How to Live as a Catastrophe-Class Knight – Episode 006

6. The Small Town of Bamertan

“I-I’m sorry, Lord Cedric. Even I cannot purchase this.”

Those were the words Enselm uttered with a pale face upon arriving at the campsite, dragging the seven-meter-long crocodile.

When the purchase of the crocodile, which clearly seemed more valuable than a large crow, was refused, I couldn’t help but be puzzled.

So, when I asked for the reason.

“This is a fantasy species, a descendant of a witch. If I were to buy such a thing, a witch’s curse would surely fall upon me. A talking crocodile… This is a more ominous creature than even a snake that drinks starlight. S-something bad will definitely happen.”

At Enselm’s words, spat out in fear, Hokarn, standing beside him with his arms crossed, nodded in agreement.

“Lord Cedric, what Master Enselm says is correct. Witchcraft tricks may not reach a mercenary aspirant like you, Lord Cedric, who is comparable to a knight, but Master Enselm’s circumstances are different.”

“Circumstances are different? How?”

“People who traded in fantasy species all met unfortunate ends. Dying in their sleep for no reason, having a horse’s leg break while galloping well and dying from a fall, meeting such strange deaths… these are not uncommon.”

To call it superstition, Hokarn and Enselm’s expressions were far too serious.

People who didn’t even pay attention when Malcolm told ghost stories about the lake truly believed in witches’ curses.

“You said it doesn’t concern knights. Can you explain what that means?”

At my question, Hokarn shrugged his shoulders and, glancing at the crocodile bound tightly by vines so it couldn’t move, continued.

“Knights are beings granted permission to use mana by nature itself. Unless it’s a witch of high rank, it is difficult, nearly impossible, for ordinary witches to curse a knight. If a knight had declined to the point of being unable to use mana, it might be possible, but such cases are rare.”

Since I’d heard many stories during my travels, this was a fact I already knew.

Knights possess strong magic resistance and also do not age easily.

Apparently, that magic resistance also included witches’ curses.

As Hokarn’s explanation continued, I gradually began to understand just how amazing knights were.

Then Hokarn, who had been staring intently at the crocodile, continued his explanation.

“If Lord Cedric were to trade this crocodile, that curse would likely only be directed at Master Enselm. Even a witch of high rank would not dare curse a knight of Lord Cedric’s level.”

Listening to Hokarn’s explanation, I felt as if the crocodile bound by vines was smiling.

A sense of relief emanated from between the crocodile’s characteristic breathing sounds.

At Hokarn’s explanation that a trade would be difficult, I grabbed the back of the crocodile’s neck, which I had laid on the ground, and threw a glance at Hokarn.

“Can this be eaten?”

“Son of a—! Y-you’re going to eat me now? Human! I am a talking crocodile! Where in the world is there a human who eats talking creatures!”

“I’ve heard crocodile meat is similar to chicken. If it can be eaten, I’ll cook it myself. Since if you do it, you might get cursed.”

“C-crocodile cuisine? Even so, consuming a witch’s descendant as food is a bit…”

Hokarn stepped back with a horrified face, and next to him, the coward Malcolm began praying to God while drawing the sign of the cross.

Enselm let out a sigh of relief when I gave up on the trade, but slumped to the ground when I brought up crocodile cuisine.

I shook my head at my companions’ reactions. These are all reactions that come from living in plenty.

In the illegal slash-and-burn farming village where I lived, we even ate gathered insects when there was nothing.

“Is it poisonous, perhaps?”

“Probably not. I haven’t heard of a talking crocodile using poison. Of course, no one has probably ever eaten one either…”

“W-wait! Why is the conversation like this? You’re not really going to eat me, are you? Please spare me! Okay?”

The crocodile bound by vines began to struggle and plead with a desperate voice.

It was a slender girl’s voice. A voice so beautiful it could be called soprano.

It was a voice quite similar to the mysterious howling it used when trying to bewitch my mind earlier.

This was probably the crocodile’s real voice.

A sudden curiosity led me to ask the crocodile.

“Are you female?”

