Chapter 23. The night guest appears without warning. (9)
Conrad kept laughing as if he couldn’t control the corners of his mouth.
The fact that it looked like a toad hunting for its prey was a problem, if only a minor one.
“Don’t laugh.”
When I blurted out that I couldn’t see anything, Conrad finally wiped the smile off his face. But his mouth didn’t stop.
“Or is it because of Prince Cain?”
“…….”
“You don’t have to worry too much. In my eyes, you are much more worth it!”
Konrad, who had been hit on the muzzle, took a step back.
“Oh my, I’m dying. My mouth is sore and I think it’s going to be hard to eat today….”
He kept making grunting noises behind me, as if he wanted to provoke my conscience.
Me indeed. I didn’t know you had that kind of personality.
Somehow, the people I became close to seemed to have slightly different images from the originals I knew.
‘You’re being cruel.’
If I really made up my mind and hit him, I wouldn’t even be able to make that sound.
But it is true that what he was trying to say made me feel a little better.
In fact, Cain seemed quite shaken by the reactions of the people at the conference hall yesterday.
‘The black knight… … .’
Actually, I was skeptical too. I wonder if this method will really work.
The corpse created by Requiem gives humans an instinctive repulsion. Because it is disturbing to see all the life force being sucked out.
This is a natural reaction for a living being that covets life.
‘I can’t believe the treatment is so different just because I killed a monster.’
When I went around killing humans, there were strange rumors going around, and there were even forces following my trail.
But now, a situation has been created where we focus on the intention rather than the result.
Seeing the pitiful corpse of a monster with all its life force drained from it, people felt more relief than rejection.
Humans are ultimately beings whose minds are inclined toward helping themselves.
‘It may have had the influence of me telling them to go to the subjugation team.’
Perhaps because of this, people seemed to feel that the ‘Black Knight’ was a wonderful and just being rather than a fearful one.
Depending on how you use your power, your reputation could change dramatically.
“You mean he showed up here too?”
“Yes! I saw it clearly!”
The villagers’ eyes sparkled at Mikel’s question.
“In the blink of an eye, he was running from there to here, and all the monsters in front of him were dead!”
“It was refreshing to see how they were defeating monsters with such excitement!”
“And finally, when I got closer-”
One of the villagers who was talking excitedly made a solemn expression.
“Hold on until tomorrow. Help will come soon.”
He lowered his voice and imitated the black knight,
“I said this and left! Oh my, it seemed like there was a halo shining from behind me!”
He was making a fuss again and seemed ready to start a religion.
‘I said that?’
I could barely hold back the laughter that threatened to burst out as I watched him imitate me.
Even the voice that has been discolored by Requiem seems to be packaged like that in a situation where there is a bean on the eye.
“The Black Knight came yesterday too….”
Mikel stood in front of the villager and tilted his head.
“By any chance, what time was that?”
“Uh… the sun was just setting.”
“You showed up during the day….”
He mumbled lowly and stroked his beard.
“Anyway, you’ve worked hard. Now go and rest.”
After organizing the villagers, Mikel gathered the representatives of each knight order.
“Thanks to you, I think our journey has become much easier. If we continue at this pace, we will likely arrive at Node Territory by afternoon.”
Joy waved across people’s faces.
“Finally! It’s Node Territory.”
“Thank you all for your hard work.”
The end of the long, drawn-out subjugation war was just around the corner.
“However, we must not relax our guard just yet. The number of monsters is increasing day by day.”
At Mikel’s request, people tried to pull on the loosened boundaries.
It was then.
“Am I the only one who feels suspicious?”
Cain’s voice was heard with his eyebrows furrowed.
“The Black Knight. I wonder if I can trust someone whose identity and intentions I don’t know.”
He continued speaking with his arms crossed.
“Besides, if you look at the monsters he killed, you can see that he didn’t kill them using normal methods.”
“Honestly, I was a little scared too. The state of the corpse felt like something had been sucked out of it.”
Bennet spoke from the side with a serious voice.
After Cain joined, he became much more energetic and stayed close to Cain’s side the whole time.
“It’s unprecedented for a corpse to become like that in just one day. Couldn’t it be a being using evil magic?”
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Cain ended his speech very seriously and logically.
“I think we should be more careful with him. There is no guarantee that his sword will not be pointed at us.”
After he finished speaking, there was a moment of silence among the subjugation team.
“There is truth to what Prince Cain said.”
“Honestly, I was a little reluctant too. I didn’t say much because it was helpful to us…”
A few people nodded in agreement,
“But the Black Knight is not there to help us.”
“There hasn’t been any problem so far, right?”
Most people seemed skeptical. Although public opinion was not completely shaken, Cain’s remarks created a clear rift.
‘Cain, that bastard… … .’
My eyes grew so cold that they froze blue.
They were pretending to be for the subjugation team, but I could see it in my eyes.
That he is on guard against the Black Knight. He is afraid that the credit he deserves will be taken away.
It’s a rumor that I worked hard to create for days and days, but I can’t stand it being ruined like this.
“I did-”
The moment I open my mouth,
“That’s an absurd assumption.”
There was someone who went faster than me.
‘… … ‘Derek Graham?’
I was surprised and opened my mouth slightly. This was the first time I had seen him speak after being silent throughout the meeting.
