Ch.128Chapter 128

The moment I heard the piercing scream and rushed to the vice-captain’s office.

Inside were the Warrior looking embarrassed while scratching the back of his head, the vice-captain with a bewildered expression.

And in the corner, huddled up with her arms wrapped around herself, was the Knight Commander, staring at the Warrior with trembling eyes.

The Knight Commander seemed to still be emotionally unsettled even after screaming, her shoulders quivering slightly.

Why was the Knight Commander suddenly reacting this way when she’d only shown foolish behavior until now?

From what I could see of the current situation, it didn’t appear that the Warrior had done anything harmful to the Knight Commander.

“C-Commander. What’s wrong?”

The vice-captain tried to calm the Knight Commander, but this only made her try to hide herself more.

The Warrior gave an awkward smile at the sight.

“Heh, well. Vice-captain, you should have told me the commander was in this state.”

“She’s never shown this severe a reaction since we rescued her. Not even when facing any Outer God.”

Despite the Warrior keeping his distance out of consideration, the Knight Commander seemed to have preemptively panicked, reaching the point of grabbing her head with both hands.

Could it be that the Knight Commander regained her memories upon seeing the Warrior?

I slipped between the Warrior and the vice-captain to approach the Knight Commander.

“Commander, do you remember who this person is?”

“…I don’t know, I don’t know. I don’t know.”

I’ve never seen her look this dejected before.

Just in case, I offered her some of the snacks I’d received from the vice-captain, but unlike her usual self, she just glanced at them once and looked away.

Wow, this is serious.

The Knight Commander refusing food?

This might indeed be a serious matter.

“Hmm.”

The vice-captain seemed to realize the gravity of the situation and patted the Warrior’s shoulder, asking him to step outside.

It was definitely strange that the gluttonous Knight Commander remained composed at the sight of food.

The Warrior twisted his lips and allowed himself to be led outside by the vice-captain.

I was about to follow them but took one last look at the Knight Commander.

Her expression suggested that even she didn’t understand why she was acting this way.

Perhaps something deeply imprinted within her had been triggered.

…What could the Knight Commander have seen in the Warrior to react like that?

#

As the Warrior stepped outside the barracks, he stroked his chin with his finger.

He seemed bothered by the Knight Commander’s reaction to him.

“Hmm, that’s unfortunate. Even accounting for her memory loss, I didn’t expect her to react like that upon seeing me.”

“Did you do something to the commander?”

“Huh? What would I have done? At most, I might have thrown an axe at the commander’s helmet as a joke?”

“…You bastard, while I wasn’t around…”

“Hahaha! Obviously I’m joking. Even I know my place!”

…I wonder if it’s because the Knight Commander has immortality that he makes such jokes so casually.

Well, considering she’s come back to life multiple times after eating The Cook’s food and reaching the brink of death, it seems entirely possible.

“Nothing to be done about it now. Shall we go rest? Now that the tension’s gone, I’m feeling really sleepy.”

“Do as you please. Come work when you feel like it.”

“Now that’s good news!”

The Warrior said with a hearty laugh, and just as he was turning around—

“Oh, Mr. Tanthyn?”

A voice I hadn’t heard often lately, perhaps because of how busy things had been, called from a distance.

This person always seemed to have perfect timing.

The vice-captain and the Warrior both turned toward the voice.

“Who’s the person next to you… oh…”

She couldn’t finish her sentence.

I cautiously guessed it was because her throat had tightened with some emotion that had welled up.

The person looking at the Warrior with disbelieving eyes was Muyeon.

“Ah, daughter?”

The Warrior spread his arms at the sight of Muyeon.

“Oh my, my daughter! Wow, it’s been so long! My goodness, I must have been away for a really long time. You’ve grown so much…”

And the Warrior couldn’t finish his sentence either.

But for a different reason than Muyeon.

His breath was momentarily cut off as he had to catch his daughter who suddenly rushed into his arms.

“Oops.”

“Father…! It is you, right…?”

Tears welled up in Muyeon’s eyes.

The reason Muyeon became a knight.

It was to follow in the footsteps of her father, whom she had lost in the Snow Mountain expedition disaster.

…Yet she had been saddened by the fact that she still couldn’t shake off her cowardly instincts.

And now, her steadfast supporter had reappeared before her.

Muyeon didn’t say anything more.

