Chapter 91 : Chapter 91
Chapter 91
Paganoa Knights Headquarters.
Located in the capital, this place was always filled with exceptional knights.
No matter how renowned a knight was in another order, the moment they visited Paganoa, they would become timid and could only watch their step.
At the forefront of this atmosphere was Miya Luxpenber.
She could see through the very essence of the person standing before her.
Not only could she discern their talent, but she could also tell if they were good or evil, and crucially.
She was someone who could judge whether a person would be helpful to Paganoa or not.
“We are also aware of Alexa’s identity.”
Miya answered Evangeline’s report without a change in her expression.
Knight Alexa was a traitor.
He had fallen for the devil's temptation, sold out his comrades, and sacrificed innocent citizens of the Empire.
This time was no different.
The warlock encountered in Elmore, the northernmost city of the Empire, had a close relationship with Alexa.
“You… knew?”
“Yes. I do. Though Alexa doesn't know that his identity has been exposed.”
“But then why…”
“You mean, why did I leave him be?”
“Yes.”
“Alexa is a fool, Evangeline.”
Miya continued, her expression tinged with pity.
Evangeline.
The young knight, who had finally awakened her own talent, was pure and righteous.
Miya felt as if she were revealing the world of adults to a small child.
“He may know how to handle a sword, but his mind can’t quite keep up. That’s why he fell for their temptations, and even standing before me, he thinks he's hiding his identity rather well.”
“Up to that point… yes, I understand.”
“A foolish enemy can sometimes be more helpful than an ally. Alexa leaks our information to the other side, but that information is mostly false. Just like this time.”
“By ‘this time,’ you mean…”
“Evangeline, a knight of Paganoa, is visiting the northern city of Elmore. If he knew this fact, do you think that warlock would have dared to be active?”
There was no way.
He would have surely hidden like a dead mouse from the moment Evangeline arrived, until she finished her business and left.
“Alexa must have relayed it like this: ‘For the time being, no knight from Paganoa will visit the north.’ That's why those fiends were running rampant.”
Because they showed their tails, they were caught.
Thinking that far, Evangeline nodded with an ambiguous expression.
However, a question remained.
“If all the information is false, wouldn't they have no reason to trust Alexa?”
“Sometimes, it was real.”
“Then there must have been sacrifices in the process.”
“There were.”
Evangeline’s mouth fell open with a gasp.
A look of disbelief pricked at Miya’s conscience.
“I did my best to stop it, but I couldn't stop everything. It was our fault for being inadequate. It was also because those fiends were too cunning.”
“How could you…”
Miya’s expression was bitter.
It was something she would never have spoken of under normal circumstances.
But the situation was what it was.
Evangeline had learned about Alexa, and if she couldn't be convinced somehow, Paganoa's operational plans might be shaken.
‘Carrying such a burden is my role.’
Some things were better left unknown.
But it had already happened. Evangeline was gaping, seemingly in shock, and Miya smiled bitterly.
“I’m sorry, Evangeline.”
“…No. There is no need for you to apologize to me, Personnel Officer.”
“I just wanted to apologize.”
Evangeline nodded.
Her head still seemed complicated, but it looked like she had managed to accept it.
Miya decided to change the subject.
She didn’t want to trouble the good and pure knight any further.
“How did Reinhardt know about that?”
“The warlock mentioned it himself. He asked me to call for Sir Alexa, saying he was working for Paganoa.”
“But he didn't believe it, did he? Reinhardt.”
“No.”
“How did he see through it? It could have been confusing.”
Had he not met Jenkins, it might have been different.
Reinhardt had already met a warlock who worked for humanity.
The reason he could still swing his sword so resolutely was.
“He probably just did what he had to do.”
“Right. It was what had to be done. Because it’s Reinhardt.”
Miya had seen Reinhardt’s light.
He was a knight who steadfastly walked the right path.
For such a person, seeing through a warlock’s lie might have been a matter of course.
Though she had no idea what means he had used.
“Evangeline.”
“Yes.”
“You’ve gotten a bit brighter, haven’t you?”
And Miya naturally continued the conversation.
She could see it in her eyes.
Evangeline’s light had grown brighter. Much brighter than before.
“You gained something, didn’t you?”
“…Yes.”
“Will you show me?”
Nod.
Evangeline stood up from her seat and gripped her sword.
She already knew how Miya ‘saw’ people.
Fwoosh-
As Evangeline took her stance, a gentle breeze blew around her.
The breeze carried a chill. Frost began to spread in a certain radius around her.
The body of the sword froze over. The frost gradually spread to Evangeline’s hand holding the sword.
And at that moment.
Crack-crack-crack!
With a loud noise, Evangeline’s sword snapped and broke.
“Ah.”
Evangeline hastily calmed her energy. She turned to look at Miya in a panic, but fortunately, she was unharmed.
“Magnificent.”
“…You aren't hurt, are you?”
“Of course not. More importantly, that’s a truly magnificent power. Is this also thanks to Reinhardt? There was a reason you went all the way to the north! So your potential could only be awakened in such a cold place!”
“Yes, I think so. According to what Sir Reinhardt said.”
“Just what is that child…”
Miya clicked her tongue.
Even more than Evangeline’s talent, Reinhardt, who had awakened such talent, felt far more incredible.
It was something that even Miya Luxpenber herself couldn't do.
‘I can only see whether the path this child walks is right or wrong.’
But Reinhardt had presented the right path.
He knew how to awaken deeply dormant potential and reveal it to the world.
Knock, knock-
Just then, someone knocked on the door.
“Personnel Officer. A letter has arrived from Serigel.”
