Chapter 14 : An Uninvited Guest

Neb lifted the necklace he received.

The red gemstone swayed as it hung from the chain.

It was a necklace with an unusual pattern engraved on it.

Even I, who am no expert in art, could tell it was something quite valuable.

“Fuu…”

Neb exhaled softly.

Then, the necklace vanished into the air like a mirage, glowing with light.

At the same time, a cool breeze spread around us.

It felt like eating mint chocolate.

Neb slowly raised his head.

“Good thing it was a goblin.”

“…?”

“Someone who possesses a goddess’s relic.”

His golden eyes, shining as brightly as the full moon, fixed on me.

“That goblin was just hungry, it wasn’t after anything else.”

I naturally furrowed my brows.

‘Did he think before speaking?’ The image popped up in my mind.

I couldn’t make sense of it at all.

Neb, reading my expression, shrugged and flicked his hand a few times.

“To put it simply, if the goblin had been smarter or more greedy, the city might have been destroyed.”

“Can you say that so easily?”

“Well, it could have happened.”

I wasn’t sure what Neb had seen in the shape of the ‘relic’ that was the necklace.

But Neb nodded to himself as if he knew the truth.

I watched Neb and then asked another question that had been on my mind.

“So, what changed?”

“What do you mean?”

I gathered my thoughts.

Neb had clearly told me that as long as he found the relic imbued with his power, he could regain the strength he lost.

But from what I could see, nothing had changed about Neb.

He was still light, with a frail body.

He looked more like Cinderella than a goddess.

This was an important issue.

The reason we were searching for the relics was fundamentally so that I could return home.

If there was no change after finding one relic, how many more would we need to find?

I looked at Neb, who tilted his head with a naive expression, and spoke up.

“I’m saying that even after finding the relic, nothing seems to have changed. So, how many more relics will I have to find for me to get back home…?”

I stopped midway.

It might have sounded like a complaint.

Neb seemed to catch my meaning, and with a sleepy look, he took a few steps closer to me.

“Heh.”

And then…

“I’m disappointed that you don’t see how the goddess has changed. Very, very, very disappointed.”

Suddenly, Neb struck a strange pose.

He grabbed the back of his head with one hand, trying to add curves to his frail body.

I briefly observed the scene.

‘He looks like a dead cockroach.’

Whether Neb knew what I was thinking or not, he proudly displayed his ego.

“Don’t be shy, look at the goddess’s beautiful body that’s grown even more than before.”

“…?”

I was at a loss for words after seeing that.

It was far from my taste.

In medieval terms, it was about thirty thousand feet away.

It looked so pitiful.

Without saying a word, I flicked Neb’s forehead.

Thwack

“Ow!”

We had left the city and set up a small campfire outside, preparing for the late night.

Honestly, since we had arrived in the city, it wouldn’t have been a problem to rest for a few days before continuing our journey.

After all, no one was chasing us with knives.

But unexpectedly, Neb wanted to move quickly.

“There’s no need to waste time, is there?”

“Oh ho…”

I let out a soft exclamation.

Never in my life did I imagine I’d hear such admirable words coming from Neb, whose mental age seemed to be in the twenties at best.

“Absolutely not. It’s not because the goddess wants to personally test the newly purchased camping gear.”

“…”

I took back my admiration.

Anyway,

I didn’t bother pointing it out.

As long as the result was good, I didn’t care about the process.

I was the one stuck in a barbarian’s body, eager to return home as soon as possible.

“Well, whatever.”

Then I asked about the part I hadn’t clearly heard earlier.

“How many relics are left?”

But Neb kept his mouth shut.

Staring into the crackling campfire, he looked like he was about to pretend he didn’t hear me and just let the question pass.

I gathered strength in my fingers again.

Neb flinched and quickly brought both hands up to cover his forehead.

“Wait…! Isn’t that violence a little too natural for you?!”

“I’m an uncivilized barbarian. I don’t know about such things.”

“Says the so-called civilized man who graduated from university…”

“……”

Now I had nothing to say.

I lowered my raised finger and let out a small sigh.

‘…There aren’t hundreds of relics left, right?’

Hopefully, it’s just around ten.

With that hopeful assumption in mind, I tossed a few more logs into the fire.

The sky had already darkened.

Above, stars and the moon were scattered like grains over the night sky.

Since we were near the city, no sounds of wild animals could be heard—just the faint rustling of birds settling in their nests.

I glanced at Neb.

Wrapped in the robe he’d bought from the shop, he was using a reasonably sized rock as a pillow.

‘…He’s going to have a sore neck in the morning.’

But that wasn’t my problem.

I slowly closed my eyes, keeping alert even as I rested.

Crackle…

The fire continued to burn softly.

The wind rustled the leaves.

Branches brushed against each other, creating subtle static in the forest, while insects began to chirp in search of mates.

These days, I wasn’t afraid of falling asleep anymore.

‘…All thanks to that guy, I suppose.’

Thinking that, I didn’t resist the growing fatigue.

At that very moment, the Lord of the city of Edelan couldn’t hide his uneasy feelings.

Nobles are creatures who survive on appearances.

Especially someone serving as the lord of a castle—showing emotions so openly was extremely rare.

The surrounding servants knew exactly how serious that meant things were.

But it wasn’t too surprising, considering who was standing before the lord.

Clank.

A dull sound echoed from the knight’s ornate armor.

“I’ll ask again.”

A voice echoed from within the helmet.

The full-face helm concealed the figure’s gender.

“I came here after hearing that this fortress holds a peculiar ‘object’.”

The person—clearly a holy knight—spoke confidently.

“…An object that supposedly holds a power akin to granting wishes.”

Thud…!

The holy knight lowered the warhammer in his hands.

