The Escort Knight Who Is Obsessed by the Villainess Wants to Escape - Chapter 49.1

The moment when Judas defeated Zero Bom.

Everyone at the scene focused on Judas.

A wooden sword cutting through another wooden sword—a remarkable feat.

The intense aura emanating from him.

It was impossible not to pay attention.

But there was someone else who noticed something different at that moment.

Lindel of Room 13.

He focused on the fallen Zero Bom.

To be precise, on the flag fixed on his back.

A white flag.

The flag of Room 5.

If he took that and brought it to the flagpole, they would win.

But Lindel turned his eyes away from it.

There was someone more urgent to attend to.

“Dylan, senior!”

Lindel hurriedly checked on Dylan.

The area above the torn part of his clothes, where he was stabbed with a stone knife, was stained red.

Not a large wound, but a clear bleeding.

When he lifted Dylan’s clothes, a torn wound was revealed.

Lindel quickly stopped the bleeding.

“…Lindel. You don’t need to go this far.”

Dylan laughed weakly, forgetting the pain.

Lindel’s response was overly textbook.

Though Dylan was surprised when he got stabbed, fortunately, the wound wasn’t deep.

It was just slightly torn.

“I’ll take care of it myself, so you go get that.”

Dylan pointed to the white flag on the fallen Zero Bom.

Now, when Judas had everyone’s attention, was the right time.

Lindel quickly understood and accepted the situation.

It was the best he could do at the moment.

“…I’ll do it.”

Lindel nodded solemnly, lowered his body, and crawled.

Though Judas was drawing attention, he tried to remain as inconspicuous as possible.

Moving stealthily, he finally grabbed the white flag and ran.

Fortunately, he wasn’t spotted.

However, he sprinted at full speed, fearing someone might notice and chase him.

He didn’t look back.

He forced his already exhausted body, scarred from battle, to push forward.

He had to do this.

It was his mission.

Since his encounter with Judas, his mindset had changed.

Instead of lamenting his situation, he chose to move forward.

Instead of dragging everyone down, he decided to rise up himself.

Yet, reality was harsh.

He was born without any particular talent.

Strength, skill, eloquence, appearance, tenacity—none of it.

At one time, he found such a life deplorable.

He blamed God and hated the world.

At its core was self-loathing.

It was thanks to Judas that he no longer lived like that.

Though he had no outstanding qualities, he wanted to do something.

Anything.

After changing his mindset, he realized one thing.

He also had something he was better at than others.

Running.

Though not extraordinarily excellent, he was good enough to be considered good at it.

When he was surpassed by Dyke, he felt a bit regretful but accepted it.

Dyke was also better at fighting than him.

But now, an opportunity had come.

He couldn’t miss it.

His lungs felt like they were going to burst.

The breath that filled up to the chin seemed like it would choke my throat.

Even as sweat poured like rain and my knees trembled, I ran and kept running.

Even as my heart pounded as if it would burst, I couldn’t stop.

“Gasp, gasp-!”

A piece of advice Judas had given during training once.

Inhale through the nose as much as possible.

Recalling this, I ran even harder.

The distance from the fierce battleground to the flag stand was quite far.

But, I persisted.

“Huff-!”

Lindel fell as he thrust the flag into the ground.

Right into the flag stand of Room 13.

With a satisfying sound, the flagpole embedded itself.

Simultaneously, Lindel rolled on the ground.

At the flag stands of each faction, one knight remained.

This was to compare the flags if they were brought back around the same time.

The knight hurriedly recorded the time and facts.

[2:47 PM. Successfully reclaimed the white flag in Room 13.]

“Gasp, gasp….”

Lindel lay flat and caught his breath.

His vision spun.

He felt like he was about to vomit.

The knight’s voice speaking right in front of him sounded distant.

“Candidate, your name?”

“Lin… Lindel… sir….”

After writing down his name, the knight spoke.

“Well done. We will inform you of the results after gathering the information from the other side. Also, it is much better to walk and stabilize your body after running.”

It was faint but understandable.

Lindel struggled to stand.

The knight was already gone.

Only the flag remained.

The white flag fixed in the flag stand.

It was something he had accomplished.

“Haaa….”

Lindel sighed while looking at the drooping flag.

