I Pulled Out the Excalibur

It was the backlash from using mana to its limit, and the price for recklessly wielding the nascent fringes of his spirit. Feeling his body sink beneath the surface, Najin closed his eyes.

How much time had passed?

Chirp, chirp.

Awakened by the chirping of sparrows, Najin opened his eyes on a sunlit bed. The maid, startled upon making eye contact with Najin, bowed hastily and scurried out of the room.

Soon after, a knight entered.

“Have you awakened?”

It was Wolfhild, the Knight Commander of the Trebache Ducal House.
“How long have I been asleep?”
“About a night.”

Najin blinked a couple of times and lifted his arm to inspect it. It was bandaged at the shoulder, and the minor wounds that remained on his body had almost healed. Such rapid recovery wasn’t solely due to Excalibur’s regenerative abilities.

“Give thanks to Duke Edelmar for his grace.”

Wolfhild briefly recounted how his lord had gathered the priests and physicians of the domain to aid in Najin’s recovery, extending his grace.

“Thank you.”
“Your thanks should be directed to the duke himself.”
“I shall do so.”
“Good.”

Wolfhild smiled satisfactorily.
Then, he suddenly stroked his chin.

“That aside, your recovery is unnaturally swift? The physicians and priests tending to you were taken aback. They only administered first aid, yet the wounds were healing.”

Wolfhild murmured, to which Najin remained silent.
He couldn’t reveal it was thanks to Excalibur’s healing power.

“They said you should’ve been bedridden for at least ten days, yet you woke up fine in just one. It’s certainly surprising. It wasn’t a minor injury…”
“My body is rather resilient.”
“Is that so?”

Wolfhild squinted his eyes but soon chuckled and shrugged.

“Must be a unique constitution. It’s not my place to pry. I have my peculiarities too.”

He tapped his temple lightly.
Like himself, there are others born with unique constitutions. Thus, Wolfhild chose to attribute Najin’s unusual recovery to ‘such things.’

“Anyway, I’ve instructed those who saw your condition to keep it under wraps, so no worries.”
“That’s… much appreciated.”
“You are the duke’s guest, after all. It’s only right that nothing harmful befalls you at Trebache.”

Proudly pointing to the Trebache emblem on his uniform,
Wolfhild laughed.

“Once you’re able to move about, you should visit the duke. The servants will guide you.”

Ah, Wolfhild sighed briefly.
It seemed like something he felt compelled to say. With a playful expression, he whispered with his palm before his mouth.

“Your lady is in the room next door, so perhaps show your face. She must be quite worried.”
“Excuse me? Lady?”
“Ah, not in that sense yet? I thought you were rather close, assuming you were involved.”

What did he mean by ‘involved’?
Confused, Najin tilted his head, and Wolfhild muttered, “Miss Dieta must be having a hard time,” under his breath.

“Anyway, Miss Dieta was quite concerned about you.”
“Is that so?”
“Indeed. After you collapsed, she wept so sorrowfully. ‘Don’t die, please don’t die,’ she cried, burying her face in your chest…”

Scratching his neck awkwardly,
Wolfhild continued.

“It felt a bit awkward to just say, ‘He seems to have lost consciousness.’ We had to sweat it out too.”

What else did Miss Dieta say?
Just as Wolfhild was about to speak, there was a knock on the door. Without waiting for permission, the door creaked open.

There stood Dieta, her face flushed red, as if she had been eavesdropping from the other side.

“Sir Wolfhild.”

Her voice trembled slightly.
With her ears burning red, Dieta glared at Wolfhild with a reproachful look.

“You promised to keep it a secret…”
“Oh, dear.”

Wolfhild quickly rose from his seat.

“I shouldn’t intrude on your conversation. Please, talk amongst yourselves. I’ll be waiting outside.”

He greeted Dieta politely and swiftly left the room. Despite the fierce glare from the embarrassed girl, a knight who had reached the realm of Sword Seeker couldn’t be followed so easily.

