡°Ah, ah¡­ Lady¡­?¡± ¡°Usula Armatia Takaraba.¡± The girl swung the stick and walked slowly, muttering words of unknown meaning. ¡®What kind of performance is this?¡¯ Arsene was staring blankly, speechless, but the maid began to tremble as if she had seen a ghost. ¡°What is this¡­¡± ¡°Ghyaaa!¡± ¡°Kyaaa!¡± When he was about to ask her what she was doing, the girl opened her mouth wide and cried out, pointing her stick, while the maid screamed and ran away. Arsene couldn¡¯t understand what kind of performance that was, so he was just standing there quietly. The girl, who had chased away the maid after screaming at her, saw Arsene standing still. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you running away?¡± ¡®Why should I run away?¡¯ Arsene, who was about to ask back, recalled what the maid said a while ago, ¡°Lady.¡± Perhaps she was the daughter of the lord if she was called like that in the manor. ¡°Are you the lord¡¯s daughter?¡± He never learned what kind of relationship the lord¡¯s daughter had with the knights or servants, but what Arsene learned from his military and social life was that it was better to respect other people when the relationship with them was not clear. If the other speaker isn¡¯t a respectable person, there¡¯s no big loss in being impolite, but if it¡¯s the other way around, it must be done well, or you¡¯re bound to incur losses. Unfortunately, the language of this world, like Korean, was clear and strict, so he had to pay attention to that. ¡°That¡¯s right. Why aren¡¯t you running away!? Who are you?¡± She yelled at him with a fiery temper, but the little girl with the painted face looked funny. Still, she is the lord¡¯s daughter, so she should be respected. Thinking so, Arsene placed his right hand between his collarbones and bowed his head, as he had learned before. ¡°This is Arsene, a knight who is training as a squire under Sir Palato.¡± ¡°Uh¡­ under training¡­ So are you a squire or a knight?¡± ¡°Well, actually, I¡¯m curious about that too, lady.¡± Arsene smiled embarrassingly as he looked at her unsure expression. This ambiguous situation was caused by Arsene¡¯s current status. It is common for knights to awaken while constantly training their bodies and increasing their adaptability to mana, but for some reason, Arsene awakened as a knight without any such training. As awakening the mana was the condition for being a knight, he could be called one, but he wasn¡¯t able to take on his duties as a knight yet. Because of this, he decided to pursue his training as a squire under Sir Palato, but he could not be called a squire either. Basically, a squire is just a ¡®prospective knight¡¯, who may or may not become a knight depending on luck, but Arsene was already a knight in terms of his magical power awakening. Because of this ambiguous situation, he was given the bizarre status of a ¡®knight and squire¡¯. The girl opened her eyes wide at the sight of Arsene, as if she had never seen a person smile before. ¡°So can you tell me why I have to run away?¡± ¡°I, I¡¯m a wizard! I can use magic! Don¡¯t you know what a wizard is?¡± ¡°Ah¡­ you¡¯re a wizard, yes.¡± With that said, he couldn¡¯t tell whether she was a wizard, or why she was making a fuss with a stick and her face painted. She didn¡¯t look like a real wizard in the first place. The wizard Arsene imagined was either a dignified old man like Gandalf, or at least a grim man with something like a robe, not a tomboy kid who painted her face and threatened her maid. This childish thing can¡¯t be some kind of magical ritual. Arsene, who thought it was like playing house, said with a smile as softly as possible. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t realize. If you do it one more time, I¡¯ll run away with you.¡± Arsene, who responded to her like that, was just staring at her with a blank expression as if he was shocked. ¡°Lady?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need it!¡± [ Read at yourfantasytranslations.github.io/ for the last chapters and to support us~~!!!] Then, she suddenly screamed, running to and fro, and disappeared over the hallway. ¡®I don¡¯t need to chase her, do I?¡¯ Arsene, thinking that he had offended her by confronting her so openly, moved on to find the runaway maid. As he had already made an appointment to meet Sir Palato at the training field, he had to at least know where the training field was. ¡°Lady Elise is a real wizard.¡± ¡°What?¡± In the end, Arsene had to wander around alone to find the training field, and he had to tell Palato what had happened a while ago to explain why he was so late. And this was Palato¡¯s answer when he heard the story. ¡®Don¡¯t tell me that little tomboy was a real wizard¡­¡¯ Arsene felt his fantasies about wizards shattered. ¡°So why does lady wizard bother her servants and maids?¡± ¡°Well, it gets a bit complicated if we talk about it. First of all, what do you think of the wizards?¡± It¡¯s not a good way to answer a question with a question. Thinking inwardly, Arsene recalled his thoughts about the wizards. A wizard. A being able to build and repair territories and fortresses, which are the foundations for mankind to live in this world, and create and repair a jin, a knight¡¯s mount. Also, there were quite a few magical objects in the manor, that an ancient wizard had made himself. Simple and practical objects, such as pipes where water comes out, toilets, lights without fire, etc. It was only yesterday that he was terribly surprised to see these objects in the room assigned to him, which reminded him of the Earth from his previous life. On the other hand, there were also negative impressions. Everyone knew that a wizard was responsible for making the world impossible to live in without a territory and fortress, and there were stories of wizards eating a child or taking his brain out of the cemetery at night and¡­ To be honest, the latter story seemed to be made just to scare the children, so I skipped half of it. ¡°I think it¡¯s a great but dangerous existence.¡± Arsene himself was not sure if it would be an exemplary answer because it was extremely theoretical, but Palato unexpectedly shook his head with a rather pleasant look. ¡°It¡¯s nice that you saw a wizard in person and think they¡¯re very friendly.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°Most people, after meeting a wizard, think that they are illegitimate children of the devil who climbed up from hell and committed adultery with a woman.¡± Arsene was momentarily stunned by the savage medieval-like words, but when he realized that Palato¡¯s words contained a nuance of disagreement with them, he looked different. It was also because he considered the intelligence of a knight based on Sir Lenock, who, frankly, didn¡¯t have any intelligence at all. ¡°Of course not everyone believes in such an exaggerated superstition, but in fact, Lady Eloise had a little problem. She became a wizard at such a young age that she couldn¡¯t control her magic and hurt those around her a few times.¡± ¡°What kind of harm?¡± ¡°There were cases where it shocked the surroundings, emitted light powerful enough to temporarily lose sight, or cause the hair of people around her to fall out.¡± ¡°Other things aren¡¯t that serious, but the last one is particularly scary.¡± ¡°I agree.¡± Palato¡¯s forehead, who said so while patting his head, looked unusually wide today. ¡®Don¡¯t tell me the victim is Sir Palato¡­¡¯ [ Read at yourfantasytranslations.github.io/ for the last chapters and to support us~~!!!] Arsene put those thoughts aside and asked again. ¡°So, I still don¡¯t understand why she played such a strange prank.¡± ¡°Sir Luden¡­ Oh, he¡¯s the consultant and wizard of our estate. Sir Luden says she seems to be doing it out of anger with those people around her who are reluctant and afraid of her.¡± ¡°Is everyone around her like that?¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t feel it? Usually, people feel fear and strong repulsion from the evil magic of a wizard. If you¡¯re a knight or a person whose body is well-trained, you won¡¯t feel that bad, but you¡¯ll still feel a bit rejected.¡± At Palato¡¯s words, Arsene swept his hair back and recalled the meeting a while ago. Certainly, the maid¡¯s reaction was a little exaggerated, but he didn¡¯t feel it at all, as if she didn¡¯t have that kind of power. At best, she seemed like a prankster and a tomboy. ¡°It¡¯s the same with me. I know that it¡¯s not the lady¡¯s fault for not being able to control her magic, and I know that mana can¡¯t do any harm to a knight anyway¡­ but I was physiologically disgusted, so it was hard to be nice to her at first.¡± Saying that, Palato¡¯s face looked very gloomy, different from his usual expression. ¡°I¡­ didn¡¯t feel it at all.¡± At Arsene¡¯s words, Palato looked at Arsene like he was a mysterious person for a moment, and smiled as if he did well. ¡°So after morning training, do you want to go see Sir Luden? He¡¯s a bit eccentric, but he knows a lot of things, and he¡¯ll be glad to hear a good story. Maybe you could be friends with the lady if things work out well. She¡¯s a poor child.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Arsene agreed without hesitation. ¡®I don¡¯t know if there¡¯s something special about me that doesn¡¯t respond to the magician¡¯s magic, or if there¡¯s another reason, but at least it won¡¯t hurt to gain knowledge.¡¯ In particular, he felt a strong interest in magic, as it was almost a mystery until now. ¡°That¡¯s it, let¡¯s start with physical training. The first one is a warm-up race. Make a circle around the training field starting from that pillar over there. Until I tell you to stop running. Use all your strength.¡± The training field was so big, he thought that one lap would be around 300m. ¡°I believe you can run at least three hundred laps.¡± ¡°Three¡­ hundred¡­ laps?¡± It¡¯s roughly 90km. In addition, it was the distance he had to run during the morning training, so considering that the bell for 10 o¡¯clock rang a while ago, he had to finish within two hours. Two hours while maintaining an average speed of 45 km/h, according to Arsene¡¯s calculations. He thought that it wasn¡¯t okay to sprint for two hours just because he had magical powers. He didn¡¯t know whether this should be regarded as a barbaric discipline of the Middle Ages, where the concept of ¡®overworking¡¯ itself was lacking, or as a training policy for skilled knights from veteran knights. Thinking about it, there was no choice in the first place. As long as he was just a squire in training, he had to accept it. ¡°It¡¯s a little tight, but isn¡¯t it because you¡¯re late? You¡¯ll have to bear it.¡± Seeing Palato¡¯s smiling face, Arsene wanted to attach the description of the wizards he had heard a while ago ¨C the devil who crawled out of hell ¨C to Palato. ¡®Damn it, I hope all your hair falls off.¡¯ Cussing at Palato¡¯s hair, Arsene began warming up. Chapter 7 ¡®Ahh, I¡¯m going to die.¡¯ Arsene walked with trembling legs while clinging to the wall. Otherwise, he felt like he was going to fall and roll on the floor. Perhaps that scene was hilarious, Sir Palato said in a voice mixed with laughter from behind, whether he was joking or being serious. ¡°I didn¡¯t know you¡¯re want to marry the wall. Let me give you a maid at least, will you take care of her?¡± ¡°¡­No, thanks.¡± Arsene didn¡¯t want to show that side of himself, even if it was difficult, so he refused and moved on. In the end, Arsene could only turn 150 laps until it hit the 12 o¡¯clock bell. In fact, the first 100 laps he ran in less than half an hour, with Palato¡¯s continued encouragement ¡°Faster! Is that all you can do?¡± It was the result of running with his legs loose for the remaining hour and a half due to the lack of pace control. Today¡¯s achievement would be learning that he could run for around 30 minutes at a speed of about 60 km/h without problems. ¡°You¡¯ve come.¡± When he returned, the public restaurant was crowded with people unlike what he had seen in the morning. Perhaps because it had already been a while since the bell rang, there were some places where servants were cleaning up, and in others, people were eating. Some looked like officials and some looked like squires. Palato and Arsene drew attention as soon as they entered, and the party eating near the door waved before talking. ¡°Here, Sir Palato!¡± Arsene realized that they were knights through the strange pressure he felt. In fact, anyone can tell that they are knights just by looking at their physique, which seems to be one head bigger than others. Everyone looked about ten years younger than Palato. As Arsene and Palato approached, the first knight to call Palato jumped up. The knight, who approached them, stroked Arsene¡¯s head as if he was a cute doll. ¡°Is this kid the newcomer? God, he¡¯s so cute!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Let¡¯s just sit down and talk, Weeble. I¡¯ve rolled this guy around a bit, so he¡¯s probably in trouble just standing right now.¡± As soon as Palato and Arsene sat next to the knights, the servants immediately brought the food. White bread, soup, seasoned lamb, baked potatoes with cheese¡­ Perhaps because of the crazy run, he was hungry, but there was no way to rush into the food without greeting the knights he was going to eat with at the same table. Arsene turned away from the meal, desperately resisting. ¡°You guys say hello, too. This friend here is Arsene, who is going to be our new knight.¡± ¡°I¡¯m Arsene, a knight who¡¯s training as a squire under Sir Palato. I¡¯m looking forward to working with you.¡± Arsene bowed politely at Palato¡¯s introduction. Again, this time, the strange introduction phrase, ¡°A knight who¡¯s training as a squire¡± seemed ridiculous, and laughter erupted here and there. Fortunately, it was more of a laugh at a child¡¯s ability rather than a mocking one. ¡°It¡¯s strange. He is a child, but he¡¯s also a knight with powerful magic.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think he¡¯s trained before, but it¡¯s amazing how he became a knight. Oh, remember me? We met yesterday. I¡¯m Genovia.¡± ¡°Oh, yes. I remember. Dame Genovia.¡± The person pretending to know him friendly was the female knight he saw in the office yesterday evening. His short red hair, which grew up to her shoulders, was unique. Maybe because it was a fantasy world, he¡¯s seen many different hair colors so far, but he¡¯s never seen red hair like that. ¡°You must have heard from Sir Palato just now. My name is Weeble. Nice to see you, kid.¡± ¡°Carmine.¡± ¡°Nice to meet you. I look forward to your kind cooperation. Sir Weeble, Sir Carmine.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m counting on you! Aren¡¯t you too skinny? At a young age, you have to eat a lot of pork fat to build up your body. That way, you can be a great knight!¡± Weeble was the big knight who just stood up and stroked Arsene¡¯s head, and Carmine was a much smaller-looking knight, at least it looked so while he was sitting. Short sports hair, Honam-style impression, loud voice, and cheerful attitude described Weeble. [Tl/N: Honam is a region from south Korea, in the southern-most part.] [ Read at yourfantasytranslations.github.io/ for the last chapters and to support us~~!!!] Carmine had roughly grown hair, an angular, sharp face, and a sour expression. Genovia was a woman, and the men Weeble and Carmine were easy to memorize because of their contrasting images. Unlike Weeble, who treats Arsene politely as a cute kid because of his personality and gives advice, Carmine only said his name as if he only needed the least amount of attention and turned his head to eat. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. Carmine doesn¡¯t usually talk to anyone other than me and Weeble.¡± Arsene just smiled politely at Genovia¡¯s words. Frankly, it was a little unpleasant, but what could he do? He will have to find out gradually whether he¡¯s wary and hostile towards the new knight ¨C although Arsene¡¯s only a knight candidate ¨C or, as Genovia said, that he is originally like that. ¡°Well, let¡¯s stop talking. You must be pretty tired from running around the training field, so stop talking and let¡¯s eat. I¡¯m starving because I ran with him as a training supervisor.¡± ¡°How many laps have you done?¡± ¡°I will keep the training secret for the honor of our Sir Arsene. I wouldn¡¯t say it myself.¡± The knights, who burst into laughter at Palato¡¯s words, started eating again. Arsene also ate the food in front of him in line with the atmosphere. It was fortunate that the dining culture of the estate was not like those of the Renaissance aristocrats, eating while maintaining an elegant attitude. Even Palato and Carmine were eating food with a knife and fork roughly like an ordinary Korean eating Western food, and that was the most elegant level there. Weeble and Genovia were barbarians who drank soup from the bowl and ate ribs with their bare hands. During the meal, Weeble, Genovia, and Arsene talked about each other¡¯s personal affairs and strengthened their friendship. Genovia¡¯s red hair is a feature that was hard to find in the surrounding area and was characteristic to people living in the far north, while Weeble, who was taller than Arsene, was awakened at the young age of 15 and grew in height. ¡°So you might even reach 3m. I¡¯ve never seen a knight who awakened at such a young age as you!¡± ¡°It¡¯s usually in mid-teens at the earliest. I awakened when I was 19, and it¡¯s considered pretty fast. Does your height really have to do with your awakening age? Sir Ramune awakened at about the same age as you, but he¡¯s not that big.¡± ¡°It¡¯s just¡­¡± Feeling desperate for words, Weeble put the lamb ribs in his mouth again. Arsene too, hoped that Genovia was right. It should be appropriate to say that being tall is good, but he couldn¡¯t even imagine how uncomfortable it would be if he grew up to 3m. If it¡¯s a joint problem or something like that, it¡¯s okay because it¡¯s a knight, but once you¡¯re that tall, there¡¯s a high chance you won¡¯t be able to walk around with your back straight in any building. ¡°We¡¯ll be on our way then.¡± ¡°Enjoy your meal, Sir Palato! Hey, kid, see you next time!¡± ¡°See you next time. Sir Weeble, Dame Genovia, Sir Carmine.¡± ¡°Good night.¡± Genovia, Weeble, and Carmine got up from the table faster as they started eating first. Carmine, surprisingly, didn¡¯t say anything until the end, only bowed lightly when he said goodbye to Palato. After they left, Palato asked Arsene, who was sucking the spaghetti hard. ¡°How do you feel about meeting your colleagues?¡± ¡°I think they¡¯re good people. Well, honestly, I don¡¯t think Sir Carmine likes me very much, but¡­¡± ¡°Ha, he¡¯s a friend who gets misunderstood a lot. In the past, senior knights used to scold him a lot. That¡¯s what his personality is like now, but don¡¯t be so hard on him because he¡¯s a very considerate friend.¡± ¡°I see.¡± [ Read at yourfantasytranslations.github.io/ for the last chapters and to support us~~!!!] Seeing that even Palato spoke like that, he wondered if it was really just a person lacking in social skills. There were people like that in his previous lives. People who find it uncomfortable to talk and interact with strangers. In fact, there was no reason to be friends with all the colleagues, and Arsene himself was not so fond of meeting people. Cows and chickens don¡¯t like each other so both don¡¯t show any interest in each other either. ¡°You¡¯re eating well. Do you like the food at the restaurant?¡± ¡°I must confess, I didn¡¯t eat and grow well in the fortress. I wasn¡¯t the favorite son.¡± ¡°Damn, if my son had been a polite kid like you, I would have raised him with love and affection.¡± ¡°Do you have a son?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have a son, but I have a daughter. It¡¯s a no-brainer. She said she wanted to become a knight following her father, but I don¡¯t know if she has any talent. He unconsciously thought Palato was single when he saw him in the training field since morning, but when he thought about it, it was rather strange that a knight that old had no family in this world. Palato, who had been showing off his daughter¡¯s love by complaining a few things about her, wiped his mouth with a cloth and stood up. ¡°I¡¯ll be on my way. I think I¡¯ll be busy this afternoon, so you¡¯ll be free to spend it freely. Like I said earlier, you can visit Sir Luden.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll look for it. Then work hard.¡± ¡°Thank you. See you tomorrow.¡± Arsene continued to eat when all the knights left. I think I have a beggar in my stomach as I already ate more than ten times the amount I usually eat, but I keep eating endlessly. Arsene, who had barely felt full after a long meal, looked around and saw no one else eating. Arsene stood up, then called a servant who was cleaning up the restaurant. ¡°Hey, do you happen to know where Sir Luden, the wizard is?¡± ¡°Are you talking about Sir Luden? As far as I know, he doesn¡¯t usually come out of the Eastern Annex.¡± ¡°Where is the Eastern Annex?¡± ¡°Get out of the main gate and go straight to the left. Would you like me to show you?¡± There was already a hint of reluctance on the servant¡¯s face when he said that. Is being a wizard that much repulsive? On second thought, I didn¡¯t quite understand. ¡®Is it because I have memories of my past life, unlike everybody else? No way. I don¡¯t think that¡¯s why.¡¯ ¡°No, that¡¯s fine. That¡¯s enough, I can go alone.¡± ¡°I see.¡± The servant, who looked as if the word ¡®magician¡¯ was omitted from his back, quickly disappeared to do what he was doing. After sending the servant, Arsene came out through the stairs and a few hallways to the main door and looked to the left. A building that really looked like a wizard¡¯s tower was far away. ¡®It¡¯s even more fascinating that I didn¡¯t see this on my way here.¡¯ Arsene, who came to the entrance of the tower, lifted the steel doorknob on the door and knocked. There was already an unusual look from the rusty door chain. ¡°Is anybody there?¡± [Who is it?] Past the door, the voice of a man who seemed half asleep was heard. The door opened after hearing the sound of things being pushed around, falling, and swearing. ¡°Did Sir Weeble sent you? Tell him his dirty armor is still far from being repaired! What is he urging me to do at this point?¡± Surprisingly, the wizard Luden was a muscular giant with a shaggy head, sideburns, and beard that were indistinguishable. He was shorter than the two-meter-tall knights, but he still looked about the size of his half-brother, Philus. Maybe he was sleeping a little while ago, but his eyes were full of eye boogers and his beard was dry with saliva. Elise was the same, but it seemed that none of the wizards he had seen in this world really looked like a wizard. Chapter 8 Translator: Homia ¡°So¡­ you¡¯re a knight in squire training? I don¡¯t care about that, why are you here? It¡¯ll be hard to see each other¡¯s faces, so just tell me your business quickly.¡± ¡°I¡¯m here to ask you something.¡± ¡°Like what?¡± Arsene calmly explained what happened this morning. Elise, who suddenly appeared and threatened the maid, and Elise, who did not feel particularly repulsive, even the suggestion from Sir Palato to visit him. Upon hearing the story, Luden¡¯s expression had severely changed, unlike his first impression. ¡°Come in for now.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Welcoming Arsene, who entered the tower along Luden, was the perfect place for the words ¡°garbage dump.¡± Dozens of books were scattered all over the place, some unknown objects, as well as some glass containers for chemical experiments, and things such as shields, armor, and swords. It was hardly believable that it was a place where people lived, and not a warehouse where they just threw anything. ¡°Now, where to sit¡­ Have a seat here.¡± The books and gloves on the two chairs fell to make room to sit on. When Arsene sat down, Luden, who sat opposite him, stared at Arsene and asked. ¡°So, what do you have to say?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a lot of stuff.¡± ¡°No, not about my room!¡± Luden suddenly became angry and then coughed, clearing his expression. ¡°Don¡¯t you feel anything from me now? Something unpleasant, or something repulsive.¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing.¡± To be honest, his bandit-like face was a little burdensome, but I thought it probably wasn¡¯t that kind of rejection. After hearing the answer, Luden¡¯s expression changed to that of wonder, but frowned soon after. ¡°Hmm¡­ I¡¯m honestly embarrassed. I¡¯ve only heard of such a person, but I didn¡¯t expect to see one myself.¡± ¡°What are you talking about?¡± ¡°The constitution that accepts magicians. Usually, people can¡¯t sit in front of me like this. I don¡¯t know exactly what it feels like to be in front of a wizard for them, but everyone acts like I¡¯m a cockroach with sh*t all over my body.¡± Suddenly leaping up from his chair, Luden wandered around the room with his hands behind him. Kicking up all the books and stuff that stood in his way. ¡°Constitution¡­ hereditary¡­ no, no¡­ is it? Mentally? But for that¡­ it¡¯s too different from my hypothesis¡­ Damn¡­¡± The way he muttered to himself was completely schizophrenic. Then he suddenly came in front of Arsene and shouted, patting his shoulders. ¡°How many family members or relatives do you have in the estate!?¡± ¡°None at all. My mother is dead and I do not know any of her relatives. My father is missing, and almost all of his relatives have either died or aren¡¯t in the estate.¡± At Arsene¡¯s words, Luden groaned as if he were in trouble and sat back in his seat. ¡°Darn it, we need at least one, but you don¡¯t have anyone?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± One of the first things Arsene expected when coming here was the relatives of Sir Lenock at the Beluan territory. He was only treated as a slave in the fortress, but that¡¯s because he was not a knight, and now that he is one, he could find the relatives of his father¡¯s side and live together properly, or suck them dry and throw them away. If the lives of the relatives were miserable, I was willing to provide some support. Arsen learned how important it was to create people who could help each other in a small society, at the expense of his childhood. [ Read at yourfantasytranslations.github.io/ for the last chapters and to support us~~!!!] Beluan¡¯s territory was so large that it couldn¡¯t be called a ¡°small society¡± compared to the citadel. But it soon turned out that it was an unnecessary thought in the first place. When I asked Sir Palato about it, I received a shocking reply that all of Lenock¡¯s relatives had either died or left. I asked him why, but he only shook his head with an ambiguous expression and said, ¡®It would be better not to know.¡¯ ¡°Damn it, fuk! This Leha has something against me, and she¡¯s sabotaging me here again! You must be trying to drive me crazy with curiosity! Ahhhhh!!! Such a bich!¡± Luden stomped and screamed like crazy. Arsene never tried to blaspheme against Leha, and never heard anybody do it since he was born. Perhaps a devout believer would have rushed out of the tower by now. ¡®I can see why he was called a nerd.¡¯ No, Palato was overly generous with Luden if he called him a ¡°nerd.¡± If someone asked Arsene what Luden is like, he would answer ¡°a crazy freak.¡± When Luden, who had been running wild for a while, seemed to have calmed down, Arsene asked a question. ¡°Is the reason you asked that because you need to know whether this constitution is passed down through blood?¡± ¡°Sigh¡­ yes, you¡¯re smart. There was a discussion about this issue when my teacher was still alive.¡± When he brought up the story of his ¡®teacher,¡¯ Luden¡¯s face became unsuitably gentle. ¡°Teacher thought that this constitution was a kind of ability that was passed down regardless of lineage, like magic, while I thought it was an ability that was inherited through lineage. Neither of us had actually seen such a person, so it was a meaningless discussion.¡± ¡°Mages seems to have nothing to do with bloodlines.¡± ¡°Nothing has been understood so far. Wizards are extremely rare, and it¡¯s even rarer for a wizard¡¯s child to become a wizard. I¡¯ve never seen one. A child of a knight still becomes a knight in one-third of the cases.¡± ¡°Even if it is inherited like a knight¡¯s bloodline, it may not be manifested, right?¡± ¡°What is the meaning of inheriting it, if it doesn¡¯t manifest?¡± Looking at Luden sighing frustratedly and lowering his head, Arsene suddenly asked questions. ¡°Can I learn magic by any chance?¡± Luden, who was covering his head frustrated by Arsene¡¯s question, suddenly laughed like a madman. Emotional ups and downs were almost at the level of bipolar patients. ¡°It¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve heard that question! There are always people who ask that!¡± Arsene was slightly pouting at the tone that seemed to see the stupidest person in the world, but he kept his composure without showing his expression as much as possible. Luden seemed to be lost, as he expected a more intense reaction. ¡°I can¡¯t answer that. In the first place, magicians can use magic since they are born. They¡¯re not awakening like knights.¡± When Luden, who was grinning as if he had suddenly regained vitality after hearing Arsene¡¯s question, flicked his finger once, and surprisingly, something like a hologram appeared next to him. The hologram depicted a nude human, like Da Vinci¡¯s golden ratio. ¡°Look, knights like you circulate magic throughout the body through the medium that everyone has, the heart.