LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 115
After spending a few days in the territory, we decided to return home, following Lemegaton.
I was starting to miss the cave anyway. It had been far too long since I’d left.
Surely, the surrounding monsters had multiplied significantly.
This time, unlike when we departed separately from the Knights, we planned to return with them.
Last time, it didn’t matter if we traveled apart since our starting positions were different, but this time, leaving alone felt awkward.
It felt a bit like I was signaling that it was uncomfortable to be traveling together.
Of course, they were the same ones who had tried to kill me, so it was indeed awkward… But there’s a difference between just thinking it and making it obvious.
Besides, Odelia mentioned she had something to say during the trip, so I decided to follow along quietly.
This time, since I was traveling with the Knights, there weren’t any adventurers looking for trouble like before.
“······.”
Instead, the glances thrown my way were a bit overwhelming.
Since we were moving together, I bumped into knights quite a lot.
And each time, I could feel those glances flicking my way.
They didn’t seem hostile, but they felt like they were filled with many thoughts.
Once, I tried to make eye contact, but it was utterly pointless.
Whenever I looked at them, they would naturally glance away.
‘···Hmm.’
After enduring for a while, my curiosity finally got the better of me, and I asked Odelia what those looks were about.
“They’re just seeing you fight for the first time. …Same for me. So, it seems they find it a bit fascinating. Knights exalt strength, after all.”
In short, they got interested when they saw me battling Andras.
Odelia reassured me that there weren’t any hostile looks, so I shouldn’t worry.
That was a relief. To be honest, I thought there might be some rumors from my dealings with those mutts from Lemegaton.
Fortunately, given the circumstances, it seemed they had let it slide.
“And, just to add a small detail. There aren’t many men in the Knights. They find it interesting simply because they rarely see a guy.”
After that, she added this little tidbit.
Listening to that, I recalled my memories.
‘Now that you mention it…’
I could hardly remember seeing any ‘men’ among the commanders of the Knights.
Out of 100, 99. Aside from the fourth commander I fought, almost all of them were women.
Even the knights often lived together closely.
There were plenty of dispatches, training sessions, and joint missions happening.
So naturally, they had little time to meet men.
I could see why that fourth commander was popular. With such a limited supply, he must be precious.
‘···Hmm.’
Hearing that was indeed intriguing. I didn’t feel bad about it at all. In fact, I felt good.
Could this satisfy my shady male ego?
Moreover, most knights know what courtesy is.
Unlike reckless adventurers who just barge in, there wouldn’t be much concern over being a bother.
So, from that moment, I decided to mingle a bit with the Knights to boost my shady self-esteem.
“Um… if you don’t mind, could I have a sparring match with you? I just want to learn a thing or two.”
“Oh, sure, anytime.”
I played along with the knight who bravely asked to spar with me.
“······,”
“Why are you staring at me like that?”
“Just because.”
They were staring at me with absolutely no reason.
“…! You can’t just expose your skin carelessly in the open, no matter how much you’ve lived alone!”
“Why? You all do it comfortably. I’m just hot!”
“Boys and girls are different!”
On particularly hot days, I would wear my go-to items of short sleeves or sleeveless tops.
Summer might be nearing its end, but there were still plenty of hot days left.
I wanted to wear something cool too.
Of course, the Knights would always make a fuss about it.
Having always been around the same gender, their immunity to the opposite sex was practically non-existent.
Simply put, most of these girls were clueless.
Seeing this, I couldn’t help but smirk internally.
It was such a long time since I felt this way. Watching people squirm at every little thing I did. This sense of superiority, this omnipotence…
Yes… I can rule over people’s emotions!
Of course, there were those who looked at the situation with disdain.
Namely, my party members.
“Hey… Yore. Aren’t you being a bit too defenseless?”
“Nah, just wear what you like. I’ll cover it up with magic.”
Whenever I pulled off these antics, they would look at me disapprovingly.
Even Haneul would sometimes act up and cast ‘illusion’ magic on me…
It seemed they felt a strange jealousy.
Seeing them like that made me chuckle inside. I didn’t feel bad about it at all.
‘Well, I guess I’ve been a bit careless while traveling…’
With Lemegaton and the Knights causing chaos everywhere, it’s no surprise I hadn’t found much time.
Watching that, I decided to rein in my antics a bit.
However, that didn’t mean I wouldn’t mingle at all with the Knights.
One way or another, sparring with them would benefit me.
Crack- snap!
As I quietly blocked the knights’ swords, I could feel something deep hidden within their strikes.
Their attacks flowed smoothly without interruption. You could see their defenses were solid as they struck.
Even a normal knight could easily catch me off guard with their attacks.
Even if I had the physical edge, technically, they were beyond me.
“Your attack is quite fascinating,” I remarked.
It seemed the knight felt the same way.
The knight named Florens, who had been sparring with me lately, spoke up.
