I Pulled Out the Excalibur

A knight renowned within the Atanga for his strength and ability to make quick decisions without panic in any situation. However, at this moment, Argo was feeling perplexed.

The situation before his eyes was that absurd.

Argo was considerably startled when the Demon Knight Verheigen used his power. It was a surge of demonic energy far beyond his expectations and a type of power he had never encountered before. A power that created a barrier and completely isolated it from the outside world.

Still, he could quickly adapt to that.
Gritting his teeth, Argo made his decision.

The young man fighting the demon was in danger. Although they had been evenly matched until now, it was unlikely to remain so inside the barrier. He needed to help.

“Break the barrier!”

A method to counter and attack the demon’s power.
Atanga, being primarily responsible for managing knights and demon subjugation, possessed extensive knowledge about demons. Yet, interpreting and countering the barrier required a significant amount of time.

Crack!

At some point, the barrier weakened, and they shattered it, entering the interior. Even as he entered, Argo couldn’t hide his bitterness. If so much time had passed, it was highly likely that the young man had already met his demise.

Yet, Argo shouted.

“Protect the young man!”

Protect the young man and kill the Demon Knight.
Even if the young man had already passed, protect his body from desecration. With this thought, Argo raised his voice, but…

“Form ranks and pressure Verheigen…?”

What they encountered inside the barrier wasn’t the Demon Knight, nor was it the corpse of the young man. What welcomed them was the bisected corpse of the Demon Knight Verheigen and…

“…What?”

With eyes wide open.
A young man, looking at him in surprise.

Crack!

Eventually, the completely shattered barrier gave way to sunlight. The warm sunlight shone down. On the floor, face-down, lay the bisected corpse of Verheigen, and standing unscathed was Najin.

A situation that defied all expectations.

To maintain composure and make a rational decision even in such a situation…

‘What on earth is this situation?’

Indeed, even for someone like Argo, it was an unreasonable demand.

And so.

The situation had led to this moment.

Najin saw the ones who had broken into the barrier. He reflexively reached for the hilt of his sword at his waist, but soon relaxed his guard.

He recognized the emblem on their armor.

The emblem of two crossed swords and a shield drawn above them. Najin knew this emblem. Ivan had once told him about it, and he had looked it up in books when he came outside.

‘The Knights of Atanga…’

Beings who uphold the ancient code of knights.
And the knight order Ivan once belonged to. With wide eyes, Najin watched the knights. They, too, were looking at him. Each carried a different meaning in their gaze, but regardless, the knights and Najin faced each other.

Najin was the first to move.

Lowering the hand that was about to draw his sword, he asked them a question.

“By any chance, are you the Knights of Atanga?”
“…I am Argo, a Knight of Atanga.”

The knight at the forefront.
Argo, the leader of this mission, stepped forward. He raised his hand and pointed behind Najin. There lay the bisected body of Verheigen.

“I am the commander of the pursuit team dispatched to eliminate that man. It seems there’s no need for further pursuit, though…”

Feeling bewildered, Argo lowered his hand.
He glanced at Najin standing before him. To think a youth of such tender age had achieved this level of prowess.

‘The output of sword aura I saw earlier…’

He shouldn’t be able to achieve that at his age.
Argo’s eyes narrowed. It was truly regrettable for the young man, but those who achieve such abnormal feats were likely associated with demons.

Argo is a ranked Sword Seeker.

His eyes could see through the mana flow within someone’s body. Even if the mana was not clotted with demonic energy but mixed with impurity, it might indicate a connection with demons…

‘But it’s clear. Extremely so.’

The purity of the mana was unparalleled.
There was no hint of impurity, clear like the water in a deep mountain stream. This meant he was definitely not related to demons. Moreover, there was no sign of contamination by demonic energy.

‘Astonishing. Truly.’

Argo marveled inwardly.
Such pure mana was a rarity. The absence of clotted demonic energy suggested he might have a means to resist demonic energy itself.

He had many questions. But Argo knew what should take precedence.

Clang!

Sheathing the sword he had drawn, he pounded his chest with his fist. Pounding the emblem of Atanga on his armor with his fist, Argo spoke.

“I express my gratitude to you.”

A proper thing to do.
That was none other than to offer thanks.

“In place of Atanga, I respect you for punishing one who tarnished the name of a knight.”

Following him, the sound of clang echoed.
The Knights of Atanga behind him saluted Najin. The sound of armor and gauntlets rubbing together resounded.

Receiving their salute, Najin felt his heart leap for some reason. In fairy tales, through his master’s stories, he had heard of the knights of this era, and now they stood before him.

“It is an honor.”

Awkwardly, Najin also saluted. As Najin finished his salute, Argo nodded.

“May I ask for an explanation of the situation?”
“Yes, gladly.”

Najin exhaled deeply and began his story. He had already decided how to explain it. The story wasn’t long.

