I Became the Black Knight

As Dale remained still, the guards gripped their spears even tighter. They looked ready to strike at any moment. A strong hostility filled the air.

The Black Knight's body was sensitive to such hostility. Instinctively, Dale reached for the hilt of his sword.

'Ah, right. It's broken.'

Perhaps that was for the better. If he had lost his temper and swung his sword, things might have gone beyond repair.

As the atmosphere grew tense, Haken stepped forward with a friendly smile.

"Come on now, let's all calm down. Seriously, what's the point of wasting your strength first thing in the morning? Don't you guards want to clock out and head home soon? Get some food, some sleep, maybe give your wife a little back rub?"

The guards frowned at his brazen attitude.

"And who the hell are you?"

"I go by Haken. I'm a mercenary with Iron Badge. Here's my mercenary pass."

Haken pulled out his mercenary pass. On the thin copper plate were the emblem of the mercenary guild and the name "Haken" engraved.

The guard examined it with a suspicious look.

"It's not forged, is it?"

"Hey now, don't say such dangerous things! If someone forged a mercenary pass and got hunted down by the guild, they'd be better off hanging themselves."

"Hmph. That's true, I suppose. So?"

Haken glanced at Dale before speaking calmly.

"Well, it seemed like there was some misunderstanding, so I thought I'd step in. Sure, Sir Dale might look fierce, evil, and, uh, like someone who's good at killing people just by his appearance… But if you see his bare face, he looks like a courtesan's pretty boy—annoying, really."

"..."

Dale quietly stared at Haken. Haken wiped away a bead of sweat and continued.

"But still, you know? He's different from the other Black Knights. You can actually talk to him. He doesn't stab people without warning."

Sounds like the other Black Knights do, though.

"Just look over there! All those people back there—Sir Dale protected every one of them! Where else in the world would you find a Black Knight like that?!"

"Our dog doesn't bite!"

Haken desperately explained, using both his hands and feet to gesture.

The guard, who had been silently listening, finally spoke.

"I get what you're trying to say."

"Oh! So you finally understand!"

"You're in cahoots with that guy, aren't you?"

"…What?"

"Guess we'll have to throw you in prison too!"

Mercenaries weren't exactly a trustworthy bunch.

Unless they were high-ranking, mercenaries from the Iron Badge didn't carry much credibility.

The guards narrowed their eyes and slowly started approaching Haken.

Looking around with panicked, trembling eyes, Haken suddenly shouted like a man having a fit.

"W-What are you talking about? Comrades? My nickname is Lone Wolf! I always work alone!"

"?"

"A-Anyway, I have nothing to do with this."

As both the guards and Dale stared at him in disbelief, Haken gave an awkward cough and quietly backed away.

The guards turned their attention back to Dale.

They began approaching him step by step, preparing to tie him up with rope.

Dale hesitated.

'What should I do? Should I retreat for now?'

He never imagined he wouldn't even be allowed into the city.

At the moment, retreating seemed like the only option.

But if he backed down here, it would only serve as proof that he had something to hide.

Just as Dale wrestled with indecision, a clear voice rang out from behind them.

"I will explain."

All eyes turned at once. Estelle stepped forward.

Seeing her priestly robes and striking beauty, the guards instinctively straightened up.

Estelle spoke calmly.

"You're working hard from early in the morning, brothers."

"Oh—Priestess, we've kept you waiting, haven't we? You can go right in, no need to wait."

The guard replied respectfully.

She hadn't even shown any form of identification, but it didn't matter.

Priests of the Faith of Light carried a unique aura—one that couldn't be faked.

Estelle shook her head.

"I've stepped forward to clear up a misunderstanding regarding Sir Da—Brother…"

She rolled the word brother around in her mouth for a moment, but it just didn't feel right. Estelle changed the term.

"…regarding Sir Dale."

"Excuse me?"

The guards' eyes widened in surprise. A priestess of the Faith of Light was defending a Black Knight? Even Haken and Dale looked a bit taken aback.

They hadn't expected Estelle—who had been glaring at them with disapproval the whole time—to step forward on their behalf.

Estelle herself didn't seem too thrilled about it. Her expression stiffened as she spoke.

"Though I haven't spent much time with Sir Dale, I believe the mercenary's words are true. Sir Dale is different from the other Black Knights."

She calmly explained the journey that had brought them here.

The attack on the carriage. How Dale had saved the people during the assault. How he had led them all the way to this place.

