Pelerian of the Lamp
Zain was dazed.
"Hey, what's with that expression?"
"…Yes?"
"This guy's completely out of it."
The senior knight who said that smacked Zain on the back.
His words were rough, but his expression wasn't harsh.
Within the Iron Lion Knight Order, Zain was treated as the youngest.
Traditionally, the attendant knight of Gunter was assigned to young trainee knights who had only recently joined the order.
Zain was no exception.
Still an inexperienced rookie—but full of spirit.
It was only natural that the seniors found him endearing.
"What, are you really not feeling well? Your face is pale. You'll be okay?"
Zain had been injured by the chimera.
His senior knight assumed that must be the reason.
"Sir Kyle."
Zain's voice was heavy.
"May I ask you something?"
"No, you may not."
Though his tone was playful, the senior knight's gaze was cold.
"Don't ask."
"…."
"Are you a member of the Iron Lion Knight Order?"
"That's an obvious question."
"Then don't forget the code."
Valor, obedience, diligence.
The three codes of the Iron Lion.
Zain could not ask.
Why has the entire Iron Lion Knight Order gathered in Grayrim when they should be in the capital?
That was what he truly wanted to ask.
Just before departing for the Arkan Basin, Zain learned that Gunter had brought the entire order.
Unless a war broke out, such a thing would never happen.
And yet, it wasn't as if the Iron Lion Knights were going on a grand expedition into the Great Forest either.
What was his commander thinking?
For some reason, Zain felt an ominous premonition.
Still, he followed the expedition.
At the entrance of the Great Forest, no monsters could block the advance of the Iron Lion Knights.
At last, they arrived where the chimera and the fairy were.
The terrifying chimera lay there, miserably dead.
And before it stood—the fairy.
From the moment Gunter began confronting the fairy, Zain's unease grew stronger.
A knight's duty ended with slaying the chimera. Was there really a need to secure its corpse?
And if the opponent was a Golden Leaf Inspector of the fairies, that was not someone to antagonize lightly.
Yet Gunter chose to oppose the elf.
Why?
"You are a villain."
The elf judged Gunter so.
Only soldiers of enemy nations would call Gunter a villain.
But instead of being displeased, Gunter smiled.
And so, the duel began.
Yes—it was something that could only be called a duel.
The aura surrounding the shortsword clashed with the aura surrounding the halberd.
KWAANG!
A deafening roar erupted, enough to rupture eardrums.
The shockwave was visible.
Grass flattened all at once around Gunter and the fairy.
The wind pressure was fierce.
The Iron Lion Knights knew how strong Gunter was.
Which made the elf's prowess all the more shocking.
Iris held her ground.
Unable to fully withstand the force behind the halberd, she redirected it with all her strength.
In that brief opening, she launched a sharp attack.
The broadsword brushed past the shaft of the halberd and aimed for Gunter's neck.
Instead of dodging, Gunter lifted his left shoulder.
The blade struck the lion engraving on his shoulder.
KAGAGAGANG!
It was a single collision, yet it rang like a series of explosions.
Sparks flew violently from the armor.
The lion emblem was completely shattered.
His shoulder must have been throbbing—but Gunter smiled.
"Think you can dodge this as well?"
He held the halberd horizontally.
It looked like a stance full of openings.
But perhaps due to her keen senses, Iris did not recklessly attack.
Gunter's halberd swept across.
It didn't seem particularly fast.
But that was only an illusion.
The same strike that had severed the neck of the Medusa Serpent was unleashed.
A perfect curved trajectory drawn by the halberd.
And beyond that trajectory, space itself began to split.
Moon-Cutting Slash.
Gunter of Steel's unique skill.
The sound followed after.
KWAANG!
The broadsword, refined by elven techniques, shattered into pieces.
Iris did not die.
But a thin stream of red blood flowed from her lips.
"Oh? You endured it."
But weaponless and internally injured—
Iris spread her hand wide, and the earth surged upward, binding Gunter's entire body.
It was the harmony of spirits she commanded.
Gunter broke free from even that.
With a stamping step, a thunderous boom erupted, sending up clouds of dust.
Breaking through it, Gunter charged and swung his halberd once more.
Iris could only focus on evasion.
She drew a dagger, but something like that could never stand against a halberd.
She was completely pushed onto the defensive.
Her life looked as fragile as a leaf before a storm.
Damn it, the dust is blocking my view.
I tried to properly see Gunter's status window.
To use the Borrowing Horn, I needed to see the opponent's status window.
But those two were moving at incredible speed as they fought.
Gunter was unbelievably strong.
The fairy was equally powerful—she had killed a Medusa Mom in a single blow, and the fact she was still holding out was impressive.
I briefly considered borrowing the fairy's skills instead.
[Fairy Lv ???]
But I couldn't see the fairy's status window at all.
Even though Gunter seemed stronger—strange.
Then borrowing Gunter's skills would be the best option.
If there was synergy between the Leaping Horn and the Borrowing Horn… it might work.
Focus again…
[Hero Gunter Lv ???]
—Damn it!
Tch.
Pelerian was making so much noise beside me that it was hard to concentrate.
—How dare a human attack a Golden Leaf Inspector!
As expected of a fairy supremacist, Pelerian seemed unable to tolerate Gunter attacking the fairy.
It did look like the fairy might die any moment—but so what?
—Serpent! Save that fairy.
"What?"
—Go and save the fairy from that human!
Pelerian spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
I was so dumbfounded I nearly lost my breath.
How?
Me? Go in there and stop them?
Before even asking why, the question was how.
Pelerian seemed to realize that too.
—Hmm, just… intervene between them. If you persuade them well, even those foolish humans might come to understand their sins.
Crazy bastard.
—What did you say?!
Has he gone senile? The nerve of him.