A trainee knight entered and delivered the letter.
It bore the seal of the Taton Knights. The sender’s name was Reinhardt.
“It’s from Reinhardt.”
“Sir Reinhardt?”
“Yes. What news is he trying to deliver this time…”
Miya checked the contents with anticipation and smiled.
“He says he has a gift for you. He insists it must be delivered in person.”
“…A gift. But I’ve already received so much. I can’t possibly accept more help…”
“He says to come as quickly as possible.”
Miya smiled brightly and looked at Evangeline. She knew that there was no way she could refuse such an offer.
“…May I go?”
“Of course! Absolutely! I'll write up the dispatch order for you. Oh, when you get there, deliver that news as well. About what we saw in the Palma Mountains.”
Miya wrote out the dispatch order with a wide grin and handed it to Evangeline.
She expressed her gratitude and quickly disappeared. She would probably make minimal preparations and leave for Serigel immediately.
“I’m glad she looks happy.”
Miya smiled, recalling the expression Evangeline had shown just a moment ago.
She was a bright child. Bright enough to make the person she was talking with happy as well.
Swoosh-
Having thought that far, Miya’s expression hardened.
Now, it was time for adult business. To not burden the pure children, adults like her had to do their roles properly.
“Commander.”
Miya Luxpenber sought out the commander’s office.
The commander of the Paganoa Knights.
She sought the person who shone brighter than anyone else, but who also wore a darkness that matched that light.
“Yes, Miya. You look pleased.”
The commander smiled broadly.
Miya nodded nonchalantly.
Among all the humans she had met so far, the commander of Paganoa was the only one whose emotions she could not read.
***
When a person is too flustered, they are bound to be at a loss for words for a moment.
Their mind goes blank, their mouth clamps shut, and their wide-open eyes survey the situation before them.
‘To think there is such a magnificent sword!’
Evangeline was in exactly that state right now.
Right after she had rushed to Serigel upon Reinhardt’s request.
When she arrived at the Knights’ headquarters.
It was from the moment she faced the single sword that Reinhardt presented to her as a ‘gift’.
“S-Sir Reinhardt.”
Gulp.
Evangeline swallowed dryly and barely managed to open her mouth.
Even so, her gaze did not leave the sword.
“This sword is for you, Dame Evangeline. Ria crafted it with great care.”
For a knightly order like the Paganoa Knights, the equipment used by its members was all top-tier.
There were even artisans who exclusively crafted their equipment, and personnel who specialized in maintaining the gear after use.
In fact, the equipment Evangeline used was also quite remarkable.
So much so that it would be difficult to obtain through normal channels, no matter how much money one offered.
But.
“I, I cannot accept… To receive it like this, I have already, received so much help…”
Evangeline said, her lips trembling.
She shouldn’t accept it.
She couldn’t accept it.
She had already received far too much help.
She wanted to say that, but the words just wouldn't come out of her mouth.
‘To refuse it… it’s too magnificent a sword.’
Her conscience as a knight and her greed clashed endlessly.
A knight must always be knightly. Evangeline thought so and tried to reason with herself, but her hands were already moving.
“I cannot accept it.”
“You’ve already taken it, haven’t you?”
“Ah…!”
A step too late, Evangeline realized that the sword was in her hand.
She tried gripping the hilt. Even the feel of the grip was to her liking.
“I-I’ll return it…”
“Ria crafted this for you from the very beginning, Dame Evangeline. I did not make it.”
“…”
“My role was simply to deliver Ria’s gift to you, Dame Evangeline.”
Hearing that, it was indeed true.
Evangeline thought again.
It was true that she had received immense help from Reinhardt. She was indebted to him and would have to repay him someday, even if it took a lifetime.
‘But this is something a blacksmith named Ria made for me.’
In that case, wouldn’t it be against the code of a knight to refuse a gift?
One should gladly accept a favor and repay it someday with something else.
Ssk.
Evangeline tried her best to appear nonchalant as she attached the scabbard to her waist.
The moment she turned her gaze to try and make some excuse, she saw Reinhardt already walking away in the distance.
“Sir Reinhardt! Wait a moment!”
“Is there something else you have to say?”
Reinhardt, who asked this, had a genuinely curious expression.
His only business truly was to deliver this sword.
But Evangeline still had something to say.
“I have a message from Personnel Officer Miya. It's related to the mission our Paganoa Knights carried out in the Palma Mountains.”
“In that case, I will listen. Let’s move to a different location.”
Reinhardt naturally led the way to the commander’s office.
“Hm? Sir Reinhardt? And Dame Evangeline too… Aha, I see. I understand.”
And he kicked out the Knights’ commander.
They certainly hadn't exchanged any words, but to Evangeline, it definitely felt that way.
‘How natural.’
Moreover, neither of them seemed to find anything strange about this situation.
Reinhardt took a seat as if it were his own and then gestured for Evangeline to sit as well.
“Please, have a seat and speak.”
At that, Evangeline shook off her stray thoughts.
She filled her mind only with the story she had to tell now.
“Sir Reinhardt. Recently, in the far west of the Empire, magical beasts have been running rampant. Their source is hidden in various places in the Palma Mountains, and Paganoa has destroyed a significant number of them.”
“Are you referring to the beasts influenced by demons?”
“Yes. Also, it includes not only beasts but also demi-humans with considerable intelligence.”
Evangeline explained step by step with a serious expression.
After listening for a while, Reinhardt realized.
‘She’s saying that monsters have appeared.’
So-called monsters.
The official term in the game’s setting was, magical beasts.
And this case too, was a situation that shouldn't have happened yet.