I Became a Dark Knight in the Game

37 – The Melancholy of the Wizard (3)

After answering, Kriel continued his meal calmly. Somehow, that calmness felt comforting.

“Most of it is true.”

Armed began to tell his story slowly after Kriel left.

“Do you remember what you said when we parted?”

Kriel paused for a moment with the fork in his hand. He was not in his right mind, enduring the side effects of using his skills to the maximum.

All he remembered was trying to get out as quickly as possible, thinking he might cause an accident if he stayed any longer.

In the midst of that, when asked if he wanted anything, he had absentmindedly said, “A coin.”

“When we parted? Do you mean the coin?”

“That was in the hospital room.”

Kriel recalled the events at the Count Ket’s territory. Fighting the Wraith King until dawn, and hearing that he woke up after three days and nights.

As soon as he opened his eyes, Armed appeared – due to the side effects, he looked like a blood-soaked maniac – and asked what he wanted. All he remembered was saying, “Just give me a coin,” and leaving.

“…If you don’t remember, it’s fine. Anyway, the next story.”

After experiencing the near destruction of his territory by the Wild Hunt, Armed began to rethink the threats to the world.

The most dangerous Abyss, often misunderstood as being on par with the three great calamities, was not particularly subordinate to the Abyss.

The Abyss itself was so overwhelmingly dangerous that it was permanently regarded as the greatest threat to the world.

Its history was on a different level. While the origins of the three great calamities could be traced back through history, the Abyss had to be traced back to mythology.

“The three great calamities have their own ways of dealing with them. The Western Army handles the automatons of the West. The Wild Hunt can be anticipated and countered. The evil dragon… is currently just sleeping.”

But the Abyss was different. It was a calamity that combined the proliferation of automatons, the elusiveness of the Wild Hunt, and the power of the evil dragon.

The biggest problem with the Abyss was the demonic nature it bestowed. The closer one got to the Abyss, the more the demonic nature merged with the soul, making purification without sacrifice impossible. For a wizard, their total magical power would decrease, and for a warrior, their level of martial prowess would decline.

Moreover, if the corruption progressed beyond a certain threshold, it became impossible to purify only the demonic nature. The soul and the demonic nature would become indistinguishable. At that point, purification meant eternal rest.

In fact, to reach such a level of corruption, one had to commit considerable evil deeds. It was not just a matter of being cursed; one had to actively commit murder to reach such a nadir. It was a stage where the soul itself refused purification.

Therefore, the research topics of the Abyss Prevention Society were divided into two main areas: the separation of the demonic nature completely merged with the soul and the method of purification without sacrifice.

Both topics had been researched for a very long time. The problem was that the entire long history was marked by failure.

“To conduct clinical trials in either field, you need at least a beast, not just a monster. Subdued beasts that cannot harm the surroundings are rare. Even with the budget allocated to me every year, it’s hard to find proper specimens.”

“In the meantime, a sponsor appeared.”

“Yeah. I was looking for a sponsor using my family’s connections. That’s when that idiot Mazar showed up.”

Mazar Gabi was the youngest son of the Gabi merchant group, one of the wealthiest in the empire. The Gabi merchant group had no history of any of its members being tainted by the Abyss.

What they noticed was that the financial status of the members of the Abyss Prevention Society was very poor. In other words, it was a gathering of wizards who knew how to bend their pride to make money.

Wizards who could be controlled with money were always useful.

“At first, it was a straightforward contract exchanging money for services. They asked to attach a few wizards from our society to their trade caravans. Since the financial status of the society members was dire, it was easy to find people who would quietly do as they were told for money.”

Until then, Mazar Gabi was merely acting as an agent for the merchant group. It was purely business.

“But it was about time for a succession dispute to arise within their merchant group, wasn’t it?”

Aha. The messy affairs of the two families were intertwined. Kriel imagined a young man burning with ambition to surpass his siblings and take the head position of the family.