¡± Along with the explanation, blood vessels formed around the heart in the hologram of the human body. ¡°On the other hand, we wizards have a separate organ in our brains in the first place, and magic means causing special phenomena by tightening, bending, and twisting the mana in the atmosphere with this organ.¡± This time, another hologram was created to see through and zoom in on the brain. Another organ was emerging in the space between the cerebrum and cerebellum. ¡°Learning magic without it is the same as learning how to fly without wings.¡± Luden moved his hand sideways and the hologram disappeared. ¡°Was my explanation too complicated? Let me summarize it in two sentences. You can¡¯t learn magic unless you¡¯re born with this. So you can¡¯t learn it. Is that enough?¡± Saying so, he clapped his hands together, and a spark of fire appeared on his hand. The flames split into three branches, turned together as if they were braiding someone¡¯s hair, and disappeared. ¡°Enough.¡± Arsen, who heard the answer he wanted, sighed, swallowing regret. Magic was very interesting and he thought it would be of great help if he could use it, but it was impossible in the first place, and even if it was possible, the social risk was too great. ¡®Let¡¯s just think that I improved my knowledge.¡¯ Arsene stood up as if it was time to go, opened the door to the outside, and asked Luden a question. He pretended to be as calm as possible, as if talking about trivial gossip. ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right. I¡¯ve heard something before. Is there any magic that can preserve someone¡¯s memories and reincarnate him?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°For example, Sir Luden is reborn as a baby with the knowledge he has now.¡± Arsen, who asked such a question, tried to capture Luden¡¯s expression with utmost care, but Luden only looked as if all he had heard was some strange things. ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of it. Even though Magic is such a rare science, I don¡¯t think I wouldn¡¯t have even heard of it if such unusual magic existed. I used to go around quite a lot to learn magic.¡± ¡°I see.¡± ¡°But if such magic really exists¡­¡± Arsene couldn¡¯t see clearly because he was covered with a shaggy beard, but on his vaguely distorted face, as if he was smiling and crying at the same time, he could feel the pain of life. ¡°¡­at least I don¡¯t want to be reborn as a wizard. Magic is really attractive, but a wizard¡¯s life is terrible. It¡¯s a life where you can¡¯t be loved by anyone unless it¡¯s also a wizard.¡± Having no words to say, Arsene just bowed his head and closed the door. Seeing the loneliness that didn¡¯t go well with his bandit-like appearance and eccentric personality, he wondered if the child who was raging in the morning would become like that when she got older. ¡®At least the next time we meet, I¡¯ll have to treat you kindlier.¡¯ With that in mind, there was a small shadow staring at Arsene from behind a tree as he left the tower. [ Read at yourfantasytranslations.github.io/ for the last chapters and to support us~~!!!] The knights of the territory periodically patrol the outside of the realm with their squires to deal with the demonic beasts. Arsene also couldn¡¯t escape from that duty or have a leisurely time training, since he had become a squire of Palato. Therefore, Arsene had now come out of the territory with Sir Palato and three squires. ¡°How does it feel to be on patrol?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not very enjoyable.¡± The peculiar smell of rotting garbage, which was unique to the outside territory, felt even more disgusting when he smelled it again after a few weeks. Arsene was not in a good mood because of the smell, but Palato and the squires seemed used to it. ¡°Let¡¯s go to that hill over there.¡± The formation was in the form of a diamond, with Arsene in the center, Sir Palato in front, and the other three servants standing on the left, right, and back. When asked about the shape of the formation, Sir Palato¡¯s answer was spectacular. ¡®I must deal with the threats from the front, and you must be protected just in case. Use the squires as bait if you think it¡¯s dangerous.¡¯ For Arsene, who had been an outsider not so long ago, he treated him so warmly, while treating the squires eating from the same pot as expendables. The same was true for most of the knights Arsene saw during the last weeks. They treated a knight the same as a brother and sister, but were indifferent towards the squires. Most of the squires were overworked like horses, and usually, they trained their bodies and patrolled the territory, taking on the same job as a soldier. Among them, some were taken to patrol the outside territory, and the death rate wasn¡¯t that low. It¡¯s rare for a knight to die, but it¡¯s not a big deal for one or two squires to die or be maimed every time they patrol. Arsene, hearing the story, was able to reflect once again on how threatening the world was to humans, as he became dull in the territory. ¡®A squire dies easily, so you don¡¯t want to get attached to him on purpose.¡¯ As for his relationship with the squires, who were treated surprisingly poorly compared to himself, there were hardly any meaningful exchanges. The biggest reason was that it was difficult to divide the ranks due to Arsene¡¯s ambiguous position. The squires didn¡¯t want to recognize a boy who was 5 to 10 years younger than them as a superior, and they didn¡¯t want to treat a boy who would definitely be a knight when he got older as a junior. In the end, the best way to deal with someone you don¡¯t know how to deal with, is indifference. ¡°By the way, it¡¯s a shame there¡¯s no extra jin. After all, you¡¯re a decent knight.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t help it. I¡¯m still young and have a lot of time, so it¡¯s okay. I¡¯ll have to wait for Sir Luden to make it for me.¡± Palato was riding a jin, but Arsene was riding a lizard-like mount ¨C Oil Lizard, like the other squires. The reason why its name is oil lizard is that it extracts oil from its body, and the amount is huge. When it¡¯s alive, they use it as a horse, and when it dies, they squeeze all the oil from it¡­ It¡¯s said there¡¯s a reason why Satan¡¯s losing his job. Anyway, Arsene¡¯s riding skills were not as bad as he thought, although it hasn¡¯t been long since he started riding the oil lizard- commonly knows as ¡®lizard¡¯. He didn¡¯t know if it¡¯s because the lizard was smarter than a horse and had a gentle personality, or because Arsene¡¯s talent was outstanding. He was not as skillful as the squires, but enough to make it walk and run. ¡°Sir Palato, a bladed leopard on the hill to the right.¡± The chief squire, who was on the right side, informed Palato. When he turned his head to the right, a giant bladed leopard was watching attentively Arsene¡¯s party while preparing to hunt. It was the same kind of beast that Arsene had to prepare a bath for at the fortress. It seemed like a distant past already. ¡°If you¡¯re trying to attack while glaring like that, you must be a young guy who has never seen a human before. Boras, Olga. Go get him.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± The two squires behind mounting the lizards ran toward the blade leopard. Chapter 9 Translator: Homia If it was a wild animal on Earth, it would have been crushed by the attack of an animal much larger than itself, like a human on a lizard, but the beasts of this world were different. Unless they are thoroughly educated and raised from a young age, the beasts will never stop hating humans. With a growl, the bladed leopard rushed towards the squires. ¡°How dare you!¡± Despite the momentum of the leap, the bladed leopard, who was lightly stabbed by the spear the squires had stretched out, hesitated and retreated. At least, the bladed leopard¡¯s skin didn¡¯t seem hard enough to ignore the spear. ¡°I¡¯ll block it in front!¡± As soon as the younger of the two took a few steps forward, the bladed leopard swung his front paws like a punch. The blade, which is about a meter in length attached to the front foot, was the biggest reason why it was called a ¡°bladed leopard.¡± Both spears caught in its bladed claws were cut off. ¡°Boras! The sword!¡± As the young boy squire tried to back down in fright, the female squire who was standing next to him shouted with a sharp voice and drew her sword. Hearing this, the boy hurriedly tried to draw his sword, but it was already too late. The bladed leopard, grasping the weak enemy, leaped towards the boy. The boy, who could not even pull out his weapon properly, was caught helplessly and fell off the lizard. ¡°Argh!¡± ¡°No!¡± The woman, who quickly urged the lizard forward, used that speed to attack the bladed leopard¡¯s head. If she made a mistake, she could have attacked the boy beneath her easily, but whether by chance or skill, the attack succeeded in digging into the two eyes of the bladed leopard. The bladed leopard, who was about to crush the boy, rolled around with a desperate scream. ¡°Ugh¡­¡± ¡°Die!¡± Instead of supporting the boy who was lying on the floor, the female squire charged at the leopard with ferocity. The process was also dangerous. The bladed leopard swung its front paws, reacting sensitively to the attacks that stabbed it, even as it ran wild after losing its eyes. If it accidentally cut her head or neck, she would die in one shot. ¡°Isn¡¯t that dangerous?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not dangerous.¡± Arsene unknowingly asked a question out of concern, but Palato¡¯s voice in response was extremely calm. As if it was normal¡­ ¡°Originally, squires feed on blood to grow stronger. Knights awaken in the midst of death.¡± At Palato¡¯s words, Arsene recalled his moment of awakening. A cold well, a cold body, and the crisis of death were just right. ¡°Is that how the knights are originally awakened?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. It¡¯s normal to train your body faithfully to gather mana and to awaken in an extreme battle. Well, there are very few people who awaken without training like you. When I was young, an old senior knight of the lord told me that.¡± Only after hearing those words, Arsene was able to resolve one of the questions he had in his heart. Considering the abilities of Sir Palato that Arsene had seen while fighting, it seemed strange that the knights and the squires accompanying them died so often. No matter how strong the knights were, it was natural that there were a lot of casualties when they were forced to fight for their lives with death following their steps. ¡°It¡¯s amazing that there are so many people trying to be squires.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it natural? If you become a knight, you can get everything, even if you risk your life, it¡¯s worth the challenge.¡± After hearing Palato¡¯s story, he was able to understand the psychology of the knights to some extent. That is to say, they have the mindset of a character in a game with a high requirement for entry. People who have gone through the same kind of hardship are friendly, but newbies who can¡¯t get over the entry requirements and are more likely to fail are not treated like people. Arsene was able to enter such a closed society easily because he was already confirmed to join the group beyond the requirements for entry. It was then that a desperate scream was heard in front of them. It was not a human, but a beast¡¯s. He saw a bladed leopard lying on its back with a sword lodged in its chest. The female squire was breathing heavily, sitting on the leopard¡¯s body. ¡°Looks like it¡¯s over, Sir Palato.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± The three of them took their own mounts and rode to the scene where the fight was over. It was quite a horrible sight. The bladed leopard, which had been slashed with the knife, was almost in rags, and the female squire had also been injured all over the body, bleeding, her armor torn like a piece of paper. [ Read at yourfantasytranslations.github.io/ for the last chapters and to support us~~!!!] The boy who was attacked first was still lying on the floor, either unconscious or dead. Palato asked, looking at the chief squire checking if the boy was alive. ¡°Is Boras alive?¡± ¡°Alive. Broken ribs and some head injuries, but nothing life-threatening.¡± ¡°He¡¯s an inexperienced guy. For the time being, let¡¯s turn him to the patrol inside the territory.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± It wasn¡¯t a minor injury at all, but there was no sign of seriousness in the question or answer. As if it¡¯s always happened. The female squire, who had been given first aid with medicine and bandages, staggered and walked towards Palato. ¡°Olga.¡± ¡°The hunt¡­ is over. Sir Palato.¡± ¡°Did you feel it?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Palato turned around, leaving a soulless and indifferent answer. Behind him, the female squire was biting her lips as if she was angry. At that moment, a roar was heard from far away. Roaaarrr-! ¡°This sound¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s a fire monkey, Sir Palato!¡± ¡°Stand behind me.¡± A few seconds after hearing the sound of trees collapsing with a terrifying force, a gigantic beast over 3m tall appeared out of the forest loudly. As the name suggests, its eyes were shining as if on fire, and its body muscles were closer to those of a gorilla, not a monkey. The skin was hairy and didn¡¯t look like it would be easily penetrated. Against such an opponent, Palato leaned back with a spear in one hand. At the same time, the jin, on which Palato was riding, also bent his leg accordingly. ¡°Eat¡­¡± After that, Palato¡¯s jin jumped forward, stretching his hind legs as if bouncing. Palato also threw his spear with all his might, straightening his body. ¡°This!¡± From jin¡¯s leg to Palato¡¯s fingertips, a bullet-like spear was launched with great virtuosity. The spear slid smoothly into the fire monkey¡¯s chest without the slightest resistance. Thick fur and chest muscles could not block the spear with strong power and mana. Puke! The fire monkey vomited blood because of the spear, which was stuck exactly in its lungs, and then opened its mouth wide to shoot out fire. For an average person, the moment he took it on, the heat would be enough to make his lungs ripen. However, Palato naturally pulled out his shield to block the fire and stepped back. Surprisingly, the shield was only slightly burnt, and the fire attack had no effect on Palato or the Jin he was riding on. ¡°Stand back! The spear is stuck in his lungs, so you don¡¯t have to be impatient!¡± The fire monkey showed a brilliant fighting spirit despite the blood-filled lungs and inability to breathe. Using its limbs like a gorilla, it rushed forward as if trying to drag Palato, who somehow managed to injure him, to hell together. But compared to Palato, who was riding a jin, it was nothing short of a sloth¡¯s struggle to catch a cat. While avoiding the fire monkey¡¯s charge, he inserted a spear into its lungs from the opposite side. The fire monkey struggled desperately and collapsed as if his life had run out. Arsene approached Palato, who was catching his breath, and expressed pure admiration. [ Read at yourfantasytranslations.github.io/ for the last chapters and to support us~~!!!] ¡°You¡¯re amazing.¡± ¡°This is nothing. It¡¯s hard for the squires, but a fire monkey isn¡¯t difficult for a knight. If I could teach you one more thing¡­¡± As Palato turned his head toward Arsene and spoke, the fire monkey, that was lying behind, stood up using its hands. It looked at Palato¡¯s back, its eyes brimming with hatred. ¡°Sir Palato!¡± As if answering Arsene¡¯s startled cry, Palato drew a sword from his waist and turned around, swinging his sword. The fire monkey, reaching out its hand towards Palato, fell to the ground with its head flying in the air. ¡°Most of the beasts have strong vitality. Never let your guard down until you cut their head.¡± ¡°¡­okay.¡± Only then did Palato smile, taking off his helmet and combing his sweaty hair. ¡°Wasn¡¯t that a pretty good lesson just now?¡± ¡°Did you do it on purpose knowing it was alive?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been paying attention. In fact, the right way is to shoot a fallen opponent from a distance with a spear or something.¡± Palato said so and tapped the spear on the saddle. It¡¯s a bit daunting that the great scene just before was deliberately staged to teach a lesson, but Palato¡¯s brute force left a deep impression. Palato¡¯s ability to fight against Arsene, other squires, or knights on the training field was less than half of his actual level. The battle he just showed was like a textbook of how a knight who handled a jin skillfully could gain the upper hand in the fight against monsters. ¡°Seeing Sir Palato makes me want to have a jin.¡± ¡°Cheer up. Won¡¯t it happen when you have enough skills as a knight? Of course, you¡¯ll have to ask Sir Luden.¡± Later, under Palato¡¯s instructions, the chief squire split the belly of the fire monkey and took out a round bead. According to Palato, the bead contains strong heat. ¡°It¡¯s also something that will take care of the winter in our land. If you use a stove with this marble in the winter, it gets hot. One grain can heat a large building all winter.¡± ¡°Is that also made by Sir Luden?¡± ¡°Of course. If not a wizard, who would make such a thing?¡± So afraid and reluctant of the wizards, but you maintain a civilization that relies on them. Arsene found this reality very ironic. However, it was the social structure of this world that both wizards and knights had no choice but to depend on each other to some extent. A wizard has no ability to fight against strong monsters or other knights, and a knight has no ability to create tools to assist in battle and everyday life. Arsene, who thought so, suddenly became curious. Does Luden have any complaints about this situation? In a situation where they are almost isolated in the tower in the corner of the territory, he is constantly required to create only the magic equipment needed for the land. ¡®I¡¯ll have to ask him when I get back.¡¯ ¡°Are you stupid? Few places treat a wizard as well as this one.¡± The next day after returning from outside patrol, that was the answer he heard as soon as he asked Luden. Luden, who was frowning with one eye as if looking at all sorts of stupid people, continued. ¡°As I said before, I learned magic when I was young, and saw it while traveling around, but most of the lords are bastards. It is not unusual to lock a wizard in a tower, and it is common to cut off his ankle or pull out his eyes to prevent him from running away. Some people think that the wizards are evil, so they should be hunted and killed.¡± Then, growling quietly, he added. ¡°My teacher had one of his ankles cut off too, because of the lord who wanted to keep the wizard from escaping.¡± Arsene nodded silently at Luden¡¯s cruel words. ¡°It¡¯s not that I can¡¯t get out of the tower, it¡¯s that I don¡¯t want to. My lord never stopped me from walking around. There¡¯s nothing good about going out and seeing people, so why would I go out?¡± Luden, who bowed his head with a slightly apologetic look, swung the hammer. The sword, which had been completely crooked, began to unfold little by little as it heated with magical powers. ¡°Anyway! Weeble¡¯s! Sword! And! Armour! Are! As! Dirty! As! Him!¡± It was Luden who cursed the owner of the sword every time he swung the hammer. When he first met Luden, Arsene¡¯s question of why the wizard was so muscular was quickly resolved after a few more meetings with Luden. As he said when he first met Arsene, Luden was not only a wizard who created Jins but also a blacksmith who made the weapons of the knights. He is said to be the best blacksmith in the realm because he can use magic power for crafting and repair, and at the same time, he can enchant weapons and armor. ¡°Can¡¯t hammering or repairing be done by magic?¡± ¡°If you know such magic, please let me know. I¡¯m actually trying to teach Elise how to hammer, and it¡¯s hard for me. This girl should be learning to fix things. Where¡¯d she run away to?¡± Luden, who was complaining, waved his hand at Arsene. ¡°Go find Elise. I might be mistaken, but I think she¡¯s running away only when you come. If you had a love fight, let it go.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never properly talked to her before, what kind of love fight is it? She¡¯s also just a child.¡± ¡°You sound like you¡¯re not a child. You¡¯re the same height and the same age.¡± Arsene kept his mouth shut because it was true. Since he came to the estate, he was often treated like a knight, so he sometimes forgot his physical age. Although he has been eating a lot and growing taller recently, he was still ten years old. ¡°Come on, go and find her. If I can¡¯t hold a hammer when I¡¯m old, who will make your jin?¡± Chapter 10 Translator: Homia Elise made a flower crown by picking each violet with care. When Arsene came, she jumped out of the second-floor window of the tower and ran away, then arrived at a small flower garden. Her own little garden, a long way from the manor. Even if it was called a flower garden, it was just a variety of flowers blooming, but one of Elise¡¯s hobbies was to choose the flowers she wanted and make her own pretty flower crowns. There was a small smile on the girl¡¯s face as she glanced at the completed violet crown. ¡°Hehe, it¡¯s pretty.¡± At the moment, Elise recalled Arsene¡¯s purple eyes as she looked at the violet petals. A boy with a peculiar constitution who doesn¡¯t feel aversion toward wizards. She heard the story, but after hearing it, she couldn¡¯t meet him even more. This is because every time she saw Arsene, she remembered her disgraceful behavior. Waving sticks with paint on her face, and threatening people by chanting false spells, now that she thought about it, it was a stupid thing that would never happen again. ¡°It¡¯s annoying.¡± Elise rolled around the flowers a few times after throwing the violet crown. She wanted to meet and talk to him. And she didn¡¯t want to meet him at the same time. Two thoughts collided. With such a dainty concern, she held the locket of the necklace that she usually wore. No, she was trying to hold it. ¡°¡­huh?¡± Feeling nothing, she looked down and saw that only the necklace string remained, and the part of the locket that was supposed to hang underneath had disappeared. Only the metal ring that seemed to have been pulled and stretched was pitifully dangling. ¡°Huh? Oh, no, wait¡­¡± She quickly leaned over and swept the ground where she had been lying, but her rocket could not be found. Elise started crying. Arsene, who came out of the tower, went to Elise. Since his shocking first meeting, Arsene has never had a proper conversation with Elise. He ran into her once or twice while passing by and looking for the tower of the wizard, but whenever he ran into her, Elise ran away in a hurry without saying anything to him. The funny thing was that she didn¡¯t just run away. There were times when she was sneaking glances at Arsene, hiding as if she didn¡¯t want to be seen by others, such as sticking her head behind the door or over the wall. She looked like a cat that observed its opponent without running away or approaching, feeling both wary and curious about what it saw for the first time. Arsene assumed she was very shy because of her age. Actually, he didn¡¯t think of her as cumbersome, it was also pretty cute to see the little girl doing that. ¡°Have you seen Miss Elise?¡± ¡°She just went out that way.¡± The main gate guard pointed to the village below. Arsene nodded and moved down the hill. ¡®The lord¡¯s daughter goes out as she likes, but no one cares about it.¡¯ Thinking about it for a moment, there was no one in the territory that would harm Elise. The fact that the lord¡¯s daughter was a wizard was well-known, and everyone would recognize Elise was a wizard at one glance. As he walked down the road from the main gate, he saw the market area. ¡°Ripe apples! Two coins for one ripe apple!¡± ¡°I have fresh vegetables!¡± ¡°These are items from the northern Air territory from last month! Take a look!¡± [ Read at yourfantasytranslations.github.io/ for the last chapters and to support us~~!!!] The market area, located just below the manor, was quite crowded. Arsene felt awkward every time he saw people living casually like this. Because it was in stark contrast to the devastating life he had been living for the past 10 years in the fortress. ¡®I don¡¯t know how so many people live here.¡¯ He didn¡¯t know the exact size of the Beluan territory, but it felt too small for a place where that many people could eat and live. Where does the food that feeds the vassals inside the manor, feeds the common people, and even exports them to nearby fortresses come from? With such doubts, he asked the merchants the location of Elise. They didn¡¯t know who Arsene was, but responded politely and kindly to the boy, who was dressed in high-quality clothes with the pattern of the Beluan estate. ¡°I saw her going down that hill earlier.¡± The last place Arsene arrived at after hearing the store owner¡¯s words was a small hill with various miscellaneous flowers. It was a space that felt like a strangely isolated flower garden, obscured by the surrounding buildings and terrain. In the middle of the flower garden, a girl with short black hair was sitting. ¡°Miss Elise.¡± He called Elise from a distance, but he didn¡¯t hear an answer. Arsene approached Elise carefully, trying not to step on the flowers. When he got closer, he saw Elise sitting with her eyes red and full of tears. ¡°Miss?¡± At Arsene¡¯s call, tears rolled down Elise¡¯s eyes as she turned her head. ¡°I lost it, my necklace¡­¡± She covered her eyes as if trying to stop the tears, but the sniffling continued. When he heard that, he looked down at Elise¡¯s neck and saw an open ring stretched in the middle of the necklace. He could tell right away that there was supposed to be something like a locket hanging on that ring. ¡°How big is it?¡± ¡°¡­this big.¡± Elise, who had been sniffing, slightly opened her thumb and index finger to express the length of the locket. ¡®Certainly, that¡¯s not easy to find here.¡¯ ¡°Isn¡¯t there any magic to find the necklace?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know that kind of magic. And magic¡­ I¡¯m not good at using it yet.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t help it then. Let¡¯s look it up together. I¡¯ll search this way, and you can search that way.¡± As he calmly began to search in the flower garden, Elise rubbed her face, wiped away the tears, and began to search the other side. He thought it would be more comfortable to just pluck out the flowers, but he struggled with patience. After searching for a bit, there was something rattling, so he took it out and found a small silver locket. ¡°Miss, is this it?¡± ¡°Huh? Oh! That¡¯s right! That¡¯s it!¡± Elise, who rushed in, grabbed the locket as if snatching it from Arsene¡¯s hand. The girl, after opening the locket with a clicking sound, closed it again with a sigh of relief. ¡°Is it something important?¡± ¡°Yes. It¡¯s what my mother left me before she died.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a relief.¡± Elise nodded in agreement without saying a word, and tried to close the ring after putting the locket back. However, the gaping ring did not close easily. Arsene pushed Elise¡¯s hand away and grabbed the rocket, unable to watch her squirm with her tiny hand. Using the knight¡¯s overwhelming force, the ring was tightly interlocked in a circle, as if it had been like that from the start. ¡°Okay, that¡¯s enough, right?¡± Elise unconsciously stroked the part that touched Arsene¡¯s hand. Then, she asked him a question. ¡°¡­are you sure I¡¯m not disgusting?¡± Arsene burst into laughter when he saw Elise¡¯s wide-open eyes. She had a cute face, but he couldn¡¯t hold it in because she had been crying for a while and looked at him with big swollen eyes. ¡°Ah, yes. You¡¯re not disgusting. Really.¡± ¡°Really, really, really?¡± Asking that, Elise unknowingly grabbed Arsene¡¯s sleeve, and she flinched at the act. Because she remembered her childhood, when she was younger, she once clung to her brother to play, and then he kicked her mercilessly, screaming. But Arsene held Elise¡¯s hand unperturbed. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s fine, Miss.¡± Children are sensitive to the opinions of others. Not everyone loathed Elise and couldn¡¯t get close. Like a maid who cared for her, and her father. Some of the people who have been with her for many years sometimes patted her head and held her hand, but Elise always read the indisputable disgust in their hands and faces. A gaze that seems to be looking at something physiologically unacceptable. The warmth of the touch, which did not contain disgust, seemed to warm her cold, hardened heart, not her hands. ¡°¡­something like this, it¡¯s the first time.¡± ¡°You have Sir Luden.¡± ¡°Luden is scary. He always yells, and he just scolds me for not doing well.