Legend of the Sun Knight~English Version

Book 4: Move 6 – The Sixth Move to Slay a Dragon: “Defeat your enemies.”

2012-06-15T14:21:00.001+01:00

*Disclaimer note: This is merely a translation of the original Chinese version. I do not claim any part in the creation of the original story.

After running for about half an hour – with the help of a Divine Wings on myself – I finally found them.

I had thought that they'd be further away; I hadn't realised that they were already so close…… I broke out in a cold sweat at the thought. They probably would have caught up to me if I had spent a moment or two more talking with Ecilan!

But as I approached them, I realised that they had settled down for the night; their camp fire looked to have been raised some time ago.

'Why not continue the chase if they were already so close?' I wondered. But for now, I cast a Holy Protection spell on myself as I observed them, ready to run away at the slightest hint of danger.

To my surprise, the holy knights weren't what I was expecting. Instead of the 'strong, handsome and elegant holy knights' image I had built up in my mind after Caecilia's constant drilling into my mind, they were instead sprawled out clumsily all over the camp area; some were leaning against the trees, some had laid out on the dirty ground and some were even slumped against each other. Sprawled out as they were in their various positions, one could easily tell that they were exhausted.

Each holy knight looked exactly the same. Dirty and tired and sleeping like a log. I couldn't tell which one was the Blaze Knight!

And it's unthinkable that they hadn't even set up a guard to keep watch!

The only ones still awake were Caecilia and Yuna who sat in the midst of the 'fallen' holy knights, looking rather tired themselves. But when compared with the knights lying all around them they looked practically wide awake.

But no matter how wide awake they are, the holy knights couldn't have left those two outsiders to stand guard, could they?

This scene before me seemed rather suspicious. If I was someone who couldn't care less about Caecilia and Yuna's lives and just rained down a number of lightning bolts on them, I might even have successfully sent these 'living, breathing gods' to meet the real gods.

I approached slowly, the stench of unwashed bodies and dried sweat hitting me; it's a wonder that Caecilia and Yuna managed to sit there calmly in the midst of this stench where it's most definitely the strongest.

Just then, Caecilia appeared to have noticed me, for she was staring at me in shock and suspicion, but hesitating to call out. Around us, not a single holy knight stirred; none of them seemed to have sensed the intruder amongst their midst.

I walked out from the cover of the trees under the wide-eyed gaze of Caecilia. I hurriedly lifted a finger to my lips and even dispersed the holy aura from around my face, but still she stared at me in suspicion, not seeming to have recognised me. But why? I'd already dispersed the elements hiding my true face, so she should recognise me……

Just then, I suddenly remembered Ecilan's insistence that I wear a full mask. Could it be……?

I removed the mask.

Caecilia's eyes widened in surprise, before she let out a breath of relief. She then nudged Yuna, alerting her to my presence. Yuna had originally been facing the campfire with her back to me. When she turned around and saw me, she nearly let out a sound of surprise, but managed to cover her mouth in time, stopping the sound from escaping.

I couldn't help noting that whenever they looked at me, their faces would always be turned towards me…… No, it was not their faces, but their eyes that must be facing me.

Why are they different from me? I don't need to face anything, nor do I need to use my eyes to see anything. I can see in all directions just fine without needing to turn my head.

So, when Ecilan said that I was blind…… I softly patted at the area around my eyes. So, I really can't 'see' anything? But, I'm definitely seeing something, I'm just using a different method from everyone else.

Different from everyone else…… just who am I?

I hesitated for a moment before putting back on the mask. I somehow felt more secure at the thought that no one could see my face.

"Creus," Caecilia scurried over to me and whispered, "What are you doing here?"

"They're too fast; they're almost catching up to me. Why haven't you guys slowed them down?" I asked her instead.

She rolled her eyes and whispered back, "You have no idea how scary the Blaze Knight is. He threatened to leave us behind if we dared to even breathe a single word. Even when we pleaded that a necromancer was after us, he still refused to soften towards us……"

"Has he left you behind?"

She glared at me and huffed, "Of course not."

"Well then, if he was going to leave you two behind, why would he bother to say it? He's just got a sharp tongue but I bet he's a softy inside-…"

"And how would you know?" she shot back. "He just might do as he threatened! You've never seen him when he's in one of his moods, it's really frightening! The Blaze Knight is known as the fiercest amongst the Twelve Holy Knights, you know."

"I--"

I was about to say that of course I knew that, when I stopped abruptly. Why would I think that? Why 'of course'? It's not like I really know the Blaze Knight. For all I know, he might really leave the two of them behind. After all, he hadn't wanted to bring them along in the first place, right?

"You finally took the bait."

I gave a start at that, as the dirt beside me blew up and from below came out a person. This person's fire and holy aura was so much stronger than the rest of the holy knights, so it was a surprise that I hadn't noticed him…… I had already known that Ecilan's holy aura was very much stronger than normal, so as another of the Twelve Holy Knights, the Blaze Knight's holy aura couldn't have been the same as the other ordinary holy knights!

I then further realised that those holy knights slumped all around…… there were only seven of them!

The Blaze Knight had placed his huge broadsword at my neck, but I ignored it. I tried to hide the shaking in my voice as I tried my best to speak in a steady manner. "Why did you trick me?" I asked Caecilia and Yuna.

They looked at me and tried to say something, but stuttered and couldn't form a complete sentence.

They couldn't have not known that the Blaze Knight wasn't amongst the holy knights, yet they gave me no hint or warning! In fact, they had even played along with his trick!

The Blaze Knight suddenly gave a mirthless laugh. "Ha, ha! This is the first time someone actually ignored my presence! Well, to show my respect of your bravery, I'll give you a painless death!"

At that, I finally turned my attention to the Blaze Knight and said indifferently, "That's fine, but I hope you won't mind your seven holy knights coming along me."

The Blaze Knight gave a little jerk before shouting, "What did you say?"

"Even though they are only pretending to be asleep, their exhaustion isn't faked." I gave a cold laugh at this. "They were so tired that they didn't even notice me using Chains of Darkness to tie them down until too late. And they've completely missed the bone spikes I had prepared below ground aimed directly at their hearts!"

The Blaze Knight turned to look around and sure enough, he saw his holy knights struggling within their chains but unable to get free.

Surprisingly, he didn't look worried, but instead shouted at his own knights angrily, "Get yourselves free! What the hell are you guys playing at?! To let yourselves become hostages, don't you know the meaning of the word 'shame'?!"

"We-we've tried, captain, but we can't get loose!" one of the knights shouted.

The Blaze Knight was surprised by this, and after a few moments, I said to him slowly, "So, Jacques, are you going to let me go or not?"

He immediately turned to me and asked in puzzlement, "What did you call me?"

"Chains of Darkness!" I roared out, and immediately hundreds of thick black chains sprung up around the Blaze Knight and tightened around him. There, we now have a second cocoon to join Ecilan.

However, the Blaze Knight wasn't ruffled by this turn of events and merely gave a cold derisive laugh. "Using dark magic against one of the Twelve Holy Knights? You might as well try to evaporate a river with a matchstick!"

"Lightning!" I cried out, this time unleashing the unicorn's specialty – lightning magic, and threw all of them at the chained Blaze Knight.

"… Argh!"

Anyone else would have died from the shock of all that electricity, but not the Blaze Knight. He gave a soft grunt before quickly unleashing his light magic in an attempt to destroy the Chains of Darkness, but the moment he had them destroyed, I immediately added on more chains, throwing in several shots of lightning at the same time…… After several rounds of this, the man was still able to stop from letting out any hints of the unbearable pain he must be experiencing. After this impressive display of strength and perseverance, I had to concede that they certainly lived up to the description of 'living breathing gods'. This guy just doesn't seem human.

"Such strong dark elements, who are you?" he asked in suspicion.

My heart gave a jolt at that, for I am the one who wants to know the answer to that question the most!

But instead, I asked in a forced calm voice, "Ecilan said that I'm the Sun Knight. Do you believe that?"

The Blaze Knight immediately let out an enormous burst of light energy, disintegrating all the chains in an instant. Thankfully, the chains on the rest of the holy knights remained intact, so I still had my hostages.

He gave me a derisive snort. "You're trying to distract me by spouting nonsense in order to subdue me!"

He then suddenly charged towards me; caught by surprise, it took me a moment to remember to remind him of the hostages I still had in my hands, but that moment was all he needed, for before I could say a word, he had already closed the distance between us and was standing less than a meter away from me.

"Whoa, hold on! Don't be rash now, don't you care about your holy knights?"

"You wouldn't dare kill them!" He roared as he grabbed me and dragged me closer. "I don't know how you managed to subdue Frost, but it must have been through underhanded trickery. But you are mistaken if you think that I am like Frost and will play by your rules and get tricked by you! I don't care about anything else except to beat you to an inch of your life, you meddling bastard!"

Meddling? I blinked at that description before blurting out, "Oh that's right, you're looking for the Sun Knight, right? But Ecilan really told me that I'm the Sun Knight--"

"Shut up!!" roared the Blaze Knight. "You are not the Sun Knight! You cannot possibly be the Sun Knight!!"

'Can't possibly? I see……'

I asked him woodenly, "I can't possibly be the Sun Knight, huh. So, Ecilan lied to me?"

"Don't you dare besmirch Sun's name!! Sun isn't trash like you! And he would never have harmed a single holy knight, never!!"

And with that, he swung his broadsword at me. At the same time, more Chains of Darkness sprung around his arms, stopping him, but with a flash of holy light the chains disintegrated again once more. But even so, that one moment was enough for me to escape his grasp.

I hurriedly backed several large steps whilst shouting out, "Bone Prison!"

From out of the ground shot out eerie ivory spikes which formed into a grimy-looking white wall, but the Blaze Knight merely cleaved open the wall with his sword.

'Bone Prison!' I added several more layers of the white boned walls between us as I warned him, "Stop! Don't come any closer unless you want to see your holy knights die!"

I tightened the chains on the holy knights, but other than startling a few grunts out of them in the beginning, they kept their mouths clenched tightly, not letting another peep out of them. However, just that one grunt was enough, and the Blaze knight stopped his attacks indeed, although he did look close to exploding.

Even though this fellow acted indifferent to their plight and was constantly challenging me to kill them off, it was obvious that he still cared for them. The moment he heard their groans of pain—no, no. It wasn't even a groan, but more like a soft grunt – he immediately stopped all attacks on me.

But anyway, since I'm not the Sun Knight after all, it shouldn't matter if I were to harm the holy knights, or even if I were to kill the Blaze Knight, right?

"You," I pointed at the Blaze Knight. "Stab yourself with your sword."

His eyes widened in disbelief when he heard that.

"Creus, please don't do this," cried Yuna. "They're only trying to get back the Frost Knight."

"And you believe him just like that?" I asked her mockingly whilst I formed dozens of sharp blades out of bone to hang above the holy knights.

"Stop it!!" roared the Blaze Knight as he raised his fiery broadsword, but his anger and actions immediately halted when I placed a blade to one of the holy knights' neck.

'I knew I had the right person!' I smiled in satisfaction. Since the beginning, I had noticed that this holy knight was the one to answer all of the Blaze Knight's questions; I knew that he would be different from the rest of the holy knights.

"Creus! Please don't!" Yuna sounded close to tears. "Please let them go! The Blaze Knight is one of the Twelve Holy Knights, they never lie! He really just wants to rescue the Frost Knight…--"

Yuna's pleas suddenly trailed off.

'Eurk!'

A shot of pain flared through me from my back, and I belatedly realised that an arrow was sticking out of it. And standing not too far away was Caecilia with her bow in her hands.

The Blaze Knight took the opportunity to swing his broadsword at me, and I tried to step back to avoid it, but the sword managed to cut me, carving a long deep gash starting from my left shoulder across my chest towards my right hip.

Another pain flared through my abdomen as I was kicked down and sent sprawling to the ground. He then kept me down, pressing his knee to my abdomen whilst holding his fiery broadsword at my neck.

But really, I could have told him that that wasn't necessary at all, for I ached so much that I couldn't have stood even if I tried. I couldn't concentrate through all the pain to gather any dark elements to me either. What a pity I hurt so bad that I couldn't even open my mouth to tell him that.

"Creus!"

Caecilia and Yuna ran over to me. Caecilia – the same person who had just shot an arrow at me – was now anxiously pleading with the Blaze Knight. "You promised you wouldn't kill him, Blaze Knight!"

"That's why he's still alive," he said coldly without even bothering to look at the two women.

I smiled wryly. I thought the reason I was still alive was because I had managed to step back a little…… so, what? To the Blaze Knight, this is letting me off leniently?

"But-but……" stuttered Caecilia. She then gave up and turned to me. "I'm sorry, Creus. Just don't make any moves; the Blaze Knight won't hurt you."

'Oh really?' I thought sarcastically. 'Short of killing me, I really don't know what else the Blaze Knight could do to hurt me any more.'

"Let's see this bastard looks like," I heard him roar before a hand was reaching over to tear the mask of my face.

I suddenly stopped struggling and let him. I wanted him to take a good look at my face and see once and for all if I really was the Sun Knight or not. Even if I really wasn't, even if they would now have a face to put to my wanted poster; I just stopped caring anymore.

'Tell me, am I, or am I not? Was Ecilan really lying to me?'

The Blaze Knight's eyes widened in shock.

"You-……"

'You?'

'You are really the Sun Knight?'

Or is it: 'You're that necromancer that's been wanted for ……'

Just what is to follow after that one word 'you'?

Well, I'll never know, for one minute the Blaze Knight was looming over me, and the next he was gone. I clenched my eyes shut and covered them with my hands, as if this could block out what I could already sense.

"Why?!" I cried out in anguish. "Why did you have to pick now of all times to take me away?!"

"Red!!"

I scrambled up and shouted at the little girl, but ended up coughing up a mouthful of blood. Everything started to go blurry before a deep black darkness fell over me. But just before I slipped away into the dark abyss, I could faintly hear the soft pitying voice of a girl saying, "Because they're lying to you, Creus. They're all lying to you."

'Ah, so not only did Ecilan, Caecilia and Yuna lie to me, now even the Blaze Knight is lying to me too?'

'But then, doesn't that mean that everyone is lying to me?'

Previous Next

Book 4: Move 5 – The Fifth Move to Slay a Dragon: “Conquer any and all obstacles.”

2012-06-01T10:10:00.001+01:00

*Disclaimer note: This is merely a translation of the original Chinese version. I do not claim any part in the creation of the original story.

The next few days were smooth sailing and there were no chords of dissent among us. Even our hostage, Ecilan Frost, was pretty satisfied……. Why, you ask?

On the first night of our Great Escape, he had sworn to the God of Light that he would not try to escape, nor would he try to harm any of us once I remove the Chains of Darkness from him. This was all done for the one purpose of…… cooking for us!

One can never judge a book by its covers. To think that one of the high and mighty Twelve Holy Knights would turn out to be a better cook than both Yuna and Caecilia combined together! After having tried his cooking that night, everyone henceforth refused to ever again settle for Yuna and Caecilia's cooking, including the two girls themselves.

A horse to ride on, a test subject for me to experiment on, and when I tire of playing with my experiments, delicious food waited to tempt my palate; ah, what bliss can match up to this?

"Can you not play with your bones whilst you perform holy light magic at the same time?"

Not for the first time – and surely not the last, Yuna tried to argue with me, spouting some nonsense about 'This is going against nature, the old time-proven laws of elements that states that light and dark elements cannot co-exist together peacefully is being completely trashed by you! You are committing a crime against nature itself!' or something like that.

"Are you saying that should our pursuers catch up to us, I shouldn't use dark magic to stop them and light magic to heal you guys at the same time?" I had thrown back at her.

At that, all the fighters in the group immediately blanched and rushed forward to shush her while at the same time trying to placate me.

'Heheh! I dare you to try to start that up again!'

So, where was I again? A horse to ride on, a test subject for me to experiment on, delicious food awaiting me when I tire of playing with my experiments, and a group of supporters who will rush to my defence when I am scolded as well as placate me…… I'll bet even the Sun Knight doesn't have as cushy a life as I do!

But what a pity that after only three days, our days of comfort were cut short.

Everyday, I would cast the spell Divine Wings on Walter before he would drop back behind our group to watch for any pursuers. That day when he returned to the camp and changed back into human form, he brought with him grave news. "The Blaze Knight is catching up to us. I saw him leading a group of about ten men less than a day's journey away from here."

"Do they have a priest amongst them?" I questioned.

"No," Walter answered with a shake of his head.

"Why hadn't they brought along a priest?" I asked with suspicion. "Priests can help to cast Divine Wings on them, right? Wouldn't that make the journey quicker and easier for them?"

Just then, Ecilan interrupted and explained dully. "A priest isn't capable of casting Divine Wings on ten people continuously for a long time. For that, they would need at least two priests, and they would need to be high-level priests at that. And even so, the priests would just be a burden as they are too weak and cannot withstand the journey at such a hurried pace."

At Ecilan's words, a thought occurred to me that Walter's estimate might not be accurate. "How much time would they need to arrive here?"

"With the Blaze Knight leading them the pursuers would most likely consist of holy knights from his own division, and if that's the case, if he says they would need a day's journey, then it should really take them five hours at most."

Everyone stared and gulped nervously at this.

"So quickly?" Archie cried in astonishment. "Are you sure they are holy knights and not of the thieves class?"

"Why are you being so honest?" I, on the other hand, was rather suspicious. As a hostage, Ecilan had not only behaved and kept quiet, he had even willingly cooked for his kidnappers and is now spilling all the intel on his rescuers to his enemies. Is there really such an obedient and helpful hostage as him? He might as well just declare himself one of us!

"Because escape is futile. When I mentioned that Blaze was nearby, do you know where he was?" he paused before giving the answer. "He was in the city of Fated Leaf."

Everyone reeled back in shock when they heard this, with the exception of myself. "Why? What about Fated Leaf City?"

Walter took a deep steadying breath before he explained, "Fated Leaf City is on the edge of Forgotten Echo, some distance away from Kissinger. For any ordinary person, it would take them six days to get here…-no, there are forests and the danger of thieves and wild beasts that one would need to get through, so I think ten days would be a better estimate."

"And yet they only took three days?" I asked in astonishment. "Have they been travelling without stopping for food or rest? Are they even human?"

"We are not normal humans."

Ecilan suddenly spoke up again. He looked at me as he stressed slowly, "We were never normal."

I blinked before turning to the rest. "Do you guys think he's telling the truth? If he's right, the Blaze Knight will catch up to us within five hours; we won't have enough time to escape."

"Of course what he says is true," Yuna said harshly. "He is a disciple of the God of Light and one of the Twelve Holy Knights-the highest order of the Light Church; everyone knows that they would never speak falsely!"

"And he doesn't need to lie to us, does he? We can't escape anyhow," added Walter, finally convincing me. Even without my memories, I refused to believe that there was anyone in the world who would never lie.

"If escaping is pointless, then we'll just have to attack them first," I considered calmly. "We'll ambush them instead."

"You want to go up against the Blaze Knight?!" cried Igor incredulously. "Have you gone mad?!"

The rest of the group were a little slow to react, having stared at me blankly before finally staring at me in shock when the words registered.

I tried explaining it to them. "They are only ten men strong while we have six. Plus, we have a hostage with us. If we can plan our ambush carefully, we would have a pretty good chance of winning--"

"Pretty good chance of winning? Only ten men?" Archie stared at me with his mouth wide open. "Do you have any idea who the Twelve Holy Knights are? The God of Light's Twelve Holy Knights, the War God's representative-the Son of War and the God of Chaos' Silent Eagle are legends! Real life legends! They hold even more influence than the Gods that they represent!!...... They are living, breathing gods themselves!"

Everyone nodded their heads in agreement.

'Really? That strong?' I thought as I patted Ecilan's head absentmindedly. "So, you're saying that this thing is a living breathing god?"

"… …"

"Creus, in a lot of ways, you're not a normal human either," muttered Walter in a low voice.

Yuna shook her head and sighed. "Just the fact that you managed to break the laws of dark and light elements coexisting together excludes you from the realms of normal. To simultaneously cast both holy spells and necromancy spells, heavens! I wonder just who you really are."

I tilted my head as a memory sparked in my mind. "Hadn't you guys said that I had been travelling with a holy knight and a dark elf? Perhaps they weren't really my companions but actually my teachers, or something like that?"

At that, a look of comprehension dawned on them……

I was about to mention Red to them as well when Ecilan suddenly said, "If you don't start setting up whatever ambush you had in mind now, you won't have enough time. The trap would have to be absolutely perfect for the Blaze Knight and his holy knights to fall for it."

You hear that? You hear that?! One really has to wonder if the Frost Knight has a grudge against the Blaze Knight! Wait a minute, Blaze and …… Frost? Could it be that they don't get along like 'fire and ice? And if that's true, is Ecilan actually using us to off his enemy for him?

"I won't kill him, but arranging a little inconvenience for him wouldn't be out of my way," I said after having thought it through. "Don't sweat it," I told him, patting his shoulder in a show of camaraderie. "Since you've been so cooperative with us and cooked for us, as well as telling us so much about him, giving you a helping hand shouldn't be too much trouble."

Ecilan stared at me blankly.

'He's probably embarrassed that I had figured him out, huh?' I nodded to myself.

"Alright, gather around, people. Here's how we're going to set the trap--"

"Hey, you know how to set traps too?" Archie interrupted. "At least leave something for the thief to do," he protested.

"He's taken over my job, why not yours too," said Yuna icily.

"Thank goodness my job's still secure," crowed Igor smugly. "Not only does he not know how to use a sword, he can't even hold one properly!"

I rolled my eyes in exasperation. "I'm a priest…… and maybe a necromancer on the side, so of course I wouldn't know how to handle a sword."

But I noticed that as soon as I had said that, Ecilan stared at me in disbelief.

"What are you looking at?" I asked him impatiently. "It's not like I'm a knight like you, so what's so surprising about me not knowing how to wield a sword!"

Ecilan quickly turned to look away, but his expression looked kind of funny……

Whatever, weirdo!

~O~O~O~O~

I was hiding behind a small hill with the unicorn by my side and Ecilan still being carried on the unicorn's back. The only difference now was that while previously he had been wrapped tightly in chains and then laid across the back of the unicorn, this time he was chained to the back of the unicorn.

This way even if the Blaze Knight managed to overcome all of us, the unicorn can still escape with him. And as long as they haven't gotten back Ecilan, the Blaze knight cannot kill us, so really, this was a preventive measure in case our plan fails and everyone is captured.

In my place behind the hill, I stretched the images in my mind further and further, spreading out in ever wider circles…… until I finally found the Blaze Knight.

The amount of fire and holy elements that made up the Blaze Knight was staggering and impossible to miss. But I quickly noticed that Walter was wrong, in that there were only eight of them instead of the ten he had reported.

"Creus! Creus!"

"What is it?" I asked Ecilan absentmindedly, my attention still focused on the Blaze Knight. I suddenly got curious and asked, "By the way, what's the Blaze Knight's name?"

Ecilan quieted for a moment before asking in a soft voice, "You-have you really forgotten? Blaze's first name is Jacques, Jacques Blaze; and your full name is Creus Sun!"

I blinked, my attention instantly focused on Ecilan. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Creus Sun! You are the Sun Knight of the Church of Light, the head of the Twelve Holy Knights!" he cried in a fierce tone I had never heard from him before.

I am the Sun Knight? The head of the Twelve Holy Knights?

I paused before shaking my head and smiling faintly at him. "Heh, you nearly got me. You're trying to stop me from harming your comrade, Blaze, right? That's why you came up with such a story."

"I'm not lying!"

Ecilan said urgently, "That day when you vanished, Judge sent out eight separate troops in search of you. Earth and Stone were sent to Moon Orchid, while Blaze and I were sent to Kissinger here to look for you. The rest are spread out within Forgotten Echo looking for you."

"Bullshit!" I lashed out.

But Ecilan refused to give up, continuing, "Sun, you have to believe me. We should hurry back to the Holy Temple. Judge is furious, he said that if you go back completely unharmed he'll kill you; but if you dared to go back injured, he'll make you regret it."

"Well then, it's a good thing I'm not going back, isn't it?" I blurted out while I wondered who the hell Judge was.

"Leithe Judge. That is Captain Judge Knight's full name." Ecilan looked at me pityingly as he pleaded, "You have to believe me, Sun, you don't want to upset Judge. He's the only person you are afraid to go against."

'I'm afraid of him?' I snorted contemptuously. "You're missing a huge flaw in your story."

"Flaw?"

"That's right." I smiled coldly as I said, "Have you forgotten what Igor had said earlier? I can't even hold a sword properly, so how can I be a knight? So really, this lie of yours is stretching too far!"

"… …"

Ecilan was finally struck speechless. I smiled at him mockingly, before finally noticing that the Blaze Knight and his holy knights were approaching the first trap. I hurriedly signalled my teammates at the first trap.

Ecilan suddenly said, "Don't harm Blaze, or else you will regret it for the rest of your life."

"I won't kill him, I don't want to get chased down by the Holy Temple," I replied as I signalled them. Ecilan kept quiet after that.

Interlinking traps – activate!

~O~O~O~O~

Phase 1 – The Honey Trap.

Caecilia and Yuna lay slumped by the roadside. According to them, holy knights would never ignore damsels in distress, so they would definitely bring them along, thus giving them the perfect opportunity to infiltrate the enemy camp!

"This might have worked against the others," commented Ecilan suddenly. "But against Blaze…… Blaze has always been rather tactless, and of the Twelve Holy Knights, he's the least gentlemanly; he doesn't know how to – nor does he need to – act chivalrous to women."

"… … why hadn't you said something earlier?" I growled at him resentfully.

"I don't believe I have any obligation to help you," he said indifferently.

Erh! I couldn't say anything in response, as what he said was true. After all, he was our hostage, not one of our teammates.

"But couldn't you have cooperated with us just once more?"

'I-I can't believe it! He actually turned his head and ignored me! Wh-what kind of attitude is this?! Has he forgotten that he's the hostage, not me?!!'

Meanwhile, the Blaze Knight really did march past Caecilia and Yuna without sparing a glance for them, continuing on his merry way. I could even 'see' the embarrassment on Caecilia and Yuna's faces. Initially when they had heard about their part in the plan, they had looked so excited too……

Who would have thought that the first phase of the plan would fail just like that? "Damn you, Blaze Knight! How could anyone have called that cold unfeeling man a knight!!"

But as soon as I said that, Ecilan admonished me harshly, "It's not that he is unfeeling, but that he feels too much! Sun! When you were declared missing, Blaze was the first to rush out to search for you, and he was the one to cover the widest area in his search. He practically pushed him and his division to their very limits! It is for you that he treats them so coldly! You can forget everything else, but you should never forget that Blaze always has and always will be the one to support you most."

Ecilan's impassionate tone gave me pause to think over his previous words, and after a long tense moment I couldn't help asking, "If I'm really the Sun Knight…… I can't wield a sword, money and women are all I think about, and I can even cast necromancy spells…… The Lights above, what kind of Sun Knight would I have made?!"

'I am the complete opposite of the Sun Knight ideal that Caecilia was constantly praising!'

Ecilan quieted before saying in a calmer manner, "We aren't really what the rest of the world perceives us as, but we do try our best not to disappoint them." He paused before continuing, "If not for the fact that you had already used dark magic and ruined the Sun Knight image before I could speak, I would have told you that you were the Sun Knight the instant I could speak."

'I see.' I recalled all the times he seemed to want to say something but had kept quiet in the end.

"Ecilan," I called. He looked at me quietly. I looked back at him and said apologetically, "I really don't remember you or the Blaze Knight, so no matter if what you said is true or not, Walter and the rest of the team are my comrades now. So right now, I'm trying my best not to let them down. But I give you my word that, unless absolutely necessary, I will not harm the Blaze Knight."

Ecilan merely hmmed in reply before suddenly remembering something and cautioning me, "Sun, don't blindly believe that strange girl; there's something suspicious about her."

"You've seen Red?"

I smiled weakly. "To someone who's lost their memories, everyone is suspicious."

"Then suspect everyone. No matter that girl Red, or Walter and his team, or even Blaze and I."

I was a little taken back by this advice, but regardless, I nodded and accepted his advice.

I then turned back to focus on the situation at hand and threw out a lightning bolt. Not at the Blaze Knight and his holy knights, but at Caecilia and Yuna…… Ah, I can almost hear their screams.

"He can't leave two women alone if they're injured and on the verge of dying, right?" I smiled faintly. "If so, then I'll really have to reconsider if I want to go up against up someone so-…… someone like that for just five thousand gold coins."

I stopped myself in time from adding the word 'unfeeling'. Even though I still had my doubts about what Ecilan had told me, I still chose to give him the benefit of the doubt, as I had with Red. For even if it was rather unlikely, there was still a chance that what Ecilan had said was true, and if so I didn't want to blemish the Blaze Knight's name.

I can only half believe both Ecilan and Red, whereas Walter and the rest of the team…… well, to be honest, they aren't really capable of doing anything to me, so I'm not worried about them.

It is also precisely for that reason, that I can only believe in them right now.

When the lightning bolt struck them, the holy knights had indeed stopped and looked back hesitatingly before turning to look at their captain questioningly.

The Blaze Knight hesitated for a few moments before going back for the two women and casting a few healing spells on them. He then proceeded to ask the women a few questions as he peered around carefully, but he didn't manage to find anything out of the ordinary. He then called over one of his knights and together they each carried one of the women on their backs and continued on their way.

It is now my turn in the next phase of the plan. I got onto the unicorn, and along with Ecilan, I started out on my task – to lead the Blaze Knight and his merry men in circles – thus buying time for Walter and the rest of the team to complete their preparations.

I had originally thought that this would be an easy task, a piece of cake, for it shouldn't be any different from previously. After all, is it not the same, riding on the unicorn?

Well, that is true.

But! I now have to ride day and night without rest, for I had only a few moments to dump my ass on the ground and munch a few mouthfuls of bread before I am forced to remount and continue running away.

Those holy knights are monsters! They seem to know neither hunger nor exhaustion, only the swift and steady march after their target – me.

Whenever I try to travel on the smooth well-worn roads, they seem to magic horses from out of nowhere, forcing me to retreat back into the deep forests where the unicorn would have to constantly leap over and around various trees and bushes and other sorts of obstacles as can be found in a forest terrain. My butt suffered the brunt of it as a result of such rough riding, and I am forced to constantly throw healing spells at my butt, in fear that it might split in two sooner rather than later.

But thankfully my sacrifice is not in vain as they are forced to dismount and pursue me on foot through the forests.

But even though the unicorn is more nimble and is able to navigate through the dense forests unlike ordinary horses, it was being forced to carry two full-grown men and a bunch of baggage. So not only is the beast burdened down, it also had to take care not to shake too much, causing it to go even slower than the knights on foot.

"This is the border of Forgotten Echo and Moon Orchid, so the Church of Light would still hold some sway over the people here. It is very easy to gain the cooperation of the farmers around here to hear about your whereabouts or to draft a few steeds," Ecilan explained indifferently.

Damn it! I hadn't thought about that. I should have gone full out from the start when there was still some distance between us instead of purposefully slowing down for fear of them losing my trail.

But aren't Yuna and Caecilia with them? Were they unsuccessful in slowing them down…… or could it be that this is their slowed speed?

Well, no matter what, if this continues I'll be caught up for sure! The odds won't be good if they manage to catch up to me before I can lead them to the final destination…… Looks like I have no other choice but to attack them!

"Hmph! Jacques Blaze, one of the living gods, eh?" I snorted. "Well, let's see if you're really as they make you out to be!"

Even though I had no idea if it would make a difference between ambushing them during the daytime or at night, I took into consideration that their God - the Light God - had to mean something, so it would be best to avoid a conflict with them during the peak of the day. Instead, the inky blackness of the night would suit my purpose of sneaking an attack on them better. It also helps that I found it easier to wield dark magic at night.

So anyway, my plan was to sneak an attack on them at night and injure a few of them. Hopefully this will slow them down.

And according to Archie's teachings, one must cover their faces when doing naughty things.

So, I took one of Archie's daggers and hammered it into some kind of misshapen metal mask and tied it to my face with some string. I then put on one of Yuna's priest robes before covering it with a layer of dark elements. Next, I grabbed a strangely shaped piece of tree branch I found lying by the roadside to be used as a staff.

And last of all, I covered my face with a thick layer of dark elements, and I'm done!

"What do ya think? Do I look like a necromancer?"

"Not really."

Ecilan shook his head and said, "No necromancer would wear white robes. Furthermore, Blaze would recognise you just from seeing your hair colour and the lower half of your face."

I stared at him blankly. "What are you talking about? What lower half of my face? I've already covered it with dark elements, haven't I? And what is this 'white'?"

"… …" after a few moments of silence, Ecilan asked a completely unrelated question. "So, Leaf was right, you really are blind?"

"Leaf? Me blind?" I said doubtfully, "I can see you."

"Really?" Ecilan sounded angry for some reason. "Then tell me, what's the colour of my hair?"

"Colour?" I looked at him stupefied. 'What's he so upset about?' Pushing that question to the back of my head, I asked, "What is colour?"

Ecilan fell silent, before at last, he gave a sigh and said, "Forget it. You'll have to make the mask cover all of your face and then cover your hair and robes in a layer of dark elements so thick it is visible to the naked eye."

"So thick it's visible to the naked eye?" Can't you see it already with just a little elements?

"Just make it very thick!"

Ecilan refused to budge on this, insisting that unless I do as he says, I would be recognised instantly, that he didn't want Blaze to realise that his attacker was me as he would get very upset, blah blah blah……

So, to avoid being recognised…… or just to shut him up, I hammered another dagger and used it to cover the lower half of my face before adding thick layers of dark elements to my hair and robes. If anyone can still recognise me after all this effort, I'll-I'll-I won't listen to Ecilan ever again! So there!

When I had finally satisfied Ecilan and shut him up once and for all, I let out a sigh of relief, for this guy could be one demanding person. I've realised that whenever it's just the two of us alone together, his icy act would fall away to reveal his true nagging nature!

With all preparations complete, I gave a pat to the unicorn's neck and told it, "Unicorn, you stay right here with him and wait for my return. You are not allowed to wander away. You can try, but I guarantee you that you won't like the consequences!"

The unicorn nodded and even licked my hands. Seeing as I had to depend on it for my escape later, I magnanimously allowed it to lick me without saying a thing.

I absentmindedly rubbed my hands dry on the unicorn's neck before stepping out on my Night Ambush.

Oh God of Light! Please protect me and let this ambush go smoothly…… er, even if the target of the ambush is one of your holy knights, you mustn't play favourites!

Previous Next

Book 4: Move 4 – The Fourth Move to Slay a Dragon: “Gather your minions.”

2012-05-23T09:21:00.001+01:00

*Disclaimer note: This is merely a translation of the original Chinese version. I do not claim any part in the creation of the original story.

Earlier on, whilst the unicorn and the Frost Knight were casting their spells, I had a voice in my head that said…… I could do that too! Be it an ice wall or a lightning bolt, I felt that I could cast them all. And if what my gut feeling is telling is true, then I should quickly gather the elements while the Frost Knight is still slowly making his way over and sneak an attack on him!

The moment we made it out the gates, I shouted at my other three teammates. "Don't go along that route; don't follow me!"

They stopped at that and turned back to look at me.

I didn't bother letting the unicorn slow down and rushed past them. As I passed them, I shouted, "Hurry! Go!"

"He didn't even bother to stop!" Caecilia cried out unsatisfactorily. "And here I felt touched when I thought you were going to head on alone to draw away attention from us! Hmph!"

"If I stop now, I'll end up in jail! And you guys better start running if you want to avoid going to jail too!" I shouted back at them.

Sure enough, that got them running again, but in different directions this time.

Just as they had dispersed, I spied the Frost Knight coming up from behind. He looked completely unharmed, with not even a speck of dust on him. But I wasn't disappointed, for I hadn't been aiming the lightning at him in the first place. I was actually aiming at the shield formation holy knights. Well hey, they made an easy target, keeping stationary in their positions like that. It was as if they were asking for someone to throw an attack at them!

The Frost Knight paused for a moment before ignoring the other three and heading on in my direction.

"Run, unicorn, run! Run the fastest you can run!" I urged when I saw him hot on my heels.

The unicorn neighed excitedly in answer and started putting on speed. It was now galloping so fast I could hardly keep my eyes open. But that's alright. I'll just close my eyes then. Not like I actually need to keep my eyes open to see anything.

With the unicorn galloping at such high speeds, I started to relax a little. It's impossible for anyone to outrun such a fast beast…… unless a dozen ice spikes suddenly appear out of the ground in front of the beast, of course.

An ice spike had suddenly shot out from the ground, but the unicorn nimbly avoided it and made a sharp veer around it. But then another spike shot up a few steps away from us. Again, the unicorn successfully avoided it.

Looks like it intends to battle it out with the Frost Knight; it's pretty good at avoiding all the attacks, and we may still have a fighting chance to escape successfully – if I don't fall off first, that is.

"Damn horse!"

I threw a few healing spells at my sore rump as I roared angrily after the creature, "Have you forgotten that I'm not actually glued to your back?!"

The unicorn came to an abrupt stop and looked back at me, but it did not walk back. Instead, it cringed and look between me and the Frost Knight hesitatingly, as if considering changing riders…… Damn shitty horse!!

I had just healed my butt and was about to march over and discipline my wayward unicorn when a shadow fell over me. I looked up only to see the Frost Knight's frozen face looming right above me. He reached down and tore off my face mask.

I'm dead!

I paled as I awaited my doom, but then noticed that the other's expression, too, had changed…… huh? So his facial muscles hadn't frozen stiff after all?

For the first time, I saw an expression on the Frost Knight's face. He was looking at me with surprise…… an opening!

'Attack! I don't care what spells I may or may not know, but I have to attack now!'

"What are you doing here, S-"

The Frost Knight had asked in a disbelieving voice, but stopped abruptly before he could finish his sentence, staring at me with wide eyes.

A flash of inspiration shot through my mind and I flung out my hands at him as I shouted out, "Chains of Darkness, restrain all enemies of mine!"

Large amounts of dark elements shot out from my hands and swiftly formed into a dozen black chains – chains formed from dark elements compressed and moulded into shape.

I don't know if it was because the Frost Knight had never come across such a situation, but he looked baffled.

Well, whatever the reason, I made full use of the opportunity his slow reaction gave me.

The chains wound around him from his feet upwards, winding around his entire person and even sealing up his mouth – I didn't wish for him to cry out and attract the holy knights chasing after us.

Just then, he finally came to his senses and raised his holy popsicle to start slashing away at the dark chains.

'Did you think it would be so easy?' I sneered inside before crying out, "Unicorn, hurry and attack – if you dare to disobey, I'll tie you up as well!"

The unicorn immediately rushed over at my threat and started gathering holy elements at its horn. I had never seen so much holy elements before, so thickly gathered together that I could hardly bear to 'look' at it for long. And all of these holy elements were blasted out at the Frost Knight. However, this 'attack' merely managed to stop him from hacking through the dark chains. The guy looked perfectly fine.

"Stupid!" I shouted. "Do you not see that he's full of 'light'? What do you think attacking him with light elements is going to do, scratch an itch of his? Use attacks of other elements!"

In answer to my 'teachings', the unicorn reared up and screamed at the heavens. The sky above us was suddenly covered with dark heavy clouds, with flashes of lightning streaking through the skies. At another scream from the unicorn, the bolts of lightning began striking down heavily on the Frost Knight without stopping. Once again, the Frost Knight had to stop slashing away at his chains to defend himself. Again and again, he had to gather ice elements to form an ice barrier above him to block the lightning bolts raining down upon him.

In a surprise move, I dispersed the elements in the ice barrier - thus breaking it up - and before he could react, the lightning bolts finally managed to hit him.

One bolt, two bolts, three…… yet he still held on and refused to collapse. He was facing me through it all and seemed to be looking at me whilst he refused to give up and kept trying to gather ice elements to him.

Unfortunately for him, his gathering abilities could not match up to my dispersing abilities, and so he was unable to form another ice wall. In the end, he could only depend on that energy thingy that enveloped him…… Ah! I remember now, that energy is called Frenzy.

The unicorn kept striking down bolt after bolt, until after some time had passed, it slowed and then stopped. It then turned to look at me.

"Is that it? You're out of stamina already?" I rolled my eyes at it scornfully. "How useless. Are you really worth five thousand gold coins?"

And with that, I turned back to look at the Frost Knight. Up in the skies above us, even greater and stronger lightning elements was gathering – not by the unicorn, but by me.

'We're running out of time. The holy knights are sure to catch up to us soon, so I need to knock him out quickly, once and for all!'

The lightning bolt struck down.

The Frost Knight raised his head and looked up. For some strange reason, he actually dispersed the Frenzy protecting him…… and allowed the lightning bolt to him. He only managed to stay up for a second before collapsing.

That really startled me, but thankfully his heart was still pumping; he was just unconscious.

I walked over and picked up the fallen popsicle before giving a light kick to its unconscious owner. When I saw no reaction, I finally relaxed and wiped the sweat of my face.

I was worried that even with the unicorn and I together we still wouldn't be able to defeat him. But thank goodness it's now over.

However, I couldn't fully rest at ease without tying him up with several more rounds of the Dark Chains, not stopping until I had him wrapped up like some monstrous black cocoon.

Just as I had finished with him, I heard numerous heavy footsteps from behind. I hurriedly put back on my mask, covering my face just in time before the knights reached us.

I gave a cold laugh and slowly placed the popsicle to its owner's neck (although I had a bit of a hard time finding his neck – too many chains.)

"Don't come any closer if you value his life!" I warned them.

When they heard my threat, the holy knights instantly stilled, staring at the situation before them with wide eyes.

None of them dared to make a move.

"If you come after us, I won't hesitate to kill him!" I threatened as I dragged the cocoon onto the unicorn with me and left the scene. They could do nothing but watch us leave from under their very noses.

~O~O~O~O~

When I finally reached the meeting place with the cocoon and unicorn in tow, I was greeted with wide eyes and gaping mouths.

"You-you really know how to use magic?" asked Archie, gulping nervously.

"But that's impossible!!" cried Yuna. "How can a priest of the Church of Light use dark magic!"

'How am I to know? I just do.'

"Creus! What have you done?" The leader of the group – Walter – finally pointed out the main problem here.

"Is there a need for you guys to be so loud?"

Seeing things getting out of hand, I maintained my composure as I said nonchalantly, "We took the unicorn out of the city, and now we're going to sell it and share the spoils, right?"

"But what is that?!" Walter gestured at the cocoon I had thrown to the ground. "Sneaking a unicorn and selling it off secretly is one thing, but to kidnap the Frost Knight is a whole other thing!!"

"Oh god, it's the entire Church of Light that we are going up against……" moaned Yuna.

"Release him at once!" Walter ordered angrily.

"Release him?" I sneered. "If I let him go, what will you do if he comes back with an angry horde of holy knights? As long as we have him in our hands, those holy knights chasing after us wouldn't dare do anything to us!"

Walter couldn't say anything in reply. He opened his mouth to try to argue the fact several times, but in the end he couldn't say anything to refute my point and kept quiet.

"Don't worry," I assured them. "We'll release him once we've left those knights behind far enough. We can then leave with the unicorn and go somewhere far away from this place. We'll be alright."

Sure enough, they calmed down at my words, although Walter hesitated before saying apologetically, "I'm sorry, but after we've split the money, I think we should split up and go our separate ways."

My heart gave a heavy thump at that. I looked at the rest – although they, too, looked hesitant, no one spoke up in disagreement…… I looked away and said nonchalantly, "Oh, that's fine. As long as I get my share of the money."

"Of course," Walter nodded in promise.

I nodded back before saying to the rest, "Let's take a break, and we'll discuss where we should go next tomorrow morning."

"Agreed," Walter nodded. "Let's arrange night-guard hours for tonight."

"No need for that, I'll stay up the whole night," I said with a smile. "As you guys already know, I had been sleeping for the past ten days. It'll be even more difficult for me to fall asleep now then to kidnap the Frost Knight again!"

They smiled at that. "Thanks," Walter said to me.

I nodded back.

~O~O~O~O~

"Abandoned once more, eh?......"

I was lying on the ground gazing up into the night sky with the unicorn fast asleep on my left and the giant human cocoon to my right. The rest of the group were scattered all around, fast asleep, their slow and deep breaths echoing throughout the clearing.

'Heh, they may have abandoned me, but they had not thought to guard themselves against me?'

I slowly got up and walked towards them. 'How naïve! If I could subdue even the Frost Knight, what's stopping me from doing the same to them too?'

After all, one person escaping would draw less attention than a whole group of people. Moreover, if I were to leave alone with the unicorn, I would be getting the whole five thousand gold coins instead of only one thousand!

I walked over to Caecilia and crouched down, lifting my hand and…… tucking the edges of her cloak around her.

'Honestly! Kicking your blankets at such an age!'

I shook my head in exasperation and turned around to return to my previous position, when I saw to my surprise an unexpected guest standing there.

That's……

"Red?" I called out softly in surprise.

But, the unicorn's still asleep there! If Red appeared here together with the unicorn at the same time, does that mean that she's not the unicorn? Or could it be that Red would appear whenever the unicorn's asleep? Or, perhaps Red and the unicorn never had anything in common in the first place……

Whilst I was still trying to figure out their relationship, Red had skipped up to me and offered up to me something cradled carefully in her hands. "Big Brother, you dropped this."

A book.

"I dropped this?" I flipped open the book, automatically looking down at the pages…… another unnecessary action I cannot understand. Not like my eyes can help me to 'see' what's written on the pages.

I felt around the elements of the book – wood elements of the book with very faint traces of stone elements interspersed among them, forming 'words'. But such minute traces of stone elements made it hard for me to make them out clearly and it took me a while to see what was written there.

'The Comprehensive Book of the Arts of Necromancy' was what was written on the cover of the book.

"And there's something else," Red continued with an innocent tinkling laugh. "But it's not here. Head in the North East direction and you'll find it."

"What is it?"

Red tilted her head to one side and said, "Pat your chest."

I did as told, patting around my chest, when I suddenly felt an out of sorts feeling…… had it always been empty here? As if something was missing.

Filled with questions, I looked back up, "Red, you have my book and also know where my things are… do you know who I am…? Red?"

I blinked, but could no longer sense Red around. She'd vanished again. What's going on?

"You're awake?" I suddenly asked, but this was no longer addressed at Red, but at the Frost Knight who laid not too far away, his eyes wide open and looking at me.

'If it weren't for the Chains of Darkness gagging him, he'd probably be cursing me to the nine depths of hell,' I thought. Even without my memories I knew that no one would enjoy being trussed up like a turkey.

I walked back and sat down, cheekily patting his head and saying, "No need to worry. As soon as we're far away enough from your holy knights that they can't catch up to us, I'll let you go. So don't bother struggling."

I paused before continuing in a cold voice, "It'll save you a beating."

The Frost Knight merely blinked in response and really didn't struggle. He just laid there looking at me quietly.

All night long, I flipped through the book of Necromancy Arts, trying out a few of the spells on my handily available guinea pig – the Frost Knight.

"… …"

And throughout it all, the Frost Knight kept trying to gather the ice elements to him, but he was still no match for my dispersing abilities.

~O~O~O~O~

And so the next day, we started on our Great Escape. But the first problem of our journey was - how does one transport a human-sized cocoon around?

Caecilia was the first to suggest helpfully, "Yuna can help to boost up my strength so I can carry him!"

'Hmmm… the Frost Knight must be quite good-looking for Caecilia to sacrifice for him so.'

"And how long do you think you can carry him?" I scoffed. "One day? Three days? Or maybe five days? Or perhaps we can think in terms of weeks?"

"Umm…" Caecilia hesitated at this. "Three… no, five! Five days!"

Ah… So the Frost Knight is handsome enough that someone would willingly carry him for five days.

I suddenly got curious. "Caecilia, if it was me, how many days would you carry me?"

Caecila inspected my face carefully before answering, "If I were to consider only your looks, I would carry you for a week, but now that I know your true colours, I'd say……"

"Don't tell me I'd only last a day…?" I asked worriedly.

"No," she refuted me mercilessly. "I'd want to run away from you as far as possible."

"… …"

'Well, at least I have good looks worth seven days of carrying,' I tried to comfort myself. I then looked at the unicorn, before turning to look at the Frost Knight appraisingly. "Oi! Are you a virgin?" I called out.

Everyone's jaws dropped at my question.

The Frost Knight merely glared at me, disdaining to answer me. 'Ooh, to dismiss me so…… Oh yeah! He's still gagged by the chains. My bad.'

I quickly released the chains gagging him and repeated my question. "Alright, you can speak now, so tell me, are you a virgin?"

He continued to glare at me without speaking a word.

"Even if he is, he wouldn't admit it, would he?" Igor tried to diffuse the situation. "To admit to such an embarrassing thing…… Ergh! Creus, not that I'm saying that you being a virgin is embarrassing!" he hurriedly explained.

I shot a glare at him before drawing the popsicle hanging from my waist and holding it to the Frost Knight's neck. "Are you or are you not a virgin? Answer me!"

Even faced with the threat of losing his life, the Frost Knight maintained his silence. Great, now what? Chop his head off for real?

'Should I torture it out of him?' I pondered my options before a thought suddenly struck me and I smiled.

