Became a Medieval Fantasy Wizard

45 – Episode 45

# 45

Just as there are commanders and vice commanders in the military (or not).

Among the knights, there are female knights and male knights.

The existence of female knights wasn’t peculiar in itself. This was a medieval fantasy world, and there were no laws stating that women couldn’t become knights.

However, the reason Ian was surprised was that ‘that’ dark knight was a woman.

The possessor of tremendous power, who shattered the center of the Marquis Army, charged into enemy lines, and assassinated the Marquis!

… But why a woman?

It’s not like Ian was discriminating. It’s a biological fact; men generally have greater strength and physical abilities than women.

Being a knight is a pinnacle occupation utilizing physical prowess. Yet, the one who showed outstanding performance among them was a woman. And if she fought exceptionally well, it was nothing short of admiration.

A character like that belonged to a famous French light novel, [Jeanne D’arc], far away in the distance.

It was a novel where a modest, elegant girl chosen by God sweeps away the British army. I wonder if the author is someone from Earth. Whatever.

Thanks to the writer’s immense credibility, the novel with such unbelievable content was called [History], and it was even taught in schools.

Anyway.

Ian nodded his head, recalling the existence of Jeanne D’arc.

Earth’s authors, when bored, tend to come up with absurdly exaggerated settings.

In a world where a blonde, smiling girl knight is active, anything is possible.

… The problem is that this world is unfolding right before his eyes.

Ian clasped his hands together, wishing the blonde girl knight the best of luck.

If he had been alive, he might have heard of the “last-ditch effort.” But since he was already dead, it was a little regrettable.

… That’s what he thought.

“Cough.”

“???”

The black knight spat out a mouthful of water, wearing a pained expression.

Ian was taken aback.

A corpse coughing!

“… No, that’s not it.”

Ian regained his composure. He might look like a corpse, but he wasn’t one.

The black knight was alive.

For now, at least.

If he didn’t manage to get all the water out of his system, he would really die.

Ian immediately took action.

Placing his hand on the black knight’s chest, Ian forcefully pressed on his abdomen, forcing the water out of his stomach.

As he saved the black knight, Ian thought to himself.

Is this really worth saving?

The mindset going in and coming out of the bathroom is different. Ian might be grateful for saving a life, but he didn’t know if he would try to kidnap Lucy again.

But it was an unnecessary worry. The solution was too simple.

Ian took out a rope and tied up the black knight’s hands and feet.

Not for outdoor bondage play… but because this way, he wouldn’t be able to move.

There’s no way an ogre wearing a human disguise could break free with just physical strength, right?

Before long, the Black Knight came to his senses.

“Are you up?”

“…?”

The Black Knight seemed to have trouble understanding the situation, alternating between looking at Ian’s bound hands and feet.

Suddenly, he exclaimed, “You… you! My, my armor…!”

“You took it off?”

“!!!”

Ian pondered for a moment, wondering if putting the armor back on would be better.

The Black Knight was a bit…

No, very embarrassed.

Just like his thin and short-sleeved clothing, both his thin pants were soaked through, revealing an embarrassing level of detail.

The thin fabric clung to his chest and undergarments were visible.

If Ian had been weak to temptation, he might have impulsively touched the Black Knight.

But Ian was not Seong Yujin.

“I couldn’t trust you, so I disarmed you.”

Ian’s explanation made sense logically, but not emotionally.

The Black Knight’s face turned crimson, as if he knew exactly how ridiculous he looked.

“Revealing such a sight to the enemy…!”

The black knight, with a face stained by shame, glared at Ian and spat out a word that seemed to carry disgrace.

“Kuk, kill him!”

“???”

Ian doubted his ears.

Could it be that he uttered ‘that line’?

It’s not like he’s connected to the knightly code of this fictional world through some invisible link. He never expected to witness a knight saying ‘Kuk, kill him’ in a medieval fantasy world in real-time.

There isn’t some rulebook for knights that they must recite when captured as prisoners, right?

But strange is strange.

“Why me?”

“Why, well… then… perhaps!”

The black knight stared at Ian with a shocked expression.

Ian was even more perplexed.

No, seriously, what on earth is he imagining?

“Don’t you understand why I saved you yet? Has your brain not drained properly?”

“W-Well, of course…”

The black knight bowed deeply, muttering with a flushed face.

“To insult me…”

…”

Ian couldn’t figure out at which point he tripped over nonsense, but it didn’t matter.

Ian had no intention of disrespecting or insulting the Black Knight.

“I didn’t mean to. I just saved your life because you were dying.”

“…You have no intention of disrespecting me?”

