CHAPTER 4. Death Flag

The road to Luticia was not as beautiful as expected.

Speaking of Luticia, the land is vast but undeveloped, with a small town that has a low population and infrastructure that is far inferior to the city. There is nothing to see other than the worship hall, and even the school is being used as a temporary hospital.

Since it had no magic circle, teleportation was only possible to the nearest city, in the temple of Shiraul. Since there were too many people, they had to go on foot after that.

“Did I come here to serve or to march.”

Beside me, Leila muttered under her breath, her sweat dripping like rain. Since I’m in the same situation, I could only nod my head without the energy to reply.

What keeps me to endure this difficult ordeal is…

I looked ahead at the man leading the group while riding a horse. My mouth fell wide open at his dignified figure, even from a distance.

“Hey, I’m drooling.”

“Hmm.”

Leila seemed to notice too, and she immediately received a light scolding. In response, I pretended to scratch my face while checking if any drool had actually dripped.

Fortunately, the knight order participating in this purification mission was none other than the Gabriel Knights.

It was because our destinations overlapped. Their destination was not exactly Luticia, but the Ohars region that shares the mountain range with Luticia. Recent reports mentioned frequent monster appearances in that area.

Since our paths coincided, naturally, the escort duty was handed over to the Gabriel Knights. Thanks to that, we unexpectedly ended up with a lavish escort.

I looked again at the leading figure, Peidos. I had never imagined that while I was in the midst of my depression upon hearing news of the Gabriel Knights’ expedition, things would turn out so favorably.

“But we haven’t even gone through the ceremony yet. To go through a purification mission is so harsh, isn’t it?”

Leila, lacking confidence in her purification process, grumbled with pouting lips. I replied, stealing glances at the ordinary priests walking behind us.

“Even the non-Stella priests are going.”

Of course, those who were not Stella priests were assigned to other support duties, not the purification mission. Among the novitiates, only those who failed the purification of the Level 7 beads were excluded.

And among our unit, only two people came out, and one of them was Leila.

“This is annoying.”

I patted her on the shoulder as she grumbled, then I adjusted my luggage. I was annoyed too.

It’s my first fieldwork, so can’t it be somewhere closer!

But at that moment, I made eye contact with one of the holy knights, who turned to face me.

The young man, who I guessed was the same age as us, suddenly blushed. Then he turned his head so abruptly you’d think he had just heard a loud noise from next to him.

“What the heck….”

Looking at him dazedly, Leila also saw that scene and said, “Uh.” Then, she sent me a knowing look and said,

“I know him. He’s Hatan’s roommate.”

Hatan? Judging by the familiar name, it seemed that he was either Leila’s lover or partner.

“What? When did you two meet?”

“No, I just saw him for the first time.”

“Did he fall for you then?”

“Eyy.”

I shook my head, stopping Leila from making frivolous remarks.

Ironically, I only realized later that she was right.

* * *

When we arrived at Luticia, it was already late in the night. As I looked at the knights who were busily setting up their camp, it made me want to applaud.

I wasn’t looking forward to the idea of living in a tent for the first time, but at the same time, I was thankful that it wasn’t the same as sleeping in front of a bonfire.

That was all thanks to the chatty senior priest, Janice.

“In my days, I never even dreamed of such a luxurious life!”

“…….”

After hearing that damn ‘In my days’ about two hundred times, I started to think that it wasn’t so bad.

The tents were shared by ten people. And because of that, there was a problem.

Grrrrr. Whooshhh.

“…….”

Grrrrrrr. Whooshhhhhhh.

“Ugh….”

What the hell was that?

As a light sleeper, I couldn’t easily fall asleep even after the tiring march. Eventually, unable to bear it anymore, I abruptly sat up and glared fiercely at the source of the ground-shaking snoring.

Well, it’s not like I could just cover their nose and stop it.

The others were either heavy sleepers or were exhausted. After attempting to sleep a few more times in vain, I rubbed my face and left the tent.

Seeing several tents with torches stuck in them, it looked like a small village. The knights standing guard were gathered around a campfire, laughing heartily.

I quietly stared at the late-night snacks they were cooking, then slowly walked in the opposite direction.  It had been a while since I’d had dinner, and I felt a little hungry.

As I reminded myself not to forget the way back, I turned my feet towards a secluded place. That’s when I encountered a familiar man with silver hair walking towards me.

“Duna?”

“Sir Peidos?”

He was accompanied by a fellow knight, probably on patrol. The knight alternated between looking at me and Peidos, then suddenly grinned and patted Peidos on the shoulder.

“I’ll go ahead. Take your time and come back safely! The moon looks beautiful, by the way.”

Peidos gave him a menacing look, but he didn’t say anything. It was clear that the knight’s words had a teasing tone, which made Peidos feel a bit uncomfortable.

