Ch.144Question and Answer (1)

# Chapter of the Knight Commander of the Holy Fire Guardian Knights, Schlein.

After facing him, Najin experienced several changes. One was that Najin’s sword aura became clearer, indicating he was approaching germination (發芽).

“It’s ridiculous that you’re already approaching germination, but considering the trials you’ve faced since becoming a Sword Seeker, it’s actually strange that your level hasn’t risen until now…”

Merlin spoke with a mysterious expression.

As she said, Najin had faced numerous powerful opponents since becoming a Sword Seeker.

Right after becoming a Sword Seeker, he faced two Sword Seeker-level opponents, sparred with a Sword Master, and fought the Witch of Glimmer. On top of that, he had dueled with the enhanced White Dragon, a 6th circle black magician, the crows of the Outer Continent, and the Helm Knight who was once a transcendent.

Najin had experienced in just a few months what an ordinary Sword Seeker might face over decades.

Now, having seen through Schlein what sword aura at the level of germination looked like, Najin felt he was on the verge of reaching that state. It seemed like he could grasp it if he just reached out.

This was the first change he experienced.

The second was a change that even Najin found perplexing.

Basically, Najin rarely slept deeply or dreamed. But after facing Schlein, he began dreaming frequently. He might have dismissed this as fatigue, but the problem was the content of these dreams.

Schlein appeared in Najin’s dreams.

Najin saw scenes of Schlein laughing and clinking glasses with comrades, scenes of the territory he was supposed to protect burning, and scenes of Schlein making choices. Perhaps the word “saw” was insufficient. Najin experienced these scenes as if he were Schlein.

“……”

Najin felt the same emptiness and despair that Schlein felt watching his comrades become the undead. He also felt the guilt Schlein experienced when swinging his sword to hunt humans.

“There’s no reason to grieve or despair. Life is a comedy. Dance. Laugh. Sing. Is reality too heavy? If it’s too heavy to laugh, I’ll help you.”

And Najin saw.

A certain knight that Schlein encountered.

“I am Quixote. Knight of Bliss.”

Whether he could be called a knight was questionable, but he called himself one. He attacked the Holy Fire Guardian Knights while laughing and shouting like a clown. Those who were pierced or impaled by his lance all turned into the undead.

Schlein barely survived, but the few remaining comrades all became the undead. That was the decisive moment when Schlein began to break.

“I have something I want to ask.”

After waking from the dream, Najin asked the Helm Knight if he knew someone called Quixote. He wanted to confirm whether this was a dream created by his own delusions or truly Schlein’s memory.

“Where did you hear that name?”

The Helm Knight’s voice immediately grew heavy at Najin’s question. It wasn’t just his voice that became heavy. The air around them sank heavily. When Najin couldn’t easily answer, the Helm Knight exhaled briefly and spoke.

“Knight of Bliss, Quixote. An apostle of the Empress of Bliss.”

Empress of Bliss. That was the name of the constellation Juel had warned about.

Nodding slowly, Najin thought that the dream must indeed have been a glimpse into Schlein’s memories. After all, the person he first saw in the dream existed in reality.

“They say he was once a knight of some kingdom, but there’s no way to know since it was erased. But that bastard now is not worthy of being called a knight. He’s more like a clown.”

The Helm Knight said with a sneer.

“He dances, sings, and flatters before his lord. Quixote is someone who threw away all his beliefs for a nod or gesture from the Empress of Bliss.”

“You seem to know him well.”

“Yeah. Because I’ve met him. I’m the one who put a hole in one of his eyes. I nicely put a hole in his already useless eyeball.”

Indeed, in Schlein’s memory, Quixote had a hole in his eye. Najin was secretly impressed. The Quixote he saw in the dream was powerful. An overwhelmingly powerful being that Schlein couldn’t even properly respond to.

“He seemed quite strong.”

“He is strong. He’s a transcendent too.”

When Najin looked at the Helm Knight with questioning eyes, he shrugged.

“Hey. I was once a transcendent too. Though now I’m in this miserable state.”

“I can see that.”

“The transcendent part? Or the miserable part?”

“Both.”

