Only Obedient to Me! Sir Knight Chapter 24

“I’m not well-versed in magic, but… this is truly amazing. This is a testament to your incredible skill, right? I’ve never heard of an average mage being able to do something like this.”

“Naturally.”

Rowy’s nose went a little higher in the air.

“You’ll be even more surprised once we go down.”

“What else is there?”

At that, Rowy, who had already stepped onto the stairs, glanced back at Van. He then grinned, wearing an expression that looked like he was about to burst with excitement.

“Well, there’s the mage’s laboratory, of course.”

After all, isn’t a mage most excited when showing off the fruits of their research to others?

. ꕤ ｡ ˚⋆

Stare. Rowy’s eyes were sparkling, looking at Van in expectation of something.

“…That.”

Van opened his mouth under the pressure, but… no matter what, he couldn’t bring himself to say anything more. To escape the situation for the moment, Van looked around, pretending to inspect Rowy’s laboratory.

“…”

Unlike what he had vaguely imagined, Rowy’s laboratory wasn’t particularly grand. A bookshelf filling one side of the wall, a desk piled with papers covered in magical formulas—that was all. The laboratory, which looked no different from a typical study, wasn’t even hidden. Located right where it touched the underground waterway, it likely would have been discovered by Van yesterday if he hadn’t suddenly fallen even deeper.

‘If that had happened, I might have… met that thing yesterday.’

…If he had seen this alone, he probably would have thought he was dreaming. Van looked at the… well, the demon before him with a bewildered face. Reddish-black leather, horns sprouting from its forehead, wings covered in membranes, and strangely horizontal, slit pupils. This typical demonic appearance was all too familiar to Van, who had dedicated his entire life to slaying demons. However….

[Master, Master.]

…I swear to Elion, Van had never dreamed in his life that he would see a demon kneeling before him, calling him ‘Master.’

[Master, Master.]

Gape, gape. A voice that didn’t belong to a human kept calling for its master. Van was struck dumb by the surreal sight.

‘…Does this make any sense?’

Is it… possible for a demon to listen to human commands? Van lost the ability to speak in a situation where all common sense was being destroyed.

‘Then again, the offering I met before was dealt with without a single magic tool.’

In the case of the offering, the body was human, so it was technically a misnomer to call it a true demon. But…

‘This one is a real demon.’

It seemed to be a low-level demon, but a demon is a demon regardless. The existence of a demon—a being with unknown powers that doesn’t die even when killed—is a disaster regardless of its rank. The fact that he was controlling such a demon this perfectly meant, quite literally, that Rowy’s power was completely overwhelming this creature.

‘It’s frightening.’

Feeling a strange chill, Van rubbed his arm and examined the demon closely. The demon moved listlessly according to Rowy’s gestures, and each time, the bracelet floating above its head emitted a silver light. It was Rowy’s magic tool. A silver ring with a blue gem—it was identical to the ring-shaped magic tool Rowy had shown him before, so he recognized it easily.

‘He said there were five magic tools in total. If he can control a demon with just one, then if he were to possess all five, what on earth would he….’

Van looked at Rowy with a new perspective. And Rowy… was still waiting for Van’s praise with sparkling eyes.

“How is it? Well?”

Since Van remained silent, Rowy started to prompt him. If Rowy just snapped his fingers like this, then,

[Master. Master.]

“Well? How is it?”

[Master. Master.]

The demon kept opening and closing its mouth. Van looked at the demon with an indescribable expression. How was it? How could he put it….

‘I feel so sorry for it….’

Born with the mission of slaying demons, Van felt pity for a demon for the first time in his life….

“Well? How is it?”

…Since he couldn’t say the demon was too pitiful, Van managed to think of something else to say.

“Uh, that… this demon was living in the castle?”

“Mm-hmm, I found it near that summoning circle in the basement. Oh, I didn’t summon it, though!”

Rowy waved his hands urgently. Van nodded vaguely at that. Seeing that Van didn’t seem inclined to say anything, Rowy, gauging his mood, snapped his fingers again.

[Master, Master.]

“So, how is it?”

“Pardon? Ah….”

“How is it, I said!”

