Chapter 78
The heart of the Empire.
The imperial capital had everything.
There was the palace where the emperor resided, the eting hall of the most brilliant scholars in the Empire, the alchemist guild that was ahead of its ti, and of course, the general headquarters of the major religious orders, including Truma.
Mages were no exception.
The Floran Imperial Academy was situated in one part of the capital, and the area around the academy was packed with Magic Towers where mages researched and developed their respective theories.
And naturally.
The Paganoa Knights also had their headquarters in the capital.
“……”
“We’re finally back.”
“It was long. Really.”
“But we had results. We reduced a lot of trash.”
A long procession of carriages entered the capital.
The emblem of Paganoa was emblazoned large on the carriages.
The citizens of the capital who saw the emblem cheered, but the knights inside the carriages didn’t even have the energy to respond.
“Good work. Evangeline.”
Evangeline was the sa.
She could only manage a nod at the encouragent of the senior knight sitting on the opposite chair.
“Don’t be too disheartened.”
“Yes.”
“Everyone’s first ti is not satisfactory. Even I was like that.”
The senior knight continued his calm encouragent.
Evangeline sent a grateful look and nodded her head again.
Soon, the procession stopped.
The knights, worn out with fatigue, poured into the headquarters.
So headed to the dining hall, so to the training grounds, and so to their quarters.
Evangeline’s choice was her quarters.
She needed ti alone.
And the mont she was finally free from the gazes of others.
Grip.
Evangeline bit her lower lip and furrowed her brow.
‘I was…….’
Her eyes reddened.
It felt like tears would burst out at any mont, but she barely held them back.
Because she was a knight.
Because it was important to maintain her dignity even in monts like this.
‘Powerless. So utterly.’
Evangeline let out a heated sigh.
Her emotions were in turmoil. The feeling of helplessness she had experienced while carrying out the mission kept coming back to her.
The Palma Mountains.
It was a mission conducted in the far west of the Empire.
They erased the traces of Black Magic, destroyed altars that exuded evil energy, and found and executed the warlocks who had caused the trouble.
In a way, it was a simple mission.
Just erasing the traces of demons from this land.
And there.
Evangeline had not been able to perform well.
She couldn’t protect her comrades.
She couldn’t strike down the enemy.
She couldn’t fully carry out the duties assigned to a knight.
The reason was simple.
Evangeline was weak, and the enemy was strong.
If her sufficiently strong comrades hadn’t filled the void left by Evangeline, her mission might have ended in failure.
-Evangeline! Retreat!
-Form up! Move Evangeline to the rear!
-It’s not your fault. Evangeline. It’s not your fault.
Soone’s comfort beca a crushing pressure on her shoulders instead.
Because it ant she hadn’t done her part as a knight.
Because it ant she was a target to be protected, not an equal comrade.
The fact that there were no fatalities was the only solace.
If soone had died due to her own mistake, she wouldn’t have been able to bear the guilt.
Rustle. Whoosh.
Evangeline poured hot water over herself in the shower.
“Sob, hic……”
In the end, the tears burst forth.
After standing under the water for a long ti, she was finally able to compose herself.
Drip.
The sound of the water stopped. In the mirror she checked after walking out, Evangeline’s eyes were red.
The thought that it was an unknightly appearance made her emotions well up again.
‘This is no ti for this.’
There was no action as aningless as collapsing in despair.
Evangeline grabbed her sword and armor.
She headed to the training grounds.
Recalling the mory of the unsatisfactory battle, she gripped her sword with emotion.
“Evangeline. Are you alright?”
Flinch.
Evangeline trembled at the familiar voice.
It was Fermil.
“I’m fine.”
“Everyone was worried. Your expression… how should I put it, it looked like sothing strange could happen at any mont.”
“I’m fine. I am.”
“It was exactly that kind of look… oh, I see. I get it. I might really get cut if I talk to you more. I’ll co back in the evening. Let’s have a al together then.”
Fermil smiled awkwardly and left as if fleeing.
Evangeline let out a deep sigh.
Fermil was a good comrade. Even now, he had just approached her out of pure concern for her.
The problem was with Evangeline.
‘To be jealous of a comrade as a knight.’
Knight Fermil.
In the past, his skills were similar to Evangeline’s.
But not now.
In the mission in the Palma Mountains, Fermil had perfectly carried out his role.
The image of his spear, piercing through the enemy like a ray of light, was still vividly drawn in her mind.
-It’s thanks to eting Reinhardt… no, Sir Reinhardt. On that day, I finally truly realized.
What a knight is, and the identity of the enemy that my spear must pierce.
That’s what Fermil had said.
It wasn't the frivolous appearance Evangeline rembered.
His appearance was truly worthy of being called a knight, and the trajectory of the spear he wielded was also clearly that of a knight.
Because she had seen such a sight.
And also because she knew the cause of that change.
“Evangeline! Sir Reinhardt was looking for you. What should I do?”
When Miya Luxpenber delivered the news, Evangeline had no choice but to imdiately prepare to leave for Serigel.
***
A knight who has completed a long-term mission is given a vacation for a while.
Evangeline was no exception.
In the carriage heading to Serigel, she couldn’t hide her excitent.
“I wonder what business he has with you this ti, Da?”
“I wonder.”
“It will be good news. The Personnel Officer also seed to want you to go, Da.”
