Ch.352EP.74 – The Knight Converses with the Butler (4)

…this would be a situation where no one could blame him even if his fighting spirit was broken.

Even those who are strong, intelligent, fast, or tough wouldn’t be able to endure “irresistible pain.”

If it were a physical attack, he might have found a way to block it, but this was an attack using “mental energy,” not physical force.

Though it lasted only 5 minutes, Ihan swore it felt like an eternity, and so right now…

Slash!

“……”

“Hehe, I apologize for the rudeness, but I thought you would surrender. Yet, you didn’t.”

“Would you have spared me if I surrendered?”

“Hehe.”

“…Damn it.”

He should have known.

– You fought that eccentric? Hmm… But how are you still alive?

When he mentioned sparring with Albert in the past, Baltar had asked with genuine confusion.

His expression was like, “Why is a corpse talking?”

The implication was that death would have been the normal outcome, and at the time, Ihan had gotten angry and charged at him, only to be defeated again.

…But now he understood.

He understood why Baltar had reacted that way.

Therefore.

– I don’t know what change of heart made him spare you, but be careful next time.

– What next time? I’m not going to challenge him again.

– You never know what might happen. So let me give you some advice: if you ever face that eccentric again, I wouldn’t recommend surrendering or running away.

– Why not?

– That man doesn’t let go of his “toys” until he’s satisfied.

– …?

– He tends to play with his toys until they break. My guess is that he spared you because you weren’t even worthy of being a toy yet. So get much stronger. If you can’t become a sturdy toy that can withstand until he’s satisfied, then probably…

The next morning, you’ll be having breakfast in Avalon—.

…At the time, he had dismissed such advice as exaggerated malice, but now that the moment had arrived, he understood.

Thanks to his rigorous training in martial arts.

Having become strong enough to withstand his attacks and struggle.

Having survived that mental [Pain]…

All these experiences were helping him understand what kind of person John Ray Albert was.

‘This man is not a knight. Nor is he a warrior or assassin.’

If anything, he’s closer to a [Researcher]. Not the kind who sits at a desk and chair, but the kind who needs to experiment firsthand to be satisfied…

“…Butler, have you ever gone to the jungle to collect poisonous creatures or test them on yourself?”

“Hmm? How did you know? When I was about thirty, I went to the western jungle and caught numerous poisonous creatures.”

“Couldn’t you get them from the south?”

“That’s not it. I could have obtained them through merchants in the south, but I wanted to experience the local poisonous creatures firsthand. I was curious about the environment they lived in, what they ate, and how they killed their prey. Looking back, it’s all just memories now.”

“…I knew it.”

A mad researcher.

Ihan grimaced, confirming his assessment was accurate.

Still…

‘Who are you calling a toy!’

He ignited his fighting spirit against the researcher who treated him like a toy, and thus he!

Woooong!

Infused his blade with stellar energy.

* * *

Whoosh!

It was unimaginative brute force.

He merely drew his sword and charged recklessly, just as before.

However.

Fwash-!

The blade, seemingly containing the Milky Way, appeared to give him wings on his back, making his lack of creativity seem justified.

“Oh my, this is interesting!”

Rattle-rattle-rattle!

The chains of aura once again moved like living snakes with abnormal movements, pouncing on Ihan.

Death’s chains without any presence, smell, or energy.

In reality, he was again in danger of being quartered without being able to dodge.

But.

Bang!

The starlight exploded, deflecting the chains.

Swoosh.

“…Damn it!”

However, Ihan’s body was pushed far back.

He had blocked the force contained in the chains, but unable to completely negate it, his body was pushed back.

He had hoped to counterattack a little, but failing to do so was incredibly frustrating for Ihan, and just as he was about to curse…

“This is quite interesting.”

Albert’s eyes gleamed.

Surviving a collision with the chains wasn’t surprising; what amazed him was how Ihan had blocked the chains that had no presence.

‘That blade compressed with sword energy is creating a field around him.’

The starlight blade appeared to be merely compressed sword energy, but in reality, it acted as a catalyst that generated a real-time field within a 1.5-meter radius around the caster.

It looked like a mage’s mana field, but while it didn’t offer much defense, it detected all invisible attacks, making it more useful than a mana field.

Why did he consider it more useful than a mage’s?

Obviously because Albert’s chains could easily penetrate even mana fields to pierce throats or hearts.

After evaluating the usefulness of the starlight as quite decent, Albert soon…

“Is it done like this?”

Woooong!

“…Stellar energy.”