He was pursuing Verheigen.
During the pursuit, he encountered a knight who had previously encountered Verheigen… and heard his story.

“The knight of the Trevache house, Gilbert.”

It was with his help that he could follow the trail.
Verheigen had been exhausted and injured from his earlier engagement with the knights. He exploited this to gain the upper hand.

He did not lie.
But he also did not tell the whole truth.

It was still too early to fully reveal his identity.

“…So.”

After hearing the story, Argo summed it up.

“You pursued Verheigen, who was critically wounded, and defeated him here. Is that right?”
“That’s correct.”
“You exploited his weakness even inside the barrier?”
“Yes, the wound on his shoulder…”

Najin pointed at Verheigen’s bisected body. Indeed, there was a scar on that shoulder.

“Indeed.”

Argo stroked his chin.
It made sense, but there were several dubious aspects. Above all, Argo had seen it. The overwhelming output of sword aura Najin had shown before the barrier was erected.

Suspicious, but.
He had no grounds to pry further.

Even if the other party was concealing their strength, he had neither the right to investigate nor the right to reprimand. If the young man before him had relations with demons or was hiding some evil scheme, then questioning him would be justified, but… he did not appear so.

Then.

There was only one question Argo needed to ask the young man before him.

“May I ask you one question?”

Argo spoke, and Najin nodded. Argo looked straight at Najin and asked.

“Why did you slay Verheigen?”

You’re free to answer.
Whether you say it was just fulfilling a commission, for a reward, or anything else. As he spoke, Argo added.

“Whatever answer you give to my question here, I swear I will not harm you. This is purely out of curiosity.”

The oath of a Knight of Atanga.
Najin was not ignorant of its weight. Therefore, at least for this question, he could answer honestly. Najin slowly opened his mouth to speak.

“I did not like him.”
“…Did not like him?”
“During the battle with Verheigen, I asked him a question. What does being a knight mean to you?”

Najin said.

“Verheigen answered. A knight is just a position for advancement. Honor and pride, he said, are things that gain value only when discarded.”

The values of knighthood as held by Verheigen, as spoken by Najin. At this, Argo’s expression wrinkled. The Knights of Atanga behind him clicked their tongues and contorted their faces.

“I did not like that.”

Najin continued.

“That’s not what a knight is to me.”
“What do you think a knight is?”

Though he had said he would ask only one question, Argo found himself compelled to ask a second. He wanted to hear what the young man who had slain a Demon Knight thought about knighthood.

“I don’t think it’s a story fitting for the Knights of Atanga. I am not a knight.”
“Normally it would be laughable for one who is not a knight to discuss knighthood, but you are an exception. Whatever the reason, by defeating the Demon Knight, you have proven your worth.”

Speak freely.
The Knights of Atanga, who uphold the long-standing traditions of knighthood and swear only to be knightly. They all looked at Najin, listening intently to what he would say.

And Najin spoke.

“One who does not lose their pride.”

Najin spoke his answer to ‘what is a knight’ gained during the duel with the Demon Knight.

“One who struggles to protect what has not been lost and to regain what has been lost…”

What is a knight.
In front of the Knights of Atanga, the knights among knights, Najin was stating his answer.

“A seeker of high ideals.”

Najin said.

“One who embraces pride and honor, chasing the stars in the lofty sky. That is the knight I think of. No, that is the knight I aspire to be.”

There was a moment of silence.
Then, laughter broke from behind Argo. The Knights of Atanga burst into laughter. Though not laughing aloud, a smile also appeared on Argo’s lips.

It wasn’t a laugh of ridicule.
Quite the opposite, it was far from ridicule.

Argo raised his hand. At his signal, the knights stopped laughing. They looked quietly at Najin. Their eyes were softer than before, and their gazes towards Najin were friendly.

Speaking for them, Argo asked Najin.

“Is that a sincere belief, without any falsehood?”
“Yes.”
“I believe you.”

Argo smiled pleasingly.
Najin’s eyes did not hold the look of one who lies.

“No matter where you fall, no matter if you lose your honor, and even if you have fallen, to struggle to regain them… Some may mock it as ugly.”

Argo smiled.

“But I, we, think it is beautiful. It means you still aspire to be a knight.”
“……”
“You seem to have in mind an image of a knight as you say those words. I don’t know who the knight in your mind is, but he is certainly worthy of emulation.”

A knight worthy of emulation, as spoken by a Knight of Atanga.
Najin felt a stirring in his heart. He thought about how he wanted to tell this story to Ivan, how nice it would have been if Ivan had been here.

“Chasing the stars with honor and pride. It resonates well. Indeed…”

Argo removed his helmet.
With the helmet off, facing Najin, he scratched the back of his neck. Revealed was the face of a young man. For a Sword Seeker, physical age was just a number.

