Silvia gasped at Rian’s words. What could they have talked about to cause this? At that moment, Emilia immediately reached out.
“Venire (Come)!”
With an incantation, the staff in the cabin was drawn into her hand. As soon as she grabbed the staff, she aimed the gemmed part at Needle. Her eyes were wary, ready to unleash magic at any moment.
“If you move, I’ll use it!”
The girl gathered magical energy at the tip of the staff with that warning.
“Ignis (Fire).”
The gem on the staff glowed red at her command. Heat shimmered from the crimson gem. A high-damage fire spell was about to incinerate Needle’s head.
“Welcome with such brutality, huh.”
Though she said so, Needle’s eyes showed no reaction. Even if a mage aimed a staff at him, his skill would let him easily dodge the attack.
“Um. Everyone, calm down first.”
But I didn’t want the cabin half-destroyed by a fireball. I had to calm the chaos and explain to the children. Approaching Emilia, who still had her staff raised, I said,
“Put the staff down. There’s no need for that.”
“R-really?”
She looked toward me, eyes asking what I’d do if he caused trouble. To reassure Emilia, I patted her shoulder confidently.
“I’m here.”
Then she lowered the staff from Needle. I turned my gaze to the other kids. Everyone needed to calm down first.
“Everyone, sit down. I’ll explain what happened.”
The kids exchanged glances, unsure if they could trust this man.
In the end, they agreed and sat down.
“Alright, I’ll explain what happened.”
When explaining things like this, you shouldn’t hide anything. Though Needle wouldn’t want to reveal he’s a freelance knight, I left that out and just explained how we ended up here.
“…So.”
Silvia looked at me in disbelief.
“The man beat up some mercenaries, who then hired this Needle guy…”
“…So he was dragged here after losing a fight against Uncle Eugene?”
Emilia finished summarizing the situation.
“Tch.”
Needle clicked his tongue at that story. From his reaction, I knew it was true. Boudica opened her mouth in amazement.
“Wow… Uncle, you’re amazing. How did you think of hiring someone trying to kill you?”
To the girl’s question, I answered loudly for all to hear.
“Because of you all.”
“Us?”
Emilia tilted her head, puzzled. I explained.
“I have to manage five kids by myself. Having one more increases our survival chances.”
“But how can we be sure he won’t hurt us?”
Rian questioned sharply. Needle answered.
“He won’t touch the kids.”
That was probably true.
‘Because he’s a freelance knight.’
Freelance knights are a headache for the empire, which hates their independence. But they act according to honor and duty just like the empire’s knights. If they weren’t decent people, they wouldn’t have become freelance knights in the first place.
“Ah, yes…”
Though the kids still doubted him, that distrust would gradually fade as we adventured together. At least the tense, wary atmosphere from earlier relaxed.
“Anyway, it’s awkward how you came here, but let’s get along well.”
Rian said this and extended a hand. Probably because she was the leader. Needle stared at the hand for a moment before chuckling and shaking it.
“Yeah, let’s get along.”
And so a new companion joined. Though it didn’t change daily life much. Except that the living space in the cabin got a little tighter.
Whoosh…
The train departed, and the kids rested in their own ways.
“Checkmate.”
“Ah! How did that happen!?”
Rian was losing to Emili at chess.
“So, the characteristic of our sect’s holy magic is…”
“Is that so? Our magic theory is…”
“I can’t understand what you girls are saying.”
The girls were chatting beyond the partition.
‘Time to get some sleep.’
After fighting Needle and bringing him here, I was exhausted. Since nothing special would happen for a while, I decided to rest.
“The safest place is the commercial city Kalkera.”
Suddenly, Needle, sitting with his arms crossed beside me, answered. That must be the answer to the earlier question. And Kalkera was definitely the place.
“The one with the Mirror Palace, right?”
Each city in the Demon Realm is built around a dungeon. Dungeons are mysterious places full of endless treasures and traps. The treasures brought from there form the basis of the city’s prosperity. Also, dungeons sometimes contain powerful relics.