¡± Luden was a wizard and a teacher who could take care of Elise, but he was also a man who had never been loved by others. He didn¡¯t know how to comfort and treat a child warmly. The only way Luden knew was as a wizard, as a teacher, to discipline his disciples fiercely, and to a young girl, it was only frightening. [ Read at yourfantasytranslations.github.io/ for the last chapters and to support us~~!!!] Nevertheless, Elise always went to Luden¡¯s Tower to learn magic. All she could get in her little world was disgust from everyone other than Luden. Because even yells and scolding were sweeter than disgust. ¡°Sir Luden was looking for you, by the way. Come and learn how to fix a sword.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to learn. Magic is fun, but hammering is hard. My hands hurt. Making a flower crown is more fun.¡± Saying so, Elise picked up the violet crown that had fallen on the floor. Because some time had already passed, the flowers and grass looked a little withered. For a while, Elise arranged the flower crown without saying a word, then spoke in a solemn voice. ¡°Last time, that¡­ I¡¯m sorry. It was wrong. I won¡¯t do that again.¡± ¡°Like using that paint¡­¡¯¡± ¡°Don¡¯t talk about that!¡± ¡®You brought it up yourself¡­¡¯ Arsene only thought about it and nodded to show his understanding. And he brought up a question he had wanted to ask for a long time. ¡°But why did you do that?¡± When asked by Arsene, Elise shut her mouth and held her feet. Some time passed in silence. Soon after, Elise answered in a quiet voice, as if whispering. If Arsene wasn¡¯t a knight, he wouldn¡¯t have heard it. ¡°Because it¡¯s not fair.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not fair, because I¡¯m hated for whatever I do. Rather, it¡¯s unfair if there¡¯s no reason to be hated.¡± At that moment, he remembered a saying he had heard in his previous life, ¡®If someone thinks of you¡¯re a jerk, give them a fu*king reason to think so¡¯. Not exactly because of that feeling, but Arsene could understand Elise¡¯s behavior to some extent. ¡°I understand.¡± Sometimes you just need empathy rather than words of advice. Instead of saying that it¡¯s not right or that she shouldn¡¯t do it, Arsene just said he understood and hugged her tightly. That was enough. In Arsene¡¯s arms, a quiet sobbing was heard. ¡°We¡¯ve got a long-term expedition.¡± At Palato¡¯s words, Arsene put down the sword he was wielding. Sweat gushed out of his body, as it was a heavy enchanted sword, incomparable to a normal one. ¡°Whoa¡­ long-term expedition?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to your hometown, the Krata fortress. Krata fortress fell and the rhinoceros¡¯ horn supply was cut off. We¡¯re going to check out the looters¡¯ group that destroyed the fortress, and if possible, we¡¯re going to catch some lone rhinoceros and get some horns.¡± ¡°Ah, if it¡¯s the rhinoceros¡¯ horn¡­¡± A giant horn the size of an adult¡¯s upper body, which was saved as a trophy that Sir Lenock had hunted himself, came to his mind. Every time those came, he asked where they were transported, but he never imagined that it was an item supplied from Krata Fortress to the Beluan Territory. ¡°I¡¯ve seen one before, but what is it for?¡± ¡°If you grind the horns of the rhino and sprinkle them on the ground, the plants grow incredibly well. The bread, vegetables, and fruits we eat all grow thanks to the horns. If it¡¯s not continuously supplied, how can we support so many people with the size of our territory?¡± One question that he had been curious about while looking at the market has been solved. He knew that the materials from the monsters were used for all kinds of purposes, but he never imagined that the horns were used like that. ¡°By the way, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever seen them grow crops using those horns in Krata Fortress. There was always a shortage of food there.¡± ¡°Because there was no sorcerer. The horns have to be processed with magic, but the effect disappears quickly and we can¡¯t store and sell them, so we can only use them in our territory.¡± He never thought the wizards would come out here again. Clicking his tongue, Arsene picked up the heavy sword again and repeatedly swung it. ¡°Anyway, there are three knights participating this time, me, Dame Genovia, and Sir Entir¡­ and you are also included. Since you have experienced the raid yourself, it might be helpful.¡± ¡°Was this Lord¡¯s decision?¡± ¡°Of course, no one can move a knight without the permission of the lord, and you are a knight.¡± ¡°I see.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll be leaving tomorrow, so finish your training in moderation this afternoon and get a good night¡¯s sleep.¡± Chapter 11 Translator: Homia Early in the morning, the front gate of the manor was unusually noisy. A whirlpool of chaos, with soldiers, squires, workers, and administrators mixed around. A middle-aged knight with a rich mustache approached Arsene, looking down at him. Arsene, who had heard his description in advance, bowed politely. ¡°Nice to meet you, Sir Entir. This is Arsene, a knight under Sir Palato. I look forward to your kind cooperation.¡± Arsene met most of the knights from the estate, but this was the first time meeting Entir. This was because Entir had just recently returned from the lord of Arin Fortress in the west. He wanted to make a good impression and greeted him politely. Arsene raised his head to check his reaction because he didn¡¯t get any answer. As Arsene raised his head, he could see Entir¡¯s face with an unhappy expression. He talked in an icy tone. ¡°Lenock¡¯s son?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right¡­¡± ¡°Heh, you¡¯re similar to that guy. He also used to have a pretty face¡­¡± Entir interrupted Arsene, talking freely, then turned around and disappeared. The disrespectful attitude clearly contained hostility. Arsene stared at the back of Entir, who was walking away. Disgust and anger arose in him. ¡®I¡¯ll have to ask Sir Palato later.¡¯ As a great teacher, Palato, an all-round encyclopedia and living history book, would be able to explain Entir¡¯s attitude. Arsene turned to the scene where everyone was working hard to change his mood. The soldiers were at roll call and the workers loaded food and drinks into the cart. The lizards tied in front of the cart cried pitifully in frustration. Administrators rushed around to check the number of soldiers and the amount of food. At that time, a squire he saw for the first time called Arsene with an awkward expression. ¡°Sir Arsene.¡± ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± When Arsene asked what was going on, he pointed his finger at his back. When he turned around, one hand was sticking out behind the wall, beckoning him. If you watched it in the middle of the night, you would believe it was a horror movie. Arsene, who sighed at the sight, bowed to the squire and walked toward the wall. As he turned around the corner, Elise was hiding there as expected. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± ¡°¡­going out on an expedition? Why didn¡¯t you tell me?¡± ¡°Well, I got to know yesterday afternoon. He suddenly told me. ¡®You¡¯re going tomorrow, so get ready.¡¯¡± ¡°You should have said you weren¡¯t going!¡± ¡°If the knight rejects an expedition, imagine what would happen.¡± Arsene laughed bitterly at Elise¡¯s ridiculous whining. If Arsene had been protesting against participating in the expedition, he would have lost most of the friendly human relationships in the estate. Some of the squires, knights, and Sir Palato might have turned their backs on him. In this world, the notion of the preciousness of life was much weaker than that on Earth. More important than life was the courage and honor facing death, and the military class such as the knights, squires, and soldiers, in particular, regarded this honor as the highest value. The moment you give up your duty because of fearing death, no matter if Arsene was a knight, he would be despised for it immediately. [ Read at yourfantasytranslations.github.io/ for the last chapters and to support us~~!!!] Despite Arsene¡¯s young age and origins from the fortress, to the extent that he is undeservedly treated as a knight, he must also perform his duties. Then, Elise took an object out of her pocket and held it out. It was a wooden sculpture with a wave-like pattern. ¡°This is a gift. He said it would protect you in case of danger.¡± ¡°Who said?¡± ¡°¡­Luden.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t Sir Luden give it to you for your protection?¡± ¡°Sigh, but Arsene goes to dangerous places. I¡¯m safe.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t just give someone¡¯s gift.¡± Arsene pressed gently, but Elise held out the sculpture with a firm expression and her lips tightly closed. Arsene eventually received the sculpture and put it in his pocket, as he was about to stay like this all day long if he didn¡¯t pick it up. ¡°You¡¯re not going to die, are you?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll try my best.¡± Arsene only vowed that he would try, because it was an illogical promise not to die, and therefore a lie. Whether or not she knew the meaning of those words, Elise said as she embraced Arsene. There was fear in her voice. ¡°Seriously, don¡¯t die.¡± ¡°I got it.¡± Usually, people always die when they say something like this, but the useless thought crossed his mind only for a moment. Elise, who blushed soon after, escaped from Arsene¡¯s arms and left, muttering a few words. Watching Elise going away, someone poked his head over the wall, and Arsene turned his head. There, Genovia was looking down at Arsene. ¡°You¡¯re already in love. Long time no see, kid. You¡¯ve grown a lot in that time.¡± ¡°Thank you, Dame Genovia. You are as beautiful as ever.¡± ¡°Oh, I know I¡¯m pretty.¡± Genovia covered her mouth and smiled like an elegant lady at Arsene¡¯s compliment. It was nice to see a beauty with short red hair and a clean face smile like that. Of course, there was a minor feature of being about 50cm taller than normal women, but what¡¯s wrong with that? Genovia, whom Arsene had met a lot so far, was a person who felt pride, not inferiority, in her own height. Because it was the fruit of her own blood and sweat. ¡°By the way, I¡¯ve heard a lot about it¡­ but it¡¯s really strange. How is it possible?¡± Arsene could understand what she meant, because she was looking in the direction where Elise disappeared. ¡°I¡¯m curious, too, but how do Dame Genovia and the others feel about the wizards? I asked Sir Palato, but he didn¡¯t tell me clearly.¡± ¡°Well, Sir Palato is such a good man that he doesn¡¯t like to say bad things. Except when he trains the squires.¡± Genovia smiled and leaned against the wall with her legs crossed. Arsene, too, had grown quite tall because he had eaten well, but he still had to look up at her because of the huge difference in height. Thanks to her long arms and legs, her gestures looked elegant. ¡°It¡¯s really hard to explain it. In other words, the feeling of seeing an insect combined with the unpleasant feeling of filth such as poop and urine, and then the hostility of wondering why such a thing exists? But I always get confused because they look like a normal person, and it only makes me feel worse.¡± Genovia, who made a terrible metaphor with a calm expression, continued, tapping on the wall. ¡°Still, Sir Luden doesn¡¯t feel that way compared to the lady. He said that a skilled wizard can hide his presence to some extent. Although he can¡¯t get rid of it fully.¡± ¡°Oh, I heard that.¡± Palato, who was reluctant to approach Elise properly, was still talking with Luden, so he wondered why, but he said that a skilled wizard can control his unique presence to some extent. Luden himself has taken more than 20 years to master it, and it was not a solution as it was just lessening, not disappearing. The metaphor that Luden had previously said, ¡®It¡¯s like dealing with a cockroach covered in dung¡¯, was very appropriate for a wizard¡¯s presence. ¡°I think I know a little bit about that.¡± ¡°Yeah? I¡¯m not good at explaining things.¡± Arsene recalled the maid who had fled from Elise¡¯s pranks in the past. He was wondering what she was doing at the time, if she thought that a cockroach as big as a child was coming at her with a strange sound, covered in filth. Wouldn¡¯t it take two hearts not to run away from the situation? ¡°Anyway, put aside your love affair and get going.¡± ¡°All right.¡± [ Read at yourfantasytranslations.github.io/ for the last chapters and to support us~~!!!] The formation of the expedition was remarkable. Three knights, and every knight had squire followers, twelve squires in total, and ten soldiers in charge of driving, cooking, and other miscellaneous tasks. Although the number was small, since there were three knights, it was worthy of being called a powerful force. Palato was at the forefront of the formation, Genovia in the middle, and Entir in the rear, allowing the knights to cope with any attack from any direction. In fact, as all three of them were riding towards the fortress, when the battle will start, all three knights could gather within a few seconds. Though, there was no enemy strong enough that three knights had to gather at the same time. ¡°I got it!¡± ¡°No, man. This is honestly what I caught!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be ridiculous, my friend.¡± As Arsene accompanied the expedition, he realized once again how great the strength of a well-trained army group was. It was different from the miserable journey of running through the forest alone in the past, hiding and running away from every beast. At that time, all the beasts he met while passing through the forest were powerful enemies that threatened his life, and the thorny bushes and branches with blade-like leaves stabbed and cut his body even if he was a little careless, causing fatigue from constantly traveling through the forest with a sword. In fact, he only survived by chance and luck, and he almost died many times. ¡®At the time, I only thought it was a terrible place where normal people could never live¡­¡¯ The horned wolf, who gave much trouble to Arsene, could not even be called a proper enemy in this expedition. They were attacked several times by small packs of horned wolves, but the squires skillfully used their spears to hunt the horned wolves and plucked their hearts out without the need for a knight to step up. In addition, there were huge snakes that fired venom from their mouths, bladed leopards, and giant hedgehogs with thorns all over their bodies, but they also weren¡¯t considered proper enemies. When the squires met a burdensome enemy, they would just encircle him, while a knight would rush in and kill it in one blow. As in the case of patroling, the squires weren¡¯t left to awaken fighting for their lives. If outside patrols are a kind of test ground for awakening squires into knights, long-term expeditions were real battles. The knight¡¯s stamina and magical power are replenished when resting, but seriously injured or dead squires can¡¯t be recovered, so this was done for power conservation. If the time comes when the squires have to sacrifice their lives, it will be a time when an enemy that even a knight can¡¯t easily deal with appears. In the meantime, Arsene was able to confirm the skills of Genovia and Entir. ¡°Whoa!¡± While the squires were holding spears from all sides and surrounding them, Entir¡¯s Jin jumped and passed by the beast, accompanied by cheers. After the monster and Entir passed each other, the upper body of the monster, who was hit by his ax, fell apart. It died way too easy considering that the squires¡¯ spears couldn¡¯t even pierce it, perhaps because of the black, sticky liquid on its body. Entir lacked agility and looked sluggish due to his large size and old age, even by knight standards, but apart from that, his strength seemed to be great. ¡°Oh, Sir Entir!¡± ¡°It was awesome!¡± After Entir participated once like that, it was common for the squires to follow suit. Entir wasn¡¯t modest, he swung his ax with a bragging expression, wiping out the blood of the beast, and flaunting all his arrogance. Arsene, who was watching, was so embarrassed that his fingers shrank. On the other hand, Genovia used a long spear to spin around the monster¡¯s body at a high speed, stabbing here and there, making loopholes, and poking vital points. It took longer than Entir, but her strength was that she could finish the fight without the help of her squires. No, to be precise, the fighting style itself would be more helpful if there were no squires in the way. ¡®It¡¯s so comfortable that it¡¯s rather ridiculous.¡¯ Arsene also took a spear and finished some of the monsters with the squires. Although his skills weren¡¯t yet good enough to ride a mount and handle a weapon skillfully, Arsene¡¯s physical condition itself was much better than that of the squires, so he had enough abilities to participate in the hunting. By piercing the horned wolf¡¯s body with his spear and driving it down, Arsene overcame the demonic beast that had given him fear in the past. The threat of thorns and leaves was easily resolved, too. Several squires took turns at regular intervals, cutting branches in front of them and making a path through the bushes. Rather, the branches were piled up in the carts and then used as firewood to make fires at sunset. In conclusion, the expedition¡¯s actions were more of a hunting trip than a fierce competition for survival in a remote territory. ¡°Stop! We¡¯re resting here today!¡± Nine hours after departure, as the sun went down, the expedition set up tents and set fire to make the camp. Chapter 12 - CAMPING Translator: Homia The night was a safe time when monsters were inactive. The only enemies were the looters, but there were three knights in the party, so there was no reason to worry about looters. As ordinary soldiers came to set up campsites and cook, the knights and squires scattered all over the vacant lot, grilling and eating the meat of the monsters caught during the day. The same was true for Arsene and Palato. ¡°It¡¯s a little different from the expedition I thought.¡± ¡°What were you thinking?¡± ¡°I thought it was going to be a bit more¡­ intense, dangerous, and desperate times. It was like that before.¡± ¡°We can do this because we are a group. It¡¯s not a place where we can live alone. Neither I nor the other knights go outside alone.¡± The meat was cooking on a flat stone with a sizzling sound. Among the beasts caught during the day, only those that could be used for food were collected and stored without blood. ¡°However, even after forming a group like this, we couldn¡¯t make a fire during the day, so we had to eat only simple food. It¡¯s because there are a few strong monsters in this area. If you meet such a guy, it will probably be the kind of expedition you envisioned. Don¡¯t let this moment go.¡± ¡°I see.¡± After giving advice in a solemn voice, Palato softened his voice again and lifted a piece of his meat. It was the thorns¡¯ meat of a monster, that Arsene called a giant hedgehog. ¡°What dinner! Have you ever eaten thorny meat?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never tried it before.¡± ¡°Try it now. Oddly enough, the meat has a tangy taste. It is dangerous for ordinary people to eat, but for knights, it is a delicacy. It is not distributed in the market and cannot be eaten unless it is on an expedition. I specifically ordered slaughtering them before.¡± Saying that, Palato transferred the well-roasted thorns to Arsene¡¯s plate. He was a bit reluctant because it reminded him of pufferfish poison, but Arsene thought that Palato wouldn¡¯t give him something harmful, so he just took the meat and ate it. The characteristic chewy texture of monster meat, and a sweet and savory taste. Indeed, as Palato said, after chewing the tender, oily meat a few times, he felt a slight tingling sensation on his tongue. He had never eaten pufferfish in his previous life, so he didn¡¯t know if it felt the same as when eating pufferfish poison, but it didn¡¯t taste that bad. ¡°Is it delicious?¡± ¡°Delicious.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fortunate. I¡¯ve given it to other knights before, but I didn¡¯t have as many friends that liked it as I thought.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you just say it was a delicacy?¡± ¡°It¡¯s definitely a delicacy for me. I¡¯m not wrong because I¡¯m a knight.¡± The proud Sir Palato took a bite of the thorny meat, mumbling. Then he brought up another story and changed the topic. ¡°By the way, we¡¯ve already talked about the purpose of this expedition, haven¡¯t we?¡± Arsene, who was dumbfounded by his shameless attitude, laughed. ¡°Yes. You said that it was a looter group¡¯s extermination, and hunting a lone rhinoceros.¡± ¡°We¡¯re going to take Krata fortress as a base first. The main hall will be fine. We¡¯re going to spend a couple of days searching and hunting for looters.¡± ¡°What happens if you catch them, or if you don¡¯t?¡± ¡°I¡¯m thinking of investigating for up to a month. If we¡¯ve been around that much and still didn¡¯t manage to catch them, they must have already left the area. Then we¡¯ll hunt the lone rhinoceros and go back.¡± This time, Arsene ate other meat with dried vegetables and cheese. Much better than eating meat alone. [ Read at yourfantasytranslations.github.io/ for the last chapters and to support us~~!!!] ¡°Back then you walked alone from the Krata fortress to the estate, didn¡¯t you? How long did it take?¡± ¡°I think it took about five days. On the way, I was chased by the monsters and went all the way to the Tyren River, then I managed to find my way along the river.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s crazy. Maybe it¡¯ll take as much this time, too. We¡¯re going straight, but we have a cart. It¡¯s a hassle, but there¡¯s nothing we can do about it.¡± The knights and squires were all on mounts, so they were able to move quickly. However, the cart containing the most important food and water had to be moved by a lizard-like creature, a large, dull but powerful beast that was good at moving heavy loads. The creature, simply called a python, was also nicknamed ¡®Big Eyes¡¯ because of its bulging eyes. Because of that, the expedition¡¯s speed was horribly slow. At first, Arsene thought it would be better for everyone to pack up their belongings and ride lizards, but after hearing Palato¡¯s story, it was understandable. Because it means that close to 30 people can eat and drink for at least a full month, maybe even more. Whether it was preconditioned to replenish food with monster meat, most of the food was something like dried bread, dried vegetables, fruits, and cheese that were not easily spoiling. There were also a lot of water bottles, because there wasn¡¯t much water in the forest and its taste was disgusting. Arsene also had an experience of drinking water from the stream, then throwing everything up, as he finished the water taken from the looter. When he felt that his tension had been eased enough by talking about this and that, Arsene lowered his voice in case anyone else heard him. ¡°But Sir Palato, I have a question.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Is there anything bad going on between Sir Entir and my father?¡± Arsene saw Palato¡¯s eyes widen slightly at the question. Checking the opponent¡¯s minute reactions at the same time as asking a question was also a feat that Arsene brought from his previous life and used the most. With this ability, he survived the pranks of others during his childhood, and even when he came to the estate, he benefited greatly from human relationships. Palato¡¯s voice has also been lowered as if it were a secret story. ¡°Well, what did Sir Entir say?¡± ¡°He said he didn¡¯t like the way I looked like my father, because of the smooth face. Honestly, I¡¯ve never thought I looked like my father.¡± Lenock was handsome in his youth when he came to the estate. Arsene heard it a few times, but every time he heard it, it was always hard to believe. Because Lenock¡¯s image that Arsene remembers was just a drunken playboy with a bandit beard. It was hard to tell the difference between him and Luden, who also had shaggy hair and beard. Sigh, there are so many people in this world who break down when they get old. ¡°Haa¡­ Entir, that guy¡¯s really¡­¡± Upon hearing that, Palato frowned and sighed lightly. After turning his head for a moment and staring at Sir Entir in the distance, Palato covered his mouth and whispered in a voice that was barely audible to anyone except Arsene. It was so quiet that an ordinary person would barely hear it if he put his ear to Palato¡¯s mouth. ¡°It¡¯s a long story, so to tell it shortly, it was a love triangle. Sir Entir had a fight with him because the woman he liked had been in a relationship with Sir Lenock. It was a long time ago, but it was a story that was widely known at the time, so everyone older knows it¡­ Dame Genovia, if you want to overhear it, come and listen.¡± As they were talking, Palato suddenly spoke to Genovia, and Arsene quickly turned his head. Genovia was sitting alone in the corner, apparently having already finished eating. It was almost 50 meters away from where they were talking. No matter how much better a knight¡¯s hearing might be compared to an average person, he couldn¡¯t hear a whisper-level speech from that distance. Surprisingly, however, Genovia stood up and approached Palato as soon as he finished speaking. [ Read at yourfantasytranslations.github.io/ for the last chapters and to support us~~!!!] ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Sir Palato. I¡¯m trying to ignore it, but it sounds so funny¡­¡± ¡°Even if I told you not to listen, you¡¯d end up overhearing it anyway. I¡¯d rather talk face to face.¡± At Palato¡¯s words, Arsene nodded and expressed his agreement. Genovia sank across from Palato and Arsene with a bewildered expression. ¡°Anyway, Sir Entir was beaten and even punished for starting a fight. Enough to hold grudges.¡± Palato, who said so, added in a rare, malignant voice. ¡°After that, they used to get into trouble. That¡¯s why they couldn¡¯t settle in the territory and kept being sent to the fortresses.¡± It was the first time Palato had criticized others so much, so Arsene admired Entir inwardly. He was wondering how he could hear something like this from such a good guy. For this reason, it seems that the usual conduct of a person is important. If it¡¯s from a person with a bad reputation who always looks down on others, it wouldn¡¯t have a big impact on me, but if it¡¯s a person who¡¯s always polite and doesn¡¯t like to look down on others, doesn¡¯t it make a strong impression? ¡°I heard that these days, he has improved a lot and has returned¡­ I think it¡¯s true that habits never change. If he ever tries to persecute you, tell me, because I¡¯m in charge of this expedition. Same for you, Dame Genovia, because he¡¯s crazy when it comes to women. If he ever tries to do anything weird, just hit me up. I will testify against him.¡± Arsene was wondering why Palato was in charge of the expedition, and not the 10 years older Entir, but now he knew the reason. Arsene looked pitifully at Entir, who had gathered some of his servants from afar and was telling stories. ¡°But Dame Genovia.¡± ¡°Eh? What?¡± ¡°How did you hear Sir Palato from that far?¡± When asked by Arsene, Genovia looked at Palato with a puzzled look. Arsene could read the expression that meant, ¡°Didn¡¯t you tell him?¡± Palato said, shaking his head. ¡°With my experience, having to tell the young knights about such a thing only makes me feel strange. You, too, went up to the top of the tower to get special skills at that time.¡± ¡°Ah, come on. Can¡¯t you just pretend that didn¡¯t happen?¡± ¡°Well, anyway, that¡¯s why I didn¡¯t teach him. I thought he¡¯d find out when it¡¯s time. Let him know if you want to. Arsene is our friend after all, and he behaves like an old man at times.¡± Genovia, who groaned at Palato¡¯s words, finally opened her mouth. ¡°Some knights say that some of their body¡¯s functions are particularly developed after awakening. It¡¯s like, your hearing gets better, or your eyesight, you can hold your breath for a long time, or you get a lot stronger. This is called a specialty.¡± Then she glanced at Palato and continued. ¡°Sir Palato has incredibly good eyesight. Maybe he could see the monsters in the mountains far away. That¡¯s why Sir Palato is at the forefront of the ranks.¡± Listening to Genovia, Arsene recalled Palato¡¯s specialty was throwing the spear. Certainly, if you have exceptionally good eyesight, projectile weapons would be ideal. ¡°How do you develop it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not something you can do as you please. You can get it all of a sudden while you¡¯re doing something trivial like holding a cup or opening a bathroom door, or you can get it all of a sudden on a fierce battlefield. There are only four knights in our estate who have special skills, but there are more people who don¡¯t.¡± Genovia, who must have been thirsty, took a sip of water, then continued. ¡°So don¡¯t be obsessed with your talents and focus on basic training. There are few specialties that help with fighting anyway. My hearing and Sir Palato¡¯s vision don¡¯t really help much, and having a special talent for Sir Palato and I doesn¡¯t mean we¡¯re exceptionally stronger than any other knights.