“Though I said I’d ask only one question, I find myself asking more.”

Facing Najin bare-faced, Argo laughed sheepishly.

“What is your name?”

It was probably written on the commission.
However, Argo wanted to hear the name directly from the young man himself. At this question, Najin was silent for a moment.

“I hope that the conversation we had here was, and remains to be entirely truthful.”

After the silence, Najin spoke.

“Therefore, I cannot tell you my name.”

To say his name would be to tell a lie.

“I see.”

Najin spoke indirectly, and Argo understood. He didn’t ask Najin’s name again.

“Then, the answer to today’s question,”

Argo tapped his armor.

“I’ll hear it when you have become a knight. When you have become a knight full of honor and pride, then you can tell me your name, can’t you?”

Najin nodded.

Argo, with a broad grin, patted Najin’s shoulder. It was a very satisfied smile.

“I look forward to the day that comes soon.”

You may go.
We will take care of things here.

“I will visit again soon.”

Najin bowed his head and then moved on.
He didn’t add more words, but Argo knew what Najin would have added.

Next time, I will meet you as a knight like you.

After Najin left.

The Knights of Atanga dealt with the Demon Knight’s corpse, recovered the relics he had likely stolen, and gathered the bodies of the knights he had slain. They felt sorrow for the bad news that would reach each family as they finished the cleanup.

“Lord Argo.”

Argo’s squire asked him a question.

“Why did you not ask more? It seemed he was hiding a lot.”

The squire, not yet a knight.
Talented but young, with a limited view of the world. To the girl’s question, Argo stroked his chin.

“There was no need to ask more.”
“May I ask why?”
“Of course. You are my squire, and it is my duty to answer your questions as your master.”

Argo opened his mouth.

“It’s because that young man’s intentions were pure. They were pure, so there was no falsehood in his words.”
“Pure…?”
“Yes. That young man preferred to downplay rather than emphasize his achievements. He said it was possible because of the injuries the knights had inflicted earlier, because of advice from a knight, because of good luck, and so on…”

If he had desired money or fame.
He would have exaggerated his contribution and not mentioned the knights. But that young man deliberately mentioned the knights who had fallen before him, downplaying his own achievement.

“It’s an unbelievable story.”

Argo laughed bitterly.
Not lying doesn’t mean it’s the truth. He’s a being who made a contract with a demon capable of wielding such power. Even if those injuries helped, they couldn’t have been decisive.

In other words, that young man had fought and won against a fully capable Verheigen.

Yet he downplayed his achievement and wished to hide his power, so Argo didn’t probe further. There was no need to.

“He did not like the words of one who was un-knightly. That was the young man’s answer.”

I did not like him.
Therefore, I slew him.
It was a straightforward answer, genuine, and refreshingly clear. Argo smiled. The young man’s level of ability and the means by which he defeated the demon remained enigmas, but that was alright.

The knightliness the young man spoke of.
The kind of knight he aspired to be.

These were, for Argo, a Knight of Atanga, more important than anything else. Having heard that answer, Argo was satisfied.

“Do not forget the knightliness that he spoke of, Flansh. It’s a tale worth remembering and pondering.”
“Yes, Lord Argo.”

Argo’s squire, Flansh, nodded.
Argo, looking back at the girl returning to help with the bodies, sighed deeply. The image of the young man he had just encountered lingered in his mind.

He wanted to recruit him into the Knights of Atanga.
But Argo felt it was not yet time.

At the same time, Argo had a premonition. Someday, that man would come to the Knights of Atanga of his own accord. Even if he didn’t join the order, Argo was certain he would become a comrade in spirit.

“Chasing the stars with honor and pride.”
“How magnificent a dream is it to hang my star in the highest sky? If one is a man, if one claims to be a knight, shouldn’t one dream big?”

Argo chuckled ruefully.
Listening to the young man’s words reminded him of a comrade and promising member of Atanga, a man who would have surely become a Sword Seeker if he were still on earth.

“Ivan.”

Argo murmured the name of his old friend.

‘You seem to have trained a disciple.’

In Argo’s hand was the commission.
The name of the young man who had taken the commission was Ivan. A common name, but it couldn’t just be a coincidence. Argo exhaled deeply.

No matter where you fall.
No matter if you lose your honor and everything.
To struggle to regain what you’ve lost.

The knightliness that the young man had spoken of, surely recalling someone as he spoke, Argo realized who that story pointed to. At the same time, he understood that his old friend Ivan had not abandoned being a knight, even there.

“So typical of you.”

Muttering to himself, Argo stood up.
It wasn’t a story to share with others, so he would keep it to himself. Ivan, a former Knight of Atanga, was a convicted man.

What circumstances allowed the young man to meet Ivan, and what relationship they had…

Someday, he would hear it along with the young man’s name. Hoping that day would come soon, Argo fondled the hilt of his sword.