“So….”
Hedera’s guard, Valken, couldn’t hide his bewilderment even with his face covered by a helmet. And he wasn’t the only one. The knights nearby felt the same.
Inside the estate, only two people remained calm.
Ezekiel, leaning against a mountain of Sunweed.
And beside him stood Agnes, expressionless.
“The Inspector of the Imperial Magic Tower managed to identify and deal with the High Fiend that caused the Erosion Phenomenon?”
“As you can see, that’s correct.”
Agnes nodded without changing her expression.
“Hmm.”
Valken alternated his gaze between Ezekiel and his hand.
Inside the Cube of ice lay the head of Tirbi.
It was simply unbelievable.
Although Ezekiel’s magical realm had already been confirmed during the presentation, he was, above all, of commoner birth—and a rookie inspector with not even a single line of experience.
In other words, Ezekiel had no practical experience.
This dispatch to Ruiple was his first outing, and the first line to be added to his record.
But could anyone easily believe that someone like Ezekiel had identified a High Fiend right from the start? Not to mention that he had dealt with it all by himself without any help.
…Defeating a High Fiend was quite an impressive achievement.
It wasn’t even comparable to defeating a Low-level Demonic Beast.
A nearby apprentice knight chimed in.
“Is that really true?”
Agnes met his gaze with her usual blank expression.
“Yes. Are you suggesting that the Imperial Magic Tower would lie?”
“Well, not exactly….”
The apprentice knight trailed off.
No matter the internal circumstances of the Imperial Magic Tower, its name still held immense weight. Especially now, with the name of the Tower Master Hedera attached, they wouldn’t dare proclaim any falsehoods.
Hoo…
It was then that Ezekiel let out a long puff of smoke.
“I’m not so free as to tell lies.”
A strange silence settled between the knights and mages, leaving the village chief in a state of confusion. Finally, the old man smiled and spoke up.
“Ho ho ho… In the end, things turned out well, and we have esteemed guests gathering. Is there any reason for this? We should enjoy the festival rather than waste time.”
“Hmm.”
“Regardless, it’s true that the inspector has greatly helped us. You even retrieved a Demonic Sword.”
“A Demonic Sword?”
“Yes. Sir Knight, please look here.”
On the ground lay the massive sword used by Tirbi. Dark energies rose from it like mirages; it looked ominous at first glance.
“Did the inspector truly retrieve this?”
“That’s right. They say it’s a sword that penetrates the fear of humans and shatters their minds. We couldn’t even approach it, yet the inspector moved it with ease.”
Just then, another apprentice knight spoke up.
“I don’t understand at all.”
At that, Agnes let out a deep sigh.
“Is it that hard to comprehend?”
“It’s not a matter of understanding, but a fundamental question. That Demonic Sword penetrates the fear of humans…. Didn’t you just explain that?”
“Correct. That’s how it is.”
“But you’re saying that the Inspector of the Magic Tower held it without any issue. How could a human wield a Demonic Sword without any side effects? Doesn’t that seem suspicious?”
“….”
“Doesn’t that mean he’s closer to being a Fiend than a human?”
An unexpectedly reasonable critique.
It wasn’t just a simple complaint but a rational inquiry.
Everyone stared at Ezekiel with traces of fear glimmering in their eyes. They had already been significantly deceived by Tirbi. They couldn’t help but feel fear that such things could happen again.
“….”
Agnes too silently observed Ezekiel.
It wasn’t due to distrust; it was simply that this was something only Ezekiel could clarify.
Ezekiel crunched on a piece of new Sunweed.
“It’s not that difficult of a task. I just tamed it.”
“Tamed it? Care to explain?”
Valken asked calmly.
“That sword penetrates human fear, right?”
“Indeed.”
“I’ve long since shed my fear. There’s a limit to pain, but there’s no limit to fear.”
“That’s like a self-destructive move. There’s no way a human can completely control their emotions.”
“Well, you’re looking at one right now.”
Valken had no retort to such a bold statement.
Just then.
“…Valken-nim.”
The apprentice knight beside Valken whispered quietly.
“A human without fear is suspicious. We need to verify it by some means, don’t you think?”
Valken quietly nodded.
