How to Live as a Knight After the Ending - Chapter 98



Only Noblemtl

Episode 98. An Uncomfortable Encounter (4)

An awkward silence fell in the office.

Ossian and Balud didn’t even look at each other.

Illua, who didn’t know that, just laughed and asked, seeming happy that a guest had come to visit.

“Would you like some coffee? Or tea?”

Ossian and Balud spoke at the same time.

“It’s okay.”

“I am fine.”

On their way here, the two of them clearly witnessed the sanitary conditions of this building.

If you see something like that, will coffee or tea go down your throat?

Moreover, with the two of us sitting next to each other in such an uncomfortable relationship, the coffee I was drinking was starting to taste bland.

“Why are you here?”

Balud asked, unable to bear it any longer.

“Shouldn’t you ask your employer about that?”

“Archaeologist Illua. May I ask what is going on?”

Balud suppressed his heaving sigh and asked as politely as he could.

However, his uncomfortable expression did not completely disappear, so Illua looked around and answered in a timid tone.

“Oh, that. Wouldn’t it be better if there were more people?”

“I think I explained to you that we can handle the shortage of personnel.”

“Well, just in case… … .”

Balud showed no intention of backing down from here.

It couldn’t be otherwise. They thought they had secured the ticket, but then a troubleshooter got in the way.

Even though it wasn’t their first meeting, and it was Ossian who had interfered with their business before.

“Isn’t that too narrow-minded?”

“… … What did you say?”

“The ruins are a dangerous place. You never know what might happen there, so wouldn’t it be nice to have at least one more person there to help?”

“That’s easy to say. You were just lucky enough to be chosen.”

“I was chosen because of my skills, but the slander is going too far.”

Then Illua carefully raised her hand.

“I hired Mr. Ossian out of personal curiosity.”

“… … .”

“Well, that’s true. This is the first time a troubleshooter has called himself a knight. I’ve researched wandering knights before, so I thought it might be okay to have one… … .”

I ended up hearing the truth I didn’t want to know.

Ossian frowned, and this time Balud spoke in a slightly more arrogant voice.

“I see.”

“Huh. Even so, it’s true that I can help. I’m stronger than you.”

“… … It’s hard to let that go. Or are you saying that we should try to decide the outcome that we couldn’t decide then right now?”

“There’s nothing I can’t do. I remember winning almost all of them back then.”

As the two people’s momentum changed to an unusual one, Illua hurriedly intervened.

“Shoo, no fighting! Let’s get along well! Whether we like it or not, we’ll be together at the ruins!”

It was so pitiful to see him desperately flapping his arms.

Ossian and Balud, whose excitement had cooled, turned their heads away at the same time.

In the barely calm atmosphere, Illua explained with a cold sweat.

“Ah, anyway. This time, you two will be joining me in exploring the ruins. Of course, in Mr. Balud’s case, you can bring your subordinates. But as you know, I hope you will keep in mind that the number of people allowed in is limited.”

It seemed that Balud and Illua had known each other before.

Ossian couldn’t contain his curiosity and asked.

“Have you known each other from the beginning?”

“Yes. Mr. Balud is our guardian.”

“Guardian? That’s unexpected. The mafia is getting involved in the archaeology business.”

“It would be a problem if you thought of me as just a regular mafia. We place our hopes on businesses that require all kinds of manpower. Archaeology is no exception. Thanks to the connections I’ve made, I was able to get a ticket to explore the ruins.”

That wasn’t a wrong statement.

However, there was a hint of irritation in Balud’s voice, and he seemed to be displeased with the situation itself.

There, Ossian noticed a subtle sense of discomfort.

‘Come to think of it, with the influence of the North Blinders, they could have targeted better archaeologists or explorers than Illua.’

Is there anything that Illua excels at?

Just looking at the piled up books, it seemed like he had enough knowledge, but it seemed far from the actual experience of exploring ruins.

Besides, looking at Balud’s reaction, it seemed like he had no choice either.

“Looks like something happened.”

Balud frowned at Ossian’s words.

But there were no sharp words like before, and that alone convinced Ossian that he had hit the nail on the head.

“Don’t worry about it. It’s none of your business.”

“But since we’re partners who will be exploring the ruins together, I guess it can’t hurt to know.”

“It’s our internal business.”

“Are you talking about Director Kursha that you saw back then?”

That was the right answer. Balud had a moment, but he couldn’t control his expression.

Balud, realizing his mistake, took off his glasses and pressed his fingers against his eyelids. Meanwhile, Ossian asked him one more question.

“Can you at least tell me what’s going on?”

“Have you forgotten? You are the target of our ‘vendetta’. I’m sure you are aware of the situation.”

“If I had wanted to, I would have done it right away. The reason I didn’t is because this matter is that important to you.”

A wrinkle appeared on Balud’s forehead.

‘This human.’

I’ve felt this way before, but I guess I should say my senses are overly sharp.

The insight he had to grasp the situation as it unfolded was truly astounding.

‘I only knew him as a problem solver who was strong in brute force.’

It was both the fact that he was able to see through the difficult situation here and the fact that he was able to easily foil Kursha’s trap.

Even though it was hidden by strong force, his brain power was not ordinary.

‘Come to think of it, you seem to know all about our Norse people’s vision holidays.’

What on earth is this man’s true identity?

Balud answered the question steadily, even as he raised his alert level towards Ossian.

First of all, it is not wrong to say that we are in a partnership.

“But you never know. It might help if you tell me.”

Balud knew full well that it was bullshit, but he kept it a secret from everyone.

Because it was something I would come to know someday as I was with Illua.

Balud eventually gave in.

“First, I should tell you about our relationship with Illua. Actually, the person I originally knew was Illua’s father.”

