Throwing down a glove was nothing less than a sacred rite for knights.
Like challenging each other to a match the instant their eyes met while passing on the road.
Like a duel beginning when duelists carrying their respective decks gathered in one place.
That was how sacred glove-throwing was in a knight’s duel.
When someone had tarnished one’s honor, one threw a glove at them to demand a duel and reclaim that honor.
And when the other party picked up that gauntlet, they were accepting the duel.
That was a knight’s duel.
For fuck’s sake.
They really had to take everything to the extreme.
But why the hell did I have to pull that crap on goblins?
[Oath of Chivalry has activated.]
[The Stars of Knights are watching you.]
I could only grimace at the notification windows hovering before me.
Why was this activating all of a sudden?
All I had to do was throw the necklace-wearing goblin and be done with it. There was such an easy way to handle this.
But those lunatics had to pull this shit at a time like this.
Fuck, now I had to do all that chivalry bullshit just to kill goblins?
It was a monster extermination. Wasn’t it fine to just ambush them?
Those were the Stars of Knights?
How could people who said, “A junior must never take the easy road,” call themselves knights?
Weren’t they just dopamine-crazed maniacs?
Fuck.
It really felt like those bastards had been trying to screw me over nonstop ever since the Dreamland ticket.
I had the feeling the goblins were looking at me as though I were an idiot.
They were right. I was an idiot right now.
Goddammit.
Still, Don Quixote had charged at windmills because he thought they were giants.
I knew these were goblins, yet I was about to treat them like knights and charge in.
Didn’t that make me slightly less of an idiot?
Look.
30.1%
■■■□□□□□□□
The gauge, the gauge was filling up.
The Stars of Knights had apparently decided this was the sort of idiotic thing knights, in their eyes, would do.
Whether out of curiosity or something else, the Swole Goblin stared blankly at the gauntlet that had bounced off its body.
Grrk.
Then it picked up the gauntlet.
In a knightly duel, picking up a fallen glove meant willingly accepting the duel.
"Declare the start of the duel, Dorothy!"
"What kind of nonsense is that?!"
Dolnesia’s voice rose.
"Mister, are you seriously in your right mind?"
"Don’t worry. I’m saner than I’ve ever been."
I meant it.
"You really are crazy. What kind of lunatic challenges goblins to a duel?!"
Well, here stood that lunatic.
The goblins slowly began to approach us.
Dolnesia swallowed hard.
It wasn’t as if she had much reason to worry about dying, so what was she so anxious about?
"Don’t worry, kid. You’ll never die."
"But the goblins are staring at us like that."
You were probably stronger than me right now.
"Don’t worry. I won’t let you die."
If you die, I’ll be truly fucked.
Truly fucked.
I raised my sword and took my stance.
So I could deal with any goblin that lunged at us.
And just as I was about to walk toward them—
"...Can you really do that?"
Dolnesia asked again in a trembling voice.
Her voice stopped my feet for a moment.
I really didn’t know what she had to worry about when she had that thing.
But.
It wasn’t as though I couldn’t understand why she was so anxious.
There was nothing strange about someone like her being anxious about everything and unable to trust anything.
From a young age, she had fallen from the lofty heights of nobility to the very lowest depths of the back alleys.
Even if it had been a game, I had met that child seven times and watched seven of her lives. That made it all the easier to understand.
Tch. If she was that worried, should I make her a vow or something?
"Yes."
I swung my sword down and adjusted my stance again.
"It’s all right. So long as I’m here, you will never die. If it comes to it, I’ll even write you a promissory note on my chivalry."
It was an incredibly cringe-worthy word, but perhaps it was all right to say something like that today.
On a day when I had decided to become a knight like some kind of lunatic.
It seemed all right.
If it could ease even a little of her trembling.
I walked forward, one step at a time.
"...Coming from a tin-can mister, too."
I thought I heard her mutter something, but the words passed by without reaching my ears.
41.2%
■■■■□□□□□□
The gauge filled further.
Those voyeuristic gentlemen seemed to like what I was doing.
Well, perhaps comforting an anxious child was also a knightly virtue.
In any event, as I continued forward one step at a time with my sword in hand—
Keeeeek—!
As if taking that as the signal for battle, the goblins charged.
First.
Logres Swordsmanship: Proper Sword Form.
With an upward diagonal slash, I cleaved one in two.
One.
Then two more rushed me with crude daggers in hand.
But—
Riding the momentum of the upward diagonal cut, I spun around, clenched my fist, and swung it, sending one goblin’s head flying.
Crunch—!
Two.
With the sound of something being crushed beneath my fist, my descending blade cleaved the other one in two as well.
Three.
Three of them were dead in that brief instant.