Tsk, he clicked his tongue and leaned against the wall. Since he had kept watch while Najin slept, it was now time to switch. As Najin took his turn keeping watch and added wood to keep the campfire burning, he spoke to Merlin.

He told her that he seemed to be dreaming Schlein’s memories and asked if she knew anything about this phenomenon.

-No, I don’t know? What is it?

That wasn’t helpful.

As Najin was about to turn his head thinking “I figured as much,” Merlin hastily added:

-Ah, no! How can I know something I don’t know!

‘I didn’t say anything.’

-You just made a face that said “I figured as much.” You were thinking I’m useless, weren’t you!

‘You heard that?’

-I was just guessing, but you really thought that? Wow, wow!

Of course, it was a joke. He had never thought she was useless. Although he belatedly added “I’m joking,” Merlin still seemed upset, sighing as she pounded her chest with her fist.

-Wait. Let me think about this.

After groaning for a while, she snapped her fingers as if something had occurred to her.

-Excalibur! Could it be an Excalibur function? Excalibur is a sword that absorbs starlight, and stars are essentially stories. Maybe there’s a connection.

Merlin nodded.

-Come to think of it, Arthur was like that too. He often faced corrupted knights in the Outer Continent, and when he held their funerals, he would recite what they had been in life and what achievements they had made.

Merlin said he did this even for knights from remote regions who had no connection to Arthur, whom Arthur had no way of knowing.

-At the time, I just thought, well, Arthur knows a lot, but hearing what you’re saying, I wonder if Arthur also glimpsed memories like you?

She didn’t seem certain.

-Don’t look at me like that.

Merlin answered with a sigh.

-Unlike with you, I didn’t share everything with Arthur, so there are things about him I don’t know. There might be more I don’t know than what I do. Arthur rarely talked about his worries or himself. He kept many secrets.

Merlin’s eyes lowered as she said this.

-So he left without any discussion, dumping everything on me. He was the kind of person who thought long conversations were unnecessary and trust was sufficient.

Her voice sounded a bit resentful.

After muttering like that, Merlin suddenly thrust her face close to Najin. Poking Najin’s heart with her finger, she stared at him.

-Don’t you do that. Understand?

‘What?’

-Don’t create secrets between us. Actually, you probably couldn’t even if you tried. Because I’m spying on you.

What should he do with this person who boldly declares she’ll spy on him? Najin laughed incredulously and stirred the campfire. Looking at the sparks that flew up with a crackling sound, Najin glanced toward the Helm Knight.

Though his head was bowed, he didn’t seem to be asleep yet.

“Are you sleeping?”

“Not yet.”

“Then may I ask you one thing?”

“What is it?”

“What exactly does the Empress of Bliss do as a constellation? I heard she has a bad reputation.”

A moment of silence.

Then the Helm Knight raised his bowed head.

“Empress of Bliss (歡樂帝), she is exactly what her name suggests.”

The voice resonating from within that helmet was twice as heavy as usual. Each word was filled with hatred.

“A demon who gained self-awareness. The king of demons, a Demon Lord (魔王), which is why her name includes the character for emperor (帝). Then what does the ‘bliss’ before it mean?”

The Helm Knight spat out the words.

“It means she’s a clown who turns every story into a laughingstock. No matter how noble a story is, the moment it’s told through the Empress of Bliss, it becomes a farce.”

What a terrible constellation.

After saying that, the Helm Knight fell silent. As if he didn’t want to speak any more about that being. He bowed his head again and closed his eyes.

Crackle.

Only the sound of the burning campfire echoed softly.

2.

The strange journey with the Helm Knight continued for a while. Najin had no particular reason to refuse this companionship. Rather, Najin was enjoying traveling with the Helm Knight.

“How will we handle this raid?”

“Raid? We’re simply visiting through the front gate, so the word ‘raid’ doesn’t quite fit.”

“That’s right! Then what’s the method?”

“What else is there besides a frontal assault?”

“You know your stuff.”

The Helm Knight burst into laughter and held out his fist to Najin, who bumped it with his own. Though Najin had initially been bewildered by the Helm Knight’s eccentricities, now he was enjoying them too.

