Fortress

Forest.

Sky.

Passing over the forest canopy.

The forest rapidly passing beneath their feet.

Amel, carrying Jang Yu-ha in her arms, [Leaped] low and far, gliding through the air.

With that sensation, she quickly crossed in the direction Jang Yu-ha had pointed.

Facing the wind, Jang Yu-ha spoke.

“Over there!”

“…”

She pointed with her index finger.

After landing.

[Leap] again.

This time, jumping high to look down at the indicated spot.

Just as they felt the sensation of floating in their bodies.

There was a clearing in the forest.

No, a fortress?

It was surrounded by walls, but its size didn’t seem like a village, and the walls looked sturdy with magical power flowing through them, too strong for a mere village.

They landed gently in the open space inside those walls.

Right in the center, surrounded by knights.

“Who are you?!”

“Intruders detected!!!”

The knights drew their swords.

For now, they were quietly captured.

In a room of the fortress.

There seemed to be underground dungeons too, but surprisingly, they were given a decent room.

‘(I guess people really do judge by appearances.)’

‘Why does it work out that way?’

There was even a sofa.

Sitting on the sofa, waiting.

Amel chatted with Jang Yu-ha while waiting for the person in charge of the fortress to arrive.

The chat was mainly about Chris.

Chris was the common denominator between Amel and Jang Yu-ha.

Officially, Amel had met Chris in the game, but Jang Yu-ha didn’t seem to mind that and talked about her experiences with Chris.

Suddenly, remembering the interrogation by the [Followers of the Church of Eternity], a thought occurred to her.

“By the way. Do you know?”

“Know what?”

“About my identity.”

While talking about Chris, Dahyun was often mentioned, and each time it made her feel uneasy.

“You’re Dahyun’s sister, right?”

“…”

The electrical signal scanned Jang Yu-ha’s state.

She didn’t seem to be lying.

If she really didn’t know, it would be unnecessary trouble, and if she was pretending not to know, it was best to leave it as is.

“Ahem. How do you think Chris feels about Dahyun?”

“You’re worried about Chris, who’s been like family with her brother, from the perspective of an older sister, right?”

“Well, something like that.”

“I’ve never met Dahyun, but Chris likes him a lot.”

“From what I heard from Dahyun, they haven’t met much since he became a Hunter?”

“But I think they keep in touch regularly. Did you know that the reason Chris became a Hunter was because of Dahyun?”

Huh? That’s the first I’ve heard of it.

“It’s an old story. When Chris and Dahyun were still in the orphanage. The orphanage was attacked by monsters once.”

I remember.

It was an Orc.

One that ate people.

“Chris hadn’t awakened yet at that time. I heard that Dahyun fought the monster and saved the orphanage.”

“Well…”

That did happen.

The Orc was injured, so it wasn’t in its usual condition.

“That was the catalyst?”

“According to Chris, yes. And you know what? This is just my guess, but…”

Jang Yu-ha moved closer to me with a mischievous face, pressing her hip against mine.

She whispered in my ear.

“Chris, she definitely likes Dahyun.”

“You mean ‘like’ as in…?”

“Of course, I mean ‘love’.”

“…”

“You might not know since you first met Chris here, but our clan leader, she’s desperate to impress you, Amel. She even puts on a coy voice, it’s creepy to watch.”

“…”

Amel recalled her interactions with Chris.

It seemed normal to her.

From her perspective, Chris was always just Chris, so she couldn’t tell what was different.

Coy?

Creepy?

“But is it okay for you to tell me this?”

“My intuition is telling me.”

“Telling you what?”

“That if I tell you, you’ll view us more favorably.”

“…”

It’s an extremely complicated feeling.

How should I respond to that?

Just then.

Creeak.

The door opened.

“Sorry to keep you waiting. I am the person in charge of this fortress. They call me Beogeureo.”

“I’m Americano.”

“I’m Cassandra.”

Cassandra was Jang Yu-ha’s nickname.

Jang Yu-ha took the lead in speaking.

“Before we tell you why we’re here, let us introduce ourselves first. General Beogeureo might not know, but when you report to your superiors, everyone will be surprised.”

“Well, let’s hear who you are first. I’ll make my judgment after listening.”

“First of all, I’m a member of the First Home Clan. Someone like me isn’t really important. The important one is this person!”

Jang Yu-ha gestured dramatically towards Amel with both hands.

“As you’ve probably noticed, General, Amel isn’t just pretty. You sent us here because you thought that if we caused trouble, no one in the fortress could stop us no matter what they did, right?”

“…”

Jang Yu-ha smiled meaningfully.

“This person is the Anonymous who has been causing a stir in the world for the past few months. She’s the strongest hero who has been slicing through high-level monsters at a low level and finally defeated the Death Knight.”

“…”

Beogeureo tilted his head.

“I think I misheard. Did you say Dark Knight?”

“I said Death Knight.”

“That’s too much of a joke.”

“It’s true though.”

Though he didn’t believe her, Jang Yu-ha seemed to enjoy his disbelief, smiling.

“You’ll end up believing it anyway, but when you report to your superiors, please make sure to relay this message. We know there’s a problem with the dungeon, so we’re here to help.”

“Dun…!”

Beogeureo was momentarily surprised.

“I don’t know what you mean. Anyway, as you said, I’ll ask.”

“Yes. And can we tour the fortress?”

“Why is that?”

“Because we’re bored.”

Beogeureo thought.

