Ch.145Question and Answer (2)

Every day since setting foot on the Outer Continent had been a continuous learning experience. Najin gained new insights almost daily, and moments of realization often came suddenly.

This moment was no exception.

Najin realized that giants, despite their massive bodies, could move with remarkable agility and speed, and that their pace quickened even more when their food was stolen.

Uoooooooohhh!

The giant whose food had been stolen howled. It was a howl tinged with indignation. While Najin fully sympathized with that cry, he couldn’t exactly sit down and cry along with it.

‘Those who want to live must survive.’

Got to do what needs to be done. Najin sprinted with all his might while glaring at the root cause of this whole situation.

Tak, tak, tak!

The Helm Knight was running at full speed with a jar as big as himself hoisted on his shoulder. How he maintained such speed while carrying that jar was puzzling, but Najin set aside that question and shouted at the Helm Knight.

“Damn it, if you were going to run away, you should have told me beforehand!”

“My, how can a knight speak of retreat? Tsk tsk. You still have much to learn.”

“Then what do you call this?”

“A true knight must always advance toward the light. There is light over there. Run toward the light!”

“What nonsense is this…”

“Or you could fight the giant instead.”

“What are you doing? Keep running!”

With the giants’ footsteps thundering “thump thump” behind them, Najin and the Helm Knight sprinted with all their might.

Wooooooooo…!

The giants’ mournful voices echoed from behind, but Najin ignored them. Well, they seemed to have plenty of food anyway, so shouldn’t they share the good stuff? They’re just being greedy.

“But isn’t this stealing? Is it okay for a knight to steal?”

“Tsk. Stealing? We received donations from the giants. Look over there. See how they’re sending us off so enthusiastically.”

“…”

Najin silently looked back. There were giants reaching out desperately toward them.

Uoooooohhh.

Looking again, it did seem like a send-off. Since their farewell was somewhat intense, Najin waved back at the giants.

2.

The giants pursued them diligently, but they were no match for Najin and the Helm Knight. While giants might have existed in the mythical age, in the current era, there were no giants who knew how to use lightness skills. Therefore, it was difficult for giants to chase after two people with different movement techniques.

“Is it really difficult? They were chasing us quite fiercely.”

“When someone steals your precious food, your eyes tend to roll back in your head.”

“Steal? I thought you said they donated it?”

“Don’t sweat the small stuff. It’ll wear you out.”

After returning to their base, the Helm Knight set down the jar he’d taken from the giants’ food storage with a thud. Then he gathered firewood and began building a fire.

“You worked hard, so I’ll grill the meat.”

He took a sword that was lying around in the Outer Continent and skewered the meat on it. While the Helm Knight grilled the meat using the sword as a skewer, Najin prepared the dishes. The modest feast was decorated with fruits and honey that Najin had gathered.

“This is looking quite nice.”

The Helm Knight smiled with satisfaction as he began placing the well-grilled meat on the plates. The taste of the meat was indeed, as the Helm Knight had assured, worthy of being called a delicacy.

“Wow, this actually tastes good?”

“I told you. Giants season their meat really well, didn’t I? The reason they’re called giants (巨人) rather than giant trolls has a lot to do with their gourmet tendencies.”

The meat’s seasoning was quite appropriate. Adequately sweet, adequately salty, adequately rich. Compared to trolls who only eat raw food, were giants’ tastes more refined? Even to Najin, the giants’ seasoned meat tasted quite good.

“Aren’t you eating?”

“I haven’t eaten food in too long. If I put something in my mouth now, I’ll surely get sick. You eat plenty.”

The Helm Knight only grilled and served the meat but didn’t enjoy the meal himself. Since there was too much meat for Najin to eat alone, he put the leftover meat in a jar and buried it in the ground.

“Ah, you can store that one casually. The jar itself is a magical artifact. Amazing, isn’t it?”

While eating fruit for dessert, Najin quietly observed the Helm Knight. More precisely, his helmet. Despite having traveled with the Helm Knight for quite some time, Najin had never seen his bare face.

“Why do you always wear that helmet?”

“Because I’m ugly.”

“What?”

“Someone handsome like you might benefit from not wearing a helmet, but for someone like me who lacks confidence in his face, it’s better to wear one. Covering my face stimulates curiosity, you know? It has its advantages.”

