A plush bed and blankets so soft they felt as if they would melt.
A pillow that his head sank deep into.
For Hamelot, it was the first time in his life experiencing such a sleeping arrangement, yet it did not bring as much excitement as one might expect.
His mind was entirely preoccupied with other thoughts.
‘Royal Knights…’
The image of Claire from earlier that day.
The way she had calmly produced the Imperial Golden Lion Token.
The sudden silence that had fallen over the city gates because of it.
The knights and soldiers who displayed their awe without filter.
If Claire had been from Hibernia rather than the Empire, they looked ready to drop to one knee.
‘It’s insane…’
How dazzling Claire’s back had looked as she walked away, accepting everyone’s reverence as if it were only natural.
The life of a glamorous hero was something he had only vaguely imagined as a child.
To witness it personally sent shivers down his spine.
Thanks to that radiance, they had not only entered the city immediately, but they were also able to meet a priest of Lipuae, who was normally notoriously difficult to see.
He even overheard that the priest was one of the bishops of Thalassa capable of using Holy Power.
Even while the great priest was personally using Holy Power to wash away the lingering energy and bestow a blessing, Hamelot’s head was filled with thoughts of Claire.
What exactly was it?
What did that shimmering golden token symbolize that it could be so overbearing and make his heart pound so hard?
Everyone had stepped aside in surprise, including the High Priests.
—The Marquis sends his deepest regrets that he could not greet you personally, and has organized a banquet this evening in your honor.
He requests your presence if at all possible…
Even the lord who ruled this massive city treated her with such caution.
The answer became clear at the evening banquet.
The banquet hall was so magnificent it made his eyes widen.
Colors he had never seen before in his life.
A feast of food that enchanted the five senses.
However, Hamelot barely touched his food and instead stopped a passing maid to ask.
He asked what the Royal Knights were.
the answer he received was long and rambling, but it was equally shocking.
To summarize it:
“The strongest knight order in the world.”
What an enchanting sound.
Muttering the words he had repeated several times over, he pulled the blanket up to his chin.
“Royal Knights.”
The hegemonic power of the Continent, the Verden Empire.
An order of seven knights who followed only the orders of the Emperor.
To think that one of them was his young master, Claire.
His goal finally became clear.
Knight?
Paladin?
How could those hold any excitement when a Royal Knight was right beside him?
When there was a figure whom everyone revered and yearned for?
Thus, from this day forward, Hamelot had only one goal.
“Royal Knights.”
Even if he were a moth jumping into a flame.
Even if his body burned away while flying endlessly toward his goal.
He had only one purpose.
“…Claire.”
To stand proudly by her side.
To one day look at the same place, experience the same world, and be of help to her.
That was his goal.
After spending a day surveying the entirety of the city of Thalassa, Claire immediately went to the Lord and spoke.
“It is excessive.”
When asked what was excessive, she meant the divinity.
It was a phenomenon that occurred because they did not know a clear way to deal with the situation.
“Abyss Monsters instinctively feel a strong hostility toward Holy Power.
This is because it is their most fatal weakness.”
“I have heard that much, Dame.
However, our enemies are not just monsters, are they?
We did this to block the intrusion of that black energy…
Do you perhaps have another method…?”
“There is no need to protect the entire area like this.”
The method the metropolis of Thalassa used to protect the city and its residents was simple and effective.
They maintained a massive holy shield over the entire city, completely blocking the entry of the energy itself.
Because of this, the High Priests capable of using Holy Power were busy day and night without rest.
“What do you mean by saying we do not need to protect everything…?”
“Simply purify the people entering and exiting the city thoroughly and take down the barrier.
If you continue to maintain a barrier of this scale, the priests will not be able to endure.”
“But if we do that, will we not be unable to block that black energy?
If that energy enters—the kind that causes ordinary humans to die of fever and kills the soil and plants—will it not be a disaster?”
The Marquis of Thalassa was well-aware, as information regarding the Abyss Energy had spread widely starting from the Empire.
He knew how terrifying that cursed thing was.
He knew that preventing the energy from spreading was even more important than the monsters.
“It is fine.
The concentration of the energy is not yet that high.
Even if a person is infected, they can be saved if purified within a few days, and the same goes for the soil and plants.
The symptoms are clear, so if the priests move as soon as contamination is confirmed, there will be no problem.”
She was saying there was no need to persist with the current method of not letting even a single grain of energy through.
At Claire’s explanation, the Marquis of Thalassa widened his eyes and asked several times.
“Is it truly… truly okay to do that?”
Claire’s words were nothing short of hope.
They had been blocking the entire city because they didn’t know what else to do, but as Claire said, it was a method that could not be maintained for long.
Unless one was the Holy Maiden back at the main temple, wrapping an entire metropolis in divinity was an act that severely exhausted both the body and mind, even for a High Priest.
“Thank you.
Thank you so much.”