Mazar’s appearance was far from the cold third-generation chaebol seen in dramas, but in essence, he was similar in his pursuit of power.

“Let me ask, is the Gabi family a bloodline nobility?”

“No. They have enough history to be called a ‘family,’ but they don’t have any fiefs.”

“I see why they are targeting you.”

In the empire, nobility was divided into two categories: the most traditional bloodline nobility and the robe nobility. Bloodline nobility inherited their noble status through blood, and they had the inviolable right to govern their fiefs.

Robe nobility were those who joined the ranks of nobility by obtaining official positions. Since they could buy and sell official positions, they were also called merchant nobility, but ultimately, they were not considered ‘true’ nobility because they lacked fiefs, the source of noble power.

Armed Ket had her own fief, separate from the count’s territory, which she would inherit. The funds she received annually from her family were the yields from her fief.

“If they marry you and inherit your fief, they could join the ranks of bloodline nobility. It’s a bold way for the youngest son to instantly surpass his siblings’ commercial achievements.”

Armed sighed. Mazar Gabi had been merely following his father’s, the head of the Gabi merchant group, orders during their previous dealings. He wasn’t the type to come up with such a scheme suddenly.

“It must be my father’s two damned wives pulling the strings from behind. They must think that by pressuring me into marriage in exchange for sponsorship, they can make me the head of the family, surpassing my siblings.”

Armed continued to chop angrily. Even though I said I’d step aside from the succession battle, they weren’t satisfied and had to sell me off to another family to feel at ease.

If a member of a noble family married into another family and was incorporated into that family, they would become an outsider from that moment. They would be shackled by customary law, unable to participate in their original family’s affairs.

Feeling nauseous, Armed sighed.

“Damn it. I didn’t lock the door to make it easier for the people delivering food, and now this b*stard comes in and causes a ruckus.”

Kriel’s Earthly Love and War database began to work fervently. After three seconds of deep thought, he realized there was a way to resolve Armed’s situation.

“Why don’t you take in a son-in-law?”

“Huh?”

“Instead of you marrying into another family, why not bring someone into your family? The empire’s national law recognizes son-in-laws.”

Armed closed her mouth.

That’s why I’m treating you to a meal in a nice place right now, she thought, but the words stuck in her throat.

Her head ached at the expressionless face speaking so nonchalantly.

“If a wedding is too much right now, we can at least get engaged. As long as we have an excuse to keep Mazhar Gabi away, it should be fine. In fact, an engagement might be better.”

“If you conspire with someone trustworthy, you can dissolve the engagement appropriately.”

Seeing her plan come out of Kriel’s mouth, Armed nodded for now. In truth, her plan was to turn a temporary engagement or a fake son-in-law into a real one when the opportunity arose, but it wasn’t the right time to bring it up.

“This is unfortunate. I don’t have many friends, so I don’t think I can help.”

“…Huh?”

“I thought it was strange that the meal was so luxurious. Didn’t you plan to ask me to introduce you to someone good among the people you met while pretending to be a wandering knight? I’m sorry, but most of the good knights I know are already taken.”

Armed’s instincts whispered. Just go for it.

Armed’s reason agreed. That guy won’t understand unless you spell it out.

“You.”

“Huh?”

“I’ve chosen you. Follow me to the family.”

“Huh…?”

Unlike the bewildered Kriel, Orisin was giving a standing ovation in his heart. This is what chivalric romance is all about. Although it feels a bit strange.

At that moment, there was a polite knock on the door. It was the servant announcing the next course. Armed clicked her tongue and unlocked the door.

A plate with dessert was placed unsteadily on the table. The trembling hand seemed awkward.

“Who are you?”

Armed shouted, raising her staff.

“Oh! Miss Ket! You recognize me no matter what form I take!”

The servant holding the plate dispelled the magical disguise and revealed their face.

Annoying blonde hair.

Armed felt depressed.