I Became a Mythical Knight King

Chapter 36: High Priestess Jillian (1)

What appeared under the golden light was a massive, muscular old man.

Beneath his white, grizzled hair was a pair of piercing eyes, and below those, a thick, bushy beard.

Even without the armor, his massive frame was impressive, but the addition of thick plate armor made his size truly overwhelming.

To be honest, it was almost hard to believe he was human.

“Wow.”

Rene’s face, as always, reflected her genuine feelings: pure astonishment and the awe of realizing such a person could exist in the world.

It was no wonder, considering the old man’s forearm looked thicker than Rene’s waist.

‘He’s almost…at least two heads taller than me?’

Given that Yoo Seong’s height was in the mid-180 cm range, this meant the old man must be around 230 cm, even conservatively estimated.

He was an overwhelmingly gigantic man, indeed.

In his left hand, which was clad in gray plate armor, the man held an enormous rectangular shield that felt like a wall, and in his right hand, he wielded a massive axe that looked like a guillotine blade attached to a handle.

‘He’s like a robot.’

Perhaps because of the lion-head decoration on the chest plate, the old man reminded Yoo Seong more of the protagonist robots from the cartoons of his childhood than an actual human being.

The old man looked around at everyone, including Yoo Seong, and then tapped his shield with his axe.

“For the glory of Camelot.”

Instead of pounding his chest with a fist, the old man paid his respects with his axe and shield. Yoo Seong puffed out his chest and raised a fist in response.

“For the glory of Camelot.”

“I am Sir Hector, at your service.”

“Cheon Yoo Seong.”

When Yoo Seong introduced himself while making eye contact, the old man—Hector—grinned and then turned to address the other knights.

“Kate, Vanadain, Diana. It’s been a while.”

At Hector’s greeting, the three knights looked at him with complicated expressions.

“Do you…know us well, perhaps?”

The three knights barely knew each other’s names.

Could Hector be different?

Not only Kate but even Vanadain looked at the old man with a somewhat hopeful expression.

Hector, noticing their attention, laughed heartily and spoke with a bold face.

“No, I don’t know you well. But I know your names. No, maybe I remember a bit more than that. Yes, Kate, always at the forefront, our vanguard. Vanadain, the archer. Diana, the knight of the sky.”

The titles he gave them perfectly captured their characteristics.

‘Although Vanadain’s title feels a bit… plain.’

Still, Vanadain was indeed an archer, so it wasn’t wrong.

Yoo Seong glanced at Kate, who was impressed, Diana, who looked slightly surprised, and Vanadain, who seemed mildly irritated, and asked.

“Do any of you remember Hector?”

At Yoo Seong’s question, Vanadain and Diana shook their heads or remained silent, but Kate groaned slightly before managing to speak.

“He’s strong…Yes, very strong. His physical strength is incredible.”

As if she had just barely managed to recall something, Kate said this, prompting Vanadain to frown.

“Anyone can tell he’s strong just by looking.”

Diana also nodded in agreement, making Kate purse her lips and blush.

At this, Hector burst into hearty laughter and said.

“Hahaha! But it’s not wrong. Yes, hearing that reminds me. I was the second strongest.”

“The second strongest?”

When Rene unknowingly asked, Hector stroked his beard and replied.

“Yes, second strongest. In terms of sheer strength, I was the second strongest. I wasn’t the first.”

“Then who was the strongest?”

At Vanadain’s question, Hector smirked and shrugged.

“Well, that’s a bit hazy. I can’t say for sure right now.”

After saying this, Hector turned back to Rene and asked.

“By the way, who might you be, miss? Are you the royal magician?”

Despite the considerable height difference—Rene being around 160 cm tall—she neither flinched nor showed fear but instead beamed brightly and answered.

“Oh, you’ve recognized me! Yes, that’s correct. I am Rene Baltois, the royal magician.”

She even tapped her left chest with her right fist as she spoke, which brought a smile to Hector’s face.

“Ah, the royal magician, closer to the king than any of us. Serve the king well.”

“Yes! I will devote my body and soul to serving the king.”

When Rene answered energetically, Hector laughed again and even patted her head with his massive hand, which was as large as a cauldron lid.

It was a heartwarming scene, but the size difference between the two made it slightly unsettling to watch.

Yoo Seong gently pulled Rene closer to him and spoke to Hector.

“Hector, I look forward to working with you.”

“And I, with you, our young king.”

Though he used the word “young,” there was no hint of condescension or mockery in his tone.

It seemed more a gesture of camaraderie.

Of course, Kate didn’t let it slide.

“Hector, please mind your words.”

When Kate warned him in a low voice, Hector widened his eyes slightly before nodding.

“Ah, yes, yes. That’s true. You’re right. That’s what Kate’s role was, wasn’t it? The disciplinarian. Yes, the stiff one.”

“I think I understand now.”

When Vanadain chimed in, Diana also nodded in agreement, and Kate, slightly annoyed, muttered quietly.

“Rene, I can see you.”

“Ah.”

When Rene, who had been covering her mouth to hide her laughter, was startled and fell silent, Yoo Seong couldn’t help but chuckle a little.

“Anyway, let’s all work well together. It seems like it’s time to head back now.”

Perhaps sensing that their tasks here were complete, a return button appeared in Yoo Seong’s status window where it hadn’t been before.

At Yoo Seong’s words, Kate glanced at Hector, who chuckled and stood beside Diana.

“For the glory of Camelot.”

“For the glory of Camelot.”

With the four knights lined up and saluting, Yoo Seong, holding Rene’s hand tightly, pressed the return button.

“Did you return?”

A flash of light, and the scene shifted.

Standing before Yoo Seong, in his room, was Robin, who greeted him.