Derek said, raising his gentle brown eyes in a rare way.
“If that was really the case, they wouldn’t have attacked us a long time ago.”
“What do you mean?”
An unfamiliar light flashed in Cain’s eyes. It faded in an instant, but it clearly had the meaning of ‘How dare you?’
“…As you know, since we are camping, we are vulnerable at night. If the Black Knight had attacked at that time, we would have been pinned down.”
Derek flinched for a moment at the look in Cain’s eyes, but continued what he was saying without giving in.
“But he only went back after killing monsters. He even helped survivors join us.”
“…….”
“If these aren’t good, positive intentions, what is?”
Cain closed his mouth for a moment. She took advantage of the opportunity and said Hector, who was standing next to her.
“It could be an intention to catch us off guard.”
“Are you letting your guard down?”
“Perhaps we are aiming for the end of this subjugation war. By then, our energy will have diminished significantly and it will be difficult to fight back.”
“He’s targeting our subjugation team? Why?”
Hector stroked his chin and nodded.
“The chances of that happening are not zero.”
Derek bit his lip at his words.
“In the first place, if the Black Knight is proud, why would he hide his identity?”
“…….”
“If he really wants to help us, it would be better for him to join us and fight together rather than sneaking around.”
Cain threw a spark of doubt, and Hector fanned the flame to make it come alive.
‘You two just do unsightly things together.’
The moment I grit my teeth and try to go again,
“I tried to stay quiet, but I can’t help it.”
Someone else spoke first.
All people’s eyes were focused in that direction.
‘… … Conrad?’
As Conrad took a step forward, his unusually large size became even more noticeable.
“Actually, I’ve had a conversation with the Black Knight.”
He said, tilting his face crookedly.
That appearance was exactly like when I reveal something I don’t like.
I was more surprised by what he said than by his attitude when I first saw him.
‘What does that mean?’
People were surprised and came closer to him.
“When did you do that?”
“Has he ever appeared before us?”
Conrad began to speak with an extremely serious expression.
“It was a few nights ago. I was on watch at night, but I had to run some urgent business, so I went a little far away.”
“Don’t be afraid that night. It’s not dangerous.”
“My subordinates have a hard time when I see them nearby doing their business.”
In fact, Conrad’s excrement smells terrible… … . No, I’ll stop here.
“I finished my business and stood up, but to my surprise, I saw a black knight passing in front of me.”
After hearing that, I was dumbfounded.
‘That can’t be possible?’
This is because they always moved around with absolute territory and were careful to never be caught in the sight of the subjugation team.
The same goes for returning. He erased all traces and calmly pretended to be Abel.
“I tried to go up to him and talk to him, but he turned away when he saw me coming.”
“…….”
“I had no choice but to shout out on the spot and ask what the purpose was and why I was walking alone.”
Everyone focused on Conrad’s words with all their attention.
“The Black Knight paused for a moment and said.”
Conrad muttered, cleared his throat, and lowered his voice.
“‘I want to help you, but for now, there are unavoidable circumstances and I am moving alone.’ “I said.”
Surprisingly, the tone mixed with a lowered metallic sound was very similar to when I wrote Requiem.
‘This bastard. ‘What do you really know?’
Conrad may or may not have known that I was looking at him with suspicion, but he finished his sentence steadfastly.
“And then the horse drove away and disappeared from sight. Its speed was literally like a beam of light, so much so that it was difficult to follow it with the eyes.”
His swamp-like eyes reflected Cain and Hector.
“I kept it to myself because no one would believe it even if I told it… but I couldn’t help but tell it because I wanted to clear up the misunderstanding.”
As Conrad finished his story, people started whispering.
“If it’s Vice-Captain Konrad… it’s definitely a believable story.”
“It’s amazing. He’s someone you can really communicate with.”
“What do you think is an unavoidable circumstance?”
It was none other than Conrad.
Because he has been by my side and shown himself to be trustworthy, his story has given people confidence.
“They say so.”
Mikel tidied up the chaotic atmosphere.
“Prince Cain and Captain Hector, please stop being suspicious for now. This is a time for us to cooperate among ourselves, not for bickering over who is right.”
Cain blushed slightly at his calm tone.
“…I didn’t mean to do that. I was just worried.”
“I know. Of course, he brought it up out of concern for our subjugation team.”
Mikel laughed and changed the topic.
“Then let’s get started. Everyone get on the horses.”
The moment he turned around, I caught Cain’s eyes turning cold.
‘I guess you don’t like this situation.’
The sight was very pleasing to see, but at the same time, my heart was agitated by the strange emotions that came over me.
A situation where someone is willing to take my side. To be exact, it’s not me, but the Black Knight.
‘… … ‘What is this feeling?’
It was a very, very unfamiliar feeling for me, who had always had to handle and overcome everything alone.
It’s not that bad… … .
And a few hours later.
“Once you get over this mountain, you’ll arrive!”
Mikel quickened his pace in a bright voice. As the node territory got closer, his complexion gradually brightened.
However, after crossing the mountain, the outer castle of Node territory came into view in the distance.
“……Such.”
“Oh my god, oh my god.”
Everyone had to distort their faces and grit their teeth.
Kyaarrrrrrrrr!
Wow! Wow!
Because of the hordes of monsters that filled the entire area in front of the castle wall.
fantasy,
