Chapter 133
“The Obvious”
“That day? Yes. I met him.”
Cute, sitting slouched, nodded roughly.
I was checking with Cute to confirm whether I really met Lushike at the temple that day.
“Thanks for confirming, Cute.”
“Why are you asking?”
“Just…”
“If I answer one question, you should answer one too. Tell me why you’re asking.”
I looked at Roitz for approval. He nodded as if it was fine.
“I’m investigating what the people at the temple did on the day the incident happened at the Eona Mansion.”
“So, you’re checking Bishop Lushike’s alibi. I guess you asked if he met me that day too?”
“Well… yeah. We need to check everything.”
Roitz stepped closer and asked Cute:
“What did you talk about with the Bishop?”
“I’m not telling Lord Belkirente.”
They were fighting again.
I thought to myself how lucky it was that Cute and Roitz weren’t in the same Knight Order.
“Cute, if you tell me, the Commander will know anyway.”
“So there’s no need to tell Lord Belkirente? If I tell you, he’ll know anyway.”
True. That made sense, so I accepted it.
“Then what did you talk about? Why were you at the temple?”
Cute leaned close and answered in a low voice that Roitz couldn’t hear.
“My family asked me to give something to my brother, so I came to deliver it.”
“You do that yourself? What a good little sister.”
“No. He’s so busy, I wouldn’t get to see him otherwise. It’s just to maintain the connection.”
Calling even her brother a networking contact sounded just like Cute.
“So… you met the High Priest properly?”
“As I said, he’s very busy. When I went to the temple, he wasn’t there. I just left the item.”
“I see.”
“Don’t make that disappointed face, sister. I’m not sad about it.”
Had my expression been too wistful? I remembered when Cute talked about the High Priest before—though she said she didn’t like him, there was still some affection in her tone.
“Alright. Thanks for telling me, Cute.”
Cute quietly replied “Yes,” still in a tone Roitz couldn’t hear.
“So, did you meet the Bishop properly?”
“I did, but from his side… well, he fumbled and almost fell. He’s one of the Five Saints, yet so clumsy.”
“Yeah, he got hurt. But with his divine energy, the healing must’ve been fast.”
“He said he couldn’t do self-healing. Asked me to do it.”
“What? He can’t heal himself? That can’t be.”
“No, look at this Bishop. He said he couldn’t do it himself and held me for a while.”
Cute made a face as if she’d been scammed.
“How long were you with him? I heard there was a group meeting at the temple. Were you with him until then?”
“If you need the Bishop’s alibi… I can prove it.”
Cute crossed her arms, flicking her fingers reluctantly.
“You went to the mansion after sunset. I was with him before sunset.”
“For how many hours?”
“Not sure, the Bishop fell asleep during the healing. Strange Bishop, really.”
“You didn’t leave, just stayed there?”
“Do I look like someone who’d leave a sleeping person alone?”
True enough. I nodded sincerely.
“Anyway, that means during that time, he was with me.”
Cute still looked reluctant, but it seemed she wasn’t happy that Lushike was under suspicion either.
Thankfully, Lushike was cleared from the suspect list.
Once the conversation ended, Roitz slipped between Cute and me.
“Shall we go, Beyche?”
“Take care, Uncle Belkirente.”
Both addressed each other with strange, age-inappropriate titles, then turned and left.
I waved at Cute and hurried to catch up with Roitz.
The distance from the teahouse where we met Cute to the Knight Order residence wasn’t far. We passed a lively street bustling with holiday crowds on our way to Elche.
I clenched and unclenched my fists as we walked.
‘Still hasn’t come back.’
The Sword Energy hadn’t returned yet.
I thought it might naturally recover over time, but there were no signs.
‘I should inform Vivi too.’
After all, it was the Sword Master of the family. Losing Sword Energy was a serious matter, more than losing a hidden necklace or watch.
“Ha…”
I closed my eyes, sighing.
I felt responsibility toward both my family and the sword.