I sheathed the popsicle before lifting the Frost Knight up and throwing him onto the unicorn…… The unicorn didn't even try to evade him.

The sound of sharply drawn breaths echoed throughout the clearing. "…… damn!" whistled Archie.

"Since when were there that many virgin guys over the age of twenty?" muttered Igor.

"I am not a virgin!" I roared in protest.

Archie shrugged while Igor tried to placate me. "Of course, of course. If you say you're not then you're not."

Now that the logistic problem had been solved, we left without wasting another minute and started on our Great Escape. Also known to myself as the Great Boring Journey.

Because I had to pace myself to the rest of the group's speed, the unicorn could only walk at a slow trot. Bored out of my mind with nothing to do, I turned to the human-sized cocoon for some conversation. "Is your name really called Frost?"

The Frost Knight shook his head.

"It isn't? Then what's your real name?" I asked curiously.

He looked at me for a few moments before answering. "Ecilan Frost."

"What a hard name to pronounce," I complained with a frown. 'Ecilan? Who the hell names someone Ecilan?'

"I've never dared to hope that you would pronounce my name correctly," he replied dully.

I blinked at that. "What's that?"

He quieted and covertly looked at the rest of the group from the corners of his eyes before focusing back on me and shaking his head. "Nothing."

"Well then, Ecilan, are there any of the other Twelve Holy Knights running around here?"

I may have asked the question, but in truth I wasn't expecting an honest answer. But it wouldn't matter if he had replied honestly or not as I had my ways of determining if he was lying, and thus getting the answer I want!

"Yes, the Blaze Knight is not too far from here," he nodded.

I was surprised, for Ecilan's heartbeat had remained steady – he wasn't lying! He actually told me that one of the Twelve Holy Knights was around here; and he even told me which one of the Twelve Holy Knights it was!

"Will he come after us?" I asked worriedly.

Ecilan nodded and replied without a shred of doubt: "Yes."

Great, we had a new problem. I frowned as I asked him, "What if I were to use you as a hostage?"

Ecilan frowned lightly at that as he thought it over. "He'll retreat," he finally replied, "but he won't give up. He will never give up."

I smiled mockingly. "How naïve. Do you really believe that your companions would never abandon you?"

He nodded. "The Twelve Holy Knights will never give up on one of the Twelve Holy Knights."

"Is that so?" I said in a quiet chilling tone. "If the opportunity arrives, let's put this faith of yours to the test, shall we? Let's see if he will give up on you when it comes down to a matter of life and death."

"He won't." Ecilan kept his gaze steady as he said confidently, "The Twelve Holy Knights will never give up on one of the Twelve Holy Knights."

I snorted at that. Who would have thought that such an icy personality would turn out to be such a great naive idiot!

By then, we had reached a fork in the road. Everyone stopped and turned to look at Walter.

Walter looked at the road signs, saying "The road to the right leads to Moon Orchid in the North East, while the road to the left leads to the borders of Forgotten Echo. We may have two paths before us but I don't think we really have a choice here."

He looked at Ecilan before sighing and said, "With one kidnapped Frost Knight in tow, it would be suicide for us to step into Forgotten Echo. It'd just be a one stop free pass to the prisons for us."

"Well, but of course!" Yuna glared at me and said coldly, "Forgotten Echo is where the Church of Light is based; everyone would recognise one of the Twelve Holy Knights--"

"Especially the head of the Twelve Holy Knights – The Sun Knight!" Caecilia suddenly cut in with a dreamy smile on her face. "I've heard that the Sun Knight has gleaming golden locks of hair, deep blue eyes the colour of a clear sky, with skin as fair and soft as……"

Caecilia suddenly trailed off and stared at me. Don't tell me she's using me as the base of her Sun Knight fantasy?

I couldn't help saying jealously, "What? Is the Sun Knight a girl? From the sounds of it you're describing great beautiful woman!"

"It's-great beautiful man!" Caecilia instantly woke up from her daze and defended loudly. "And he's a real elegant and beautiful person, unlike you. Even if you have the same golden hair, blue eyes and fair skin, you don't have the aura and bearing!"

"An elegant and beautiful man, huh?" I patted Ecilan's head, purposefully messing up his hair before looking at him in satisfaction and saying, "Isn't he one of the elegant Twelve Holy Knights too? Look at him, all bundled up like a fat round cocoon. In what way does he look elegant? Your Sun Knight is probably not much better than him."

"Don't bully him!" Caecilia cried fiercely, rushing up to comb back Ecilan's hair (and covertly getting a feel of his face at the same time). "And besides, the Frost Knight doesn't need to be elegant; he's the aloof ice prince type! And the Blaze Knight we mentioned earlier is the wild feral type!"

"What, does the Church of Light choose the Twelve Holy Knights based on their looks?" I rolled my eyes. "Or else why would they all happen to be handsome and beautiful guys?"

"It's not like that," Yuna shook her head as she explained wryly. "It's just the fantasizing of the girls; the Twelve Holy Knights aren't necessarily good-looking."

"But- the Frost Knight really is handsome! So not all of them aren't real!" shouted Caecilia. She looked back down at Ecilan and asked, "Right, right? At least the Sun Knight is a super hot guy, right?"

"I don't know what your standards are," he said indifferently.

"He should be better-looking than Creus, right?" she asked anxiously.

He kept quiet for quite some time, but under the torrent of questions from Caecilia he finally relented and said, "More or less the same."

Caecilia frowned at that, while I smirked at her. "You see! Rather than fantasizing about some Sun Knight, you might as well just look at me."

"Well, at least he's more elegant and has greater bearing than you!" she retorted.

Just then, Walter cut through us and walked towards Ecilan with a question. "Why are the Twelve Holy Knights here in such a small backward place? I mean, this is the Church of Chaos' territory."

"We're searching for someone," he replied.

"Who is it?" Walter asked.

Ecilan merely shot a cool look at Walter but didn't reply.

Walter dared not force an answer from him, so he walked away when he saw an answer was not forthcoming.

On the following journey, we continued to make way in our Great Escape, but this time it wasn't as quiet. This time, Caecilia seemed to find everything disagreeable with me and wouldn't stop quarrelling. Archie would keep coming up to me and try to steal a feel or two…… What?! Of course not me!! I meant the popsicle I had hanging at my waist!

And Igor, on the other hand, kept bothering me to show him some other spells I knew.

I thought about it before getting off the unicorn and crouching down on the ground. Feeling around the ground as I probed my senses further down……

'Hmm. There doesn't seem to be any human remains here…… ah! Here's something!'

I removed my hand as pieces of white started poking their way out of the ground.

"Bones?" Caecilia peered at the pile of bones.

I started to carefully control the elements and push dark elements into the bones as I arranged them together. I hope I did it correctly…… but what a pity there weren't any human skeletons down there, 'cause there were plenty of 'examples' of human skeletons around me now to check from.

After arranging them to my satisfaction, I added some more dark elements at the joints of the bones connecting each other as replacement of the long-rotted away ligaments; and then to make it a little cuter, I made flesh and blood and a pair of long ears out of dark elements…… with the end product – a cute black rabbit started hopping around.

"N-necromancy…" Yuna cried weakly. "For some reason, I can't even find the energy in me to scream anymore. Creus, you're looking less and less like a priest of light."

Whilst everyone else were staring at the rabbit with wide disbelieving eyes, Caecilia rushed out - surprisingly unafraid – and scooped the rabbit into her arms. "How cute! Creus, don't let it disappear!"

I shrugged my shoulders. "Okay."

The rest of the group calmed down when they saw how harmless the rabbit stayed in Caecilia's arms; Igor even got excited about it. "Creus, if you can make a rabbit, can you also make a horse? We'd be able to move faster with horses."

"Sure, if you can find me some horse bones."

"Where the hell am I going to get horse bones from……" he rubbed the back of his head embarrassedly.

I shrugged. Without the bones, I couldn't do a thing. About ninety percent of the necromancy spells required bones to work.

"Then could you make a sword of bones for me?" Igor asked again. "In those legends of dragon-slaying, the heroes always make swords from the slain dragon's bones."

"If you can give me a design for the sword, I can make you one."

Archie cut in with sarcasm, "What, this big ol' brute? He can write his letters, sure, but that's about it. You can't expect more from him, much less some fancy design……"

"Enough fooling around, guys. We should move on," Walter called out, reminding everyone that we were still on the run. I got back onto the unicorn and we continued on.

"You shouldn't have used necromancy in front of them."

"What?" I looked down at Ecilan who was laid across the back of the unicorn in front of me. It was him who had spoken just now, albeit in a very low voice.

"What did you say?" I asked him.

But Ecilan only looked at me and kept quiet.

Seeing this, I, too, pretended not to have heard anything and took out the book on necromancy and continued to study it, using the person closest to me to experiment on. Who happened to be the trussed up Ecilan.

"… …"

Hey, you can't blame me for using him as my test subject! He's just so perfect for testing on and oh so convenient too!

No matter how I experimented on him, he would maintain his frozen expression and not a peep would escape from him. Other than his cold stare, he made no other protest and took it all in stride. The crème de la crème of test subjects!

My experiments continued until Caecilia noticed what I was doing to her precious Frost Knight, and together with a similarly angered Yuna (but for more righteous reasons), they each grabbed an ear and twisted, warning me not to bully him again. At the risk of my ears being twisted off, I unwillingly acquiesced and gave up on my experiments and turned to trying out spells which did not require a test subject.

Bone Locater Spell – searches for available bones underground.

Bone Prison – a defensive spell-creates a wall of bones to shield one's self from attack.

Bone Spikes – summons spikes of bones up from the ground to spear enemies.

As I flipped through the book, I found that they were all more or less about using dark elements to control and manipulate bones.

So I flipped to the back of the book for something that didn't have anything to do with bones. And sure enough, the more interesting spells were all in the back, like The Spread of Death – a wide spread offensive attack; hard to shield against and it had a wide range of attack, making it hard to outrun. However it had its down points too – it killed the victim too slowly. It's noted that there had been cases where the victim had yet to die before the caster ran out of power and could no longer hold the spell long enough to finish them off.

But the spell is enough to strip the opponents of their fighting strength, and is extremely effective when faced with large numbers. At least, that's what the book says.

Hohoho! Better learn this one, then! After all, I've got the Frost Knight held captive; there're sure to be hordes of holy knights coming after me sooner or later.

"Don't read it; you shouldn't be learning those things," Ecilan suddenly spoke up.

"Oh?" I raised an eyebrow at him. "And what things should I be learning?"

But again, Ecilan fell silent. Honestly, what's up with this guy!

But seeing as he 'no longer objects', I continued on with my reading.

Hmm… How to summon a Death Knight……

Previous Next

Book 4: Move 3 – The Third Move to Slay a Dragon: “Raise money to fund the adventure.”

2012-04-02T00:57:00.001+01:00

*Disclaimer note: This is merely a translation of the original Chinese version. I do not claim any part in the creation of the original story.

When I got back to the weapons store, Igor was no longer there. I figured that he'd probably got tired of waiting for me, so I hurried back to the inn. Sure enough, the moment I opened the door I saw everyone sitting around inside, even Igor.

"Where the hell did you run off to?" Igor asked me in annoyance.

I ignored him.

Women should be better at guessing one's age, right? So I turned to Caecilia and asked, "Caecilia, how old do you think I am?"

Caecilia who was busying with the nets and traps blinked at my question. The others, too, put down their work and looked up at me.

When she saw my serious expression, Caecilia straightened up and gave my sudden question some thought, scrutinising my face carefully before saying with certainty, "Probably around twenty-three or twenty-four; definitely no older than twenty-five. "

Damn it……

"Could I possibly be eighteen years old?"

"Definitely not!" Caecilia immediately rejected the possibility.

I got quiet at that.

So, I'm a twenty-three to twenty-four – possibly even twenty-five – year old virgin…… Could there be anything harder to accept than this?!

"Creus?" asked Yuna gently. "Do you feel that you should be younger? It's alright, people will mature in time, so don't worry. Eighteen is a bit unlikely, but maybe twenty--"

"Ah!" Caecilia's sudden cry cut Yuna off, as she stared at the open door.

The unicorn that I had hidden outside had impatiently pushed its way through the door and trotted up to me. I could sense that its muscles were a little tense as it kept a wary eye on the rest of my teammates.

"How did you find it?" my teammates asked in surprise and glee.

I, on the other hand, was feeling a lot less happy about it, and said dully, "I didn't find it, it found me."

Yuna and Caecilia moved forward and reached out to touch the unicorn, but it shied away and hid behind me, bumping its head against me in uncertainty. The girls' actions had probably made it feel uneasy; it was stomping and snorting heavily. Upon seeing this, I gave it a few pats to calm it down.

As I patted it…… why's everyone staring at us so?

"Don't unicorns only allow the touch of virgin girls?"

I froze at that and said defensively, "I'm not a virgin—ah!"

Oh shit!

They blinked before turning to look between the unicorn and I.

The unicorn – not pleased that I had stopped petting it – was now trying to push its way into my arms. I tried to push it away, but was no match for its strength. I couldn't do anything to stop it from rubbing its head against my chest…… damn horse!

Just then, Caecilia started snorting in laughter.

She was followed by Igor who gave an unapologetic bellow of laughter.

Walter tried to keep himself from smiling, but was unsuccessful. He finally gave in and burst out into chuckles.

Archie gave me a pitying look and patted my back, consoling, "Perhaps forgetting everything was a good thing after all. Pfft, hahaha! A twenty-five year old virgin…… hahaha!!"

Halfway through his failed attempt at consoling me, he could no longer control his laughter and burst out laughing…… right in my ear! Thankfully, I was well-prepared this time and had quickly covered my ears. The others, on the other hand, had been too busy laughing at my plight and so were caught unawares, receiving the full blast of Archie's loud penetrating laughter. They looked to be in agony.

'Hmph! Serves them right!'

After his laughter had died down, I immediately retorted, "Who said I'm twenty-five! According to Caecilia, I might be twenty-three! And Yuna even said I might be twenty. That's right! I must be twenty!"

Just then, the unicorn started licking my hand. I immediately snatched my hand back and smacked its head. Even with their headaches, Yuna and Caecilia cried out in alarm for the beast, but the damn horse didn't seem to feel anything and continued pressing up against me…… Damn it!!

'You damn perverted, virgin-loving unicorn, get away from me!

'I'm definitely not a virgin!!'

"Seeing as Creus has brought the unicorn back…… pfft! Wahahaha!"

Caecilia's serious words turned into mirthful laughter midway in her sentence. She was laughing so hard that drops of tears were leaking out from the corners of her eyes and she was unable to get another word out. She was then followed by Igor. I covered my ears in preparation…… but to my surprise, Archie did not burst into a second bout of laughter. Instead, he smirked at me lasciviously as he put an arm around my shoulders. "Never say that Archie doesn't look out for you. Next time, I promise to bring you with me to the brothels, where you can finally leave your days of virginity behind. Hohoho……"

Archie merely smirked at my refutations. That bastard!

Just then, Walter finally recovered enough to speak. "Cough, now that we have the unicorn, we can go and claim the reward! We should do it soon to avoid any unnecessary turn of events, giving the others the chance to steal our reward."

"The reward? I object!" I said moodily, still upset about them laughing at my plight.

"Don't get upset, Creus," said Walter as he smiled wryly. "We didn't mean to make fun of you; we were just joking around with you."

"Oh, I'm not upset." I smiled faintly as I explained. "I really do object to handing the unicorn over to the Adventurer's Guild."

Caecilia's laughter suddenly stopped; Walter went quiet; Igor scratched his head in bafflement, and a look of incomprehension flittered over Yuna's face.

"You can't be thinking of keeping the unicorn for your ride, are you?" asked Archie warily.

As he asked me the question, Archie made as if getting ready to run over to me and snatch the unicorn from me. However, the unicorn was clinging too tightly to me, and I doubt that it would allow anyone else other than me approach it; its glowing horn which was emitting even more light aura than usual would attest to that.

So even though Archie had moved into position to snatch the unicorn, he made no further move to come closer.

"I'm a priest, not a knight, remember? What the heck would I do with a horse?" I rolled my eyes at Archie before explaining to the rest. "Listen carefully. If the Adventurer's Guild is willing to offer five hundred gold coins for this unicorn, what do you think this signifies?"

"That the unicorn is worth way more than five hundred gold coins……" answered Walter. He then hesitated before continuing, "We understand this too, but no one would try to sneak a unicorn out of the city, because every gate out of the city is being guarded. And if we fail this operation, we would forever be blacklisted by the Adventurer's Guild, and even be hunted down!"

"Then we'll just have to make sure that they don't know who it is, duh?" I said matter-of-factly.

"How can we possibly not get noticed?" shouted Yuna upset, "Creus, stop fooling around."

'Fooling around?' I got distracted for a moment. 'This sounded really familiar…… Do others often scold me for fooling around?'

"Hold on guys, I think it might actually work!" Archie shouted. "We could mask ourselves!"

"Masks?" Walter echoed thoughtfully.

Mask? I blinked at that. Is he referring to using other elements to cover our faces? Even though I already had something like that in mind, I hadn't known that this was called 'masking'.

"No!" Yuna objected, glaring at me and shouting, "You shouldn't do bad things, Creus. You are a priest of the Church of Light."

Caecilia hesitated, looking at the latter's angry face before mumbling reluctantly, "Erm, this doesn't seem like a good thing to do……"

Walter, too, snuck a glance at Yuna before shaking his head. "It's not proper."

I ignored their objections and turned to Archie. "Archie, how much is a unicorn worth?"

Archie hesitated before mumbling, "I heard that the Adventurer's Guild was thinking of giving the unicorn to the Silent Eagle as a gift instead of selling it. But if we were to sell it, according to the rumours I'm getting from the black market, at least-at least….."

Everyone quietly perked up their ears, and I purposely baited them: "At least?"

"It would start from at least five thousand gold coins."

When I heard this, I spun around and grabbed Archie's shirt, shouting, "Five thousand gold coins?!!"

Archie was startled by my move. "Hadn't you already known?" he asked.

How could I have known?!

I had only guessed that the damn horse would be worth a pretty sum, but I never knew it would be worth this much. Five thousand gold coins! That's ten times more than what the Adventurer's Guild is offering, and this is merely the starting price!

"Five thousand gold coins……"

I tried to imagine what five thousand gold coins would look like, before realising I had no idea what a gold coin even looked like. I don't even know what one hundred gold coins look like, let alone five thousand!

Could it be that I used to be really poor?

"Five-five thousand gold coins…… That's a lot of money!" Caecilia shrieked.

"Five thousand…… That War God's Glory Staff I had been eying was only worth three hundred gold coins……" muttered Yuna distractedly.

In the end, when they couldn't decide what to do, everyone turned to look at the leader of the group – Walter – to await his decision. The latter was still deliberating, but when he saw everyone looking at him, he said hastily, "Don't look at me, I didn't suggest this. You should be asking Creus' decision instead!"

They then turned to look at me. I gave them a warm and gentle smile to calm them down before calmly saying, "When it comes down to it, it wouldn't matter to the unicorn who it will be sold to, right? And besides, see how much it likes me? I'm sure it would prefer to stay by my side rather than to go to the Adventurers' Guild. If we bring the unicorn along with us, it'll be happy to stay with me for a longer while. So to the unicorn – and to us as well – it's a win-win scenario."

"Isn't that right, my dear unicorn?" I smiled at the creature as I bent to rub its ears.

The darn thing seemed to take that as permission to cover my face with its saliva…… I wonder if there's demand for unicorn saliva? If the unicorn itself is worth five thousand gold coins, I might be able to sell its saliva for a gold coin!

"I guess you have a point, and the unicorn does seem to like you," nodded Walter.

Yuna shot a glare at him before protesting unhappily, "Walter! How can you believe this nonsense Creus is spouting off?!"

Archie ignored Yuna's protests, busy working out math problems. "Five hundred gold coins turn into five thousand gold… and that divided by six… deducting the team's expenses… would mean that each could get at least five hundred gold……"

"What is wrong with your maths?" I rolled my eyes in exasperation. "It's five thousand minus my twenty percent share, and then deducting twenty percent off from that for the team's expenses, with the remainder split evenly among the five of you, which should give each of you about 640 gold coins. Of course, if you are giving up a hundred gold, I won't say no to that."

"You're asking for more even after allocating a 1000 gold to yourself?!" cried Archie. "I think you're even more suited to my role as a thief than me!"

But his protest was drowned out by Caecilia's cry of "640 gold coins!" Caecilia was instantly all for sneaking the unicorn out.

Even Yuna was affected by the huge amount, wavering between her morals and the sinful calls of money. "The War God's Glory Staff... no, shouldn't do bad things… but the Glory Staff……"

Seeing that everyone was on the verge of agreeing, I quickly gave the final push. "This way, the unicorn's happy, I'm happy, you guys are all happy. See? Everyone's happy, so why not?"

Huh? The Adventurers' Guild won't be happy, you say? Well, that's none of my business. It's not like I know them.

I watched as they stared at me, their inner struggle shown plain as day on their faces. Especially Yuna; she kept mumbling about 'glory staffs' and 'bad'…… until in the end, I heard only 'glory staff'; the word 'bad' had completely disappeared.

Sure enough, she finally gave in. "Creus, you-you are definitely not a priest from the Church of Light… you are the devil! The Seducer!"

"Why do you say that?" I smiled my brightest, most innocent smile. "See? Even unicorns love me! I must be the world's kindest, most virtuous Light priest!"

"Yup, he's the devil……"

"…… definitely the devil……"

"The devil's evilness is so powerful even unicorns are forced to bow to him…" muttered Walter under his breath.

This is when selective hearing comes in real handy – I simply filtered out their 'silly' comments and continued, "Well, if everyone is in accord that five hundred gold coins simply cannot compare to five thousand gold coins, we should start discussing our strategy now. We can't keep the unicorn here forever without being discovered."

Everyone quieted down; there were no oppositions this time. Looks like everyone had folded to the lure of five thousand gold coins.

"Firstly, you guys have to think about how we are going to get the unicorn out of the city without anyone noticing."

"Hold on! What do you mean 'you guys'?" complained Caecilia. "If we do the planning, what are you going to do?"

I shrugged irresponsibly and said, "I'm an amnesiac, remember? I haven't cast a single spell that a priest should know, so I want to test out my abilities and get a feel of it. I wouldn't want to end up becoming your burden and slowing everyone down."

"… ah…" she gave in reluctantly while the rest nodded supportively.

"Creus, you should try and see if you can cast Divine Wings – it adds speed; should come in handy when escaping," suggested Yuna. "Holy Protection and Divine Wings help to shield against blows and increases speed respectively. Those are spells that Warrior priests who specialise in increasing fighting power lack. But I'm told that Divine Wings is a bit more complicated. Not only do you need light elements, you also need to be able to use wind elements, so not all priests are capable of casting it. But there's no harm trying."

"Alright, I'll try my best."

"You should first try to gather some light elements," instructed Yuna.

I had no problem with this, for there are always an abundant amount of light elements gathered around me. So with just a wave of my hand, I had the light elements rushing to my hand.

By then, no one was bothering to brainstorm about ways to escape the city. Instead, they were all staring dazedly at my hand. I looked around me before finally picking the one who had dared to leave me alone in the city – Igor. I flung the light elements at my test subject while yelling out, "Holy Protection!"

Yuna sighed and said, "Not like that, Creus. You have to chant the incantation first……"

The ball of light had simply circled around Igor before dispersing. I stopped to think about it. If it were going to shield against attacks, shouldn't the light elements be more sturdy and solid? So, I started pressing the layers of light elements into a thin but solid layer, before using this thin sheet to 'wrap' him up, as if he's wearing paper-thin armour.

"My goodness…!" exclaimed Yuna.

"What is it?!" cried Igor anxiously. "Yuna? He didn't bungle it up, did he? Creus! What the hell did you do?!"

I, too, was startled. 'I couldn't really have made a mistake, could I? But he looks perfectly fine to me!'

Yuna did not reply Igor and instead shouted, "Archie!"

"Yes!" The thief leapt to his feet in surprise at being called upon.

"Attack Igor," she commanded.

"Huh?" Archie stared at her blankly. He wasn't the only one stunned.

"Hurry up!"

Folding in to Yuna's urgings, Archie walked over to Igor with confusion on his face. Just as he had raised his fist – and at the same time Igor had braced himself for the coming blow – Yuna called out again, "Don't use your fists, use your weapon!"

"Yuna……" pleaded Igor, nearly in tears.

Archie hesitated. In the end, he lowered his arm, 'I dare not' written all over his face.

Just then, Walter suddenly gave a cry and – and he then began shifting shape…… Fur started growing out of his skin and his hands became huge meaty paws, each paw equipped with five large black claws. I shifted away from those claws. If I were to get swiped by those claws, I would definitely lose something.

Walter finished his transformation and became a bear. A huge black grizzly with a V-shaped patch of white fur on his chest.

I goggled at him. What's going on? Is Walter human? Or a bear?

"Walter?"

Igor cried out weakly, before instantly paling when he saw the Walter-bear swipe at him. He was unable to avoid the blow and crumpled to the floor instantly, but still Walter refused to relent. He continued to kick and stomp heavily on the fallen man……

I stared at the scene before me, mouth gaping wide open. What the hell's going on?

"What are you guys doing?"

Although Caecilia sounded a little worried, she looked more curious than worried to me as she watched Walter who was already changing back to human form and Igor who was slowly getting to his feet. "Are you alright, Igor?"

Igor rubbed the back of his head in confusion. When he heard Caecilia's question, he scratched his face sheepishly and said, "No, I'm fine. Weird, I didn't feel a thing."

"Really? But Walter sure didn't look like he was holding back his punches!" exclaimed Caecilia in amazement before turning to me excitedly. "Creus, me too!"

I had silently breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Igor's uninjured self, so when I heard Caecilia's request, I immediately gathered some light elements and pressed them into a thin solid layer before wrapping them around her too.

"Quickly! Quickly!" yelled Caecilia excitedly as soon as I was done. "Archie, come and hit me! Ah! Err…… use your fists first."

After seeing Igor's example, Archie no longer hesitated and threw all his weight behind his punch. Even though Caecilia knew that she wouldn't get hurt, she couldn't help closing her eyes at the coming attack. One second, two seconds, ……

When she opened her eyes, the sight of Archie enthusiastically swinging punch after punch at her greeted her eyes. She exclaimed in wonderment, "It doesn't hurt! It really doesn't hurt at all!"

"Of course it wouldn't hurt," said Yuna matter-of-factly. "With such a thick layer of light elements protecting you, I think only 'Frenzy' would have been able to break through. Unbelievable. If Creus casts this Holy Protection on all of us, we wouldn't even need to bother with any plans and just force our way out of the city. There aren't many high-levelled fighters capable of Frenzy in this city. "

Walter shook his head, saying, "It's not that simple, Yuna. You, too, can feel how strong the Holy Protections are, can't you? It'll be hard for Creus to repeat the same on so many of us… he would have to gather a lot of light element--"

Archie, Yuna, Walter, and last of all–me. There – that's all of us done! With the Holy Protection done with, next should be the Divine Wings. According to Yuna, I would need to add wind elements in addition to the holy elements. 'Hmmm… I wonder how much wind elements I'll need?'

"… …" – Walter and Yuna.

I gathered some light and wind elements and just 'meshed' them up together, but this led to an outcry from Yuna as she warned anxiously, "Be careful, Creus. It's dangerous mixing elements of different types together. If you're not careful it could explode!"

When they heard that, everyone instantly backed away from me and rushed towards the door, prepared to get out at any time but staying inside to watch what I was doing.

Okay, that's them all meshed up together. I looked at my test subject candidates and noticed Archie – he was the one furthest away with half his person already out the door.

Alright. You're next!

I threw the mixed ball of wind and light elements at him, adjusting them as they fall on him and arranging for more of them to gather around his hands and feet. All the while, Archie was trembling like a leaf and not daring to move a muscle. When I was finally finished arranging the elements to my liking, I looked up and said, "Archie, run around a little and see."

Archie nodded before muttering a prayer, "May the War God be with me." He then got into position to run and lifted his foot……

Boom!

Archie disappeared, followed by an ear-shattering boom. When we looked around for our missing teammate, we noticed a human-shaped hole in the wall.

Igor and Caecilia gaped at the hole.

I, on the other hand, looked on at the human-shaped hole woodenly. The Holy Protection is one of the God of Light's divine spells; yet, you ask for Her rival – the War God's – protection…… Really?

"Are you alright, Archie?" called out Caecilia.

"I'm fine……"

Archie popped his head back through the hole and grinned at us cheekily. "Didn't hurt at all."

Everyone let out a sigh of relief at that. Yuna then turned to me and said, "Too much wind elements."

I nodded.

It seems that too much wind elements had caused the overwhelming burst in speed, so I should mix in less. But for some strange reason, I had the feeling that I had used the right amount of wind elements, and that Archie merely hadn't mastered such intense speeds.

If anyone were capable of mastering such great speeds, he would be as swift as the wind.

As swift as the wind, huh?…… to that person's enemies, he should make a formidable foe even more frightening than a windstorm.

After adjusting the amounts of wind elements several times, I finally got the right mix. As Archie and Caecilia were originally of the nimbler speedier types, I need only add a little wind elements. Igor, Walter and Yuna, on the other hand, needed more. As for me, well…… I'm more of the latter type than the former.

Looks like priests from the Church of Light aren't one of the speedy types either.

Archie, Caecilia and Igor were running around the room in some twisted game of tag, having the fun of their lives with the new spell.

"Divine Wings and Holy Protection on each and every one of us! Your gathering abilities are amazing! No, not even! To get the right amount of wind elements in your Divine Wings, you even had to cast the spell multiple times!"

I smiled and said confidently, "I wouldn't have had any problems even with twelve people!"

Yuna blinked at the odd number, but continued, "I don't think I can contradict you on that. Just who are you, Creus?"

"A priest from the Church of Light," I answered. I paused before asking her unsurely, "Isn't that what you said?"

"Really? Well, I'm not so sure now……" she muttered.

"Well, let's just forget about who I am right now," I said to both Yuna and Walter. "Shouldn't we now think about our strategy to escape this city?"

Walter sighed and watched the three idiots running around. "What strategy? With this speed and shield, no one short of a high-levelled profession would be able to stop us."

"And what if we do meet a high-levelled profession?" I asked worriedly. "Remember, this is five thousand gold coins we are talking about here. Wouldn't the Adventurer's Guild have hired some high-levelled adventurers to guard the city gates?"

Walter and Yuna shot me a strange look. Walter shook his head and said, "How could high-levelled adventurers possibly lower themselves to guarding a city gate? At their level, they could even become the city's commanding officer if they wished it so. Have you ever seen a commanding officer guard a city's gates?"

I kept quiet at that. 'I see, so high-levelled professions are a big deal huh?'

Just then, Archie had stopped fooling around and ran up to us. "I know, I know! There's only one high-levelled thief in this city; there's no other high-levelled professions in this city other than him."

"Thief, huh?"

Walter and Yuna exchanged looks at this news, the former smiling as he said, "That's good to hear. Even if he's a high-levelled thief, he won't be able to stop us as his profession deals more with the shadows and hidden missions. Alright, it's decided! We'll just storm our way out!"

"Mm." I nodded my head in agreement before turning around and seeing the unicorn. I suddenly had a bad feeling. "And who's going to be in charge of the unicorn?" I asked in dread.

"Duh, you of course!" sang Walter and Yuna in unison.

"Whaat?! But I'm a priest!" I objected. "Priests are supposed to stay in the back in these kinds of situations!"

"Are you sure you lost your memories……" muttered Walter under his breath.

"Well, what you said is true!" Archie patted my back. "But! You forget, Creus, that you are the only virgin in our group! You see? The unicorn refuses to allow us 'impure' people to touch it, so only you, the only 'pure' person here, is capable of leading the unicorn out of this city. "

I stared at him expressionlessly. "Would you like me to send you to the God of Light, where he may cleanse your soul and make you a 'pure' person once more?"

Archie burst into laughter at that. With no warning forthcoming, I was subjected to the full blast of his loud laughter, causing my ears to ring and a migraine to form in my head.

"Creus! You are a priest! Priests have no attacks; therefore, you pose no danger to me at all!"

…… perhaps it's time that I try and see if I'm truly incapable of magic spells.

~O~O~O~O~

And so there we were, sneaking around in the shadows and dark alleys of the city as we made our way towards the city gates with our 'contraband goods'. After a lot of effort and luck, we finally managed to sneak the unicorn into an alley not too far away from the city gates, and were now preparing for our final dash to freedom (and our five thousand gold coins).

If we were to make our mad dash, both Yuna and Igor wouldn't be able to run fast enough, so we decided that they would join in the queue to exit the gates, leaving Caecilia, Archie and Walter with me. In his human form, Walter would have slowed us down too, but once he transformed into his leopard form he could have beaten even Archie.

"Just how many animals can you turn into?" I asked the leopard beside me, but the large cat only stared at me.

"Walter can't speak after turning," smiled Caecilia. "But to answer your question, he can only turn into a bear and a leopard. He gets super strength when he's a bear, and super fast when he's a leopard."

"In that case, Walter will be in charge of causing a distraction, while Archie and Yuna will clear up a path for me. I'll storm through. If we get separated, make your way to the meeting place we agreed upon."

Two humans and one leopard nodded before putting on our masks. Archie had prepared them for us beforehand, saying that they were a must when doing naughty things…… So…… masking one's face is some kind of tradition?

I put on my mask, still not quite understanding its purpose, before covering each of my teammates' faces with a cloud of holy aura so that their faces wouldn't be seen.

Of course, as a leopard, Walter didn't need any.

I pulled the unicorn to my side, and as both the unicorn and I looked at each other, I suddenly had an uneasy feeling…… Do I even know how to ride a horse?

As I stared at its flawlessly white back, I was in no mood to admire the unicorn's graceful lines. I felt extremely nervous; if I fall off its back……

"What if I fall off?" I asked with a pinched look.

"Fall off?" Caecilia looked at me strangely. "Does it matter? You're a Light priest! Just heal yourself!"

Really? Is that all? But why do I feel that if I were to fall off its back, there would be very, very bad consequences?

Archie frowned as he watched me hesitate to get onto the horse. "Creus, looks like you've never ridden a horse before."

"I'm a priest, not a knight! It should be normal for me to never have ridden a horse before!"

Archie scratched his head. "That's true," he said, forced to agree. "But how are you going to ride away on the unicorn if you don't know how to ride a horse?"

"Well –as long as I just hold on tight and don't fall off, I should be fine, right?" I said as I braced myself to the ordeal.

Caecilia rolled her eyes at this. "Just hold on tight? Yeah right. Are you sure the unicorn even knows where to go?"

"Unicorn!" I stared the unicorn in the eye as I said forcefully. "Later, no matter what happens, you are to storm out the city gates, got it?"

The unicorn nodded.

"It can actually understand us? That's so bizarre…… Or could it be that this unicorn is actually a druid?" Archie's inane ramblings earned him a head butt from Walter the Leopard.

I drew in a deep breath before leaping onto the unicorn's back without any mishaps. Archie whistled in surprise and admiration. "Perfect form! Perhaps you do know how to ride a horse!"

'Really?' I suddenly felt full of confidence as I gave the unicorn's flank a kick. The unicorn gave a prideful toss of its head and a loud neigh before setting off.

"Aiyah!!"

Caecilia burst into laughter before turning to Archie. "Archie, how could a person who knows how to ride fall off his horse? And on his back too? Haha!"

"I just hadn't had a good hold of it, is all!" I said defensively myself as I got up from the ground.

After dusting myself off, I smacked the unicorn's head and scolded it, "What did you go rushing off so suddenly for? You trying to knock me off on purpose?"

The unicorn lowered its head and gave a small apologetic whicker as it looked up at me piteously.

"Alright, alright." I softened a little at its pitiful eyes and relented, only reminding it to be more careful next time.

The unicorn perked up and started licking at my hand happily. God knows why this horse likes licking me so much!

And so after that brief incident, I got back onto the unicorn's back. When everyone was fully prepared, Walter the Leopard rushed out into the crowd, drawing cries and attention from the crowd gathered around the gates. There were even a few screams of terror.

"Where'd the leopard come from?" roared the city gates' guards as they fanned out and surrounded the leopard, carefully keeping their sharp spears pointed at the leopard.

"Now!" I shouted at Caecilia and Archie. At my order, they rushed out as planned, and I nudged the unicorn out behind them…… This time, the unicorn dared not leap at full speed as before and instead kept a steady but quick pace. Feeling the wind in my hair and the smooth gallops of my ride, I felt that riding wasn't so bad after all.

I sighed with feeling as I said, "This is soo much better than riding on a person's back."

Right after I said that, I stopped to examine my words. 'Weird? How would I know whether riding a horse is better than riding on a person's back?...... Could I have ridden on someone before…… but that's preposterous!'

Ergh! Whatever, now is not the time for this. Ahead of me, Caecilia and Archie had already cleared a way for me. I grabbed on tight and said in the unicorn's ear, "Hurry now!"

The unicorn instantly increased its pace, causing the wind to whoosh past my ears. The city gates were not far away now. However at the same time, people were beginning to notice the unicorn and my presence.

"It's the unicorn!" someone shouted.

The crowd stared open mouth before quickly gathering their wits and coming at us with all sorts of weapons. I even caught sight of a broom coming at us!

The city guards immediately gave up on the leopard and turned their attention on us, but Caecilia, Archie and Walter started attacking them from behind. Even when faced with all sorts of weapons like spears and swords and daggers, they still flung themselves at the crowd fearlessly. The crowd paused at this show of recklessness. Especially when they saw with their own two eyes how the blades bent upon hitting them, leaving the three of them completely unharmed. They stared at this display in shock.

Perfect opportunity to escape! "Quickly! Unicorn, go faster!" I cried in excitement.

The unicorn immediately put on a burst of speed, and I could see the gates just ahead of us! Everyone had been drawn away by the distraction, so no one was around to guard the gates; no one to stop us!

But, the pleasing wind whooshing in my hair came to a sudden stop.

Not too far in front of us, a huge wall suddenly came up from nowhere. The unicorn gave a jolt and tried to stop its pace, but our mad dash was too strong and quick for us to stop so suddenly. It tried its best to stop, to slow down, its hooves scratching against the dirt road, trying fervently to gain some friction, but still inertia carried us forward.

I clung to the unicorn with both hands and feet, grasping its mane tightly and doing all I could do to stay on its back.

In the end, the unicorn couldn't avoid hitting the wall, but thankfully it wasn't a very heavy impact as the unicorn had slowed down considerably by then. The unicorn stumbled a bit before shaking its head and steadying itself.

My heart was pounding in my chest. That was too close. If the unicorn hadn't reacted quickly enough and slowed down in time, at that speed, I would have been knocked out from the impact. And chances are I would have woken up to find myself in jail!

I let out a breath of relief before examining the wall before us. The wall was composed entirely out of ice elements – it's an ice wall!

"What's going on?"

Caecilia, Archie and Walter had caught up to us and were staring at the ice wall.

"Knock down this wall!" I cried out in anger.

"With what? We're an archer and a thief!" Caecilia and Archie shouted back.

'Who the hell's counting on you?' I rolled my eyes at them.

By then, the unicorn let out a blast of light aura and threw it at the ice wall before us.

"Let's go!" I cried, but the unicorn neighed in dissatisfaction, and a second later I could see why, for the large amounts of ice elements had once again gathered to form another ice wall. And I could feel that this ice wall was thicker than the previous one. I didn't think the unicorn would be able to destroy it with just one blast like just now.

If we can't destroy it with just one blast, we won't be able to dodge the attack from the person behind us – the origin of the ice wall!

I patted the unicorn's neck and said softly, "Turn around."

Everyone had long since turned around by then; I heard Caecilia's shocked cry of "How could it be?! Holy knights from the Church of Light!"

"And not just holy knights……" Archie's voice trembled as he said, "Look at their leader, his insignia on his chest marks him as…… one of the Twelve Holy Knights."

"It's the Frost Knight!" Caecilia moaned. She sounded close to fainting.

The Frost Knight?

Sounds familiar. My attention shifted from the group leader's ice and holy aura to his appearance. He had an icy look on his face, his entire posture was frozen stiff and he even held an ice popsicle in his hand!

He truly is worthy of his name 'Frost' Knight! …… Is he even going to eat that popsicle?

The Frost Knight raised the popsicle at us and said in a frosty tone, "Freeze." (@_@)

"Who do you think you're trying to scare with that popsicle of yours?" I asked. To avoid being recognised should we ever meet in the future, I had purposely lowered my voice when replying.

The Frost Knight said nothing in reply, nor did he do anything; not even the muscles on his face twitched. I'm beginning to think this guy's face had been frozen solid.

Everyone else, on the other hand, had some kind of reaction to my challenging words. Even my teammates had drawn a sharp breath; as for the Frost Knight's holy knights, they had exploded in anger at my disrespect. "Silence! How dare you insult our Frost Knight Captain's Holy Frost Blade!"

Holy blade huh? But it totally looks like a popsicle…… I guess you could call it a holy popsicle,… but a blade?

"Creus," Archie said in a panicked undertone. "Th-the Frost Knight is even stronger than a h-high-levelled swordsman. It's impossible for us to w-win against him. He's one of the Twelve Holy Knights! What should we do?! What should we do now?"

"Calm down! We don't need to win, only to escape," I said quietly.

Archie's face fell at that. "It's impossible to even escape from him… Creus, you-you've lost your memories, so you don't understand how scary the Twelve Holy Knights truly are. Th-they are as scary as the gods themselves!"

"Bullshit," I rolled my eyes at him. "I don't care if he's the devil king himself, you guys will hold him off and buy us some time so the unicorn can knock through the ice wall."

Although his face paled even further at the order, he, Caecilia and Walter moved to shield the unicorn and I from the holy knights, moving into position to attack. When they saw this, all the holy knights were surprised; with the one exception of the Frost Knight – his face had yet to twitch.

"Defensive positions," he called out calmly.

The holy knights immediately moved into a neat formation and braced their shields, forming a wall of shields and raising their swords through the gaps of their shield wall.

Twenty or so holy knights forming into defensive positions around the four of us? Do they not have the intention of capturing us?

As we were puzzling over their unexpected move, a gap opened up in the wall of shields and the Frost Knight walked out towards us alone.

At the same time, the unicorn let out a large burst of lightning elements, and from the skies came streaking down a lightning bolt right onto the ice wall behind us. Unfortunately, I could tell that the ice elements had yet to break up.

Ahead of me, the Frost Knight was steadily pouring more ice elements into the ice wall. As long as we don't take him down, attacking the wall would be pointless, for he would just keep creating another one until either he or the unicorn collapses from magical exhaustion.

The unicorn screamed in anger and pawed the ground furiously, as if thirsting for a showdown with the Frost Knight……

"You better behave, or else…" I warned as I smacked its head.

The unicorn whinnied plaintively and lowered its beautiful head dejectedly.

Just when the Frost Knight was no more than ten steps away from us, another ice wall formed up from the ground in front of us, blocking him from reaching us.

This was followed by another bolt of lightning behind us, identical to the earlier lightning summoned by the unicorn.

"Run!" I shouted.

There was a second of blankness before my teammates comprehended what was going on. Archie was the first to react, immediately slipping around the unicorn and I and running away. His actions reminded Caecilia and Walter of the opportunity and they too started running.

As Caecilia passed by me, I kicked the unicorn's flank, signalling it to follow quickly.

As we made our escape, I could feel the ice wall behind us crack and crumble apart. But not to worry, I still had a couple more bolts ready to throw in the Frost Knight's way and stop him from following us.

At last, we escaped the city.

Previous Next

Book 4: Move 2 – The Second Move to Slay a Dragon: “Get an awesome ride.”

2012-02-03T22:59:00.001+00:00

*Disclaimer note: This is merely a translation of the original Chinese version. I do not claim any part in the creation of the original story.

According to Archie, the city gates had been sealed shut after the unicorn's escape, leaving only a smaller door for people to enter and exit from the city, so we knew for sure that the unicorn was still in the city. However, it was still a mystery as to why the unicorn had yet to be found, trapped as it were in the city with nowhere to escape.

We quickly prepared for our first mission as a group together, worried that as time dragged on unwanted twists of events may happen; such as the unicorn escaping, or it being captured by someone else and secreted out of the city. This was precisely why the Adventurer's Guild had announced a reward of five hundred gold coins for the beast's capture. The only condition they had was for the unicorn to be captured alive, and preferably not heavily wounded.

I picked carefully through the information Archie had gathered previously, and in the end I came to the conclusion that the first thing to do was to search out the unicorn's location and capture it before anyone else could beat us to it.

We were sorely pushed for time!

"Where's my equipment?" I asked of my new companions.

At that, Caecilia and Yuna exchanged looks before the former reluctantly took out a badge. She looked at it longingly for a few more moments before handing it to me.

I looked at the badge lying in the palm of my hand. It fitted just nicely into my hand, and was made of some kind of metal, but I could sense a very dark aura coming from it. I had to struggle to make out the metal elements in the midst of all that dark element, and then making out its shape.

The badge was not flat, but had a relief sculpture in the shape of an imposing…… creature.

I could not recall what the creature was, so I probably hadn't come into contact with it often, but the badge itself certainly seemed familiar to me, so it should be mine.

After that, I waited a moment longer, but nothing else was forthcoming. "Is that all?" I asked in surprise. "Not even a sword? What about my clothes?"

Even though I was currently wearing an outfit – an ordinary white shirt and brown pants – intuition told me that they weren't mine. I had to get back my original clothes – those weren't cheap stuff!

"You're a priest, and priests only use staffs, not swords," explained Yuna. "As for your clothes, they were beyond salvageable. When we found you in the woods, your surroundings were completely burnt. You yourself looked as if you had been burnt alive; your clothes were burnt black and falling apart, and your staff…… I'm sorry, but I think it had been burnt to ashes in the fire."

Burnt to ashes huh?…… how come I don't feel the slightest bit upset to hear that?

That doesn't feel right. My staff should be something very important to me, right? Yet I don't feel upset or anything. Perhaps, it was something that couldn't have been destroyed in a simple fire?

Oh, never mind that.

"Is there really nothing else?" I pressed on.

Both of the girls shook their heads.

'Is that so……' I absentmindedly touched my chest. It felt like something was missing…… Argh! Forget it!

"Alright! Now, the first step is to grab a virgin girl--"

"Are you really going to kidnap a virgin?" Igor exclaimed in surprise. He shot Yuna a cheated look before pointing out, "And it's not like you can tell if one is a virgin or not, so how are you going to get one?"

"I'll just have to grab a little girl, right?" I replied matter-of-factly. "And besides, as soon as we've caught the unicorn we'll let her go home, duh!"

"Grabbing a little girl? I don't know……" muttered Walter, struggling to keep to his morals.

"We can't do that! I absolutely refuse!" shouted Yuna, glaring at me angrily. "You can't do that, or you'll regret it for the rest of your life. Remember, you are a priest of the Light Church. Everyone knows that priests from the Light Church are the kindest and most honest people. If you were to kidnap a girl, once you've regained your memories, you'd regret it for the rest of your life!"

Regret it for the rest of my life? I-am I really such a good and kind person?

"What are you all so worked up about?" snorted Archie. "We don't have to kidnap anyone, we could just pay her!"

Archie nodded his head in mock solemnity before continuing, "We'd just have to get a girl from a poor family and offer to pay her ten copper coins for a day. But we'll have to get a young one, 'cause otherwise she might not be a virgin either. But that's life; a girl from a poor family – for ten copper coins a day, you can ask her to do anything…… heheheh……"

"Archie!" Yuna admonished.

Archie just shrugged his shoulders, but kept quiet.

I had quieted down after Archie's words. Hearing him speak so, I had felt an uncomfortable feeling in my chest…… perhaps Yuna was right, and I'm not really a bad person. If I did kidnap a little girl, I might actually regret it for the rest of my life! But if we're hiring one, then it's a whole different matter altogether.

No need for kidnapping little girls, able to carry out my missions and at the same time not going against my conscience, and also satisfying my love for money; what a perfect solution! Ah, I have a lot to learn from Archie!

Thinking this, I smiled at the aforementioned thief. But for some reason, he returned my smile with a perverted leer.

"I know, I know. I give you the honours of hiring the girl." He shook his head, giving me an exaggerated exasperated look before winking conspiratorially at me. "See how good I treat you, bro?" He continued in an undertone. "So make sure you take a little extra care when healing me, 'kay?"

…… on second thought, perhaps I shouldn't learn from him after all.

"No way!" Yuna immediately refuted. "Caecilia and I will be the ones to hire the girl."

"Ok, that's settled then!"

Walter immediately agreed, before assigning tasks to each of us. "Yuna and Caecilia will hire the girl; Archie, you'll continued to keep an ear out for any further developments. I will try to prepare some equipment that we might need to capture a unicorn, and Igor, you and Creus will start looking around for any trails or clues as to the unicorn's whereabouts."

I glanced at Igor and said politely, "I'll be counting on you."

"No problem, bro!" said Igor as he clasped a hand on my shoulder. "We'll head out and get back my sword and armour before getting a drink or two!"

"Er?" I blinked at him before asking uncertainly, "But the search……?"

I looked back at the other team members, but they, too, were leaving for their respective tasks.

