I looked at the four Royal Knights who had suddenly appeared in the hospital room.

"...Haa."

A sigh escaped me automatically. The news that I had woken up must have been delivered. I had expected a visit from Frost, who had come to see me several times.

But... what about those guys? Why did he bring them along?

The only one who welcomed them was the Heavenly Demon.

The Heavenly Demon smiled.

[Welcome guests.]

"What's so welcome about them?"

[How can I not be happy to see the grateful people who have helped you grow one step further?]

The words the Heavenly Demon had said suddenly came to mind. What doesn't kill me makes me stronger. In other words, they were the grateful people who had pushed me to the brink of death.

"...."

I always feel this, but the Heavenly Demon has a different perspective from ordinary people. Is it because they all look the same to him? The problem is that those monsters don't look the same to me at all.

Rutie of the Swift Sword, who had been waving her hand cheerfully, called out to me with a beaming smile.

"Nice to see you, Sir Ashuban. It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"...."

"Actually, I wanted to fight you in the decisive battle, but things didn't go as planned."

Then she glanced at Sir Ashley and muttered.

"Well... that wasn't so bad in the end either."

It was true that they were quite a burden to me as well. Four monster-like individuals. And one of them was a monster of a different class.

I sighed and said.

"Sir Rutie."

"Yes?"

"Don't call me 'Sir'. I'm not a knight."

Rutie tilted her head.

"I heard the Black Prince declared in the arena that Sir Ashuban is his knight."

"He did it on his own without my consent, so ignore it."

"Aha."

"And it's not Ashuban. It's Ashuban."

Rutie's eyes widened.

"Huh? Really?"

"Ashuban was a stage name I made up in case my identity was revealed. I didn't know you already knew my identity."

"Oh... I see. Ashuban. Ashuban. This one definitely rolls off the tongue better."

The Silent Victor, who had been listening quietly from the side, opened his mouth. He was still wearing his helmet.

"Ashuban?"

"That's right, Sir Victor. My name is Ashuban. Not Ashuban."

"...."

Victor closed his mouth again. The other two knights just looked at me silently.

Rutie glanced at the Black Knights surrounding them and asked.

"Um... I'd like to get a little closer and talk. Is that possible?"

With their appearance, the guard in the room had become more severe than ever. They hadn't drawn their swords, but they were all standing up with their hands on their hilts. They were already tense just from Frost's arrival, but now with the three Royal Knights who had participated in the decisive battle... the atmosphere in the room was more hostile than ever. As if a sword fight would break out at any moment.

Of course, if a fight really did break out, it would be our side that would be wiped out. I remember the sword strikes of Sir Rutie, who had swung that long sword like lightning. If she put her mind to it, most of the Black Knights would have their arms cut off before they could even draw their swords in her surprise first attack. If she had used that sword in the decisive battle, Sir Ashley might have been defeated in the end.

The Black Knights were like that because they had received orders from the Black Prince. But the others were also in an uproar.

Linda was standing in front of me with her small body, her arms spread out to the sides, and I could see sparkling needles protruding like claws from between the fingers of her tightly clenched small fists. There was probably a deadly poison on them. A normal person would die just by being grazed.

Her expression was colder than I had ever seen. She was a girl who usually smiled brightly like a fool, but with her expression wiped away, there was something eerie about her. ...She used to say the Royal Knights were scary.

Shushruta, who would normally have stopped Linda, was also crouched low like a beast at the foot of the bed, glaring at them. She looked ready to pounce at any moment. In her hands, she was holding daggers in a reverse grip.

Not only that, but Sir Ashley, who would have normally dealt with the situation calmly without being swept away by the atmosphere, was also slightly overheated, perhaps because of Sir Rutie's appearance.

"...Sir Rutie. What is your business here?"

"How many times do I have to say it? I came to visit."

"Lies."

"It's true..."

"As if anyone would believe you."

"Commander. Please calm down."

It must have been bad if even Walpole was trying to calm her down. At this rate, no conversation or anything else could proceed. In any case, they must have come here with some business. It was right to have them finish their business quickly and send them away. It seemed they would continue to be like this while I was talking to them. We couldn't just continue this standoff.

I sighed and said.

"Everyone, leave."

"...Pardon?"

Sir Ashley looked at me with a bewildered face.

I said again.

"Everyone except the guests who came to visit, leave."

As expected, protests erupted from all over.

"How can you say that!"

"Devil, it's dangerous!"

"Lord Ashuban. We can't do that."

I dismissed them with a single phrase.

"It's not helpful for you all to keep growling like this."

"But!"

"Let's say Frost swung his sword right now. Is there anyone who can stop him?"

"...."

At my sharp remark, everyone became as quiet as a mouse. In the silence, Frost's cold voice spread lowly in the room.

"I won't swing it."

"I was just hypothesizing."

"I see."

I looked around at those who were on guard and commanded.

"Sirs. And you guys. I know how you feel, but leave. I won't say it again."

"...."

In the end, I kicked everyone in the room out. In the process, Shushruta passed by, growling at them as if she would kill them, and Linda threatened to poison their meals if they harmed the Devil.

"Close the door."

"...If we just leave it a little open."

"I said close it."

...Click.

Only after they had all left did the chaotic atmosphere settle down a bit. I was already exhausted even though I hadn't done anything.

"Haa..."

As I let out a long sigh, Rutie approached me with a beaming smile.

"As expected of the Red-Eyed Devil. You're very brave. What would you do if we suddenly attacked you? Are you saying you can take on all of us by yourself even when you're injured?"

I snorted.

