46 – Episode 46
# 46
When Ian opened his eyes, the world was still bathed in a mysterious shade of blue.
The bluish haze between midnight and dawn.
Within this azure world, a statuesque blonde woman gazed at Ian like a fairy.
“Damn, that startled me.”
Of course, from a distance, she would look as beautiful as a painting.
However, waking up to someone staring down at him, Ian was taken aback.
“Sorry. Did I wake you?”
“That’s not it.”
Ian looked around and let out a sigh.
There were about 30 minutes left until the sun completely rose. But he had already woken up. He had lost his morning sleep.
Like most Koreans, Ian also had a strange obsession with morning sleep.
“…The rope?”
“What rope?”
“The one tied to the tree.”
Before falling asleep, Ian had tightly wound the rope around the Black Knight’s arms and the tree. The reason, of course, was to prevent escape and attack.
But lo and behold.
When he got up, the Black Knight was casually walking around with only his hands loosely tied.
It was strange.
Did he tie the rope incorrectly yesterday?
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“It wasn’t tied, was it?”
“…”
As the Black Knight nonchalantly spoke, Ian just nodded.
What was the use of checking now when it was already bright outside?
“How long have you been like this?”
“It’s been a while. I’ve had a lot to think about.”
The Black Knight suddenly reached out his hand.
When Ian looked at him, the Black Knight spoke.
“I want to be treated like a knight. Release my hand.”
“How can I trust you?”
When Ian asked, the black knight confidently replied, “I swear by the honor of a knight. I will never attack you.”
Ian looked at the black knight with suspicious eyes.
What Ian was wary of was the black knight’s sheer power. Wizards are weak in close combat. If the black knight were to grab Ian’s neck and twist it, how would Ian fend him off? It’s better to keep his hands tied for peace of mind.
Still not convinced, the black knight calmly revealed his story.
“I am Belenka of the Mertz family. My homeland is the Wintz Principality, a harsh land to the east of the Empire.”
“It sounds like what Decado said.”
Upon witnessing the black knight’s prowess, Decado immediately identified him as an eastern knight. Perhaps knights from the Wintz Principality favor black armor.
“As the firstborn, I received knight training from a young age to follow in my father’s footsteps. But after my father passed away, my mother tried to pass on my father’s swordsmanship to my younger brother as she pleased. I explained that the swordsmanship belonged to me, but he wouldn’t understand.”
“Ah. So you stole it?”
“What do you take me for? I took it rightfully.”
Ian nodded.
Even without seeing it, it was obvious. Rightfully (stolen), of course.
As Ian had expected, Matz’s Belenka beat up his younger brother and took away his weapons and armor.
So, a trial ensued…
Belenka lost.
It was because the lord and his mother were on the opposing side.
Having lost in the trial, Belenka should have returned the weapons and been imprisoned… but that didn’t happen.
It goes without saying that physical strength is essential for administering justice.
After all, to punish someone, you have to capture the criminal.
But as I’ve seen before… Belenka is quite strong.
When the lord’s soldiers and knights threatened Belenka, she stood her ground with physical prowess, defeating the knights and shouting, “Who dares to judge me!”
No matter how much legal authority the lord has, in the end, the one with the most power wins.
Belenka, who personally demonstrated the limitations of medieval justice, left the Winz Principality and headed to the Holy Empire.
Her destination is the Roland Kingdom located to the west of the continent.
It’s the kingdom where her father used to work as a knight in his younger days.
“If the daughter of my father goes to visit, they will surely welcome me.”
“Hmm.”
Ian found it a bit strange, but he nodded for now.
Thinking that if her father worked there, his daughter should be able to work there too. Isn’t that too naive?
But in the medieval era, it’s only natural for children to inherit their parents’ professions, so one can’t say that Belenka’s thinking is completely wrong.
“Then why the disguise?”
“When the topic of cross-dressing came up, Belenka’s face flushed crimson.