“It, it’s amazing. This is the first time I’ve seen someone completely control a demon to this extent.”

He was sincere. He had assumed it was locked up somewhere at best, but he never imagined it was being manipulated with the tip of his finger…. However, it seemed that wasn’t the answer Rowy wanted.

“No, not that.”

Rowy snapped his fingers again.

[Master, Master.]

Once again, the pitiful demon called out for its master. Rowy wore a proud expression at that.

“I made it! A demon-tongue translation spell!”

“Ah.”

Ah, a translation spell. That’s what he was boasting about. In other words, he had created a spell that translates the demon language that calls for a ‘Master.’ He had wanted to show off the fact that he had forced a demon to its knees…. Van nodded with a subtle expression. It was certainly amazing. It was amazing, but… where on earth was he planning to use a demon-tongue translation spell?

“But this one is a failure. It only says ‘Master’.”

“Well, low-level demons don’t have very high intelligence.”

“…Then, if it were intermediate level, could we have a conversation? Perhaps….”

“Don’t even dream about it.”

“Sheesh.”

Even so, Rowy didn’t pester him further and glanced at Van. It was a silent signal that he wanted to see the Holy Sword. Van nodded in response. Even if he felt pity or whatever, a demon is still a demon.

“Whatever it is, I will annihilate it. Demons should not exist in this world.”

Van looked at the demon kneeling before him.

[Master, Master.]

The demon was still calling for its master. Van, who had forced the demon to its knees at his feet, pointed the Holy Sword at it and thought: …This is the easiest demon slaying I’ve ever done. The Holy Sword, imbued with the power of a chosen knight, glowed red. At the same time, holy flames filled the laboratory.

. ꕤ ｡ ˚⋆

“Amazing!”

“…”

“And that wasn’t even magic! Is this what they call holy power?”

“…”

“Holy power! Something so absurd! Just now! Just a moment ago!”

“Shh, Master. You’re too excited.”

“Haaa… I want to see it again.”

Rowy kept glancing at the Holy Sword with an enraptured expression.

“I want to try it, too. Do you think I could become a priest?”

Oh, great. Now he wants to be a priest. Van let out a hollow laugh at Rowy’s absurd suggestion.

“Just watch where you’re going. Mind your step.”

Having dealt with the demon so easily, the two were now on their way to the place with the demon-summoning circle. It was to recover Rowy’s magic tool. The stairs leading to the summoning circle were connected to the underground waterway, and throughout the entire descent, Rowy poured out admiration for the Holy Sword and the holy flames.

“It’s so cool.”

Ahem, well, it wasn’t unpleasant to hear.

“It’s really cool. Amazing. How can it be so cool….”

“Ahem.”

“It’s truly immensely cool, and….”

…After spewing praise for quite a while, Rowy glanced at Van, gauged his reaction, and slowly brought up the main topic.

“But… by any chance, could I see it again? The holy flames… I suppose it’s impossible since the demon is gone, right?”

“…”

“By any chance… do you know much about demon-summoning circles? I didn’t really intend to summon one, truly. I just took a little look at it, you see….”

As Rowy spoke while carefully gauging his reaction, Van immediately understood what he wanted. He must mean he wanted to call a new demon to see the holy flames again. Van walked forward without even pretending to hear him. At that, Rowy attached himself to Van’s side and hugged his arm for no reason.

“No, I just want to know what the problem was at least…. What did I do wrong? It wouldn’t summon.”

Since there was still no answer, Rowy even began to gently shake the arm he was hugging. …Ultimately, unable to endure Rowy’s coaxing mixed with aegyo, Van opened his mouth.

“Summoning is impossible with that circle.”

“Mm-hmm?”

“That is a summoning circle that cannot be used now.”

Van glanced down. It was so massive that one could only grasp its form from up here. The summoning circle, drawn in vivid red light, emitted an ominous feeling, as if something might appear at any moment… but it was already…. Van shook his head.

“That is a relic from the ancient holy war period. I knew this castle was old, but… it seems to be at least five thousand years old.”

“The holy war era?”

“Yes, during the era of holiness, during the holy war against the demons.”