If they wanted to leave forcefully, there was no one who could stop them anyway.

He decided it was better to give them freedom with an escort rather than let them act in secret.

After Beogeureo left.

“Amel.”

Jang Yu-ha stood up.

She pulled on Amel’s arm.

“Let’s go out.”

“Is there something to see?”

While the fortress facility was interesting, it wasn’t really worth walking around to see.

Even so,

“Of course there is.”

She claims to have an intuition with 98% accuracy.

I couldn’t refuse.

Led by Jang Yu-ha’s hand, we left the room, and although they said an escort would come, Jang Yu-ha said they would come on their own and didn’t wait.

The fortress was a small castle built by piling up rocks.

It’s a garrison for soldiers.

But there are only knights here.

The corridors of the fortress were also made of large, small rocks gathered to create patterns.

Bumpy walls.

The floor was at least smoothed out flat.

Following the corridor outside, we came to an open space created inside the fortress, and the knights turned their attention to Amel and Jang Yu-ha’s appearance.

It was more of a training ground than an open space.

Knights who weren’t on duty were exercising shirtless, doing push-ups or sit-ups, or swinging swords, and some were sparring face to face.

There was no distinction between men and women.

Women also went topless, wearing only something like a sports bra covering their chests.

They were drenched in sweat, but no one blushed at the sight.

There were some who did blush,

Those who saw Amel.

“Over there.”

“…”

I wondered where Jang Yu-ha was going, but it was towards those knights.

She waved her hand big.

“Hello! Hello?”

“Ah, yes.”

She greeted everyone, and separately greeted a knight nearby.

“You must have been surprised by our sudden appearance, right? It’s not every day a beautiful woman falls from the sky. But if it’s alright with you, could you do me a favor?”

“…”

The knight glanced at Amel.

His gaze was lecherous, and

Amel deliberately ignored that gaze.

“What kind of favor?”

“Ah, it’s not a favor. Let’s make a bet.”

“A bet? Well, that’s fine too.”

“We’ve already decided to do it.”

“Uh…”

Jang Yu-ha got confirmation from the knight.

“If you can win in a duel against Amel here, we’ll grant you a wish. But if Amel wins, you have to grant her wish.”

“…”

The knight stared intently.

“How far can the wish go?”

“Anything.”

“Anything.”

Jang Yu-ha asked.

“Is that okay?”

“Well…”

I won’t lose anyway.

Rather, I can’t lose.

Looking at the knights, if converted to levels, they seemed to be around level 40.

It’s a rough estimate so there might be a big error, but there were only about two who seemed skilled enough to possibly exceed level 50.

Among those who didn’t pay much attention to others’ faces, there was a man and a woman who stood out with a uniquely impressive presence. They looked dependable, which I liked.

The knight who accepted the bet said,

“What’s the handicap?”

“The handicap is…”

Amel rummaged through her inventory.

Bare hands would be unfair, so.

What should I use?

“Amel.”

Jang Yu-ha respectfully held out tree branches in both hands.

“Is this what you’re looking for?”

“Oh, thanks.”

I took the tree branch.

It was a branch about the length of three fists with two green leaves attached.

“I’ll use this as the handicap.”

“A tree branch is too much.”

The knight snickered, asking if it was a joke.

“You seem quite trained, it’s too much to face you with just a tree branch.”

“…? What are you talking about? I’m the one who’s going to use it.”

“What?”

“This is enough to deal with you.”

I pointed the branch at him.

The knight, not understanding the situation, stood there with a dumbfounded expression before his face turned red.

Suppressing his angry face, veins bulged on his skin.

“Fine. I accept that bet. I’ll make you whimper under me after I win.”

“Well, it’s your wish.”

I don’t know why Jang Yu-ha made this bet, but it seems fine since I was bored.

It’s actually hard to just keep chatting.

Amel was an outsider.

Conversation itself is difficult.

Thinking about it that way, I started to feel grateful to Jang Yu-ha for initiating this duel.

‘I guess it’s all about perspective.’

Training ground.

In the center.

There was a square, neat stage.

The height itself was the same as other places, but the seams on the floor formed a large square.

It seemed to be a dueling arena, as we were guided,

Amel stepped onto the arena.

The knight stood on the opposite side.

“I am Knight Hans! My wish is to make you my wife!”

“Wow… That’s quite an ambitious dream. I hope you can achieve it. I’ll cheer for you.”

Jang Yu-ha cheered for Hans, looking at him with pity.

Hans’ face turned completely red at her provocation.

“Someone hurry up and tell us to start!”

“Well then…”

Where there should have been a referee.

A knight standing near that spot extended his hand, creating an invisible wall.

Raising that hand,

“Begin.”

He gave the signal.

Hans charged in with a “Hah!”

He swung his sword, but there was no swordsmanship to speak of.

But there’s no way that’s true, right?

He’s underestimating me.

“…”

While dodging,

A bit,

It was like that.

I placed the tree branch on Hans’ nape,

Without Hans noticing it,

He continued swinging his sword.

Backstep.

Dodge.

Dodge.

I followed the footwork.

Hans’ leg was in a good position to trip. I tripped him and made him fall, and Hans’ back was in a good position to step on.

I gently stepped on his back.

“What was your wish again?”

“…I’m sorry.”

Just then, someone raised their hand and shouted.

“That bet! Can I do it too?!”

“Me too!”

“And me!”

“Let me fight you too!”