Chapter 4

The Genius Knight Who Devours Memories

Chapter 4

Fourth Squad Leader Creed returned to his squad and leaned against a cot.

Calling it a squad barracks was generous; all they had was an old tent with wind blowing freely through it.

On top of that, they had lost a squad member in this incident, leaving them with only three people, the fewest in the entire knight order.

‘Hans was a spy?’

Could that really be true?

They had spent no less than three years together.

Hans had been the only person who livened up the otherwise quiet Fourth Squad.

Because of that, the squad members had all secretly liked him, and yet he was a spy.

If that were true, did Creed not also bear responsibility for failing to notice?

He had no intention of avoiding responsibility, but he had even less intention of defending that brat named Rohan.

‘That thing is fifteen?’

The boy remained calm even after killing someone.

Murder might be commonplace in these wartime days, but the boy was only fifteen.

When Creed was fifteen, he had not even been able to properly kill the prey he caught while hunting.

The boy’s actions deviated far too much from any ordinary way of thinking.

‘What the hell happened in just one day?’

As long as they were not on the battlefield, the knight order was relatively peaceful.

And yet...

A spy had appeared within their ranks, the prison had caught fire, and all the Noxis prisoners had died.

And all of it happened within a single day of Rohan’s arrival.

Although it was only suspicion, Creed assumed Rohan had also been the one who set fire to the prison.

Everything he said fit together, yet there were still parts that did not sit right.

Since Supern had taken him away, Creed could only vaguely trust that the truth would be uncovered.

“Squad Leader. You angry?”

At that moment, Kaisen quietly approached and spoke.

The way he was cautiously watching Creed suggested that losing track of Rohan while serving as the prison guard was weighing on his mind.

His thickly grown beard nearly brushed Creed’s face.

Creed frowned.

“Get away. You’re disgusting.”

“Come on, you’re sulking again.”

“...You might be disciplined for this.”

“Hmph. What’s so scary about carrying full gear around the training ground a few times?”

Creed had no intention of criticizing him excessively.

All those assigned as prison guards were soldiers who endured countless battles and training exercises.

They were mentally and physically exhausted, so dozing off happened frequently.

“Anyway, wasn’t that brat strange? Fuck. If I’d known someone like that was locked up there, I definitely wouldn’t have fallen asleep... No, I definitely wouldn’t have let him escape.”

Kaisen stubbornly insisted to the end that he had not fallen asleep.

It might have been important to him, but whether Kaisen had slept or not was not particularly important to Creed.

There was no point arguing about it now when it had already happened.

“They should’ve properly briefed me before handing over the shift. Damn it.”

Kaisen continued grumbling despite his large build.

He had left the unit on leave for three days and had been assigned duty immediately upon returning, so Kaisen had stood guard without knowing Rohan even existed.

It seemed the previous guard had changed shifts without properly briefing him.

Of course, that did not absolve him.

“That boy. He used Hans’s swordsmanship.”

Johanna, the only woman in the squad, spoke.

Creed had thought everyone was asleep, but apparently they had all been awake.

Hearing Johanna’s words, Creed straightened from where he had been leaning against the wall.

“So I wasn’t seeing things.”

He had been keeping quiet just in case.

Johanna’s words felt as though they had scratched an itch he could not reach.

‘Those were definitely Hans’s movements.’

Hans had a tendency to interpret swordsmanship however he pleased.

That extended to his footwork as well, and he often used movements where he pulled his leg backward at moments when he was supposed to raise his thigh.

Creed had tried to correct it, but Hans had never managed to break the habit.

“It was a movement I couldn’t imitate even when I tried. How did he copy it? Did Hans have some hidden child somewhere?”

“Yeah, right. Say something that makes sense.”

Kaisen mocked Johanna’s words.

Johanna’s expression hardened as she spoke sharply.

“A barbarian like you probably never paid attention to footwork.”

“No? I definitely would’ve noticed.”

“Then why didn’t you say anything?”

“I wasn’t there. I was away on leave for personal business.”

“I didn’t know.”

Kaisen’s face twisted.

“I left three days ago, you know?”

“...”

Creed let out a deep sigh at the conversation suddenly going off track.

Johanna’s words carried enough weight.

She had the sharpest eyes in the unit.

