Ch.290EP.63 – A Knight’s Valor Contains No Recklessness (1)

-The first to detect that ‘change’ were none other than the trout leaping up the waterfall.

Splash!

As if suddenly convulsing, the trout collectively fainted.

It was a sudden loss of consciousness, and though they quickly regained their senses, the trout soon struggled desperately to jump over the waterfall.

These weren’t salmon, so their behavior seemed strange, but this abnormal phenomenon wasn’t limited to aquatic creatures alone.

Thud! Thud!

Birds frantically flapped their wings and flew away, while deer and wild boars from the forest, even wolves and their packs, moved urgently.

Despite deer, pigs, rabbits, and foxes being right beside the wolves, the wolves didn’t even glance at them.

As if they couldn’t spare time for hunting now.

The sight of carnivores, wolf packs suppressing their instincts and moving at full speed was utterly bizarre.

It was an ominous phenomenon similar to ants relocating before an earthquake, seemingly a desperate struggle dictated by animal instinct.

Rumble!

Eventually, massive dark clouds formed in the sky, with powerful thunder roaring within them.

It was as if the sky itself was angry, and even people who hadn’t yet noticed the animals’ strange behavior looked up with stiffening expressions.

Though humans might lack the wild instincts of animals, they still possessed some primal senses.

“What’s going on?”

What was about to happen?

…Something ominous was about to occur.

*

*

*

According to the self-proclaimed elderly maid from the previous day, not much time remained before the Great Archfiend’s seal would break.

The reason Ihan had been pushing and criticizing the Modred family was partly because he didn’t have the luxury of time to search for the Great Archfiend’s location.

With less than two days remaining before the seal broke, when would he have time to look?

…However, the Modred family, who should know this fact best, didn’t seem urgent.

Rather than having leisure, it was more like they believed plenty of time remained.

Clack.

“This is called the ‘Jewel Hourglass.'”

“…An artifact?”

“Indeed. We acquired it knowing it would strain Modred’s finances.”

“……”

“Do you notice anything unusual?”

“The powder falling down seems… somewhat off?”

“Correct.”

The large, uniquely shaped hourglass, where jewel powder replaced sand, appeared structurally complex.

It was a spiral-shaped hourglass, and the jewel powder would likely take at least a minute longer to fall compared to regular hourglasses.

Yet now, even after five minutes, the jewel powder still hadn’t fallen.

Ihan wondered if it was broken, but noticing the powder’s subtle movement, he concluded it wasn’t.

Sure enough.

“The Jewel Hourglass has one magic property. It precisely tells the time of a location specified by the user. It calculates 24 hours a day without the slightest error.”

“…But at this slow rate, it wouldn’t finish falling even after three days, let alone 24 hours?”

“Then it’s working correctly.”

“Huh?”

“You said it’s been exactly five years since we disappeared from the outside world, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then this hourglass is accurate.”

“……”

“It’s certainly worth its high price. It’s showing the correct time.”

“No way…?”

It took a moment for Ihan to understand, but he quickly grasped what those words meant.

And furthermore,

“Does time flow more slowly in this space?”

“Rather than slowly, it’s more chaotic. Actually, we can’t even tell if time flows at all.”

“……”

“You know what? During the five years we’ve spent here, our family and soldiers look exactly as they did five years ago. We haven’t aged at all.”

“……”

“According to an academy scholar among our servants, this is due to spatial distortion caused by the complex interaction of various forces in this building. In other words, this place is essentially a prison of time.”

“How long have you been enduring here?”

“I don’t know, I really don’t. I’ve long forgotten about such things.”

“Hah….”

Ihan now understood why the soldiers and others had seemed strangely depressed when he first met them.

Literally trapped in a space where they couldn’t even tell how time flowed, relying only on an hourglass to calculate time—it was fortunate they only developed depression.

Others might have gone insane with mental illness.

‘So that’s why they have such advanced weapons and high-quality knights.’

He had wondered how their weapons could be more advanced than the royal military and why all their knights and troops were exceptionally skilled, but now there was a reason.

They might not have spent just five years here, but perhaps twice that amount of time.

Some might call it a fortunate coincidence or luck, but Ihan considered it a ‘curse.’

…One of the most common jokes he heard during his military service was that “the Defense Ministry’s clock runs slow,” but here it actually did run slow.

Not just a two-year service period, but decades.

And without any leave, leisure, or cultural activities.

‘…Terrible. Depression would hit dozens of times.’

If this wasn’t hell, what was?

If their families weren’t held hostage, desertion would have been unsurprising long ago.

