Chapter 30 - Ghost Knight (2)

Thinking back on the Lord Protector, she was already dead by the time the game's main scenario began, and her background received only a brief mention.

Dame Teresa Adelaite. A contemporary of Noel's, only a few years older, but with far more battlefield experience. She had also taken in Noel after the war left her an orphan without a single surviving relative.

She had profoundly shaped Noel's values and was effectively the only family she had. In short, she was practically Noel's parent.

She was also the teacher who had taught Noel her abilities—her pure-white energy and swordsmanship. Of course, in terms of sheer capability, Teresa had largely formulated the theory, while Noel had actually perfected it, so the latter would be stronger.

“A ghost?”

... But that was hardly the issue right now.

Noel's voice was barely audible, yet the emotion in that tiny sound was more intense than anything Aiden had ever seen her express.

What could he even call it? Grief, despair, confusion. Whichever he chose, none would help them get through this.

Aiden glanced at her expression beside him and refined that assessment. This went beyond losing her composure. She was practically in denial, unable even to recognize what stood before her.

Regardless of who was stronger, Noel in this state wouldn't just be useless in a fight. She couldn't even run.

“Why are you here—”

Still, he wholeheartedly agreed with that dazed mutter.

'Why is she...!'

This woman had never appeared like this in the original game. She had only ever been mentioned, never resurrected as a ghost for him to fight. Much less raised her sword to send a slash at Noel!

Gritting his teeth, Aiden charged into Noel as she stood there blankly. Their bodies tangled together as they tumbled across the ground.

'I don't know what the hell she's doing here, but...!'

There was a way out. He had already closed the rift that allowed spirits to manifest in the physical realm. He didn't know why the Lord Protector's ghost had suddenly appeared, but she couldn't remain manifested for long.

If they simply escaped the spirit's “combat range,” the immediate event would end.

The problem was...

'I can't get away...!'

Aiden's physical capabilities weren't enough to outrun a ghost that could launch those monstrous slashes. He needed someone's help.

“Dame Stella, can you carry both Dame Noel and me—!”

“... I can, but!”

Stella gritted her teeth as she answered, seizing a nearby lamppost with one hand. The huge mass of iron came free in her grip, tearing through the concrete that anchored it with a crunch.

It was a jaw-dropping feat of strength, but the woman performing it had her tense gaze fixed on the Lord Protector's ghost. She seemed to sense instinctively how powerful that thing was.

“Not while outrunning that. Dame Noel needs to snap out of it!”

Stella hurled the uprooted lamppost like a javelin. Watching a mass of iron larger than a person hurtle through the air was chilling, but watching the Lord Protector cleave it in two with a single stroke was even more absurd.

Then Stella drew her own sword and charged. She clearly intended to buy time, with no expectation of winning. She wanted him to bring Noel around in the meantime, somehow.

... An admirable intention, but in Noel's condition, even bringing her to her senses looked difficult, let alone escaping.

Her eyes were unfocused, as if gazing far into the distance. Her limbs hung limp, drained of strength. She seemed unable even to process what had just happened.

“... Teresa...?”

She murmured the name almost in a sob. She clearly didn't even know what she was saying.

“Did you... attack me?”

“Dame Noel, snap out of it!”

Aiden seized her collar and brought his face close, almost hauling her up.

“... Aiden?”

“At this rate, we're all going to die! We need to get out of here first!”

He wasn't exaggerating. He still had the right to copy the imperial prince's skill, but against the Lord Protector, using it now would be pointless. He needed to find some other means to make effective use of it.

“Die?”

Noel repeated the word weakly, her eyes unfocused.

“Teresa is going to kill me?”

Her voice sounded detached from reality, nothing like her usual self. She seemed utterly unable to comprehend the situation.

“...”

Given her relationship with the Lord Protector, he understood. ... It must have felt like being told that your own parent was trying to murder you.

But that was the situation they were in. He had to find some way to bring her to her senses...!

“...?”

As he thought that, blood suddenly trickled down Aiden's forehead. He must have cut it while rolling across the ground shielding Noel.

The instant a drop fell onto her face, Noel's pupils widened. As the blood dripped onto her forehead, her gaze regained focus, as though her consciousness had returned from drifting through some distant unreality.

As though she had remembered what she needed to do.

She raised a trembling hand and brushed Aiden's forehead. A little bright red blood stained her fingertips.

“... Are you hurt?”

“What?”

“Aiden, are you hurt?”

“... Well, yes? But it's nothing.”

It wasn't remotely serious. Just a scratch. Yet something like resolve entered Noel's eyes at the sight.

