Every Morning, My Mirror Saves the World - Chapter 5

Chapter 5

“My name is Galahad, and I am a wandering Silver Knight.” The young man in silver-white armor sat leaning beside the campfire, his right hand pressed over the left side of his chest. His short green hair stuck up wildly with the motion. “Thank you both for your hospitality.”

“…No, it was nothing.” Lars hurriedly waved his hands.

“We never intended to show you any hospitality,” Ruiyin said in an icy voice. “You were the one who shamelessly grabbed our food without saying a word.”

“Ah, in that case…” The knight named Galahad’s eyes darted around. “Do you have any more? I’m still so hungry.”

“…No!” Ruiyin and Lars said in unison.

The tall young man lowered his head in disappointment, all his cowlicks drooping with him.

“Who exactly are you?” Ruiyin looked at the two hopelessly out-of-it people in front of her with a headache coming on. “If you’re a knight, why are you wandering around here alone? Which lord do you serve?”

“I’m on my way to the Aode Empire,” Galahad said, scratching his head. “I crossed a plain, then walked through several forests. The people in the towns wouldn’t take me in, and in the end I found you two.”

“…” Why did that travel route sound so damn familiar?

“There were traces of war all over that plain. Human corpses and Orc corpses everywhere.”

…That was even more familiar, wasn’t it?!

“Um, if I’m not mistaken, the Aode Empire is to the north,” Lars cut in uncertainly. “And it seems like you’ve been walking in the opposite direction.”

Galahad went pale with shock. “How is that possible?! Aren’t you two going to the Aode Empire?!”

“We’re going to Kandel Castle.”

“Ah! How could this happen!” The young man clutched his headful of green cowlicks and collapsed face-first onto the ground in agony. “I clearly… I clearly agreed to meet my employer in the Aode Empire! This is terrible. I’m definitely going to be late!”

“You agreed? When were you supposed to meet?” Lars asked.

“I think it was September first…”

“It’s all right,” Lars quickly comforted him. “There’s still half a month left. If you head back now, you can still make it…”

“…Or maybe it was June first T_T…”

Lars and Ruiyin: “…”

“It’s August,” Ruiyin pointed out calmly.

“Waaah, then what am I supposed to do?!” The tall young man lay on the ground, pounding the dirt and sobbing. His fair, handsome face was covered in streams of tears.

“Fine. I’ll give you some advice,” Ruiyin said, rubbing her forehead.

Galahad instantly sat bolt upright, his tear-filled eyes shining as he looked at Ruiyin with hope.

“For someone like you, who can’t tell directions, can’t even remember dates, and despite being a Silver Knight can still almost starve to death in a forest full of game, you should sell your armor as soon as possible and find somewhere to retire,” Ruiyin analyzed. “In my opinion, whether it’s intelligence, self-care, or survival skills, you do not possess any of the qualities a knight ought to have. Also…”

She shot him a look full of contempt. “Before you appeared, I used to think the knight beside me was already the bottom of the barrel. Now I see Lars is actually full of potential.”

Lars and Galahad: “…”

“QAQ Waaaaah, aaaooow, waaaah!” Galahad fell over and rolled around, bawling.

Without the slightest sympathy, Ruiyin yanked her hem out of Galahad’s hands after he had been using it to wipe his tears. She stood and turned away without hesitation. “Kick that guy to the side and go back to sleep. We still have to travel tomorrow.”

“Wait!” Galahad flipped over and lunged for Ruiyin’s clothes again, looking up at her full of hope. “Are you going to Kandela Castle?”

“…It’s Kandel Castle.”

“Whatever it’s called, please let me go with you!” Galahad’s tears vanished in an instant. “I am a Silver Knight. How could I allow a lady to cross the forest alone?”

Ruiyin raised an eyebrow. “No need. I already have a knight beside me.”

“…Then please, you absolutely have to let me go with you. If I’m alone, I’ll get lost and starve to death here QAQ!”

Galahad flipped around and half-knelt on the ground. He picked up the dagger Ruiyin had previously set down for self-defense and pointed it at his chest, saying tragically, “If I must die in such a disgraceful way, then I’d rather end my own life here!”

Ruiyin said, “Both ways of dying are equally disgraceful. There is no difference. Also, you’re holding the dagger backward.”

Galahad froze, then hastily threw the dagger away, clutched his cut hand, and burst into tears. “Wuuuuuh…”

Standing to the side, Lars finally could not quite bear it anymore. He tugged lightly at Ruiyin and said in a low voice, “Hey, I think we should just take him with us. He might really die in the forest like this. Even if he’s a wandering knight, that’s still… kind of too pitiful.”

Galahad. Male. Adult. Silver Rank wandering knight. Thanks to Ruiyin’s charitable belief that “saving more useless people earns more virtue,” he joined the two-person team returning home to persuade people toward goodness.

