47
Thank the God of Light, Hilier changed his mind and sent someone to inform Miller to release me before I was actually locked in the dungeon. I quickly bathed, changed out of the blood- and dirt-stained clothes, and put on my knight’s uniform. Then, I hurried out to find Hilier.
As soon as I opened the door, I saw the Light Saint standing at the entrance.
“…Daniel?”
The white-haired boy rushed into my arms, his voice so excited it was almost a scream. “Alvin, I heard you’ve been recognized by the Lord again! I knew it—!” He took a big breath, then hastily looked up at me and asked, “Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine.” I patted his back, still wondering how the news had spread so quickly—it hadn’t even been half an hour.
Just then, I heard someone in armor running two corridors away, shouting as they ran, “Captain Alvin is back! He’s become a chosen one of the Lord!” Then there were chaotic shouts from a group of Holy Knights, and soon after, more voices scattered in all directions.
Me: “…”
It sounded like a bunch of holy monkeys.
I looked down at Daniel and smiled. “Did you hear it from them?”
He shook his head quickly, his face beaming with joy. “My teacher told me! Teacher said you passed the Lord’s trial, and the Lord has blessed you, commanding you to become His agent on earth, leading us to fight against the demons!” With devotion and excitement, he clenched his small fists and raised them in the air, shouting, “We will definitely achieve victory under the Lord’s guidance!”
—As expected of Hilier, he had already come up with an explanation for the previous [Day of Grace] event and had even prepared for the next steps.
Daniel and I walked side by side. The little boy was so thrilled that he was practically bouncing on his toes, barely keeping his feet on the ground. He chattered nonstop about everything that had happened in the church recently, down to even the evening meals in the dining hall. I responded with a few smiles, but as we turned a corner, I suddenly felt a gaze fixated on my back.
It was Cooper. He was standing in the shadow cast by the eaves, his mismatched eyes quietly watching me.
I was momentarily stunned, but in that brief moment, he turned and walked away.
Daniel, like a happy little bird, hopped forward a few steps, only to realize I hadn’t followed. He quickly ran back and asked, “What’s wrong?”
“…Nothing.” I averted my gaze.
After discussing things with Hilier, I need to find Cooper for a talk.
48
By the time I left Hilier’s place, it was already evening. My mind was filled with information and plans, and it took me a while to sort through everything. When I finally remembered what I needed to do, the corridor was already bathed in the warm orange glow of the setting sun.
It was past dinnertime, and after searching the inquisition area and asking a few people, I still hadn’t seen Cooper.
I left through the back door of the cathedral, heading straight for the nearest tavern without even thinking.
Cooper has some orc blood in him and loves to eat roasted meat and similar dishes. The meals in the Church of Light’s dining hall are too bland for him, so whenever he gets the chance, he sneaks out to eat and often misses the curfew. Most of the memories I have of Cooper involve me going out at night to search various taverns for him, to the point where I can now navigate every tavern in Kairya City with my eyes closed.
I finally found him at the [Rose and Flame].
The tavern owner here is affiliated with the mercenary guild and also posts missions, so the tavern is a mixed bag of people. There’s even a ring in the center for mercenaries to settle their ‘small disputes.’ The noise here is loud enough to be heard from a street away. When I entered, I saw Cooper spinning and kicking a burly man off the ring. Cheers exploded throughout the tavern as he made a rather rude gesture at his fallen opponent, laughing and taunting, “Next!”
Another man threw down his knife and jumped into the ring.
I found a corner to sit in and watched as Cooper defeated one opponent after another, eventually becoming so exhausted that he was panting and supporting himself on his knees, but still unwilling to step down. Seeing another person trying to climb into the ring, a tall, brown-haired man emerged from behind the bar, grabbed the person by the collar, and threw him out. He looked up at Cooper in the ring and said, “Kid, get down!”
“Get lost!” Cooper shouted back, “I’m not done yet!”
The brown-haired man sneered, then pushed himself onto the ring with both hands and threw a punch straight at Cooper’s head, sending him staggering. I immediately stood up and quickly made my way to the ring. In just a few steps, Cooper had already been flipped onto the ground by the man, who was kneeling on his chest with a raised fist. But before he could strike, the man looked up at me, narrowed his eyes, and then lowered his fist, getting up and lightly kicking Cooper with his foot, sending him rolling in my direction.
