How to Live as a Knight After the Ending - Chapter 94



Only Noblemtl

Episode 94. What Light Teach (2)

Islow’s speech was somewhat ambiguous and mostly muffled.

But his undisclosed intentions were clearly communicated to Balud.

He, who had to be perfect, was starting to lose his footing after the failure of this witch exile incident.

There was no room for excuses. In the end, he had failed, and Ossian, who judged that he had failed, was saved by the Judge.

And that too, with the witch still intact.

“I have nothing to say.”

As Balud nodded obediently, Islow laughed in a low voice.

The voice that used to be charismatic and solid now sounded muddy and clouded with phlegm from smoking too many cigars.

The Islow that Balud saw as a child was an excellent warrior, businessman, and charismatic boss.

Now I’m all old and I’ve become an old man who just sits around in comfort.

But Balud didn’t bother to point that out, and instead felt blasphemous about the thought.

Islow is the boss of the North Blinders no matter what anyone says.

It was natural to obey the boss’s words, even if he had risen to the high position of director.

“I believe that our Balud director has a way to overcome this situation.”

“I was going to tell you anyway.”

Even monkeys sometimes slip from trees.

Of course, since the area under that tree is a pit of fire and full of swords, mistakes are not tolerated.

If it hadn’t hit rock bottom, minor mistakes could have been covered up by bigger public figures.

“I’ve been talking to the Archaeological Federation recently.”

“archeology?”

Islow frowned at the mention of the annoying word.

He had gained so much weight that his appearance actually looked grotesque.

“It has to do with ancient relics.”

“Oh. That would be a different story.”

Islow took out a cigar, cut the end, and put it in his mouth.

Balud naturally took out an angled oil lighter from his bosom and lit Islow’s cigarette.

Islow exhaled smoke and spoke, draping his cigar between his fingers.

“Yeah. What kind of relic is it?”

“It’s not certain yet, but there are rumors going around that the Archaeological Federation recently discovered underground ruins.”

“Rumors are just rumors, aren’t they?”

“Because our kids have been taking a lot of medicine, they come to us as soon as they hear news. After looking into the information recently, it seems that it is not on a scale that can be dismissed as just a rumor.”

A smile appeared on Islow’s face.

“Kuuuuu. Yes, yes. Our Balud director is really good at communicating. Don’t be so upset. No matter what anyone says, you are the one I trust the most.”

“… … Yes. Thank you.”

Balud nodded.

Could it be that the reason I find a man who once seemed cool repulsive is because my loyalty has wavered?

“I will bring you good news soon.”

“Yeah, yeah. I guess I’ve been keeping a busy person around for no reason. I’ll be going now.”

“Yes, please.”

Balud nodded and left the boss’s room.

The subordinate who had been waiting outside followed him.

“Sir, are you okay?”

“It’s okay. More importantly, I’m sure there won’t be any problems with your work right now, right?”

“Yes, I am definitely doing so.”

“We failed last time, so we must succeed this time, if only to rebuild our shaky position.”

As he said this, Balud took out a pack of cigarettes from his bosom.

Islow was an ordinary cigarette, different from the pin cigars.

“Sir, are you smoking again?”

The subordinate was surprised by those words and asked.

I remembered quitting smoking after realizing that it was not good to smell like cigarettes when dealing with customers.

Balud lit the cigarette in his mouth with a Zippo lighter.

“Just. I feel like escaping a bit today.”

The smoke that flowed out of his mouth dissipated into nothingness.

Balud felt as if it were his future.

But still, we must endure.

Isella’s image floated above Balud’s retina as he looked out the window.

*

Ossian stood in the open space.

This place, where no buildings have been built yet, was also a place where Ossian occasionally swings his sword.

Seven people lined up in front of Ossian.

They had faces that were half expectant and half nervous.

“I tell you, I don’t know how to do it slowly. In order to gain this power, you have to reach the limits of your body and surpass it many times. It’s not too late, so if you want to quit, you can go back.”