¡± Genovia said so, but both were very useful specialties in Arsene¡¯s view. It would be almost impossible to launch a surprise attack on a person with abilities like Genovia¡¯s. It is enough to understand the exact meaning of someone¡¯s whispering with his mouth covered at a distance of 50m, so no matter how much you silence your footsteps while moving, she would be able to feel the location at about 100m. A long-range attack, such as shooting a bow or throwing a spear, will be noticed by the noise generated during the preparation process. With Palato¡¯s vision, it will not only help shoot the enemy with a spear, but it will also be useful for tracking and fleeing. If you first see the enemy you can¡¯t beat and run away, that¡¯s also a victory in terms of protecting your life. ¡°Anyway, it would be helpful to have something special.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think so. I often feel uncomfortable because of this specialty. In the past, I got a house outside because it was hard to live in a permanent residence and it was terrible. Every time I try to sleep at night, I hear gasps everywhere¡­ ¡°Oh, Dame Genovia, that¡¯s something you can¡¯t say to a child.¡± ¡°Ah, I¡¯m sorry. Anyway, if it¡¯s too much, it might get overwhelming. So don¡¯t be too jealous and be faithful to the basics. Basics, ok?¡± ¡°Okay, I think it¡¯ll be good if it appears one day.¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s nice. As Sir Palato said, you¡¯re really an old man.¡± Chapter 13 Translator: Homia [Caution: This episode can be a little cruel!!! Also, this chap was requested from Chris! Thank you lots for your support, guys!] The expedition¡¯s journey for the next five days went smoothly. There have been several attacks of the demonic beasts since then, but there was no damage except for a few of the squires suffering minor scratches. The most dangerous moment was when they were attacked by a two-headed wolf with lightning bolts all over its body, and even that was handled without any major problems as the three knights attacked it. Thanks to this, two giant wolf heads were added to the back of the cart. In the end, Arsene passed again by the same places when he left the citadel. Moments of desperation, pain, and fear of the unseen future. At that time, there was no trace of the road he made while wielding the sword stolen from the looter. ¡°Finally, I can see the fortress.¡± ¡°From here?¡± Arsene has yet to see the faint outline of the fortress, but Palato spoke as if he was already seeing it. ¡°I don¡¯t think anyone¡¯s there. The walls are broken down. I think we can just go in.¡± After a long walk, the fortress was finally in their view. The scorched and shattered walls were reminiscent of the corpses left behind by giant beasts. On the rubble, some crows were cawing and singing ominous songs. Most of the world¡¯s common wild animals have been pushed out of the survival race against demonic beasts, making them pretty rare, but at least some winged ones could still be found frequently. The crow was one of them. Entering the citadel, there were small cheers and deep breathing within the squires and soldiers. The same goes for the knights, as the outside air was more comfortable for them, so it has been a natural response. ¡°I feel like I¡¯m alive again!¡± ¡°As expected, being out for a long time makes me so tired.¡± As they entered the broken gate, they could see the remains of the buildings that had been burned down, just like the wooden walls. There were no traces of the bodies. Perhaps rain and wind, bugs, and demonic beasts had provided a funeral for them. ¡°It¡¯s been 20 years since I¡¯ve been here, and I feel bad that the fortress looks like this.¡± Palato said in a gloomy voice. Arsene was a little surprised by that. ¡°Are you from the Krata fortress?¡± ¡°No, there was a group relocation to the Krata at the time, and I was an escort. I was still a squire back then.¡± One of the things Arsene learned while coming to the fortress was that not building mana in the body through physical training does not necessarily mean that someone dies when inhaling the external poison. The questionable secret that he heard before ¨C eating the heart of a horned wolf ¨C was surprisingly close to the truth. To be precise, the method was to drink a solution made from the heart of a horned wolf. However, it was impossible for ordinary people to live outside just because they drank the solution, so combatants who could move properly had to carry the half-dwelling ordinary people on a cart and periodically pour the solution into their mouths to save their lives. This method was used when moving ordinary people from the territory to the fortress, or vice versa, but it was not easily accomplished because it required intensive work and was dangerous. Palato said in a low, depressing voice. ¡°The people who moved to the fortress at that time are gone now. They¡¯re all gone.¡± As they walked a little further, they could see the lord¡¯s castle. The entrance was smashed, but its foundation was unharmed as it was a relic of the ancient magic age. Palato called and ordered his chief squire. ¡°For now, the knights and the chief squires will stay in the castle, and the rest of the squires and soldiers will camp outside.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± When Palato¡¯s chief squire delivered the order, soldiers hurriedly unpacked the tents from the lizards and began installing them. And as the knights and the chief squires gathered to enter the castlel, Genovia called Palato. ¡°Sir Palato.¡± ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°There¡¯s something in the castle hall.¡± At Genovian¡¯s voice, the chief squires laid their hands on their swords in unison. [ Read at yourfantasytranslations.github.io/ for the last chapters and to support us~~!!!] ¡°Do you know what exactly it is?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a human. Judging by the sound of his breath, he¡¯s a man¡­ he¡¯s extremely nervous.¡± Palato, who had been frowning for a while, ordered the chief squire again. ¡°Call in some of the squires first to explore.¡± ¡°Yes, Sir Palato.¡± At Palato¡¯s command, several squires entered the castle hall with torches first. After a while, a terrified scream was heard. It sounded like that of a young boy. The face of the boy who was dragged out with his arms held by two squires was familiar to Arsene, and Arsene called out his name involuntarily. ¡°Lapram?¡± ¡°Sa-save me! Please¡­ A-arsene? Are you Arsene?¡± ¡°Do you know each other?¡± Arsene nodded at Palato¡¯s question. ¡°This is my half-brother. I didn¡¯t see him in the castle hall so I thought he was dead, but I guess he¡¯s still alive¡­¡± Lapram¡¯s appearance was terrifying. His eyes and cheeks were sunken from how hungry he was, and his slender body looked like nothing but bones and skin. There were scars and burn marks all over his body. The always sly and relaxed appearance was nowhere to be seen, and the expression on his face, trembling in fear like a wet mouse, was pitiful. ¡°So he¡¯s Sir Lenock¡¯s son. Let him go first.¡± When the two servants let go of his arms at Palato¡¯s instructions, Lapram stumbled and fell on the spot. ¡°What happened? I searched all the castle before, but were there any secret passages hidden inside?¡± Arsene spent a long time exploring the Castle, to see if anything would help him survive. As the looters had already smashed all the furniture and looted their belongings, there was no place to hide inside the castle at that time. At that, Lapram shook his head lightly. ¡°Th-this¡­¡± Lapram hesitated while answering and looked around for a moment. To the point where Arsene could notice him thinking desperately. But for a moment, Genovia, who was holding her arms behind her, tapped her foot once, and she opened her mouth in amazement. ¡°I-I was hiding in the well. In the east well.¡± ¡°I was hiding there¡­¡± At Arsene¡¯s answer, Lapram¡¯s face turned red with embarrassment. Now, everyone could feel something strange as he even started sweating. At that time, Entir stepped out and grabbed Lapram by the collar. ¡°It¡¯s obvious that you lie.¡± Entir grabbed Lapram¡¯s mouth with his big hand and opened his lips. But when Lapram desperately clenched his teeth, he threatened with a growling voice. ¡°If you don¡¯t want me to smash your teeth, open your mouth, you son of a bitch.¡± Perhaps feeling the sincerity in the voice, Lapram opened his mouth with a frightened look. Entir opened Lapram¡¯s mouth wide with one hand and inserted the other to reveal his tongue. Lapram¡¯s exposed tongue was black. ¡°After all, it wasn¡¯t a human, but a looter* bastard!¡± Only the muffled voice of Entir resounded in the silent castle hall. There were such people called looters. Unlike ordinary people who live under the protection of purification in the estates and fortresses, they are living in the wild full of poison and demonic beasts. How can the looters do that, when even knights and squires have a hard time living outside, for years or decades? The origins of the looters began with a primitive belief that drinking the blood of a demonic beast will give them its power. If you drink it a few times, you can temporarily gain resistance to external poison, and when wearing clothes from demonic beasts, the body will mutate and become immune to poison, and the hostility the demonic beasts have against humans will also weaken. When a normal person encounters an untamed demonic beast, they will be attacked unconditionally, whereas those who have mutated by receiving the blood of a demonic beast will not be attacked unless they explicitly invade its territory, or attack first. Of course, if there were only advantages, everyone would have drunk their blood. Humans who drink the blood of a demonic beast gradually lose their morality and empathy, and become impulsive and aggressive, enjoying violence and blood. The intelligence and ability to have a conversation remain, but emotionally, it becomes an existence that is nothing more than an animal. They aren¡¯t completely emotionless, but they can¡¯t feel or understand the feelings that ordinary people feel, such as affection, trust, duty, and mercy. Their nature is to target and kill normal humans in groups, play tricks on them, and plunder and destroy any resemblance of civilization. Therefore, those who drank the blood of demonic beasts are called looters and have become one of the greatest enemies of humanity in the wild. There are several ways to identify people who are contaminated by drinking the blood of demonic beasts, but there is only one simple and certain way. To check if the tongue is blackened. ¡°Be honest, Lapram. What happened?¡± [ Read at yourfantasytranslations.github.io/ for the last chapters and to support us~~!!!] At the stern interrogation of Palato, Lapram bowed his head. Finally, the story of the desperate Lapram was amazing. After the fall of the fortress, Lapram, along with several residents of the fortress, was kidnapped by looters and taken to their den. It was because a looter liked Lapram¡¯s appearance. So after drinking the blood of a demonic beast, Lapram became a slave. The fate of the residents of the citadel who were taken to their den wasn¡¯t just a simple representation of misery. Not only did they create things for the looters to use, but when hunting demonic beasts, they had to be the first human shields to be attacked, and during the break, they were played with regardless of their gender. Sometimes they had fun torturing slaves, by setting them on fire or drowning them in water, saying they were having a ¡°festival.¡± Other than that, the residents of the fortress died under all sorts of sadistic acts that couldn¡¯t even be described. The looters used even the bodies of dead people at times. After spending time in pain, humiliation, and fear, Lapram accidentally got a chance to escape from the den. He went out as bait in a demonic beast hunt and was left behind in confusion after accidentally attracting another demonic beast. Without knowing where he was, Lapram managed to return to the castle after a few days of wandering. To a place where no one was left now. ¡®Damn it.¡¯ For Arsene, it was a story that he could not listen to comfortably like others. If he was caught in the barn, caught hiding in the well, or frozen without fighting and suppressed, if he was caught by looters while running through the forest to the estate¡­ If the dice went wrong just once, Arsene could have gone through the same as Lapram, or worse. ¡°These motherfuckers.¡± Arsene could hear Genovia muttering beside him. Looking around, not only she, but the others also looked very uncomfortable. Only Entir had an expressionless, perhaps even a little pleased, face. ¡°¡­The food problem was solved by eating flowers and grass in the forest.¡± It was obvious to anyone that the diet had such an unhealthy effect on Lapram. It wouldn¡¯t be too surprising if that body with only bones left would die tomorrow. ¡°Where is the looters¡¯ den?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know exactly, but if you walk a long way from here in that direction, there¡¯s a valley or something. If you look inside the valley, there is a small cave, and it¡¯s situated in there.¡± ¡°Hmm. What¡¯s their number?¡± ¡°It kept changing, so I don¡¯t know. Sometimes they leave¡­ Conversely, they come from somewhere, usually about a hundred people.¡± ¡°It¡¯s huge for a pack of robbers. Are there demons too?¡± ¡°¡­yes.¡± ¡°One?¡± Palato constantly asked Lapram questions and wrote them down on a piece of leather. Any available information, such as the enemy¡¯s location, size, disposition, behavior, and even the names of individual predators. When Lapram showed a little lack of concentration due to paranoid questions, he secretly re-examined some of the questions he had asked earlier, showing his willingness to check the truth. After spending dozens of minutes like that, Lapram now looked tired. ¡°All right, I¡¯ve got all the information I need for the attack¡­ It¡¯s time to decide what to do with you.¡± Palato¡¯s eyes shone coldly. A completely different look compared to when he looked at Arsene, other fellow knights, and ordinary people who should be protected. It was an expression that he showed only to servants and enemies who had to risk their lives in obedience to him. ¡°Would you like to commit suicide with honor, or would it be better to die by someone else¡¯s hand?¡± Lapram¡¯s face was stained with fear. Chapter 14 Translator: Homia ¡°Would you like to commit suicide with honor, or would it be better to die by someone else¡¯s hand?¡± ¡°¡­What?¡± ¡°Did you not understand my question?¡± At Palato¡¯s words, Lapram desperately held out his hands and protested. The two hands that stretched out as if wanting to hold something were trembling with fear. ¡°¡­I-I told you everything! That¡¯s all I know!¡± ¡°Since you told us everything, I¡¯m offering it politely like this. If you hadn¡¯t cooperated smoothly, you wouldn¡¯t have had a choice.¡± At Palato¡¯s words, Arsene slowly turned his head to check the others¡¯ reactions. Not only Entir and the squires, but even Genovia, who was usually friendly, looked down at Lapram with a cold face, without being shaken at all. There seemed to be no one questioning that he should die. Arsene asked Palato a question. ¡°Is there any way to turn from a predator back to a normal person, Sir Palato?¡± ¡°None, as far as I know. Your brother is completely contaminated, as he already drank the blood of the demonic beasts a few times. There¡¯s no other way but to kill him.¡± Palato responded in a gentle tone to Arsene¡¯s question. It was so gentle that it didn¡¯t fit the context and situation, to the point where it felt uncomfortable. Palato, who turned to Lapram again, asked again. The tone was so cold and determined that it was incomparable to before. ¡°I¡¯m going to ask you one more time, Lapram. Would you kill yourself or die by borrowing someone else¡¯s hand?¡± When asked, Lapram¡¯s body trembled as if it had epilepsy. ¡°Ah, ah¡­ save, me¡­ Arsene! Please! We¡¯re brothers!¡± Lapram, who crawled up in front of Arsene, cried as he held Arsene¡¯s pants. Arsene took a step back without realizing it. Perhaps it was interpreted as a negative answer, but Lapram cried even more desperately and hung with his arms wrapped around his legs. It sounded like a cry of a beast, not a human. The appearance was so pathetic that Arsene opened his mouth without realizing it. ¡°¡­ maybe, we can kick him out of the fortress¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s meaningless. Such a young predator cannot survive outside alone, so if he survives, it may be because he joined another group of looters. If Lapram, who grew up here, kills and commits crimes, it will partly be your fault. Can you handle it?¡± Palato¡¯s words said in a calm tone were so right, that Arsene pondered the answer a few times before quietly leaving it at the back of his mind. From the ethical point of view on earth, it was absurd, but from the point of view of the ethics of this world, Lapram was no longer a human, but a beast. A beast that can only walk on two feet and speak human words. The thought of wanting to save someone¡¯s life because of past relationships and sympathy was a meaningless act. ¡°Your brother is no longer the person you remembered. Now he looks like a normal person because he is afraid, weeping, and begging, but if given an opportunity, he¡¯ll try to kill someone or commit a crime on impulse. Looters should not be left alive.¡± At Palato¡¯s firm words, Arsene sighed and looked down at Lapram. As a child, he was the only friend he had in the hellish life at the fortress. When asked if he was a close friend by the standard of an average person, he couldn¡¯t answer yes, but still, it was not a relationship where he could casually say ¡®die in peace.¡¯ However, Lapram had already crossed the river of no return. Even if he didn¡¯t cross the river on his own will. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Lapram.¡± [ Read at yourfantasytranslations.github.io/ for the last chapters and to support us~~!!!] Arsene bent down and forced Lapram¡¯s arms around his legs to be released, pushing him. He could kick him coldly, but he didn¡¯t want to. There was a moment when Arsene also trembled in front of the fear of death, so he did not want to insult Lapram. ¡°Ah, ahh¡­ Traitor! Dirty bastard! Nasty¡­¡± Lapram spat out curse words one after another with his eyes open red, rushing forward. Arsene easily overpowered the attacking Lapram by holding his arms together. Whether by strangling or breaking his neck, or by using the knife at his waist, Arsene could easily kill Lapram by any means possible. However, Arsene couldn¡¯t choose any of them, and was just using strength to hold his arms. ¡°You¡¯re completely frozen, kid. Can¡¯t you just kill your past brother? Do you want me to take care of it for you?¡± When Entir smiled as if ridiculing him, Arsene raised his eyes and glared at him. At that expression, Entir also glared at him, opening his eyes ferociously. Then Entir stomped his foot hard, his power was so strong that vibrations spread in all directions. ¡°Why are you staring at me like that? This little bastard is so cocky¡­¡± ¡°Sir Entir, please be quiet.¡± Palato spoke quietly, placing his hand on Entir¡¯s shoulder. After glaring at Palato for a while, Entir snorted and stepped back a few steps, leaning against a wall with his arms folded. As if he had no intention of intervening anymore. ¡°¡­A bastard like you is¡­ evil!¡± At that time, Genovia lifted Lapram¡¯s neck with one hand, who was constantly swearing. Lapram, whose two legs were floating above the ground, hit and scratched Genovia¡¯s hands recklessly, but the white and beautiful hands of the female knight did not move and tightened Lapram¡¯s neck firmly. Genovia spoke in a cold voice that Arsene had never heard before. ¡°I don¡¯t think there¡¯s anything more to say now, so I¡¯ll take care of it. It¡¯s okay, right? Arsene nodded silently. Genovia lifted Lapram and went out of the castle without saying a word. Lapram screamed like a pig being dragged to a slaughterhouse, perhaps because he felt his death was near. And a few seconds later, there was a crunching sound like the breaking of chicken bones. No more screams were heard after that. That night, Arsene sat on the terrace on the second floor of Castle and was looking at the mountain far away. He felt uneasy as he kept thinking about what had happened during the day. The desperate scream that Lapram had made as he was dragged out at the end kept ringing in his ears. And the weak self, who was holding Lapram¡¯s arms but couldn¡¯t do anything about it. If he was convinced he could not save Lapram¡¯s life, he should have killed him himself, but he couldn¡¯t do it because he hesitated. Ten years have already passed since he arrived in this world, but the weak sensibility of the Earth¡¯s people was holding him back. As he was mourning alone, the door opened. Genovia came in with a bottle in one hand and two brass glasses in the other. ¡°Do you want a drink?¡± ¡°Is that alcohol?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s say it¡¯s a medicine that helps with your mental health.¡± ¡®I can¡¯t believe she¡¯s going to give alcohol to a 10-years-old child.¡¯ Of course, if he used his age from the previous life, he was old enough to drink, but he wasn¡¯t old enough in this life. ¡°I¡¯m kidding, it¡¯s not real alcohol. It¡¯s some kind of drink. We have a battle tomorrow, I¡¯m not crazy enough to drink now.¡± Genovia, who closed the door, sat across Arsene and placed a cup on the terrace. The liquid that filled both cups was dark purple. It was an unparalleled wine just by looking at the color. ¡°I never imagined that drinks would be allowed to be brought into the expedition supplies.¡± ¡°Why not? It¡¯s not even alcohol¡­¡± Genovia coughed in vain, then held out a brass glass. ¡°Come on, get the drink this sister gives you, before my arm falls off. This is from the northern territory. It¡¯s really expensive.¡± With Genovia¡¯s smile reaching her ears, Arsene looked at her white hand holding the glass. Except for the fact that it was large and long, his half-brother died of a broken neck during the day, by the same hand of a lady. Arsene deliberately spoke in a bright voice to shake off his dark thoughts. ¡°If I drink, won¡¯t I be an accomplice? First, I have to report to Sir Palato.¡± ¡°You really want to die.¡± [ Read at yourfantasytranslations.github.io/ for the last chapters and to support us~~!!!] Smirking at Genovia¡¯s cute threat, Arsene poured the liquid from the glass into his mouth. It was definitely sweet, but tasted more like grape juice, with no alcohol at all. ¡°Is it good?¡± ¡°It¡¯s delicious.¡± ¡°The little kid already knows the taste of alcohol, so you can¡¯t tell anyone.¡± When Arsene looked at her with a ridiculous expression, Genovia filled the drink again with a smile, as if she was drunk. Genovia, playing with the cup, turned her head and looked outside. She said in a calm voice while keeping her gaze intact. ¡°Lapram is buried well.¡± Arsene couldn¡¯t figure out what to say, so he stared only at the darkness that spread out over the window. An awkward silence followed, with the two of them sitting on the terrace looking outside. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about what you heard during the day. Those aren¡¯t Lapram¡¯s, they¡¯re just the words of a filthy looter who stole Lapram¡¯s body and memories.¡± Only then did Arsene realize that Genovia came to comfort him. Regardless of the content, to others, Arsene was a young boy who witnessed the cruel death of his brother that day. In fact, the personality of the Earthman inside Arsene was not tolerant of this kind of thing, so he felt depressed. Although he is an adult rather than a 10-year-old Arsene, his inner personality was not very mature by this world standard. ¡°The memories and the body are the same, could it be a different person?¡± ¡°It depends on what you choose to believe in, but I decided to think so. It¡¯s terrifying to think that everyone has such an evil nature within them. I feel comfortable thinking that the blood of the demonic beasts made it like that.¡± Genovia responded with a light voice mixed with laughter and shook the glass containing the drink. Afterwards, without a word, the two shared their glasses once again. It wasn¡¯t even alcohol, but he felt like he was sharing a real drink. ¡°And just in case, don¡¯t blame yourself for not killing Lapram.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°It¡¯s normal to have a hard time killing someone you know when they become looters. It¡¯s abnormal if a guy does so carelessly. The reason why you couldn¡¯t kill Lapram today is not that you¡¯re a weak person, but because you know how to cherish others.¡± Arsene remained silent without answering Genovia¡¯s words. After a few minutes had passed, Arsene¡¯s voice answered again, and there was squeezing moisture felt in it. Genovia, who had good hearing, didn¡¯t miss it, but intentionally ignored it. ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome.¡± Looking at Genovia¡¯s smile, Arsene really wished he had a big sister like this. ¡°Okay! Let¡¯s stop talking about heavy and uncomfortable topics and talk about love. How¡¯s it going with Miss Elise? I saw you last time and you looked like you couldn¡¯t live without each other.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know why you¡¯re saying this.¡± ¡°Besides, do you want me to tell you about love? Don¡¯t you want to hear the love story between me and Carmine that will make you cry?¡± ¡°With Sir Carmine?¡± Arsene was genuinely surprised by what he heard, giving up on his sad feelings for a moment. As if he was always living alone in this world, he had a dull and stoic face, and he was a person whose impression didn¡¯t fit the word love at all. ¡°We were childhood friends who lived in the same area, and Carmine was being bullied by the other children. He¡¯s shy, so he can¡¯t talk well and he¡¯s small, too. That¡¯s why I always used wooden sticks to protect Carmine.¡± Listening to Genovia, Arsene imagined a young Carmine being bullied. It was a little pleasant to imagine the pathetic appearance of being beaten by the children with his unique expressionless face. At the end, he was surprised again by what Genovia added. ¡°So, I¡¯m thinking about asking Carmine to marry me when I get back this time. I¡¯m not that young anymore.¡± ¡°It feels really strange to hear that the day before the fight.¡± Shaking his head at Genovian words that set up a typical death flag, Arsene looked up at the green moon. Somehow, he felt that his heart was much lighter than before. In tomorrow¡¯s battle, he thought he could wave his sword at the enemy without hesitation. The next morning, the expedition began to march toward the looter¡¯s den. Chapter 15 Translator: Homia [In chap 13, Lapram said that the looters had a mine¡­ Well, it¡¯s a demon or a demonic human, not a mine xD¡­ What a Demon is will be explained in this chap, and I¡¯ll correct the previous chapter, too. Will go with ¡°demon¡± for now :3] ¡°It¡¯s here.¡± Palato spoke quietly while looking into the black cave. Around the cave, a few guards who could not even resist the attack of the expedition were lying dead. Even though there were some guards, it seems that they were flirting with each other and joking around, so they were attacked before they even realized it, and no signal was transmitted into the cave. The entrance to the cave was quite large, and it seemed that not only humans, but also fairly large beasts could enter. ¡°The entrance to the cave is bigger than I thought.¡± ¡°It¡¯s only natural, as according to the information, there are even demons among the enemies. Usually, demons are large.¡± The open space in front of the cave was wide enough for the expedition to take a battle formation. First of all, the lizards that the squires and soldiers rode wouldn¡¯t be able to exert great power in such a limited area, so they tied the lizards to a tree, turning into infantrymen. Arsene did the same. After this, they cut down nearby trees and thorns to make stakes and traps. This was done to prevent the looters running out of the cave from gathering easily, being blocked by wooden stakes or bushes. It was a benefit they gained thanks to the guards¡¯ inability to inform them of the enemy¡¯s invasion. ¡°Are you done? Let¡¯s start, light the fire.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± It was the stupidest thing in the world to enter and fight in a cave. From the knight¡¯s point of view, they cannot properly utilize their Jins, one of their greatest strengths, and must fight on a battlefield that is unfamiliar and set by the opponent. Through a lot of experience, the warriors have learned many ways to clear the robbers¡¯ lairs. One of them was to use smoke to get the enemies out of the cave. A soldier picked up the bones of a beast to light a fire and scraped it off with a knife. As if scratching firesteel (a tool to make fire), the spark dashed from the bone, and with terrifying momentum transferred to the leaves and dry branches laid below. Smoke rose from the bonfire and began to flow into the cave. Not long after a pungent smell was felt, Genovia shouted. ¡°They¡¯re here!¡± After this, people started pouring out all at once from within the cave while coughing, to be exact, looters. Most of them were black because they were dirty and covered in smoke soot all over the body. Those who ran out of the dark cave due to the sudden disgusting smell and the distressing hot air were drunk with joy, sucking the cold outside air into their lungs. Until their lungs, which were supposed to receive only air, were pierced by sharp pieces of iron instead. ¡°Gasp!