The Escort Knight Who Is Obsessed by the Villainess Wants to Escape - Chapter 124

Leaving Bethany disguised as a corpse, weeks have passed since arriving in Jericho.

I’m doing well.

Not just well—unbelievably well.

Honestly, it feels almost wrong to be doing this well.

[Stamina: 98.0]
[Strength: 96.5]
[Agility: 100.9]
[Magic: 65.0]

The explosive growth of my stats proves it.

They’ve nearly doubled.

In a way, it’s only natural. As a knight escort, I always moved according to Eliza’s schedule.

Here, I don’t have to.

I can act as I please.

I search for quests that match my conditions, and sometimes quests just appear unexpectedly when I’m working.

In Jericho, I’m working as a mercenary.

When I first arrived, Eurydice, the head of the information guild, and her husband Orpheus guided me around and even helped me register as a mercenary.

The area is so dangerous that there’s no shortage of work.

Because of that, every time I head out, a quest comes my way.

By clearing every single one without fail, I’ve been growing at an astonishing rate.

Most notably, my magic stat skyrocketed from 1 to 65.

Thanks to my trait, which triples magic growth, whenever magic appears as a reward, it leaps upward.

‘And I don’t have to worry about Eliza draining my magic anymore.’

That’s not all.

[Traits List]

• Silent Steps, Weaponization of Objects, Swordsmanship and Defense (Lv.27), Hunter’s Instincts, Survival Expert, Horsemanship, Archery (Lv.6), Carpentry, Revelation’s Discovery, Leading Moon.

Several traits have been added.

With so much free time, I dabbled in various things and developed a hobby for crafting furniture out of wood—chairs, desks, bookshelves, drawers, kennels, and so on.

As a result, I gained the ‘Carpentry’ trait.

I learned archery from the city guards.

At first, they were wary of me, a former knight, but we became friends within days.

In this city, there are only a handful of people as skilled as me, but they’re all a bit eccentric—arrogant or just plain odd.

Compared to them, I’m relatively grounded.

Thanks to that, I gained the favor of the captain of the guard and started learning archery.

I’m still far from proficient, though.

The most noticeable change is the ‘Leading Moon.’

I’ve been seeking out and absorbing attributes and magic scattered throughout the Demon Realm, which led to acquiring this trait a few days ago.

More precisely, ‘Drawn Moon’ was upgraded to ‘Leading Moon.’

However, only the name has visibly changed; its actual effects remain the same.

[Leading Moon.]

• Enhances the effect of “Revelation’s Discovery.”
• Increases the user’s magic growth rate (from 2x to 3x).

In the end, only the name changed.

‘Couldn’t they have given me something more?’

While out, I happened to acquire a dagger with an unusual effect: it temporarily incapacitates the target.

Its activation conditions are cumbersome, so it’s not very practical, but I kept it as a souvenir.

In the peaceful routine of life, moments of tragedy and comedy occasionally cross my mind.

The second tragedy.

Eliza, hurling fireballs at me.

And Eliza’s comedy.

Me, gravely injured and bedridden.

‘It doesn’t matter anymore.’

I even went as far as faking my death to escape.

To those who once knew me, I’m a dead man.

And Jericho is far from Eliza’s estate.

Eliza is busy with the war, too.

For various reasons, that tragedy won’t find its way to me.

It’s all in the past now.

Even so, I can’t break the habit of checking the window sill every morning.

There’s not even a flowerpot there.

I prepared breakfast in the kitchen.

A two-story house with a small yard.

Since the necessary furniture and equipment were prepared by the information guild, I just moved in with nothing but myself.

A diet made up of ingredients purchased from nearby shops.

It’s modest compared to what I used to eat, but I’ve ensured the necessary nutrients are included.

A simple sandwich with rye bread as the base.

I come down to the living room, chew absentmindedly, and look outside.

The yard is beautifully overgrown with grass.

Unknown wildflowers bloom in the corners.

And a dog is curled up, sleeping soundly.

It’s a dog that roams around this area.

It doesn’t seem to have a specific owner or home, wandering from house to house.

‘Looks like it plans to get a meal at my place today.’

It’s a dog with a friendly nature, so people don’t shoo it away or mistreat it and take good care of it.

I’m one of those people.

I even built a doghouse out of woodwork for it.

The problem is that it doesn’t use it.

It always rolls around on the ground instead.

Watching the nameless dog makes me think of Yuel.

The moon deer I once brought with me.

‘I wonder if it’s doing well.’

Even though Jericho is isolated, news often reaches here.

The Anti-Empire Alliance, led by Eliza.

The Empire’s forces opposing them.