Kwaaaang!

Holding a lance he had picked up somewhere, Najin charged alongside the Helm Knight. The black magicians and demon followers who suddenly received their visit screamed, but Najin’s sword and the Helm Knight’s spear were faster than their screams.

“Why are you doing this to us!”

They expressed their indignation, but it didn’t work well. Seeing the corpses of humans they had tortured and experimented on made any desire for conversation vanish.

“So black magicians can talk.”

“Conversation is for people. Not beasts.”

“That’s quite a good line. I should quote it too. Did you hear that, beasts? By the way, I used to win hunting competitions all the time. That means I’m skilled at hunting beasts.”

An impromptu hunting competition was held, and the beasts’ screams echoed for a while.

“Hmm, today was fulfilling too.”

Being with the Helm Knight, a knight who understood romance, was quite enjoyable for Najin. When hunting black magicians and the undead together, the Helm Knight was a good companion and…

“Ah, you should hold the spear like this there. Lower your posture a bit more…”

“Like this?”

“Huh? Well, that’s right, but… how did you do that? This isn’t a skill that’s easily learned.”

“I’m a bit of a genius.”

“You’re truly annoying, but I can’t deny it. Hmph.”

He was also a teacher who taught techniques and common sense in the Outer Continent. A good companion and teacher. Najin acknowledged that meeting the Helm Knight in the Outer Continent was fortunate. He could learn many things from him.

“Najin, it’s coming that way!”

“I know without you telling me!”

“If you know, then block it, damn it!”

The Outer Continent wasn’t just home to demons, demon followers, and the undead. There were also magical beasts that had transformed after surviving in the Outer Continent for a long time. In other words, magical beasts that craved stars like the undead swarmed around, and the Helm Knight and Najin were often chased by such beasts.

“How the hell do we deal with this!”

Najin screamed as he was chased by wild dogs. No Sword Seeker would normally be chased by wild dogs, but if those dogs were the size of a castle tower, that’s a different story.

Chwaaaaaaak!

Sliding down a slope, Najin unleashed his sword aura.

“Am I supposed to block it?”

“You’re doing it, aren’t you? I’ll finish it off.”

Najin’s sword aura sliced through the wild dog’s ankle with a scraping sound. As the dog that had tumbled down the slope tried to get up, the Helm Knight, who had climbed onto its back, cut off its neck.

“By the way, your speech has become lighter. Didn’t you used to speak more formally?”

“That was me pretending to be a knight. This is actually my natural way of speaking.”

“Is that so? I like this better. The former was too formal and not to my liking.”

“Your way of speaking isn’t much different, you know?”

“I, my friend, have earned my gravitas. Look at this magnificent helmet and the voice that resonates from it. It creates weight naturally.”

“Ah, yes…”

How to deal with beasts that aren’t human.

Najin also naturally learned how to wield a sword against huge targets. Traveling with the Helm Knight was also helpful for Najin’s growth.

One day during their journey together.

Najin suddenly asked the Helm Knight a question.

“What do you eat in the Outer Continent? Besides human hearts.”

“What do I eat?”

“Meals, I mean. Meals. Since entering the Outer Continent, it doesn’t seem like we’ve eaten anything… I don’t feel hungry.”

At that question, the Helm Knight paused briefly, then let out a short “Ah.”

“I forgot because it’s such common knowledge. In the Outer Continent, you basically don’t need to eat or drink. If you have a star, that is.”

He pointed to the stars in the sky.

“Stars are nutrients and food. Just basking in starlight alleviates hunger and thirst. The body has evolved that way. Didn’t you feel your body changing when you obtained a star?”

“I did feel it.”

“That’s all part of the process of moving beyond humanity. Both you and I are becoming distant from ordinary humans.”

In short, he was saying that meals weren’t necessary.

As Najin stroked his chin in wonder, Merlin, who was sitting beside him, spoke up.

-But, sometimes you want to eat something…

“But sometimes you want to eat something.”

By coincidence, her voice overlapped with the Helm Knight’s.

