Ch.311EP.66 – A Night of Knights and Campfire (2)

…the back of my head is tingling.

“Hmm.”

It’s not a physical tingling sensation.

To make his head tingle now would require an electric drill, so he shouldn’t be feeling any tingling sensation otherwise.

Yet it was tingling because,

‘Why are they like that?’

…of the stares fixed upon him.

Not furtive glances, but direct stares coming from all directions, making Ihan feel uncomfortable.

He wasn’t the type to enjoy others’ attention, nor did he take pleasure in being the center of interest.

Not that he enjoyed solitude either, but as someone who merely sought normalcy as an ordinary person…

‘It feels like about 400, no, more than a thousand people are staring at me…?’

Having over a thousand gazes focused on him was inevitably quite burdensome.

With both Modred’s troops who already knew him and the knights who had come to support all staring at him, honestly, this level of attention would make anyone sweat uncomfortably, regardless of whether they enjoyed being looked at or not.

“Spearman, let me ask you something.”

“My name is Lac, you scoundrel.”

“Right, and my name is Ihan, spearman.”

“……”

“I’m not looking for a fight. Just want to ask a question.”

“A question?”

“Yeah, why have those people been staring at me like that?”

“……”

“It’s not just now. I felt their stares consistently even when I was wiping out the monsters earlier…”

“……”

“There are people I’ve never met before, so why are they staring so intensely?”

“…After doing something like that, you expect not to draw attention?”

“Huh?”

“If you create such an enormous flower and expect people to be indifferent, then your conscience should be questioned, scoundrel.”

“…Ah, I see.”

So that’s what all the fuss was about?

Rustle-

Ihan looked at the lotus flowers still scattering in the distance, or rather, the field of lotus flowers.

A surreal sight of aquatic plants blooming on land.

They were merely lotus flowers that had bloomed under the influence of Ihan’s will, meaning they weren’t real flowers.

However, they would remain until the evil spirit’s soul was completely decomposed.

What was this, a return of life?

It was the process of returning the countless life forces that the evil spirit had stolen back to nature, so they would gradually diminish and eventually lose their light.

However,

[Woong-!]

Until that “horn” wore down, the evil spirit’s suffering wouldn’t end.

Though it was just intuition, Ihan felt that the evil spirit wouldn’t vanish even when the flowers lost their light.

Due to the power of the horn left by the bull, and the sacred relic called the Song of the Stars, he suspected it might remain in form, suffering endlessly on this earth.

Even if it was just intuition…

‘These tend to be quite accurate.’

Ihan prided himself on his intuition being fairly accurate as he looked away from the lotus flowers.

And then,

“But what’s so special about that?”

“……”

He continued to ask questions with puzzlement.

So what?

What’s so amazing about it?

“It’s a flower rarely seen in the south, but that’s all it is, right? Seriously. Getting all this attention for something so trivial.”

“…You’re being quite obnoxious.”

“How so? Think about it, spearman. There are spellcasters who can flip the earth, so what’s so special about this?”

“Well, ……that’s true, indeed…?”

“Right?”

As expected of someone who had experienced a 400-year-old spellcaster, his understanding was good.

In a world where spellcasters could drop meteors, flip the earth, and create tornadoes, all he had done was exorcise an evil spirit after acquiring the necessary items.

‘Anyone could do this if they had the will to follow the strategy guide.’

What he had done was something anyone could do if they just had the determination.

“……”

“Why are you glaring at me?”

“Hmm, this makes me reflect on myself. Is this how others saw me?”

“?”

“Ah, they say there’s such a thing as mirror therapy, and this must be exactly it.”

“…?”

Why was this big guy suddenly picking a fight?

* * *

300,000 monsters had been annihilated.

In reality, no matter how strong the knights were, it would have taken not three hours but three days and nights to barely defeat such an enormous number, but thanks to what could only be described as heaven-sent luck, or rather, inevitability, they had easily crushed them.

Deng-

The Song of the Stars, which purified evil and repelled demons, had endlessly weakened the monsters.

Rustle.

With the disappearance of the leader, the evil spirit that had summoned and combined the monsters, they began to self-destruct without the knights having to do anything.

They became entangled with each other, engaging in cannibalistic behavior!

– The reason monster waves are rare is because these creatures are fundamentally incapable of cooperation. Without the birth of their king, or the control of an extremely powerful monster, there’s no greater rabble than this.

The old knights nodded, considering this a natural progression.

Just as animals of the same species can be hostile and attack each other, monsters instinctively try to “annihilate” others of different types beyond mere hostility.

This instinct had been suppressed by the evil spirit Inanna’s blossoming and mind control, but perhaps due to the reactive force of that suppression, or maybe due to the unprecedented power of the Song of the Stars, the fighting among monsters was quite fierce.

At some point, their numbers decreased faster from fighting each other than from being killed by the knights.

One would think that no matter how much they hated each other, hostility toward humans would be their primary instinct, but somehow that instinct was suppressed.

Swoosh!

The next moment, they could also understand the reason for this suppression.

“Aging? Well, demonic power doesn’t distinguish between friend and foe.”

“Forcibly increasing power and causing mutational evolution… It’s only natural that there would be consequences.”

Equivalent exchange—any power comes with a price, and the monsters that had continuously evolved through Inanna’s mysteries now bore the full brunt of the reaction, dying natural deaths.

They simply died as their life force was depleted.

The way they were killing each other was clearly a desperate struggle for survival, trying to extend their lives by consuming their own kind or stronger monsters.

Even as monsters, it was truly pitiful and deserving of sympathy…

“Ah! We can’t let the hide get damaged!”

“Hmm, those claws and tendons could be useful, what a waste.”

