Old Knight Becomes A Servant (Part 2)

[Author's Note: The world's name is Lunara, and the Goddess of Lunara is Zera. I may have said the Goddess was Lunara in the previous chapters. Please ignore that.]

Charles POV:

Everything around me was dark, and the only thing I felt was the pain that assaulted me from every direction.

"Oww! By Ishta's name, that hurts!"

That damn Goddess! She just dropped me from ten thousand feet above the ground!

Lady Ishta claimed that her sister wished for me to save her world, but it's more like she's trying to kill me instead!

If it weren't for Lady Ishta's blessing, I would have undoubtedly turned to meat paste!

Good riddance! Although I never met her, I hope I won't ever have to encounter Lady Lunara.

[Too bad. I'll be checking in on you quite frequently.]

???

"Let me guess. You're in my head, aren't you, Lady Lunara?"

[Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner!]

"No offence Lady Lunara but you sound as young as Chloette."

[Well, I am only a few thousand years old.]

What do you mean by "only a few thousand years old!" A few thousand years is long enough to see the rise and fall of ten civilizations!

[Big sis Ishta is already in her ten thousands, you know?]

"I'll ignore that disrespectful comment toward the Goddess since my body hurts all over."

[Is it because of your age? If I knew you were a damaged second-hand Hero, I would have created one of my own instead. It would be costly, but at least it won't immediately die on me.]

*PUCHI!*

After registering what she said, I felt one of my veins on the verge of bursting.

"My body feels sore, not because I'm old but because you dropped me from the sky ten thousand feet above ground!!!"

[Pffft! Hahaha! That means you're both old and weak!]

"Remind me again, who was the one that begged her older sister for someone to come save her planet?"

[I didn't beg! I only asked Ishta for someone to help restore balance due to an unforeseen variable!]

Unforeseen variable?

Was it someone like Notoros?

[You don't need to worry. They're not that problematic. However, you should still be careful. The one you're fighting won't hesitate to stoop dirty tricks and cheats to get what they want.]

That's a relief. Although I put on a brave front, the sheer amount of power the Demon King emitted was overwhelming. If it weren't for the Blessing the Goddess gave me and the support abilities of High Priest Angelica and Restina, the entire Coalition Army's morale would be at rock bottom, and the battle would have already been lost.

An army without the will to fight is guaranteed to lose.

Anyways, I wonder who I'll be fighting next. I need as much information as I can get. An enemy unknown is a far worse adversary than the enemy you fear, as the saying goes.

"Can I get more information about who they are?"

[Sorry, giving you this information requires a great deal of energy. I'm already worn out from summoning you.]

[I only have enough power to maintain this conversation for two more minutes, so listen closely.]

[I summoned you to a place called Babylonia Academy. There is a child there that I want you to help.]

[I don't care how you do it, tutor them, train them, fight for them or become a pillar of emotional support, don't ever abandon her.]

[You don't need to worry about the Academy getting attacked by the enemy. The school is well-guarded and is run by an Eighth-Circle Mage. For your information, an Eigth-Circle mage is the equivalent of a Saint in your world, albeit a little weaker.]

Wait, if there are people on the level of Saints in this world, why am I even called here? Can't the Saints do the job?

[Unfortunately, unlike your world, which was filled with conflict that forced everyone to unite. Lunara remained relatively peaceful, and all wars fought were wars of interest that were short-lived, thanks to my servants.]

[The point I'm making is Lunara has never faced an otherworldly existential crisis that forced them to unite. Not only has everyone grown complacent and unprepared, but they're also quarrelling amongst each other like a bunch of school children.]

[Oh no, time's almost up. There's a lot more I want to say, so I'll try to contact you as soon as possible after I recover.]

[Anyways, welcome to your new world.]

[And remember to take care of the girl!]

...

Somehow, this conversation left me with more questions.

Also, how exactly am I supposed to babysit someone whose identity I don't know?

[You'll know when you see her.]

[Goodbye for now.]

My vision filled with light, and I suddenly found myself on my back, lying on soft green grass and staring at a blue sky with a few gentle clouds breezing by.

I sit up and immediately get bombarded by youthful voices.