Creed had noticed those movements as well.

It was something he had caught because he habitually observed the behavior of his squad members closely.

After organizing his thoughts, Creed abruptly stood.

“Hey, Squad Leader. Where are you going?”

The squad members’ gazes all turned toward Creed.

Creed answered calmly.

“To beat the shit out of that bastard.”

There was a great deal he needed to learn from the boy.

After saying that, he was about to leave the tent when he collided with someone entering from outside.

“Who are you going to beat the shit out of?”

Creed’s heart sank at the voice.

Because it belonged to Knight Commander Supern.

“Sir!”

Creed instinctively saluted.

But Supern had not come alone.

Beside him stood the source of all their trouble...

Rohan.

Creed stared at Supern in bewilderment.

What came out of the commander’s mouth was truly outrageous.

“He’s the new recruit for Fourth Squad. His name is Rohan. Take good care of him.”

“Pardon?”

Damn it...

Creed swallowed a curse.

It seemed something had gone terribly wrong.

___________

When Rohan entered, a cold silence settled over the squad.

All the squad members lay down on their beds without saying a word and turned their backs to Rohan.

Squad Leader Creed had gone outside the tent to speak with Supern.

He would probably be ordered to monitor Rohan or kill him if necessary, but Rohan did not care.

He had no intention of causing trouble within the knight order.

“Sleep in the second empty bed.”

A rough voice sounded.

Kaisen. A man from the mountains with tremendous strength and excellent explosive power.

He looked rough like a bandit on the outside, but was soft-hearted inside, the typical sort who was tough against the strong and gentle toward the weak.

Having taken Hans’s memories, Rohan already felt as though he had known him for three years.

Without saying anything, Rohan sat on the bed Kaisen had indicated.

Other than the sword he had brought with him, he had no belongings to unpack.

“That was Hans’s spot. The one you killed.”

This time, a sharp voice sounded.

Johanna. Formerly from an assassination organization, she specialized in fast attacks and stealth.

She was always in a foul mood and had interacted with Hans the least.

“Thanks.”

Rohan replied calmly.

At that, the two people who had been lying with their backs turned simultaneously rolled over.

Kaisen raised an eyebrow.

“Informal speech?”

“You’ve got some nerve.”

The two spoke at the same time.

Rohan asked back in a tone that suggested he did not understand the problem.

“Isn’t it standard for comrades in the same unit to speak informally to each other?”

Kaisen scratched his head vigorously.

Johanna pulled up her blanket and turned away again.

“You... haah... fuck. Do whatever you want.”

“A lunatic joined us.”

When the two looked away, Rohan lay down on the bed as well.

Once he settled down, everything that had happened until now slowly surfaced in his mind.

His mother had died a week ago.

Until just before that, he had been an ordinary child from the countryside.

But the moment he killed the Noxis soldier, Rohan instinctively realized it.

He could never return to how things had been before.

‘Reinag...’

His heart pounded when he thought of that name.

It felt as though all his emotions would finally settle once he killed him.

‘First, I need to catch the spies inside the knight order.’

If Rohan wanted to survive, that was.

There had been five spies in Hans’s memories, including Hans himself.

That meant there were still four spies within the White Wolf Knights.

The problem was that even Hans had not known their identities.

Because whenever they gathered, they appeared wearing masks that concealed both their identities and voices.

‘They’re probably desperate to kill me.’

Because he had killed a Noxis spy.

If he let his guard down, his life could be threatened at any moment.

If he wanted to operate within the knight order, he had to deal with the four of them as quickly as possible.

‘Whatever happens, I need to become stronger.’

Catching the spies within the unit.

Killing Reinag.

Strength was the prerequisite for everything.

Simply absorbing memories had its limits.

He could absorb information, but it was useless without a body capable of supporting it.

He had felt that clearly while reading Dave’s sword.

‘A way to become stronger...’

Rohan quietly raised his head and looked around the tent.

The squad members were sleeping with their backs turned to him.

Kaisen, who possessed excellent strength and instinctive combat skills.

Johanna, who possessed stealth techniques and agile skills.

Creed, who led the squad through endless effort.

That was why Rohan had asked to be placed in Fourth Squad.

Because they were the most useful people within the knight order.

At least, that was how Rohan saw it.

‘I need to win them over.’

