How to Live as a Wandering Knight

Chapter 379: 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐭-𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 (23)

While various groups of knights were on the move, Johan was not resting either.

After descending underground, Johan waited leisurely in the rear. He roasted himself a cup of coffee over a campfire in a tin cup, prompting Caenerna to ask in a slightly bemused voice.

“Is it. . . okay for us to not go with them?”

Being in the company of many watchful eyes and ears, even Caenerna’s voice was somewhat polite. Johan nodded and said,

“It’ll only get in the way if we move together with those knights.”

“. . .”

Caenerna was impressed by Duke’s blatant attitude of using them as bait. He seemed to have no trust whatsoever in the northern knights.

“But the northern knights are quite capable.”

“Don’t misunderstand me, Caenerna-gong. I don’t distrust the northern knights. They must be capable.”

The northern part of the empire was a land of rugged terrain and harsh conditions, and as such, there were many beasts and monsters. The knights who fought while traveling through such places had no choice but to become veterans.

However, that was only when they were fighting one-on-one. A dragon was an opponent that had to be fought by many people working together.

No matter how strongly they were ordered, knights who had not been fighting together for long would have limitations in their movements. Rather than coordinating with such unreliable allies, Johan intended to fight with his trusted subordinates, even if it meant being outnumbered.

“But if we fight together, they’ll just get in my way, so I’m waiting here. If the northern knights manage to cut off the dragon’s windpipe, then I’ll be grateful for that.”

“Aren’t you being a little greedy?”

“Not at all.”

Johan’s words made Caenerna burst out laughing, almost spilling her coffee.

━𝐑𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐥𝐞.

“. . .”

Karamaf let out a whine as he stared into the distance. Johan also felt a sense of unease. A faint, trembling vibration was coming from the ground.

𝐒𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐜𝐡!

A signal flare was shot from up ahead. The piercing sound grated on their ears. It was a sign that the dragon had been found.

‘𝘋𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘰𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘣𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨? 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦.’

It was hard to believe that a heavily injured dragon could cause such a vibration. Johan frowned and watched ahead.

“. . . . . .!”

With a rumbling roar, an ancient stone wall began to rise in front of Johan. Everyone’s expressions changed at the unexpected situation. Caenerna, meanwhile, watched the scene as if she were possessed.

How many more times in her life would she get to see the buildings of the old empire come to life and move?

“What are you doing!”

Johan grabbed Caenerna’s wrist in disbelief. The speed at which the wall was rising and changing shape was slow, but it was still dangerous to be caught off guard. He couldn’t believe that a wizard of Caenerna’s caliber would make such a mistake.

“S-Sorry. . .”

“No need to apologize. Just give me advice! Did the dragon do this?”

“That’s a possibility. The dragon has lived in this hideout for a long time!”

Johan’s subordinates followed after their master and asked,

“Your Grace! Can’t we just break the wall?”

“I don’t know how this place is changing, so it would be reckless to. . . No. Wait a minute. That might not be a bad idea.”

Johan tossed the petite Caenerna, who he had been carrying in one hand, over his shoulder (a small shriek could be heard), and picked up THE Giant Slayer.

And then, the wall burst open.

“As expected of Your Highness!”

“I knew you could break through a flimsy wall like this!”

The subordinates cheered at his feat, despite their initial confusion.

“. . .?!”

However, unlike the enthusiastic reactions coming from behind him, Johan was somewhat taken aback. His hand was tingling more than he had expected.

‘. . .𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘥𝘺?’

It may have sounded arrogant, but Johan had honestly thought that the wall would break more easily. He had swung Giant Slayer a few times before. He had a good sense of how much force he needed to exert to break through an old wall of this thickness.

And yet, it was this sturdy.

“Your Highness.”

Suddenly, a head of red hair descended from above, blocking Johan’s view. Johan was startled for a moment, thinking it was a malevolent spirit. Fortunately, it was not a malevolent spirit. It was Caenerna, who had climbed onto his shoulder and twisted her body to appear in front of him.

“This wall seems to be built with ancient empire technology. If you keep breaking it like that, Your Highness’s hand. . .”