¡± ¡°Enemy! Enemy!¡± ¡°The knights have attacked!¡± Even though some shouted while being slashed and stabbed, that didn¡¯t mean the looters stopped coming out of the cave. The smoke-filled cave was already a torturous environment, so they had to relieve the immediate pain, whether they had enemies outside or not. Under the rushing pressure, dozens of looters died without even properly resisting. There was no way to resist as more looters were pushing from the back, and they were blocked by sharp stakes and thorns in front, while the squires thrust their spears all at once repeatedly. ¡°So far, things are going well.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no way it¡¯ll end like this. Get ready. It¡¯ll probably come out soon.¡± There was a heavy, thumping sound in the cave. As the heavy echo got closer, the expedition also realized that the real enemy appeared. Perhaps because of the tension, a soldier swiped the sweat on his hand with his clothes to wipe it off. ¡°What kind of dog-like bastards are you-!¡± It was a giant nearly 3m tall that popped out of the cave. No, it was not a human being. [ Read at yourfantasytranslations.github.io/ for the last chapters and to support us~~!!!] It was close to a fox, except that it had four arms with five fingernails each the size of a finger, leather that was rotten as if it were corrupt, and a face that was large, twisted, and distorted. Compared to its huge size and arms, its legs were short and thick. Looters are also humans, except for a few characteristics, so they can also become stronger by holding mana in their bodies through training. With the same principle, it was also possible for looters to awaken as knights. Unlike ordinary looters, who don¡¯t have any characteristics of a beast, the awakened looter¡¯s body itself has mutated like that of a demonic beast. For that reason, he was called a completely demonized human being, a demon. ¡°Everyone, back off!¡± At Palato¡¯s order, the squires and soldiers all stepped down. After this, the fox demon swung its four arms and easily blew up the stakes and bush traps. A few soldiers were hit by the flying stakes, screaming and rolling around. ¡°We¡¯ll deal with him! Squires, block the minions that keep coming out!¡± Finally, the remnants of the looters who ran out of the trap began crossing swords with the squires. It was clear that the damage to their allies would increase over time, so the knights¡¯ actions were quick. Watching the knights surrounding him at a high speed, the demon expressed his anger in a high and hoarse voice that did not match his appearance. ¡°How dare you, worm-like bastards!¡± The demon swung its four arms, two aimed at Palato, and the other two aiming at Entir and Genovia, respectively. The arms, which seemed short at first glance, stretched like rubber and flew out, so the knights were scared and jumped off the beast¡¯s attack range. His legs were short and thick, so they didn¡¯t look very nimble, but his four arms with sharp nails alone were threatening enough. ¡°Sir Palato!¡± At the same time as Entir shouted, Palato¡¯s main specialty, the javelin attack, flew toward the demon. Unexpectedly, the brutal attack, which could neutralize a considerable amount of demonic beasts, ended up being blocked by the slimy leather of the demon. After confirming that the javelin itself was pierced, but did not inflict any major blows, Palato immediately drew his sword. ¡°Javelins don¡¯t work!¡± As soon as the demon turned to Palato, in rage at the one who threw the javelin, Genovia, accurately seeing through it, cut his side with the spear from the back. A wound opened, and blood started flowing down. ¡°You have to use cutting attacks on him to inflict damage!¡± At Genovia¡¯s words, Entir roared loudly and moved forward. His giant ax was one of the most useful weapons for the demon in the current situation, so he had no choice but to become the main character. Entir liked this situation the most. The moment when everyone becomes nothing more than a decoration that makes him shine. ¡°Take this-!¡± Entir rushed with a shout of joy, his ax tearing through the wind. Palato¡¯s sword and Genovia¡¯s spear blocked the attack that flew toward Entir, who was rushing through the gap. Unlike Palato¡¯s javelin, which had not pierced deep, this time the ax attack definitely penetrated its skin. Black and sticky blood splashed out from the chest wound when the ax was pulled out. Roar¡ª!!! In a voice that could not be made by a human, a voice befitting a beast, the demon, appealing for its pain, swung its claws to cut off Entir¡¯s neck. Entir managed to skillfully dodge the attack, then once again swung his ax and cut off the demon¡¯s left arm in half. The demon screamed while swaying its four arms, like a child. The demon, who was pushed back continuously, passed a large tree and stood again using it as a shield, but it was obvious that she lost energy. Black blood, constantly dripping from her arms and chest, fueled his pride. Entir smiled at its groaning. ¡°Ha! Are you afraid that you are going to die now? Cowardly bastard!¡± ¡°¡­You¡¯re fighting with numbers, who are you calling a coward?¡± The demon criticized Entir¡¯s absurdity, but he laughed without agitation at all. After all, his fellow knights only gave a little help, but the fatal blow was done by him. In Entir¡¯s bright brain, this match was a fair one-on-one duel, and he did nothing wrong. To mock his opponent in crisis, Entir slowly walked past the tree where the demon passed by. [ Read at yourfantasytranslations.github.io/ for the last chapters and to support us~~!!!] ¡°If you kneel on your knees, I might spare¡­¡± A sword suddenly appeared out of nowhere in the middle of Entir¡¯s heart, who was speaking proudly. That¡¯s what Genovia managed to see. However, Palato, who had good eyes, and Entir, who was looking right in front of him, could see more closely the shape of the sword that pierced his chest. A thick, broad greatsword made of blue-black metal that the Beluan knights use when making weapons. Entir knew the master of this sword. Because it was the sword that once brought him a devastating defeat. ¡®Lenock.¡¯ As he repeated those words in his mind, Entir¡¯s head dropped. ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± When Entir and his Jin lost their strength and collapsed, someone walked out of the tree as if a part of its shell was rising. It looked quite similar to humans except that it had a large eye that occupied half of the face and a large, long tail, but the whole body looked like it was derived from the color and texture of the tree. ¡°¡­There were two demons¡­¡± There are demonic beasts called tree snakes. The color and texture of its skin are similar to those of trees, so they stick like branches between trees and then attack the enemy. The demon¡¯s hiding technique, which inherited that trait, was also stealthy, so Entir passed by without detecting anything, leaving the enemy right behind his back. ¡°You bastard, you didn¡¯t plan to show yourself until I got hit?!¡± ¡°Hey, Hyung, you have to understand. If I couldn¡¯t kill him in one shot, it would be dangerous.¡± When the fox demon jumped out of the cave, it secretly mixed with the looters left behind, hid in a tree, and led the enemy into a trap. In the end, the fox demon was attacked alone and hurt to some extent, but the injury was not fatal, while the knights lost a third of their power. It went without saying which side benefited. The fox demon showed his teeth and smiled horrifyingly. ¡°Now, let¡¯s do it fairly, 2:2.¡± ¡°Stop them!¡± Arsene grabbed the handle of the sword tightly as he saw dozens of looters running. A group of enemies was running like a black flood towards him. He was quite big now, about 150 centimeters tall, but two looters brandished swords at Arsene, who was clearly smaller than other squires. Both were clumsy items that seemed to have been made by grinding the bones of the demonic beasts. ¡°Hey, bastard!¡± ¡°Die!¡± After inflating his lungs with a deep breath, Arsene swung the circular shield in his left hand from right to left, striking both swords. It was a simple but effective method, so the marauders couldn¡¯t withstand the shock and lost the weapon from their grasp. Then, Arsene hit the face of an unprotected enemy with the shield. He was literally sent flying with his face smashed, and the looters around were shocked. ¡°Arghhhh!!!¡± Having been convinced of his strength and skills in one engagement with the enemy, Arsene let out a roar, the feeling of exaltation rising in his chest. Inside the roar were all kinds of emotions that could not be defined in a word, such as anger at those who corrupted Lapram, at the sadists that torment the weak, and pride in enforcing justice, like metal in a furnace. The squires around Arsene¡¯s overwhelming appearance also cheered up and shouted. ¡°There¡¯s a knight on our side! Push forward!¡± ¡°Sir Arsene!¡± ¡°For Beluan!¡± Arsene hasn¡¯t fully grown up and lacked skills, but his strength and agility were the strongest there. Perhaps because it was a face-to-face fight, but power played a much greater role than technology in this kind of war. As Arsene swung the sword in his right hand, the leather armor and torso of the enemy in front of him split at the same time. Thanks to the left and right squires blocking the attack from the blind spots, Arsene crushed the pack of looters like a lion among a swarm of hyenas. With this kind of fight, once you lose momentum, it easily gets out of control. The number of looters was more than three times that of the squires and soldiers, but when the herd itself was cut in half by Arsene, it collapsed in the conviction that they were losing. Finally, after he kicked the enemy¡¯s leg once and broke his shin, then stabbed his head with a knife to finish him, there were no more looters standing. It was a short fight, but Arsene, who fought with all his might, felt intense fatigue. ¡°Ha, haa¡­¡± ¡®The demon¡­ Did the knights finish it?¡¯ Sad news came to Arsene¡¯s ear, who was thinking happily. ¡°Sir Arsene, Sir Entir is dead! Other knights are in danger too!¡± Chapter 16 Translator: Homia Arsene immediately led the squires and ran towards the battlefield between the knights and the demons. The two knights were fighting desperately, but their side was clearly at a disadvantage. The fox demon was gaining momentum because they handled the most threatening Entir, and the tree snake demon covered the gap between the big attacks. Entir¡¯s corpse was left somewhere in the distance. It was surprisingly the tree snake demon who threatened the knights. It is an opponent that can be easily dealt with because it had few combat abilities for a demon, but it was extremely difficult to deal with as he was being protected within the attack range of the fox demon, wielding its sword. In addition, the sword of the black knight held by that demon was not a simple item, but a strong magic device. It was a weapon equivalent to Palato¡¯s javelin, Entir¡¯s ax, or Genovia¡¯s spear. Even the knights¡¯ magic armor, which could ignore any simple attack and mitigate even a powerful strike, would be torn like a piece of paper in front of that weapon. In fact, Palato¡¯s armor¡¯s right flank was split, and Genovia¡¯s helmet had a bent cheek. Both were the result of confronting the fox demon¡¯s claws. Perhaps if it weren¡¯t for the magic armor, and if it was hit by a knight¡¯s sword, not by a demon¡¯s claws, Palato guts would have poured out from his side, and Genovia¡¯s head would have flown away. ¡°Hey, it seems all the trash on our side has been beaten, brother.¡± ¡°Damn it.¡± Looking at the coming enemies with a quick glance, the fox demon calculated. The enemy¡¯s level wasn¡¯t very high, but such variables weren¡¯t welcome in the prevailing situation. In fact, the fox demon¡¯s slimy skin was weak against fire, so even if the possibility was small, there was a guy with a tool that made a fire in front of the cave, making it dangerous. Compared to dealing with the knights, the more the number of opponents, the higher the probability of an unexpected attack. The demon, being a fox with a brilliant brain, used its arms, not legs, to flick her body, blocking the gap between the knights and the squires coming. It was a situation in which the narrow entrance of the valley was properly blocked, so no matter how the jin was used, it was a terrain that could not be passed. ¡°I¡¯ll buy you time, kill them all first.¡± ¡°Great!¡± While the fox demon blocked the knights from intervening, the tree snake demon approached the squires with its sword. At that moment, Arsene, seeing this, quickly left the ranks and flew to his left. It looked like he was running away from the tree snake demon. ¡°Sir Arsene!¡± ¡°What the hell¡­?!¡± The squires were shaken by the sudden situation, but Arsene ran without explaining. Because he couldn¡¯t tell why he was running to the demon in front of him. The tree snake demon is weak for a demon, but he was still one, and the squires will be slaughtered. Even though he was a knight, Arsene, who was below the standards for both combat ability and equipment, was highly likely not to be much different from them. However, there was still another move that could turn the game around. The chief squire of Palato, who looked to the left and realized why Arsene was running, shouted loudly. ¡°Attack! Attack!¡± As the servants attacked while screaming, the tree snake demon, who was briefly interested in Arsene suddenly fleeing, took up his sword and started slaughtering them. The two most courageously leading squires collapsed in an instant as their heads and body were cut into pieces, because their opponent, who had high physical abilities, was using a weapon that could cut easily their equipment, even when faced against their swords and spears. Three people died in the fight a while ago, three died this time, and now there were only seven remaining squires. However, the chief squire did not give in and constantly encouraged them. ¡°Fight!¡± The tree snake demon, who had slaughtered several squires and soldiers, rushed in to kill the chief squire who was in command, swinging its sword. The chief squire confronted it bravely. His weapon was cut off in one blow, while he avoided any harm to his body through years of combat experience, he eventually collapsed with a single kick that followed. The sound of his ribs breaking was clear. ¡°It¡¯s terribly noisy¡­¡± The moment he was about to finish the chief squire, there was a shadow approaching the tree serpent demon. As a relatively weak demon, the tree serpent demon, who had developed survival instincts, intuitively turned around and tried to dodge. Something with an elongated shape appeared next to the approaching shadow, trying to split the body of the tree serpent demon. He instinctively raised his sword to block it, and his body was sent flying, but it was a dangerous enough moment for him to be thankful he didn¡¯t die. ¡°What!?¡± It was the little boy who ran away alone to the side a while ago. Surprisingly, the boy didn¡¯t run away, but picked up an ax from the knight he killed a while ago, then mounted his Jin and attacked! ¡°I didn¡¯t know a baby knight is such a nuisance. I¡¯ll recognize grown-ups by their height, but it¡¯s hard for the young ones.¡± [ Read at yourfantasytranslations.github.io/ for the last chapters and to support us~~!!!] In front of the demon, who murmured in anger, Arsene regained composure so as not to show his hand trembling, shocked by the attack a while ago. The tingling sensation was not coming off easily. ¡®You monstrous bastard!¡¯ An attack from above, with a heavy weapon, with acceleration. Even though it was an attack that combined all the elements that could be beneficial in a cold weapon fight, it didn¡¯t succeed. Even though he had no armor or Jin, the opponent¡¯s physical ability itself was at the level of a proper knight. ¡®I have the upper hand in mobility, but I can¡¯t beat him head-on!¡¯ The feeling of riding in a Jin was very strange. It felt as if one more body of a beast was formed under a person¡¯s body, and the two bodies were controlled at the same time. Thanks to Palato letting him ride it a few times, he learned how to ride it, but he had never used it in battle. In addition, Entir¡¯s ax was too heavy and large. If a small and light person like Arsene wielded it, the weapon would swing his body around, regardless of physical strength. Fortunately, it was thanks to riding a Jin and attacking suddenly that he managed to wield it. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you attacking me, kid? Are you scared? Do you miss your mom? Do you want me to send her to you later?¡± The demon sarcastically provoked him, but Arsene was unshakable and rode the Jin around the demon slowly. Like a beast looking for a weakness, with the ax in both hands stretched out. ¡°I don¡¯t have a mother, you bastard.¡± Arsene¡¯s calm retort briefly colored the demon¡¯s face with absurdity. For a moment, the demon¡¯s gaze turned toward the squires. ¡°If you¡¯re not coming, I¡¯ll kill them first!¡± As the demon turned around, Arsene immediately used the Jin and rushed toward him. The demon immediately turned his head and swung the sword. However, Arsene had no intention of getting hit in the first place, so he stopped sharply just before entering the sword radius, dodging it. The distance between the two was once again the same as before. ¡°This¡­¡± The demon understood Arsene¡¯s intentions. He won¡¯t attack straightforwardly. However, he will keep at a distance, so anytime he shows a gap, Arsene will strike. It is a typical time-consuming tactic, but the word ¡°typical¡± also meant that it was a standard tactic with no gaps. ¡°Matra! Help Sir Arsene with me! The rest go there!¡± With his hands wrapped around his side, Palato¡¯s chief squire took command. It was an unbelievable force for a person with a broken rib. At that order, two of Palato¡¯s squires joined Arsene, and the rest ran to help the two knights. ¡°Surround him!¡± When the two squires aimed their spear from the left and right, the demon looked perplexed. ¡°Try it, you bastards!¡± The demon decided to take the initiative, and swung his sword as if he had a seizure, attacking the chief squire who couldn¡¯t move swiftly due to injury. Arsene urged the Jin at the same time as the demon attacked, swinging his ax. The body of the chief squire, who couldn¡¯t bear the attack, was torn apart, while the spear from the other squire dug into the demon¡¯s side. At the same time, the demon stretched out one of his hands and grabbed the hilt, not the blade, of the ax that Arsene was wielding. The sound of his palms breaking could be heard, but he successfully received the attack and threw Arsene away together with the ax. Arsene screamed at the pain of being smashed down to the ground with tremendous force, breaking his leg. ¡°Damn bastard, I finally got you!¡± At the moment of crisis, concentrating on the battle, the pain in his leg disappeared and Arsene¡¯s spirit was awakened with clarity. [ Read at yourfantasytranslations.github.io/ for the last chapters and to support us~~!!!] Arsene immediately put away the ax he couldn¡¯t wield properly, and drew the sword from his waist. The demon rushed in brandishing his sword to kill Arsene before he got up properly. Very slowly, at a crawling speed. Arsene, momentarily bewildered by that strange sensation, unwittingly moved his sword and tried to deflect the demon¡¯s great sword. Arsene¡¯s body also moved slowly, as if submerged in water. The attempt to deflect the attack was meaningless, and Arsene¡¯s sword was split by the demon¡¯s greatsword. As if filmed in slow motion, the sight of the metal sword splitting in two was quite surreal. The great sword, that crushed the defense attempt, came down aiming at Arsene¡¯s head. He tried to dodge, but Arsene¡¯s body could not move quickly, as if this slow speed applied not only to his opponent. ¡®I¡¯m gonna die!¡¯ The moment he felt he couldn¡¯t stop it no matter what he did, there was a sound of something breaking somewhere in Arsene¡¯s body. Along with it, he could feel the confusion of the demon in front, too. The great sword was no longer advancing towards Arsene, but was shaking lightly. Arsene, realizing that the sword right in front of his forehead did not only appear to be slowing down, but had indeed stopped, immediately swung his split sword. The demon¡¯s head was cut off helplessly. ¡°¡­Ah!¡± It took him a while to watch the head fly, before time began to turn normally. With the feeling that the surrounding time was back to normal, the tension was relieved, and excruciating pain came from his legs. Unable to stand up any longer, Arsene collapsed on the spot. ¡°W-we won!¡± Even hearing the shout of the surviving squire, Arsene couldn¡¯t believe his victory. It was an enemy he thought he couldn¡¯t win against, and the process of victory was so ambiguous, that he felt like his opponent just collapsed on his own somehow. Just now, stopping to check what sound came from his body, he felt something like a shard in the bag on his waist. When he took it out, the wooden statue he received from Elise in the estate was shattered. ¡®Maybe this thing did that a while ago¡­¡¯ ¡°Arsene! Are you okay!?¡± Palato¡¯s voice was heard from afar. Arsene saw Palato running towards him. Palato¡¯s appearance was also far from intact. His right arm was drooping as if broken, and there were traces of blood oozing from somewhere in his body armor. ¡°This can¡¯t be¡­ Did you kill him by yourself?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°¡­That¡¯s amazing, to be honest, I thought you wouldn¡¯t last.¡± Arsene also agreed with Palato, who seemed impressed. Even though he was on a Jin, a single mistake nearly cost his life. If the sword hadn¡¯t stopped briefly just before his head was split in half, he would have surely lost his life. His skills weren¡¯t that great, but the difference in his physical abilities and weapons was huge. ¡°The other demon¡­ How is Dame Genovia?¡± ¡°We finished him. The fire was his weakness. Dame Genovia is well. I think she¡¯s in the best state among us.¡± Arsene smiled, recalling what Genovia said the previous day. As expected, the reality is different from the movies, so raising a death flag doesn¡¯t really mean you¡¯re going to die. ¡°Something¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°No, I just¡­ thought I¡¯m lucky.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think so, didn¡¯t you break your leg? It¡¯s all your hard work.¡± ¡°This¡­¡± Arsene was about to say that he was fine, but he swallowed his words when he saw the object Palato was holding. It was the great sword that the demon was wielding a while ago. ¡°There has been only one case where the knights of our territory have lost their weapons recently. It¡¯s probably your father¡¯s sword.¡± ¡±.¡± Tl/n: It was like this in the raws¡­ Arsene received the sword, plunged it into the ground, and used it as a cane, trying to stand up. Unfortunately, it was way too sharp for that purpose, because it sank deep into the ground. Palato, who was looking at the silly display, smiled and reached his hand out. ¡°Give it to me, I¡¯ll move it for now.¡± ¡°¡­Yes.¡± Palato, who received the sword, skillfully tied the sword to the Jin he rode with one hand. ¡°Let¡¯s go back to the fortress first. Most of the blood is that of the looters, so it¡¯s okay for now, but the demonic beasts will come soon.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Arsene, supported by one of the surviving squires, climbed back onto Entir¡¯s Jin and connected their minds. The squire¡¯s eyes were filled with reverence and respect. ¡°You¡¯ve worked hard, Sir Arsene.¡± ¡°No, your name is¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s Matra.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve worked hard, Matra. We won.¡± Speaking back to himself, Arsene moved the Jin and looked around. As Palato said, the place was filled with a disgustingly thick bloody smell. The cave was still full of smoke, so they had to go back to the fortress, unless they wanted to fight a swarm of beasts attracted by the smell. Chapter 17 - RETURN Tl/n: Changed rhino/rhinoceros to unicorn¡­ Now it makes more sense xD I¡¯ll change it in the previous chaps too. The previously planned unicorn hunt was canceled. A single unicorn was a demonic beast that could be caught easily just by one knight, but it was not an easy enough opponent to try hunting with severe injuries. The three remaining knights could not even try, because either one of their arms and legs was broken, they were too young, or had bled too much. After a good day¡¯s rest, they returned to the looters¡¯ den and searched the inside of the cave, but Lenock¡¯s armor could not be found, and only the bodies of the dead suffocated looters could be seen. There were quite a few things to take, but as the expedition had few people left, they only brought some of the most precious things. Afterwards, the expedition decided to stay in the fortress for about 10 days and return to the territory after recovering from their injuries. The preparations of the expedition leaving the fortress and returning to the estate were shabby. One knight died, more than half of the squires died, and only three soldiers remained. In the end, more than half of the remaining food, water, carts, and camping equipment had to be hidden in the basement of the castle. Fortunately, thanks to that, the formation became smaller, the speed increased, and the number of encounters with demonic beasts decreased. Arsene, who was riding a Jin, threw a stone up. The stone rose slowly, as if he had thrown a balloon, then sank again. It wasn¡¯t just the stone that was slowing down. Other people walking around, swaying leaves, everything was moving slowly. As he received the stone and relaxed his concentration, the flow of time returned to normal. Genovia, who was watching it from the side, asked. ¡°Are you practicing again?¡± ¡°Yes. It¡¯s strange¡­ I think I¡¯ll have to do it more often to get used to it.¡± ¡°Well, at first, I was going crazy about eavesdropping everywhere. It would have been nice if my specialty was like yours. If that was the case, the last time I fought the demons¡­ Sigh, I know it¡¯s useless to say something like this, but it¡¯s a pity.¡± As a result of checking and analyzing several times, Arsene¡¯s specialty was to maximize the speed of thinking. The moment he was extremely focused, or when he was surprised or felt a crisis, he perceived time slowly. It was a kind of specialty that was very helpful in combat, which was quite rare. ¡°There are a lot of knights who don¡¯t have specialties, Dame Genovia. What would these people feel if they heard you?¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s true.¡± Palato, who gently scolded Genovia, quietly advised Arsene. ¡°I don¡¯t think you would, but just because you have a special skill, doesn¡¯t mean you can neglect your training. In the end, the most significant thing is a trained body and technique.¡± ¡°Yes, Sir Palato. I¡¯ll be careful.¡± Palato smiled at Arsene, who shook his head politely, and turned his head. ¡°We finally arrived.¡± Down the hill, brown earth, straight trees, and wheat fields in full swing stretched out to the village in the distance. A sigh of relief and fatigue erupted from the entire expedition. They returned after 21 days. Naturally, the Beluan estate was turned upside down after the return of the expedition. The death of more than half of the squires and soldiers was a significant blow, but the death of one of the only dozen knights in the territory was far more of a loss. Fortunately, the weapons, armor, and Jin were completely recovered. The expedition was disbanded in front of the manor, and Arsene and other knights went to report the situation to the lord. The lord¡¯s office, even after a long time, had not changed from last time. The difference was that Palato and Genovia, who had been guarding the lord in the past, were standing next to Arsene, and two other knights were guarding the lord. ¡°So¡­ It¡¯s almost certain that Sir Lenock lost his life, and now even Sir Entir?¡± Nut, the lord of Beluan, rubbed his temple, feeling his head throbbing. Since Lenock could not protect the fortress, he foresaw that there was a demon, and although they were rare, he dispatched three knights in case there were more than one. There have been quite a few issues for knights to be dispatched recently, so sending three of them to Krata Fortress was a big investment, with the security of the territory as a guarantee to some extent. But he didn¡¯t expect this kind of sacrifice. [ Read at yourfantasytranslations.github.io/ for the last chapters and to support us~~!!!] ¡°I¡¯m glad there¡¯s no problem recovering the equipment. Sir Entir¡¯s ax and armor should be sent to Sir Luden to melt into ingots, and Sir Lenock¡¯s greatsword¡­ In principle, the knight¡¯s equipment should be given to the territory, but it is Sir Arsene¡¯s own spoilage and even belonged to his father, so it would be right for him to inherit it.¡± ¡°Thank you for your consideration, my lord.¡± ¡°Sir Arsene, go rest now. You had a hard time at such a young age. I¡¯ll listen carefully to the rest from Sir Palato and Dame Genovia.¡± Arsene, who gained free time after completing the report, went straight to the wizard¡¯s tower using crutches. As he knocked on the door, he heard Luden¡¯s voice from inside. ¡°Who is it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s me, Arsene.