“Damn it…”
A significant number of graves. Yi Han’s pupils violently shook upon seeing them.
Not just Yi Han, but every member of the investigation team, including Agarte, wore dumbfounded expressions.
“This is gonna be a headache…”
Having grasped the situation, the priest approached Agarte, pressing his forehead in frustration.
“What do you plan to do? Looks like there’s no one left in the village except that kid.”
The priest’s question hung in the air, but Agarte remained tight-lipped.
‘Is she all alone?’
Agarte carefully pondered the matter.
Everyone in LaBrana Village was dead.
The only remaining villager: a young girl.
When he first met Sirius, the girl, the sense of mystery he felt made perfect sense now.
She must have been left alone in the village, which explained why even as a girl, she wielded an axe to cut wood.
‘Strange things really do happen in the frontier lands, huh.’
And they truly did.
Who would’ve thought?
A girl who didn’t even look fully grown wandering the village by herself.
The dough Yi Han had checked earlier must’ve also been her doing.
Agarte let out a deep sigh, thinking.
‘Truly unfortunate.’
He then asked a nearby investigation team member,
“How much food is left in the village?”
“The meat and crops stored in the warehouse won’t be enough if we’re heading to the nearest village.”
“That’s not what I meant. I’m asking about any food that can still be taken from within the village.”
“That… ”
Before the investigator could answer, Yi Han shouted at Agarte.
“No way!”
Loudly. Everyone turned their gaze to him.
“Bu-but sir! Are you serious? Even if we consider the warehouse, taking more will put the girl’s livelihood at risk!”
“I know that.”
“Then… Sir, are you suggesting we starve an innocent girl?”
The trembling voice.
Yi Han was extremely flustered.
Because the situation had gone awry.
It was true they needed supplies to return to the empire, but taking everything left in the village…
Yi Han felt Agarte’s judgment was clearly wrong.
To begin with, the food belonged to the village, not the investigation team, so they couldn’t just take it without restraint.
Instead of answering Yi Han’s question, Agarte posed another.
“So, Yi Han, what do you think?”
“W-what kind of question is that?”
“Exactly what it sounds like. In this situation where we can’t head back to the empire without supplies, what judgment would you make?”
Fair point.
As Agarte said, without food, they couldn’t leave LaBrana Village.
Unfortunately, there were only two possible decisions the investigation team could make:
Either preserve morality and starve themselves, or act immorally and let the girl starve.
They had to choose one.
Agarte was asking Yi Han which choice he would make.
With his head bowed deeply, Yi Han gripped his hands tightly and said,
“…I don’t know.”
At this, Agarte’s face showed disappointment.
“You can’t protect everything on the battlefield. To protect something, you must give up something else in return.”
“But… but this isn’t a battlefield, is it?”
“Don’t misunderstand.”
Agarte’s voice grew heavier.
“Are you seriously spouting nonsense because we haven’t drawn our swords yet? From the moment we became knights, the world we stand on has been nothing short of a battlefield. We mustn’t forget that, Yi Han.”
Despite Agarte’s persuasion, Yi Han refused to budge.
In the short time since becoming a knight, Yi Han had learned many things.
One was that the world was cruel.
Another was that the world was peaceful.
Under the guise of peace, he had swung his sword countless times.
Cutting down the necks of young conscripts around his age without mercy.
To gain peace, he had taken others’ peace.
Even when victorious in battle, it wasn’t the end.
Frequent small-scale riots within the empire, divisions among nobles, religious figures expanding their influence for power—war never ceased, even where swords couldn’t reach.
Having received orders from the emperor and being deployed to the investigation team, Yi Han couldn’t possibly be unaware of this.
Thus, he understood even less.
‘Why…’
Why does the world fight so mercilessly?
What exactly is peace?
At some point, Yi Han began to harbor a single doubt.
For what am I fighting?
Swinging his sword hundreds of times, he still couldn’t find an answer to his own question after clearing away all excuses.
Thinking about why he picked up the sword in the first place, the answer came easily.
“「Why did you abandon your family business to become a knight, Yi Han?」”
It was extremely simple.
“「I…」
And noble.
“「I want to protect the weak!」”
Also pure.
Swoosh—
Yi Han unsheathed his sword without hesitation.
“Lower your sword, Yi Han.”
Despite Agarte’s command, Yi Han’s stance remained firm.
“Hell no! Once I’ve drawn my sword, there’s no going back!”
“Are you challenging me, Yi Han? You?”
Yi Han shook his head at Agarte’s question.
He wasn’t stupid. Battling an opponent far superior in skill was tantamount to suicide.
