Ch.9[Episode 9] Aftermath of the Bug Report

“It’s a bit shocking, isn’t it?”

Sir Dominic followed the guard in a daze when he offered to buy him a drink.

At a tavern called The Knight’s Campfire, the guard ordered a platter of assorted fried foods and two beers, then said he understood how shocked Sir Dominic must be.

“I was like that at first too. But you get used to it after a while.”

The guard took a sip of beer, picked up a piece of fried squid, and continued.

“I’m telling you, it was hard to tell if they were real psychopaths or not. Things got so bad that people started saying the Story Team must be recruited straight from hell.”

The guard glanced at Sir Dominic.

Sir Dominic still had a blank expression, remaining motionless even as the foam on his beer subsided.

Was the shock too much for him?

The guard sighed.

It’s problematic when AI gets too powerful.

“I…”

The guard’s hand stopped midway to taking another sip of beer.

Sir Dominic had spoken, but it was almost like he was talking to himself.

“I wonder when was the last time I felt genuinely happy fighting like this.”

Now it was the guard’s turn to look dazed.

“Being a serf by birth and uneducated, I’m not particularly clever, but instead, I can find happiness when I focus completely on one thing precisely because I don’t know much.”

It was a disorganized, rambling statement.

But Sir Dominic’s words carried sincerity.

That was why the guard, despite being taken aback, continued to listen.

“Conversely, when I cannot focus, I am not happy.”

With those words, Sir Dominic took a drink of his beer.

It was an elegant beer mug made of oak.

“But today, I felt my self-imposed standards wavering. I was focused and immersed, yet I felt like I was forcing myself to believe I was happy.”

You were the one who was shocked.

After saying this, Sir Dominic fell silent for a moment.

The guard observed him.

Ordinary people typically became shocked when they killed something or learned the tragic backstory of their enemy.

But the knight before him was different.

He is harsh on himself, the guard thought.

A person who operates by self-imposed standards. Yet one who becomes incredibly vulnerable when those standards are breached.

…or so he analyzed.

“That happens sometimes.”

The guard took another sip of beer.

“Heh. No one’s perfect. If they were, why would we have rankings, why would we classify characteristics? It’s because we’re all imperfect.”

The guard thought Sir Dominic was quite a decent person.

Though they had hired him hastily without much scrutiny due to staff shortages, Sir Dominic had proven his competence through his work performance.

And his character wasn’t bad either.

When the guard himself had first faced an emergency situation, hadn’t he received disciplinary action for assault because he couldn’t stand employees who couldn’t grasp the situation?

It was also worth extra points that Sir Dominic rarely lost his temper despite dealing with the strange personalities of employees who had suffered from long overtime hours and glaring monitors.

“Ah.”

The guard suddenly realized he hadn’t asked the name of this knight he had been calling his junior.

In their haste, they hadn’t even properly introduced themselves.

“Come to think of it, I never asked your name.”

“I am Sir Dominic.”

“Seo Dominic? Are you from the Seo family?”

“No, Sir Dominic of Feralant.”

“Ah. So it’s a title. You really are a knight. My name is Valloc. It’s pronounced with a ‘w’ sound, not a ‘v’ sound, remember that.”

“Valloc. I understand.”

Sir Dominic had also realized they hadn’t properly introduced themselves.

Suddenly, Sir Dominic recalled a certain being from Feralant.

The eccentric undead scholar, Despis.

While Sir Dominic’s intense hatred for demons, undead, and orcs made no distinction between individuals, Despis had to be considered something of an exception.

‘I’m busy. I tell you, I’m busy. I’m busy planning busy things. And then I have to plan the planning of those plans. Oh, so busy, busy!’

Despis was a case of someone who had become undead due to his thirst for knowledge.

While the undead instinctively rage against the living above all else, he was an eccentric who had overcome that instinct through his obsession and dedication to knowledge.

The demons had lured him to their side with knowledge from other worlds, but he never really knew how to fight properly.

Even that was only because he wanted to research demon corpses.

‘Too busy. Too busy to even memorize people’s names.’

‘Oh, my. You again? This is a mess. All my plans are in disarray. Now I’m even busier!’

‘The world is already so busy with accumulating knowledge, why must it impose such trials on me?’

Yet, in the final battle, they had finally exchanged names.

