Pelerian of the Lamp
Zain was dazed.
"Hey, what's with that expression?"
"Huh?"
"This kid is completely out of it."
The senior knight who said that slapped Zain's back.
His words were rough, but his expression wasn't hostile.
In the Iron Lion Knights, Zain was considered one of the youngest members.
Traditionally, the position of Gunter's attendant knight was given to young apprentice knights who had just joined the order.
Zain was no exception.
Still an inexperienced youngster, but with an overflowing spirit.
It was natural for the seniors to dote on him.
"What's wrong? You really don't look good. Your face is pale. Are you okay?"
Zain had been injured by the Chimera.
His senior knight thought that might be the reason.
"Sir Kyle."
Zain's voice was somber.
"May I ask you one thing?"
"No, you may not."
The senior knight's voice was playful, but his eyes were cold.
"Don't ask."
"..."
"Are you an Iron Lion Knight?"
"That's an obvious question, sir."
"Right, then don't forget the precepts."
Valor, obedience, perseverance. The three precepts of the Iron Lion.
Zain couldn't ask his question.
'Why has the entire Iron Lion Knights, who should be in the capital, gathered in Greyrim?'
That was what he really wanted to know.
As they were about to depart for the Arkan Basin, Zain realized that Gunter had brought the entire order.
This never happened unless there was a war.
But surely they weren't going on a Sija Forest expedition hunt with the Iron Lion Knights.
What was his order's captain thinking?
Somehow, he had an ominous feeling.
That's how he joined the expedition.
No monsters could stop the Iron Lion Knights' advance at the entrance of the great forest.
Finally, they reached the place where the Chimera and the fairy were.
The once-terrifying Chimera was now dead in a miserable state.
The fairy standing in front of it.
From the moment Gunter began to confront the fairy, Zain's uneasiness grew stronger.
A knight's duty ends with the defeat of the Chimera. Was there any need to secure its corpse?
Moreover, if the opponent was a Golden Leaf Investigator of the fairies, it wasn't someone they could carelessly antagonize.
Gunter chose to confront the elf anyway.
But why?
"You're a villain."
That's how the elf judged Gunter.
Those who called Gunter a villain were probably only soldiers from enemy countries.
But Gunter didn't seem displeased; rather, he smiled.
That's how the duel began.
Yes, it was fitting to call it a duel.
The aura on the short sword clashed with the aura on the axe spear.
Clang!
A sound that could burst eardrums erupted.
The shockwave was visible.
Centered on Gunter and the fairy, all the grass lay flat at once.
The wind pressure was fierce.
The Iron Lion Knights knew how strong Gunter was.
That's why they were shocked by the elf's prowess.
Iris was holding her ground.
Unable to fully withstand the force behind the axe spear, she was doing her best to deflect it.
In the meantime, she launched a sharp attack.
The broadsword grazed the shaft of the axe spear and aimed for Gunter's neck.
Instead of dodging, Gunter responded by raising his left shoulder.
The sword struck the lion carving on his shoulder.
Clang clang clang!
It was a single collision, but a series of thunderous sounds rang out.
Sparks flew fiercely from the armor.
The lion carving was completely damaged.
His shoulder would surely be sore, but Gunter smiled.
"Can you dodge this too?"
And he held his axe spear horizontally.
It looked like a stance with a big opening.
Perhaps due to the fairy's sensitivity, Iris couldn't recklessly charge in.
Gunter's axe spear slashed horizontally.
It didn't seem as fast as before.
But that was just an illusion to the eye.
The same move that had decapitated the Medusa Serpent was unleashed.
The perfect curved trajectory drawn by the axe spear.
And space beyond the trajectory began to split.
Crescent Moon Slash.
Steel Gunter's unique skill.
The sound followed afterward.
Crash!
The broadsword refined by elven techniques shattered into pieces.
Iris didn't die.
Instead, a streak of red blood trickled down from the corner of her mouth.
"Oh? You withstood it."
But Iris had lost her weapon and suffered internal injuries.
