Ch.326EP.69 – The Knight Cheers for the Youth(6)

# Brass Knights

Ihan had heard that name before – the Brass Knights.

One of the three largest factions among the Blood Crusaders, an organization maintained through countless ant-like cell structures.

His former colleagues who belonged to that group had told him:

“They’re knights in name only. The Brass Knights are a den of half-demons. They’ve always focused on demon research. The Black Apostles did conduct many inhumane experiments, true, but the Brass Knights are no better. No, they might be even worse – they don’t hesitate to kidnap anyone, whether human or animal, if it serves their experiments.”

It seemed ridiculous to debate which was worse when both kidnapped people for experiments, but he understood what they meant.

While the Black Apostles had been somewhat cautious during their days as the assassination group known as the Black Moon, the Brass Knights were an extremely radical group.

They were truly a faction that would become as cruel as necessary and use any means to achieve their goals.

And as far as Ihan knew, unpredictable madmen who used any means necessary were dangerous.

‘Because they’re terrorists who could do anything.’

It made them exceedingly difficult to read.

Therefore.

“…They’re really hiding in the royal capital?”

“Certainly. There are at least fifty individuals harboring demonic energy who have infiltrated the capital.”

The woman answered with an expressionless face.

“They still underestimate the kingdom and the temple. I wonder if they’re really being careless after suffering such losses.”

The woman, Pierre, wore a sneer.

Her eyes suggested she was thinking of rats scurrying about here and there, deluding themselves that they were in control of the situation.

However.

“If you knew, why didn’t you stop them?”

Ihan reproached her.

If you knew, you should have stopped them earlier, why wait until now to act urgently? And why act so smug about it?

His rebuke carried multiple meanings, and in response…

“……”

Pierre averted her gaze.

Though still expressionless, she seemed somewhat embarrassed…

* * *

Ihan accepted Raphael’s request.

If it had been a request from the temple people, he would have given them the middle finger, but this was Raphael’s favor. Besides, these cult members no longer just hated the temple.

‘These disgusting bastards…!’

They had become vermin that even Ihan didn’t hesitate to despise.

At some point, they had become targets for extermination no less than spellcasters, which was reason enough to accept the request.

However, accepting was one thing…

“Why deliberately let them in when you knew they were mixed among the kingdom’s nobles, especially at this time?”

“…!”

“Speak, you bastard.”

“You… need to… let go… of my… collar… to let me… speak…”

“…Ah. So you can talk.”

In a private room of an old inn, with a thud! Pierre, freed from his grasp, coughed repeatedly as if she had barely survived.

The treatment was undeniably harsh.

Not that his treatment of women was too rough, but rather his handling of this temple-assigned personnel was severe. Yet Pierre lacked the courage to talk back to him.

It wasn’t fear from nearly seeing death’s door when grabbed by the collar.

Rather, Pierre simply couldn’t stand up to him.

…After all, Pierre had lost his trust long ago.

It was none other than Pierre who had earned the label of “worse than a beast” from Ihan, who normally maintained some gentleness toward women even while advocating gender equality.

It was her own doing, but still.

‘I should be grateful he’s not killing me.’

Pierre had betrayed his trust multiple times and disappointed him often.

‘I even abandoned my work at the Academy and returned to the temple on my own.’

Frankly speaking, without Raphael’s protection, Pierre would have already met her end at his hands.

That’s how much of a sinner Pierre was in his eyes.

So much so that she couldn’t complain about being roughly handled…

Therefore, Pierre endured the pain rising from her neck and hips as she continued speaking.

“Huff… First, we weren’t hiding information about the Brass Knights without reason. In fact, the upper echelons of both the royal family and temple advocated canceling this banquet.”

“Canceling?”

“Yes. As you know, they’re a dangerous group that uses any means necessary. We’ve barely managed to stop them so far, but after the vampire incident and the High Demon’s descent, the leadership finally stopped underestimating them. …However, the problem is that we’ve been ‘too successful’ in stopping them, and petitions started flooding in from below.”

“What do you mean?”

“…While some recognize the danger, others still don’t consider the Blood Crusaders a threat.”

“?”

Ihan tilted his head.

Not because he didn’t understand, but because he did understand and found it absurd.

What nonsense was this?

In response,

“Because you’ve been too effective at stopping them. Most people don’t feel any sense of crisis.”

“What are you saying?”

“Think about your achievements.”

“Achievements?”

“…How can you not know what you’ve done?”

Pierre began listing his accomplishments one by one.

“You captured the illegal mages disguised as faculty members.”

“Ah, those spellcaster bastards? I heard some of the kidnapped faculty were rescued. Fortunately, some survived and are recovering well… Hmm, I should visit them sometime.”

An incident that could have killed countless Academy students if handled poorly.

“You stopped the Demon King and his army of monsters.”

“I didn’t stop them alone. My kids helped, and the old man made the decisive move.”

An incident that could have destroyed not just the Academy but the entire capital.

“You were the first to discover the half-demons in the tunnels and eliminated the Mother Worm and other half-demons.”

“It was hot then. I even got buried underground.”

A matter that could have resulted in a powerful force threatening the kingdom had it gone undetected.

“You thwarted the Sultan’s plot and brought down the magic tower that was trying to interfere with the capital.”

“I didn’t do that alone, did I?”

The elimination of threats from a hostile sultanate and an empire that had collapsed.

“…You captured enemy officers including half-demons at the Grand Temple.”

