Surviving as a Knight in a Trash Game

Chapter 143

A new rumor struck the continent, which had been somewhat quiet recently.

A story that Postasia used people as sacrifices to gain their power.

And the tale of ten heroes from the Arthur Domain rescuing those who were about to be offered as living sacrifices spread rapidly across the continent.

In the process, the names of several knights were newly mentioned on the continent.

[Knight of Holy Light, Kelvin Manov]

[Barbarian Warrior Kirk]

[Knight of the Wind, Diogo.]

[Essus' Third Sword, Daniel Lugetti]

[Guardian of the Lighthouse, Rogério]

People were enthusiastic about the emergence of previously unknown heroes, in addition to well-known figures like General Lionheart Bastien, Walter Demer, the First Sword of the Order, and Karl, the Knight of the Lighthouse.

As the fact that the knights of the Arthur Domain, despite being from a distant region, moved solely out of goodwill to save them became known, people became even more engrossed in their heroic stories.

The story of rescuing over two hundred people by breaking through more than a thousand with only ten personnel was an excellent subject for gossips to talk about.

“At that time! Our Knight of Holy Light, Sir Kelvin, shouted, ‘We must move to the river. If we move to the river, we can save everyone.’ Then, everyone’s eyes lit up, and they thought, ‘That’s it!’ Isn’t that right!”

“Oh…! So, so what happened next?”

“From then on, our General Bastien, Sir Karl, and these knights, huh?! Single-handedly blocked the path and bought time for people to jump into the river, I tell you!”

“Ah…!”

“Just when it seemed like everything would work out fine, Aminov, known as Postasia’s Six Stars, appeared, just like that. Isn't that something?”

The details of the story were too exquisite for it to be merely a secondhand account from a storyteller, but people were completely unaware of such aspects.

“Is it really okay to mention their real names like that?”

“They’re doing it on purpose. They need to solidify the reality of what Postasia is.”

At Anne’s unusually serious expression, even the feather-light Sancho quietly closed his mouth.

It was evident how upset she was right now.

“Haven’t they found Sir Kelvin yet?”

“Yes… I heard Sir Diogo and Sir Kirk have rejoined… but Sir Kelvin is still….”

“They haven’t found his body either?”

“No, it seems clear he fell into the water… but I don’t know what happened after that.”

A month had already passed since the knights of the Arthur Domain and the knights of the Order rescued the people and returned.

Yet, they still hadn’t found Kelvin, who had fallen from the cliff and disappeared.

Perhaps for that reason, Karl’s already expressionless face was even more severely hardened.

“How is Sir Karl doing?”

“…Not good. Someone he cares about has gone missing.”

Their first meeting was ill-fated, but at some point, Kelvin had become like Karl’s right-hand man.

With such a person’s whereabouts unknown, Karl couldn’t help but be greatly subdued.

“For now, check a little further along the riverside. He’ll definitely be alive.”

“Yes, I’ll deploy more personnel.”

Anne let out a small sigh, rose, and walked towards the Lord’s castle.

***

Whoong! Whoong!

With a sound that tore through the earth, Karl’s sword cut through the air.

His face was more emotionless than ever, and his sword, though faint, carried a murderous intent.

“This isn’t like you.”

“….”

Anne’s voice, who had arrived at some point and was watching Karl, was heard, but Karl continued to swing his sword at the empty air.

“Sir Kelvin will be alive.”

Anne spoke again, but Karl still just swung his sword at the empty air.

Thus, an hour, two hours, three hours passed ceaselessly, and Anne silently stayed by his side, watching him.

After much more time had passed and the sun, which had been high in the sky, had set, Karl finally lowered his swinging sword.

“Hoo…!”

A deep breath escaped his lips.

Nevertheless, his expression was not good.

“Sir Kelvin will be fine. I’ll find him for you.”

“….”

Karl didn’t answer, and Anne handed Karl a towel.

Karl, wiping his face with the towel she handed him, walked towards the castle.