¡± When the door opened, Luden¡¯s bandit beard, which he had not seen in a long time, stood out. Perhaps because he¡¯s been outside for so long, even that face felt friendly. Seeing the figure using crutches as support, Luden frowned and asked a question. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with your leg?¡± ¡°It has been broken during a fight. Still, it heals quickly enough. It¡¯s a little uncomfortable to stand, can I get in?¡± ¡°Come in at once.¡± Arsene limped into the tower, limping with his hurt leg. Perhaps thanks to his young age, but this was a very fast recovery rate compared to the gravity of his injury, even though he still felt a tingling pain every time he walked. Even more so compared to Sir Palato, whose arm was broken, and yet he couldn¡¯t even move his arm properly. Luden sighed as he watched Arsene sitting on the chair. ¡°I don¡¯t think Elise will stay quiet when she sees this.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t the lady here?¡± ¡°She¡¯s practicing magic underground. Since the day you left, she¡¯s been studying magic and blacksmithing skills very eagerly. I wish I had a fiancee this sincere.¡± ¡°What do you mean, a fiancee?¡± ¡°Then you aren¡¯t going to marry Elise? I don¡¯t think she¡¯ll ever marry a man unless it¡¯s you. A man shouldn¡¯t be like that. Even if you take ten more concubines, wouldn¡¯t it make sense to accept Elise?¡± ¡°I think that¡¯s even worse.¡± Listening to Luden¡¯s ridiculous words, Arsene gently put his hand in his pocket and touched the broken statue. He wanted to ask Elise in detail about this, but he was embarrassed because there was only Luden. Should he openly take out the item they exchanged in secret from Luden and ask? ¡°More than that, where did you put the gift that Elise gave you?¡± ¡°She told you?¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t know? It¡¯s a powerful enchanted object, so I could tell if she¡¯s carrying it or not. When I asked where she left it, her eyes became wet. She confessed shortly thereafter.¡± Luden said with a look of despondency as if he were dumbfounded. ¡°Anyway, Elise has such a personality, that she would have been robbed by a wicked man later if she wasn¡¯t a wizard. I¡¯ve told her to always carry it around because it¡¯s important.¡± ¡°Exactly what effect did it have?¡± ¡°If the owner is attacked by a deadly attack, there is a spell that prevents it. One of the last things my teacher made in his life.¡± At Luden¡¯s words, Arsene felt embarrassed and coughed in vain. Now he had to say that he smashed it, but he couldn¡¯t help but feel uncomfortable hearing how precious it was. ¡°Here it is.¡± Arsene placed the remains of a broken statue on the desk. The original wave pattern was smashed to the point where it was hard to identify. Luden said, raising his hand and sweeping away the rubble. ¡°You¡¯ve blocked quite a powerful attack. Did you get attacked by a knight?¡± ¡°It¡¯s similar. It was a demon, who was using a knight¡¯s sword.¡± ¡°You¡¯re lucky, if it weren¡¯t for this, you¡¯d definitely be dead.¡± Luden, who snorted in excitement, put his hands on the broken statue and concentrated. [ Read at yourfantasytranslations.github.io/ for the last chapters and to support us~~!!!] The blue light that gently flowed from his hand permeated the statue, and gradually the statue began to fit together. As soon as the statue was finally completed again, with a cracking sound, it collapsed in two again. ¡°Damn it, I tried, but I can¡¯t.¡± Luden threw the statue into the corner as if he had completely lost interest. ¡°You can¡¯t restore it?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. I¡¯m a wizard as good as my teacher, but this is a matter of lineage rather than ability. Maybe Elise can fix it later.¡± Luden yawned with his mouth wide open, and rolled his foot a few times on the floor. After a while, a door opened from the floor, and Elise climbed up the ladder. ¡°Why did you call me? Lu- Arsene?!¡± Elise left the ladder behind and ran down to the basement, then spun rapidly to shake down the dust all over, and quickly brushed her hair. She quickly pulled out a handkerchief, wiped the soot off her face, and cleaned her clothes again before coming back up. Elise asked in an exaggeratedly cheerful voice. ¡°Welcome! Do you want something to drink?¡± ¡°Heh, drinking. Of course, since the husband who can give you both his liver and gallbladder has returned.¡± Elise flinched at the rough grumbling and looked into Luden¡¯s eyes. Apparently, he was more upset than expected that she handed over the statue. Luden, who was glaring at Elise for a moment, told Arsene. ¡°Then I think I¡¯ve told you everything, so I¡¯ll go sleep upstairs and finish taking a nap. Have fun.¡± After calmly speaking, Luden hurriedly went up to the second floor. Once the two of them were left alone, the mood became more cheerful, and it became easier to talk. ¡°How was the expedition? Was it dangerous?¡± ¡°Um¡­ I would be lying if I said it wasn¡¯t dangerous. It was dangerous. And our losses were also great.¡± Arsene hesitated for a moment, thinking whether he should lie that he was okay or not, but soon confessed frankly. Even if Elise lived in isolation, it¡¯s a story that would spread so widely that she would have definitely heard about it. To reassure the worried Elise, Arsene smiled as softly as possible and expressed his gratitude. ¡°Still, I survived thanks to the statue you gave me. Thank you so much, my lady.¡± At Arsene¡¯s sudden words, Elise covered her face with her hands. ¡°Something happened?¡± ¡°¡­Ehm, nothing. Nothing at all.¡± For a moment, silence and awkwardness filled the room. ¡°I heard you¡¯re studying magic and blacksmithing these days.¡± ¡°Yes. I¡¯m going to study hard and make nice armor so that Arsene doesn¡¯t get hurt.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you tired?¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay. I¡¯m doing it because I want to.¡± Elise¡¯s hands, saying so, had calluses, unlike before. Arsene gently stroked Elise¡¯s palm, proud that she had worked really hard. Elise blushed, embarrassed. ¡°My hand is weird, right?¡± ¡°No. There¡¯s nothing more beautiful than calluses from what you want to do and what you have to do. My hands aren¡¯t pretty either.¡± ¡°Luden says I¡¯m talented. If I work hard, I can become a better wizard than him. I will work really hard.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll cheer for you. I hope you¡¯ll become a great wizard.¡± Upon hearing that, Elise suddenly went silent and took several deep breaths. She opened her mouth a few times, hesitating, and finally whispered in a small voice. ¡°Ellie.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Ah, from now on¡­ Call me Ellie, not Lady. They say that close friends use nicknames.¡± As Elise said so, she rubbed her red hot ears. Arsene looked at her and burst into laughter involuntarily. He had no intention of ridiculing the fresh-heartedness of a ten-year-old girl, but she was so cute he couldn¡¯t contain his laughter. ¡°Don¡¯t laugh!¡± ¡®I think this has happened before.¡¯ Arsene nodded quickly as he saw her face turn red. He didn¡¯t want to hurt the heart of a young lady who was at the most sensitive age. ¡°Ah, I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t mean to make fun of you, I just laughed for a moment because it was so cute. Okay. Lady Ellie. Alright?¡± ¡°S-speak comfortably.¡± ¡°Okay, Ellie.¡± Upon hearing that answer, Elise turned her head to the back and whispered, ¡°Okay, I succeeded!¡± It seemed she thought he wouldn¡¯t be able to hear it, but of course, the sound was loud enough for Arsene¡¯s ears. She continued to chat for some time afterwards ¨C mostly Arsene listening to chatter about the magic and techniques Elise was learning ¨C and as they were spending time together, the evening bells rang in the distance. Surprising her by standing up on crutches, Arsene left the tower, trying to stop the insistent Elise from supporting him. Tl-n: Elise is so damn cute~ q(¨R¨Œ¨Qq) Chapter 18 Translator: Homia [This chap was made possible thanks to J! Thank you for your support!!! 3 chaps more to go!] At the gymnasium*, knights and squires were training their bodies and honing their skills. Tl/N: Kinda a gym, or a training field but indoors. Arsene ran slowly on the newly issued Jin, which was originally owned by Entir. He hopped left and right, then lightly jumped and landed, causing a slight pain to his broken leg. ¡°Ugh.¡± ¡°What? You¡¯ve not fully recovered, yet you¡¯re already training? You¡¯re working so hard.¡± Arsene turned his head when he heard a voice next to him. Genovia was looking at Arsene, smiling. ¡°I only hurt my leg, but other places are almost fine. Dame Genovia, are you all better now?¡± ¡°I just lost a lot of blood. If you eat a lot and sleep well, you get better quickly.¡± Genovia, who answered pleasantly, lifted the spear she was holding, turned it around a few times, and started dancing. The eerie sound of wind heard every time the spear was thrust made it seem able to cut and break anything in its path. Genovia, who had been swinging her spear for about 30 seconds, finished a beautiful dance by stretching her spear forward. It was so quiet, not even a single breath could be heard. ¡°It¡¯s a good thing you¡¯re here. Do you want to see something? Like witnessing a duel.¡± ¡°A duel¡±? ¡°It¡¯s not grand enough to be called a duel, though.¡± At that moment, the door to the gymnasium opened and two more knights entered. It was Weeble and Carmine, the young knights he met previously at the restaurant. ¡°Oh! Kid! It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve seen you! It¡¯s said you had a hard time on the expedition this time!¡± Weeble patted Arsene on the shoulder, expressing his welcome with his loud voice. This huge knight was so tall that he didn¡¯t lose in height to Arsene on the Jin. ¡°Yeah. What about Sir Weeble?¡± ¡°Something always happens to me! I happened to break the Jin while catching a beast¡­¡± ¡°Weeble.¡± Carmine, who was standing next to him, tapped Weeble¡¯s arm to stop him. He only said his name once, but as if he understood, Weeble coughed and took a step back. ¡°Let¡¯s talk about other things later. Let¡¯s start another duel, whose number I can¡¯t even remember already, between Carmine and Genovia. Witnesses are me, the knight Weeble, and also¡­ are you going to be a witness, too?¡± Weeble, who was talking in an exaggerated tone like a host, turned his head and asked Arsene. ¡°First of all, I think I need to know what¡¯s going on.¡± ¡°Genovia and Carmine sometimes fight like this. With the condition of granting a wish to the winner. In fact, it¡¯s just a betting spar.¡± Genovia put down her spear and took a training metal shaft, and Carmine also held a sword and shield for practice. A normal person¡¯s bones would break if hit by something like that, but it was safe enough for a knight in armor to withstand. Rather, what if the weapon breaks? ¡°Who won more?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. I forgot to count, and no one wrote it down either. I think Genovia won more often?¡± With Weeble¡¯s silly answer, the duel between the two-, no, the spar, began. Genovia, whose¡¯ weapon had a longer reach, stretched out her shaft and struck Carmine¡¯s shield. Carmin groaned at the strong power and stepped back, but he didn¡¯t give in and advanced a few more steps, with his shield in front. The squires who were training around looked at his figure as if possessed. Arsene, who was watching with admiration from the side, could hear Weeble¡¯s small murmur. ¡°Anyway, they have to start dating soon, because seeing the two of them playing like that makes my stomach ache.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t they dating?¡± Arsene was surprised because he remembered what Genovia said last time. She even said that she would propose him to marry when she returned this time, so Arsene thought they were dating, but he never imagined it could have been a one-sided crush. Could it be that she was drinking kimchi soup first by herself? Tl-n: The Korean idiom ¡°don¡¯t drink the kimchi soup first.¡± This saying means that one should wait for something they are anticipating to happen until it really happens. Suddenly, Genovia looked pitiful. ¡°They like each other but don¡¯t show it. Everyone except for these two knows already. Why didn¡¯t both of them get married at that age in the first place?¡± They were childhood friends who had a crush on each other, and even in popular novels, that was too childish to be used. After learning the truth, it seemed that the knights, who were agile and full of power, were only rubbing against each other. In the first place, wouldn¡¯t Genovia¡¯s hearing be able to pick up everything Weeble said just now? ¡°¡­Then I¡¯ll get going first.¡± ¡°Huh? Is your training over?¡± ¡°Yes. I¡¯m just after rehabilitation.¡± ¡°You should¡¯ve watched a bit more.¡± Arsene just bowed his head politely and left the gymnasium. He had enough training, and it was time to go to the tower. ¡°And Pay said: Will you truly become a poisonous bird¡­?¡± ¡°Okay, your reading is good. Read the next part.¡± Arsene borrowed a book from Elise, and was learning writing and reading from her. Of course, books existed in this world, too. Although the development of typography and paper technology was insignificant, and it was just a copy on some animal¡¯s skin, Elise said that the number of copies was larger than expected because the magic of copying the contents of a book was not that difficult. Unlike parchment, which has to be obtained from raising sheep, the fact that animal skin is a common resource that can be obtained by peeling most domesticated animals also contributed to the supply. There were also poetry and essays, as well as religious books about magic and other expertise, about the indigenous god Leha who this world believed in, more precisely, this Beluan estate. This world¡¯s writing system was, unfortunately, not one that could be read as it appears. Like English, where you have to learn to read words derived from French separately. When Elise explained about his wrong pronunciation or meaning in between, he even felt like a child. ¡°¡­It doesn¡¯t work like that. Well, it¡¯s over.¡± ¡°Okay, you did a good job. We¡¯ll read the next part next time, so get ready. Mark down what you don¡¯t know!¡± ¡°Yes, teacher Ellie.¡± When Arsene, who answered playfully, closed the book, Elise quickly took out another sheet of skin. Because he was hooked on the crossword puzzles presented as a game a few days ago, Elise has come up with a new crossword puzzle every time they meet. ¡°Okay, then¡­¡± While trying to solve the crossword, there was a knock on the door. When he opened the door, a young squire saw Arsene and bowed politely, raising his right hand between the collarbones. Unlike before, when they treated each other as if they didn¡¯t exist, these days, the servants greeted Arsene with respect whenever they encountered him. Although some luck overlapped, Arsene cut off one of the two demons¡¯ head in this battle anyway. As a result, the tendency of jealousy or contempt for Arsene, who had been awakened by luck, that had subtly circulated among the squires, almost disappeared. Despite his young age, he showed an attitude of reverence for a young star who was talented enough to kill a demon. Arsene tried to not look arrogant as much as possible, greeting the squires and establishing friendship. They were people who could not be ignored, considering that future knights would appear among them. In fact, their jealousy or contempt was not unfounded, and there was also respect for them because of their age and experience. The determination and bravery shown by the squires and soldiers during the battle against the demons were enough to show them respect. ¡°Hello, Sir Arsene!¡± ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°Ah¡­ One of the Jins was broken this time, so I¡¯m here to ask Sir Luden to repair it.¡± Hearing that, Arsene turned around and saw several soldiers holding carts with the Jin on them. The Jin¡¯s right leg was half crushed. Looking at that reminded him of Weeble, who boasted that he had broken the Jin that morning. ¡°I think I know who used the Jin.¡± ¡°Mhm.¡± Perhaps because he couldn¡¯t gossip about the knight, the squire answered with a light cough. ¡°Elly, can you call Sir Luden?¡± ¡°Yeah, wait a minute.¡± The squire looked surprised to see them calling each other nicknames comfortably, but tried not to show it. Maybe he was showing consideration, or he just didn¡¯t want to get entangled with a wizard. After a while, Luden appeared from the second floor scratching his back and yawning. He was a very consistent character in many ways. ¡°What¡­ No way. This is just my guess, but is it that Weeble again?¡± ¡°¡­That¡¯s right.¡± Immediately, Luden¡¯s stormy anger hit the squire. He was constantly shouting and swearing, saying, ¡°Are you going to destroy the armor, the sword, and then the Jin one by one?¡± In a situation where he already felt a strong rejection from Luden, when even a crazed shout was added, the squire repeatedly replied that he was sorry as if he was mentally paralyzed. Seeing that, Arsene was convinced that the squires would have sent the youngest in anticipation of this. After a while, Arsene, who felt sorry for the young squire who couldn¡¯t say anything, patted Luden on the back and stopped him. ¡°What are you doing, Sir Luden? It¡¯s Sir Weeble who broke it, so what¡¯s the use of shouting here? We have no choice but to go and talk in person.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve talked to him myself before, but it didn¡¯t work! He said okay and sorry, but it¡¯s like this again!¡± ¡°But what can we do here now? The child is listening, so let¡¯s get the goods first and send him away.¡± Under Arsene¡¯s restraint, Luden¡¯s anger barely stopped, and the squire ordered the soldiers to bring the Jin into the workshop on the second floor. Finally, the squire, who finished handing everything over, saluted with gratitude in his eyes and disappeared. ¡°Sigh, I was going to take a look at your sword today, but I¡¯ll be busy with this for a while. I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay. It¡¯s not easy to train using a weapon until my legs get better anyway. Can I see you repairing it too?¡± ¡°Of course. It¡¯s not a big secret, anyway. Elise, don¡¯t play tricks and go down to the basement. It¡¯s already training time.¡± After seeing off Elise, who was going down to practice with pouting cheeks, Arsene went up to the second floor to watch the Jin being repaired. Arsene has been quite interested in the Jin, one of the few legacies left by ancient magic civilizations, but had never seen it being built or repaired, because he didn¡¯t get a chance. Just in time, he got permission from Luden, and he was happy to get new knowledge. Unlike the first floor, where all kinds of junk occupied the floor, the second floor was quite neat. It looked desolate because there was no furniture, except for a bed in one corner and a drawer and bookcase right next to it. Luden, who took a book from the bookshelf, put saliva on his finger and flipped through it. ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­ how to repair a Jin, the leg part¡­ I found it.¡± When Arsene peeked over his shoulder, the book Luden was looking at was a kind of blueprint. At first glance, it was reminiscent of an extremely complex plastic model blueprint. Luden glanced in the book and at the Jin several times, and then started taking measures. After taking measures for a long time, he finally put his hand on the broken leg to see if his estimations were correct. ¡°It would be more convenient to tear it apart and make it again.¡± A red light flowed from Luden¡¯s hands, and after a while, the Jin¡¯s leg was cut off slowly. It was quite surprising to Arsene, who knew that the Jin was made strong enough to withstand countless attacks of most beasts. ¡°Is it something like attack magic?¡± ¡°In a world where everyone stands still and waits for about 5 seconds in front of the enemy, it could be called attack magic.¡± Luden, who responded sarcastically, took a basket-like thing and began to disassemble each part. More than a dozen different parts were dropped from just one leg. ¡°From now on, it won¡¯t be much fun. It¡¯s a process of re-melting and solidifying all of this one by one and assembling it according to the blueprint.¡± Having said that, Luden looked at those parts and sighed as if his future was bleak. ¡°I¡¯m glad the area around the heart isn¡¯t broken. It¡¯s really hard over there. If it¡¯s broken, it can take weeks to months, not days.¡± Seeing Luden flipping through the book, Arsene asked a question that came to his mind. It was also the first question he thought of when he saw the Jins in the past. ¡°How come all the Jins I¡¯ve seen so far look the same, aren¡¯t there any variations? Like increasing its size or something else.¡± Besides that, there were a few other things he wanted to ask. For example, what if it isn¡¯t a Jin that connects directly to the knight¡¯s mind and moves directly, but an armor attached to the body? It would be very useful if you could have arms with swords on your back. In other words, the number of arms that could move freely would increase. At Arsene¡¯s question, Luden exclaimed and snorted in response. ¡°You¡¯re saying this because you don¡¯t know. The wizards make the Jins without understanding them properly. They just follow the blueprint derived from ancient wizards. I am confident that I have one of the best skills and knowledge among wizards, but even I have little understanding of a Jin¡¯s driving principle. What can we do in such a situation?¡± ¡°Can¡¯t we just keep the proportions and increase the size?¡± ¡°When you make food, if you double the amount you need to make, do you unconditionally add double the seasoning?¡± In his previous life and even now, cooking ramen noodles or eating porridge with honey was all he had to do, so Arsene, even though desperate for an answer, kept silent. I don¡¯t know why you can¡¯t double the seasoning when the amount of food is doubled, but somehow I had a feeling that if I asked about it, I would be treated like a fool. ¡°Anyway, that¡¯s it. By the way, not all Jins are in the form of lizards like ours. There are quite a few types of blueprints. The Jin in the Northern Eir Territory is in the form of a hoofed animal.¡± After saying those words, Luden gripped one of the parts. After a while, the part began to glow red as if it had been heated. It was the same phenomenon he had seen when repairing the sword before. Chapter 19 - THE EVE OF THE FESTIVAL [This chap was made possible thanks to J! Thank you for your support!!! 2 chaps more to go!] A few weeks after the expedition, Arsene, with his legs completely healed, returned to his usual training at the gymnasium. He was dueling now, and his opponent was still Palato with a weaker arm. At first, Arsene used a practice sword and Palato clashed with his bare hands, but the difference has narrowed considerably recently, and both had a practice sword. Some of Palato¡¯s skills have fallen due to the inability to use one arm, and some of Arsene¡¯s skills have increased noticeably. ¡°I¡¯m coming!¡± Palato, who simply expressed his intention to attack, stabbed towards Arsene¡¯s chest. The moment Arsene focused his mind on the attack, the world slowed down and the attack also flew at a slower pace. In line with the flow of the attack and his slowed body, Arsene struck Palato¡¯s sword at the right time. Palato, like an experienced knight, did not panic at all and stretched his legs to kick Arsene. It was a middle kick for Palato, but due to the difference in height, it was close to a high kick from Arsene¡¯s point of view. It was a blow that was normally unavoidable as it came within the attack range perfectly. However, Arsene, who activated his special skill, was able to recognize it accurately, so he narrowly bent his neck to avoid the flying kick. ¡°Whoosh!¡± It was dangerous to kick really hard, so he adjusted it to some extent, but even considering that, it was a fierce force. Arsene, who clenched his teeth at the sharp wind passing by his cheeks, swung the sword at Palato¡¯s stepping foot in a bent position. Palato bounced back with one foot floating in the air to avoid the attack. After distancing, Arsene advanced towards Palato, slashing downwards from the top with his sword. To be exact, he pretended to aim at the sword and turned it diagonally at the last time to aim for the body. The two swords touched each other¡¯s enemies almost at the same time. Fortunately, it was practice swords and both were wearing practice clothes, so they didn¡¯t get hurt. ¡°It¡¯s a draw!¡± Palato spoke in a pleased tone and patted the part the sword hit. ¡°No, I lost. Sir Palato is using only one hand, and not the one you¡¯re most proficient with.¡± Perhaps, if it was Palato using his right hand, he wouldn¡¯t stab him back, but twist the sword once more to deflect Arsene¡¯s attack. Arsene once again felt the gap between him and the official knights. Despite experiencing time extremely slowly thanks to his ability, there were many cases where he wasn¡¯t able to benefit as much as he thought, being predicted or pushed back in several fights. Even now, he was able to see and calculate his movements, but it was barely a draw. On the other hand, Palato admired Arsene, saying he lost because his opponent was using only his left hand. At a young age, he awakened as a knight and was trained to be a warrior, so he could be arrogant, but the steady improvement of this young knight was sometimes inducing respect. In fact, considering the age difference between the two, it was great to create a draw at least once even under these conditions. ¡°You seem to have gotten quite good at using your ability. Honestly, I thought you couldn¡¯t avoid that kick.¡± ¡°I only use it at the moment I¡¯m attacked. If I keep it for a long time, I get tired.¡± It would have been nice if the ability to perceive time slowly could be used indefinitely, but unfortunately, this ability continuously caused mental fatigue if it was maintained for a long time during battle. If he used it to the maximum, it would last about a minute, but the most efficient way to use it was just before exchanging strikes. Although there¡¯s a disadvantage that the flow of battle is interrupted, it was able to dramatically increase the effective time of the special ability. ¡°Anyway, you¡¯re doing well. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be a great knight at this rate.¡± In the past, Palato thought that if Arsene¡¯s potential was maximized, he could become similar to Ramune, the best knight in the territory. It was an evaluation that considered the young age, natural mana, and the fact that he walked from the castle to the territory alone. But now, he¡¯s changed his mind. Palato¡¯s new assessment was that if he grows up properly with his excellent martial arts talent, will to improve, and strong ability, he will be a great knight without rivals throughout all nearby territories. He never said it out loud just in case he became conceited. Since then, the two have crossed their swords several times. Palato won most of the time, but on a couple of occasions, Arsene won too. ¡°That¡¯s it for today. By the way, do you know that tomorrow is the harvest festival?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve heard of it.¡± From what he heard roughly, it was a simple, medieval-style festival where people danced, ate, and drank happily at the end of the year¡¯s harvest. On this day, there are no rules prohibiting night walks, so they have fun from night to dawn. In addition, there was a useless story, telling that a lot of children were being born after ten months. ¡°It¡¯s the biggest event in our territory. Let¡¯s enjoy it.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve made up my mind, I¡¯m proposing at the festival tomorrow.¡± During a pleasant lunch, Genovia clenched her fist and spoke in a determined voice. Since there were only two knights eating at this time, Arsene was the only one who heard that. Arsene, who tore a bite of bread, replied. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you do it until now?¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± Genovia, who turned her head left and right, spoke in a slightly quieter voice. ¡°Carmine is a guy who doesn¡¯t have much control over himself, so he always follows what I tell him to do. So, for the most part, I¡¯ve been waiting for Carmine to propose.¡± Genovia, who answered like that, suddenly hit the table as if she couldn¡¯t bear it. If she had sincerely struck it, the wooden table would have been smashed, but considering that the table was intact, she seemed to have enough self-control. ¡°If I ask him to marry me, I can¡¯t tell if Carmine wants to marry or not¡­ What if he¡¯ll marry me just because I asked him to?¡± He wanted to say that Carmine wanted and was also worried about it, but it was an ambiguous topic since Arsene didn¡¯t even know him well. No, in the first place, what was she expecting by consulting a 10 years old young boy, now already 11 years old after his birthday? Even though he was often judged as an old man. ¡°Still, it seems that Sir Carmine likes you, too, after hearing from all over the place.