He was that delighted.
“I shall do exactly as you advised immediately.
If you have any discomfort during your stay or if there is anything you want, please tell me at any time.”
No matter how high the reputation of the Royal Knights was, it was rare for a high noble of another country to go this far.
The Royal Knights were an order that laid down all titles and power to serve only the Emperor.
However, was this not a time of war?
Especially in the case of Hibernia, which had become the target of all Abyss Monsters, it would not be strange if even a metropolis fell overnight.
In such a situation, the Lord of Thalassa knew how immense the help of a single Royal Knight could be.
Furthermore, Claire had raised her fame by participating in expeditions to the Abyssal Depths, also known as the Magyeong, over a dozen times.
Was her reliability not certain?
Thus, the Marquis of Thalassa smiled pleasantly and exerted effort to make Claire stay in Thalassa even a little longer.
But there was no need for that.
“A large-scale raid will come soon.”
“A large-scale raid… you say?”
This was Claire’s true business.
“On the way here, I continued to witness monsters of the 66th Floor…
that is, monsters of the Abyssal Depths that have not yet been named.”
The Abyss Monsters that had attacked Hamelot’s village.
Those creatures were the primary force heading toward Thalassa.
They might have already surrounded the perimeter.
Their specialties were patience and cunning.
The Holy Power was the problem.
The holy shield they had wrapped around the city to block the Abyss Energy.
There was no way the monsters hadn’t felt it, and they were surely lurking nearby, waiting for the right time.
Waiting for more people to gather.
They would be waiting for the moment to explode their suppressed rage all at once and kill everyone.
“What… what should we do?”
Claire was certain they would attack, and she ultimately concluded that she would stay in Thalassa for a few more days until that moment came.
Thalassa was the largest metropolis in the western region of Hibernia.
If Thalassa fell, the entire west of Hibernia would collapse quickly, and that influence would surely spread to the entire kingdom.
In any case, supporting Hibernia was the will of Empress Silvia and the command of Vitalianus… and it was likely what Hio would have done if he were alive.
He was the one who had taught her that only divinity was the weakness of the Abyss and the only way to resist it.
After finishing the meeting, Claire turned her steps away from surveying the city walls and headed toward Hamelot’s room.
Since she had personally saved the child and brought him here, shouldn’t she treat him as a companion while they were together?
Well, while he was bothering her by calling her “Master,” she at least didn’t feel that terrible sensation she felt when she was alone.
She could consider this a reward for that.
After meeting Hamelot and telling him she would be staying for a few more days and explaining why, Hamelot offered an unexpected response.
“I want to go with you, Master!”
He spoke with his entire body showing a determination not to back down, even though he knew what kind of answer he might receive.
Claire met Hamelot’s attitude with her usual expressionless face.
“No.”
“I am a respectable skill user, too…”
“If you follow me, I will be preoccupied with you and will prioritize protecting you over others.
That means the number of people I can save will decrease.
It means people who could have lived might die because you followed me.”
“…
…”
It was a sharp refusal meant to cut off Hamelot’s childish request.
“I’m not saying this without thinking.”
Hamelot did not back down.
A hint of desperation clung to him.
“I won’t follow you into the battle.
I’ll just watch from as far away as possible.
It’s fine even if you don’t protect me on the battlefield.
As you saw back at the village, I’m confident in running away and hiding on my own.”
A few more words were exchanged after that, but neither backed down.
However, Hamelot’s will to follow Claire was even greater than Claire’s will to leave him behind.
“…I will never take you to the battlefield.”
“Huh?
That means you’ll take me everywhere else!”
“…First, after we protect Thalassa from the raid.”
“Whoo-hoo!”
Ultimately, the bond between the two was able to continue.
What could have ended with her just dropping him off at a city had turned into a journey of unknown duration.
A bond that could become even stronger.
As she watched the overjoyed Hamelot, Claire’s memories scanned the past from several years ago.
Hio, about to leave the village, and Claire, standing before him.
Why hadn’t she spoken more earnestly like this child?
If they had been together from then on, could she have understood Hio better?
Could she have become stronger?
Perhaps then, she could have realized what Hio was thinking and saved him.
Could Hio… be by her side right now?
Memories became thoughts, thoughts became regrets, regrets became self-reproach, and self-reproach soon became pain that stabbed at her heart.
‘…Master?’
“Don’t be too happy.
If you become more of a burden than I expect, I’ll leave alone.
You’ll have to get strong quickly.”
“Yes!
Don’t worry!”
As expected, the raid occurred a few days later.
A night when even the moonlight was hidden.
The creatures surrounding the city began to pounce from all directions simultaneously.
They had bodies like weasels and long, needle-sharp mouths.
Their charging speed was so fast it was nearly invisible to the eye, and by the time the sound of slicing wind reached one’s ears, that sharp snout would likely be lodged in one’s throat.