“Ahhhh-!”

He then screamed.

The overwhelming cheer burst from his chest.

The old congestion cleared, making him feel refreshed.

He felt proud.

He had achieved something. Finally.

The joy was short-lived, as anxiety surged.

What if he was late?

The opponent had already been tracking Dyke and Argon for a long time.

The anxiety didn’t last long.

***

Judas and the rest of the party heard the news of their victory.

Immediately, they all headed to the flag stand of Room 13.

What greeted them was Lindel, pacing and biting his nails.

“Lindel?!”

Richard, who had come with support, was startled.

Though overshadowed by Judas’s magic release, Richard had fought as long as Judas and his body was battered.

“Huh?”

Lindel, who had been waiting anxiously, noticed them.

“Did you do it?”

“Yes…? That, that means, could it be….”

Dylan grinned, and Richard continued.

“We won. It’s a victory through flag reclamation.”

“Ugh….”

Lindel collapsed to the ground.

Hearing the answer he had longed for, his strength left his body.

Judas chuckled while looking at Lindel sprawled on the ground in relief.

‘So it was Lindel, just as I thought.’

One person disappeared from the scene.

It was Lindel.

Strangely, I felt proud.

Even though I had no particular reason to feel that way.

Judas reached out to Lindel.

“Thanks to you, we won.”

Lindel stared blankly at that hand for a moment.

A certain day came to mind.

The day they had a trial against Judas.

It was similar back then too.

I had collapsed, and Judas looked down at me.

However, the situation was entirely different now.

Lindel smiled and clasped hands.

“It’s thanks to you that we won.”

Richard intervened between the two congratulating each other.

He put his arms around their shoulders and said,

“Anyone listening would think only you two had a hard time? Someone here feels like their whole body is aching.”

“Let’s say we all did well together.”

When Judas responded, Richard nodded.

“Of course, that’s right.”

“If you’re done with the check, let’s go back. Sir Gawain said he would handle the situation.”

Said the knight guarding the flag holder.

To this, Judas asked,

“Isn’t Sir Gaston in charge of this training?”

“Sir Gaston… stepped out for a moment. You’ll find out the details later.”

Judas accepted it as it was.

Not knowing what had happened behind the scenes, he had no choice but to accept it.

‘By the way, Eliza seemed to have used magic in the middle. What’s that about? And what about the magic I was hit with?’

The curiosity quickly faded.

Because he was sure he would find out soon.

If necessary, he could ask Eliza.

During the time of stroking the moon deer.

He naturally found it normal to be alone with Eliza by now.

He hadn’t noticed the change yet.

He asked Dylan, who was walking beside him,

“Are you okay?”

“Everyone asks as if they’re looking at someone about to die. It’s not that deep of a wound. It’ll heal with proper treatment.”

“That’s a relief….”

“There’s no need to feel guilty. There was no way you could have avoided it in that situation.”

It was all true.

Even knowing it was inevitable, Judas still felt sorry for Dylan.

Ultimately, Dylan took the hit for him.

“My response was reckless, but I had no choice either.”

Dylan considered his sacrifice as natural.

Richard chipped in from the side.

A casual remark, as if it was nothing.

“I would have done the same.”

Suddenly, Judas realized.

A sense of belonging.

That he was completely a part of this place.

From Richard’s words, he realized one more thing.

If the roles were reversed, he would have reacted like Dylan too.

“…Thank you.”

The twelve members of Room 13 walked together.

Quite a few were injured.

Even supporting each other while limping was difficult.

Yet, they laughed together.

The air mixed with dirt, blood, and a faint sweat smell was anything but pleasant.

Yet, they couldn’t help but laugh.

Despite all the ups and downs, they won.

They defeated the unlucky Sallaman and brought defeat to Room 5.

It felt refreshing.

It was a result they all achieved together.

“Honestly though, isn’t taking a stab for someone else a bit much? If it were me, I’d either shove the guy away or, you know, chop off his wrist or something.”

“Well, you certainly talk a good game. Try being in that situation yourself and see if your body reacts so rationally.”

Unable to hold back, Richard and Dylan were at it again, arguing over every little detail.

Their colleagues, half-heartedly trying to break it up or egging it on, enjoyed the scene.