It was unclear whether he was joking or being serious.

The Helm Knight continued with a playful tone.

“Think about it. Why would knights wear helmets in the first place? Once your opponent becomes a Sword Expert, capable of drawing out sword energy, the advantage of a helmet disappears. What’s the point of armor that gets sliced through like paper by sword energy?”

Of course, using high-grade artifacts and expensive iron might block sword energy, but… even that becomes meaningless once you reach the Sword Seeker level.

“Armor, helmets, they’re all meaningless really. They’re just cumbersome and annoying.”

He tapped his helmet.

“The head becomes heavy. The field of vision narrows. Moreover, if there’s a symbol engraved on the helmet or armor, aren’t you just telling your opponent where you’re from? You’re giving away more information, which is disadvantageous in battle. And if that symbol is precious to you… you’ll try to protect it, creating another weakness.”

Stroking the horns attached to his helmet, he said:

“In the end, that’s what they are. Completely useless, uncomfortable, and just annoying. They’re just for show, to look impressive on the outside. That’s all.”

“Then why do knights wear armor?”

“I told you, to look impressive on the outside.”

He laughed.

“Being a knight, you know, it’s not easy. You become a knight shouting about honor and pride, but reality isn’t so accommodating. It’s dirty. It’s miserable. The more you face reality, the more you realize how futile your ideals are.”

In a voice that seemed like a sigh, or perhaps a grumble, he continued:

“Why am I doing this? Is this necessary? Why did I become a knight? Do I have to walk such a difficult path? Honor, pride, what are they anyway? What do I gain by protecting them?”

“…”

“You start to question countless times. Each time you question, you waver. So, the longer someone has been a knight, the more they cling to outward appearances like armor and helmets.”

He knocked on his helmet with the back of his hand.

“They hide their festering insides and pretend to be knights on the outside. They polish their armor, adorn themselves with decorations, and loudly proclaim things like romance and chivalry. Even though they no longer know what meaning these things hold, they can consider themselves knights as long as they act that way.”

With a long exhale, he smiled bitterly.

“Those who can truly consider themselves knights don’t need armor or helmets. They can call themselves knights without such things.”

He raised his finger and pointed at Najin.

“People like you, I mean. Those who find honor and pride beautiful and hold ideals. Such people don’t need to cling to outward appearances. If your inner self is already a knight, what does the outside matter?”

A hint of envy. A touch of admiration.

The Helm Knight lowered his finger with a bitter smile.

“You know, even Kirhov shows his face. He’s confident. Though I think it’s because both he and you are annoyingly handsome.”

“Is it necessary?”

“Huh?”

“Is it really necessary to do that?”

“…What did you say?”

Najin interrupted the Helm Knight, who was trying to end the conversation with a light joke. While tossing a log into the blazing campfire, Najin spoke nonchalantly.

“I asked if it’s really necessary to do that.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Clinging to outward appearances, saying you need to do that to consider yourself a knight—is that really so important?”

“That’s because you don’t understand the world yet…”

“Yes, I don’t understand much.”

Najin shrugged.

“Compared to you, I haven’t lived long, have little experience, don’t know much about the Outer Continent, and don’t know what you’ve been through.”

But, Najin continued:

“Even someone like me knows some things.”

“…”

“It doesn’t matter how you view honor and pride. It’s fine to question them. Everyone struggles and worries. That’s not what’s important.”

“Then what is important?”

“What you want to be.”

Najin looked at the Helm Knight.

His eyes were platinum-colored. Those platinum eyes, resembling starlight, looked straight at the Helm Knight.

“Whether you want to be a knight.”

It was a passage written in the autobiography of King Arthur.

It’s okay to struggle. It’s okay to hesitate. It’s okay to not always act like a knight. But, in the final moment, I will ask you:

Are you a knight?

At the very least, do you want to be a knight?

It was a passage Najin held in his heart. And it was also a passage proven by the life of a certain knight who had made Najin dream. Remembering a certain blue knight who had carried the brightest star from the lowest place, Najin said:

“Even if you lose honor and fall, even if you’re stained with filth, even if your pride is broken, even if you question these things… if in the end, you can’t let go.”