Merlin, whose words had been stolen, sharply turned her head to glare at the Helm Knight, who ignored her gaze and continued speaking. Actually, it wasn’t so much ignoring as the Helm Knight simply couldn’t see Merlin.

“It would be nice to have a proper feast once in a while.”

“Sure. Is there anything to eat?”

“No? We have to find it now.”

As soon as he said that, Merlin quickly tapped Najin’s shoulder. She seemed to have something to say.

-I know. There’s something I used to eat often in the Outer Continent. I’ll tell you. It tastes better than you might think.

After asking the Helm Knight’s permission, Najin went into the forest with Merlin for a while. Excited, Merlin pointed to various trees and taught him how to gather food.

-If you split that tree trunk exactly in a cross shape, honey will flow out. Collect it in a bottle and it’s good to eat. It has to be a perfect cross! Otherwise, poison comes out.

The gathering methods were extraordinary, perhaps because they were Outer Continent plants, but following Merlin’s recommendations, Najin wandered around the forest for a while. Before long, Najin’s arms were full of honey, fruits, and berries.

When he returned to the Helm Knight with these items, the Helm Knight tilted his head.

“What’s that?”

“Food.”

Najin crunched into a fruit. It tasted quite good. As Merlin smiled contentedly at the sight, the Helm Knight scratched his helmet.

“Does that fill you up? Fruit alone isn’t enough for a feast. That’s just a snack.”

He rose from his seat.

“A proper feast requires meat. Follow me.”

“Isn’t this the direction to the land of giants?”

“That’s right.”

“Didn’t you say fighting giants is troublesome and we should avoid getting involved with them?”

“I did.”

“Then why are we going there?”

“Today we’re raiding the giants’ food storage.”

“What?”

“Let’s go.”

The Helm Knight resolutely led the way.

“Wait, why are we raiding their food storage?”

“Those creatures are really good at preparing meat. The seasoning is excellent too. It’s considered a delicacy in the Outer Continent.”

3.

Giants, along with dragons and witches, were beings with inherent mysteries. However, just as dragons and witches had been corrupted, giants too had been corrupted by the flow of time. The direction of their corruption was even more serious than the other two.

The giants of the mythical age had the same level of intelligence as humans and were truly worthy of being called giants (巨人), but the current giants had intelligence levels far below that of beasts, let alone humans.

Uooooo.

Eooooo.

Intelligence at the level of trolls. In this era, giants were nothing more than large trolls. They somewhat resembled humans, but humans didn’t want to acknowledge any resemblance to these drooling giant trolls.

So perhaps they should be called giant trolls rather than giants.

Najin and the Helm Knight sneaked into the land of these beings. Avoiding the eyes of the giants who moved around with thunderous footsteps, the two headed toward a cave. Having raided it many times before, the Helm Knight quickly found the food storage.

“Keep watch outside. I’ll gather what we need.”

While the Helm Knight gathered jars containing meat, Najin kept watch outside the cave. The ground trembled with each step of the giants, who were as tall as castle walls.

There were dozens of such giants.

He might be able to handle one or two if needed, but the thought of so many giants charging at once was terrifying. Najin urged the Helm Knight.

“Please hurry. I think they’re coming this way.”

“Ah, wait. I need to get this too…”

It was then. One of the giants loitering in front of the food storage bent down. The giant’s eyes met Najin’s as it lowered itself to take out a jar of food.

“……”

“……”

A moment of silence.

Then, Najin slapped his forehead. Shit. As Najin muttered this, the giant opened its mouth.

Uooooooooooo!

A roar calling its companions. Amidst the roar that threatened to burst his eardrums, Najin roughly drew his sword, scraping the scabbard.

“We’ve been spotted! Quickly prepare…”

As he drew his sword and turned around, Najin fell silent. The Helm Knight was sprinting at full speed with a jar on his back. Where to? To the opposite side of the cave.

It was a perfect running posture that could be included in a soldier’s training manual. Najin stared blankly at the Helm Knight who was fleeing at full speed without looking back.

Wait, is he…?

“What are you…”

“What are you doing, not running!”

The Helm Knight shouted.

Seeing the Helm Knight sprinting toward the exit on the opposite side of the cave, Najin was at a loss for words.