Osian looked at Ena in disbelief.
He never thought she would suddenly hit the Judge with a car even though the fight was over.
She was angrier than he thought, considering she had yelled at him earlier while suppressing the golden fire.
Osian immediately climbed into the passenger seat.
Ena immediately stomped on the jeep's accelerator and took off at full speed.
Now that Martinez was down, the gold fields were disappearing, and the jeep sped along without a hitch.
"Is it okay to leave it like that?"
"The Judge it’s a monster that was hit by a steam train and melted it down, so what's a little jeep going to do?"
He can reattach a severed arm like a lizard's tail, so there's no way he's going to die from being hit like that.
He's still tired after the fight, but he'll recover quickly.Even knowing that, Ena's punch was the result of a tantrum against the man she had been chasing all this time.
"I'm surprised you even know how to drive."
"Trying to make a living, I ended up doing all sorts of odd jobs."
"A witch?"
"What does that mean? Did you think a witch would make a lot of money playing Witchcraft?"
"I didn't."
Ena gave me a bitter look.
"Of course, I've made some money doing it, but not exactly for the money, and I did it out of the goodness of my heart."
"That ability to show illusions."
"It's not just an illusion, I can show you anything you desire, even touch it, not even a complete illusion."
Based on that, Ena was paid to show people the illusions they wanted.
At first, she thought it was the right thing to do.
By showing it to someone who had lost a loved one, she could help them heal their wounds.
The world condemned witchcraft, but Ena thought differently.
Even witch power, if used in the right way, could help someone.
"It was a vain wish" she says, "because the world isn't so easy."
Most memorable was the vision of a child.
In this world, children also work to earn money.
Delivering newspapers, running errands, sweeping chimneys.
The harshest job of all was in a coal mine.
Moving ore through the narrow, winding streets of the mines was much easier for small children.
Children from poor families had no choice but to work in the mines and it was the children who would die when the mine collapsed.
The old woman who came to Ena was a mother who had lost her only child in the collapse.
At first, Ena showed her a vision of her dead child.
She was moved and proud to see the mother hugging her child in tears when she saw him.
But after that, the old woman kept coming back to her, begging her to let her see her child.
At first, Ena complied, but the woman kept coming back, and Ena finally nailed her.
"Then she reported me to the church because she was delusional that this evil witch had kidnapped and eaten her child, and I'll never forget the way she looked at me and screamed her eyes out, because it was so scary, like something out of a dream."
Funny, right?
Ena's expression is sad as she asks.
"It's nice to see the fantasy you want the most, but the moment the match is burnt, it's a mirage, literally gone with the wind. That's why it's short, and that's why it's so intense."
"Because the moment you wake up from a sweet dream, what awaits you is an empty, bleak reality."
"Everyone wants to have sweet dreams, especially when the reality is hard and demanding. I thought I was helping them with good intentions, but I wasn't."
Instead, the sweet fantasy was a drug-like quagmire that was hard to get out of.
The more you get hooked on it, the more broken you become, until all you have left is madness and obsession, begging for more.
"So, I tried to refrain from witchcraft as much as possible and learned what I could. Driving is one of those things."
"That must be hard work, but you're amazing."
"Are you the only one?"
Osian, sitting in the passenger seat, laughed at Ena's scolding.
The lighthearted retort made it seem like no big deal, and she couldn't help but wonder.
"What the hell was that?"
"What are you talking about?"
"Well, the cloak you wore with the light from your sword."
"It's a basic knight skill."
Osian could only explain.
Indeed, the Starlight Sword was one of the basic skills used by the Knights of the Sky.
"A knight?"
Ena asked, as if she had misheard something.
"You're joking, right?"
"If that's what it sounded like, I suppose I can't help it. But it's not something a witch would say, is it?"
"No, witches still exist."
"Knights exist, too, right here, right now."
Ena opened her mouth to ask if that made sense, then shut it.
Come to think of it, what else could Osian be but a knight?
His sword emitted a blinding white light and he wore a cloak of pure white starlight.
Not magic, not holy power, not mutant powers, not science and technology.
It was something unique to Osian himself.
If Osian called it knight power, he was a knight.
'Besides, something about it makes sense.’
There must have been knights in the past.
Although they were now only legends, or fairy tales, they had existed.
They were said to have traveled the world, guided by the stars in the sky, doing what they believed was right.
Ena had heard such stories from her grandmother as a child, like a righteous knight, defeating an evil dragon and saving a princess.
As she listened with wide eyes, she remembered imagining that she, too, would one day have a knight like that.
‘A knight.’
Ena laughed softly as she remembered the nostalgia and compared it to her current situation.
In the fairy tale, the knight defeated the evil dragon and rescued the princess but the knight in the passenger seat defeated the paladin and saved the witch.
The knight in the fairy tale rode a brave, white horse, but Osian was in a jeep.
She couldn't help but laugh at the strange irony.
"But how on earth did you think to fight the Judge like that? He’s supposed to be one of the most talented monsters of his time."
"Because I've fought a lot."
‘I've had my fill of PvP with paladins.’
Osian was careful not to avoid a fight that came his way so he kept his PVP window open at all times, waiting for acceptance.
Usually, curious people applied to PVP with Osian, with a disproportionately high percentage of paladins.
This is because they are the only class that can fight long battles against Wandering Knights.
For reference, the next most common classes were warlocks and barbarian warriors.
Osian's answer was based on his memories, but Ena's reaction was different.