“Wizard! Do not underestimate Duke’s strength! He can break a wall like this more easily than fresh cheese!”

“. . .”

Caenerna looked at Johan with a pitiful gaze, having read the irritation that flitted across his face.

“Then. . . please do your best, Duke.”

“Don’t give me that kind of encouragement, even you.”

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

Nevertheless, Johan diligently continued to break down the walls. His hands were getting numb, but it was a bearable amount of damage.

As he forced his way through the shifting terrain, he realized that this was a labyrinth.

‘𝘞𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘢 𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘺𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘦?’

It was truly an amazing place. He had thought it was just a ruined old castle, but there was a labyrinth hidden beneath it. The first intruders must have been terrified.

And so were the knights now.

“But there is a silver lining.”

“?”

“The dragon must be desperate since it’s doing this.”

Caenerna nodded at Johan’s words. Indeed, the dragon’s petty tricks suggested that it was feeling cornered. It was clear that the wounds inflicted by the siege weapons were more serious than they had thought.

. . .The problem was that they still had to find the dragon’s location by traversing this dark and vast labyrinth.

“Karamaf. Can you track the others’ scents?”

━𝐖𝐡𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐫. . .

The wolf let out an unusually weak whine. Caenerna brought a finger to her ear and frowned, saying,

“It seems like the labyrinth was designed to intentionally spread sound. The scents have been disrupted as well. . .”

“Can’t we just break everything?”

“You ignorant fool. Even for you, it would take years to break down all these walls.”

Caenerna spoke to Johan, who was deep in thought.

“Duke?”

“Oh. Gong. Do you have a good idea?”

“I don’t have one yet, but I’d appreciate it if you could put me down.”

“. . .Ah. My apologies.”

Johan let go of Caenerna. He had been carrying her so effortlessly that he hadn’t even thought about it. Caenerna landed unsteadily, then dusted off her robe and said,

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“The dragon is most likely in the center of the labyrinth. That’s where the device is usually located when something like this is activated. The problem is how to find the way. . .”

Caenerna fell into thought. Among all the wisdom she possessed, the wisdom to find a path through such a labyrinth was not something that came to mind immediately. Without Suetlg by her side, Caenerna’s shoulders felt even heavier.

‘𝘜𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘭. . . 𝘕𝘰. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺. 𝘚𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘐 𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘢 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵? 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘭 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴. 𝘈𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘐 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘢𝘴𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘳. . . 𝘚𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘐 𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨? 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘧 𝘐 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨.’

As Caenerna pondered, Johan nudged her. The red-haired wizard turned her head, a slightly irritated look on her face.

“Why are you calling me? Why?”

“Come to think of it, I memorized the direction of the inner castle before the labyrinth appeared. Since we have a compass, we should be able to reach the inner castle by breaking through the walls in that direction.”

“. . .”

“Hmm. Do you think it won’t work? I’m curious to hear your opinion.”

Caenerna felt a sense of self-loathing for not being able to come up with a better method than such a brute-force approach.

What was the point of learning magic if this was all she could do?

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

“Here is the mark I carved earlier. This way seems to be a dead end.”

“I see.”

Despite being trapped in the labyrinth, the northern knights were diligently creating a map.

“I’m sure we saw it earlier. . . We must have found the dragon.”

“That must be it. It must have panicked and come up to this labyrinth. Wait. The path is splitting again.”

“This is impossible. I’ll have to use the vision treasure passed down in my family.”

The dwarven knight took out a candlestick and carefully lit it. As he did, smoke rose up and pointed in one direction.

“This way.”

“To use such a precious treasure for our sake. . .”

“Nonsense. Aren’t we all gathered here to slay the dragon?”

The knights’ camaraderie grew stronger in the face of adversity. As they wandered, the knights gradually made progress and met up with their scattered comrades.

“Over here!”

“So you were coming this way!”

As their numbers grew, so did the information they shared. The knights counted on their fingers to find out who was present and who was missing.

“Biorarn-nim. Was His Highness at the back?”

“He was behind us.”

“If he got lost on his own, we should rescue him. . .”

