Chapter 99

Responsibility
The bitter cold of winter swept across the land, freezing everything in its path.
But in Hestia Village, construction work continued as usual.

Hanson, who had worked since the very beginning, had risen from foreman to supervisor.
For a common-born builder, it was the highest success he could hope for.

“Hey! Give me a bigger piece of meat! How am I supposed to work with scraps like this?”
“Rations are fixed. No extra.”
“Fixed, my ass! That guy’s piece is bigger than mine. That’s supposed to be fair?”
“Oh, come on, Supervisor. You’re the boss now. Why don’t you buy some ham for your men? We’re sick of these rations.”
“And waste money? Forget it. Just give me more meat.”

After much grumbling, Hanson managed to grab a larger chunk. Grinning, he walked away from the mess table.

“Hanson! Over here, I saved you a spot!”

He sat by a campfire with the other workers.

“Supervisor now, yet you still eat with us?”
“What, you think I’ve got time to sit with the nobles? While they slack off, we’re the ones building everything!”

“What about that knight fellow? Haven’t seen him around.”
Hanson shrugged. “Who knows? Even if he disappears, does it matter? He doesn’t eat with us anyway.”

A foreman nervously approached, glancing around.
“Busy eating?”
“Of course. What, your wife chasing you again?”
“Close enough. Don’t want to get caught, so here, take this.”

From his coat, he pulled out a ham.

“Ooooh! Where’d you get that?”
“Thought supplies were tight.”
“They are. So I nicked this from the southerners.”

Instead of scolding him, the men praised him as a hero.

“You should’ve grabbed a bigger one!”
“This was the biggest!”
“Then let’s eat. Who’s got a knife?”

They bickered over whose knife was too dirty to use when a young man’s voice cut through.

“Gentlemen.”

“Crap, it’s him! Hide it!”

They shoved the ham away and pretended to eat stew.

The man approaching wore half-plate armor, a sword at his side, and a band marked Captain of the Guard.
It was William.

“There’s been a report of missing rations from the Hallim workers. Any of you know about it?”

“Not me.”
“Maybe some desert spirit stole it, eh?”

William’s eyes narrowed. He spotted the obvious bulge under a worker’s trousers.

“Take that out.”
“What, you want me to strip in front of everyone?”
“It looks suspicious. Out. Now.”
“This? I’m just well-endowed.”
“…Don’t make this more awkward than it already is.”

Grumbling, the man pulled out the ham.

William sighed. “This is theft. Why are you doing this?”

“They stole from us first! Took some of our materials and denied it.”
“Exactly! If they can, why can’t we?”

The men shouted, demanding their right to keep the ham. But William’s expression never softened.

“My duty is to protect order. If you want revenge, fine—consider this ham, rubbed on your filthy crotch, payback enough. Next time, I arrest you.”

With that, he carried the ham away like trash.

The workers muttered angrily.

“Damn refugee’s already risen high.”
“Where’d he come from anyway?”
“Some nobody named William. A refugee, yet the magistrate made him Captain of the Guard right away.”
“What kind of fool gives a refugee such a post?”
“Probably bribed someone. Maybe some noble backing him.”
“He’s a dragon spawn, isn’t he? What’s he got to gain?”
“Still, he acts the part, doesn’t he? Always stiff and proper, like some knight.”
“…True.”

For all their grumbling, none could deny that William had never disgraced his badge.

Then someone brought up another question.
“Why hasn’t our knight been given a title? He’s done more for this village than anyone.”

The men all nodded. With his strength, it was strange that he was still working as a mere laborer.

“I thought for sure he’d be made Captain.”
“They didn’t even offer. The magistrate just said he’d ‘consider it’.”
“Consider, my ass. They’re just using him and planning to discard him.”

At that, the group fell silent, unease settling in.

“…That magistrate’s a dragon, isn’t he?”
“No, a dragon spawn.”
“Same difference to us. Anger one, and you’ll get your spine snapped.”

Hanson lowered his voice. He wasn’t foolish enough to openly insult a dragon spawn.

Suddenly, one worker pointed.
“Hey, isn’t that our knight now?”
“Speak of the tiger, and he appears.”

A man in armor entered the site. Hanson waved him over eagerly.