‘You’re… ignorant. That’s why I like you. If even an ignorant person like you is this busy, perhaps I can be a little busier! What’s your name?’

…Though he was an irritating sort.

While Sir Dominic was lost in reminiscence, Valloc sighed as he watched him.

“It’s fine to be lost in thought, but it’s impolite to do so with a perfectly good person sitting in front of you.”

Though Valloc himself thought it sounded preachy, Sir Dominic was from Feralant where such preaching was commonplace.

“I apologize.”

Emerging from his reverie, Sir Dominic quickly apologized.

“Well, it’s my fault for not keeping the conversation going. Alright. Let’s change the subject.”

Valloc put down his beer mug and spoke with an expression that was half serious, half scheming.

“What’s your purpose?”

“Pardon?”

It was a sudden question.

But Valloc asked with a playful expression.

“People who come to Gachaland are full of desire for advancement. Whether they’re conscious of it or not. Everyone has a firm purpose and tries to elevate themselves. Alright. To help you understand, let me tell you mine first.”

Valloc drained the rest of his drink and ordered two more beers, noticing that Sir Dominic’s glass was also nearly empty.

“For me, it’s money. My purpose is money. I want to earn enough to live on for the rest of my life. Since you can achieve immortality here based on your value, I’ll need truly infinite money.”

Valloc put an entire fried egg in his mouth and chewed.

“I’m actually a greedy person. I want to have everything. And with money, nothing is impossible. So, for me, infinite money becomes my purpose.”

“For someone who says that, you seem quite… like a freeman.”

Sir Dominic didn’t know the terms “middle class” or “ordinary citizen,” so he used what he considered the most common people.

“I dabbled in cryptocurrency.”

Valloc said with a gloomy expression.

“Since I had inside information, I thought money would multiply. Who knew the other party would have information too?”

Valloc‘s face turned red with anger just thinking about it.

Muttering that from then on, he vowed to earn honestly.

“Alright. I’ve told you my purpose, so what’s yours? Honor, befitting a knight?”

At Valloc’s question, Sir Dominic fell into thought.

After a brief pause, he answered.

“Fighting.”

“Fighting?”

“Yes. Fighting to forget everything.”

Valloc made a strange expression.

Then he gulped down his newly arrived beer.

“Whew.”

With a troubled expression, Valloc looked into Sir Dominic’s eyes.

“Fighting isn’t the purpose. Rather, from what I can see, ‘forgetting’ is your purpose.”

Sir Dominic was somewhat shocked.

Fighting isn’t the purpose? That would negate everything he had done until now.

“But… I’ve fought all my life and will continue to—”

“That’s exactly it.”

Valloc firmly cut off Sir Dominic’s words.

“You fight because you want to forget something. Because when you focus entirely on fighting, you can forget. And from what I can see—”

Valloc paused briefly. He considered whether it was appropriate to say such things, then spoke in a somewhat softened manner.

“It seems you’ve already forgotten more than half.”

Sir Dominic was shocked again.

I’m… trying to forget something? What on earth could it be?

“From my perspective, your goal isn’t really a goal. You believe it’s a goal, but it can’t be one.”

Was it the alcohol? Valloc’s words were disorganized.

But Sir Dominic vaguely understood the meaning behind them.

“Then, what should I do from now on?”

Sir Dominic was a passive person.

As a serf by birth, he only had to do what the manor’s administrator told him.

When he became a soldier, he only had to listen to his commander.

Even when he became a knight, he had lived only looking toward the purpose of war.

For someone like him, the option of creating his own purpose didn’t exist.

“Well.”

Valloc was at a loss. He hadn’t expected Sir Dominic to be this desperate.

After organizing his thoughts somewhat, Valloc offered what he considered a brilliant suggestion.

“How about starting with small purposes?”

“Small purposes?”

“Yes. If you can’t think of a grand purpose, start with small ones… Think of decent purposes that you can conceive. Preferably ones that can increase your value.”

“But…”

Sir Dominic was confused for the third time.

“No buts! This conversation ends here! What was meant to be fun got too serious. Let’s move on to another topic.”

Valloc changed the subject, trying not to let the mood spoil the taste of his drink.

But Sir Dominic, still preoccupied with the idea of purpose, couldn’t properly hear Valloc’s words.

Sir Dominic was searching for a purpose.