“No. His Highness is not the kind of person who would get lost like that. Besides, if we were to go back now that we’ve finally found our way, wouldn’t it be putting the cart before the horse?”

“You’re right. I just used up my last torch. . .”

The dwarven knight pointed to the candlestick with a regretful expression. It had been one of the treasures of his family, but it had melted away before he knew it. The knights lowered their heads solemnly.

Biorarn saw this and said with a determined face,

“I have a treasure that I obtained from the Holy Land in the East. It seems like it’s time to use that treasure.”

“!”

At the mention of the treasure of the Holy Land in the East, the knights’ eyes widened.

“What kind of treasure is it?”

“You’ll see when you see it.”

Biorarn carefully untied a piece of silk. The golden casket was old, but it exuded an antique beauty. The knights let out a gasp without realizing it.

𝐂𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐤━

The casket opened, and light spilled out from within. Even the knights, who knew nothing about magic, could tell that a mysterious power was slumbering inside the casket.

“Oh, mysterious power. Show me the way. . .”

At that moment, Johan and his party burst out from behind, accompanied by the sound of crumbling walls. Johan’s subordinates were overjoyed to see the northern knights. They had been worried about them, but they were alive and well.

“Duke! Everyone is safe! I was worried about you.”

“Yes. It is indeed fortunate.”

“. . .”

However, the northern knights, who should have been welcoming them, looked at them with a mixture of grief and bewilderment. Johan’s subordinates tilted their heads, wondering why they were acting that way.

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“Ah. Were you trying to borrow the power of the spirit in the casket?”

Johan was about to feel a little sorry for them, but then he stopped. Come to think of it, if they were just looking for a way, Johan had a better way of finding it.

“Since we’re headed in the right direction anyway. . . It doesn’t matter.”

Biorarn, a cheerful knight, seemed a bit disheartened that he had wasted a treasure, judging by the lack of energy in his voice. Johan suddenly asked, feeling curious,

“If you hadn’t given a proper order, the spirit would have come back, right?”

“. . .?”

Biorarn opened the casket upon hearing those words. The light that had been inside was gone, and there was nothing there.

“It’s gone?”

“This is strange. Is the spirit a rather mean-spirited one?”

Johan asked Caenerna. Caenerna seemed to think it was strange as well, and she kept tilting her head.

“Unless something special happens, spirits don’t just run away from objects they’re attached to. . .?”

At those words, Johan suddenly remembered something.

It was when he had thrown the spear at the dragon, imbued with Valkalmur’s power. Valkalmur had gotten scared of the dragon and had run away with its tail between its legs.

As he recalled that incident, Valkalmur began to grumble inside him, as if it was embarrassed. Johan ignored it and continued his train of thought.

If it was scared of the dragon, then it was certainly possible. After all, the dragon was still a dragon, even if it was injured.

━𝐑𝐫𝐫𝐫𝐫𝐫𝐫!

“It’s the dragon! Prepare for battle!”

Johan hadn’t thought that they would encounter the dragon so soon, since they were still some distance away from the estimated target location.

However, the dragon already knew that there were many intruders.

The dragon realized that it was at a disadvantage if it continued on like this, so it decided to take a gamble.

‘𝘞𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦!’

“Valkalmur!”

Johan immediately drew his spear and threw it with all his might. Valkalmur flew with the spear, determined to wash away the humiliation it had suffered last time.

At that moment, the dragon opened its maw. With an ominous ‘hiss’, a huge ball of fire burst out from within.

Valkalmur let out a pitiful shriek and was once again forced out of the spear. No matter how aggressively it charged, it couldn’t withstand such flames.

━■■!

However, even though Valkalmur was gone, the spear’s power remained. The dragon howled as the sharp blade pierced its soft palate.

“Out of the way!”

Caenerna shouted fiercely, making the knights step aside. Her red hair bristled upwards, and her eyes turned a fiery color.

The knights looked on in awe, but Johan suddenly remembered a memory from long ago.

“Sleep. . .”

