Chapter 8

The Genius Knight Who Devours Memories

Chapter 8

Goto, who was standing guard, was slowly starting to get scared.

‘Fuck, why isn’t he coming back?’

Even though the sun was rising, Rohan still had not returned.

He had even lied to the vice platoon leader because Rohan promised him meat...

He had never imagined Rohan would stay away until morning.

According to the other guards, Rohan usually returned before morning training began.

But it was already time, and there was still no sign of him.

If Rohan did not return, Goto, who had been on guard duty, would also be held responsible.

‘And where the hell did Rainer go?’

The vice platoon leader, who said he was going on patrol, had not returned either.

He was such a mysterious person and strong enough to handle most things alone, so Goto was not particularly worried about him.

Still, he could not shake the uneasy feeling in the back of his mind.

Clang clang clang clang!

Eventually, the signal announcing the start of the day rang out.

It was the sound of a spoon striking an empty pot.

“Yaaawn. Goto, nothing happened, right?”

“...Ah, of course not.”

That damned senior finally came shuffling out with his hair sticking up like a bird’s nest.

Before he knew it, Goto had lied again.

“If something happened, you’re dead.”

“...”

His senior went back inside the tent.

Goto sighed in relief that he had not asked anything further, when someone tapped him on the shoulder again.

“Shift change. Nothing happened?”

“Ah... yeah.”

He did not know why so many people were asking whether anything had happened today.

After blurting out another lie, Goto removed the guard armband from his arm and handed it over.

Just in case, he peeked toward the Fourth Squad tent.

“What? Get lost.”

Someone shoved him aside, making his blood pressure rise, but once he realized it was Kaisen, he did not say anything.

If he got on that bastard’s bad side, the rest of the day would be miserable.

The best thing to do with a mad dog was avoid it.

“One of our squad members told you to get lost.”

When Goto kept peeking, a woman’s voice sounded this time.

A cold, chilling gaze met his.

Johanna, who seemed to possess not a shred of feminine charm, pushed Goto aside and entered the barracks.

‘What a bitch...’

When the commotion broke out, Squad Leader Creed, who had been arranging his bedding inside the tent, stared at Goto.

Unable to read the look in his eyes, Goto eventually left.

Seriously, there was not a single likable person in this damned Fourth Squad.

‘He’s not there. Where the hell is he?’

Goto suddenly became frightened.

His chest gradually tightened.

Then, far away, he saw a small child.

Walking steadily toward him with meat slung over his shoulder...

‘It’s Rohan!’

He had never been so happy to see that face.

A bright smile spread across Goto’s face, which had been tense the entire time.

Rohan looked like a savior.

After making eye contact with Goto, Rohan gestured toward the supply warehouse.

There should be no one inside the supply warehouse right now.

‘Whew, that took ten years off my life.’

When he opened the tent and went inside, ah... the smell of meat he had not experienced in such a long time stimulated all five of Goto’s senses.

Rohan handed him a chunk of leg meat that looked like it came from a roe deer.

Goto quickly took it.

With the tension gone, Goto began pouring out all the grievances he had accumulated.

“Hey, Rohan. Do you know how worried I was? I lied to the vice platoon leader, lied to my senior...”

“Yeah, thanks.”

“What the hell happened to you?”

He had not been able to see properly from a distance, but upon closer inspection, Rohan looked terrible.

Blood was dripping from the torn area across his chest, and his face was pale.

The robe he wore was covered in dirt, as though he had been rolling around somewhere.

“I ran into a wild boar on the way back.”

“That happens. Must’ve been rough. We both suffered, so I guess we’re even.”

His concern lasted only briefly.

Goto sniffed the meat before taking a huge bite.

The intensely savory flavor he had not tasted in so long nearly brought tears to his eyes.

“Ah, this is really good. So good. I can’t believe I’m eating this in the middle of a war. Fuck those damned potatoes.”

Chew, chew.

Rohan silently watched Goto eat.

While he was stuffing himself, Rohan suddenly spoke.

“Goto. Do you know much about aconite?”

“Aconite?”

Goto blinked with food still in his mouth.

It was a deadly poisonous flower that no soldier could possibly be unfamiliar with.

‘Ah, Rohan’s a new recruit.’

Then maybe he really did not know.