Regardless of Ezekiel’s confident demeanor, the inspector certainly didn’t look like an ordinary human. In fact, he seemed closer to some kind of Fiend.
“Valken-nim, I have a good idea.”
With that, before Valken could give some instruction, the apprentice knight slammed the ground.
His charge was aimed at Ezekiel’s secretary.
In a brief moment, Valken understood the apprentice knight’s intent.
‘Pretend to attack his life and observe his reaction, huh?’
Rash, but it had some merit. No matter how strong one is, when a precious companion is on the brink of death, they would feel at least a sliver of fear.
But simultaneously.
The moment Valken looked into Ezekiel’s blue eyes.
“…?”
A strange scene began to unfold before Valken.
Something akin to future sight that only an extremely skilled knight could perceive, sensing everything around him as clues to predict what was about to happen.
Around him.
Blue trails stretched towards the apprentice knight. It was likely the magical trajectory that Ezekiel was about to unleash.
It clicked. He realized he couldn’t let this happen. The only future that awaited the apprentice knight would be becoming a porcupine-like corpse, pierced by ice.
“…!”
Valken was taken aback and drew his sword.
Chwaaa—!
Just as the apprentice knight’s sword tip was about to touch under Agnes’ chin, Valken cut his own ally’s wrist.
The speed of the strike was immensely quick.
All of this happened in less than a second.
“…Uh, uuh?”
His wrist flew high into the air, blood bursting forth like a fountain. The stunned apprentice knight’s eyes widened.
He had merely intended a threat; who would have imagined his wrist would fly off? The shock must have been immense.
“My wrist, my wrist…! Aaaahhh!”
As he fell, writhing in pain and shock.
“Oh.”
Ezekiel’s reaction was merely that.
The inspector nodded, exhaling smoke.
“Valken, your judgment saved the apprentice knight.”
“….”
“From now on, you should focus even more on training.”
Valken grit his teeth.
He had nothing to say. Ezekiel was more impressive than he thought, and the apprentice knight had acted recklessly. It was fortunate it ended with just a wrist.
Grrr—!
Meanwhile, the Demonic Sword began making a bizarre noise, as if it were going crazy, trying to swallow the apprentice knight’s fear.
“That’s going on a rampage!”
“What should we do? Should we run away? It’s dangerous!”
Just as dark energy rose endlessly.
Ezekiel lightly stepped on the sword as if stepping on fallen leaves.
“Stay still.”
Crack…
As if it were made to obey, the sword suddenly subdued, its ominous presence fading. Everyone gasped in surprise.
“He even subdued a Demonic Sword…?”
“How could he do that so easily?!”
Ezekiel merely narrowed his eyes at their commotion.
“Didn’t I already say? I tamed it.”
It was too easy, as if there was no need for an explanation.
…
…
…
Ezekiel’s group returned to the capital first.
“….”
Valken stared blankly at their backs.
In Ruiple, a wager had been placed with a duration of a week. Ezekiel made his way to the capital in just one day, having identified and resolved the cause of the Erosion Phenomenon.
Yet Valken remained here.
…Because he was struggling to accept the loss of the wager.
“Valken-nim, what should we do?”
“There’s still 6 days left. We have to do something.”
The cause had vanished, so even if they tried for those six days, turning the wager around would be difficult. Valken was simply lost in thought.
‘Ezekiel is definitely not an ordinary person.’
The more he saw, the more astonishing his prowess became.
Now that he thought about it, while being of commoner birth made sense, it was incredibly suspicious that he had no prior experience. The necessity of investigating further information was felt keenly.
And one more thing.
His lord, the 2nd Princess Hedera.
“….”
Due to Valken losing the wager, Hedera had opened access to the first floor of the Imperial report for Ezekiel.
It was the blunder of no one but Valken. Valken’s blunder.
Yes, it was Valken’s mistake. Valken’s fault.
That was the root cause.
“Damn it…”
Grind—
Inside his helmet, Valken gritted his teeth.
A week passed.
Finally, the day of the Ruiple performance evaluation arrived.
The Empire’s 2nd Princess, Hedera.
She greeted the morning with weary eyes.
“Huff…”
She took a deep breath, trying to calm her chaotic heart.
…Ezekiel, did he truly win the wager?
That was the only concern on her mind.
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