Of course, no one said that would be the case.

They too are people with their own earnest desires.

I’ve been through too much to give up after coming this far.

“Good. I’ll take it as everyone’s agreement. While we’re at it, let’s get started right away.”

At those words, David and everyone else’s expressions brightened.

Finally, as they received Ossian’s teachings, their future as holy warriors was already drawn before their eyes.

Ossian brought a basket and placed it in front of the aspiring knights.

“What is this?”

“These are sandbags. Everyone, put these on your arms and legs.”

Everyone was puzzled, but they didn’t necessarily refuse.

Because Jonathan was large and strong, he had extra heavy bags attached.

Towards those who had lined up again, Ossian spoke.

“Run.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“Huh? What did you say?”

“Run.”

Ossian pointed to a wide open space with his finger.

“Keep running until I say it’s done. Do it.”

The aspiring knights looked at each other.

Because the teachings they had in mind were not like this at all.

The moment they hesitated, a new person appeared and blew a whistle in his mouth.

Beep!

“Can’t you hear me now? Run!”

It was Lorraine, wearing sunglasses, with her long ivory hair flowing.

She shouted at the aspiring knights while wearing a military cap that she had obtained from some unknown source.

“Does what I say sound like nonsense? If you don’t run, should I make you run?”

As if she had known this would happen, Lorraine took out the gun she had prepared in advance and aimed it at the aspiring knights.

The expressions on the applicants’ faces were shocked at that sight. A gun? Suddenly here?

The moment the thought crossed her mind that she was really going to shoot, Lorraine pulled the trigger.

Special rubber bullets were fired and hit the aspiring knights.

“Ouch! Aah!”

“Ugh!”

Even though it’s a rubber bullet, it hurts when you get hit. It hurts so much that it can break bones and leave blue bruises on your muscles.

A weapon that can kill you if used incorrectly.

In fact, it was something that could be called low-lethal rather than non-lethal.

“Run. Aren’t you going to run? If you don’t run, you’ll get hit until you do.”

The aspiring knights, pushed by Lorraine’s back, began to run.

“Okay, since we’ve come this far, let’s give it a try.”

“We’re just showing that we have basic physical strength!”

Lorraine looked back at Ossian and smirked as she watched the people start to run.

Ossian asked indifferently, his expression almost like it was asking, “How is it?”

“I really intend to enjoy it.”

“What, why? If you don’t try to enjoy something like this, you won’t be able to do it. If you’re going to do it, you should do it happily. Isn’t that right?”

It wasn’t exactly a wrong statement.

However, in Lorraine’s case, she had a dark intention of harassing those aspiring knights to relieve stress.

“And isn’t that too much? I’m helping you because I thought you needed help. Besides that, who do you think designed the training curriculum?”

Surprisingly, it was Lorraine, not Ossian, who planned the training.

Although she said she only got involved because she thought it would be fun, she was serious about it.

The aspiring journalists who had been running while panting slowed down their pace, thinking that it was almost over.

It was Lorraine’s rubber bullets that were raining down there.

Lorraine’s keen eye was able to clearly distinguish between those who were running well and those who were not.

“Oh my. I can see your feet. I can see your feet. Shouldn’t you run faster? Should I make it so you can never run again? Huh?”

He was truly a tiger-like instructor.

Even those who were confident in their basic physical strength while working as problem solvers found themselves panting and sweating like rain as they continued to run without stopping.

It wasn’t just running, but running with a heavy bag on made it twice as hard.

Still, Lorraine didn’t tell him to stop.

“What are you all doing! Aren’t you doing it right?! Look over there! Even people older than you are holding back and running!”

Lorraine pointed to David, who was running silently.

David was the oldest in the race, but he kept running. Rather, it seemed as if age was just a number, and he ran quite well.

It seemed that he had been steadily building up his basic physical strength, which was unusual for someone who was a puppeteer and had the title of commander.