More specifically, the battles are said to be largely fought by the Bevel family.

It’s practically considered an internal conflict within the Bevel Duchy.

Rumor has it that thanks to Eliza’s efforts, the Bevel family is in a precarious situation.

Meanwhile, the Helios Empire, lending only its name as the Empire’s forces, is avoiding significant losses and reaping the benefits.

Regardless of who wins, the Bevel family’s power will falter, leaving the Empire to consolidate its dominance.

At least, that’s what people other than me think.

As for me… I don’t know. It probably won’t affect me much either way.

Still, if possible, I’d prefer for Eliza’s side to win.

Ideally, without casualties.

Just… for various reasons.

‘What’s the point of me thinking about it?’

After finishing my meal, I went out to the yard.

For a place where there’s supposed to be a war going on, the weather feels exceptionally peaceful.

‘Should I just take the day off today?’

The dog heard me coming out and lifted its head.

It wagged its tail and approached me.

‘I guess I should take it for a walk later.’

A peaceful weekday without work passes quietly.

When I returned from walking the dog, it was late in the evening, with the sun already set.

“Ah, Judas. Did you just get back?”

It was then that Jericho’s guard captain came to find me.

It’s rare for him to come armed to my house.

“Could you lend a hand for a moment?”

He’s asking for help.

His expression is grave.

“Is something wrong?”

“Can I explain on the way? The situation is quite urgent.”

I listened to his explanation as we headed to Jericho’s south gate.

As usual, he got straight to the point.

“A gigantic drake has appeared.”

“……”

A drake.

A four-legged beast resembling a wingless dragon.

Among those who handle weapons, they’re referred to as lizards.

But for a nickname like ‘lizard,’ they’re classified as highly dangerous creatures.

Their average height exceeds 2 meters, and their bodies are covered with tough, sharp scales that make them walking weapons.

Ordinary weapons barely scratch them.

And yet, this is a gigantic drake.

Its height alone is at least over 4 meters.

To be precise, the gigantic drake is the original species, and the smaller drakes are its descendants.

Its size isn’t the only problem.

Legends say they’ve existed since the mythological era, and they breathe destructive energy.

Sand, rock, fire, poison.

In rare cases, exceptionally unique ones breathe solar or moon energy.

“Is it heading this way?”

“Yes. It’s just one, but the city’s forces alone won’t be enough to stop it.”

“If we’re not careful, the city might collapse.”

That’s how formidable the enemy is.

The news seemed to have already spread, as the road to the south gate was chaotic.

The streets were crowded with people trying to flee the city.

Meanwhile, I found it somewhat puzzling.

At this point in time, as far as I knew, there was no such threat to Jericho.

“Wasn’t there no Gigantic Drake in this area?”

“That’s right. If such a dangerous entity were nearby, we would’ve known beforehand. My guess is that it was either driven out of its habitat by the war outside or wandered here while roaming.”

“Hmm…”

While the cause was clear, the solution was still out of reach.

Even though I’ve grown stronger, a Gigantic Drake is a perilous foe.

It’s one of the strongest monsters in this world.

I’ve hunted one before.

To fully complete a character’s ‘attribute,’ you have to hunt a Gigantic Drake of the same attribute.

‘But that’s only possible at the very end. With my current stats and traits, it’s impossible.’

Unless I had top-tier equipment, that is.

But my current gear isn’t much different from that of an ordinary mercenary.

The dagger that induces lethargy only activates when it pierces the target’s heart, and there’s no way such a short blade could reach a drake’s heart.

‘I might actually die if I make one wrong move.’

It’s not surprising.

Being a mercenary always involves risking your life.

Even though I’ve grown significantly, that fact hasn’t changed.

Why I chose this dangerous line of work is something I’m not entirely sure about.

I have enough money to live comfortably without working.

Maybe it’s because I couldn’t stand staying idle, or perhaps there’s another reason altogether.

“They say it’s a kind of Gigantic Drake that hasn’t even been reported before….”

“Not reported before?”

“Right. It’s an entity that only exists in records. I haven’t seen it myself yet, but they say its scales are ivory-colored, resembling the moon….”

“……”

I had a suspicion.

A moon-attribute Gigantic Drake.

There are only a few of them, and their bodies are covered in softly glowing ivory scales.

‘Could it be…?’

Hunting a Gigantic Drake could complete my attribute.

My attribute is the moon.

The opponent is presumed to be a moon-attribute Gigantic Drake.

‘Could this… finally complete it?’

According to the scriptures, the moon is a fragmented, incomplete entity.

‘What would happen once it’s complete…?’

With these complicated thoughts in mind, I followed the captain of the guard toward the south gate.