I caught Cooper, but he didn’t even look at me. He shook me off and tried to lunge back toward the ring. After a few failed attempts, he finally turned and glared at me, his eyes wide with shock.
The man nodded at Cooper and then looked at me, asking, “Do you want to fight?”
“No,” I shook my head, refusing. After a moment of hesitation, I added, “Thank you.”
—If he hadn’t knocked Cooper off the ring, this kid might’ve stubbornly fought until he dropped.
He raised an eyebrow, nodded back at me, then jumped off the ring and returned to the bar.
I dragged Cooper out of the crowd, but he kept his eyes firmly fixed on other people’s shoes, refusing to look at me.
“…Have you had dinner?” I asked him.
He remained silent.
So, I pulled him to a table and called a server over to order a plate of their recommended roasted boar.
Finally, Cooper looked up, wiping away the sweat and blood threatening to drip into his eyes, and grinned at me. “So, the Captain’s business is all done, and I’m the last thing to deal with?”
“…Huh?”
He leaned forward, staring into my eyes. “You’re planning to transfer me back to the Holy Knights, aren’t you?”
I was taken aback.
This was something I had just discussed with Hilier. Aside from him, no one else should have known. “How did you…”
“How did I know?” Cooper interrupted me, clenching his fists tightly, his tone deliberately casual. “Heh, it’s easy to figure out if you ask around a bit! The Church of Light is preparing to fight the demon lord of the Eastern Canyon. Who else are you going to send as the vanguard? Miller? That deadpan face is good for logistics at most—sending him to the battlefield is as useful as a monkey! Todd is even worse, he’d probably suffocate if he had to stay silent for a minute! And as for Becken, what else can he do besides hide behind his shield?”
While it’s true that the three captains of the Holy Knights aren’t as good as Cooper, they’re not completely useless. I couldn’t help but feel a bit exasperated. “They each have their strengths. They’re just not as skilled in offensive operations.”
He remained silent, just staring at me.
“You…”
I had barely spoken a word when he threw his head back and interrupted me again, defiantly. “Sorry to disappoint you, Captain. As the head of the inquisition, I have the right to refuse your transfer orders!”
“…”
I didn’t know what to say—anything I said seemed like it would only make things worse.
Cooper indeed had the right to refuse my orders. He was no longer just a captain in the Holy Knights but was now on equal standing with me as the head of the inquisition…
I suddenly felt a bit dazed.
When Cooper first joined the inquisition, he was just a knight. A few months later, he was promoted to vice head, and then to head of the inquisition, all within a year—this showed that he had long since proven capable of standing on his own.
Back then, to temper his character and because I worried his lack of experience would make it hard for others to follow him, I had kept him as a captain, not promoting him further—I had faced a lot of difficulties when I became head of the Holy Knights at a young age and wanted him to avoid some of those setbacks—but in reality, Cooper was more than capable of handling things himself, and it was I who had been holding him back.
I had always been presumptuously planning his future for him. When I transferred him to the inquisition, I never asked for his opinion. I thought I was giving him the right to choose, but I had forgotten that such actions were also a form of coercion…
I no longer had the right to ask him to come back.
Just then, the server arrived with the food. I set aside my thoughts for now and pushed the plate toward Cooper. “…Eat something first.”
He let out a cold laugh and stood up, ready to leave.
But a hand suddenly pressed down on his shoulder, forcing him back into his seat. The brown-haired man had reappeared out of nowhere, holding a bottle of wine in one hand. He placed the bottle on the table with a thud, leaned over Cooper’s head, and nodded at me. “This is on me.”
I was confused. “…Thank you?”
“Let go of me!” Cooper struggled furiously against his grip.
The man ignored him, casually addressing me again. “I’ve seen plenty of kids in their rebellious phase. When you die, he’ll cry harder than anyone else.”
Me: “…”
“You’re the one who’s going to die!” Cooper yelled, enraged. “I’ll kill you!!!”
