episode_0033

As the users gathered to chat before the service termination date, it was a time-honored tradition that would be implemented in the game even hundreds of years later.

Of course, the world wouldn’t actually come to an end, but the scene of users gathering in the market to exchange valuable items was well implemented.

“Selling cheap before leaving. Last chance!”

“I’m looking for a carriage.”

“How much did you find out? Right now, a lot of people are looking for it, so the price is going up.”

The merchants quickly made preparations to leave, and those with much to lose prepared by carrying a club just in case.

Everyone was in a state of confusion. And I knew exactly what to do at this moment.

It was something I had done many times before. Success meant being chosen by the lords, so it was essential for knights to best explain their own value, which was the key to success.

Therefore, every knight had to have at least one thing prepared.

I started my self-promotion.

“I will find Filah!”

“This fluorescent sword, Lavender! From those wicked and corrupt thieves!”

Life’s third round, Lavender appears.

Why the third round? Because Lavender, who had been somewhat moral in the second round of life, died and was reborn in this era as a true, just knight.

A nickname was a guarantee, a certification mark.

Unless the nickname was something like a blood-stained killer, it meant that the person had at least some skill and reputation. So, emphasizing this point, I calmed the confusion.

Among the crowd, a priest suddenly appeared nearby.

Looking as if he had aged ten years in the few hours he had been absent, he glanced around with a puzzled expression, trying to figure out what was going on.

So, this was a kind of… gesture of reconciliation.

Let’s forget what happened earlier and start anew. Even if he had twisted his words, as a priest, there was no need to outright refuse.

And it was better to accept help immediately when asked.

Awkwardly shaking hands in front of everyone in the classroom, as if forgetting the past and reconciling, seemed a bit… odd.

Since others didn’t know about the conversation between me and the priest, it didn’t matter.

Indeed, the priest, an esteemed scholar of this era, skillfully hid his confusion and seemed to understand my intentions well.

And as I had provoked some aggro, and the words fell into place, I took the mic and reassured everyone that they could trust me.

“Warriors have gathered here to punish the reckless ones who oppose the peace desired by the gods! Please rest assured, everyone!”

“….”

But that peace seemed to have disappeared due to someone poking the beehive.

“Please pray, everyone. Pray that this battle ends in victory, and that justice still exists in this land!”

“…Father.”

“Cough! Why, why are you doing this?”

“Shouldn’t we be telling a slightly different story?”

“Ah, yes. Of course, the story won’t change.”

After cutting off the somewhat difficult-to-hear, heartless conversation.

The priest calmed the city’s chaos in his own way, and I, in my own way, continued to build my reputation. And after some haggling with the city’s mayor, who insisted that we couldn’t ignore the issue of money, we roughly agreed on an amount and then left.

And I realized a new fact.

“Status window.”

Paralak. The vow that had been folded was spread out.

The vow was more than just a passport. It could also function as a portfolio for a knight!

The goal of a knight is ultimately to receive land from the lords, in other words, to aim for hiring as an official employee.

In order to do that, it is necessary to appeal to how prepared of a talent one is.

And in a world without certifications and digitized resumes, the only way to show how impressive of a person I am is essentially how much I am talked about by people.

However, stories from far away are difficult to hear accurately, and popularity fades as quickly as it rises.

Even if one were to bloom heroic tales in various battlefields, if there is no one to widely spread them and keep them on people’s lips, it is as good as being silent.

But this vow is different.

First of all, it is a concept of identification guaranteed by the Papal See, so it carries trust. And on top of that, the city’s seal is stamped on it, making forgery difficult.

On top of that, the vow records what the owner of the vow promised and fulfilled. The vow itself is a certificate that states, ‘The person mentioned above has outstanding faith,’ and it includes one’s career.

That is why the vow is a portfolio for a knight.

Furthermore, in the aspect of recording quests performed so far, one could say it is like a status window.

“…Me.”

“Why are you like that, Father?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

He gave me a look that seemed to say, ‘What is this guy doing?’

I just wanted to try it out this time. Even though there is no status window in life’s third round, can’t I at least raise my spirits a bit?

I carefully folded the vow again and handed it to Licia, who was watching me from the side to see what I was doing.

Now that the basic contract was made, it was time to decide specifically what to do. I started talking with the priest and the mayor about support troops and mobilizable forces.

*****

The salvation that Licia was thinking of was nothing special.

A life where one does not have to hope to see tomorrow safely, and happiness.

Among the clergy, there were heated debates about the definition of that justice, but true salvation should be something that people can easily empathize with and is universal.

The girl did not know what happiness was. She did not have a family that gave her enough love when she was young, and even though she received a lot of attention at the church, the form of it was awkward and shallow, so she did not have many experiences.

In that sense, looking for examples of happiness nearby, Lavender was a good reference.

First of all, what seemed to be that he could live without laws made him seem like someone who could live happily even without them.

“Early bird gets the worm!”

“…?”

Even if you don’t know what it means, doesn’t he look happy?

After spending some time with him, she corrected some thoughts.

First of all, it was not that his magic was making his head strange. He was just… always like that. But he still seemed happy, so maybe that’s all that mattered.

So the girl asked Lavender.

“What is that… slogan you say when you wake up in the morning? It’s a word I’ve never heard anywhere else.”

“It’s a prayer to gather your mind to start the day energetically. It was a saying used in my hometown. If it’s hard to understand, you can just think of it as a dialect.”

“If it’s a prayer, what is it for?”

“…To not forget who I am and to not lose my humanity in this world.”

Humanity. Isn’t that something that everyone should follow?

If that exists, does it make you happy? She still didn’t quite understand the connection between those incomprehensible words and happiness, but it was worth a try.

So, what Licia did following Lavender was an effort to understand him.

Of course, the habit of imitating people around her, typical of children, was also one of the reasons.

“Early bird gets the worm!”

“Early bird gets the worm!”

“….”

“Shall we go eat?”

“…Yes.”

Waking up in the morning greeted by the inn, she hesitated for a moment, then met their eyes and awkwardly made her way to the dining area.

“If I were to make a bold statement, fluorescent swords seem pretty cool.”

“Stop….”

“It’s not as bad as I thought….”

For some reason, the men at the inn particularly liked endorsing fluorescent items.

There was a reason behind the girl’s actions.

Following Laven, she couldn’t quite understand why, but strangely, she felt a sense of joy.

Spending time together, wandering around and echoing his words, she felt an increase in happiness. And in that process, she felt like she was starting to understand what happiness truly meant.

So, perhaps.

“….Is this what happiness feels like?”

Receiving attention and concern that she had never experienced even from her parents, she welcomed it, feeling a sense of peace during meals without having to be cautious.

Surely, at first, he had only intended to use her to get to university.

“Learn well when you go to university. There’s nowhere as proficient in magic as a university.”

So when the time came for Laven to leave, she felt an inexplicable sense of unease, and she made an uncharacteristic request without any logical reason.

But this time, unlike when she used to always attach a reason or condition to her words out of habit since childhood.

“Even if we part ways at university….”

“Hmm?”

“…After we part ways, can you come find me again?”

And when Laven nodded without any hesitation, she couldn’t help but smile in relief.

She didn’t quite understand why she felt relieved.

But for now, she felt happy.