There’s nothing to gain by protecting it.

No one would say anything even if you don’t protect it.

Yet there are those who cannot let go.

“If you can’t let go and dream of being a knight, if you at least try to be a knight…”

Najin knew what such people were called.

“Isn’t that person already sufficiently a knight?”

The Helm Knight fell silent at Najin’s words.

He couldn’t say anything for a while. He didn’t make jokes to lighten the heavy atmosphere as usual, nor did he dismiss Najin’s words by saying he hadn’t experienced enough of the world. He kept his mouth shut, unable to utter a single word.

Crackle, crackle.

With only the sound of the burning campfire echoing, the Helm Knight finally opened his mouth. With a long exhale, he let out a faint laugh.

“Even without clinging to helmets, armor, or banners?”

“Yes, even without those.”

“What matters is how one thinks of oneself, huh.”

Najin threw a log into the campfire. As the new log entered, the dying flames blazed up again. Looking at the flames, the Helm Knight pondered Najin’s words.

“I can’t deny it. After all, it’s the words left by the King of Knights.”

“That’s right. If you want to deny these words, you’d have to pull out Excalibur.”

“You’re using an unfair tactic. How can I deny the words of the King of Knights? That’s cheating when discussing chivalry.”

“If it bothers you, go pull out Excalibur.”

“Hah! You’ve got quite the mouth for someone who’s never tried. I ‘almost’ pulled out Excalibur in my day. The sword even sparkled when I held it.”

The Helm Knight pointed at Najin and exclaimed:

“You youngster who’s never even touched Excalibur, tsk!”

Najin could only smile silently at those words.

And beside Najin, Merlin was doubled over with laughter, which was just a bonus.

3.

“Do you know about fallen stars?”

“To some extent.”

Najin nodded at the Helm Knight’s question.

Fallen stars. Descended stars. Fallen constellations.

He had heard about them from Merlin and had read some records about such stars while browsing through history books.

“I’ve heard about the story of the Ten Thousand Moons. Also about the fallen constellations that blocked King Arthur’s path.”

“Ten Thousand Moons? Ah, you mean the Star of Ten Thousand Moons? I heard it was subjugated by the Sword Masters of the continent. Yes, that one is indeed a fallen star.”

The Helm Knight nodded, but then paused with a “however.”

“What you’re referring to are the Reversed Stars. The corrupted stars that turned black after defying and overturning providence. They are also called fallen stars, but the fall I’m talking about is more literal.”

“Literal?”

“Yes. I’m referring to constellations that have literally lost all their stars and fallen.”

He made a swift downward motion with his finger.

“The Fallen Star, or the Forgotten Star.”

A fallen star.

Or, a star that has forgotten itself.

“When constellations deny themselves or have their achievements denied, they lose stars. With each lost star, the constellation’s mind breaks down and erodes severely. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?”

“It’s exactly like how the dead erode.”

“Right. Constellations aren’t exempt from erosion. In fact, they need to be more careful. When a constellation loses all its stars, it becomes truly terrifying.”

Merlin groaned beside Najin.

It sounded like she was empathizing.

She muttered, ‘It gets a bit terrifying. No, not a bit, a lot.’ What could be so bad? As Najin blinked, the Helm Knight explained:

“A fallen star can no longer maintain human form. From the beginning, becoming a constellation means transcending humanity and becoming a transcendent being.”

“What does it mean to no longer be human?”

“It means acquiring a very unique appearance.”

Well, you’ll see when you see it.

Saying that, the Helm Knight stood up.

“Najin, this is my second request.”

The right of the victor to make three requests of the loser.

The Helm Knight said he would use the second one now.

“From now on, we’re going to subjugate a fallen star, and I want your cooperation. There’s one star that must be subjugated.”

Which star?

To that question, the Helm Knight answered:

“The Knight of Silence, Krinbel.”

He spread his fingers wide.

As if five fingers on his left hand weren’t enough, he borrowed one finger from his right hand to represent the number 6.

“A constellation that once had six stars. The constellation name is ‘The Horn Blower,’ the Bull Horned Star.”

The Helm Knight tapped the horns attached to his helmet.

“The one who broke the horns of this magnificent horned helmet.”