"We'll look around on our way," said Igor matter-of-factly. "And pubs are the best places to hear about any news!"

I blinked at his answer before turning to look at Walter. Walter turned around and smiled at me, explaining, "Don't worry. Searching for clues isn't part of a warrior's responsibilities. I'm only asking him to keep an ear out. Also, searching for clues isn't part of a priest's responsibilities either. So I'm letting you go with him for a drink and to grab a bite. You've been sleeping for so long; even though we fed you some glucose water, you should still be hungry, right?"

'The priest should stay at the back in situations like these,' I recalled. Is this also part of my 'general knowledge'?

"Let's go! Creus, you're coming with me for a drink……" Igor paused and looked at me doubtfully. "Will you be fine? It'll just be a glass. You don't look like you'd be any good at drinking."

Walter – who had just exited the house – poked his head back in and warned, "Igor, if he can't drink then you'd better not force him. A little alcohol is fine, but if either of you get drunk, you know the rules…"

"I got it… what a party-pooper," muttered Igor.

Alcohol!

The moment I had hear the word 'alcohol' I couldn't help licking my lips eagerly…… Somehow, I don't think I would end up as bad at drinking as they believed.

~O~O~O~O~

Igor and I walked along the city's streets; even though night had fallen, the city was still bursting with life. People were still making their way up and down the streets; plenty of stalls lined the streets, selling all sorts of odds and ends. With all the various elements mixed together so chaotically, I had a very hard time making out everything. But whenever I finally manage to piece together something particularly complicated, I would feel a sense of achievement.

"Creus!" Igor suddenly called out.

Bam!

Stars filled my eyes as a throbbing pain shot through my forehead. I crouched down and grabbed my head in agony……

"My god! How could you not have seen such a huge pillar right in front of you?!" Igor asked me in incredulity. "What the hell were you looking at?"

Ah, I walked into a pillar. No wonder it hurt so bad…… "There were too many things; I couldn't piece them all together!" I growled lowly in embarrassment.

"Piece?" Igor asked blankly.

"Damn, it hurts. Oh god, my head hurts so bad," I whined as I gripped my head. It felt like the pillar had spilt my head open.

"Of course it'll hurt, you even managed to crack the pillar," said Igor. "You're a priest, so heal yourself. We should move on, everyone's staring at us."

Heal myself…… Even though I knew that I was a priest, I had yet to use any healing spells. I wonder what I'm supposed to do?

"Elementary Healing!"

I blinked in surprise as light elements circled around me before turning into a new type of element and making their way into my forehead. The more they came in, the less it hurt.

I see! So this is how healing spells work!

Just then, an unfamiliar laugh sounded not too far from us. "Ahahaha! Igor, I've always thought you were stupid, but I never thought there would be someone even stupider than you! Pfft! Walking into a pillar!"

"Wha-? I'm not so stupid as to walk into a pillar…… and Creus isn't stupid either!" yelled back Igor indignantly before realising his mistake. He hurriedly turned to me and explained, "Really, you're not stupid. It's just that, you've only just recovered from your injuries, so perhaps your reactions were still a little slow, and you didn't even notice the pillar and accidentally walked into it."

…… Igor, you're only digging yourself a deeper hole. If you say anything more I'll throw you into the pillar myself!

"Are you alright? Did the healing spell completely heal you?" a soft and gentle voice spoke up. Too bad it's a guy's voice.

Before I could reply, the first voice interrupted.

"Kyle, why did you go and waste a healing spell on him for?" he asked impatiently. "Even if it's just an elementary healing spell, you can only cast five of those a day."

The gentle voice which unfortunately belonged to a guy – Kyle – replied, "It's fine. We're not leaving the city in the next few days, so we won't need much healing."

I stood up and observed the other party. Even though I had only heard two voices so far, there was actually four people altogether – probably a party from the looks of it. The first to speak to Igor just now was also a warrior, but with a higher level of wind elements, so probably a warrior focused on speed. The one who just healed me was – obviously – a priest, so he had high concentrations of light elements. But not as high as mine, I noticed.

Does that mean that I'm stronger than him?

"Igor, this guy doesn't look like one of your teammates?" asked the warrior, all the while keeping his gaze on me.

"'Course he is! He just joined us. Creus is a priest."

"Priest?" he sounded surprised, before asking dubiously, "Don't you guys already have Yuna as your priest?"

"Creus is a priest from the Church of Light," declared Igor proudly. "Just like your sissy."

'Who the hell is like a sissy……'

Sissy gave a light cough. "So, you're a comrade from the Light Church too?" but his soft question was drowned out by his companion's louder voice: "From the Church of Light? Really?"

"Or course, and Creus' healing skills are very strong too!" boasted Igor.

"Truly?" Kyle sounded pleasantly surprised for some reason. "You look so young! To be so strong at such a young age is pretty impressive. What level priest are you now?"

Level? I was at a loss. I had no idea what level I was; I hadn't even known I was a priest until Yuna had told me let alone what level I was. This was the first time I'd even heard about priests having different levels.

"Creus doesn't even need to recite any incantations to cast healing spells!" said Igor, before asking in curiosity, "Hey sissy, what level do you think he is?"

"No need to recite any incantations?!" cried Kyle, startling everyone else.

After a while, he said hesitantly, "This, er…… usually, incantations are necessary for the spells, but if one is very, very familiar with the elementary spells, perhaps it's possible. I think the Cardinals might be able to do so……"

"Cardinals?" I asked. "What's that?"

Kyle was rendered speechless by my question before saying with difficulty, "The Cardinals are the four archbishops, second only to the Pope…… Are you really a priest?"

"No idea," I replied honestly.

"You don't know?!" The four of them stared at me.

"That's 'cause Creus' lost his memories," Igor snatched to say.

"Lost his memories?" The other party stared at me, dumbstruck. Yup, Walter and the rest had looked exactly like that.

After a while, Sissy muttered thoughtfully, "Creus? I don't seem to recall any priest by the name of Creus."

When I heard that, I couldn't help feeling a little disappointed. If someone recognised me, I might have been able to find my friends quicker.

"It's alright." I said despite my disappointment.

"I'm really sorry I couldn't help you." Kyle looked at me apologetically, saying, "Perhaps you should go to the Church and try asking there. With such an eye-catching person as you, there'd definitely be a lot of people who'd recognise you. Unfortunately, there aren't any Light Churches here in Kissinger. I'm afraid you'll have to go all the way back to Forgotten Echo; there are quite a few branches in Moon Orchid too."

I nodded at him. "Thanks for your help."

~O~O~O~O~

I chugged down the entire bottle of alcohol before releasing a satisfied sigh and wiping my mouth with my sleeve.

Beside me, Igor stared at me in stupefaction. "Creus, stop drinking! This is already your third bottle! Oh no, this is bad! Walter will kill me when he finds out I got you drunk……"

I turned to look at him in the eye. "She sells seashells by the sea shore, and the seashells she sells are sea shore shells," I said clearly. "Who did you say was drunk?"

"Okay…… you're not drunk."

Igor scratched his head before standing up. "Well then, you can stay here and continue drinking, but don't overdo it, okay? I'm heading over to the weapons store next door. Oh, and here, I'll pay for your drinks for now, but you'll have to pay me back when you get your pay!"

"Then I'm not drinking anymore!" I cried out in horror.

"……"

~O~O~O~O~

"It wass just a little bit of alcohol, why couldn't you have just treated me to it?" I complained as we stepped out of the pub.

"You drank three bottles, Creus, three bottles. That's not 'just a little bit'! Each bottle you drank cost one silver coin……"

I really wanted to say 'it's only three silver coins', but I couldn't. One silver for a bottle! And to think that I'd drank away three silver coins…… I haven't even completed a single mission and now I've got a debt of three silvers!

Oh unicorn, where are you?

My hundred gold coins, where are you?

Just then, Igor laughed heartily as he ribbed me. "But I never would have thought you would be such a heavy weight drinker! I would have drunk with you, except that we've got a mission now. We'll have a proper drink once we've finished this mission, that's a promise!"

"Your treat?" I immediately asked with interest.

"…… You really are stingy. Even more so than our thief, Archie," muttered Igor. "How about this, the person who manages to drink the other under the table won't have to pay for the bill, okay with you?"

"No problem!"

I may have lost my memories and have no clear idea of just how high my tolerance was, but I felt strangely confident that no one would be able to drink me under the table!

"Here it is," Igor announced, before turning to me. "You don't have any interest in weapons, right? If you feel bored there's a store selling magic staffs opposite the street. You can go there and pick one out. The party will pay for the staff for now and once you've gotten your pay it'll be deducted from…… Your expression says: 'I'm not buying one if I have to pay for it'."

I nodded emphatically.

Igor didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "A priest cannot go without a staff. Forget it. You'll come with me for now, and we'll visit the staff store together later on. I'm worried that you might get conned by them, seeing as you don't remember anything…… Hmm, doesn't seem very likely though, with how money loving you are...... Did you really lose your memories?"

"Hey! Yes, I really did lose my memories!" I protested.

"You sure don't look like it; you don't look worried at all," he said as he stepped into the store.

I shrugged. "I don't feel like there's anything to be worried about. I'm confident that my comrades will come looking for me."

"True……"

The store keeper immediately greeted us the moment we stepped in, his eyes sweeping the two of us before immediately focusing on Igor and completely ignoring me. To be able to tell at a glance that my type did not use weapons – and thus not even bother to waste his time with me; should I say he's materialistic or praise him for his insight?

As Igor and the store keeper discussed something about weapons, I was left with nothing to do but walk around the store. Most of the store's merchandise consisted of swords and daggers. Somehow, the swords feel very familiar to me. The staff, on the other hand, sounded unfamiliar to me…… Do I really use staffs?

I couldn't resist picking up one of the swords and giving it a few swings. It felt familiar in my hands too, I probably do use swords—erk! Where did the sword go?

I stared at my bare hands in bafflement. Wasn't the sword in my hands just a second ago? How did it disappear after a few swings?

"Ahh!!" Igor's voice cried out, followed by the clear ringing of a heavy piece of metal falling to the ground.

I turned to look and realised that the sword had flew from my hands and hit the back of Igor's head with 100% accuracy…… fortunately, it was only the helm of the sword.

Igor touched his head gingerly, pain splashed across his face as he turned around.

"Creus, what the heck did you throw at me…… Fuck!"

When he saw the sword on the ground he looked up at me in disbelieving horror. I immediately looked back in innocence and said apologetically, "Sorry, my hand slipped."

"You and your slippery hands nearly killed me! Priest, you are forbidden from touching any sword!" warned Igor in exasperation before turning back to continue haggling with the store keeper.

I walked over and picked up the sword before putting it back. I dared not touch any other weapon. 'I guess my weapon really is a staff,' I thought.

At least, if my staff were to slip from my hands and hit someone, no one could die from it.

Since I dared not touch anything else, I had nothing else to do. Igor and the storekeeper didn't look to be near finished with their argument anytime soon. "Igor," I called out. "I'm heading over to look at the staffs now."

"Okay, just don't buy anything before consulting me!" he replied without bothering to turn around.

"Got it."

After promising that, I left the store and looked around before noticing the store opposite me. There were carvings of fake staffs decorating the front of the store, so that should be it.

I stepped forward, but felt something pulling at my shirt…… who is it!

This really startled me, for how could anyone have snuck up on me? I can see 360 degrees in all directions; no one could have approached me without my noticing!

I turned to face the person - and relaxed my guard. For the person who had pulled my shirt reached up to only my chest, had a round plump face, long waist-length hair and wore a cute dress – it's only a girl!

I was probably too focused on the store opposite me and hadn't notice her.

I looked down at her and asked gently, "Hello, what's your name?"

"Red," the little girl replied shyly.

Red? What a peculiar name. "And what is it that Red wants with this big brother?"

"Big brother, come with me!"

Red suddenly grabbed my hand with both hands and tried to pull me after her. I hurriedly stopped her and said, "Hold-hold on! I'm with a friend and can't go with you."

But Red refused to let go, and kept pulling while calling out, "Come with me, come with me, come with me……"

I was too heavy for such a little girl to move – even if I am a 'weak' priest. But Red was very insistent, and so there we stood at an impasse. After a few minutes, Red's eyes – which had started filling up with water elements – finally defeated me.

I had no other choice but to bring her with me into the store and look for Igor. Igor was still haggling with the store keeper and looked nowhere near done. "Igor," I called to him. "I'm leaving for a while, so we'll meet up at the staff store, alright?"

"Sure, whatever," replied Igor without bothering to even look at us before continuing on with the shop keeper.

After getting his agreement, I crossed my arms and looked down at Red. "Alright! I am now all yours! You can take me wherever you want."

Red was immediately all smiles and the water elements in her eyes disappeared.

I was dragged off by Red through countless streets and alleys, but thankfully, I seemed to be in possession of an excellent memory and was able to memorize all the twists and turns. Three times left, five times right, the third road from the left at a five-way crossroad…… I managed to imprint our route into my head.

But even though I remembered the way back, it won't do to get distracted now! I still have a unicorn to capture – er, I mean, I have an Igor to meet up with!

"Where are you taking me, Red?" I asked curiously.

Red gave a small tinkling laugh and dragged me into another small alley before stopping and pointing. "Take a look for yourself, big brother!"

I looked in the direction Red was pointing and 'saw' what exactly it was Red wanted me to see. Even though it was some distance away, and even though I wasn't sure if I had ever seen it before, from the moment I laid eyes on it, I was certain of what it was.

A unicorn.

It was in an underground basement, and gave off a staggering amount of light aura. Even with so many things blocking the way between us, I could still see clearly its shape. Just as Walter had described it, the unicorn looked like a horse, except its lines were slimmer and more elegant.

The single horn on its head clearly distinguished it from the average horse. The holy aura the horn was emitting was so strong that I wasn't able to 'look' at it for long, and its shape was a little blurred.

Just then, the unicorn raised its head and looked in my direction…… No! It was looking at me.

It stared at me, as I stared at it.

After some time, I woke up from the shock of seeing a unicorn and asked quietly, "Was it the unicorn that asked you to bring me here? Red…… Red?"

There was no one around.

I blinked in surprise, but wasn't overly shocked. I am an amnesiac after all, and there are way too many things that I do not understand. For all I know, turning into a little girl could be one of the special abilities of a unicorn.

I headed in the direction of the unicorn and entered a small house. The house was pretty old and badly in need of repairs. It was filled with cobwebs and a thick layer of dust covered everything, a sign of just how long the building had been left abandoned. No wonder no one had thought to look here. But then, how had the unicorn gotten into the underground basement?

I was actually already able to 'see' it in the underground basement – it had been resting on the floor, but the moment it noticed me moving in its direction, it stood up and paced around in the underground basement, looking very excited.

I quickened my pace and hurried down the stairs before bursting into the basement where the unicorn had been hiding.

There it stood, not five steps away from me…… no, it had just moved forward a couple steps closer.

Even though I couldn't even tell if Caecilia was pretty or not, I was immediately convinced that the unicorn that stood before me must be one of the most beautiful creatures in the world; a breathtakingly lovely and graceful snow white creature……

Huh? Snow white? I knew somewhat of snow – some kind of frozen water – but what is this 'white'?

Just then, the unicorn moved even closer to stand right before me, nudging me with its graceful head.

"You like me, don't you?"

I smiled at it and reached out to pat its neck. The unicorn pushed its head against me, closing its eyes in pleasure at the petting that it was receiving and even licking my hand……

"Ah! That tickles, stop that! Hahaha… don't you only like virgin girls? It's not like I'm a virgin--"

Wait a minute……

Could it be that-that I'm a 'pure and clean'…… virgin?!!

Just then, as if to fan the flames of my growing horror, the unicorn pushed past my hands and nuzzled its head against my chest.

"Damn horse! Get away from me! I am not a virgin!!"

In reply, the unicorn started licking my face…… You shitty horse! Am I really that 'pure' and 'clean' that you would willingly lick me!

"Oh yeah! Maybe I'm actually only eighteen years old!" I mumbled to myself. "In that case, it wouldn't be that weird if I am still a virgin, right?…… Yes! I can't be wrong, I must be eighteen! No, perhaps even sixteen!"

Previous Next

Book 4: Move 1 – The First Move to Slay a Dragon: “Form a rescue party. Again.”

2012-01-13T03:21:00.001+00:00

*Disclaimer note: This is merely a translation of the original Chinese version. I do not claim any part in the creation of the original story.

Creus! You cannot escape, you can never escape……

I jolted awake.

I hurriedly opened my eyes, however upon doing so I felt that something was not quite right, but I just couldn't put a finger on what it was exactly……

Normally when one opens their eyes, is all they see a sea of black?

Opening one's eyes and keeping them closed made no difference! If that's so then what's the point of opening one's eyes? Or is it, could it be that, I-I can't see?

That's not right! I can 'see', and it's becoming clearer and clearer, as if someone had wrapped the surroundings with several layers of gauze, and was now unravelling them, layer by layer. The black was fading and the surroundings were becoming clearer to me.

I 'saw ' myself lying on a bed; the bed had a very strong wood element, so it should be made out of wood. A thick blanket covered me, and beside the bed is a chair. Even further away is a table with four chairs around it, and on the table is some water element…… ah, a jug of water.

I could even tell that the jug of water was only half filled.

But, I hadn't even needed to turn my head to 'see' these things. They just appeared in my mind. I tried closing my eyes, then opening them again…… the image in my mind didn't change!

So, what is the purpose of these 'eyes'? Are they not for 'seeing'? And this word, 'seeing', I'm getting more and more confused as to its meaning…… Am I 'seeing' right now? It seems like it, yet not.

I was still puzzling over this when something more important came up – someone's coming!

I turned towards the door, but then stopped in puzzlement. What is the point of turning one's head? I don't even need to turn my head to see the door!

Even though I felt the purpose of eyes rather mystifying, I pushed the matter to the back of my mind to focus on the person who had entered. This person had very high amounts of wind element, but not enough to be a mage…… Ah! Must be some kind speed specialising job like a thief, or an archer. And his appearance…… ah, my mistake, it's a 'her'.

And a 'her' with an extremely good figure to boot! Even though I could not tell if she was beautiful or not, a person's figure had nothing to do with beauty. As long as they had a big bust, a slim waist and long legs, they can all be classified as having a 'great figure'.

"Oh! Are you awake?" she asked the moment she saw me.

From her voice, I could make out that the person was a pretty young woman. To meet a young and curvaceous woman moments after waking, what bliss!

"I…… um, I'm awake," I answered as I struggled to get up and nod at her.

"Don't get up!" She hurried forward. "You've been severely injured…… er, it seems like you're almost healed… Amazing! But Yuna clearly said that with your injuries you would have to lie in bed for a month, yet it's only been three days and your injuries are just about completely healed. Yuna even suspected you for an undead!"

"Yuna?" I asked confused.

The girl placed her belongings on the table before pouring a glass of water and walking back to the bed, all the while explaining, "Ah, Yuna is our party's priest. She and Igor went out to buy something. Igor's our warrior. There's also a druid called Walter and me, Caecilia, I'm an archer. You should be thirsty, here, have some water."

I was feeling a little parched, so I quickly took the glass of water and gulped it down after a quick thanks.

"What about you?" Caecilia asked with curiosity. "What's your name?"

It was not until I had finished the whole glass of water and quenched my thirst that I heard her question.

"My name's……"

"Hm?"

Caecilia moved a little closer, and I could finally 'see' her face. She had almond-shaped eyes and sharp features with full pouty lips. Even though I couldn't tell if she was pretty or not, but based on that busty chest of hers I'd declare her a beauty.

"Are you going to tell me your name or not?" asked Caecilia in suspicion.

I hurriedly came to my senses and answered her, "I'm called-I'm called……"

I trailed off into silence.

Great. I now know what's wrong……

Who am I?

~O~O~O~O~

Four people sat in front of me. Starting from the left is the incredibly built warrior – Igor; skinny as a weed – Walter; the priest whose figure wasn't quite as good – Yuna; and the hourglass figure – Caecilia. According to them there's still a thief called Archie who had yet to return.

From the observations of their respective jobs, I could tell that this party should be pretty good, as they had a good complement of roles in their party…… Huh, looks like my common sense and general knowledge hadn't been lost along with my memories.

"You've got amnesia? How incredible," muttered Walter as he got lost within his own thoughts.

"Yeah! How inconceivable," Caecilia butted in. "I had thought it incredible that he had gotten hurt so severely! How is that possible?!"

Yuna nodded her head in agreement.

"That's right," Igor agreed completely. "Too true."

"Em, m-may I ask," I was a little confused by this, so I asked, "what is so unbelievable about me getting injured? Everyone gets hurt…… er… Everyone can get hurt, right?"

I was getting a little unsure of myself. For someone who can't even remember his own name, the 'general knowledge' I know might not necessarily be correct.

However, the four in front of me had turned to look at me before saying in unison, "It's unbelievable because you are really, really strong!"

"I'm strong?" I asked in surprise. "Am I a warrior?"

"No, you're a priest," Yuna corrected me.

A priest?

I am a priest, yet they say I am strong? But then why does my 'general knowledge' tell me that priests are known for being weak pussies? Hmm, looks like my 'general knowledge' cannot be trusted after all.

"Well, it's not that you're really strong, even though you are a very powerful priest indeed," said Yuna thoughtfully. "We were actually referring to your companions."

My companions…… I asked in surprise, "Is that not you guys?"

Caecilia rolled her eyes at me. "If we were your companions, why would we bother asking you for your name?"

She's got a point.

I fiddled with my hair absent-mindedly as I voiced my question, "You know that I am a priest, and that my companions are pretty strong, yet you do not know my name? Do you or do you not know me?"

They exchanged looks with each other. In the end, it was Walter who answered my question. "We don't know you, really, but we were rescued once by you and your companions. We knew that you were a priest because we saw you casting holy light that one time. And we could tell that your companions were quite strong from their attacks. Even though your party had only three people, you guys must have been pretty strong."

My companions, huh? I wasn't really surprised to hear that I had companions. In fact, several blurry figures came to mind when I heard the word, though there were far more than the number Walter had given. So even though I had no recollection of whom they were and how they looked like, I was very sure that I had companions, and quite a large number of them too.

I felt more relieved after realising this fact, but I was still curious. "What are my companions like?"

"There was a holy knight, and a-a……"

Walter hesitated. I noticed him frowning…… so that would mean he was hesitating, right? But why? Is there something wrong with that companion of mine?

Igor leant near me and said in a low voice, "He's a dark elf."

"A dark elf?" If I wasn't mistaken, the dark elves are a race of white-haired, ebony-skinned elves with a bad reputation, but the finer details seem to elude me.

Just then, Yuna hurriedly said, "Perhaps the dark elf was being held captive by you and the holy knight."

"Y-yeah!" Igor parroted. "Holy knights and priests would never be on the same side as a dark elf! They are dark creatures! And everyone knows that the Church of Light hate dark creatures the most."

"The Church of Light? I'm from the Church of Light?"

I turned the words over and over in my head. 'The Church of Light'. 'The Church of Light' and 'holy knights' certainly seemed to ring a bell, so perhaps it was true.

Yuna nodded and explained, "Your holy light is very strong. Only priests from the Church of Light could have such strong holy light, so it's not possible for you to be a priest from the other churches. But I wonder what you are doing here."

"Here?" I asked confusedly. "Where is here?"

"This is the country of Kissinger, the Church of Chaos's territory! The Church of Light in Forgotten Echo is quite a long distance from here. You would have to walk towards north for five days before you can even reach the borders of Forgotten Echo!"

I nodded my head in comprehension. 'Kissinger' sounded foreign to me, so I'm probably not from around here. And 'the Church of Chaos' didn't sound any more familiar either; not as familiar as the Church of Light, at least.

I turned to Yuna and asked, "Then, Yuna, are you a priest from the Church of Chaos?"

"Of course not. I'm from the Church of War," she replied impatiently. "If I were from the Church of Chaos we wouldn't have needed your help back then in the first place."

What did that mean?

I quieted down, not wishing to ask again. Even if Yuna did answer me, it would only raise more questions. Besides, it's not like I really care about which church she's from. All I want to know is - who the hell am I?!

I would be pleased with even just a name.

Creus! You cannot escape, you can never escape……

I paused. I do remember hearing this when I was startled awake earlier, and the first word – 'Creus' sounds like a name…… Could it be my name?

Just then, Yuna said apologetically, "I'm sorry, I forgot that you had forgotten everything. I shouldn't have snapped at you."

"It's quite alright."

I came to when I heard Yuna's apology. I then said to the four gathered before me, "Seeing as I do have companions, it should be alright. I mean, they're sure to come looking for me, right?"

They looked at each other before Yuna said delicately, "I don't think so. It's already been ten days, yet no one has come for you."

"Ten days?" I blinked before turning to the archer. "Caecilia, didn't you say that I had completely healed within three days?"

"Yup!" Caecilia shrugged her shoulders and said, "But after your wounds had healed, you continued to sleep for another seven days! We were so worried; we had no idea what to do! We couldn't just leave you behind, in your unconscious state, but we had used up all of our money on your medical bills and desperately needed to take up a few jobs--"

"Caecilia!" Yuna hurriedly cut her off.

However, Caecilia refused to be stopped. "But it's true!" she shouted, "We should be frank with him about our situation and have him help us out with the jobs! If not if we were to continue on like this we'll soon be without a roof over our heads!"

"Caecilia!" Walter said sharply. That seemed to stop her. Walter then turned to me and said apologetically, "I hope you can forget about what Caecilia said. We should have helped you without asking anything in return. After all, if you and your companions hadn't helped us out back then we would have died in the cave."

"He's right. So don't mind what she said, she's just too reckless and headstrong," said Yuna as she shot a warning look in Caecilia's direction. The latter backed down, reluctantly.

"Creus."

"What?" They blinked at me in incomprehension.

"You guys can call me Creus. It should be my name…… I guess."

They all nodded; Caecilia even muttered my name under her breath a few times, complaining that it was hard to pronounce.

I then continued on, "According to you, I've saved you guys once, and now you have saved me, so let's call it even. No one owes anyone anything from now on."

The four of them nodded, and Igor even shouted out approvingly "Good man, Creus!"

I smiled before continuing, "As for helping you out with the assignments, I won't refuse, but I want a cut of the pay. I'll take a ten percent cut for midlevel healing and twenty percent for advanced level healing. Should you need divine spells, that'll be another ten percent – thirty percent in total."

"… …"

"Are you really a priest of the Church of Light?!" Caecilia burst out. "I thought that they're all kind and generous?"

I shrugged nonchalantly. "Who knows? I've lost my memories and don't remember anything. I could be from the Church of Chaos for all I know. And besides, you'd reminded me that in my current circumstances, I have neither companions nor my memory, so I have to depend on myself for food and shelter. If I have to start earning money, isn't it better to earn more than to earn less?"

At that, the three members all glared at their archer; Caecilia, on the other hand, looked remorseful.

When she noticed her group members glaring at her, she complained, "You're not at all like your cultured and elegant appearance!"

My appearance? I asked her curiously, "What do I look like?"

Caecilia leant closer to me and answered seriously, "Beautiful long golden hair, deep blue eyes, fair skin so soft to the touch……"

Fair? What does fair mean......? Hold on! Soft to the touch? "Wait a minute! How would you know my skin is soft to the touch? You didn't touch me, did you?"

"… … Ah!"

Caecilia froze and stared at me in mortification, before hurrying to explain, "I-I couldn't help it! It was when I had to change your bandages, and when helping to dress you I would of course come into contact with your skin. And how could I avoid touching when helping to bath you, or when turning you over on your side while you were unconscious, and……"

And? There's more? It'd be easier if you just list the times where you hadn't touched me.

Damn it! I've been molested by a woman, yet I wasn't awake to enjoy it?! That's not fair! And I'm never one to let things go! I always get even!

"You have to let me touch you in return," I told her.

"Okay--"

"Caecilia!" Yuna hurriedly interrupted. "What nonsense are you talking about?!"

And Caecilia immediately changed her tune in embarrassment, "No! I mean, of course not! You big pervert!"

What a pity…… I should have requested it from her while no one was around. Judging from her reaction, Caecilia didn't seem to mind being touched. No, not at all!

Caecilia embarrassedly ducked her head down at her companions' disbelieving faces, muttering, "Well, it was 'cause he's so handsome, so I agreed without thinking…"

"Think about the holy knight in his party and you won't think he's so handsome anymore," Yuna suggested.

Caecilia looked up at the ceiling. Even though there was nothing up there, her expression turned dreamy…… or should I say, starry-eyed?

After a moment, she looked back down at me before nodding in agreement with Yuna. "She's right, you're not that handsome after all!"

…… I suddenly don't feel as enthusiastic about meeting up again with my holy knight companion.

"Yeah, that holy knight was so elegant."

This time it wasn't Caecilia who spoke, but Yuna. In a manner belying her usual composed self, she recounted excitedly, "And he's so handsome and strong, and he looked like such a perfect gentleman. His voice is deep and mature, and he was pretty generous. He didn't even try to claim credit for saving us, and even apologised for taking our kill away from us, trying to push the spoils of the kill onto us in apology. And he advised us to leave the place to avoid even more danger…… Sigh, he's just too perfect!"

It was now Yuna's turn to go off in her own world.

"And very elegant! Real elegance!" Caecilia shot me a look before shaking her head and muttering, "Not like you, who is only elegant in appearance."

I felt a little miffed at this and retorted, "He may look elegant, but he might in actuality be an arrogant and selfish person at heart!"

"Impossible!" Yuna, Caecilia, and even Igor refuted me.

I was struck speechless. Even the male Igor agreed with them. Could it be that my holy knight companion really was as handsome and mature and elegant and overall great guy as they described?

I refuse to believe there's such a person in this world!

Just then, Walter said a little hesitatingly, "To be honest, that holy knight seemed a little too perfect, and felt rather fake."

I shot a commiserating look at Walter.

"Hey, what's that look for?" Caecilia demanded exasperatedly. She had caught our shared looks of commiseration. "We're talking about your companion! Or do you not wish for your companion to be a good guy but a loser?"

Huh, she's right. It's easier to bully them when they are good guys…… Huh? What kind of thinking is this?! I'm thinking of bullying people? Could it be……that…

I'm not actually a good guy?

"That actually makes sense. Why else would my thoughts be filled with money, women and about getting even?" I mumbled.

"What was that?" Caecilia asked me in curiosity.

"Nothing. I'm just a little worried." I raised my head to look at the group in front of me, asking warily, "How would I know that you guys are not bad guys?"

"How can you say that!" Caecilia huffed at me angrily. "Of course we're the good guys! Who else would help you and stay by your side instead of going off on our assignments whilst you remain unconscious! If we really were bad guys we would have dumped you in a gutter somewhere and gone off on our separate ways!"

"You've got a point."

I beamed at her. It seemed to have a positive effect, for both Yuna and Caecilia – who had judged me to be good to look at but otherwise beyond redemption – were staring at me with stars in their eyes.

Seeing this, I felt the ruffled feathers of my manly pride soothed. "So you guys are the good guys; that's great, ohohoho……"

"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" Walter muttered to himself, but he was distracted by a hearty slap on his shoulder by Igor who smiled at him and said, "Walter, you're always worrying about nothing! Haven't you always wished for a priest from the Church of Light? Now that a super strong one is here what are you fretting about?"

I had overheard their exchange and quickly turned to smile at Walter, hoping to reassure him, but instead, he blinked and motioned for the rest to quiet down. He then moved over to me, raising his right hand to slowly wave it in front of me.

I grabbed his hand and asked strangely, "What are you doing?"

Walter opened and closed his mouth several times before saying, "It's just, I felt something strange. Your eyes……"

"My eyes?"

"No, it's nothing. I'm probably jumping at nothing," he said. "It just feels like you're not looking at me."

"I am looking at you." I was indeed looking at Walter. The minute shifts in his face's muscles, the circulation of his blood in his body, the regular beating of his heart; I was looking at everything quite clearly.

"I must be oversensitive."

After that, Walter didn't bring up the topic of eyes again, and instead turned to more practical issues, namely—my cut of the pay.

He bargained with me, "Let's forget about divine spells – Yuna's a warrior priest, so her divine spells are definitely stronger than yours. So as your only use to us would be in healing, twenty percent is too much. Our group's policy is to deduct twenty percent of the pay for the group's expenses before dividing the remainder between the rest of the team."

"There are six people in the team, so deducting the twenty percent and dividing the remainder among six would be…… not even fifteen percent."

'What? That won't do!' I immediately haggled, "Twenty percent isn't a lot! I remember that light priests rarely leave the Church for these things, so we should be in great demand!"

"… … Are you sure you have amnesia?"

"If you don't want to then forget about it!"

"Alright, alright! Twenty percent, it is." Walter looked a little annoyed at that concession, but he then came back with the condition: "But you will have to cast the divine spells – Holy Blessings on us!"

Holy Blessings? Do I know that? I thought about it. The words Holy Blessings sounded familiar to me, so I probably did know it. Besides, even if I didn't really know how to cast it, it's not like they're going to kick me out then, right?

"Alright--"

I replied, but was distracted by something. I turned to the door whilst asking, "Does your thief, Archie, tie his hair in a ponytail?"

"That's right! Have you remembered something?" Walter asked in surprise.

Before I could answer him, the door was kicked open. "Walter!"

"Walter! Great news! There's a big job in the city…… eh? He's awake?"

The newcomer had a head of long hair tied in a high ponytail. He was short and thin, probably reaching only to my shoulder and being even shorter than Caecilia; about the same height as Yuna. His voice, however, was a great contrast with his small build, sounding like a foghorn blasting in my ears.

This should be the party's thief – Archie.

When Archie noticed that I was awake, he quickly calmed down. "Aiyah! You're awake? That's great, we can finally take up assignments again! But then the news I had heard this morning would have been for nothing……"

"What is it?" asked Walter.

Archie shrugged as he said, "There's a pretty big mission in the city that doesn't require leaving the city, and the pay's not bad too. I was thinking of hurrying back to share it with you guys."

"Is the pay a lot? What kind of mission is it?" I asked urgently.

Archie blinked, looking at me strangely. He then turned to the rest of his group members.

Walter gave a little cough before introducing me. "This is our new member, Creus. He's a light priest and will be staying with us until his friends come looking for him."

Archie made a sound of comprehension before welcoming me. He then began to excitedly explain the task. "You guys have heard about the unicorn that was in the city recently, right?"

Everyone nodded, with me being the exception. "Unicorn?"

"Oh, right, you were still sleeping, so you wouldn't have heard about it," said Caecilia. "A few days ago a party managed to capture a unicorn! They became famous overnight after presenting the unicorn to the Adventurer Guild."

Unicorn? An unfamiliar word. That still didn't clear up my confusion. I hurriedly asked, "What's a unicorn?"

"What?!! How can you not know what a unicorn is?!" Archie exclaimed in astonishment. His voice was so loud that I could hear a ringing in my ears and I felt a migraine growing in my temple…… How could the others stand this?

I turned to look at the rest of the party; there they sat, calmly and not at all like my flustered self. As can be expected of Archie's longstanding friends, they knew him all too well…… they all had their hands over their ears.

Walter removed his hands and explained, "Creus has amnesia."

"Guh?" Archie looked as if he had stepped into a pile of dogs hit.

Walter then turned to me and explained, "The unicorns are a rare type of magical beast. They look like white horses, except that they have a pearly white horn on their forehead. It is that horn which enables the unicorns to unleash their magic. The unicorns are particularly known for their lightning magic."

Magic? I hesitated. I couldn't for the life of me explain what exactly magic was, but it sounded almost as familiar as Holy Blessings, so……perhaps I knew it too?

When I mentioned my suspicions to them, they roared in laughter.

And the loudest of them all was Caecilia. "That's impossible! You are a priest, not a mage."

Is that how it works? A shadow of doubt remained in my heart. Do I really not know magic? But if that were so, why would the term 'magic' ring a bell with me?

"Oh, stop laughing at him, he's amnesiac! You guys are very impolite to laugh at him so."

Yuna was the only one who had refrained from laughing at me, and had even spoken up to scold the others. My opinion of her immediately improved. Her comparatively lesser figure suddenly didn't seem as great a flaw as before.

She gently explained to me: "We've never seen a unicorn either, and have only heard from stories and legends that they can call forth lightning magic, but as to whether that remains fact or fiction, your guess is just as good as ours."

Archie butted in, "And everyone knows too—sorry, I mean rumours - Yuna, stop glaring at me! It's true that that's what everyone says! – rumours tell that unicorns only willingly allow pure and innocent virgins near them."

They like only virgins? Sounds just like my kind of guy…… Cough! I mean – unicorns are such perverted beasts, serves them right for getting caught!

Just then, Archie glanced sideways – well actually, all the males in the group had shot surreptitious glances too – at the only two possible candidates for virgins – the two females in the group.

"Stop looking at me! Do you actually think I'm one?!" snapped Caecilia.

Everyone (including me) immediately shook their heads, before turning to look at the last remaining candidate – Yuna.

Yuna immediately ducked her head at the attention and turned red as a tomato, before her head gave the tiniest of shakes.

Even Yuna was no longer a virgin!

I was shocked, but saw that I was in good company. The rest, too, had dropped their mouths open in astonishment, especially Igor. The poor fellow looked as if his world had just ended before his very eyes…… looks like someone has a thing for Yuna…… oops, looks like it's even more serious than that, for even his eyes had started to redden in sorrow and anguish.

But it would seem that the rest were already aware of Igor's affections, for I was the only one to show surprise at his reaction; even Yuna hadn't looked the slightest bit surprised. I was the only one who had a shred of sympathy for him, it seemed, and when I moved forward to give him a consoling pat on the arm, he looked back at me in gratitude…… and made to bury himself in my arms and cry out his sorrow! Thank goodness for my fast reflexes! I successfully evaded him.

Archie heaved a sigh in disappointment. "Sigh, what a pity. After the unicorn's escape last night, the Adventurer Guild is now offering a reward of five hundred gold coins for its recapture."

I paused at that, before rushing forward in a flurry of motion and grabbed his shirt. "What did you say?!" I shouted.

Archie stuttered in shock, "W-what a pity…-"

"After that!"

"The unicorn escaped last night!" he continued quickly.

I growled at him.

Archie stared at me in disbelief. It wasn't merely because of my growl (though it was rather intimidating, if I do say so myself), but mostly because I had lifted him up by his shirt, his feet having left the ground and paddling in the air.

"A reward of five hundred gold coins will be rewarded to the one who manages to capture the unicorn!" he finished quickly.

Five hundred gold coins!

I let him down and began calculating. Twenty percent of five hundred gold coins would be – a hundred gold coins! All I need to do to get a hundred gold coins in my purse is to catch that darned pervert horse!

I immediately turned to the others and roared, "Alright! We're taking this mission!"

They stared at me. "But-but, we don't have a virgin……" Walter managed to say after a moment.

I smirked. "Don't we? Then how about we just go grab one instead?"

Previous Next

Book 4: To Slay a Dragon - Prologue

2011-12-21T17:21:00.001+00:00

*Disclaimer note: This is merely a translation of the original Chinese version. I do not claim any part in the creation of the original story.

I am a knight. To be more precise, I am the Sun Knight of the Church of Light.

The Sun Knight; a head of shiny golden hair, deep blue eyes, a brilliant smile and a merciful and loving nature.

He who forever smiles kindly as he forgives you - 'the God of Light will forgive you of your sins'; that is the fate of the Sun Knight.

~O~O~O~O~

But what the hell has the above got to do with me?!

Sun Knight? Who's that?

And what the heck is the Church of Light?

More importantly…… who am I?

Huh? The benevolent God of Light will light the path of this lost sheep?

But… are you sure I'm a sheep?

Prologue: The holy sword and its missing owner

"Captain Judge Knight!"

Judge slowed down and looked back. The person was hard to miss with his signature black skin-tight outfit. In the whole of the Holy Temple, the Hell Knight Captain was the only one with such a unique sense of fashion. But at this moment, someone was missing from Roland Hell's side.

"Captain Hell Knight, should you not be staying by the Captain Sun Knight's side?" questioned Judge with a frown.

Roland got a guilty look at that inquiry.

"You lost him again?"

Leithe couldn't help but see the irony in the situation. It seems that ever since he had ordered the Hell Knight Captain to stay by Sun's side, Sun could never be found with Hell. But he couldn't blame Hell, for even he himself could not say for sure if he could have been able to stop a determined Sun from slipping away from him.

"Forget it, you won't have to follow him anymore." Judge shook his head in exasperation before sighing, "I should have known that sending someone to follow Sun around wouldn't work."

Instead of looking relieved, Roland looked even more worried. "But Sun's blind, what'll he do if he's in danger?"

"If he's able to throw you off his trail, I think he shouldn't have any problems handling himself."

"True," Roland conceded, but still he gave a sigh of frustration. "I just don't get it. How could Sun have managed to slip away from me when his skills are so poor…… "

Leithe smiled at that and said, "If that's what you really think of him, then you're severely underestimating our Sun Knight Captain."

"But aren't his sword skills pretty poor?" Roland asked in confusion.

"Sun's sword skills are unquestionably terrible," Leithe nodded in agreement.

Actually, saying so was a huge understatement. After having been trained by the 'history's strongest Sun Knight' for eight long years and still have his sword skills remain at such an appalling level, it was more than words could describe.

"It's true that the Sun Knight's skills are rather poor," said Leithe, "but if there's one single person in this world that I would rather not make an enemy of, it would be the Sun Knight Captain."

Roland looked even more lost. "But, Creus he……"

"Captain Hell Knight!"

Both Leithe and Roland blinked in surprise. While the latter remained indifferent to the interruption, the former had to quickly change his expression to a more appropriate one, pasting a dark scowl on his face and giving off a dangerous and unfriendly air.

But when he saw that it was one of his Judge Knight Division's knights, his frown became even sterner.

He knew his division's knights very well. They were quite similar to him in terms of behaviour – stern and composed. But to have one of his knights come running to him in such a flustered manner would mean that something serious had happen.

The holy knight took a moment to catch his breath before immediately straightening to salute them. "Captain Judge Knight, Captain Hell Knight."

"What is it?" Leihe asked with a dark frown.

"There was an explosion of unknown origin not too far from here, but luckily there were no casualties. However, the priests said that they could sense a very heavy dark aura still lingering in the area, and that it is very likely that someone had just performed necromancy magic there."

Leithe's face darkened at this news. What necromancer would have been so daring as to cause trouble in Sprouting Leaf City, the base of the Church of Light?

It doesn't matter who they are, if they dared to cause trouble here, he won't let them go!

Leithe gave his order in a dark voice, "Gather all the Judge Division knights, and Hell, you're coming with me."

"Yes, sir."

~O~O~O~O~

When he arrived at the scene, Leithe understood why exactly his knight had looked so flustered.

The explosion had left behind a huge crater ten meters wide.

The surrounding buildings had collapsed in the wake of the blast, and charred earth and shards of rock were strewn everywhere…… fortunately, this place used to be one of the older execution grounds, and was nearly deserted. If the explosion had taken place in the middle of the bustling city, the consequences would have been a hundred times more severe.

"Captain Judge Knight, Captain Hell Knight……"

The priests on site were about to salute them when Leithe raised a hand to stop them and gave the order, "Report."

"Yes, sir."

The priests started reporting what they had gathered so far. "Other than dark aura, we've also managed to sense large amounts of holy aura here. We believe that someone from the Church may have battled the necromancer, and we are now searching the surrounding area for-for their……"

Searching for their body.

Leithe knew without hearing the rest what they were trying to say. As he looked around and took in the sight once more, he could tell that it must have been an extremely fierce battle. If the person from the Light Church had won, they would have returned to the Church to report the incident. Even if they had been severely injured and had collapsed halfway back to the Holy Temple, they would have been spotted by the patrolling holy knights and royal knights.

But there had been nothing so far.

So the only possible explanation left was that they had been captured by the necromancer, or they were dead, possibly buried under one of the collapsed buildings.

Even though there were not as many buildings here compared to in the city, there were still more than ten buildings, and it was clear that it would take some time to clear everything. He hesitated between leading his men to search for the necromancer and staying put here to wait for more news, in the hopes that they would be able to find a survivor who could tell him what had happened.

Just then, Roland walked up to him and gestured at a collapsed building not too far away from them. "Captain Judge Knight, there is a very strong holy aura coming from below there."

Leithe frowned at that. Even if they were holy knights or priests, their bodies would still be taken over by dark elements after their deaths. But if Hell said that he could sense holy aura coming from there…… could it be a survivor?

At that thought, he immediately called to the search party, "Quickly, follow the Hell Knight Captain's directions and start digging there. Be careful, there might be someone still alive down there!"

"Yes, sir!"

The holy knights quickly began removing the rocks and fallen debris away. With their combined efforts they made short work of it, and soon enough had most of the building cleared away.

"Roland!"

Roland started in surprise, and when he turned around he saw a squad of knights in the red uniform of the royal knights of Forgotten Echo, and leading them was someone he was fairly familiar with – the royal knight Elliot who often came to spar with him.

Elliot walked up to him and looked on at the large crater in front of them. "What happened here?" he asked with a frown.

Roland shook his head and explained, "We do not know what happened either, only that there are large amounts of dark and light aura still gathered here."

Leithe, who had been standing beside them, turned to Elliot and asked, "Sir Elliot, can your men join in and help to clear away the debris? We believe that a priest or holy knight might have survived the explosion and is buried alive under the debris."

Elliot looked surprised to hear that, but he immediately nodded. "Of course."

He turned to his men and gave the order to help the holy knights.

As he watched the digging process with a heavy frown, Leithe understood that he was of no use here and decided to head back and see if he could find a trace of the necromancer's whereabouts…… he then suddenly remembered that necromancers were not in his area of expertise.

He turned to his vice-captain and asked, "Has anyone informed the Sun Knight Captain of this incident?"

"Captain, I was unable to locate the Sun Knight Captain, but the Sun Knight Division's vice-captain, Adair, has been informed. He said that he will send out the Sun Knight Division to search the city. He will report back if they find any hint of unusual dark activity."

Leithe nodded in approval. As long as Adair had been informed. But he wondered where Sun could have run off to this time.

"Oh that's right, the Sun Knight Captain is not here?" asked Elliot.

"Elliot, did you not see Sun on your way here?" asked Roland at the same time.

They looked at each other for a moment before smiling wryly and shaking their heads.

Judge's lips twitched at the amusing sight.

It had always been so; Sun might not be skilled at sword fighting, but somehow he's always managed to befriend skilled swordsmen…… no! Not just swordsmen, he's probably already friends with all the strong and powerful in the city.

The Church of Light's Twelve Holy Knights, a Death Lord and the Royal Princess's royal knight lover among them; the history's strongest Sun Knight and even a – unknown but guaranteed to be very powerful – necromancer.

And even without knowing all the strong and powerful, is Creus really as weak as the Hell Knight believes?

Leithe sighed at the thought. He was probably the only one other than the Pope and the previous Sun Knight who knows how strong Creus Sun really was…… no! Leithe felt that even he had not uncovered the full extent of Creus' capabilities.

"Creus," he muttered in an undertone, "You're always saying that you could never hide anything from me, yet I've never truly understood your true strength…… Or perhaps, you yourself do not understand your own true strength?"

Elliot and Roland thought they heard something and asked in curiosity, "What?"

"Found it!"

The three of them looked up at the cry and quickly approached the site. They saw the crowd standing gathered around the hole, watching, but no one was helping to pull out the survivor from the hole. The three of them frowned at that.

"What are the priests doing?" Leithe growled out in anger. "Why are you not helping to heal the survivor?"

The priests were shocked by the reprimand, and when they saw the Judge Knight's dark expression, they paled even further as they hurried to explain, "That-it's not a person!"

Leithe frowned at the strange reply and moved forward to investigate the matter himself. Inside the hole was no person, indeed, but a sword. It lied quietly in the hole and smudged with dirt, unbefitting of its dignity.

"The Holy Sun Blade?!"

Leithe had immediately recognised the Holy Sun Blade which lied at the bottom of the hole. The blade was Creus' most treasured belonging…… even though he rarely used it himself…

He rarely brings the sword out when he leaves the Holy Temple, but on the rare occasions that he did bring it out with him, he always kept it close to him on his person.

Yet now, the Holy Sun Blade is found here, but its owner was nowhere near…… Suddenly, Leithe saw something staining the sword…… He jumped into the hole and picked up the sword to get a closer look.

He was right, it was blood!

Leithe's face paled and he immediately turned to the surrounding knights and shouted, "Quick! Continue digging! But be careful, Sun-the person below might still be alive!"

Roland had jumped into the hole too, and he bent down to touch the earth, although his eyes never left the Holy Sun Blade in Leithe's hands.

He then stood up before saying to him in a soft voice, "There is no holy aura beneath us. The holy aura I was sensing previously was coming from the Holy Sun Blade. C-could it be that Creus-he……"

"No!" Leithe cut him off forcefully before jumping out of the hole. He then instructed the holy knights to continue digging below. Roland, too, jumped out.

Leithe looked around at the area that used to be the old execution grounds and said firmly, "It's not possible! This place…… this place could never be Sun's final resting place!"

So……

Creus, where are you?

Previous Next

LSK – Side Stories: My dear straw doll.

2011-11-17T10:47:00.001+00:00

*Disclaimer note: This is merely a translation of the original Chinese version. I do not claim any part in the creation of the original story.

