Chapter – 10
I opened my eyes.
Perhaps it was the price of sleeping on a bare floor without a roof; my whole body was stiff and aching.
Holding my dazed head, I got up, took a water bottle, and drank a sip.
Eileen seemed to have woken up earlier. She was kneeling demurely as the sun began to rise, her hands clasped together and brought to her chest.
It was a prayer.
A motionless, frozen scene.
One could be swept away by the illusion that just by her existence, all the light in the world was gathering towards her.
Seeing her like that, she looks just like an angel.
I packed up my sleeping bag and looked around.
I determined the direction to go based on the sun,
took out some food to eat while walking,
and finally drew my sword to check if there was anything suspicious around.
I was forcing my sluggish body to move with some simple exercises when Eileen finished her prayers and slowly rose from her spot.
I shouldered my pack.
“Let’s go.”
“Wouldn’t it be nice to at least greet each other good morning?”
“Good morning.”
“So it’s a perfunctory greeting.”
Eileen grumbled.
Dark circles under her eyes and a husky voice suggested she hadn’t slept well.
If we could maintain the same pace as yesterday, it would take about two more days to reach the next village.
Until then, we’d have to rough it like this, and I was worried if her stamina would hold up.
The one consolation was that we were out of the forest.
There were no more forests on the path ahead.
Though there were mountainous areas.
The grasses of the plain rustled and welcomed us.
Eileen also seemed inwardly pleased to be free of the damp, uneven forest path, as she hummed a tune while walking.
We walked on without a word, and before I knew it, the sun that had risen in the east was high in the sky.
I suggested to Eileen that we take a short break.
She readily nodded, and we both sat down on the ground simultaneously, without any hesitation.
Eileen spoke in an intentionally tired, low voice.
“This is tough.”
“It would have been nice if we knew how to ride a horse.”
I regretted anew not having learned to ride a horse sooner.
If we had even a moderately sturdy horse, four days would be enough to reach Franz.
Even considering taking Eileen on the back and detouring around the forest.
“You’re a greedy fellow who’s only been here six months. It’s not like I came to Pungrimhwasan expecting to go to Franz with you, so what can we do?”
“…….”
“Why are you reacting like that? It was meant to be some comfort.”
“No. It’s nothing…….”
I couldn’t say that I knew.
It’s just that while trying to somehow replicate the Sword Saint’s secret techniques, I hadn’t had the leisure to think about anything other than the sword.
Right. ‘I had no time’ was the best excuse.
My lukewarm attitude seemed strange to Eileen, and she stared intently in my direction.
I avoided her gaze.
How long had we been like that? Suddenly, the sound of clattering from far across the plain reached my ears.
It was the sound of horse hooves digging into the ground.
“Talk of the devil, and he shall appear.”
As I muttered foolishly, Eileen’s gaze changed to one of disbelief.
Before she could say anything, I cleared my throat and spoke.
“It seems to be heading this way.”
“I felt the same.”
I brushed the dirt off my pants and stood up.
Eileen seemed a bit annoyed that her first break in a while was being disturbed.
After a short while, the owner of the hooves appeared on the horizon.
The distance was still too great to see clearly, but the shiny white armor reflecting the sunlight was strikingly vivid.
Eileen’s face hardened.
“I thought I’d shaken them off, but they caught up surprisingly fast.”
Needless to say, it was a Holy Knight of the Church.
It didn’t take long for him to reach our vicinity.
*Neigh!* He stopped the horse, dismounted, and knelt on one knee towards Eileen.
She let out a deep sigh.
Her demeanor openly showed her displeasure.
Ignoring it, the knight rose and immediately stated his business.
“It is the will of Cardinal Nicolas Cailenden. Lady Eileen. The Cardinal wishes for you to return to the Papal State immediately.”
“Esther, I have no memory of bringing you to Etilheda.”
“Lady Eileen left the Papal State without a word, and shortly after, the Cardinal returned. Lord Nicolas was greatly disturbed and organized the 1st Squadron of the Holy Knights, including myself. To find you.”
