Rain pattered down outside. Everyone heard Osian's murmur. He said it was a dragon. A dragon that had lived since ancient times, the strongest among its kind.
"What on earth does that mean?"
Ena, who still didn't understand the situation, asked. Osian gave a brief explanation of the current situation. That there was a Sea Dragon, and that it was currently extremely enraged.
"Then, does that mean that dangerous dragon is going to attack Tirna?"
Even after hearing the entire story, Ena still seemed unable to accept it easily. It was inevitable. It didn't feel like the end of the world or anything like that. It was a part that revealed the public's perception of the Sea Dragon.
"They tried their best to stop it, but that's how it turned out. The rain falling now is presumably the aftermath of that."
"Isn't it just a dragon though?"
"It's not just any dragon. It's an ancient dragon that has lived for a very long time."
"Isn't that the same thing?"
But if they actually saw it, the story would be different. The long-lived Sea Dragon can cause natural disasters. Even in this age of developed civilization, natural disasters were something that couldn't be overcome.
'Even though Amenora tried to stop it, she failed. The fact that even she, a Sky Dragon who has lived for ages, couldn't stop it is proof of how tremendous the Sea Dragon's anger and power are.'
The drizzling rain stopped. The sky, which had seemed like it would continue raining, had brightened a little. Osian instinctively sensed that Amenora had done something.
However, he knows this is merely a postponement of the coming danger, not a fundamental solution. The Sea Dragon's rage will eventually reach Tirna. The city where people he holds dear reside.
'One incident barely ends before another one occurs in succession.'
It's like the machinations of fate. Osian felt some kind of will in this series of pressing flows. The predetermined end of this world approaches. As if to say they've granted reprieve after reprieve until now, but will no longer tolerate it.
'The reason I awakened. And the countless incidents that occurred afterward.'
Was it ultimately to prepare for this moment?
Night fell. Osian still sat inside the tavern, looking out the window. He needed time to organize his thoughts.
Then someone approached Osian. Surprisingly, it was Cromwell. Having become both a hostage and a freeloader, he had to stay at the Violet Fox for a while.
"What is it? Do you have something you want to ask separately?"
"It's something I can say since there are no other people around."
It seemed he really had something to say. Osian had thought he might at least say thanks for saving his life, but perhaps expecting that from Cromwell, an extreme scientist, was too much.
"I've researched a lot about you. I've observed and watched you for a long time."
"Even if you suddenly confess that, it's awkward to hear. Well, I knew that eyes had been following me constantly since long ago. You're not the only one doing such things either."
"I didn't stop there. I wanted to know more. I kept tracing your traces, continuously groping through the past. Where on earth did such a person appear from? And I was able to find it."
From Cromwell's voice, Osian suddenly recalled something he had forgotten about. It was the place where he had first set foot in this city.
Osian didn't flow into the city from outside like others. When he opened his eyes, it was an ancient ruin, and that ruin had been hidden beneath Tirna's factory district for ages.
"I found that place before anyone else and I sealed off the area and secretly continued my research. The place where a knight whose lineage had been severed suddenly appeared. I believed there would be some kind of clue there."
"So did you find anything?"
"Not particularly. It was just interesting that it was an ancient ruin, and that there were various devices meant to test some kind of being. But there was still one interesting point. It was the power of Starlight that was detected there."
Osian looked at Cromwell with an expression asking what he meant.
"I don't know how long you stayed there, but when I checked, the ruin was generally filled with high-concentration energy. I also learned that it was the power of starlight, the Starlight you use."
"That's strange. I didn't sense it at all."
At that time, he had just dropped into Tirna and didn't have the luxury to pay attention to other things. But that didn't mean he wouldn't have been able to sense the power of Starlight.
"Perhaps it's because the energy filling the ruin originated from your power that you couldn't perceive it. Just as fish take water for granted, people are insensitive to changes in their environment that are influenced by themselves. And I learned an amazing fact there. Namely, that the power of Starlight dwells in the overall structure of that ruin."
Even Osian hadn't noticed that at all. Was it really as Cromwell said, that because it was an environment he created, he couldn't notice the change?
"So you extracted that Starlight energy to create artificial knights?"
"I wanted to, but all of your power that I used when creating artificial knights was procured from other places. Most of them were minerals imbued with mysterious power. I couldn't even touch the power dwelling in that ruin."
"You must have a reason for telling me this."
"I've essentially been expelled from the White House now. To begin with, the White House is an organization the current king Solenon created to make his own position more comfortable. Like me, the others are merely the current king's limbs. Having essentially fled from there, I'm in a position where I can no longer conduct experiments."
"Then that means all the projects you were working on at the time are frozen."
"If there's any fortune, it's that like the artificial knights, that project was conducted secretly, avoiding the current king's eyes. It may be frozen now, but no one should have taken those results yet. It's highly likely."
Osian understood what Cromwell was trying to say.
"You want me to check that place again."
"At the time, I made an energy storage device to secure the Starlight energy existing in the ruin. According to my calculations, there's a high possibility that by now, all the power that filled the interior of the ruin has been stored in the device. We can't just leave that alone, can we?"
"Why are you telling me this? You could just ignore it and move on."
"Because if you absorb that energy, or obtain some other clue from there and become stronger, it will play an important role in protecting humanity from extinction."
Cromwell's purpose was always the same. For that sake, he could willingly join hands even with someone he didn't like.