Perhaps because they had witnessed their kin die, the goblins hesitated.
The Swole Goblin still did not move.
Unlike goblins that knew only how to charge blindly, it seemed to have a functioning brain.
It was probably waiting for me to tire myself out.
Well, it wasn’t that one that was the problem.
"Buldak Stir-Fried Noodles."
The one babbling something behind me was the problem.
Mana gathered in one spot, and the cave gradually began to brighten.
Something transparent was forming in the goblin’s hand.
The ever-present staple of magic: Magic Missile.
The only offensive spell a first-circle mage could learn.
Which also made it the only offensive spell the level 10 Goblin Shaman could use.
Magic resistance was generally determined by mental strength, so even if I took a level 10 Magic Missile head-on, it probably would not do much damage.
But I didn’t want it to hurt.
There was no need to become such an idiot that I deliberately let myself get hit just because the damage would be minor.
I was already doing enough idiotic things as it was.
So the question was how to avoid it...
Having already sent another two goblins to join their comrades, I stared at the goblin preparing to fire its spell.
True to their stupid heads, the goblins had no idea what coordination was.
The lackeys were blindly charging in without any strategy to wear me out.
The shaman was openly advertising that it was about to cast magic.
And the Swole Goblin was simply standing beside the shaman instead of guarding it.
And I was standing still without taking any measures whatsoever.
Was this not a festival of idiots?
I could practically hear Dolnesia’s frustrated groan from here.
Still, if I threw a goblin to interrupt the shaman’s casting and force a mana cancel, those lunatics up above probably would not like it.
Which meant I had to put on a knightly performance.
I still could not use aura, so even if it was only a first-circle spell, I could not cut through magic.
But.
That did not mean magic could pass through physical objects.
Magic Missile was fired by condensing mana.
That meant it had physical force, and since it had physical force, it could be smacked aside with a sword.
Therefore.
I circulated my mana.
Even without aura, and unable to unleash a sword aura, I could still reinforce my body with mana.
I used Orlando’s Muscle Cultivation Method and the Logres mana cultivation method, cramming mana into my arm to reinforce it.
"It’s Too Spicy!"
I did not throw my sword in time with the moment it fired its spell. I delayed for one beat, then hurled it.
It was like a showdown between gunslingers in the wilderness.
The rushing sword and the Magic Missile confronting it.
Taaang—!
When they collided, it was the sword I had thrown that cracked.
But.
The sword literally pierced straight through the Magic Missile.
Kwwaaaaang!!!!!
It embedded itself directly in the creature’s forehead, and a thunderous boom erupted as dust billowed around it.
When the dust settled, the shaman stood there with its head gone beneath the sword lodged in the wall.
[You have leveled up.]
[You have leveled up.]
The accumulated experience from killing the fodder mobs and the shaman must have come in all at once, achieving the splendid feat of gaining two levels.
And then.
Hehe.
As if it had been waiting for this, the Swole Goblin moved.
It raised its wooden club with an immensely triumphant expression.
Perhaps it thought it had drained enough of my strength.
Or perhaps it thought it had a chance now that I was unarmed.
Laughing mockingly, the Swole Goblin abruptly charged at me and swung with all its might.
But my current stats were equivalent to level 24.
There was no way an attack clumsily swung by a level 10 creature could possibly hit me.
I ducked beneath the full swing.
Then I drove a straight punch into the Swole Goblin’s startled body.
Kweeeeeek—!!!
The Swole Goblin flew away with a squeal like a pig being slaughtered.
Kwwaaaaang!!
[You have leveled up.]
The Swole Goblin slammed into the wall and died on impact.
And then.
[You have upheld your chivalry before the strong.]
[A reward for the Oath of Chivalry will be granted.]
Apparently satisfied with this whole farce, the gauge filled completely, and I received a reward.
It must have gone into my inventory again, so I would check it later.
Giving Dolnesia her reward came first.
"Mister, you’re incredibly strong."
Dolnesia approached me, looking dumbfounded.
It was true that I could have killed them without difficulty even without using a strategy.
The problem was that there had been an easier way, damn it.
I pulled my sword out of the wall.
The sword was already so cracked that its durability was nearly at rock bottom.
‘I should ask them to repair it when we return to the grand duke’s estate.’
I sheathed the sword and looked at the floor where the two goblins had been standing.
In the game, all I had needed to do was press a button labeled ‘Press’...
Ah, here it was.
A single brick protruding unnaturally from the floor.
When I pressed it, the floor split apart and a spring emerged.
The reason the dungeon was called [Goblin-Occupied Spring].
A hidden spring was concealed here as a hidden piece.
"A pond in a place like this?"
Dolnesia went closer, looking fascinated.
