Chapter: 126
“So, hey there, Old Man!!”
“Feeling spry again today, Ruru!”
The Boy Knight welcomed Ruru’s energetic greeting with ease, swooping her up and spinning her around.
He fished for the speech patterns he had adopted back when he was old. After regaining his youth, he usually avoided such phrases related to age, but he often indulged Ruru in this way.
Considering the age gap, it felt like a grandfather playing with his little granddaughter, but given their appearances, it looked more like two little kids hugging each other.
Ruru buried her face in the Boy Knight’s embrace and took a whiff.
It smelled of herbs and earth. He always smelled this way. There was a time she asked him why he always carried that scent, and he replied, “I just pick herbs whenever I pass by.”
He was a proper gentleman, not bothered even after ten days of not eating anything. Why he would munch on herbs that barely amounted to a snack was beyond her.
After a while, Ruru suddenly glanced at the calendar. The circle she drew to mark the day Old Man would come was far in the future.
“You came earlier than expected!”
“I did come early.”
The Boy Knight crossed his arms, clicking his tongue disapprovingly. He had cleaned up an entire city and taken down a corrupt noble and five black wizards, yet in the end, it was all for naught.
“I meant to root out those wicked folk, but they scampered off quickly. Artful dodgers—just like lizards that can shed their tails!”
“Oh, I saw that on TV! The lizard bites its tail off and runs away! When I saw that, I thought if Oh Dae-su grabbed our arms, we could just snap them off and escape too…”
“…What’s a TV? And who is Oh Dae-su?”
“Oh. The TV is this huge thing that shows all sorts of videos! And Oh Dae-su is… a friend.”
The Boy Knight’s eyes widened. A friend?
To the poor and pitiful child who had no one to confide in until now, hearing about a friend was something special.
Ruru was an innocent girl craving affection and had little wit. So, this Oh Dae-su could very likely be a pesky fly trying to take advantage of her.
Even if she couldn’t cultivate a better environment for her, at least he should be dealt with. The Boy Knight sat down and kindly asked,
“Can you tell me more about him?”
Ruru briefly glanced at the upper right before mumbling,
“Well, um… he’s dead.”
“Oh dear.”
No matter how you looked at it, that was a lie.
However, it wasn’t an outright falsehood. It was a muddled mix of truth and untruth.
Instead of scaring her into confessing the whole truth, the Boy Knight decided to adopt a softer and gentler approach.
He would have a subordinate investigate.
If the fellow turned out to be a decent person, he would let him remain as Ruru’s good friend; and if he was wicked, he could quietly make him disappear. The Boy Knight was busy, but he could spare some time for a child he cared about.
He had plenty of time to play as well.
“Then… how about we loosen up a bit?”
“Aren’t you tired after coming back from a business trip?”
“Look at you, thinking of others. How commendable.”
Since others weren’t trying to instill social skills in Ruru at this point, this change must have come from that ‘friend’ of hers. An added bonus point for that.
The Boy Knight unsheathed his sword and let it dangle naturally.
It looked as effortless as branches on a tree. The blade, forged from tempered steel, felt like it had grown right into his hand.
Ruru clenched her fists.
To her eyes, the Boy Knight appeared as imposing as a massive mountain. Until now, she thought if she hit harder, even a mountain would eventually crumble, but now, something felt different.
The imaginary Oh Dae-su began to lecture Ruru.
“Use your head! Don’t just charge in; think about where the weak spots are before throwing a punch!”
Hmm…
“Hmmm…”
That old man doesn’t look weak anywhere, Dae-su.
“There’s no way something can be perfect. It just means the difference in your abilities is simply beyond your sight!”
If I can’t see it, where do I aim?
“If you can’t grasp the enemy, then think about what you can do… Consider a template tree. If recovery is possible, go for high healing effects; if defense is strong, increase your block chances.”
Right.
If she wanted to topple the mountain, a pea-sized hole wouldn’t cut it. It seemed she needed a big explosion—something like TNT. She had seen it on YouTube shorts.
Whooooooosh──!!
Ruru gathered her magical power in her fist. Imagining a massive explosion. As her will infused the magic, its nature began to change little by little. It was a very primitive approach.
It was primitive magic, relying on pure desire rather than delicate techniques and formulas. The efficiency was rather low, but…
It was still a huge upgrade compared to doing nothing at all.
Zzzzzap. Zzzzap.
The concentrated magical power in Ruru’s right hand solidified, taking the shape of a gauntlet. The explosive property infused the magical crystal tinted a light pink.
“Old Man, here I go──!!”
“Go for it!”
And then, a thrusting jab.
“Rodeo Impact──!!”
A substantial blow, laced with a bit of flair, launched forth. The Boy Knight calculated the impact contained in her fist and the potential damage it could cause.
