My Reflector Is Invincible

88. The Fake Hero

“I may not be able to go with you, but from now on, my son will aid his brother.”

The savage chieftain, Karassen, bid Jooyoung farewell with a hint of regret.

Jooyoung worried about his son.

“We met after decades, and we have to part ways like this?”

“He’s our tribe’s greatest warrior. As the greatest warrior, he must bear the responsibility for his tribe.”

Helping Jooyoung was akin to helping the tribe.

The reason he was moving in the first place was to heal the warriors.

Karaon agreed.

“I’ve heard that the Saintess’s help is needed to restore the tribe’s warriors. Until the mission is complete, I shall become your blade in place of my father.”

“I have enough blades….”

Olsen interjected.

As a knight, he was essentially Jooyoung’s blade.

Karaon chuckled.

“Then you shall be the blade that protects my father’s brother. I shall be the spear that vanquishes the enemies.”

“….”

It was a play on words.

Olsen, however, seemed to agree and let it slide.

Jooyoung was taken aback by the scene.

‘They say knights are simple-minded, after all.’

The purpose of a blade was to vanquish enemies anyway.

Karaon had essentially tied Olsen down with the promise of protecting Jooyoung while declaring that he would handle the demons.

He was quite intelligent for the greatest warrior of the savage tribe.

Well. As the son of the great Karassen, he might have been different from the start.

‘Well, if they’re fine with it, it’s none of my business.’

Still, with veteran former Demon King slayers, he felt secure.

Jooyoung asked as he rode in the carriage,

“How long will it take to reach Edmer’s territory?”

“We should arrive within a week.”

“It’ll take longer than I thought.”

“It took us about the same time when we came….”

Still, Olsen’s face was quite bright.

“His Majesty the Knight King will be delighted to hear this news.”

“He probably will be.”

In the past, the Knight King and the savage chieftain, Karassen, were the best of friends.

Perhaps because they were muscle men who communicated through muscles, they had an unusually high level of affection for each other.

It was comparable to how they felt about the hero, Ryujin.

‘But they haven’t seen each other since the Demon King’s death. They were both in a mess, afflicted by the Demon King’s curse.’

However, Karacen had defeated the Demon King’s curse.

If the King of Knights heard the news of Karacen, he would naturally be happy.

However, Olson laughed and said it wasn’t that.

“Rather than that… I think he’d be very happy to hear about Joo-yeon.”

“Me?”

What are you talking about?

“Because he cares about Joo-yeon. He asked me to tell him anything about Joo-yeon, no matter how small.”

That iron-like guy said that? That’s unexpected.

A long time passed like that.

“Everyone looks tired.”

“I guess there must have been a lot going on in the barbarian territory.”

Olson shook his head as if he was also tired.

Indeed, it must have been hard.

The duel with the Grand Warlock and the barbarians.

Forbidden spells.

It must have been more difficult and exhausting than a normal battle.

In the end, Joo-yeon decided to stop by the village before heading to the territory.

“We need to stop by the village to restock.”

“Yes? It’s okay. There are still items left…”

“No. I have some business to attend to.”

“……!”

He couldn’t ignore the party’s fatigue.

It was always a problem in the Balantino Saga.

[＜Fatigue＞ of companion characters is high, stats will decrease]

[If high fatigue is left unattended, companion characters may leave]

You shouldn’t think of it as just a decrease in stats.

Abilities like strength and agility also decrease, but it also has a great impact on accuracy and skill success rate.

The current Joo-yeon can ignore fatigue through ＜Reflect＞, but his companions cannot.

‘But I can’t ignore it. I can’t throw away the Great Sword yet.’

The Great Sword still can’t use Black Water perfectly.

If he can’t open his subspace warehouse, he won’t be able to get the necessary equipment and materials.

The same goes for Haken.

He’s not yet at the level to face the Demon King, but he’s being used as a porter, and his growth rate is beyond imagination.

‘And it feels like he shows up at the right moment, which is strange.’

When he opened the safe in the slave camp.

When he appeared with a sword in hand to face the demons.

Like right now, dealing with the talkative and nagging Great Sword.

“Huh? Great Sword, is this how you do it?”

“Ooh? You already succeeded at that? You’re quite skilled!”

“hehehehe. That’s because Great Sword taught me well.”

“Then try this.”

Haken was steadily mastering the Great Sword technique.

It may not be helpful at the moment, but at some point, it may be able to replace the Great Sword.

Of course, Great Warrior Karahan clicked his tongue.

“You’re tired from this much? The humans of the continent are too weak.”

“You didn’t even fight?”

“I was holding back the Great Mage. There was nothing harder than that, considering the tribesmen who believed in me.”

Yeah, it’s good to have someone with stamina to spare.

“As expected, the greatest among the warrior companions are the barbarians….”

“Yeah, yeah. Don’t worry, I’ll use you as bait when necessary.”

“What?!”

Having arrived at the village, Joo-Heon looked around.

“Not bad.”

“It’s the largest village in the vicinity. I stopped by a few times when I went on missions.”

“Missions?”

“There are a lot of fake warriors, so I often go to catch them. It’s rare these days, but there used to be quite a few.”

Olsen stopped the carriage near the village.