I also felt sorry at the same time. I shouldn’t have gotten involved with him like this. It seemed that my visit to the commander’s lodging had become the trigger.

“Why aren’t you sleeping?”

Peidos was the one to break the silence. I scratched my neck and smiled casually.

“My roommate snores loudly.”

“Ah, I can relate to that.”

He chuckled lightly and started walking, matching my stride.

“Is this your first time camping?”

“Yes.”

“It must be uncomfortable.”

“I’ll get used to it once I’m exhausted enough to pass out, right?”

He chuckled at my joke.

Honestly, I was still really tired. It’s impossible not to be tired after walking for hours on end.

Humans are adaptable creatures, so eventually, I’ll adapt to that snoring as well. But tomorrow was the problem.

I might end up walking like a zombie. No, as long as I didn’t crawl, it would be a relief.

“Although the area has been cleared, there’s still a thick presence of dark magic. It’s dangerous to walk alone.”

“Ah… I see. I was planning to walk a bit… I’m sorry.”

“No problem. I’ll take you there.”

My cheeks burned at his kind offer.

I knew it was just a polite offer, as usual. But still, the image of his gentle demeanor and the scene from earlier when his colleague was teasing him overlapped, which made me get my hopes up.

I guess that means I’m not bad enough to continue to be nice to you. Perhaps it’s a sign from the heavens that my schedule coincides with the knight order…

Ah, Prim is here too.

My thoughts came to a dead end and abruptly came to a halt. I swept away the previous thoughts as if someone said I wasn’t Korean in my past life and drank a five-liter bowl of kimchi soup¹to count one’s chickens before they hatch.

“Come to think of it, it seems like I’m always causing trouble.”

“Why… why do you think that way?”

I lowered my head and spoke somewhat gloomily.

“Even now, I’m only getting in the way of your patrols… and before, I unnecessarily caused you confusion by visiting your quarters…”

When we first met, I received help as well. I was even captured by a priest right after and freed, all thanks to him.

It was the same when I cleaned the dormitory and also when I attended to the prayer room. We had met quite frequently, and now that I think about it, I’ve only received help or been involved in similar incidents every time.

Yet he never showed any signs of displeasure, which made it certain that this man would undoubtedly become an exceptional figure in the future.

Just as expected, Peidos kindly denied my words once again.

“Not at all. It’s a patrol, I’m doing it now, I’ve done it before. While I was looking for a place where we could meet, you were the first one to…”

“……”

When Peidos stopped speaking, he also stopped walking. Along with the cold breeze, I took a shallow breath, following his lead, immersed in an odd silence.

What did he just say?

Looking for a place he might encounter me?

“…Ahem, it seems to be somewhere nearby, right?”

“Uh… yes, it’s right over there.”

“Alright, then I’ll be going now.”

“Huh? Oh… thank you.”

He turned his heels as if he were confused. I also stood there absentmindedly, slightly dazed.

But a few steps ahead, he suddenly stopped and looked back at me again. His face, illuminated by the torchlight, appeared particularly flushed.

“Sleep well.”

“……”

I couldn’t find any words in response. Even as I watched his retreating figure, my eyes blinked in confusion, and I simply stood there.

Oh my god.

My face suddenly felt really hot. My heart raced madly, reminding me of my own existence.

“You’re crazy, no, don’t delude yourself. It’s kimchi soup, kimchi soup.”

Why is it that now, scenes of his colleagues teasing him keep floating in my mind? I don’t know if it’s a reflection of my own hopes or something else.

I pushed away the illusion that my brain was chasing and even slapped my own cheek. Making such a small mistake, this misunderstanding hadn’t done me any favors in the slightest.

You’ll be disappointed later. Don’t do this…”

I patted my chest, took a deep breath, and hastily lifted the tent before returning to my place and lying down.

Even when I pressed my hands tightly together and tried to calm my pounding heart, my heartbeat was still strong enough that I could hear it in my ears. Unable to calm my pounding heart, I had to spend another hour with sleepless eyes.

It wasn’t until I heard a bird chirp that my physical exhaustion finally took over.  The muffled sounds of my roommate’s snores gradually faded away, and I fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

The purification process began.

We walked through the forest while purifying the murky, dark magic by using the holy energy.

The knights first judged if there was no danger, and then the priests, including us, followed behind to engage in the purification process.

Since Leila did not have the qualifications, she stayed in the chapel to assist the healing priests. It was a job that suited her well, as she quickly befriended people and was agile in her actions. Fortunately, it seemed that she didn’t mind the constant attention.

It was the first time I was entrusted with a ‘real task,’ and I felt a hidden enthusiasm rising within me. The work of calming the dark magic that sprouted from trees and the ground, following the method shown by the priests, was surprisingly enjoyable.

I was in the midst of my active purification when I heard a voice.

“I… Miss Duna, this place is also safe.”

• 1
  to count one’s chickens before they hatch