“Forcing an injured person to carry someone?! This is a violation of human rights! I’ll carry him instead!”
“Oh, shut up! If he gulped down that expensive potion, the least he can do is pull his weight! And is he just an injured guy? He’s a criminal!”
Once again, Rodelin and Lowell’s argument escalated.
Watching them for a moment, Bickerd finally hoisted Redington onto his back.
Sure, Lowell was terrifying, but… she had a point.
If he’d received help, he had to repay it.
‘A knight who doesn’t return a favor… isn’t a knight at all.’
Or maybe a criminal knight in his case?
Bickerd smirked bitterly and took a firm step forward.
He was a knight.And if this was going to be his last mission, he wasn’t going to half-ass it.
Especially if it meant looking after his foolish, reckless comrade.
“Look! He’s running away!”
“You treacherous criminal! Stop right there!”
…I’m not running away!
I’m helping you, dammit!
After breaking a sweat trying to explain himself, Bickerd finally secured his chance.
A chance to fulfill his final duty.
“We’re heading to the village. You take care of her.”
Lowell positioned herself behind Bickerd, prepared for any possible ambush.
Rodelin followed behind them with Dolores in tow—until she suddenly flinched.
A sharp pain shot up from her ankle.
“Does it hurt?”
“I… It’s nothing. I can walk on my own.”
“You better. Even if it hurts, just keep walking. You know how dangerous enemy territory is, right?”
Rodelin nodded.
Lowell looked at her for a moment.
Her lips parted slightly, as if she wanted to say something.
But no words came out.
She simply turned away and kept walking.
Rodelin watched her back in a daze.
‘She… doesn’t carry me anymore.’
She had hoped—just maybe—Lowell would carry her like she used to.
But no.
It was nothing more than a childhood memory.
No—perhaps she was the only one who still remembered it.
‘She probably lost faith in me a long time ago. And here I am, being stupid, still hoping…’
Holding back the tears threatening to spill, Rodelin forced herself to follow.
Was it because of her limping leg?
Or because of the distance between them she could now feel?
Lowell’s back seemed to grow farther and farther away.
Just as Rodelin struggled to keep moving—
“You can lean on me. I’ll support you.”
It was Dolores.
Before Rodelin could protest, Dolores slipped under her shoulder, offering her support.
“T-this isn’t right! You’re in worse condition than I am.”
“It’s fine. I actually ate well and got some sleep, believe it or not. Oh, and you don’t have to be so formal. You’re like an older sister, so talk casually.”
“A-a soldier must always be respectful to civilians.”
“Your dream is to be a soldier? But you’re so pretty… What a waste.”
“B-being pretty has nothing to do with being a soldier!”
“Oho~ So you do know you’re pretty?”
“I-I never said that!”
Rodelin blushed furiously, flustered.
Dolores just laughed in amusement.
“Rodelin, you’re being too loud. Do you want to announce our location to the enemy?”
“S-sorry! I’ll be quiet immediately!”
“Too late. You should’ve been quiet before. A soldier’s mistakes cost the lives of their comrades and civilians. No matter how I look at it, you’re just not cut out to be a soldier.”
Rodelin’s shoulders sagged.
She couldn’t argue.
Everything Lowell said was true.
Watching her, Dolores pouted.
“You two are family, right? Why is your sister treating you like this?”
“She usually treats me well. It’s just… the situation. She’s on edge.”
“Hmph! Even so, this is too much. The kid next door, Adel, is a thousand times nicer than her.”
“You know Adel?”
“Huh? You know Adel too?”
Of course, she did.
That kid ran around the village so much that Rodelin saw him multiple times a day.
And it wasn’t just Adel.
“Dolores, we’ve been looking for you. Whale and Acela too.”
“They were looking for me…?”
Dolores’ eyes welled up with tears.
The tension finally lifted.
She was really alive.
She had really survived.
She finally felt it.
“…Tsk.”
Lowell’s scolding came from ahead.
“A soldier getting carried by a civilian is already pathetic, but now you’re crying? Seriously?”
Dolores clenched her tiny fists and shouted.
“Ugh! You pint-sized brat! Say the word, and I, a civilian, will give you a proper scolding!”