“It won’t be comfortable to rest if you take this carriage inside. I’ll take care of the carriage here.”

“Shouldn’t you rest too, Sir Olsen?”

“I’m a knight. This is nothing.”

Besides, this carriage was special.

There was a reason why the King of Knights gave it to Joo-Heon.

Whirrr.

A curtain was drawn over the carriage.

It was a camouflage curtain that others could not see.

The horses could rest at ease.

Olsen said, preparing the horses’ food.

“Go ahead. Don’t worry about me or the carriage.”

Joo-Heon burst into laughter at his appearance.

This was also a function originally found in the Balantino Saga.

＜Guardian of the Cave＞

It was a function that could set up a perimeter.

‘At that time, I left it to the King of Knights, but this time Olsen is in charge.’

It was a good choice to pick the King of Knights.

If I hadn’t chosen him, I wouldn’t have been able to have the knight class as my companions.

I could tell just by looking at how the others didn’t seem to have any intention of sacrificing themselves like Olsen.

‘Haken and Daedo are thieves, so of course.’

Great Warrior Karahan didn’t seem to have any intention of leaving Joo-Heon’s side at Karasen’s orders.

He’d rather follow Joo-Heon around than set up a perimeter.

That meant that only knights with the loyalty attribute could do such a thing.

‘I guess I have to include a knight as a companion character.’

If there was a problem, it was on the other side.

It was none other than Cheon-gong-yong.

He was trying to get the dragon, who had no intention of leaving his side, off his shoulder.

Cheon-gong-yong didn’t seem to want to come off, but Joo-eun had no choice.

‘Cheon-gong-yong is too conspicuous.’

He caught people’s attention.

“So you stay here with Olson and…”

But right at that moment.

Poof!

“……!”

Cheon-gong-yong, who had been straining for a moment, disappeared.

No, he didn’t disappear.

Joo-eun could still feel his weight on his shoulder.

‘This kid, did he just mimic the magic used on the carriage?’

Joo-eun stroked Cheon-gong-yong’s head, which was covered by a veil.

“A camouflage spell? Did you see it and copy it?”

Poof!

As expected of a dragon.

This way, they could move together.

Joo-eun and his party headed into the village.

* * *

There was only one inn in the village.

It was a medieval-style building with a tavern on the first floor.

Joo-eun went straight to the innkeeper.

“I’ll stay for a night.”

“Would you like a room for your whole party?”

“No, I’ll take a separate one.”

Hak-en interrupted Joo-eun’s decision.

“Huh? You’ll take a separate one? Isn’t it safer to sleep together?”

“If you want, I’ll sleep alone, and the others can share a room.”

“Well… then…”

Hak-en glanced at the party members.

The great warrior Karah-on and Dae-do.

However, it seemed that he didn’t want to sleep with the macho great warrior. He decided to share a room with Dae-do.

Only Joo-eun and the great warrior took separate rooms.

Karah-on asked Joo-eun.

“Are you really okay by yourself? The demons might attack.”

“I’ll be fine. In fact, I’d appreciate it if you came.”

Joo-eun had taken a separate room to sort out the items he had acquired so far.

And this time, he wanted to check how much power the warrior’s ability he had gained could exert.

Especially the ＜Divine Eyes＞ that could distinguish between good and evil.

All the more so because it was an ability that even the protagonist had never used.

Of course, since he had turned the high-ranking demons into enemies, it could be a bit dangerous if the demons really did invade, but it was fine.

‘Because there’s a countermeasure.’

Joo-yeon gestured to the party.

“For now, we’ve secured a place to sleep, so let’s rest on the first floor and go up later.”

“I’ve been waiting for those words.”

“Not bad.”

“Shall we test the warrior’s drinking capacity?”

Dae-do and Karahan ran to the tavern.

They looked a bit stiff, as if they had been cooped up in the carriage until now.

Joo-yeon followed them helplessly.

‘Come to think of it, this is my first time drinking alcohol.’

He had only drunk water for 18 years.

There was no alcohol served at Duke Edmer’s banquet either.

It was because of the Knight King.

‘It’s strangely ascetic, you could say.’

Had he said that alcohol was poison to knights? The knights of Duke Edmer had a culture of abstinence.

Thanks to that, he had never even tasted alcohol.

So while everyone was excitedly ordering drinks and challenging each other to drinking duels,

“Excuse me, but there are no rooms available at the inn?”

“……!”

There was a commotion outside.

He didn’t know who had arrived, but he could see that the attendant was in a difficult position.

“Excuse me… the remaining rooms were just taken by other guests.”

“Do you know who I am! I’m a comrade of the warrior! Are you saying you can’t give a room to a warrior who is sacrificing himself for the continent?”

The commotion grew louder as they grabbed him by the collar.

Then, Dae-do’s ears perked up at an unexpected word.

“Warrior? A comrade of the warrior?”

What is this all about?

But then it happened.

“You? You’re the one who took all the last remaining rooms?”

“……!”

The guy who had been pestering the innkeeper until just now approached Joo-yeon.

And shouted fiercely.

“Hand over the room. We’re comrades of the warrior.”

“Offer the room for the warriors who are working for the continent!”

The corners of Joo-yeon’s mouth went up.

“This is getting interesting.”