If it connects and explodes, half of the Capital Knights Order headquarters would probably be blown apart, with the aftershock wrecking three mansions.
Compared to the Ruru of before, the sheer power had increased by at least fifty percent.
Gotta wipe that away.
The Boy Knight’s sword, hanging loosely, moved soundlessly.
“Metamorphosis, Strike Object.”
One, two, three.
Though Ruru couldn’t see the Boy Knight’s sword swings, she felt that it had been drawn three times. Her mightiest blow, Rodeo Impact, was sliced into three.
What remained after the catastrophe of magical energy dissipated was just the girl’s cute little punch.
Thump.
The Boy Knight gently halted Ruru’s fist with his palm.
“You’ve improved a lot! It’s no easy task to add technique to that amount of power.”
“It’s thanks to all the nagging!”
“Did that friend tell you how to do that?”
“Yeah! Dae-su kept bugging me all day.”
Ruru had initially only been pouring raw magical power recklessly, not knowing how to manipulate it with precision. But moving large amounts of magical energy itself was no small feat.
A small stream can change direction with just a flick of the wrist, but altering the course of a river takes substantial strength.
Great teaching. An extra point for that.
The Boy Knight began to like this Oh Dae-su more and more. Now, he was headed to the most crucial part.
“Is this Oh Dae-su a boy?”
“Umm…”
Ruru pondered for a moment before speaking honestly.
“…Both?”
“?”
The Boy Knight also sank into thought. Both?
Did it mean they had both or neither? And knowing that meant he had seen them? Or could they shift shapes…?
So, should I give a point or take one away? It was a profound dilemma.
While the Boy Knight imagined what this Oh Dae-su could look like, Ruru crossed her arms, puffed out her chest, and declared boldly,
“I have something I want to do, Old Man!”
“What you want to do is important. If I can help, I shall.”
“I want to be a hero of justice! Sounds awesome!”
“Hmm…”
Justice.
Most folks intoxicated with justice tend to meet a miserable end. It’s a value that’s hard to uphold without just the right strength. Thus, one would normally discourage such talk.
But Ruru possessed an extraordinary amount of strength. So, dreaming of justice wouldn’t pose a risk to her. The Boy Knight nodded.
“However, I have no idea how to go about it.”
“Then you should ask Ronald, the head of Team 3 of the Capital Knights Order! He knows all about it.”
“Can’t you tell me, Old Man?”
“I’m not a righteous person.”
With a dignified smile, the Boy Knight affectionately ruffled Ruru’s hair. She found it strange that he said he wasn’t on the side of justice, but didn’t voice her thoughts.
If a person who beat up all sorts of villains and brought peace to the empire isn’t justice, then what is? Ruru thought maybe the Old Man was just bashful.
Speaking of which, Team 3…
That was the team led by that mustached uncle, right? But the image etched in Ruru’s mind was not very flattering.
“Are they good at it…? Whenever I visit, they always seem to be slacking off…”
===============================================================
In the underground Command Headquarters of Team 3 of the Capital Knights Order.
As usual, they were enjoying idyllic and peaceful days, tirelessly working to punish criminals, when the shrill cry of the scream-duty knight echoed.
“Emergency!!!”
“What, what’s going on! Scream Duty!! Report the situation!!”
“The Capital Knights Order Master is visiting!! The Capital Knights Order Master is visiting!!”
“KYAAAAAH!!”
At that horrifying news, Team 3’s command center immediately turned into chaos. It was as if an elephant had wedged its way into a house.
Elephants are herbivores by nature and harmless, but the moment you provoke them, the house crumbles. The same goes for the Capital Knights Order Master. She was, in fact, a “Curious Elephant”!
In the face of this colossal threat, Ronald, head of Team 3, displayed his sharp leadership again.
“Everyone, prepare to show submissive postures—!! To the apex predator about to arrive, we shall demonstrate that we are thoroughly harmless, prepared to surrender to any test, be it sparring, arm wrestling, or even playing dice—!!”
“Yes!”
“Uh, um, Captain…? What’s a submissive posture?”
“So you’re the newbie! Fine, pay attention. It’s the most vulnerable spot in the human body—show your belly and lie down flat—!!”
Thud.
All members of Team 3 collapsed flat on the floor.
Some competent knights even whipped out their emergency pillows and blankets, pretending to sleep. Beasts are most vulnerable when asleep!
Remove anything that might catch the Capital Knights Order Master’s interest. A combat enthusiast wouldn’t be given any chance to pick a fight. This was the solution.
In fact, this formation had proved effective against the Capital Knights Order Master, and while other departments occasionally underwent unavoidable remodeling, Team 3 had successfully preserved their headquarters.