Before he could even try to talk her out of it, saying that they could defeat it without resorting to this, Caenerna unleashed her power.,

While various groups of knights were on the move, Johan was not resting either.

After descending underground, Johan waited leisurely in the rear. He roasted himself a cup of coffee over a campfire in a tin cup, prompting Caenerna to ask in a slightly bemused voice.

“Is it. . . okay for us to not go with them?”

Being in the company of many watchful eyes and ears, even Caenerna’s voice was somewhat polite. Johan nodded and said,

“It’ll only get in the way if we move together with those knights.”

“. . .”

Caenerna was impressed by Duke’s blatant attitude of using them as bait. He seemed to have no trust whatsoever in the northern knights.

“But the northern knights are quite capable.”

“Don’t misunderstand me, Caenerna-gong. I don’t distrust the northern knights. They must be capable.”

The northern part of the empire was a land of rugged terrain and harsh conditions, and as such, there were many beasts and monsters. The knights who fought while traveling through such places had no choice but to become veterans.

However, that was only when they were fighting one-on-one. A dragon was an opponent that had to be fought by many people working together.

No matter how strongly they were ordered, knights who had not been fighting together for long would have limitations in their movements. Rather than coordinating with such unreliable allies, Johan intended to fight with his trusted subordinates, even if it meant being outnumbered.

“But if we fight together, they’ll just get in my way, so I’m waiting here. If the northern knights manage to cut off the dragon’s windpipe, then I’ll be grateful for that.”

“Aren’t you being a little greedy?”

“Not at all.”

Johan’s words made Caenerna burst out laughing, almost spilling her coffee.

━𝐑𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐥𝐞.

“. . .”

Karamaf let out a whine as he stared into the distance. Johan also felt a sense of unease. A faint, trembling vibration was coming from the ground.

𝐒𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐜𝐡!

A signal flare was shot from up ahead. The piercing sound grated on their ears. It was a sign that the dragon had been found.

‘𝘋𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘰𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘣𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨? 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦.’

It was hard to believe that a heavily injured dragon could cause such a vibration. Johan frowned and watched ahead.

“. . . . . .!”

With a rumbling roar, an ancient stone wall began to rise in front of Johan. Everyone’s expressions changed at the unexpected situation. Caenerna, meanwhile, watched the scene as if she were possessed.

How many more times in her life would she get to see the buildings of the old empire come to life and move?

“What are you doing!”

Johan grabbed Caenerna’s wrist in disbelief. The speed at which the wall was rising and changing shape was slow, but it was still dangerous to be caught off guard. He couldn’t believe that a wizard of Caenerna’s caliber would make such a mistake.

“S-Sorry. . .”

“No need to apologize. Just give me advice! Did the dragon do this?”

“That’s a possibility. The dragon has lived in this hideout for a long time!”

Johan’s subordinates followed after their master and asked,

“Your Grace! Can’t we just break the wall?”

“I don’t know how this place is changing, so it would be reckless to. . . No. Wait a minute. That might not be a bad idea.”

Johan tossed the petite Caenerna, who he had been carrying in one hand, over his shoulder (a small shriek could be heard), and picked up THE Giant Slayer.

And then, the wall burst open.

“As expected of Your Highness!”

“I knew you could break through a flimsy wall like this!”

The subordinates cheered at his feat, despite their initial confusion.

“. . .?!”

However, unlike the enthusiastic reactions coming from behind him, Johan was somewhat taken aback. His hand was tingling more than he had expected.

‘. . .𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘥𝘺?’

It may have sounded arrogant, but Johan had honestly thought that the wall would break more easily. He had swung Giant Slayer a few times before. He had a good sense of how much force he needed to exert to break through an old wall of this thickness.

And yet, it was this sturdy.

“Your Highness.”

Suddenly, a head of red hair descended from above, blocking Johan’s view. Johan was startled for a moment, thinking it was a malevolent spirit. Fortunately, it was not a malevolent spirit. It was Caenerna, who had climbed onto his shoulder and twisted her body to appear in front of him.

“This wall seems to be built with ancient empire technology. If you keep breaking it like that, Your Highness’s hand. . .”