“Huh? According to biological classification, yes, I am female… but why?”

“If a talking crocodile mates with a regular crocodile, what is born?”

“…Haa.”

Instead of answering my question, the crocodile tightly closed its long, slit eyes.

I eventually turned my head to the most knowledgeable person here, Hokarn.

Hokarn replied with an awkward expression.

“If a crocodile mates with a crocodile, wouldn’t a crocodile be born? As for whether that hybrid could also talk… I don’t really know either.”

“Can’t we sell that?”

“…Excuse me?”

By this point, Hokarn was looking at me with a disgusted expression. The talking crocodile, who had been begging for its life, also began to tightly shut its mouth.

In that silence, I had no choice but to abandon the crocodile breeding plan.

Judging by the reaction, it didn’t seem like money even if breeding succeeded.

“Let’s summarize then. Trade impossible. Breeding and selling offspring impossible. Food use impossible. Then it’s completely useless?”

“I’ve heard it’s possible to have it baptized if handed over to the fantasy collectors of the church.”

“Baptized?”

“Just a ceremonial blessing. The possibility of reaching God’s land after death increases.”

A story utterly useless to me, who doesn’t believe in God.

“We should kill it then.”

“Hmm. I also think that would be the cleanest solution.”

“Gyaaak! You’re going to kill me? Sir Knight! H-handsome Sir Knight! If you spare me, I will serve you to the best of my ability! Please!”

A soprano scream, captivating enough, burst from the crocodile’s snout.

If it were a person, it would undoubtedly be the voice of an exceptionally beautiful girl.

Unfortunately, the counterpart was a crocodile.

As I finished my decision and raised my fist, the crocodile’s struggling intensified.

“Be born as a human in your next life.”

“Gyaaaaah!”

“Such a voice screaming. Anyone would think I’m the villain.”

“Y-you are the villain! Capturing and killing me who was living quietly in the lake! I’ve never harmed a person!”

It was a rather hard-to-trust excuse.

But then, the crocodile, looking at my fist with terrified eyes, began hurriedly spilling out human words.

“I’ll make a Moon Servitude Oath! I’ll become your faithful servant! R-really!”

“Hokarn?”

“Ahem. I’ve heard that occasionally, descendants of witches captured by humans make Moon Servitude Oaths. It’s an oath with powerful restraining force, but I wouldn’t recommend it.”

I couldn’t help but admire Hokarn’s extensive knowledge once more. For a low-rank mercenary, he was an incredibly knowledgeable person.

If I ran a business, I would have wanted to hire Hokarn first.

After getting Hokarn’s answer, when I stared intently at the crocodile, the startled crocodile hurriedly began chattering about its value.

“W-well, for one, I can speak.”

“I can speak too.”

“Being a crocodile, I’m confident in swimming! If you wish, Sir Knight, I can even catch fish for you in lakes during your travels!”

“That’s a somewhat decent proposal, but to carry you around just to catch fish… you’re too big.”

Even though I don’t care about others’ gazes, walking around with a 7-meter-long crocodile waddling behind would inevitably draw attention.

It’s big. Too big.

“I can reduce my size!”

“Size?”

“T-to the size of a lizard!”

The crocodile bound by vines carefully opened its mouth while gauging my reaction. Seeing the end of its voice trembling, it seems it planned to shrink and escape if things went wrong.

The reason it didn’t try was probably that it wasn’t a very high possibility.

“That’s not enough reason to spare you.”

“Monster detection! Prey tracking! Magic to light campfires! I can even predict rain! I-isn’t this much useful?”

I fell into brief contemplation at the crocodile’s desperate voice. This much was certainly useful. Even without knowing how powerful the restraining force of a Moon Servitude Oath is, these abilities are more than enough reason to spare its life.

But still feeling a slight disappointment, I looked at the crocodile.

“U-um, I can make food a bit more delicious! If I use the forest dew I can gather to make food… Is this too useless an ability? Ugh!”

“Pass.”

“…Excuse me?”

The crocodile, which had seemed about half resigned, opened its eyes wide and questioned back.