“That’s why I’m especially grateful to you. Thanks to the news you brought from outside, the soldiers are overflowing with vitality. They’ve finally regained their spirits.”

Therefore,

“I must pay the price.”

Whoosh.

“Take it. You’ll need it to reach that pest, the Great Archfiend.”

“…I don’t have change for this.”

Ihan frowned as he grabbed the hourglass.

It seemed too valuable in exchange for delivering a few letters.

However, Margrave Kain Arnold de Modred shook his head.

“On the contrary, we’re short on money. That’s all we can give.”

“Is it okay to give me this? You need it to tell time, don’t you?”

“It doesn’t matter now. Anyway, according to you, not much time remains before the Great Archfiend’s seal breaks, and when that happens, even the most valuable artifact becomes useless.”

“Are you sure?”

The question carried many meanings.

They must desperately want to defeat the Great Archfiend themselves, so was it okay to entrust him with an essential item for reaching the Great Archfiend?

“We have no choice. We can’t leave our posts right now. If our forces abandon their positions, the monsters will immediately reach the surface.”

“…Then how were you originally planning to deal with the Great Archfiend?”

“Father and several knights were planning to form an expedition.”

“Isn’t that elder abuse?”

“It was what Father wanted, so how could I stop him?”

He gave a bitter smile.

It suggested there had been many arguments about this expedition.

And the old knight had been the victor.

“They say no parent can defeat their child, but here it seems no child can defeat their parent.”

“The sorrow of the weak.”

But now the situation had changed.

There was a man here who eagerly anticipated fighting the Great Archfiend and might even be stronger than the old knight.

Not just strong, but a knight with great pride!

Therefore.

“It’s strange. We’ve met for less than half a day, but somehow I feel I can trust you.”

“I don’t feel the same at all.”

“Haha.”

“Well, thanks for your help.”

“Are you leaving already?”

“I’m the type who arrives 30 minutes early for appointments.”

“How diligent.”

“……”

“…I wish you good fortune.”

“You too.”

That was the end of their conversation.

Perhaps this would be the last time they saw each other, but despite that, the conversation between the two men was excessively dry.

It could be because their personalities were too dry, or perhaps they were just unusual people.

One thing was clear though—there was a glimpse of mutual trust.

They had met less than half a day ago, but for men, what matters isn’t how long they’ve known each other but how much sincerity they’ve shown.

In that sense, they were already, if not friends, something very close to it.

That’s why they appeared like close friends despite their differences in status and age.

And so they…

Crash!

“My lord! Forgive my rudeness for entering like this! But, but…!”

“…Calm down. What’s the matter?”

“Ur-urgent report from the scouts! They predict a monster wave in three hours!”

“…What did you say?”

Margrave Kain’s expression quickly hardened.

It hadn’t even been half a day since today’s wave ended.

Another monster wave already?

Even with the Great Archfiend summoning monsters, they had killed just as many, so there shouldn’t be another summoning this quickly.

That’s why his disbelief was understandable, but…

“Al-also…”

The report wasn’t over yet.

“The number of monsters confirmed is 120,000 small ones, 60,000 medium ones, and 20,000 large monsters, totaling 200,000 monsters summoned…”

“……”

Even the messenger seemed to lack a sense of reality as he trailed off, and all composure had vanished from Kain’s expression.

200,000.

That was already an army by any definition, comparable to the full military might of an entire nation.

While Modred’s warriors feared not even 10,000 monsters, they were dumbfounded before the surreal number of 200,000.

But…

“A-also, the scouts report they’ve identified the entity leading the 200,000 monsters…”

“…No way?”

“Yes, it’s that creature.”

Grind!

For the first time, the soldier revealed his anger by gritting his teeth.

Though it was disrespectful, even the soldier couldn’t control his emotions, showing intense hatred for that being.

“The pest, the Great Archfiend, has broken free from its seal, my lord.”

“……”

…For a moment, Margrave Kain wore an indescribable expression.

He seemed to be floundering in a massive wave that hit all at once, but Kain wasn’t a weak ruler who would show an unseemly appearance before his subordinates, and he was an actor who knew how to remain steadfast in any situation.

Therefore, he barely concealed his emotions, but couldn’t help clenching his fist at the turmoil in his heart.

Then suddenly.

“That’s fortunate. I won’t have to go far.”

Flinch!

Margrave Kain’s head turned toward the voice, and he could see:

“I appreciate it coming to me.”

“…Heh.”

It was a mutter mixed with confidence rather than tension, and Kain couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh.

…Because even his own tension was dissipating at those words.