As she spread her hands wide, the earth surged up and entangled Gunter's entire body.
It was the harmony of spirits that Iris controlled.
Gunter shook that off too.
As he stomped the ground, a rumbling sound rose along with a cloud of dust.
Gunter, who charged through that dust, swung his axe spear once again.
Iris was barely able to dodge.
She drew a single dagger, but there was no way such a thing could match the axe spear.
She was completely on the defensive.
Her life seemed as precarious as a leaf in a storm.
==
Ah, damn it. The dust is blocking my view.
I tried my best to see Gunter's status window properly.
To use Billy's Horn, I needed to see the opponent's status window.
But those two were fighting while moving incredibly fast.
Gunter is tremendously strong.
The fairy was strong too. Even the Medusa Serpent died in one hit, but she was still holding out, which was impressive.
I thought about borrowing the fairy's skill instead, but...
──────────────
[Fairy lv???]
──────────────
I couldn't even see the fairy's status window.
Gunter seemed stronger, but I don't know why.
Then borrowing Gunter's skill would be the best option.
If there's a synergy between Leaping Horn and Billy's Horn, it might be possible.
I focused once again...
──────────────
[Hero Gunter lv???] ...
──────────────
"No way!"
Damn it.
Pelerian kept making noise beside me, making it hard to concentrate.
"How dare you, human, to a Golden Leaf Investigator!"
True to his fairy supremacist nature, Pelerian couldn't stand Gunter attacking the fairy.
It seemed like the fairy might die at any moment, but so what?
"Snake! Save that fairy."
'What?'
"Go and save the fairy from that human!"
Pelerian's expression was as if he was making a perfectly reasonable request.
I was so dumbfounded, I felt my nose clogging up.
'How am I supposed to do that?'
Me? Go in there and stop them?
Before asking why, the problem was how.
Pelerian seemed to know that too.
"Well, if you... intervene. You know, if you persuade them well, even these foolish humans might understand their sins."
'You're crazy.'
"What did you say!"
Has he gone senile? The audacity.
I decided to ignore Pelerian. He was throwing a fit, but I pretended not to hear.
Then, he changed his strategy.
"I, Heaven Defier the magician, swear on all my magical power and soul. If you save that fairy, I'll grant you a wish."
'...'
He seems to have changed his approach from commanding to persuading.
"A magician's oath can never be broken. And the wishes that I, Heaven Defier, can grant are limitless. This is an opportunity that will never come again for a lowly creature like you!"
'I can't hear you.'
Heaven Defier magician or whatever, oath or wish or whatever, I can't do anything in the first place.
But I don't understand why he's suddenly acting like this.
Come to think of it, he's a madman who was willing to sacrifice an elf for his own experiment.
But now he wants to save that elf? Do they know each other?
"Not one wish, but two. This is my final offer."
Whatever the case, it has nothing to do with me.
Give it up, old man.
"Three! I'll grant you three! This is really my limit!"
Having 20 Mental Power helps in situations like this too.
No matter how much noise is made next to me, if I tense up and focus, I can maintain my concentration.
──────────────
[Hero Gunter lv???]
[Traits]
[Hero]...
[Skills]
[Valarian Axe Spear Technique lv50], [Vanguard Command lv10], [???]...
──────────────
Focus.
Focus.
I've decided which skill to borrow.
I couldn't confirm what kind of skills they were because the names were unusual, but they all seem amazing.
They must be far more extraordinary than any other skills I have.
I use Leaping Horn first.
One of my horns heats up.
「Using Leaping Horn lv1 to surpass the limit of the skill 'Billy's Horn lv4'.」
「'Billy's Horn lv4' temporarily becomes 'Billy's Horn lv10'.」
Billy's Horn's level became 10.
Now, Billy's Horn.
Heat flows into my other horn as well.
Hup!
「Using 'Billy's Horn lv10' to borrow the skill 'Heavenly Thunder Spirit lv10'.」
「Failed to borrow Heavenly Thunder Spirit lv10.」
Failure.
