Ch.86Daytime Date (3)

Their breaths met at a distance close enough to touch.

With his collar still gripped, Najin stared into Dieta’s eyes. Those gleaming yellow eyes. In the House of Albania, they were sometimes called golden eyes, or sometimes coin-eyes.

Najin faced his own reflection in those eyes.

Bloodshot eyes with shallow shadows beneath them. Confronted with the face he often saw while living in the underground city, Najin swallowed.

Tap.

Dieta released his collar and stepped back. Najin remained silent for a while. Had he been walking around with such a face ever since his encounter with Kafman?

‘Merlin.’

-Yes?

‘Have I been walking around looking like a ghost?’

-I think you actually look better now?

Merlin sighed.

-You’ve been walking around with a face that could tear someone apart. Why do you think adventurers kept their distance whenever you approached?

Najin fell silent.

It was a habit ingrained in him. A habit formed when he lived as a hunting dog in the underground city. Indeed, whenever his life hung in the balance due to his own mistakes or carelessness, Najin would move “this way.”

‘It certainly helped, but…’

Ivan hadn’t liked it.

Whenever he saw Najin walking around with bulging eyes and tense muscles, Ivan would click his tongue.

“You’re not some greenhorn who’ll only live a day or two.”

“Walking around like that will wear you out. Relax. Tsk, not relaxing? Look at this guy tensing up.”

At those times, Ivan would put his arm around Najin’s neck and pat his head. He would also threaten to kill Najin if he didn’t relax while thumping his tense shoulders.

“Follow me. Let’s have a drink.”

“It’s the middle of the day, Ivan.”

“Kid. Daytime drinks taste the best. Besides, a competent and cool-headed boss like me needs to get drunk periodically and make a scene to seem human.”

“You don’t need to do that to…”

“Tsk. Stop arguing and follow me.”

When Najin would reluctantly relax, Ivan would drag him to a tavern with his arm around Najin’s shoulders. He would sit Najin, too young to drink, beside him and ruffle his hair while talking nonsense.

Because of those times.

Najin feared Ivan, but he didn’t dislike him. Recalling those moments, Najin remained silent.

“…”

Those were times he could never return to now.

Ivan, who would strike his shoulders to help him relax whenever Najin tensed up, was no longer there. The boy who left the underground city had to become an adult. An adult who had to take care of himself without anyone’s help.

“Haaah…”

Najin exhaled deeply, very deeply.

It was true that he needed to be tense. It was also true that he shouldn’t neglect his training. After all, he was in a life-threatening situation where attackers could come from anywhere at any time.

But… Najin had to admit that such vigilance wouldn’t be of much help.

‘It’s not like this will help me become a Sword Seeker anyway.’

Exhaling, Najin relaxed his shoulders and eyes. As the tension left, fatigue washed over him, and his shoulders felt stiff. As he loosened his tense muscles, Najin suddenly looked at Dieta.

She had turned her head and was fanning her face with her palm, looking hot despite the cool breeze coming through the open window. Najin opened his mouth to speak her name.

“Dieta.”

“Y-yes?”

With none of the earlier aggression when she had grabbed his collar, Dieta’s gaze wavered. Najin smiled bitterly.

“We’re friends, right?”

“…We promised in the carriage, didn’t we? To be friends from now on.”

“We did. Then, that makes Dieta my only friend…”

Only, as in the one and only. As Dieta’s eyes lit up at those words, Najin continued. Wasn’t a friend someone you could bare your soul to?

“Would you listen to a friend’s troubles?”

“Of course. Come sit over here.”

In the barren building of the trading company, still without furniture, Najin and Dieta found a corner to sit.

“So what’s troubling you?”

“Before I begin, I should say… just listening could be dangerous. I have a rather complicated background. Are you still okay with that?”

“…How dangerous is it?”

“Dangerous enough to be assassinated by Sword Seekers.”

“Wow.”

Dieta let out a short exclamation.

“That’s not easy. Did you commit some crime?”

“I was born a criminal, I suppose.”

“Are you an illegitimate child of some rebel? Or a direct descendant of a traitor?”

“I don’t think my parents were that remarkable. However, they seem to have done something to displease the Order.”