‘Cities built by demons always have a dungeon attached.’
Relics found in dungeons give advantage in the demons’ power struggles. As expected, demons follow the law of the jungle—only the strong survive, so power competition is constant. Needle looked interested upon hearing this.
“Oh, you’ve been to the Mirror Palace too?”
“I’ve been there.”
Our hero party was the first to conquer that dungeon as humans. That city becoming the safest place in the Demon Realm now means a lot has changed in fifteen years.
‘I wonder how much more it will change.’
Lost in thought, I was snapped back.
“But lately, there have been more weird guys in the Demon Realm.”
“Hm?”
I sat up at Needle’s words.
‘Weird’ here implied something negative, so it was a caution for our exploration.
“What weird guys?”
“Black Knights.”
“Black Knights? What’s that? Not black mages?”
Among mages, some traitors gained power by contracting with demons. They’re called dark mages because they’re fallen. Hearing ‘Black Knight’ naturally made me think of that. Needle twitched his eyebrow.
“Dark mages? When was the last time there were dark mages?”
They’ve long been extinct. Besides repression, it’s no longer profitable. Since the demon race’s influence declined rapidly after the demon lord’s purge,
‘Nowadays, it’s more lucrative to work as a researcher studying magic.’
Instead of gaining power through demonic contracts, mages prefer stable research jobs within the empire. Mages are human, after all—honor, money, and comfort are top priorities.
“Though dark mages are gone, what are these Black Knights?”
“Exactly what it sounds like. Knights who contracted with demons and fell.”
“What?”
I sat up sharply at that. Knights are officially appointed warriors of the empire and a noble class valuing honor. A contract with demons is a huge stain.
“Are there really such people?”
Why throw everything away for a handful of power? They already have money and honor as the ruling class. Needle nodded.
“Those who feel their existence threatened look for extreme solutions.”
“Threatened?”
“We’re in the age of guns and gunpowder now.”
Meaning that as firearms develop, the battlefield will be dominated not by knights with superhuman abilities, but by ordinary soldiers armed with improved guns.
“Knights foresaw this trend early.”
“Hmm.”
Some knights saw the flow of the times and fell to avoid obsolescence. A bitter story, but I asked Needle anyway.
“If we meet them, should we run?”
Knowing their strength is crucial to staying safe.
‘We’re not alone, after all.’
Now, with inexperienced students in tow, it’s better to avoid direct clashes with Black Knights. Needle answered.
“If we fight, everyone except the two of us will die.”
“Just as I thought.”
I resolved to evacuate the kids immediately if we encounter Black Knights. Fighting strong opponents while protecting others is far harder than fighting alone.
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
Saying that to Needle, I lay back down to sleep.
*****
“Eugene, have you heard of the ideal flower monster living nearby?”
This dream was a memory from the past. The scene was finally near the Great Forest. Walking the mountain path there, the saint suddenly asked.
“What’s that?”
I answered then. It’s a plant-type monster. Basically, a man-eating flower. She picked a wildflower from the roadside. But they hunt by putting their prey to sleep with hypnotic pollen.
“Why not just eat them?”
No, they don’t chew on people like other monsters. The saint sniffed the flower’s scent. Instead, they make their prey see someone they long for and drain their energy while they sleep.
“That’s a complete bastard.”
Playing with human feelings. Better to just attack and devour outright. Though comparing man-eating monsters to see which is worse is silly.
“Eradicating such nasty things is the answer.” – Indeed. Heh heh.
The saint laughed and snapped her fingers, tossing the flower away. But I wonder.
“What?”
She looked at me. Who do you think that person is?
“Uncle! Uncle!”
Emilia’s voice struck my ears. Just as I was sleeping soundly, she woke me up. Eugene opened his eyes and sat up.
“Why are you waking me up?”
Nothing big has happened these past few days. We’ve bought almost everything we need while stopping at stations. Just one more station to pass today, and tomorrow we’ll reach the train’s terminus.
“Well…”
Emilia looked troubled.
“They say the train can’t go any further.”