“How ironic. The man who was absent for seven months without a trace returns right after I leave the Papal State.”
“It seems you intercepted the correspondence from Pungrimhwasan. He also said he would hold you responsible for this.”
“Was it wrong for me to receive the envoy who came to the Papal State? ‘Hold responsible,’ you say? Who is holding whom responsible?”
“It is the will of Cardinal Nicolas Cailenden.”
“He can’t blame himself for being absent? I knew he was stubborn, but there should be a limit to his unreasonableness. Esther. What are your thoughts?”
“That too is the will of Cardinal Nicolas Cailenden.”
“I should just call you Parrot E. I have no hobby of conversing with an intractable beast.”
She waved her hand dismissively.
Buzz off. It was a gesture telling him to leave.
But the knight didn’t budge, causing Eileen’s eyebrow to twitch.
I watched the two engaged in a fierce war of nerves and thought.
This is the scene.
The scene I need to change.
Eileen returns to the Papal State at this point.
But if I intervene, she won’t turn her steps back towards Franz.
That’s a kind of certainty.
“His Holiness the Pope is critically ill.”
At the calmly uttered words, her body trembled momentarily.
The Celtic patterned decorative button on her white clothes vibrated slightly.
Her pale face turned ashen like a patient’s in an instant.
Eileen, who had been briefly choosing her words, barely managed to murmur.
She couldn’t control her troubled heart, and her voice lacked strength.
“That old man’s been ailing for more than a day or two.”
“He has been coughing up endless black blood and, unable to support his worsened body, often loses consciousness.”
“That old man, who clung stubbornly to life even through all that turmoil, is on the verge of death just as I leave the Papal State? The timing is terribly convenient. It’s as if it’s staged. I can’t help but wonder if I can believe your words.”
“It is the truth.”
“Assuming what you say is true. Even if I go, would the situation change?”
“If it’s the power of the Saintess…….”
“You need to learn to think before you speak. Have you forgotten?”
Though she maintained an expressionless face, a fragment of sadness ultimately seeped through, making it unbearably pitiful.
A warm breeze swirled around the green field as if comforting her emotions, then disappeared without a trace.
Where the wind vanished, only her brilliant silver hair fluttered dazzlingly.
Eileen stated firmly.
“There is no more Saintess in this world.”
“…….”
“Go back. Tell him I cannot come, as I have more important matters.”
“More important than His Holiness the Pope’s well-being?”
“Yes.”
“I cannot believe it. The Cardinal will be angry. Are you sure that’s alright?”
“What an impudent fellow. Why are you worried about whether it’s alright or not?”
The speechless knight closed his mouth, then looked at me, who hadn’t even uttered a word, with an expression full of distrust.
I thought he looked rather pathetic.
Though he pretended to be composed, the red rising to his face showed he was quite irritated by Eileen’s words.
“Wouldn’t it be dangerous?”
“Suddenly changing the subject? Don’t you find it awkward yourself?”
“All alone with just this person, without any attendants. And he’s not even a Church figure.”
“Doesn’t he seem better than you?”
“This ailing youth, you mean?”
Then the Holy Knight suddenly pointed a finger at me.
Being pointed at doesn’t feel good.
I deliberately twitched my eyebrow.
Whether the Holy Knight didn’t care about my reaction or wanted to provoke me further, he didn’t lower his finger.
Eileen laughed, *Kick*, and said.
“He does seem a bit ailing, that’s true.”
“So…….”
“It seems you’re not satisfied with this guy. Well, there’s a good way. You two have a bout.”
What kind of nonsense is this now?
Before the knight and I could react, Eileen continued.
“Esther, if you win, I will return to the Papal State as the Cardinal wishes. But if this guy wins, don’t complain and you go back alone. How about it?”
“A duel all of a sudden? Lady Eileen. My mission is to bring you back…….”
“Then all you have to do is win, right? What, are you not confident?”
“…….”
Somehow, this turned into an interesting development.
