How to Survive as a Genius Spy in the Game Chapter 223 - Bodyguard Knight (2)

“Knight Carl Schurtafen, kneel.”

To be honest, it was quite touching. I’ve put a lot of effort into helping Erendil all this time. Of course, it was for my own survival.

There are many people in the world who don’t appreciate kindness and take it for granted. However, Erendil wasn’t like that.

Well, that’s why I chose Erendil in the first place. Still, she recognized the efforts and dedication I’ve made and repaid it with fitting trust.

Even though, contrary to my thoughts, she couldn’t see truth or lies from me.

The knighting ceremony was the same. In fact, I came to Erendil’s side as a Haisen agent.

In the past, Erendil didn’t trust me either, so the ceremony was omitted on the first day.

But it felt somewhat fresh that she remembered such a trivial thing, in addition to trusting me despite not being able to see the truth.

I knelt down. Erendil’s blonde hair seemed to flow like waves under the light coming through the window. Her green eyes beneath captured me. I bowed my head.

“I, Erendil Kisturath, Emperor of the Empire, by the right bestowed upon me by the great founding emperor, hereby appoint you, Carlyn, also known as Carl Schurtafen, as my bodyguard knight…”

Moonlight in Erendil’s hand slowly touched my shoulder and head, then moved away. “You, who are both Carlyn and Carl Schurtafen.”

I smiled slightly while keeping my head bowed.

“You shall now be a mountain of shields protecting me, and a wave of swords repelling enemies. The past and lingering attachments that bound you before kneeling shall disappear when you rise…”

The past and lingering attachments will disappear, huh. It’s a common phrase in knighting ceremonies, but hearing it directly felt a bit different.

I don’t think that’s possible. My relationship with Haisen and my memories from Earth are still clear.

Of course, like all knights, I had no intention of doing the crazy thing of denying those words.

Instead, I stood up. Erendil held out Moonlight to me. I received the sword with both hands.

“You, who have become a guardian of the empire, shall fulfill your duty by my side, never straying far, as you have always done until now.”

It was a bit different from the original knighting ceremony. Usually, the one bestowing the knighthood would say what they wanted, but I had never heard the phrase “never stray far from my side” before.

Well, that’s not important. I held the sword upright in front of my chest and greeted Erendil with a sword salute.

“Knight Carl Schurtafen receives the honorable command of Your Imperial Majesty.”

Erendil, bathed in sunlight, showed a clear smile. I felt that smile was genuinely happy.

Afterwards, as if embarrassment belatedly arose, she slightly averted her gaze.

“I originally wanted to hold this in a better place and more suitable situation, but for some reason, I felt now was the right time. I feel a bit sorry for you.”

That’s not wrong. It was also the first time a knighting ceremony was held in a hospital ward.

Moreover, I wasn’t even wearing armor. I was wearing light white cotton clothes that patients wear.

“You don’t need to mind. Isn’t what’s important the meaning it has for Your Majesty and me?”

This was sincere. What others see isn’t important.

Although it happened suddenly, I was quite touched by the kindness Erendil showed.

“Us…”

Erendil looked into my eyes and nodded.

“Yes. The meaning is what’s important. Not a bad thing to say. As always, you seem to say the right things.”

“You’re too kind.”

Erendil turned around swiftly.

“Let’s go. Now we need to destroy that insolent scythe.”

“Yes.”

***

As if prepared in the meantime, a maid handed over a coat as we left the ward. I put it on lightly and followed Erendil.

At the training ground we arrived at, Faorn was standing in front of the fixed Tsukva’s Scythe.

There were a total of four people in this place. Erendil, me, and Faorn and Minteron. Given the nature of the matter, everyone else had been dismissed.

“Are there any precautions to take when breaking it?”

Faorn asked me. I shook my head.

“I’m not sure. I brought it because I couldn’t destroy it myself. I think it might be possible with the Sirs’ Sword Energy or Your Majesty’s Teme’s Spear.”

“Hmm. I’m not sure if Sword Energy would be enough.”

“Is it that strong?”

“It’s certainly no ordinary object. Your sword has faced Sword Energy before, hasn’t it?”

That’s right. That’s why I was worried whether a Sword Master could destroy it.

If I had gone to Rudehrn in the north… I wonder if the worst situation would have occurred. Faorn examined the scythe.

“It seems I could break it if given time…”

“Would it be faster if I do it?”

“Yes. The Teme’s Spear you possess, Your Majesty, is stronger than Sword Energy in terms of destructive power.”

“Then I shall do it.”

Erendil stepped forward. In an instant, Teme’s Spear was in her hand.

“Won’t there be a problem if we break it right away?”

“Don’t worry. We’ll handle it.”

In response to Erendil’s concern, the two Sword Masters moved. Faorn stood in front of Erendil, and Minteron walked to the opposite side.

It was to block immediately if something happened. After confirming that the two had taken their positions, Erendil took a deep breath and threw the spear straight away.

Teme’s Spear, shining brightly even in broad daylight, flew towards the scythe emitting a dark aura even under the sun.

Clang-! A sharp metallic sound rang out. And in between, there was a cracking sound of something breaking.

At that moment, there was a small tremor in the ground. Amidst the sand dust rising from the impact, darkness rippled from the scythe.

Faorn and Minteron immediately surrounded it with Sword Energy, but nothing more appeared.

Teme’s Spear returned to Erendil’s hand. The scythe that appeared after the sand dust cleared looked intact.

But it was certain that there was a fine crack.

“It seems to have had an effect.”

“Yes, let’s try once more.”

Nodding at Faorn’s words, Erendil threw the spear again. The sound of piercing was sharp. This time something was different.

Crack-! A sound like something breaking completely. And darkness began to burst from the cut scythe.