Elmairy looked at the person beside him nervously. The person was dressed in all black; even though he wasn't wearing his usual black uniform but a casual black outfit, he still cut a rather imposing figure.

Leithe was indeed as stern as the rumours claimed him to be. They were both about the same age, about sixteen to seventeen years old, yet how come he looked so intimidating?

Elmairy just couldn't understand. And at the same time, he was a little afraid of him.

He and Leithe weren't from the same faction, so typically they wouldn't have been sent out on a mission together. In fact, this was his first time carrying out a mission with Leithe, so he was quite nervous.

This mission required someone with strong holy aura, but as those on his faction were either busy or just plain unwilling to come out themselves, he was the only one left.

Leithe's uniquely deep voice spoke up from beside him. "Elmairy, can you sense any dark aura ahead of us?"

Elmairy carefully stretched his senses out before shaking his head and replying, "No, but as it's quite some distance away, I wouldn't be able to tell if the amount of dark aura is very small. Creus is much better in this than I am."

As he looked on at the dark gloomy house ahead of them, Leithe nodded his head and said, "Creus is stronger at this, but it's a pity he had to go to the Royal Palace with the Sun Knight."

When he noticed that Elmairy was still staring at him, a jolt of alarm shot through Leithe, and he hurriedly added in a low voice, "But even if he hadn't left the Holy Temple, I wouldn't have agreed to carry out a mission with the little Sun Knight!"

Elmairy shrunk a little at that and protested in a small voice, "Creus is really nice and easy to get along with."

"It is not a matter of him being easy to get along with or not," Leithe replied coldly. "His sword skills are terrible, and he often pushes his work off onto others. If I were to be sent out with him I might as well carry out the mission on my own."

"……"

Even though he would have liked to defend his future superior, Elmairy was hard-pressed to come up with anything to refute Leithe's statement, for his words had really hit the nail on the head!

Leaf couldn't resist speaking his question, "You seem to understand Creus very well. Do you know him?"

Another jolt shot through Leithe, but he managed to maintain his calm demeanour, and even managed a displeased frown as he snorted, "How could I know the little Sun Knight well? The little Sun Knight is the representative of the Holy Temple; his every word and action is watched by everyone. It is not hard to learn about his conduct."

Elmairy realised then. Oh dear, this is bad! So word about Creus' poor sword skills and even poorer work ethics has spread to even the judgement areas?

Leithe turned back to survey the house before him. He then turned his attention to the five holy knights accompanying them and gave out his orders. "The two of you, go around to the back and stand guard at the back exit. You, go on ahead and call for the occupant. If you do not receive any response, you have permission to break down the door. Start searching the house once you've gained entrance."

"Yes, sir."

Elmairy felt rather impressed as he watched Leithe calmly giving out orders. Even though everyone knew that they were the future Twelve Holy Knights, the key word was 'future'. And in addition, they were all still quite young, so the Twelve Little Holy Knights didn't really have much real authority. They would still feel a little awkward when giving out orders, especially when the holy knights receiving orders from them were much older, and yet, Leithe did not seem to be similarly afflicted.

The holy knights did not show any dissatisfaction with being ordered about by a child, showing only their respect for Leithe. Elmairy could tell it all from their expressions.

Leithe really was an impressive person. However, Elmairy still wouldn't have chosen to be partnered with Leithe if he could help it, for he felt quite pressured in his presence. Standing with Creus would have been so much easier.

Leithe then gave his last order. "Elmairy, you will stay behind and cover everyone else."

'But perhaps that was a misperception?' It was only after Elmairy heard Leithe's words that he realised something. It was true that Creus always pushed his work onto others. In this situation for example, Creus would definitely have ordered someone else to go ahead whilst he himself would provide cover. But Leithe's sense of responsibility was well-known – he would never push his share of work onto others.

Standing with Creus would have been no easier, he was beginning to realise!

"Elmairy!" After walking ahead a few steps, Leithe noticed that he wasn't followed and growled, "What are you dazing around for? Follow us! And get your weapons out and ready!"

"Ye-yes!" Elmairy had jumped at that and hurriedly notched his bow with an arrow at the ready.

The holy knight ahead of them had called out thrice so loudly that even the neighbours had heard and came out to investigate the noise, but there was no response from the house.

Elmairy felt rather nervous. From the reports he had read, the occupant of the house was armed with dark magic and had been reported using the magic to harm others.

Bang!

The door was kicked down and they filed into the house, searching each room thoroughly as they went. One of the holy knights reported back to Leithe: "There's no one in the house."

Leithe frowned at that before asking, "Elmairy, do you sense any dark aura?"

Elmairy shook his head no.

Leithe's brows knotted in even deeper frowns at this answer.

"Perhaps the report was mistaken," Elmairy suggested. "The public don't know much about dark magic. They sometimes mistake some unusual activities as people using dark magic."

Leithe, too, felt that this very likely, but he'd rather be overly-cautious than to dismiss anything as of yet. "Search the whole house one more time, and if there still isn't anything unusual to be found we'll leave--"

"Kill you! I'll kill you, you unfaithful bastard!"

A gasp escaped Elmairy. "Leithe, that sound……"

Leithe called out, "Let's move," and hurriedly ran in the direction of the sound, Elmairy and the rest of the holy knights running after him.

They found themselves in a garden behind the house. The garden was not very big, and it was easy to spot the person standing amongst a few trees, a thick tree trunk hiding most of the person from view. However, they could hear the cries from the dishevelled person as they continued screaming and raging, a strange knocking sound accompanying every screamed curse of theirs.

As he listened on to the vile curses spilling from the person's lips, Elmairy felt a shiver run up his spine. Leithe, however, did not hesitate to step forward and call out, "Put down your weapons!"

The moment he had called out the order however, Leithe stopped short, stunned.

"Leithe?" Knowing that something was up, Elmairy hurriedly stepped forward, but he too stopped in surprise.

A…… woman?

And a very shocked woman at that. Even though she looked rather dishevelled with her hair in disarray and her clothes all messed up, when she saw Leithe and the rest of them she was so shocked that she stumbled back in surprise, dropping the item she held in her hands…… a hammer.

The woman retreated a few steps, leaning against the tree weakly. Nailed to the tree trunk beside her was a little straw doll, a dozen nails sticking out of it haphazardly with no order.

"You-who are you? What are you doing here?" she screamed in fear.

Leithe replied her in a deep low voice, "We are holy knights from the Church of Light. We received a report saying that someone was using black magic to harm others."

"Black-black magic?" So shocked was the woman that she was stumbling over her words. "But-but I'm just……"

"Pull her aside, and remember not to let your guard down." Leithe ordered one of the holy knights.

"Yes, sir!"

Elmairy didn't really think that the woman knew black magic. Dark element wasn't an easy element to manipulate, and if she really knew how to use dark magic, she should have at the very least the abilities of a capable mage, and not look so flustered and vulnerable as she did right now.

"Take a look at this and see if it has any black magic on it," said Leithe as he bent to pick up the hammer and place it in Elmairy's hands. "Even though I have my doubts that it has anything to do with black magic, my holy aura isn't very strong. Look it over for me."

Elmairy took the hammer and looked it over carefully, before looking up and shaking his head. "This is just an ordinary hammer, nothing else. Its dark aura is not very high."

"Not very high? Then that means it there are traces of black magic?" asked Leithe.

Upon hearing that, Elmairy hurriedly explained. "You misunderstand me. Everything has a complicated combination of different elements, including dark elements, but they are not necessarily dark. Even though I've learnt how to detect dark elements, I cannot say for certain that this hammer has a dark aura. I can only say that the amount of dark elements in it is within normal levels."

"I see," nodded Leithe. After a moment, he then instructed, "Try doing what that woman was doing and hammer at the straw doll. See if you can sense any dark aura."

"Err…… alright."

Even though he felt a little weird and was rather reluctant to follow Leithe's request, Elmairy just couldn't say no, especially when it was Leithe that he was rejecting! And it wasn't just him; there wasn't a single holy knight that would dare to refuse him!

Well, that's not right. At least, Creus would dare to do so.

Elmairy stepped up to the tree and stared at the straw doll, feeling all kinds of reluctance. He raised the hammer before pausing to look at Leithe. The latter merely gave a frown and said, "Proceed."

And so he raised the hammer and swung it onto one of the nails, again and again, harder and harder. As he continued hammering, he got quite engrossed in it till he nearly forgot what he was supposed to be doing……

"…… Elmairy!"

Elmairy jerked awake and asked, "What's wrong?"

"That's enough." Leithe looked at Elmairy carefully and asked a little suspiciously, "Are you alright?"

Elmairy stared at him a little blankly, answering "Yeah, I'm fine."

After looking at him carefully and asserting to himself, Leithe inquired, "Was there any dark aura?"

"Not at all."

"Is that so?" Leithe hesitated, the image of Elmairy's absorbed expression flickering past in his mind. He then made his decision. "Just to be certain, I think it's best that we bring the hammer and the straw doll to the little Sun Knight for his opinion."

"Alright."

~O~O~O~O~

Elmairy knocked on Creus' door and waited patiently. Eight out of ten times when he knocked on Creus' door, Creus wouldn't immediately answer the door.

From behind the door came all sorts of sounds. The clinking of bottles falling, splashes of water…… and even something that sounded like 'shit, this must be a curse!' could be heard, but Elmairy ignored all of them and pushed them out of his head.

The last time he had enquired as to what Creus had been doing, Creus had stuffed an office document half a foot thick into his arms. He wondered idly how long those documents had been sitting in Sun's room……

The door finally opened and a young golden-haired boy walked out, his smile as brilliant as always, although his hair and clothes looked a little damp.

'Was he showering?' Elmairy felt a little apologetic for interrupting his shower.

Creus then began his usual long style of greeting, "My dear brother Leaf, could it be that the God of Light had whispered in your ears reminding you that one should share with one's brothers frequently, leading you to knock upon this Sun's door……"

To stop him from delving any further, Elmairy hurriedly took out the hammer and straw doll and showed them to him. "Leithe wanted me to bring these to you to look over."

Creus looked down at the hammer and doll, his smile freezing for just a moment as he asked in befuddlement, "What is it that Brother Leithe wishes me to look for?"

"See if there's any black magic on it," Elmairy told him. He then proceeded to tell him about the incident.

After hearing the full story from him, Creus looked back down at the items before waving Elmairy into his room.

Elmairy was a little surprised, but he took it in stride and followed him in.

"The heck there is any black magic on them!"

Who would have thought that the moment Creus shut the door closed his speech would become 'not very elegant'? However, Elmairy wasn't very surprised. The Twelve Holy Knights all knew by now that Creus' elegance was directly proportional to the number of people around him.

"Are you certain?" Elmairy asked for confirmation. He hurriedly described the situation in which they had found the woman. "But that woman who was nailing the straw doll was very terrifying-looking! She looked half-crazed!"

"She was only letting out her frustrations," said Creus with a shake of his head. "If nailing straw dolls is black magic, then black magic wouldn't have been so difficult to learn."

Elmairy thought so too, but he didn't understand Creus' first comment. "Why would nailing straw dolls let out her frustrations?"

Creus smiled and explained, "It's not the straw doll you're nailing, but the person who angered you so. Imagine the straw doll as that person, then hammer the nails into the doll with all your strength! And you can even add some of your enemy's hair or nails."

Elmairy reared back in shock and cried out, "That can't be good?"

"What's wrong with it?" Creus shrugged and said, "At least nailing straw dolls is better than her going after her enemy with a knife, right?"

'Hmmm? That actually makes sense!' Elmairy looked down at the doll in his hands, recalling the feeling as he nailed the straw doll as per Leithe's instructions…… No! That's not right, he should never let himself do such bizarre activities!

"Oh, that's right, elderberry," Creus suddenly spoke up.

"My name is Elmairy…… sigh, forget it. What is it?"

"Give me both your hands."

When Elmairy did as instructed, he found himself with an armful of office documents.

~O~O~O~O~

Creus was on his way to Elmairy's. Those documents had been way past the deadline, and his teacher had been on his back about them, so he had to go and check up on Elmairy to see if he was done with them…… Although the probability of him being done with them was very low. There were quite a number of documents in that stack.

And if worst comes to worst, he would have to step forward and help out himself. Creus felt a little depressed. He hated paperwork! For every document he had to go through, he would have to write the words 'God of Light' at least twenty times. It was like detention!

'I hope Elderberry's done with them,' prayed Creus as he pushed open Elmairy's door. He then stood there frozen as he looked in on an unbelievable scene.

Elmairy was hammering into a straw doll nailed to the wall with all his might, again and again, the words spilling from his mouth giving his unsuspecting audience goose bumps. "Damn you! Always throwing all your work to me! Making me unable to finish them and having to work overnight! Unable to refuse a single thing no matter what one asks! What kind of stupid condition is this…… err, Creus?!"

After some time, he finally noticed Creus standing at the door, and he immediately lost his wits.

"Y-You, what are you doing here?" Elmairy stammered, his face unbelievably pale. He, a holy knight, had actually cursed and shouted whilst hammering away at a straw doll. And what was worse, he had been caught in the act!

Would he be mistaken as someone casting black magic just like that woman? He would probably get kicked out of the Holy Temple…… and maybe not just so. He might even be tied to a stake and burned alive!

If he were to say something like 'I saw you hammering nails into a straw doll', would he find himself nailed just like the doll? Creus had a bad feeling about this. Even though Elmairy was usually very easy to bully, right at that moment, a very strong gut feeling told him that he should never speak of what he had seen today to anyone else, lest he find himself never seeing the day he takes on the mantle of the thirty-eighth Sun Knight.

"I-I saw…… I saw how neat and tidy Brother Elmairy's room is!"

Elmairy was surprised at that. Was Creus not going to expose him……? And what was that he just called him? How long has it been since he last heard his proper name from him?

Creus continued on hastily, "I'm just here to get the documents. I didn't see anything! And I swear that I won't remember a single thing after leaving this room!"

Seeing as Creus didn't seem to be going to expose him, Elmairy timidly explained, "I-I just wanted to test and see if it would really release my frustrations, and-and I found that it really works, so-so I……"

"Cough!" Creus gave a loud cough before saying, "I'm only here to get the documents and didn't see a single thing, so you don't have to explain anything, just please tell me if the documents are done."

Elmairy nodded and walked to his table to retrieve the thick stack of documents before walking back to Creus. Just as he was about to hand over the paperwork to him, he suddenly stopped.

Creus was debating the merits of snatching the documents and running away when Elmairy spoke up. "Creus, can I have a strand of your hair?"

"…… okay."

He plucked a strand of hair and exchanged it for the stack of documents. As he closed the door behind him as he left, Creus could be heard mumbling to himself, "Oh man, I'm totally reaping the seeds I sow! Why the hell did I go and teach Elderberry how to use it? And I even told him to add a hair or nail…… No no no! I don't remember anything about Elderberry hammering straw dolls. I don't remember I don't remember I definitely don't remember…… I'll go and get drunk with teacher and pretend it's all just a dream! Yes, that's right! I'll go do that right now!"

When he heard Creus' mumblings, Elmairy let out a quiet chuckle. Even though he still held the hammer in his right hand, he didn't feel like hammering the straw doll in the least.

He took out the doll nailed to the wall and added the golden hair into it, saying with a smile, "I'll be using you from now onwards, my dear straw doll!...... and Creus too."

~The End~

Previous Next

LSK – Side Stories: You owe me a favour!

2011-11-03T10:05:00.001+00:00

*Disclaimer note: This is merely a translation of the original Chinese version. I do not claim any part in the creation of the original story.

Ceo Storm could never figure it out:

I owe you a favour, and you owe me another;

In the end, who the heck owes who?

Oh, who cares!!

There will always be fights between brothers. In the end, you will owe me and I will owe you, so what's one more favour?

"Ceo, seeing as today is such a warm and sunny day, could you help this Sun with a little problem?" asked Creus with a brilliant smile on his face and his hands clasped together in front of him, his posture one of that asking for a favour.

He had no problems with helping out. That is, was it any other time…… "But my teacher had instructed me to practice with my homework, and I'm not allowed to do anything else before I complete it," Ceo told him helplessly.

Creus turned to look to his left; Ceo followed him and looked to the left. Isn't it just the usual hallway? Creus then turned to look to his right, and again Ceo followed him and looked to the right. Still an ordinary hallway……? They were currently standing in the middle of a hallway, so no matter which direction they were to look in, they would only see a hallway.

'What is Creus looking at?' Ceo stared at him uncomprehendingly.

When Creus turned back to look at him, he said exasperatedly, "What kind of homework could you be practising here? If you were studying, even though you could study whilst standing, you don't have a single book with you right now. And if you're going to say sword practise, well, even if you weren't afraid of accidentally hurting someone with your sword, you don't have a sword on you either. Look, if you're just trying to find an excuse not to help me, shouldn't you at least try to come up with a better one?"

Ceo stared at him in surprise and was about to explain that he wasn't trying to find excuses, when the opportunity to practise appeared!

He hurriedly pushed Creus aside and stepped forward, when his eyes suddenly widened in shock and horror……

"It's the little Sun Knight and little Storm Knight! Oh, they look so cute!!"

So… so many women! Why are there so many of them?!

At the sight of a dozen female priests walking down the hallway in their direction, all giggles and whispers, Ceo couldn't stand it anymore and turned to hide behind Creus.

"Ah?" Creus twisted his head to look at him in puzzlement, wondering what the guy was trying to do, but one of the female priests at the head of the group had called out to him.

"Little Sun Knight, what are you using for your hair? It's so soft and smooth and shiny!"

Creus wasn't about to tell them about the secret hair serum he had invented, so he beamed up at them and said, "With the God of Light as this Sun's witness, my ladies' hair shines even more brilliantly than this Sun's!"

The female priests tittered at that, and only when the head priest hurried them on did they turn to leave, all still smiling a pleased little smile.

When the sounds of their laughter grew distant, Ceo quickly came out from behind Creus. He stood there facing the leaving priests, his eyes blinking nonstop.

"Do you have a cramp in your eyes?" asked Creus, unable to understand what the heck the blue-haired boy was trying to do.

"Of course not!" Ceo immediately refuted. "I'm practising winking at women!"

"…… does anyone even need to practise to wink?"

"Of course! It's so hard to wink! And the girls keep giggling, or else they'll keep staring at me with twinkles in their eyes, and they always smell so flowery, I hardly even dare to look at them……" as he said this, Ceo looked rather discouraged. "I'd thought there would only be one or two of them in the Holy Temple. That's why I chose to stand here and wait for them to pass by, but I never thought they would appear in such a big group……"

Creus scratched his face absent-mindedly. "I think only the Light Priest would come here on her own. The only other reason for priests to come over here would be when the holy knights are injured, and just one or two wouldn't have been enough, so it's natural that they would come in big groups!"

When he heard that, Ceo's face looked crestfallen, and he said dispiritedly, "I can't complete the homework teacher set for me. Winking at a hundred women is just too hard, it's impossible!"

As he said that, tears started welling in his eyes.

"H-hey, don't-don't cry! I'll help you, alright?" When he saw the other boy's eyes redden, Creus hastily comforted him. "You help me out first, then I'll help you with your problem, okay?"

"Can you really help me?" asked Ceo as he tried to blink away the moisture in his eyes. "Even my teacher hasn't been able to help me!"

"Don't worry! I'm the Sun Knight, remember?"

"You're not yet the Sun Knight……"

"Hmph, I'll be one soon! Anyway, let's go, let's go! Help me out with my problem first; it's more urgent!"

And with that, Creus grabbed Ceo's hand and dragged him off, not giving the latter the opportunity to refuse him.

~O~O~O~O~

Bam!

"What's all this?" asked Ceo as he watched Sun drop a mountain of papers onto the table, his eyes wide with incomprehension.

"Office documents," the other replied simply. At the same time, he placed two inkpots and several pens onto the table beside them.

"Office… documents?" Ceo tilted his head and asked, "Why do you have to go through office documents? We're still in training right now; we don't have to deal with the paperwork yet."

"Try telling that to my teacher," Creus snorted. "But let me tell you right now that no one in the whole of the Holy Temple would dare to say that to him."

"What about the Judge Knight?" Even though history's strongest Sun Knight is indeed an intimidating title, Ceo believed that the Judge Knight wasn't that bad either.

"My teacher told me elegantly that if I dared tell-tale on him to the Judge Knight, he will replace all the paperwork time with lessons on elegance."

"Elegance lessons?" Ceo couldn't understand his point. "What's wrong with them?"

"It's about as bad as your winking lessons……"

"Oh! I'd rather choose paperwork!"

"Exactly. So hurry up with it!" said Creus as he sat down whilst pushing a pen into Ceo's hand. "These documents have to be handed in by tomorrow!"

Ceo merely sat there with the pen in hand, staring at Creus and feeling a bit lost. However, as he watched the latter going through the paperwork in earnest, he felt a little bad sitting around doing nothing and so began going through his first (but certainly not his last) paperwork……

Bang!

The door banged open, and a loud voice could be heard booming, "Creus, where's your teacher?"

Ceo had jumped at the door banging open and had very nearly knocked over the tall stack of documents. The stack of documents that they weren't supposed to be touching in the first place! And now they've been discovered! What should they do?!

Creus, sitting calmly opposite the panicking Ceo merely looked up at his name and said, "Probably in the wine cellar…… cough! I mean, may I ask what the Captain Blaze Knight is looking for him for?"

'Oh dear, have we been discovered? This ominous silence……'

The Blaze Knight then sighed and said gruffly, "Still in the wine cellars at this late hour…… honestly! Find Neo and tell him to get to the main hall right away!"

"Yes, sir," said Creus, standing up. "Ceo, I'll be back soon. Remember to continue doing the paperwork!" The last part was directed to the blue-haired boy.

Ceo's mind had gone blank at the exchange between Creus and the Blaze Knight, and he merely responded with an "okay". By the time Creus and the Blaze Knight were long gone, he suddenly woke up from his daze and realised……

There was a mountain of paperwork awaiting his attention on the table!

~O~O~O~O~

"You actually finished the whole stack! You're amazing!" Creus was most impressed.

Ceo's only reaction to such praise was his deaden eyes becoming even less lively as he said faintly, "Didn't you say they had to be handed in today? I spent the whole night going through them all and didn't get a wink of sleep……"

"That's right! Today's the deadline!" agreed Creus. He then added in a quiet mutter, "But I'm always late, and besides, everyone knows that my teacher Neo always procrastinates with his paperwork."

"What was that?" asked Ceo, not hearing the last part.

"Nothing!" With the stack of documents in one hand, he grabbed Ceo with the other and said, "Let's go! You helped me with the paperwork, so now it's my turn to help you with your winking practise!"

"You still remember?" Ceo asked in faint disbelief. It had occurred to him more than once that Creus was merely using him to help with the paperwork and had no intentions of helping him with his winking practise, but it seems he was wrong.

"Of course!"

After dropping off the paperwork, Creus then dragged Ceo off to some place. When he finally stopped, he turned to Ceo and asked, "How do you feel right now?"

Ceo replied weakly, "Very tired. I haven't slept the whole of last night and even had to look continuously at all those documents. Even now I keep seeing all those words…… 'instructions', 'proposals', 'applications for budget allowance'……"

"Wink at that corner."

"Why?"

"Just do it!"

Ceo didn't understand, but he did as he was told and winked.

"Ooh, how adorable!"

"What a handsome little knight!"

Ceo blinked blankly as he heard girly screaming from the direction in which he had just winked at. Were there…… girls there?

His eyes widened at that thought and he tried to peer closely at his surroundings, but his efforts were thwarted when Creus covered his eyes with his hands and dragged him off. He then took away his hand and instructed, "Wink to your right."

Ceo winked, and as soon as he was done his eyes were covered once more.

When he was released, he received another instruction, "Wink to your left."

"Wink to your right……"

And so they went around going through those motions repeatedly. When Creus finally released him for the last time, he clapped his hands and announced, "Winking at a hundred girls, done!"

'Huh?' Ceo blinked blankly at Creus's statement as he looked around. This is—the Hall of Light! The women-filled Hall of Light!! He immediately scurried to hide behind Creus.

Creus ignored his actions and dragged him away. Once they were back in the Holy Temple, he crossed his arms and said pompously, "I told you I'd help you! Remember, you owe me a favour now!"

…… huh?

~O~O~O~O~

In class.

"You've finally learned to wink at women without blushing!" The Storm Knight was extremely proud when he heard the report from his student. He clapped his student's shoulder and said approvingly, "I knew you could do it! I'm very, very proud (and thankful)!"

'Only because I had to go through office documents the whole night and couldn't see anything but words before me. I couldn't see at all if the person in front of me was male or female……

'It seems that, I really do owe Creus a favour?'

Ceo wasn't very sure about the matter. Why is it that he still owed Creus a favour after helping him with the office documents? But anyhow, it was thanks to Creus that he had finally learnt how to wink at women, so that means he really does owe him……. right?

~O~O~O~O~

"Here! This is today's paperwork!" said Creus as he dumped the enormous stack of paperwork onto him. "After these are done, you'll be able to see words only and won't have to worry about winking, so you'll owe me another favour!"

Why would he owe Creus another favour? He was already helping him with his paperwork! Is there any logic in owing someone for getting more work?

"I've already helped you with the paperwork before!" Ceo was getting a little angry.

Creus tilted his head at him in puzzlement, before he sighed and said, "What am I to do with you? Very well, even if you don't owe me for this time, you still owe me one for last time's help!"

……why did he not feel like he was getting the better end of the deal? At all?

However, it seems that in order to stop blushing when winking, he had no other choice but to do paperwork?

How did things end up like this??

In his room, Ceo was still turning those thoughts over in his head as he went through the documents, but whilst he was contemplating his situation, he had already finished ten more documents.

"Ceo, what are you doing? We hardly see you around recently. You seem to be very busy these days?"

"Teacher," he greeted. A little dazed from all the paperwork he had been going through, Ceo's reaction was a little slow. He had merely looked up from the latest document to stare blankly at his guest, and when he saw that it was no other than his teacher, he merely stared at him, giving no further response.

"…… What were you looking at?"

The Storm Knight approached his desk and picked up one of the papers.

'Oh no! I'm not supposed to be doing those paperwork!' Ceo's belated reaction finally kicked in too late.

"You--" The Storm Knight's face turned ugly as he stared down at Ceo. "You've been helping Neo with his paperwork?!"

'Oh no! I'm doomed! What should I do? Creus—'

"You don't even help me with my paperwork, yet you are helping with Neo's?! Just who do you think your teacher is? Me or him?!"

'……huh?'

Ceo said timidly, "Creus gave me those. I'm helping Creus, not the Captain Sun Knight."

"I don't care!" The handsome and dashing Storm Knight pouted, throwing a tantrum. "If you're going to help Neo with his paperwork then you're doing mine too!"

It suddenly struck Ceo that since his interaction with Creus, he was discovering many of the Holy Temple's hidden true personalities. But he just nodded his head and said, "Alright, I'll help you with your paperwork, but I don't want any more winking lessons!"

"…… you've been corrupted by Creus, but it's a deal! Besides, seeing as you've already mastered winking, it'll be fine if we drop them from now onwards."

Huh. It seems like he now owed Creus another big favour. But hadn't he already helped Creus with so much paperwork? So who the heck owed who now?

And so Ceo's bewilderment continued.

~O~O~O~O~

"Silly-o! You owed me a favour, so help me with this!"

"Silly-o! Seeing as you owe me one, come and help me with this!"

'Call me Silly-o one more time and I'll knock you silly!'

"…… Storm! Help me! You still owe me, remember?"

Right up until they had officially became the Twelve Holy Knights, Ceo Storm still couldn't figure out why exactly he owed Creus a favour. And why, for god's sake, did this 'favour' seem to stretch on forever……?

After having gone three days without sleep, and finding another stack of paperwork thrown his way courtesy of one Creus Sun, Ceo Storm finally exploded. "Creus Sun!!"

He lashed out with a kick and sent the source of never-ending paperwork flying. He then went after him and continued kicking at him.

"Ah, ah ah!!" screamed Sun as he attempted to dodge Ceo's vicious kicks, but he was no match for his swift and powerful kicks. As he scrambled away from him, Creus cried out, "Why are you so angry all of a sudden? I don't understand! I haven't done anything recently…… I mean, I haven't done anything excessive to you, right? Aah! Don't kick my face!"

'That's right, you haven't done anything recently; you've only just been doing it continuously for the past eight years or so!'

Ceo swung his right foot at Creus' head, only stopping inches away from his face, the wind from his motion even stirring the locks of the latter's golden hair. He then asked unhurriedly, "Now, you have the choice of getting the beating of your life or doing your own paperwork from now onwards. Which do you choose? Hmm?"

"…… please, do kick me! Kick me with all your might! You need not show me any mercy. My holy aura is very strong, and I am the self-healing Sun Knight, so it's no problem! Come on!"

Just then, the door was pushed open and Leaf's head popped in. He asked worriedly, "What's happened? I heard shouting…… you shouldn't be fighting with each other!"

With a shoe mark still on his face, Sun let out a beaming smile and reassured, "Brother Leaf, I'm afraid you've misunderstood. As the saying goes, 'the hand that disciplines is from the loving heart'. Brother Storm and I were merely communicating our love and not a fight at all, so my brother may lay his concerns at rest."

"…… Sorry for interrupting your exchanges of love."

Leaf quickly drew back and closed the door.

Ceo stared at Creus, his right eye twitching, but the latter, on the other hand, beamed up at him and said, "Silly-o, as my subordinate, it is a serious offence for you to attack your direct supervisor! And Leaf can bear witness to it! But see how nicely I explained it away? You now owe me another big favour!"

"……"

'And I'll pay you back for it right now! By kicking you--!'

~ The End ~

Previous Next

LSK – Side Stories: Facing darkness.

2011-11-01T06:58:00.001+00:00

*Disclaimer note: This is merely a translation of the original Chinese version. I do not claim any part in the creation of the original story.

Leithe Judge kneeled on the ground, his head bowed and his hands clasped together as he prayed to the God of Light, the symbol of the god – His cross – in front of him.

The prayer room had been thoughtfully designed to give the greatest impact on the devotee. The room was rather dark, with only a window above the God of Light's cross to let in light, bathing the cross in sunlight.

But due to this design, the all-black Judge Knight kneeled before the cross was also shrouded entirely in darkness, making it almost impossible to distinguish his figure from the shadows of the room.

'The Judge Knight is coming. Hurry, run……'

'You only know how to torture the chained sinners! Do you really think you are a holy knight?'

'The Judge Knight is a cold and ruthless bastard…… take care never to provoke him!'

'Please- please forgive me…… Should not the gods forgive the sinners? Why won't you forgive me?!'

'Look at you, all dressed in black like a demon from hell, and you call yourself a holy knight?'

"Even during such busy times the Judge Knight does not neglect to pray to the God of Light. This Sun is most impressed."

Leithe blinked at the sudden glare of light, and turning around, he saw that the door to the prayer room had been opened. The man leaning in the doorway had a head of golden hair that shined beautifully in the light bathing his figure.

Such brightness.

Leithe looked away and back down. "Praying to the God of Light is the only way I can ascertain to myself that I am still a holy knight."

Creus blinked at that in surprise and hurriedly moved forward into the dark room. "Has something happened?" he asked in concern.

Leithe merely shook his head and said, "I am just confused. Am I really a holy knight?...... Or just a ……weapon." By the end of his mutterings, his voice was so soft that he could hardly be heard.

"Of course you're a holy knight!" exclaimed Creus. "You're the Judge Knight, even! Leithe, if you don't believe yourself to be a holy knight, then no one would be qualified to be one!"

Leithe gave him a faint smile, but instead brought up something completely unrelated. "Creus, do you know where the cross of the God of Light is placed in the Judgement area?"

Creus blinked at that and replied frankly, "I've never really noticed."

"To enable the sinners to look upon the cross and repent their sins, the cross is hanged directly opposite the sinners where they can see it. When questioning them, the cross would always be behind me…… My back is always turned to the God of Light's cross, whilst I face the worst of sins and use even crueller methods to torture answers out of them."

All kinds of evil sins – torture racks, whippings, and even death…… Leithe thought back to the things he had to do almost daily, and realised dully that not a single one of them could prove himself to be a holy knight. Instead, they only made him feel dirty and filled with darkness. With just a slip, he would stumble and fall into the dark abyss of hell, never to make his way out again……

"You are the Judge Knight, and punishing the sinners has always been the duty of the Judge Knight, therefore, you are a holy knight!" Creus comforted clumsily.

"Really? But I can never tell when I might slip and follow them into that pitch-black darkness."

Leithe then stood up and said swiftly, changing the topic. "I have to get back to the Judgement Area, there's still a lot of work waiting for me…… and a lot of sinners to be punished."

And with that, he made to leave the room, but just as he was about to leave, Creus' voice spoke up from behind.

"Leithe. No matter that a holy knight may have their backs turned from the light and face into the darkness, they still walk under the light and not within the dark!"

Leithe paused at that.

"If not for your sacrifice of your chance to face the light, would Sprouting Leaf City have been so safe and full of light today? And yet, you regret this now? Leithe, are you telling me you regret sacrificing your own light in exchange for the people's bright lives?"

Leithe turned around and gazed at the Sun Knight standing in the dark, an expression of deep sadness on the latter's face. "Leithe, do you really regret losing your chance to stand in the light?"

'No matter that a holy knight may have their backs turned from the light and face into the darkness, they still walk under the light and not within the dark!'

Even though the cross of the God of Light was bathed in the light from the fading sun, it was the holy knight standing in the shadows of the room that had saved him.

If the person standing in the dark was the one who had saved him, then surely he could continue facing the darkness?

"Leithe?"

Leithe chuckled and said. "Creus, even if I were to fall into the dark, you'd just pull me back up, right?"

"Duh, we're best friends! So Leithe, help me teach that Earth a lesson! Beat up that bastard till he can't even stand!" Sun nodded definitely. "That'll teach him to go around flashing his new woman around me again!!!"

… … Who's saving who from the darkness again?

~The End~

Previous Next

LSK – Side Stories: Faking reality. (Part 4)

2011-10-30T20:57:00.001+00:00

*Disclaimer note: This is merely a translation of the original Chinese version. I do not claim any part in the creation of the original story.

Damn it! Damn it all! Fucking necromancer! Fucking Creus!

He was trapped in darkness, locked up who-knows-where and about to become a necromancer's undead servant, but he had no way out. He had no idea how long he'd been struggling, how many times he'd cursed out loud at the necromancer and Creus, and just when he had given up all hope and was beginning to believe he would really die here in the darkness…… that light-filled person appeared and stretched out his arm towards him.

"Found ya!"

Jacques squinted in surprise, recognising the person. "Creus?"

Even though he wasn't really happy to see this guy, it was better than remaining in the darkness with no one to see and talk to…… anyone would do!

Creus' arm was stretched out towards him from above, but, there was something dripping down from his fingertips. When Jacques reached out to grab his hand, he realised with a start that it was blood. "Blood?"

"Oh, I had a little fight with the undead guarding the door," Creus replied offhandedly.

Jacques looked up and scrutinised the boy above him. There were cuts and bruises all over his face, he realised. He didn't think that it had been as simple as Creus had tried to pass it off. Jacques couldn't help asking, "Why did you come and save me?"

"What are you talking about?" Creus asked in surprise. "You're the little Blaze Knight and one of the future Twelve Holy Knights! Who else would I save if not you?"

Is that how it is? Jacques grabbed the hand and pulled himself out of the hole.

"Creus? What have you done to my cleaner?"

Both the boys gave a start at that. Jacques quickly looked around and his eyes widened in shock. The-the walls were-were pink! The floor was pink, the wooden table was covered with a pink cloth, and even the pink bed had a pink strawberry cake-shaped pillow on it! This looked totally like a little girl's room!

And sitting on a pink chair not too far from them was a little girl with an adorable face. But, her skin was pink too, and definitely not a skin colour seen on humans. He got goose bumps just from looking at that strange pink-skinned girl.

Jacques' jaw dropped open as he took in all this. A necromancer's house and the necromancer herself…… is this how they really look like?

"Oh, Pink, your cleaner was bullying me, so I had to defend myself!" said Creus with an innocent look on his face.

"He bullied you?" Pink snorted in disbelief. "I'd say it was the reverse! Didn't you attack him with holy light without giving any warning, and he attacked you in defence? Stop trying to hoodwink me, Creus. I saw everything."

"If you saw what happened then why didn't you come and help me? I was nearly killed, you know?" pouted Creus.

"Are you complaining to me? That was the most handsome cleaner corpse I had, and you've turned him into ashes with your holy light! How are you going to make it up to me…… Ah! It's alright. There's a fresher and more handsome one here!"

As she said that, Pink's eyes turned to look at Jacques, a mischievous little smile on her face. But when one took into account her words, her cheeky little smile suddenly seemed to take on a more sinister look.

Creus was immediately all smiles as he said to the 'not-human' on the chair, "Pink, the little Blaze Knight didn't really mean it! He would never have tried to expose you. And even if he had, it would have been pointless! You're the Church's specially-contracted necromancer, after all! So what do you say? Let bygones be bygones? You don't really want to go against the Church of Light, do you?"

'Threatening and entreating, all in one; this next Sun Knight is pretty interesting. It shouldn't be boring with him around, that's for sure,' thought Pink with an inner chuckle. But on the outside, she maintained her displeased expression and said, "Don't bother trying to threaten me with the Church of Light. I'm not afraid of them. If I were, would I have dared to stay here? Why do you think the Church suffers my presence here in their city?"

"Because they do not wish to go up against you……" Creus admitted honestly.

Jacques' face darkened when he heard his reply. Could it be that the Church of Light that he had pledged himself to and was going to stay with for thirty years, was actually afraid of a mere necromancer?! A furious inferno of flames lit up inside of him; if this is how the Church truly was, weak and cowardly, why should he pledge himself to them and stay with them?!

"But that does not mean that the Church of Light is afraid of you!"

Creus' loud cry cut through Jacques' fury, and he turned to look at him.

"This is the capital city with millions of people living here. If we were to really go up against you, it would result in a great number of casualties. You may not care about them, but the Church does! So as long as you are not harming the people, the Church will allow you to remain here. But do not even think for a second that you may do as you please here! Should you dare to do anything that would harm anyone, the Church of Light will never, ever let you go unpunished! This is the promise that I, Creus, the next Sun Knight, make!"

Jacques stared at Creus in a daze. The latter's words had stunned him. He had never thought about it that way…… that the Church had the people's safety in mind. The Church allowed the necromancer's presence…… for the sake of the innocents?

Pink merely chuckled at Creus' declarations and said indifferently, "It's only a little Blaze Knight; he's not even one of the Twelve Holy Knights yet. The Church won't bother to get up in arms against me about this. After all, they already have back-up knights just in case. Creus, this one doesn't seem to be very obedient, why not replace him with a better one? I'm actually helping you!"

"Replace him?! Brothers can't be replaced!" yelled Creus passionately. He then continued on in a soft but determined voice, "If you dare to kill my Blaze Knight, you better be prepared to kill me as well, for I swear that I will kill you to avenge his death!"

A fifteen year old boy without the slightest capability of harming her dared to stand there threatening to kill her; this would have been very funny, but for some reason, a thought flashed through her mind……

Even if she were to kill him as well, he would probably come back as a Death Knight to avenge his little Blaze Knight's death, huh?

How interesting!

Pink looked up at Creus, the current little Sun Knight. She was really looking forward to seeing how he would turn out in the future as the real Sun Knight.

Pink smiled faintly as she made her decision.

~O~O~O~O~

Two boys in their awkward teens were walking along side by side under the rays of the setting sun. One had hair as red as fire, the other a head of hair as golden as the sun.

"Creus." Jacques suddenly stopped and turned to the boy beside him. "Thank you for coming and saving me."

The boy, Creus, was licking his blueberry-flavoured lollipop when he saw the red-haired boy's serious expression. He hurriedly put down his lollipop a little embarrassedly and replied equally as serious. "Don't mention it! While you've been missing these past three days, everyone's been looking all over the city for you. Everyone was really worried! And especially your teacher; he hasn't slept in three days! I just happened to come across you. And Pink only asked me to get her ten strawberry lollipops and a beautiful corpse as an apology, and she let you go, so you see, I hadn't really done anything!"

Jacques merely looked at the other boy quietly. The latter had cuts and bruises all over his face. It was obvious that he had had an intermediate level healing spell cast on himself, but the wounds had yet to completely heal. He knew that that showed how serious the wounds had been.

How had this guy – infamous for his lousy sword skills – managed to defeat that undead?

Jacques had kept quiet for quite some time, and just when Creus was getting a little confused and was about to question him, he finally spoke.

"Creus," he said carefully and solemnly. "You are also my Sun Knight and my brother. The irreplaceable kind."

Creus stared at him in puzzlement and said matter-of-factly, "Duh! What else?"

When he heard his reply, Jacques smiled.

"Let's hurry back! Your teacher was really worried!" Creus reminded.

"Okay."

As the two walked further and further, their conversation could be heard faintly……

"Do you want a lollipop? I have blueberry, strawberry and chocolate flavours! Which one do you want?"

"I don't want that kind of stuff! I'm the little Blaze Knight! I eat meat and drink booze; who would want to eat lollipops!"

"So you don't want them? Ecilan's going to be pretty sad though. He made them all himself! He loves making sweets and desserts. He told me that his father is a very famous baker!"

"…… Shouldn't you be sworn rivals with the Judge Knight and the rest on his side?"

"Er, well, that's true, but Leithe's a really great guy! He always helps me beat up those who bully me, and runs out to the store to get my blueberry pies, and he even helps me chase off those fierce dogs!"

"…… I'll take the chocolate-flavoured one."

~The End~

Previous Next

LSK – Side Stories: Faking reality. (Part 3)

2011-10-28T13:12:00.001+01:00

*Disclaimer note: This is merely a translation of the original Chinese version. I do not claim any part in the creation of the original story.

When he saw that no one was going to answer him, Creus sighed resignedly and took out the card. Even though it sounded more like his teacher was giving him a task just for the sake of explaining away his absence, he dared not treat it as a joke and ignore it. If his teacher found out that he had ignored his orders, he'd probably experience firsthand why exactly his teacher was acknowledged as the strongest Sun Knight in history.

"Are you really going to see that necromancer?"

Creus blinked and looked up in surprise. Right away, he recognised the boy in front of him. "Little Blaze Knight? Why aren't you in class……? Never mind, forget I asked."

In the middle of his question, he suddenly remembered that he himself was not in class either. And the reason for it – 'My teacher has a date with the Princess' – was better left unspoken. So, thinking of his own situation, he realised that the other might have a similarly unspeakable reason.

"Well?? Are you really going to meet with that necromancer?!" Jacques asked impatiently.

"Of course," replied Creus with a shrug. "My teacher told me to, so I have to."

Jacques stared at him blankly. He couldn't understand why the Sun Knight would have given such a task, but he quickly gave up on figuring it out and just settled for warning Creus, "We, the Church of Light's greatest enemy is the undead, and necromancers are always dealing with the undead. You do know that, right?"

Of course he knew that. Creus scratched at his face and mumbled, "But, it's an order from my teacher……"

"This…… He must be testing you!" Jacques finally came up with a reasonable explanation. "Perhaps he's testing you to see if you would really betray the Church of Light and consort with necromancers!"

Creus didn't think that was the case at all. He knew his teacher far better than Jacques did. Disobeying his orders was among the top three on Neo's list of most hated things. Even if he had to betray the Church of Light, Creus was pretty sure that the consequences of that would be far better than the punishment he would suffer at his teacher's hands should he not do so.

"Well, no matter what it is, I still have to go. It's getting late, so I need to leave now. Bye!" Creus hurriedly bid goodbye to Jacques as he rushed off. It was already nearing evening and he had yet to carry out his task and meet the necromancer. If he had to meet with a necromancer, he'd rather have the meeting take place whilst the sun was still up.

"You--!" Jacques stared at him with bulging eyes before pulling out his sword. "Stand where you are! I absolutely forbid you from consorting with necromancers!"

When he saw that he had drawn his sword, Creus was stunned and felt at a loss…… He then thought, if Jacques already knew that he was going to meet a necromancer, knowing that he knew magic shouldn't make much more of a difference, right?

Oh well, if he blabbed about it, he'll just deny it when they ask.

"Ice Wall."

Jacques stared in surprise at the four ice walls surrounding him. The walls extended all the way up to the ceiling and effectively caging him in.

From outside the frozen walls came Creus' voice. "The Ice Walls will disappear after I've left, so you can come out then."

Jacques felt furious at that and he hacked at the walls with his sword wildly, but the walls held firm against his onslaught. "You bastard!" he yelled. "Let me out! I forbid you from consorting with necromancers! I'm warning you, I'm going to tell my teacher about this!"

"Go ahead and tell him. Just remember to tell him that this was the Sun Knight's orders," came Creus' unconcerned voice.

"Creus!!" Jacques roared from within his icy prison. "I will never acknowledge you as the Sun Knight, you hear me?! You traitor!!"

The faint sound of Creus' footsteps slowed at that before picking up again.

~O~O~O~O~

Jacques was so mad that he immediately stormed up to his teacher and told him about everything. But to his surprise, he didn't get the reaction he expected.

"If that's Neo's orders, then it can't be helped," said the Blaze Knight resignedly. When he saw his student's stunned expression, he sighed and warned him. "You should never mess with Neo. He's not exactly mild tempered. He's not at all afraid of me, and with the exception of Judge and the Pope working together, no one else can stop him."

"But, Creus is going to meet a necromancer!" Jacques cried out. "I'm not acknowledging that guy as the Sun Knight! I'm going to expose his true colours!!"

And with that, he stormed away again.

"Expose his true colours, huh? You've got your work cut out for you then, with so many of them……"

As Blaze looked on as his student ran off, he muttered, "Forget Neo, how many of the other Twelve Holy Knights actually match the descriptions of the legends?"

But then he remembered that his own student seemed to be a perfect match with the Blaze Knight of the legends.

"At least amongst the next generation, you won't have to put up a false front."

Now that he thought about it, he felt rather fortunate that he didn't have to brainwash his student into becoming another person. He suddenly felt rather cheered up.

~O~O~O~O~

Jacques stormed through the streets for a while, stirring up a lot attention from by passers before suddenly realising that he hadn't a destination and had no idea where to go. But as he was still feeling angry with his teacher, he refused to return to the Holy Temple and continued wandering aimlessly around the city.

He was walking down a street when he suddenly spotted a familiar figure…… Creus?

'Hadn't he gone looking for the necromancer? Why would he be wandering around on the streets?' thought Jacques in puzzlement.

But just as the questions were being raised in his mind, he suddenly spotted the lollipops in his hand. Speechless…… so he went to the candy store first? What is he, a kid? A fifteen year old guy still eating sweets?

As he watched Creus get further and further away, he followed behind without a second thought.

He followed Creus all the way into one of the poorer sections of the city. Jacques had never been to this part of the city before, so he looked around him curiously, taking in the dirty streets and old beaten down buildings. As he crinkled his nose against the disgusting stench, he could hardly believe that this was still part of the Sprouting Leaf City.

Not too long after, Creus turned in into one of the old wooden houses.

'Is that the where the necromancer lives?'

Jacques was still pondering on whether he should barge in or not when he saw Creus coming out. The guy was even waving at the house as he called out, "I'll be leaving now then. I'll come and visit you some other time…… Oh alright! I'll bring strawberry lollipops with me next time I visit. I don't want to have to make another trip out to the candy store again every time I come here. Good bye!"

'Next time?!' Jacques glared at him. 'This bastard actually intends to come again?!'

Jacques hesitated as he watched Creus walk back, before deciding against following him back. He drew his sword before stepping towards the broken down wooden house.

When he had walked up to the door without incident, he shot out a leg and gave the wooden door a good kick, kicking it open. He then shouted "Come out! Show yourself, necromancer!"

The inside of the house was covered with cobwebs and dust. If he hadn't just seen Creus walk in and out of this house, he would never have believed that anyone was living here.

He stomped into the house angrily, swinging his blade and cutting a dust-covered table into two. "Stop pretending! Come out! I know you're in here, necromancer! I just saw Creus talking with you just now!"

"I don't think I remember inviting you in, little boy."

Jacques' heart thudded at the voice. He spun around but couldn't tell where the voice was coming from; he didn't see anyone who could have spoken.

"Did Creus tell you to come?"

"I have nothing to do with that bastard!" Jacques cried out angrily. "I'm here to get rid of you!"

"That bastard……? Is that how you address the future Sun Knight? Is that really proper, little Blaze Knight?"

The owner of the voice seemed to have recognised him.

"I refuse to acknowledge that bastard as the Sun Knight!" he roared. "That evil bastard, he has no right to be the Sun Knight, consorting with evil necromancers like you!"

"Evil bastard? You're calling Creus…… evil? Hahahahaha!"

"What're you laughing about?" shouted Jacques. "He's consorting with you, a necromancer! If that's not evil, then what is?"

"Oh? Your views on good and evil are too naïve! But……" the previously light voice suddenly turned dark and foreboding. "You know what? People hate this kind of blind self-righteousness of yours the most, little Blaze Knight."