The sword itself had chosen me as the next Master.
‘Has it completely disappeared? Or is it just hiding?’
Taking a deep breath, I focused on my body and felt the sword core inside me.
The Sword Core was like the heart of a Sword Master. If it breaks, the sword can’t be used anymore.
‘No, the Sword Core is intact.’
If the Sword Core hadn’t disappeared, the Sword Energy itself wasn’t destroyed.
It was just waiting—for the moment I could wield it again.
‘Then how did they stop the Sword Energy?’
I remembered how Lushike had removed the Necroquad in the original event.
‘Lushike tamed the beast using divine energy.’
By pulling the beast’s core out of the body and nullifying the Necroquad.
Maybe it’s similar with the sword?
‘Sword Cores and Beast Cores have the same origin.’
It’s not easy, but theoretically, divine energy could tame the sword too.
Either suppressing the Sword Energy or confusing it somehow.
Who could it be?
Someone with strong divine energy, with blonde hair.
All suspects were being investigated, but nothing suspicious had appeared yet.
Even though secret surveillance was in place, a masked figure appeared—just yesterday.
Who could it be?
A mix of emotions troubled me: frustration over an unresolved case, fear of another incident like Aaron’s, and anxiety about when I’d recover my Sword Energy.
‘I need to resolve this quickly…’
Roitz, walking beside me, suddenly stopped.
Reflexively, I stopped and looked at him.
“Serdin.”
“Yes?”
As I opened my mouth to answer, I realized I’d been nervously biting my lips.
Meeting his gaze made the anxiety fade somehow.
“Knight.”
Someone spoke from the side.
An elderly lady approached and handed me something.
“Finally met you. Thanks for your help recently. I meant to come but couldn’t.”
I recognized her.
‘Where did I see her… Ah!’
It clicked. The night of the Delsy cruise fireworks—I had helped her after she injured her leg.
“The physician said you’re a royal knight, but I had no idea where to find you… Yet here you are, giving me this.”
“Is your leg okay?”
“Thanks to you, fully healed. Without you, my shop might have closed.”
“Oh, it’s nothing.”
“Really. During the festival, it was busy. If I hadn’t managed, just thinking about it is scary. You changed this old lady’s life.”
She smiled awkwardly but it felt empowering.
I realized I could change someone’s life so much.
“Take this for now… and…”
“Yes?”
She pressed something into my hand—a small embroidered ornament with a flower pattern.
Next, she took out a stack of cards.
‘Tarot cards?’
“Draw one.”
She motioned to me and Roitz.
“Fortune-telling?”
I picked one carefully, and Roitz drew one next.
The card I picked read:
「Do not take the obvious for granted」
It seemed meaningful. I looked at Roitz’s card.
「Believe in the obvious as it is」
“…?”
What? Our cards seem opposite.
“What does this mean?”
“A good meaning.”
“…?”
“Keep this well too.”
She pressed the embroidered ornament firmly back into my hand.
“Thank you, Knights.”
“Wait!”
Then she slowly disappeared into the crowd.
I tracked her with my eyes. Roitz, meanwhile, stared at the ornament in my hand.
“Do you want it, Commander?”
“No, just… it looks familiar. I’ve seen a similar one before.”
“Really? It looks familiar to me too. This flower seems familiar.”
“It’s an Ellicia flower.”
“Yes?”
Indeed, it was. My favorite flower.
I hesitated briefly, then roughly tied it to the back of my sword handle.
“Since I received it, I should keep it safely.”
Once done, I looked up.
“Shall we go?”
“Wait.”
Roitz held me back as I tried to step forward.
“Serdin.”
He carefully secured the embroidered ornament to my sword, tying it tighter than before.
“If you want to keep it well, you have to tie it properly.”
“Commander, you’re good at this too?”
“Yeah.”
“Is there anything you can’t do?”
I asked sincerely, not just to flatter him. I genuinely wondered.
“Not sure about can’t, but some things need effort,” Roitz said after a moment’s thought.
