Chapter 2: Pioneer Village(2)

“I found her in the heart of the Great Forest!”
“A girl collapsed there, with the very form of a goddess.”
“…Of course, for some reason, the next day she looked like an ordinary girl…”
“But still, there’s definitely something about Avalli!”

Arsene spoke passionately, but the man listening still wore an indifferent expression.

“Calm down.”
“If she truly were a child possessed by the goddess, there’s no way I wouldn’t recognize her.”
“Ah, I apologize.”
“I’ve been rude to someone who has traveled so far.”
“However, don’t get your hopes up too high.”

Great expectations always lead to great disappointment.
The newly appointed paladin, Kyle Bazra, had felt this keenly for nearly 20 years.

Kyle was of humble origin but became a paladin thanks to his innate talent.
However, in times of peace, the importance of pure skill tends to diminish.
Despite consistently demonstrating superior abilities, Kyle couldn’t advance beyond the 7th rank paladin due to the limitations of his birth.
As his peers from the training academy, whose skills were inferior to his, were promoted one by one to intermediate paladin ranks, Kyle grew increasingly anxious until a bishop made him an offer.

‘Are you willing to undertake the noble mission of finding the Saintess?’

He shouldn’t have fallen for those sweet words.
But young Kyle was blinded by ambition and ultimately accepted the bishop’s proposal.

Insight Knight. (TL: 성찰 기사 – Seongchal Gisa, literally means ‘introspection’ or ‘reflection’ knight, tasked with finding miracles.)

A position given at the lowest rung of the 6th rank, that is, intermediate paladins, tasked with traveling the continent to find ‘miracles’.
These miracles could be phenomena, relics, or perhaps specific individuals like a Saintess or Saint.

Leaving the capital of the Holy Kingdom back then, Kyle was filled with hope.
He would perform a noble mission, collect great miracles unseen by anyone.
As a result, Kyle would transcend his humble origins and finally reach the rank of high paladin.

‘…Miracles, huh.’

But after wandering the entire continent for 20 years, Kyle realized his dream was an unattainable fantasy from the start.
The Insight Knight was originally a position created 700 years ago during the Great War, hoping that near-extinct humanity would find hope, a sliver of miracle.
In this rebuilt, peaceful world, miracles simply don’t happen anymore.

So, the bishop’s offer back then was essentially half a threat.
A choice between quietly remaining a low-rank paladin in the Holy Kingdom, fitting his station, or becoming an intermediate paladin in name only, wandering the continent.

Thinking back now, there was really only one choice.

‘I should have stayed in the Holy Kingdom somehow.’

The passionate paladin Kyle from 20 years ago no longer existed.
Only a middle-aged man, thoroughly disgusted with charlatans faking miracles, remained.

“Sir Kyle. We are about to arrive at the village.”
“……It’s quite modest.”
“It’s a pioneer village. Still, we’re doing our best to cultivate it.”

What kept Kyle’s mood from hitting rock bottom was that this village chief, Arsene, was a man who knew proper etiquette.
He was qualitatively different from the swindlers who put on obvious acts trying to deceive Kyle.
This man genuinely believed a miracle had occurred and sought out an Insight Knight like himself to report the joyous news to the Holy Kingdom.

‘Though there’s no way a miracle actually happened.’

When the carriage wheels finally stopped, Arsene hurriedly got out first.
As Kyle followed, rising from his seat, the carriage began to shake precariously.

This was because Kyle was a head taller than Arsene and wore plate armor on his chest.
Even with lightening magic applied, the weight was still substantial.

‘If it weren’t for the Great Forest, I wouldn’t have bothered bringing it…’

The region Kyle had visited was quite dangerous.
He should be thankful he hadn’t encountered any demonic beasts so far.

Near the village entrance, a large crowd of villagers had gathered.
It seemed less like a welcoming line and more like curious onlookers wanting to see a paladin.

A rigid paladin who had only lived in the Holy Kingdom might have been offended, but for Kyle, who had wandered the continent, it was a familiar sight.
Kyle wasn’t harsh enough to vent his frustrations on ignorant common folk.

“The village of Asha welcomes the Knight of the Holy Kingdom.”

Arsene bowed respectfully at the village entrance.

“May the Goddess’s grace remain upon your village.”

After the brief pleasantries, Arsene immediately guided Kyle to his house.
He had expected to arrive late in the afternoon, but they had traveled much faster than Arsene anticipated.

‘…It seems correct to assume the demonic beasts have mostly disappeared.’

