Goblin Knight - Chapter 298



Only Noblemtl

EP.298 Time Problem (6)

Late at night, as midnight approaches, in an unknown forest.

It was a time and place where the only thing that should be heard was the eerie wind and the singing of insects.

But today, at this moment, was different.

It was because of the interference of strange strangers.

Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom!!

The clash of the sword and the wooden club (a suitable-sized stick picked up in the forest, Ella called it the love stick) erupted in a series of unacceptable sounds that swept through the surroundings.

Anyone could see that it was a scene of one-sided violence, and unfortunately, Blanc was playing the role of the victim.

It was so bad that I had to use all my strength just to block the onslaught, and the metallic clanging noise was so painful that it stung my ears.

Plus… he had an additional task at hand.

“Okay, knight! Concentrate! Concentrate!! I’m going to draw in my mind the strongest knight you can think of!!”

“Say, groan, say, huh, even if you do that… … !”

Ella, who was acting as the perpetrator of the assault, urged him to wake up in an excited voice.

What was happening here was a simple assault… but it was also training to be able to freely express one’s thoughts even in extreme situations.

Unfortunately, Blanc couldn’t live up to Ella’s expectations right away.

If you don’t pay full attention to what’s in front of you right now, you’ll get hit by that adorable ‘love whip’ and fall over, so what kind of concentration is that?

Since I had already experienced that delightful experience three times, I couldn’t pay any attention to it.

But actually… that wasn’t the biggest problem.

‘And most of all… I don’t know what to imagine or how to imagine it!’

He gritted his teeth and recalled that Blanc had rarely achieved a complete victory over a formidable opponent with his sheer force of arms.

Even if the battle with Baron Gallif, who could be considered the first strong enemy, was like that, how were the battles that followed?

The song of Lady Dolcinea could be stopped thanks to the presence of Sir Kiyote, the werewolf Gian was put to sleep through a joint attack with Seonghwa, and although there were difficulties in the sewers of Kyusen, there were no formidable opponents.

The questions that the ‘tall man’ and the three dreamers, who could be said to be their strongest enemies, asked the world could be overcome not through force, but through the circulation of good.

Yes, Blanc has definitely grown through such turbulent adventures. At least to the point where he is confident that he won’t be pushed back even if he faces off against a lesser enforcer.

However, because they had defeated their enemies with goodwill and faith rather than force, they were severely lacking in the ‘experience of victory’ that should have been the foundation for such growth.

‘What irony is this… …!’

Is it because my beliefs that good will always circulate and my colleagues will always be with me have become stronger?

Blanc, perplexed by the fact that he was not able to portray a picture of victory over a strong enemy ‘with his own strength alone’, twisted his sword once again to deflect the incoming Love Slash.

But the next moment.

“uh-”

“Hurry up!”

The mistake was that I was so focused on the love affair that I didn’t even have time to look under my feet.

Blanc’s vision shot up into the sky just as he saw the kick that flew in like a flash and hit his leg.

The body lost its balance and fell backwards.

Phew!

“Keuk… … .”

A sharp pain rose from my back where I had been thrown to the floor.

I was confident that I wouldn’t even blink at the slightest impact, but the impact was so strong that it felt like the breath in my lungs was suddenly ripped away.

As he was gasping for breath and trying to get up from his fallen body, something pressed down on his chest.

Ella was trampling on him with her snow-white feet stretched out beneath her ash-colored dress.

“Up to here… … This is really immoral.”

“Ella? No, I can do more. I still… …!”

“Yeah, I know. There’s still some time left. But still.”

Ella said, bending her knees and applying more pressure.

“I don’t think there’s much point in doing more right now. I think you’d know better what I mean, sir.”

“… … .”

Blanc turned his eyes away from her.

That’s because I had nothing to say since it was the right thing to say.

“It seems a bit different from when you weren’t focused on responding to my attacks… What do you think? Any thoughts?”

“… … I don’t know what to think, Ella.”

“Of course. Even after living for decades, there are very few people who know exactly what’s in their heads. How much less so you, sir.”

Ella chuckled.

“To be honest, the knight is being ridiculous. Even if it was only for his own sword, didn’t he already embody his own image? A knight who has only been around for a little over two years. Do you know how ridiculous this is?

Even if I say it like this, it may not be very clear. But it is clear that the previous step, ’embodiment’, is much more difficult than the ‘concrete’ that we are doing now.

If you just look at the percentage of people across all of humanity who have achieved that level, it would be somewhere in the tens or millions. To be honest, I was at a loss as to what to do even as I was bringing it up.

