The Demon-Possessed Book – 3

The recent atmosphere within the Order of the Silver Dawn Knights was utterly unsettling.

Even during meal times, which occurred three times a day, only minimal conversation took place, and the former liveliness and boisterousness were nowhere to be found.

The cause, of course, was the new recruit who had recently joined.

The new recruit had abruptly left, claiming they would subjugate the monster that had even caused Claudia to fail her subjugation attempt and return severely wounded, all by themselves. The atmosphere had sunk low with worry for their safety.

Rije, who could always conjure liveliness and atmosphere out of nothing, was the first to fall silent, and Erica, perhaps influenced by her older sister, became even quieter than her already calm self.

Iris even occasionally clutched her head, blaming herself. With three out of the four total personnel in the castle in such a state, it was only natural that the overall atmosphere was a complete mess.

Except for one person, Claudia.

Claudia lived her life as usual, with nothing particularly different. She had no close ties with the new recruit and didn’t really know them.

Of course, there was a natural concern that they might not return, but that was merely the concern of a Knight Commander for a new recruit.

The other three, especially Rije, didn’t seem to regard that man as just a simple new recruit.

Moreover, he hadn’t been pushed into going by others when he didn’t want to; rather, he had stubbornly insisted on going by himself, despite everyone else’s opposition, and had forced permission out of them before leaving, hadn’t he?

If he recklessly charged out alone, failed the subjugation, and died, then he was just that kind of man. She had already seen countless times what the end result of clumsy bravado was.

If, by some miracle of a once-in-a-lifetime chance, he succeeded and returned, that would be another story.

Thanks to these thoughts, Claudia remained as usual, but since she hadn’t moved from her bed all day, she couldn’t contribute much to improving the atmosphere.

“Claudia, do you think the new recruit can return alive?”

“That question again? Do you even know how many times you’ve asked that already?”

Claudia winced at Iris’s mournful question.

“……I cannot objectively assess the situation right now. The other two are the same. You are the only one here who can remain calm, Claudia.”

Claudia shook her head inwardly.

She couldn’t understand what he had done here to make his presence so profound that, in just a few days, the people around him were restless without him.

“I’m not sure either, but maybe if that new recruit can unleash destructive power far greater than my greatsword, they might be able to subjugate it and return alive?”

“That’s as good as saying they will certainly die.”

“I said that, but who knows? As you said, Iris, maybe they’ll use their incredible skill to find a way out that I couldn’t think of. As for me, I was just caught off guard when my greatsword didn’t even scratch it and almost died.”

For someone who had just barely survived, her voice was remarkably nonchalant.

Of course, people don’t die easily. Scratches disappear in a few minutes, and even severe injuries like broken bones throughout the body, twisted limbs, and torn skin can eventually heal if one’s life is still clinging on.

Even if an arm or leg is severed, it’s possible to reattach it if potions and magic healing are applied in time, so human lives were quite tenacious.

Claudia, however, was even more exceptional among them.

In fact, she could have been discharged immediately without staying in the infirmary, but Erica had told her not to even think about leaving the room until her treatment was finished, so she was just quietly cooped up.

Originally, there was no way her body, which had endured for two days while riding at full speed, roughly treated with only bandages for injuries that would have been fatal on the spot, couldn’t recover here.

“He left with such a confident look on his face, so let’s just trust him. He must have had something planned. And, frankly, doing otherwise is more disrespectful to the new recruit. You know, don’t you? Your actions are tantamount to treating the new recruit as someone completely untrustworthy.”

“…….”

“Iris, you can roughly read people’s expressions, so you must have noticed it already, but was there any hesitation or fear on his face?”

Iris shook her head from side to side. No. Absolutely not. Far from fear or hesitation, he had even seemed slightly excited. She couldn’t even begin to guess why he was excited.

He was an incomprehensible man. What on earth was he so confident about, how confident was he, to feel excited while going alone to hunt a monster that had easily defeated even Claudia?

“I’m still not sure if we should have sent the new recruit there alone. Wasn’t there a way to follow at a distance?”

“He told us not to even think about following him. What would you do if he found out?”

“Do you think the new recruit could detect our presence, Claudia?”

“Ah, that’s true. He said he was level 1 because of a curse, right?”

“My anxiety isn’t for any other reason. You’ve heard about that new recruit too, haven’t you?”

Claudia clicked her tongue in annoyance.

“Yes. I’ve heard it ad nauseam. That the new recruit was cursed by a witch, that he single-handedly beat a monster in prison with just a crude steel sword, and everything he showed during the entrance exam with Rije. It’s gotten to the point where I’m sick of hearing it.”

“If he had at least the stats of a regular knight in the order, I wouldn’t be worried at all. Claudia, you must know what it means to be cursed by a witch.”

