Chapter 209: The Knights’ Nightly Activities (3)

“Why is this place so deserted?”

Lee Han, who had successfully infiltrated the temple after swimming for 30 minutes, blinked in confusion.

One might wonder why he was so confused about it, but recalling how tight the security was outside, the lack of security here just didn’t make any sense.

Are they putting all their guards outside? Is that why the inside has barely any?

Is that even a good move for them to take?

Lee Han tilted his head in confusion. Regardless, he considered himself lucky. He had been swimming while maintaining his Breath Holding Technique, so his stamina was considerably reduced. Moreover, he also had spent quite an effort to subdue numerous giant crocodiles and water snakes.

Seriously, what kind of river has so many crocodiles and snakes…?

Since he didn’t want their blood to be visible from the surface, he was forced to subdue them instead of killing them. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that it was one of the hardest battles he had fought in his entire life since he had to hold his breath on top of fighting.

Hence why he was glad that he couldn’t find anyone in this place.

It was as if the universe had given him a rare break.

Unfortunately…

I can’t rest now.

He didn’t have time to kick back and relax.

Morning was fast approaching, he didn’t want to waste even a second to rest.

However, there was one minor problem that stopped him from moving to the next phase of his plan.

“Where is this?’”

Like what was stated, even the king didn’t know the details of the Great Temple’s interior. So, even though Lee Han had successfully infiltrated the place, he still had to find his way from scratch.

The knight who had become lost wandered around for a while, facing the difficult first task of finding out where he had landed.

Lee Han didn’t sneak into the Great Temple to assassinate anyone. He came in to ‘commit a righteous theft’, just as he had prayed to the Fairy.

What he wanted to steal exactly was…

-A [Relic].

To be exact, the Holy Relic for the Exemption that was going to be given to him. By the way, the person who provided him with the information was none other than…

What would be a good gift for Father Raphael, I wonder?

Father Raphael.

The only old man in this medieval world that Lee Han thought of as a true adult. Thanks to him, he was able to obtain information about the Holy Relic that would be given to him, and gave him the idea to steal—or rather, ‘borrow’ it for a while before returning it.

Not only that, he even gave the starting point for his plan.

-Brother, if by some chance the Holy Relic that was to be given to you suddenly disappeared from the Great Temple, what do you think would happen?

-…Pardon?

…It might sound absurd, but that was what Raphael told him.

– Hehe, don’t be surprised, Brother. It’s just a ‘what if’. Don’t take it seriously, just think of it as an old man’s nonsense, hehe.

-…

…Lee Han was about to think of it as nonsense.

He genuinely doubted his ears. Because it sounded as if Raphael was asking him, ‘Do you have a plan to steal the Relic?’.

After all, why would someone like him—the next temple leader—make such a suggestion?

Is he trying to kill me? Did I do something wrong?

He even felt suspicious towards the old man.

His confusion soon turned into doubt, and as if he was showing his thoughts on his face, the old man continued to emphasize the word ‘what if’.

-Hehehe, this is just a what if, but if the Relic that’s supposed to be given to you disappear, I reckon the temple would be thrown into chaos. Although there are many Relics in the Great Temple, each and every one of them has an invaluable value. Whether they are historical or hold mystical powers, Relics are precious all the same. Hence why the Great Temple’s most important mission is to [protect] these Relics with their life. That’s the oath that allowed the temple of Light of Brilliance to take root in the south. But what if the Great Temple which had such a duty lost the Holy Relic? Needless to say, the Great Temple’s authority will be shaken.

-!?

For a moment, Lee Han felt a ‘tingle’, and then, a lightning flashed in his mind. That was when he understood why Raphael brought up the ridiculous plan to steal the Holy Relic.

-Then, if the Holy Relic disappears…

-The entire temple will be closed for a while. They will carry a thorough investigation to find out whether there are any heretics inside the Great Temple or not. Not only that, since the Holy Relic that was ‘fated to be given to you’ is the ‘only’ thing that disappears, me and a few cardinals that know about this information will probably be subjected to a thorough investigation.

-…

…Just like their opponent, Raphael was also planning to turn the tables.

That too, with an extreme approach.

-…Are you gonna be fine? If you were dragged to the basement at your age, you might just die right away.

