Chapter 20
Spirit Body (2)
"How fascinating."
Next to me, Katya’s eyes gleamed as she asked a question.
She spoke with an intrigued tone as she watched me being flung around like a ragdoll.
"Are you… getting beaten up by a ghost right now?"
"Instead of just standing there watching, why don’t you come over here and help—!"
Before I could finish my sentence, my body was hurled in another direction. In the meantime.
Ghosts that existed in the Other Realm, which was ‘overlaid’ on the real world, normally couldn’t exert much influence on the Material Realm.
Normally, that was.
Unless the person had been so terrifyingly powerful in life that they could twist even those laws.
So, the fact that this ghost was smashing me into everything around probably showed, indirectly, just how formidable a human he had been when he was alive.
"You’ve got some nerve, you bastard—!"
Katya likely couldn’t hear him, but the voice of the Knight of Dawn growling and shouting was utterly savage.
Despite that attitude, his appearance was almost absurdly refined.
Blonde hair, blue eyes, a handsome face, a full suit of armor that marked him as a knight. If he just kept his mouth shut, I could even pretend he was a noble-born gentleman.
"What, you think I’m exaggerating? That I’m petty? Just a snot-nosed brat who wants to die—!"
If only he would stop spitting out these lines through clenched teeth, maybe that illusion would hold.
Thinking that, I once again took flight through the air.
"...Senior, could you please calm down for a moment—"
"Don’t you ‘Senior’ me, you worthless whelp. I’ve got no ties to you by any such nonsense—!"
At last, the Knight of Dawn raised his fist, still seething with fury. He looked ready to smash me with a full-powered blow.
And no matter how I looked at it, this was getting dangerously out of hand.
"Would you please, just, stop!"
As I shouted, holy flame burst out from my body.
At that sight, the Knight of Dawn froze in place just as he was about to lunge.
In his eyes flickered both doubt and shock.
"...Holy flame?"
The Knight of Dawn muttered blankly.
"You… you reek of someone who uses Qi, though? How are you handling holy flame as well?"
"..."
I gave a wry smile and dusted off my body, which was caked in grime.
"I did tell you already, ‘Senior’."
Yes, I’d expected he’d take an interest if I showed I could use multiple supernatural abilities like this.
"Your junior offers his greetings. If we’re just talking about being ‘Multiple Supernatural Ability Users,’ doesn’t that make us senior and junior in that respect?"
Those who could wield multiple supernatural abilities were vanishingly rare talents, even in all the histories of the continent, and the Knight of Dawn before me was one of them.
It was no wonder he’d been so beloved across many lands. After all, there could hardly have been anyone else who could so deftly handle several abilities unique to each nation.
"I need your help."
The reason I was trying to ‘bring this man along’ was precisely that.
There was no one else in this entire world who knew everything about his ‘growth path’ and could advise him from start to finish.
"...To be honest with you, Senior, I desperately need your help. If not, something truly terrible will happen."
Mainly, the fate of the world would be in danger.
Right now, I was the only one who properly understood the existence of the ‘Main Scenario,’ a world-level threat. Which meant that if I failed, everyone would essentially die together.
"...What nonsense is this? Just a moment ago, you were calling me overblown and whatnot, and now you’re—"
"That was all a lie to get you to appear, Senior. Otherwise, there’s no way I could have summoned your spirit body like this."
"..."
"Who in this world would dare to strike the first knight and a continent-class hero?"
"..."
Next to me, I could feel Katya staring at me with a look of utter disbelief.
Even though she couldn’t hear the conversation, her eyes were clearly asking, who on earth would fall for something like that?
-System Message
▶ You have contacted ‘Knight of Dawn,’ Maier Belfort.
▶ He is not a figure who influences the Main Scenario, but the abilities he holds are extremely extraordinary. He has value equivalent to an ‘Important Character.’
▶ Your bond level with the target has increased to Stage 1!
▶ It is linked with the skill ‘Weaver of Fate’!
…There was someone.
Someone just that simple-minded.
I let out a hollow laugh in my heart as I stared at the system window.
Given his personality, I’d expected he’d go along if I just prodded this side of him a little, but the fact that he was falling for it exactly as I predicted was almost absurd.
"...Do you think there’s anyone who’d fall for such half-hearted flattery?"
The fact that he was saying this out loud while still proving me right made it all the more unsettling…
The Knight of Dawn, Maier, crossed his arms and opened his mouth, outwardly still wearing a sulky expression.
"In any case, you said there’s someone in this era who pushed aside people like me. The Lionhearted… was it?"
It was a bit strange for a ghost to know all this, but considering how he’d instantly responded to my provocation, it was obvious he was someone obsessed with his own ‘honor’ and ‘reputation.’ It would be stranger if he didn’t care about the human who had dethroned him to claim the title of the strongest knight.
But.
"Incidentally, I happen to be the husband of that Lionhearted."
At my words, Maier’s brows furrowed sharply, but when he heard what I said next, his expression twisted in a bizarre way.
