Chapter 47

Chapter 47. The Indomitable Knight

Thinking about it now, I should have realized something was wrong when the boss had my chain around his ankle and moved more carefully.

But that was an absurd thing to expect.

If I had really been able to predict that, and if I had acted more carefully, the boss fight would have taken longer, and a bunch of heroes with Hero-class titles would have come rushing in, defeated the boss among themselves, and taken the key.

And if that had happened, either Modak would have killed all the heroes who arrived here without me, making my position even more unstable, or Modak would have died and I would have gotten angry.

But if I really had to bring down the Empire, how should I do it?

As long as this old man, who was called the strongest Great Hero, existed, there was no doubt that any ordinary military force would have its plans destroyed before getting very far.

I mean, just looking at his name value, if he appeared as an enemy, he seemed like the final boss or something just below that level.

I see.

So a Great Hero is basically like a nuclear weapon.

The reason there is no war is because other places have Great Heroes too, not just the Empire.

It is something like mutually assured destruction.

Looking at it another way, if I could just neutralize the Great Hero, it would not be completely impossible.

There would be a war, but surprisingly, it might be doable.

…Still, the best thing would be to get along peacefully without ever having to fight.

War?

Only someone with something seriously wrong with them would like something like that.

“I see… So you were the master of the wolf who was wanted as the culprit behind the Great Forest Fire of the Elven Mother Forest, and who suddenly disappeared ten years ago?”

Ah, no!

This is urgent!

I need to think of a way to win a war!

I have committed serious crimes!

Every time I turn my head, I find out that everyone is a human who has suffered because of me!

Damn it!

I was sure it had not reached that point yet!

“Please give me a moment….”

“I am already giving you one, am I not? Take your time.”

“What happened to you? Why have you gotten so weak? Is it because you were separated from Hayang?”

“You stay quiet for a moment. Let us slowly enjoy the joy of our reunion later.”

After that, I explained what had happened to me to the old man in considerable detail, but only enough for him to understand.

Why?

First, I wanted to emphasize my relationship with Modak and make it clear that I had never acted with evil intentions.

Even if someone had been harmed because of me, it had never been intentional.

And, more importantly, I needed to make sure that this old man, who had definitely met me back then, did not realize that I was that human from that time!

For now, I still had room to make excuses like, 'I am definitely her father, okay? I am! But I do not really know what happened because it occurred when I briefly lost hold of her leash!'

“Why are you taking it that far? Just from hearing your story so far, it is clear that you did not help the Fallen Witch. But then, who was that man I met back then?”

“That is right! Dad had absolutely no evil intentions when he nearly wiped out the elves or spread madness to the Powere children! It was not like he wanted to do those things either!”

It seemed that during those twenty years, Modak had grown stronger while becoming younger.

In the past, she had never casually called me 'Dad.'

…And she had not been this talkative either.

She was not the type to say things that did not need to be said just for the sake of saying them!

“Even if that is true, it does not mean you are completely innocent. In the case of the elves, it was an invasion war by the Empire, and since we even lost that war, it would be difficult for me to accuse you of a crime. As for Powere, they are completely outside the Empire's jurisdiction, so regardless of how you look at it, I am not in a position to say anything.”

That sounded like an extremely bureaucratic statement, but I supposed that was what he meant from the perspective of someone who would prioritize the Empire's interests above all else.

But judging from what he said, it seemed he had once had some sort of conflict with Powere.

Did he really consider everything related to Powere to be outside his jurisdiction?

Surely this old man was not going to brush everything aside and then say something like, 'If you do not want me to use your weaknesses against you, work for the Empire'?

“Your expression is so stiff that I cannot tell what you are thinking at all.”

“Ha!”

“At most, I can tell that you suspect I am trying to use you. I am quite good at reading people's expressions, you know.”

“…Ha…!”

The Great Hero really was a terrifying existence.

I could roughly understand how much Pastien had let his guard down around us and how highly he had thought of me.

Pastien…

When I meet him again, I should sincerely apologize and try to become friends with him.

Hayang had probably done quite a lot during the twenty years they spent together, so I thought there was a good chance it would work.

“Indeed, after becoming a Great Hero, I can no longer freely go outside whenever I want. So I have thought that it would be nice to have someone who could act in my place.”

…Wait.

That sounds somewhat tempting.

Sure, it would mean becoming his subordinate, but would that not put me in a position where the Great Hero could directly give me continuous quests and events?

“Dad, can you release me first?”

“Hm? Ah, the chain? Did it hurt?”

“It was fine. If you had tied me up with the black one, I think it would have hurt a lot, but this chain is made of fire, so it had good compatibility with me.”

Good compatibility, huh…

The chain had originally been used to prevent Modak from disappearing together with me.

Perhaps this chain had actually given Modak strength instead.

For now, she wanted me to release her, so I would do it.

If I released this chain and took it back, I would have more chains that I could control.

There was nothing bad about it!

[Warning! Do you really want to retrieve the Indomitable Chain that was binding 'Mountain-Burning Flame Wolf'?]