When they regained their composure, only Najin and Dieta were left in the room. After an awkward silence,

Dieta approached Najin hesitantly and slumped into a chair beside the bed. She bowed her head, hiding her face, but her ears peeking through her hair were still vividly red.

“Are you, um, feeling better?”

Dieta’s voice was awkward.
Najin simply nodded for now.

“I’m fine. There’s no trouble moving around.”
“That’s a relief.”
“And how about you?”

Najin glanced at Dieta’s ankle.
Wrapped in bandages, her walk earlier seemed natural enough, suggesting some recovery.

“I can walk around. They say the scars should be gone in about a week or so.”
“That’s good to hear.”

Najin smiled.
As Dieta slightly raised her head and met Najin’s smile, her ears reddened even more. She seemed unable to meet his gaze directly, her eyes darting elsewhere.

“I heard something from Sir Wolfhild.”

Despite feeling shy, Dieta had to speak up.

“Forget about it. Just forget it, quickly.”
“Sorry? Forget what?”
“What I said before. Forget about it, quickly. It’s embarrassing.”

Was that something to be embarrassed about?
Why was she so red-faced? Although Najin didn’t fully understand, he nodded anyway.

In the mansion’s reception room,

where the emblem of the Trebache Ducal House was engraved, a man who appeared to be in his early thirties awaited Najin and Dieta.

The lord of Trebache, Duke Edelmar.

Despite losing his father at a young age and taking over as lord, he had solidified Trebache’s reputation as an excellent politician and power broker within just a decade. He smiled at his guests.

“Welcome, Miss Dieta. And Ivan.”

Be seated.

With that gesture, Duke Edelmar began to speak.

“I’ve heard the gist of it from the knights and Sir Wolfhild. What a story…”

Sipping his tea, Duke Edelmar let out a long sigh. Was he about to express anger at the ducal house’s forceful merger, or was it a sigh of lament? Dieta was observing Edelmar’s reaction when he said something unexpected.

“What a romantic tale.”

The unexpected comment almost made Dieta reflexively question him, but she managed to hold back.

“A splendid rescue operation where a lone man sneaks into a villa to save a woman kidnapped by a ducal house!”

The duke exclaimed, with exaggerated gestures.

“Surely, he must have offered his back to the incapacitated lady. Despite the knights’ pursuit, they fled under the moonlit night!”

His exaggerated tone and gestures were like those of an actor introducing a play. With sparkling eyes, he looked at Dieta and Najin.

“And then, the final ordeal. A life-threatening duel and unyielding will, but the protagonist falls, and the woman weeps. A story that could have ended in tragedy, but fortunately…”

The duke smiled.

“This tale won’t end in tragedy. Glad to see you’ve recovered, Ivan. And you as well, Miss Dieta.”
“Thank you for your consideration.”
“Thank… you.”

Najin spoke formally, and Dieta, with a trembling voice, expressed her thanks, barely containing her embarrassment. Duke Edelmar whistled at her reaction.

“Moving on.”

He clapped his hands.

“I have a rough idea why you’ve come. The fact that the Arbenia Ducal House tried to forcefully take over Dieta’s trade guild and attempted to secure Dieta’s identity in the process, I’ve confirmed it all.”

Duke Edelmar had sent his knights to gather information.

“This is unjust. An unfair act. Of course, the world is full of injustices caused by the disparities in power and status, but…”

His eyes narrowed.

“Such things should not happen in Cambria, the city of opportunities. Especially not in the city where the great King Arthur began his journey. Fairness and equality must be ensured there. That’s what the Cambria Foundation is for.”

The three powerful families at the heart of the Cambria Foundation,
Of which, Trebache, the most influential, was represented by its lord.

“I, Edelmar personally, and the Cambria Foundation, will not stand idly by. If the guild had been built with the ducal house’s power, there might have been some justification, but I know Miss Dieta did not do so.”

The ducal house’s abandoned child.
The stain left by a courtesan in the ducal house.
Dieta Arbenia was the one who built her company from scratch despite such stigmas.