“I heard that somewhere far to the east across the continent, there are authors wearing black clothes who learn by fighting with their own swords. Should I try it out? But how do they fight with their own swords… Something like that.”

The foot that had been holding Blanc down moved to the side.

“But since the knight knew exactly what he wanted to put on his sword, all that was left was… to think of a situation in which he would be most confident.”

“Because of the situation.”

“No matter how absurd it may be, it’s okay. No, the more it’s absurd, the clearer it is, the better. Like, everything is on fire but I’m the only one who’s okay, or all the famous swords of the world are stuck around me but I’m the only one who can use them freely.”

“… … Like your… lake filled with blood?”

“Uh, um… well… yeah. It’s embarrassing. It must have been really embarrassing because it happened when I was really busy… … .”

Ella scratched her cheek as if it was an awkward question, then changed the subject with a cough.

“Or something like this would be good. Giving it a name.”

“name.”

“Yes. The reason swordsmen families give names to their visions is not to make them easy for others to know and delve into. It’s to fix the image through naming. It’s probably the same with magic.”

Ella said, swinging the branch she was carrying on her shoulder.

“For example, this ‘Love Hawk’, if I hadn’t named it, it would just be a tree branch, but by naming it like this… tada! Doesn’t it feel like its educational ability has improved!?”

“Uh, sorry… I don’t know.”

“… … Ah, anyway! Whatever it is, names are important when using mental images. Just like formulas for calculating math problems, just thinking of a name will definitely bring to mind the image attached to it. If nothing comes to mind, thinking of a name first is also a method.”

Ella threw her love stick far away and held out her hand to him as she finished her explanation.

“So, apart from the training, I’ll leave you with some homework to do while I sleep. One is to imagine the environment in which you’d be at your strongest as accurately as possible, as I’ve been saying. And the other is to give that environment a name.”

“Name… is… … .”

Blanc took Ella’s outstretched hand and sat up, repeating her last words.

Because there were things that I could guess.

‘Come to think of it… When I was traveling alone with Annely, we had a small fight over naming our weapons. But it was hushed up after I got Preston… . . . ‘

Although not necessarily a weapon, there have also been attempts at devising new techniques to further develop his sword in recent times.

Every time, Annelie would show off her excellent naming skills and help him out. Maybe we could get some hints from her this time too.

Oh, that’s perfect timing.

“Then let’s wash up and go to bed… Wow, look at Anneli’s eyes. I just trained a little, so what? Don’t waste your energy teaching Trasha’s writing-”

“Ella, there’s something I want you to hear.”

“Huh?”

“Actually, there were things I had discussed with Agnelli before this story came up, so I would like you to listen to me.”

“Uh… your name? It might be a bit embarrassing to say, but you’ve really mustered up the courage to say it, sir.”

“I’m embarrassed?”

“… … Ah, is this kind of concept really childish? Well, if you hadn’t taught it… It’s really refreshing.”

Ella began to tell a story she didn’t know, then smiled with a truly affectionate smile and said:

“Okay. Tell this older sister. What is it?”

“Your speech is strange.”

Blanc tilted his head, but he named a few of the names he liked best among those he had conspired with Agnelli.

Among them, one could not forget the weapon that had passed through his hands in his long memories and had been honorably named by Anneli, ‘The Ascender Who Whispers Death on the Dark Rainy Road’.

But Ella’s reaction was a little strange.

At first, his eyes widened, but as time went on, his face turned red and his body twisted, and at the last moment, he glared at Annely.

“Uh… Ella? Why… … .”

“Sir… Sorry… I need to wait a moment, Annelie and… I have something urgent to talk about. Let’s talk later.”

“Huh? Huh?”

“What did you put into him… into him… … !”

Immediately afterwards, Ella leapt towards Annelie at a speed that even Blanc could not easily capture.

While Blanc was dumbfounded.

– … … What the… … ! Your taste… is embarrassing… … !

– … … What is that… … ! So noble and wonderful… … !

– … … My face is… … ! Pay my age… … !

– … … You who have to pay the price… … !

Two girls could be seen engaged in a heated argument from a distance.

It was a shame that I couldn’t hear what they were saying because of the soundproof barriers Anneli had set up for training, but they must have been talking about something important since they had gone out in such a hurry.

It would be uncool to interrupt.

Blanc looked up at the sky while stroking Trasha, whose tail was wagging, who had already entered the barrier.

Another day was passing by.