Ch.88EP.23 – The Knight Conducts an Interview (7)

…caused quite a mess.

Coming out of the building, reality suddenly hit him.

Just a minute ago, the blood had rushed to his head and he’d mindlessly destroyed everything, but now that he was observing the aftermath, he realized he might have gone overboard.

The building, which was easily over 3,300 square feet, was completely wrecked. While nobody had died, there were enough people who’d be confined to bed rest to fill one truck… no, probably three trucks.

If this gets discovered.

‘This won’t end with just a pay cut or a written apology…’

He’d already asked the maid to tell his sister to clean up the mess, but he wondered if even she could handle this.

No, with her power, she could certainly cover up an incident of this magnitude.

‘They’ve really got leverage on me now.’

He was already on a leash, but now something even worse might tighten around his neck.

‘…This is driving me crazy.’

Ihan expressed his situation with a grimace.

This was truly a disaster of epic proportions.

However.

“M-Master…”

“…Why are you here? I told you to hide somewhere safe.”

“B-But…”

Why was it that he felt no regret whatsoever?

What was this feeling called again?

‘Favoritism, perhaps?’

He knew he shouldn’t favor one student, but Ihan also knew that such feelings weren’t easily controlled.

The kid was admirable.

Teaching him was rewarding, and as far as he knew…

‘No, that’s not it.’

Let me correct myself.

He’s simply a “good kid.”

There’s nothing wrong with wanting to receive as much kindness as you give, is there?

So.

“Let’s go get something to eat. I’m hungry.”

Though the cleanup would be a headache, his heart felt incredibly light.

* * *

“……”

The girl stood with her mouth agape, watching her master walk out with heavy steps.

The Guild Association building, the twentieth largest in the eastern district of the royal capital.

It was on the verge of complete collapse, and the fact that her master was responsible for this destruction was hard to believe.

-Overwhelming.

That was the word that came to mind as she watched him effortlessly take down opponents who would be difficult even for her to defeat, and Levi swallowed hard.

“M-Master…”

“Have you decided to call me master instead of instructor now that you’ve dropped out?”

“N-No, that’s not it…!?”

“I’m joking, just joking.”

“…Oh.”

“…I’m sorry. I won’t joke anymore, so please don’t make that face.”

“Huh?”

“……”

“…What?”

Drip…

Only then did she realize.

Tears had welled up in her eyes.

And now they were falling.

Why?

“I-I’m sorry… I’m s-sorry…”

Not understanding why she was crying, Levi kept wiping away her tears while apologizing.

But instead of being embarrassed or scolding her:

“When people relax or feel relieved, this can happen. All the scary guys are gone now, so you can feel safe. …So please don’t cry? I’m not good at comforting people…”

He offered kind encouragement and a concerned look.

He was so anxious and worried about her that it was hard to believe he was the same person who had just demolished the Guild Association building, and as Levi looked up at him genuinely concerned for her.

Thump!

“Uuuu, hic.”

“……”

She threw herself into his arms and quietly cried.

“…If you’re going to cry, cry loudly. Why are you crying so quietly?”

At his murmur, the girl’s sobbing grew stronger.

-Yes, now I understand.

Why tears had suddenly come to her eyes.

It wasn’t because she was shocked by how he had devastated the guild.

It was because she felt ‘relieved’ and ‘happy’ that tears came.

For someone as insignificant as her, he had fought so fiercely, and she had someone unconditionally on her side—

This realization made it impossible for the girl to hold back her tears.

Levi stayed in his arms for a long time, her shoulders trembling.

For quite some time…

Meanwhile, the actors who arrived late to take the stage…

“It seems we weren’t needed after all?”

“Indeed.”

“Hmm, Kunta wanted to fight too.”

“Life really is all about timing, isn’t it?”

“That’s beside the point. I thought I’d finally get to show off something impressive.”

“…Haha.”

“……”

They all wore awkward expressions, like actors who didn’t even get minor roles.

This must be why they say you should seize opportunities rather than hesitate.

However, the seven students had relieved smiles on their faces.

As if they were just glad their fellow student was safe.

Originally, not just them but all 80 students were planning to move, but thinking that would be excessive, only these seven came as representatives—though it seemed they needn’t have bothered.

Still.

“So, Jack. What did you find out?”

“While the instructor was demolishing the place, I discovered that Tristan is indeed involved. This is going to get complicated.”

“…Tristan, huh…”

Some things you can only learn by coming to the scene yourself.

The man with striking black eyes looked troubled as he listened to the information his subordinate brought.

Tristan.

Truly a name that evoked both love and hate.