“What do you mean, nothing? You're bleeding!”

“...”

“Honestly, you...!”

“...”

Noel sprang to her feet with that sharp rebuke. It was as if that alone had instantly shaken her out of her shock.

Just how overprotective of him could she be? He was glad she'd come to her senses, but his feelings were complicated...

“...”

On her feet, Noel gritted her teeth as she watched the Lord Protector's ghost exchange blows with Stella. Whatever the circumstances, she seemed to have realized what she needed to do.

“Whew.”

With that small sigh, she wrapped one arm around Aiden and tucked him firmly against her side.

“...”

He didn't need to ask who had taught Dame Stella how to carry people.

Holding him like that, Noel drove off her back foot. A crater appeared where the paving stones had been, as though a bomb had exploded. And that wasn't all—the ground itself rumbled for a moment. Anyone watching could have mistaken it for a bombardment.

Noel reached Stella in an instant and drove a kick into the Lord Protector with all the momentum of her charge.

And then—

—!

—!!

That alone sent the Lord Protector flying into the distance, crashing into a building and half-demolishing it as though she'd been struck by a battering ram. Unlike when she'd been effortlessly pressuring Dame Stella, she hadn't even managed to react.

'What the hell—!'

He'd thought Stella uprooting a lamppost bare-handed was outrageous, but that was nothing compared to this.

As Aiden grasped just how far beyond humanity these knights with their supernatural powers operated, Noel tucked Stella under her other arm in the same way.

“Hold on tight.”

The ground cracked again as she finished.

“We're getting out of here!”

With those words, they all shot into the air. Of course, they weren't actually flying. Noel had simply jumped high enough to make it look that way.

“...”

But even as she did so, Noel's gaze remained fixed on the Lord Protector glaring at her from the half-demolished building. Until she vanished from view. The entire time.

▣

Getting out of there had been all well and good, but now Aiden had a splitting headache.

-Quest Info

▶ Failure in the events listed here will incur severe penalties!

♠ Main Quest

◈ Act 1, < Rift in the Capital >

-Chapter 1, <Ghost Knight Disturbance>

▶ The 'boss' has not been defeated. The quest remains incomplete.

▶ Partial failure incurs a penalty.

▶ The boss becomes much stronger!

▶ A 'subjugation battle' will occur again soon.

▶ Failure in this subjugation battle will result in quest failure!

... Good grief.

Aiden heaved an enormous inward sigh at the window spread before him. Honestly, he'd expected as much. He'd let the boss fight, the event's crucial conclusion, slip past. He hadn't expected the game to conveniently let it slide.

But the prospect of the boss getting even stronger made his head spin. He couldn't be certain, but she'd already looked capable of matching Noel. Depending on how much “stronger” she became, even Noel and Katya together might not be enough.

'Ugh, my head...'

How was he supposed to find another solution? As he agonized over that, Noel withdrew the hands she'd been using to wind bandages snugly around his forehead.

“That should do it.”

“... Anyone would think I'd been shot in the head.”

Before he could ask why she was making such a fuss over a scratch, Noel continued, unperturbed.

“I've called a specialist. You should at least have an examination, just in case.”

“Surely that's a bit—”

“Aiden.”

Noel cut him off with a radiant smile. Her eyes, of course, weren't smiling at all. She clearly wouldn't entertain any objections...

“Get examined.”

“...”

... Aiden quietly nodded.

“You sustained that wound during contact with a spirit. No one knows what complications might develop.”

“... I see.”

By that logic, getting beaten senseless by Meyer practically every day was probably more concerning, but there was no need to mention that...

'More importantly.'

Something was bothering him.

“... May I ask you something?”

“Yes?”

“Dame Noel, are you all right?”

“My injuries are only scrapes—”

“No, that's not what I mean.”

Aiden hesitated, then spoke again.

“Are you really all right?”

“...”

“You may well have to face that thing again.”

Realizing he meant the Lord Protector's soul, Noel snapped her mouth shut.

“You may have to fight it again.”

“... You sound rather certain that will happen.”

“I am.”

There was a solution. Watching the fight yesterday had given him a vague idea of a way through. But the question was whether Noel could see it through with him.

Even during that brief exchange with Teresa yesterday, she'd been so uncharacteristically... hesitant. As though this was the very last thing she wanted to do.

“...”

After a long silence, Noel let out a deep sigh.

“... Of course I'm not all right.”

She said it calmly. Her expression bore wounds as deep as the memories of her past.

“Teresa was with me from before I can even remember. She was as good as my own older sister.”

“...”

“... It still hurts just to think of her. How could I possibly be all right with being asked to fight what might be her soul?”