My magical power drained instantly.
Just from using two skills.
I feel like I can only use it one more time.
I concentrated even harder.
My head got hot.
Finally, a nosebleed started dripping.
I licked the dripping blood with my tongue.
Gunter was cornering the fairy.
Wounds started appearing on the fairy's body too.
If she takes a direct hit, she'll probably die.
And Gunter's axe spear suddenly emitted light.
He was clearly trying to finish her off.
I, too, was trying to finish it.
My magical power drained rapidly.
「Success.」
Ah, it worked!
「Temporarily gained 'Heavenly Thunder Spirit lv0'.」
Huh, level 0?
Maybe because the skill's rank is too high.
I wasn't given the luxury to figure that out.
Gunter didn't finish off the elf.
Instead, he turned to look in my direction.
I only realized afterward that he had drawn and thrown one of the short spears at his waist.
Whoosh!
The short spear passed over my head, tearing through the air.
It was at a height where a standing person's torso would be.
Boom!
Then, the Iron Lion Knights who were watching rushed all at once towards my direction.
Damn, did he notice that I borrowed his skill?
No other monsters had ever done that before.
My action of borrowing Gunter's skill led to an unexpected result.
The elf, who had been driven into a corner by Gunter, got a chance.
She took something out of her pocket and tore it with a rip.
Then she disappeared from that spot like a ghost.
Was it some kind of teleport scroll?
"Oh! Success! We saved her!"
Pelerian shouted in joy.
Oh, so that's how it turned out.
"Snake! What method did you use?"
I didn't want to answer, but since he seems to think I saved her, I might as well play along.
And it does seem like I actually did save her.
'You're really going to grant my wish, right?'
"Hmm...!"
'First, save me from here. Safely!'
Knights in heavy plate armor are rushing towards me at a speed like galloping horses.
A small snake like me would be trampled to death in an instant.
Honestly, I didn't have much expectation for Pelerian's wish either.
"Alright. I've received your first wish, so."
Pelerian muttered some difficult words.
Magical power condensed around his semi-transparent body.
He looks dependable, like a genie from a lamp.
"Is east okay?"
'Anywhere!'
"It's an 'Emergency Escape'!"
Whoosh!
And I was launched into the air.
Like a fighter jet's cockpit ejecting, I soar into the sky, tearing through the air.
It's much scarier than when I borrowed flight.
The knights who rushed to where I was looked like a swarm of ants.
I had resolved never to fly again, but!
==
"Hmm."
Gunter let out a low groan.
The elf had escaped.
She must have had a magical item capable of teleportation.
It would be something not even the magic tower has; as expected, fairies have many hidden things.
"Captain, will it be alright?"
Knight Kyle, who had remained by his side, asked.
They had attacked a Golden Leaf Investigator but failed to kill her and let her escape.
He meant to ask if there wouldn't be repercussions.
"They're already a declining race. No need to worry."
But Gunter cut him off firmly.
If he says so, then that's that. Kyle also closed his mouth.
"And we've secured the Chimera."
Who would have thought that Pelerian's legacy would remain near this Greyrim?
Gunter, who had returned with the Iron Lion Knights, heard about the Chimera from Zain.
It seems the Greyrim territory had searched for traces of Pelerian several times.
They had even hidden it from the royal palace; could there be anything more fortunate than this?
The Chimera's corpse will serve as a 'justification' for what Gunter has to do next.
'...A villain, huh.'
That's how the fairy had judged Gunter.
'Yes, I suppose that could be true.'
If a villain is someone who doesn't care about means to achieve their goals, Gunter might already be a villain.
And.
'That sensation just now...'
Something was watching Gunter.
And it did 'something'.
Magic, sorcery, curse, whatever it was...
He had thrown the short spear without realizing it.
The knights who had rushed in that direction returned with awkward expressions.
Along with the answer that they couldn't find any traces.
"It's done. We're returning to Greyrim with the Chimera."
"Yes, sir!"
Gunter turned around.
There's much to be done. He had no time to worry about trivial matters.