Half a year had already passed since Roan found himself inhabiting the body of a wandering knight in a game.
At first, Roan had been so bewildered that he had no idea what to do, but by now, he had adapted to his new life while doing a reasonably convincing job of passing himself off as a knight.
“···Sir Roan! At this rate, I think we can reach Dragonbane territory within a week!”
Around noon, a boy’s distinctly clear voice suddenly rose from below him beside the horse.
Roan gave a small nod and looked down.
The owner of the voice was a boy named Paul, whom Roan had taken in from a slash-and-burn farming village a month ago. He now served as Roan’s squire.
“I see.”
Roan answered nonchalantly, but inwardly, he was quite pleased.
A squire was essentially an “apprentice knight,” and until formally knighted, one was little more than an unpaid servant. That was why Roan had inwardly rejoiced when Paul had asked him to take him on as his squire.
‘He’s basically free labor. Why would I refuse?’
Still, because Roan retained memories of his previous life, he made sure not to work the underage Paul too hard.
He had heard that some knights treated their squires like slaves or forced them to perform all sorts of menial labor. Some even reportedly involved them in illegal and unethical activities.
Roan, however, never did such things. Rather than making Paul work late into the night, he gave him plenty of rest, and he even shared the same food he ate with him. In truth, Roan treated Paul more humanely than most knights ever would.
“There’s a stream just ahead. Let’s stop and rest for a while.”
“Yes! Then I’ll take your horse over and give it some water, Sir!”
While Paul led the horse toward the stream, Roan looked around.
The vast grassland stretching beneath the blue sky looked almost like a background from a video game. But now, this place was his reality. Roan let out a deep sigh.
‘Right··· Since I don’t even know how to return to my original world, this is my reality now. In that case, I hope I can make a lot of money in Dragonbane territory. At this rate, I’m going to run out of money even to maintain my equipment···.’
Roan fiddled with the worn sword hanging at his waist as he sank into thought.
The reason he was heading toward Dragonbane territory was, of course, to make money.
He had heard that Dragonbane was currently waging a territorial war against the neighboring territory of Solsgard. Therefore, Roan believed that if he went to Dragonbane and helped them, he could earn a considerable amount of money.
‘Taking Solsgard’s side wouldn’t be a bad option either. But I heard Dragonbane only has one knight. If I’m lucky, I might even receive a fief.’
Roan gradually began to feel a quiet sense of anticipation.
He was not acting as a wandering knight because he enjoyed wandering. He had simply possessed an impoverished knight who owned nothing but his title, leaving him no choice but to live as a wandering knight. Therefore, if he ever received a fief, he intended to stop wandering immediately and settle down. Within his own fief, was its lord not practically a king? That alone would surely allow him to live a sufficiently luxurious life.
‘Besides, with my abilities, becoming a landed knight is probably my limit. If I had any talent for swordsmanship, I might have been able to aim for a position as an Imperial Knight or even the title of baron··· but I have to accept reality.’
When he had possessed “Roan the Wandering Knight,” he had inherited Roan’s memories along with his swordsmanship.
Unfortunately, however, Roan had absolutely no talent for the sword.
How could someone like him aspire to greater heights?
For Roan, becoming a landed knight was likely the best he could hope for.
“···S-Sir Roan! We have a problem!”
It happened while he was lost in thought, idly running his hand over his sword.
At Paul’s sudden, urgent shout, Roan turned his head.
Paul’s face had gone deathly pale.
“What is it?”
“B-Bandits are coming from beyond that hill! I think there are about eight of them!”
“What?”
Roan was startled for a moment, but he quickly collected himself.
‘Don’t panic. This isn’t even the first time something like this has happened. Think calmly.’
He quickly began assessing the situation.
Sure enough, when he looked in the direction Paul was pointing, eight bandits were charging toward them while shouting.
However, while every one of them was dressed in shabby clothing, Roan wore thick leather armor and even owned a horse.
In other words, there was a considerable difference in their equipment.
‘So maybe I can handle them? Granted, I’ve never fought eight people at once. But if I make good use of my advantages···’
Roan finally made his decision.
No matter how he looked at it, fighting seemed like a better option than running away.
“Paul, hide in those bushes. I’ll deal with this.”
