Chapter 100 Adventurer Kanata – Part ③
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
Kanata had somehow ended up joining Mirei’s party.
The two of them left the town together that very day, heading out to take on a request.
It wasn’t part of Kanata’s plan, and the change left him uneasy.
Still—
”Well, if she’s useful, that’s fine too,” he muttered.
Half resignation, half curiosity. That was the mix of feelings behind his calm gaze as he decided to see for himself how Mirei fought.
…There was no need to rush. To challenge the dungeon he had in mind, he’d need three or four capable adventurers—people not only strong but also trustworthy.
If it came to it, he could always regroup with Taniella and her team, but he’d still want at least one local expert by his side.
The question was—did Mirei have what it took to be that person?
Let’s find out, Kanata thought, a faint grin crossing his lips as he watched her back.
Their target was a ruined castle said to be the hideout of the surviving members of the Black Iron Knight Order.
Mirei and Kanata stepped cautiously into the desolate halls.
”What’s the plan?” Kanata asked, eyes scanning the shadows.
Mirei flashed a daring grin.
”If they’re knights, we fight them head-on!”
Before he could react, she was already charging forward.
”Hey, hey, hey—! Who said you were a knight!? You’re just a muscle-head!”
Kanata’s protest fell flat; she had vanished like smoke.
Sighing, he drew his sword and followed.
It was going to be harder than he’d thought, keeping up with her.
With that grim realization, Kanata threw himself into the chaos.
The clash of steel rang through the castle’s main hall.
Surrounded by the remnants of the Black Iron Knights, Mirei moved like a whirlwind in the center of the melee.
Her movements were fluid—almost a dance—and utterly merciless.
She spun, driving the momentum into a sweeping strike that sent one foe flying.
In the same breath, she backhanded another soldier closing in from behind and cut him down with a smooth reversal.
”…Damn, she’s good,” Kanata murmured.
From a little distance, he couldn’t look away.
Her fighting style was so fierce, so alive, that for a moment he almost forgot this was a battle.
But he couldn’t afford distraction.
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught the faint movement of enemies lying in wait among the shadows.
”All right, all right. Time to do my part,” he whispered.
Silently, Kanata slipped into the darkness.
Quick, sharp, precise—he took down the hidden foes one by one before they could strike.
When the battle finally ended, the hall was littered with fallen soldiers.
Mirei stood at the center, catching her breath, while at Kanata’s feet lay only a few unconscious men.
”…Seriously? She took out almost all of them…” he muttered under his breath.
His part had been quiet, unremarkable—but it had been sure and steady.
For now, that was enough.
”Phew… I might be a little tired after that,” Mirei said, resting her greatsword on her shoulder and exhaling softly.
In that instant, a black blade sliced through the air from the shadows of the wall.
”Mirei—get down!”
Steel clashed with a harsh ring as Kanata’s sword intercepted the strike just in time, sparks scattering between the blades.
”Whoa—! That was close! Thanks, Kanata!”
”You’re way too careless!”
He stepped back, resetting his stance. Mirei moved beside him, both facing the new threat.
From the darkness emerged a towering man clad in pitch-black armor—his very presence oppressive.
”So, you’re the ones who destroyed my order,” the man said, his voice cold and scornful.
”How pathetic.”
It was Vald—the former commander of the Black Iron Knight Order.
The killing intent radiating from his sword was leagues beyond that of his men.
”What now, Kanata?”
”What else? We take him together.”
Mirei grinned. Kanata drew a deep breath. Then, as one, they charged.
Mirei’s strike was bold and direct, locking Vald’s focus on her.
She met his heavy blow head-on, twisting to open a narrow gap in his defense.
”Now!”
Kanata had read her perfectly.
He slipped into Vald’s flank at the exact moment their movements aligned.
But Vald was no ordinary knight. He twisted sharply and swung in a vicious counter.
”Tch—!”
Kanata barely dodged, rolling away as Mirei closed the distance again.
”This time—it’s my turn!” she cried, her greatsword cleaving through the air to crash against Vald’s weapon.
Kanata darted in from behind, driving the attack home.
Their rhythm grew seamless—strike and cover, lure and finish.
Against their coordination, even this formidable foe began to falter.
”Impossible… Beaten by… mere children…!”
With a hoarse groan, Vald’s massive body crumpled to the floor.
Silence returned to the ruined hall.
Mirei and Kanata stood still for a moment, catching their breath, then met each other’s eyes.
”…Not bad,” Mirei said with a faint smile.
”You too. Guess we make a decent team after all.”
They didn’t need more words. Trust was already there between them.
”The kingdom… was rotten to the core,” Vald rasped, forcing out the words between labored breaths.
”Nobles who trample the lives of the people—who care for nothing but their own greed…
If we don’t correct that, what are knights for? What is justice for!?”
His voice echoed in the hollow ruins.
Once, Vald had been the kingdom’s foremost knight—known as the Guardian, the Shield Oath Knight.
In his youth, during a magical-beast disaster on the frontier, he had risked his life as a decoy to save his comrades and the townsfolk, returning his unit to the capital despite his mortal wounds.
His loyalty and command had earned him the Crown Prince’s personal trust.
But his fall came swiftly.
He had spoken out against the kingdom’s corruption—the collusion among nobles, the theft of army supplies, the neglect of war orphans—and for that, the court turned its back on him.