"This is exactly what I told you about."
"The thing you said you would give me? But it doesn’t look any different from an ordinary pond..."
Dolnesia looked at me with questioning eyes.
It was only natural.
Without a trigger to activate it, it was no different from an ordinary pond.
But.
The key to solving this gimmick was something Dolnesia possessed right now.
I decided not to waste words.
"Bring him out. Then you’ll see."
"Him? What are you talking about..."
Dolnesia rolled her eyes and avoided my gaze.
"What else? That thing you have. The thing you said wasn’t yours."
"How does mister know about that...?"
Dolnesia stared at me as if she could not believe it.
"I have good eyes."
I made up an excuse since I could not tell her the real reason.
I could hardly say, ‘I know because I’ve controlled you before.’
"We need to claim the reward to get out of this dungeon anyway. So bring him out."
It was a lie.
We could leave even if we gave up the reward.
But Dolnesia absolutely had to obtain this.
That way, we could accelerate her growth even more.
For the sake of my easier future, Dolnesia had to obtain this and enter the Logres family.
Dolnesia listened to me and let out a sigh.
"I’m only showing you because it’s you, mister."
She answered in a trembling voice.
As if responding to her, something sprang out from within her shadow.
It was a pumpkin.
A jack-o’-lantern, with holes in it that seemed to serve as a mouth and eyes.
An eerie flame flickered within it.
Black tree roots stretched from beneath it to form a body, and one arm held an enormous scythe.
The insurance Dolnesia’s father had given her before he went mad.
One of the strongest soldiers that would protect Dolnesia in the distant future.
"My laaady."
A scarecrow that was a spirit, but had lost its wisdom and become trapped in a shadow.
Its name was Sancho.
#
One of the traits that stood out among female leads in romance fantasy was the silver spoon they had held in their mouths from birth, whether they were daughters of dukes or princesses.
But in a way, the roles determined by the abilities they used could also be considered a defining trait.
Romance-fantasy protagonists were usually saints or spirit summoners, and if not, then mages.
Dig a little deeper into the niche, and there were also female protagonists who filled the role of knight.
Among them, Dolnesia was a spirit summoner.
The type who summoned animals or spirits to handle combat while she cheered on her friends fighting from the rear.
Usually, the spirits summoned by female leads were cute.
But Dolnesia, who received our world’s relentless bullshit, naturally possessed an unusual spirit as well.
If not for the pumpkin hanging from its head, it would not have looked out of place in some dark fantasy story.
In any event, Dolnesia was a spirit summoner with such a spirit, but she was not yet truly a spirit summoner.
To become a spirit summoner, she needed a special stat called spirit power, but Dolnesia had not yet awakened an ability of that type.
At the academy, she could obtain Spirit Affinity, her unique stat and a superior version of it, through an event like the other playable female leads.
But the way to obtain that unique stat even earlier was right here.
Spirit Affinity was, literally, a unique stat. It was superior to spirit power, which even supporting spirit summoners possessed.
And since raising that one stat was more effective than raising the four stats I possessed too, that was why it was best to acquire it as early as possible.
"I can see it."
Perhaps because she had resonated with Sancho, she seemed to be seeing something.
In the game, summoning Sancho had simply brought up a notification saying, ‘You can acquire Dolnesia’s unique stat. Would you like to acquire it?’
But in reality, Sancho went back into her shadow. Then, as Dolnesia walked toward the spring, droplets of water gathered and began to envelop her, as though the water itself were welcoming her.
To wait for her ritual to finish, I sat down and opened my inventory, but—
"...Why?"
Dolnesia was not leaving. She was only looking at me.
Again?
"It’s fine, that thing..."
"I know better than anyone that this isn’t dangerous."
Dolnesia cut me off and shook her head as if that was not what she meant.
"Then why?"
"You won’t leave, will you?"
"Why would I suddenly leave?"
"Situations like this usually have that kind of atmosphere, where you seem like you’d be gone by the time the ritual ends."
As she said that, Dolnesia continued to stare fixedly at me.
She seemed to be saying she would not go until she heard my answer.
I had no idea what had gotten into her all of a sudden, but her nearly pleading expression made me open my mouth before I knew it.
"I won’t leave."
How could I leave when I did not even know how to get out of this Dreamland in the first place?
"I’ll sit here and wait. Take your time."
Upon hearing that, Dolnesia turned away again.
"I believe you."
Then she said those simple words: that she believed me.
What exactly did she believe in?
"Believe what?"
"I said I believe you. Your words. Because you are—"
Water bubbles began to surround Dolnesia’s body.
"A crazy person with knight syndrome."
With those final words, she disappeared.
For fuck’s sake.
It seemed I had thoroughly wrecked my image already.
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