“I punch civilians too.”
“Oh—well! Actually, I’m not a civilian! I’m a harmless hostage! Thank you for rescuing me! Oh-hohoho!”
Instant attitude shift!
This was the very ability that had kept Dolores alive all this time.
She showered Lowell with compliments and shameless flattery, but it all fell on deaf ears.
Lowell was lost in thought.
Specifically—
She was replaying the battle from earlier.
‘That snake mask…’
Lowell looked down at her own hands.
They were drenched in sweat.
The moment she faced that ominous, jet-black aura—
A cold sweat had burst from her entire body.
Even now, that sweat hadn’t dried.
To be honest, the fact that she had even been able to move at that moment was a miracle.
Thinking back—her legs had almost given out multiple times.
Even so—
‘He blocked my attack like it was nothing.’
Aura at the level of an 8-star knight was already terrifying—but he used magic on top of that?
A monster. No, a monster beyond any normal scale.
If that snake mask had swung his sword right after blocking her attack…
Lowell clenched her sweat-soaked fist tightly.
‘Snake mask… and the Dark Beast Squad.’
For some reason, she had a strong feeling she’d be seeing them again very soon.
‘I need to prepare.’
She didn’t know what their goal was, but she wouldn’t let them have their way.
Because she was here.
And because she had something to protect.
“Hurry up and walk.”
Lowell kicked Bickerd’s backside.
She was impatient—eager to train and prepare for the next battle.
Bickerd immediately picked up the pace.
As a knight capable of using mana, carrying a person on his back wasn’t enough to slow him down.
“Ugh!”
“Oh no, are you in pain? Your ankle is completely swollen!”
“It’s fine. This kind of injury is nothing to a soldier.”
A sudden conversation from behind caught Lowell’s attention.
She immediately kicked Bickerd again.
THUD!
“Keuk!”
“Why the hell are you walking so fast?”
“…Didn’t you just tell me to walk faster?”
“When did I say that? Be honest. Are you trying to lead us into a trap?”
“Ridiculous. And even if someone did show up, wouldn’t you just beat them to a pulp? Now hurry up. I’m tired, and he’s heavy.”
Bickerd tried to continue forward.
But he couldn’t.
Because Lowell had grabbed onto his pants.
“…Now that I think about it, those suspicious bastards might be pretending to run away to ambush us later. We need to stay alert. Rodelin! Stay focused! And don’t even think about slacking off just because you’re injured!”
“I… Don’t worry! I’ll make sure to watch the rear!”
Rodelin straightened her neck, scanning the surroundings like a meerkat.
“Move forward again. But at a pace slow enough for me to check our surroundings properly.”
“How incredibly considerate of you.”
“Shut up. This is just the correct decision given the circumstances.”
“Well, if that’s what you want, then sure.”
Was moving cautiously the right tactical choice?
Or was it just Lowell’s way of looking out for them?
Rodelin didn’t know.
But thanks to it, she was able to return to the village without further trouble.
Meanwhile, at Baron Kelven’s mansion.
CRASH!
CLANG!
WIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING—!
The sound of shattering windows, breaking doors, and security magic activating filled the air.
The entire mansion erupted into chaos.
“We’re under attack!”
“Everyone, surrender quietly!”
It was the instructors from Annwood Academy.
They had stormed in through multiple windows simultaneously, swiftly securing the perimeter.
And soon—
They found their target.
“Sir Caron!”
“You’re… much earlier than scheduled.”
“The situation was urgent… My apologies. I’ll accept any punishment later.”
A secret note had been passed to him that morning.
It contained a plan—‘Operation: Caron’s Rescue.’
‘What a reckless plan.’
That was his first thought.
But Caron wasn’t about to criticize the instructors.
They weren’t his rats—not soldiers trained under him.
‘They simply made the best decision they could to save a child.’
Rats would have simply abandoned the mission if the odds weren’t in their favor.
They would have retreated and waited for more evidence, continuing the investigation later.
Because that increased their chances of success and prevented bigger disasters in the future.
‘In this case… the only evidence they would have found later…would’ve been Dolores’ corpse.’