Jonathan was a mutant, so of course he was running well.

The run that continued like that ended after an hour.

What followed for those who collapsed on the floor soaked in sweat was strength training.

Those who had squeezed their hearts to the limit now had to squeeze their muscles to the max.

The painful groans of lifting and lowering heavy objects echoed continuously throughout the empty lot.

“Okay, take a break! It’s meal time!”

As Lorraine blew her whistle, Anna arrived from somewhere, pulling a large cauldron on a cart.

“Start distribution!”

Anna poured porridge from a pot onto the seven aspiring knights.

It was a porridge made by grinding various grains, meat, and beans and boiling them in water.

It was a dish created solely for the purpose of providing the body with the nutrients it needed.

The only fortunate thing is that thanks to Ena’s excellent cooking skills, the taste wasn’t completely terrible.

Slurp.

Everyone gathered in the empty lot buried their faces in the bowl.

Fasting became the best seasoning for them, because they could drink even the not-so-tasty porridge like water.

“What are those who ate everything doing! We need to move immediately!”

Ossian looked at Lorraine, who was roasting the aspiring knights.

Ossian’s gaze toward Lorraine was filled with a sense of surprise.

‘You’re more skilled than I thought.’

Although she seemed to blindly pursue aspiring knights, her training methods were very systematic.

We quickly identified each individual’s physical limitations and characteristics and redistributed the intensity of training accordingly.

Ossian asked Lorraine, who had returned to her seat for a moment.

“Where on earth did you learn this?”

“Why? What?”

“It looks like a ridiculous process, but it’s all filled with things necessary for physical training. It’s also very detailed, including understanding the opponent’s level and adjusting the intensity accordingly.”

“Huh. You finally saw me properly? You saw me, right? You can do this kind of thing because you’re at my level.”

Lorraine’s pride was puffed up by Ossian’s praise.

Looking at Lorraine’s snickering and mischievous smile, I felt like taking back the compliment I had given her.

But Ossian suppressed such feelings and brought up one question that had been in his mind.

“You seem familiar with this process. Have you ever done something similar before? For example, were you in the military?”

“… … .”

Lorraine’s expression changed for a moment.

Should I say that the proud smile that once filled his face has cracked?

The change was of course fleeting, and Lorraine, who had returned to her original face, put her index finger to her lips and said playfully:

“That’s a secret. Everyone has to have a secret, right? That’s more attractive.”

“I see. I asked the wrong question.”

Ossian shrugged and took a step back.

It was only for a moment, but judging by Lorraine’s reaction, I guessed that her past wasn’t all that good.

‘Ronan would know, though.’

It would be rude to ask Ronan about other people’s pasts. Ronan wouldn’t tell you anything like that.

‘Is it a hidden past?’

I understand. Even if you look at Dioran, who is a problem solver in the same group, he was hiding something.

If you’re a problem solver, you’re bound to have one or two things you’re hiding.

Whether it’s the past or skills.

“What? Are you upset because I didn’t tell you?”

“No way.”

“Don’t be like that, you have a past that you hide from me too.”

“I don’t really have anything to hide.”

Ossian thought this part should be mentioned.

“I am a knight. A long time ago, I was called the Knight of Heaven. The number of demons, witches, and warlocks who fell under my sword is enormous, and beasts, evil spirits, and even gods have died by my hand.”

Ossian spoke honestly about what he had accomplished.

Anna, who was cleaning the plates next to her, also listened to those words with her ears perked up.

“There is not a single bit of falsehood in this, and I can swear it on my honor.”

“and.”

Ossian looked at Lorraine and Ena with serious eyes, saying, “Would you still not believe me?”

That solemn presence, that deep conviction in his eyes, and that unwavering voice.

Lorraine opened her mouth wide in admiration when she saw it.

“Yeah, yeah. I guess you have secrets you can’t tell me either. I understand.”

“… … .”