‘You've fought a lot? With paladins of the Order? Who the hell is this guy?’
But judging from the bored look on his face, the secretive man was unlikely to answer her questions.
"Are you sure about this? You've ended up in an adversarial relationship with the Holy Kingdom and you've even given them your name. Wouldn't it have been better to erase the evidence even now?"
"It's useless."
Osian stared out the passenger window.
His dark eyes reflected the desolate landscape as it rolled by.
"If the young Judge is dead, the Order will be on his trail, and it will be known that he has confronted us."
"Right, because if we make it to the city in one piece, they'll be on our tail."
"That's why I let him go. At least he's not going to do anything completely out of line."
Of course, this was just an excuse that came to mind.
If he had to guess, it was more like mercy for a good fight.
It also allowed him to use the Nebula Silk.
"I'm tired. I need to get some sleep."
"What?"
"Drive safe, please."
Despite his outward appearance, Osian was on the verge of passing out.
It was a good thing he'd gotten to use the Nebula Silk, but it was the first time he'd used it, and it had taken a huge mental toll.
If only he hadn't used it so casually.
He used his first skill at full power and ran nonstop to deal with the Judge.
The recoil came like a tide now that the fight was over and the tension was gone.
Osian immediately closed his eyes and drifted into a quiet sleep.
Behind the wheel, Ena's eyes widened in disbelief at the sight.
‘Really? He's actually sleeping here?’
No. Of course it was a struggle. But he managed to win against the Judge.
What about that starry sword?
It was a sword of such high firepower that it could cut through the Judge's boasted divine power.
No, could it even be called a sword?
It's actually a mass of calories, just in the form of a sword.
Fighting with it would have consumed an incredible amount of energy.
Still, the situation has changed.
She is the client, who asked for help, so why is she suddenly acting as the driver of the fixer?
"Damn. I just have to wait until he wakes up. I'm going to confront him right away."
Even as she said that, Ena's driving became noticeably softer, as if she didn't want to disturb his sleep.
*
It was when they arrived in Tirna that Osian's eyes opened.
Unable to drag the car all the way inside, they left it in the care of a nearby mechanic and traveled separately for internal transportation.
When they reached the entrance to the Violet Fox Tavern, they heard a loud noise from inside.
Instead of opening the doorknob, Osian focused his senses on his ears and listened in on the conversation inside.
-Isn't it about time he got back? It’s taking him quite a while.
-I thought he'd be back sooner or later, but I'm surprised. Maybe he hasn’t given up?
-I've heard rumors that the scrap yard guys are on the move, and even those nasty mafia guys are in on it. I wonder if he'll come out of it with a little warning?
It was Lorraine, Ronan and Diolan, respectively.
Then he heard Lorraine exclaim, as if she were certain.
-Of course he will. It's not something a single fixer can do. He'll be back soon.
-Since Lorraine is so sure, I'm guessing it's something else.
-Well, what do you say we make a bet? Will our youngest succeed or fail in his mission? I'm betting on failure.
Thinking that they were having a good time talking while he was gone, Osian opened the door and stepped inside the tavern.
The three sitting around the table, talking incoherently, looked at him and shut up at the same time.
Ronan was the first to wake up, and he greeted Osian with his usual suspicious smile.
"Hoo hoo. Welcome, Mr. Osian. You're a little late."
"I was taking care of some business, so I'm late."
"Well, you shouldn't feel too bad. Being a fixer isn't always about success, is it? Sometimes you fail, and we don't mind."
"What are you talking about? I never said I failed."
"What? What does that mean.......?"
Instead of answering, Osian moved to the side.
Then, from behind Osian's back, Ena Grundt appeared.
The three’s expressions changed when they saw her.
Ronan's smile vanished from his face, and his narrowed eyes grew longer.
Diolan looked bewildered, and Lorraine's expression was the most telling.
It was a look of horror, like the sky was falling.
"This is our client, Ena Grundt. I brought her back safely."
Osian said, glaring at the three of them, especially at Lorraine, the one who had said that he was sure to fail.
"Uh, uh, uh......."
Lorraine broke out in a cold sweat, then quickly exclaimed.
"My, what did I tell you, our youngest will succeed!"
"What? Surely it wasn't just a moment ago......."
"Aha, come to think of it, I forgot to clean my guns today, I'm going first!"
Lorraine scurried away as if she wasn't going to allow him to answer.
Ronan shook his head in disbelief, and Diolan smirked as he banged his head on the table.
"......is this a group of fixers, right?"
Ena Grundt muttered with a weak voice from the ridiculousness of the scene.
Osian introduced Ena Grundt to her coworkers.
"This is Ronan Rolland. He’s a broker in this fixer's office. Say hello."
Ronan greeted Ena with the gentlemanly smoothness and courtesy of a gentleman.
"Pleased to meet you, Miss Ena Grundt. I'm Ronan Rolland, a broker with Violet Fox. It is indeed an honor to meet the illustrious witch I've only heard stories about.”
Ena glared at Ronan, then quietly slipped behind Osian's back.
Osian turned to face Ena, who had only her face peeking out.
"What's wrong?"
"That guy. He's too suspicious."
He couldn't ask her what was so suspicious.
In fact, Osian was thinking the same thing.
"It's his eyes. People like that must be hiding something."
It's clear that Ena is in a temper tantrum, as she felt when she rammed the Judge with her car.
"Hoo hoo hoo, you're funny," he said, "but when you say that, it hurts my delicate feelings.
"Wow, you're lying through your teeth without even blinking."