Ch.118Chapter 118

“Excuse me, Vice Commander.”

Upon arriving at the Knight Order Headquarters after being summoned by the Vice Commander, I immediately found myself in an awkward situation due to what she said.

Scratching the back of my head nervously, I addressed the Vice Commander who was staring at me with unwavering eyes.

“Are you serious about that?”

“Have I ever spoken with two tongues?”

Actually, you have.

When we first met, you reversed your decision about chasing Bell away.

When I glared at her with eyes that conveyed this sentiment, she cleared her throat awkwardly before returning to her original expression.

“Yes, Tanthyn. I am serious.”

The Vice Commander repeated what she had just told me.

“From now on, we will carry out an operation to heal the Commander.”

#

After waking up at the branch office, I was still reeling from what had happened at The Gardener’s park when I was suddenly summoned to the Knight Order Headquarters without a moment to collect myself.

At this point, I was starting to wonder whether I belonged to the branch office or directly to the Knight Order Headquarters, but I appreciated how this arrangement allowed me to avoid most of the menial tasks at the branch.

The other knights didn’t even try to find fault with this; instead, they would take over my duties and tell me to hurry along.

Everyone here is really kind.

So I arrived at the Knight Order Headquarters with unhurried steps.

And then she suddenly blurted out those words to me.

“…May I ask what led you to make such a decision so suddenly?”

“Led me? Why are you so fixated on justifications?”

No, that’s not it.

It’s not about being fixated—how am I supposed to carry out a plan with no basis!

This is just like when liberal arts people make unreasonable demands that science people have to somehow fulfill!

“…Because the possibility of success depends on the circumstances.”

…is what I wanted to say, but instead I spoke in the gentlest tone possible.

Fortunately, this seemed acceptable enough, as the Vice Commander stroked her chin with her finger and exhaled.

“This idea first originated during the war with The Advisor.”

As the Vice Commander began on this serious topic, I finally cleared my foggy vision and focused on her words.

“I, along with White Mask and the knights, faced countless Exiled Gods and derivative humans that emerged within Rondan. At first, I thought that would be enough. Since you were dealing with The Advisor.”

I nodded at her words.

Indeed, while the Outer Gods had catastrophic power, the Exiled Gods and their minions weren’t particularly strong beings.

“But the reality was different.”

The Vice Commander contradicted what she had previously considered common sense.

“Like White Mask, I too felt myself growing more exhausted as time passed. At first, I was puzzled. I thought I had simply grown weaker. But that wasn’t it. My body couldn’t handle doing the work of at least 100 knights that White Mask and I were responsible for. And the other knights? They too had to do the work of 10 people each, beyond their capabilities, so they fell like autumn leaves as time went on. I realized we were in serious trouble.”

There’s no fighting against sheer numbers.

Even in Snow Castle, while the bosses had terrifyingly high difficulty, switching to multiplayer mode would drastically reduce the challenge.

Of course, I never got to try it since I had no friends to play with.

Anyway.

There was a contradiction in the Vice Commander’s words.

“Vice Commander, I have a question.”

“What is it?”

“If that’s the case, wouldn’t it make more sense to increase the number of knights?”

Isn’t the issue ultimately about having too few personnel?

If so, increasing the number of knights would reduce the burden on the Vice Commander and White Mask.

The Vice Commander laughed lightly at my words.

“Good question, Tanthyn. Certainly, one could think that way. But you’re overlooking one fact.”

The Vice Commander interlaced her fingers and rested her chin on them.

“There aren’t that many people left in Rondan with enough patriotism for that.”

“Patriotism, you say?”

“Yes, patriotism. Many of Rondan’s residents are struggling just to survive day to day. In other words, they’re so busy trying to live that they don’t have the mental capacity to give anything to others. Being a knight is arduous. It’s dangerous enough that you could die within a week if you’re not careful. Who would follow a call to sacrifice their life for a patriotism that’s already at rock bottom?”

…She wasn’t wrong.

There were plenty of stories about apprentice knights who died at the hands of Exiled Gods on their very first day.

“And that’s not all. Tanthyn, it would be fortunate if we had knights as talented as you. But knights who can demonstrate such talent from the beginning simply don’t exist in the Order. If we had knights like you, we could set out for the snowy mountains right now and defeat the mountain giant without much trouble.”

After finishing her lengthy explanation, the Vice Commander smiled with what seemed like self-mockery.

“If that were the case… the Commander wouldn’t have needed to sacrifice herself.”

Everyone in Rondan walked with their eyes fixed on the ground.

These days, their expressions had brightened somewhat thanks to the Knight Order’s efforts in reducing threats to Rondan, but their posture remained the same.