‘Th-that’s not… I-I didn’t do it because I like girls or anything!!!’
‘Huh? Are you a lesbian?’
‘No!!!’
Unbeknownst to Ian, in this era, men dressing as women or women as men was a behavior often seen in those with peculiar s*xual orientations.
So, a woman wearing men’s clothes was a woman who desired other women.
‘I heard the Empire discriminates against people like us! My father warned me that they’re barbarians, so I should be careful with my appearance!’
Hmm… really? Ian wasn’t a knight, so he wasn’t well-versed in such matters.
But it was a fact that the Imperials were barbaric. In truth, the roots of the Empire lay not in an ancient golden empire but with the barbarians who descended from the north.
In the Empire, which still retained some remnants of barbarism from the north, there tended to be a strange view of women engaging in outdoor activities.
More precisely, they found it strange for women to act like men, a mindset rooted in a barbaric belief of ‘Why should a man watch a woman struggling with men’s tasks?’
‘So, I planned to hide my gender until I could escape the Empire! I didn’t want to cause any unnecessary trouble!’
If it were Lucy, she might have given a suspicious look and said, ‘Isn’t it just an excuse because you prefer wearing men’s clothes?’
Ian, who didn’t particularly harbor biases against medieval folks, simply thought, ‘Is that so?’ and understood.
‘And…’
‘What else?’
Nodding, Belenka handed over a black helmet.
‘This helmet is enchanted.’
‘Enchanted?’”
Ian felt a sudden curiosity at the unexpected fact.
Could it be magic, a field not within Ian’s expertise?
“Yeah. It’s a magic that changes your voice… I don’t know how to handle this magic.”
“Wearing a helmet automatically changes your voice?”
“Yeah. A man’s voice comes out.”
Belanka explained.
Ian didn’t know who cast the spell or how, but his father’s helmet was enchanted to alter the wearer’s voice.
Since it hadn’t been long since he inherited the armor, Belanka didn’t know about such magic. It was only after wearing the armor and engaging in combat that she discovered it. However, since it wasn’t a fatal magic, she left it as it was.
If there’s a voice-changing magic… can’t she just stay silent?
So, while traveling through the White Kingdom, Belanka either stayed silent or took off the helmet to converse. There were excuses like talking while looking at the face. But, after stepping onto imperial land, her thoughts gradually changed.
How about just pretending to be a man?
She wasn’t particularly interested in cross-dressing or perverse acts, but given the circumstances…
So, just to test it out, Belanka tried impersonating a man.
Partly hoping for an additional effect of evading potential pursuers.
However… who would have thought she would be caught by Ian right after starting to cross-dress?
Deep down, Belanka thought she must have incurred the wrath of the heavens for casually coveting clothes of a different gender…
“I won’t cross-dress anymore.”
“What about the helmet?”
“If I don’t talk, isn’t that enough?”
Ian lowered his head.
The silent knight concept was frustrating once or twice. It was suffocating.
“Would it be okay for me to take a look?”
“At the magic of the helmet?”
Belénka handed the helmet over without much thought. Ian looked around as soon as he received the helmet.
Belénka found his behavior quite fascinating.
Perhaps, magicians up close are always fresh.
Ian, who was examining the helmet, scratched his head.
“I’m not sure.”
[You cannot acquire the skill yet.]
[You can only acquire a new skill by witnessing a more definite mystery.]
Ian, who had seen numerous mysteries so far, found that the magic on the helmet was a different kind of mystery from what he knew.
The world is vast, and the world of mysteries is diverse.
Ian once again realized that he was a novice magician.
[Achievement unlocked!]
[You have witnessed a new mystery!]
[Bonus skill points: +50]
“Skill points…”
Come to think of it, I got bonus points when I witnessed the mystery of the storm.
500 points. That’s quite a lot, wasn’t it?