Goto swallowed his food and said.

“Of course. It’s a deadly poisonous flower. If you eat it, you’ll die, so don’t even look at purple flowers with their heads hanging down.”

After finishing, Goto took another bite of meat.

Rohan watched him for a while before suddenly asking.

“Is it good?”

“Yeah. It tastes grea— huh? Chew chew... chew, fuck, why does it suddenly taste like this? Ptooey!”

After chewing a few times, Goto spat out the food in his mouth.

Suddenly, it felt as though his tongue had gone numb, and he could not taste anything.

And it was not just his tongue.

Sensation was gradually disappearing from his body.

He saw Rohan smiling faintly in front of him.

“My body feels strange. Do I have a fever?”

Goto placed a hand on his forehead.

It did not seem like he had a fever.

That was when it happened.

Outside the tent became extremely noisy.

The Fourth Platoon vice platoon leader is dead!!

Rainer is dead!

He could hear soldiers running around in a frenzy.

Goto’s eyes widened.

‘Rainer is dead?’

Goto looked at Rohan with shocked eyes.

Only then did his gaze properly fall on Rohan’s chest.

‘Fuck, what the hell. That’s a sword wound.’

Now that he looked at it, it was clearly a wound caused by a blade.

Could Rohan have... killed Rainer?

It sounded absurd, but...

“Ugh...”

And why did his body feel like this?

Why had Rohan suddenly asked about aconite...

“Don’t tell me you... Haaagh!”

Goto tightly clutched the area around his heart.

He could no longer speak.

His bloodshot eyes turned toward Rohan.

Aconite...

You bastard...

Crash. Goto finally collapsed sideways.

- Who was on guard duty yesterday!

- Goto... it was Goto!

“Ughhh...”

He had to get outside quickly.

He had to tell them the truth...

But his body would not move.

Through his fading vision, Rohan was looking down at Goto.

A chill ran down Goto’s spine.

Because there was no emotion whatsoever on Rohan’s face.

____________

Rohan carefully hid Goto somewhere inside the warehouse where he would not easily be seen.

The supply warehouse was not a place guarded by dedicated personnel, and few people came and went, so it would take time for him to be discovered.

Goto would not die.

Rohan had only applied enough poison to leave him bedridden for a few days.

There was no need for unnecessary killing.

Because his mother had taught him not to harm innocent lives.

Rohan practically crawled back to the Fourth Squad tent.

There was no strength left in his body.

Perhaps everyone had heard that the vice platoon leader was dead, because no one was inside the barracks.

‘I almost died.’

Rohan placed the roe deer meat he had brought on the bucket used as a serving tray and sat on his bed.

He crushed the herbs he had picked while retrieving the deer and placed them over his chest.

The burning sensation in his chest eased considerably.

‘I need to be more careful from now on.’

He had poisoned Rainer, and before the poison spread, he had attacked because he wanted to see swift swordsmanship with his own eyes.

Even if he had not attacked, Rainer would have died.

In the end, Rohan’s recklessness could have gotten him killed instead.

It had been a day that clearly showed him how endless the world of the sword was and how far he still had to go.

Rohan’s eyelids trembled.

There was too much he needed to think about and organize.

The enemy’s scheme, the contents of the upcoming operation, Rainer’s swordsmanship, swift swordsmanship, his life...

A great many things had entered Rohan’s mind.

First, participating in the gathering of the Noxis spies three days from now took priority.

And to do that, he first needed to recover.

Rohan’s consciousness began to fade.

Even so, there was one thing he was certain of.

‘The supplies have to be mine.’

The supplies the Empire was desperately trying to transport.

The supplies Noxis was desperately trying to steal.

Because the contents of those supplies had entered Rohan’s mind.

‘An幻 beast egg...’

Possessing an unknown power.

A幻 beast said to grant tremendous power to its owner.

That was the true identity of the supplies.

_______________

“Rainer is dead?”

Knight Commander Supern jolted in surprise upon receiving the report.

Rainer was a highly skilled man.

There was hardly anyone who could imitate his swift swordsmanship.

Most people within the unit would not have been capable of killing Rainer.

“Cause of death?”

“Poisoning.”

“Poisoning?”

“And...”

The soldier giving the report hesitated.