Of course, she also disclosed the deal made between her and Dale. That his intentions hadn't been entirely pure.

But that wasn't a problem at all. Even if he had abandoned everyone there and fled alone, no one could have blamed him. If he were truly wicked, he could have killed the weaker passengers outright and looted their belongings.

Even to the guards, Dale's actions seemed honorable enough. They looked at him with faces that still showed disbelief. A Black Knight doing such a thing—it was hard to accept.

"Hmm."

"If the priestess says so, then it must be true…"

After a moment of hesitation, they spoke to Estelle.

"There's been an order recently to strengthen inspections against heretics. They've been causing a lot of trouble lately. So we can't just let someone of unclear status enter the city."

"In that case…"

"Will you vouch for this knight's identity, Priestess?"

"Ugh."

Vouching for him. In other words, if Dale caused any trouble in the city, Estelle would be held responsible. Estelle hesitated. But soon, as if steeling her resolve, she gave a firm nod.

"Yes. I'm Estelle. If Sir Dale causes any trouble, I will take full responsibility."

"Hmm… If you're willing to go that far…"

Reluctantly, the guards nodded and stepped aside, opening the way.

The three of them passed through the massive city gates and entered the city. Haken, who had been silently rolling his eyes the whole time, spoke to Estelle.

"Wow. I really didn't think our apprentice priestess would go that far. Turns out you've got more loyalty than you let on?"

"I already feel like I'm going to regret this, so please be quiet. And what do you mean by 'more than I let on'? Are you saying I look disloyal?"

When Estelle shot him a sharp glare, Haken flinched and quickly turned his head away.

Estelle frowned at Dale, who remained silent, and said,

"Don't get the wrong idea. I just repaid a debt, that's all."

Dale responded flatly.

"You don't actually think this clears your debt, do you?"

"…Isn't this the kind of situation where you're supposed to say thank you first?"

"Did you ever say thank you?"

Now that she thought about it—back when the carriage was attacked, Dale had saved Estelle's life.

At the time, she'd been so flustered she hadn't even managed to thank him. The situation had been that chaotic.

Realizing that, Estelle's face flushed red.

Still, she was a woman with decency and a conscience.

"T-Thank y—… Anyway! Don't even think about causing trouble in the city. I'm your guarantor now. Got it?"

"Yeah. You can trust me."

"…."

Estelle looked at Dale with a doubtful gaze. Was there anything in this world less trustworthy than a Black Knight?

She couldn't help but regret agreeing to vouch for him so impulsively.

'If only I hadn't seen him giving to those kids…'

But the water had already been spilled.

Estelle, true to her role as a priestess, was planning to give a proper lecture—About the things one must not do in the city, the etiquette to follow, and so on.

But just as it seemed the talk would drag on, Haken cheerfully cut in.

"Alright, alright. Let's not have this long conversation in the middle of the street. How about we wrap up the journey with a drink? There's this tavern I know well—The Fairy's Song."

"…Funny how friendly you've gotten the moment we entered the city. Weren't you just talking about abandoning us?"

"Haha! What matters is that I stuck with you till the end, right?"

Dale placed a hand on Haken's shoulder.

"You're not wrong. Lone Wolf Haken."

"…Haha. You're still hung up on that? I only said that to get out of the situation… Sir Dale, could you please remove your hand? I-It hurts."

Watching the two with a wry smile, Estelle spoke.

"Well then. I'll head back to the temple now. Like I said before—absolutely no trouble. Understood?"

"Got it."

"…If you need anything, call for me. A promise is a promise, after all."

"First, lose that apprentice tag."

"Ugh! I'll be promoted to a full priestess any day now!"

With that, Estelle stormed off in a huff.

Haken, glancing around nervously, slowly began backing away.

"Uh, well… it seems like Sir Dale isn't in the mood for a drink, so I'll just be on my way too."

"Where do you think you're going?"

Dale grabbed Haken by the arm.

"Eh? What is it?"

"I need a guide."

He was done getting lost. Scratching his head, Haken asked:

"Well, I can at least guide you around. So, where are you headed?"

Dale answered without hesitation.

"The Temple of Night."

"Gah."

* * *

There are two major faiths across the continent. The Goddess of Light, who governs light and life. And the Goddess of Night, who governs darkness and death. The two goddesses have warred for thousands of years.

On the mortal plane, the conflict never ceased.

A long and fierce war raged on, and only after countless battles and rivers of blood was the outcome finally decided. Light was victorious, and darkness was defeated. The followers of darkness slipped into the shadows, while the followers of light hunted them down.