For the sake of the bigger picture, sacrificing a few was acceptable.
That was how rats operated.
But these were instructors.
To them, the present moment mattered more than a distant future.
They couldn’t see the forest—but that didn’t mean they were wrong.
Focusing on the trees had its own strengths and weaknesses.
‘If there’s one thing to scold them for…’
It wasn’t their plan.
It was the fact that they had failed to locate Dolores earlier.
So they would reflect.
And reflect again.
Over and over.
Growing a little each time—using their failures as fertilizer.
That was the burden of those who walked this path.
The weight they had to carry.
The scars left on their hearts.
‘Once again… I grow because of someone’s death.’
Disgusting.
Growing by using a child as fertilizer? Even more so.
“Sir Caron, your orders!”
Caron hadn’t agreed to this operation.
Yet, he had waited quietly for them.
‘An attack this bold would put Dolores, their hostage, in even greater danger…’
But…
There had been no other solution.
And now that the plan had begun—
“…Time is precious. They will resist fiercely. Are you ready?”
“Always!”
The instructors swiftly subdued the knights and servants.
Thanks to their numbers and the element of surprise, they managed to do so without killing anyone.
“You three, follow me.”
Caron headed toward a particular door.
The door leading to the basement.
A place where bloodstains had been found.
The most suspicious location.
But until now, they had no way to infiltrate it unnoticed.
“Step back.”
Caron placed an artifact against the door and stepped away.
It was an explosive magic artifact.
BOOM!!
KA-BOOM!!
An explosion rocked the corridor, filling it with dust.
As the smoke cleared, the bent doorway became visible.
Even that explosion hadn’t blown it apart—it had only warped the metal.
‘At least ten layers of protection magic.’
No doubt about it.
This place was suspicious.
Caron led the instructors down into the basement.
However—
“There’s nothing here.”
“There are a few bones, but… just from animals.”
It was a dead end.
There was no evidence to be found.
As they searched for a hidden space, a commotion broke out in the distance.
“What is the meaning of this?!”
“We are conducting an investigation. Do not resist.”
“Principal! What on earth is going on?!”
“I am not certain myself. Let’s go speak with Sir Caron.”
Baron Kelven came rushing over, his face filled with shock.
Following behind him, Dwener hurried along with short, quick steps.
From the moment the plan was set into motion, Dwener had detained Baron Kelven, keeping him occupied.
Now, he played his part—acting as clueless and incompetent as ever, sweating profusely.
“Sir Caron! Explain yourself immediately! I treated you well, and this is how you repay me?!”
There was no turning back now.
Caron lowered his voice.
“We are conducting a search.”
“A search?”
“We received intelligence that someone here has made a contract with a demon. So comply quietly. Take Baron Kelven.”
“Y-you scoundrels! Let me go!”
The instructors dragged Baron Kelven away, while Dwener, feigning confusion, approached Caron.
“What’s the situation?”
“We were deceived. There’s nothing.”
“What’s the next move?”
“We follow the standard procedure.”
“…I see.”
Dwener let out a deep sigh before heading outside.
His job was to continue acting useless, staying close to Baron Kelven and gathering intel.
But he also understood exactly what Caron meant by “standard procedure.”
‘We have no choice but to give up on Dolores.’
Caron’s voice rang out across the mansion.
“We are switching to a public investigation. Keep the number of personnel searching the mansion to a minimum. The rest of you—search the surrounding area. Wake up every child in the village.”
“Yes, sir!”
The reason for this shift to public investigation—
A person who makes a contract with a demon must periodically offer human souls in return.
The longest they can hold off without making a sacrifice?
At most, a week.
And if they fail to offer a soul within that time?
‘Death.’
That was the inevitable fate of those who fell to a demon’s temptation.
‘Wait for me. I’ll make sure you pay dearly for Dolores’ life.’
As Caron steeled his resolve, an instructor came running in, breathless.
Dwener intentionally bumped into him, keeping up his usual act of incompetence.
The instructor shouted loudly.
“We found the child!”
“A child?”
“Miss Dolores!”
The despair that had clouded their faces instantly turned to hope.
–TL Notes–
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