Supern motioned with his chin for him to continue.

“His eyes... the corpse has no eyes.”

“What?”

Supern frowned.

Not only had the killer murdered him, but they had taken his eyes?

Who within the unit could possibly have done such a thing?

“The culprit?”

“Not yet. The guard stationed near Rainer’s barracks is currently missing.”

“What?”

And now even the guard had disappeared.

That meant the crime had been carried out according to a meticulous plan.

‘Just who...’

As Supern thought, something struck him like lightning.

‘Don’t tell me?’

Only one person came to mind.

“Rohan. Where is Rohan?”

“Do you mean the new recruit in Fourth Platoon?”

“Yes. Bring Rohan here. If he’s not there, bring his squad leader instead. Hurry!”

“Yes, sir!”

When Supern shouted, the startled soldier disappeared.

Left alone, Supern pressed a hand against his head.

‘Rohan, you bastard...’

Rohan had told Supern that he would uncover the spies.

Supern had offered to help, but Rohan had said that if the Knight Commander moved personally, the spies would quickly notice, so Supern had trusted him and stayed out of it.

If Rohan was responsible for this incident, then it meant Rainer had been a spy for Noxis.

Supern’s head began to ache even more.

That was when it happened.

“Commander, Fourth Squad Leader Creed reporting.”

Creed’s voice sounded from outside the tent.

“Come in.”

At Supern’s words, the tent flap lifted and Creed entered.

He seemed to have some idea why he had been summoned.

Before Supern could speak, Creed spoke first.

“Rohan killed Rainer.”

“Evidence?”

Supern went straight to the point as well.

Creed pulled a vial from inside his clothes.

“It’s poison made from aconite extract. It came from Rohan’s clothes.”

“What is Rohan doing right now?”

“He collapsed after suffering a sword wound to the chest. He’s been asleep the whole time.”

Supern stroked his chin.

There was currently no way to know whether Rainer had truly been a spy.

But fully trusting Rohan also left him uneasy.

“Creed. What do you think?”

Creed was the person who had spent the most time observing Rohan.

Supern thought it best to understand Creed’s opinion first.

“He said he was going to catch the Noxis spies. And then Rainer died.”

“Do you believe him?”

“No.”

Creed answered firmly.

“I still have doubts about whether Hans was really a spy. The same goes for Rainer.”

“How long had Hans been in the squad?”

“Three years.”

Supern’s eyes narrowed.

He searched through a drawer, pulled out the soldiers’ record cards, and flipped through them.

After checking Rainer’s enlistment date, he muttered.

“Rainer also joined the unit three years ago.”

“...”

Supern rummaged through the drawer and pulled out a potion.

It was so expensive that ordinary soldiers would never even get to see one.

He tossed the potion to Creed.

“Wake Rohan.”

“And then?”

“Rohan said the Noxis spies would gather sometime this week. Help him if there’s anything you can do.”

“You believe him?”

“Who knows. The results will tell us. But there must be no more killing. You stop him from doing that.”

“...Understood.”

Creed wore an uneasy expression.

Supern felt the same.

But having already given Rohan a one-week grace period, all he could do was wait for the results.

In this line of work, moving rashly could ruin everything.

‘It’s strangely sloppy. That’s exactly what bothers me.’

If Rohan had killed someone he was not supposed to kill, he did not seem like the type to behave this carelessly.

Creed had noticed immediately and reported it, almost as though Rohan wanted him to see it.

Supern wanted to go personally or summon Rohan for interrogation, but too many people were watching.

He recalled the conversation he had with Rohan on the first day.

- Is there anything I can do to help?

- If someone at the Knight Commander’s level starts moving, the spies will notice immediately. Just trust me.

Supern narrowed his eyes.

Rohan had clearly spoken while taking into account the weight of the Knight Commander’s position.

If all of this was truly to catch the spies...

Then acting rashly himself might ruin everything.

Supern suddenly asked.

“How long has Rohan been in the barracks?”

“Including the time he spent unconscious, this is his fifth day.”

“Five days.”

Supern narrowed his eyes.

The time he had given Rohan was one week.

Only two days remained.

“If the spies don’t gather within two days...”

That had been the reason he had spared Rohan in the first place.

If he could not prove it.

“Kill him quietly.”