“B-But Sir Roan! Will you really be all right?”
Paul had never seen Roan fight before.
Perhaps that was why the current situation seemed to frighten him considerably.
“Don’t worry. Have you forgotten that I’m a knight?”
“B-But···.”
“Trust me, Paul.”
Paul hesitated, but eventually nodded and ran into the bushes.
Roan drew a deep breath and mounted the horse Paul had brought over.
‘The die is cast. All I can do now is fight as hard as I can.’
“···Stand back! I am a knight!”
A moment later, having steeled his resolve, Roan drew his sword and shouted thunderously.
The bandits who had been charging toward him immediately looked startled. Several of them even took steps backward.
“A-A knight?”
“Is that true?”
Knights were naturally objects of fear to ordinary people.
It was only natural for bandits to be intimidated.
“G-Get a grip, all of you! Just because he’s riding a horse doesn’t mean he’s a knight! Look at that bastard’s armor! He’s wearing leather armor that looks like something a common soldier would wear! And what about that worn-out sword of his?!”
It was then that the man who appeared to be the bandit leader barked at the others.
The bandits regained their courage and began charging at Roan once more.
‘Tch, can’t be helped.’
It was unfortunate that he had failed to break the bandits’ morale, but Roan was not particularly bothered.
In fact, this might even have been better.
At least they would not run away.
After that, Roan began making full use of the advantages of his horse and armor, just as he had initially planned.
He urged his horse forward and charged swiftly through the bandits.
Caught off guard by his mobility, they were unable to respond properly.
In the end, his sword sliced through the air and successfully cut down the first bandit.
SLASH—!
“Aaaaargh!”
The bandit’s scream tore through the air.
‘Good. I can handle this much.’
Roan thought to himself.
His eyes gleamed coldly.
The first one was the hardest. From the second onward, things became easier.
After the first bandit, the second and third were also felled by Roan’s sword in the blink of an eye.
His movements were efficient, and every one of his attacks was lethal.
“···Y-You son of a bitch!”
At that moment, the fourth bandit charged at him with an axe.
Roan wheeled his horse around to evade him, then swung his sword behind himself.
The man died on the spot without even managing to utter a final cry.
‘I’ve already taken out half of them! At this rate···’
By this point, Roan felt his confidence surging.
But that confidence did not last long.
THUNK—!
“···!”
A sharp pain suddenly stabbed into his back.
Startled, Roan looked behind him and saw that an arrow had pierced through a gap in his armor.
‘Damn it, there was an archer!’
Looking closer, he saw the bandit leader standing there with a bow in his hands.
Roan gritted his teeth.
The situation was becoming more dangerous than he had expected.
“···You bastard!”
Having made up his mind, Roan spurred his horse and charged toward the bandit leader.
“Gah! D-Don’t come any closer!”
The bandit leader was so flustered that he could not even aim his arrow properly.
A moment later, Roan’s sword flashed through the air, followed by the bandit leader’s scream.
Roan’s blade had finally slashed across his chest.
‘Haa··· Haa··· That makes five. Only three more to go···!’
However, the final three were the strongest.
They seemed to have been very close to their leader, because his death enraged them, and they began attacking Roan ferociously.
Roan gradually found himself being forced onto the defensive.
‘The horse is badly injured too. I can’t keep this up. There has to be some way···’
Roan desperately searched for a way to turn the situation around.
Then his eyes fell upon a massive boulder standing in the middle of the field.
An idea suddenly came to him.
Using his horsemanship, Roan lured the bandits toward the boulder.
Thinking he was fleeing, they chased closely after him.
Roan stopped his horse in front of the boulder.
Just as the bandits moved to surround him, he abruptly leaped from the saddle.
“W-What?”
While the bandits were confused, Roan positioned himself with his back against the boulder.
His retreat was now blocked, but at the same time, the bandits could no longer attack him all at once.
‘Now I just have to take them one at a time.’
Roan’s strategy worked.
No matter how little talent he possessed, he was still a man who had been formally knighted.
Losing a one-on-one fight against a mere bandit would have been unthinkable.
SLASH—!
“Aaaaargh!”
Sure enough, once the fight moved into the confined space, Roan’s swordsmanship began to shine, and before long, another two bandits fell.