The floorboards suddenly shook, and Jacques hurriedly muttered an incantation, casting out holy light. However, the holy light only managed to chase away a small part of the house's illusion. He wasn't able to see through the illusion to the rest of the house.

But even though he couldn't see the rest, he could still see clearly the figure of a little girl stepping slowly towards him, a lollipop in her hand. Even though he had an inkling that this little girl was the necromancer herself, he still couldn't force himself to attack a girl.

The girl walked up to him and said, "Since you hate Creus so much, I don't think I need to let you go. In fact," she giggled. "If I killed you, he'd probably thank me instead!"

"What're you talking about--"

Before he could finish, he was suddenly attacked by a dark figure. Even though he had caught the sound of someone coming at him, he hadn't had enough time to do more than raise his sword and block the blow aimed at his chest.

He staggered back from the hard blow, and when he had steadied himself again, he saw that his attacker was a pale faced man with blank eyes and stitched up skin. He didn't look at all alive…… an undead!

An undead wearing a pink apron and wielding a broom.

When Jacques realised that the weapon the undead had attacked him with was actually a broom, he felt like laughing. A little girl necromancer and an apron-wearing undead…… Why was this so different from the descriptions he had been told?

But even if it was just a broom, Jacques dared not let his guard down when he saw the undead coming at him again. He hadn't forgotten that this very same broom-wielding undead had managed to force him back a few steps with just one blow.

"You're not bad! This undead was a pretty skilled swordsman when he was still alive, you know!" praised the little girl. "But, I can't allow you to destroy him. If you destroy him, who's going to help me sweep the floor?"

Just then, the floorboards suddenly shook, causing Jacques to wobble unsteadily. Fortunately, the undead had not taken the opportunity to attack him. But then, the floor beneath him suddenly gave way, and he fell down into pitch black darkness. He could only hear the sweet but cruel voice of a little girl calling out, "Little Blaze Knight, I wonder what your expression will look like when you realise that you've died and become an undead? Hehehe!"

Previous Next

LSK – Side Stories: Faking reality. (Part 2)

2011-10-28T10:43:00.001+01:00

*Disclaimer note: This is merely a translation of the original Chinese version. I do not claim any part in the creation of the original story.

Jacques walked aimlessly around the Holy Temple, greeting the passing holy knights and pondering on what he was going to do next……

"Stammer!"

The sudden shout startled him from his thoughts. Jacques looked around him for the source before pinpointing it to a room further along the hallway. He peeped into the room and saw the Earth Knight and his student – Georgo – inside. But the strange thing was – there was also a priest in the room, and the priest was a pretty girl somewhere around his age.

"Georgo! Stammer when you speak! And you should be blushing when you see any girl…… You brat! Look at me when I'm scolding you! Stop flirting with her! And stay away from her!"

Georgo sighed as he looked at the blushing girl wistfully. Just a little more and he would have had her in the palm of his hand, but unfortunately, he dared not push his teacher any further. So he stepped back, but he couldn't resist pointing out, "Teacher, you're not stammering either……"

The Earth Knight realised his too-fluent speech too late and coughed lightly. "I-I was just too-too upset. Y-you were too dis-disobedient…… Argh! I told you to stammer, not for me to stammer! If you don't start stammering right now I swear I'll punch your face in till your teeth drop out. We'll see then if you can speak so smoothly with a few missing teeth!"

When he heard the threat, Georgo immediately adopted a shy and quiet demeanour and nodded his head sincerely. "Ah! I got it, already!"

But the Earth Knight was still not satisfied. "'Ah!' is not stammering! You should say: 'Oh, I-I got it!' Don't add the 'already'! And your expression! You call this sincere and down-to-earth? You're just being rebellious and trying to anger me!"

Hahaha… Jacques quickly covered his mouth with his hands, trying to muffle the laughter escaping him as he withdrew his head from the room.

'Georgo? Sincere and down-to-earth? Hahaha!'

"Look at her!!"

This time when the second roar sounded, Jacques wasn't startled. He noticed that this wasn't coming from the Earth Knight's room however, but from the room next door.

'What is it this time?' he wondered as he peeped into the other room.

To his surprise, the scene inside the second room looked rather similar to the previous one. Similarly, there was a student and his teacher, but this time it was the Storm Knight and his student. And again, there was a female priest in the room, but this time, the priest was older, her curvaceous figure and matured beauty declaring her to be in her twenties.

"Ceo, look at her in the eye," the Storm Knight ordered icily.

Ceo forced his head up to look at the female priest, but he looked rather constipated as he did so.

The Storm Knight then turned to the priest and said, "Madame, please."

"No problem," the female priest said coyly, winking at the handsome little boy as she began posing seductively and throwing him come-hither looks.

This time, Ceo tried his hardest not to look back down, having heard the unspoken threat in his teacher's cold voice earlier, but his face was as red as a tomato, and his blush was even spreading to his ears and down his neck.

"Kiss her."

When he saw that his student could finally stare at a woman without looking away, the Storm Knight decided to bring it to the next level. However, he hadn't expected his student to look at him in a betrayed manner, as if he had just pushed him into the fiery depths of hell himself. A little stab of guilt hit him, so he relented. "Just on the cheek."

"Teacher, can't we just hold hands? Please?" Ceo pleaded, but his teacher's face remained as icy as ever, and there was even a storm brewing in his eyes at this plea. So Ceo turned back to the female priest. The latter no longer had her seductive expression on and was now looking at him as if she didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

When he saw this, Ceo felt less nervous. He turned back to look at his teacher once more, but the latter remained steadfast in his cold gaze. Left with no other choice, Ceo gathered all his courage and puckered his lips, lightly pecking the female priest on her cheek before immediately rushing away to hide in the corner of the room, his face red.

When he saw his student's antics, the Storm Knight roared thunderously, "You brat! I've been training you for three years now, and yet you can't even kiss a woman properly, acting as if I'm forcing you to kiss an old hag?!"

"Excuse me?!" The female priest protested in an offended voice.

The Storm Knight blinked at that, but before he could recover, the female priest had already stomped up to him and given him a loud slap.

"No-no! I was saying that you are as beautiful as a hag…… Ah! Stop kicking me! It was a slip of the tounge, I misspoke! I'm sorry!"

At this, Jacques could no longer stand to watch this anymore. He barged into the room – and before anyone could react to his entrance – he grabbed the female priest and landed a loud smooch on her cheek. He then turned to the boy huddled in the corner and said, "See, Ceo? What's so hard about kissing her?"

"That's right! This little brother is way cuter than you!" Pleased with Jacques' actions, the female priest gave him several more kisses in reward before turning on both the Storm Knights in disdain. "Useless men!"

"Let's go little brother. Big sis will treat you to some sweets. What would you like? I'll buy them for you."

"Really?" Jacques' eyes lit up in delight as he shouted, "Then let's go, pretty sister!"

The female priest was even further pleased to be called 'pretty sister', and she nodded quickly. "Of course, we'll go right away."

The priest tucked her hand into Jacques' arm and left the room. But not before she threw the two Storm Knights a dirty look.

The two Storm Knights stared blankly after them as they left the room. After some time, Ceo shuffled up to his teacher and tugged at his sleeve shyly. "Teacher, there's no women now, so can we learn something else instead?"

"You idiot!"

The Storm Knight grabbed his student by the ear and roared furiously, "I was called useless! You brat! Don't you know that being called useless by a woman is a great humiliation for a man? You incompetent brat, if you don't learn how to stare at a woman without going red within a year and how to wink at women within two, I'll-I'll spend the rest of my savings on a whole group of hookers and tell them to gang rape you!"

Ceo pleaded with his teacher, tears in his eyes from the pain from his ears and fear from his teacher's threat. "Please, no! Teacher…… I'll-I'll work harder! I swear I will! I swear!"

~O~O~O~O~

After bidding goodbye to the friendly female priest, Jacques abandoned his previous idea of playing around and instead decided that peeking on the others' lessons was much more fun. And so he proceeded to do just that, eating the bag of sweets he just received from the priest as he did so.

Elmairy was taking care of little animals whilst his teacher read out fairy tales to him. Jacques declared it boring after just one glance.

Next, he peeped into the Cloud Knight's lessons room, but there wasn't a single person in the room. Jacques looked around curiously, wondering where they were.

"That's strange! Could it be that he, too, doesn't need the lessons?" mumbled Jacques as he scratched his head in puzzlement. He then turned to leave……

"Are you looking for me?"

"Ah!!"

Jacques jumped and quickly spun around. A person had appeared right behind him without his noticing anything! And added to the fact that the person was as white as a sheet and looked rather frail and wispy with half his face covered by his hair……

"I-I-I wasn't looking for y-you, re-really!"stammered Jacques. Even the Earth Knight would have nodded in approval if he were to hear his stammer.

The little Cloud Knight tilted his head to the side slowly and said, "You were looking in from outside for quite some time."

"……You were inside the whole time?"

The little Cloud Knight slowly nodded his head.

'That's impossible! There was no one inside……' Jacques felt a chill creep up his spine and so he hurriedly changed the topic. "I-I was looking for the little Sun Knight."

Again, the little Cloud Knight nodded slowly. He then lifted his arm slowly and pointed at the wall. "Creus is in the room next door."

"Er, oh, thanks!"

Jacques hurriedly turned to escape…… but he then stopped when a thought occurred to him. His curiosity overpowering his terror, he turned back and asked, "Is-is your teacher in the room too?"

The little Cloud Knight shook his head. "Teacher is napping under a tree right now."

Phew! Thank goodness the Cloud Knight wasn't in the room, or else he really would have believed that it was a ghost he had seen, and not the Cloud Knight.

Jacques patted his pounding heart in relief before asking curiously, "Then why are you not with him?"

"My teacher told me not to disturb him and find somewhere else to drift in."

'Drift…… Are you sure he said drift?'

Jacques waved his hand at him dismissively and said, "Well, if that's so then you can go back to your drifting!"

When he blinked next, he realised that there was no longer anyone standing in front of him.

"… …"

After a moment of speechlessness, Jacques pulled himself together and walked over to the next room. "I hope it's something more normal this time. After all, Creus is my future boss. If he's too weird, I'm not going to take orders from him," he mumbled to himself as he tentatively poked his head in.

"Child, you must often go looking for undead creatures."

Jacques blinked when he heard that. Why would they be talking about the undead? He looked in and saw Creus questioning the Holy Temple's scariest person – history's strongest Sun Knight.

"To carry out the Sun Knight's vow to eradicate all undead creatures, you mean?"

When Jacques heard this, he nodded in comprehension. 'Ahh… Yeah, that makes sense! That's probably what he meant!'

The Sun Knight wagged his finger and said with a mysterious smile, "No, no, not at all. It's because you have to use them as an outlet for your frustrations."

"Huh?" Both Creus and the eavesdropper outside had identical expressions of surprise and confusion.

The Sun Knight then explained in a serious tone, "Think about it. Every day, you have to constantly smile and forgive every single person, and sing praises of the God of Light with each sentence you speak. If you never vent out your emotions, you'll get depressed, and won't be able to carry out your duties as the Sun Knight capably; if you can't do your job well, you might get fired; and with you losing your job, you'll get even more depressed, till at last, you will depart from this world and join the God of Light. Surely you don't want this scenario happening, do you? "

"…… no, sir."

"Well, that is why you will have to vent your pent up emotions on the undead at least once every month, understand?"

"But what if I can't find any?"

"Not to worry, my child. Here, take this business card. It's for a necromancer specially contracted by the Church. Not only can you request for any type of undead creature, you can even put the expenses on the Church's tab."

"……"

Creus wordlessly took the card, a dazed look on his face. But perhaps he had gotten used to such shocks, for he quickly recovered within a few seconds and calmly put the card into his pocket as if there was nothing strange about the whole thing. He then looked back at his teacher, awaiting further teaching.

However, the Sun Knight merely clapped his hands and said, "Alright, that's it for today. I'll be leaving now."

Creus blinked at that and asked in surprise, "Teacher, where are you going?"

"I have a date with the princess…… Er, no! I mean, I have an appointment with the Crown Prince. We have many official matters to discuss, and also to improve relations between the royal family and the Church of Light…… So, I have to leave now or I'll be late. It is not proper to leave a lady waiting."

'I see, so the Crown Prince is a lady too, huh?' thought Creus in exasperation before reminding his teacher, "but teacher, it is still lesson hours right now!"

The Sun Knight was already at the door when he heard this and paused. Jacques, who was still hiding outside let out a sigh of relief. He hadn't had time to hide yet! So taking advantage of this window of an opportunity, he hurriedly hid himself behind one of the curtains along the hallway.

"Is that right?" asked the Sun Knight a little awkwardly. "It's still lesson hours…… hmmm… that is difficult to explain away. Judge just reprimanded me to take things more seriously not too long ago. Alright then! I'll just give you an exercise to carry out now! You will go and pay a visit to that necromancer I mentioned earlier and introduce yourselves to each other."

And with that, he continued on his way.

Creus immediately cried out worriedly, "Wait! Teacher, are you not going to come with me? That's a necromancer, a necromancer! You're going to go with me for at least the first time, right?"

"You're already eighteen! Stop acting like such a child!"

The Sun Knight was already halfway out the room when a shred of responsibility finally hit him. "Just remember not to attack the necromancer! As long as you don't attack them, you won't come to any harm. Alright, now get to it!"

And so after leaving a meagre piece of advice, the Sun Knight left. Creus stared after his disappearing teacher's back whilst saying with a pout, "But teacher, I'm only fifteen……"

Previous Next

LSK – Side Stories: Faking reality. (Part 1)

2011-10-20T15:32:00.001+01:00

*Disclaimer note: This is merely a translation of the original Chinese version. I do not claim any part in the creation of the original story.

Underground cellar:

Jacques pounded desperately on the walls holding him in, but as the walls were made of solid rock, his fists were helpless against them.

He knew how pointless it was, but how could he not do anything? The darkness swallowing him was suffocating, slowly eroding away at his mind. It felt as if, were he to stop trying, to stop making even the slightest effort, he would be swallowed whole, never to emerge from it again……

Suddenly, the only door to this dark prison – the trapdoor above – opened.

The sudden influx of light from outside blinded him, but he squinted against the light, trying to see what was happening. A head of gleaming golden hair appeared in the opening above. Despite the person peering into the dark cellar, the surrounding light from the outside threw the person's face into shadows whilst casting a soft glow around the person, as if the person was glowing with light himself.

The person reached in with a hand, smiling as he said, "Found ya."

~O~O~O~O~

During sword practice, the fencing instructor, Neo, walked amongst the twelve little holy knights, watching each of them carefully for mistakes and correcting them. He felt rather satisfied as he watched their progress. The little holy knights' sword skills had exceeded his expectations, and there were certainly quite a few who have even achieved a professional swordsman's level.

Take the little Judge Knight for example. He had already heard the praises for the boy's sword skills even during the selections, so he already knew what to expect, but he never expected the little Frost Knight's skills to be this good either. And look at the little Leaf Knight. Even though he looked all shy and innocent, his sword skills were surprisingly good too.

"Eh? Where'd the sword go this time?"

Neo blinked at that. This voice…… he turned around, and just as he thought, it was his student – Creus. The latter was standing there looking at his empty hands with a befuddled look.

"Careful!"

Jacques, who was standing near him, suddenly cried out whilst quickly stepping forward to knock the incoming sword away from its oblivious victim with his own sword.

Ceo had looked up at the warning to see the fallen sword lying on the ground not too far from him…… and its pointy blade pointed at him!!

'Thank goodness it was knocked away,' he sighed with relief before hurrying to thank Jacques.

But Jacques had turned to glare at the culprit and was shouting at him. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

"I'm really sorr--" Before Creus could finish his apology, he was suddenly lifted into the air by the back of his shirt. He turned around to see his own teacher smiling at him.

But even though Neo's face was graced with a gentle smile, the chilling look in his eyes did not escape Creus' notice. "Apologise," Neo said coldly.

Creus immediately smiled back a sunny smile before turning back around to bow apologetically at Ceo……Despite being lifted in the air by the back of his shirt, his bearing was still flawlessly elegant and graceful. How impressive!

However before Creus could open his mouth to speak, Ceo immediately paled as he said hurriedly, "No, no, there's no need to apologise at all……"

Unfortunately, Creus had already started. "My dearly beloved Brother Ceo, whilst the sun shines as bright as ever, it's light can sometimes become too much and pierce through to the deepest and darkest corners of a person's heart. This Creus was unable to withstand such glorious light, and for a moment, lost his hold of the blade. I pray that, as one of the God of Light's children yourself, you will be able to forgive this Creus' error. This Creus dares swear to the God of Light presiding over us in the sky above us that he would not repeat such an inexcusable mistake again! "

He endured the long spiel with a long face, and at the end, Ceo sighed lightly and said wryly, "I forgive you, and I won't mind if it happens again. Just don't apologise to me again. Ever. I feel tired just listening to you speak……"

Neo didn't know whether to laugh or cry when he heard this. He had to admit– other than his horrible sword skills – there wasn't a thing he could complain about Creus…… His skill in affecting elegance and his bullshitting ability were extremely good. Looks like they can skip the personality-moulding lessons from now on.

Neo clapped his hands and addressed the rest, "Alright, swords practice ends here. Take a short break before reporting to you own teachers for your next lesson."

At that announcement, the little holy knights dispersed. More than a few of them had let out a sigh of relief. The Sun Knight might always have a smile on his face, but no one was stupid enough to think that that smile was real.

'How boring!' thought Jacques as he jogged to catch up with the rest ahead of him. "Hey, hold on, Aivis! Spar with me tonight?"

Aivis paused to look around, making sure that the Sun Knight had left, before rolling his eyes and answering Jacques in an impatient tone. "Why don't you ask those from your own faction? I am the little Stone Knight, one of the Judge Knight's. We're rivals with those on the Sun Knight's side!"

"So?" snorted Jacques. He then stretched out his hand, palms up, and said, "If we're not friends, then pay me back the money you owe me! You haven't forgotten how much you still owe me, have you?"

"Er……" Aivis tried to change the topic. "Didn't you say you wanted to spar tonight? Why don't you bring someone along from your side, and I'll bring Ecilan. We can fight against one another, or even two against two."

Jacques disapproved of this idea. "Who would want to bring them! They're all a bunch of sissies!"

'You're too loud, Creus is still here!' thought Aivis as he snuck a look at Creus. The latter happened to be walking past them at that moment, and he even smiled at him friendlily.

After Creus had passed them, Aivis smiled helplessly at Jacques as he replied, "Really? Then, at least, what about that… erm……"

Aivis slowed at that. Ceo? Hmm, he's pretty shy and probably included in Jacques' definition of 'sissy'; and Elmairy is definitely out of the question; Creus…… er, forget about him being sissy, no one would go to him for sparring, full stop.

In the end, he sighed and said, "I think I'll just get Ecilan, and the three of us can fight against each other……"

Jacques snorted imperiously, his point made.

~O~O~O~O~

"You don't have to bother with the personality-moulding lessons anymore," said the Blaze Knight to his student. He looked at his student: the boy was always doing something and could never sit still for even a moment; his knight uniform was always messy and the stains on his clothes seem to be ever increasing; and when he spoke, the entire Holy Temple could hear him.

He was even more like the original Blaze Knight of the legends than he himself despite having held the title for over ten years. What else is left that needs moulding?

Jacques snorted rudely at his teacher's announcement. He'd always held these so-called personality-moulding lessons in scorn. Personality moulding? What bullshit!

"Is that all? Then I'm going out to play now!"

'Playing during lesson hours?' The Blaze Knight hurriedly called him back. "Hold on!"

"What now?" Jacques turned back, his arms crossed and his voice impatient as he asked crossly, "If you've got something to say then spit it out!"

'Just look at him! Is this the attitude a student should be showing to his teacher?!' thought the Blaze Knight, incensed.

But just as quickly, the Blaze Knight remembered that this rude attitude was precisely the Blaze Knight's well-known characteristic, and the boy did it even better than he did! The Blaze Knight didn't know whether to be proud or depressed at this realisation.

Even if anyone were to reprimand him on letting out his student during lessons hours, he need only show them Jacques' attitude, and they'd probably agree with him that the boy didn't need any more lessons on personality-moulding!

He sighed and said exasperatedly, "Oh, forget it. Go ahead and play, just don't make too much of a ruckus."

"Calling me back for nothing, weirdo… got nothing to do……" complain Jacques as he stomped out the room.

The Blaze Knight could only smile wryly at the empty room.

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LSK – Side Stories: For all of you. (Part 2)

2011-10-20T00:37:00.001+01:00

*Disclaimer note: This is merely a translation of the original Chinese version. I do not claim any part in the creation of the original story.

Neo looked at Creus, speechless. The latter was rather rugged and scuffed; his clothes were untidy and there were even a few tears in them, and his face was covered in bruises. Creus looked nothing like the ever elegant and graceful Sun Knight. The only thing one could say in his favour was his beautiful golden hair; it still shined beautifully under the sun despite it being all messed up.

"You've been fighting?"

"I was beaten up." Creus winced as he spoke, the bruises acting up as he spoke. "But it's alright!" he smiled brilliantly. "Roland helped me beat them back!"

"Incompetent!" Neo snorted. "You should fight your own fights!"

"But why?" Creus immediately objected. "There were ten of them! Even with Roland there were only two of us! Two winning against ten is already quite impressive!"

"Shouldn't you be saying one against ten?" Neo retorted with a snort. "With your sword skills, you couldn't have dealt with even a single one."

'Although, as good as Roland's sword skills are, could he really have managed to fight against ten and still win?' A shred of doubt crept into Neo's mind.

"I did help!" Creus insisted.

Neo looked at him disbelievingly.

"I may not have been able to help fight against them, but I helped to block their blows, and I helped to divert their attention away from them, and I even managed to get help! If I hadn't gotten Leithe to help, Roland wouldn't have been able to defeat all ten of them either!"

"You know Leithe?" Neo asked in surprise. 'This boy might not be strong, but he sure knows all the ones who are strong…… I guess one can say that this is a talent too?'

"Nope," Creus replied frankly.

"… …" After a moment of speechlessness, he reminded the boy, "But you said you got Leithe to help."

"Oh…!" Creus sighed impatiently and said matter-of-factly, "I knew at first glance that he was a good guy. If he were to see Roland and I getting beat up by so many, he would have immediately jumped in and help without asking why! So when I saw Roland losing against them I immediately ran to get him!"

Neo was speechless. 'One could call this a talent too, a talent for being a cowardly person……'

He then asked the boy the same question without much hope, "Forget it. I want to ask you this: Why do you wish to be the Sun Knight?"

When he heard this question, Creus' eyes immediately lit up.

"'Cause I want to stand in your place!"

"My place?" Neo frowned, not really understanding him. Is he saying that he wants the Sun Knight's position? But what a strange way to say so.

Creus gestured wildly with his hands whilst saying excitedly, "Yup! Your place. You have so many people standing by your side to your left and right! I counted; there're eleven of them! I want them to stand by my side too; it'll be like I have eleven brothers! That would be awesome!"

Neo chuckled at that. "Even if you were to become the next Sun Knight, they won't be standing by your side. The ones who will be standing by your side would be the next generation's Twelve Holy Knights."

"Huh?" Creus didn't really seem to understand that. "Next generation? Will there still be eleven of them?"

"Of course."

"Then that's alright!" Creus beamed at that. "That's still eleven! As long as there's not one less. But it would be better if there's one more; six to my right and six to my left, how cool is that!"

Neo couldn't really say what he felt when he heard such an answer to his question, so he moved on to the next question. "And what would you sacrifice your life for?"

Like any ordinary twelve year old, Creus had never thought about such a question before. He looked down and frowned as he thought hard. Neo wasn't in a hurry and patiently waited for him to figure out his answer.

Finally, Creus looked back up with a smile. Just then, the afternoon sun glinted on his golden hair, dazzling Neo for a moment.

"I would sacrifice my life to protect."

~O~O~O~O~

Neo smiled as he looked around the hall, everyone's gaze upon him as they waited with baited breath for his decision. He then announced loudly, "I've decided that the next Sun Knight shall be – Creus!"

The entire hall fell silent, but only for a moment before it erupted.

"Why did you choose me?"

Creus certainly looked shocked. Even though he had stepped forward, his eyes kept turning to look behind him at a certain friend.

"Well, about that……"

Neo looked at Roland. The latter's face, arms and legs were unmarred by any bruises or cuts. He then looked back down at Creus with his badly bruised face and smiled faintly, "Probably because of that beautiful golden hair of yours."

~O~O~O~O~

How absurd!

The Twelve Holy Knights plus one soon-to-be-wed royal knight had gathered in the Sun Knight's room and opened up the underground cellar. They had then left carrying barrels of wine with them to some random prayer room where they proceeded to get drunk. After several bottles of wine each, it could be firmly declared that they were all totally and completely smashed.

Roland sighed at the sight before him, yet, in a strange way he felt rather relieved. The absurdity of the real Twelve Holy Knights' actions made the absurdity of a Death Knight staying in the Church of Light insignificant in comparison.

After all, is there anything more absurd than the existence of a wine cellar under the Sun Knight's room?

Roland looked at the most absurd of them all – the Sun Knight. The latter – in a rare occurrence – had finally succumbed to the staggering amount of alcohol in his blood. His cheeks were flushed red and his blue eyes unfocused.

This was so different from his image of the perfect Sun Knight, and yet, why was he the one chosen to become the Sun Knight?

Roland had to admit that this had been bothering for the past ten years. As he recalled the questions the previous Sun Knight had asked him, Roland wondered if Creus had been asked the same questions too. Could it be that he had given a better answer than him?

"Creus."

"Hmmm?"

Roland finally voiced the question that had been plaguing him for more than ten years now. "Why did you wish to be the Sun Knight?"

"For all of you!"

'For all of us?' Roland looked at him carefully. The latter was swaying on his feet and irrefutably drunk. Perhaps he wasn't really aware of what he was saying? Roland frowned, but in the end he couldn't resist asking another question. "And what would you sacrifice your life for?"

"Huh? Whaz zhat you say?"

Creus was now slumped on the table, a silly smile on his face. Roland repeated his question in a louder voice: "What would you sacrifice your life for?"

Creus stared at Roland and then at the rest of the knights gathered in the room before smiling drunkenly.

"For all of you!"

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LSK – Side Stories: For all of you. (Part 1)

2011-10-20T00:36:00.001+01:00

*Disclaimer note: This is merely a translation of the original Chinese version. I do not claim any part in the creation of the original story.

"Sun!"

Neo halted in his footsteps before turning around elegantly, a surprised cry on his lips. "Oh! Is this not the great exalted Pope?"

The Pope paused at that, staring warily at the Sun Knight before him who wore a brighter-than-usual smile. "Sun," he asked hesitatingly, "I haven't done anything to offend you recently, have I?"

"Hoho, how could the honoured Pope have offended this Sun? It is just that, there's been a rumour going around amongst my fellow holy knight brothers that I have been using magic to maintain my appearance at twenty years old?"

"…… Oh?" The Pope smiled sweetly. "Is that so? How ridiculous! Do they not know that the Sun Knight is naturally youthful even at the old age of thirty?"

"And you, my grace, are as young and cute as ever!"

"Hahaha……"

They stood there, chuckling with each other good-naturedly.

Neo's face suddenly darkened as he drew his Holy Sun Blade threateningly and growled, "If you dare let out my real age next time, I will kill you."

"As if everyone doesn't know that the Sun Knight is hitting thirty this year!" The Pope pointed his staff at Neo and said in a seething voice, "And don't call me cute, or I'll kill you even if it's the last thing I do!"

As the tension between the two thickened, the sound of footsteps could be heard approaching.

Someone's coming!

They hastily kept away their weapons and put on a smile and a solemn expression respectively. The Pope asked with a curious expression, "Sun Knight, there are more or less ten competitors left in the selection for the next Sun Knight; I wonder if you have anyone in particular in mind?"

"Hmm……" hummed Neo thoughtfully. "There are many promising ones this year, so it is hard for me to say which one would be most suitable……"

"You guys can quit acting; it's me."

The newcomer was dressed in all black; even his eyes and hair were black. His brows were furrowed deeply, and overall he looked to be a very stern person. However at the moment, he was wearing an exasperated smile on his face as he walked up to them. "Sun, you may have many promising young ones in your selection, but my choices are rather limited. They're all some lousy, no good brats; a bad bunch overall. I'd probably be struck down by the God of Light Herself if I were to choose anyone other than the exception of the bunch – Leithe."

"Leithe?" Neo repeated, a question in his eyes.

The Pope rolled his eyes at him and prompted, "You know, the one who showed the best sword skills in the fencing round?"

"Ah! That one!" Neo nodded in comprehension.

"Oh, you! Can't you try to remember something other than things related to fencing?" Judge sighed exasperatedly, but he didn't bother continuing when he saw Neo's uncaring face. "You have quite a number of promising lads. Who are you going to choose? Roland? Lanceler? Ankesar?"

Judge wasn't the only curious one, for even the Pope was staring at Neo with undisguised curiosity. However, Neo merely blinked back at them.

A thought suddenly crept through Judge's mind, and he asked, "Don't tell me you don't remember even a single name?"

Neo shrugged nonchalantly. "I remember Roland. That boy's fencing is very good."

"You—honestly……"

Neo suddenly remembered something. "Oh, and there's Creus."

"Creus?" Judged repeated, unable to put a face to the name.

"That boy with the amazing divine skills?!" The Pope shouted, forgetting himself. "No way! I want to recruit him into the Hall of Light; I forbid you from choosing him!"

"Did you remember Creus because of his good sword skills too?" Judge asked Neo curiously.

"No," Neo frowned. "I remembered him because his sword skills were so poor that I couldn't forget him!"

The Pope was immediately all smiles when he heard that. "If that is so then don't choose him. His divine skills were so amazing that he left a very deep impression on me. He is definitely priest material! Not a knight!"

'One only has eyes for fencing, while the other – divine skills. Neither of you are better than the other,' thought Judge wryly.

"So, you're choosing Roland?" Judge nodded in approval. "I remember that boy too. His fencing is indeed impressive, and he looks to be a very good boy too."

"Roland, huh?"

Neo thought it over in his mind, unable to find any fault with it. But then again, other than their fencing skills, he didn't seem to know much else about the boys, and the Sun Knight shouldn't be chosen based on their fencing skills, right?

"You don't agree?" asked Judge when he noticed Neo's hesitation.

"No."

Neo frowned and replied absentmindedly, "I need to think about it some more."

~O~O~O~O~

"Why do you wish to be the Sun Knight?"

In order to base the choice of his successor on something other than fencing skills, Neo decided to ask this question of every one of the participants.

"To uphold justice" was the most common answer. Neo smiled and then asked, "And what is justice?"

Most of the boys would pause at this next question.

'To uphold justice?' Neo thought mockingly. 'What would a twelve year old know of justice? Their answers were more or less some foolish half-assed idea that they heard from adults.'

"Why do you wish to be the Sun Knight?"

Neo looked at the brown haired boy before him intently, hoping for a different answer from this boy.

Why? Because this boy was Roland. And as can be expected from the one with the best fencing skills, his gaze remained calm and steady, showing years of discipline and hard work.

"I want to punish all criminals!" A glint of righteous hatred in his eyes as he answered the question.

Neo blinked at that in surprise, smiling wryly. This would probably have been Judge's ideal answer…… and yet it was coming from a competitor for the position of the next Sun Knight?

He thought about it before asking again, "And what would you sacrifice your life for?"

Roland answered firmly, "I would sacrifice my life to punish the evildoers!"

'You've entered the wrong selection, my boy. You should have gone and competed with that Leithe boy and give Judge another option to choose from,' Neo smiled wryly.

~O~O~O~O~

"Hey, have you made your choice yet?"

Neo turned around to see Judge jogging up to him. "I don't know," he replied.

"The selection's tomorrow already, and yet you still haven't decided?" Judge asked in disbelief.

Neo couldn't find a single thing to retort his friend, and so instead he asked him, "Judge, have you asked your little Judge Knight why he wants to become the Judge Knight?"

"Of course," answered Judge with a nod. "The Judge Knight have always had a rather poor reputation, and there are hardly any good selections in every generation's selections. But not only is Leithe good with a sword, he is also strong of character and is sure to do well in anything he choose, so I was curious as to his reason for choosing to be the next Judge Knight."

"Hold on!" Another thought struck Neo when he heard Judge's reply, "If that is so, then why did you choose to become the Judge Knight?"

Judge smiled at him. "You've known me close to twenty years, yet you're only asking me this now? I'll tell you if you tell me why you chose to become the next Sun Knight."

"I……" Neo blinked at that. "I forgot."

"That is so like you……"

"I really forgot! And I don't really need a reason, do I?" said Neo impatiently. "What twelve year old kid doesn't dream of becoming the next Sun Knight?"

"That's true. The Sun Knight has all the fame and glory; unlike the Judge Knight who is feared and avoided by everyone. "

Neo went silent at that and asked tentatively, "Do you ever regret it?"

"No! I never have and I never will!"

Judge turned to look at Sun and told his story.

"My father was a drunkard. Not only was he a drunkard, he was also abusive. Whenever he got drunk he would start hitting people, and my mother suffered the brunt of his attentions. My mother was the first to be killed, beaten to death by him. He threw her body into the river and told everyone that she had drowned, but I had seen everything. My sister was then next. He had beaten her to death when she was only three years old. I was twelve then, but I never said a word to him about it. I merely chose to join the selection for the next Judge Knight, and when I was selected, I told my teacher about my father and let him bring my father to justice."

Neo was speechless. Despite having worked alongside him for the past twenty years, he had had no idea about this part of Judge's past. Could he really have been too focused on his fencing?

"So when I asked Leithe why he wanted to be the Judge Knight, I had actually expected to have to throw another sinner into the Judgment cells," Judge continued on calmly. "But to my surprise, he refused to tell me the name of the person. He merely told me that he wished to become the next Judge Knight so that all sinners wouldn't get the chance to commit their second crime."

"And are you satisfied with this answer?"

"I have no right to say whether I am satisfied or not, for even I cannot give a better answer. So Neo, did you ask this question too?"

"Yeah." Neo frowned and said hesitatingly, "But it's different, you and I. I haven't found a satisfactory answer…… I-I don't even know what the right answer is. "

"You've asked all of the participants?"

"No……" Neo shook his head with a frown. "There's still that Creus, but his fencing skills……"

"Go and ask him," smiled Judge encouragingly. "If even I can find a satisfactory successor from that group of hooligan brats, surely you'll be able to find your little Sun Knight?"

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Book 3: Rule C – The Twelve Holy Knights’ Third Shared Rule: “No matter how lame/foolish the Sun Knight looks, never ever provoke his wrath.”

2011-10-08T19:36:00.001+01:00

*Disclaimer note: This is merely a translation of the original Chinese version. I do not claim any part in the creation of the original story.

Royal Palace of Moon Orchid

"Aahhhhhhh!!!!!"

An ear-piercing scream pierced through the quiet night, coming from Princess Alice's room.

Princess Ann and a group of knights burst into Princess Alice's room, but was greeted with the sight of her royal highness crouched on the ground, sobbing and burying her face in her hands. When she heard them burst into her room, she shrieked in a panicked tone, "Get out! All of you get out!!"

The knights looked at each other in confusion, but upon seeing no one else in the room, they turned to look at Princess Ann who nodded her head, dismissing them.

Ann walked over to her distressed sister's side and asked carefully, "Sis, what's wrong? Was it a spider?"

Alice just shook her head, not saying a word.

Ann grew more worried and said, "I'll go and get someone--"

"Don't go!" Alice hurriedly stopped her sister.

Ann paused. 'Don't do this, don't do that. Just what was wrong with her?'

"Sis, you're really worrying me like this," she said exasperatedly. "No matter what it is you have to tell me so I can help you."

Alice slowly lowered her hands and looked up, but upon seeing her sister's stunned face, she burst into tears again and started wailing.

Ann had a strange expression on her face and she asked in bewilderment, "Sister, your face…… why is it so dark? Wasn't it just fine this morning?"

"I had just finished wiping off my facial mask, when I looked at myself in the mirror and saw my face and screamed…… My skin……" she sobbed.

'Cheh! So it's just this little problem?' Even though her face had turned darker, it wasn't that bad. Ann looked at her sister, not knowing whether to cry or laugh. "I've told you not to play around with all those facial creams. You see now? Now you've gone and used some questionable cream and ruined your fair complexion!"

"How can it be?! I had carefully followed the instructions!"

Alice hurriedly showed her sister the instructions for whitening cream that the Sun Knight had given her.

"'Sand, Evening primrose petals, Root from a Venus-fly trap, Essence of Skunkweed, Yellow Ochre, Unripe Raspberries and black squid Ink. Ground all ingredients together before adding in ochre and ink. Heat up the mixture to 100 degree before applying to skin. Time it for about three hours before washing off,'" read Alice.

Staring down at the strange instructions, Ann could hardly believe her sister actually dared to apply them to her face. After a moment, her expression turned even stranger and she asked her sister carefully, "Sis, where did you say you got this from?"

Alice answered without trying to hide anything, "From the Sun Knight. His skin is so soft and smooth and fair, there shouldn't have been any problems!"

'I knew it……' Ann smiled wryly and said, "Sis, why don't you try piecing together all the capital letters?"

Realising that something was up, Alice quickly looked down and read out, "S E R V E S Y O U R I G H T…… 'Serves you right'! Aahhhh!!!"

The liche lost a body, Solerwaith had been beaten to an inch of his life, and now even she herself had not escaped his wrath……

Alice's screams continued to ring through the royal palace for three days and three nights.

"Sun Knight!! You shameless despicable bastard!!!"

~O~O~O~O~

One day, Leaf carefully opened another letter from his dearly beloved Ann.

My Dear Leaf,

What you said to me about the Twelve Holy Knight's Third Shared Rule: 'No matter how lame/foolish the Sun Knight looks, never ever provoke his wrath' is so true! After continuously treating her face with various whitening creams for a month, my sister's skin has yet to recover even a little and is still as dark as ever.

Because her lover's injuries were mostly healed by the Sun Knight, he was able to return to the Church of Chaos and back here again to propose very quickly. However, my sister dared not appear before him before she regains her previously fair skin, and she dared not accept his proposal for the same reason. She is now crying in her room every day. But even if she were to cry every single day, her skin still won't turn fair again.

Ahh!! That Sun Knight is sooo scary! Leaf, make sure you don't provoke him! If you do, quickly escape and come over here. I'll ask Michael to hide you in the church of War. Maybe that way you could evade his wrath.

Praying that you never ever get on the Sun Knight's bad side,

Your Ann.

End of Third Volume

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RECIPE FOR DISASTER:

Sand,

Evening Primrose,

Root from a

Venus-fly trap,

Essense of

Skunkweed,

Yellow

Ochre,

Unripe

Raspberries and black squid

Ink

Ground all ingredients before adding in ochre and ink.

Heat up the mixture to 100 degree Celsius before applying to skin.

Time it for about three hours before washing off.

Book 3: Step 10 – The Tenth Step in Rescuing a Princess: “Start a love story with the Princess.”

2011-10-08T15:43:00.001+01:00

*Disclaimer note: This is merely a translation of the original Chinese version. I do not claim any part in the creation of the original story.

The Church of Light! My Holy Temple! Ah, my heart was filled with such great joy to see the gleaming towers of the Church before me. Like the prodigal son returned home from years of travel, I, too, felt that I was welcomed back in the warm embrace of a loving mother……

I'm finally back! Back to my beautiful days of temple life!

Although I managed to maintain my graceful bearing as I dismounted, I wasn't able to stop myself from walking just that little bit faster. I wished to return to my dearly missed room which I had not seen for over a month, but on my way there, I noticed a large crowd gathered in the Holy Temple's public courtyard. My brows furrowed when I sensed two very familiar people right in the middle of the throng.

Roland and his vice-captain, Dylan.

Even though they were surrounded by a large group of people, I could still hear the clanging of swords clashing against one another. I was alarmed and furious at this. How dared they! To actually start a fight with each other in the Holy Temple itself!

I started shoving my way through the crowd towards the centre. The shoved holy knights turned to give me annoyed looks, but when they realised just who it was they were glaring they immediately leapt aside in surprise.

I finally made my way to the centre, and sure enough I saw the two of them wielding swords and attacking each other ferociously, showing no mercy to each other. I felt a jolt of horror shoot through me; if I were to stop them a second too late, would I find one of them dead at the sword of the other?

"Stop this at once!" I shouted at them furiously, and was gratified to see them stop. I then turned to glare at a familiar figure standing amidst the watching crowd and shouted, "Adair! Why didn't you stop them?!"

Adair stared at me in surprise, before hurrying over to my side and explaining in a quiet whisper, "Captain, it's all right. The Hell Knight Captain and his vice-captain are merely sparring against each other. In this past month, they can always be found sparring here around this time; sometimes, even the Judge Knight would join in with them."

When I heard that, I quickly looked back at Roland and his vice-captain, Dylan. The both of them had long since stopped and were looking at me, not at all looking as if they were at each other's throats…… Oh dear, it seems I had misunderstood the situation. I couldn't help laughing at myself. Looks like Leaf's death had affected me more than I had thought. This is the Holy Temple's public courtyard! People keep passing through here; it would have been impossible for them to stand by and watch as one of the Twelve Holy Knights and their vice-captain kill each other.

And even if Adair did not stop them, Judge surely wouldn't have allowed such a thing to occur.

Just then, Adair leant in and added, "Captain, the Hell Knight Captain promised Dylan that if he could best him in a duel, he would give him back the position of captain. However after only ten days, Dylan was finally convinced. Right now, the Hell Knight Captain is actually training the Hell Knight Division with their sword skills."

"So the problem has been solved?" I asked quietly.

"Yes, sir." Adair nodded and said, "Now, Dylan would be the first one to leapt forward and defend the Hell Knight Captain against any slurs."

I nodded in satisfaction. "Then please explain something for me, I'm going back to my room for my skin whitening regime."

"Captain?" Adair stared at me in incomprehension.

Suddenly noticing my blunder, I hurriedly tried to cover it up. "…… I mean, I'm going back to my room to recuperate."

"Yes, sir. You've worked hard, sir."

I turned to continue on to my room, and as I walked away, I heard Adair's explanation to the crowd: "Nothing happened, got it?"

And everyone replied in unison, "Got it."

Ah, not bad, my very capable vice-captain. He couldn't be bothered with trivial excuses, just like his own dashing captain.

"Creus!" a voice called out.

I turned around to see Roland coming after me. I smiled and asked, "How are you adjusting to life in the Holy Temple?"

"Very well. But, is it really alright for me to continue on like this?" he asked when he had caught up with me and continued to walk beside me. He then hesitated a little before saying, "If my real identity were to be discovered, then you would be……"

I rolled my eyes and said exasperatedly, "After living in the Holy Temple for a whole month, you still haven't got it? If Judge and I were to work together and point at an apple and call it a tomato, that apple will henceforth forever be known as a tomato."

Roland merely frowned at that without saying a word.

"Stop worrying. Even if you were to be discovered, at the very most you would be burned to ashes," I then purposely said, "Should that time come, as long as you willingly let yourself be burned, I won't be affected at all, so you have to promise me that if we were discovered, you will allow me to tie you to the stake to be burned."

"I promise," Roland said solemnly.

I smiled at that. Roland wouldn't worry if he believed that his sacrifice could solve all problems. He feared not at all for himself, but for the others involved. So this is the best way to convince him to stop worrying. If it were Judge, on the other hand, he would have grilled me further on questions like 'do you swear to the God of Light that you would really burn me on a stake?'

"Alright, Captain Hell Knight, you may continue with your division's sword practice. This Sun is tired and wishes to rest."

"Alright," Roland nodded solemnly, before promising seriously, "Creus…… no! Sun, I swear to you that I will carry out my duties as the Hell Knight properly."

I let out a sigh of relief to hear that. Roland's issue has finally been settled once and for all. Looks like I have a great many carefree days ahead of me!

~O~O~O~O~

A few days later, a messenger from Moon Orchid arrived, raising questions from the King about what secrets the Church of Light could be keeping with Moon Orchid.

Under the watchful eye of the Twelve Holy Knights as well as a representative from the royal family – Elliot, the messenger from Moon Orchid cheerfully took out a large stack of letters and said, "My country's Royal Princess bid me to pass these on to the Holy Temple's Leaf Knight."

Everyone stared at the thick stack of perfumed letters, nearly as thick as Storm's workload.

The Twelve Holy Knights then broke out into knowing smiles.

Elliot scratched at his face awkwardly, his earlier stern countenance disappearing right away.

Leaf, on the other hand, quietly accepted the letters, not daring to look up at anyone. However, the messenger wasn't satisfied, and said to him, "Her Highness also instructed me not to return without a reply."

Leaf's head went even lower as he whispered out quietly, "Alright."

And then, under everyone's avid gaze, he took out a dozen letters – not perfumed though, but probably because Leaf was too poor to afford perfume – and handed it over to the messenger.

The messenger accepted the stack of letters in satisfaction and left.

Blaze was the first one to run up to Leaf and pounded him on his back. "Leaf, you little brat," he hollered. "You actually hooked up with a princess!"

"My God of Light! Who would have believed that the first to hook up with a princess would be the nice guy, Leaf?!"

'Actually, the honour of being the first to hook up with a princess should fall to Elliot,' I pointed out in my heart.

"The world sure has changed!" Earth Knight bit out bitterly. "Even the nice guys can end up with a princess!"

The Moon Knight looked at the cross of the God of Light with tears streaming down his eyes and swore, "I'm going to become a nice guy too!"

I pouted at that.

'I'm a nice guy too! And I'm the head of the Twelve Holy Knights, I'm more handsome than Leaf, and I have a higher salary than him. So why do all the princesses only call me shameless and despicable?!

'Sob, sob. I-I can only stick to my temple life and gaze on at the beautiful female priests in the Hall of Light to comfort myself……

'Damn it! I'm going to be a temple guy forever!!' I cried out in my heart.

Just then, Judge walked over and leaned against the window I was looking out of and stared at the neighbouring Hall of Light. After a while, he spoke up. "The Hall of Light is on leave today."

"I know that."

"Then what are you looking at?"

"A sad empty dream……"

We stared out at the empty hall totally devoid of life for a few more moments, before Judge spoke up once more. "When Leaf sent the message back asking for back-up, he mentioned that there seemed to be something wrong with your eyes."

A jolt of alarm pierced through me, but outwardly, I merely shrugged my shoulders and said, "He was just thinking too much. Do I look like I'm blind? A blind staring at gorgeous women? How ridiculous."

"Then tell me, what colour is that bird perched on the window sill over there?" he asked calmly.

I hesitated for a moment before answering carefully, "White."

A silence fell at that, and after a long time, Judge sighed tiredly and said, "Creus, how long did you think you could keep it from me?"

'I should have known I wouldn't be able to hide it from him,' I thought with a wry smile.

In the beginning, I had used the excuse that I was still weak from the resurrection and stayed in bed in Leafy Forest for several days. Whilst appearing to be resting, I was actually desperately training myself to use my mage sight in place of normal vision, and had hardly slept in those ten days. I thought I'd managed to wield it to perfection. Even when chasing after the enemy, Princess Alice, Solerwaith and Pink hadn't even noticed the fact that I was blind.

After that on the way back to the Holy Temple, I had further improved on my mage sight and even the minute details of an object had became clear to me just from examining the object's elements…… What? You don't understand? Sigh! Okay, for example, I was able to tell the number of buttons on people's clothes and stuff like that.

And in the end, I was even able to get a rough idea of a person's face and could tell what kind of expressions they were making…… I had gotten so good at mage sight that I had nearly forgotten that I was blind in the first place!

But, the one thing I can never see again was 'colour'. I couldn't even tell if someone was beautiful or ugly anymore. Back then in the cave when Alice had asked me tearfully if she was beautiful, I honestly had no idea. In my mind, the only image I could get of her was a bunch of different elements combined together into the shape of a young woman. It was impossible for me to judge anyone's beauty anymore.

Judge frowned and said in a faintly accusing tone, "You never mentioned that one would have to pay such a steep price for a resurrection."

"They don't have to pay such a hefty price," I agreed calmly. "But whilst I was casting the resurrection, I had pleaded with the God of Light and agreed to 'pay the price' for a perfect resurrection of Leaf. As you should know, I have always been cautious and would never gamble Leaf's life on that twenty-five percent success rate!"

Judge went quiet before saying, "If that is so, then you need not keep blaming yourself for Leaf's death. Every time you look at Leaf, you have this sorrowful look in your eyes."

I cycled a deep breath before declaring quietly but forcefully, "I will never leave behind my comrades again, never!"

"And I will tell them that they better jump down a cliff and leave behind an incomplete corpse rather than to die in front of you." Judge countered calmly. "You never know what you might lose the next time."

"… …"

'Even if they were to jump off a cliff, as long as half a head still remains, I could probably still save them. It'll just be a matter of how much I'll have to sacrifice,' I thought mutinously.

Judge then let out a sigh. "You cannot save everyone, Creus. I hope you understand that."

"I know." 'Probably……'

"Other than the lack of colour, are you otherwise affected by your blindness?" Judge probed.

I tilted my head as I thought about it. I don't think I need to mention about my lost sense of aesthetics? So I answered him honestly, "There were a few in the beginning, but after having improved my mage sight, they can all be overcome by it now. In fact, I can 'see' way better now than I did before; I now have three hundred and sixty degrees vision. But other than that, I am only missing colours."