“Stellar energy? Not a bad name. Then should I call what’s in the blade ‘sword star’? Hmm, but it’s not to my taste. The power doesn’t seem bad, but unlike Sir Ihan’s, it’s not an application of some insight, so it’s dull in color and terribly incomplete. My goodness. It just unnecessarily consumes too much energy.”

Fweet…

Albert soon dispersed the stellar energy at his fingertips.

“It’s difficult. It means it’s not just about pouring in aura. Baltar would probably extract it more efficiently than I could, but I’m not as resourceful as Baltar, so it would be difficult for me.”

“…He did it in one go, actually.”

“Is that so? This is why I envy resourceful individuals. A slow learner like me can only keep trying. Oh well.”

“…Butler. Don’t say such things in public.”

“?”

“That’s the kind of statement that will get you stabbed on the street… No, the other person would probably be executed instead. Actually, go ahead and say it wherever you want.”

“??”

“…Why is his clueless expression so infuriating?”

Ihan charged again with anger burning within him.

And if those who knew him well had seen this scene, they would have assessed it as:

…Putting himself in the other’s shoes.

* * *

Bang!

Crash!

Boom…!!

The place where the two men fought was a barren field far from Ihan’s house.

A place with no plants, animals, or anything else.

…Yet each time they clashed, the ground trembled more intensely, and due to the tremors and the energy they emitted, all the wild animals in the mountains cowered in fear.

If there had been any houses nearby, it would have been a disaster.

Anyone exposed to their fighting spirit might have suffered a heart attack.

That’s how destructive and intense their battle was.

…Of course.

“Aaaaaaaargh!”

Only one side was fighting for his life.

Letting out an intense roar, he swung his blade and fought against the chains.

At a glance, it seemed like he was pushing aggressively, but looking at their conditions revealed a clear difference.

Bang!!

The knight, after colliding with the chains, was sent flying again and rolled on the dirt ground.

The knight’s appearance was nothing short of a beggar’s, while the butler remained neat.

Not even a speck of dust had soiled his cleanliness.

His face seemed to mock the knight, but.

“!!”

The knight had no time to be angry; he had to minimize damage with falling techniques.

One might wonder what use falling techniques were when rolling on the ground at 80 km/h, but.

Fwash-.

Yet the knight, as soon as he got up, regained his balance and charged at the butler, continuously swinging his blade surrounded by sword star.

In the past, using sword star for just 3 minutes would have drained his mental energy, but now, even after 15 minutes, the knight was still generating sword star.

This showed how much stronger the knight had become compared to the past, but unfortunately.

“That wasn’t bad this time. But you still lack technique.”

“I’m a slow learner, do you have a problem with that?!”

“My, your self-assessment is too harsh.”

“Aaaaargh!”

…The unbridgeable gap between them was clearly visible despite his progress.

The knight’s cry, now indistinguishable between a roar and a scream.

However, if anything changed as the fight continued, it was that the butler’s hand movements became faster, and the knight’s sword became sharper.

At some point, the knight began adapting to the butler’s movements, and as he adapted, the butler added 1% more of his true strength.

It was remarkable.

Making the butler, the mad researcher, show his true self was an extraordinary feat that knights who lived through the era of divine warriors would recognize.

[42 minutes and 28 seconds.]

That was how long the knight had fought the butler, and if anyone heard this, they would unanimously say:

An achievement.

Just surviving against the butler for over 40 minutes was an achievement in itself.

And to this knight who had accomplished such a feat.

“…So, have you found out everything you wanted to know?”

“……”

“Didn’t you say you wanted to talk? I’m curious if the conversation was satisfactory.”

The butler mentioned the reason for their fight.

As if asking whether he had learned what he wanted to know through this intense dialogue.

The knight…

“No, not at all.”

“Hmm, then doesn’t that mean all the beating you took was meaningless?”

“…I’m intensely regretting it right now.”

“……”

“Go ahead and laugh, damn it! Physical dialogue is freezing cold, I have a perfectly good mouth, what kind of idiot am I…”

“Ahahahaha!”

“…Laugh, go ahead. I know I’m an idiot.”

“Are, are you trying to kill me with laughter? Hahaha!”

The butler burst into laughter.

This was probably the first time he had laughed so genuinely.

That’s how ridiculous it was.

The beginning was grand, but the ending was clownish.

But this too was an achievement in its own way.

Making the butler laugh sincerely.

“Haa… This is enjoyable.”

The butler was sincere.

This was a first for him.

He hadn’t felt this way even when he met that divine warrior.