“Of course, had you not come to my domain, it would have been difficult to intervene, but now that you’re here, the justification is on our side. I’ll help you regain your guild.”
“Thank you for your grace.”
“There is no need for thanks.”

Duke Edelmar responded plainly to Dieta’s gratitude.

“It’s my duty to act. Performing one’s duty should be a matter of course. Accepting thanks for doing what’s expected would make the world too harsh, wouldn’t it?”

Above all, he paused to take a breath.

“I enjoy watching plays, but I can never quite stomach tragedies. I hope for the characters, who have overcome hardships and trials, to be able to smile in the end.”

The duke enjoyed plays.
And he had likened Najin and Dieta’s escape to a ‘play.’ Smiling, he continued.

“I hope you can smile when all this is over. It’s been a while since I’ve heard such a good story.”

After finishing his story, Duke Edelmar took a moment to breathe. His gaze shifted from Dieta to Najin.

“Miss Dieta, would you mind stepping out for a moment? I have something I’d like to discuss with Ivan alone.”
“Of course.”

After Dieta left for a while,
Duke Edelmar looked directly at Najin. There were no exaggerated gestures or tones, just calm and settled eyes and voice. The duke spoke.

“Gilbert, the knight of Trebache.”

The knight Najin had encountered during the demon knight hunt.

“My knight, and my conversation partner, you were with him at the end. I heard you honored Gilbert’s last wishes.”

Najin nodded quietly.
He had listened to Gilbert’s last words, pursued the demon knight, and ultimately, Najin had slain the demon knight.

“There is one thing I’d like to ask.”
“Please, go ahead.”
“Was Gilbert a knight until the end?”

“Was he a knight until the end?”
That was the final phrase left by the Knight King, the epitome of knightly philosophy.

“Since a knight is also a human, they cannot be noble at every moment and always act with honor and pride. Ultimately, a knight is faced with choices at every moment.”
“That’s why I ask.”
“What will you choose in your final moment?”

Will you be an ordinary human swayed by desire and instinct,
Or a knight moved by pride and honor?
What will you remain as in the end?

So.

“In the very last moment.”
“I will ask you.”
“Were you a knight until the end?”

Recalling those words, Najin thought of Gilbert, who, even in his dying moments, pointed with his fingertips towards the fleeing demon knight. With that image in mind, Najin said,

“Yes.”

Najin nodded firmly.

“Until the end, Sir Gilbert was a knight.”
“Is that so.”

Duke Edelmar smiled wistfully.

“Then he could have smiled in his final moments.”

He sighed deeply.

“Thank you. I’m grateful that someone who knows honor and pride was with Gilbert at the end.”
“Forgive me, but…”

Najin spoke awkwardly.

“I still do not know honor. I have not possessed it.”
“You have pride, then.”
“I am striving to possess it.”

Duke Edelmar laughed out loud.

“The honor and pride you speak of seem much heavier than what others mention. Indeed. They should not be taken lightly.”

In this era, they have become too light.
Yet, there stands someone before him who wishes to regard them as heavy. A young man in this era, rare for his knightly nature, made the duke smile pleasantly.

“Helping a lady in distress. Keeping promises. Doing what one believes is right. Honoring the last wishes of the honorable, wielding the sword against evil… risking one’s life to keep an oath.”

Stories about the young man named Ivan.
Chewing over this information, the duke clapped his hands. Not in mockery, but in respect.

“You are already an excellent knight.”

Not yet knighted, but already a splendid knight.

Duke Edelmar stated.

“I hope you find a lord to whom you can pledge your loyalty and become a great knight. Or perhaps become a free knight who upholds the knight’s code. I truly wish it.”

The duke rose from his seat.
Najin too stood up, bowing his head and about to kneel before the approaching duke, who stopped him.

He extended his hand to Najin.

Not with the formality of a noble, but simply, as a gesture of camaraderie. Even though Edelmar valued decorum, he deemed the young man before him worthy enough to set aside those formalities.

As Najin cautiously took his hand, Duke Edelmar, shaking it vigorously up and down, smiled.

“Rest easy while you stay in my domain.”