Seeing my previously lukewarm reaction, then suddenly saying I’d spare it, it seemed unable to accept the situation and was flustered.

Truly a foolish crocodile. If it had mentioned food-related abilities from the start, I would have said I’d spare it without hesitation.

I looked at the crocodile with expectant eyes and then told it to perform that Moon Servitude Oath or whatever it was.

Then the crocodile closed its eyes.

Slurp—

I felt something indescribably warm seep into my body. More precisely, into my heart, but it wasn’t an energy that could harm my body.

Intuitively, I could understand what that energy meant.

A contract with a powerful restraining force, almost excessive, where the subjugated entity must offer unilateral loyalty to the contractor.

I felt an invisible line connecting me and the crocodile.

Even without explanation, I knew. This invisible line could be severed anytime I wished from my side.

Of course, the opposite was impossible.

While the master can abandon the servant, the servant cannot abandon the master.

I reached out to the crocodile, which had now shrunk to the size of a lizard. The tiny lizard, not even half a span of my hand, cautiously glanced around and then climbed onto my hand.

“N-nice to meet you! Sir Knight!”

“My name is Cedric.”

“Yes! Lord Cedric!”

Waving my hand to my companions, who had been stupidly watching my contract process, I quietly lay down again to sleep.

Today, the moon in the sky above felt a bit closer than usual.

Waking up and opening my eyes, I saw Walter busily preparing a meal. On his shoulder, a lizard resembling a gecko was waving its short legs.

“Now!”

“R-right now? Understood!”

At the lizard’s instruction, Walter placed the dew-covered leaf he was holding into the pot. Even something that seemed insignificant apparently had its crucial timing.

As I got up and began arranging my blanket, the talking lizard, noticing I was awake, widened its eyes and jumped down from Walter’s shoulder.

“Good morning! Master!”

The tiny lizard, less than half a span in size, scurried over and bowed its head before me as I arranged the blanket.

So fearsome is a contract.

To see a descendant of a witch, a monster that makes even low-rank mercenaries tremble, observing formalities before me like a noble paying respects.

Afterwards, I finished arranging the blanket and received a meat stew from Walter.

It didn’t look much different from what I’d eaten while traveling. Stew made by boiling dried jerky, pemmican, and mushrooms gathered from the forest.

But.

“…Hmm?”

The moment I took a spoonful of the stew, I tasted something familiar.

A famous Western restaurant in Hongdae I visited long ago, briefly, with an ex-girlfriend I had parted ways with.

I happened to see the chef secretly sprinkling MSG into the stew at that famous restaurant known for using natural seasonings.

Incidentally, the stew I tasted now was identical to the one I ate at that restaurant back then.

A precisely replicated, modern taste.

“…Pass.”

At my lightly uttered evaluation, the talking lizard, who had been watching me with a tense expression, collapsed onto the bushes of the campsite.

“M-Mister Talking Lizard!”

“Walter, I have water! If I sprinkle this, he might regain consciousness! H-his true form is a crocodile! W-water might work, right?”

Having apparently become close in that short time, Walter examined the talking lizard’s condition with a panicked expression, and next to him, the equally flustered Hokarn hurriedly brought out cold water.

Another peaceful day, like any other, was beginning.

Three days later, Bilshmar Plains.

We arrived at the Bilshmar Plains, called the golden land of the small town of Bamertan, on the afternoon of the third day, one day later than planned.

Already in the distance, the huge city walls surrounding the town were visible.

Massive 7-meter-high walls built by carving solid granite.

The appearance of that sturdy fortress, incomparable to any wooden palisade, was an intensity I felt for the first time since my rebirth, having lived in an illegal slash-and-burn village.

Though high-rise buildings were familiar to me from living in the modern era, these walls exuded a different, solid sense of intimidation.

We moved our steps across the plains where stretched reeds shone like gold. Upon arriving in the small town, we planned to first sort Enselm’s goods, then proceed with the identity verification process as agreed.

Since we arrived early in the morning, arranging a meeting with the lord’s clerk wouldn’t be too difficult.