Fighting with Baltar was never enjoyable.

Meeting the Sword Master wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t exciting either.

…Of course, the same applied to the lady he served.

‘The princess was excellent, but she wasn’t fun. Rather, she was boring.’

She was too predictable.

Their relationship was merely bound by a ‘contract.’

The butler had never felt human affection for the princess.

No, to be precise, the same applied to anyone.

The butler had never liked any human being.

But…

‘Not bad, not bad at all.’

This knight was different.

He was likable.

Most toys would break when played with like this.

But the knight didn’t break, and he kept stimulating and amusing him.

Was it because the knight himself was amusing?

No. That wasn’t the reason.

Perhaps the reason the butler liked the knight was.

‘He confronts me sincerely. Without any purpose or desire. Just with all his might.’

Pure passion.

He’s incredibly blunt and hates being frustrated.

But despite his own frustrations, he has the consideration and kindness not to impose anything on others.

‘…Where did such a person come from?’

When the kingdom, the south, was filled with unrest and everyone was tainted with greed for power, this knight remained consistent, unchanged from their first meeting.

‘He’s a fighter.’

One who fights.

One who chooses to move forward directly rather than flee from unreasonable situations.

The knight’s life, choosing to struggle without giving up, was dazzling in the butler’s eyes.

More than the Light of Radiance, which had been everything to him in his youth…!

Brilliant, passionate, and joyful.

Hence, it was regrettable.

‘It would have been nice to meet him in my younger days.’

With slight regret.

And knowing that time was running out.

Albert suppressed his sincere regret.

If they continued playing indefinitely, the knight would eventually break, and that wasn’t what he wanted.

So the butler decided to give.

“…Sir Ihan.”

“What?”

“It was a splendid conversation.”

“?”

-An [ending] befitting this encounter.

“I don’t know about Sir Ihan, but I feel I’ve had a sufficiently splendid conversation. So, let me give you a gift before I leave.”

“??”

“I’m not sure if this ‘gift’ will have a positive effect on Sir Ihan. But somehow, I think you’ll be fine. Still, one piece of advice…”

“……”

“Don’t change. Fight. And win. If you do that…”

“Butler?”

“……”

…The butler said nothing more.

He just remained still.

But something was strange.

Stagger-.

“……”

…Why couldn’t he move his body?

And why?

Thud!

…Was he falling?

“……”

“You don’t need to resist. Close your eyes comfortably.”

…Slowly.

Ihan’s eyes began to close.

He felt no strength in his body, and his mind just kept getting hazier.

He tried to get up somehow, but contrary to his determination…

‘What is this? Why is it so comfortable?’

A sensation that was terrifying yet incredibly peaceful.

In that sensation, as Ihan gradually lost consciousness, he…

Thud-.

…Quietly closed his eyes.

*

*

On a refreshing spring day.

Sadly, a certain 30-year-old knight stopped breathing.

The name of the knight who closed his eyes at the prime of his youth was Ihan Turtle, and he died like that…

*

*

“…Huh!”

-He came back from the dead.

“Oh, you’re awake.”

“……”

“Hehe, you should lie down a bit more. You died and came back—no, your heart stopped and started again, so your body might still feel uncomfortable.”

“…Miss Maid?”

“Yes. I’m here.”

“……”

“You haven’t fully regained your senses yet. Sleep a bit more. You’ll be fine then.”

“……”

…He rested his head on the maid’s lap without resistance.

Just blankly.

The maid gently patted him and smiled silently, while he just stared at her blankly.

Soon he rolled his eyes, going through the process of recognizing his surroundings, and noticed that the space where he and she were staying was strangely luxurious.

“It’s fortunate you didn’t become an idiot. I heard that anyone else would have definitely become an idiot even if they survived.”

“……”

“Umm, would you like to eat something first? There’s a banquet outside, so there’s plenty of food!”

“…Ban, quet?”

“Yes, a banquet.”

“……”

“Ah, this is the royal palace. The princess gave us this place to use!”

“……”

“Umm, you would have said something normally, but there’s no response?”

“……”

“At times like this… Ah! My maid friend Jenny told me. When a man is low on energy or angry, you should say this!”

“……”

“…Do you want to touch my chest?”

“……”

“Sir Knight?”

“…Miss Maid.”

“Yes?”

“…You should cut ties with strange friends quickly.”

“??”

…The knight came to his senses out of sheer disbelief.

It definitely wasn’t because he was momentarily tempted and snapped back to reality.

…Really.