Still, it was an extremely dangerous plan.

Not to him, but to Raphael…

In fact, if the Holy Relic disappeared, Raphael would be the prime suspect.

After all, he was the one who knew about the Relic, and he was also the only one among the higher-ups of the temple who was walking a different path from the rest.

If the Holy Relic disappeared, he’d be severely interrogated by the heretic inquisitors using that matter as an excuse.

-That’s a little…

Lee Han tried to show his discomfort, but…

-I will be fine. This insignificant old man just happened to have an [Exemption].

-…

-At some point in my long life, they gave it to me. Hehe.

-Ah…

Come to think of it, this guy is the ‘living legend’ of the temple, right?

-Hehehe, I didn’t even do anything in particular, but I received such a thing. Aren’t you the same as me, Brother? Besides, if it isn’t now, when else would I use it?

-Ha…

That was when Lee Han realized that there was a reason why this old man could stay in the temple for over a century. His sincere nature aside, he also knew how to plot.

-It seems like you have all planned out, Elder.

-What are you talking about, Brother?

-…Ah, nothing, I was just asking about that what if. Is it okay if something like that happens? Well, I personally think it’d be refreshing to see, but what about you? They’ll make you a Saint if you just stay still. By the way, I’m not saying that with any particular meaning. We are just talking about the risk if something like that happens, you know?

-I know, haha!

Raphael laughed cheerfully at the question that was filled with curiosity, as if he didn’t even have to think much about the answer.

-If I become something like that, would I be able to save one more lamb?

He treated Saint as ‘something like that’.

…When he said so, he gave off an intense aura that left even the knight speechless.

-Rather than sitting around stamping documents or meeting people, I wish to become a shield for the lambs with these two legs.

-…

-If I could continue to teach the teachings of the Light until I could no longer walk on these two legs, and then collapse and become the nutrients of the soil… I think I would have no regrets.

-…So cool.

-There’s no need to flatter this old man.

-No, I’m not flattering you.

Indeed, Lee Han was serious.

At that moment, Lee Han felt a newfound respect for this old man.

Back to the present…

“Ah, so the structure of this place is like this, huh?”

Slowly, Lee Han got closer to his goal to steal the Holy Relic. Of course, he wasn’t doing it because of Raphael, he was doing it of his own will. Due to that, there was no trace of a complaint on his face, and he spared no effort in doing it.

“━━!”

He unleashed Lion’s Roar. But, instead of a huge, thunderous sound that felt like it would rip one’s eardrums, a gentle, indescribable sound echoed throughout the wide space. This was the technique he used when fighting the templars the other day. If he were to use a technical term, it would be ‘echolocation’.

It was a unique talent that he acquired, but the important thing here was that he had more means to use it, not how unique it was.

He repeatedly spread the sonic waves and reflected them on the surrounding structures, and through this, he figured out the details of the surrounding structure.

Where it was connected to, to what structure and path, if there were any traps on his way.

“…I can roughly understand it.”

However, he couldn’t know everything, and he could only roughly tell where the paths were, or to put it more simply, where the possible paths were.

There seemed to be a stark difference in the difficulty of using it in combat and in detection.

Still…

If I search all the suspicious places, something will come out for sure.

It was a little iffy to call it a specialty, but his best skill wasn’t combat or assassination.

It’s been a while since I’ve done such menial work.

He was confident that he was better than anyone at boring and arduous work.

While the knight was pouring his blood, sweat, and tears in the Great Temple, a certain gray-haired boy was diligently scribbling on his desk.

There were people running around the field, but on the other side of the coin, there were also people who worked hard at their desks, racking their brains.

In other words, Derrick was also doing his best, putting no less effort than his master.

Just who is it?

His desk was filled with hundreds of pages of paper, and every one of these papers was covered with countless words. He had written down all the information he knew to the point that his wrists hurt, and he kept reading it over and over to see if he had missed something.

But despite all of his effort…

…I don’t know.

He still didn’t find anything significant, and that gave him a headache.

In the end, he gave up looking for the unidentified schemer the instructor was looking for.

“Haa…”

His sigh contained deep stress; a mixture of 80% self-loathing and 20% despair.