"Nonsense. That's meaningless from the moment Frost arrived."

Whether Frost came alone or with others, it meant there was no big difference. He was too immense on his own.

"That's true."

Rutie simply accepted it. Of course, they had no hostility. If they had come with hostility in the first place, why would they have been in a standoff? They would have wiped us out long ago.

Rutie suddenly grasped the hilt of her sword at her waist and smiled slyly.

"Even so. Shouldn't you confiscate our weapons? You seem to be too careless."

I let out a small laugh.

"Are you willing to give them up?"

Rutie also gave a dangerous smile.

"I wonder."

No matter how injured I was, they were Royal Knights. Even without Frost stepping in, if they suddenly harbored hostility, I, in my injured state, would have no way to deal with it. But I decided to act tough. Because no matter how I thought about it, there was no reason for them to attack me now.

"Careless..."

I said with a relaxed smile.

"Do I look careless to you right now?"

And with that, I raised my Floating Step and created a slight breeze.

Hwoong—

My hair fluttered, and the hem of my clothes flapped. The light breeze I had created spread throughout the room, centered on me. Thanks to recovering my internal energy through energy circulation all night, this much was possible.

The wind brushed past Sir Rutie's shimmering golden hair.

"...!"

Sir Rutie, who had been approaching with her hand on her hilt, froze for a moment. Flinch. They didn't know that I could control the wind. In the first place, martial arts was a magic-like power that was not common in this world. It would probably look like a secondary phenomenon caused by the wave of ki, or mana.

The other knights watching from behind also had surprised expressions. The only one whose expression didn't change, Frost, opened his mouth.

"Sir Rutie. That's enough."

Rutie obediently took her hand off her hilt and then approached me with a cheerful smile, as if nothing had happened, "Wow... as expected. I heard you were seriously injured, but to still have this kind of power. I don't really feel any mana. It's strange."

I answered nonchalantly, "Is the joke over?"

"Yes. The joke ends here."

Rutie playfully winked one eye. I thought she was the complete opposite of her younger sister in many ways.

"I heard everything. You beat up our seniors properly, didn't you? It's a shame I didn't see it. Our seniors aren't the type to get beaten up anywhere."

Rutie chattered on and had already taken a seat in a chair near the bed. I looked at the other three knights who were slowly approaching.

"I beat them up, and I got beaten up a lot too."

"But you won anyway."

"But they're standing there perfectly fine, and I still can't leave my bed. In that case, who won?"

Rutie chuckled.

"Now that you mention it, that's true."

While I was exchanging conversation with Rutie, the other Royal Knights had also reached my bed.

"Sir Serkov. Please sit."

Rutie pulled a chair and offered it to Frost, and he did not refuse. She also offered chairs to her other two seniors, but they exercised their right to refuse. The other two knights did not sit, but took their places behind Frost like his subordinates. Come to think of it, they probably were his subordinates. Frost was probably something like the commander of the Royal Knights.

Rutie asked me various things. First, she asked about my physical condition, and then she asked various questions about me. It seemed she had a lot of questions. She asked about my sword, whether I had a master, my training methods, black magic, and the dagger and legacy of Ophosis.

I answered her sincerely within a reasonable range. Because, as the Heavenly Demon had said, they were the grateful people who had helped me rise one step higher. ...Though it was a little annoying that they understood it as black magic no matter how I explained it as martial arts.

While I was at it, I even demonstrated and explained the Mana Circulation Breathing. It was uncertain whether they would actually put it into practice.

While I was faithfully answering Rutie's flood of questions, the others listened silently. Except for Rutie, they were all men of few words, so it looked like only Rutie was talking. It was like a talkative younger sister asking questions on behalf of her taciturn older brothers.

In front of Sir Ashley, she had seemed like a perfect older sister, but among themselves, she seemed like a smart younger sister. When Rutie had naturally sat down first, I had wondered if there was some kind of hierarchy I didn't know about, but listening to her talk, it seemed this girl was just an oddball. She was said to be the youngest Royal Knight. It seemed her seniors just let her be.

Surprisingly, the Royal Knights didn't seem to have a particularly stiff atmosphere. If anything, it was more relaxed. Considering how Walpole was sometimes picked on by Ashley, well. Since it was a knight order made up of a small number of outstanding individuals, it seemed to have a relatively free atmosphere.

Since it seemed Rutie was asking questions on behalf of her taciturn older brothers, I continued to answer, occasionally making eye contact with the other knights.

Van Dyke, with both arms wrapped in bandages, listened to my story with an interested expression. Fortunately, I couldn't find any resentment for having both his arms cut off.

Victor, perhaps feeling comfortable among themselves, had taken off his helmet at some point. I wasn't too surprised, as I had already seen half his face through the broken helmet. Usually, people with large scars on their faces wear masks or helmets to cover them, but Victor was relatively clean. In fact, he had a simple face that looked to be in his mid-to-late thirties. It occurred to me that he might be wearing a helmet to hide that gentle impression.

And Frost... he was just expressionless from beginning to end. Like a cold ice sculpture had been placed there. A man whose thoughts were completely unreadable. That was the Knight of Frost.

"There's something I'm really curious about..."

Rutie opened the door to another question with an unusual tone. I wondered how long this interrogation would continue and nodded.

"Feel free to ask."

It was rare for me to be so kind, honest, and willing to answer with all my heart. For them, there would be no better opportunity than this. Rutie was making very good use of it.

"Where on earth did you come from?"

(End of Chapter)

Ashuban used a different name during battles, one that sounded very similar to his own, which confused me. I’ll go back a few chapters later and fix this.