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Chapter 115

As soon as Yeon-woo finished his discussion with the guild, he immediately sought out Claire. Naturally, Claire was at the orphanage.

He found her at the playground, her expression oddly cheerful as she played in the sand with the children.

“Oh my, Yeon-woo? Didn’t you say it would take a long time? You’re back early!”

Yeon-woo felt something unnatural about her reaction.

While Claire generally valued the freedom of the children, she tended to be a bit overprotective of Yeon-woo, especially when he went off as a hunter.

Yet here she was, acting so nonchalant despite him saying he might be gone for several days.

It might be an overthinking on his part, but given his extensive experience, it was clearly strange.

And above all, he recalled the aura of Claire he sensed in the desert. If it had just been him, he might have dismissed it as a delusion, but wasn’t it she who sensed it too?

To start a conversation, Yeon-woo took Claire to a quiet spot, crossing his arms as he spoke in a deliberately heavy voice.

“Let’s be honest, Sister. I know everything.”

“Huh? What do you mean? I haven’t done anything!”

“I’m truly disappointed, Sister…. You teach the children not to lie, yet here you are…”

“Wh-What are you talking about, Yeon-woo! I swear, I didn’t do anything!”

Claire’s eyes wandered aimlessly, betraying her unease.

That confirmed it for Yeon-woo. Claire was lying.

No one he knew was as bad at lying as Claire was.

If she had lied without getting caught, it would have meant the other party was either deceived or hadn’t mentioned it at all.

“Why are you looking at me like that?! I didn’t do anything! The sand isn’t from the desert; it’s from the sandbox… Ah.”

“Why lie when you can’t even keep it up? Honestly, if you had just said you followed, I wouldn’t have said much.”

Yeon-woo shot a perplexed look at Claire, who wore an expression akin to a guilty puppy. It was hard for him to suppress his laughter at her demeanor.

“How much do you know?”

After a moment’s hesitation, Claire looked away and muttered.

“All…”

Oh, so she knows everything… Should he be relieved there was no need for explanation, or should he be incredulous?

“Well, anyway… you’ll help me, right? If not, I’ll go alone.”

“Ugh, oh my God, why must I endure this trial… By the way, what about Lunaria’s blessing? Did you receive it? You shouldn’t!”

“What? You know about that too? Don’t worry; I have no plans to receive it.”

“Thank goodness. Then I guess those two can just be sent back.”

What now? It seems she knows those people as well. While our orphanage is affiliated with the Crescent Moon sect, isn’t that a bit too broad a network?

[Despite going missing, she knows so many people. Is Sister a real social butterfly?]

[I should ask her for friendship tips later.]

‘Can I just ask Dad?’

[That might be a bit… ]

She seems to maintain a decent social life, so what is going on?

As Yeon-woo wore a puzzled expression, Claire said, “Actually, I was once the captain of the Crescent Moon Knights. It was a few years after I left Wigrad.”

“…Pardon?”

“You were curious about it, weren’t you?”

“I was, but I honestly didn’t expect you to tell me. You were the captain, huh? Thinking about it, it makes sense.”

“Ugh, such a mistake… I helped others while managing to live in hiding and held the captaincy for a few years. I even created the Crescent Moon sword technique during that time…”

“The sword technique that Master referenced…?”

“Exactly. That’s why I recognized it at a glance.”

Does that mean he had been swinging around a modified version before the original creator?

No wonder she seemed so familiar with it when she blocked him….

“Killian suggested the Crescent Moon sect. It was neither too big nor too small, and the Goddess was reasonable enough to accept a trade.”

“Oh, so Killian was originally part of the sect?”

“He was a good little brother. I didn’t expect him to join a different knight order after leaving mine.”

So that’s their relationship, then. Understanding that Claire is a knightly elf makes it easier to comprehend her A-rank level of skill. Given elves have long lifespans, their service in the military is also lengthy.

The thought of decades serving in the army is absurd. If they serve for a minimum of a hundred years, reaching sword expert status is all but guaranteed.

“By the way, Sister, you wielded a sword in the desert, right? Who were you fighting?”

“Oh, so you noticed that.”

You only just caught on now? There was no way to have noticed her otherwise.

“Speaking of which, let me say this, Yeon-woo. Do you have any idea how hard I’ve tried to divert Lunaria’s interest away from you? So why did that neglected interest return all at once?!”

‘No wonder she looked too tired to just be fighting a sandworm…’

Understanding what must have unfolded, Yeon-woo couldn’t help but feel sympathy for Killian. As luck would have it, he was up against someone whose skill was equal or even greater than that of a sword master. An A-rank hunter or not, it didn’t matter.

“Lunaria is absolutely off-limits. Got it, Yeon-woo?”

“You don’t need to emphasize it so much; I’m fully aware. Shouldn’t we be getting ready to leave soon?”

Responding to Claire’s insistence, Yeon-woo looked up at the sky.