“Sir Knight! Over here!”

The armored figure jogged toward them, almost shyly.

“Runs like a girl,” someone muttered.
“With that size? No way. Just knightly manners, I guess.”

They didn’t know, of course.
The knight was Valdrova.

“Have you eaten, Sir Knight?”
She nodded.

“Sit with us a moment. We were just talking about you.”

“?”

“We were saying it’s a shame you’ve not been given a proper title after all you’ve done for this village.”

“?”

Hanson pressed eagerly. “Doesn’t it upset you? All your hard work, and no recognition?”

Valdrova tilted her head in confusion.

The truth was, she was already happy.
Building is fun. Better than being a knight.

Watching houses rise from the ground filled her with pride. She had no interest in rank or authority.

But Hanson only saw an opportunity. If Valdrova became Captain, he could ride her influence for his own gain.

Before the matter could go further, a shout broke through the camp.

“You filthy brat!”

All eyes turned.

A gang of armed adventurers had seized a little girl. Her older sister trembled beside her.

“Why didn’t you control your sister? She dirtied my clothes! Do you know how much this costs? Three silver shillings!”
“S-sorry, sir! I’ll wash it for you, please don’t—”
“Don’t touch me! Pay up, three shillings!”

The sisters turned pale. They could barely afford tomorrow’s meal, let alone such money.

The workers whispered among themselves.

“More of those scum lately.”
“Adventurers, what do you expect? Still, I’ve never seen Imperials act so shamelessly.”
“The real ones are already ranked high. These trash linger at bronze and silver.”

The thugs sneered.
“You’ll never make three shillings in a year. But I can show you a quick way to earn it…”

His lecherous hand reached for the girl.

The workers gritted their teeth, ready to intervene—

But someone stood up first.

The armored knight.

The weight of her plate armor alone silenced the crowd as she marched forward.

Her towering size made the adventurers falter.

“Wh-what the hell are you?”
“…”
“You bastard! You think staying quiet scares me?!”

Valdrova raised her fist.
The thugs flinched, thinking she was about to strike.
But instead of swinging, she opened her hand.

Inside were three silver coins.
Exactly three shillings.

She was paying the price.

The adventurers, who had been acting tough, blinked in surprise before forcing laughter.
“Oh? You want us to take the money and walk away? Fine, we’ll take it. Kid, you got lucky today!”

They snatched the coins and shoved the little girl away.

The child stumbled and fell straight into Valdrova’s arms. She clung tightly to the armored figure, refusing to let go.

Valdrova froze. She didn’t know what to do. After a moment of hesitation, she slowly lowered her hands.

The older sister rushed over.
“Th-thank you, Sir Knight…!”
“……”
“We’ll repay you. Somehow, we’ll get you back the money. Please… please don’t blame my sister.”

Her hands shook as she held her basket. She looked ready to burst into tears.

Valdrova gently returned the little one to her.
The older sister wiped her tears and hurried away, dragging the child with her.

Valdrova just stood there, watching their backs disappear.

“Why’d you pay them, Sir Knight?!” Hanson burst out. “Those bastards deserved a good beating!”

“……”

Valdrova looked at him silently.
Hanson remembered how she had once lifted eleven logs at once, and his voice immediately shrank.

“W-well, you must have your reasons. It would be pointless for me to argue.”

Valdrova herself knew it wasn’t the best choice.
When she saw that girl grabbed, her anger had surged.
Her fist had tightened, aching to smash those thugs and make them cry.

But she couldn’t.

She knew too well—
If I use my strength… someone will die.

Death brought grief.
Death brought fear.
She had seen it over and over, through decades, even centuries.

I don’t want that.

So she had chosen another way.
The simplest solution: money.

It wasn’t right. It wasn’t justice.
But the crisis had passed without anyone dying.

And for Valdrova, that was enough.
She wished the whole world could be solved like this.

Then—

DONG! DONG! DONG!

A heavy alarm bell rang out across the village.

“What’s that sound?”
“It’s coming from the center of town!”

No one knew exactly what it meant, but one thing was clear:
It was a warning.

A dangerous one.

While the people froze in confusion, Captain William came running with his sword drawn.