The man replied, “You can call me Samuel. How about being friends?”
My head was starting to hurt again. “Mr. Samuel, please let go of my disciple.”
Cooper whipped his head around to glare at me.
“…Whether you admit it or not, I’ll always be your teacher.” I avoided Cooper’s angry gaze and repeated, “Please let go.”
Samuel straightened up, glanced at Cooper, and suddenly said, “You should buy me a drink.”
I didn’t understand.
With a wave of his hand, he turned and left just as abruptly as he had appeared.
Cooper remained seated, staring at me with his mismatched eyes, unblinking.
A string in my mind was pulsing, making it impossible for me to stay there and face him any longer. I took a deep breath, trying to keep my voice calm. “I have some things to take care of, so I’ll go now. Finish your meal and head back soon. Don’t forget to treat your wounds. And…” I hesitated for a moment, seeing that his expression was relatively calm, and did my best to smile at him. “Cooper, you chose to become a Holy Knight because of me in the past. But I was a terrible teacher… I just hope you don’t reject being a Holy Knight because of me. I’m not trying to decide your future for you. This is just a standard wartime deployment. You have excellent command skills, and I… Hilier needs you to lead the Holy Knights to victory.”
“After returning from the Eastern Canyon, you can ask Hilier to transfer you back to the inquisition or stay on as a captain of the Holy Knights. I know you’re capable of excelling in either role…” As I continued, I wasn’t even sure what I was trying to say. “Your future is long, and you’ll always have the freedom to choose.”
He didn’t say anything.
—This was already much better than I had anticipated.
I quickly got up, pretending to be calm as I made my way around the table to leave.
Suddenly, Cooper called out from behind me—“…You still see me as your disciple?”
I paused, feeling a little embarrassed as I looked down. “Yes.”
I was prepared for him to start shouting and angrily deny it, but instead, I heard the sound of a chair being forcefully pushed back, followed by arms that wrapped tightly around me—Cooper hugged me so hard it felt like I was being squeezed by a furnace. For a moment, I thought I had a hot iron pressed against my lower back.
“Coop—”
“Shut up, don’t say anything!” Cooper’s muffled roar reverberated through me.
I had no choice but to comply and remain silent.
Cooper held onto me for a few more seconds before letting go. I vaguely heard the sound of him sniffing, but when I turned around, he was already seated back in his chair, facing away from me, mumbling, “Go do what you need to do. Don’t mind me.”
“…”
“I’ll… I’ll consider that transfer order,” he quickly added. Then, grabbing a large chunk of roasted potato, he stuffed it into his mouth and mumbled through a full mouth, “Get out of here, I’m eating! We’ll talk about anything else tomorrow!”
“…Alright.” I responded softly, “Tomorrow morning, I’ll wait for you at the training grounds.”
Cooper’s head nodded quickly as he shoved a large piece of roasted meat into his mouth, nearly choking on it.
49
As I left the tavern, I took a few seconds to make sure I hadn’t just experienced a hallucination. The biggest proof that it wasn’t an illusion was the presence of an unrelated person who wouldn’t appear in any hallucination—like Luke, standing against the tavern wall outside.
…Wait.
Why is Luke here?!
No, the real question is… how is it that I keep running into Luke everywhere?!
—He was standing upright, pressed so close to the tavern that his nose was practically flattened against the outer wall. If it weren’t for his cowlick still wagging, I would’ve thought he was stuck.
I noticed that his level had jumped by another 10, now reaching level 50. But I couldn’t recall anything happening today that was significant enough to count as a main storyline event. He had spent the whole day wandering around the Church of Light, and now his wandering had expanded to all of Kairya City…
Maybe these tasks, incomprehensible to NPCs, are just the way players level up.
—Hilier has been keeping a close eye on the situation in the Eastern Canyon. He told me that the cracks in the seal are getting bigger, and the high-level demons that had previously escaped are showing signs of gathering at the canyon. In three days at most, the Holy Knights will set out, and we need to eliminate as many demons as possible before the demon lord breaks free so that we’re prepared for the final battle.
Before that happens, the higher Luke’s level, the better. That way, the sacrifices we’ll have to make… might be fewer.
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