A duel.
I felt interest more than bewilderment or fear.
Maybe I was born with a bit of a knack for this.
The knight pretended to ponder.
Yes. Pretended.
In his eyes looking at me, I sensed arrogance, the kind that thought, ‘I won’t lose to someone like that.’
Age, physical size, position.
It seemed he didn’t think he was lacking in any aspect.
But fighting isn’t about those things.
“Yes. If that is Lady Eileen’s wish.”
His tone suggested he was reluctant but forced into it by Eileen.
If he’s going to say that, he should at least put out the fighting spirit burning in his eyes.
Whatever the case, Eileen seemed satisfied.
“Ah. Take off your armor. You should fight on equal footing to avoid complaints later.”
“Of course.”
His tone implied he had expected that much.
“You? If you’re afraid to fight, say so. I’ll call it off, even if it bruises my pride.”
Eileen provoked me like that.
I snorted.
Such a clumsy provocation doesn’t make me angry or hurt my pride.
The acceptance of the duel must be entirely my own will.
I needed to gauge what level I had reached.
In that sense, this fight held sufficient meaning.
I answered by drawing my sword.
And so, a sudden duel was arranged.
In the clearing, the knight and I moved back an equal distance from Eileen.
A pleasant wind, tinged with the plain’s blue hue, brushed my forehead.
An appropriate tension.
A tingling sensation in my hands.
The familiar feel of the iron sword awakened my instincts.
It’s a feeling I rarely experienced in Pungrimhwasan.
The knight was a full head taller than me.
Nearly two meters?
That’s enough to be a giant.
His body, freed from the splendid armor, was impressively muscular as well.
Well-defined muscles.
He must have worked hard to build them.
So he uses a sword.
Even to my untrained eye, the sword he drew seemed quite a masterpiece.
But I didn’t feel much sense of crisis.
I didn’t feel like I would lose.
Call it self-confidence or arrogance, it can’t be helped.
“Ah. Don’t worry about injuries. Just don’t kill each other.”
Eileen’s words were the trigger.
I recalled what she said last night.
She said she could completely heal anything up to a split stomach spilling intestines or one or two limbs flying off.
Even better.
Doesn’t that mean I don’t have to hold back worrying about the aftermath?
The opponent stealthily took a step towards me.
He must be thinking the same as me.
He watched me like that, and at a certain moment, closed the distance in one go and charged in.
Aiming for the neck.
That’s when I admitted I was wrong.
He wasn’t thinking the same as me.
He just planned to pretend it was a mistake and kill me.
Otherwise, there’s no reason to aim for such a vital spot from the start.
There’s no other reason to target the vitals of an opponent you think is weaker than you.
*Clang!* The sound of weapons clashing echoed through the quiet plain.
Without being flustered by the deflected sword, the knight continuously pressed me.
After the neck, the left shoulder.
As I parried, he went for the right collarbone.
As I parried that, he went for the solar plexus area.
It seemed like wild swings, but he never lost his balance by failing to control his movements.
He’s handled a sword before.
The thick sword coming for my solar plexus.
This time, instead of parrying, I angled my sword diagonally against its lower part.
The sword’s trajectory shifted smoothly, like flowing water.
The sword that aimed for my solar plexus grazed the empty air to the left of my face.
But it’s not over.
I naturally altered the path of my sword, which was below the opponent’s hilt.
I quickly rotated my wrist and thrust forward.
Aiming above the neck didn’t appeal much.
The height difference.
I chose the heart area.
The sword thrust straight out without any curve.
I’m not kind enough to go easy on someone trying to kill me.
It would be a lamentable situation for him.
The knight, startled, stepped back several paces, but it was useless.
Thrusting forward is several times faster than stepping back.
He probably knew that too.
As if tensing all his muscles, he quickly adjusted his grip and tried to knock my sword away.
Too slow.
My sword reaching his heart is much faster.
The next moment, the knight would be pierced through the heart and meet his end.
That was my reading, so I didn’t bother to pull back my sword.