At the center of it all stood Judas.

[Hidden Quest, ‘The Correlation Between Adversity and Trust’ has been completed.]

[Please select your reward.]

***

Vinyl had a dream.

A dream stitched together from fragments of memories, sometimes a nightmare, sometimes a prophetic vision.

Judas appeared in the dream.

A boy around his age whom he had met at Judeca.

He killed people without hesitation.

That night, Vinyl cried in fear.

The moment replayed over and over.

A boy of similar age and build to himself.

Beneath his deadly skills, a fragile interior.

Vinyl thought he could surpass him.

He’s nothing. That guy.

But Vinyl soon realized.

He couldn’t do what Judas did.

In their first sparring match to test their skills, Vinyl could do nothing.

Surviving was pure luck.

Escaping from there was luck too.

By sheer luck, he fled and became a candidate for Eliza’s guard knights.

A stroke of luck amidst misfortune.

He thought his life wasn’t so bad.

Until he saw Judas again.

Judas stood out even at the training center.

Vinyl feared him.

That made him want to be like him even more.

Admired and feared by all.

Knowing Judas’s weak side only intensified that desire.

But he couldn’t become like him.

So, he decided to eliminate him.

What would he do if he was stabbed in the back?

Vinyl believed luck would be on his side again. This time too.

But it wasn’t.

Luck turned her back.

Dylan intervened, and the stone knife was too crude.

Moreover, as Vinyl stabbed, he felt a chill run through his body.

The sensation of skin tearing under his blade was revolting.

So much so that his grip weakened unconsciously.

He remembered nothing after that.

He fainted after locking eyes with Judas’s icy stare.

He only hoped for one thing.

To be recognized.

For someone to see his recklessness as courage.

That hope shattered when he opened his eyes.

He was met by his own allies.

Members of the same Room 5.

But their eyes were those of enemies.

They glared at Vinyl menacingly.

Zero Bom, who had held the flag, grabbed him by the collar and pulled him up.

“Are you insane?”

He glared with wide eyes.

“A useless brat like you, going nuts! Why did you step in there, step in at all!”

“I, I, I….”

“You idiot!”

Zero Bom slapped him hard, and Vinyl fell.

Room 5 lost.

Though their flag was taken first, before that, there was Vinyl’s cheating.

The knights responded too late.

Because of Eliza’s sudden magic surge in the forest, they were all confused in various ways.

With difficulty, they managed to gather and organize themselves, and they admitted it.

Vinyl used a stone knife.

Room 5 was officially stripped of victory and, at the same time, disqualified for breaking the rules.

“If it weren’t for you!”

Someone stepped on Vinyl.

Maybe they just needed an excuse to vent their emotions.

But, surprisingly, the accusation was close to the truth.

If Vinyl hadn’t stabbed Dylan, Judas might not have unleashed his magic at that moment.

As a result, Room 13 might not have won.

Now, it’s just a meaningless assumption.

“I-I didn’t mean to…!”

“Shut up.”

The beating continued for a while.

Salaman stood a few steps away from the scene.

He wasn’t interested.

Win or lose.

Whether Vinyl got beaten more severely by Room 13 or not.

His anxiety stemmed from something else.

Gaston had given him two instructions.

To seriously injure Judas and Dylan.

Both had failed.

The offer would still stand.

Gaston had guaranteed it.

Yet, a nagging anxiety kept bubbling up.

In the meantime, Leo and Cooper returned.

“Damn, those guys are really fast….”

“Sorry about that.”

They expressed as much regret as they could muster, despite not meaning it.

Fortunately, no one paid them any attention.

Vinyl had captured all the attention.

Meanwhile, Room 13, having confirmed the flag, returned.

Richard, who stood at the forefront, chuckled at Room 5.

“Well, well, losers. You all look very harmonious, don’t you? Is that the secret to losing?”

“…….”

“Next time, we should emulate your room. Winning all the time gets boring.”

“Exactly. Sometimes you need to lose to grow and develop as a person.”

Judas chimed in, laughing.

Dylan, who would normally reprimand them for going too far, was silent today.

It was Salaman and his group who had harassed Dylan for trivial reasons.

There was no need to protect them.

“Quiet.”

A heavy voice silenced the commotion.