How to live as a wanderer

68 Knights' Winter (5)

“Don't attack! ”

Suetlq exclaims in haste, watching the Knight of Death speak. Luckily, he's not the undead who attacks everyone. There was definitely a purpose to it.

‘If only it were so, the town would be a bit harsher...! ’

Do you... do you know where Karamaf is?

“...! ”

John realizes that things have gone awry.

I would have been able to answer sincerely, 'I don't know.’

But John?

I instinctively felt that the knight of death would notice a lie.

John sighs once and raises Mace and his shield.

“If you're a knight, try your best to find out. ”

You! You hid Karamaf! You must have killed me!

“What are you doing!? ”

Suetlq exclaims in surprise. No matter how much blood boils, you're picking on the Death Knight!

“Is there anything you should be aware of when dealing with him? ”

“Don't touch the weapon! The Commander's venom will rot your flesh and rust your bones! ”

The Knight of Death lunges, shaking his head. The sword you learned in your lifetime is still melting on you.

Boom!

A rusted Longsword and shield collide. It was a broken weapon, but the pressure was no joke. A black mark is etched onto the shield with a hissing sound. The traces wriggle as if they were alive.

“! ”

The shield John was wearing was not an ordinary shield. The heater shield shape was not unusual, but the material was unusual.

John's shield was made entirely of melted iron.

It was rare to make a shield with a whole metal. The wood is thick enough to defend itself, and the metal makes it too heavy. No matter how hard it was, the person carrying it was meaningless as soon as he became tired.

However, that weight did not make a difference to John. That's why I picked up a metal shield when I received it from Earl Jarpen.

That choice was saving lives now.

‘If it were a tree, it would have been destroyed. ’

The Knight of Death relentlessly launches an attack. If he were alive, he would have stopped because of his breath and blood, but the knight did not. The batter pours down.

But one strike was enough.

John, who shielded himself and condensed his strength, furiously aims for the knight's flank. Mace flies like a siege and punches the knight in the face.

Boom!

The knight flies to the side with a terrifying sound.

“Are you okay?! ”

“Are you calling me, or is that him? ”

“Of course it's you! ”

“I'm fine. ”

The shield's surface is a mess, but it's still intact. Unfortunately, so did the knights of death. Ordinary people tried to get up again, even though their bodies were smashed.

“What are you looking for Karamaf for? ”

I need to find Karamaf... But someone killed me.

“Who are you? ”

I am... I am Guirendel.

“What's the family name? ”

I don't remember.

As we speak, the knight of death rises from his seat and picks up his weapon. Suetlq shouts to the knight.

“The dead must return to the realm of the dead. What foolishness afflicts the living? ”

I must find Karamaf.

“I swear on the Ipael River, I don't know where he is! ”

Are you?

John returned the Mace in place of an answer. The Knight of Death was struck down and flew back.

Suetlq exclaims in astonishment.

“What are you doing?! Even if it frees him, it's not enough! ”

“Suetlq. ”

“? ”

“Karamaf is dead. ”

“... was that the sword of Karamaf?! Somehow...”

“Did you know?! ”

“No. I just assumed. ”

No matter how much black John pulled out, it was no ordinary sword. I felt powerful magic from iron, no matter how much I thought about it.

Danus steel sword!

To have a wandering knight who had to travel back to the Ancient Empire...

I thought I'd inherited it at first, but then I thought about it, it was ridiculous. It wasn't a sword to be inherited secretly from a small family.

You got lucky at the Ruins, or you got it from someone.

I can't believe he was Karamaf. Honestly, Su-etlg was surprised.

Karamaf is wearing full body armor made by Dwarves, so it won't be easy to hurt him when you meet him on the battlefield...

How did you take him down?

“Suetlq. So how would you react if you told him the truth? ”

“... I thought if I didn't know, I'd just walk by... I don't know about that. ”

An undead with a purpose often passes by those who do not have anything to do with it.

The villagers were not harmed because they probably didn't know anything about Karamaf.

However, John defeated Karamaf himself. How will they react?

I call you Karamaf...

“I killed Karamaf. It was a fair fight.”

You're... lying. Karamaf won't lose!

John pulls out the Seal Retractor. The blade flashes steadily as if it were sucking on the faint moonlight. In that light, the knight stops.

“Karamaf has been defeated by me and his sword is mine. There's no reason for you to stay. Stand down!"

The knight's appearance falters, and his figure begins to fade away.

His voice disappears, his eyeglow disappears, and soon the black smoke melts into the darkness.

“... is it done? ”

“You might be surprisingly good at magic. ”

Suetlq mutters in surprise.

It is a magical force that pushes the opposing Pokémon back, not down to the ground by force.

Such convenience was evident in John's appearance.

“Yes? Did you hear that when you saw him swing the mace? ”

“What the hell is that? ”

“I defeated the Knight of Death with an ordinary Mace, so I thought it was magic...”