"I can guarantee it. Even she would struggle to catch up to you, Senior."
From the corner of my eye, I could see Katya’s mouth twitching as if she were about to burst out laughing.
He looked as if he was about to ask what nonsense I was spouting, but I was speaking in all sincerity.
It wasn’t merely a question of which of them was stronger. With just a single qualifier attached, it was a statement that could only be true.
If this man had simply been given a little more time.
I was sure even Dame Noel would never have surpassed this man’s heights.
When the soul of the deceased failed to find rest and remained lingering, it meant that two conditions had been fulfilled.
First, they had to be a figure worthy of leaving their name etched across all of history.
Second, they had to bear a ‘grudge’ so deep in their bones that not even death could close their eyes in peace.
In the case of the Knight of Dawn—
"There are still so many things you never managed to accomplish."
The Knight of Dawn’s expression changed abruptly.
Until now, he’d been consumed by nothing but anger and rage, but for the first time, my words had struck a nerve.
"..."
In the game, the Knight of Dawn had only ever existed as a background setting, but even so, he was a figure who left an unforgettable impression.
The realm that this man had ‘almost’ reached—too late to fully grasp, simply because he realized his talent too late—was described in the briefest of sentences.
A domain no human could dare to challenge.
All those legendary feats he’d left scattered across the continent had supposedly been training in pursuit of that domain.
"...You."
Maier stared at me for a long while before letting out a dry chuckle.
"You say amusing things. There’s no way records that detailed could still exist anywhere."
"Please think of it as the devotion of a junior who admires you, Senior."
"Bullshit. You’re only approaching me because you want to use me. You really think I can’t tell that much?"
"That’s true, actually."
"..."
While Maier was left speechless by my ruinous honesty, I shrugged and continued speaking.
"But, conversely, wouldn’t you say I’m the perfect person for you to use as well?"
"What?"
"How long do you think it’ll take before another Multiple Supernatural Ability User appears besides me?"
"..."
"And what are the odds that such a person would come find you personally and strike up a conversation like this?"
"..."
"And finally, after defying all those odds, what are the chances you’ll ever meet someone willing to swear to fulfill your final wish in your place?"
Maier’s expression grew darker and darker.
"...You really do pick only the most aggravating things to say, don’t you?"
It was precisely because it was the truth that he felt so aggravated.
His next words made it obvious.
"So what exactly do you want my help with? I’m a ghost. I can’t do anything particularly grand."
-Got you.
I grinned inwardly as I picked up one of the relics lying nearby.
It was an item I had noticed the moment I came in here. A bracelet that would be easy to wear naturally without causing any discomfort.
"-In other words, there are things that only a ghost can do."
"What?"
"First of all, would you like to ‘go inside’ this?"
As I said that, I continued explaining exactly what Maier could ‘help’ with.
"...Why did I have to get caught up with a bastard like this."
It was the sort of explanation that naturally drew such a sigh from the other side.
▣
A little while later.
"Hmm."
I let out a quiet exhale as I looked at the bracelet, which now shimmered with a subtle, mysterious light.
It was clear Maier’s soul had been properly sealed inside.
‘With this…’
I had achieved everything I set out to do.
Rania’s spirit medium abilities, which I had used to contact Maier’s soul. And though I hadn’t retrieved it yet, the First Prince’s skill, perfectly suited for handling that soul.
I could say that I now had all the components necessary to resolve Act I, ‘The Ghost Knight Incident.’
"Is it all done?"
"Yes. Now we just have to leave."
So for a question like that, I could answer crisply without hesitation.
"But."
Katya tilted her head, cutting into my words mid-sentence.
"Don’t you think we’ve been in here a bit too long?"
"-Pardon?"
"That over there, it wasn’t there earlier."
When I turned to look where she gestured—
The crystal embedded in the wall was clearly emitting a red glow. It was unmistakably preparing to sound an ‘alarm,’ and the entire room was slowly taking on the same color, as if affected by it.
As everything around us turned crimson, my expression stiffened.
"It looks like some sort of system that activates automatically if someone stays inside too long?"
"-Instead of analyzing it, you should be stopping that…!"
Panicking, I tried to move—
In that instant.
With a dry crack, the alarm that was about to erupt in red light was split cleanly in half.
It had been sliced by someone’s blade in a single strike, delivered at terrifying speed.
I stared blankly in the direction the attack had come from.
I had no idea where she’d appeared from or when she’d arrived, but there Noel was, letting out a sigh as she slid her sword back into the scabbard.
"Whatever you were doing, please refrain from trespassing into places like this without permission. If you’re not careful, you’ll end up in quite a troublesome situation."
"...Dame Noel?"
I was sure I’d heard earlier from Dame Stella that she had left because she wasn’t feeling well.
"Where exactly did you come from…? Didn’t you say you were going back?"
"…I was going to return, but you see, when I noticed you and His Highness diligently infiltrating the imperial palace’s security, I thought I should follow, just in case."
