chapter 41
You’re Not the Only One Who Fought Fiercely
2024.02.10
When I rushed toward her at high speed, Caroline’s face twisted in surprise.
“W–what…?!”
Her eyes went wide, clearly startled.
It must have been my speed that surprised her.
But, just like me, Caroline was also a seasoned knight.
Unlike novice archers who turn tail and flee when the enemy draws near, Caroline quickly erased her look of panic.
Then she calmly nocked a second arrow.
Ping—!
The arrow flew and grazed right past my head.
Had I been even a moment slower in dodging, I’d have been a headless corpse.
“…Tch.”
Clicking her tongue in frustration at the miss, Caroline immediately nocked a third arrow.
Unfortunately for her, I had no intention of standing idly by while she aimed it at me.
I swung my sword swiftly, sending a sharp blast of cold air toward her.
To counter the freezing air rushing at her neck, Caroline hurriedly released her arrow.
Pwoom!
The wind-charged arrow scattered my cold strike in midair.
Thanks to that, she avoided the chill—but in exchange, she had used up both arrows she had in hand.
By the time she reached for more from her quiver, I was already right in front of her.
Slash—
My sword came down, slicing off her right arm cleanly.
The severed arm, still clutching a fresh arrow, tumbled to the ground.
Caroline stared at it in shock, her lips trembling.
“M–my arm… my arm…!!”
“I told you to surrender quietly.”
“Aaaagh! Aaaaahhh!!”
Screaming in panic, she pulled a dagger hidden in her chest pocket with her remaining hand and slashed wildly at me.
Each swing of the wind-infused blade sent sharp gusts hurtling toward me.
Her attacks were fast, but not difficult to evade.
She had lost her composure—unlike before, she wasn’t thinking as she struck.
As I kept dodging the reckless strikes, she shrieked in desperation.
“Damn it!! Why won’t you get hit?!”
The more I avoided her attacks, the paler her face grew.
And then—
“Urgh…”
One gust grazed my forearm, tearing through the skin before I could dodge.
Her face lit up instantly.
“I… I hit you…!”
That small success seemed to fill her with hope, and she swung even faster than before.
I ignored the wound and waited calmly.
Hot blood was running down my arm, but I didn’t panic.
A wound like this wasn’t worth losing my cool over—and openings always appear the moment you do.
Keeping my composure, I waited—and finally, the moment came.
“…!”
In the midst of recklessly burning through her power, Caroline suddenly froze, her face contorting in alarm.
It was obvious what had happened.
She’d used her ability too wildly and had completely drained her mana.
Seizing the chance, I stepped in and swung my sword.
Slash.
Her remaining left hand was severed, and she collapsed to the ground at last.
She no longer even had the strength to scream.
That was enough to ensure she wouldn’t resist any further.
I wiped the blood from my blade and slid it back into its sheath.
“It’s a clean cut—Karl should be able to reattach the arms with his ability. If you promise to behave, I’ll have them put back.”
“N–no way… Do you know… how fiercely I’ve fought against monsters…?! And yet, against the likes of you, I…!”
She was about to say there was no way she could lose to me.
Before she could finish, I grabbed her hair roughly.
Then I spoke quietly.
“In our order, there isn’t a single person who hasn’t fought fiercely. You’re not the only one. The Captain, Karl, Elma… and me—we’ve all fought just as hard.”
“Urgh… ngh…”
“Too bad for you—I’m not the pathetic man you thought, riding on His Majesty’s power to get my position as Vice-Captain.”
Her head dropped.
It seemed she had completely lost the will to fight.
Only then did I finally let out a relieved sigh.
While I was wrapping things up, the commotion had drawn the other knights over.
“Looks like you had quite the fight. Are you all right?” the Captain asked.
I gave a light nod.
“Of course. If I couldn’t subdue one rampaging knight, I wouldn’t deserve to be called Vice-Captain.”
“Tch… Arrogant, but I can’t argue. It’s impressive—you took down the famously skilled Caroline this quickly. I assume you also found proof she was trading monsters?”
“Yes. I saw her with my own eyes collecting monster remains. The pieces she gathered are in that bag.”
I handed over the bag she had used to store part of the spider’s corpse earlier.
The Captain checked inside, his expression hardening before he stepped toward Caroline.
“You were trafficking monster corpses?”
“…Yes. I’m sorry.”
“Tch… I’m greatly disappointed. We’ll talk about the details back at headquarters.”
Sighing deeply, the Captain turned to Oscar and Maximilian.
“Oscar, Maximilian—bind her with a suppression item and take her out of the rift first. The rest of you, stay and close the rift with me before we return.”
“Yes, sir!”
The Captain’s orders set everyone in motion.
Caroline’s abilities were sealed with a suppression item, and her arms were reattached.
Oscar and Maximilian then escorted her out of the rift immediately.
Since dawn was breaking, there was no reason to delay.
Those of us remaining ate a quick breakfast and took a short rest.
The Captain and I, having stayed up all night, needed at least a little sleep—lack of rest could mean death in our line of work.
“Get some proper sleep. You’ve earned it,” the Captain said.
Leaning against the wide shade of a tree, I let the sleep I had fought off all night wash over me, and soon drifted into a deep slumber.
Perhaps I was anxious about having to move quickly, but after only an hour or two, I woke up on my own.
The moment I opened my eyes, I realized something—
I’d been sleeping with my head resting on the Captain’s shoulder.
“…Captain?”
My voice held a hint of embarrassment.
I hadn’t expected him to be this close, lending me his shoulder while I slept.
His closed eyelids fluttered open.
“Ah, you’re awake?”
“Have I been leaning on your shoulder the whole time? I must have been a bother.”
“It’s fine. I wasn’t uncomfortable.”
His voice was still husky—he must have been sleeping too.
He reached out and gently guided my head back onto his shoulder.
“If you want, you can rest a little longer. You didn’t sleep a wink last night.”
“…”
Every time he spoke, I could feel the gentle vibration through his shoulder.
That soft tremor and his deep, calm voice were oddly comforting.
I closed my eyes again as he suggested…
Or at least, I tried to—until a voice interrupted.
“You’re awake? Not because of me, right?” Karl’s voice came suddenly.
I had no idea how long he’d been there, but he was approaching us now.
Since my open eyes had been spotted, it felt awkward to pretend to sleep again, so I straightened up from the Captain’s shoulder.
The Captain rose silently as well, following my lead.
He still looked a bit tired, but perhaps because we needed to move quickly, he didn’t scold Karl for intruding.
He simply frowned deeply and said,
“It’d be nice if you made your presence known when you show up.”
“Haha, my footsteps are a bit quiet, huh? I kept it down since I thought you two might be asleep—sorry if I startled you.”
“…Forget it. Since we’re all up, let’s get moving.”
After saying that to Karl, the Captain glanced at me briefly… and sighed softly.
I wanted to ask what the sigh meant, but before I could, we were already heading toward where the Queen was.
