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Chapter 30
What If I Go?
As the attack wrapped in red energy grazed it, the monster shrieked and burst into flames. After confirming it was dead, I quickly turned back to the man.
“Are you okay?”
“Th-thank you!”
The man repeatedly thanked me. Feeling a bit awkward, I hurriedly shoved the stick back into his hands.
“Still, it’s lucky you were carrying this.”
His hand trembled as he took back the stick, clearly still shaken.
“You never know when a monster might appear…”
He answered with a trembling voice. Had monsters been showing up around here often?
But for a fifth-grade monster, as long as the area was well-managed, it shouldn’t appear that easily.
“There should be a soldier in charge of this area. Just in case the monster shows up again, I’ll go report it.”
“It’s no use.”
“Sorry?”
“Even if you report it… soldiers don’t come.”
“Why not?”
“Because… this is that kind of neighborhood.”
The man gestured around with a cynical expression—this dark, grimy slum called Jedilak Street.
But I still made my way to find a soldier in charge.
‘Come on. There’s no way they’ll ignore a report about a monster.’
However, when I urgently asked a soldier to follow me, he stopped dead in his tracks at the entrance of the street.
“Ugh!”
“What’s wrong?”
“You meant Jedilak Street? I’m not going in there.”
“People in that place are filthy. That’s why monsters are drawn to them.”
“Fish from the lower stream live only in the lower stream. Monsters that appear in places like that don’t cross over into other neighborhoods.”
“So you’re saying it doesn’t matter whether monsters appear there or not?”
“We don’t have the time to worry about those kinds of places.”
“They’ll rot and disappear on their own.”
“Are you picking a fight with us, Miss Righteous?”
Just then, a scream rang out again from the direction of Jedilak Street.
“Hurry!”
Practically dragging the soldier, I forced him back into the street.
Then, right beside the grumbling soldier, a huge beetle-shaped monster passed by.
“Aaargh!”
The soldier stiffened like dried tinder, shocked.
In the distance, I saw the source of the scream—a small child staring at us in fear.
The beetle monster had already turned its sights on him and was charging fast.
‘No!’
I grabbed the child and rolled, narrowly avoiding the attack.
“Hey, over there! Help me!”
But the soldier just stood there, gripping the sword, wide-eyed.
“Just throw me the sword!”
Still, he clung to it as if it were his lifeline.
‘No—at this rate, I’ll be…’
Just as I thought I would be cut down—
The monster froze.
A sword flew past me, striking the monster’s vital point perfectly.
I turned around.
There stood Roitz, his expression cold.
Behind him, a dark mist in the shape of a wolf rose—his beast spirit, Necroquard.
The soldier beside him trembled. Everything had ended before I could even process it.
Roitz walked past me and pulled his sword from the monster, then turned to the soldier.
“Why didn’t you move?”
“Sir Raidon, your commander, would be thrilled to hear that.”
“That uniform’s wasted on you.”
Roitz then dismissed the soldier only after securing confirmation of follow-up measures.
I had done nothing but stand there.
Watching Roitz—resolving everything quickly, cleanly, and without error—
I felt… strange.
Is this what people mean when they talk about admiration?
Roitz turned to leave without even a goodbye.
“Wait!”
I grabbed his arm.
“Senior, do you hate talking to me?”
He didn’t answer, but his gaze remained indifferent.
“We’re no longer senior and junior at Yudeln. Not comrades in the same order, either.”
We were close once, but now… we were nothing.
“Let go.”
“If I do, will you hear me out? I’ve got so much to say—I haven’t even said one percent of it.”
“No. I won’t listen.”
“So you’re cutting me off?”
I was repeating the words he once said to me.
Because I finally admitted—
There’s no longer a reason for Roitz to see me anymore.
But then—
“What if I did?”
“What if I went to Elche?”
“You?”
“Yes. I might go to Elche.”
“That’s nonsense.”
“No—it’s not. I really will go.”
“Then we’ll be connected again, right?”
“I’m going to Elche.”
The words kept flowing.
And with each one, I realized—
The fog I felt choosing Kaela, Nouvelle, or Ignis vanished the moment I said Elche.
Impulse turned into certainty.
“See you at Elche, Senior.”
I shook his hand and ran off toward the Knight Order Administration.
Now I get it. That’s why I couldn’t decide until now.
Because I wasn’t choosing what I truly wanted.
And now I had.
I made a decision knowing the danger ahead.
But that clarity gave me strength.
Other orders had vague risks. Elche’s danger was clear.
But if I know the danger—I can find a way to overcome it.
Yes, it was impulsive. But sometimes, impulse is enough to guide a decision.
My clothes were still wet and heavy.
But my steps… felt strangely light.