It wasn’t dark yet, but it was obvious it would be soon. The ruins weren’t that large, so the return trip shouldn’t take long, but considering it would take a day at full speed, it was better to handle things quickly.

“…I’ll prepare, so just wait a moment.”

Ten minutes later, he was ready to head to the desert with Claire, who was still wearing her nun’s habit but donned various travel gear.

“W-Why aren’t you changing out of your nun’s habit?”

“This is comfortable.”

Ah, I see…

*

After a full afternoon of travel, Yeon-woo returned before the ruins and spotted Killian dozing by a campfire.

Judging by the scattered remains of the stone golem, it seemed he had done his job, but seeing him asleep prompted the words “Aren’t you awake?” to bubble up in his throat.

When he had worked as a porter, he had once pulled late-night shifts at a convenience store. If the store owner had seen him asleep then, the first thing they would have said would definitely be, “Aren’t you awake?”

Back then, he had thought it was alright to sleep a bit, but now he understood the owner’s sentiments.

Claire, who had been watching Killian, muttered coldly.

“Are you sleeping?”

“Uh huh!?”

At her whisper, Killian shrieked and hastily wiped the drool from his mouth.

His rather impressive reflex of slapping himself awake was indeed remarkable.

“Oh, it’s you, Sister. I thought you were someone else.”

“If I had aimed my spear, I would have reprimanded you, you know? But isn’t it absurd to not raise your spear when a stranger approaches? The knight order is getting too lax these days.”

“Our current captain is a pretty easygoing person, so thanks to that. And I’m glad I didn’t raise my spear.”

Claire smiled slightly at his words. With an air of skepticism, Killian took her outstretched hand, and she shook it.

He winced slightly as she gripped a bit too hard.

“If I had aimed, I would have nearly killed you.”

“Please refrain from even joking about that, Sister.”

“What, are you saying I can’t even joke about that, Sister…?”

“No, can you please lighten up a bit, Sister? By the way, what about Ludiger?”

“Ah… I’ll call him.”

Killian, seemingly fatigued, rubbed the back of his neck and pulled out a small metal whistle.

Oh, I’ve seen that somewhere…?

[Oh! That’s the dog whistle I bought to take Momo for walks!]

[Right! It’s definitely a dog whistle!]

‘Ah….’

He was going to call Ludiger with a dog whistle…

Tears began to well up in his heart.

The memory of using a dog whistle as a contact method when teaming up with dog-people or werewolves rushed back.

Of course, they said it was convenient for them, but it was hard to deny a slight discomfort each time he used it.

Not long after, a giant figure jumped over the sand dune. Ludiger, who landed gently despite his massive size, removed his hood.

“Just in time for my call. Fortunately, it seems there are no golems out yet… but, Captain!?”

The moment Ludiger recognized Claire, his body seemed to shrink significantly. Yeon-woo could have sworn he heard a whimper.

‘Just how terrified is he…’

Thinking that, Yeon-woo glanced at Claire and suddenly remembered her harsh training regimen.

Like a statue, Yeon-woo’s body froze, and an immense sense of alliance surged for Ludiger.

“W-Why are you all staring at me like that?!”

“Just relieved to see you still the same, Sister.”

After Claire shouted, Killian added as a side comment. Naturally, he must have taken a beating.

A little while later.

“Your candidate’s discernment is remarkable. With Sister around, breaking through should be no trouble at all.”

“Indeed, the former captain is incredibly strong. It should be entirely doable.”

Claire glared at Ludiger, who was about to call her a monster. She was busy fine-tuning the Aureum.

Yeon-woo knew of the masterpiece created by the fairies, the shield-sword Aureum, and when he asked if it didn’t require management, Claire replied,

“If you don’t, it’ll sulk. It’s better to manage any weapon you use, Yeon-woo.”

Remembering he hadn’t managed the Doppleganger weapon at all, Yeon-woo hurriedly began cleaning it.

It wasn’t crucial, but if Claire, who was on par with Yuri in sword skills, said so, there was likely some merit to it.

“Then let’s plan to strike at dawn. There’s no real need to enter tonight, and Candidate said it’d likely be tough to handle accommodations inside, so we should aim to conquer and exit within a day at most.”

Everyone nodded in agreement with Killian’s conclusion. Yeon-woo also thought it was wise. If they unnecessarily camped inside the ruins and got caught up with some alien god, they’d see no end to their troubles.

“And Ludiger, you’ll stand guard outside. But you’ll be on watch tonight.”

“Alright, I don’t have much of a choice.”

The reason Ludiger was to stand guard was simple. With his fighting style based on nails and fists, he had no choice but to come into contact with flesh, making it uncertain what could happen. Also, him not matching well against golems didn’t help.

‘Shar will support you with magic.’

[Leave it to me!]

[Me too, Tae-oh!]

‘Of course.’

It was getting late.

They’d burnt a whole day gearing up to breach the ruins, so they could only hope for a successful assault at once.

(To be continued in the next episode)

 

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