¡± ¡°I know. I can hear everything.¡± Genovia replied, tapping her ear. ¡°But I don¡¯t know what Carmine really thinks. Everyone¡¯s just guessing it¡¯s like that.¡± It wasn¡¯t wrong at all. Even in Arsene¡¯s eyes, Carmine always stuck to Genovia¡¯s side with an uninterested expression to everything, but never actively courted her or showed affection. He acts like a shadow. It is said that society is maintained because people cannot know other people¡¯s minds, but not knowing other people¡¯s minds also makes each other tired. ¡°Sigh¡­ I¡¯m so, so confused. Should I just get drunk and try?¡± ¡°Usually, attempts that aren¡¯t taken seriously end in failure.¡± ¡°So noisy, what does a kid know?¡± Arsene, who was wondering why he even asked, saved his answer and took a bite of the chicken stew. ¡°Aren¡¯t you supposed to prepare at least some impressive proposal lines?¡± Hearing this, Genovia frowned and thought about it for a while. She wasted nearly two/three minutes and recited a few words of confession, but all of them were childish. ¡°Carmine, you are my star. Will you please marry me? Carmine¡­ I have loved you, ever since¡­ Agh! I really can¡¯t do this!¡± ¡°Think of it as delivering your sincerity. Don¡¯t try to put too much rhetoric, be honest.¡± ¡°If that¡¯s the case, I can just say, ¡®Hey, let¡¯s get married!¡¯¡± Mumbling nonsense, Genovia gulped her soup. Arsene half-heard those words. ¡®I hope she won¡¯t really do it like that.¡¯ Arsene is probably the closest person to Elise in this estate. Growing up as an object of hatred and fear to her parents, siblings, and anyone else, let alone her peers, the girl easily opened her heart to small kindness. She was hungry for affection, because even Luden, the only one who was not disgusted by Elise, did not know how to give soft affection. In fact, Arsene took care of her half-heartedly, but observing Elise¡¯s attitude of being happy with his small kindness made him even more concerned about her. It is not easy to hate people who are thrilled by every word and action you do. He gained a lot from getting close to Elise. First of all, he got a lot of information related to the wizards, starting with how to read and write. By becoming close to Arsene as a bonus, Elise¡¯s emotions stabilized, eliminating the fear or disturbance of others as before, which led to increasing Arsene¡¯s reputation reflectively. In other words, he was treated as a perfect trainer for Elise. ¡°Did you succeed in what you were going to do this time?¡± ¡°Yes! Luden also said my magic was perfect. He said I was a genius.¡± As soon as Arsene heard it, he realized that Elise¡¯s words were just bluff. No matter how much, it is impossible for Luden to praise Elise as a genius. According to what he had been dealing with for several months, Luden was the kind of person who would break hearts with harsh words rather than instill arrogance in a child with praise. In fact, when he glanced sideways, it was clear that Luden, who was reading a book in the corner, was thinking whether to say something or not. ¡°Then can you show me?¡± ¡°Wait, come on¡­¡± She closed her eyes tightly, concentrating her mind, and soon a red sphere appeared between Elise¡¯s hands. There, dozens of small butterflies appeared and danced splendidly, decorating Arsene and Elise¡¯s heads, and then they were sucked back into the sphere and disappeared. ¡°¡­what do you think? Isn¡¯t it pretty?¡± ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s incredible. It seems like you¡¯re completely used to controlling mana now.¡± ¡°Right? It was really hard to do this.¡± Of course, using magic to create such colorful shapes wasn¡¯t practical, but it was quite valuable as training to control mana. When Arsene praised her, Elise rolled her legs with joy. ¡®It¡¯s cute, but it¡¯s a little burdensome.¡¯ Perhaps because Arsene became too close to Elise, there was even talk about getting the two engaged. He wanted to ask what were they doing with the young 11-year-olds, but in this world, he had nothing to say, as a promising marriage at this age wasn¡¯t a bad thing. After showing her magic, Elise suddenly asked Arsene, who was solving her crossword puzzles. ¡°Don¡¯t you want to go to the festival?¡± ¡°Me? What about you? Have you ever been to a festival?¡± ¡°Yeah, I did.¡± Last year¡¯s harvest festival was terrible. Luden didn¡¯t go, saying he wasn¡¯t interested, and because there was no one to go with, she took a maid to see the festival. It was not a pleasant experience at all to attract dozens of people¡¯s attention every time she went around. Wherever Elise went, people who were dancing and enjoying the festival stopped and looked at Elise uncomfortably. As if saying, ¡®Why are you here?¡¯ Elise¡¯s festival last year ended by returning to the room and crying in her pillow. Therefore, she tried to ask Arsene to come with her to the festival, but she hesitated, being afraid he might not be able to enjoy the festival properly because of her. If she goes, she will have to look around from a distance so that nothing bad happens. When Elise mumbled vaguely, Luden suddenly opened his mouth. ¡°You two should go together.¡± After saying that, Luden opened a box in the corner of the room and took out a black robe. The fabric felt a little rough, perhaps because it was used quite a lot. To be honest, when Arsene saw that robe, for a moment, he thought it was a garment suitable for evil wizards. ¡°It¡¯s what I used to wear when I was traveling around. If you wear it, the wizard¡¯s unique presence will definitely decrease. If someone is looking directly at you or having a conversation, it has little effect, but it will be fine as long as you look at it from a distance.¡± ¡°¡­I didn¡¯t know there was such a thing. Why didn¡¯t you give it to me last time?¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t even tell me you were going to a festival. How could I give it to you?¡± Hearing what seemed to be reasonable, Elise did not answer and took the robe, putting it on. Of course, as it was suitable for Luden, who had a strong physique, on Elise¡¯s small stature, it was dragging on the ground. ¡°This would stand out wherever I go.¡± ¡°I have to do this first.¡± Eventually, it went through a simple surgery using needles and threads on the spot. He put the whole robe hem on top and sewed it on. It looked a little funny, but there seemed to be no problem moving around. Luden is a person who makes things, so he was very good with his hands. ¡°Alright, this should work.¡± ¡°When should we meet tomorrow?¡± Whether she was imagining enjoying the festival, Elise¡¯s eyes twinkled with anticipation. Her mind was already at the festival, dizzily stamping her feet around as if she were in the middle of the festival. ¡°I¡¯ll take you to your room.¡± Chapter 20 Amid the bonfires burning in the estate, thousands of people danced, sang, ate, fought, laughed, cried as they had fun. The Autumn Festival of Beluan Territory was an event enjoyed by the entire estate. Everyone except for a few poor knights and guards roamed the streets and had fun. Arsene too, was participating in this festival today as a citizen though, not a knight. ¡°Ursula! Ursula! Ursula!¡± ¡°Sarmak! Don¡¯t lose!¡± As the two men desperately competed with arm wrestling, the people betting on them drank and cheered from behind. After a while, when the match was finally decided, mixed reactions poured out with sighs and cheers. The muscular bald man raised his arms high and let out a triumphant roar. ¡°You bastard! Hey, you weakling bastard! Give my money back!¡± ¡°Wow, you¡¯re the best! Sarmak!¡± Someone tugged on Arsene¡¯s sleeves as he watched the commotion. It was Elise wearing a black robe. ¡°Can Arsene win in arm wrestling with that person?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be in big trouble if I do it.¡± Perhaps, Arsene¡¯s arm wrestling with a normal person would lead to the breaking of the opponent¡¯s hand with his grip force if he did not control his power correctly. Arsene, who was sitting and watching the next contestant start their fight, saw a look of boredom on Elise¡¯s face and asked. ¡°Shall we go? Is there anything else you want to see?¡± ¡°Dancing in the central square.¡± It was the tenth festival held since Elise was born, but this was the first time she saw it properly. For that reason, Elise¡¯s feeling while watching the festival as she held hands with Arsene and turned his head here and there, was at its peak. ¡°There!¡± In the central square, dozens of people were surrounding the fire with their arms around their partner¡¯s shoulders. They were constantly cheering ¡®Hu! Ha!¡¯ and danced with both legs stretched alternately. There were not only ordinary people in the circle of people but there were also a few squires who knew Arsene¡¯s face. Seeing many people moving in unison evoked a strange sense of elevation. ¡°It¡¯s amazing. It¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve seen people dance like that.¡± Arsene also agreed because it was the first time he had seen it in his current life. After that, the two were absorbed in appreciating the strange group dance for a long time. Arsene was used to stimulating events, so this festival wasn¡¯t very fun or exciting, but being in an environment where many people enjoyed it made him feel like his heart was being healed. Once again, Arsene felt that his heart had been devastated by cutting down and killing bandits in the last battle and fighting for life and death with demons. The wounds inflicted in that battle were not only on the body. ¡°I want to try it with you, but I can¡¯t, right?¡± ¡°I think so.¡± The magic effect of the robe that Elise was wearing was not strong enough that just looking at her directly made others feel her wizard¡¯s characteristic strongly, so it was forbidden for her to get too close and draw attention. Elise, who had turned her head to and fro, pointed to somewhere and shouted. ¡°Sen! Sen! Over there! isn¡¯t that delicious?¡± ¡°No, you shouldn¡¯t eat outside carelessly.¡± Elise, who saw the grilled skewers on a street vendor, smacked her lips and said that, but Arsene firmly restrained her. Even in the district where there existed a food sanitation law, street vendors in this world couldn¡¯t be trusted. Arsene couldn¡¯t even guess what that skewer really was. Whether it was a rat or a beast, at least he would be lucky if it was not the meat of a bug-type beast. When he was comforting Elise, who was stamping her feet in regret, there was a solemn voice calling Arsene. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re here to enjoy the festival too.¡± Palato, who suddenly appeared, was chewing on the skewers that Arsene had advised Elise not to eat. ¡°Oh, Sir Palato. But that one you¡¯re holding¡­¡± ¡°Would you like to try it? I think it¡¯s pork but the taste is¡­ Whoa!¡± Palato took a few steps back and held his head with a frivolous groan that didn¡¯t match him at all. He was in such a hurry that his bangs were soaked in oil as he covered his head with the hand holding the skewer. Arsene, who had been thinking about why all of a sudden, realized that Palato had discovered Elise next to him. Perhaps Palato also realized his ugliness, he coughed belatedly and corrected his posture. ¡°Ugh, excuse me¡­ Lady Elise. It¡¯s been a while.¡± ¡°¡­Yes.¡± Elise snuggled behind Arsene as she received Palato¡¯s words with a sullen look. Arsene looked at Palato¡¯s attitude a little while ago and was finally able to confirm who the person Elise had pulled out the hair of. Obviously, Palato wasn¡¯t this afraid even when he met a beast. ¡°Oh, this is my daughter. I¡¯ve said it before. Airi.¡± The little girl next to Palato bowed her head in greeting. She looked several years younger than Arsene. After a brief period of silence, Palato suddenly turned his head around and said, ¡°Well then, I¡¯ll go first. Come to think of it, our young friends are having a lot of fun over there. If there¡¯s nothing to see, please try it.¡± Arsene glanced at the quickly disappearing back of Palato and patted Elise¡¯s shoulder, who had a noticeably depressed look. ¡°Don¡¯t take it too badly, Ellie. It¡¯s not that Sir Palato doesn¡¯t like you. It¡¯s just, um¡­ something important is at stake.¡± ¡°¡­Okay.¡± To be honest, even the young Arsene was not confident of being calm at all if his hair was at risk, but what if Palato, whose hair was of an important age, had experienced such a thing himself? Although he thought it was bad behavior that hurt children, he honestly understood it. Arsene spoke first to cheer up the depressed Elise. ¡°Is there anything more you want to see? Or, as Sir Palato said earlier, I want to say hello to the other knights. He says there are also interesting things.¡± ¡°Yeah. Actually, I don¡¯t know what¡¯s there to see anymore.¡± Arsene and Elise moved in the direction Palato had spoken. Compared to a while ago, the age of passers-by was noticeably younger. If the people who danced before were middle-aged, now they were probably young people. A loud roar was heard in front. ¡°Whoaa!¡± ¡°Get married! Get married!¡± There, a few knights and servants gathered, clapping and cheering, and in the center, Carmine was spinning around, holding Genovia like her princess. ¡°Hey! Let go! I told you! Let me go! You bastard! Why won¡¯t you let me go!?¡± Genovia didn¡¯t seem to dislike it since she didn¡¯t shake off Carmine even though she was swearing. Carmine was cheering with an excited face, throwing away his usual poker face. When Arsene saw Webble, who was applauding most enthusiastically, he approached him and asked. ¡°¡­Sir Webble, what the hell is this?¡± ¡°Oh, kid!¡± Webble laughed so much that the corners of her eyes were filled with tears. ¡°Because Genovia suddenly grabbed Carmine and said, ¡®Hey! Marry me!¡¯ Was it because of that? After hearing that, Carmine went crazy all of a sudden and became like that! I¡¯ve never seen him like that!¡± Arsene was speechless because he was dumbfounded how someone proposing in such a way could have actually worked. Weren¡¯t they a fantastic couple then? At least, no one would think that ¡®I had no choice but to accept it¡¯ after seeing that image of Carmine. Another laugh burst out next to him, and when he saw what was going on, it was Genovia, holding Carmine over her head and swinging him. It was quite surreal to see a man who was over 2 meters in height being caught and was fluttered by a woman of similar height to him. ¡°Aaaaa!¡± ¡°Spin more! More!¡± ¡°Sir Carmine! It¡¯s nice to see you smiling like that!¡± The squire was enthusiastic and delighted to see the knights, who were their goals and idols, pleasantly destroyed. The other commoners were also laughing out loud. ¡°I¡¯ll listen to what the lord says. I will keep my manners.¡± Webble, who was talking happily, saw Elise hiding next to Arsene and trembled. But for a moment, Webble smiled lightly at Elise, waved his hand slightly, and then consciously looked away. Although the corners of his lips were trembling, that was a very good attitude toward the wizard. Arsene said something to divert Weeble¡¯s attention. Pointing to Carmine, who was now being spun around with his ankle grabbed. ¡°I don¡¯t know if Sir Carmine will get hurt at that rate.¡± ¡°Who cares? As long as he doesn¡¯t break somewhere, he¡¯ll get better soon. Anyway, it went really well! The child born between them will be incredible.¡± Webble¡¯s tone sounded a bit awkward to listen to, as it seemed to be talking about the breeding of livestock rather than blessing his close friend¡¯s love. But thinking about it, it was an extremely natural point of view by the standards of this world. Usually, if one or both of the parents were knights, the probability of awakening and the amount of magical power when awakening increases. ¡°First of all, I want to bless their pure love.¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s fine.¡± Webble also agreed and started clapping loudly. Carmine and Genovia were kissing again, hugging each other. * * * Arsene and Elise were walking to the lord¡¯s house, leaving the village where the festival was held in full swing. It was pretty late at night, so Arsene led Elise in front of her. ¡°Wow, your eyes really shine. They look like cats.¡± ¡°Cats are such a cute metaphor.¡± Arsene remembered the appearance of the knights during the expedition, dealing with small bandits who had attacked at night. Their appearance, walking through the forest with their blue eyes shining, was more like a large beast, like a tiger rather than a cat. Both of them were cats though. ¡°Those two will get married happily, right?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. It might not go as well as you thought it would¡­¡± Arsene, who had replied like that, noticed that Elise¡¯s expression was not very good and changed his words slightly. ¡°Still, they love each other so much. I believe it will be okay.¡± ¡°Right!?¡± Elise jumped and stamped his feet as if she was immersed in an ambiguous situation to be romantic a while ago. Seeing it, Arsene smiled involuntarily. Leaving Elise alone, he muttered, ¡®One day, me too¡­¡¯ Arsene turned his head and looked down at the town glowing in warm orange light. ¡®It¡¯s a really nice place.¡¯ Peaceful and prosperous land, friendly and pleasant people. The place where he was first recognized as a member of society when he had always lived in starvation and humiliation since he was born in this world. Of course, it was possible because Arsene was a knight, and even here, there were those who died and sacrificed while fighting the constant wandering beasts. There existed both pain and sadness between people. It was natural in a society where people lived in such a dangerous and cruel world, or even where they did not. Elise was a victim of such a sad reality. But even considering that, this land was so charming and splendid that he couldn¡¯t help but wish for it to last forever. Looking down at the Beluan estate, Arsene put his hands together and prayed. ¡®I hope this peaceful daily life will not be broken.¡¯ As he prayed, something brightly shining passed over Arsene¡¯s head. A star so bright that, for a moment, it felt like the whole world was turning into daylight. It may be called a comet, but it was too bright to say so. ¡°Amazing!¡± ¡°What the hell is that?¡± When all the young people who enjoyed the festival were amazed at the mysterious starlight, there were beings who woke up with the starlight from afar. The light from afar and the pungent odor that poked the nose. Countless magical beasts around the territory began to run in search of the source that stimulated them. Chapter 21 Chapter 21 ¨C Harvest Festival (2) Luca, a border patrol, was in a very low mood. No, anyone in charge of night security at the once-a-year harvest festival would never feel good. Who in the world enjoyed patrolling the cold and dark border area while everyone danced, ate, and talked excitedly? In fact, bandits were the only ones who had to guard at night. Basically, Beasts didn¡¯t appear at night, and the Beluan Territory wasn¡¯t particularly hostile to the neighboring territory. The only thing they needed to worry about was nothing more than Bandits stealing crops in the dark of night. The fact that they had to just walk and complete the patrol because they couldn¡¯t ride lizards at night also fueled their fatigue. The night patrols, which only relied upon green moonlight and torches while scouring dark borders with their own two feet, were far less popular than daytime patrols. ¡°Luca, what is that?¡± ¡°What?¡± Even before his colleague¡¯s question was finished, Luca¡¯s head was already rising toward the sky. A shining comet. An intense light that was so white and bright that took color away from all beings on the ground swept across the ground. It was an intense sight that Luca had never seen in his 30-year-old life. Even after the comet passed, the light remained for a long time, illuminating the sky and then disappearing. ¡°That¡¯s amazing.¡± ¡°Come to think of it, I heard something similar from my grandmother a long time ago¡­¡± As soon as his colleague was about to say something, a strange sound began to ring in Luca¡¯s ear. The sound of a beast growling, the sound of something leaking out, the sound of something boiling. Luca looked at where the sound had come from and almost dropped his torch without realizing it. Numerous blue eyes were glaring at their side. ¡°Hey, hey¡­¡± He heard his colleague stuttering next to him. Luca clenched his teeth and turned around, picking up the horn he had placed in his arms. Bwo¡ª- woo¨C! The roar of the horn resounded through the plains of the harvest night. Once and again, he blew the horn with all his might, and Luca¡¯s lungs heated up as if they were on fire and ran out of breath. When he finally took the horn out of his mouth was Luca¡¯s last moment. A blade protruding from the darkness lightly cut Luca¡¯s body in half. The bladed leopard, who had cleared the stumbling block with a single swing of its front paw, ran towards the village wall. Behind him, countless demonic beasts were following. * * * ¡°A large horde of demonic beasts is attacking! All unarmed combat forces must immediately go to the lord¡¯s manor and arm themselves! Guards! Climb up the wall!¡± The village during the festival quickly fell into chaos at the cry of a knight named Namer, who was the first to run to the village after realizing the existence of the demonic beast. Some of the villagers rushed into their homes, while others wandered in search of their families scattered during the festival. The story of the beast invading in the middle of the night was originally a joke that even a child would not believe, but the noise of all kinds of beasts from afar brought faith. The chaos that began on the outskirts of the village gradually spread in all directions. ¡°Mommy¡­¡± ¡°Riche! Richie! Where are you! Richie! Answer me!¡± ¡°4th Guards Squad! Where are you all? Gather up!¡± The confusion finally spread to Arsene and Elise, who were returning to the manor. Arsene narrowed his eyes as he saw several people running along the road coming up from the village. The squires and soldiers who enjoyed the festival were running towards the manor with torches. One of the squires shouted while running when he saw Arsene standing on the road. ¡°Sir Arsene! It¡¯s a beast! A horde of demonic beasts is invading!¡± At the absurd information, Arsene asked back. ¡°It¡¯s night right now, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure either! But I definitely heard the sound! We must quickly arm ourselves and head to the wall!¡± Arsene was skeptical of the squire¡¯s words, who shouted with a half-awake expression as if he had been drunk but seeing the appearance of people who kept coming up to the manor, he judged that it was not a lie. There were so many people that he even thought that a rebellion occurred. ¡°Ellie, let¡¯s go quickly.¡± ¡°Huh? Argh!¡± Before Arsene could hear an answer, he took Elise and placed her on his shoulder. In that state, he ran as fast as possible into the lord¡¯s residence, outpacing the knights and squires who were in front of him. Arsene moved to the magic tower and knocked on the door, judging that it was much safer to take him to the tower rather than the manor. Fortunately, Luden immediately opened the door, perhaps doing something on the first floor,. Arsene immediately put down Elise and pushed her into the tower. ¡°Come on, Eli. Get inside.¡± ¡°What? Is the festival already over¡­¡± ¡°They say the beasts have invaded. Please look at Ellie. I have to go down immediately after getting armed.¡± ¡°No, does it make sense that demonic beasts appear in the middle of the night?¡± Even Luden, a knowledgeable wizard, seemed unaware of the situation. ¡°Then I¡¯ll go!¡± ¡°Go first! I¡¯ll be there soon!¡± Arsene quickly closed the door and ran towards the lord¡¯s manor. The light in front of the manor was already brightly lit. Squires and soldiers flocked in to receive their equipment. Arsene¡¯s equipment was in his room, so he grabbed his sword and armor from his room in the manor. The knight¡¯s Jin, which were usually kept separately in the storage room, were all out so that the knights could ride them. One of the squires saw Arsene and cried. ¡°Sir Arsene! You can ride this!¡± Arsene boarded the Jin assigned to him, which was originally owned by Entire, and at the same time instilled mana into Jin¡¯s heart located on the back. He could feel the firm four feet standing on the ground along with a feeling of assimilation he had become quite accustomed to. * * * ¡°Kuakk!¡± As soon as one of the soldiers fell to the ground screaming, three-horned wolves rushed over him and grabbed the soldier¡¯s arms and legs, and tore them to pieces. Webble, who was right next to him, ran and cut the horned wolves and kicked them, but the soldier whose body had already been torn off was already dead. ¡°Damn it!¡± The battlefield was chaos itself. Perhaps the huge bonfire that was lit for the festival attracted all the beasts in the vicinity of the territory, and even after killing them, they continued to flock in without a break. These creatures, united with malice toward humans, climbed up the 3m high wall while leaping, or stepping on the body of other demonic beasts. If it were just one or two, it could be easily kept in check and dropped by stabbing the spear from above, but there was nothing they could do because the number of demonic beasts that climbed the wall were more than the soldier holding the spear. Occasionally, if powerful beasts came up, the knights had to deal with them, and among the knights on the wall right now, only three were properly armed at night. The knights who were enjoying the festival were fighting with the spare equipment of the guards nearby, but these weapons could not handle their skills. It would be nice to return to the manor and get armed, but they were barely holding out because of the hard work of poorly armed knights. As soon as they return to properly equip themselves, the few remaining knights and soldiers would not be able to hold out, and ordinary people in the village will be attacked. Knights who know honor could never step down in such a situation. ¡°It¡¯s an ash moth!¡± When Webble looked up at someone¡¯s cry, he saw a moth with a huge wing that reached 4 meters on one side was flying in the sky. Although a moth was a creature that scared some people even with its small size, raising its size like that had made it a nightmare for anyone. The ash moth flapped its wings at the people on the wall. ¡°Cover your face!¡± ¡°Aaarghh!¡± Some soldiers and squires screamed and scratched their faces as the ash moths flew through the air. The powder secreted from the wings of the vicious beast caused terrible pain and itchiness when it entered the mucous membrane. Since a knight was not free from this, Webble also covered his face with clothes and ran away from the moth¡¯s attack range. Fortunately, the ashen moth¡¯s attack also applies to the enemy. From the direction the ash moth flew to, the beasts on the wall also suffered from the powder, so the beasts did not enter through the gap. ¡°It can¡¯t be like this, someone has to go¡­¡± ¡°Hold on a little longer! Some people have already left. They¡¯ll be back soon!¡± Webble shouted in response to the words of a fellow knight who was sitting next to him and confronted the beast, the feral deer, who was approaching in front of him. At the attack of the beast with its sharp horn that was similar to an awl, Webble avoided the sharp tip and grabbed the horn before entering into a power battle with the beast. The 250-centimeter height giant knight grabbed the horn with all his might and twisted it, and the feral deer¡¯s neck was broken. ¡°Kuahhh!¡± After screaming to get rid of fatigue, he looked around for a bit, but the situation did not get much better. Just then, a fire monkey was approaching from afar. ¡°It¡¯s a fire monkey!¡± ¡°Damn it! All squires, go back! I¡¯ll deal with it!¡± Webble shouted pleasantly, but he bit his lip, thinking deep down that he was at a disadvantage. If it was the usual Weeble, who was fully armed, he would have just hit and killed it, but in the current situation where he was poorly armed, the beast was a threatening opponent. Since there was no weapon, it was impossible to guarantee that it would be done in a single blow, and his life could be in danger if the beast used fire as he was currently without armor. Then, he heard a voice calling him from behind. ¡°Sir Webble!¡± Arsene¡¯s Jin, which was running towards Webble, was loaded with the weapons of several knights. Webble¡¯s Greatsword, Carmine¡¯s Sword and Shield, Genovia¡¯s Spear, Palato¡¯s Javelin, etc. Arsene threw the great sword at Weebble whom he met first. Webble jumped while pulling the great sword that was stuck in the ground and decapitated the beast right in front of him. Then, he rushed toward the fire monkey and shouted. ¡°Great job, kid!¡± Before he could even hear the answer, Arsene was running along the wall and throwing the favorite weapon of the knights he met. The battlefield was entering a new phase. * * * Among the knights currently fighting, Palato was the least active. His right arm injury has improved quite a bit, but it is still difficult to hold a weapon and wield it, so he had to hold the sword with his unfamiliar left hand. As he was a knight, it was enough to protect himself and his surroundings, but his stamina was dropping much faster than the other knights. ¡°Sir Palato, step back a little. You don¡¯t look good.