People never doubted that the victory of light was eternal.

But then, one day—

An invader came from beyond the stars.

Sailing through the vast sea of stars, they arrived and called themselves demons, declaring this:

"We shall destroy everything on this world."

And they kept their word.

In less than twenty years, half the continent had fallen. The demon army was overwhelmingly powerful.

Countless kingdoms collapsed, and many races were driven to extinction.

They treated all beings on the planet equally. Whether one followed the light or the darkness, they killed without discrimination.

In the end, the Goddess of Light had no choice but to make a difficult decision. A divine revelation was sent to every temple on the continent:

"The enemy of my enemy is my ally."

Thus, the followers of the Goddess of Night were acknowledged as allies.

Likewise, facing her own dire circumstances, the Goddess of Night accepted the hand of reconciliation.

And so, after a long and brutal war, light and darkness joined hands for the first time.

That was how the Temple of Night came to stand proudly within the Empire's largest city.

* * *

The Temple of Night was located near the city's outer walls, in an area where the shadows were especially thick.

"W-Well then, I'll be going now."

"Good work."

"See you next time!"

Haken, who had served as a guide, glanced around nervously, then quickly turned and walked away.

Dale stared at the entrance of the temple.

Two roofless pillars stood tall, covered in cracks large and small, as though they might collapse at any moment. Beyond the pillars, a staircase led underground. The descent gave off an eerie air, like an entrance into the abyss.

'No wonder this place isn't popular.'

Even back when he played the game, Dale had thought the Goddess of Night had some pretty terrible taste.

After hesitating for a moment, Dale began his descent. Once he reached the bottom of the stairs, a large square chamber came into view.

Though it was morning outside, the place was as dark as the early hours before dawn.

Yet no one inside seemed bothered by the darkness. Dale was no exception. He had no trouble seeing within the shadows.

The first thing to catch his eye was a skeleton in the corner of the temple, swinging a sword.

"One million twenty-one. One million twenty-two."

The skeleton, holding a longsword, slashed relentlessly through the air without pause.

Dale froze.

A skeleton openly practicing swordsmanship—it was oddly fitting for the Temple of Night.

'Wait. Why is it practicing swordsmanship in a temple?'

As Dale stood there, puzzled, someone spoke to him.

"You must be new here."

Dale turned his head.

A woman was looking at him, dressed in sleek black clerical robes that hugged her graceful figure. Her long ash-gray hair flowed down her back.

What stood out most was the black cloth tied around her head, completely covering her eyes—and the pointed ears on either side.

'A pointy-ear, huh.'

Dale grew wary. He didn't particularly like elves.

Whether she noticed his mood or not, the woman greeted him with a gentle smile.

"Welcome, brother. Welcome to the Temple of Night. I'm Ariel, the high priestess of this place."

High priestess? She was more important than he'd expected.

"I'm Dale. I'll be staying and working in Irene for a while."

"Is that so? It's always a joy to have another ally. If you ever run into trouble, don't hesitate to come see me."

Ariel spoke with great kindness. But Dale knew better than to be fooled. Those who served the darkness were meticulous in their calculations. If you wanted their help, you'd have to pay the price—always.

Dale gave a nod and asked,

"I'd like to use a prayer room."

"There's an empty one at the end of the hall, on the left. It's a straight path, so you won't get lost."

"Thanks."

Following Ariel's directions, Dale made his way down the corridor. Lining both sides of the hallway were tightly packed prayer rooms, and the air was filled with soft murmuring from all directions.

'Let's see… She said the last room on the left.'

Dale opened the door to the prayer room.

"…?"

"…?"

Inside the prayer room, a witch had her hands clasped in front of her, frozen in confusion at Dale's sudden intrusion.

Dale quickly shut the door.

'Ah. She meant from the hallway's perspective—left side.'

He could hear the witch shouting from inside, but he paid it no mind.

He opened the door to the prayer room on the opposite side and stepped inside.

'Hmm.'

The small prayer room contained only a simple wooden altar.

Atop the altar stood a silver candlestick, with three unlit candles set into it.

Dale knelt on one knee before the altar, clasped his hands together, and offered a prayer.

"I've come."

A response came almost immediately.

Though the candles remained unlit, smoke began to rise, thick and heavy, soon filling the entire room.

Then, a voice rang out.

[Welcome, my son!]

It was a voice filled with overwhelming joy, as if she had been waiting for this moment for a long time.