Though the movement was casual, the hammer hit the ground with a loud thud.

“This object might look like a luxurious goblet, a strange statue, an old artifact, or a simple ring or necklace.”

The holy knight’s gaze pierced the lord.

“But all of them share one trait—an ‘empty circle’ pattern carved somewhere on them.”

The lord gulped as he stared at the emotionless helm that seemed etched with a permanent scowl.

“Have you, by any chance, ever possessed such an item?”

The holy knight of the Church of the Sun asked.

This was a world where gods actually existed.

A holy knight, with unwavering faith, often held more authority than most nobles.

And the lord of Edelan was also a devout follower of the Church of the Sun.

Despite the knight’s pressing demeanor, the lord had no choice but to respond honestly.

“W-Well, ahem…”

He steadied himself and answered,

“…It’s true that such an item was once here.”

It was a strange necklace.

They found it purely by chance.

No one even knew how long it had been lying forgotten in the warehouse.

Had the lord still possessed it, he might have been tempted to hide it even in front of this intimidating knight.

Of course, that was no longer the case.

The holy knight spoke with a tone of disbelief.

“You dropped it into the sewer?”

“…Y-Yes.”

“And it’s been months?”

The knight’s attitude grew noticeably more serious.

The lord felt something odd.

Underneath the city, there were only lowly monsters like goblins.

Not nearly serious enough for a holy knight to react like this.

As the knight remained silent, the lord carefully continued.

“I did intend to retrieve it. But… the sewers were built during the ancient empire, and no one truly knows their full structure…”

It was something he had ultimately given up on.

Even if he sent soldiers to retrieve it, there was no guarantee they wouldn’t just steal it instead.

And so, the item had vanished into the depths of his memory.

Without saying another word, the holy knight turned around.

The weight of his armor was such that the ground beneath him slightly caved in from where he’d been standing.

“…Sir?”

Not knowing the knight’s name, the lord called out a generic title.

But the knight didn’t look back—he simply walked away.

The lord frowned.

It was the first time he, the ruler of a castle, had ever been ignored so completely.

But all he could do was curse silently to himself.

He couldn’t order soldiers to detain the knight.

Especially not if he wanted any hope of reaching heaven later.

Turning to the servants hesitantly watching him, the lord barked out,

“…Everyone out!”

“Y-Yes, sir!”

“Don’t come back until I call!”

The servants rushed out in fear of his furious voice.

The lord slumped into a luxurious sofa, lighting an expensive cigar and taking a deep drag.

‘It’s not the first time holy knights have been rude, but… this is a first.’

Thick smoke filled his lungs.

Gradually, the tension and pressure that had been gripping the Lord’s body began to fade.

‘…Come to think of it, don’t Holy Knights usually travel in groups? But this guy came alone, without even a squire.’

Could he be a fake…?

The Lord shook his head to reject the thought.

The armor bore the symbol of the Sun God Church — it was authentic.

He had never heard of a fake Holy Knight roaming around either.

“Tch.”

Well, in any case, it was all over now.

The Holy Knight’s attitude had been slightly annoying, but just like before, all the Lord had to do was keep running the city.

Knock knock.

Just then, a knock came from outside.

The Lord frowned at the sound.

“Didn’t you hear me? I said don’t come in until I call for you!”

But the knocking continued, calm and steady.

Knock, knock, knock.

“…?”

The Lord sensed something was off.

At that moment, the door, which had been closed, swung wide open — without his permission.

Clack!

The person who entered wasn’t a servant.

If the previous visitor had clearly looked like a Holy Knight, the person now entering was unmistakably suspicious, wrapped head to toe in a dark robe.

“…Who are you?”

The Lord spoke while glancing toward a weapon mounted on the wall.

Normally, when a guest arrived, a servant would announce them.

But this unidentified intruder had opened the door and walked in on his own.

The man, unfittingly casual for the situation, waved a hand nonchalantly.

“Oh, it’s fine. I overheard the whole conversation.”

“…What?”

“You said it’s gone, right? The sacred relic.”

“S-Sacred relic?”

The Lord, who hadn’t been given a clear explanation by the Holy Knight, couldn’t hide his confusion.

The man didn’t seem to care and kept speaking.

“Holy Knights are busy too, you know. Didn’t expect one to arrive ahead of me. Well, thanks to that, I got the gist — saves me some time, I guess.”

His tone was light, almost clownish.

“I don’t get why they go through so much trouble for something they don’t even need. If they’re that desperate, why not just make a public announcement? But no, they won’t do that, huh.”

He extended his arms like an actor on a stage and glanced around.

“Ooh, cigars! Nobles really do smoke the good stuff.”

He spotted the cigar in front of the Lord and smirked playfully.

Then, he made eye contact with the Lord.

The Lord felt like his heart stopped.

Within the shadows of the robe, blood-red eyes gleamed — like a demon’s.

“Oh right. You’re still here.”

The man grinned mischievously.

A long arc of a smile formed beneath those eyes.

He placed a finger on the Lord’s chest.

“Die.”

In that instant, the Lord’s heart stopped.

Blood trickled from his mouth.

The man ignored the sight and took a puff from the cigar, smiling.

“…Ugh. I really didn’t want to go through the sewers.”

Moments later, only the Lord’s corpse remained in the room.

‘Something feels off.’

Must just be my imagination.

I opened my eyes to my familiar studio apartment.

I looked around instinctively.

Since Neve had absorbed a sacred relic, I was hoping something might have changed…

But contrary to my expectations, the apartment was the same as ever.

‘…Nothing’s changed.’

Maybe a new file appeared on my computer or something.

I had just thought that when I moved to sit at my desk—

Knock knock.

A knock came from the front door.

If not for that sound, I would’ve sat down naturally.

“…Who is it?”