Rohan was under Supern’s supervision.

If he could not kill them, then he had to win them over.

Until now, Rohan had never felt the need to win another person’s favor.

But Rohan had his mother’s teachings.

- If you want to grow closer to someone, it’s best to first give them something they need.

His mother’s words seemed to echo in his ears.

It was a night when he missed his mother especially deeply.

_____________

Clang, clang, clang, clang-!

The sound announcing morning rang throughout the entire unit.

The members of Fourth Squad, now with a new addition, stirred awake with swollen faces.

Not many of them had slept properly.

Because none of them were particularly pleased by Rohan’s arrival.

“Uwaaah-! Slept great.”

Of course, there were exceptions.

Kaisen rose with a huge yawn and stretched as though refreshed.

As he rubbed his eyes, they suddenly widened.

“What the hell? Where’s the recruit?”

Rohan’s bed was empty.

When he glanced toward the squad leader, who was arranging his bedding, Creed answered indifferently.

“He said he was going out to exercise at dawn.”

“Hah!” Kaisen let out a disbelieving laugh.

Exercising from the very first day? Did the squad leader really believe that?

They would be lucky if the brat had not deserted, yet the squad leader was far too calm.

Creed’s problem was that he was too soft.

Kaisen wanted to say something, but clicked his tongue and swallowed it instead.

Johanna sneered at Kaisen.

“The kid openly walked out and you still slept soundly. Must be nice. If an assassin ever comes, you’ll go to heaven in your sleep without even knowing what happened.”

“You bastard, first thing in the morning.”

It was an argument first thing in the morning, but it did not bother him much.

It happened about once every two days.

‘Yeah, it’s better if someone like that isn’t here.’

Would it not actually be a good thing if he had deserted?

Regardless of whether Hans had been a spy, Kaisen felt intense discomfort toward the boy.

It was much better than accepting him and creating unnecessary trouble.

“Fourth Squad. Meal distribution.”

Clatter!

At that moment, the meal distribution team entered through the tent entrance, left a bucket behind, and departed.

Inside it was an unappetizing mass of mashed steamed potatoes.

Kaisen’s face twisted at the sight.

“Fuuuck-! Potatoes again? Potatoes again?!”

“...”

Because of people like Kaisen, the meal distribution team hurried away immediately after dropping off the food.

The serving soldier had already left, but Kaisen shouted furiously into empty air and, apparently still unable to calm down, threw open the tent flap.

In the distance, he could see the serving soldier distributing food.

“If you’re going to give us potatoes, at least make them look decent! Why mash them up? Is this dog food? Ptooey-!”

“Keep it down this early in the morning!”

“Shut up! If you don’t like it, come fight me on the training ground.”

Someone complained from another tent, but Kaisen was not the type to lose in sheer momentum.

The other person threw open their tent flap, took one look at Kaisen standing there in his underwear with nothing but a blanket wrapped around him, and silently closed it again.

Kaisen returned inside the tent looking satisfied.

“A lot of the potatoes are in poor condition, so they mash them before serving them.”

Creed, who was already holding a spoon and eating the mashed potatoes, explained it to Kaisen as though teaching a child.

Kaisen looked at him incredulously.

“You think I asked because I didn’t know that? Seriously.”

Johanna immediately seized the opportunity.

“You didn’t know.”

“Ugh.”

Kaisen was about to retort, but gave up with a deep sigh.

After eating nothing but potatoes every day, he did not even have the energy to argue.

“Damn war. I just want to eat a proper piece of meat for once.”

Kaisen imagined meat.

Golden-brown roasted meat.

Tender, savory flesh filled with the aroma of fire.

He could not even remember the last time he had eaten it.

“Just thinking about meat makes me feel like I can smell it.”

Kaisen sniffed the air.

It really did seem as though the scent of roasted meat was coming from somewhere.

Instead of disappearing, the smell grew stronger.

“Have I finally gone crazy? Or am I dreaming?”

Just as Kaisen said that, the tent flap was thrown open.

It was Rohan.

He was holding something in both hands.

“Meat?”

Kaisen’s eyes widened in disbelief.

Two perfectly roasted rabbits, golden brown, were in Rohan’s hands.

Rohan placed the meat down on the serving table and said.

“Eat.”