“Make sure to collect the grizzly’s liver and gallbladder. That alone is enough nourishment for a year.”

“We need to extract the fresh blood from the trolls and ogres. Do you know how much that’s worth?”

“Of course I do.”

…So pitiful that tears might flow from one’s mouth

Thus, at present, it would be appropriate to shout victory cries as the monsters were annihilated, but…

“……”

…the knights remained silent.

Or rather, they were being cautious.

Whose reaction were they watching?

“Uh, well…”

“Did we… did we really win?”

“They… they won’t come back, right?”

…They were watching the reactions of Modred’s 630 warriors who still couldn’t believe their victory.

“……”

They still couldn’t believe their victory, clearly looking dazed.

For the 630 warriors who had disappeared from the outside world only about 5 years ago, they had fought for decades in this space where time was distorted by Inanna’s power.

For those who had fought more than a thousand, no, more than 10,000 battles, it was simply unbelievable that this “one” battle had brought their decades of fighting to an end.

…It felt like they should be preparing for the next battle right now.

That’s why they still weren’t rejoicing or excited.

They were just bewildered, like lost children.

“…How devastating.”

The old veterans felt their hearts ache at the sight.

They understood that lost feeling.

Despite victory, they were under the illusion that another battle was always waiting.

No, their emotions had been so worn down that they didn’t even recognize victory.

Having lived for too long amid blood and the smell of gunpowder.

It would take a considerable amount of time for them to accept reality.

As the veterans were feeling sorry for them in their emotional wandering…

“Hey, Your Highness the Crown Princess.”

A clear voice pierced through the silence.

“…Are you calling me?”

“Is there another crown princess here?”

“…It feels strange when you address me so formally, hehe.”

“Just accept it when you’re being treated well.”

“Hoho.”

A conversation between a man and woman that didn’t match the solemn atmosphere.

It was undeniably light and playful, but no one could criticize them for it.

That was understandable, as one was the princess of Pendragon, and the other was…

“Do we really need everyone here for the cleanup?”

Undoubtedly, the knight who was the greatest contributor to this battlefield and the main protagonist of the victory—who could give him dirty looks or criticize him?

Well, even without that, the very fact that a princess and a knight were conversing so casually seemed somehow unreal, making it difficult for others to interject, but regardless of their bewilderment, the two continued their conversation.

“Hmm, what do you mean by that?”

“I’m just asking. There are plenty of high-ranking officials here, so there’s no need for too many field supervisors.”

“…You’re not wrong.”

“Then let’s send those folks away quickly.”

“Oh?”

“Do you agree or not?”

“…I feel like I’m about to see something interesting again.”

“I’ll take that as permission.”

…What was that meaningless conversation about?

Despite hearing the exchange between the knight and princess right beside them, they couldn’t understand it, but having received permission, the knight immediately headed toward Modred’s people.

“Everyone, don’t stand scattered around. Gather up. Let’s finish this at once.”

“…Me too?”

“Hurry.”

“…??”

Despite his rudeness in making even the Margrave move, the Margrave obeyed like a gentle lamb.

Somehow feeling that he should listen to those words.

And so…

“Listen carefully, don’t resist this. I’m trying to send you all back safely. Just accept it quietly, understand?”

“?”

“By the way, don’t thank me, thank the little magician chick who lives next door to me. She gave this as a gift.”

“??”

“Well… to put it simply.”

Riiip.

“This is a high-speed discharge certificate, that’s what it is.”

Whoosh!

The knight tore a magic scroll he was somehow holding, and Kain and the others were all enveloped by the water magic emanating from the scroll, causing them to squeeze their eyes shut.

It was an enormous amount of magic power, worthy of being called that of a great mage.

“What…!”

Kain squeezed his eyes shut due to the vast rays of light.

What magic scroll was suddenly appearing here?

Kain was dumbfounded, about to protest that this joke was going too far…

-Chirp chirp!

“…Huh?”

…The moment they opened their eyes, Kain and the others completely lost their senses, forgetting even to protest.

They couldn’t help it because,

Swoosh!

“…The waterfall of Wales.”

The scene before them was one they could never forget, one they had only seen in dreams—a nostalgic sight.

A waterfall, the scenery of their homeland, was welcoming them, and although the cold water of the falls was soaking their heads like rain, they remained speechless and dazed.

Could it be an illusion?

Illusion magic?

As they rationally suspected that the magic scroll might actually be one that showed illusions…

“What are you doing there?”

“……”

“Did you come to see the flowers too, mister?”

“……”

“Oh, right. Santa told me that when dealing with adults, I should greet them first and introduce myself. So, hello, mister! I’m Louise! Louise Aiphera de Modred! What’s your name?”

“……Kain.”

“Wow, that’s the same as my daddy’s name! And your hair color too. That’s amazing!”

“……”

“…Mister?”

“……”

“Why are you crying?”

“……”

“…Hmm, strange, why are so many adults crying today? The weather is so nice and clear.”

The child complained like that, and he wept.

She looked exactly like the woman he had loved, with his hair and eye color, no…

Even if that weren’t the case, he would know.

Because his body, no, his soul was being drawn to her.

With this pull that proved this was no mere illusion…

“…Haa, thank you, thank you…”

He sobbed, repeatedly expressing his gratitude.

To the heavens, or to his ancestors, or…

“Thank you, thank you…”

…to the knight who had created this miracle.

Continuously…

“Huhu, you should have explained before sending them.”

“Isn’t a surprise gift more touching when shown rather than told?”

“…You’re not wrong. But is that really a gift?”

“You don’t understand. The most definitive gift for a soldier on deployment is…”

‘The warmth of family,’ isn’t it?