And Cromwell didn't actually dislike Osian. Although he had fallen, the cause was ultimately his own misjudgment. Rather, Osian had even saved and protected him.
He's a superhuman who can protect the world. He even felt a kind of pride in being with such a person. While newly realizing he had such embarrassing emotions, Cromwell willingly wanted to help to the extent his knowledge and power reached.
"Hmm. The place I came from. I'll have to go there again." "
That's not all. I know there are people with similar powers besides you. I was interested, so I had to know for certain."
"You know about that too?"
"Yes. And I also learned about people who used ancient powers similar to yet different from knights. The North Blinders, was it? They used the powers and techniques that the ancient northern barbarian warriors used."
"You know well. If you happen to meet them later, don't say the words 'barbarian warrior.' Unless you want an axe added to your forehead like a decoration."
"That's not all. I also confirmed the Purifier among the 13 Holy Orders of the Petra Papacy, and the power of the half-elf woman among the Blood Brotherhood. That their powers are also suitable for preparing for the coming extinction."
"If you knew all that, why me?"
"Because your power was the best among them."
At Cromwell's calm acknowledgment, Osian felt inexplicably pleased. Given his personality, he wouldn't say something just to be polite, so he probably truly believed the knight's power was the strongest.
If the barbarian warrior's or paladin's power had been stronger, Cromwell would have made artificial warriors or artificial paladins instead of artificial knights.
"Were you waiting all this time to tell me this?"
"I saw you defeat the artificial knights and absorb the starlight they possessed. The power that Alpha Prime had also returned entirely to you. Since you were the master of the power, it's not surprising that it returned to its original state. But from the scene at the ruin, I saw a possibility."
"What possibility are you talking about?"
"That you can bestow that power."
Osian chuckled softly at those words.
"It is true. I can actually bestow Starlight."
"I see. Indeed. If you do that, cultivating knights would be faster."
"How would what's created that way be different from artificial knights? I merely pass on the spark. It's entirely up to them to kindle that spark into their own flame."
Cromwell didn't say anything about that being inefficient. If Osian had decided to do it that way, there was no need to object.
Anyway, he had only said something out of a trace of possibility and regret. If that was impossible, he just needed to seek other possible methods.
He had lived that way until now.
"I'll gratefully accept your advice. As you say, I'll need to examine the place I came from once more."
"That's fortunate then. That's all I have to say. I'll return to my seat now."
Although called a freeloader, Cromwell is still in an uncomfortable relationship. Especially when there are people who find Cromwell distasteful, like now.
Cromwell wasn't insensitive in that regard, so he quickly withdrew from the spot. And naturally. As if waiting for Cromwell to disappear, Seren approached.
"You didn't use your ability and waited?"
"Ah. Well, that's..."
Seren trailed off for a moment. Even if she had gotten better, if she used her ability, she didn't know when it might relapse. At the very least, she shouldn't overuse it like before. Having secured Cromwell's person, there was no need to take unnecessary risks.
"You seem to have something you want to say."
"Yes. It seems like something I must convey."
Seren smiled as she gazed at Osian. Their gazes intertwined in the air. Her pink lips moved.
"Thank you so much for saving me. I should have conveyed this right away, but I fainted and completely forgot."
Seren took several breaths as if gathering her thoughts before continuing.
"I thought I had no future. Because I knew my condition well. Living not knowing when I might die made me nervous enough to have a breakdown, and though I was struggling desperately to live, there was no hope. Actually, halfway, I thought, ‘Wouldn't it be easier if I just died?’"
Tap. Tap tap. Rain began to fall again. The sound of gradually falling raindrops tapping the window pane echoed quietly on the first floor.
"Usually people who know about this situation all pity me. They were all the same. I hated that, so I hid it and didn't tell others. But you were different. Even knowing my condition, you didn't pity me or feel sorry for me."
"Isn't that just an insensitive person?"
"Maybe I just needed that kind of insensitivity. And yet, when I was in crisis, you came right away to save me. Maybe you could have been sucked into that gap in spacetime and become lost too."
Osian moved based solely on the single possibility that using the power of the Sun, Moon, and Stars might work. The moment things went even slightly wrong, not only would he not save Seren, but he himself might have disappeared. Nevertheless, Osian moved without hesitation.
Was he without fear? That wouldn't be true. Because everyone harbors fear. Osian simply didn't stop moving forward even knowing that fear.
And so he saved Seren.
"I want to see light shining in this world. I want to hear music on a brilliant stage. I want to eat delicious food too. And, I want to love normally, and live normally."
This world is still full of danger. It doesn't end just by solving one's own problems. So, Seren decided to do her best too.
To handle this unstable power of hers, she needs the light of heaven that Osian wields. Not something received from others, but power she cultivates herself. So Seren finally decided to face the world she had been turning away from.
"I look forward to working with you from now on, my Knight Commander."
Osian nodded and said.
"Welcome to becoming a knight."
The next morning Seren stood in the center of the training ground with a bewildered expression.
"Huh?"
Dressed in clothing convenient for activity, she had at some point placed a heavy barbell on her shoulders. The heavy pressure bearing down reminded her that this wasn't a dream but reality.
"Right! This is our new recruit joining today! As always! We continue our training!"
She could see Asmer shouting. Also the appearance of the knight order members shouting at the top of their lungs around her. And right beside such a Seren.
"Is this your first time?"
Rose Melody, Tirna's diva and the city's popular figure, welcomed her with a smile as if delighted to have a new comrade.