The Weight of a Dream and Final Preparations

I studied his complexion. Contrary to his somber voice, there was no trace of lingering regret on his face.

I suppose that makes sense for a fiancee he has never even met.

Mean-spirited as it was, I found myself secretly hoping his engagement would fall through. I quickly brushed the thought aside, praying Azrael hadn’t sensed what I was thinking.

“Don’t worry, Prince! A guy like you will find an amazing partner even if the engagement is canceled.”

I gave him a bright smile and a reassuring pat on the shoulder, and Azrael smiled back. It didn’t seem to offer much comfort, though. I tried to think of something else to say, but nothing came to mind.

Time to change the subject.

“Prince, speaking of which… do you have any information about the Demon King subjugation that I might not know?”

“Hmm… I do not know much more than you do.”

Azrael shrugged. I gave his arm a playful nudge.

“Don’t be like that. Tell me how to use those special ‘weapons,’ or anything at all. Please? Prince.”

When I shook him, Azrael playfully let his body go limp, swaying back and forth. I let out a soft chuckle at the sight.

“Prince, come on.”

When I urged him again, he finally answered with a hint of amusement in his voice.

“Fine. I shall tell you how the weapons are used. Most are crafted in the shape of daggers, though they have no specific name. It is said they had names long ago, but those have been lost to time.”

“Right, right.”

“The usage is simple enough. Once thrust into the opponent’s body, the effect triggers automatically. They are incredibly powerful, but since they are single-use, they must be used with extreme caution.”

I nodded along. Before continuing, Azrael fell into thought, tapping the tip of his finger against the hilt of his sword.

“In short, the battle usually follows a pattern: I engage the Demon King with the Holy Sword, and while maintaining the standoff, we look for an opening to drive the daggers into his vital points one by one.”

“Is there any chance the sword might break?”

“It is a Holy Sword, despite how it might seem.”

So even if it brings nothing but bad luck, a Holy Sword is still a Holy Sword. I glared at his blade for a moment before looking back up at him.

The shadow of the fiancee talk had vanished from his face. Relieved, I opened my mouth to ask one more thing.

“The—”

But before I could get the words out, Azrael pointedly checked the time and stood up.

“It is late. Our departure is close at hand, so you should rest. I shall take my leave. Sleep well.”

“Yeah, goodnight, Azrael.”

Azrael turned and left my room. I frowned at his retreating back.

“Did the Prince just avoid talking to me…?”

What was that? It didn’t feel like my imagination, but it was just… bothersome. I stared blankly at the closed door, lost in thought.

I remained in that same position for quite some time after Azrael left. Actually, I might have just been zoning out. A fresh knock at the door was what finally pulled me back to reality.

“Who is it?”

“Master Andrealphus, it is Judas.”

What does Judas want? My brain felt sluggish as I slowly stood up to open the door.

Judas stood there with his usual expression. Of course, normally he would never seek me out at this hour, let alone come by himself.

“What’s going on?”

When I opened the door, he gave a slight bow and asked.

“I fear this may be a long conversation. I apologize for the late hour, but do you have a moment?”

I looked at the clock, much like Azrael had done earlier. It was just past midnight. With a face full of questions, I gestured for Judas to come inside.

The door closed with a soft click. The knight—neither young nor old—hesitated incessantly until I handed him a teacup.

“What is it?”

Judas wrapped both hands around the cup. The tea was still steaming and must have been quite hot, yet he didn’t seem to notice. Perhaps his body was chilled. It looked like he had been wandering outside until this late hour.

“Master Andrealphus.”

“Yes.”

“If Prince Raphael joins the group, it will be extremely uncomfortable for you. However… may I ask you to allow him to join the expedition?”

His voice wavered toward the end. In a way, it sounded like he was forcing out words he hated to say. But his request was clear.

“Is it really that important to you that Raphael never shows his face to you again?”

I asked bluntly. Judas was unable to answer for a long time.