“Oh, Robin. Yes, we’re back.”

Feeling a bit dizzy from the spatial shift, Yoo Seong replied, and Rene, frowning slightly, added.

“Ugh… Were you waiting? How much time has passed?”

The time they spent inside didn’t total more than two hours.

At Rene’s question, Robin, with a slightly coy expression, answered.

“Just under two hours, I think.”

It seemed that time inside and outside flowed the same.

“More importantly, did you really go? To that castle?”

“Yes, we went. And we met everyone.”

At Robin’s question, Rene smiled brightly, as if it had just dawned on her that they had truly visited Yoo Seong Castle, which they had only seen through status windows before.

“Rene, it’s late, so go back with Robin and rest.”

“Oh, yes. You worked hard today, successor.”

“You too, Rene. You were the star today.”

“Hehe.”

Blushing at Yoo Seong’s praise, Rene laughed shyly. Robin, who had been silent, then quietly asked.

“Miss, what did you do?”

“I’ll tell you later.”

Still smiling, Rene composed herself and bowed her head to Yoo Seong.

“Then we’ll take our leave. Sleep well.”

“Good night, Rene. And you too, Robin.”

“Good night.”

Robin, bowing a little more formally than Rene, left the room with her.

“Phew.”

Once alone, Yoo Seong let out a long sigh, kicked off his shoes, and flopped onto the bed.

While he had adapted to many things in this world, one thing he still struggled with was the custom of wearing shoes indoors.

‘Anyway.’

Lying on his back, Yoo Seong opened the status window.

When it displayed Yoo Seong Castle, it showed that the castle had grown much larger than before, with new buildings and a chibi version of Hector laughing in the middle.

‘Kate looks stressed.’

Though he initially worried about Vanadain and Hector clashing over the “archer” comment, it seemed Hector’s dynamic with Kate was the more challenging one.

‘Or maybe they actually get along.’

After all, opposites do attract.

‘Well, they’ll figure it out.’

Satisfied with that thought, Yoo Seong shifted his gaze from Kate, who was frowning, and began examining the entire castle.

New buildings, new troop types, new heroes.

“New equipment.”

Yoo Seong took a moment to examine Gareth’s shield, which he had retrieved from his inventory, then stretched his body out.

The expedition had been a success.

Although questions had arisen—such as the dry voice and the purple barrier surrounding Yoo Seong Castle—those mysteries could also be seen as part of the achievements gained through the endeavor.

After all, they were things he hadn’t even been aware of before embarking on the expedition.

What was the true nature of Yoo Seong Castle?

Whose voice was it that echoed from beyond the barrier?

‘I’ll find out as I continue to pioneer.’

By expanding the buildings and cultivating the castle, another invitation to the next expedition would eventually appear.

With that resolve, Yoo Seong once again observed everyone in Yoo Seong Castle, and broke into a smile.

Three days later, in the morning.

Yoo Seong sat in his office, facing a stack of issues awaiting his attention.

The management of refugees.

Repairs to the castle walls.

News from the unit dispatched to Baron Volano’s territory.

Reconnaissance reports on destroyed villages in southern Lothian.

Listening to explanations from Iserina and other administrators, Yoo Seong reviewed each issue carefully, occasionally swallowing a sigh.

As Sir Simon had mentioned, Iserina was a rather capable administrator.

Even to someone like Yoo Seong, who was essentially a novice in such matters, it felt like things were running relatively smoothly under her management.

Refugees weren’t merely being sheltered—they were being provided with jobs to enable self-sufficiency.

There was no shortage of places that needed manpower:
workers for repairing the castle walls, dismantling the defeated monsters, or filling the gaps left by fallen soldiers, and so on.

‘Monster corpses really do turn into money.’

It wasn’t just by-products like bones or hides.

Just like in Fantasy Monarch, the monsters of this world also contained magic stones of varying sizes within their bodies.

Magic stones, as the name implied, were stones imbued with magical energy, used as consumables for developing and operating various magical tools.

The trolls they had defeated this time, in particular, carried relatively large magic stones, which would likely provide significant financial support for Lothian’s budget.

‘Count Carian doesn’t seem to be making any major moves yet…The issue seems to be with the castle wall repairs.’

The southern castle wall, half-destroyed during the battle with the kobolds, was still far from being restored. The damage was so severe that even the main gate had collapsed.

‘There’s no proper architect.’

The castle wall wasn’t just a simple stone fence—it required skilled engineers to rebuild it properly.

‘It seems like Lothian doesn’t have anyone suitable. I might have to look elsewhere.’

With the possibility of more monsters emerging from the direction of the Lotho Forest at any time, repairs to the wall were an urgent priority.

“Lady Iserina, could we find a construction engineer in the vicinity?”

At Yoo Seong’s question, Iserina furrowed her brows in concern and replied.

“It would be difficult to find a professional castle engineer in Lothian. We could possibly locate someone in Count Carian’s territory, but I can’t guarantee we’d be able to bring them here.”

In this era, the movement of commoners was under the strict control of their lords.

“Please investigate it regardless. We can’t leave the castle wall as it is.”

“Yes, I will look into-”

Just as Iserina was bowing and preparing to leave:

“Lord, may I enter?”

It was Sir Ruan’s voice.

“Come in.”

When Yoo Seong gave permission, Ruan opened the door and stepped in, his face looking a little more excited than usual.

“Sir Ruan, what’s the matter?”

In response to Yoo Seong’s question, Ruan replied in an elated tone.

“The High Priestess has arrived.”

Jillian Ynatri, the head of the western branch of the Omphalos Order, responsible for overseeing the western region of the Silatein Kingdom was here.

Upon hearing news of her arrival, Yoo Seong stood from his seat.