“I know. I do, Iris.”

Leaning back against the headboard of the bed, her light pink eyes turned towards Iris.

“That’s the path he chose. If he catches that monster and returns, he’s a talent we absolutely must help flourish. If he doesn’t return, he’s just an idiot who acted recklessly without knowing his place. That’s not something we should interfere with, nor should we. Suppose that new recruit almost died by stepping up without knowing his place, and we helped him survive. Do you think his personality would change? Not at all, I bet.”

“…….”

“And, I actually understand you less, Iris. Why are you so overprotective of that new recruit? He supposedly beat the Human Butcher with just a sword, he reportedly saw through Rije’s parrying, and he passed the entrance exam? There’s no problem at all. I’m not particularly expecting anything, but I’m not worried either. He left with such confidence, so I’ll just trust him this once.”

“……Is that so?”

“‘Is that so?’ No, it is. That’s right. What you’re doing is pointless worrying. Honestly, what on earth did that new recruit do to make Rije and you, Iris, so anxious with worry? Does he have some kind of pheromones that charm women?”

His face and body were quite well-proportioned, though. Claudia thought that as she stretched her arms out. She couldn’t stand being cooped up in bed any longer.

“Fall for him?! That’s not it! I’m just worried about the new recruit-“

“NEW RECRUIT!!!!!!”

Suddenly, Rije’s booming voice cut off Iris’s words from outside the window.

Iris and Claudia stared at each other, momentarily frozen in a daze, then got up without a word.

“……Why is the atmosphere like this, Rije? Did I do something wrong?”

“Wrong? You did something terribly wrong. Do you know how much we worried while you were gone?”

As I returned with the horse head, proof of subjugation, and the giant spear the monster used, a very awkward atmosphere greeted me. For a moment, I wondered if I had done something wrong as soon as I returned.

“No, I promised I’d come back.”

“Do you think such a promise can be kept just by trying?!”

Rije looked at me with a bewildered expression. Well, in fiction, a promise to definitely return is usually used as a death flag.

“But I kept it, didn’t I?”

Of course, that’s that, and this is this. When I said it confidently, Rije looked at me with a face full of bewilderment. It seemed she had no means to refute it, as it was true.

“Honestly……”

Rije made a complex and subtle expression, then smiled brightly and hugged me tightly from the front. Her soft chest pressed against my abdomen. I barely managed to control my lower body, which was trying to react on its own.

As I struggled to keep my lower body from reacting to the sensation of her chest pressing against me through my sleeveless shirt, Erica approached with a smile.

“New recruit-ssi.”

“Ah, Erica.”

“Honestly, New recruit-ssi, you have a knack for surprising people.”

Her voice sounded somewhat exasperated. But her expression also carried a sense of relief. There was no negative emotion whatsoever in the smile on her face.

“Congratulations on your successful subjugation. A solo subjugation of a large monster within a week of joining-that’s a new record. And probably a record that will never be broken.”

“Thanks. Indeed, to break the record I set, ordinary talent wouldn’t be enough, would it?”

“‘Ordinary’? Isn’t that too humble a choice of words?”

While Erica and I were talking, Iris and Claudia, who had been seriously examining the giant horse head placed on the ground, stood up.

“……It’s really true.”

“My goodness, he actually caught it.”

Iris couldn’t hide her astonishment looking at the horse head, and Claudia let out a hollow laugh.

“I told you, didn’t I? That I’d bring it back. Do you believe me now?”

“Honestly…… you are……”

Replacing Iris, who was staring at me with a blank face, speechless, Claudia strode over and casually slung an arm over my shoulder. Since our heights were almost identical, it made for a very natural pose.

“Congratulations, New recruit. You’re really incredible, aren’t you? I absolutely have to say this one thing. Where did Iris pick up a kid like you?”

“Thank you, Claudia Knight Commander-nim.”

“Can you hold your liquor?”

“What?”

As soon as I thanked her for the congratulations, a sudden, out-of-the-blue question about whether I could hold my liquor came. Perplexed, I asked back.

Claudia laughed heartily and put more pressure on the arm draped over my shoulder. Perhaps annoyed that she had put her arm around me while Rije was still hugging me, Rije’s arms tightened around me.

“I asked if you can hold your liquor. Normally, we’d have a drink to celebrate. You don’t have a right of refusal, so just follow along obediently later. Today, I’ll pour for you especially.”

“Uh…… I don’t think I can today.”

“You can’t today? Why?”

Her androgynous face turned bewildered. I glanced down at the pouch securely fastened at my waist, which contained the Demon-Possessed Book.

“I still have something to do.”

At my words that I still had something to do, all four Knight Commanders simultaneously expressed their疑问.

“You still have something to do? What do you mean by that?”

I grinned and replied.

“You’ll find out soon.”