“Hey, Gramps!!”“You are as lively as ever, Ruru.”
The Boy Knight effortlessly caught Ruru’s hi-tackle, spinning her around in a circle while hugging her.
As they played, he sifted through his long memories to recall the speech patterns he used back when he was an elder. Ever since he regained his youth, he avoided speaking like an old man, except when he was with Ruru.
Considering their actual ages, it was like a grandfather playing with his young granddaughter. But outwardly, they both appeared to be kids, barely over 160 cm tall, hugging and laughing together.
Ruru buried her face into the Boy Knight’s chest, taking in his scent.
He smelled of medicinal herbs and earth. It was a familiar smell. She had asked him once why he always smelled like that, and the Boy Knight had replied, “If I see a medicinal herb on the way, I dig it up and eat it.”
Ruru never understood why someone who could go ten days without eating and still remain perfectly healthy would bother chewing on herbs that wouldn’t even have an effect on him.
They stayed like that for a while, until Ruru glanced over at the calendar. The day she had circled as the day gramps was supposed to return (according to her estimate), was still far into the future.
“You’re back earlier than I thought?”
“I came back early.”The Boy Knight crossed his arms and clicked his tongue with a disapproving expression. He had cleaned up an entire city, killed a corrupt noble, and taken down five Black Wizards—but it all felt like a waste of time.
“I wanted to rip those bastards out by the roots, but they were quick to flee. Like lizards, the way they cut off their tails is a work of art.”
“Oh, I saw that on TV! When a lizard gets its tail caught, it just snaps it off and runs away! Oh Dae-soo said we should cut off our arms and escape if we ever get caught by the arm⋯⋯."
“.....What is a TV? Who is Oh Dae-soo?”
“Oh. A TV is this thing about yay big, and all kinds of videos come out of it! And, Oh Dae-soo…… is a friend.”
The Boy Knight's eyes widened. A friend?
Ruru, a once-pitiful, lonely child who had never had a single person to confide in until now, now had a friend.
Ruru was an innocent kid who was starved for affection, and was no good at thinking about things. So, it was possible that this Oh-death could be a leech using the label of friend for their own gain.
Even if he couldn’t take good care of her environment, he should at least cut down a leech. Boy Knight sat on a chair and asked kindly.
“Tell me everything in detail.”
Ruru moved her eyes up rightward at those words, then spoke after a bit of hesitation.
“Um, well….. They’re dead.”
“Oh no.”
No matter how you look at it, she was lying.
Instead of threatening her by asking if she dared to lie to him, the Boy Knight decided to use a softer and more moderate method.
He was going to order his subordinate to do a secret investigation.
If it was a sound guy, then he’ll leave them as Ruru’s good friend, and if it was a malicious person, he’ll just have them go missing silently. The Boy Knight was a busy person, but he had enough time for helping a kid he was attached to.
And had more than enough time to play with her.
“Well….. Should we stretch a little?”
“You just came back from a business trip, aren’t you tired?”
“Now you are even thinking about others’ well being, how commendable.”
The people around Ruru won’t be trying to make her sociable at this point, so this change must be due to her ‘friend’. Plus 1 point.
The Boy Knight pulled out his sword and naturally let it hang.
It was as natural as a tree having branches. The blade, made of forged iron, was attached to his hand as if it had originally grown from it.
Ruru squeezed her fist.
To her, the Boy Knight looked like a giant mountain range. In the past, she thought ‘if she hits harder then even a mountain range would someday fall’, but now it was a bit different.
Imaginary Oh Dae-soo started lecturing Ruru.
‘Use your head, your head! Don’t just rush in, think about where they’re weak before swinging your fist!”
Hm⋯⋯.
"Hmmm⋯⋯."
That grandpa doesn’t seem to have any weaknesses Dae-soo.
‘There’s no such thing as absolutely perfect. You just can’t see it because of the skill difference.'
If I can’t see it, where am I supposed to attack?
‘If you can’t figure out the opponent, think about what you can do….. Think about your build. If they have healing, then get grievous wounds, if they have a lot of armor, then get black cleaver1 .’
In that case.
To destroy a mountain range, a small hole won’t be enough. I’ll need a giant explosion. Like TNT. I saw it on Youtube Shorts.
Whirrllll──!!
Ruru gathered Mana on her fists. She imagined a giant explosion. When her will was added on, the Mana’s qualities changed slowly. It was a very primitive method.
It wasn’t a change in quality through refined technique and formulae, but rather a primitive form of magic where one just desperately wished for it to change. It’s efficiency was extremely low.
But it was way better than not using any techniques at all.
Crack. Craaack.
The concentrated Mana in Ruru’s right hand became solid, forming a Mana Crystal which took the appearance of a gauntlet. Then, it was imbued with the property of explosion. The Mana crystal was dyed a light pink.
“Gramps, here I come──!!"
“Come forth, then.”
And then, a straight.
"『Rodeo Impact』──!!"
A fearsome attack containing a bit of technique was unleashed. The Boy Knight’s eyes saw the power behind that fist, and calculated possible damages.
If it lands as is and explodes, half of the Capital Knight Order’s headquarters would be blown away by the explosion, then the aftershock would knock down three mansions.