In this world, knights could generally be divided into two types. One type served a lord and had their own knight order, like Lars. The other type was a wandering knight like Galahad. They had no sworn master and only accepted short-term employment from various clients, living off the wages those clients provided. Knights of the same rank actually did not differ much in income or treatment. But if it was Galahad…
“It’s a miracle you haven’t starved to death anywhere,” Ruiyin said coldly.

Galahad: “Waaah…”

The forest where the three of them had camped was not far from Kandel Castle, but they had to cross several fairly large forests along the way, and the magical beasts living inside were not easy to deal with. Lars was only an Apprentice Knight, and with his wounds still unhealed, the journey had been truly rough on him.

But after Galahad joined the party, the situation took a dramatic turn.

To Ruiyin’s surprise, this Silver Knight actually wasn’t all reputation and no substance. His astonishing speed and superb swordsmanship kept any magical beast below level four from getting anywhere near him. The tall young man in silver-white armor even looked gallant enough to make people hesitate to look straight at him when his expression turned cold and stern.

“So… so amazing!” Lars watched Galahad cut down the magical beasts with awe in his eyes. “As expected of a Silver Knight. If only I could be that strong too!”

“Oh?” Ruiyin turned back with interest. “Lars, do you really want to become a Silver Knight?”

“Of course! Apprentice Knight, Knight, Silver Knight, Golden Knight, and even the legendary Paladin… For someone like me, who has decided to devote his life to Lord War God Xisaluo, every rank I advance is something I dream of day and night!” Lars’s gaze was full of yearning. “If only I could become a Golden Knight… I could enter the Holy Temple and receive my conferment before Lord Xisaluo’s statue. That is my lifelong dream…”

Ruiyin looked at his wistful expression and secretly rejoiced. Since his lifelong goal was to become a Golden Knight, then a Lars like this definitely wouldn’t be interested in becoming a mage, right? And as long as he didn’t become a mage, didn’t become the Holy Archmage, then destroying the world, forbidden spells, and all that had nothing to do with him!

“That is a great dream,” Ruiyin said solemnly, looking Lars in the eye. “Lars, I believe in you. You will definitely succeed!”

The boy blushed, completely at a loss. “Th-thank you! Ruiyin, since you believe in me so much, I’ll definitely work hard!”

Ruiyin gave two fake laughs, then looked away and raised a hand to shade her eyes. In the distance, Galahad had almost finished dealing with the magical beasts. He was rummaging through the bloody, mangled corpses one by one, picking out crystals of different colors.

“What are you doing?” Ruiyin walked over and asked.

She had only asked casually, but Galahad suddenly sprang up and warily backed several steps away, hugging the colorful pile in his arms. “These are all mine!”

“…I know. I was just asking, what are those?”

“They’re magic crystals.” Lars walked over as well and glanced at the pile in Galahad’s hands. “But these magical beasts were only level three at most, and most of them are the most common wind-type magic crystals. What do you want them for?”

“To sell for money, obviously!” Galahad said without hesitation.

“But even a level-three magic crystal is worth one silver coin at most. All these magic crystals put together still wouldn’t be enough to cover your travel expenses to the Aode Empire.”

“You…” Galahad’s eyes instantly filled with tears of grief and indignation. He snatched back the magic crystal Lars had been holding and examining just now, his face flushed bright red as he shouted, “What do you people who have never worried about food or clothes know?! Even if they only sell for a few copper coins, that’s still money! You… you could never understand the pain of being poor!”

Ruiyin: I’ve handed out flyers, lived in basements, slept in sauna rooms, picked through trash on the street, dressed up as a beggar, and panhandled. What haven’t I done? You’re the one who’s never worried about food or clothes. Your whole family has never worried about food or clothes.

Lars: The lowest-rank Apprentice Knight’s monthly salary isn’t even enough to eat on. No house, no carriage, no girlfriend. You’re the one who doesn’t understand the pain of being poor. Your whole family doesn’t understand.

“But even for a wandering knight, the hiring fee for a Silver Knight should be very high, right?” Lars suddenly said. “Even if it’s not enough to make you rich, at the very least you shouldn’t be…” Like this.

Galahad looked even more grief-stricken. He turned his head away, his back desolate. “I… I always get the time and place I agreed on with my employers wrong. I deliberately hid my last payment in a cave, and I forgot which cave it was…”

“…” Someone like this could become a Silver Knight? That god called Xisaluo was probably not the God of War at all, but the God of the Poor, right?!

“I will earn money!” Galahad clenched his fist toward the rising sun, tears streaming down his face in thick rivers, his expression resolute and his tone decisive.

“We’re going to Kandela, right? I will definitely find a new employer, complete one perfect mission, and then perfectly save the money!” Blazing flames seemed to flare up around Galahad’s entire body. “I will definitely reclaim my honor as a Silver Knight!”

“The place we’re going is Kandel Castle.” Ruiyin stood up and patted him on the shoulder. “Lars, look. Even someone like this can survive and still be full of hope for life. This teaches us that no matter what we encounter, we must be full of love for this world and absolutely must not have the slightest thought of destroying it. Understood?”

Lars: “…Mm. I understand!”