['Mountain-Burning Flame Wolf' has been released from the Indomitable Chain! A deep and long-standing affection toward you can be felt from 'Mountain-Burning Flame Wolf'!]

[You have acquired the summoned beast 'Mountain-Burning Flame Wolf'! A summoned beast can grow through its master! There is currently one opportunity for racial evolution! You can evolve the summoned beast whenever you wish!]

[Promotion Quest Generated! - As the Indomitable Power surpasses a certain level, a new power has begun to sprout! Receive the title of knight from an authoritative figure and be promoted to 'Indomitable Knight'!]

…Oh.

Suddenly, a whole bunch of things started appearing.

In short, Modak, who had previously been treated as a mount, was now a summoned beast, and I could make her grow however I wanted.

And I had to complete a promotion quest somewhere and obtain a knight title!

But coincidentally, there was already an authoritative figure right here.

Oh my goodness.

How perfectly arranged was this scenario?

Someone might think there had actually been a script prepared beforehand.

“Grandpa! No, wait. E-A-E-R Grand National Great Hero!”

“Huh? Dad, you could say his long name too? I thought you had some kind of curse!”

“It is just that my memory expands and contracts depending on the situation.”

“…Mister, then what is my name?”

“Of course I remember. I only stumbled before because it had not been long since we met.”

“Then say it once.”

“…Hal, Great Hero!”

I desperately ignored Ien's cold gaze and knelt down in front of the old man, hoping to begin the promotion quest.

Would he not understand what I wanted even without me saying it?

“I am not a mind reader, so I would appreciate it if you told me exactly what you want.”

“Please make me a knight!”

“Hahaha! You really are like a child. Very well. If you grant my request, and if you make one promise to me, surely that much would not be difficult.”

I did not know exactly how high the position of a Great Hero was, but it seemed to be a position with enormous authority.

After all, he was able to decide on the spot, without consulting anyone else, that he would grant me a knight title.

Well, whatever his request was, it would probably be another quest that would continue from now on.

And the promise would probably be related to madness.

In the first place, he probably was not thinking too deeply about his relationship with me.

He was the strongest person in the world, after all, so perhaps I simply looked insignificant to him!

More importantly, if the promise was related to madness, I would naturally break it once I met Hayang again.

And once I met Hayang, the knight title would lose its meaning anyway.

So that was fine too.

If Hayang wanted to become an independent existence from me and refused to become one with me, then I would have to live with only Indomitable from then on.

In that case, this would be a good precaution.

There was nothing about this situation that could really hurt me.

“I suppose you can roughly guess what I want, so I will keep it simple. Because of my position, I cannot move freely, so act in my place. You dislike commands, but you will have to move if I command you, so I shall command you. I will send someone to inform you whenever necessary, so do not be too surprised if you meet them.”

“That is it?”

“And promise me that, whenever it may be, you will grant me one wish.”

“…Whaaaat?”

That was an annoying promise.

If that wish was something that would continue into the future, and if the system imposed some kind of penalty for breaking it—for example, if my stats decreased when I broke the promise—then I would have to keep the promise even while bleeding.

And this was a promise made to a Great Hero.

There was no way the price of such a promise would be light.

There was even less chance that a Great Hero's wish would be small!

“If it is a wish that can be completed with one action on that day and does not cross the line of what can be done in a single day!”

“You are quite picky. Would it not be possible to extend it to about a month?”

“…Even then, only one action. It must clearly begin within the allotted time and end within the allotted time with a single action!”

“Hmm… Very well. If I pressure you too much just for a single knight title, you may leave for somewhere else. And then I will not be able to keep an eye on you.”

[Promotion Quest Cleared! Congratulations! From now on, you are an 'Indomitable Knight!' You have become the most persistent and relentless knight, one who never gives up and carries out his beliefs with an indomitable will!]

From my perspective, it felt like I had made a rather bad deal.

And the old man also seemed to feel that something was lacking.

But apparently, the only person following our emotions in this situation was the village chief.

Ien was just staring at us with a bewildered expression.

“What is this? Is this how you perform a knighting ceremony? Why did Mister suddenly decide to become a knight? I thought he was not interested in things like that. And now he is directly under the Great Hero… No way….”

“I also thought for sure that Ingwang disliked the Great Hero. Did something suddenly change his mind?”

“Dad? Are you sick? You are not being mind-controlled, right?!”

“Shut up! Ask me later! I will answer everything later.”

Still, I was glad that he accepted my condition of limiting it to a single action.

The deadline was also one month, so even if it was an action that continued over time, I only had to keep it for one month.

Considering that the old man could discover ten facts from a single sentence, the process and result had happened as quickly as beans being roasted by lightning.

But still, I could not say it was terribly bad.

Of course, it would have been much better if his request or wish had simply been, 'Be loyal to the Empire.'

If it had been a wish like that, I could have moved however I wanted and casually said, 'This is my loyalty, you know? Loyal, loyal!' and gotten away with it.

“All right, what are you planning to do now? Go ahead.”