If the instructor had seen it, he would have said that he was going crazy, but Derrick would have probably given a typical science-related answer, ‘There is a scientific study that shows that letting out a long sigh can lower stress levels,’ and the instructor would have raised his club with a friendly tone, saying, ‘Why don’t you tell me what the 100th digit of pi is?’.

“…Pfft!”

Thinking about his teacher made him laugh for a moment, as his gloominess disappeared.

His instructor was the most cheerful person he knew.

At the same time…

I don’t think I’m of much help to him…

He felt that his usefulness was gradually diminishing, so his laughter quickly died down. He felt that all the information he had was all wrong.

“Now…”

He had to admit it.

…Most of the information I had was useless.

The decisive blow that made him feel that was none other than Hayes Roche’s existence.

His instructor said that Irene Windler thought the girl was the duke’s hidden daughter, but when the young miss saw her the day before, she just tilted her head saying, ‘She is not the one…’

In other words, most of the information the girl had was wrong.

And the same went for Derrick.

The heroine is gone…

It’s all useless.

The heroine. In other words, the main character and the center of this world. The character who should fully unfold the main story from the point when Derrick became a second-year student was nowhere to be seen…

This was a bolt from the blue for Derrick, who had been looking forward to the appearance of the heroine since he ‘fell’ into this world. If it were him a year ago, he would have panicked and turned pale at the fact that the heroine was nowhere to be seen, but…

It’s fortunate that the instructor is here.

An irregular Hero-class, his most trusted teacher as well as his guide.

His mind must be confused, but his presence prevented him from sinking into despair.

Moreover…

Perhaps, in a corner of my heart… I expected this to happen…

…He had once predicted that the ‘heroine’ didn’t exist at all.

I can’t even remember her face…

He just knew that a heroine existed, but both her face and name eluded him no matter how hard he tried to remember. It was as if all information about her was covered in fog.

Did she get deleted by the creator of this world because her existence is too convenient?

The instructor often said…

‘Don’t think of this world as a game, this world is a world where real people live and breathe.’

If he were to follow those words, then the existence of the heroine was like a [bug].

Her existence disrupted the world’s flow, turning its genre into [romance].

And now that such an existence had disappeared…

This world isn’t a romance world anymore?

It’s just a fantasy then?

…No, maybe we should add [dark] or [dystopia] in front of it…?

Derrick knew.

If the story were to continue like this, while the heroine, who was both the buffer and problem solver, disappeared…

—It was like what happened in most romance novels. Without the heroine, the genre would turn into a horror fantasy series, no less than an apocalypse.

Hence why…

“…Should I really run away somewhere else with the instructor?”

When he thought about the bleak future ahead, his heart was filled with the urge to run away. Anywhere other than the South would be fine for him.

As Derrick thought so…

“-Are you having strange thoughts again, Derrick?”

“…Miss Karin?”

“Worrying about something isn’t a bad thing, but don’t overthink things. It’ll only hurt your head.”

“…”

“Hehehe. Do you feel better now?”

“T-That…”

“You look innocent like a rabbit, but you’re still a man, huh? Hehehe.”

“M-Miss Karin?”

…Derrick’s face turned red at Karin’s joke that instantly blew away his worries.

However, she…

“Finally, you’re making a Derrick-like expression. I like your naive face better than your serious one. You look cuter that way.”

“…”

“Also, I told you to call me Karin, right? Seriously, you need to listen to me more.”

“Ummm…”

Derrick swallowed his breath for a moment, and at the same time, he admired how ‘pretty’ her innocent expression was.

…Guess I’ll have to give up on running away to another place.

He had dreamed of running away for a moment there, but he gave up that dream. After all, this girl would never give up on this kingdom.

Hence why, he…

“Do you really yearn for my lips that much, Derrick? What a hot gaze you have there.”

“A-Ah, n-no, that’s not it…!”

“Come here. There’s something I want to try.”

“W-Wait…!”

…Had to brace himself.

Children would still be born even in the midst of war. No matter how hopeless the future would be, ‘romance’ would always exist.

But, of course.

“What the? Why am I feeling so dirty all of a sudden?”

Not everyone could enjoy such a romance. For example, there was a knight who was doing a solo live show in the middle of the night.

His instincts suddenly screamed at him to beat up a certain gray-haired boy whenever he could.