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Chapter 53
“Going Crazy”
“Do you think I’ll take it and not return it?”
I joked, and Roitz gave a small laugh as he replied,
“Isn’t that possible?”
“I’ll return it.”
I opened the umbrella with a snap and smiled at him.
“I can’t promise the condition will be good, though.”
I walked past Roitz’s house and down the shaded path.
When I looked back after a while, Roitz was still standing at the door, watching me.
Bang!
The door to the house shut.
As soon as Serdin left, Roitz sat down right behind the door.
“…Ha.”
A long sigh escaped his mouth. He raised his hand and roughly undid the buttons on his shirt.
The more he thought about what happened earlier, the hotter he felt.
He had pretended to stay calm in front of Serdin because he didn’t want her to think it was strange, but…
“…I’m going crazy.”
He could still feel the sensation of her touching him all over his body. The breath that brushed past his lips was vivid too.
What was Serdin thinking when their eyes met in the dark?
He was curious, but he couldn’t ask her.
Because he couldn’t even admit what he was thinking himself—what kind of desires he was getting caught up in when he was usually so proper.
Unlike Serdin, who looked calm, Roitz couldn’t treat every moment of contact as nothing.
“…”
At that moment, he felt a hazy energy behind him.
The beast inside his body was trying to break free.
This kept happening lately. Whenever his mind wavered, the beast tried to take control.
Roitz lifted his head with an angry expression. The ominous energy around him subsided like it was being suppressed.
But his mind was once again filled with Serdin. Her voice echoed in his ears.
‘You smell like sweet grass.’
Thump, thump.
He had decided to just be satisfied with staying by her side without wanting more.
He was sure of it.
Roitz covered his face with his hands and sat there for a long time.
The next morning was bright and sunny.
Erina, a knight from Elche, visited the knights’ library for the first time in a while to study.
“Oh.”
She spotted a tall man standing between the bookshelves.
Roitz, dressed in a sky-blue shirt, was leaning slightly against the bookshelf with light shining behind him.
He was completely focused on reading.
‘He’s still so diligent with his studies.’
Even with all the training and missions, he still found time to read. Erina admired him from afar with respect.
His expression was serious as he read.
‘I wonder what he’s reading.’
Because his large, tanned hand was covering the book spine, she couldn’t see the title.
After debating for a while, Erina decided to approach. But the moment she stepped closer, Roitz lifted his head at the sound.
“G-good morning, Sunbae.”
“Yes, good morning.”
“It’s such nice weather for reading today, so I thought I’d also…”
“It’s good to see you studying.”
“Yes, I…”
She wanted to talk more, but he was a hard senior to approach.
Roitz casually put the book back on the shelf and turned away. He clearly didn’t intend to continue the conversation.
He left the library with only a small wave.
Watching him leave, Erina felt disappointed but decided at least to check what book he had been reading.
She pulled out the book Roitz had just returned.
‘This is…’
“Plant Encyclopedia.”
‘Plant Encyclopedia?’
The page he had been reading was folded. Erina opened to page 264.
“Teiji grass. Its leaves have a sweet fruit-like scent. The slightly bitter, refreshing aroma mixed with sweetness is why it’s also called ‘wine grass.’”
Grass? It seemed like a sweet-smelling grass, but…
It wasn’t a magical plant, just a normal one. Why had he been reading this?
As Erina softly read the words aloud, a younger knight passing by overheard and stopped.
“What are you reading, Erina-sunbae?”
“Ah, nothing.”
Serdin, who had just arrived, glanced at the book with curiosity.
She remembered Serdin was also always diligent. Seeing her at the library so early, Erina decided she should work harder too.
The summer was deepening with the cries of cicadas.
The lush, green Elche headquarters was currently being managed by Deputy Commander Yurien instead of the commander.
The commander had gone to the western Edikal Forest to provide support.
The Edikal Forest, also called the ‘Garden of Demons,’ was a dangerous place.
It had many monsters, including poisonous ones, so fighting there was no easy task.
Although the soldiers of the western Edike region had gone ahead, they were struggling. Elche had sent support fifteen days ago.
Even with the commander gone, Elche was as busy as ever.
And aside from Elche’s duties, I had my own tasks.
“Hmmm…”
I left the library with no new findings.
‘How am I supposed to get the Dagger of Light?’
I came to see if there were other ways to obtain it, but the library didn’t have any useful information.
I had already managed to get Teiji grass easily, but I was stuck on how to get the dagger.
I even wondered if there was a way to make the Dagger of Light myself, like with Teiji incense. But I wasn’t a blacksmith, so that wasn’t possible.
The most standard method was to borrow it from the holy artifact storage. But there were too many issues with that route.
Even though the Dagger of Light wasn’t the rarest or most valuable artifact, it was still a holy artifact. Borrowing one required official permission.
‘But who’s going to approve it?’
Like the Teiji grass, the Dagger of Light was rarely used unless it was for summoning beasts. To borrow it, I would need a senior knight’s approval or an imperial official’s certification.
‘It’s too risky to ask Derek for help again.’
Because the dagger was a weapon, I couldn’t just excuse it as research.
While I was thinking about this, my feet naturally carried me toward Roitz’s office.
I didn’t have any reason to go, but since I was his direct subordinate and always visited, my steps moved there automatically.
I stopped near his door.
Memories of that day at Roitz’s house came rushing back.
“…”
Several moments flashed through my mind.
Rolling on the bed tangled in the curtain and meeting his eyes.
Hiding under the curtain while my heart pounded.
The voice of that woman outside the door and the way Roitz had calmly removed the curtain and gone to meet her.
‘Who is that person?’
She came and went from his house so freely. They must have been close.
‘But it didn’t seem like they were just close friends.’
If it had been someone else, like Enia, Roitz would have probably just yelled from inside, “Leave it, Enia!”
But with that woman, he personally went to meet her in a polite, rational voice.
Who was she, and what was their relationship?
Lost in thought, I looked up. Roitz’s office door was slightly open.
I could see him sitting alone at his desk.
But then—
“…!”
It happened again.
Just for a brief moment, a wolf-shaped mist—Necroquad—was surrounding him.
Roitz clenched his teeth and his fists, and the Necroquad disappeared instantly.
His face looked tired as he suppressed it.
I quietly turned away from the door.
It seemed like I didn’t have time to delay finding the Dagger of Light.
Holy Artifact Administration Office.
“What brings you here, knight?”
The imperial official in charge of lending holy artifacts greeted me kindly.
I steadied my mind and opened my mouth to give my prepared answer.
I would say I was here to borrow the Dagger of Light and that I needed it for subjugating monsters.
“Light…”
But just as I began to speak, a commotion broke out next to me.
It looked like a man who was also borrowing an artifact was arguing with the staff.
“I told you, I just need to use it personally for a bit!”
“You need to state a clear reason.”
“Since when did the lending process get so strict? I’ve used this service every year and never had this problem!”
“Moonleaf can have side effects depending on the user. Giving a proper reason is mandatory.”
“Fine, it’s for personal treatment…”
“Moonleaf can only be used as a treatment when someone has ingested a banned drug. You’ll have to come with me for questioning.”
The man’s face went pale, and he closed his mouth.
Watching that, I closed my mouth too.