Evangeline also nodded at her attendant’s opinion.
At least when it ca to dealing with people, Miya Luxpenber had never been wrong even once.
Visiting Serigel would be beneficial to Evangeline.
Miya’s permission ant just that.
And when she arrived in Serigel.
Evangeline, who looked at the scenery outside the window, realized that this city had changed greatly.
‘It’s beco much brighter. This change must be thanks to Sir Reinhardt too.’
Serigel was vibrant.
Due to the nature of a gateway city, there were originally many people coming and going, but the entire city didn't have such a bright atmosphere.
There were no signs of people weighed down by the burden of life. There were so with dark expressions, but even they had a faint smile.
‘This is…….’
There was sothing that helped them forget the hardships of daily life.
Sothing that was enjoyable just by thinking about it in their minds, sothing that breathed motivation into life.
The carriage stopped.
Evangeline thanked the coachman and got out of the carriage.
It wasn't just Serigel that had changed.
The atmosphere of the Taton Knights was also markedly different from when she had last seen it.
“Da Evangeline! We have been waiting for you. Please co in!”
Ethan Taton greeted Evangeline with a broad smile.
He too had changed. The man who used to be calculating on his abacus in his head all day was nowhere to be seen, and his much more relaxed attitude was noticeable.
“It’s been a while.”
“Indeed it has. Have you been well, Da Evangeline?”
“Yes, I have been……”
She couldn’t bring herself to say that she had been well.
Evangeline mumbled her answer and looked around.
She could feel gazes of admiration from all around.
There were many new faces.
No, it felt like the composition of the knight order itself had grown significantly.
“It seems the scale has grown even larger.”
“This is a little embarrassing. Recently, there has been an increase in talented people submitting applications to join Taton. Of course, it’s not because of , but thanks to Sir Reinhardt.”
“Is that so.”
“They may not be a match for the knights of Paganoa, but there is no one in the surrounding cities who does not know of Sir Reinhardt. Have you perhaps heard the news? In Romain, Sir Reinhardt……”
“I heard the story about him eradicating the plague. And the warlock too.”
When ntioning the ‘warlock,’ her voice was lowered significantly.
Ethan also responded in kind, answering in a whisper.
“It is true.”
I only did what needed to be done.
It felt as if she could hear Reinhardt’s voice saying so in her ears.
“Sir Reinhardt is waiting inside. I apologize, but I must leave for a mont.”
“……I understand.”
“Yes, then.”
Ethan gave a bright smile in front of the commander’s office and left for sowhere.
She knew it was his own form of consideration.
Knock, knock–
With a light knock, Evangeline entered.
“It has been a while. Da Evangeline.”
Reinhardt looked the sa as when she had last seen him.
The way he offered a handshake was the sa, and the way he offered a seat was also the sa.
“It has been a while.”
“Yes. Did you hear anything in particular from the Personnel Officer?”
“What? There was nothing special. Just that Sir Reinhardt was looking for ……”
“I understand. Let’s get straight to the point. You may find this sowhat unpleasant.”
No matter what request he made, there was no way it would be unpleasant. Evangeline just thought that and waited for the words to follow.
“Da Evangeline, you will be going to the northern part of the Empire with . To learn a training thod that suits you.”
Evangeline blinked for a mont.
It took a mont to understand his words.
“A, a training thod?”
***
Back when I was playing the original ga.
Reinhardt rembered the script that displayed ‘Evangeline’s’ lines.
-I once carried out a mission in a snow-covered mountain range. It was in the northernmost part of the Empire, the coldest place in this land.
While carrying out a mission on a snowy mountain.
At so point, Evangeline realized that she was no longer cold.
Even though all her comrades around her were groaning from the cold, she didn’t feel cold at all.
At that mont, Evangeline was said to have beco the Knight of Frost.
Clad in cold air, she beca able to turn her enemies into ice sculptures.
“Elmore……”
“Is this your first ti?”
“Yes, this is my first ti in Elmore.”
“So you have visited the north before?”
“Yes.”
The knights of Paganoa carry out missions throughout the Empire.
When a mission is given, they go wherever it is and pull out the seeds of Black Magic.
Naturally, she had visited the northern part of the Empire before.
However, Elmore.
It was just that this was her first ti visiting the city located at the northernmost tip of the Empire.
“Will I find the answer I am looking for in Elmore?”
“You will definitely find the answer, Da. Have you seen the change that has occurred in Sir Fermil?”
“I have. He said it was thanks to following your advice, Sir Reinhardt.”
“Yes, I advised him. But the content was not that remarkable.”
“Even so……”
The change that had occurred in Fermil was dramatic.
As his closest comrade, Evangeline would know that fact better than anyone.
“Doesn’t everyone experience such monts? Monts when the pressure of being blocked by a wall makes it difficult to even breathe, and the act of holding a sword itself feels burdenso.”
“……”
“At tis like that, even one’s identity as a knight is shaken. I have had such monts, Sir Fermil must have as well, and it would be the sa for anyone else.”
“……You’re saying the way to overco that wall is in Elmore.”
“That is correct.”
Reinhardt nodded his head with conviction.
In Elmore, there was a sure ans to make Evangeline grow.
Also.
Separate from her problem.
‘There’s also the best blacksmith in the Empire. Though his skills probably aren’t at the level to be called the best yet.’
The talent to whom Reinhardt could commission his weapon was also there.
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