‘Only one left!’
Roan was finally certain of his victory.
The battle was as good as won!
However, the moment he leveled his blade at the last remaining bandit, the situation changed dramatically.
“Rooooooar!”
The final bandit suddenly let out a monstrous roar and charged.
CLAAAAANG—!
He slammed his bare hand down against Roan’s sword.
The next instant, Roan’s blade shattered into pieces.
‘H-How is that possible?!’
Roan was stunned.
The bandit standing before him seemed closer to a monster than a human.
‘N-Now that I look at him, why the hell is this bandit so huge? Don’t tell me he’s some kind of monster half-blood?’
Roan grew even more desperate as the fight continued.
Yet as time passed, he was pushed further and further onto the defensive.
Even when he barely managed to deflect the giant man’s punches, the force behind them felt powerful enough to crack his bones.
‘Damn it. Am I really going to die like this···?’
At that desperate moment, some sand on the ground suddenly caught his eye.
Roan hurriedly rolled across the ground, scooped it up, and flung it toward the giant man’s eyes.
FWOOSH—!
“Rooooooar!”
The giant man squeezed his eyes shut and began roaring in pain.
It was a cowardly trick that an ordinary knight who pursued honor would never have resorted to.
Unfortunately for the giant man, Roan was no ordinary knight.
When it came to survival, he was willing to use any means necessary.
“Die!”
While the giant man writhed in pain, Roan quickly drew his dagger, gathered the last of his strength, and slashed his throat.
“Ghk!”
···THUUUD—!
At last, the giant man collapsed to the ground.
Roan dropped heavily onto the spot where he stood and muttered.
“Haa··· Haa··· My God, I really almost died! Who would’ve thought there was a monster hiding among those bandits?”
He looked around.
Eight corpses.
Seven belonged to ordinary bandits dressed in shabby clothing, but the final corpse was enormous, almost like that of a giant.
Roan checked the condition of his body.
He was covered in wounds, but the arrow lodged in his back was the greatest problem.
Gritting his teeth, he pulled the arrow free.
A groan escaped him from the excruciating pain, but somehow, he endured it.
“···S-Sir Roan!”
At that moment, Paul came running out of the bushes.
Paul’s face was flushed bright red, and his eyes sparkled like those of a priest who had just witnessed the arrival of his god.
Paul bounced excitedly as he showered Roan with praise.
“S-Sir Roan! You’re the strongest knight! That was incredible! My God, you really defeated eight bandits all by yourself! I truly admire you! Waaaaah!”
In truth, Paul had not become Roan’s squire because he respected him.
He had merely thought that becoming a knight’s squire would mean never having to worry about food or survival again.
But at this moment, Paul came to genuinely respect Roan.
The sight was still vivid in Paul’s eyes.
Bandits spraying blood as they died beneath Roan’s blade.
It had been terrifying, yet awe-inspiring at the same time.
“Paul, that is enough. Hurry and gather the bandits’ belongings. After going through all this trouble, we should at least take the spoils. I’ll tend to my wounds for a while.”
“···Y-Yes. Understood!”
At Roan’s command, Paul immediately began searching through the bandits’ possessions.
One by one, he brought back silver coins, weapons, food, and other supplies.
“Very good··· Hm?”
Roan nodded in satisfaction, only to suddenly notice something strange.
There was still a single glittering object beside the giant man’s corpse.
“Paul, why did you not bring that item over there?”
“Yes? Which item?”
“That glittering thing over there.”
“···What?”
Paul looked thoroughly confused.
By this point, Roan also sensed that something was strange.
It almost seemed as though he was the only one who could see it!
Puzzled, Roan walked over to the object himself.
Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be none other than a book.
‘What kind of bandit carries a book around? Is he crazy?’
Roan was baffled, but his curiosity was piqued.
As he approached, the book’s appearance became clearer.
The cover of the book, which glowed faintly blue, bore the words “Half-Ogre Strength” in elegant lettering.
‘Half-Ogre Strength···? I have no idea what that’s supposed to be about. More importantly, this is really strange. Why can’t Paul see this book?’
Roan carefully opened the book.
At that very moment, a mysterious voice echoed through his mind.
[Passive Skill: Half-Ogre Strength (B) acquired!]