“…I have a plan.”
“Tell me.”
Taking a deep breath, Yi Han spoke slowly.
“The food in the warehouse isn’t enough to feed everyone. And I certainly don’t want to take food from an innocent girl.”
“Get to the point.”
“Hence! My plan is to reduce the number of mouths to feed in the investigation team!”
Yi Han pointed his sword not at Agarte but at the priest standing among the investigation team.
“The mission entrusted to me by His Majesty shall commence here and now!”
Startled by Yi Han’s sudden move, the priest sneered.
“Are you joking? Killing the investigation team to save one girl? You’ve really lost it.”
“It’s not madness.”
Facing the priest’s mockery, Yi Han replied firmly without blinking.
“It’s simply protecting the weak.”
“Didn’t you hear about the followers injured in the forest? Are they not the weak too? Nobility, ideals are good, but obstinacy is dangerous.”
Obstinacy. Yi Han knew the priest was right.
Of course, this was his stubbornness, arrogance, and perhaps even selfishness.
But so what?
The world itself was inherently savage and full of desires.
Yi Han decided to understand and adapt to such a world.
“Didn’t your precious god say not to harm the pitiful? Or let me ask…”
Yi Han smirked slightly.
“Are you defying the will of God?”
“…Hmph. As expected, nobles don’t know moderation. Always have been.”
With a heavy sigh, the priest moved slowly.
“Is it a characteristic of nobles to delude themselves into thinking they’re special? Just lucky to be born into a noble family. Lineage and all that nonsense. Truly… pathetic.”
Finally, the priest stopped.
In front of him stood Sirius, staring blankly.
“Our lord calls these ‘the pitiful.’ Thus, we personally cleanse them.”
Pulling out a small knife hidden in his sleeve, the priest shouted.
“To purify them!”
Realizing the truth too late, Yi Han quickly twisted his body, but…
Puuuuhk—
It was already too late.
“Aaah… No… NOOOO!!”
Pushing the priest aside, Yi Han scooped up the fallen Sirius.
Trying to stop the blood gushing from her punctured throat, Yi Han placed his hands over it, but the blood relentlessly seeped through the gaps in his palms.
“Snap out of it! I’ll stop it! So… please, don’t die! Please… open your eyes!”
Begging desperately, Yi Han’s cries went unanswered as Sirius remained silent.
Sirius opened her mouth to say something, but alas, with her throat pierced, no sound came out.
Slowly, Sirius’ eyes closed.
“No… This can’t be…”
Defying Yi Han’s wishes, Sirius’ head fell limply forward.
“Ah… Ahh…”
Raindrops fell onto Sirius’ lifeless body.
“This can’t happen… This cannot happen…”
Gripping his fists tightly, Yi Han slowly rose and glared fiercely at the priest.
“…Shall.”
“What did you say? They say love makes people alike; have you gone mute like the girl?”
“Necessarily… I will kill you.”
Raising his sword again, Yi Han yelled towards the investigation team.
“This is the Emperor’s decree! Knights, draw your swords immediately!”
“What the hell—”
The strange metallic clashing sound reverberated around the priest.
Clearly, it wasn’t coming from just one or two sources. Realizing this, the priest turned to look at his followers.
“H-Hey! I suspected traitors, but…”
Seventeen out of twenty turned out to be traitors. The priest looked bewildered as Yi Han pressed his blade against the man’s face.
“I instructed my subordinates from the start of the expedition to monitor each of your followers individually.”
“That means…”
“I knew from the beginning. There was no follower who revealed the location of the forest to you.”
“Damn… I’ve been completely fooled.”
Trying to uncover the reason behind the priest’s lie, Yi Han refrained from confronting him harshly and stepped back.
Just to play along and discover their purpose.
Eventually, he figured out their intention to head towards LaBrana.
So, he played along once more.
To uncover what they were hiding and plotting.
But none of that mattered anymore.
The fact that the priest killed the girl was enough to implicate the church.
“If you cooperate, I might spare your life. What will you do?”
With a threatening offer, the priest pressed his forehead in defeat.
Yi Han thought he was despairing, as most humans do when faced with death.
However, contrary to Yi Han’s expectations…
“Heheh… HAHAHA!!”
The priest couldn’t suppress his laughter.
Chilled by the madman’s appearance, Yi Han realized.
‘…He’s insane.’
That the Rotarium Sect shouldn’t exist at all.
Yi Han raised his left hand, signaling the start of battle. When his left arm descended, the Knights would sever the followers’ throats.
Yes, it had to be done.