“Haha, I have a private life too. Could that possibly be your wish?”

“Hahaha, you really like jokes. But you are not very good at them, so I think it would be better if you stopped.”

What an annoying man.

He seemed like someone I liked and disliked at the same time.

Anyway, when I thought about what we had to do here from now on, there was not really anything special.

The only thing at the end of the passage was this place.

There might have been another secret passage somewhere, but judging from the fact that the passage had been scorched by fire, Modak must have caused quite a commotion inside.

If something had remained hidden despite Modak's rampage after being trapped here for years, it was probably safe to assume that nothing was there.

“Let us leave.”

If we searched more thoroughly, perhaps something really would appear.

But I wanted to do that when the Great Hero was not around.

For now, my goal was to get as far away from this Great Hero as possible.

Of course, I expected him to secretly attach someone to follow me.

Still, there was a considerable difference between seeing him directly and merely knowing that someone was watching me.

If the Empire happened to have recording devices, then all my efforts would be meaningless.

But I did not even know whether such things existed.

There was no point in trembling at the possibility.

“How are you planning to get this huge body out of here?”

“You are a summoned beast, so go inside like before.”

Apparently, dismissing a summon worked slightly differently from when Modak had been a mount.

After several failed attempts between Modak and me, we finally seemed to succeed in dismissing her summon.

Modak's figure quickly disappeared.

Who would have thought that the method of putting her away was literally called 'dismiss summon'?

Why did they have to make it so embarrassing?

When she was a mount, I could simply put her away and bring her out whenever I wanted.

[Modak: It feels like I have finally returned home.]

After Modak was completely dismissed, those quiet words she left behind stabbed at my heart in a strange way.

It was not completely my fault, but when I thought about Modak waiting for twenty years without saying a single word like, 'Why did you take so long when I waited for twenty years?'

I wished I had never tied her up separately back then.

Without intending to, I had made her wait for far too long.

She could have at least complained once.

Was she simply kind?

Or did she not care?

Or was she simply someone who did not talk much?

I would take my time and find out slowly.

Once I knew what state Modak was in, dealing with Pie might become a little easier too.

“Then I will give you a mission as soon as you leave. I will have someone else inform you of the details. If I stay away any longer, it will cause a serious problem, so I will return first.”

Leaving only those words behind, he suddenly disappeared.

It was not even a case of, 'I blinked and he was gone.'

I had been staring directly at him, yet he had simply disappeared.

Without a sound.

Without wind.

Without leaving a trace.

Was he some kind of ghost?

“Mister, can I ask what you were thinking that caused things to turn out like this?”

“It was simply the result of a short thought and judgment. Do I look like I am thinking deeply right now?”

“…That is strange. I think I heard you say something like that before too. Am I imagining it?”

“I think the same.”

For now, let us just get out….

“Take everything you can! Tear down the wallpaper and everything else! If we can sell it, it is money! Money!”

“Mister, you are a knight now, so please maintain your dignity as a knight… Never mind.”

Ien gave up and began helping us with our work.

She was slowly coming over to our side.

Later, whether I was mad or not, she would eventually take my side.

Hehehe.

After that, we did not do much.

We left the church, held the small celebration party for successfully conquering the church that we had postponed for a while, and then, when the time came, I turned off the game and came out.

It had been noisy and lively just moments ago.

But the moment I returned to reality, what was this silence that I could not seem to get used to?

Vrrrrrrrr.

“It is not completely quiet. Is it another call from the junior? I wish she would not call in the middle of the night… though….”

As I let out a long sigh from the loneliness I had not felt in a long time, and from the emptiness that seemed to wrap itself around my heart, a phone call came.

These days, most calls were either from Junior Trainer or from someone I had met once through Junior Trainer, someone whose relationship with me was difficult to define as either an acquaintance or a stranger.

That was about it.

“Why is this person suddenly….”

It was a number I had spoken to exactly once.

A call was coming from that number.

[Will you give up?]

With just one phone call.

Just one phone call was enough for the message window that had not appeared for a long time to return.

The feeling that my head was being torn apart, something I had not experienced in a long time, came rushing back.

I had ignored it and lived my life.

I had been satisfied with my current life and had desperately forced myself to forget the past so that I would not look back.

So why was someone I thought I would never meet again suddenly appearing like this?

Vrrrrrrrr.

The phone kept vibrating.

Soon, the call would end if I did not answer.

If I did not answer, it would mean I had given up.

But I did not want to answer.

I did not want to talk.

I did not want to get involved again.

“H-Hello?”

“Ah~ Hello! I am Lee Baeseo from Super Real Company! It has been such a long time. Do you remember me?”

The fact that the voice coming from the other side of the phone belonged to someone I did not know actually made me feel a little more at ease.

For some reason, the positive attitude of someone who thought I would remember a person I had only met once made me feel strangely comfortable.

But because I kept thinking about who this person's superior was, my tension did not disappear.

“Ah, yes.”

“Yes! The reason I am calling today is that the chairman has something very important he would like to ask of Ingwang~.”

…Yes.

It was the chairman.