Since he had earned the points anyway, Ian opened the skill window, wondering if there was any magic worth choosing.
[Skill: Necromancy(30/100) – In Progress]
[Ability to communicate with the dead.]
‘Necromancy?’
The newfound mystery was that of the soul.
“It seems like… a helmet that picks up ghosts, maybe.”
“…Ghosts?”
Belenka was horrified at Ian’s explanation.
She thought her voice changed because of magic… but it was a device that picked up ghosts?!
“I’m not a necromancer, so I don’t know the details well.”
“Th-then… is it dangerous?”
“Not really. If there haven’t been any problems so far, there probably won’t be in the future.”
“… Are you sure?”
Ian turned the helmet back and spoke.
“I don’t know.”
“….”
“I think it’s better to use it little by little only when fighting. Since I can’t tell if it’s beneficial or harmful.”
Ian wasn’t an all-knowing tool. He didn’t know about all mysteries.
Investing skill points now could allow him to learn necromancy, but honestly, it seemed a bit wasteful to invest points just to investigate a helmet.
Considering Ian had dabbled in all sorts of magic so far, it was a feasible thought.
It’s better to save points for crucial moments, like during the Longtail incident.
When Ian appraised the items, Belenka genuinely said, “Thank you, sorcerer.”
“Don’t mention it.”
As the day fully dawned, Ian released Belenka from her restraints and fed her breakfast. It was because Belenka had sworn not to be hostile to the two of them.
“But is it all just because of the oath?”
“Ian is suspicious in strange ways.”
Lucy believed Belenka’s oath without any doubt, but Ian couldn’t shake off a feeling of unease.
After all, an oath was just… nothing!
How could you trust someone who only talks big about not using violence with their mouth?
Especially Ian’s ancestors, the Koreans, were a people who practiced the crazy bravado diplomacy of “swearing oaths” against China and Mongolia as naturally as breathing.
If they had sworn too many oaths, there would have been clear records of “Koreans are not to be trusted.”
However, in this age of universal religion, about 90% of people could be trusted
“No. Ian. There’s one thing I want to ask of you.”
“Something you want to ask?”
Belenka lowered her head and spoke.
“Can’t we just… erase everything that happened between us?”
“…?”
Ian didn’t quite understand at first, but soon grasped what Belenka was getting at.
Ah. She wants to reconcile!
It was a suggestion to forget and treat everything as if it never happened, since they both made mistakes.
Feeling like a bashful medieval knight.
“Sure. Let’s just forget about it.”
Belenka beamed at Ian’s nonchalant reply.
“…”
Lucy watched Belenka’s actions with her arms crossed.
Sensing Lucy’s gaze, Belenka moved her head slightly and spoke to her.
“No matter what you say, I will fight to protect my honor, Talian.”
Ian couldn’t help but worry if a confrontation between the two of them would break out here.
But today, Lucy backed down first.
“… Yesterday’s remarks were rash. Trying to exploit the weakness of an honorable knight. I apologize.”
“…”
“As a gesture of apology, I’ll forget all about your past. That’s what you want, right?”
“Sure.”
Lucy nodded slowly.
Ian honestly couldn’t believe Lucy acting like such an open-minded noble.
What’s going on? Why is she behaving like a generous aristocrat?
Is it really you, Lucy? Or something transformed into Lucy?
Lucy knew that Belenca’s affection had already departed from her.
It would have been nice to recruit a free knight like Belenca, but it was too late, so she decided not to be hostile.
The fortunate thing was that Belenca showed interest in Ian.
If Ian sided with Lucy… if Ian accepted Belenca, then Belenca would be on Lucy’s side as well.
As Lucy finished her story, Belenca spoke with a serious expression.
“I appreciate both of your generous decisions. And Ian, not only my life but also my past… I owe you a lot.”
Belenca bowed her head once again.
“But right now, I don’t have money in my pocket. So…”
“Yeah?”
“Repay it with your body.”