Every Morning, My Mirror Saves the World - Chapter 6

Chapter 6

This world, known for magic and swords, had a few things in common with Earth. Vast oceans surrounded four continents. Before magic arrays capable of crossing continents were invented, the isolated peoples of those continents waged war against one another until four independent, unified empires eventually took shape: the Aode Empire, the Sunan Empire, the Jifeng Empire, and the Suolanlu Empire. The cross-shaped sea stretched downward like the gulf of God carved by the Sword of Damocles. Two hundred years ago, only merfolk and wyverns could cross it.

The Aode Empire lay on the continent in the northwest. In truth, ever since the Orcs’ invasion, the entire empire had been forcibly split in two. Ruiyin and the others’ destination, Kandel Castle, was one of several scattered little kingdoms in the isolated southern region.

“So giving up the safe rear and following us to the front line really wasn’t a good idea,” Ruiyin said to Galahad as they waited in line to pass through the city gate.

“Are you kidding? How could a knight retreat somewhere safe? In a place where even ladies and children can go to the battlefield, safety is the greatest insult to us!” Galahad rested one hand on the silver longsword at his waist and swept the other stylishly through his short hair. “I am love and justice’s most loyal warrior, the Silver Knight Galahad!”

“So loyalty is ranked by how much of an idiot you are?”

“Wah, no it isn’t…”

As the two of them talked, the line slowly reached them. Since the Orcs’ invasion, the once-open trade routes had been blocked off. Merchants and travelers had no choice but to risk their lives crossing the great plains of war, and after those exhausted travelers finally arrived at the castle, they still had to undergo inspection before entering the safe zone.

“This is to prevent the Orcs from disguising themselves as humans and getting inside. You should know, some highly evolved members of the Orcs look very similar to humans,” Lars explained, showing his knight badge to the soldiers. “I am Lars de Plectetus, Apprentice Knight of the Kandel Knight Order. I have just returned from the border and have important intelligence to report to Lord Maxen.”

The gate soldier first looked Lars over with suspicion. After taking the badge, however, his expression turned to utter shock. He cried out despite himself, “You are… You really are a member of the knight order! How is that possible? In that battle, weren’t they all already…”

“We were not wiped out!” Lars said urgently. “Please let me see Lord Maxen. I am still alive. I have brought important news from the battle!”

The two soldiers quickly exchanged a look. Then one of them bowed respectfully to Lars. “Sir Knight, please come this way.”

Galahad whistled. “Whoa, impressive. I didn’t know knights were respected this much. Even after losing a battle, you can still look so grand!”

Ruiyin shot him a look of disdain. “Aren’t you a Silver Knight?”

“But I hardly ever come to cities, so I didn’t know it could be this imposing.” Galahad rubbed his nose and chuckled.

Ruiyin gazed into the distance. “Honestly, I’ve always thought it was amazing that someone who spends most of his life getting lost can still be this proud. You’re a real oddity.”

“I-I do not! Hmph. Since we’ve already reached a town, I’ll show you the difference between a real Silver Knight and an Apprentice Knight!”

Galahad straightened his armor and sword, puffed out his chest, and strode through the gate behind Lars. He tossed Ruiyin a smug look over his shoulder and had just been about to walk on when two spears flashed out and blocked his path.

“Who goes there!” the soldier barked. “No one may enter Kandel Castle without proof of identity!”

Galahad’s eyes widened in disbelief. He pointed at his own armor and sword. “Can’t you see how I’m dressed? I am a knight! A Silver Knight!”

“Dress proves nothing,” Soldier A said with iron impartiality. “The Orcs could have found armor on a fallen corpse, then disguised themselves as humans to enter. Please present your knight badge. Only a badge that vanishes automatically after its owner dies can prove your identity.”

“I-I-I…” Galahad was beside himself. He groped around his body for a long while before finally saying with a wounded expression, “My badge… is hidden in a cave along with my last commission payment! Right now… it isn’t on me.”

Soldier A looked utterly righteous. “Lies! To a knight, a knight badge is as important as his life. How could you possibly toss it aside? You really are an impostor!”

“I-I-I…” Galahad looked miserable. He backed away in a panic. Since he couldn’t draw his sword and cut down monsters when these were ordinary innocent civilians, he had no choice but to turn and look at Ruiyin. “What do we do TAT…”

Ruiyin lowered her head and stared at the ground without saying a word.

“Don’t pretend you’re deep in thought! Sorry, I shouldn’t have shown off my so-called knightly bearing in front of you! I’m an idiot, so please help me! At this rate, we’re going to be thrown in jail!”

Ruiyin lifted her head and looked at him in puzzlement. “You really don’t know what to do?”

“Wait!” Before Ruiyin could finish speaking, Lars, who had just completed the entry formalities, pushed through the crowd and rushed back. “My apologies. These two are my friends. Please let them enter the city with me!”