“Wizard! Do not underestimate Duke’s strength! He can break a wall like this more easily than fresh cheese!”

“. . .”

Caenerna looked at Johan with a pitiful gaze, having read the irritation that flitted across his face.

“Then. . . please do your best, Duke.”

“Don’t give me that kind of encouragement, even you.”

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

Nevertheless, Johan diligently continued to break down the walls. His hands were getting numb, but it was a bearable amount of damage.

As he forced his way through the shifting terrain, he realized that this was a labyrinth.

‘𝘞𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘢 𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘺𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘦?’

It was truly an amazing place. He had thought it was just a ruined old castle, but there was a labyrinth hidden beneath it. The first intruders must have been terrified.

And so were the knights now.

“But there is a silver lining.”

“?”

“The dragon must be desperate since it’s doing this.”

Caenerna nodded at Johan’s words. Indeed, the dragon’s petty tricks suggested that it was feeling cornered. It was clear that the wounds inflicted by the siege weapons were more serious than they had thought.

. . .The problem was that they still had to find the dragon’s location by traversing this dark and vast labyrinth.

“Karamaf. Can you track the others’ scents?”

━𝐖𝐡𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐫. . .

The wolf let out an unusually weak whine. Caenerna brought a finger to her ear and frowned, saying,

“It seems like the labyrinth was designed to intentionally spread sound. The scents have been disrupted as well. . .”

“Can’t we just break everything?”

“You ignorant fool. Even for you, it would take years to break down all these walls.”

Caenerna spoke to Johan, who was deep in thought.

“Duke?”

“Oh. Gong. Do you have a good idea?”

“I don’t have one yet, but I’d appreciate it if you could put me down.”

“. . .Ah. My apologies.”

Johan let go of Caenerna. He had been carrying her so effortlessly that he hadn’t even thought about it. Caenerna landed unsteadily, then dusted off her robe and said,

“The dragon is most likely in the center of the labyrinth. That’s where the device is usually located when something like this is activated. The problem is how to find the way. . .”

Caenerna fell into thought. Among all the wisdom she possessed, the wisdom to find a path through such a labyrinth was not something that came to mind immediately. Without Suetlg by her side, Caenerna’s shoulders felt even heavier.

‘𝘜𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘭. . . 𝘕𝘰. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺. 𝘚𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘐 𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘢 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵? 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘭 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴. 𝘈𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘐 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘢𝘴𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘳. . . 𝘚𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘐 𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨? 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘧 𝘐 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨.’

As Caenerna pondered, Johan nudged her. The red-haired wizard turned her head, a slightly irritated look on her face.

“Why are you calling me? Why?”

“Come to think of it, I memorized the direction of the inner castle before the labyrinth appeared. Since we have a compass, we should be able to reach the inner castle by breaking through the walls in that direction.”

“. . .”

“Hmm. Do you think it won’t work? I’m curious to hear your opinion.”

Caenerna felt a sense of self-loathing for not being able to come up with a better method than such a brute-force approach.

What was the point of learning magic if this was all she could do?

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

“Here is the mark I carved earlier. This way seems to be a dead end.”

“I see.”

Despite being trapped in the labyrinth, the northern knights were diligently creating a map.

“I’m sure we saw it earlier. . . We must have found the dragon.”

“That must be it. It must have panicked and come up to this labyrinth. Wait. The path is splitting again.”

“This is impossible. I’ll have to use the vision treasure passed down in my family.”

The dwarven knight took out a candlestick and carefully lit it. As he did, smoke rose up and pointed in one direction.

“This way.”

“To use such a precious treasure for our sake. . .”

“Nonsense. Aren’t we all gathered here to slay the dragon?”

The knights’ camaraderie grew stronger in the face of adversity. As they wandered, the knights gradually made progress and met up with their scattered comrades.

“Over here!”

“So you were coming this way!”

As their numbers grew, so did the information they shared. The knights counted on their fingers to find out who was present and who was missing.

“Biorarn-nim. Was His Highness at the back?”

“He was behind us.”

“If he got lost on his own, we should rescue him. . .”