Anne naturally walked alongside Karl.

Despite her presence, Karl simply walked to his room without saying anything or stopping her.

“Shall I heat the water?”

The head maid asked Anne, not Karl.

At that, Anne briefly raised her hand, signaling the head maid to wait.

Karl entered the room, quietly closed his eyes, and sat cross-legged on the floor.

The moment a faint golden aura began to emanate from his body, Karl had already fallen into meditation.

“Please have the bathwater ready in an hour, along with a cool beer and one roasted duck. Put a lot of sauce on it. And. I’d like some sweet cake too, please.”

“Yes, I will do so.”

Even though the two were neither married nor had they said they were dating, everyone working in the Lord’s castle considered Anne the lady of this castle.

Despite such rumors circulating, Karl did not deny them, so the rumors were solidifying as fact.

When Karl opened his eyes after an hour of meditation, Anne was there, gently smiling while swirling a beer glass.

“…You didn’t leave?”

“Do I have to?”

At her question, Karl’s head shook from side to side.

And in Karl’s hand was the cold beer Anne had handed him.

“Sir Kelvin is alive. I’m sure of it. So, please, let go of that burden a little now.”

It was the third time she had said the same thing, but Karl couldn’t loosen his stiff expression even with her comfort.

However, he couldn’t deny that her repeated words were comforting him a little.

“I’ve increased the search party. There should be news soon.”

At her words, Karl nodded his head up and down for the first time.

Seeing that, Anne hugged Karl tightly.

Even though he must have smelled of sweat from swinging his sword for hours, she didn’t change her expression and just held Karl warmly.

“I’ll go wash up. We can eat the roasted duck together when I get back.”

As Anne quietly nodded, Karl sprang to his feet.

And the two of them talked while eating meat and drinking alcohol for quite a long time.

“The things you’ll have to bear from now on will be much bigger and heavier than now. If you struggle like this every time, you won’t be able to protect the other people who follow you.”

She was usually lighthearted, but right now, she was an incredibly wise advisor to Karl.

‘Perhaps, I was too young.’

Having gone through numerous hardships, Karl had believed he had grown quite a bit, both internally and externally.

However, looking deep inside, he could keenly feel that it wasn't the case.

He, who couldn't belong to this world and was an outsider, was just a child who put up walls because he didn't want to get hurt.

And now, living out in the world, he was a weak being, easily shaken by small threats.

‘She’s right.’

Was it only Kelvin?

In this world where people died ceaselessly, he couldn’t live protecting everyone.

Of course, Karl himself was included in that category.

‘I have to accept it and be able to move forward.’

He now had a large number of dependents.

And Karl was the leader who had to act for all of them.

“…Thank you.”

“It’s basic.”

Looking at Anne’s smile, Karl held her in his arms and fell into a deep sleep for the first time in a month.

And the next day, Kelvin was found.

***

Inside a shabby, small house, a gaunt man was painstakingly eating stew, relying on a bonfire.

The stew in the man’s bowl was watery, with hardly any solid ingredients to be found.

Beneath a shaggy, overgrown beard were features that seemed to have once been quite handsome, but now, his eyes were sunken and hollow, making him look no different from a wreck.

Creak. Creak.

Squeeeak.

The door of the dilapidated mountain house, which looked as if no guest would ever visit, slowly opened, and a sturdily built, black-haired man entered.

“…Why have you come?”

“What are you doing?”

“I’m enjoying the life of a retired knight.”

The man with the shaggy, long hair cracked a joke even with his weak voice.

“Who gave you permission to be like this?”

“Since I’ve retired, you’re not my commander anymore, Commander. I have no affiliation.”

“I have never given such an order. Nor have you ever made such a request to me.”

At that firm voice, the eyes of the man holding the stew with trembling hands shook greatly.

“As you can see… my body has become a wreck… How can I help the commander in this state?”

“You’re breathing, and your body is moving. What is there that you can’t do?”