I decided to ignore Pelerian.
Even as he raged, I pretended not to hear.
Then he changed his approach.
—I, the Archmage of Reversed Heavens, swear upon all my magic and soul. If you save that fairy, I will grant you a wish.
"…."
Seems like he switched from command to persuasion.
—A mage's oath can never be broken. And the wishes I can grant are limitless. For a mere creature like you, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!
Yeah, not listening.
Archmage or not, oath or wish—it doesn't matter.
There's nothing I can even do in the first place.
But why is he acting like this all of a sudden?
Now that I think about it, he was crazy enough to sacrifice an elf for his experiments.
And now he wants to save one?
Do they know each other?
—Not one wish, but two. This is my final offer.
Whatever it is, it has nothing to do with me.
Give it up, old man.
—Three! I'll grant you three! This is really my limit!
Having 20 mental strength helps in situations like this too.
No matter how much he shouted beside me, I could steady myself and maintain focus.
[Hero Gunter Lv ???]
[Traits]
[Hero] …
[Skills]
[Valarian Halberdsmanship Lv.50], [Vanguard Commander Lv.10], [???] …
Focus.
Focus.
The skill I was going to borrow had already been decided.
The names were unusual, so I couldn't tell what kind of skills they were—but all of them looked incredible.
They were probably far beyond anything I had.
I used the Leaping Horn first.
One horn heated up.
[Using Leaping Horn Lv.1, you surpass the limit of the skill "Borrowing Horn Lv.4."]["Borrowing Horn Lv.4" temporarily becomes "Borrowing Horn Lv.10."]
The level of Borrowing Horn became 10.
Right—now, Borrowing Horn.
Heat gathered in the other horn as well.
Ugh!
[Using "Borrowing Horn Lv.10," you attempt to borrow the skill "Heavenly Thunder Spirit Lv.10."][Failed to borrow "Heavenly Thunder Spirit Lv.10."]
Failure.
My mana drained instantly.
I had only used two skills, yet…
It felt like I could only use one more.
I focused even harder.
My head burned.
In the end, blood trickled from my nose.
I licked the dripping blood with my tongue.
Gunter was driving the fairy into a corner.
Wounds began to appear on her body.
If she took a proper hit, she would die.
And then Gunter's halberd flashed brightly.
He was clearly going for the finishing blow.
I, too, decided to finish it.
My mana drained sharply.
[Success.]
Ah, it worked!
[Temporarily acquired "Heavenly Thunder Spirit Lv.0."]
Huh, Level 0?
Was it because the skill was too high-level?
I didn't have the luxury to think about it.
Gunter didn't finish off the elf.
Instead, he turned toward my direction.
Only afterward did I realize—he had drawn a short spear from his waist and thrown it.
Whoosh!
The spear tore through the air, passing just above my head—
right at the height where a standing person's torso would be.
BOOOOM!
The spear pierced straight through a massive tree behind me.
Gunter shouted something.
At once, the Iron Lion Knights who had been watching rushed toward me.
Damn it—did he notice that I borrowed his skill?
No monster had ever done that before.
My action—borrowing Gunter's skill—led to an unexpected result.
The elf, who had been pushed into a corner by Gunter, found an opening.
She pulled something from her chest and tore it apart.
Then, like a ghost, she vanished instantly.
A teleport scroll, perhaps.
—Oh! It worked! You saved her!
Pelerian shouted in delight.
…Wait, does that count?
—Serpent! What method did you use?!
I didn't really want to answer, but since he thought I saved her, I might as well play along.
And, well—it does seem like I did.
"You'll really grant the wish, right?"
—Mm…!
"First, get me out of here. Safely!"
Knights in heavy plate armor were charging toward me at speeds like galloping horses.
A small Serpent like me would be crushed instantly.
Honestly, I hadn't expected much from Pelerian's wish anyway.
—Very well. Your first wish is accepted.
Pelerian muttered something incomprehensible.
Mana gathered around his translucent body.
He looked as reliable as a genie from a lamp.
—Will east be fine?
"Anywhere!"
—'Emergency Escape'!
Boom!
And then—I was launched into the air.
Like the cockpit of a fighter jet ejecting, I shot upward, tearing through the sky.
It was far more terrifying than when I had borrowed flight.
The knights swarming where I had been looked like a colony of ants.
I had sworn never to fly again!
"…Hmm."
Gunter let out a low murmur.
The elf had escaped.
So she had possessed a teleportation artifact.
Not even something the Mage Tower had—fairies truly hid many secrets.
"Commander, will this be alright?"
Kyle, the knight who remained at his side, asked.
They had attacked a Golden Leaf Inspector but failed to kill her.
He was concerned about the aftermath.
"They are already a declining race. No need to worry."
Gunter answered firmly.
If he said so, then that was that.
Kyle closed his mouth.
"And we have secured the chimera."
So Pelerian's legacy had indeed remained somewhere near Grayrim.
After returning with the Iron Lion Knights, Gunter heard about the chimera from Zain.
It seemed the Grayrim territory had searched for traces of Pelerian multiple times.
And they had even kept it hidden from the royal capital.
What better opportunity could there be?
The chimera's corpse would become the "justification" for what Gunter intended to do next.
…A villain.
That was how the fairy had judged Gunter.
"…Perhaps."
If a villain was someone who used any means necessary to achieve their goal—
then Gunter might already be one.
And—
"That sensation just now…"
Something had been watching him.
And it had done something.
Magic? Sorcery? A curse? He didn't know.
Before he realized it, he had thrown the spear.
The knights who had rushed in that direction returned awkwardly—
reporting that they found no trace of anything.
"That's enough. Retrieve the chimera and return to Grayrim."
"Yes, sir!"
Gunter turned around.
There was much to be done.
He had no time to concern himself with trivial matters.