"Speaking of which," I asked curiously, "what was the bird's colour?"

Judge paused before answering, "It was white."

"You lied to me," I said expressionlessly.

"Yes, I did," Judge admitted without a trace of guilt, before adding, "And if you try to hide things from me again in the future, no matter how secret it is I will still expose it in front of the Twelve Holy Knights. Now, think long and hard on how you're going to apologise to the Hell Knight, for I'm going to tell him about your blindness. I want him to watch out for your safety."

"Don't!!" I begged him. "If you do that, Roland's going to follow me around twenty-four seven! He doesn't need to sleep or eat or even use the toilet…… Oh my God! I don't want a guy following me around wherever I go! I'll go crazy!"

"Hey, hey! Judge, don't walk away! Listen to me; as long as you don't tell Roland, I promise to do everything you tell me to, okay? Leithe Judge--!"

Previous Next

Book 3: Step 9 – The Ninth Step in Rescuing a Princess: “Bringing the Princess home.”

2011-10-07T14:55:00.001+01:00

*Disclaimer note: This is merely a translation of the original Chinese version. I do not claim any part in the creation of the original story.

The figure fell silent for a moment, neither agreeing nor denying her name. She merely said gently, "Sun, please let that girl go. The one to kill Leaf was me, so you should be coming at me."

"The weapon that killed Leaf was the Dark Knight's rapier," I told her coldly.

"It was I who told him to kill him," She admitted freely, before going on to explain, "If we didn't kill him, we would never have been able to escape your pursuit."

At that, I grinded my teeth in anger. "I thought you knew me well enough."

A burst of tinkling laughter came from her as she said, "It was precisely because I knew you so well that I told him to kill Leaf. You knew that the Resurrection Arts could still be performed within eight hours of one's death. You could have first healed the Son of War and the others before coming after us and attacking us, and then go back to resurrect Leaf…… But you would never do that, would you? In your eyes, nothing is more important than your own holy knights, not even a princess."

"Then you should know!" I roared furiously. "You should know that all who dare kill my holy knights will perish at my hands!"

Pink fell silent at that before speaking up again in a sincere tone. "Do not fight against me, Sun. You should be well aware of what I am. I cannot die. Even if you were to destroy this body, it would be pointless."

I knew that; I knew Pink was a liche.

We've mentioned ghoul witches previously; the liche can be said to be an improved version of the ghoul witch. Both are born from humans who – for various reasons of their own – willingly turned themselves into unnatural creatures – the undead. However, there is a difference between the two: the ghoul witch can still die, while the liche cannot. Liches had forsaken their own flesh and placed their 'souls' in a hidden place. They can then possess all kinds of things in the place of their body.

Compared to the ghoul witches, the liche is indubitably stronger and more powerful. They were often extremely powerful mages or priests in their previous lives which allowed them to successfully complete the rituals to become a liche; to live after their bodies had been destroyed. To fight against one of them is extremely foolish, for you would be going up against an immensely powerful and undying creature.

Even If I were to kill Pink, only her current body would be destroyed; she could just as easily find a new body to use.

I took a deep breath at this and said, "Alright, seeing that we've known each other for some time, I'll just kill the Dark Knight."

"Er, please don't kill him too, Sun," she asked a little awkwardly. "He's the 'Silent Eagle' and the head of the Church of Chaos's dark knights. As the Church of Light's Sun Knight, you should have come across this name before?"

I had heard of the name. The Silent Eagle may not be the Church of Chaos's champion, but he is actually the one with all the real power…… Damn you! Shouldn't those in charge be very busy? How could he have found the time to flirt with a princess?!

"If you kill him you'll be in a lot of trouble," continued Pink. "The Church of Chaos might not be as strong as the Church of Light, but they are well known for always getting their revenge. They might not be able to kill you, but they'll definitely try to assassinate one of your Twelve Holy Knights in revenge. And I don't think you want to see another one of your Twelve Holy Knights die, do you?"

"You keep calling them 'them' and 'they'. Are you not one of the members of the Church of Chaos yourself?" I pointed out coolly.

Pink gave a derisive snort at that and said with disdain, "Who would group one's self with those who serve them?"

I frowned at that, not really understanding what she had meant. But I had an inkling that I was close to learning one of the Church of Chaos's deeply hidden secrets, and I had no wish to be involved in it whatsoever. Just as Pink had said, the Church of Chaos is known to nurse a grudge for a very long time. Learning of one of their secrets would just bring me trouble.

And so after thinking things over for several moments, I finally came to a decision. I turned around and gave a kick at the Dark Knight. When he came about with a pained moan, I asked him, "Your name?"

The Dark Knight slowly lifted his head to look at Pink, before turning to look at me. "I have no name. Ever since I became the Silent Eagle, I no longer have a name…… You who have defeated me, perhaps you can bestow a name on me?"

I stared at him blankly. Defeated him? Using a hostage counts too?

This Church of Chaos's dark knight is really weird…… After chuckling coldly for a few moments, I said, "Then I shall call you Solerwaith! You who dared stab the heart of one of the Twelve Holy Knights. You shall wait for me. I won't kill you for now, but rest assured that I will make you pay for this affront! The Church of Chaos may be known for getting even, but this Sun Knight is even more so! "

"Solerwaith…… very well, hence forth I shall be known as Solerwaith," he nodded, really accepting the name I had given.

I ignored the strange guy and said to the sky, "Pink, will you return to Sprouting Leaf City?"

"I will go back someday," she said honestly. "I have something waiting for me there, so I'll have to go back sometime."

I nodded my head, before suddenly focussing huge amounts of holy light into the Holy Sun Blade and throwing the sword up into the sky, accurately impaling it into the small figure floating in the sky.

Pink let out a muffled grunt and moaned painfully, "Sun, you……"

"I'm sick of seeing a little girl," I told her coolly. "Get a new body before coming back."

As her body slowly crumbled into ashes, she smiled wryly and said, "To prepare a semi-permanent body would take lots and lots of preparation and rituals…… You really do hold a grudge."

I nodded in agreement. "Hmph. You should have known that already. Learn from this and behave yourself in the future. No matter what, do not touch my holy knights."

I could still hear her mumbling to herself, "If I'd known what was in stall for me I would have just let you catch up to us, rather than go about provoking your wrath. Ah, this is such a total loss! Now where am I going to get a suitable body from…? Sigh… I've really been inconvenienced by you, Solerwaith……"

"I'm deeply apologetic for this." When Solerwaith heard the last part, he – ignoring his grievous injuries – got up to his knees and bowed lowly to her in apology.

This surprised me. Looks like Pink's position in the Church of Chaos is very high.

"Sigh, forget it," said Pink magnanimously. "Leave the princess to Sun and go back to the Church of Chaos to prepare for your proposal. Just ask the Queen of Moon Orchid for her hand in marriage properly! After all this, I doubt the Son of War would still wish to marry your Alice."

"But…" he hesitated a little worriedly.

Pink interrupted him, saying "Don't worry. After realising that you and I were the real killers of the Leaf Knight, he won't kill the princess. Even though that fellow doesn't really act like a knight at all, he still somewhat holds to the knight's code of honour…… probably, I guess……? "

By then, Pink's body had fully crumbled away into ashes.

I rolled my eyes at the general area where she had once floated. Even when dying she still spewed a load of crap. You, the most evil of beings – the evil liche – actually reminding me, the Sun Knight, of the knight's code of honour?...... This world really is all shades of grey!

Just then, Solerwaith stood in front of Alice, shielding her from me. He then got down on his knees and sincerely begged me. "Please do not kill Alice. It was me who had killed the Leaf Knight. All this has nothing to do with her."

"No!" Alice immediately rushed in front of Solerwaith, and using her slim body to shield him, she turned to me and pleaded, "Don't kill him, I beg of you! Just take me. All this was my fault. If I hadn't ran away from home none of this would have happened. So I beg you, please don't kill him!"

Solerwaith grabbed the princess and tried to protect her, but she struggled against him. "Alice! Please don't do this," he cried painfully.

"Oh Eagle!" cried Alice, her tears already falling from her eyes. "I would have no reason to live if you die. It's pointless to protect me."

"Alice……" Solerwaith's voice had roughened with emotion at his lover's declaration. In the face of love, even the cold-hearted Dark Knight shed a manly tear.

As I stood there watching the both of them crying together, I felt a little stunned. I never would have thought I would get to see a real-live enactment of a classic love scene. And it seems that I'm playing the role of the despicable bad guy trying to heartlessly separate the two lovers?

Are you kidding me?! I'm the knight trying to rescue the damsel in distress, okay?!!

'Master, the time limit for three hours is drawing close. Do you wish to give out more blood to keep the outfit?'

"No thanks," I answered the Dragon's Holy Robe a little weakly. "I've used this robe a total of three times in just this one month. If this continues on I'm going to get diagnosed with anaemia. Besides, even if I were to maintain this self, it's pointless as I can't bring up the desire to kill those two snot-faced idiots……"

And so, the first thing I did after changing out of the robe was to threaten the pair of star-crossed lovers.

"Don't you dare tell anyone else about my true self, and that includes talking about my assassin outfit, or else……" I trailed of threateningly.

Alice had probably been scared out of her wits by the whole ordeal, for she immediately clutched her lover tightly and cried out, "As long as you don't kill Eagle, I'll do anything!"

When I didn't get a reply from the Dark Knight, I used my mage sight and realised that the dark aura was seeping out of him at an alarming rate. Looks like his injuries are really serious. If I were to let him go right now he'd probably fall dead on his way to his destination, hahah……

I cast an Absolute Healing on him, healing most of his more serious injuries immediately.

Both of them were likely shocked by my unprecedented act of kindness, for they sat there staring at me quietly, whilst I maintained my mysterious air as I said coolly, "Get out of here. I'll send your princess back to her mother safe and sound."

Solerwaith stood up slowly, but did not make any move to leave. He cautiously asked me, "That time, if I had really moved, would you really have cut off her hand?"

"Yes, or else it would have been me who would have had my hands and feet cut off," I replied without hesitation.

Solerwaith went quiet at that, and showed no intentions of leaving.

"However," I continued, "once you dared not move again and had been beaten severely, I would have reattached her hand."

Solerwaith let out a long sigh of relief and said, "I believe you, sir."

I couldn't care less if you believed me or not, but why the 'sir'? Why are you so courteous to me? I felt a little flattered by him, but also a little uneasy. This guy couldn't be thinking of making me his arch-rival and worshipping me, could he?

Solerwaith then turned to Alice and said, "Alice, wait for me. I will definitely come and ask for your hand in marriage."

"But didn't you say that the Silent Eagle could never marry? The Church of Chaos had forbidden you from proposing to me; wasn't that the reason why we had to elope......?"

He gave a small chuckle and said, "With 'that person' telling me to propose herself, no one in the Church of Chaos would dare to stop me."

''That person'? Is it Pink?' I frowned in puzzlement. Just what exactly is Pink's position in the Church of Chaos?

And following that, I got to witness another classic scene – that of two entwined lovers forced to part ways tearfully. As I watched the nauseatingly sweet scene unfolding before me, I had the urge to stab both of them, and show them the true meaning of 'till death do us part'.

"Solerwaith," I bit out in annoyance, "If you don't leave and get your remaining wounds seen to right now, you'll soon die from blood loss and won't be able to propose to her anymore."

When she heard that, Alice hurriedly pushed him on his way, and he finally left.

Alice kept up her vigil as she stood there, watching her lover until he could no longer be seen, before finally turning around timidly and asking, "Are we going to fly back now?"

"Do I look like I know how to fly?" I asked sarcastically, looking her up and down. "What level mage are you?"

"Advance level," she replied timidly.

She seemed to be treating me like a ferocious beast ready to attack her at anytime. Her attitude was totally different from Ann. Even when she was frightened by me, Ann wouldn't act scared, and would instead come after me with her double axe.

"Good," I smiled faintly. "Whilst waiting for leaf and the rest to reach us, you will teach me all you know about wind magic."

"Teach you?" She asked in surprise. "What is there that I can teach you? Your magic is even stronger than mine!"

I can't tell her that other than the few dark spells Alstier had taught me, I don't know any other spell incantations, can I? If I did, she might use her magic on me when I let my guard down.

As I thought about how to get out of this, I remembered her fear of me. So I put on a fierce expression and growled, "What are you asking so many questions for? Just do as I tell you to!"

"Okay!" she squeaked, looking so pitiful, as if I'm the evil step-mother abusing her step-daughter!

I'm a holy knight, not an evil step-mother!

"Pl-please don't get angry! I'll teach you everything I know, and I won't ask any more questions! Sob, sob…… Eagle, I'm so scared……" she cried.

I am a holy knight, I'm here to rescue the princess, not abuse her!

"Eagle… sob, sob… come and save me……"

"Stop crying!" I roared at her.

"Meep!" Alice stopped crying indeed. She had fainted dead.

~O~O~O~O~

In the following few days, the princess and I encountered many difficult problems……

Although Solerwaith had left behind a tent, both the Sun Knight and the princess had no idea how to set one up.

Although Solerwaith had left behind some firewood, both the Sun Knight and the princess had no idea how to start a fire.

Although Solerwaith had left behind some meat, both the Sun Knight and the princess had no idea how to cook and had ended up burning their meals.

I looked up at the heavens and gave a long sigh, deeply regretting letting Solerwaith leave. Why the hell did I keep this useless princess around for? Other than looking pretty she seemed to have no other use.

"Solerwaith is so much better than you! He can set up a tent, start a fire and can cook lots of yummy food!"

Alice was so hungry that she had forgotten all about her fear of me as she cried and shouted, throwing a huge tantrum. "Other than looking pretty, you don't seem to have any other use! No, that's not right! Solerwaith is a hundred times more handsome than you! Wahh-- you're neither good-looking nor useful! I want to be back by Solerwaith's side! Solerwaith!"

"It's him that's ridiculously good-looking, not that I'm ugly!"

I, too, was so hungry that I lost my patience and started shouting at her. "Like you're one to talk! Why's your flying skills so poor! Alstier could fly continuously for a whole day and night, yet you have to rest a day after flying for only three hours. And you flew so slowly too! It's all your fault that we can't get back!"

Alice retaliated by screaming even louder. "I have no idea who this Alstier is! Advance level mages can only fly for three hours, and this is the normal speed! Ahh!!! Solerwaith! I'm being bullied by bad guys, save me!!"

Argh! I'm so pissed!

"Stop shouting! I'm warning you, don't you dare breathe a word of this to another soul."

Then, going completely against my image of a knight, I started using large amounts of magic.

It's raining and can't set up a tent? No problem. I just used magic to dig out a cave in the foot of a cliff.

Hungry and can't get a fire going to cook the food? No problem. I just threw a Fire Ball at the firewood.

Meat keeps getting burnt? No problem, I just summoned wind magic and floated the meat above the fire, slowly turning it over the fire until it was cooked.

As Alice sat in the cave scarfing down her meal, she said through a mouthful of food, "I'm sorry, I was wrong in my judgement of you. You're still a little useful, even if you're not good-looking."

As I tore off a piece of meat viciously I retorted scathingly, "It's your sense of aesthetic that is skewered! After looking at Solerwaith for so long, your sense of aesthetic has been bent out of shape. If you continue to stare at his face, soon you won't even dare to look at yourself in the mirror."

Alice was so frightened by this warning that she didn't even notice her meat dropping to the ground as she screeched, "Liar! I'm said to be the most beautiful woman in the country! Even if I haven't been taking care of my appearance for a few days…… I'm still beautiful, right? Right??" By the end of her rant, she sounded so worried that she nearly began crying again.

I had kept silent, but when I heard her beginning to choke up in anxiety, I reassured her, saying "Alright, alright. You're still very beautiful!"

When she heard this, she smiled through her tears and even complimented me too. "Thanks. And you're pretty handsome too. At least, you have very beautiful eyes – comparable to Eagle's, and you have great skin……"

By then, she had gotten up to stroke my face and had cried out in surprise, "It's really soft and smooth, what are you using for your face?...... Oh wait, you're a boy. Could it be that it's naturally so smooth? How lucky."

I quickly listed out, "Soured milk mixed with ten drops of lemon juice, rose extract from thirty roses, lavender extract from ten lavender flowers and some flour, slick it onto your skin and wait for an hour before steaming it off, twice weekly."

"…… please repeat that to me when we get back. I don't have any paper or pen with me right now."

"If you play the role of a rescued princess properly and don't reveal my true self to anyone else, I can share with you all of my secret recipes for skin whitening creams. I guarantee you that by the day of your wedding your skin will be as soft and fair as a newborn baby's."

"Deal!"

~O~O~O~O~

It continued to rain non-stop for the next few days, and as I had no guarantee that we would come across another cliff where I can carve another cave out off, we decided to just wait in the cave for help to arrive. And not a few days later, I sensed through my mage sight Leaf and many others approaching.

Amongst the approaching party, I sense three in particular with unusually strong holy auras, one of which is Leaf. Of the other two,…… one had a stronger water element and should be Frost; the other, on the other hand, had very strong metal elements but also had some earth elements mixed in, so he shouldn't be Metal, but…… the Stone Knight!

The Stone Knight – one of the Twelve Holy Knights from the Cold Blood Faction and famous for his obstinacy. His obstinacy is as hard and unmoving as a mountain, and it is said that it would be easier to crack his head than to crack through his stubbornness. Even trying to overthrow the Church of Light would have been an easier task than to get him to bend.

Well, according to 'what the whole continent knows', that is. This generation's Stone Knight, however, is a little different…… he is actually a very flexible and nice guy, easy to get along with and very 'go with the flow'.

I've heard that after attempting to train him for three years, the previous Stone Knight had finally given up on getting him to become even just a little stubborn, and decided to throw in the towel and start anew with the back-up successor. (Not every one of the Twelve Holy Knights had forgotten to pick a back-up.)

But the thing is, other than him unwilling to become stubborn, the little Stone Knight hadn't really done anything wrong. If he was to be replaced, the teacher had to give a very good reason. And so after half a year of arguments, finally came the day to decide once and for all if he would be replaced or not……

My teacher, the Sun Knight then, had walked into the room and said the following words with a gentle sigh: "Refusing to become stubborn even in the face of being kicked out of the Holy Temple? To so stubbornly refuse to become a stubborn person…… sigh! What a stubborn child."

According to him, the moment he said that, the hundred or so people gathered in the room had let out identical expressions, a rare sight he would never forget.

When I asked him what their expressions were like, my teacher thought about it before drawing 囧, and told me to imagine a hundred or so people with that expression. After imagining it, I agreed that it was, indeed, a sight to behold.

And so after that, the little Stone Knight was allowed to stay, with no one bringing up the topic of him being replaced again.

I could understand where Judge was coming at by sending Stone.

The Stone Knight was the only one amongst the Cold Blood Faction who was good at diplomacy. Even though Storm was better at diplomacy, he was needed at the Holy Temple. If Storm were to leave the Holy Temple, I'm afraid the temple would have fallen into chaos in his absence. Hence, he had sent Stone to help Leaf deal with any conflicts that might arise between the Church of War and the Moon Orchid's royal family.

If Leaf was left to deal with matters of diplomacy unsupervised, he would only end up agreeing to everything.

And as for Frost, well, that's pretty easy to answer. Frost is very strong. If we were to come to an unavoidable disagreement with Moon Orchid and the Church of War and needed to escape, we would have a better chance of escaping successfully with Frost there……

"Sun!"

Leaf had rushed into the cave and shaken me upon reaching me. "Sun, Sun, are you alright? You're alright? That's great! Oh, oh! And Princess Alice is fine too, this is great!"

He had started to get a little choked up at the end.

I felt something like guilt stirring in my gut. Leaf had been worrying about things ever since we started out on this journey, as can expected from the Good Warm Faction's mother-hen……

"Please stop crying, everything's alright now," I reassured him. "See? The princess has been rescued."

"Bu-But," he sniffled, "your eyes……"

I rolled my eyes and said exasperatedly, "My eyes are fine, you're worrying about nothing, Mother Leaf."

"Captain Sun Knight, how are you?"

I turned to look at the entrance to the cave. The voice belonged to the Stone Knight, and following behind him was the Frost Knight. The latter did not say a word, as always.

I smiled my trademark Sun Knight smile and replied elegantly, "May the God of Light's love shine upon you always, my brother Stone."

Stone gazed at me searchingly before suddenly asking, "Sun, how many fingers have I got up?"

"…… With Her Holiness as my witness, the number you ask is the same as the number of brain cells you possess – zero!" I said exasperatedly. Looks like Leaf had told them the same nonsense about my 'blindness'.

"Correct, indeed." Stone chuckled and turned to Leaf. "Leaf, you're worrying too much. Sun is perfectly fine."

After a long time, Leaf finally mumbled a soft "Okay……" I have no idea if he really did believe me.

Not too long after that, Michael, Ann and Alston reached the cave, a whole team of warriors following behind them. The moment Ann entered the cave, she cried out her sister's name as she ran to her side, asking frantically, "Are you alright? You weren't harmed by that shameless despicable asshole, were you? Did he hit you? Did he take liberties with you?"

"Ann, what nonsense are you talking about?" Alice scolded her. "If it wasn't for the Sun Knight rescuing me from the clutches of that evil kidnapper, I would have still been in such terror. He's taken good care of me and protected me from anything dangerous. A perfect gentleman and a knight of the finest standing; you should not slander his name so."

A disbelieving silence fell around the whole cave, and after some time, Ann forced out incredulously, "He – Sun is a knight of the finest standing??"

The power of whitening creams is indeed amazing. I had been transformed from a shameless despicable cur into a gentleman knight of the finest standing.

"Indeed." Alice then stood up and called out arrogantly, "Servants."

At her call, a dozen people walked out from the group standing guard outside the cave. Looks like there were quite a number of maids and servants amongst those who came. They surrounded the princess, handing her towels and clean clothes; and one even started brushing out the tangles in her hair.

Whilst Alice was taking care of her appearance, Michael stood by without saying a word to her. I wasn't at all surprised. From what I had overheard from Leaf and Ann's conversation, I knew Alice had attacked them. If I were Michael, I probably wouldn't be too pleased either.

The Stone Knight asked me politely, "Captain Sun Knight, as we've just arrived, could you please explain the situation to us?"

I dodged the question, saying "Let's focus on getting back before anything else."

"Good point, Captain Sun Knight. What say you all?" asked Stone.

This has nothing to do with having a good point! My only concern right now is to get a bath! Oh, how I stink! I stink so much that I'm questioning the purpose of the nose the God of Light had given me!

Getting back to the palace was very much convenient, for amongst the people who had come with us included several royal mages, and they had brought along the tools necessary for an Instant Teleportation ritual circle. This ritual circle had been connected beforehand with another in the royal palace. All we had to do was to pour sufficient wind magic into the circle, and the circle would activate, bringing all of us back to the palace instantly.

~O~O~O~O~

Back at the palace, it wasn't hard to get my long-awaited bath, for it was acknowledged that it would have been terribly rude to present one's self to the Queen before cleaning one's self. However, after having bathed and eaten a good warm meal, the soft and clean sheets of my bed seemed to be calling out to me seductively……

Even though I knew that I had yet to report the latest incidents to the queen, I just couldn't resist crawling into bed. Oh, it seems like a whole month since I last had a proper sleep in a proper bed; I could feel myself falling asleep……

"Sun……"

Someone called out my name from a distance, and immediately I whined, "Urgh, what is it? I'm so tired, don't bother me……"

After a moment, the person replied, "It's nothing. Go to sleep."

A few days later, I received a commendation from the Queen.

The commendation was in thanks for my part in rescuing the Royal Princess, and I was awarded an – utterly useless – Badge of The Order of the Chivalrous Knights. Princess Alice had confiscated the badge before I could receive it, and was going to hold it ransom until I give her the recipe for my secret whitening cream…… Does she think I'm an idiot?! What would I want that useless badge for??

Well, I'm not changing, so she'll have to do better than that! Hmph!

However, on that very same afternoon, I was informed that the badge was carved from a precious stone and that its value was priceless…… In the end, I had to submit and go to her with the recipe.

The Son of War rescinded his offer for the Princess Alice's hand in marriage.

The Queen was reluctant to cancel the arrangement and had suggested switching to another princess, suggesting that Princess Ann marry Michael instead. However, when she brought it up, Ann and Michael had shot twin looks of disgust at each other, saying in unison, "If I have to marry him/her, then it'll be my turn to run away with someone else."

The Queen looked very distressed at that, but when the Moon Orchid's youngest – ten year old – princess skipped her way to her mother's side and declared in an adorable voice: "When I grow up I'm going to become Michael's bride!", all problems were finally settled.

And that was how Michael was betrothed to the little princess, with the understanding that he marry her when she turns sixteen.

Even though there were rumours like 'the Son of War is actually a paedophile' and stuff like that that arose since then, I believe it is well-worth it. Being called a paedophile is a rather small price to pay if one can get a young bride ten years younger than one's self. Well worth it.

At least, Michael seems to think so, so immersed is he in his plans for his future bride's education to protest the rumours.

~O~O~O~O~

It turned out that the resurrection had left a side-effect on Leaf.

When Leaf realised that he was able to spot a tear on a moving fly's wing from ten meters away, he instantly knew that something was up.

After numerous tests (one of them being asked to count the number of flies flying around a pile of dog shit thirty meters away), it was confirmed that he had superhuman vision.

An archer with superhuman vision is an archer with superhuman abilities…… In simpler terms, his already incredible archery had just gotten even more unbelievable.

On a side note, when I was able to point out the pile of dog shit thirty meters away from us to him and asked him to count the number of flies around it, Leaf was finally convinced that I wasn't blind.

~O~O~O~O~

And so, we finally returned home to the Holy Temple.

Previous Next

Book 3: Step 8 – The Eighth Step in Rescuing a Princess: “The climax – the clash between titans.”

2011-09-29T20:04:00.001+01:00

*Disclaimer note: This is merely a translation of the original Chinese version. I do not claim any part in the creation of the original story.

When I opened my eyes once more, the first thing that went through my mind was – why is it that recently I seem to be constantly waking up in confusion?

"I knew it. And he said that playing the groom's man wouldn't involve running for my life…… Pope, that old geezer, is going to pay when I get back!"

I frowned as I dragged myself up and out of bed. This was partly because I was really, really hungry. I could have called for someone, but after not moving for so long, my whole body was beginning to become a little stiff. If this were to continue on, it's not becoming a pig that I have to worry about, but about being laid to rest in my coffin.

I walked to the door and was about to push it open when I heard voices arguing outside. I let my hand fall and slowly, quietly, placed my ear to the door. I could immediately make out Leaf and Ann's voices. They seem to be having an argument…… How unbelievable! To think that Leaf would actually have a disagreement with someone?!

Leaf was trying to keep his voice down as he shouted, "What is up with you and Princes Alice? She actually attacked us that day, and your reaction was very strange!"

Woah! That startled me! I never would have thought that Leaf would shout at anyone, and a princess to boot! Could he have decided to stop being a good guy?

"It's got nothing to do with you!" shouted Ann, her voice even louder than Leaf's.

"Nothing to do with me?" Leaf's voice was beginning to tremble with fury. "It's because of the two of you that Sun is lying in there unconscious till now, and you say that it's got nothing to do with me?!"

"Yeah, right. I bet he's only sleeping!" Ann retorted.

'Slap!'

When Ann spoke up, she sounded stunned. "You-you hit me……"

Leaf's voice was icy as he said, "Do not insult Sun, or it won't be just a slap next time. If it happens again I'll declare a duel against you, even if you're a princess, Your Highness."

I was stunned. My jaw had dropped open after hearing the exchange. L-Leaf actually slapped a princess?! O' God of Light! Could this be a side-effect of his resurrection? That he changed from a good guy to a bad guy?

Wouldn't that mean that I can no longer bully him in the future? God of Light, you're too cruel! Bullying Leaf was one of my few pleasures in life, and you had to take away that too!

"I'm sorry, Leaf. I didn't really mean it……" sobbed Ann. She sniffed as she explained, "I don't know why sister Alice would attack us either, and they had even killed you. I really didn't think she would do something like that. I'd only wanted to help her be with the one she loves, and had no intention of harming you or Sun. You have to believe me."

There was then some silence, broken only by Ann's sobs, until at last, Leaf's tone of voice softened a little as he said, "Alright. I'm sorry for hitting you earlier. I was just too worried about Sun and over-reacted. Please forgive me."

Ah, he believed her so easily and forgave her so quickly! Looks like Leaf is still a good guy! I'm sorry, O' God of Light, for misjudging you earlier.

Just then, Ann's voice could be heard stuttering, "L-Leaf, actually, the enchanted object that I've been using to trace my sister, well, it could be used for an Instant Teleportation – for one time only – and bring the bearer to her side instantly…… I'm sorry for keeping this from you! Please don't be mad at me!"

There was another silence, and when he finally spoke, Leaf sighed and said, "It's too dangerous to go after them now. Right now, Michael and Alston have gone back for back-up. After Sun and I have left, you should tell them about it then and see what they decide to do."

"Why wait until after you and Sun have left? Are you not coming with us?" asked Ann anxiously.

"No!" Leaf said firmly. "Sun must never learn about this, promise me!"

"Why? If you don't tell me why I won't promise you."

"You don't understand him, he-… sigh… Your sister and the Dark Knight shouldn't have killed me. If Sun were to find out that there was a way to get to Alice, he would never let them go. Your sister will be in danger. That's why you have to promise me that before Sun and I leave you will not mention this again."

Ann scoffed a little at that. "Even we couldn't defeat them, much less Sun…… I mean, he-he's not really that strong, right? Leaf, don't get mad again… I didn't mean to disparage him!"

"He's not that strong?…… haha!"

Leaf said exasperatedly, "If that were really the case, the Twelve Holy Knights wouldn't have the Shared Rule Number Three – 'No matter how lame/foolish the Sun Knight looks, never ever provoke his wrath'."

It was then that I decided that I had heard enough. I thought something over before walking back to the bed and lying on it. I then rubbed my eyes as if having just woken up from my sleep and called out, "Leaf! Leaf! I'm dying from hunger here!"

Leaf pushed open the door and came in, sounding pleased as he asked, "Sun, you're awake?"

"I'm wide awake and starving, or can't you tell?" I asked sarcastically.

Leaf chuckled at my antics and asked happily, "How about some porridge?"

"No," I quickly rejected. "I want to eat meat."

"But you've just woken up; you shouldn't eat something so hard to digest or you might--"

I rolled my eyes and said, "Oh save it, Leaf. You're not Judge, and you're a good guy; I'm not afraid of you at all. If I say I want to eat meat, then I'll eat meat."

Leaf frowned at this before giving in and saying, "Alright, I'll ask the kitchen to mince the meat and make some meat broth for you."

Leaf was very efficient. Not too long after that, he was carrying a tray with my meat broth on it into the room. As I drank the broth, I listened as Leaf explained to me about what had been going on. Actually, I had heard the gist of it earlier; mainly that Michael and Alston had gone back for back-up. As I had still been unconscious then, Leaf and Ann had stayed behind to protect and watch over me.

"Sun, I've asked them to send a messenger to the Holy Temple as well," he said. "I believe the Holy Temple will also send some people over."

'I hope it's not Judge,' I thought.

I nodded at Leaf before swallowing the last mouthful of broth.

Without the smell of the meat broth covering it, I could smell a faint odour. It couldn't be…… I looked down and took a sniff of myself. Eww! I nearly gagged. Looks like I've really become the Stinky Knight!

I frowned and said to Leaf, "Leaf, I'm all stinky! Go get me a new outfit for me to change into. And… Princess Ann…"

Ann, who had been listening quietly by the side all this time, paused before asking, "What?"

"Could you get me a bucket of hot water for me to wash?" I asked distantly.

Ann didn't reply, but Leaf immediately spoke up warmly, "Sorry to have to bother you with Sun, Ann. I'll go and get Sun's clothes now."

It was only then that Ann acquiesced, agreeing reluctantly. "Oh alright."

Before he could leave, I instructed Leaf specifically, "Get white clothes. And get a tailor to sew on the Sun Knight's insignia on it," I stressed. "Didn't you just say that someone from the Holy Temple is coming? I cannot appear less than my very best in front of everyone."

Leaf looked surprised at this request but nodded, "Alright."

Leaf turned and left to prepare my clothing, and not too long later, Ann brought up the bucket of hot water, setting it down with a loud 'thud' and saying shortly, "Here! I'm leaving now."

"Hold on," I stopped her as I felt the water. "It's too hot." I said coolly.

She probably did feel a little guilty about what had happened, or maybe it was because of Leaf's request, but even though she was unhappy with me, she still obediently bent down to test the temperature of the water herself.

I smiled coldly and immediately summoned the water element……

Instantly, the tub full of water merged with the water element I had summoned, forming chains that wrapped around Ann. She was surprised by this development, but only for a moment, for she immediately began struggling to get out of the water chains. But as water is fluid, her fists merely passed through the water with no effect. I then froze the water, trapping Ann in a pillar of ice and unable to move.

"That's impossible! Elementary ice spells couldn't have stopped me!" she cried as she continued to struggle in her frozen constraints, but the ice showed no signs of breaking.

I smiled faintly as I said, "According to my understanding of magic, elementary and elementary spells combined together would form intermediate spells. So I combined the ice spell with another ice spell, and did so repeatedly at least five more times. I wonder what level that makes it? But no matter how, this ice is no weaker than your own precious sword. Further struggling will only hurt yourself."

As I said that, I reached a hand into her clothes……

"You! You!" I could hear a note of fear in her voice as she cried out, "Stop that, or I'm screaming for help!"

At that, I waved a hand and summoned a whirlwind, directing it to circle around the room with the both of us inside it. This had the effect of keeping the sound inside the room. I then chuckled and said to her softly, "Scream all you want then. But it's a pity that no one would hear you even if you were to scream at the top of your lungs."

Her voice was trembling even greater now as she said, "Leaf-Leaf will be back any time soon. He won't just stand by and let you do as you want."

I replied nonchalantly, "He won't be back so soon. He still has to wait for the tailor to stitch on the Sun Knight's insignia onto my outfit."

"So you had this planned from the start!" she screeched. "You despicable, shameless worm!"

What is with princesses all loving to call me despicable and shameless?

I ignored her screams and yells and retrieved my objective from inside her clothes. It was a small box no bigger than my palm. When I opened it, a whiff of fragrance filled the air. Inside, the box was filled with cream, probably one of those girls's facial cream or something.

Ann had stopped her crying by then, and she sounded quite surprised as she blurted, "How did you know……"

She then hastily shut her mouth, but I continued on for her, "How did I know that this is the enchanted object you use to track the Princess Alice?"

"Y-You……" There was a tone of surprise in her voice as she said, "So you've been hiding your true abilities."

'Hmph, of course. No matter what people might say, I am the Sun Knight. You didn't actually think I'm just a useless piece of trash, did you?'

"You're too scary," she said unsteadily. "Even the way you held your sword and your footsteps have been hidden so well. Panting after running a few steps, as if you're a weak and unskilled swordsman. All this has been a carefully crafted image!"

She then smiled and taunted in a care free manner, "But, you won't be able to use this object, hahaha—Ah!"

I had used a small Wind Blade to cut her skin, letting her blood drip onto the box.

"H-how did you know ……" Ann's voice had returned to her panicky tone and she sounded close to tears again.

I rolled my eyes at her. The number of enchanted objects in Pink's house could rival the number of strawberry lollipops hidden there. I've been in and out of her house since I was small many times, so I knew all about them and how they worked.

The moment Ann's blood had dripped onto the box, the bottom of the box released a secret compartment with a click, revealing a tiny magic rune circle in it. I ran a finger down it. The circle had been delicately carved into the false bottom, and I could tell that it was a priceless artefact. However, like I said, items like this were abundant in Pink's house.

I then raised my head and told her, "The chains will disperse on their own about half an hour after I've left. Unless you want to be taken advantage by some stranger, I advise you not to call for anyone's attention. If you were to attract attention from the wrong sort I won't be held responsible. Oh, and tell Leaf that I'm going to avenge his death."

Without waiting for a reply, I directed the wind elements into the magic runes. The rune circle enlarged and encircled me, bringing me to Princess Alice's location.

~O~O~O~O~

The moment I felt myself moved to a new place, I immediately called out, "Dragon's Holy Robe, in the name of the dragon's successor, I order you to activate!"

"Sis?"

A woman's voice. She was wearing a robe and the level of wind element within her was extremely high. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that this was the Princess Alice, a Wind Mage.

She was standing very close to me, not two steps away from me. I instantly stepped forward and grabbed her, shouting, "Don't move!"

Sadly, she wasn't very obedient and immediately sought to use her wind magic to retaliate. Unfortunately for her, her actions to summon the wind element was disrupted by me. I may not know much about intermediate and advanced magic, but when it comes to my ability in gathering the elements, even Alstier – that hundred year old mage – had admitted to my superiority in this.

She sucked in a breath of air and cried out, "You-you're not an assassin, you're a mage!"

"Wrong to both, I'm a holy knight," I said calmly. "Are you blind? Can you not see this big shiny Holy Sun Blade in my hands? I'm the Sun Knight!"

I have to admit, I've wanted to shout that out for a long time now. All this while I've been suppressing the urge to shout out: 'I'm a holy knight! Not a priest, or a mage, or an assassin, but a holy knight… holy knight… holy knight… (x 100)!'

Now that I had finally said it out loud, there was an immensely satisfying feeling, and if not for current circumstances, I would have even cried out in joy!

"The Sun Knight? Impossible!" said Alice, trembling.

"Alice!"

Just then, the Dark Knight came rushing back. It must have been my immensely heavy light aura that had alerted him to my presence. He quickly rushed in our direction……

"Stand still!" I tightened my hold on the princess, my Holy Sun Blade raised to her neck. I then said to the Dark Knight coldly, "Or do you not care about this woman's life anymore?"

The Dark Knight had slowed down, but he did not stop. I lightly pressed the blade into her neck, eliciting a soft cry.

"Stop it!" The Dark Knight finally halted in his footsteps and roared furiously, "You won't harm her, she's a princess!"

I laughed at that long and hard, before pressing the blade into her neck again. This time, the princess bit her lip and refused to emit a single sound. I asked mockingly, "Are you sure about that?"

The Dark Knight said tremblingly, "You are a knight; you're even the world-renowned Sun Knight. You would not harm a woman. It would ruin your reputation; you won't do that……"

I chuckled at that and asked, "Then do you know what 'the whole continent knows', what the Sun Knight hates the most?"

"The undead," he replied straight away.

"Wrong!" I roared. "The Sun Knight hates seeing his own holy knights dying the most!"

After that outburst, I quickly regained my composure and continued on calmly. "I'm warning you right now, if you dare to move even a muscle I will cut off this woman's hand. Depending on how many times you move, I will cut off as many parts of her."

The Dark Knight and Alice didn't say anything, whether it was because they were frightened by me or not, it's not important. I gathered large amounts of water element and formed them into thick icicles. More than ten of them floated in the air around the Dark Knight, but he did not move.

Instead, the Princess Alice trapped in my arms started crying. "You despicable shameless cur! Eagle, don't listen to him, he wouldn't dare to do as he threatened!"

I am now certain. Princesses all over the world know only of two cuss words: 'shameless' and 'despicable'.

I said to the Dark Knight nonchalantly, "Oh, I forgot to mention this. Activating frenzy also counts as moving."

And with that, more than ten icicles swung at his arms and legs and torso with loud thuds. But even when suffering such heavy blows, the Dark Knight kept still. Getting hit by such heavy blows whilst attempting to remain so still would have worsened his injuries, and I could hear the sound of several bones breaking echoing through the forest.

"Eagle……" Alice was limp and close to fainting to see her loved one tortured so, and it was only because of me that she had yet to fall to the ground.

"You can move now," I said coolly.

Only then did the Dark Knight slowly allow himself to slump to the ground. I then activated the last – and largest – icicle, directing it to swing down onto his back heavily.

"Eurgh!" he grunted.

What a prideful knight. I have to admit, I was a little impressed with him. That last blow must have cracked a few more of his ribs, but from start to finish he hadn't allowed a single scream to escape him.

I released the Princess Alice and warned her casually, "Don't even think of using magic against me, or I'll use Hell's Fire to disinfect your Dark Knight. I guarantee he'll be so clean, not even his ashes would remain. "

Alice shoved me away and ran to her knight. When she saw up close how serious his injuries were she couldn't stop her tears from falling. The Dark Knight was so heavily injured that he should have been delirious from the pain by now, but he still managed to pull himself together and attempted to comfort the princess, even if it was just words like 'I'm fine' and 'don't cry'.

Upon seeing this scene, I could sense the irony and started laughing. We had been searching so hard to rescue her, yet the princess is wholly ungrateful. How laughable. The knight in shining armour come to rescue the princess? But the princess doesn't even want to be rescued! To her, we were probably the evil adversary trying to separate her from her lover.

"You guys made a grievous mistake," I told them coldly. "You shouldn't have killed Leaf! If you hadn't killed him, I wouldn't have interfered and separated the two of you. However, I'm not trying to separate you now either, am I? The two of you can keep each other company in hell!"

A silence befell the place, and only the mutterings of Alice could be heard, "You're going to kill us? But how can you kill us……?"

"And why not?" I asked with a cold smile. "If you had dared to kill the Leaf Knight, you should have been prepared for the Sun Knight to come after you even till the ends of the earth!"

Hearing that, she cried out in alarm, "But I'm a princess!"

"Oh? Is that so?" I asked warmly and sincerely, "But I don't see any princess here, only the kidnapper and his accomplice."

Alice's breathing turned ragged and she threatened fearfully, "Sun Knight, if you kill me my mother will never let you and the Church of Light go!"

"Oh?" I asked calmly. "This assassin does not see any Sun Knight anywhere around here. Have you?"

A few sobs finally escaped from her as she fully realised their situation, but still she clutched the near unconscious Dark Knight and tried to carry him and escape me.

But with her meagre strength it would have been impossible for her to move a grown man, let alone a grown man wearing heavy armour. Yet still she persisted in her futile efforts, desperately trying to drag him away.

As I watched this pitiful scene, the explosive anger inside me slowly banked down. I had originally planned to torture them cruelly before killing them, but now looking at them, I no longer had the heart to do it. Oh man, I shouldn't have injured the Dark Knight so heavily. If he had still been able to retaliate and defy me, perhaps I could have continued in my anger. But now, I just couldn't bring myself to do it.

"Alright," I said with waning interest, "I'll spare you from too painful a death then."

I gathered a ball of dark element, intending to use The Spread of Death which I had seen Alstier use once. This spell sent its victims to their death quietly and painlessly……

"Sun, stop!"

Surprisingly, this cry came from above.

At the same time, the gathered ball of dark aura in my hands was forcefully dissipated by someone.

I raised my head towards the sky.

Floating in the air was a figure wrapped in a robe. There wasn't a lot of dark aura coming from the figure, but one could still feel a sense of hidden depths of power from them. I've only felt this kind of feeling from one person before ……no! I should not say a person, for she had not been human for a very long time now.

I clenched my fists, and grinded my teeth in annoyance, barely managing to ground out through my clenched teeth the words, "Pink, so when you told me you were going to move, you were going to move to the Church of Chaos?"

Previous Next

Book 3: Step 7 – The Seventh Step in Rescuing a Princess: “A necessary sacrifice.”

2011-09-29T15:01:00.001+01:00

*Disclaimer note: This is merely a translation of the original Chinese version. I do not claim any part in the creation of the original story.

I slowly blinked open my eyes, feeling a faint sense of déjà vu…… If not for the fact that I'm very sure I had not drunk last night, I would have said that I had had another drinking spree again and am lying in one of the pub's rooms.

As my memories started trickling back, I muttered, "Oh that's right, I had passed out after using up every shred of holy light I had left to purify the cave."

My brows then crinkled together in a frown. My body was starting to regain its senses, and I could tell immediately that I had not been left to sleep of my exhaustion in a room as I had initially thought, but that I had been abandoned in the middle of a forest!

My eyes were watering from the bright rays shining into them; and my whole body ached – an unmistakable sign that I had been lying on hard ground the entire night.

I painfully got up, looking around me.

Great. A very normal looking forest. All around me were tall trees and the ground was covered with mud and decomposing leaves. Thank goodness it isn't a lavishly decorated palace, or snow white marble flooring…… or I would have believed myself to be in the God of Light's heavenly embrace!

But, where the hell are Alstier and my teacher?

It was only when I had painfully stood up that I noticed the piece of paper fluttering down from its previous position on my head to the ground. I picked it up, instantly recognising my teacher's handwriting. His handwriting is as elegant and beautiful as he himself, full of powerful slashes and magnificent flourishes, a piece of art all unto itself. The only drawback about it is…… it's too beautiful and magnificent that I can't really tell what he wrote.

After three years, more slashes and flourishes had crept into his handwriting…… Now, is this word 'student'? Or 'skewer'?

Since it's a note left to me, it should be addressed to 'student', right?

But if the purification had failed and he hadn't managed to get the Eternal Serenity, there's a possibility that it could be 'skewer'…… It could be a message saying that he's so angry with me that he wants to skewer me alive, and that he's left to find some firewood so he can roast some 'skewered student' over the fire?

Oh, forget it! I'll just assume it's student and read on.

Dear student,

The purification was extremely successful, and the Dark Land is now an ordinary cave. We got the Eternal Serenity successfully, and it is now hanging around your neck.

A surprised cry escaped from me as I looked down to see a shimmering blue crystal secured around my neck by a very sturdy looking chain……

Why did he put the Eternal Serenity around my neck for? It can't be that the crystal has some dangerous properties, can it?

I hurriedly looked back down at the letter.

Don't worry, the crystal isn't dangerous.

…… he really knows me well.

It is just that the amount of energy it gives off is staggering. If I were to keep it on hand, I'll be constantly faced with mages challenging me for possession of it. Therefore, I've decided that only you with your immense holy aura are capable of overpowering its water aura and hiding it from anyone else's notice. So for now, I'll keep the crystal on you. DO NOT take it off. If you do, others will be able to sense its existence and you'll be in a lot of trouble then.

Warning: Don't you dare sell it off! If I do not find it when I come for it, you're dead.

Love,

Your teacher

And he insists that it's not dangerous…… The crystal itself might not explode, but it can draw mages who can make things explode.

I felt like crying, for what else can I do? I dared not go against my teacher's words, so I had no other option but to hide the crystal under my clothes, hiding it from sight less it provide temptation to others.

After keeping away both the crystal and the letter, I took a moment to look around, realising that I was nowhere near the cave. I have no idea where my teacher had dumped me off; surrounding me on all sides are tall ancient trees. How the heck am I supposed to get back to Leaf from here?

I guess this leaves me with no other option but to use my mage sight, I thought with a sigh. Who would have believed that this immensely valuable and coveted skill is most useful to me when I'm lost?

As I had no idea how far away from Leaf I am right now, I extended my mage sight in all directions as far as I could go. It wasn't long before I found them. They weren't actually all that far away from me, only half a day's walk from my current position. This surprised me. Alstier must have used his powers and flew me quite some distance whilst I was unconscious.

But right after I had found their presence, I immediately sensed something even more surprising. Not too far away from them is an extremely strong dark aura…… they had actually managed to catch up to the Dark Knight?!

Even though I knew that even a Dark Knight could not hope to defeat the Son of War, an uneasy feeling was brewing in my gut. Their auras seemed to be lower than usual, indicating that they had just exerted a lot of energy not too long ago. And the only thing that would cause warriors to lose so much energy would obviously be battles.

And in particular, Leaf's holy aura seemed to be seeping out of him at an alarming rate! It was disappearing from him too quickly and not at all as if he was merely using his holy light……

A jolt shot through me as my hand crept up onto my chest and I cried hoarsely, "Dragon's Holy Robe, in the name of the dragon's successor, I order you to activate!"

Even before the Dragon's Holy Robe had fully activated, I was already rushing forward in their direction, running as swift as the wind.

As I continued to sense Leaf's holy aura fading more and more rapidly, the anxious feeling in my gut grew heavier. It spurred me on to run faster and faster, with no thought to resting my body as I leapt over bushes and around trees. My heart was beating rapidly and heavily like a drum, as if it would explode in the next second; my muscles were burning from the exertion I forced on them; and my lungs laboured to draw in more oxygen for my tired body, my mouth open and gasping at the air……

Hurry! I have to get back to Leaf's side!

~O~O~O~O~

With the added speed from the Dragon's Holy Robe, I managed to cover what would have been half a day's journey in just two hours. Just before I reached Leaf and the rest of them, I paused to change out of the robe before leaping into the clearing. My vision was suddenly flooded with light after the darkness of the forest, but I paid little attention to the painful glare, for my heart had clenched in horror……

The clearing was devoid of any remaining trees, having long since been destroyed by a horrific battle. The charred ground and craters littered all over the clearing only added to the display.

Michael was covered in wounds, his armour battered beyond redemption. As if unable to support even his own weight, he was half leaning against a broken tree stump, staring at nothing.

Ann was sitting on the ground; she, too, looked dazed.

Alston was diligently casting his pitifully limited array of healing spells, and all of them were on Leaf…… Leaf who was lying on the ground, his bow on the ground beside him, but not clenched in his hand.