To compare with the old Ruru, it looked like her power had increased about 50 percent even by simple calculations.
He was going to have to erase it.
The Boy Knight’s sword, which was hanging loosely on his side moved without any sound or figure.
"Metamorphosis(羽化), 『Smite (擊物)』."
One, two, three.
Ruru couldn’t see the Boy Knight’s sword swings, but she felt that it was swung three times.
『Rodeo Impact』, which she had put all of strength into was cut into three pieces and then vanished.
After the near-disaster level Mana was dissipated, a girl’s dainty punch was all that remained.
Tap.
The Boy Knight casually caught Ruru’s fist with his palm.
“You have improved quite a bit. It is not an easy feat to add technique for that much Mana.”
“After hearing a lot of nagging, I was able to do it!”
“Did your friend teach you?”
“Eung. Dae-soo nagged me about it all day long.”
The reason why Ruru just poured Mana without thinking was not only because she did not possess the intellect required to elaborately move that much Mana, but it was also because moving an enormous amount of Mana itself was a difficult task.
You could redirect a small stream of water with just your hand, but to redirect the ocean, you’d need an enormous amount of strength.
Outstanding instructions. Plus 1 point.
The Boy Knight began to like this Oh-death guy more and more. Now, he decided to ask about the most important part.
“Is this Oh-death a man?”
“Um…..”
Ruru intensely deliberated, then told the honest truth.
“......Both?”
"?"
The Boy Knight also fell into thought. Both?
Does both mean that they had both or neither? No wait, does that mean she didn’t actually see what it was? Or perhaps they can change their appearance⋯⋯.
Then does that mean it was a plus or minus point? It was a tough dilemma.
As the Boy Knight tried to imagine Oh-death or whatever’s appearance, Ruru crossed her arms, pushed her chest out and spoke confidently.
“I have something I wanna do now, gramps!”
“It’s important to have something you want to do. I will help if I can.”
“I want to become a Knight of Justice. It was cool!”
“Hmm⋯⋯."
Justice.
Those who are intoxicated by justice end with a miserable death nine times out of ten. It was a difficult value to protect with just passable strength. That’s why he usually discouraged it.
Ruru did not have just passable power, but rather a ton of power. Even if she dreamt of justice there won’t be any danger to her. The Boy Knight nodded his head.
“But I don’t really know how I’m supposed to do it.”
‘“In that case, ask the Capital Knight Order Team 3’s Director Ronald. He would know very well about it.”
“Can’t gramps teach me?”
“I am not just”
The Boy Knight gently smiled and patted Ruru on the head. Ruru thought that it was weird that he did not consider himself on the side of justice, but she did not say it.
If someone who beat up all sorts of bad guys wasn’t just, then just what was justice? Ruru assumed….. That gramps was being bashful and ignored it.
Anyways, Capital Knight Order Team 3.
She remembered that it was the team led by the mustache guy. However, Ruru recalled them being always tired.
“They know it well…..? Sometimes when I go to play, they’re always goofing around and not working⋯⋯."
===============================================================
Hidden in the basement of the building, Capital Knight Order Team 3’s command center.
They were living a peaceful pastoral life, giving it their all to punish criminals as usual, when the scream duty knight’s bio-siren rang.
“Emergency!!!”
“Wha-What is it! Who is responsible for Screaming Duty!! Report the situation!!”
“The Knight Captain is visiting!! The Knight Captain is visiting!!”
“Kyaaaaa!!”
Following the horrific news, the Team 3 command center immediately turned into an inferno. It’s as if an elephant was trying to force its way into your house.
While an elephant was naturally harmless to herbivores, the moment you enrage it your house would fall down. The Capital Knight Order Captain was the same. Even worse, she was a ‘very curious elephant’!
Against this grave threat, the Team 3 Director Ronald once again displayed his explicit leadership.
“Everyone, get into the posture of submission-!! To the apex predator who will appear any moment, we have to show that we are harmless in all aspects, and that we are ready to immediately forfeit in any kind of challenge whether that be a sparring match, arm wrestle, or a dice game, with our bodies-!!”
“Yes sir!”
“Uh-Um, Director…… What is the posture of submission?”
“You, must be a new recruit?! Good, watch well. It is laying down showing off the weakest part of our body, the stomach-!!”
Flop.
All of Team 3 laid on the ground with their arms and legs spread out.
A few competent knights even pulled out an emergency pillow and blanket they had prepared to act as if they were asleep. A beast is the most defenseless while asleep!
Remove everything the Capital Knight Order Captain might have an interest in. The solution was to not give a battle junkie a reason to fight in the first place.
This formation was actually effective against the Capital Knight Order Captain, and while the other divisions were busy with their inevitable remodeling construction, Team 3 managed to keep their headquarters safe.
So this time too, they would respond with absolutely perfect defenselessness.
Whiiing.
“Hey, I came here because I had a questi……”
When Ruru walked through the automatic door into the Team 3 headquarters, all the knights were rolling on the floor with dead fish eyes. Some even went as far as to make a space to sleep with blankets and all.