"…"
"You looked like you were about to get yourself into trouble, so I helped."
So she’d seen the entire thing.
And yet, she didn’t even think to intervene earlier—she’d simply followed quietly behind.
‘Well, still…’
Thanks to her, I’d managed to resolve the situation smoothly without any further trouble.
I should at least offer some gratitude.
"Thanks to you, everything went well. Thank you, Dame Noel."
"...Yes."
"..."
What was with this reaction?
Even a wooden puppet would have sounded more animated than the stiff, curt voice that came back to me.
Noel sharply turned her head away and pulled her hat down low over her face. As if she were determined not to meet my gaze no matter what.
"...Will you follow me? I’ll guide you out."
"..."
"Let’s return straight to the command building. I’d rather not have this night drag on any longer."
Her oddly brusque tone made me tilt my head in puzzlement as I followed along behind her.
"...Hmm."
Behind us, Katya was staring hard at the back of Noel’s head, her expression showing clear suspicion.
"Something… feels just a little different about her attitude…?"
That muttered suspicion lingered on her lips.
▣
Inside the military command building, an unexpected tension was spreading.
The reason was none other than Dame Noel, who had returned after attending the banquet with her prospective husband.
While she was walking to her private quarters after parting ways with me, she was generating quite a bit of… ‘commotion.’
"Ah, Dame Noel? Was the banquet agreeable—"
The person who had started to speak abruptly shut their mouth.
It was a natural reaction.
Anyone who glimpsed Noel’s face as she strode briskly down the corridor would instantly realize that trying to speak to her was not a good idea.
"D-Dame Noel. Are you alright?"
"I am fine."
"If you’re unwell, I’ll contact the medics at once—"
"I said I am fine."
"Hik."
One of the people who had been expressing concern involuntarily sucked in their breath.
It was probably because Noel’s voice had been so cold and sharp it could cut glass.
Even on a normal day, she hardly ever showed any expression besides a blank look or a carefully arranged smile. But now, her impassive face radiated the sense that she was fiercely suppressing something that was fighting to burst free.
"She must be… in a terrible mood…"
Though no one knew exactly why, it was clear something must have happened at that banquet.
While everyone awkwardly stepped back, Noel kept walking with measured steps toward her quarters.
She shoved the door open, dropped her sword onto a stand as if she were throwing it, and hung her coat and hat on a hook.
And then—
"..."
She collapsed forward, burying her face in her desk with a dull thud loud enough to echo.
Only then did she feel as if a bit of the heat, which had spread past her ears all the way to the crown of her head, began to subside.
Holding herself back, forcing herself not to show any sign to others—doing that had been genuinely exhausting.
What is this.
What is this.
What is this, what is this, what is this.
Those thoughts were all that filled her mind.
Her breathing was ragged.
She’d somehow managed to hold herself together and walk all the way back to her quarters, but now it felt as if her whole body were boiling over.
It was like someone had poured a lump of fire straight into her veins.
-I… I like that man.
"-!"
As that sentence replayed in her mind once again, she slammed her forehead into the desk with another resounding thud.
...What is this.
Gasping for breath, she rubbed her head against the desk until her hair turned into a tangled mess, but the question refused to leave her mind.
Even thinking it over herself, she couldn’t make sense of what had just happened.
That man—he’d said he liked her.
Why, how, for what reason?
At least as far as Noel knew, there wasn’t a single reason for that man to harbor such feelings toward her.
Lies.
He was a man whose original profession had been that of a swindler. The likeliest explanation was that he’d simply said it to smooth over that moment.
That was how she understood it—rationally.
The problem was—
-I’ll try. To prove my worth. If that’s the only way I can be allowed to marry you.
It was just… to dismiss it as nothing more than a lie—
-But why did Sir Aiden insist on learning Mana Arts, of all things?
-He said it was for someone he loved.
-I told you, didn’t I? You’ve chosen your husband well. To have someone with that kind of talent look at you with such devotion—isn’t that the sort of life worth living?
There were things she’d seen and heard up to now.
"..."
Come to think of it, wasn’t it strange in the first place—why would he even bother lying just to take her side?
Thinking about everything Aiden had done until now, the conditions the Prince had put forward lined up perfectly with the attitude he had always shown.
He wanted to avoid hardship as much as possible, he cherished his family to an extreme degree, and he preferred to live quietly without drawing attention.
And yet.
He had refused an offer that would have fulfilled all of that perfectly—why go so far as to fabricate such absurd words?
To make up something so ridiculous, claiming—
That he liked her—
"----!!!"
She pounded her fists down on the desk while her forehead was still pressed against it.
It was a disgraceful, undignified thing to do—she had thrown away every last scrap of composure and propriety somewhere far away. But she didn’t have the capacity to care about that now.
Why—why did you say that, Aiden—why—
In her thoughts, all tangled and jumbled into chaos, that single sentence floated vividly, refusing to sink.
"...Haaa—"
Only a long sigh, like her soul was leaking out, escaped Noel’s lips.