Through today’s outing, Arsene realized the recent changes in the Great Forest were not his imagination.
Normally, he would have had to prepare for several encounters with low-level demonic beasts.
But today, the carriage ran briskly along the road without stopping even once.

The Eastern Great Forest had definitely changed.
And the cause was undoubtedly the girl Arsene had encountered weeks ago.

“Avalli!”

Arsene opened the door and shouted loudly, but only quiet silence flowed within the house.

‘…I definitely left a note.’

Unfortunately, Avalli couldn’t decipher any word other than ‘late’ from its contents.
Of course, this wasn’t Avalli’s fault, but rather Arsene’s mistake in overestimating her, believing she harbored a goddess’s miracle.

“…Could you perhaps wait here in the house for a moment? It seems she stepped out briefly.”
“No, let’s go together.”
“But you should at least rest from your journey first—.”
“I’m used to it. This much doesn’t tire me.”

His voice carried a hint of resignation, but Arsene, being newly acquainted with Kyle, had no way of noticing.
He simply complied silently since the high-ranking person wished it.

“Avalli? She’s probably at the river. She said she was going to help Hans play with the kids.”

Fortunately, Karls’s wife from next door knew Avalli’s whereabouts.
Arsene let out a sigh of relief and was about to head to the riverbank when Karls, loitering in front of the fence, spoke to him.

“Arsene. Do you have any spare nails at home?”
“I have some, but… no spares. Sorry about that.”
“Go home and check once. Avalli brought me some nails, but if the count is off, I’ll return them.”

Arsene nodded and then proceeded out of the village.
As they left the village, Kyle spoke.

“She seems like a bright child.”
“She’s a kind-hearted child. Truly a miracle of the Goddess—”
“Enough. Even if you don’t press the matter, we’ll know soon enough.”

Arsene fell silent at Kyle’s business-like tone.
In a slightly uncomfortable silence, the two quickly reached the riverbank.

And in the distance, by the river, a girl shouting boisterously could be seen.

“You pervy little brat!”
“Avalli’s mad!”
“Why are you such a good swimmer!”
“Help— Help me, Avalli! Water! I swallowed water!”

The girl with the brown bobbed hair looked quite fierce, contrary to Arsene’s description.
But the scene was rather fitting for her age, prompting a faint smile from Kyle.

“Is that the child?”
“Yes, that’s right. Hey, A—”
“No need to call her.”

Kyle shook his head left and right, stopping Arsene from shouting.

“What do you mean, no need…?”
“No miracle resides within that girl.”

Although he had held a minor post for nearly 20 years, Kyle was a paladin rich in both experience and skill.
Enough to gauge a person’s talents with just a brief look from afar.

In Kyle’s eyes, that Avalli—

“Neither divine power nor magic, nothing is felt.”
She’s just an ordinary child.
She simply appeared to be a lively girl appropriate for her age.”

“Really?”
“Yes. I’m certain.”
“……”

Arsene couldn’t easily accept Kyle’s words.

‘…This is why I said not to get his hopes up.’

He saw his past self overlapping with the young village chief.

“…Well then, I shall take my leave. I apologize, you prepared a welcome.”

Feeling a strange bitterness at that fact, Kyle was about to turn back immediately—

“Sir Kyle. There’s a place I’d like you to visit.”
“…A place?”
“It’s where I first found Avalli. If no miracle resides in Avalli, perhaps there’s something at that location.”

After pondering for a moment, Kyle nodded.

“Lead the way.”

The chances were slim this time too, but as an Insight Knight, he couldn’t ignore those words.
No matter how miserable and pathetic his situation felt, Kyle was a man who thoroughly fulfilled his given duties.

Kyle followed Arsene, ready to draw the sword at his hip at any moment.
His nerves were on edge, even using his divine power to survey the surroundings.

But—

‘…Strange.’

Despite walking for quite some time, nothing but a few wild animals could be detected nearby.
It was hard to believe they were in the Eastern Great Forest, notorious for its demonic beasts.

“Aren’t we going too deep?”
“It’s alright. Probably.”
“Probably? What are you—”
“You’ll understand why I said that when we arrive.”

Kyle suppressed his rising anger at Arsene’s confident voice.
And shortly after, the two arrived at a clearing.

“……What in the world is this.”
“This is the place where I found Avalli.”
“Is that true?”

Arsene nodded without hesitation.

“If that’s the case, then certainly…”

Hearing those words, Kyle… had no choice but to change his previous assessment.

“…It seems the Goddess’s miracle has indeed descended.”

An overwhelming number of demonic beast corpses stretched continuously from the depths of the Great Forest.