With hundreds of such creatures attacking the city from all sides, Thalassa would have fallen in an instant under normal circumstances.
But Claire was in Thalassa.
Since she had experienced them personally on the 66th Floor and knew the creatures that had tormented the expedition’s minds and bodies day and night, she knew that if their charge could be halted just once, they could be neutralized more easily than expected.
She knew the raid was coming and she knew their weakness.
If so, there was no reason she couldn’t stop them.
Claire alone created flames that protected the western and southern sides of the city, allowing all other forces to concentrate on the north and east, fending off the raid without major casualties.
“Thank you truly!
I know the Empire’s situation isn’t great either, yet to come to a distant foreign land and perform such a feat!”
It was only natural that the Lord’s laughter did not cease.
“No matter what anyone says, you are the hero of Thalassa—no, the hero of the Continent!”
Not only the Lord, but the other nobles nearby as well.
The knights and soldiers who witnessed the power that blocked the west and south alone looked upon her with even greater awe.
The city residents and the refugees who had to watch the battle with anxiety also praised Claire in unison.
“Hero of Thalassa!”
“You are the hero of the Holy Kingdom!”
Claire had no choice but to flee the city to escape such praise.
She was not a hero, and she was someone whose power and ability were insufficient to be called one.
Compared to the true hero she knew, she was beyond lacking; rather, she was a sinner who had let the hero die.
Refusing the Lord’s banquet and the gifts from the nobles and residents, Claire left Thalassa with Hamelot.
—Keep this in mind.
Vitalianus’s words repeated in her head, tightening around her heart like shackles.
—You are Hio Pavlenko’s last arrangement.
After leaving Thalassa, the two headed toward the capital.
They did not take the fastest route from Thalassa to the capital, but instead moved through various villages and cities, saving countless people and protecting towns along the way.
Of course, more people, cities, and villages had already been hideously destroyed and stained with Abyss Energy, becoming lands and cities of death.
Having spent a considerable amount of time with Claire, Hamelot had learned several facts.
First, Claire did not eat food.
More accurately, she could not eat anything she considered delicious.
This was the reason she rejected invitations to noble dinners and gifts of food from residents.
“Master… please eat.”
Calling it a meal was a stretch; it was a lump made of crushed grass and the like.
Naturally, both the taste and nutrition were likely terrible.
Even in the small village where Hamelot lived, they didn’t eat stuff like this.
How could a person live while barely eating such a non-food item even once a day?
Because of this, Hamelot hesitated to offer it as a meal, but what choice did he have?
Her body simply would not accept any other ordinary food.
Even if she ate well in front of him, she would vomit it all up once he turned away.
“Thank you.
I’ll eat well.”
Claire parted her red lips slightly and put the lump of grass that wasn’t even food into her mouth.
If it weren’t for her body, which was strengthened to handle massive skills and Magic Power, she wouldn’t have been able to endure.
This was why she had been so thin and had such a haggard complexion since the day they met.
What was the reason?
What kind of state of mind was she in that her body rejected even eating food as a luxury?
On the other hand, hot meat was placed in front of Hamelot.
The reason Claire, who had adamantly refused all gifts, started accepting them bit by bit after joining Hamelot was to ensure that he, at least, could eat proper food.
Naturally, Hamelot insisted on eating the same thing as Claire, but Claire was much firmer this time.
She said it was absolutely unacceptable for him to eat the same things as her while he was still growing.
When things reached that point, Hamelot would practically glare at the food in front of him.
Why was he still so young?
Why was he so short, and when would he finally gain muscle and become strong?
As those thoughts surged, he would aggressively pick up the food in front of him and cram it down his throat until he reached his limit.
Swallowing it whole without even tasting or chewing, he ate like a madman to grow even a day faster so he could protect Claire.
And so, the strange mealtime was born: Claire nibbling on blades of grass, and Hamelot shoving every bit of food into his mouth.
There were other things he had learned about Claire as well.
That she found the word “hero” extremely uncomfortable.
That she could barely sleep and spent almost every night wide awake.
Given how she looked out for him instead of being irritable even in that state, he reckoned she must have been a very kind and beautiful person in the past.
He was able to learn many things, but he still couldn’t find the answer to the most important question even by the time they arrived at the capital and the royal castle of Hibernia.
How did Claire end up in her current state?
Why did she lose her heart and lash herself with such suffering?
What kind of mindset was she living with every day?
He was curious, but he hesitated to ask.
He felt that the moment he asked, there would be no turning back.
It felt as if Claire, who was barely holding on, might collapse in an instant.
Even at the moment Claire arrived at the royal castle, met many high-ranking nobles and High Priests, and even exchanged greetings with the Holy Maiden—the most noble person in the world—as if they were acquaintances, Hamelot could not ask those questions.
And then, it began.
“…The 70th Floor of the Gate has collapsed.”
True hell.
A horrific war heading toward extinction.