Soldier A came to a realization. “Oh, so they are your friends, Sir Knight. Please enter!”
Ruiyin nodded to the gate soldier, who gave her a friendly smile in return. As she walked past Galahad, who had long since gone stiff with shock, she raised a hand and patted him on the shoulder. “See? As long as you don’t talk, we can do it like this. I didn’t say anything just now. You’re the one who admitted you were an idiot.”

Galahad: “…”

The moment they entered the city, Galahad took his leave from Ruiyin and Lars with a face ashen as death. Before he left, he hurriedly tossed out, “I’m going to find the merchants’ guild and sell the magic crystals,” then shot off with the speed of a drawn sword. Watching the trail of dust vanish in an instant, Lars moved closer to Ruiyin and said softly, “Don’t be sad. I’m sure we’ll meet again.”

“No…” Ruiyin was still looking in that direction. “I just feel like… that name sounds strangely familiar. But it’s probably my imagination. If I knew an idiot like that, I definitely wouldn’t forget him so easily.”

Ruiyin nodded. “Still, with his sense of direction, I also think there’s no way he’ll find the merchants’ guild on his own. In the end, we might have to collect his body for him.”

Lars felt that this possibility was, in fact, frighteningly high.

Although it was wartime, Kandel Castle sat atop defensible high ground, a solid fortress stationed in the south of the Aode Empire. The flames of war had barely reached this place. The faces of the townspeople and traveling merchants all carried ordinary, contented smiles. Gravel-paved lanes wound between rows of Nordic-style roadside cottages, and golden sunlight shone over the tops of the towers. The whole place was so bright and open it looked like a little town in a game.

“It feels so good to be home.” Lars wore a relaxed, cheerful smile as he turned to look at Ruiyin. “Ruiyin, are you a resident of Kandel Castle? I need to report to my liege first. As soon as I’m done, I’ll come find you!”

“No, I’m not.” Ruiyin shook her head. “I’m only here to look for someone.”

“Huh? Where is the person you’re looking for? I can help you ask around.”

“There’s no need.” Ruiyin lowered her head. “He seems to… no longer be here.”

Seeing the boy’s shocked, sorrowful expression, Ruiyin realized he might have misunderstood. She had just opened her mouth to explain when he had already bowed his head in apology. “I’m sorry! I brought up your painful memories. I am willing to atone with my life!”

“…” Ah, that painfully familiar line…

“I didn’t mean to,” Lars said, looking even more grief-stricken than someone who had truly lost a friend or family member. “Then… are you leaving right away? Do you want to stay here a while longer?”

“I…”

“Then let’s do this! Come with me! I’ll finish my business very soon, and then I’ll help you look for him. Maybe… maybe it’s just a misunderstanding! Kandel is very big. Maybe you just got the wrong information!”

Lars wore a grand, swaggering expression that practically said, I’m the master here, follow me and you can’t go wrong.

Ruiyin silently turned her head toward the sun, lowered her lashes, and did her best to put on a sorrowful expression. “In that case… I’ll have to trouble you.”

A teammate who could fill in the blanks on his own and even arrange everything for you without making you come up with excuses was honestly more convenient than a cheat code…

In truth, Ruiyin had only followed Lars to Kandel Castle because she had no other choice. To stop Lars from being provoked into turning dark, Ruiyin had tried countless methods along the way to keep the boy from returning to his country. She had even knocked him unconscious while he wasn’t paying attention, tied him up, and dragged him back. But whenever Lars woke up, he would face her innocently with a smile that said, Stop messing around, I’m an adult and I have serious business to handle. Every time, she couldn’t withstand it and ended up untying him.

What else could she do? She couldn’t tie him up for the rest of his life. And once he regained his freedom, this stubbornly loyal knight would still travel thousands of miles back to his homeland. Rather than continuously lowering his affection toward her, it was better to stay at Lars’s side and act as the situation demanded.

While sitting with Lars in the reception room, waiting to be summoned by the master of the castle, Ruiyin kept drafting lines in her head. At the same time, she chatted casually with Lars. “Lars, what kind of person is your liege?”

“Lord Maxen?” Reverence appeared on Lars’s face. “He is a great man. Kind, tolerant, and brave. If not for him, I would still be an orphan wandering the streets. He brought me into the knight order and taught me etiquette and swordsmanship. In this life, aside from the gods Xisaluo and Herbotiya, all of my loyalty belongs to Lord Maxen.”

What an incredibly moving loyal hound. Ruiyin turned her head and silently wiped away tears. Unfortunately, this loyal hound’s master was truly no good sort. He had colluded with filthy, depraved Undead mages and sought profit and power by sacrificing the lives of his own loyal knights. Although he failed in the end, everything he had already done was more than enough to traumatize Lars’s young heart.

In any case, the upcoming sequence would simply be: royal interview, knight returns to wait for the result, result of the interview is arrest. Before the interview result came out, there would still be enough time for her to grab Lars and flee at top speed.

Just as Ruiyin’s thoughts were drifting, she suddenly felt a gaze behind her. It was filled with greed, hatred, and the desire to seize. The malice within it was almost condensing into cold substance, stabbing the back of her neck with a chill.

She turned back sharply, alert.

But behind her, there was only an ordinary wall.