"Hey, look!"

"That old grandpa's alive!?!"

"What a monster!"

"The geezer dropped to the ground from ten thousand feet, and he's up like he just woke from a mid-afternoon nap!"

Good gracious! These children sure are noisy!

I look around to find the ones causing such a racket and find a group of roughly two dozen teenagers in blue uniforms gawking at me and chatting, probably talking about me from what I can deduce from the snippets of conversation I overheard.

There was also a green-robed woman that looked to be in charge of these kids who was busy talking to so an orb in her hand. It was probably a communication artifact of some sort.

I figured that sitting around won't get me anywhere, so I got up on my feet and prepared to walk toward the rowdy teenagers.

"Oof, my knees! I need to take better care of m body. I wonder if this world has a masseuse shop I can visit?"

After brushing the grass and dirt that clung to my clothes, I searched for my sword. I can't be unarmed when talking to those people who know what they would do.

The search was quick as the greatsword lay only a few feet from where I was.

I picked it up and slung it over my back before making my way to the group of students.

Just as I was about to walk toward them, I felt someone tug my sleeve from behind.

I turned around and saw myself face-to-face with a young raven-haired beauty.

Hmm, slightly above average height, beautiful and well-maintained snowy-white skin, small plump strawberry-red lips, large blue eyes, long and glossy black hair that's the envy of all women as well as a nice supple body with curves growing in all the right places. Especially near the chest and waist, she'll definitely be a forbidden fruit coveted by all once she fully matures.

The beauty before me stared at me for quite some time. While the beautiful young stranger and I were in our little world staring at each other, the students off in the distance made an even louder commotion.

"Look! Miss Lilith about to talk to that old man!"

"Isn't that dangerous? Won't she get hurt? We don't know anything about that guy! He's carrying a sword, for Zera's sake!"

"Won't that be good then? If he strikes her down, then that accursed Sharon family will die out!"

"That's going quite far, but at least we'll be rid of this disgrace of a noble who can't use magic."

Tch. How shameless! Picking on a beautiful, innocent young maiden because she's weak and couldn't use magic!? What utterly disgraceful behaviour! Even if someone can't use magic, they may have other talents that surpass your worth!

I remember how that girl, Mina Asami, didn't have magic and was in terrible physical shape. She couldn't complete a one-mile run, even if her life depended on it! Yet she produces such fascinating weapons and machines that could wipe a city off the face of Solaris! What was that weapon of hers called again? I believe it was the Comet Buster or something. I'm getting off-track here. What was I thinking about again? *Sigh* I really am getting old.

3rd Person POV:

Before Charles could recall his unfinished rant on the issue of bullying a beautiful young girl who can't use magic.

The girl in question held the edges of her skirt with her beautiful, long slender fingers and curtsied.

"Greetings, I am Lilith Sharon. I am the one who summoned you to form a Familiar Contract. Do you wish to form a contract and become my Familiar?"

The students off to the side became even more rowdy if that was possible from Lilith's statement.

"No way!"

"Did she seriously tell him to become her slave!?"

"Does she not see the sword and clothes he's wearing!? He could be a higher being sent by the Goddess!"

"Doesn't that mean if he was offended, who will have to bear the brunt of his wrath alongside that magic-less failure!?"

"Damn, that woman! I don't want to die!"

"Hold on! Instructor Emily is a veteran Sixth-Circle Mage! She should be able to drive off that summoned person!"

The students turned to look at Instructor Emily, who was still busy talking to someone on her orb.

(She's definitely not going to help us anytime soon.) (Everyone in the class)

"The question is not whether I want to become your Familiar but whether you want me to be your Familiar."

Everyone looked at the old man standing before them who uttered that statement.

Flowing wavy gray hair. Sharp golden eyes that could pierce deep into your soul and judge your worth. A black suit and flowing cape. An arm encased in white armour with an extremely well-embroidered mask acting as the shoulder pauldron and an enormous handlebar moustache that screamed manliness. Coupled with a dignified and imposing aura only one who reigns at the top of the food chain like a lion could have.

If only he had been several decades younger, everyone might have mistaken him for a god.

