Ainz Ooal Gown: Noble Knight

"Onii-chan defeated the demon! I knew Onii-chan was the strongest knight!"

Rune opened his mouth.

I can't say anything.

It felt like something was stuck in my throat, hard and astringent, choking off all the words I had prepared.

Speak up.

He urged himself on in his heart.

Let Silk go first. Just say you need to clean up the scene. Say it's something a knight must do. Say whatever you want. Once she's gone, stage the scene, and it'll be none of Rune's business.

"Onii-chan?"

Si tilted her head to look at him, her light green eyes filled with worry.

"Is Onii-chan hurt? Does your hand hurt?"

She reached out to grasp Rune's blood-stained hand.

Rune instinctively tried to pull away, but the little hand had already grasped it. Warm, soft, with the unique warmth of a child. Bloodstains were on her fingertips, but she didn't mind the dirt; she just held it, gently and carefully.

“Onii-chan killed the demon and saved everyone,” Su said earnestly. “Onii-chan is a hero.”

Rune lowered his head.

He looked at the little hand holding his, at the earnest little face, and at the shocking red and swollen palm print.

Shut up, just say it already.

He cursed himself in his heart.

Say it! Let her go! Let her leave alone first! Then you can do what you're supposed to do! Didn't you already have a plan? Say it!

He opened his mouth.

"Silk."

"Ok?"

"You... take that little girl and go first."

The words that came out of his mouth were light and airy, but they were completely different from what he wanted to say.

Si blinked, looking somewhat bewildered.

"Onii-chan, aren't you coming along?"

“I…” Rune paused, “I have something to do.”

"what's up?"

Si's eyes widened, filled with confusion and worry. She gripped Rune's hand tightly, as if afraid he would run away.

Rune looked at her and remained silent for a second.

Then he spoke.

"Although the demon has been killed by my brother, but..."

His voice gradually became solemn, carrying a familiar tone from those chivalric novels.

"But the demon's soul still lingers among mortals."

Si's eyes lit up instantly.

"Brother needs to cleanse the evil soul of the demon." After saying this, Rune cursed himself inwardly for lying to his sister in this way.

But the silkworms fall for that.

She released Rune's hand, straightened her small chest, and responded in the same solemn tone:

"In that case"

She took a step forward and stood next to Rune.

"I will stand with my elder brother to fight against the Purifying Demon!"

Rune: "..."

He paused for a second.

Why isn't this girl playing by the rules?

According to the plot of those chivalric novels, shouldn't they have obeyed their brother's orders and led the innocent people to evacuate first?

Rune took a deep breath, trying to maintain the solemnity on his face.

"Silk."

"exist!"

"Your mission..."

He paused, his gaze falling on the small, trembling figure curled up against the wall. The child had been huddled there since earlier, like a frightened little animal, shrinking herself into the smallest ball. She would occasionally glance up in their direction, her eyes filled with fear and confusion.

"Your mission is to protect the innocent little girl."

Rune lowered his voice.

"Take her away from here, away from the attacks of demonic spirits."

Si followed his gaze and saw the little girl. She paused for a moment, then a complex expression appeared on her face—sympathy, responsibility, and a little…hesitation?

"But Onii-chan is all alone..."

"This is an order."

Rune's tone became a little harsher.

Si pursed her lips.

She looked at Rune, then at the little girl, and back at Rune. A flicker of struggle crossed her light green eyes, but it was quickly replaced by something more resolute.

"As ordered."

She nodded solemnly, then walked over to the little girl, squatted down, and reached out her hand.

"Don't be afraid, I'm Silk, I'll protect you. What's your name?"

The little girl looked up, her tear-streaked face filled with disbelief. She looked at the girl in front of her, who was about her age, at the red, swollen handprint on her face, and at the clean little hand that was outstretched to her.

“I… Hill, my name is Hill.”

“Let’s go.” Si took her hand and pulled her up. “Brother is cleaning the demon’s soul; we can’t disturb him.”

The little girl was pulled along and stumbled to her feet. She glanced back at the obese corpse lying on the ground deep in the alley, the boy standing beside the corpse, and the bloodstains that looked particularly glaring in the sunlight.

Then she was pulled along by the silk, step by step, towards the alley entrance.

The sunlight grew brighter and brighter.

When she reached the alley entrance, Si suddenly turned around.

"Onii-chan!"

Rune raised his head.

Si stood in the sunlight, her light blue skirt billowing slightly in the breeze. The swollen, red handprint still lingered on her face, and dried blood clung to the corner of her mouth, but her smile was brighter than the sunlight.

Be careful!

"Ah."

Rune nodded.

Si smiled contentedly, then took the little girl's hand and disappeared into the light at the alley entrance.

The alleyway fell silent again.

Rune stood there, looking at the empty alleyway and listening to his own breathing.

Sunlight filtered through a sliver of sky overhead, illuminating him but failing to penetrate the depths of the alley. The baron's corpse lay against the wall, his obese body contorted in a strange posture, blood still seeping from the wound on his chest.

He looked down at his blood-stained hands.

"I can't believe I'm relieved?"

He asked himself.

They clearly chose a riskier path. Blaming the little girl would have been the most rational choice.

But he didn't.

"You're an idiot too."

Rune said softly.

Chapter 11 Aftermath

The baron's body was very heavy.

Rune struggled to drag it deeper into the alley. There lay a pile of garbage, accumulated over an unknown period, emitting a putrid stench, with flies buzzing around it, gathering into a black haze in the sunlight.

Rune dragged the body to the side of the garbage heap, then stepped back a few paces to examine it carefully.

not enough.

That's not enough.

He needed to destroy the corpse to the point where he couldn't cast the fifth-tier faith-based spell, "Resurrection of the Dead." Low-tier resurrection spells require a complete corpse; if the corpse was severely damaged, Baron Levion would be unable to resurrect.

Does the kingdom currently have any faith-based priests who have reached the "hero" level?

Rune searched his mind for information from the original work. The Blue Rose Silk was his younger sister, who only entered that field later.

At this point in time, there are probably no priests in the entire kingdom who can reach the fifth level of magic.

However, it cannot be ruled out that "Eight Fingers" and those nobles of the aristocratic faction could invite priests from other countries.

Rune's gaze fell on the small traces around the garbage heap: rat droppings, paw prints left by wild dogs, and some traces of small animals that he couldn't tell what they were scratching.

The thought had barely formed when a noise came from deep within the alley.

Rune did not move.