Vol 3 Chapter 10

"Could it be... the Dark Knight?"

Ilumine's inscrutable eyes turned towards Kapros.

And after a moment, an unbelievable answer came.

"Yes."

Perhaps because he had heard incomprehensible words in such an unexpected place, Kapros suddenly felt his mind go blank. He tried to relax his stiff muscles by rubbing his face with his right hand.

"Are you saying that the descendant of the Dark Knight really came here?"

Unlike his poorly controlled mind, his voice flowed out monotonously without any change, just like usual. That, at least, was fortunate.

"Yes."

Even at the second answer, Kapros didn't immediately believe it. It couldn't be the person he was thinking of; he was just startled because he heard a familiar title. That guy was dead, and the quest had been broken, so maybe someone else had received that quest and come here.

So he decided to end it with a third question.

"Did you happen to see his appearance? Like his hair color or eye color?"

Ilumine's eyes narrowed.

"I don't know why you're asking such things, but he was tall and had blue eyes. His hair color... I couldn't see well because it was dark, but it seemed close to black."

All of Kapros's hopes that it wouldn't be him shattered at that moment.

'It can't be... How could it be possible? How?'

It was nonsense. How could that guy, of all people, have come here before them?

The one who had been with them until recently but was presumed dead after falling down a deep cliff. The person Kapros had tried to think was just unable to follow due to an unexpectedly long inability to log in because of the broken quest. The being he wanted to believe he could meet again if he waited patiently after completing the quest, since he knew where Kapros's next destination was.

'Yu-wan...'

The gruff swordsman who was persistent and strong enough to make Kapros surrender. And the man who was progressing the Dark Knight's descendant quest connected to Kapros's quest.

Kapros couldn't believe that what he had just heard really referred to that guy. How could he have come here first? He had surely died. Kapros had clearly seen him fall with his own eyes. If he had been alive, he would have certainly come looking for Kapros immediately. Just as he had said to Kapros in his last words on the bridge.

Worried about Kapros's excessive stiffness, Kran silently put his arm around Kapros's shoulders, but Kapros could only think of one thing.

'Why on earth?'

His mind was filled with confusion even as Kran finished the conversation with Ilumine on his behalf and they went back outside.

"...Kap."

Kran spoke as if trying to soothe him. When Kapros raised his head, he saw a face that seemed unsure of what to say, lacking its usual brightness.

It was only then that Kapros realized Kran was also very surprised and hurt, but as soon as Kapros noticed, that expression quickly disappeared. What remained before him was just the usual slightly mischievous, puppy-like guy trying hard to comfort him.

'I see. It's not just me who's shocked.'

Although it was unfair to Kran, the fact that it wasn't just him strangely helped Kapros regain his composure quickly. As if sensing this, Kran quietly opened his mouth.

"Nothing is certain yet."

"But..."

"Nothing."

At Kran's emphatic voice, Kapros closed his mouth that he had opened, and Kran nodded as if to say 'well done.'

"You have a tendency to think alone. Don't do that this time. Let's stop thinking until that guy appears before our eyes. Don't jump to conclusions either. Nothing makes a situation worse than doubts that arise when the person isn't around. So..."

"I got it."

Kapros felt his frozen heart completely melt. He sighed with a strange sense of relief and lowered his eyes.

"Thanks, Kran."

He thought again, as he had often done since Yu-wan disappeared, how fortunate it was to have this guy by his side. He couldn't express it, but he was truly grateful.

'Right. As Kran said, this is an issue I can't conclude on my own until we meet Yu-wan. There are many more important things to focus on right now...'

Let's consciously focus on that for now. With that decision, his mind became much calmer.

"Kap, I'll tell you again since you didn't seem to hear earlier. Ilumine said we could stay in the village as long as we want. She also said there's a guest house on the outskirts of the village we can use. And she wants us to visit her at least once a day while she repairs our guiding gems."

It seemed Kapros had indeed been greatly shocked, even if only for a moment.

"She said that? When?"

As Kapros asked in bewilderment, Kran chuckled. Afterward, with the help of the village elves, they were able to safely log out in a log cabin.

The next day, in Ilumine's cave, Kapros asked her quite a few questions. Most of them were to learn more about the quest's background, and Ilumine knew surprisingly well about all of it. Because of this, Siravi Ren's statement that she had been with the quest heroes from 500 years ago was almost solidified as fact in Kapros's mind.

"Do you also know a lot about the Dark Knight?"

When Kapros asked, recalling the Dark Knight user issue that had shocked him yesterday, Ilumine hesitated unlike before.

"...Humans call him the Knight of Darkness, don't they?"

Ilumine's expression at that moment seemed slightly different from usual. It wasn't the familiar expressionless face, but rather as if she had swallowed something extremely bitter. Kapros didn't miss how her blue eyes, which had been open wide and confident, momentarily held an unfamiliar emotion and wandered somewhere far away.

Did a reaction different from usual to a certain topic mean it was that much more important information?

"Humans are remarkable. To defeat demons, they created a monster exactly like the demons within themselves."

"..."

"It's a bitter thing."