First Encounter

“Those are the battle nuns the Inquisitor left behind, aren’t they? Why are they doing that all together?”

What we saw were the battle nuns Selene had left at the mansion to guard Aurora. Their number was still twelve, and their clothes or appearance hadn’t changed much.

However, their condition was quite strange.

The battle nuns, who should have been melted into the shadows and guarding the mansion, were instead limply walking around the garden with their arms hanging down.

It was clearly not a normal situation at a glance. Seeing twelve women wandering around with unfocused eyes all at once sent a slight chill down my spine.

“It seems we’ll have to find out what happened ourselves. Everyone, draw your weapons.”

Iris said that and drew the longsword from her waist. The other Knight Captains also stopped trying to take off their helmets, put them back on, and drew their respective weapons.

I stood still, deep in thought. Something felt like it was about to click, but then it wouldn’t. It was definitely a sight I’d seen somewhere before, but I couldn’t recall what it was.

As I struggled to recall the identity of the situation I’d definitely seen somewhere, Iris, gripping her sword tightly, approached the nearest battle nun.

Rije followed right behind, and Claudia was the last. Erica, perhaps intending to protect me, didn’t follow Claudia and remained by my side.

Iris, who had approached, firmly grabbed the nun’s wrist and pulled. The battle nun obediently came along. She seemed to lose her balance and sway for a moment, then her eyes glazed over again, and she let her arms hang.

Iris waved her hand in front of the nun’s eyes, touched her arms here and there, and even lightly tapped her forehead with a finger. Of course, there was no reaction.

After a brief silence, a conclusion was reached.

“It’s magic.”

“Magic? This?”

“I don’t know who cast what magic to make them like this, but it’s definitely a mental magic.”

“I’ve never heard of a mental magic that makes people wander around like this. Was it newly developed?”

“I don’t know about that. But I can faintly feel mana. The battle nuns of the Holy Kingdom wouldn’t have used mana, would they?”

“Hmm…… you’re right. There’s mana remaining, even if it’s faint.”

Mana. Mental magic. Drooping arms. Blankly walking around.

As soon as I combined those keywords, a status effect came to mind. It wasn’t certain, but it was similar enough to consider. Whether my idea was correct was something I could find out by experimenting myself.

“Wait a moment, Iris.”

“What’s wrong, Delta? Do you know something?”

“It’s not certain, but I know something similar. I want to try something.”

I walked over to the battle nun Iris was holding. Erica trotted behind me. As I rummaged through the nun’s body and pulled out a divine catalyst, Rije asked with a voice full of doubt.

“Why that?”

“I told you. I have something I want to try. This is it.”

I placed the divine catalyst I had taken out into the battle nun’s hand. *Thud*, the divine catalyst in her hand fell weakly. I opened her palm again, placed the catalyst, and firmly wrapped her fingers around it.

It was no use. I fell into thought for a moment, looking at the divine catalyst rolling on the floor again. While I was doing that, Iris tried a few more times, but the result was the same.

“Iris, hold her hand for a moment. Like a handshake. Not too tightly, just gently.”

“I understand.”

Iris obediently followed my words. Her gauntleted hand gripped the leather-gloved hand as if shaking it.

*Squeeze!* The grip instantly tightened. A strange creaking sound came from the armor. Iris tried to release her hand with a flustered expression, but the grip only tightened more and more.

Eventually, Iris had to use both hands to release the gauntlet’s tightening grip. As soon as the gauntlet came off, I placed the divine catalyst on it.

*Thud*, the catalyst fell weakly to the ground.

As the experiment was repeated a few more times, the Knight Captains also seemed to notice that something was strange. They could hold everything else perfectly fine, but they kept dropping weapons like swords or divine catalysts.

The verification was complete. I released the battle nun. The battle nun, now free, began to limply wander the mansion garden again.

I gazed at her retreating figure. It wasn’t exactly the same, but it was somewhat similar to what I remembered.

“You were right, Iris. It’s magic. They’re afflicted with Confusion.”

“……Confusion?”

Confusion was one of the status effects in BraDk 4. And it was one that could only be inflicted by a specific type of magic.

If ‘Inspiration’, one of the status effects, could only be inflicted by divine attacks, then ‘Confusion’ was, conversely, a status effect that could only be inflicted by magic.

The effect of Confusion was simple.

Disarmament.

As soon as it’s inflicted, the affected person drops any weapon they’re holding and cannot pick it up again for the duration, and their movement animation changes to slowly walking with both arms hanging limply.

Of course, this ‘weapon’ category also included items like magic staves, divine catalysts, and shields. At least, the use of consumables was still possible, which was a small mercy.

In vanilla, it was just a status effect that made you drop your weapon, so it wasn’t much of a concern for clerics or mages. But in the Darklight mod, it received a massive buff that also interfered with spellcasting.

Players could also use it. However, elite enemies, with a few exceptions, generally had Confusion immunity, so the only viable targets were trash mobs.

“A mage visited. And a rather high-level one at that.”

Of course, not just any enemy could inflict Confusion just by using magic. It was completely different from Inspiration, where a gauge would build up just by taking any kind of divine spell.

In vanilla, only elite mages could inflict Confusion. Similarly, in the Darklight mod, it was still impossible for trash mob mages to use Confusion.