“It’s obvious where the attack comes from, and your posture is awkward, yet… there’s hardly any wasted energy. It feels like you’re just purely slamming down strength without any showboating?”
“I know. My attacks are crude.”
“No, no, it’s a compliment! It’s very practical! You’ve even taken down demons with that approach!”
She said my attacks might be easy to predict but blocking them was a whole different story.
It’s not just a matter of power and speed. While blocking their strikes, I found myself getting swept into a rhythm. It pushes you into a corner.
“Maybe it’s because of your instincts, but… you seem to know how to limit your opponent’s movements. So even if your attacks are predictable, for the ones facing you, it’s incredibly annoying.”
Having said that, Florens sighed.
“It’s a pity, really. Why don’t you try learning proper martial arts?”
“Hmm… would it help?”
“Well, I can’t say for sure, considering you’ve already ingrained a lot of habits into your body, but… it wouldn’t hurt to give it a shot. After all, martial arts were created for not just physical training, but also to unleash power beyond one’s own.”
After hearing that, I nodded slightly.
‘Martial arts…’
It was a topic I had thought about a lot back in the day. What if I had some more sophisticated techniques? Would it make my life easier?
But as I grew older, that thought faded. Gradually, I found less reason to learn something. After all, I had proven myself multiple times in my own way.
And to be honest, I never had the opportunity to learn anyway.
Still, thinking about it, if I had the chance, trying it out wouldn’t be a bad idea.
“Well then, I’ll continue attacking.”
As I contemplated that, Florens was ready to continue our spar.
The knight’s sword rushed toward me. Maybe due to the skill gap, there was no hesitation in her strikes.
I raised my spear horizontally to block her attack.
But then, it happened.
Snap-
“What.”
With an unpleasant sound, my spear shattered into two.
This spear, which had been with me for ages… caught countless demons, faced the Mountain Lord, and battled the commander…
It couldn’t withstand the tough labor and decided to end its own life.
I had thought it was about time for a replacement, but I never expected it to break so suddenly.
“Oh no!”
The knight I was sparring with quickly sheathed her sword.
But it seemed she couldn’t do anything about the momentum carrying her toward me.
The knight crashed through the gap in my shattered spear and landed softly in my arms.
I too fell onto the ground due to the unexpected force.
Before the embarrassment or thrill could set in, this hit me first.
‘…Ouch.’
It was pain, pure and simple. True to her knightly nature, she was wearing heavy armor even during the spar. I had just tackled a solid chunk of metal.
“Cough! Yore, are you alright?!”
Florens jumped up in surprise. Unlike me, she seemed flustered, her face slightly flushed.
I scratched my head and replied, waving off her apologies.
“Yeah, I’m… fine.”
Ah, familiar lucky perverted vibes…
“Huh? Why do you look so gloomy?”
“My spear broke…”
Having demolished my beloved weapon, I headed to Odelia’s tent when she called me.
Unlike her usual mischievous demeanor, she sat there with a rather serious expression.
It seemed the topic for this chat was serious.
Taking a seat, she broached the subject.
As her skin peeked through her clothing, I noticed faint burn marks, remnants of the fierce battles.
I heard that if you go to the temple, you’ll heal without scars, but she looked a bit bothered at the moment.
She continued speaking.
“We’ll also post a bounty with the Guild for info about the altar, and we plan to ask other countries for help.”
It seemed she gleaned a lot from this last fight with Andras.
This time, there was no involvement from Lemegaton, yet two demons still showed up.
“I realized that it’s not good just to save our strength and track Lemegaton. We managed to deal with this situation well, but if demons suddenly descend without reason again, it could lead to serious trouble.”
So she planned to find and eliminate the altar first, she said…
That seemed like the right course of action. To be honest, we were lucky this time.
But what puzzled me was why she was sharing this with me.
Usually, behind such conversations, there’s something they’re hoping for.
Luckily, she didn’t beat around the bush and continued directly.
“I need a bit of your cooperation… Honestly, in this fight, your contribution was the greatest. If you hadn’t been there, not only would Andras but Plauros would have appeared too, causing massive damage.”
I was about to blurt out “Seriously?” when she placed a metal object on the table. It had come from the Andras they defeated.
“It seems from the appraisal, even splitting it will yield some effect. It won’t be the whole thing, but… I’ll strongly advocate for you to get some of it. If you need anything else, just say so. I’ll help as much as I can.”
After taking a deep breath, she said,
“So, please lend your strength again next time.”
“······.”
I was quiet for a moment. I was a bit surprised by how humble she was this time.
But that didn’t last long, and I nodded.
After all, it was a proposal that wouldn’t cost me anything.
‘I get holy water out of this, and it’s not so bad.’
So a few days later, I arrived back at my home in the cave.
I felt like I had bonded a bit with the Knights.