It was always like this. Whenever she visited, the Team 3 guys were goofing off on the job.
Now she knew how to describe these guys with one word.
“Salary Lupin⋯⋯."
"⋯⋯⋯⋯."
Justice?
Shouldn’t they be studying work ethics rather than justice?
Ruru sighed and plopped onto an empty chair. Gramps wouldn’t say empty words. So there must be a reason he picked out Team 3 specifically.
Figuring there was nothing to lose, she decided to tell them everything. Even if she wasn’t sure if Ronald, the Team 3 Director who even went as far to eye covers and snored, was listening in the first place.
“You know, I wanted to become a knight of justice. But I didn’t know how to do it so I came here.”
"⋯⋯⋯⋯."
Flinch.
“When I asked gramps, he told me to come here. That Team 3’s mustache guy would know all about it.”
"⋯⋯⋯⋯!!"
Flinch flinch. Ronald’s eyelids shook wildly.
When Ruru kept pressing Ronald’s happy button, the knights began a silent, quick communication from below the surface.
This is a trap Director-!! It’s suspicious that the Capital Knight Order Captain would suddenly say such a thing! She is trying to interfere with the Director’s attempts at feigning being asleep to spar with you!
But, the Boy Knight, the Sword Saint of the Empire gave me a shout out……!!
That has to be a lie, Director! Please do not fall for it──!
“I….. Don’t know much about justice. I don’t even really know what justice is. I just gained interest in it because I thought it was cool. Saving people, and most of all making them smile. My friend was like that.”
"⋯⋯⋯⋯."
“That’s why, should I say….. That I want to stand proudly beside my friend? I don’t want to be an embarrassing person. That if we meet again someday, I can also say proudly that I saved this many peopl….
Ronald could no longer endure the budding justice. If this was a trap, then he had to conscientiously fall for it.
He kicked the blanket as he rushed to stand up and roared.
“Then you came to the right place! This is the frontline of the embodiment of justice! We are enforcers of the iron law-!!”
“......Uh, weren’t you sleeping?”
“Your righteous soul woke me up! Capital Knight Order Captain, I am deeply moved right now…… Yes, you’re right, justice was about bringing smiles to someone.”
He had only thought about giving someone punishments. He was tunnel visioned. However, the true nature of law was to bring a smile to someone by the act of following it!
Ronald shook with moist eyes, moved. Sometimes in life, you can even gain enlightenment from an elephant walking by.
Ruru was a bit overwhelmed.
Regardless, Ronald smiled brightly and put his hand on Ruru’s shoulder.
“I won’t claim that our view of justice is the right one. However, I believe that there’s no better place to figure out the meaning of justice! Since everyone here is constantly wondering about that!”
“Uh, Eung…… I understand.”
“If we have the cooperation of the Capital Knight Order Captain, then we can go through with several plans we couldn’t push through with……. However, giving only tasks to do to a budding sprout is unthinkable! Let’s slowly finish tasks and try to draw a concrete picture of justice!!”
“Uh, Eung…. I understand, so can you not speak so close to me?”
Ruru shoved Ronald away. Along with a massive bam! Ronald rolled across the room. He naturally shifted to a backwards roll, got up and pointed to a spot on the whiteboard.
“Recently, there has been an incident which has been the subject of a profound discussion for us…..!! That is, the appearance of a vigilante at Crownhall!”
“A vigilante……?"
“Yes! Someone without governmental authority, and moves on the edges of law! Fluttering their blue hair and skirt while taking the law into their own hands against evil doers!! That courage and righteousness is commendable, but if you think about the true nature of law──"
“Wait a minute.”
Her heart was beating a bit, no, way too fast to just zone out.
Ruru gathered Mana in her fist. A lot of it. And then the interior of Team 3 went quiet as if it was always like that.
“About that Blue Haired….. Person, tell me everything.”
“Report duty Ervin, speaking! Witness testimonies about the person in question started about a week ago, and she is known to use a rapier as a main weapon. Her main stage is ‘outside the circle’, but based on her escape routes it’s possible that she has a safehouse ‘in the circle’, which means the matter has been entrusted to the Capital Knight Order..….”
“I’ll take care of tha….. No. Haaaaa, calm down Kim Ruru. I want to take care of this incident. I want to meet that vigilante girl. I’ll handle the arrest. Can someone tell me what I have to do?”
“To want to solve this through talking on top of that…..!! You have certainly changed, yes Capital Knight Order Captain must have have an interest regarding the irony between the legal and illegal⋯⋯?!"
Thump thump.
Team 3 Director Ronald’s heart beat quickly at the thought of raising a justice newbie. Especially because this newbie was on the Sublimation Stage, and wanted to communicate instead of using force!
Kim Ruru tried to stop herself from getting excited at the possibility. Even though she told herself that she didn’t want to be disappointed, that there was no way this was the case, but her anticipation refused to fade.
Perhaps you could call this same bed, different dreams.
This is how Ruru, who was written Capital Knight Order’s Captain and read as a tactical-nuke, ended up cooperating with Team 3 of the Capital Knight Order.
1. League of Legends references. Grievous wounds reduces healing, black cleaver reduces armor