“Didn’t the Grand Temple end up completely burned down?”

The reason it ended with just the Grand Temple burning down.

“You saved the Sword Saint in Ophen, revealed information about demonization…”

“I didn’t really intend to, but that’s true.”

The acquisition of crucial information and preventing the Sword Master from retiring in grief.

“You’ve taken down over thirty cell organizations connected to the Blood Crusaders, haven’t you?”

“The fake Hao Munju guy helped a lot.”

“…Eventually you eliminated a High Demon and rallied the knights to sweep away hundreds of thousands of monsters.”

“I keep telling you I didn’t do it alone.”

…He had saved the kingdom, no, the entire southern region.

“So what’s your point?”

“……”

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“…I’m just newly impressed by how remarkable you are.”

Yes, he was the ‘hero’ who had saved the southern region from every crisis.

The problem was that most people didn’t know he was a hero, but the person in question didn’t mind.

Rather, he was glad not to be caught up in troublesome matters.

That made him remarkable.

Not calculating gains and losses, but fighting clearly according to his own principles and following his heart – that was the result.

That’s why he didn’t need compensation.

If he wanted something, he would seize it himself!

…And as a result of this,

“…Most people think the Blood Crusaders aren’t that strong, which is why all these incidents were prevented. In reality, it wasn’t them who were impressive, but you and a few others.”

“…So they haven’t seen blood themselves, and only heard about the danger, so they can’t feel it – is that what you’re saying?”

“That’s right. They’re fools.”

“…No, I understand.”

“?”

Ihan had once been a soldier and had even been deployed overseas.

Because of this, he knew that humans are animals that never feel a sense of crisis unless they themselves are harmed.

No matter how much you warn that war is breaking out in other countries and that this threat could affect our country too, who would listen?

It was an unavoidable human instinct not to feel crisis until they themselves shed blood, and to pursue their own interests.

Isn’t that both evidence of peace and proof that someone is fighting and bleeding behind the scenes?

And the person who had fought and bled…

“Fine. So some guys are whining about wanting to have fun because they don’t feel any danger? And even though cult members have infiltrated, others think they’re easy targets and want to capture them for information. Right?”

“…Precisely. You’re perceptive.”

“Perceptive or not, those high-and-mighty types all think the same way.”

He hadn’t expected anything different.

That was the proposal, and Pierre hesitated for a moment before continuing…

“…Aren’t you angry? This peace was achieved through your blood and sweat. Don’t you resent those who ignore this and just focus on having fun…?”

“Why would I?”

“……”

“You’re saying strange things. Why would I be angry? They’ll be the ones bleeding later anyway.”

“?”

“You seem to be misunderstanding something. I didn’t volunteer for those things you mentioned to sacrifice myself for complete strangers. It certainly wasn’t out of loyalty to the kingdom.”

“…Then why?”

“I fought because it involved my people.”

“……”

“In that sense, I don’t care if they underestimate those cult bastards. They want to let their guard down and have fun? That’s fine with me. After all…”

“─I wouldn’t be sad at all if they died.”

“……”

“Does that seem cruel?”

“…No, I’m actually admiring you.”

At this moment, Pierre understood.

She thought she knew why he had never failed in resolving all those incidents.

‘He clearly divides people into those who are his and those who aren’t.’

Thoroughly and coldly.

‘This man isn’t just a hero who sacrifices himself needlessly, but a warrior who distinguishes between the places he fights for and the people he protects.’

Pierre felt a strange sense of appreciation, as if she had seen the man’s true nature for the first time.

Just then,

Knock knock.

Startled!

Pierre showed wariness at the sudden presence.

This was a private room in an inn they had secretly secured.

Neither he nor she had disclosed this location to others, yet suddenly an unfamiliar presence knocked on the door. Pierre was about to draw her gun, fearing the Brass Knights had discovered their movements, when—

Click!

Ihan simply opened the door in one swift motion.

“You’re here now?”

“Haha, I apologize, Sir Ihan. I was delayed finding the materials you requested.”

“It’s fine, you still made it by the promised time. As expected of the Hao Munju.”

“…I’ve always wondered, what does ‘Hao Munju’ mean, Sir Ihan?”

A man entered while grumbling, and Pierre blinked at the sight of him.

But regardless of her reaction.

“The clothes?”

“Here they are. And this too.”

“Looks expensive?”

“It is expensive. I bought it from a high-end salon. But the investment should pay off, haha.”

“Bill the temple later. I don’t have money.”

“As if I would demand money from you, Sir Ihan.”

The two men conversed amicably, and Pierre suddenly felt uneasy.

It wasn’t the newly arrived man that made her feel a sense of crisis.

The reason Pierre felt alarmed was…

Whoosh!

“Change into this.”

“…This?”

“Can’t you tell? It’s a dress.”

“…I know what it is, but why do I have to wear it?”

“You said it yourself. The cult members are hiding in the capital. Mixed in with the nobles.”

“Yes, but…”

“So how do we catch them?”

“……”

“Don’t be dense. They say to catch a tiger, you must enter the tiger’s den. So we need to go in ourselves.”

“I understand that, but why do I need to wear a dress…?”

“Because using your specialty will make this job easier.”

“Spe…cialty?”

As her sense of crisis grew and cold sweat broke out, sure enough, from his mouth came-

“Time to deploy, Succubus. Become the queen bee of the party.”

“……”

The cruel order was given.

…The light rapidly faded from Pierre’s eyes.