WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: HidingTurtle

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ The Wandering Knight and the Moving Castle ◈

Chapter 9: The One Who Understands Three Worlds (9)

──────

"I hear Sir Gopri is here. Don't let your guard down."

At their lord's words, everyone nodded grimly. No one said anything as obvious as, "But isn't he only one man?"

Anyone who made a living by the sword on this continent knew the reputation of the Knight of Prophecy.

It was an age ruled by faith and superstition nearly as powerful as faith itself. Anyone who had seen Gopri fight even once could not help but feel awe.

He evaded attacks without seeing them, foiled every assassination attempt, and always attacked and defended at least one move ahead of his opponent.

He had never suffered a single defeat, even in tournaments where reading one's opponent was crucial. Before earning the title Knight of Prophecy, he had been known as the Unbeaten Gopri.

To some, he might have seemed like a man blessed by a god, or even favored by one.

"We're going straight in. Step aside, Dawson."

The subordinate leading the way with a buckler stepped back.

Marcus and Aaron, both clad in metal armor, exchanged a glance.

"Here we go!"

Aaron smashed the old latch with his mace, then rammed his shoulder into the door.

Crash!

As the door fell, a foul stench wafted through the doorway.

As they descended into the underground chamber, they spotted an iron-barred cell against the wall. Marcus's younger sister Maria and her two maids lay sprawled inside, sleeping soundly.

'My lady!'

'Maria!'

Marcus’s group swallowed their cries. A broad-shouldered man in a dark monk's robe stood before them.

* * *

Eugene felt as if he had been struck by lightning.

When he focused on his hearing, he could make out several pairs of footsteps heading straight toward him.

'Did they find me?'

That was his first thought. Perhaps someone besides him knew about the secret passage.

'No. That can't be it.'

Eugene discarded the idea.

The passage could only be found by someone who practically lived in this foul basement. Besides, if the monastery knew it existed, they would have sealed it off long ago.

Crash!

The door shattered, and two heavily armed knights stormed in with several soldiers, murderous intent blazing in their eyes. Even in the darkness, their red eyes turned toward Eugene.

"So there was a guard here."

Marcus looked at Eugene as he spoke.

"I'm not a guard..."

"You damned guard! If you want to live, hand over the key!"

Aaron shouted, leveling his mace at him.

"I'm not a guard..."

"You won't come to your senses until your arms and legs are broken?!"

"Will you listen when someone's talking?!"

Before Eugene could finish, Aaron charged at him, followed by two soldiers.

'Knights really are something else. Why do they even have ears?'

Eugene was the unusual one. The knights in this world all did whatever they pleased. They already had the answer they wanted, so they would keep shouting until they heard it.

Of course, Marcus's group had infiltrated enemy territory and needed to rescue the women, so Eugene could understand their haste to some extent.

'Damn it. There are too many to fight barehanded.'

After the incident with Gopri, swords had been forbidden inside the monastery, leaving Eugene unarmed.

Bang!

Eugene kicked off the ground. A shockwave burst from the impact, sending dust outward in a circular wave.

"W-What?!"

Aaron panicked as the distance between them widened in an instant. It felt as though an enormous invisible hand had snatched Eugene away.

His shock doubled when Eugene picked up a barrel as large as a grown man with one hand and threw it.

Whoosh!

The huge barrel tore through the air with a thunderous roar. For an instant, it felt as though the space ahead had been filled with wood.

"Gh!"

Aaron swung his mace with all his strength, shattering the barrel.

Though it had been empty, the impact nearly tore his arm from its socket. The only reason he did not lose his weapon was because Aaron was truly an excellent knight.

Clang!

But the rebounding mace struck the cheek of one of the soldiers following behind him.

The helmet kept the soldier's cheekbone from breaking, but the impact sent them staggering backward. They slammed face-first into the cell bars and passed out.

Before Eugene could spare a thought for the soldier, he slipped through the scattering splinters and arrived right in front of Aaron.

'Chainmail.'

The enemy knight wore a surcoat over his armor.