“Father.”

When Ossian asked Illua while looking at her, she nodded.

That seems to be true.

“He was a great explorer.”

Past tense. That means not now.

“He was a person with some status and a voice in the Archaeological Federation. He was originally supposed to join us on this expedition. The problem occurred the day before.”

“What happened? Is there a threat to your safety?”

Instead, it was Illua who answered.

“That’s right. Suddenly, unidentified people attacked my father. He barely managed to survive, but his injuries were so severe that he had to recuperate for several weeks. However, after looking into the old rules of the Federation, I found that the authority itself was transferable, so I inherited it instead.”

In other words, it was an underground operation that could be commonly seen wherever you went.

But I had a question.

“Who are the attackers?”

“The problem is that we don’t know. The use of force to get a ticket was excessive.”

That was the point.

If he really wanted the ticket that Illua’s father had, he would have threatened him and taken it away from him.

But the attacker didn’t want that and just injured him.

like.

“As if they were blatantly trying to sabotage our exploration.”

Ossian’s gaze turned to Balud.

Balud didn’t deny it either. His eyes were cold as he nodded heavily.

Who would have a grudge against Balud?

He may be a businessman, but he is also a mafia. If you were to count the number of people in this city who have bad relations with him, you would be able to count them on one hand.

But strangely enough, one person’s face came to mind.

“Kursha.”

Balud’s eyes widened at the name that came out of Ossian’s mouth.

“I have a feeling that the guy is being tricky.”

“… … That’s surprising. I was thinking the same thing.”

I figured out how things were going.

Balud’s failure in the witch exile incident slightly damaged his reputation.

Kursha, who had always been jealous of him, did not miss the opportunity.

I don’t know how he found out the information, but he knew that Balud was planning to explore the ruins, so he proceeded with the work.

It wasn’t because Balud lacked popularity.

In such an organization, except for the boss, everyone else is just competitors.

It is only natural that when a competitor slips, you trample on him instead.

“So that’s why you hired me in such a hurry?”

“I told you, Miss Illua, that we alone are enough.”

Illua raised her hand timidly.

“Well, you never know. I might get attacked at any moment.”

Of course, the biggest reason is probably because I’m curious about who the problem solver who calls himself a knight is.

In addition, since his recent performance was excellent, they probably decided that it was okay to hire him.

“Yeah. I kind of figured out the situation. I just didn’t know you and I would end up on the same boat like this.”

This is a coincidence.

But is it really just a coincidence that a wandering knight and a barbarian warrior have gathered here and are visiting ancient ruins together?

Ossian thought that perhaps, if there was such a thing as fate, it would be just like this.

Including my recent encounter with Martinez.

‘That’s interesting.’

I’ve encountered two people who would have been hero-level NPCs if it were a game.

No, if you include Elise, there are three.

Then I wondered. What would happen to the thief class, the priest class, and the magician class?

‘I thought this era was much weaker than the one I knew, but that wasn’t the case.’

Although the pure power itself may have been weakened, new powers that did not exist before were also created.

In a way, it can be said that it has evolved in a different direction.

I looked forward to that moment that I might encounter someday.

“More than that.”

As Ossian opened his eyes, the two people’s gaze turned to Ossian.

“If our intuitions are correct, Kursha must have attacked Illua’s father with the intention of interfering with you. To nullify the entrance ticket to the ruins that he holds.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“However, the ticket was transferred to his daughter, Illua, through a very exceptional procedure. I only saw Kursha once, but I don’t think he would take the aftermath of the incident lightly.”

Balud’s expression turned cold as he realized what Ossian was saying.

“If that’s true… … .”

“You probably thought that was enough at the time, but if you found out later that Illua existed.”

Before I knew it, the sun had set and it was dark outside. It was natural for it to be dark as night was coming.

But the gas lamp that was supposed to be on did not turn on.

As if someone had turned it off on purpose.

Chaenggrang.

The sound of glass breaking echoed from the first floor.

Illua’s face turned pale.

“Eek! Hey, you’re really here!”

“Yeah. I knew this would happen.”

Ossian slowly got up from his seat.

It was the same with Balud.

“Did you bring your weapon?”

“Is there any fool who would leave behind something more important than his own life?”

Balud hung the white hat on his head on a nearby hanger and took out the twin axes from his waist and held them in his hands.

Ossian also straightened the hem of his coat and pulled out the Elven longsword at his waist.

The lights didn’t turn on, probably because the gas in the area was cut off.

Illua tried to light a candle, but Balud stopped her.

“If you turn on the light, your location will be identified. Stay hidden until the work is done.”

Illua shook her head up and down with her lips tightly shut.

“That’s quite a number.”

“It seems like quite a lot for targeting just one girl.”

“Maybe your actions have been discovered as well.”

“Since it’s come to this, why don’t we sort it out together? Well, that wouldn’t be a bad thing.”

From the first floor, countless sounds could be felt coming up to the second floor.

The moment the glass was broken, the intruder knew he had been discovered, and his footsteps up the stairs were unstoppable.

“I’ll warn you in advance, but don’t bother me.”

“Who would say that? You should stop holding me back.”

Before I knew it, I could hear the sound of someone coming through the door.

A room filled with darkness.

Blue frost swirled around Balud’s axe, shedding a cold light.

A holy light formed on Ossian’s sword, and a brilliant starlight swirled around it.

The door opened with a bang.

The intruders looked surprised as they encountered two lights floating in the darkness.

It was only a matter of time before their faces, illuminated by starlight and frost, were distorted with murderous intent.

Ossian and Balud both kicked the ground at the same time.

Phew!

The first one to enter was kicked back by Ossian and Balud.

Beyond that, the lined up attackers looked confused.

“then.”

“Let’s go and see.”