Especially the man leading that family—he was certainly impressive as a knight, but unfortunately…

“If only he would fix his womanizing ways, he’d be perfect.”

“…Do you have some connection with Marchioness Jeminia?”

The boy with twin swords asked.

He must have shown that he knew too much.

He considered how to answer for a moment, then shook his head.

“I can’t say there’s no connection, but it would be strange to say there is one.”

“…?”

He could only give this puzzling answer.

After all, ‘currently’ he had no connection with her, which was true.

“Is that some kind of noble speak? Why talk so complicatedly?”

“Kunta thinks he needs to learn common language again. Can’t understand a word this dark-skinned guy is saying.”

The mercenary and the barbarian grumbled, and he gave a bitter smile, having no way to explain.

But at the same time, he felt a fresh emotion at the realization that he was now having such casual conversations with these three.

‘Coming back through time truly is a great blessing.’

To be friendly with someone who was once an ‘enemy,’ and to think they would become schoolmates.

‘…Is this why they say school and regional connections are the best?’

He recalled what some subordinate from the past—or rather, the future—had once said, and turned his gaze to look at the two people with whom he had formed such unexpected bonds.

“Um, shouldn’t we leave them alone now?”

The suspicious gray-haired person whom he had never met in either the present or future, and…

“…I know, I know! I understand I need to hold back right now…!”

*Grind*

The crazy villainess he thought he’d never get along with… who now seemed like just a jealous, innocent blonde mage appropriate for her age.

Truly.

‘I chose my master well.’

Roen felt grateful for his master and the connections he had gained in this blessed second life, and he gazed quietly at the still childlike girl in his master’s arms.

‘…So it was you. I didn’t recognize you because your appearance and surname are different, but it was you.’

He realized it only today.

It wasn’t because of the guild and Tristan that he recognized her.

He realized it from seeing her back as she cried quietly.

…That silent crying.

The one who might have been him, or perhaps her…

The ‘Saint of the Battlefield’ always cried like that when she was sad.

Even when close comrades died, she would only tremble sorrowfully, never knowing how to cry loudly.

As if she didn’t know how to weep out loud.

‘…So it was a habit from childhood.’

“Haah…”

Roen barely held back tears that threatened to fall.

His most trusted comrade.

Someone who always wore a mask to cover the burns that covered her entire body, who always seemed intimidated but was braver and greater than anyone on the battlefield.

The Mercenary Queen who reunited the mercenary alliance that was on the verge of dissolution after the Mercenary King’s death.

The nobles’ fear and the pure warrior who always stood at the forefront to save the corrupt kingdom.

…Yet despite all that glory, a comrade who never once lived a happy life.

Roen was filled with guilt.

‘I’m sorry, I couldn’t be more remorseful, Jeanne. I should have recognized you first, but I didn’t recognize you at all…’

He couldn’t help but feel worthless.

She had saved his life multiple times.

He did have excuses.

She never told him what kind of life she had lived before.

She had lived such a hard life that her hair had lost its original color and turned completely white.

She only revealed her gender after they had traveled together for three years, and never told him her real name.

Just the Saint of the Battlefield.

[Ark Jeanne.] A ruler called the ‘Ark’ of the powerless people.

No one had ever been curious about her life and past.

Not even himself, who had fought alongside her.

But what use were all these excuses now?

In the end, he hadn’t recognized her…

‘Is this why they say a person’s life is full of regrets?’

Roen reflected on how selfish he had been and how little he had cared about others.

Even before going back in time, he was skilled with a sword and called a great hero…

But he was never truly accepted by the people.

This was probably because he didn’t know how to care for others and lived selfishly.

Even though the people thought of him as a hero, they instinctively knew that their lives would become harder if he became king.

So he regretted.

Perhaps he should have died on the battlefield, and she, or others, should have lived instead.

‘Would the future have been brighter then?’

…He didn’t know.

Perhaps a failure like himself had no right to predict such things.

But even as a failure…!

‘I swear I will do everything in my power to ensure your life doesn’t turn out that way again.’

Roen made a vow.

Even if she didn’t know him, if he remembered her, she was no longer a stranger to him.

So he resolved that her life would not end in tragedy as it had before.

…Of course.

‘For now, I’ll have to be satisfied with a supporting role.’

He wasn’t the protagonist of this stage.

Over there was his master, who always showed unexpected and formidable aspects—he was the true protagonist of this stage.

‘How will you untangle this knotted thread?’

A variable and singularity.

He always showed results and actions that surpassed his predictions and the future, and gave teachings about the ‘path’ that he couldn’t understand.

The returnee’s eyes gleamed with anticipation, wondering what choice his master would make this time.