Just then, the knight grinned nastily.
A white light enveloped his torso.
I was a little disappointed.
Doesn’t it break the atmosphere of a sword fight?
I understand, though.
When your life is about to be snuffed out, what’s the point of preserving nonexistent pride?
No one can blame him for using his own ability.
My sword couldn’t pierce that divinity.
Divinity itself serves as sturdy armor.
For me, this thrust was a move made after a rapid change, so the power imbued in the sword was somewhat lacking.
I could tear through the skin as much as I wanted, but I probably couldn’t pierce the armor.
But if I said I expected that too, would it seem like I’m showing off?
I changed my stance.
I firmly planted my right foot, forcing the thrust to stop abruptly,
rotated my wrist once more, and slashed horizontally to the left with the sword that was heading for the heart.
My wrist, forced twice, complained loudly, but I ignored it.
But the cut is shallow.
No. I deliberately made a shallow cut.
“Gaaah—!”
*Thud. Clatter.*
The sound of something falling to the ground.
That part of the earth was painted red.
A fountain of blood spurted, and the sound of pain forcing its way out of his mouth reached me.
I let my sword hang.
I let it hang, but the knight dropped his.
Ah, he didn’t drop it.
He was still holding it well.
It wasn’t the sword he dropped, but his wrist.
The wrist severed by my sword held onto the sword even after falling, then finally lost its grip and let go.
I’m not good-natured enough to leave alone a hand that pointed at me without knowing its place; I was aiming for that from the start.
Taking his life or making him a half-cripple would have been fine, but I can’t ignore the Papal State’s watchful eyes.
『Load.
Duel concluded.
Amazing. Incredible!
You have achieved a perfect victory against ‘Esther’, a member of the Papal State’s 4th Dawn Knight Order.
Unbelievable.
Lee Woo-hyun, the summoned otherworlder, has only been in Istalanisia for six months.
Likewise, his sword training hasn’t even reached two hundred days; he’s a fledgling among fledglings.
To put it in terms of life, he could be compared to a child just starting to walk.
But that toddling child…….
Faced a member of the Dawn Knight Order, known for gathering only the most talented individuals from the Papal State.
And severed his wrist without taking any damage.
It ended here because it was a duel; if it were a life-or-death struggle, he would already be dead.
Whether Holy Knight Esther is among the less skilled members of the order,
or is more proficient in handling divinity than swords,
or couldn’t utilize all his proper equipment.
That’s enough! Those are nothing but the pathetic excuses of the defeated.
To be this good in your first duel… I can’t help but have expectations for your growth.
Awesome. Truly! To such a you, I give a small gift.
One. Restore any reduced stamina or physical damage from this duel to its previous state.
…Stingy? I said it was small, didn’t I?
Your wrist muscles must be tingling from surprise; you’re not going to refuse it, are you?
.
.
.
Alright, alright. I’ll fix it!
One. Brings your physical condition to its peak.
All fatigue will be relieved, and previous minor injuries will be healed with high regenerative power.
Satisfied now?
Not satisfied?
…If you want a better reward, achieve something with a bigger action.
– If you publicize this incident, the reputation of the Dawn Knight Order will decline somewhat.
However, you must prove this scene.
As it’s an event hard to believe easily, you might be dismissed as a braggart.
To utilize this entry, you need evidence of this duel, smooth talking skills, or testimony from a reliable person.』
“Ended quicker than I thought?”
Eileen spoke, feigning surprise, as if she had guessed the duel was over by the knight’s scream and the sound of the sword falling.
I thought the same.
It was called a duel, but it ended in less than five minutes.
The reason was simple.
You could say the Holy Knight was weak, but more than that, his very attitude towards the duel led him to defeat faster.
“He was careless in the fight. His weaknesses were too obvious.”
“Even so, he’s quite capable, isn’t he? That guy is called a somewhat talented person even in the Papal State.”
“That’s probably when he’s using his full strength. Chanting divine spells. Wearing shiny armor. Having a priest heal him if injured. Being restored if tired. Not being careless. Then it might be different.”