“... that's as amazing as magic, of course, but not magic! It's not magic to put a stone in a dialysis machine...”

Suetlq starts to get a little confused as he speaks.

John's power was, in fact, something magical.

“I'm talking about taking down a knight with the power of a horse. The undead cannot be defeated by words unless they are strong enough. ”

I think I got hit a lot before that.

John thought so, but didn't tell him. I just felt like I was being insulted because I was ignorant.

“Then can I learn magic? ”

“... Please don't ask me like I'm learning to bow in front of other wizards. I don't know what you're gonna say. ”

“You're Suetlg, so I'm happy to tell you. ”

“You need to ask yourself... I think you can learn magic. But that doesn't mean you can do magic. ”

“? ”

“First of all, you're not interested in mystery. ”

Suetlq carefully scrapes the remaining black powder from where the Knight of Death was, and puts it in his pocket.

It seemed important enough to do it yourself without making slaves do it.

“I should have brought your slave. ”

“You mean Gordon? ”

“Your hands are thorough and your head looks good. It's a virtue my slaves cannot see. ”

Thanks to Suetlg's efforts during John's absence, the wizard has been grading Gordon fairly well.

I was a pedestrian who wandered all over the place, so I was good at this part.

“Back to magic stories, if you want to do magic, you have to focus on the mystery somewhere and realize the secret. Just like I learned the secret of the Ipael River. I can't explain this to you if I want to. Even if I told you, you wouldn't understand. When I was a child, I followed my teacher for months, Ipael.

I've only watched the lecture sleep. During the day, I was submerged in the river, and at night I just looked at the moonlight above the water. And then the river started whispering to me. Can you do that? ”

John shakes his head.

When I heard the knight was learning magic, I understood that Suttleg snorted.

The knight was a man of honor and desire, not some mystery digger hiding somewhere.

“But don't give up so easily. You might be interested in any mystery in your life. ”

“There is no mystery to swordsmanship or archery...”

“Stop talking nonsense and go inside. You must be suspicious inside.”

Johann and Suetlg thought about how to deal with what happened at night.

It must have something to do with the lord. Otherwise, there's no reason for the Knight of Death to wander around here.

How is that relevant?

How would I know that? There's an easier way.

I'm just asking.

Will you answer me?

Of course I do. The Abner family and the Jarpen are behind us. What could the lord possibly believe?

He was right.

John decided to go to the civil law.

“My lord, I saw the Knights of Death roaming the lands last night. ”

“...... ”

When both John and Suetlg came and brought it out, the Lord made a bewildering look.

“I, I don't know what that means, I...”

“The undead who wander the village may cause harm at any time. He may look calm now, but he may turn the next day. Hiding a horse from the undead when they show up in town. Aren't you ashamed of your honor? ”

The Lord's face darkens in his reprimand. He said with a deep expression.

“As lord, I don't intend to avoid responsibility. He'll take care of it. ”

“You won't have to worry about that. I took him down. ”

“...!! ”

The Lord couldn't keep his mouth shut and looked at John. Suetlg wedges next to you.

“I must have seen it next to you. He's gone.”

“Uh, how? ”

“With a knight's courage and a little bit of magic. ”

As soon as he looks up, John drops his shield. Traces of black principle are engraved. It was a sign of a struggle against the Knight of Death, no matter what.

“This knight here had to fight for his life because the Lord hid the truth. I deserve to hear the truth. Tell me, why was that knight wandering around? ”

His voice, full of strength, shook the lord's heart.

The cold-sweating dwarf ponders for a long time, then opens his mouth.

“... he's the knight I killed. ”

“! ”

John and Suetl were both surprised by the unexpected confession.

After Karamaf disappeared, the emperor sent a letter to the knights ordering them to find Karamaf.

Lord Gairendel was one of them.

He hurriedly moves without a few of his men, and then stops by the Outcasting Family's territory.

However, the Wachati family had a blood grudge against the emperor.

If it had been John, he would have been ready to run away at night without eating a meal for a moment, but Guylendel was different from John.

He asked to be treated as a guest, and from the moment he received it, he thought the Lord would protect him by keeping his customs. No matter what grudges you have.

Of course, there was always someone who broke the custom. That was the Lord of the Wavering Family. He poisoned the food and drink and killed Lord Gairendel's men.

“You've done terrible things. Breaking the custom.”

“I... I know. But... when I saw him praising the Emperor and Karamaf with his arrogant mouth...”

The lord shrugs his head and disappears. After vomiting the truth, it was an attitude of desperation to take care of it.

Suetlq slapped John.

- What is it?

You finish well. We can't just leave him like that.

No, Suettleg asked you a question.

I didn't think it was because of that bloody vengeance! That's your territory to speak of. Heenan, convict, mourn, you're on your own.

‘Hmm.'

I couldn't just leave the lord like that behind. John clears his mind and opens his mouth.

“I'll pretend I didn't see that. ”

“...?!?! ”