However, the light emanating from Teme’s Spear, which had pierced the scythe, suppressed the darkness. Instead of darkness, a heavy wave spread like an explosion.

Fierce wind arose in all directions centered on the scythe. It was strong enough to shake the trees in the imperial palace violently.

The two Sword Masters tensed their bodies as if about to move at any moment, but Tsukva’s Scythe soon began to turn into black powder.

The finely scattered black powder dissipated into the atmosphere, carried by the wind. The rippling darkness had also disappeared.

‘It was good to break it with Teme’s Spear.’

A Sword Master is a Sword Master indeed. Their intuition is frightening. I don’t know what would have happened if we had just broken it with Sword Energy.

Teme’s Spear clearly seemed to be suppressing something.

“Phew, it’s over.”

Erendil exhaled deeply. She looked a bit tired. For some reason, I felt the same way.

It took less than a minute to break the scythe, and I just watched from the side, but I felt slightly drained.

[You have gained Stratagem experience.]

A system message popped up in the corner of my vision. However, it wasn’t notifying a level up.

It was a bit disappointing considering I had brought and destroyed an artifact from deep within enemy territory.

I had also killed a devilish dragon and faced a devil. Well, I just got beaten up by the devil…

Anyway, the disappointment wasn’t great. It hadn’t been long since I leveled up while making Erendil the emperor.

At my current level, the required experience must be beyond imagination. Even if I did something great, it wouldn’t be easy to level up.

And I didn’t have much regret. The traits I’ve gained so far are enough. Unless I become a Sword Master, things won’t change much anyway.

“It seems there’s no problem.”

Faorn, who had been observing the situation where Tsukva’s Scythe had disappeared, spoke to Erendil.

Erendil nodded.

“Everyone has worked hard. Let’s go back.”

***

After parting with Erendil, I lay back down on the hospital bed. My physical condition was still not good. The wounds inflicted by the devil were quite serious.

Considering my recovery speed, I thought I would need to rest for 2-3 more days before I could use my body to some extent.

Still, I wasn’t worried because it was the imperial palace. It was a place with the best doctors on the continent, except for divine doctors.

The doctor frequently checked my body and brought all sorts of medicinal decoctions. It was almost burdensome.

“Um, I’ve heard that too much medicine can become poison… Is it okay to drink this much?”

The day after dealing with Tsukva’s Scythe, I had drunk 6 different decoctions in the 24 hours since yesterday.

It was bad enough that I was asking an unnecessary question to a doctor who knew medicine better than me.

“Don’t worry. We’re prescribing an amount that won’t burden you, considering your physical abilities.”

The doctor answered with a confident face. Well, to be honest, I didn’t ask because I thought it would really be a problem.

I don’t know if it was because of the medicine, but recovery seemed faster than I thought, even though only a day had passed.

At this rate, it seemed like I could move around tomorrow. Hmm, yeah. Let’s move tomorrow. I made a decision.

Although my body wasn’t in good shape, there were still things I needed to do. It was the 5th day since encountering the devil. It had been 7 days since I parted with Denif.

‘He should still be heading south.’

I wasn’t too worried, but I was planning to go out to find Denif as soon as possible.

The devil had confirmed the existence of someone other than me through the eyes of the devilish dragon.

I had moved separately and created distance, so now there was no way for it to know Denif’s location, but you never know.

Of course, I think the possibility of Denif meeting the devil is almost zero.

But it’s more of a sense of duty to look after Denif as a comrade. Even if I don’t know exactly where he is, I should find him.

“My lord, may I come in for a moment?”

It was then that a voice was heard from outside. A slightly rough voice with a unique pronunciation, it was the dwarf sent by Erendil.

When I told him to come in, a middle-aged dwarf entered, bowing his head. He looked at me with wide eyes and a surprised face.

“Oh! Dragon Slayer and protector of Her Majesty, Lord Carl Schurtafen! You’re much more handsome and dignified than what I’ve seen in newspapers and heard with my own ears!”

It was quite unfamiliar for a dwarf’s reaction, so I was considerably embarrassed. I just smiled awkwardly.

Even Hamal of Haisen wasn’t this much. He definitely seemed like a different breed from the dwarves I knew, perhaps because he belonged to the imperial family.

“Ah yes, I am Farock, a craftsman belonging to the imperial family. I heard that you wanted to check the condition of your sword.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Carl Schurtafen.”

“Then, may I check the sword right away?”

The dwarf looked quite excited, but when I nodded, he immediately walked towards Moonlight.

After seeing his initial reaction, I was feeling a bit annoyed thinking I might have to deal with him, but he seemed to be a person who did his job properly.

The dwarf picked up Moonlight and began to examine it closely. He slightly pulled the tip of the sword with his thick fingers, tapped the blade with his fingernail.

Then he took out a metal rod from his pocket and tapped the blade surface with it.

“It’s not easy for such a famous sword to become like this…”

Hmm, it seemed like an unfavorable situation was about to unfold.

“As expected of a hero who turned the tide!”

The dwarf turned to me with admiration. I was slightly taken aback by the unexpected words. Is he a master of push and pull?

“Hmm. Well, for someone who fought a devil and cut down a dragon… It would have been inevitable to face them without Sword Energy.”

“Is the condition that bad?”

I had been guessing inwardly, but even though it sounded like praise, if the dwarf was saying this, it seemed quite serious.

“The internal fractures are significant. It will break soon. It needs to be reforged, but since the interior has already been damaged by an irresistible force…”

He trailed off, but I thought he might be saying that even if it’s remade, it won’t become a famous sword again.

“But don’t worry too much! I’ll do my best!”

Hmm… Is he saying it’s possible or not? He’s been going back and forth since earlier, it seems to be this person’s personality. I fell into slight contemplation. Dragon heart.

Should I just eat this or use it to make a sword?