Yet Eugene's sharpened hearing had picked up the countless interlocking rings rattling beneath it.

Eugene's kick struck Aaron in the stomach. Chainmail could stop blades well, but it was weak against overwhelming force.

"Urk!"

Aaron flew through the air, bowling over a soldier like a pin before crashing into the wall.

He trembled as he tried to rise, then toppled to one side and lost consciousness. A thin trickle of blood ran from the corner of his mouth.

Eugene caught the shield and mace Aaron had dropped as he flew through the air.

"Aaaah!"

The sole remaining soldier from the three who had charged swung their sword, driven by fear.

Clang!

Eugene knocked it aside with the mace. The blade’s edge chipped and shattered, and the soldier lost their balance.

Crash!

Then Eugene smashed them with the shield. Without even getting out a scream, they spun like a top.

After three full turns, the soldier sprawled in front of Marcus. Their eyes had rolled back, but their chest still rose and fell. They were alive.

"..."

"..."

The invaders were left speechless by Eugene's overwhelming strength.

Aaron was the strongest of the six knights who had dueled Marcus. He was an honorable knight who had even won a city tournament. Yet he had gone down in one blow?

"So those fanatics have been raising a monster."

Marcus gritted his teeth and gripped his sword.

The strong recognized the strong. Marcus realized that the man before him was the worst opponent he had ever faced.

The soldiers behind him trusted their lord and raised their weapons, but Marcus was not confident he could defeat this monk knight.

And he was far too young to be Gopri. What if Gopri joined him as well?

'Should we retreat?'

Losing a battle could be understood, but a commander who missed the right time to retreat was the worst kind. Marcus wavered between the lives of his subordinates and Maria.

"That was self-defense."

At that moment, Eugene turned both palms upward toward the ceiling. The mace and shield rested atop them, swaying slightly from side to side.

It was a clear gesture that he had no intention of fighting.

"I'm not a guard or a priest. I hate those bastards from the Church of the Absolute. Anyone living here, even the workers, can wear these clothes. Your side attacked before giving me a chance to answer."

Eugene dusted off the résumé a girl had once rejected and presented it to the intruders again.

Judging by the situation and the way the soldiers kept glancing at the girl, her blood family had likely come to rescue her.

He did not want to make enemies for no reason, so he had only incapacitated those who attacked him instead of killing them.

"Lord Marcus."

"Please make a calm decision..."

The soldiers wanted to take their lady and leave without having to fight this nightmare of a warrior.

"Who are you, sir?"

After ordering his subordinates to tend to the fallen, Marcus asked the question.

"Eugene Mayer."

It was a name Marcus had never heard before. He glanced behind him, but everyone shook their heads as if they did not know it either.

"If what you say is true, then we have no desire to fight pointlessly either."

"You came to rescue those women, didn't you?"

Marcus nodded.

This was no time to hide things or weigh his options. It was time to be direct, without bargaining.

"I won't interfere, so take them and leave quickly."

Eugene stepped aside and gestured for them to enter.

Marcus hesitated for a moment before approaching the cell door. The soldiers followed awkwardly.

"Ugh..."

Aaron, who had been unconscious, shook his head weakly. He had regained consciousness already, proving that he was no ordinary knight.

"Give this to the man lying there."

Eugene took two small medicinal pills from his clothes and tossed them to the Squire supporting Aaron.

"W-What is this?"

The Squire spoke politely without meaning to.

"It treats internal injuries. It'll ease the strain until you can reach someone who can treat them. Give Aaron one now and the other tomorrow."

"Thank you for your mercy, sir."

"I feel bad. It’s like injuring you, then offering you medicine."

Aaron swallowed the pill without the slightest suspicion. He was so bold that even Eugene, who had given him the medicine, was taken aback. Eugene could not tell whether Aaron was steadfast or simply foolish.

The bars and the door itself were much sturdier than they looked. This was not a lock that could be broken by force.

Still, Marcus had a wide variety of talented people under his command, and one of the subordinates he had brought today was an expert at picking locks.