“No, well, if you want, I can undress right now…”

“H-Hold it! You crazy bastard!”

Ian clicked his tongue at the Black Knight.

That, that. He seemed fine on the surface, but something was completely off inside!

But the Black Knight, too, thought Ian was acting strangely.

‘…Is he really unfazed?’

He had shown a humiliating sight that should never have been seen by the enemy…

But the response he received was neither mockery nor contempt.

To be so nonchalant?

‘Is it because he’s a magician…?’

The Black Knight shook his head.

He didn’t know that it might be the magician’s scheme to put her at ease, raise her spirits, and then enjoy watching her fall!

Not completely trusting Ian yet, the Black Knight shouted with a clanging voice.

“Are you mocking me now? Even if I have committed a sin, I am an honorable knight! I condemn your despicable mockery!”

The Black Knight shouted with a clanging voice.

If Ian was mocking her, what kind of response would she receive?

From Noble mtl dot com

However, Ian’s reaction was… truly unpredictable.

“Crime? What crime? Ah, was it because I fought with you?”

…?

What kind of nonsense is this again?

The Black Knight responded not with anger, but with bewilderment.

“Are you… asking because you don’t know, or are you mocking me again?”

“What do you mean?”

“Do you think that as a knight, confronting the enemy is a sin?”

Huh?

Ian chuckled.

In contrast to the modern world where violence is condemned as a sin, in this medieval fantasy world, violence was simply a natural act, as casual as breathing.

In modern times, even a fourth-grader caught stealing snacks could sassily retort, “Yeah, you can’t punish me under the juvenile law, right? You’re mad, aren’t you? Want to hit me?” But in the medieval fantasy world, if someone did such a thing, they would be cheered on after receiving a good thrashing.

“Oh! Educating an ignorant child. What an honorable person you are!” they would say.

In short, the atmosphere was such that violence was tolerated as long as it wasn’t despicable or unreasonable.

Of course, there was a faction of priests in the Celestial Church who rejected violence, preaching about the words of love, but most medieval people did not consider violence as a sin.

“Then why bring up the topic of sin?”

…

The Black Knight couldn’t continue.

Confessing one’s own sin with their own mouth was not an easy task.

So instead of explaining to Ian, I chose to remain silent.

Ian shrugged.

“How bland.”

#

Ian returned to the camp with the Black Knight.

Lucy, who was waiting for Ian at the campfire, looked astonished as Ian appeared with a strange woman.

“What, what’s this! Didn’t you go to fetch water???”

“Yeah.”

“Then who’s that woman!”

“I rescued her from the river.”

“???”

Rescued a woman from the river? Is she a spirit of the river then?

Lucy had many questions she wanted to ask, but she held back and waited for Ian’s explanation.

As Ian explained the situation, Lucy understood that the woman was the Black Knight.

“… So she’s the Black Knight.”

Lucy looked at the Black Knight with calm eyes.

Ian was a little surprised by her unexpectedly calm reaction.

He thought she might resent the Black Knight for overthrowing the Marquis…

“Are you okay?”

“What’s wrong.”

“I brought the Black Knight here.”

At Ian’s question, Lucy slowly lowered her head.

“Ian must have had a plan too, to bring him back to life. Perhaps his intention is to persuade and convert him, isn’t it?”

“…”

Ian had only thought of saving the person who had collapsed in front of him.

He had also seen unexpectedly that they could communicate…

“I’m not foolish enough to provoke a Free Knight.”

“Oh…”

Ian admired Lucy’s noble appearance.

Grace is an important virtue for the nobility. You need virtue to gather subordinates. To obtain knights who offer genuine loyalty, not based on contracts, one must show the virtue of tolerance.

“For now, we won’t be hostile, since we’ve captured him.”

“Why?”

“Because he owes us his life.”

Lucy’s words were right.

The Black Knight obediently played the role of a captive even in front of Lucy.

“…”

He thought that shivering at the sight of Lucy and trembling at her words were part of his role as a captive.

“What an embarrassment, Black Knight.”

“…Tsk.”

However, at Lucy’s next words, the Black Knight blushed as if he might burst at any moment.

“While wielding a sword in disguise… Seems like someone who enjoys the thrill, right?”

“Gah!”

As Lucy fiercely interrogated, the dark knight contorted his face, as if struggling not to bite his tongue.

“???”

Ian was the only one not grasping the situation.

“What’s with that reaction?”

“What reaction?”

Lucy noticed Ian’s cluelessness and found it absurd.

Even if he’s a sorcerer who secluded himself in the mountains for practice… Doesn’t he have basic common sense?!

“Don’t you… feel anything when you dress like this?”