But even then, I didn’t feel like I would lose.
I picked up the fallen wrist.
Blood was pouring from the exposed white bone.
It was disgusting to look at, but I somewhat liked the cleanly cut cross-section.
I handed it to Eileen.
She approached the knight with a blank face.
“Stop making noise and attach your thing properly. Even if it attaches wrong and you become a cripple, don’t say it’s my responsibility.”
“Gaaaah…….”
The knight screamed, but his face showed he couldn’t believe how things had turned out like this.
Did he look down on me that much?
Perhaps not wanting to become a wrist cripple, the knight endured the pain and held it in place properly.
As Eileen invoked her divinity, the wrist attached perfectly, as if it had never been cut.
It was marvelous.
I took a cloth from my bag and wiped the bloody sword.
There was nothing to be done about the blood splattered on my clothes.
Eileen’s healing was perfect.
The statement that losing a limb wouldn’t be a problem was probably true.
After about ten minutes passed, the knight seemed able to move his hand as cleanly as before.
Though his complexion was pale.
Eileen spoke to the knight, whose expression had darkened.
“You lost, so you’d better give up on following me as promised. Unless you want to disturb my mood further.”
“…If that is truly your will, then so be it. However, you will regret it.”
“Your impudence has grown in no time.”
“…I shall take my leave now.”
The knight looked at me with blazing eyes.
Eyes mixed with anger, doubt, distrust, regret, and shock.
But seeing a defeated dog make that expression doesn’t evoke much feeling.
However, I felt I should give a reply, so I raised my middle finger.
In case you don’t know, it means ‘fuck you’.
It was quite amusing to see the dog unable to say anything and just grimacing.
He left without looking back once.
His departure was as swift as his arrival.
Eileen silently watched his retreating figure until he completely disappeared from view, then turned her body southwest again.
She seemed quite uncomfortable, her brow furrowed with force.
.
.
.
We continued walking.
Until the sun high in the sky gradually set and became sunset.
Until the white moonlight rose again.
Until the sunrise began once more,
until the time when the earth was brightest passed,
and until the waning moon, partially eaten by darkness, shone upon the land.
The blue plain, tinted by the sky’s hue, turned crimson, then was consumed by darkness, and finally regained its blue.
During that time, Eileen and I didn’t exchange a single word.
She seemed to be constantly thinking about something, her face somewhat blank, and I had no intention of disturbing her contemplation.
And, as if lying, two days passed.
A gate leading to our next destination greeted us in the heart of the plain.
Just before entering, Eileen cleared her dry throat, *ahem, ahem*.
It seemed she had something to say.
“Isn’t it strange?”
“What is?”
“That guy isn’t the type to back down so easily.”
By ‘that guy,’ she undoubtedly meant the Holy Knight called Esther.
I didn’t respond.
She continued speaking as if my reaction didn’t matter.
“Regardless of winning or losing the bet, if he doesn’t bring me back, he’ll be quite criticized. He’s the type who lives and dies by his prestige, so he’s not foolish enough to not realize that. It bothers me that he obediently turned back. Yes. As if to say, ‘Go ahead if you want’…….”
“Surely not.”
“But it’s been two days, and he hasn’t taken any particular action. He doesn’t seem to be tailing us either. Suspicious. Something’s fishy. The old man’s life hanging in the balance probably isn’t entirely false either. I’m also bothered by why the Cardinal returned precisely at this time. The gears are meshing and turning perfectly. But I don’t know what drives those gears, you see.”
It’s strange. Something is happening.
“For now, we must continue to Franz. Whether it leads to death or a meal, if we start unraveling things from there, this mystery will also be solved someday.”
Eileen ultimately couldn’t erase her unpleasant expression.
Things to say,
I felt a bit frustrated that I had nothing to say to her.
I pressed my lips together, which hadn’t even opened.
I had no intention of saying useless things.
Guiding her through the shimmering gate was all I could do for her.