Asking such people to become knights would be no different from conscription.

One might say, ‘In this situation, conscription is necessary—what kind of privileged talk is that?’ But such arguments only apply in countries where people can afford to eat well.

In Rondan, there were more than a few people who died of starvation because they couldn’t properly feed themselves.

I guess my suggestion was too idealistic.

I had thought that being a knight could provide another career option for the unemployed.

“So the Commander…”

“Yes. If the Commander regains consciousness, our Knight Order’s combat power would increase to the equivalent of thousands, no, tens of thousands of troops. In fact, that’s why we weren’t afraid even when Outer Gods of the highest caliber were summoned to attack us.”

The combat power of the Knight Commander is comparable to that of an Outer God.

Even The Huntsman, who was quite powerful in this world, couldn’t do anything when the Knight Commander grabbed his arm.

The Vice Commander’s suggestion was the best solution in the current situation.

“Do you know how to do it?”

“I’m not exactly sure either… To be honest, I don’t even know the source of the Commander’s abilities.”

“Ah.”

“The Commander has always kept everything hidden. She simply devoted herself silently to protecting Rondan. And now she’s ended up like this.”

So that means there’s no known method.

Hmm.

This is difficult.

“Don’t feel too pressured. I merely wanted to let you know that this is what we’re planning to do from now on. If I find any clues, I’ll tell you immediately, and if you find a method, feel free to try it right away.”

“Understood.”

So now the goal is to restore the Knight Commander.

Perhaps this could be a step toward defeating the mountain giant.

Having an ally with unparalleled military strength would be invaluable.

I walked out of the Vice Commander’s office, deep in thought.

What caused the Knight Commander to lose her memories in the first place?

When I looked earlier, there were many red energies floating around the Commander’s head.

But would removing those truly cure the Commander’s condition?

It wouldn’t hurt to try, but it was a situation where I couldn’t act carelessly.

What if the pain is more than I can handle?

Once before, I nearly fainted after absorbing the pain of someone on the brink of death.

It wasn’t a pleasant experience at all, so unless it was truly an emergency, it wasn’t something I wanted to do.

Hmm.

Memory loss due to an attack by an Outer God.

Then perhaps it’s similar to White Mask’s condition?

White Mask’s face was also transformed because The Dragonslayer bit it.

I think I could handle that much.

It’s just a physical transformation, after all.

Oh.

That’s not a bad idea.

Let’s try it out.

#

I headed straight to the Rondan train station and carefully knocked on the door of White Mask’s room.

I would have been disappointed if he wasn’t there, as I was eager to try my idea quickly, but fortunately, White Mask opened the door immediately.

“Who is… ah, it’s you.”

“Yes.”

“What brings you here? Have you come to learn swordsmanship again?”

White Mask asked with a hint of amusement in his voice, but coincidentally, that wasn’t my purpose.

“Master, there’s something I’d like to try.”

“What is it?”

“I gained a new ability after defeating The Advisor.”

“…You absorbed The Advisor’s ability?”

“Yes, somehow it became my own unique skill.”

White Mask let out an interested sound, then opened the door wider to let me in.

As soon as White Mask let me in, he closed the door, sat down in a chair, and crossed his legs. I carefully sat in the chair opposite him.

“Tell me more.”

“This ability seems to allow me to absorb others’ pain. But perhaps because it’s an Outer God’s ability, it doesn’t just remove the pain—it seems to sever the very cause of the pain. For example, when I absorbed the pain of a knight suffering from muscle aches, his condition was completely cured.”

“Oh ho.”

“I’ve been using it somewhat ambiguously, but when the Vice Commander mentioned wanting to restore the Commander, I thought perhaps I could also heal trauma caused by Outer Gods…”

“…She’s quite obsessive, isn’t she.”

White Mask shook his head upon hearing about the Vice Commander.

“So you want to experiment on me first?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

White Mask lowered his head slightly after hearing my words.

He seemed deep in thought.

The way he was tapping the floor with his toe suggested he was calculating various possibilities.

Of course, I would have understood if he refused.

It was impossible to predict how things would turn out.

But White Mask had a strong experimental spirit.

Soon he nodded and removed his mask.

His beautiful face, like that of a noble lady, wore an expression of determination.

“Very well, give it a try.”

As soon as he removed his mask, bright red energies swirled around White Mask’s face.

It wasn’t as much as the Knight Commander’s, but this too must represent significant pain.

Not just physical pain, but mental anguish as well.

“Then, excuse me.”

I carefully extended my hand toward White Mask’s cheek.