If that applied here as well, and if the battle nuns under the Inquisitor, who were treated as elite mobs in the game and were basically immune to Confusion, were now afflicted with Confusion, then it was certain that the mage who came here was no ordinary level.

Though I never imagined it would really prevent them from holding weapons, just like in the game.

“Iris. Besides the nobodies, is there anyone from the magic tower who would come here?”

“……Not that I recall. Claudia, Rije, Erica. What about you all?”

All three pondered for a moment, then gave the same answer: they knew nothing.

“Since no one knows who came here, let’s set that aside for now. Then, the reason they came here is…….”

I trailed off, looking at the mansion. The Knight Captains also turned their eyes simultaneously. They seemed to have understood what I was trying to say.

The four of them headed towards the mansion without a word. I followed, feeling uncertain.

The mansion’s entrance looked ordinary as usual. However, perhaps due to the thought that there might be trouble inside, I noticed elements subtly rising from the Knight Captains’ weapons.

Just as Iris was about to pull the doorknob as if to tear it off.

“Welcome, Knight Captains-nim.”

The door opened from the inside. The maid, who was said to have served Aurora since childhood, greeted us from inside the door with her usual expressionless face.

“Is there any problem?”

As the Knight Captains froze in place, their thoughts halted by a situation completely different from what they expected, the maid tilted her head. Her emotionless eyes turned to me. It was a gaze asking if I knew something.

I alternately pointed at the weapons in the Knight Captains’ hands and the battle nuns limply wandering the garden outside. The maid, who understood the situation at once, nodded as if to say she knew.

“I see. It’s perfectly understandable that you’re flustered, seeing those who should be protecting the Lord-nim in such a state, but the Lord-nim is safe, so you can rest assured.”

“It’s a relief if the Lord-nim is safe. But those nuns-“

“It would be better for you to see for yourselves rather than for me to explain here. I will guide you, so would you please follow me?”

The maid said that and turned around. The Knight Captains looked at each other, then awkwardly put away their weapons and followed her, moving towards the stairs.

The maid’s steps stopped in front of the reception room on the second floor. *Clap*, as she lightly clapped her hands, other maids rushed out.

“Before you enter, we will help you take off your armor.”

The Knight Captains obediently entrusted their armor. Perhaps they had practiced quite a lot for such an occasion, as their movements in removing the armor were very natural.

Their helmets were removed, and their faces were revealed. Then, I could clearly see the expressions of all four. Half was confusion, and the other half was bewilderment.

Well, I would be the same.

As soon as they returned from the Holy Kingdom, they had been extremely tense, thinking that something had happened to Aurora’s safety because the battle nuns guarding her were in such a state. But the reality was completely different.

It wasn’t long before all the armor was removed. White sleeveless tops and dolphin shorts were revealed. I stood calmly, even as I saw their wiggling bottoms.

I’d come too far in many ways to get excited by something like that.

“Aurora-nim, the Knight Captains have returned.”

“Tell them to come in. It’s open.”

“Yes.”

The maid opened the door.

As I entered the reception room, the first thing I saw was Aurora, sitting in the seat of honor with one leg crossed, dressed in her usual gown. Nothing had changed from before they left.

Except for the person sitting next to her, whom I’d never seen before.

‘……What is it?’

Suddenly, I felt a sense of incongruity.

Someone was clearly in front of me, yet it felt as if they weren’t there. The fact that they were sitting was certain, but that was it. Their face, physique, gender, clothes-nothing came to mind.

Just in case, I turned my head. As soon as my gaze left the person sitting on the sofa, their image completely vanished from my mind.

The Knight Captains also seemed to feel the same way I did, as their faces were filled with bewilderment. Aurora, who had set down the teacup she was holding, calmly asked.

“You’re later than I expected. You said you were just meeting the Popes, so I guess things didn’t go smoothly?”

“That’s not it, Lord-nim. Things were concluded well. But, who exactly is the person next to you……?”

“Seeing as you don’t know who’s right in front of you, it seems the magic hasn’t worn off yet. I was really flustered at first too. It’s okay, it’s not dangerous.”

“That’s right. It’s not dangerous.”

A woman with very long, white, straight hair turned to look at us. Seeing that I could finally perceive the color of her hair, it seemed the magic was gradually wearing off.

And once her face became recognizable, the Knight Captains made expressions of shock. Only I, who didn’t know that woman’s face, remained with a bewildered expression.

“It’s been a long time, everyone. Have you been well?”

“Minerva……nim?”

‘Minerva?’

I racked my brain.

It was a name the Knight Captains had mentioned in passing before. Had they said that the places called Arcana Grand Library and Arcana Magic Tower in the game had changed to Minerva Grand Library and Minerva Magic Tower?

If so, that person was clearly the NPC who would have been called the Arcana Tower Master in the game. As expected, they had changed from a man to a woman.

“How did you get here…….”

“Something personally interesting came up. I came here to see your faces, but you all went to the Holy Kingdom, didn’t you? So I’ve been waiting for a while.”

With those words, her eyes, whose color still couldn’t be discerned, turned towards me.

Just in case, I moved one step to the side, and her eyes followed me exactly. I moved a little further, but her gaze still stuck to me.

‘……Me again?’

Indeed, it was me again this time.