... Just as he'd thought. If that was how she felt, he really should leave her out of the next fight—

“But.”

Then Noel continued, cutting across his thoughts.

“If you try to handle it without me, I will be angry.”

“... What?”

“I'm the one who got you caught up in this in the first place.”

Before he could answer, Noel set a hand on his shoulder. Her lips curved slightly. It was a light expression, but that made the sincerity behind it all the clearer.

“... Well, we don't even have conclusive proof that it really is Teresa's soul. And even if it is...”

She took a deep breath before continuing.

“Whatever happens, I will see you safely back to your family.”

Just as she had when everything happened yesterday. Even if it meant crossing swords with what might be the soul of the woman she considered her sister, she would, at the very least, see her responsibility to Aiden through to the end.

“Do you understand? Don't concern yourself with my circumstances. Your safety comes first.”

“...”

For a moment, Aiden could only stare at her, speechless.

'... It really hits me now.'

He gave an inward, incredulous chuckle and rubbed his face. He'd heard her promise to protect him often enough, but... he hadn't realized she meant it this much.

To think she'd put his safety first even when the Lord Protector herself was involved.

“What's that look for, Aiden?”

“I'm a little embarrassed.”

“What?”

“I'm seeing you in a different light, Dame Noel.”

How could he put it? He'd never particularly disliked her, but... now he truly felt close to her as a person.

He wouldn't go so far as to call it romantic feelings, but at the very least, he genuinely liked her. This was a real problem.

“...”

As soon as she heard that, Noel took a few hesitant steps backward.

“... Why would you say that in this situation...?”

“What?”

“Aiden, it's not that I dislike you either, but I don't think this is the right time to flirt...”

“...”

No. That hadn't been his intention. ... He needed to change the mood.

“Anyway, what's that?”

Intent on changing the subject, Aiden nodded toward the newspaper on Noel's desk. He'd asked because he'd never seen her read one, but her expression immediately darkened.

“... Oh, this—”

As Noel trailed off, Aiden narrowed his eyes and craned his neck to look. His expression also changed abruptly when he saw the headline.

< The Lord Protector's Ghost Appears in the Capital... “The Lionhearted: What Happened During the Coalition War?” >

“...”

“Yesterday's events seem to have caused quite a stir.”

While Noel spoke with a bitter smile, Aiden read the article, his expression hardening.

As Meyer's example showed, certain conditions had to be met for a ghost to take form in the physical realm. They had to have attained an exceptionally lofty level of mastery and, for instance, harbor attachments so powerful that they couldn't rest even in death.

“... The Lord Protector died because of you, and now she's come back for revenge out of resentment?”

Revisiting those conditions, it was possible to spin the Lord Protector's appearance last night that way. The article cleverly hedged its wording to avoid liability, but it was effectively presenting that version of events as established fact.

He might have dismissed it if it were merely a tabloid, but this was one of the capital's fairly reputable newspapers. A publication like that had openly printed an attack on the Lionhearted, the Empire's hero.

And besides...

'... Even so.'

It was too fast. This had happened just last night. Not even half a day had passed, let alone a full day, and an article like this had already appeared in a paper like that. It smacked of deliberately malicious pressure.

As for who was behind it, well.

'The prince.'

... However he looked at it, the prince was the only one hostile enough toward Noel right now to exert that kind of pressure.

“Well.”

Still wearing her bitter smile, Noel continued.

“What does it matter what they say? They're free to think whatever they like.”

“...”

“I don't pay it much mind. It doesn't bother—”

She stopped short. Probably because Aiden had strode up to her and planted his hands on both her shoulders.

“Dame Noel.”

“... Yes?”

“We haven't known each other long, but there's one thing I do know.”

Aiden spoke with his hands pressing firmly down on her shoulders.

“I don't believe you're someone who would do that.”

“...”

Noel silently met his eyes.

“You don't need to explain the details. Just let me ask: did you?”

“... What do you mean...?”

“Did you actually do any of the ridiculous shit this newspaper is spouting?”

Noel blinked up at Aiden, dumbfounded. His face wore its usual slightly tired look, but there was something different in his eyes. As though he'd decided to do something drastic.

“... Of course not. Teresa was my benefactor.”

As soon as she answered, Aiden nodded and took his hands off her shoulders.

“Good. Let's go, then.”

“... What? Go? Where are you—”

“We're going to crack the skulls of the bastards talking shit about you.”

“...”

“Where's that prince, and what's he doing right now?”

Just as Noel had done with Aiden moments earlier, he made it clear he wouldn't entertain a single objection.