One day, Vald refused an unreasonable order to send his men to the front lines—and for that, he was branded a traitor and exiled from the royal capital.
Stripped of his honor and title, he gathered the subordinates who had been cast aside like him and formed a new group: the Black Iron Knight Order.
Their purpose was simple—to enforce justice through strength.
To correct the rot that had consumed the kingdom, Vald vowed to build order with his own hands, even if that meant wielding violence. His forces grew, spreading their bases across the neighboring lands.
But in time, his ideals began to warp.
Those who believed in his cause came, yes—but so did those drawn to the promise of power.
Soon, discipline crumbled, and what had begun as a shield for the weak turned into a sword of fear.
Vald, once a protector of the people, became the very thing he had sworn to fight.
”My sword was meant to prove what is right,” Vald said, his voice rough with strain.
”But tell me—who decides what’s right? Who protects it? …Hmph. It doesn’t matter anymore.
All that’s left is to see where my faith in this blade will lead me…!”
Mana burst from his body in a torrent.
”…Justice is nothing but a dream for the powerless,” he murmured, lifting his sword high.
The violet lightning crackled along the blade, and the air itself seemed to warp.
The ground shuddered; dust rained down from the cracked walls.
”…That’s bad,” Kanata breathed.
Every instinct screamed danger.
This strike would carve through everything in its path—a massive surge of condensed mana. If they didn’t stop it, no one would survive.
”Mirei!”
Kanata shifted his stance and lowered his voice.
”I’ll pin him down. You finish it—give it everything you’ve got.”
Mirei blinked in surprise, then gave a crooked smile.
”…Got it. I trust you.”
Vald roared, swinging his sword down.
”Shatter!”
The slash ripped through the air like thunder, tearing space itself.
But Kanata darted forward, cutting through the gale.
”I don’t care about your so-called justice!” he shouted.
Their blades met with an explosive crash.
Kanata nearly buckled under the force, his arms screaming in pain. Even so, he wove thin, nearly invisible threads of mana from his fingertips—binding Vald’s limbs in place.
And then—
”Now, Mirei!”
Without hesitation, Mirei leapt into the air.
Her sword flashed down like lightning, straight toward Vald’s chest.
He tried to move, to block—but Kanata’s threads held him fast.
”Gh—ah…!”
Mirei’s strike tore through his arm and drove deep into his chest.
A violent surge of mana erupted outward, then slowly died away.
Vald’s towering form collapsed, silent and still.
His body crumbled, turning to dust bit by bit.
The power he had wielded—the strength bought by a pact with a demon—now consumed him.
His mana went wild; his body could no longer maintain human form.
Armor split, skin flaked into ash, and the wind carried him away.
Yet even then, a faint light lingered in his eyes.
”My sword… if only someone could tell me… it wasn’t wrong…”
The words came out as a broken whisper, drawn from the last scraps of life.
”If someone could… tell me where… I lost my way…”
That was the final confession of a fallen hero.
Moments later, his figure dissolved completely, scattering into the air.
Silence fell.
Only the hollow sound of wind passing through the ruined castle remained.
Mirei lowered her sword and stared at the empty space where Vald had vanished.
In her eyes flickered something faint—uncertainty, maybe even sorrow.
”…Mirei?”
Kanata called softly.
She shook her head and gave a small, tired smile.
”I’m fine. Just… thinking a little.”
”Yeah,” he said quietly, and left it at that.
Only drifting dust and the fading memory of a swordsman remained.
The mission was complete. Mirei and Kanata returned to the guild to report their success.
Normally, Mirei would boast with pride—but today, she was subdued.
She spoke little, and even her smile looked forced.
(Still thinking about Vald, huh…)
Kanata sighed inwardly, then said, “Let’s grab a drink. My treat.”
”Oh? That’s rare. What’s the occasion—snow in summer?”
”Shut up. You’re drinking or not?”
They traded light banter, and as the drinks flowed, color returned to her face.
”Ah, geez… can’t hold my liquor today…”
”Again?” Kanata muttered.
Sure enough, she was out cold within minutes.
He sighed, lifted her with practiced ease, and carried her to the inn.
When he laid her on the bed and turned to leave—
”…mm…”
Mirei’s hand slipped out and caught his sleeve.
Before he could react, she pulled him down—hard.
”Whoa—hey, Mirei!? You’re drunk, knock it—”
He didn’t finish.
Something soft pressed against his lips.
Time froze.
Her warmth, the faint scent of wine—everything stopped in that single heartbeat.
Then, before he could move, Mirei drifted back into sleep.
”…You’ve gotta be kidding me…”
Kanata sat frozen, heart hammering in his chest.
Normally, this would be the part where things got dangerous—but this time, he held back.
Frustration churned inside him, the kind he hadn’t felt in a long while.
Only Mirei’s peaceful breathing filled the quiet room.
Notes:
• Mirei – An energetic adventurer joining Kanata’s party in Chapter 108. Appears in dungeon prep. Brave, impulsive, admires Kanata’s leadership. Female.
• Taniella – Commoner knight of Mercuria’s Knight Order appearing after failed mass invasion of the Dungeon. Challenges commander Nui Tanggamus’s tactics to save soldiers. Commands 100 troops to prove her plan. Ally of Mary. Trait: brave, duty-bound.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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