Nobody spoke a word before him, not a single insult or curse directed toward Lilith. Even Instructor Emily has stopped chatting with whoever it is on the orb and joined the students staring at Charles and Lilith, wanting to see how this conversation will go down.

Little did they know that the meeting of these two people, whose fates were tightly entwined together would forever go down in Lunara's history as...

Lilith's POV:

"The question is not whether I want to become your Familiar but whether you want me to be your Familiar."

The words of the elegant old man before me struck me deeply.

What a dumb question, of course, I want a Familiar! This is the only way that I can possibly gain power and bring my family out of its current predicament!

Does this man even know what my family has been through!? From the looks of it, he's one of those privileged nobles born with a silver spoon in his mouth and rose his way to the top by relying on the power and influence of others. He's probably never had to endure the humiliation of being viewed as a failure and defect!

[Author's Note: Girl, the man lost his mother in the most brutal way possible, fought against the Demon King that threatened to destroy the world. Died, and is forced to live in exile away from his lover in order to fix a mess the people of your world can't handle. You have no right to criticize him.]

I don't care if he's a direct servant of the Goddess or not! As long as I can bring my family back to its former glory, I'd make a deal with the Devil if I have to!

Burning with determination, I gave my answer.

"Yes! I wish for you to become my Familiar!"

The old man replied.

"Very well, what is your name?"

"Lilith Sharon."

"Very well, Lilith Sharon, hold out your hand in front of me."

I extended my hand toward him and a golden magic circle filled with ancient unknown symbols and runes appeared.

The circle radiated warm energy similar to healing magic. Unlike a priest's which also radiated gentleness, this circle felt fierce like the blazing sun.

For every second that passed, the circle accumulated energy and grew brighter until I could hardly open my eyes.

Then he spoke.

"Lilith Sharon, I will grant you power, and with this power, you will achieve your dreams. For you to receive this power, you must cast aside your worldly desires and walk the path of Justice and Order. You will be forced to walk a lonely path that will serve others and never for your benefit. Do you accept my power?"

There were many conditions attached to his offer.

However...

I could feel it, the power contained in that one magic circle is enough to destroy the Academy and everything around it in a ten-mile radius if it were set off.

With this power, I could overthrow Beland and establish my family to become the rulers that everyone would have to bow to.

But...

What's the point of power if I won't ever be happy with my family?

I'd be forced to become the lapdog for someone I don't even know, and would possibly have to serve the people that I hate.

And so...

"I refuse."

The magic circle disappeared and the previously quiet surrounding erupted in insults.

"Ha! What an idiot!"

"Pffft! She had a chance to serve under the Goddess and regain her family name, but she threw it away!"

"What a lost cause! Not only is she unable to use magic, but she's also stupid as well!"

""Hahahaha!""

""Hahahaha!""

I cast my head down, unable to bear the malice of my classmates.

Perhaps it would be easier if I end this...

As dark thoughts entered my head, a voice filled with power boomed across the field.

"SILENCE!!!"

The old man's voice silenced everyone and they looked at him with fright.

The old man stared hard at me with an appraising look, was he perhaps going to end me for rejecting to become a subordinate of the Goddess? Better death at the hands of a servant of the Goddess than by some dissatisfied nobles who would toy with me for how long before I expire and have my carcass fed to the dogs.

"Lilith Sharon."

Here it comes, the verdict of execution. I close my eyes in defeat and wait for my death.

"You...

pass!!!"

...

Did I just hear that correctly?

I passed?

Passed what, exactly?

Suddenly a powerful force of wind erupted from nowhere and made everyone take a step back.

The only one who stood unfazed was the old man who stood at the center of it all.

Countless pillars of light fell from the sky, surrounding him and me from everyone's view.

A magic circle reappeared once again. This time, it was five times as large and had sections that were silver or white.

Just what the hell is this power!?

The previous circle felt like nothing before this behemoth!

Suddenly, the old man's voice boomed.

"Lilith Sharon, I, Charles Integra, Sword of the Goddess, offer you a new contract."

"In exchange for power, you ------"

This time without a second thought, I answered.

"YES!!! I ACCEPT!!!"