“So the Order is your enemy.”

Dieta, who had been quietly listening to Najin, closed her eyes and hummed while stroking her chin. After a few seconds passed, she opened her eyes and glanced at Najin.

“We’re friends, right?”

“…You just said so yourself.”

“Then since you’re my first friend, I don’t want to distance myself from the first friend I’ve made. It won’t be easy, but I’ll bear it.”

And so, she said.

“Tell me. What’s the situation?”

Najin looked at Dieta.

There was no hesitation in her eyes.

…Of course, there was no guarantee that Dieta was an ally.

Though they maintained a good relationship, there was no certainty that she would remain an ally after hearing everything. They hadn’t spent enough time together to build such a close relationship.

‘But…’

Despite the short time, it had been enough to get to know Dieta as a person. And she had said it. That they were friends. Najin wanted to believe that. He wanted to believe that her words were sincere, not deception or lies.

So this was perhaps a gamble.

“Do you know of a place called Underground City Attman?”

For the first time, Najin mentioned his birthplace in front of another person.

2.

Najin confided his situation to Dieta, excluding the parts related to Excalibur. If he were to talk about Excalibur as well, the danger Dieta would have to bear would extend far beyond mere Sword Seekers.

And so Najin continued his story for a while.

Dieta listened silently to Najin’s tale.

“…And that’s how I ended up here.”

Having finished his story, Najin looked at Dieta.

She was looking at Najin with an expression unchanged from before hearing the story. As Najin waited tensely for her to speak:

“I expected you had an unusual background, but it’s even more complicated than I imagined. I couldn’t have guessed this.”

Dieta muttered as if somewhat surprised.

“But it makes sense if you’re from the underground city. That explains why you seem oddly detached from the world and why you don’t have proper identification.”

Dieta nodded emphatically as she muttered this. She seemed to have satisfied herself with some understanding. Her expression was almost relieved, as if a long-standing curiosity had been resolved.

Najin found her reaction perplexing.

“…Is that all?”

“Huh?”

“I expected more of a… different reaction…”

Being shocked, keeping distance, frowning at the fact that he was from the underground city—such common reactions. Najin had expected at least his gaze toward him would change. But there was no such reaction.

Dieta was still looking at Najin with the same eyes as before hearing the story.

“You can’t be serious.”

Dieta tilted her head with a mischievous smile.

“Did you think I would fear you or despise you because you’re from the underground city?”

“…”

“Wow, your silence confirms it. I’m a bit disappointed if that’s how you saw me.”

Dieta frowned.

“What does your origin matter? What does it matter if your background is complicated? Whatever your past may be, the fact that you saved me doesn’t change.”

“That’s…”

“Because I promised, because keeping promises is natural. That’s what you’d say, right? I know. That’s the kind of person you are.”

She covered her mouth and chuckled.

“Someone who calls the extraordinary ordinary, who jumps into unreasonable actions without calculating profit and loss. That’s who you are.”

And yet, she glanced at Najin.

“But you don’t expect the same from others. You don’t expect others to treat you the way you treat them. It’s admirable that you act without expecting anything in return, but…”

Dieta moved a span closer to Najin.

“But you can expect that from friends, can’t you? You need at least one person who will show you ‘the extraordinary as if it were ordinary.’ That way, you’ll understand how strange and surprising the things you’ve done are.”

How do you feel right now?

Dieta asked, poking Najin’s side.

“Strange, right? Surprised?”

“…Honestly, yes.”

“I was so surprised that day. That’s what it is. Your story is certainly surprising, but it’s not a reason to distance myself from you. Even less a reason to despise you.”

Najin remained silent.

Dieta smiled.

“We’re friends, aren’t we? Right?”

“…”

“What? Are you touched? Do you find me precious? I’m joking. Why so serious…”

“Yes, I do.”

“…What?”

“I said that’s how I feel.”

Dieta’s face turned bright red.

Najin looked at her and smiled.

“Having a friend is indeed nice. I feel relieved after opening up.”

“Uh, umm…”

“Thank you. For saying that.”

While Dieta was in a state of brain freeze from the unexpected attack, Najin relaxed his body. Since escaping the underground city, Najin had always kept his body tense.