Finally, he closed his eyes and took a long breath before opening them again.

“It is important. Every night, I dream of the day everyone I held dear lost their lives.”

He inhaled sharply.

“The end of that dream is always the same: ‘See you next time, Sir Judas.'”

“…….”

“I am not asking to stop dreaming. I simply wish to be able to wake up and dismiss it as nothing more than the past.”

“That….”

I couldn’t bring myself to refuse.

So what if I couldn’t wear the clothes I wanted for a few days, or if my usable skills were strictly limited? It was only for a few days, and if those few days could help clear even a bit of the dark clouds hanging over this knight’s life, then so be it.

“……How should I act while he’s in the party?”

Those were the words that finally left my mouth. Judas bowed deeply, saying, “Thank you.”

Judas left my room after leaving behind a rather long list of warnings. After seeing him out, I sank into the sofa and opened the quest window.

[Event Quest (Side Story): Knight Judas] [Sir Judas, one of the five knights of your close friend Azrael, seems to be hiding a significant past….] [Quest Failure Condition: Completion of Raphael’s plan] [Quest Success Reward: Azrael’s Survival] [※ If the quest is rejected or failed, you cannot retry this quest.] [(NEW!) Info 1: Sir Judas’s fief and its residents were all sacrificed due to Raphael’s plan.] [(NEW!) Info 2: You learned from Sir Judas that Raphael is ‘one who will accept some sacrifice for the sake of the state.’] [(NEW!) Info 3: Sir Judas requested that you stay out of Raphael’s sight as much as possible.]

Having received Judas’s consent to officially join the expedition, Raphael’s face was so annoyingly radiant it was practically glowing. He looked as peaceful as if he had never acted pathetically toward Judas in his life. Can’t I just hit him once? I really want to kick him.

“What are you looking at?”

I was truly glad I was wearing my hood so he couldn’t see my face as I mentally raised a middle finger at him.

“I wasn’t looking.”

“I felt a gaze.”

“Narcissism is a disease at that level.”

When I answered indifferently, Raphael arched an eyebrow, but his attention shifted away from me the moment Judas turned around.

Since we were departing tomorrow, the knights were incredibly busy. Perhaps the paperwork they had been processing non-stop recently was for the supplies needed for the subjugation; today, everyone was occupied with organizing mountains of items.

I could fit all of that in my inventory in one go.

“Why do we have to carry these separately?”

“Because we never know when we might have to act independently during a mission.”

Simon answered, practically pouring tasteless dried rations into his rucksack. Even though it’s a game system and the volume is the same regardless of how you pack it, it looked a bit funny from an observer’s perspective.

“I see.”

“We’re preparing for every possible situation.”

“Do I need to pack too?”

Simon looked back at me, startled. It seemed he hadn’t even thought about it. As Simon and I stood there facing each other in confusion, Judas spoke up with a light sigh.

“I have already applied for the supplies for Prince Raphael and Master Andrealphus.”

“As expected of Sir Judas.”

Raphael smiled broadly and clung to Judas. I expected Judas to recoil and shake him off, but he simply left Raphael be, as if he were used to it. It must be uncomfortable to move like that.

Simon and I watched the scene before simultaneously shaking our heads.

Simon looked away from Judas and Raphael and gestured to me. It was a signal to go elsewhere. I nodded silently and followed him out of the room.

“Phew…….”

As soon as the door to an empty meeting room closed, Simon and I let out a synchronized sigh.

“I need to prepare….”

“In that situation? I won’t stop you if you want to go back.”

When I gestured for him to go, Simon scowled exaggeratedly.

“You expect me to just stand there and watch Prince Raphael follow Sir Judas around? I need a little break, too.”

“Well….”

He wasn’t wrong, but if the work isn’t done, does it even matter if he takes a break? I chose to keep my mouth shut instead of nitpicking. If I started a pointless argument, I’d probably just end up being dragged back in there.