“…I should probably wear some clothes?”

“No, you’re wearing men’s clothes!”

“Ah.”

Finally, the puzzle was solved.

The dark knight mentioning a sin or whatever it was. Lucy’s contempt toward the dark knight.

It was all because the dark knight was in disguise as a man.

In this medieval fantasy world, unlike the unis*x clothing of modern society, ‘men’s clothes’ and ‘women’s clothes’ were strictly defined.

A man wearing women’s clothes, or a woman wearing men’s clothes, was a sin.

This aspect might resonate with modern individuals to some extent. Society might accept women wearing men’s clothing, but when it comes to men wearing women’s clothing… it’s not quite the same, is it?

To metaphorically illustrate the transformation of the dark knight into Ian:

Ian, who had always admired maids, ended up getting caught while secretly cross-dressing and working at a maid cafe.

“Koitsu, hahahaha~ A guy wearing women’s clothes! So funny, hahahaha~”

“Eek~ I’m sorry~ I’m a man, but I’m wearing women’s clothes~”

Unable to overcome his embarrassment, Ian said with a shy expression, “Kuh, please kill me…”

“…”

Only then did Ian understand the plight of a black knight.

He was forcibly outed. It’s quite pitiful.

If it were Ian, he would have bitten his tongue right there.

“Is cross-dressing your preference? Or is there some other reason?”

“…”

“Well, it doesn’t really matter. Rumors about the black knight cross-dressing will spread soon anyway, won’t they?”

“…!”

In response to Lucy’s threat, the black knight glared at her with a venomous look in his eyes.

Despite the intensity of the knight’s gaze, Lucy did not avert her eyes.

“I demand that you protect my honor, Talian.”

“Honor? Does a mercenary knight, who sticks to wherever the money is, have any honor? Your level is not even up to that of common thieves.”

“What did you say?”

The voices of the two grew louder.

Before things could escalate further, Ian interrupted Lucy.

“Stop it, Lucy. You’re getting too worked up.”

“No, I need to press on. Now that I’ve found a weakness…!”

Before Lucy could raise her voice further, Ian gently lowered her shoulder.

Lucy’s face turned slightly red.

“I’ll take it from here, so go and rest. You’ll feel better after some rest.”

“I’m fine as it is…”

As Lucy said that, she suddenly realized that her hands were trembling.

Ian was right.

She was overwhelmed at the moment.

Having gone through so much and with everything reaching its worst…

Her anxious heart was now manifesting itself as aggression.

“…Sorry.”

Leaving a brief apology behind, Lucy disappeared.

Ian walked unsteadily and took a seat next to the Black Knight.

“Ah, making a fuss over nothing. Isn’t that right?”

At Ian’s words, the Black Knight made an incredulous expression.

“Do you really think that?”

“Huh?”

“…You don’t believe in the Heavenly Faith, do you?”

At the Black Knight’s words, Ian smirked.

“Isn’t that so? You believe, right?”

“…?”

At this, the Black Knight was even more dumbfounded.

You believe in the Thousand Divine Teachings, yet you don’t find cross-dressing strange?

That guy, does he not understand the doctrine? Is he a fashion devotee?

But that wasn’t the end of it.

In response to Ian’s continued words, the Black Knight was truly at a loss for words.

“What the hell, can’t a woman cross-dress? There are plenty of guys parading around in women’s clothing.”

“Me, cross-dressing as a man? Have you really seen that?”

“I have, indeed.”

“Why? What’s the reason behind it, exactly?”

“She said it’s for some game cosplay.”

“???”

The Black Knight couldn’t understand a word of Ian’s explanation.

Men cross-dressing and parading around? If that actually existed, there would be no greater wonder on earth, akin to moving hell to the surface.

But to Ian, a modern man, cross-dressing was not as rigorously judged as it was by medieval people.

In an era where even the Pope tells people to love the homos*xuals, what a human.

The sorceress’s words were complex. They were all difficult to comprehend.

But there was one thing she understood for certain.

That Ian was speaking sincerely.

“So, what I’m saying is, don’t be too disheartened. It’s just a matter of wearing men’s clothes.”

“…”

Was it because he was a magician with an odd mindset?

Or was it simply Ian’s nature?

She couldn’t tell.

However…

Looking at Ian, who comforted her in such a manner, wasn’t entirely unpleasant.

“You’re as eccentric a magician as your skills suggest.”

“Ah, yes. Let’s go with that.”

Growing tired of the notion that ‘magician equals eccentric,’ Ian responded curtly to the Black Knight’s remark.

Unbeknownst to himself, the Black Knight let out a small chuckle.