The fact that he was chosen by Excalibur.

The fact that he carried the lives of Ivan and Ofen.

These facts had prevented Najin from relaxing. But at least not in this moment. His expression became natural, and his voice and manner of speaking also changed slightly.

“Talking about it makes my neck itch. Instead of waiting to be attacked, should we just charge in? That doesn’t sound too bad.”

“Whaaat? Um, Najin, do you know that the Sacred Host has a Master-level powerhouse called the Lighthouse Keeper?”

“I’m joking. If I charged in now, my head would be neatly cut off and displayed. I’m not that stupid.”

As Najin shrugged his shoulders while saying this, Dieta blinked. A joke? Did he say a joke? Dieta had never seen Najin talk like this before.

The lighter tone. The relaxed face.

It seemed quite different from the stiff and expressionless Najin she had known until now. But this was actually closer to Najin’s original personality and way of speaking. He used to talk like this in the underground city too.

He had simply been correcting himself, thinking it wasn’t suitable for a knight’s manner of speaking and behavior. After being momentarily confused by Najin’s slightly changed demeanor, Dieta opened her mouth.

“Anyway, I’ve heard your story.”

She said.

“Now we need to come up with a plan, right?”

About something Najin had never expected.

3.

“I have a few ideas in mind.”

“At minimum, ways for you to escape the danger of assassination within Cambria… I’ll tell you about them after I organize my thoughts on our way back.”

“Right now we’re on a short vacation. Let’s rest comfortably while we’re in Camelot. Is that okay?”

Mulling over Dieta’s words, Najin walked through the streets of Camelot. Dieta had said she had some trading company business to attend to and suggested they meet again in the evening… so Najin needed to kill time until then.

So for now, he was wandering aimlessly.

Everything was unfamiliar. The clothing of people passing by was completely different from Cambria, and all the shops lined up were places he’d never seen before. Befitting the Empire’s capital, everything sparkled wherever he looked.

‘But the most fascinating things are those.’

Najin looked up.

The towering magic towers came into view. Despite being far away, the presence of these towers, visible from anywhere in the Empire, was truly remarkable.

And, as much as those magic towers.

Or perhaps with even greater presence.

Najin glanced at the five towers surrounding the Imperial Palace. Symbolizing the five pillars supporting the Empire, these towers were given to the Empire’s pillars. He had heard that Sword Master Gerd resided in one of those pillars.

‘The Empire’s Sword Master.’

The Empire’s First Pillar.

An old man called the Emperor’s Sword, who was both the Empire’s first pillar. A peculiar figure who moved with an old man’s body despite the fact that from Sword Seeker level, one could maintain the body of their prime without being affected by aging.

What kind of person was he, and what kind of sword did he use?

Such curiosity suddenly arose, but Najin soon shook his head. Although he had somehow encountered two Sword Masters, Sword Masters weren’t beings one could easily meet.

Leaving it as mere curiosity, Najin walked the streets. As he walked, he somehow found himself standing in front of a blacksmith’s shop.

-My goodness, with mountains of things to see in this place, how do you ghost-like find a blacksmith? Did you really need to see a blacksmith even here…?

Merlin’s groaning echoed in his ears.

But what could he do now that he’d found it?

The sound of hammering swords could be heard from afar, and he had been drawn by the sound. As Najin was looking at the swords displayed in the blacksmith shop:

“…”

He felt a gaze.

Turning his head slightly to the side, he saw a girl sitting in front of the blacksmith shop, glaring at him. The girl had a sword at her waist and was wearing light armor.

And on her armor.

There was an emblem that Najin knew well.

Two swords and a shield covering the swords. It was the emblem symbolizing the Knights of Atanga. Come to think of it, he had seen this girl somewhere before. Was it after the battle with the Fallen Knight Bernhagen, when he encountered the Knights of Atanga?

Ding.

Just then, the bell attached to the blacksmith’s door rang, and a knight walked out through the open door. The knight who came out of the blacksmith shop met Najin’s gaze.

“Oh, it’s you?”

Knight of Atanga, Argo.

The knight who had encountered him during the Fallen Knight subjugation opened his eyes wide as he recognized Najin.