Suddenly, an unfamiliar sound came from behind, making Yi Han turn his head.
There lay a Knight from his unit, chest pierced, collapsed on the ground, and…
“Capt…ain?”
Standing before him was Agarte, sword in hand.
Even before understanding the situation, the priest whispered into his ear.
“My Lord, lower your sword. Who knows? Perhaps the merciful Rotarium God will spare your life.”
Looking at the steadfast Agarte, Yi Han realized once more.
That most knights in this world were corrupted by greed.
Even the knight he trusted unconditionally wasn’t any different.
Indeed. That’s how the world works.
Things rarely go according to one’s plans.
Humans merely adapt to the ever-changing world, compromising with the flow of time.
Agarte must have been the same.
Yi Han understood his choice.
Similarly, there were many knights like Agarte in this world, so he understood.
Only, that’s all.
Hooof!
Yi Han’s arm sliced through the air.
Simultaneously, the Knights’ swords soared gracefully like swimming fish.
Blades clashed. Blood and flesh splattered, and severed bodies tumbled to the ground.
The battle raged fiercely.
Though the Knights were overwhelmingly numerous, the sect had Agarte, a royal knight.
An unpredictable clash of blades ensued.
“Cough…!”
The last one standing in that spot was…
“Forgive me, Yi Han.”
Agarte.
Thud. Yi Han’s body, gutted, hit the ground.
Agarte looked at Yi Han’s corpse.
Yi Han. He was a knight.
A true knight that Agarte could never become.
Agarte closed his eyes, engraving the bravest knight in a corner of his heart.
Yi Han, he was the knight Agarte admired most.
Someone he could never reach.
Clap clap clap.
The sound breaking the silence made Agarte turn his head.
“…Seto. Did it have to come to this?”
“Did you not see? He drew his sword first.”
“That’s not what I mean.”
Glaring at the priest, Agarte continued.
“The Pope only asked us to confirm the survival of the villagers, not to kill them.”
“Yes, I’m fully aware of that. But tell me…”
The priest tilted his head.
“When did I ever kill anyone?”
“What do you mean? Didn’t you slit the girl’s throat—”
“I’ve never killed a person.”
Interrupting Agarte, the priest stated firmly.
“I’ve only killed monsters. Humans pretending to be monsters!”
Awoken by the pungent smell at the tip of her nose, Sirius opened her eyes.
The first thing she saw was the pale mist covering the night sky.
Trying to rise, she touched the ground. Immediately, her palm was lightly submerged in a pool of crimson blood.
Only then did Sirius notice something was off and looked around.
Broken swords, scattered limbs whose owners couldn’t be identified.
The green meadow, vibrant with colorful flowers just yesterday, was now dyed red with human blood.
Sirius had seen a similar scene before.
When the monsters attacked LaBrna. It created a very similar landscape.
The difference was merely the color of the blood soaking the meadow.
Monsters or humans.
To Sirius, they were all the same.
After shaking off her pants, Sirius strolled up the hill.
The grisly scene. Thud. Thud. Red chunks spread everywhere, making it hard to step.
Sirius avoided the obstacles scattered like rabbits across the meadow.
Finally reaching the graveyard, it was utterly devastated, not a single intact grave in sight.
Counting undamaged tombstones was easier than counting the damaged ones.
There was much work to be done.
Scattered bodies needed cleaning, damaged graves required restoration.
And the unfinished cooking needed completion.
But time was running out.
Perhaps Sirius’ birthday had already passed.
She was supposed to stick candles on bread, climb the hill, and blow gently while gazing at the stars.
This year’s birthday wouldn’t allow that.
Sirius felt a heaviness in her chest.
Sharp and oppressive.
What kind of pain was this? Sirius wondered.
She had experienced various pains through repeated deaths but never this type.
Or maybe she had felt something similar once.
“…Gehran.”
Saying that, Sirius rushed toward Gehran’s grave.
Upon arrival, Gehran’s grave was in a similar state as the others.
The tombstone was shattered into three pieces and lying broken, with a hole dug into the grave.
Sirius began filling the hole with dirt using her hands.
Her unkempt nails caused slight bleeding.
Ignoring it, she kept digging.
Once she gathered enough dirt in both hands, Sirius filled the hole and sealed it.
Then, with a “toc,” she felt something inside.
She grabbed it and pulled it out.
What emerged was a neatly folded piece of paper.
Sirius carefully unfolded it.
Only after fully opening it did she realize it was a letter.
A long tale written like a fairy tale. Its opening line read:
“To the immortal girl.”