“…I’ve tried desperately for the two months I’ve been hiding here, but I can’t even control my own body properly. I know my body better than anyone. I’m finished.”

Kelvin’s eyes, which had briefly sparkled upon meeting Karl, sank back to the depths.

“Get up. I’ll let you live as a knight again when we go back.”

“…It’s a futile effort. Don’t you see it now, Commander?”

“Then and now….”

Creak. Creak.

Karl strode towards Kelvin.

He thought a fist would fly from Karl, who approached him as always.

However. Contrary to his thoughts, Karl, who approached Kelvin, embraced him tightly.

“You’ve suffered. Let’s go back first. We’ll talk when we get back.”

Kelvin, who had always been playful and full of laughter, shed tears unknowingly in that vast, warm embrace.

The Knight of Holy Light, whose aura and even the faintest qi couldn’t move, whose meridians were all damaged, and whose body was so broken he couldn’t even control it properly, thus returned to the Arthur Domain with Karl.

***

“Heok… Heoeo… Eok.”

In a corner of the training ground, a gaunt man strenuously lifted a wooden sword.

Kelvin, who had returned with Karl, continued to train but hadn’t improved much.

Karl, who had been observing him closely for a while, looked at him, struggling as if he were about to lose his breath, and lifted the necklace in his hand.

[Star Necklace: A necklace that grants you a single miracle.]

Kelvin’s body, brutally ravaged by Amanov’s aura after their decisive battle, was in a state difficult to recover from without a miracle.

At the very least, his ruined meridians, which made him like a cripple, had to be fixed for a new path to open for him.

And Karl was willing to use the necklace given to him at this opportune moment.

Perhaps it was a necklace that could one day be his spare life, but he didn't regret using it for Kelvin at all.

Was he supposed to hold the necklace with both hands and wish strongly?

“Commander, what are you doing now?”

Kelvin, who had brightened up considerably and whose daily movements had improved a lot, was looking at his lord, who was holding the necklace in front of him, lost in thought.

“…Is it some kind of holy relic? Are you planning to use such a precious item for someone like me?”

Kelvin, who was as quick-witted as he was talkative, quickly realized that Karl was about to do something for him.

“Such items should be used preciously. You should use it, Commander. Hello? Commander? Sir Karl? Karl! Hey!”

No matter how much Kelvin babbled insubordinately, Karl tightly gripped the star-shaped necklace with both hands and closed his eyes.

And a moment later, a white light flashed from his hand, and the necklace automatically floated into the air and flew towards Kelvin’s chest.

Hwoooong!

With a sound like a swirling current of air, the Star Necklace, emitting an even stronger light, miraculously enveloped Kelvin’s entire body at some point.

“Uh…!?”

It was the moment a dazzling light, bright enough to illuminate the surroundings despite the sun being up, seemed to shine upon the Arthur Domain.

“Kkuaaaaaaaak!”

A tremendous scream echoed throughout the Lord’s castle.

“Eueueueu Kkeueueueuk Euaaaaaa!”

Kelvin’s body, engulfed in light, floated in the air, grotesquely contorting and twisting.

Meanwhile, his blood vessels bulged as if they would burst and then subsided repeatedly, and each time, Kelvin let out a piercing scream.

Hearing the deafening screams, people rushed to the training ground one after another.

“That’s…?”

The sight of a person engulfed in such a mystical, miracle-like light was magnificent in itself.

However, Kelvin’s writhing figure, letting out all sorts of grotesque screams from within, was truly bizarre.

“Eum… Karl, what on earth is happening?”

“I gifted him a miracle.”

“…Is it very painful?”

“It seems so.”

Everyone present heard the short conversation between Anne and Karl, and they all thought the same thing inwardly.

‘Looks like there’s no such thing as a free lunch after all.’

Thus, on a day with a cool breeze and fine weather, Kelvin Manov was resurrected as a knight amidst the miracle Karl had wrought.