Translator: Nox

Chapter 80

"I have seen it, but not really."

It was an ambiguous answer. Yuriene sighed softly. Cadet Ekinesia Roaz, whom he had seen through Rangiosa's memories, was becoming more skilled at dealing with Monsters, but no matter how he looked at it, she didn't seem to have been properly taught about them.

Her Monster handling methods were things she had learned through practical experience. Of course, that practical experience was usually accompanied by injuries.

"Monsters often have unique ecologies. Many things are different from dealing with humans. Have you learned anything about that?"

"...To some extent."

"If so, that's fortunate, but..."

She's lying, saying she learned it when she didn't. She must have no choice but to lie. Yuriene swallowed the worries that rose to his throat. Instead, he recited the schedule of the subjugation party decided at the meeting in a businesslike manner. At the end, a bit of worry that he couldn't suppress slipped out.

"I don't doubt your swordsmanship... but Monsters are unpredictable creatures, so I hope you will be careful not to stray too far from my side."

As one who had reached Zenith, she was far stronger than him. But that didn't mean she was invincible. He didn't want to see her get hurt anymore. She had already been hurt enough.

"You don't doubt my swordsmanship? Have you ever seen me use a sword?"

Ekinesia asked, turning around. Her eyes were shaking anxiously.

I made a mistake. I should have pretended not to know.

Yuriene inwardly blamed himself and quickly came up with an excuse.

"I saw you in person when you took the Cadet selection exam. And I know the results of the Ranking match. You are excellent."

Did she accept it? He anxiously watched her reaction. She was silent for a moment, then slowly replied.

"...Thank you for the high praise."

"Still, be careful. Monsters are different from humans."

"Yes, I will be careful."

It seemed like he had gotten away with it for now. He was finally relieved and met her eyes. He could feel his pulse quickening as their eyes met.

Her cheeks seemed flushed by the light, and the skin around her thin eyes. As he looked at her, he wanted to touch her, so he took a step back.

He wanted to stay with her, even if it meant continuing a meaningless conversation, but he felt like he would make an even bigger mistake in this state.

"Then, go back and get some rest."

"But, Commander."

She stopped him. His heart sank. Unable to speak, he only looked at her, and Ekinesia bit her lip slightly before asking.

"Why didn't you turn on the lights when you came back to the barracks?"

It was a question he couldn't answer.

He couldn't say that he had been thinking about her, having crazy thoughts about how he wished she was his, or that only he deserved to have her, and that he had only now realized that he was in love with her, so he had forgotten to turn on the lights.

"Did I perhaps disturb you when you were about to sleep?"

"...I wasn't trying to sleep, so you don't have to worry about it."

Her eyes, as she looked at him, seemed to be free of any ulterior motives. Unlike himself, who was starting to seethe with all sorts of desires inside.

Yuriene couldn't face her and turned away. He didn't look back until Ekinesia left.

* * *

The Monster subjugation began.

Yuriene trusted Ekinesia's skills, but he couldn't stop worrying about her nonetheless. Even though he knew it was a ridiculous worry, all his attention was focused on her, who was right behind him.

And he was newly impressed. She had probably never done this kind of support before, but she was supporting him perfectly and cleanly.

He had experienced many temporary Squires who were replaced according to rank, but Ekinesia was the first of her kind. If his mind wasn't completely focused on her, he might have forgotten she was behind him.

It was so comfortable that it was no different from fighting alone, and it was so clean that he didn't have to worry about his back.

'I want to cross swords with her.'

His desire as a Knight surged again. The person he wanted as a man and the person he wanted as a Knight were the same. In fact, it was the first time he had ever felt such a desperate desire, whether as a man or as a Knight.

But he couldn't reveal either one. She was wary of him and, at the same time, hiding her skills.

Besides, he had a sin to confess to her. It felt like his limbs were bound in chains, with the person he wanted within reach.

'...This is driving me crazy.'

Yuriene vented his frustration on the Monsters. As Mana surged like a flood, Rangiosa, who was amplifying it, muttered sullenly.

[Are you perhaps taking out your anger...? No, taking out your anger on Monsters is healthy. Take this opportunity to do it to your heart's content.]

Yuriene, who had been advancing in a trance, stopped the subjugation party around noon. He gave them time to eat and looked up at the sky. Apart from his confused feelings, he had to make sure that the same disaster as before the regression was prevented.

The Specters had swarmed in tonight. He remembered that it had started raining around sunset and that it had become a downpour after sunset.

Looking at the heavy, dark clouds, it seemed like it would rain as expected, without anything changing.