She just stayed in the Warrior’s embrace, shedding tears for a long time.

“…Daddy’s sorry. You must have had a hard time because of me.”

As he said this, the Warrior gently stroked Muyeon’s head.

Muyeon just burrowed deeper into the Warrior’s embrace, as if throwing a tantrum.

The vice-captain, watching this, suddenly looked up at the sky as if tears had welled up in his eyes.

That guy, he doesn’t usually act like this, but he gets strangely emotional at times like these.

A touching reunion moment.

It might ruin the mood, but watching the Warrior comfort Muyeon, I thought:

It feels somewhat artificial.

#

The next morning.

As soon as I opened my eyes, I headed to the knights’ headquarters.

I was told to just rest after completing an important mission the day before, but when the Warrior suddenly said, “Maybe it’s because I saw my daughter after so long, but I feel energized again!” I had no choice but to accompany him.

When he casually mentioned wanting to go around the area and beat up some Outer Gods, I thought it might be a good opportunity to get a sense of how strong the Warrior really was.

“…I’m sorry, Mr. Tanthyn. You didn’t have to come out.”

“Well, it’s fine. If anything, I feel like I’m intruding on a father-daughter outing after so long.”

“N-no! I’m glad you’re here, Mr. Tanthyn… Ack! I don’t mean ‘glad’ in that way…”

Muyeon started talking to herself, then panicked, waving her arms frantically to deny what she had just said.

Maybe it’s because it’s been a while.

Seeing Muyeon so flustered, all I could do was give her an awkward smile.

Given her inherently timid nature, perhaps her introverted personality was resurfacing.

“Have you been well?”

“Ah, y-yes.”

She seemed to adapt quickly, calming down and giving a slight smile in response to my greeting.

At times like this, it’s best to say something to lighten the mood first.

“Haha, my heart’s racing at the thought of going on a proper Outer God hunt after so long! Yes, it’s more fun to have people around. Uahahaha!”

The Warrior approached us, laughing with a voice that sounded like he’d boiled his vocal cords.

He seemed to have been reporting our position to the vice-captain.

“I never imagined my daughter would walk the path of a knight. Daddy couldn’t have even dreamed of it! Daddy is so proud of you!”

Although Muyeon was quite tall, she looked very small next to the mountain-like Warrior.

Perhaps that’s why, as he stroked her head with a contented smile, they looked every bit like father and daughter.

“F-Father…! Don’t do that in front of others…”

“Haha, sorry. I forgot again. Seeing my daughter grown up so beautifully, I couldn’t help myself.”

The Warrior scratched the back of his head sheepishly and then headed toward the entrance of Rondan.

“Well then, shall we go? Outer God hunting!”

#

“What’s this? Why are there so few Outer Gods around here?!”

After circling the Rondan walls three times already, the Warrior cried out in astonishment.

It was because of the Outer Gods that couldn’t be found no matter how hard we looked.

“In my day, you’d find Outer Gods with every step you took!”

“Since The Huntsman appeared… all the Outer Gods near Rondan are being exterminated.”

“What?! Exterminating Outer Gods?”

The Warrior opened his eyes wide in disbelief.

“There’s someone else as serious about hunting Outer Gods as me?!”

“That person, unlike Senior Warrior, deals with them out of negative emotions.”

I thought they’d just been threatening me with that strange outfit lately, but it seems they’ve been hunting as well.

Come to think of it, I haven’t seen them since visiting the library.

…Living in fear of being pounced on by the Outer God killer, or rather, woman.

Life sure takes you to unexpected places.

“Oh! But I can still see one at least!”

Clearly his attention had diminished, as there were still some Outer Gods left.

As soon as he spotted one, the Warrior grabbed the double-headed axe he had been carrying on his back.

Wait.

But the blade seems completely worn out and even cracked.

Is that really okay?

Wouldn’t that just be like beating them with a club?

While I was thinking this, I couldn’t believe my ears when I heard what Muyeon said to the Warrior.

“Father, that axe is still in good condition and well-maintained.”

“Of course! It’s my favorite weapon.”

“It’s even gleaming, which shows how well you’ve taken care of it.”

…That’s a gleaming axe?

Well-maintained?

“What do you think, Tanthyn! Does it look that way to you too?”

“Yeah, sure.”

I answered reluctantly.

But the doubt in my heart was burning even stronger.