“No. His Highness is not the kind of person who would get lost like that. Besides, if we were to go back now that we’ve finally found our way, wouldn’t it be putting the cart before the horse?”

“You’re right. I just used up my last torch. . .”

The dwarven knight pointed to the candlestick with a regretful expression. It had been one of the treasures of his family, but it had melted away before he knew it. The knights lowered their heads solemnly.

Biorarn saw this and said with a determined face,

“I have a treasure that I obtained from the Holy Land in the East. It seems like it’s time to use that treasure.”

“!”

At the mention of the treasure of the Holy Land in the East, the knights’ eyes widened.

“What kind of treasure is it?”

“You’ll see when you see it.”

Biorarn carefully untied a piece of silk. The golden casket was old, but it exuded an antique beauty. The knights let out a gasp without realizing it.

𝐂𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐤━

The casket opened, and light spilled out from within. Even the knights, who knew nothing about magic, could tell that a mysterious power was slumbering inside the casket.

“Oh, mysterious power. Show me the way. . .”

At that moment, Johan and his party burst out from behind, accompanied by the sound of crumbling walls. Johan’s subordinates were overjoyed to see the northern knights. They had been worried about them, but they were alive and well.

“Duke! Everyone is safe! I was worried about you.”

“Yes. It is indeed fortunate.”

“. . .”

However, the northern knights, who should have been welcoming them, looked at them with a mixture of grief and bewilderment. Johan’s subordinates tilted their heads, wondering why they were acting that way.

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

“Ah. Were you trying to borrow the power of the spirit in the casket?”

Johan was about to feel a little sorry for them, but then he stopped. Come to think of it, if they were just looking for a way, Johan had a better way of finding it.

“Since we’re headed in the right direction anyway. . . It doesn’t matter.”

Biorarn, a cheerful knight, seemed a bit disheartened that he had wasted a treasure, judging by the lack of energy in his voice. Johan suddenly asked, feeling curious,

“If you hadn’t given a proper order, the spirit would have come back, right?”

“. . .?”

Biorarn opened the casket upon hearing those words. The light that had been inside was gone, and there was nothing there.

“It’s gone?”

“This is strange. Is the spirit a rather mean-spirited one?”

Johan asked Caenerna. Caenerna seemed to think it was strange as well, and she kept tilting her head.

“Unless something special happens, spirits don’t just run away from objects they’re attached to. . .?”

At those words, Johan suddenly remembered something.

It was when he had thrown the spear at the dragon, imbued with Valkalmur’s power. Valkalmur had gotten scared of the dragon and had run away with its tail between its legs.

As he recalled that incident, Valkalmur began to grumble inside him, as if it was embarrassed. Johan ignored it and continued his train of thought.

If it was scared of the dragon, then it was certainly possible. After all, the dragon was still a dragon, even if it was injured.

━𝐑𝐫𝐫𝐫𝐫𝐫𝐫!

“It’s the dragon! Prepare for battle!”

Johan hadn’t thought that they would encounter the dragon so soon, since they were still some distance away from the estimated target location.

However, the dragon already knew that there were many intruders.

The dragon realized that it was at a disadvantage if it continued on like this, so it decided to take a gamble.

‘𝘞𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦!’

“Valkalmur!”

Johan immediately drew his spear and threw it with all his might. Valkalmur flew with the spear, determined to wash away the humiliation it had suffered last time.

At that moment, the dragon opened its maw. With an ominous ‘hiss’, a huge ball of fire burst out from within.

Valkalmur let out a pitiful shriek and was once again forced out of the spear. No matter how aggressively it charged, it couldn’t withstand such flames.

━■■!

However, even though Valkalmur was gone, the spear’s power remained. The dragon howled as the sharp blade pierced its soft palate.

“Out of the way!”

Caenerna shouted fiercely, making the knights step aside. Her red hair bristled upwards, and her eyes turned a fiery color.

The knights looked on in awe, but Johan suddenly remembered a memory from long ago.

“Sleep. . .”

Before he could even try to talk her out of it, saying that they could defeat it without resorting to this, Caenerna unleashed her power.