36: Chapter 26 – Ti Alone with the Knight_1 36: Chapter 26 – Ti Alone with the Knight_1 “Pannis!” Within the safe zone, Catherine was horrified to discover Pannis lying on the ground, soaked in blood and motionless.
His body seed devoid of any life, the blood from his wounds pooling on the rocky ground.
The sharp sll of blood pervaded the air within seconds.
“Pannis, wake up.” Catherine continued standing at the entrance of the cave, unable to lower her gaze to inspect Pannis’s body.
She fixed her gaze on the strange man in the opposite cave, not daring to let her guard down.
How long will the sonic attacks outside last?
How long until the next assault?
Will the enemy rush in?
How can I find Lina and Vivian?
Although her sword-holding hand was still firm, questions were continuously surfacing in her mind.
“I wish that voice that always answers my questions, no matter how distant it may seem, would rise from behind and answer my questions!” The demise of a familiar life filled Catherine’s heart with sorrow.
While staring at the enemy, she murmured under her breath, “Damn it, wake up.
You always act like an expert who could solve any problem with ease, why can’t you even accomplish the simple task of standing up now?
This is a simple task, it can’t stump you?
Get up, we need you.
I’m your employer, if you defy my orders and refuse to get up, you owe .
When will the attack from outside stop?”
“The attack will last for three minutes, and now there’s a minute and a half left.
And he probably wouldn’t dare to co over.
If he chases us, the situation will just repeat itself, only with the roles reversed.
Then it will be his death, he isn’t that stupid.”
“Huh?” Upon hearing the familiar voice from behind, Catherine was so startled she thought she was hallucinating.
She broke her usual composed deanor and let out a string of surprised exclamations.
She even turned her head to look behind her, no longer focusing on the enemy in front of her.
Pannis looked exactly as he had when they first entered the Crystal Forest, unscathed and not a single drop of blood staining his clothes.
He was leaning nonchalantly against the rock wall, his expression as aloof as ever.
“You, you, this, this…” Just as Catherine was beginning to think that the bloody version of Pannis she’d seen was just an illusion, she glanced down at her feet.
The “corpse” was rapidly fading, turning into countless particles that dispersed into the air, and the pungent sll of blood was rapidly fading, revealing a faint scent.
Within monts, the “body” on the ground had vanished without a trace.
“What the hell just happened?” For the first ti ever, a flustered Catherine broke the knight’s code of conduct and swore.
“Just a small trick, I won’t die.” Pannis shrugged, his voice still cold, but the look in his eyes towards Catherine was complex, “To be an ‘expert’, you need so small tricks up your sleeve, otherwise how could you solve any problem?”
“Cough, cough.” Catherine cleared her throat and, blushing, changed the subject: “So, the enemy won’t co after us?”
“See for yourself.” Pannis gestured to the opposite side with his chin.
“He’s already leaving.”
Sure enough, the hunched figure on the opposite side, upon seeing Pannis’s nonchalant reappearance, stomped his foot regretfully, slowly backed away, and disappeared into the darkness of the tunnel.
“We should get going.” Pannis pulled out two Crystals to replace the light source on his helt and checked his gear.
“We need to go around to find them.
I told them to wait there, we need to get there quickly.”
“Hold on.” Catherine took out the Resonance Crystal and gently vibrated it three tis with her Aggression.
After a mont, the crystal in her hand reciprocated with three vibrations, then she stored the crystal away: “They’re safe too.
Let’s go, how long will it take?”
“If we go full speed, just us two, we could get there in four hours.” Pannis put his helt back on and disappeared into the darkness, “Be prepared, though it’s not a dangerous area, the path is tough to tread.
Once we get there, try to clear the rocks at the entrance, it’ll make things easier.”
“Okay.” As they moved swiftly through the tunnel, Catherine suddenly asked quietly, “Mr.
Pannis, why did you push in here earlier?”
“Because I had a trick to save my life, I wouldn’t get hurt, but you didn’t.” Pannis replied indifferently, “You’re the employer.
It’d cost if I didn’t protect you well.”
“Don’t bring that up again.” Hearing Pannis repeat the nonsense she’d said earlier in a panic, Catherine growled lowly in anger, “That’s an order, if you bring it up again, you’ll owe .”
“Heh.” For the first ti, Pannis showed a genuine smile in front of the young girl, albeit for just a mont, “Alright, I’ll shut up.
But tell , you were trying to push in first, right?
You don’t have any of these tricks, you could have died, didn’t you know?”
“Of course, I knew.” Catherine smiled proudly, “But I am a knight.
Isn’t it a knight’s rule to protect others with my life in dangerous situations?”
“Again with that answer, because you’re a knight, you must protect others?” Pannis sighed subtly before saying, “Stop, see the crevice here?
We need to squeeze through.
It’s very narrow, we can only move sideways.
So why did you want to beco a knight?”
“Phew, it’s so tight.
If I was a bit fatter, I wouldn’t be able to get through.
Why?
Does being a knight need a reason?” Catherine struggled to move in the narrow crevice.
“Everyone has a reason for doing anything.” Pannis drew out a dagger and cut off two rocks to slightly widen the path ahead, then continued asking, “So people do it for honor, so do it for gain, and so do it to get others’ acknowledgnt and praise.
What about you?
You adhere to the knight’s code and see Nellie as your goal and belief.
Why?
Is it for honor?
For gain?
For status?
For money?
For glory?”
“I’m exhausted.” Catherine leaned against the rock behind her and gasped softly, feeling that squeezing through this over-hundred-ter crack was much tougher than her usual runs of dozens of kiloters.
“It’s none of that.
I think, perhaps, it’s because of joy.”
Pannis, who had wriggled out of the crack, waved his hand to signal they could rest for a bit, still muttering, “What kind of reason is that?”
Catherine hoisted her backpack onto her back again, took out a flannel and wiped away the dust from her chainmail, she responded, “It’s because it brings joy.
Becoming a knight brings genuine joy, and that’s why I chose to follow the path of the knight.”
“Just for the joy of it.” Pannis was taken aback, even forgetting to move on.
Only on Catherine’s reminder did he start moving again.
“Yes, indeed.” Catherine’s smile was natural, as if she had returned to the past.
“Once I stood at the crossroads of choices, and I hesitated.
But when I thought about how unhappy I would be for the rest of my life if I couldn’t beco a knight, I would regret it for a lifeti.
Then, I was left with only one choice, wasn’t I?
I didn’t want to live in regret and unhappiness every single day to co.”
“I see.” Pannis turned a corner, changed into waterproof shoes and trousers, led Catherine into a waist-deep river, and waded through it.
“And furthermore, you’ve got one thing wrong, Mr.
Pannis,” Catherine said as she struggled to keep the upper half of her body dry.
“You mix up ‘because’ and ‘so’.
I protect others because it makes happy.
Whenever I help those in need, whenever I stand up for justice in my heart, whenever I save those in distress, those are the happiest monts in my life.
Is there anything more joyful than accomplishing these things by oneself in this world?
That’s why I want to beco a knight and follow the knight’s code.
It’s not what you thought – I do this because I need to stick to the knight’s code, Mr.
Pannis.”
“Bang.” Hearing Catherine’s words, Pannis was shocked and straightened up abruptly, bumping his head against the overhead rock.
Fortunately, his helt protected him, and he lowered his head to mutter, “You, you, you…
I see.
So, are you like this too?”
“What are you talking about?
Are you asking sothing?” Catherine asked curiously.
“No, never mind.
Pannis shook his head forcefully, and his voice, almost imperceptible, sounded like it was reverting to the distant past, “Is this the difference between us?
It seems that I have been on the wrong path all along?
Have you been trying to tell this all along with your actions?
My …
my love.”
“Pannis.” Catherine didn’t hear Pannis’s murmuring and continued prodding, “Mr.
Pannis, you must have had a knight friend before, right?
A really, really close friend?”
Catherine couldn’t see the sudden change in Pannis’s facial expression – from a warm smile to icy cold, but she did feel the distant and aloof vibe around him again.
Under the pressure of his cold deanor, Catherine continued her inquiry, “I can tell from your attitude towards these past few days.
Sothing happened between you two afterwards, didn’t it?
Would you tell ?”
Pannis fell silent, and Catherine didn’t rush him, waiting quietly for his answer.
“Miss Catherine.” After more than ten minutes of silence, Pannis finally spoke, with an unrelenting cold tone, “Have I ever asked you, why, when you hear the sound of gold coins, you can’t move?”
“No.”
“Have I ever asked you why Lina’s personality changes daily with different books?”
“No.”
“How about, have I ever asked you why Vivian spends all day imrsed in her own world, rarely initiating communication with others?”
“Okay, I get it, Pannis.” Catherine shook her head and sighed, “I won’t ask anymore.”
“Thank you.” Pannis said coldly, expressing his gratitude, then fell silent.
The awkward silence filled the shallow river passage.
All could be heard was the rhythmic splash of water.
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