He intended to prevent the Specters from appearing near the camp at all, but he had to preserve the stamina of the subjugation party members just in case.

I should order a return.

As he thought that and lowered his head, he met Ekinesia's eyes. She had followed him to check the sky, and she seemed to have anticipated that it would rain heavily at night.

Ekinesia's pupils dilated. Her eyes shook beneath her eyelids, which were frozen without blinking. Her whole body stiffened and began to tremble slightly.

The implications of that reaction were clear. She had noticed something from his actions just now.

'Could it be that she realized I have memories? That she knows about the incident that happened during this Monster subjugation? She should have been swayed by the Demon Sword at this time, so how?'

Yuriene was flustered and avoided her gaze, ordering a return. Then, he approached her, who was frozen, and said, lightly touching her shoulder.

"Cadet Ekinesia. Good work. Go back to the camp and get some rest."

She didn't answer. The skin he touched with his fingertips was as cold as ice.

Was she sure? Or was she just starting to suspect? He couldn't figure it out. So he didn't know how to act either.

* * *

Yuriene agonized inside his barracks throughout the downpour. He didn't know she knew about this incident. So even though he had decided to pretend not to know, he hadn't worried about that point.

Did I give her a decisive hint?

Did Ekinesia realize that he had memories? Or was she still just suspicious?

He couldn't come to a conclusion. It was impossible to probe her. He couldn't poke at her wounds when she didn't reveal it first. It would only stir up trouble.

Yuriene stopped worrying about the unsolvable problem and left his barracks, looking towards Baraha's barracks.

Baraha was a Squire whom Baron cherished like a son. He knew how heartbroken Baron was when he lost him.

The thought of him being by Ekinesia's side made his stomach twist, but he had no intention of letting him die. He wasn't that crazy yet.

'Not yet...'

Could I get even crazier?

I don't know. He had never been able to become attached to anything properly because of the checks from his father and brothers. Because he was afraid. She was the first desire he couldn't give up even while being crushed by fear, and the first love he had ever started. He had no idea how he would change.

He headed to the place where the Specters had swarmed out in the past. He had prepared in advance, so it wasn't difficult to find the Specters. However, there were a few more than he had expected.

[It seems like the guys who attacked the camp back then weren't all of them. There seem to be twice as many.]

"It doesn't matter."

They were just Specters without physical power, no matter how many there were, and he was a Master and the owner of the Holy Sword. It took some time because of the number, but he managed to wipe out all the Specters safely.

With this, he had completely prevented the same disaster as the erased past. He felt relieved.

Until he left the foggy valley, Yuriene was only thinking about whether Ekinesia had noticed his memories, and how she would react.

But those worries were completely blown away the moment he emerged from the fog and saw the camp.

[Good heavens, why did that suddenly appear?]

A Node was swelling in the sky above the camp.

Nodes were like natural disasters. He had heard of cases, but he had never experienced one directly. However, he had watched other people's experiences. He had seen Ekinesia enter a Node through Rangiosa.

Yuriene ran like crazy. But before he arrived, the Node had completely separated. Even the camp's emergency bell, which had been ringing loudly, was swallowed by the Node, leaving only the sound of rain.

Most of the members had evacuated safely and were gathered outside. He quickly scanned through them. Neither pink hair nor a sun-like aura was visible. It felt like ice was rising from the ends of his blood vessels.

No way. Ekinesia. Please.

Yuriene looked around at the members again. Not only Ekinesia, but also Ian Pelletro and Baraha Islaff were nowhere to be seen. The moment he realized that fact, a picture was drawn in his mind.

Node. A confused camp.

A situation where people could disappear without it being strange, and where the disappeared people were highly likely to die. A very rare opportunity. Ian Pelletro, full of malice, and Ian Pelletro's past record of disguising Baraha Islaff's death as an accident when Specters rampaged instead of a Node in the erased past.

'Since a similar situation has come, he would have acted similarly.'

Then why is Ekinesia Roaz not visible? The probability of her accidentally getting caught up in the Node was very low. Did she get caught up in it while trying to stop Ian? She's not a god, so she might have been careless.

Either way, the result was the same. She disappeared. Ekinesia Roaz does not exist. The ice that had risen in his blood vessels pressed down on his heart.

'I should have killed Ian Pelletro in advance.'

If Ekinesia had disappeared and Ian Pelletro was still here with his malicious aura, he probably would have torn him to pieces and lost his qualification as the Holy Sword.

Yuriene finally understood why the Holy Sword was so wary of him falling in love.

Baron was standing blankly at the edge of the land where the entire camp had disappeared. Yuriene crossed through the members and approached him.

"What... what happened just now?"