Just then, Michael and Alston finally noticed my presence. They raised their heads to look at me, all pale-faced and ragged. Alston opened his mouth to speak, but could not find the words to speak to me.

I walked over towards them, my gaze fixed on Leaf's face all the while. His eyes were closed as if unconscious.

"Leaf?" I called out softly.

I didn't get any response from him. Instead, it spurred a reaction from the other three. Ann wailed in despair, slumping to the ground and burying her face in the ground as she tried to muffle her sobs.

What's she crying for? Honestly, it's not like there's anything to cry about……

As I walked to Leaf's side, I could feel the holy aura that once filled him dissipating, only to be replaced by dark aura.

Just then, a whisper slid unbidden through my thoughts – a common enough fact known by most.

'It is only when holy knights have fallen from grace, or have died, that their bodies are slowly taken over by dark aura.'

Leaf! A jolt of pain shot through me, and my heart ached so badly, as if about to tear itself apart……

Unable to stand the sight a second longer, I turned and stalked over to Michael. I grabbed him – so hard that it felt as if my fingers could pierce through what remained of his armour – and shook him, roaring angrily, "How could Leaf have died?! With you, the Son of War, at the front of the fight, how could you still be alive whilst the archer who remains at the back is dead?! "

'If-if I find out that you had purposely allowed Leaf to die, all of you will pay!'

Upon hearing my accusations, Michael turning a shade paler as he answered hurriedly, "We'd finally caught up with the Dark Knight and had fought with them for a whole day and night, but still we weren't able to defeat them…… In the end, they managed to get past all of us, but chose to only kill Aimer."

Alston, too, cried out hurriedly, "Sun Knight, please calm down, they…"

Even though he was asking me to calm down, Alston's voice himself was trembling. "Before they left, they left a message for you."

I glared at Alston, but didn't do anything else to him as I was unable to overlook his numerous wounds. I did not doubt that they had just gone through a fierce battle, and truthfully, the wounds on Leaf were lighter and less numerous than Michael and Ann's.

Alston took a few deep breaths before forcing out the rest of it. "They said that, even if you were to go after them after you've cast the resurrection spell, you won't be able to defeat them, so it's useless to chase after them."

My face turned white at that. I see, so killing Leaf was only so they could delay me.

Even though Michael and the rest were defeated, the opponent would have been heavily injured too. If I were to chase after them, I probably could have caught them…… Hold on! I felt a little doubtful at that string of thought. Why would they fear me so when I've been showing such a weak front all along?

I shook my head at that and threw the thoughts to the back of my mind. My mind's in a mess right now and I can't think straight in such a state. No matter what the reason, if it weren't because I had mastered the resurrection arts, they never would have dared to kill Leaf.

That Dark Knight was very strong; he must have been someone of importance in the Church of Chaos, to have dared to kill the Church of Light's Leaf Knight. If Leaf were to really die for good, it would have incited a full-out war between the Church of Light and the Church of Chaos.

But my whole body had chilled at the realisation…… the Resurrection Arts again. The last time, Adair had nearly been killed, and now, Leaf had been killed for real.

The Resurrection Arts…… is it really saving lives? Or just leading people to their deaths?

Once one knows that people can be revived, do they no longer value human life?

Just then, Ann who had been silent all along suddenly leapt up in fury and yelled at me, "What right do you have to blame Michael? You who weren't even here while we were engaged in battle! Where were you, huh?! Where were you?!"

I let go of Michael at that and stumbled back. Even though I had left to investigate, but after having found out about the suspicious figures following us, I had not immediately returned, but had instead fooled around with my teacher and Alstier for a few days.

"I thought there wouldn't be any problems…… The Son of War, a warrior priest and with Leaf and his bow… and the opponent only had a Dark Knight and a Wind Mage… how could they have lost? How is it possible?..." I mumbled, trying to find something - someone - to push the blame onto. If not, the first person I would want to kill to avenge Leaf's murder would be…… myself!

"They had another powerful ally, a very powerful one……" Alston's breath hitched at the thought of that person and a shudder ran through his body. "It was a Chaos priest."

'Chaos priest.' The words rang through my head, and I immediately understood.

Holy priests specialise in healing, the warrior priests focus on spells or 'buffs' that strengthen their comrades, while chaos priests excel in attacks themselves. Their method of attacks is very similar to necromancers. In fact, one could say that chaos priests are an improved version of necromancers, for they are necromancers blessed with the favour of the God of Chaos.

Fortunately, their numbers are very, very small. So rare are they that the Church of Chaos hardly dared to allow any to leave their church, for even the death of one would be an immense loss to them.

"That chaos priest was so strong…… how could they have gotten so strong? It's just not possible……" mumbled Alston.

"That Dark Knight was very strong as well," said Michael darkly, "I wouldn't be at all surprised if he turned out to be the God of Chaos's champion!"

I shot a look at the Son of War. He really wasn't the person in charge of his church's affairs after all, to be unaware of even this fact. The God of Chaos's champion isn't a Dark Knight at all. But even if he wasn't the champion, Michael's guess probably wasn't too far off the mark in that the Dark Knight was a very important figure in the Church of Chaos, or he would never have been able to battle the Son of War for a whole day and night.

But all that is irrelevant…… for now.

I took a deep breath before turning to the three and said, "I'm going to perform the Resurrection Arts."

The three of them were blindsided by that announcement, but Alston quickly recovered and asked politely, "Should we leave?"

I shook my head and said, "No, I need your protection. Don't allow a single thing to approach me, not even a single blade of leaf!"

"Alright!"

They nodded in determination. Alston, in particular, looked rather bright-eyed, but this was hardly surprising. Any priest who knew that they would have the opportunity to witness a resurrection would have the same look. If it were the Bright Light Priests, they would have been dancing in joy and excitement.

"How long has Leaf been dead?" I asked carefully.

"More or less two hours." Alston answered vigilantly.

I nodded my head at that. I have plenty of time. I drew a large circle around Leaf before turning to the others and said, "From now onwards, no matter what I do or say, do not speak a word to me, and don't allow a single thing to enter this circle."

Once again, they nodded solemnly and stood up to take their positions around the circle, forming a triangle with Leaf and I in the middle.

I felt rather relieved to see their determination. With them here, I have nothing to worry about except for the Dark Knight and the chaos priest returning…… I paused at that. Could that be their plan all along? Taking the opportunity to kill us off whilst I'm reviving Leaf?

I examined Leaf carefully. His death was caused by a single thin blade through the heart; the wound was small and it was a clean cut. This relieved me, for the chaos priest should be aware that the more the body had been damaged, the harder it would be to resurrect the dead. If their intention was to kill us all they wouldn't have killed Leaf with such a clean cut.

Even though I still had a lot of doubts, I could not hesitate anymore. I drew the Holy Sun Blade from its scabbard hanging at my waist, and using the blade as a pen, I began carving the ritual's runes on the ground.

With that done, I then looked at Leaf quietly. Even in death, he looked to be at peace. If it were not for his colour being a little too pale, no one would have thought that those eyes of his would never blink open again. He even had a faint smile gracing the corners of his lips……

He's always been so cheerful and happy-go-lucky, and accepting of everything. Even though this is the Leaf Knight's characteristics, who amongst the Twelve Holy Knights is really as they portray? Earth was in no way loyal and down-to-earth, and no one who really knew me would call me kind and loving.

"Speaking of Earth…… when we were still young, Earth and I used to get into such huge fights; it's always been you who would get caught in the middle, running between the two of us, smiling through our black moods and horrible tempers until we would finally relent and make up."

'There was one time when no matter what we refused to make up. In the end, you had burst into tears and sobbed so loudly that even Judge had heard the commotion and came over. He'd glared at the both of us so scarily that we didn't dare to continue our fight and could only plead with you to stop crying.'

As I thought back, my memories flew back to the very beginning……

"I still remember the first time I met you; you were always with a smile on your face. I could smile brighter than you, more trustworthy and better looking than you, but I could never smile a smile from the heart as you did; your smile was like a breath of fresh air……"

I fell silent for some time before speaking again, "But to tell the truth, I really hated your smile. It was as if your smile were mocking me, mocking how fake my smile was. Your kind nature was mocking me too, telling me that you were the one who was truly kind, not me.

"That's why I've always liked to bully you, even till now…… but you've never once gotten angry. Is it really so hard to shout at me once in a while? But in the end, your only way of rebelling and letting out your frustrations was to nail little straw dolls!

"Do you have to be so kind?! You idiot!" I cried out.

I kept thinking back, thinking back on all our memories until my face was streaked with tears, streaming down my face and falling to the ground beside Leaf. I kept thinking and recalling, until I could see nothing but Leaf opening his eyes once more, nothing else.

'I won't let you die, and I won't let you revive with any defects, Leaf! You're not allowed to return except in your original condition. You won't have any other defects! Never!'

I closed my eyes, suppressing the urge to sob and looked up to the sky. I looked up at the sun that shines so far away from me, at the unseen God of Light.

Slowly, word by word, I called out clearly, "O' God of Light! May you hear me out in my regret and listen to me despite my foolishness. I have always claimed that the Sun Knight values his holy knights, that all holy knights belong to me and that no one is allowed to harm them. And yet, I had left behind Elmairy Leaf, and when in his time of need, I had not carried out the responsibilities of a comrade, I was not at his side……"

I took another deep breath and pleaded, "Lay all the blame with me, as it should be. My sin is too much for words, and I accept any and all punishments you see fit to give me. I only plead that you spare Elmairy Leaf; I beg you not to take him back to your side.

"My God of Light, I swear this to you: I am willing to sacrifice anything to see Elmairy Leaf open his eyes once more. With the blood from my left hand, please bring back life to his left hand; with the blood from my right hand, please bring back life to his right hand……"

Using the Holy Sun Blade, I pressed its sharp blade to my left arm and let the blood run down the blade onto Leaf's left hand. It was then followed by my right hand, then both my legs…….

Only when Leaf's body was covered with my blood did I stop and continued on to the next step of the ritual…… I pierced the blade of my sword into the wound on his heart.

I then kneeled down and looked up. With my arms raised high, I prayed to the distant and unseen God of Light……

'Please return a whole and complete Leaf to me. I will pay the price, whatever it is.

'Please return him to me alive and well.

'Return him to me!'

I looked back down, and carefully holding the Holy Sun Blade, I started releasing holy light and focused them into the sword, directing the holy light through the sword and into Leaf's body, pushing out the dark aura that had crept into his body and filling it with my light aura, until at last, Leaf was glowing with so much holy light that his figure could no longer be seen, only a glowing ball of bright light.

I maintained this for a long time, doing my best to hold it out for as long as possible……

Finally, when I felt that I was almost out of holy light and only had enough to finish the remaining parts of the ritual, I slowly stopped sending out the holy light and stood up, slowly drawing the Holy Sun Blade out. And as I drew the blade from Leaf's wound, the remaining holy light slowly healed the fatal wound that had killed Leaf.

At last, when the Holy Sun Blade was finally clear of Leaf's body, I flung away the sword and threw out a blast of holy light at Leaf's heart.

Just then, Leaf gasped a breath of air and arched into the air as his body writhed and spasmed. He began coughing and his expression looked to be in great pain.

But upon seeing this, I felt as if a heavy burden had just been unloaded from my chest, and I could feel the prickle of tears in my eyes. At least, he's alive.

After coughing for some time, Leaf finally had the strength to turn to me. "Su-Sun……"

I stared at him fixedly. Good, he looks like he has his wits with him, and his voice sounds normal. His appearance doesn't seem to be altered in any way either.

Thank God……

My vision started to go out of focus as black started to creep into my vision, until at last I felt myself crumple to the ground……

~O~O~O~O~

"Sun……"

When I regained conscience, the first thing I registered was someone calling out my name and pulling me up. I turned to see who it was, but nothing greeted me but darkness. Huh, did I not open my eyes yet?

I blinked. That's not right, my eyes are wide open.

"Sun?"

I heard Leaf's voice coming from somewhere very near…… I turned to look in his direction, but this darkness wasn't letting me see his face, damn it! How can I check to see if he had escaped any side-effects from the resurrection like this!

I frowned and stretched my arm towards where I had last heard his voice coming from until I reached his face. 'Hmmm, feels like any other ordinary face.' I let out a sigh of relief at that. At least his face is okay.

"Sun……"

Just then, Leaf's trembling voice penetrated my mind. "Your eyes……"

I stared blankly, finally remembering about it. My eyes……

After a while which consisted of Leaf breathing rapidly whilst he cast numerous healing spells on me, his breathing turned steadily more ragged and breathless. He sounded panicky, like he didn't know what else to do……

In the end, I turned and smiled at him. "I'm fine now. I'd just woken up earlier, so my vision was a little messed up. Probably because I was too tired. I'm sorry, I must have frightened you."

Instead of being reassured, Leaf sounded more upset at my words as he asked pressingly, "Sun, tell me, how many fingers have I got?"

I kept quiet at that.

Leaf sounded very close to tears. "Sun……"

A muffled chuckle burst from me as I said laughingly, "Hahaha! It's two, alright? Look at you all panicky and all. Really, I was just tired just now, nothing to it."

Leaf was stunned for a moment before he cried out, "You! You scared me! Didn't you say you've repented? And here I thought you wouldn't bully me anymore."

Oh, he heard that?…… Darn it! "I had repented, but I never said anything about not doing it again!" I shouted a little embarrassedly.

"Honestly,…" said Leaf, sniffing. "Do you have any idea how worried I was?! Argh, you're so mean!"

Alright, this could be considered shouting in anger, right? I felt reassured that my years of campaign to anger Leaf had finally borne fruit! Praise be the God of Light!

"Alright, let's stop fooling around. We have to hurry up and chase after that Dark Knight that dared to kill you. Michael, you guys, get over here so I can heal your wounds!"

I picked up the Holy Sun Blade and stood up, laughing. I was about to walk in their direction, but missed the crater in front of me and stumbled. If I hadn't quickly used my sword to stabilise myself I would have fallen to the ground again.

A tense silence descended on the clearing.

I hurriedly straightened and smiled, asking, "Why's it so quiet? Resurrecting someone is no walk in the park, okay? I was just weak in the knees."

"Sun……"

The hitched sob was back in his voice as Leaf interrupted me. "Sun, you can't see, right? Don't lie to me. Don't try to keep it from me by purposely going after the Dark Knight and letting them slash at your eyes. I know what you're thinking, please don't do that, I'm begging you……"

I fell silent at that before forcing a grin and saying, "What are you talking about? I saw you had two fingers, didn't I? Now how could a blind have seen that? You're so silly, Leaf."

Leaf suddenly grabbed my hand tightly and pleaded, "Please……"

I merely said calmly, "I'm not blind, Leaf. You're thinking too much."

"Enough of this nonsense." Just then, Michael cut in impatiently. "Sun, how many?"

I paused before replying, "One."

Michael then asked again, "How about now?"

"Do you think me an idiot?" I asked exasperatedly, "You don't even have your arms raised!"

Michael muttered something at that before saying aloud to Leaf, "Aimer, stop crying. He really isn't blind!"

"I don't understand……" said Leaf, sounding lost and confused.

"You've just been resurrected, so you might feel a little confused. Stop thinking about it too much," I reassured him. "You need a night's rest, don't worry. You said not to chase after the Dark Knight, and I think maybe you're right. You really should have a good rest, and I'm also tired after performing the resurrection ritual. Let's head back to Leafy Forest Town and recuperate there, it's not too far from here."

When I didn't get a reply from Leaf, I asked again, "Is that okay?"

Instead of answering me, they all went quiet. I had no idea what was wrong now, but dared not ask again in fear of saying the wrong thing. After a while, Leaf quietly spoke up, "I'd nodded my head just now, Sun."

"Oh, I hadn't noticed," I said calmly. "I'm sorry, but I'd just ran all the way here, and then had to perform the resurrection arts on you. I'm really tired and need to rest. Stop thinking nonsense again or I'll start wondering if you really are suffering from some side-effect from the resurrection, like hallucination and stuff."

After a moment, Leaf spoke up, "Alright. We'll talk about it after we've rested. Let me carry you to the town."

"No way," I refused tiredly. "You've just been revived; you shouldn't be doing anything strenuous. You need to rest even more than I do."

Just then, Michael cut in, saying, "I'll carry you, and let Ann carry Leaf."

When I heard his suggestion, my poor opinion of him improved immensely. After nodding my head in gratitude, I threw an elementary healing spell each at Michael and Ann. Even though it wasn't much help, and Alston had quite a few injuries himself, I really couldn't do much more than that.

After climbing onto Michael's back, I fell into a restless doze, waking up a few times intermittently. But each time I woke up my mind felt cloudy and I soon fell back asleep not too long after.

When we finally reached Leafy Forest Town, I was able to leave the rock-hard back behind and lay upon a soft bed. I faintly recalled them asking me something, but I wasn't really listening and merely replied 'up to you' before turning over and ignoring them. Only when I was unbearably hungry would I call out for them. I would then be carefully fed before lying back down to sleep on my comfy bed once more.

Previous Next

Book 3: Step 6 – The Sixth Step in Rescuing a Princess: “Explore a mysterious underground cave”

2011-09-14T21:27:00.001+01:00

*Disclaimer note: This is merely a translation of the original Chinese version. I do not claim any part in the creation of the original story.

I slowly blinked my eyes open, having not a clue where I am and what had happened. Just then, a throbbing pain in my head reminded me of my indulgence last night…… and the results of it - I had hangover.

'A hangover? I actually got drunk? How many bottles of wine did my teacher order? I shouldn't have bothered heckling history's strongest Sun Knight for an additional ten percent reward…… Just the money spent on my drinks last night should have cost him that ten percent!'

I looked around, trying to get my bearings, but the moment I looked down I immediately opened my mouth……

"Aahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!" I screamed.

My feet weren't standing on firm ground as I had initially thought; instead, the ground was at least twenty meters away below me! How the hell did I get so high up?! (This is even higher than the top of the Holy Temple's tallest tower!)

"Ahhh!! Ahh!! O' Goddess of Light, I do not wish to be so tall!" I continued my screaming. "I promise I'll never secretly drink behind your back ever again!"

"What in God's name are you moaning about now?! You should know better than to be so noisy so early in the morning!" came my teacher's annoyed voice.

"Technically, it's already past noon right now."

And there was Alstier's voice too.

I twisted my head to the side, and there he was - my teacher. He, too, was floating in midair, yawning and stretching, looking as if he had just been awoken from a deep slumber…… I'm rather impressed by him! Even when floating in midair with nothing to support us, his admirable person can still manage to stretch so gracefully and with such ease, as befitting of an ex-Sun Knight of twenty years.

And now that I've taken a second glance around, I noticed the third person floating with us. I'm guessing that the figure completely covered in the cloak is none other than Alstier himself.

At the moment, Alstier was radiating an immense amount of wind aura.

"You can actually fly?!" I exclaimed in astonishment. I had assumed that Alstier would have been a master in dark magic; as a dark creature, dark magic should have come to him naturally, whilst the other branches of magic would have been harder for him to learn.

"Not at first." The hooded figure turned towards me, revealing Alstier's familiar face. He looked rather exasperated as he explained, "However, Neo insisted that wind magic would be immensely helpful when travelling and forced me to learn it. I had a hard time learning it until I finally mastered two wind magic techniques – Instant Teleportation and Flying."

"Ah, I see," I said, knowing by experience how he felt. "My teacher has always liked forcing others to learn strange things, so try to get used to it."

"I can tell you've also suffered," said Alstier sympathetically.

"It's alright. It's all in the past for me now, but now it's your turn to bear with it……"

"I'm right here," My teacher said icily.

Alstier and I smirked at each other, but kept our mouths shut.

However, I couldn't help speaking up once more to ask, "Teacher, where are we going?"

He slid me a look and asked doubtfully, "You haven't forgotten the quest I mentioned last night after all your drinking, have you?"

"Of course not."

He then nodded and explained, "Right now, we are on our way to complete the quest. With us flying, the trip shouldn't take us too long and you should be able to meet up with the rest of your party soon."

'That is true,' I thought. 'If this quest doesn't take up too much time I might even be able to make it back to them quicker than if I were to travel by myself.'

Having settled my transportation problem, I then turned my thoughts to the quest at hand.

"What is the quest about?" I asked.

My teacher gave me a small smile and said, "Don't worry. It's a pretty simple task, especially for someone like you."

"Ah, I see, haha!" I, too, smiled an equally fake smile. When my teacher had brought up training me in falling elegantly, he had spoken in the exact same warm and carefree tone…… I turned to look at Alstier; the latter had a look of resigned determination on his face.

I was already considering taking my chances jumping from twenty meters above ground, and then running for my life as history's strongest Sun Knight chased after me. Between this and following my teacher to my doom, which would give me a higher probability of surviving?

Hmm… both look to be equally unpromising……

~O~O~O~O~

After flying for a whole day and night, I was about to commend Alstier on his impressive powers for being able to keep up the Flying spell for so long, when we finally landed on the ground. He then slyly announced, "I've used up all my energy on Flying, so it's all up to you guys now."

'You shameless sneaky Dark Elf……'

After silently cursing Alstier, I then turned my attentions to the dark cave behind us. There was not a single thing growing within a hundred meters of the cave and the cave itself was giving of heavy waves of dark aura. As if not satisfied with how ominous and intimidating it looked and felt, screams of terror and moans of agony could be heard from within, and I could even hear sounds of bones grinding against one another……

My teacher drew his sword and said excitedly, "The quest's mission is to permanently rid this cave of any and all undead creatures."

At that, I turned to him with a wooden expression. "Teacher, this is a Dark Land."

"I'm aware of that."

"Teacher, a Dark Land is an area of land that, for some unknown reason, would continuously give off a dark aura, and coincidentally also happened to be the site of some great battle or a cemetery; thus, the number of the dead buried under this land could rival the number of stars in the sky, continuously turning into undead creatures and crawling their way back up."

"I know that. Why are you spouting of all that for? After three years you've become even more of a nag," my teacher complained with impatience.

'Do not get angry, do not get angry. Even if you get angry you can't fight and win against him……' I focused on breathing in deep breaths before finally managing to turn the ends of my mouth up into a smile.

"If you already knew all this then you should also know that even if we were to rid the cave of all the undead, the cave would be filled with them once more two days later! It's impossible to permanently rid this place of the undead."

He smiled at that and replied, "Of course I knew that. Why else did you think I brought you along for?"

I should have just jumped down earlier and taken my chances with my teacher's pursuit! But it is now too late for regrets. Still, I struggled for a way out of this. "…… teacher, even with my holy aura at its most powerful it's impossible for me to completely cleanse this place of its dark aura."

"We can still try. And don't forget about the Holy Sun Blade and me."

Even though all this was said in a calm manner, I knew that the more calm and collected my teacher appeared to be, the more determined he is to do something.

"Why are you so set on purifying this place?" I asked in curiosity. "There are countless of Dark Lands around, why this one in particular?"

He smiled faintly as he asked, "Do you know why the surrounding area has not been negatively impacted by this Dark land despite it continuously producing countless undead creatures?"

I shook my head.

"This is because a long time ago, a group of very powerful mages used an incredibly strong Water Crystal called "Eternal Serenity" and set up a barrier around the cave, thus stopping any undead from venturing further than a hundred meters from this cave.

'I see.' I nodded my head to show my understanding.

These Dark Lands are a constant source of worry and headache for every country. Nations would try anything and everything to stop the negative impacts stemming from the Dark Lands, and one of the easiest and quickest ways is to work with mages and priests to set up a barrier to seal the undead in.

Again, my teacher smiled faintly as he calmly announced his shocking objective. "I want that Eternal Serenity."

I was stunned. 'So that's what this is all about. He wants the Eternal Serenity. But once he removes the Water Crystal, the barrier would instantly collapse and the undead would venture forth from the cave, wreaking havoc and killing innocents……'

But I knew that my teacher would never allow such a thing to happen, hence he would have to first cleanse this cave of its dark aura before he can take the crystal.

My face turned gloomy at this thought, but still I turned to look at my teacher with a shred of hope. "Do you really have to have that crystal? Can't any other do?"

He shrugged nonchalantly and said, "Only if you can find another crystal as powerful as this one... but I've been looking around for quite some time and nothing would work better than the Eternal Serenity."

I thought to myself dejectedly, 'Even if there is one, it'd probably be harder to get. Otherwise, it would have already been taken by others.'

'Looks like there's no way out of this.'

As I turned back to peer into the dark gaping mouth of the cave, I prayed fervently that it wouldn't become my final resting place……

But I really felt that going in unprepared like this was not a very smart thing to do, so I hurriedly turned to the mission's leader. "Teacher, do you have any plans on how to go about this?"

"Yes," he replied immediately.

As I looked on at his confident bearing, I was filled with such high hopes as I asked eagerly, "Well? What is it?"

He raised a finger and pointed at the cave. "We make our way into the deepest parts of the cave, killing every undead we see. Then after a day of resting whilst we wait for you to recuperate your holy aura, we purify the cave, take the Eternal Serenity, and thus conclude our successful mission!"

I stared at him in silence. If you can call that a plan then 'Find the enemy, defeat the enemy, rescue the princess and marry the princess' would be The Perfect Plan for Princess Rescues. There would be no need to alter a single word of it.

"It could have been worse."

Just then, Alstier spoke up airily, "Do you know under what circumstances we had to complete a mission to infiltrate a dragon's lair and steal a crown from its treasure trove……?"

"What circumstances?" I immediately asked. I desperately needed to know how much worse it could have been. It was the only way I could convince myself to accept my fate and take on this Herculean task.

Alstier had tears in his eyes as he recounted their past misfortunes. "The priest hadn't gotten enough sleep the previous night as he was busy being entertained in the brothels, and so he was left with less than one-fourth of his holy energy; the warrior's sword had broken and was still with the blacksmith for repairs; whilst scouting the situation ahead, the thief discovered a treasure chest and ran off with it; the mage had accidentally burnt half of their magic scrolls whilst cooking; and the holy knight had a hangover from drinking too much wine the previous night……"

"Hold on, who is this idiot mage who had burnt half the magic scrolls?" I interrupted, sensing something was not right.

"It was me," Alstier admitted quietly, lowering his head in shame.

"And the hungover holy knight?" I had a really bad feeling about this.

"That would be me." This time the answer came from Neo. He shot me a look and said threateningly, "Do you have anything to complain about history's strongest Sun Knight? Hmmm?"

"No! Of course not!" I refuted hastily. "But teacher, your hangover……"

"Hmph!" He gave a snort and waved impatiently, "I didn't drink that much last night."

I felt relieved at that.

"So I'm only a little hangover."

"……"

'Holy Light! Michael, Alston, Ann and my dear Leaf! You are the best party members anyone could ask for. I was wrong to have scorned you, please rescue me! Take me back to your party, I wouldn't mind being a priest!'

Unfortunately, Leaf and I weren't able to communicate telepathically, so he didn't come to rescue me. I could only follow my teacher into the cave with reluctance, knowing that my future was as dark as the cave I entered……

The moment we stepped foot into the cave, a line of white skeletons standing on each side of the entrance greeted us. These skeletons were probably some of the 'fresher' corpses – maybe even the unlucky adventurers who had lost their lives in this cave, perhaps – for these skeletons still had some 'meat on their bones' and weren't completely rotten away. Because of this, the visual impact was rather frightening; and other than the visual impact, I felt that my nose, too, suffered greatly.

My teacher immediately pinched his nose and cried out, "Why aren't you burning them away?! It god-damn stinks in here!"

I gave him a hum in reply and carelessly flung out a blast of holy light. The sound of bones clattering to the ground could be heard all around us, and when the holy light had faded away, the forest of white skeletons had turned into powdered ash, carpeting the entire floor in white as if inviting us to proceed further.

Although he claimed that he had a slight hangover, my teacher was still able to slash away all the undead in our way and clear up the path for us. Sometimes he even used too much force and ended up widening the cave. I was rather concerned about the cave collapsing around us, but after thinking about it I decided that even if the cave was to collapse around us, my teacher would still be able to blast a hole out for us, so there was no need to worry about it.

As for Alstier, even though he claimed that he had exhausted all his energy Flying us, when I 'accidentally' missed a skeleton heading for him, he hadn't even bothered to look at it as he released a very advanced level dark spell – Hell's Fire – and burned it to a crisp.

Because Hell's Fire is a large-range spell, the fire accidentally spread to the other skeletons, causing a huge 'bonefire' that could not be controlled.

I then cast a Wind Blade…… and fanned myself. Ho boy! It sure is hot in here!

But with this I was finally able to get a real idea of just how strong my teacher and Alstier really were. It was not just plain luck that they managed to escape from a dragon's lair unscathed even in such extenuating circumstances.

Alstier rolled his eyes at me upon seeing my actions and asked exasperatedly, "Aren't you a little too relaxed?"

Before I could retort to this, my teacher placated him. "Alstier, you have to think of him as a priest."

"Ah!" a look of understanding passed over him and he turned to me apologetically, "I apologise. The priest should stay at the back in situations like these. But could you please spare a few Wind Blades in my direction? It's quite hot in here."

"Sure." I sent a few weakened Wind Blades at him before reminding him, "Next time, don't use these kinds of spell in an enclosed area. You'll not only harm the enemy (which is fine), but also yourself (which is not)."

"He's right." My teacher agreed as he fanned himself with one of his shoulder armour.

"Yes, yes. I'm sorry for causing all this heat and inconveniencing everyone," Alstier apologised. A Dark Elf that admits his mistakes and learn from them, how admirable.

Following that, as the fire didn't seem to be going out anytime soon…… probably because of the constant supply of fuel - undead creatures, the three of us decided to sit down and wait it out. We then turned our attentions to preparing lunch, making use of the ready supply of 'fire' to cook our food.

"It can't be good to use fire that burns from corpses to cook our food, can it?" asked Alstier as he gave the cooked meat a disgusted look. He then continued on worriedly, "Not to mention that it is fire made from dark magic; it might not be safe for human consumption."

"Even if it isn't safe for human consumption it shouldn't matter to you," I said self-righteously. "You're not even human!"

Alstier turned my words over in his head before agreeing, "You're right!" He then began eating the meat without reserve.

By the time we had finished with our meal, the fire had grown smaller. We made our way forward, passing still-smouldering piles of ashes, and continued on our journey. We didn't really have any idea which direction to go in, so we did as my teacher suggested –

We headed in the direction where the undead got stronger and more powerful.

We advanced from the lowest level of undead skeletons to the even smellier Corpse Eaters. (Death Eaters? LOL.) These creatures are corpses half rotted away with lots of rotten scraps of meat still clinging to their bones. Although they cannot move very quickly, they carry a deadly poison on them, and with just one touch one would be poisoned. If there isn't a priest or any Healing Potions in the group, well, you might as well start digging your grave now.

But even without the knowledge of its poisonous attribute, I wouldn't go anywhere near it. Even standing ten meters away from them, I could still smell their horrid smell. If I were to get within reaching distance of them I think I would rather cut off my own nose; who cares about how poisonous they are!

"Urgh! You horrid stinking corpses! Go meet the God of Light and repent your disregard for basic personal hygiene to Her!"

With one hand pinching my nose, I threw out volleys of Wind Blades in an attempt to fan away the stink. I then radiated an immense holy light, so bright that the entire cave was lighted up as if a small sun had just exploded in there. When the holy light finally faded away, the whole cave was clear of all undead; even the air smelt clean and fresh.

I finally released my nose and nodded in satisfaction, "I knew it. Holy light is the ultimate disinfectant/air freshener."

Following that, we encountered zombies, rotted Hell Hounds, blood-sucking corpses (I think they are more commonly called vampires?), some creature that looked more or less like a giant eyeball, the inky black shadow monster……

Well, all sorts of monsters and demons were popping up left and right, but they were all easily dealt with by my teacher. And when some of the corporal creatures gathered in large groups, I was treated to the sight of Alstier unleashing all sorts of dark magic on them, whilst learning a few tricks from him myself. As for me? Well, I dealt with disinfecting the spiritual undead – like the shadow monster – with my holy light.

On our way through the caves, we stumbled upon another group…… the five of them were being beaten back by a gigantic Skeleton Warriors and it was only after my teacher had hacked away at the Skeleton Warrior that we saw the five of them.

They were a pretty standard party, with a warrior, an archer, a thief, a warrior priest, and a less commonly seen druid. Druids are sometimes called Children of the Forest, and their specialty is transforming into various animals, as well as healing.

The moment we saw them Alstier immediately pulled down his hood, hiding himself from them to avoid unnecessary conflict.

The five of them stared at my teacher in a daze. My teacher, while a little surprised to see them too, immediately let out a 'Sunny' smile and said warmly, "My apologies. I didn't see you there and stole your kill. Why don't we just treat it as your kill and you guys can take all of the spoils from it."

The other group continued staring at my teacher. The two females in the group – the archer and the warrior priest – were staring at my teacher with love and adoration; the warrior's stare was filled with idolisation and awe; the thief was staring at my teacher's priceless blade and impressive armour with a glint in his eye; and as for the druid, he was the most normal of them all as he merely stared at my teacher with suspicion, his body tensed with wariness.

Although the named leader of the group is most likely the warrior who stood at the forefront of the group, I'm pretty sure the actual brains of the group is the druid.

"You're a party group? A knight, an assassin, and a mage?" asked the druid as he took us in with a frown.

"No, he's a priest," said my teacher as he gestured towards me. He then clarified, "And I am a holy knight."

"A priest?" asked the druid doubtfully, "but he is wearing an assassin's outfit."

My teacher unleashed his trustworthy smile on him as he replied, "Oh, that's because his priest's outfit was burnt accidentally whilst cooking, so he had to put on the assassin's outfit."

Just then, I stepped forward and disinfected the remains of the Skeleton Warrior lying on the ground. With a wave of holy light, the Skeleton Warrior turned into a pile of ashes, leaving behind the spoils: some armour and a sword.

I nodded my head in satisfaction, but when I raised my head I saw that the five of them had turned their stunned attentions to me.

Alstier neared me and whispered in my ear, "You forgot to recite the incantations."

'Shit! I forgot about that.'

Well, after seeing this demonstration from me, even the druid dazedly nodded his head, the thought to question where I would get an assassin's outfit from when there wasn't an assassin in the group flung out the window.

However, I would like to stress that it is not an assassin's outfit that I am wearing, but one of Alstier's outfits that he normally wears underneath the cloak. But because it is black and a little more tight-fitting than normal, it is easily mistaken for an assassin's outfit.

At that moment, the druid spoke up, "This Skeleton Warrior belongs to you. To tell the truth, if you hadn't arrived just now, it was unlikely that we would have been able to leave this cave."

Upon hearing that I turned to look at them closely. Indeed, they looked rather battered and exhausted.

I kindly reminded them, "If that is so, you guys can go out now. We've dealt with the undead behind us, so there shouldn't be any more danger on your way out."

The druid smiled bitterly. "It's impossible. The undead here are revived within three days; the outer caves should now be filled with them once more, and unlike when we first entered here, we are no longer at our strongest. I don't think we'll be able to make it out."

At that, the warrior said regretfully, "I'm sorry, guys. I shouldn't have brought you guys in too deep."

Hearing that, his fellow party members consoled him saying, "It's not your fault. No one could have expected to meet the Skeleton Warriors and the Hell Hounds; if not for that we would have been perfectly fine."

As I watched them speaking so despondently and resigning themselves to their fate, I couldn't help cutting in, "But we just killed off all the undead not too long ago, they haven't had time to revive yet."

The other group was stunned at that; the warrior asked, "You- How long did it take you guys to get here?"

Seeing that my teacher was keeping his silence and Alstier's indifference, I gave the question some thought. How long did we take to get here?

I finally replied tentatively, "About three…"

"What? Three days?!" the five of them were shocked. "Even with the five of us we spent a week to get here!"

"……" I had actually intended to say three hours even though we actually took 30 minutes. Thank goodness I hadn't answered clearly……

"If you guys took only three days then it's possible that the undead really haven't been revived yet!" They looked ecstatic at the news.

"That's right! Why don't you quickly collect all the spoils and get out. Don't worry, we'll be fine," said my teacher as he waved at them. He then 'kindly' reminded them, "Run quickly, or else the undead might revive before you get out, and that'll be bad."

I stared at my unscrupulous teacher, speechless. In reality, they had three whole days to get out; even if they had desired they could have crawled their way out and still make it.

When the other group heard my teacher's words, they hurriedly collected the items on the ground and followed his suggestion and ran out. They barely had time to shout out their thanks as they rushed away towards the entrance.

I stared after them as they made their hasty retreat. They probably wouldn't dare to approach this place again. "I didn't know we were that strong?" I muttered with disbelief.

Overhearing me, my teacher laughed and said mockingly, "Who do you think you are? Who do you think I am? And how many years of experience as a mage do you think Alstier has?"

"But to be honest, this party group still can't beat your last group," chipped in Alstier.

He then continued on to explain, "The warriors are the Son of War and the famous Female Warrior - Princess Ann; the archer is one of the Twelve Holy Knights; plus you have a warrior priest who can boost the warriors' strengths, and with history's most powerful (in Divine Spells) Sun Knight as the priest…… even if you were to call yourselves the Dragon Slayers, no one would accuse you of overreaching yourselves."

Upon hearing that, I suddenly felt rather relieved. All the while I had been secretly worried about leaving my group, but now that I'm told that our group are on a level capable of slaying dragons, my worries were lightened. Even if they were to meet with some incident they should be able to deal with it fine!

But just as I was feeling relieved, my teacher's expression darkened and he lectured me, "But there is nothing for sure in this world, child. You never know when something or someone even stronger than you might appear."

I bowed my head in subservience, but I didn't really agree with him. I mean, is there really anything greater than dragons in this world?

He probably realised that he was worrying for nothing, but still his head was creased in a frown as he hurried us, "Let's go! The sooner we finish up here the sooner you can get back to your team. I have an uneasy feeling about this. No matter what, one shouldn't leave their team and go cavorting around. If it weren't because I needed you for this, I wouldn't have delayed your return to your group."

Even though I wasn't really worried about them, I nodded my head in agreement. I already knew that Ann would be trying to stall for more time so that her sister Princess Alice would be able to elope successfully. Even if I were to go back now I'd only be dragged around in circles! So I was in no hurry to get back.

Besides, I didn't really feel like playing the bad guy and separating a pair of lovers. When I met that super-hot (kill him!) Dark Knight, he hadn't even attacked me. Faced with such a reasonable person, I feel even more reluctant to force them apart.

My teacher let out a big sigh and said, "Let's go. We'll talk about it after our mission is over."

I nodded and followed him.

~O~O~O~O~

Following that, we spent a further three days circling around in the cave system, searching for the Eternal Serenity.

These three days were pretty fun and exciting. Alstier had countless stories to tell. He would tell me about his home and his experiences after he left home to explore above ground. He left out his personal details, but that is to be expected. Everyone has the right to keep their own secrets.

In return, I would regale him with interesting stories about the Holy Temple, and he would always listen with great interest. When I brought up the more recent happenings, even my teacher would laugh with us.

When I mentioned the incident regarding Roland, I was careful to watch for my teacher's expressions, worried that he would scold me for going overboard, and then order me to barbeque Roland on a stake.

But upon hearing my story, Alstier was the first to laugh out loud. "No wonder you had no prejudice against this evil Dark Elf. When you're already best friends with a Death Knight, what's a mere Dark Elf to you?"

My teacher, on the other hand, had a fondly exasperated expression as he said, "You are really getting out of control."

"Teacher, you won't expose this secret about Roland, will you?" I asked with no small amount of worry.

After a minute of silence, he looked at me in the eye and said seriously, "You have to swear to me that you won't let him leave the Holy Temple; and you'll have to exterminate him before you retire at the age of forty."

I was about to protest against killing Roland when my teacher cut in in a hard tone, "He'll already have had an additional twenty years, it's enough. Unless you wish for him to die at the hands of your successor, you have to kill him while you still have the God of Light's blessings. Otherwise, you might not have sufficient powers to kill him after you've passed on the Holy Sun Blade to the next Sun Knight."

I went quiet at that, and after a few long moments of silence, I nodded. Although, I felt that when the time comes I might not be able to do the deed…… but, I'll deal with it later when the time comes. No need to worry about something that'll happen years later!

"You've always been too soft-hearted. As long as they don't harm you, you would never raise a hand against them, even when they are the most dangerous of beings."

He sighed and patted my head. "I cannot say that this trait of yours is bad, for if not for this very same trait, Alstier would never have become friends with you. But, this trait of yours is also very dangerous. I worry that one day you will pay a hefty price for your trusting nature. "

I bowed my head, pretending to accept his teachings. 'Honestly, he's already retired, yet he still can't stop lecturing his student.'

"Child," he called. When I looked back up at him, he ruffled my hair as if I was still a small child and said softly, "No matter what happens, don't forget that I'm here."

"Remember to count me in," Alstier added casually.

My heart warmed upon hearing their words, but I couldn't resist complaining, "As if! Teacher, you disappeared the moment you handed over the title to me. If you had stuck around I wouldn't have had to go up against the king and princess! With you there they probably would have just shut up and do as they are told; I wouldn't have had to crack my head over the problem."

My teacher cuffed me behind my head at that. "You brat! You're already all grown up; you can't ask me to stay by your side, holding your hand all the way! Deal with such small problems yourself!"

"If that's what you call 'a small problem' then may I ask what exactly I can go to you with? Don't tell me I can only call for your help when I'm up against a dragon?......" I muttered as I rubbed the sore spot on my head. I only got an eye roll from my teacher and a muffled chuckle from Alstier. At that, I too started chuckling. If there really was any dragon slaying to be done, the Holy Temple would have mobilised a whole army, and my Twelve Holy Knights would have been by my side. With them there, I wouldn't need to trouble my teacher for anything.

And so, as we bantered back and forth, we steadily made our way around the cave. Right now, my teacher was dealing with the undead by himself; Alstier and I were hanging around at the back, chatting.

"Neo's so strong! Even amongst my people who are known for their fighting prowess, none can compare to him."

"Yes, he's history's strongest Sun Knight. With how strong he is right now, can you imagine how strong he was back then when he still had the divine blessings from the God of Light?"

"Having the God of Light's blessings shouldn't matter, should it?" asked Alstier cooly. "Even with blessings, would Neo's sword skills improve any at all?"

"Er……" I watched Alstier carefully. The latter doesn't seem to like the topic of religion? "It's true that his sword skills would not improve, but being the representative of the God of Light does bring some advantages."

This topic seemed to really bother Alstier, as he replied, "Increasing one's holy aura is not a good enough reason to devote one's self to the God of Light."

I tilted my head to the side as I thought about it. I then brought up what I felt was the best example. "I am currently the thirty-eighth Sun Knight, but did you know that of the thirty-seven Sun Knights that came before me, not a single one of them had died whilst holding the title?"

A strange expression flickered across his expression and he asked in disbelief, "Are you saying that the Sun Knights cannot die?"

"Of course not," I rolled my eyes at him and said exasperatedly, "just very hard to kill us, is all. Because we are filled with so much holy aura, our self-healing abilities are extremely strong. As long as we do not receive a fatal blow, it is very hard for us to die."

At that moment, my teacher chose to cut in with a laugh. As he continued hacking away at the undead around him, he added, "It's said that the tenth generation Sun Knight once received a slash across the chest so deep that even his heart was cut. Yet, he still lived."

Alstier only shook his head in amazement.

I smiled and said, "So you see, with how strong my teacher is now, if he were to still retain that amazingly strong self-healing ability, he would be even more invincible--"

I suddenly stopped.

Alstier shot me a look. "Creus?"

I took a deep breath before pointing ahead and saying, "I think we've reached our destination. I can sense an extremely strong water aura at the end of that turning!"

Hearing that, my teacher swiftly dealt with the last undead. He then raised his sword, held the position for about three seconds before swinging it forward……

My gold hair and Alstier's white hair were whipped back by the force of the blow. We stared on woodenly as the path ahead seemed to explode with a hundred explosive magic scrolls, one after another, until at last we heard a last loud 'boom!'

The entire corridor swirled with dust and debris……

My teacher turned to us and said brightly, "Alright, the undead have all been dealt with! Child, go in and have a rest, and when you're ready, purify the area. Don't worry; I'll be standing out here to make sure that no other creatures come in and disturb you."

Alstier turned to look at me and said stiffly, "I really don't think Neo needs any of the God of Light's blessings. Nothing can kill him as it is."

"I think you're right," I agreed wholeheartedly.

Previous Next

Book 3: Step 5 – The Fifth Step in Rescuing a Princess: “Bring along the brains of the operation.”

2011-08-31T00:30:00.001+01:00

*Disclaimer note: This is merely a translation of the original Chinese version. I do not claim any part in the creation of the original story.

Once again, my excellent memory has proven to be one of God's blessings unto me, for although I had only been afforded a glance of the map of Moon Orchid previously, I had been able to memorise the locations of most of the more notable places in this country. If the Queen of Moon Orchid had been aware of this talent of mine she wouldn't have dared to simply leave out such a detailed map of her own country in front of me. Hahaha!

After walking for about half a day, I accurately located the little town known as Leafy Forest Town. This town is indeed unique, for surrounding it on all four sides are deep forests, with the town built on this spacious grass field and a river conveniently flowing through it. If not for these unique geological features it would have been nigh impossible for this town to have existed.

But even with said features, such a town located in the middle of a deep forest wouldn't be able to support a large population as it isn't easy to import goods and materials from the outside.

I'm guessing that the only reason this town continues to exist is because of the numerous parties that pass by here needing a place to stay for the night. And businessmen are the same all over the world – wherever there is opportunity for a profit to be made, there they would set up their business, even be it at the entrance to a dragon's lair!

Further past the town is where magical beasts are known to appear in abundance. Even though magical beasts are extremely dangerous, they are also extremely profitable! Everything from their meat and their blood to stuff like their horns and fur can be used and sold, and it is from trading these things that the questing parties get their main revenue from.

I carefully covered the Sun insignia stitched onto my sleeve with a piece of cloth before walking into the town. Although the town was not very large, its development was not very well planned with buildings spread all over the place with no order, hence I had no idea where to go to for a pub.

I stopped a passing adventurer, slipped on a friendly smile and asked, "May I ask where can I find a pub here?"

The adventurer looked at me up and down, mumbling "Where did such a good-looking knight come from? I should…… to get rid of a potential rival", before clearing his throat and saying out loud, "Do you see that street on the left? Walk along that street and turn right after you see two weaponry store, after you pass a grocery store turn right again where you will see two wells. You will then come to a three-way intersection; choose the middle lane and walk pass a bakery before turning left. You should then see the pub somewhere at the end of the street. Did you get all that?"

"Got it," I smiled and repeated, "walk along the street on the left, pass two weaponry stores, turn right, walk pass a grocery store and turn right, then walk along passing two wells until I see a three-way intersection, choose the middle lane, pass a bakery before turning left and walk till the end of the road."

The adventurer was startled by me, saying in shock, "Woah! You actually remembered all of it?!"

I smiled at the adventurer who responded with a flustered look before turning down the street on the left. Hmph! What's a few detours to me? I even managed to memorize a map so large it covered five whole tables! Beat that!

I followed the directions given to me but could not seem to find the two wells mentioned…… I then suddenly realised – there is a river flowing right outside the town, so why would anyone bother to dig up two wells for water?

"I shouldn't have asked a man for directions." I muttered in annoyance. "What well? Hah! He probably wished there was one so he can throw me down it and rid himself of one less love rival!"

Looks like I'm going to have to ask someone else for directions again.

I was just about to head back to the grocery store for directions when a hooded person stepped in front of me, blocking my way. My face darkened at this.

A person with such dark aura…… a necromancer maybe? But this combination of elements doesn't seem right…?

While I was still undecided on my suspicions, the hooded person spoke up in a soft voice, "What an overpowering holy aura. Even I, who do not possess mage sight, can feel the heat from it. How unbelievable, so this is the holy aura of a current Sun Knight?"

I blanched at this. Never had I expected the other person to know of my Sun Knight position, and 'current?', why would he mention that?

Whilst my mind was still racing, trying to figure out who this person might be, the hooded person had already pulled down his hood, revealing his self underneath – his skin was so dark that not even the midday sun was bright enough to lighten it.

"A Dark Elf!"

"No wonder I couldn't tell your character from your combination of elements," I muttered in realisation. "I never would have thought that I would be able to meet a Dark Elf – the infamous race of dark elves who live underground – in my life! What evil plots are you cooking up to have come above ground?"

What I did not say was: 'I knew it! I knew I'd been hit with a spell of bad luck: a midnight stroll would lead to a meeting with a Dark Knight, and now a walk down a street would be interrupted by a Dark Elf! What next? The next time I make a trip to the washrooms I might step on a dragon?...... Touch wood! Touch wood! I merely said that in jest, God of Light! Please, please, please don't take what I said seriously!'

Now, I think I should explain a little to my fellow readers about what exactly a Dark Elf is, or else everyone might not understand how truly unlucky I am.

You see, humans aren't actually the only race in this world, although they certainly are the most commonly seen race. At most you would come across a few dwarves in blacksmiths. (Dwarves look just like humans except for the fact that even when they are fully grown men they are only two-thirds the height of an average person, and practically every male dwarf has a face covered with a thick bushy beard, and no matter their gender they are always very skilled in metal work.)