So this time as well, they would respond with complete immunity.
ZZZZZING.
“Hey, I came in to ask something…”
When Ruru opened the automatic door to the Team 3 headquarters, all the knights were sprawled out on the ground with dead fish eyes. Some were sprawled out under blankets, fast asleep.
This was always the case. Every time she visited, Team 3 was lazily slacking off.
Now, she could express them in a single word.
“Salary thieves…”
“………”
Justice?
Maybe they should study professional ethics first.
Ruru sighed and plopped down into an empty chair. The Old Man wasn’t one to speak lightly. So there had to be a reason he’d singled out Team 3.
Thus, she decided to take a gamble without risking anything. Although Ronald, who was snoring with his blindfold on, may or may not be listening.
“You know, I want to be a hero of justice. But I’m not sure how, so I came to ask.”
“……..”
Flinch.
“Old Man told me to come here. He said the mustached gentleman from Team 3 would know well.”
“……..!!”
Flinch, flinch. Ronald’s eyelids began to flutter.
As Ruru continued to poke Ronald’s happiness buttons, rapid silent communication occurred among the knights.
This is a trap, Captain-!! It’s suspicious for the Capital Knights Order Master to drop such words out of the blue! If we pretend to be asleep, she might try to fight you!
But she’s the Boy Knight, the Empire’s swordmaster, who’s giving me serious shouts of support…!!
She’s probably lying, Captain! We can’t let our guard down—!!
“I… I don’t really know much about justice. I don’t even know what it is. I just thought it looked cool, and became interested. Saving people, and more importantly, making people smile. My friend told me so.”
“……..”
“So, I also… I want to stand shoulder to shoulder with my friend. I don’t want to be the one who’s embarrassed. If I meet them again one day, I want to proudly say I’ve saved this many people…”
Ronald couldn’t hold any longer under the blossoming justice emanating from her. If it’s a trap, then he should morally play along.
With a spring, he kicked off the covers and leapt up, roaring,
“Then you’ve come to the right place! This is the frontline of justice! We are the steel-hardened enforcers of the law—!!”
“…Were you not just sleeping?”
“The spirit of justice awakened me! Capital Knights Order Master, I am intensely moved right now… Justice, yes, it’s about bringing smiles to others…!”
He had been only considering punishment until now. He had been so caught up in that mindset. But law is, in essence, about bestowing smiles upon those who need it!
Ronald trembled with glistening tears in his eyes. One can sometimes find realizations even from an elephant passing by as one goes through life.
Ruru felt a bit overwhelmed.
Be that as it may, Ronald casually placed his hand on Ruru’s shoulder with a winning smile.
“I’m not saying our justice is the answer. But I believe there’s no better place to discover the true meaning of justice! Everyone here is earnestly grappling with their questions!”
“Y-yeah… um, could you step back a little? ”
Ruru pushed Ronald away lightly. Thud! With a loud sound, Ronald tumbled backward. He naturally transitioned into a backward roll, pointing to one side of a whiteboard.
“Recently, we had a profound incident that posed a deep question to us…!! That is, the vigilante group that appeared in Crownhall!”
“A vigilante group…?”
“Exactly! They act outside the law, moving not under government authority! I’ve heard they have blue hair and fluttering skirts, taking private measures against evildoers!! While their courage and righteousness are commendable, we must think about the essence of the law—”
“Wait a second.”
Ruru’s heart raced at the mention of blue hair; it was too much to ignore.
She channeled her magical power into her fists—a lot. Suddenly, the interior of Team 3 fell silent as if wicked spells had been cast.
“C-could you tell me everything you know about that girl with the blue hair…?”
“Reporting Officer Ervin will speak! Eyewitness testimonies about the individual started coming in a week ago, and she’s known to wield a rapier as her primary weapon. She operates mainly ‘outside the circle’, but due to her suspected escape routes, it’s possible she has a base ‘inside the circle’, leading to the transfer of operations to the Capital Knights…”
“That, I’ll take care of… no, hold on. Calm down, Kim Ruru. I want to resolve that incident. I want to meet that vigilante girl. I’ll handle the arrest. Who can tell me what to do?”
“Wanting to resolve this situation through peaceful conversation…!! You’ve definitely changed, it seems the Capital Knights Order Master is interested in the irony between law and illegality…?!”
Thump, thump.
Captain Ronald of Team 3 was thrilled at the thought of nurturing a newbie in justice. Even better, she was a top-tier force who sought to leverage communication instead of brute force!
Kim Ruru suppressed her racing heart in apprehension, desperately telling herself it can’t possibly be true, yet her expectations remained high.
Is this a shared dream?
Ruru, who could be written as the Capital Knights Order Master, was unexpectedly cooperating with Team 3 of the Capital Knights Order.