“This is real! Everyone who can’t fight, get inside the buildings! Monsters are approaching!”

“M-monsters?”
“Gods above! So the East really is cursed!”

“Foremen! Spread the word to your men and evacuate! This is not a drill!”

The site erupted in chaos as the workers began shouting orders and herding people away.

Valdrova stood frozen.

Monsters…

Her mind went blank.

She didn’t know what to do.

“You’re a knight, aren’t you?” William asked, panting.
“……”
“We need your strength. Please—will you fight for this village?”
“……”

When she didn’t answer, William’s voice rose with urgency.

“The guard alone can’t hold them! Everyone here is in danger! If we fail, Hestia Village will collapse—it’ll all be for nothing! We need your help!”

His desperate words broke through her haze.

Valdrova nodded.
And she followed him.

The streets ahead were filled with panic. People were clutching bags, fleeing with wide eyes.

The town guards, poorly armed and untrained, rallied around William with shaky hands on their spears.

“Captain! Evacuation is about seventy percent complete! Should we continue?”
“That’s enough! Guards, form a wall with your spears!”

The men stumbled into formation, but they were far from soldiers. Against monsters, their chances were slim.

They desperately needed adventurers.

At that moment, William heard a voice in his head—Isabella’s magic transmission.

—Captain, a pack of wolf monsters is coming through a western alley. Can you send adventurers there?

“Understood!” William shouted back.

He scanned the crowd and spotted a group of adventurers he recognized.
“Adventurers! Take the western alley—wait, where are you going!? Get to the front lines now—!”

“Are you insane?” one of them laughed harshly.
“You think I became an adventurer just to throw my life away here?”

“Didn’t I say adventurers would be called in during emergencies!?” William shouted.
“Like I care! I’m not joining!” one sneered.
“You’re the town guard, so do your own job! Protect the place yourselves!”
“I didn’t see anything. I don’t know anything.”

They had come to town hoping to make easy money, but the moment real danger appeared, fear gripped them. Instead of helping, they ran, leaving behind only despair.

Damn cowards.
William’s blood boiled.

He had tolerated their troublemaking before, thinking at least they would help when it mattered.
But they had abandoned the town.

Now, the only ones he could rely on were the few adventurers with a conscience—and his untrained guards.

And one more.

The armored giant. The knight with monstrous strength.

Right now, that knight was all he had left to count on.

William made his choice.
“Sir Knight!”
“?” Valdrova tilted her head.
“The western alley needs defense. Monsters are coming from that side. Can you hold it?”
“……”
“If it’s too much alone, I’ll assign four guards to—”

Valdrova silently raised her hand, cutting him off.
It was a clear sign: I don’t need them. Handle your side—I’ll handle mine.

Then she moved.
But instead of west, she started walking east.

“Wait, Sir Knight! Not that way, it’s—ah.”
William slapped his forehead.
That’s west, isn’t it…

So she went, filling the gap where soldiers were missing.
It weakened the main defense, but William had no choice.

Moments later, the true threat appeared.
The bell hadn’t lied.

From the forest came the howls—
GRAAAR!

Fifteen wolf monsters, each twice the size of a normal wolf.
Three of them burst straight onto the main road.

William raised his sword high.
“Spears up! Take one step forward!”

The guards obeyed shakily, their feet dragging.
Who could willingly march into death?
Especially these men, half-trained and trembling.

The wolves licked their lips, sensing the fear.
They knew instinctively—
One push, and this fragile line would crumble.

RAWR!

A wolf charged, slamming into a spear, knocking it aside.
“D-don’t come any closer! Stay back!” the guard screamed, but panic broke his stance.
The beast surged past the weapon, leaping for his throat.

“Uwaaaah!”
He fell backward, certain he was about to be torn apart—

Then a flash of crimson cut through the air.

SLASH!

A streak of red sword aura smashed into the wolf’s skull, sending it tumbling back with a broken head.

The one who struck it—
was William himself.

The Captain pulled the fallen guard up and roared.
“Stand! Hold your spear straight if you want to live!”
“Y-yes, sir!”

“Lower your stance! Don’t think of killing them—just block their charge!”

William struck his chest with a gauntleted fist.
The echo rang out like a great bell.

“Your lives—are my responsibility!