"Dawson. Can you open it?"

Marcus asked the subordinate, who had slung their buckler over their back and taken out a Rogue Kit.

"It's a triple lock, so it'll be difficult, but I'll manage it. Just give me a little time..."

Dawson's answer was cut off by shouts and the clash of weapons.

"Are there others outside buying time?"

"Yes. They're tough and strong. They'll hold out long enough."

Marcus answered.

True to the Church of the Absolute's paranoia, the cell's locking mechanism was formidable.

"You dare crawl into a place like this, you vampire bastards?!"

"Brothers, do not fear death!"

Click. Click.

After opening the first lock and moving on to the second, sweat poured down Dawson's forehead like rain. The lock had already been difficult, and the sounds of battle outside made them even more frantic.

The figure in monk's robes standing motionless beside them was terrifying too. They needed every bit of their focus, but their hands kept growing unsteady.

Eugene sighed.

"You'd better hurry. I'll help."

The sooner Marcus’s group got out and caused a proper commotion, the easier it would be for Eugene too.

"Don't tell me you have the key... No, if you did, you would've handed it over already."

Marcus shook his head. If Eugene had stood there watching them struggle with the door, only to hand them a key halfway through, he would have to be insane.

"The Senior Priest should have it. The Senior Priest trusts no one but themself."

Dawson was still stuck on the second lock.

"Then how are you going to open it?"

"Like this."

Eugene grabbed the iron bars marked with his handprints.

"???"

Everyone stared at him, wondering what exactly he intended to do.

Screeeech!

The thick iron bars bent like taffy, filling the chamber with a spine-chilling sound.

'I won't need to worry about what happens afterward this time.'

They needed to get the women out, so Eugene pulled with all his strength without holding back.

"Good heavens!"

Aaron muttered, staring blankly.

Crack!

Ping! Ping!

The iron pins fixed into the floor and ceiling ripped free and flew in every direction. One of them struck Marcus's greave with a clear ring.

Eugene did more than bend the bars. He tore out three of them entirely, creating an opening wide enough for a person to pass through.

"Let this settle the grudge from our fight."

"Even if you had cut off my arm, I would have forgotten it."

Marcus spoke calmly as he entered the cell. Eugene liked his boldness. Under different circumstances, they might have become friends.

"Maria. Wake up. We have to escape at once."

While the soldiers lifted the maids into their arms, Marcus tried to wake the girl. Yet she lay as if dead, completely unresponsive.

"Her name is Maria? It's a pretty name. She's sleeping very deeply right now, so waking her will be useless. I recommend slinging her over your shoulder and leaving quickly."

"That cannot be."

Marcus firmly denied it.

His sister had spent her life walking on thin ice in the society of the nobles of the night, supporting her inadequate older brother.

"Maria has suffered from insomnia for a long time."

Zzz...

"..."

Marcus froze at the cute sound coming from Maria in his arms.

"Then our business with each other is finished. I'll leave first."

Eugene left them behind and walked out of the basement. He remained wary of Marcus's group until the end, just in case, but they showed no sign of wanting to harm him.

Only the shield and mace he dropped as he left clattered loudly to the floor.

* * *

"You irreverent vampire bastards."

"Do you know where you are, daring to... Eek!"

A priest who had been about to charge leaped back in a hurry. They had nearly been stabbed in the stomach by a spear thrust through the shields.

"Come in if you're so confident, you fanatics!"

"This elder will check the health of your intestines!"

From a distance, Eugene gave a thumbs-up to the Dhampirs raising hell as they faced off against the priests. Thanks to them, it was the perfect chance to slip away unnoticed.

He vaulted over the monastery wall in a single bound, and someone came running toward him.

"Homi?"

Homi ran up with a delighted expression and handed him his sword.

"You came running because you were worried about me. Thank you."

Eugene hugged his perceptive and loyal Squire. His teacher had been right. No matter how good a warhorse might be, it could not do something like this.

"Let's go."

Whether he liked it or not, it was time to leave this rural village.

Footnotes:

Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried