Chapter 22

I tightly gripped the sword’s hilt.

Each step deeper sent chills down my spine.

It was too quiet.

I could see Seraphina’s shoulders trembling slightly.

She was always like that.

Even though her fear wasn’t visible to others, I always noticed it.

From our days in the knight academy until now, I never missed a single one of those small tremors.

‘You’re nervous, as I thought.’

My hand naturally reached her shoulder.

Seraphina gave a gentle smile.

That smile warmed a corner of my heart.

“Bea,” Seraphina whispered quietly.

“Isn’t it strange? The monsters…”

I nodded.

In the Dami Palace, it was normal for monsters to be swarming about.

But it was different here.

We had only encountered three monsters so far.

And they fled the moment they saw us.

Could it be related to Prostia awakening?

Or… Was Shia Kalt always like this?

‘Our information is woefully insufficient.’

I thought as I passed by the massive ice pillars.

It was natural, given how almost no adventurers had returned alive from Shia Kalt until now.

Sharp icicles hung from the ceiling, and shimmering ice crystals grew on the walls like white silver.

The sound of our footsteps echoed through the ice cavern.

Seraphina’s short staff emitted a soft glow.

The holy relic, ‘Oath Crystal,’ passed down by the Light Sect.

It was the staff she received on the day she became the Saint.

The day… when Seraphina had to abandon her dream of becoming a knight.

The day I could no longer stay by her side.

‘This time… Absolutely…’

The light from the staff illuminated her pink hair.

Seeing her look divine tore at my chest.

Her steps were cautious, yet her eyes were filled with confidence.

“This is the lower level.”

After two days, we finally reached it.

The passage widened, and the ceiling rose higher.

It was then.

Swish!

Something long shot out along the ice wall.

A bingxue centipede.

Though it was known as a C Class monster, it wasn’t just that…

‘This is…!’

The overwhelming aura it emanated surpassed A Class.

Instinctively, I drew my sword.

The instinct to protect Seraphina from any danger took over.

“No!”

Seraphina grabbed my arm.

Her gaze was earnest.

“This monster… it must be under the flower’s control.”

I suddenly came to my senses.

What was I about to do?

We didn’t come here to fight.

Especially not after Mikel’s revelation…

“I’m sorry, Seraphina.”

An apology I rarely offered slipped out naturally.

In front of her, I oddly never felt the need to act tough.

It’s been this way since we were young.

Turning my head, the centipede was already gone.

But this was a good sign.

The sight of a bug monster meant the flower must be nearby.

“Let’s descend deeper.”

Seraphina said.

Her voice carried an unusual excitement,

As if she had found something she had been searching for a long time.

We slowly moved toward the deeper levels.

Branching paths appeared at various places.

From one of these, a sweet fragrance wafted.

‘This is it.’

We nodded at each other and exchanged a glance.

Words weren’t necessary.

We’d been able to communicate with just eye contact since we were children.

We carefully followed the scent.

Oddly, the sweet fragrance seemed to relax my tension.

But the more it did, the more I tried to stay alert.

I had to protect Seraphina after all.

A vast cavern revealed itself.

Hundreds of bug monsters.

Rationally, I should have been on guard, but strangely, I felt no fear.

Despite each one radiating an aura stronger than A Class, there was no malice to be felt.

And then…

‘That…’

There was a single bloom at the center of this cavern.

I felt like our gazes had met.

Soon after, light began to emanate from the flower.

‘What in the…?’

Gradually brightening, the flower was devastatingly beautiful.

The petals shone red like rubies, the stem was as dark as pitch, and the purple pistil moved like a serpent’s tongue.

For a moment, captivated, I lost myself before snapping back to reality.

A power comparable to mine, or possibly even greater.

Even the pressure felt by someone known as the Silver Knight is no small matter.

I glanced back at Seraphina.

Tears flowed from her eyes.

She smiled in pure joy, her staff glowing intensely.

The light burst explosively and then faded.

“Mikel…”

Her prayer reverberated softly through the ice cavern.

Her divine appearance made me hold my breath unknowingly.

‘Seraphina…’

She forsook her childhood dream of becoming a knight to become a saint.

But in this moment, I felt her choice was the right one.

And I…

Reaffirmed the vow in my heart to protect her forever.

*

“Go already! Evolve already!”

Despite my earnest plea, Cecilia remained motionless.

Is it because she’s in a cocoon…?

However, I did see her tremble when we were in the deepest part!

Show some signs of evolution, please!

“Am I really supposed to keep waiting?”

Is there something she needs?

A warmer temperature?

Or more magic power?

It was then.

Squirm squirm!

A bingxue centipede came rushing in at an incredible speed.

No, to be precise, it was crawling.

I’ve never seen Verlez move so urgently.

Squirm squirm!!!

It was frantically trying to explain something.

It seemed to be suggesting it saw something and fled.

“It’s dangerous, isn’t it?”

Nod nod!

Ah…

Finally, some work for me as the overseer.

Intruders in my house with the Master and me…

“Hey, Butterflies!”

The youngest butterfly was the first to flutter over.

“Tell all Verlez in the Dungeon to gather by me!”

The butterflies swiftly dispersed to all corners of the dungeon.

Even though you usually act lazy as if everything’s annoying, you move quickly when needed, don’t you?

To identify the intruders, I concentrated fully on my detection radar.

But there was nothing caught in my radar yet.

Perhaps they haven’t reached this point yet.

Still, let’s not be careless!

“Broader! Further!”

As I focused on the edges of my radar,

『 「Detection LV10」 skill level increased.』

『 「Detection LV10」

「Area Domination LV1」 skill evolved.』

『 「Area Domination」

– Controls the surrounding area.』

“Ooooh!”

Finally, the detection that didn’t level up in the early stages evolves!

My detection radar suddenly expanded immensely.

Almost double?

Thanks to this, I can see about half of this vast deep level.

“Since it says ‘dominate,’ this probably isn’t the limit.”

When I was about to test another feature,

Two figures entered my expanded radar’s range.

『 ☆☆☆☆☆ 【Seraphina】 Human LV153 』 『 ☆☆☆☆☆ 【Beatrice】 Human LV178 』

“Wha-!”

If I had a heart, it would’ve pounded hard!

Seraphina and Beatrice!

The Saint and the Ace of the Empire Knights!

The heroes from the game I played!

Finally, characters I know have arrived!

I felt immense joy seeing familiar faces.

Seraphina looked exactly like she did in the game.

Beautiful long pink hair cascaded down over her pure nun’s attire.

Of course, it’s fundamentally pink hair!

She truly has the intimidating design worthy of my favorite character.

But Beatrice — her face is the same, but her equipment differs.

Instead of the Empire Knights’ uniform, she wore shining silver armor, and her weapon wasn’t a longsword but a mysterious glowing one-handed sword.

“Is this a… class difference or something?”

If it weren’t for the status window, I might’ve mistaken Beatrice for her younger or older sister.

And their levels were significantly higher than I expected.

In the game, I could barely level them to around 80…

Indeed, people alive in this world are different!

“Hey, let’s get along!”

Hmm…

There’s something more important to consider here.

“The fact they’ve come to this situation means…”

In the game, heroes would raid dungeons, gain rewards, and leave.

Could it be…

They’ve come to defeat me?

“Not that I want to fight!”

How have I lived peacefully?

I’ve been catching monsters diligently, saving humans from the Master!

Ah…

The Master, has he been killing many humans…?

Umm.

That seems to be true…

But he’s not here right now…

And even if he were, these two wouldn’t stand a chance!

“They can’t be stupid, so why are they here?”

Are they here to capture me?

Do they know the Master is away?

Even if we fight, I would win…

Hmm…

How should I handle this situation?

“Let’s hide the Verlez first…”

Wait.

That might make them more suspicious.

It’s better to act as usual, or even more peacefully.

Alright, how should we greet them?

The usual sweet honey scent will work, right?

After deciding on the strategy, I began observing them.

They were slowly walking down the deep-level passages.

Seraphina seemed to have smelled the scent first and stopped, tilting her head to look around.

Beatrice clutched her sword tightly and remained vigilant, while Seraphina followed the scent like she was being drawn to it.

“Good…”

The Verlez, too, seemed to sense the atmosphere and moved naturally as they usually did.

The peaceful movement of hundreds of bug monsters was strangely fascinating.

Finally, the two entered the cavern and spotted me.

“Umm… hello?”

Then, the status window popped up.

『 「Radiant Glare LV1」 skill acquired.』

『 「Radiant Glare」– You emit light.』

“Ah!”

Suddenly, a strange new skill appeared.

It felt like I was being urged to use it right now.

If that’s the case, let’s use it!As I hoped for light in my heart, my body began to shine.

“Ooooh!”

“I’m… I’m glowing!”

Suddenly, tears streamed down Seraphina’s eyes.

Her lips trembled, then she lifted her staff and began praying.

“Huh! I didn’t mean to make her cry!”

Even though I was flustered, Seraphina’s tears seemed like tears of joy.

Her expression brimmed with exultation as if she’d finally found something she’d been searching for ages.

Watching this made me feel emotional too.

A radiant glare that moves a saint…

“Lord Michel… This skill too, must be from Lord Michel… Thank you…”

As Seraphina’s prayer echoed through the cave, I quietly offered my own prayer of gratitude.

Seraphina, Beatrice.

The first known faces I meet in this world.

I will definitely become friends with you!