Chapter 10
Splish. Splish. The sound of water splashing.
Amidst the heavy spring rain, two knights were walking side by side.
Licht, wearing only a black helmet.
And Mardoll, clad in armor that covered his entire body, including his head.
Anyone who saw them might think they were knights meeting secretly.
‘What should I even call this?’
White combined with transparent glass. A White Knight and glass, the complete opposite of me.
A transparent, mirror-like shield formed an arch, protecting us from the rain. It covered my head like an umbrella. It was so shiny that it could be mistaken for crystal.
Was this the Glass Knight’s magic?
Well, Dennis’s nickname is “Drunkard” and Kainel’s is “Mutt.”
The names from the game are pretty straightforward.
But why did he approach me? He could have just let me get soaked. We only sat next to each other in class. Feeling something odd, I decided to ask him.
“Is there something you need from me?”
“Can’t use magic?”
“Yes.”
Ah, so he was here to mock me. I placed a hand on my forehead as I looked at the heavily armored knight. I was grateful for not getting drenched, though.
He was about the same height as me. His massive armor made it impossible to guess his actual build.
As I scanned him up and down, the knight turned his gaze toward me.
“…?”
“There are people like me, Mardoll.”
Maybe I was the weird one. In this world, there was no one who couldn’t use magic. Feeling a sense of unfairness, I sighed and quickened my pace.
“…Can you get stronger?”
“I have no idea what you mean.”
The glossy helmet tilted. His voice, echoing like it was coming from inside a cave, resonated again.
My helmet didn’t sound like that.
Mardol propped his chin on his hand, seemingly deep in thought. He really did seem like the protagonist of the third installment. His presence was too overwhelming.
As if he were the complete opposite of the Dark Knight.
He was an enigmatic Glass Knight who wore armor that seemed to be made of crystal and, like me, wore a helmet, making him hard to categorize as a White Knight.
‘If this is the case, he must be from the Gransia Empire.’
A knight commander? No, that guy’s too old. Even the imperial guard couldn’t afford this kind of gear.
I racked my brains, trying to recall everything I knew.
Mardoll looked at me. His golden eyes, visible through a slit. They seemed familiar.
“I’ll teach you magic.”
“I’ll call you ‘Master’ from now on!”
I bowed my head immediately at the shocking proposal. What a windfall! My mind was buzzing with excitement.
‘I feel a bit uneasy, but this should be Fine.’
In this game, I’d run around until my feet were sore trying to learn magic. The heavy reliance on mana-based combat in the previous installments had a big influence.
Conquering the world through sheer physical power? That would be the Celestial Demon, not an academy student.
If the protagonist was offering to teach me magic, I should be able to learn it. Ariel’s magic depended on her awareness of Kainel, so I couldn’t learn from her, and the same went for Kainel.
Learning their combined techniques could mess up the flags.
While I was lost in these thoughts, Mardoll, who had been staring intently at the sword strapped to my waist, spoke up again.
“In exchange, swordsmanship.”
“What swordsmanship are you talking about?”
I played dumb. I probably had messed up some flag. Master Drake had said he’d kill me if I taught his techniques to others, so I kept my mouth shut to stay alive.
“Drake.”
“…”
“Swordsmanship, in exchange.”
He’d found me out. This was all because of the coin-cutting practice in class. I wondered if I could pick up the pieces of the spilled water.
I didn’t know his choices either. It was all Master’s fault, anyway.
“…Do you not want to?”
“Please, give me a moment to think.”
I glanced at the magic above me. Given the size of this shield and how he was maintaining it, he seemed more skilled in magic than swordsmanship, much like Ariel.
“This is… magic formula partitioning, isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
I felt a strange familiarity and stopped in my tracks at my own question. This was a big deal. His control was on par with Dennis’s. Maybe he could even alter steel.
“That’s amazing.”
“Not really. Still weak.”
I was genuinely impressed. He was definitely stronger than Ariel or Kainel.
‘Couldn’t he just pass the knowledge on secretly?’
It had taken me almost five years to learn. Even if this guy was the protagonist, he probably didn’t have that kind of talent. I was on par with Hero Kainel.
‘Unless he’s from the Ten Greats.’
Thinking like that made things clearer. There were three love lines on that side.
One was impossible before the Demon King was defeated. The other was unrequited love, and there was no need to touch Laplace.
There shouldn’t be any problem.
“Fine. Let’s make a deal.”
“When should I start teaching you?”
“Shouldn’t we start tomorrow? We’re almost at the male dormitory.”
“Oh.”
We stopped walking. The two knights had already reached the dormitory.
We’d talked for so long that I hadn’t even noticed the time passing.
“I’ll keep this up.”
“Will it disappear when we go inside? This glass…? Umbrella.”
“Yes.”
Mardoll waved his hand at me, a small gesture. He didn’t seem like a bad person, seeing him like this. Where had I seen him before?
There was a certain warmth in his actions that was more than just a coincidence. It was pouring rain, but if this was all I’d gotten wet, I was grateful. I bowed my head.
“Wait, Mardoll, aren’t you coming inside?”
“I’m going home.”
“Oh. You commute?”
His answer made sense. He must live nearby since he’s from the Empire. But who is he, really? Should I ask Kainel later?
“Thank you for keeping me dry today. I really appreciate it.”
“Take care.”
‘His speech is unusually concise.’
I noted one characteristic. If he’s such a distinctive person, maybe I could find something if I looked through my notes.
***
With that thought, I entered the building. It was a two-person room.
Kainel was already inside.
‘The wolf emblem is engraved here too.’
It was definitely a Gransia Empire building. As I closed the door, I got lost in thought for a moment.
The mutt greeted me warmly. His expression was brighter than ever.
“Licht, you’re late.”
“I had some things to do.”
“You got some mail. Here.”
The blond hero handed me a letter.
“Thanks for today. It seems like I’m always in your debt.”
“Did Miss Ariel get back safely?”
“Thanks to you. We were just talking until a moment ago.”
“That’s good to hear. You did well.”
The hero explained the situation with a bright smile. I was glad. Since he didn’t look soaked, it must have been a successful escort.
‘But what is this? I don’t know anyone who’d send me a letter.’