¡± At the words of the squires next to him, Palato raised his uncomfortable arm and wiped his face. He felt the sticky blood. ¡°I guess so, then¡­¡± As soon as he answered, Palato felt goosebumps all over his body and looked beyond the wall into the darkness. An average person would see nothing, but Palato, a knight, could see the outlines, albeit faintly. Something ridiculously ominous hiding in the dark. ¡°Hurry up, call another knight nearby. A friend who is armed if possible. There is one great guy here.¡± ¡°Ah, yes, Sir!¡± In response, the squires hurriedly looked around, but none of the nearby knights could afford to support the place. Everyone was busy taking care of themselves. There was one armed knight, but he also ran back and forth to save his colleagues that were in danger, making it difficult to approach and talk to him. Watching the squires leave, Palato pointed his sword towards the darkness. ¡°Come out-!¡± As if to answer him, something slowly began to crawl out of the darkness. A gigantic beast with tentacles made of darkness that was entangled here and there, as if it had grown roughly the size of a vine. The beast slowly approached the wall. Chapter 22 Palato raised one of the javelins he had saved and aimed at the bizarre beast in front of him. It wasn¡¯t his favorite magic-enhanced javelin, and it wasn¡¯t his main hand, but all of that didn¡¯t matter to him. Because he was a knight who was trained to throw javelins skillfully even though he couldn¡¯t handle a sword skillfully with his left hand. ¡°Haap!¡± Palato¡¯s javelin pierced through the tentacles of the wriggling beast and penetrated inside. The beast squirmed for a while, and the javelin, which had lost its strong momentum, was sucked into the tentacles. Before Palato could understand what that meant, something was shot back from the hole where the javelin had been stuck in. ¡°Kuaghhh!¡± That something flew in and hit one of the soldiers right next to Palato. It was not easy to recognize that it was a fragment of the half-melted javelin. Blood vessels were stained black from where the fragments lodged, and the soldier was complaining of terrible pain. ¡°Ugh, it hurts¡­ It hurts so much¡­ Save me¡­¡± The body of the soldier, who was longing for life and reaching out to Palato next to him, lost its strength and drooped. ¡®If I fire a projectile weapon, he will shoot it back loaded with poison!¡¯ Palato didn¡¯t know if he could properly throw a magic javelin while riding a jin, but in the current situation, he calculated that it would be difficult to land a clear blow with a close-range weapon. Palato immediately brandished his sword and fend off some of the flying javelin fragments. The Vine Beast who approached while shooting javelin shards, finally reached the bottom of the wall and began to slowly climb up. Palato could see the other dead beast¡¯s corpse, which had fallen below the wall, melt with a hissing sound whenever it touched the black tentacles. ¡°Don¡¯t approach him! He¡¯s poisonous!¡± At that time, the squires next to him picked up a torch and threw it at the climbing beast. It may have been an act of hoping that light and fire were incompatible with an enemy in the shape of darkness, but the torch was vainly eaten through the tentacles and disappeared. The flames did not weaken the beast, but rather stimulated it, and the tentacles began to wiggle more ferociously. The brave squire who threw the torch was pierced by the tentacle attack, swung back and forth, and was thrown away. The speed of the tentacles that stabbed in an instant was just as vicious as any knight¡¯s strike. Next to Palato, another squire who took a few steps back unknowingly, shouted in a shocked voice. ¡°Sir Palato! The wall is melting!¡± Hearing those words, Palato saw that the body of the Vine Beast was slowly going down. Instead of climbing up the barrier, the Vine Beast was coming across while melting the wall, making a hole. ¡®Not like this.¡¯ Palato gritted his teeth and looked around. A beast so powerful that several well-armed knights had to cooperate in order to deal with it, and the other beasts tried to enter through the wall opened by the beast. This wall could no longer be maintained. All he could do was issue an order to retreat. To give the order to retreat, Palato took a deep breath. ¡°Re- reinforcements! Reinforcements are coming!¡± When he was about to open his mouth, he turned around and saw fully armed squires and soldiers running towards him. And one knight on a Jin from afar stopped in front of Palato after jumping off several roofs in a row. It was Arsene who ran from one end of the wall to the other. Arsene offered Palato his exclusive weapons: a bundle of javelins and a sword. ¡°Sir Palato, here you are.¡± ¡°You worked hard.¡± Palato took the javelin and fixed it so that it could be drawn with his left hand. ¡°On my way, I delivered weapons to the other knights. In addition, the knights¡¯ armor and carts loaded with Jin are coming down separately, so the situation will soon improve.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good, then¡­¡± Palato¡¯s gaze reached the black figure crawling towards the village after the wall had completely melted. Other nearby squires and around Vine Beast were unable to rush, it seems that they were intimidated by the beast¡¯s overwhelming presence. The Vine Beast continued to advance without any resistance, even though it was slow. ¡°The question is how to deal with him.¡± * * * ¡°Come out!¡± ¡°The beast is coming this way. Get out of here!¡± ¡°Hold on! Let me take this and¡­¡± ¡°Shut up and get out of here quickly!¡± The soldiers dragged out all the residents who were in the house in the direction of the Vine Beast closing in and sent them to the lord¡¯s manor. There were some who were trying to drag time to save their things, but most of them were suppressed with just a few hits of soldiers¡¯ hands. In a situation where they had already lost many colleagues, there was no room left for patience in the soldiers. ¡°It¡¯s coming! Back off!¡± The Vine Beast who entered the residential area stretched out its tentacles in all directions. The tentacles that stretched out began to contaminate the buildings they touched, whether they were made of wood or stone. The building began to corrode with a gut-wrenching disgusting smell even with one breath. Palato was on the roof with another knight and looking down at the beast, atop his Jin which had been brought by the soldiers in carts. ¡°It¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve ever seen such a terrible thing.¡± ¡°What¡¯s its weakness? Does it look weak to fire?¡± ¡°No. I just saw someone try it, and he just destroyed the torch like he was eating it. Rather, it only provoked him.¡± ¡°A javelin?¡± ¡°He took it and shot it back with poison. I don¡¯t know what would happen if it was a magic weapon¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s a tough opponent.¡± The knight who answered that way patted his helmet as if frustrated. ¡°If I fight it head-on, I have a feeling that it will be difficult with just me alone.¡± The man talking to Palato was Ramun, considered to be the best knight in the territory. He was the one in charge of the lord¡¯s escort tonight, but he had come down to the village a little while ago under the lord¡¯s order as it was an emergency. However, this beast he saw for the first time in his life, did not take any action against the Vine Beast. ¡°If even you are having a hard time, it means that one or two people wouldn¡¯t be enough.¡± Palato frowned and groaned in agony since Ramun¡¯s intuition could not be dismissed as a simple feeling, Even at this moment, the Vine Beast was advancing while eroding all the buildings he passed by with an unidentified corrosive poison. The loss of the building was fatal in Beluan estate, where building materials were not very common, aside from the fact that the beast direction was lord¡¯s manor. ¡°Since it melts metal, tying it with something like a chain wouldn¡¯t work. It¡¯s difficult.¡± ¡°It seems that we have no choice but to attack by cutting off the edge first.¡± ¡°Then, let¡¯s start right away. Knights!¡± When Ramun shouted loudly, all the knights on the roof of a nearby building looked at him. Armed with armor and Jin, which the reinforcements had brought by the carts, they were full of courage and confidence, unlike a moment ago when they were powerless. ¡°Siege and attack it! Don¡¯t rush in, just cut off the tentacles!¡± With Ramun¡¯s instructions, the knights all at once drove their camp and began to attack the vines. The beast had neither eyes nor ears, but it sharply stretched out its tentacles and swung it as if it had sensed that a knight was approaching nearby. However, unlike squires and soldiers who had to be helpless, the knight was able to fully recognize such an attack and counterattack. Tentacles began to be cut from all sides with a rattling sound. Unfortunately, losing a tentacle was not a fatal injury for the Vine Beast, and the tentacles continued to appear and regenerate from within. In addition to that, even the body fluid that was not known whether it was blood or something from the cut tentacles contained powerful poison, so the knights had to flee in fright. Fortunately, the poison was not fatal enough to pierce knight¡¯s armor. In the midst of this, Ramun was in the most dangerous place as he faced the Vine Beast head-on, as if his reputation as the best knight in the territory was not an illusion. Although the beast was pushing back with its overwhelming mass, the knights skillfully slashed and cut all the flying tentacles as if they could see the beast¡¯s next move. However, not all knights were able to compete with the beast skillfully. A while ago, a careless knight was hit by a tentacle and bounced off into the distance. ¡®Keuk!¡¯ The moment he cut off one of the tentacles, the fluid splattered into his eye, and Arsene hurriedly lowered his head to avoid the fluid from entering his eye. The armor could block it, but there was no guarantee that even a knight wouldn¡¯t be blind if even a bit of poison that could corrode buildings got into his eyes. It was a dangerous situation that would not be strange even if he died at any time, sharing a battle with the tentacles that continued to attack at the level of a knight. Arsene, who lowered his head like that, saw a strange sight in his eyes. ¡®Huh?¡¯ One of the tentacles, which had been cut off, touched the dark-purple liquid and melted away. When he traced back where the liquid came from, he saw a wooden barrel lying around, gurgling out. ¡°¡­wine!¡± Arsene quickly lifted the barrel to prevent the wine from leaking out, and climbed to the roof of the building right next to it. After he stood on the roof, he threw a barrel of wine with all his might toward the beast¡¯s head. The moment the beast struck the unidentified object that came to him with his tentacles, the barrel was smashed and the wine inside soaked the tentacles of the beast. The wine began to melt the tentacles of the demon with fierce momentum. ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ª! As if it was a creature that could not make a sound until now, the Vine Beast, who had been mechanically advancing and killing repeatedly, screamed for the first time and twisted its tentacles in all directions. Everyone could feel that the demonic beast was complaining of great pain, to the extent that the building collapsed after the beast rubbed his body on it like he was trying to wipe the wine. ¡°Just what was that!?¡± ¡°What¡¯s going on!¡± ¡°Wine is his weakness! Bring wine and sprinkle it on!¡± ¡°What? Wine? No, what is that¡­¡± The knights just looked at Arsene with a blank look as if he were talking nonsense. There were many weaknesses of a beast, but even veterans had never heard of alcohol being one of them. ¡°You just saw it for yourself! That guy¡¯s weakness is¡­¡± ¡°Squires and the soldiers, gather barrels of wine quickly! Hurry up!¡± Palato, who fully trusted Arsene, immediately gave instructions to the soldiers around him. As it was a festival site, there were still barrels of alcohol that had not been emptied. The knights, who received the barrel, climbed up the roof with half doubt and threw it at the Vine Beast. The squires and soldiers did not have the strength to throw a barrel full of alcohol from afar, and if they tried to throw it from close, they would be attacked by the tentacles, so the knights were the only ones who could throw the barrel at the beast. It didn¡¯t take long for the method to prove to be a ridiculously effective way to attack the beast. An intelligent being would be able to recognize that harmful liquids were pouring out whenever it hit something flying toward him, but the Vine Beast instinctively spit out the flying liquid and hit the flying barrel. The beast screamed, roared, screamed repeatedly that could be interpreted as anything, and frantically slammed his body into a nearby building and rubbed his body. Several buildings collapsed, and the screams of those unable to evacuate were sometimes heard, but the knights, convinced that this method would work, continued to throw the barrel without hesitation. Just when they thought that they had mobilized all the barrels nearby, the Vine Beast finally laid down on the ground with a groan that seemed to denote its end. ¡°We¡¯ve done it!¡± ¡°We killed it!¡± The knights who brought 4m long spears used to hunt large beasts pierced the inside of the melted tentacles. After the tentacles of the beast, which had stopped moving, were struck with objects such as swords and axes, a huge brain-like object inside was in a state of being half-bruised spilling grayish-white liquid. It was too shabby for it to be the end of the demonic beasts who stirred the territory with a force that seemed impossible to stop, covered in alcohol. Two knights complained about the dead beast¡¯s corpse. ¡°Oh my God, I¡¯ve never seen such a terrible monster in my life.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fortunate that we fought it within the territory, and if we met it outside, the only answer would have been to run away.¡± ¡°How about the wall?¡± ¡°It¡¯s been a while since that side has done their job. Our side was the problem.¡± Perhaps it was because he threw the barrel most eagerly, Arsene was half-clinging to Jin, feeling exhausted from all over her body. Another knight who drove toward him talked to him. When he took off his helmet, he saw the face of a man in his thirties with thin eyes and a hooked nose. It was Ramun. ¡°It was a very creative idea, Sir Arsene.¡± At Ramun¡¯s hard and dry praise, Arsene barely raised his body and bowed his head to greet him. Normally, he would have treated him with more courtesy, but it was difficult because he was on the brink of exhaustion. Fortunately, Ramun also did not point out whether he was obsessed with courtesy or not. ¡°Mere strength in battle is a trivial matter. The true strongest are those who, like you, can always pierce the enemy in novel and effective ways.¡± It was a tone that didn¡¯t sound like a compliment at all, but the content was a compliment that surprised anyone who knew the usual Ramun. Ramun was known for being very stingy with compliments. Arsene forced saliva to wet his parched throat and opened his mouth. ¡°¡­Praise . Sir Ramun.¡± ¡°Let me keep an eye on you.¡± As Ramun, who left a lasting impression with a meaningful tone, which did not seem to contain only favor, passed by, other people looked at Arsene and began to whisper. Knights and squires also did not forget who was the first to propose the method. ¡°It was amazing! The beast is half as good as we have defeated it!¡± ¡°I salute you, Sir Arsene.¡± Amid the pouring praise and cheers, Arsene smiled faintly and looked up at the sky. Over the mountain range, the sun was shining faintly. A hymn about the ¡®Barrel Knight¡¯ who stabbed the weakness of a mighty beast resounded in the middle of a collapsed town. Chapter 23 ¡°¡­ First, report the damage situation.¡± In the upper seat of the conference room, Lord Nutt sat with a tired face. In addition, all vassals leading the territory, including administrators, knights, secretaries, and squire chief, were gathered at one place. All of them had stayed up all night because of the tragedy during the festival last night. At the command of the lord, the chief administrator emerged unfolding a paper to list the damage, and everyone in the conference hall shook their heads at the horror. For now, the squires and soldiers who were in charge of night security were almost wiped out, and the victims list even included the knights who were fighting hard with poor equipment. It was a loss that would take years to recover if they added up the broken walls, damage to buildings, and civilian losses. Fortunately, during the fierce battle, two squires were awakened into knights, and the count for knights itself was preserved. ¡°Sir Luden, did you investigate last night¡¯s unidentified comet?¡± ¡°After I went through the collected old books and old stories that were handed down, there were some guesses.¡± Arsene could see Luden come out of the tower for the first time. Unlike his usual shabby appearance, he was washed neatly and dressed up, perhaps because it was an official occasion. He didn¡¯t shave his beard though. ¡°There is a legend that stated the existence of a light that awakened the beast in the night a hundred years ago, or even earlier. It¡¯s too old to be confirmed, but I think it¡¯s the same as this one.¡± ¡°What is that comet? Specifically, when will the next one arrive?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure. There are no people left who saw the previous comet in person, and the elderly just heard it as a passing story from their grandparents. It¡¯s definitely not until decades, at least.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± Lord Natt tapped the armrest with a dissatisfied expression. ¡°Maybe the last cycle wasn¡¯t a festival period, but an ordinary day. Since the fire was hardly lit, there would have been no large-scale attacks by the demonic beasts. So, the story of ¡®beasts awakening in the night¡¯ seems to have been passed down only as bluffs or tales.¡± ¡°Then, there isn¡¯t any guarantee that it will arrive in decades or even a hundred years from now?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Administrator, record it. From now on, it is forbidden to light a light larger than a small torch at night unless there is a special reason. All large events, including the Harvest Festival, are to be held during the day. Make sure to write down the reason why this law was enacted.¡± ¡°I understand. My Lord.¡± Everyone was bowing silently, with the sound of scratching against a paper covering the quiet conference room. This time, it was the lord who broke the silence. ¡°Let¡¯s talk about the mysterious beast that invaded the town. Have any of the knights ever met such a beast?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve discussed this with ourselves in advance, but I dare say that none of us have ever seen such a strange beast, My Lord.¡± ¡°Hm.¡± When Ramun answered on behalf of the knights, the lord twisted his mustache with an uncomfortable expression. Then, in a more polite and respectful manner than before, he posed a question to the elderly on the other side of the conference room. ¡°How about the elders?¡± One of the elders opened his mouth to the lord¡¯s polite question. Senior knights who retired from active duty due to old age had no special authority but were recognized for their dedication and experience protecting the territory for many years. Even the lord couldn¡¯t treat them lightly. However, they also had no answer, so they only spoke softly with a lack of confidence. ¡°Likewise, it is a beast we have never seen before. Its strengths and habits were unprecedented, and his weaknesses are¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s wine.¡± Luden added to the remark. ¡°Exactly, they seem vulnerable to all kinds of alcohol. It was the same when I poured beer.¡± Arsene was quite surprised to see the lord having a conversation with Luden. Perhaps as a leader, he was the most natural person Arsene had ever seen to converse with a wizard. To the extent that Arsene wondered if it was possible that he had a peculiar constitution that did not have a negative reaction towards wizards. He had a respectable degree of self-control. ¡°How can we make use of the corpse?¡± ¡°If you let me keep the body, I¡¯ll study it.¡± ¡°I see, it would be better to leave that entirely to a wizard.¡± After such a brief conversation, the lord turned his head to look at Arsene. ¡°Come to think of it, Sir Arsene made a big contribution this time. I didn¡¯t know that having you as a knight would be such a blessing.¡± ¡°It is thanks to the grace My Lord has bestowed upon me.¡± ¡°The wise young warrior has shown his wits. I will repay you accordingly.¡± Arsene bowed his head, expressing humility as much as possible. It was a great honor as a knight to be recognized in a battle, but it would be foolish to express joy in the midst of the tragic incident from the day before. Perhaps he liked Arsene¡¯s modesty, the lord¡¯s face had a faint smile on his face. It was only for a moment before the lord returned to his shady expression again, coughing in vain and calling attention. ¡°Anyway. In the end, nothing has been revealed yet. Why did the comet do such a thing? What is the identity of the beast?¡± The lord, who had clenched his tongue in a distasteful tone, clapped his hands and organized the situation. ¡°This situation cannot be regarded as the fault of anyone in particular. The disaster that came was hard for anyone to predict, and those with swords gave their lives to protect others, and even the knights fought hard to prevent sacrifices despite insufficient equipment. An honorable funeral will be held for the dead. Then, let¡¯s focus on the restoration work.¡± * * * Tears continued in the process of retrieving the rubbles from the buildings that were destroyed and polluted by the assault of the vines, and the bodies of ordinary people who were poisoned and crushed after failing to evacuate. Temporary tents were set up for those who lost their homes when buildings collapsed. Under such a scene, Arsene was acting as an escort for Luden and Elise, who came down from the tower to aid in recovery. On the way down to the village, Luden asked Arsene. ¡°So, what kind of reward did the lord give you? I was told to stay in a separate room.¡± ¡°This.¡± When Arsene lifted his left arm and rolled up his sleeves, a metal bracelet was revealed. The edge was plain black, but it was a design that revealed elegance with gold patterns engraved with an inlay technique. ¡°Is that a relic?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Among the magical objects, objects that did not have power by themselves, but exerted power by the user¡¯s magical powers, were called relics. Most of them were excavated from the ruins of the ancient magic era, and it was almost impossible for modern wizards to make them without obtaining ancient recipes and the like. Typically, Jin, which was activated only by infusing magic power, was one of the relics restored in modern times. For a lord, not a knight, it was one of the most valuable items, even if it was just an ornament. ¡°That¡¯s great. I didn¡¯t expect the lord to give such a treasure¡­¡± ¡°The lord didn¡¯t give it to me, it was a loan. He said he might transfer it completely.¡± In response, Arsene glanced at Elise. The implication of the phrase, ¡®If you were to become part of our family, there is nothing I can¡¯t give¡¯ was clear. ¡®It¡¯s not like I¡¯m being kind to Elise out of greed for money anyway, so there¡¯s nothing to hurt my conscience, but it felt like the lord was going to buy me with money, which was rather unpleasant.¡¯ ¡®Haha, that¡¯s probably how the lord cares about his daughter in his own way.¡¯ If it wasn¡¯t Arsene, no man would be happy to take Elise as a wife, nor would he be able to make Elise happy. As he was going down, Arsene heard a muttering voice in his ear. ¡°¡­a wizard.¡± ¡°There is a wizard passing by.¡± ¡°Wizards, wizards brought this disaster.¡± ¡°If it¡¯s the magic-wielding wizard¡­¡± When Arsene slightly turned his head to see if she heard it, Elise¡¯s face had already turned white. Luden didn¡¯t have a very pleasant expression either, but the old wizard was accustomed to contempt and misunderstanding of the people around him, so his reaction was comparable to nothing compared to Elise. Arsene approached Elise and patted her on the shoulder as he saw tears in her eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. They¡¯re fools who don¡¯t know anything.¡± Elise didn¡¯t answer, but only nodded her head with her face down. In the upper class, they knew, learned, and benefited from magic, so there was relatively less misunderstanding and meaningless contempt for wizards, although physiological disgust could not be helped. On the other hand, for ignorant and uneducated commoners, wizards were unpleasant and dangerous, so they were the object of most resentment when the unknown happened. If someone could do anything with the unknown power of magic, others might believe that the wizards were the cause of the disaster. If it wasn¡¯t for Luden and Elise as vassals and daughter of the lords, they might have already cursed and thrown stones. No, if they weren¡¯t escorted by a boy armed with a sword and dark blue full-body armor that only knights could wear. Those who were whispering among themselves looked at the armor and sword Arsene wore and looked away only when Arsene raised his head and stared at them. ¡®Cowardly bastards.¡¯ If they were actually threatened by magic, they couldn¡¯t even say a word. Humans became weak and ugly in the face of disaster, to the point that it was hard to believe that they were the same people who laughed and danced cheerfully the night before. Arsene opened the way by threatening those who were whispering around. ¡°Get out of the way!¡± After walking like that for a while, when they reached the site where the ground and buildings were charred black, Luden lightly shook his head and relaxed his body. ¡°First, we need to purify the poison from here. Elise, I¡¯ll prepare the magic, so you only apply magic power from behind.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Luden reached out his hands in front of his chest and gathered them together as if they were wrapped around something. After a while, a faint pale green light appeared between them, turning into a cloud, and began to caress the poisoned land and buildings. Elise also placed her hand on the light Luden embodied and provided it with magic power. The magic effect was incredible. Lands and buildings that shed ominous smoke a while ago began to regain their original color. Unfortunately, the corroded or damaged part did not return to its original state, but it was a miracle that the ground, which was not even possible to step on until a little while ago, was purified. In the place where the green light had passed, full brown land returned. ¡°If you look at it this way, magic is like a miracle.¡± ¡°Instead of disaster. Why did the world become this way?¡± In response to Luden¡¯s blunt reply, Arsene looked at the mountain that stretched far beyond the territory. Unlike the inside of the territory, all kinds of plants were twisted, witches and rogues ran around, and it was a poisonous world that ordinary people could not live in. ¡°Did the wizard really bring the world to this point?¡± If that was possible, how powerful were the ancient wizards! Modern wizards were also useful, but it was hard to say that they were strong even as a joke. ¡°Everyone believes so. Then, it doesn¡¯t matter if it¡¯s really the case.¡± In those meaningful words, Arsene had the feeling that Luden knew something more, but didn¡¯t want to say it. ¡°Anyway, it¡¯s okay to go from here to the wall and purify, right?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right.¡± Arsene thought as he saw Luden and Elise walking again. How strange a wizard was! Beings who were not respected even though they played a key role in the maintenance of civilization, doing things that others cannot. Was a wizard-like this even during the ancient magic age? As he was thinking about it, the figure of Elise with her head faced down caught his eye. Elise only responded to Luden¡¯s words with a short answer from earlier, but she kept her gaze fixed as if there was a treasure on the ground. It seemed that people¡¯s gossip earlier had hurt her a lot. ¡°Ellie.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Are you worried about those words earlier?¡± ¡°No¡­ no, I¡¯m used to it.¡± She pretended to be calm, but there was a weeping voice in her answer. Luden, who saw it, wrinkled his mouth, and said, ¡°Now that I think about it, it¡¯s time for lunch. I won¡¯t be eating lunch with you and Elise.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°I want to eat alone while enjoying the scenery outside, so you two eat together. Give me my share.¡± As Luden held out his hand after saying that, Arsene handed over Luden¡¯s share of three lunch boxes he brought. As soon as Luden took the lunch box, he walked somewhere and disappeared. Arsene, who scratched his chin for a while in such a difficult situation, decided to stick to his original purpose. ¡°Then, let¡¯s have lunch together. Where would you like to eat?¡±