'Elves' are another known race, but even though almost everyone has heard of them, everyone also knows that elves are a kind but arrogant race. However, it seems that hardly anyone has seen them, for they typically live on the outermost regions of the land in the deepest of forests where hardly anyone would venture.

And then there are some other races that seem to be a mix between man and beast. The fairies, for example, are little green beings which live together in large groups, or the weres who are half man half beast.

Although these races have achieved some form of civilisation – with a simple language of their own, capable of using fire and making weapons – their way of life is still not that much different from a pack of wild wolves, and so they are not considered to be one of the main races.

However, Dark Elves are different. They are definitely one of the main races. They look like Elves with their thin and slender builds and sharp pointed ears, but while Elves are fair skinned, the Dark Elves have ebony black skin, pure white hair and red eyes.

And in comparison with their fairer cousins who tend to live in forests, the Dark Elves choose to live deep underground, for they loathe sunlight and would very rarely come up to the surface. A hundred years may pass without even a sighting of the Dark Elves.

Now, most importantly is their character unique to their race – the Dark Elves are infamous for their nastiness and evil ways. All Dark Elves – from eight month old babies to an eight hundred year old dying Dark Elves are EVIL.

And other than their wickedness, the Dark Elves also have another characteristic – that is, they are all trained fighters. Imagine, an entire race of skilled fighters! While their numbers may not be very large, every single one of them – male or female, young or old – are all highly trained in the arts of combat, and it is said that a single troop of Dark Elves can single-handedly annihilate a city guarded by a well-trained army of soldiers in just one night.

But thankfully the Dark Elves hate the sunlight, and would very rarely venture above ground. And even if they were to come up, they usually come up to pick a fight with the Elves, for the Dark Elves and their fairer cousins are sworn enemies.

But now, standing right in front of me, thousands of miles away from home is a Dark Elf, looking at me with an admiring gaze and saying in a marvelling voice, "You are the second person capable of keeping your calm even after having realised my race."

"Oh? I would like to have met the first one." I answered, whilst considering the option of changing into the Dragon's Holy Robe. But I've heard that the Dark Elves are extremely fast. It would be a small matter to lose my life if I were to be attacked whilst still changing, but……

'SUN KNIGHT FOUND DEAD IN A BACK ALLEY HALF NAKED!!'

What kind of horrible rumours might arise from this shocking headline?? My problem is that this is definitely not an elegant way to die. If my teacher were to hear that I had died in such an inelegant and perverted manner…… well, you all know what will happen to me.

And rather than being dragged from the throes of heaven to the fiery pits of hell by my teacher…… Oi, what are you thinking about now? Keep your mind out of the gutter!

Like I was saying, rather than having died and gone to heaven only to be resurrected by my teacher just so I can die elegantly in front of him, I should just make sure my Sun Knight uniform is neat and tidy so I can die beautifully now.

"From your severe expression, I can guess that you're thinking of how to kill me?" said the Dark Elf with a self-depreciating smile.

'Not at all. I am merely thinking of which pose I should die in and what appropriate expression I should wear to make the best impact on those who will uncover my body. The middle of a back alley is already too unsightly a place to die in, so I have to make sure that my expression and pose are flawless to make up for the inappropriate background!'

Seeing that I had no intention of answering him, the Dark Elf's expression grew even more morose. However, I haven't eliminated the possibility of him acting, for Dark Elves are said to be very sly and cunning with hundreds of tricks up their sleeve. The Dark Elf then continued on, "Before you make your move, there's a friend of mine who would very much like to meet you."

'A friend of a Dark Elf? Great, looks like I'm really gonna die……'

A second hooded person walked out from behind a corner and headed towards us, probably a man from his height. Without saying a word, the man straight away flung off his hood and cloak, revealing – not another Dark Elf, but a handsome golden-haired blue-eyed man in his thirties, smiling at me with a soft and gentle smile.

Even though this new person looked trustworthy, the moment I saw who he was however, my pupils shrank, my whole body went cold and stiff, my heart started thumping erratically, and even my guts started twisting in agony……

"Why…?" The Dark Elf looked close to tears as he turned to the gold-haired man and said, "Neo, why is it that your student could remain calm and collected at the unexpected sight of the evil Dark Elf, yet when he caught a glimpse of you he-he looks so……"

"He looks so happy and touched to see his long-parted dearly respected teacher," the golden-haired blue-eyed knight cut in with a brilliant smile. "Child, it's been three years since I last saw you. Come closer so I may take a better look at you."

I stepped back a few paces, contemplating my suicide.

'Dear God of Light! How mean of you! I would have preferred stepping on a dragon's tail than to see my…… my teacher.

'Ahhhh!!!'

My teacher turned back to his friend with a smile and said, "The boy is quite shy, isn't he?"

The Dark Elf smiled wryly and said, "I don't think so. I feel he looks more like he's just seen a ghost…… Oh, you know? Like 'Ah! A ghost!!' kind of thing."

'You're wrong! A ghost is nowhere near as scary as my teacher!'

My teacher smiled and replied, "My dear Alstier, what a funny joke, but do stop play around. Look, you've scared my student."

"He is scared, that's for sure," said Alstier with a faint smile. "But I'm afraid it's still up in the air as to who had scared him."

"Perhaps he was frightened by your black skin! As you know, Sun Knights have always have had skin as white as snow."

"I concede the fact that your student is fair, but you on the other hand are like a burnt piece of toast." Alstier retorted.

My teacher raised an eyebrow at him and sighed mockingly, "Well, at least it's better than a basin of dirty water…… But do not despair, my friend. Something as trivial as skin colour will not be an obstacle to our friendship."

"Friendship?" gasped Alstier in mock surprise. "Why, I didn't know that we had one …… Err, Neo, your student seems to be leaving."

"Ahahaha! Stop with the jokes already, Alstier. He's my student! He would never dare to pretend not to see me, or not greet me or leave without bidding farewell."

I halted my footsteps. I could feel my eye twitching, before finally, an expression of resolution and hopelessness passed over my face. I turned around and walked back to my teacher, calling out, "My dear beloved teacher! With the blessings of the God of Light showered upon us, we finally meet-"

My teacher's face darkened, and in an ominous low voice, he ordered, "Keep the God of Light to yourself and tell me what exactly are you doing in a quest party?"

I told him about how things came to be, and after hearing my story, my teacher sunk into silence. Alstier, on the other hand, commented coolly, "As a member of the party, it is wrong to leave the party and disappear of on your own!"

I glanced at the Dark Elf. Inside, I wanted to retort 'As a member of the Dark Elf race, it is wrong to act so nice and not at all evil!', but before I go around offending him I had to figure out first exactly what his relationship with my teacher is.

Just then, my teacher smiled at me in understanding and clarified, "You left the party to investigate Alstier and I, didn't you? It is very suspicious for a creature of dark aura and a creature of light aura to be travelling together, much less when they keep a constant distance away from the group."

As can be expected from my teacher; he sure understands me well. I'm pretty sure he would even be able to tell what I had had for lunch just from me farting.

I nodded at him and said, "I first noticed it around the forest's borders, but didn't pay it much attention. But in the following two weeks even though you guys had made detours around the forest, you still seemed to maintain a constant distance away from us, and this made me rather uneasy. But as I couldn't reveal my mage sight, I had no way of telling my team members about it and had to find an excuse to leave the party and investigate it on my own."

At this, Alstier had a look of surprise on his face.

My teacher nodded before turning to Alstier and saying in pride, "See? I told you it's impossible to follow my student without him noticing us."

"How astonishing," Alstier turned to me and said, "I apologise for my previous words and take them back."

I stared at the Dark Elf. 'Can't you be a little more like the descriptions of your race and act a little more evil? This kind and gentle demeanour of yours is completely going against my earlier explanations of the Dark Elves!'

"Why are you glaring at me so?" Alstier asked curiously.

I looked at him up and down and asked doubtfully, "Are you really a Dark Elf? Are you sure you're not just a really, really super sunburnt elf?"

Alstier blinked at me in surprise.

My teacher, however, had started laughing uproariously as he clapped the Dark Elf on the back. "Oh Alstier, aren't I right once again? I told you that as long as you do not attack him, no matter that you are a member of the race with an atrocious reputation, this child would still stand with you and would never draw his sword against you…… even though he's equally as weak with a weapon in hand or not," He muttered that last bit.

After hearing what my teacher said, Alstier's gaze at me softened and he even smiled at me friendlily.

Now evidently in a good mood, my teacher gave my shoulder a pat, saying, "Child, in commemoration of this rare meeting, let's get ourselves a few drinks! I have a great many tales of my adventures to tell you, and I would also like to catch up on the events in the Holy Temple."

He then turned back to Alstier and said humorously, "This student of mine can hold his liquor even better than I; you'll definitely appreciate him for sure, now that you can drink to your heart's content tonight."

"Oh?" Alstier said with interest in his tone.

But upon hearing this, I drew a sharp breath and started glancing about, frantically trying to plan my escape route…… there!

"Er…… Neo, your student is trying to climb that wall over there."

"…… Get back here! We'll pay for the tab."

I let out a sigh of relief at this and jumped down from the wall, saying most sincerely, "Not a problem, my dear teacher. Even though it is said that the Sun Knight cannot take more than three glasses of wine without succumbing to the liquor, seeing that my teacher requests for my company, this student shall gladly accompany you, come hell or high water."

My teacher exchanged a look with the grinning Alstier before saying a little embarrassedly, "Getting you to part with money is harder than getting you to make a trip to hell. Honestly! I have no idea where you got this money stingy personality from."

'Didn't I get it from watching your sad fate……?'

He then continued on, "Change into Alstier's clothing before we head over to the pub. You must not let anyone know your true identity; the Sun Knight's image of passing out after three glasses must not be ruined! "

"Alright, but why can I not change into your clothing?" I asked curiously.

"Because I'm wearing a knight's outfit and there's no way you look like a knight. You may be able to fool the ordinary unsuspecting people, but bars are where powerful professionals tend to lurk in, so it's better for you to pose as someone else! It's a pity we don't have any priest's outfit, or you could have changed into it we would have been a perfect three-people party with a knight, an archer/assassin and a priest. We would have had countless tasks just lining up for us! Sigh, what a pity."

'Fuck you! I'm a holy knight!'

My teacher slid a warning look at me. "Don't you curse me even in your heart, or you can foot the bill yourself."

I nearly went down on my knees at that, begging, "I'm sorry! This humble student shouldn't have cursed my teacher……"

Alstier rolled his eyes at this ridiculous display. With his ebony black skin contrasting greatly with the whites of his eyes, this action of his was particularly obvious. And annoying. He couldn't help saying, "Can you two – the current Sun Knight and the previous Sun Knight – speak a little more elegantly than this so-called savage and uncouth Dark Elf?"

"After years under the God of Light's shining tutelage, I feel greatly sorrowed that there are still corners of darkness in my student's heart. I feel that it is my duty as your teacher to speak of the God of Light's glorious teachings, and pray that the darkness in your heart can be chased away by her Holiness's beautiful glow, and that you can return to the rightful path."

"The God of Light shines Her love and benevolence upon this land, lighting up our lives and bringing peace and goodwill to all the creatures on this land. And yet, hidden within this student's deepest recesses lay pockets of darkness, and that this student would direct this darkness in the direction of my dearest teacher, this is unforgivable and deserves the greatest punishment! But today, my teacher brings the teachings of the God of Light in hopes of helping his student; how can this student refuse such kindness and mercy? This student humbly accepts, and is now filled with anticipation for a renewed life of light and goodness."

"...... Forgive me, I was in the wrong. Please continue with your vulgarity!"

~O~O~O~O~

So after that, we entered through the wide doors of the only pub in town. Upon entering, all the female waitresses looked to the entrance at us and cried out in joy: "Neo!", "Neo, you've retuned!" and "I've missed you, Neo!"

My teacher returned their 'warm' greetings with a few flirtatious winks. If one didn't know better, one would say that he was the previous Storm Knight.

In comparison, Alstier did not seem to be as popular. Even though he had securely covered up his entire body in the cloak, there were quite a number of unfriendly looks in his direction. Looks like they are aware of his race.

When I glanced at him, I could totally understand. Even though he had hidden himself in the cloak, he still had to extend his arm out when reaching for a drink or for some food. Anyone could tell from that black arm that there was something wrong with him.

There could only be two things with black skin: the Dark Elves of the legends, or a walking burnt corpse. And both these things aren't really all that welcome anywhere.

While everyone may have been rather cold and hostile towards Alstier, the treatment we received from the men were equally as poor, and I felt rather unwelcomed......

So seeing as how everyone's hostility towards us was rather obvious, we had to choose a table in a corner furthest from everyone else. Following that, Neo began ordering dish after dish, bottle after bottle. It couldn't be help; the waitresses just kept coming one after another.

Alstier was a little worried as he advised, "Neo, I think it's best if we refrain from drinking too much tonight."

Neo turned to him and asked in amusement, "Too much? It's only a dozen bottles between the two of us!"

"But you ordered two dozen...?"

"Well of course! Or else my student would accuse me of being stingy."

Alstier looked at me from under his hood at that. I couldn't be sure, but I think I saw a hint of pleasant surprise in his eyes...... looks like Alstier is another drunkard. I think the most impressive thing about our three-person party is not our power and capabilities, but our drinking stamina! Between the three of us we could probably drink a pub out of alcohol!

When the alcohol arrived, I immediately grabbed the bottles with both hands and started chugging them down. After finishing the first bottle in my left hand, I immediately followed it with the bottle in my right, then my left, and then again my right...... One minute later, I took out a napkin and delicately patted the corners of my mouth. Hmm, while the wine here cannot compare with the Bottled Intoxication in Sprouting Leaf City, it's still pretty good.

When I looked back up, Alstier was gaping at me. My teacher slapped a thigh and laughed uproariously (not his thigh, the approaching waitress's thigh.)

I opened another bottle and raised it in Alstier's direction, declaring, "A toast to you."

Alstier blinked at me, asking in stupefaction, "What for?"

Although I was not yet drunk, I was a little woozy. When I saw all the unfriendly and hateful looks thrown in Alstier's direction, I looked back at them challengingly and said loudly, "I drink to you for sitting here!"

"Well said, child! I drink to you for sitting here!" My teacher, too, raised his bottle at him.

Alstier slowly removed his hood, revealing his black skin and pure white hair. He then raised his own bottle and said, "Then I toast to the two of you for sitting with me!"

And with that the three of us chugged down the alcohol. When I finished my gulp and looked back down, I was just in time to see a bottle come flying at Alstier's head. Before I could shout out a warning, my teacher had already kicked at the coming bottle, kicking it back in the direction from whence it came from without smashing the glass bottle. The bottle hit the person's face, breaking and drenching its contents all over the person.

He was a warrior with bulging muscles and a huge axe at his side. He did not look at all happy, with a face full of alcohol and a tick in his jaw.

"Haha!" My teacher stood in front of Alstier and turned back to us saying, "Great! I hate warriors the most!"

Still a little woozy and recalling two whole weeks of disdain and contempt from Michael and Ann, I too stood up and smiled, saying, "Like teacher, like student. Teacher, I hate warriors the most too!"

By then, Alstier had stood up too. He cried out, "Neo, Creus, please don't start a fight over me......"

My teacher and I rolled our eyes at him. 'Who the heck said it was over you?'

Alstier looked a little abashed after receiving our looks. He looked between the two of us and the raging warrior and then at the tense atmosphere surrounding the pub. He then said wryly, "Need any help?"

"Drink your wine," My teacher replied.

"Eat your food," I told him.

Alstier sat back down, and perhaps he was a little miffed at us, for he sat with his back turned against us and the rest of the pub and actually started drinking and eating for real.

As the warrior approached us, waving his axe at us in an attempt at intimidation, my teacher said to me nonchalantly, "Child, your sword skills suck. Why don't you join Alstier and have a drink with him? "

"Teacher, I am not wearing a knight's outfit right now," I reminded whilst gathering some water elements and turning it into ice in my hands.

"Oh, that's right."

And with that, my teacher drew his sword and blocked the blow aimed at me, a loud clanging sound resounding through the room and hurting my eardrums. I threw out the block of ice – now as big as a large pot of iron – at the warrior, knocking him out cold! Pun intended.

The warrior was sent flying backwards and flew into a table. The fall looked quite painful, but as can be expected from these muscular warriors, after some while he managed to stumble to his feet, roaring loudly. His red bloodshot eyes looked around him before grabbing at a nearby table and flinging it at us.

My teacher didn't even bat an eyelash at the incoming table.

At that moment, I flung out an arm and raised an Earth Shield in front of him. Earth Shields are shields formed from holy light and are used to block attacks…… This is actually Earth's specialty move which I had secretly learned.

The flying table crashed against the Earth Shield, breaking into pieces, but with the Earth Shield shielding my teacher he was unaffected by the flying shards and debris.

The bloodshot-eyed warrior growled at us, "Are you guys actually defending this black skinned guy?! Do you not know that the Dark Elves are an evil sort?!"

"If you're spoiling for a fight then just come on, there's no need to come up with excuses," said my teacher icily. "Come and fight me then, and I'll let you have a taste of history's strongest-…… knight's ability!"

Phew! I wiped away my cold sweat. Thank goodness my teacher remembered to omit the word 'Sun'.

By then, the other remaining customers in the bar had stood up and started shouting.

"What knight! Anyone who mixes with Dark Elves can't be anything good!"

"Get out of here, Dark Elf!"

"Get out of our town!"

Seeing that he had a whole room on his side, the emboldened warrior shouted even more scathingly, "You evil being! You and the Dark Elf should scram!"

"Oh? Evil being, is it?" My teacher pondered the term for a moment before grinning. "Interesting. This is the first time I've been called so. Well, in order to fit this new title…… should I be a little more evil? Ahahahaha!...... You? You aren't fit to challenge me. My student, go and deal with this pack of unruly dogs!"

And with that he turned with a flourish, walking back to our table and sitting down with Alstier, enjoying the food and wine and completely ignoring the situation behind him.

T-teacher…… After having played the role of the Sun Knight for twenty years, you now want to change and try out being a 'godfather'? I didn't know whether to laugh or cry at my teacher's immature behaviour, but seeing as my teacher had asked, I could only step forward and take on the angry horde.

"As you wish!" I shouted and begun casting my magic without even bothering with the incantation…… Actually, it's more like I didn't have time to chant it out as the entire bar had already identified me as a mage. And as the whole continent knows, a mage's greatest drawback is when they cannot finish reciting their spells before being dealt with by the enemy.

And so, everyone came flying at me like a groom at his bride on their honeymoon, so that even if I had wanted to keep up with the pretence of chanting spells and experience the life of a real mage, I couldn't! Hmph!

I summoned an Earth Shield with my right hand, and after making sure that all the incoming weapons would not land on me, I threw out all sorts of magic spells with my left. Wind Blades, Fire Balls, Ice Spears and all the like were thrown out, and if I did not aim my spells at anyone in particular, well it wouldn't matter anyway. With a whole mob of people right in front of me it would have been impossible for me to not hit anyone. With each spell thrown out there would be an accompanying cry of pain. What a sense of satisfaction!

Just then, from behind me came Alstier's voice as he sighed, "Your student sure is enjoying himself. He could have just defeated all of them with intermediate spells, yet he chooses to toy with them with only elementary spells."

My teacher nearly spewed out a mouthful of beer, and he laughed chokingly as he explained, "It's not like that, Alstier. That is because he only knows how to cast elementary spells. Don't forget, this student of mine is not really a real mage. But even so, with the Earth Shield, no one can manage to get a hit on him, so those 'elementary spells' of his are already enough of a problem for them."

"Why hasn't he learnt more advanced spells?" came Alstier's curious voice. "With his ability he should be able to master them easily."

"Well, since he started till now, have you heard my student utter a single word of incantation spells?"

"No."

"He is not a real mage, and was never taught the proper words to the spells. As such, he doesn't really know a single spell incantation. At the very most, he would pretend to mutter something like 'she sells sea shells on the sea shore'. Even with his talent for magic, he is unable to cast the more advanced level spells without their incantations."

A shocked gasp, followed by, "He doesn't know a single spell incantation? Then how did he learn magic spells in the beginning?"

"Well, about that," I heard my teacher mock-whispering. "I was training him in sword practise one day, and after a tiring day of training, we called a break. Whilst resting, he took the opportunity to walk around the city."

"He went walking around the city even though he called for a break?"

"No, it was I who called for a break. I had received more disappointment than I could take and needed a break from him……"

"…… please continue."

"So he came back. The next day, I was coaching him on horse riding the whole day too, and ……"

"Needed a break again?"

"Yes. I was so tired of failing to get him to learn that I got angry and shouted at him, 'Tell me! Why should I waste my time and effort training an imbecile like you?! What the hell can you do? I can't stand this anymore, I'm going to demand another student!' In the end, the child gave it some thought and cast a few Wind Blades to help cool me off. He then went back to his room and brought out some meat, skewered them, and using a Fire Ball he barbequed some meat for me. Lastly, he cast an Ice Spear and poured some jam over it and gave it to me to eat for desert…… I asked him where he learned all these spells from, and he told me that whilst walking around the city the previous day, he saw several beautiful mages being hassled by some thugs. They got annoyed by the thugs and used Wind Blades, Fire Balls and Ice Spears to chase them away. "

"So, you decided to keep this student of yours because of a fan, some skewered meat and a dessert?"

"Yup…… I mean, of course not! Alstier, do you think I'm such a shallow person?"

There was some muffled laughter coming from Alstier's direction.

A note of annoyance crept into my teacher's voice. "It was three beautiful mages, each using a spell of a different element, yet he was able to learn all three different types of spells and could cast them successfully. And that's not counting the holy spells he had already learnt. How can I exchange him for another when he has so much potential?"

"Yes, yes. Of course you can't exchange him."

"You don't sound at all sincere."

"I'm a Dark Elf, well known for being tricky and insincere, what else can you expect? You're lucky I am not using you for any nefarious plans of mine and should be grateful. The word 'sincere' cannot even be found in the Dark Elves' language!" said Alstier with a straight face.

My teacher merely gave a scoff at that and didn't say anymore.

Hearing a lapse in their conversation, I quickly cut in, "My dearest teacher……"

My teacher hmphed at that and said, "You never add 'dearest' without reason. What is it you want?"

Ah, teachers know their students well. I chuckled embarrassedly and asked, "About the compensation for the damages to the bar……"

I had not even finished when my teacher cut in snappily, "It's only been three years; you've gotten stingier! As long as you are with us, you won't have to pay for a single thing, so don't ask me anymore questions about money. Every time you bring it up, I'll let you experience for yourself why exactly I'm known as the strongest Sun Knight in history."

"Yes, sir."

My concerns put to rest, I let out an evil smirk and started gathering large amounts of water aura, filling the entire bar with it. At the same time, I also started gathering some lightning……

By the time the horde noticed the static in the air and realised that something was wrong, increasing their efforts at hacking through my Earth Shield, I let out a cry, "Web of Lightning!" and released the lightning spell. With the air heavily saturated with water, the electricity spread everywhere, and howls of pain erupted all around.

The Web of Lightning – as the name suggests – is actually formed from a combination of two elementary level spells – water and lightning. When I combined an elementary spell with another, I felt a spark of wonder…… and delight.

"An intermediate level spell! And to use three different elements at the same time," exclaimed Alstier in surprise. "Neo, looks like you underestimated your student's potential."

My teacher didn't get upset at his jibe, and instead, when I sat down at the table once more, he asked me excitedly, "Child, how did you learn how to cast intermediate level spells?"

I admitted the truth honestly, "After you retired from the Sun Knight position, I was disguised in a cloak and heading for a certain street, when I saw a-"

My teacher cut in impatiently and waved his hand, not waiting for me to finish my explanation, "Alright, alright, you saw some hot mage, yada yada…… no need to say further."

Inside, I pouted upset. 'Teacher, you've got it all wrong. It was an old mage geezer! You have no idea how hard it was to force myself to stay and watched that wrinkly old face of his as he slowly finished his incantation and finally cast his spell, thus learning the trick to intermediate spells.'

Just then, the bar owner who looked to be a weak timid sort nervously made his way through the debris to our table and said, trembling, "D-dear valued customers, a-about the damage……"

My teacher turned to look behind him lazily, taking in the broken tables, smashed chairs, puddles of water on the floor and the smashed windows. When he nonchalantly dropped several shiny gold coins into the bar owner's hands, the bar owner broke out in a large smile and said, "Please, please continue to smash till your heart's content!"

And so after that, the three of us sat at the only unscathed table in the whole pub, drinking and eating and talking to our heart's content.

I brought up the latest incident of how the Princess Alice had been kidnapped, as well as my unexpected encounter with the Dark Knight. Although my teacher is currently retired, he had been the Sun Knight for twenty years. Such experience is not something to be scoffed at. Perhaps he might be able to point out something I've missed.

When I reached the part where the Dark Knight had declared that he and the Princess were eloping, as well as his apparent unawareness of a ransom note, Alstier spoke out in disagreement, "Surely you do not believe the words of a kidnapper?"

"But he was extremely handsome," I said bluntly.

"How handsome?" My teacher asked with a serious expression.

I, too, answered with matching severity. "The kind 'where men get the urge to kill him and then piss on his dead body' kind of handsome."

Alstier looked bewildered upon hearing my reply, but my teacher merely nodded his head in understanding and said solemnly, "Ah. It was indeed an elopement."

"You cannot jump to conclusions so hastily," Alstier said disapprovingly, shaking his head at us.

My teacher merely clapped the Dark Elf's shoulder, and in a tone of a wise elder imparting wisdom upon a young child, said "Believe me. You're still young and have not the experience I have."

Alstier scoffed at that in humour, saying "I'm already a hundred and thirty-six years old."

"Elves can live five to eight hundred years old, so in human terms, you're not even twenty and even younger than my student here."

Alstier rolled his eyes at him and teased, "Experience should not matter when converting my age, shouldn't it? Therefore I have a hundred and thirty-six years worth of experience."

My teacher smiled faintly at that. "And yet you are still a child; how envious!"

Alstier looked at him, mystified.

My teacher took another swill of alcohol before swiping his mouth with the back of his hand, looking the part of a rugged adventurer and completely different from when he was still the Sun Knight. He then patted my shoulder and said, "Child, continue on."

I nodded my head and continued, "However, there's one thing that I do not understand: The Queen had forced Leaf and I to join in the quest, indicating that she knows that the kidnapper is a Dark Knight – and notoriously difficult for warriors to handle, so with us in the party there would be a higher chance of getting back the Princess. But on the other hand, Ann is leading us around in circles; clearly she doesn't want us to find the kidnapper. Right now I'm really confused. Do they, or do they not want us to find Princess Alice?"

He smiled faintly at my question, not at all baffled by it. "The answer to that is quite simple: The Queen and Princess Ann are on different sides."

"Different sides?" I still didn't get it. Mother and daughter on different sides?

My teacher smiled and explained, "As the leader of a nation, the Moon Orchid Queen definitely wants Princess Alice back, for if she were to be married to the Son of War in an alliance marriage, it would strengthen the Church of War's standing and influence. However, Princess Ann is not the leader of a nation, but the sister of Princess Alice. If she were to find out that her sister did not love the Son of War and that she already had a secret lover, it is quite likely that she would side with her sister."

"I see," I breathed in understanding. "So the Queen had no other hidden motive and truly wished us to find Princess Alice. That note was probably forged by her to find an excuse for not mobilising the army and instead commanding us to form a party to look for her quietly. After all, it would be a scandal should it come out that her daughter had eloped with someone else. And Ann, on the other hand, purposely volunteered to join in the party to mislead us, allowing Princess Alice to escape with her lover."

My teacher nodded in approval and continued, "And she couldn't lead you guys in the opposite direction either, as that will arouse suspicion amongst you guys and give reason to suspect her sympathy for her sister, as in that scenario the Queen will most likely find out the Princess Alice's whereabouts from her."

"And so that's why we've been chasing after them from a distance, and would even occasionally have a brush in with the kidnapper. Unfortunately for us, the one person the kidnapper had bumped into is this Sun Knight who could not have possibly detained him, allowing him to escape once more," I followed.

How sly of her! When we eventually return empty handed, as the only person to have seen the kidnapper, I would have become her scapegoat and receive the brunt of the anger and blame from everyone.

She must really hate me. Wouldn't it have been better to arrange for Alston to bump into the Dark Knight? It would have been perfectly normal for a priest to fail in detaining the enemy, and no one would have blamed him… and yet… she picked me.

Just then, my teacher's face darkened as he reminded me, "Child, you said that when you met the Dark Knight, you were wearing an assassin outfit?"

I jerked upright at that, face paling. Oh shit! If the Dark Knight were to mention to Ann and Princess Alice that he had met an assassin with a strong holy aura instead of the expected Sun Knight…… those two would know that something was up!

"Figure out a way to cover it up!" My teacher ordered darkly, his tone very unhappy.

"Got it. I'll make sure that they take the secret to their grave…… " I replied coldly. "An early one, if necessary."

Alstier didn't know whether to laugh or cry at this scene. "Can the previous and current Sun Knights of the 'Light' Church not speak of sending anyone to their graves in front of the 'evil' Dark Elf? Such talk at dinner is giving me indigestion," he joked.

My teacher and I shrugged. For the sake of the Dark Elf's digestion, we abstained from any more 'un-Sun Knightly' talk.

My teacher then changed the topic, asking, "Child, what was the general direction you guys were heading in?"

After giving it some thought, I answered, "We were going about in a rather circuitous way, but generally we've been heading towards South West."

"South West, you say?" My teacher was silent for a moment before he let out a 'sunny' smile and said, "It just so happens that we have a quest South West of here too. How 'bout you come along with us and give us a helping hand with the quest? Sounds good?"

"Not at all……"

His smile turned warm and gentle. "What did you say? I, history's strongest Sun Knight, couldn't hear you just now; speak up!"

"Sounds great!!" I exclaimed before gulping down an entire bottle of wine. If I can't refuse him, I can at least make up for it by drinking him out of money!

Upon seeing my childish action, my teacher said to me laughingly, "Stop sulking over there. You'll get thirty percent of the reward after the quest is complete, alright? With the three of us, we can take on pretty high level quests, so the rewards should be quite substantial."

Upon hearing this I immediately put down the bottle and turned to him, saying with humility, "What? This won't do. Teacher, as your student, this Creus will walk over coals for you without a single complaint!"

"If that's so I won't share the rewards with you then."

I hastily changed my tune at that. "But a little reward is sure to go a long way at motivating people!"

"Then I'll just give you ten percent."

"But there are different levels of motivation," I hurriedly explained. "The greater the reward, the higher one's motivation! With the proper motivation (an extra ten percent), a holy knight who could only cast elementary level healing spells could be moved to cast intermediate spells! If the reward were to be increased (by another ten percent), the holy knight might even be motivated to cast advanced healing spells! And with even higher rewards still (additional ten percent)--"

"There's no need to go higher," My teacher smiled coldly as he interrupted me. "I'm more partial to holding my sword to one's neck. Shall I show you how the history's strongest Sun Knight motivates one to cast even the ultimate healing spells?"

I shut up at that. Alright, thirty percent is still better than nothing. It's not worth it to risk my neck (with my teacher, not the quest) for that additional ten percent.

Alstier just sat there shaking his head in bemusement. "Both teacher and student…… can not the two of you leave others with some shred of illusion of the illustrious Sun Knight intact?"

Previous Next

Book 3: Step 4 – The Fourth Step in Rescuing a Princess: “A must have for rescue missions – a cool-looking bad guy”

2011-06-21T08:45:00.001+01:00

*Disclaimer note: This is merely a translation of the original Chinese version. I do not claim any part in the creation of the original story.

After travelling for two weeks, we once again set up camp for the night. But unlike previous relaxed nights, there seemed to be a rather tense atmosphere around the group tonight.

“We’ve been travelling at speeds unmatched by anyone else, yet why haven’t we caught up to them yet?” Michael demanded, finally expressing his pent up suspicions to Ann. Even though they were childhood friends, his tone sounded rather short and impatient.

As a knight, Leaf has always upheld the noble code that ‘the lady is always right’. But from the fact that he wasn’t even bothering to help defend Ann, I could tell that he, too, had his suspicions. And as for me…… well, I haven’t spoken a word for the past three days, so everyone’s used to me keeping quiet.

Faced with the majority’s suspicions, Ann muttered “Give me a minute” before walking into the forest. After a while, she walked back out and announced, “We are already very close to them, but I do not know the exact distance.”

Looks like the object to track the missing princess is on her person. But it seems that she doesn’t want us to know what it was exactly, hence, her walking into the forest and avoiding us.

Michael was still a little unhappy getting such a vague answer. Seeing that, Ann hastened to assure him. “We really are very close, Michael. We’ll be able to catch up with them in no time!”

Michael nodded, reluctantly dropping the topic.

That night when everyone was asleep, I kept tossing and turning, this way and that…… Urgh! I just can’t sleep! But this isn’t very surprising. After all, I had been sleeping for 24 hours straight and had only just woken up a few hours ago. If I actually did manage to fall asleep I would have to reconsider the fact that I might actually be related to a pig!

After tossing and turning restlessly in bed, I decided to give up on sleeping and crawled out the tent. After sleeping so much these days, I should go out and exercise a bit, or else if I were to continue on in this way-sleeping and eating and sleeping and eating after sleeping…… you get it – it might result in an irreversible outcome…… I might gain weight!! Oh, the horror!

Michael who was currently on his night shift turned back to look at me. I smiled at him before walking into the forest. His gaze followed my progress across the camp coldly, but he did not bother to stop me and ask as to my intentions. Guess he really, really looks down on me, huh?

I walked into the forest, and after using my mage sight to make sure that there was no one around, I took out a dragon shaped badge. I slapped it onto my chest while calling out softly, “Dragon’s Holy Robe, in the name of the dragon’s successor, I order you to activate!”

A tight black outfit instantly wrapped around my body, spreading from my chest to the rest of my body; the lower half of my face and the more vulnerable parts of my body were covered with silver scaly armour. It was then that I noticed that even the silver parts did not show up in the dark, instead it seemed to blend into the dark. When I looked down at myself, I couldn’t see anything and for a moment I thought that my body had disappeared!

‘……’

“I know I had told you not to speak up without good reason, but just forget about it,” I said with no small amount of exasperation. If I could even sense it when it was ‘speechless’, ordering the robe to remain quiet would be pointless.

‘Yes, Master.’

After that, I began walking around, looking for the tallest tree I could find before proceeding to climb it. After changing into the Dragon’s holy Robe, tree climbing had become as easy as pie for me. So without too much effort, I soon made it to the highest branch of the tree.

I looked down to observe the surrounding landscape and features before turning to look up into the sky and noted the positions of the constellations. I then climbed back down and began drawing in the ground the positions of the landscape and stars I had noted earlier.

‘I was right,’ I laughed grimly……

‘Master, someone is using mage sight to spy on you.’

I was startled by this news. All this time it was me who spied on others, yet now someone is spying on me?

I hurriedly asked the robe, “Which direction is the person spying on me from?”

‘This humble servant does not know. Master, the person has recalled back his mage sight.’

‘He’s recalling his mage sight back so quickly?’ After thinking about it I deduced that it must have been Leaf. As he was an archer he would more or less have received some training on mage sight. I must have woken him up earlier when I got up, and just now he was only looking for me. As my holy element aura is extremely strong, he would have located me immediately and hence recalled his mage sight the moment he found me.

Alright, now that my business is done it’s about time for me to get back.

I was about to return to the campsite, but when I thought of Leaf and how he would still remember to search around with his mage sight despite having just woken up, I felt a twinge of guilt. Maybe I should do a search of my own around the place and make sure that there wasn’t anything dangerous around us? If not, I would feel really guilty as I climb onto Leaf’s back tomorrow morning.

I took a deep breath and slowly extended my mage sight to their very limits……

I suddenly stiffened before turning to look in a direction. Not too far away from me there was something with a super-mega-strong dark element aura. I had only ever felt such strong dark aura coming from a Death Knight-Roland. (Even though Pink’s dark aura should be higher than Roland’s, she typically chooses to hide her aura……)

‘Could that be the princess’s kidnapper?’ As I thought back to the Queen’s request, I wondered if it had been a coincidence or if the Queen had known that our opponent was a dark creature-the type that warriors are worst at dealing with-and had therefore insisted on Leaf and I joining in the mission?

But other than the dark creature I could also sense another being with extremely strong wind elements beside it. The person seems to be a wind mage.

I frowned when a thought of doubt flashed through my mind. “Is it just me or has my mage sight seemingly improved?”

When I had just taken over the title of Sun Knight, the level of holy aura on me had been so strong that it had drowned out the other elements; I could hardly sense any other elements…… except for the opposing dark aura, of course. But recently, I don’t seem to have to exert as much effort to be able to sense the auras. Like previously when the magical wolf had attacked me, I had sensed its fire element before it could even attack me.

“Could it be that I’ve been using too much magic recently-I had even used necromancer magic-and this has caused my holy aura to diminish?!”

If that were to be the case then I’m in trouble! I am the Sun Knight; my holy aura can only grow stronger, not weaker! Looks like I’ll have to watch how I use the other magic spells from now on.

And here I had been thinking of taking a walk and exercising my stiff muscles after having slept so much, but now that I cannot simply use magic anymore I think I had better go back and try to sleep. It’s safer for me this way…… As I turned to head back towards the camp, I suddenly sensed an extremely strong wind aura gathering behind me.

When I spun around, a person now occupied the previously empty clearing. He was dressed in light black armour and wielded a pair of slim swords; the dark aura coming from him was staggering – on the level of a Death Knight even.

But, there was no doubt that he was a living and breathing person, could it be…… I was stunned by the thought and burst out with my suspicions, “the God of Chaos’ dark knight?”

But then again, he had just used Instant Teleportation. How would a knight how to cast magic spells? Again, I couldn’t resist asking him, “You know how to cast Instant Teleportation; are you really a dark knight?”

The knight, too, had looked surprised to see me and asked, “What strong ‘holy’ aura; are you really an assassin?”

Realising that we both doubted each other’s identities, we both fell into a strange silence. After a while, the dark knight asked coldly, “You’re our pursuer?”

I couldn’t deny it even if I had wanted to. Other than this guy in front of us and our group of pursuers there was no one else within miles. So I coldly retorted, “If you are the fleeing party then, yes, I’m the pursuing party.”

Even though we had identified ourselves as the fleeing and pursuing party respectively, we remained still, neither making a move to attack. I did not want to fight with him, for I could tell from the familiar way he held his swords and his stance that he was on a level equal to Judge and Roland. I’m not interested in dying at such a young age.

And I think that he did not wish to fight me; the amount of holy aura I had was enough to drown out his dark aura, and he had no interest in dying so early either.

If we were to fight each other, the chances were split fifty-fifty as to who would be killed first: Him being seared alive by a full frontal attack of my holy aura, or me being hacked into two by his dual swords. Seeing as I did not even have a hundred percent confidence of defeating him-which went completely against my 200 percent victory principle-I decided to let him off!

“I do not wish to fight with you,” I told him frankly.

The dark knight frowned upon hearing that, but to show his peace, he put away his swords. But for some reason he did not immediately leave, and so we stood there staring at each other…… Smack!

I glared coldly at my palm. This mosquito sure has the guts to fly around me whilst I’m wearing the Dragon’s Holy Robe! Doesn’t it realise that now that I’m dressed in black I no longer have to worry about dirtying white gloves?!

I flicked away the flattened mosquito, and when I raised my head to look back up, the dark knight was staring at me in shock. I said in an impatient voice, “What? Never seen someone killing a mosquito before?”

The dark knight’s lips twitched as he said in an amused tone, “People killing mosquitoes is a common enough sight, but this is the first time I’ve seen an assassin kill a mosquito.”

‘Oh? Too bad for you then. You still have yet to see an assassin kill a mosquito for I am a holy knight, not an assassin.’

I gave a huge yawn and said, “Seeing as we’re not fighting, I’m going back to bed.”

“Hold on!”

My face darkened at that. Looks like he has no intention of letting me leave. What a pity. I had been thinking of going back and telling them that the target was just nearby and that we should all hurry and catch him. Once we’ve caught him, located the missing princess and attend a wedding, I could then finally return to the Holy Temple to continue my life as a temple sap. What joy!

The dark knight furrowed his brows as he said hesitatingly, “The Princess chose to come with me willingly.”

I was startled by this statement, but on the outside I maintained my calm demeanour and coldly retorted, “Rapists always claim that the women had seduced them in the first place.”

The dark knight’s face darkened at that and he again announced another shocking statement. “We’re eloping!”

‘Damn it!’

I was starting to believe him, for no reason other than because the dark knight was extremely tall, dark and good-looking. He belonged to the ‘enemy of all men’ type – ya know? What with his amazing good looks he could be a potential love rival; all men, watch out!

He looked extremely suited to being a dark knight; because dark knights tend to be the cold and ruthless type, the kind who is forever wary and treats everyone else as his enemy…… With how good-looking he is, he should be wary and treat every man around him as his enemy to be able to survive until today.

“If you had really eloped, then why leave that letter behind?”

But I still struggled, not wanting to so easily believe this ‘truth’…… With such a handsome kidnapper, I’m sure that even if the Princess had really been kidnapped in the beginning, after spending about two weeks in the presence of this ‘bishie’, it probably had evolved into an elopement.

The dark knight blinked at me blankly and asked, “What letter?”

“……”

Just as I realised that there might be more to it than a simple kidnapping and was about to question him further, I heard a faint rustling sound from behind and quickly shut my mouth. The dark knight, too, appeared to have heard it.

He shot me a glance as he took out a mage scroll and whispered “Instant Teleportation”. His entire person was then wrapped in a whirl of wind, and with a ‘whoosh’ he disappeared.

“I see, so he was using an Instant Teleportation scroll. Like I said, how can there be so many people in this world who do not fit their job criteria ……” I muttered as I changed out of the Dragon’s Holy Robe and gathered a small ball of holy light in my palm, lighting up the place. I then proceeded to wait in the clearing.

“Sun!”

Leaf was the first to emerge from the trees. He looked at me up and down, and after making sure that I was alright he let out a sigh of relief. But he still inquired after me with concern, “A-are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” I replied. Short and sweet, that’s my motto.

Behind him came Michael, Ann and Alston. When I saw them looking at me with a questioning look in their eyes I explained calmly, “I met a dark knight.” All the while taking note of each of their reactions.

Michael asked questioningly, “Dark knight? What are those guys from the Church of Chaos doing around these lands?”

Alston frowned, seemingly deep in thought.

A look of panic, however, had flashed across Ann’s face, but as expected of a princess she quickly regained her composure, managing to even feign a worried look in my direction.

As usual, I returned her look with a smile. The smile seemed to reassure her and she calmed down.

Leaf then voiced his suspicions. “Could it be that this dark knight is the one who had kidnapped the princess?”

I smiled brightly at Leaf, while the latter widened his eyes at my response, looking for all the world like a little boy who could not understand what he had done wrong. My mind raced with my thoughts as I considered what to reveal. In the end, I decided to play innocent and answered, “This Sun does not know.”

Michael, on the other hand, growled angrily, “It must be him! Where is he now?”

“He escaped with an Instant Teleportation scroll. I’m afraid he’s now some distance away from us,” I replied honestly.

Hearing that, Michael shook with fury, yelling for us to chase after him immediately. After two whole weeks of no real action he’s probably itching for battle.

However, Alston had quickly grabbed Michael and began lecturing his son, talking about how the distance was unknown and that they couldn’t be sure that they would catch up to the dark knight even if they started chasing right now; and besides all our tools and supplies haven’t been packed, if we didn’t catch up to them it would be hard to survive without the tools……

~O~O~O~O~

Back at the camp, it had been decided – at Michael’s insistence – that we would set out two hours earlier than planned the next morning. And so with the exception of Michael who would be on the lookout for the rest of the night, everyone else crawled back into their tents to continue sleeping. However, I don’t think any of us can actually fall asleep after all the excitement tonight.

Leaf and I were among those who couldn’t fall asleep. Since he crawled into the tent, Leaf kept staring at me as if wanting to say something. Before he could say a word, I hurriedly covered his mouth. Leaf stared at me in bewilderment.

After thinking about it, I finally thought of a method to communicate with him without being overheard. I gathered some holy light in my finger, and using that finger, I started writing out glowing letters in the air.

[I think we have been played the fool by the Queen and Princess Ann.]

After reading my words, Leaf struggled to follow my example and write out his reply with holy light too, but…… his writing was so sloppy that it took me a while to figure out his message: [Why do you say that?]

I then wrote out another message: [I know for a fact that Ann is leading us around in circles.]

As for the matter of the ‘ransom’ letter, well…… my theory about the letter’s authenticity cannot stand based on just the dark knight’s word, so I decided not to mention it just yet.

Leaf frowned and wrote: [Then what should we do?]

After giving it some thought, I replied: [We must not get separated. For now, we’ll continue on as before, so you need only worry about carrying me for the rest of the journey!]

Leaf – very diligently – dotted six glowing dots: [……]

About an hour later, Michael started yelling and bellowing, calling for everyone to get up and pack up. I wasn’t bothered at all, for I hadn’t been able to fall asleep the whole night, but poor Leaf was startled awake. As he got up and got ready, he looked exhausted and ready to fall asleep at any time.

As I watched Leaf go about his morning, I felt a prickle from my conscience. I even hesitated for a moment when it came time to crawl onto Leaf’s back. Thank goodness my conscience had long since been beaten back into the furthest reaches of my soul, for it was only a small prickle, and soon, I was making myself comfortable on leaf’s back.

When Michael saw the two of us, he immediately roared angrily, “Aimer, stop carrying him around, it’s a complete waste of time! He’s useless anyway; just leave him behind and run with us at full speed.”

Right away, Leaf objected. “No, we can’t! Before this, it wouldn’t matter if we had left Sun behind.”

‘Oi……’

“But now that we know that the enemy is a dark knight, we must bring Sun along! Only he can contain the enemy’s dark aura.”

Michael gave a cold laugh and sneered condescendingly. “Is there anything that doesn’t give off a dark aura after we’ve gone through them? Dead bodies are dark, right?”

Leaf was stumped at that. With a party of our calibre, we could have mowed down everything that stood in our way…… even though throughout the whole journey we only had the misfortune of meeting deplorable parties and pitifully weak magical beasts, and thus have yet to have a proper battle. Leaf, Aston and I hadn’t even had the opportunity to demonstrate our skills, as all the enemies were instantly dealt with in a one-sided battle.

After going at an inhuman pace for two whole weeks, we were already deep within the forest, but the situation had yet to change: Michael was still able to deal with any trouble with his bare fists and had yet to draw his sword; Ann was still sending her ‘admirers’ flying with a kick and had only used her axes to cut up our dinner; and Leaf’s only duty was to carry me, with not a single arrow less since we started out on this quest.

Leaf hesitated and turned to look at me. “Sun, it’s only for a day. Will you be able to run with us?”

I had previously sensed a wind mage with the dark knight; and wind mages’ specialties are flying and instant teleportation. This was probably why we were never able to catch up with them no matter how fast we were going. Since we weren’t able to catch up with them before, I do not believe that we would be able to catch up with them now.

And since we won’t be able to catch up, why should I have to run like crazy after them?

I slowly replied, “To avoid slowing down this Sun’s team members, this Sun requests that my brothers and sister to go on ahead without any worry for this Sun. Sun will catch up with my brothers and sister later.”

“Sun?” Leaf stared at me in surprise.

I raised a hand to stop him, saying calmly, “This Sun remains firm in my decision, so my brother Leaf need not bother to persuade this Sun. This Sun will be under the God of light’s watchful gaze.”

Leaf hesitated for a moment before nodding and saying wryly, “Alright then, take care now, Sun.”

“Hurry up,” Michael called out impatiently.

I stood there watching the rest leave. Leaf kept turning back to look at me worriedly, but the trees were growing densely so deep in the forest and soon enough, I could no longer see them anymore.

“Okay! I heard that there’s an interesting little town somewhere in the middle of this forest…… so…… where there is civilization, there should be some alcohol, right?” I mumbled to myself.

It’s been almost a month since I last drank! For a guy spoilt with a secret cellar filled with wine hidden under his room, it’s amazing that I even lasted this long! I was so desperate that I was even thinking of picking some of the fruits from the trees and mixing them with my apple wine.

What’s that? You ask why I would bring along a few bottles of my apple wine?

Er……

Winemakers would sometimes trade their wines with each other for some variety in their merchandise, so…… get it now?

What? Aren’t I a holy knight? Since when did I become a wine merchant?

Of course I’m still a holy knight! It’s just that I have my retirement to think about! I am now already twenty-three years old, and I will be retiring at the age of forty. How can I properly enjoy my retirement with so little time left and yet so little money saved up?? So that’s why I have to do some little odd jobs here and there to help earn more money. Besides, how can I deprive the world of the fruits of my labour when I have such excellent winemaking skills!

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The Twelve Holy Knights

2011-06-08T07:56:00.014+01:00

This is the Cold Blood Faction. From left to right are: Hell (I think), Frost, Judge, Metal, Moon, and Stone

Someone asked for a bigger pic than the one I had put up, so here it is. :D

And here is the Good Warm Faction! From left to right are: Storm, Cloud, Leaf, Sun, Earth (top) and Blaze (bottom)

And here's Creus and his piggy bank! Isn't he cute!!!