Katy’s lip curled.
Pale Paladin, Crimson Rose…
Was Gray’s former team some kind of squad for people with eighth-grader syndrome?
Did they really have to give everyone an alias consisting of a color plus a title?
She supposed she shouldn’t be surprised, considering the team itself was named Dawn Blade.
‘So what should Gray be called? Azure Arc?’
While Katy was busy coming up with all sorts of terminally cringeworthy nicknames for her warrior in her head, the knight in platinum armor looked at the young man standing ready and spoke coldly.
“You’ve grown weak, Gray.”
“I don’t have a full set of high-end gear forged by the Church Workshop.”
The corners of Gray’s mouth quirked up as he gave his long blade a stylish flourish, the Lightning Light crackling and hissing.
“Or is it that after working for the Church for so long, you’ve learned how to use your position to bully others? Ingram?”
“People change, Gray.”
A muffled sigh drifted from beneath the heavy full-face helmet.
“I never expected you, someone who always prided himself on being unfettered, to willingly associate with those degenerate madmen from the Military Department and even clean up their messes.”
Gray let out a sneer at those words.
“I have two points to correct you on.”
His left hand slowly reached for the spare scabbard at his waist that was supposed to be empty.
Violent Lightning Element was frantically compressed and surged within the sheath before he pulled out a second long, azure blade.
“First, I’m not working for the Military Department. Second, as for whether I’ve grown weak—”
Before he could finish his sentence, Gray’s figure vanished from the spot.
The dark blue eyes beneath Ingram’s helmet suddenly narrowed.
Almost instinctively, he thrust the spear in his hand upward, and it collided violently with Gray’s twin blades as they came crashing down.
A terrifying shockwave exploded within the narrow passage.
The ear-piercing sound of grinding metal was enough to shatter eardrums, and Gray’s laughing voice sounded inches away.
“It’s not for you to decide!”
“—!”
The two instantly blurred into a flurry of combat.
Lightning and holy light intertwined as blade shadows and spear flashes danced.
The commotion caused by the clash of two A-rank combatants was so immense that the entire mine began to shake, and rubble rained down from the ceiling.
Lily, shrinking back in the rear, turned pale with fright.
“A-Are they trying to tear the mountain down?!”
“Seriously, shut up already…”
Unable to take it anymore, Katy grabbed the several Grimmlins she had caught—who were still chirping “friend”—and stuffed them all into Lily’s arms.
She then took a deep breath, concentrated, and converted the Mana in her body into pure light element.
She funneled it all to her head, lighting up the Thorn Ring until it shone like a high-powered bulb.
“Hey! Everyone, stop it right now!!”
The two men, currently locked in a struggle of strength, froze simultaneously.
Then, with perfect synchronization, they both leaped backward to create distance.
Katy stood with her hands on her hips, pointing angrily at the crumbling ceiling.
“If you keep fighting, we’re all going to be buried here and turned into fossils!”
“You can’t blame me, Miss Katy,” Gray said with a shrug.
“Isn’t this guy here to drag Lily back to claim credit? Of course I had to stop him.”
“Drag someone back?”
Ingram slammed his spear into the ground, his tone sounding helpless.
“I was simply returning to Lothric City from the Southern Fortress to report on my duties. While passing through, I received a report from the guards saying that an A-rank Adventurer was heading toward the abandoned caves in the outskirts with a ‘minor Nun who looked like she had been kidnapped.’ Out of my duty as a knight, I came to investigate.”
Gray’s grip on his blades loosened, nearly dropping them both.
So this guy thought he was some kind of creep kidnapping a young girl?!
“Don’t glare at me like that.”
Ingram looked the shocked Gray up and down.
“That’s why I asked if you had fallen. Kidnapping a young girl is a serious crime.”
“How was I supposed to know you’ve started talking in riddles like those priests in the Church! Could you finish your sentences for once!”
Gray indignantly dispersed his lightning blade and returned his real sword to its sheath.
“Not fighting anymore?”
“Not anymore! If we keep going, my reputation will be ruined by your big mouth.”
Gray rolled his eyes.
“What, do you still want to fight? Shouldn’t a Saint Knight serving the Goddess be self-restrained and polite?”
Ingram tightened his grip on his spear.
To be honest, it had been a long time since he had encountered an opponent who could make him fight with everything he had.
His hands were a bit itchy, but seeing the little Nun wearing the Thorn Ring staring at him like a hawk, he felt it was necessary to maintain his image as a Saint Knight.
“…Since you no longer have the will to fight, I naturally will not force the issue.”
Katy’s gaze flickered between the two of them.
Although they were just shouting threats at each other, she noticed that Gray seemed unusually relaxed and natural in front of this tin can.
It was a posture one only took around someone they trusted.
Noticing the girl’s curious gaze, Gray sighed and pointed his thumb toward the knight in the big white armor.
“This is Ingram Nathan. Miss Katy can just call him Ingram. He’s a Saint Knight and was my vanguard partner in my old team.”
As the only two male members in the former Dawn Blade, Gray and Ingram naturally had a better relationship than with the other members, even though their personalities and lifestyle habits were worlds apart.
After all, the two of them were fellow sufferers who had to stand in the front line to take hits from mobs while occasionally being hit by the skills Lobelia and the other backline members threw around haphazardly.
“And this lady is?”
Ingram looked toward Katy.
“My name is Katy. I am the Captain of the Black Crow Squad that Mr. Gray belongs to, as well as the team’s Priest.”
Katy gave her skirt a slight lift toward Ingram.
“It is an honor to meet you, Great Saint Knight.”
“Katy… So the girl who caused that miracle at the Lothric Execution Ground was you. It is a pleasure. I am Ingram.”
Ingram removed his helmet, revealing a face that, while not as handsome as Gray’s, had sharp, defined features.
He nodded toward the girl.
“Can you believe I’m not some creep kidnapping a Nun now?”
“As far as I know, Miss Katy is still a minor, isn’t she?”
“…Tsk, when we first formed our team, wasn’t everyone else a minor as well!”
Faced with a frustrated Gray, Ingram chuckled softly.
He seemed to be recalling those chaotic, youthful days when Dawn Blade was first founded.
Seeing the atmosphere soften, Katy decided to strike while the iron was hot.
“Mr. Ingram, since you are Gray’s good friend, could we ask you for a favor?”
She walked up to the tall knight and looked up at him slightly, her watery blue eyes gazing at him from below—the perfect angle for acting spoiled that she had tested on Gray.
However, this tactic seemed to have little effect on the Saint Knight.
Ingram merely looked at her calmly.
“Does it have anything to do with those Military Department scouts I saw slumped against the wall when I came in?”
The girl nodded.
She then told him everything Lily had experienced, from her father’s disappearance to being hunted and then being forced to hide in this dark cave.
Ingram listened in silence, his gaze occasionally drifting toward Lily, who was so weak she had to use her staff for support.
“—You want me to represent the Church and intervene in her conflict with the Military Department?”
“I hope the Lord Saint Knight can protect a daughter who only wants to keep her father’s mementos.”
Ingram was somewhat surprised by the girl’s maturity.
Recalling how Lobelia had described this girl in their correspondence as an irredeemable witch who wanted to steal the Saint’s position, he suddenly understood something.
To think the dignified Lobelia would actually be jealous of a girl who looked like a delicate white flower over matters of the heart.
The relationships between men and women were truly interesting.
“You aren’t thinking anything rude about Miss Katy, are you, Ingram?”
Gray narrowed his eyes perceptively.
“Or did Lobelia say something to you?”
“She said you had changed a lot. At first, I didn’t believe her, but now… I have no choice but to believe.”
“Hmph. So give me a straight answer. Will you help or not? If you won’t, I’ll just write a letter to Eve.”
Upon hearing the name “Eve,” the previously calm Ingram visibly stiffened.
He cleared his throat somewhat unnaturally.
“…Ahem. The Saint is occupied with a myriad of daily affairs and is very busy. There is no need to disturb her with such a trivial matter. I will handle it for you.”
Katy and Lily exchanged a glance and broke into surprised smiles.
Gray, on the other hand, curled his lip and gave a “I knew it” smirk.
He leaned in and whispered gossip into Katy’s ear.
“See that? Don’t let his serious act fool you. He’s more devoted to the Saint than anyone. Back then, this guy would rather take more hits from the Boss just so he could get a bit more of Eve’s hea—cough, treatment.”
“Ahem! That was because I was the heavy vanguard of Dawn Blade!”
The white knight coughed heavily, a faint, unnatural flush appearing on his face.
On the side, Lily looked at the smirking Gray and sighed, holding her forehead.
How could this guy be so perceptive about the feelings between his teammates, yet be such a blockhead when it came to the romantic feelings directed at himself?
Just then, the few Grimmlins Lily had been holding in her arms finally broke free.
They flew out excitedly as if they had discovered a new world.
They began circling Ingram’s shiny armor, chirping words that only Katy could understand.
“What… kind of creatures are these?”
Ingram reached out curiously, attempting to touch one of the particularly dopy-looking Grimmlins.
Zzzzt—zap!
“Sss.”
The moment his fingertip touched it, a weak but distinct electric current shot out, causing the defenseless Saint Knight to instinctively pull his hand back in pain.
“Got shocked, didn’t you? Let me tell you now, Katy is our squad’s Priest. Charging people from the Church for healing costs extra.”
Gray laughed mischievously.
Ingram, however, rubbed the lingering numbness in his fingertip, his brow furrowing slightly.
“As a warrior with the Lightning Attribute, don’t you think the elements inside these creatures are a bit strange?”