The Mob Noble Who Got Reincarnated in a World Where Men Are Naturally Protected—So I Trained Like Crazy to Protect Girls Instead, But Their Love Got Way Too Heavy - Chapter 41: The Phantom Knights Are Inside the Castle

Chapter 41: The Phantom Knights Are Inside the Castle

Holding Shia tight, I made a quick escape from the ruined castle using my grappling hook.

We were flung into the air. Shia clung to me and screamed,

“Tect! Tect, we’re falling!? P-Please hold on tight! I’ll be the cushion—”

“You will not.”

I fired the grappling hook toward a nearby tree and swung around it in tight circles, bleeding off the falling momentum.

Then I detached the hook and landed hard, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Shia wobbled in my arms, her eyes spinning.

“Everthing’s… spinning…”

While quickly retracting the grappling wire, I looked up toward the exit of the ruined castle.

From the elevated opening, the phantom knights were staring down at us.

The killing intent in their eyes was obvious at a glance. They wouldn’t stop until Shia was dead. And they fully intended to kill me for getting in their way.

Still, something felt off.

Compared to the puppet-like figures I’d seen before, their movements now showed signs of awareness—glances, coordination, intent. And in the center, looking down at us, stood the most heavily armored phantom knight—The one that looked like the commander.

That was when Shia snapped back to herself and stepped closer.

“More importantly, Tect! W-What was that just now!? You’re a man, aren’t you!? How do you have that much combat power!?”

“Well, if I didn’t work my ass off, I wasn’t going to survive life properly.”

“What does that even mean!?”

With Shia clearly panicking, I explained.

“I’m a knight’s son. No land, no property, but still stuck with noble duties. So I needed enough strength to make a living. You know—enough that a girl might actually choose me.”

“…That is…”

Shia fell silent.

The laws were made by the royal family. Which meant that someone like me—suffering under those laws—was, in a way, a victim created by her own side.

But that didn’t matter right now. We had a much more urgent problem to deal with.

I asked her.

“Did the curse mess with the phantom knights?”

“…I have heard it’s the opposite. In other words, that curse restores their former sense of self.”

“…I see.”

I narrowed my eyes.

There was a lot to think about, and far too many unknowns. But first things first—we had to move.

I asked Shia,

“Before they come after us, let’s get ahead of this. Can you move?”

“Y-Yes. But Tect, now that I’ve lost control of the phantom knights, I no longer have access to my bloodline magic. There’s no way to restrain them—!”

“Yeah, don’t worry about that.”

I grinned and said it plainly.

“I figured this curse-breaking thing smelled fishy from the start. So I made some preparations ahead of time.”

“Huh…? Tect, what do you mean by that?”

Rubbing the ring Aegis had given me, I spoke the trigger words.

“Summon, Aegis. Bring Wiz too.”

“Hii~! I came running for you~!”

“I’m here as well, Tect!”

The moment I called them, the two appeared out of nowhere. I couldn’t help myself—I ran up and gave them both a high five.

The one left completely stunned was Shia.

“W-Wait, that ring… what exactly is it?”

“A gift from Aegis. A summoning ring that lets me call her. I figured it’d be better to have Wiz too, so I asked her to stay on standby.”

Battle was all about preparation. I gave a smug little grin. But sensing movement from the phantom knights, the joking mood snapped away instantly.

“Tect, what do you want us to do?”

“We’ll move according to your instructions. You’ve got good awareness, Tect.”

“Much appreciated. First—Aegis. Block that entrance.”

“Roger! —Come forth, Little Fortress!”

As Aegis touched her ring and spoke, full-body armor unfolded around her. A massive hammer formed in her right hand, a rock-like shield in her left.

She hefted the hammer and hurled it with everything she had—straight toward the ruined castle’s entrance. Just as the phantom knights were about to pour out, the hammer slammed into place.

Collapse.

RUMBLEEE!

With an earth-shaking roar, the hammer obliterated the entrance, collapsing the surrounding stone walls and completely sealing off the phantom knights’ exit.

“Next, Wiz. Can you restrain everyone inside that castle with the Rose Staff?”

“I can! I upgraded the Blood Rose Staff recently, so it can chain even on golems now!”

Wiz pulled the rose staff from her chest area.

She gripped the thorn-covered stem tightly, cutting her palm and drawing blood. That blood dripped onto the ground near the ruined castle.

Then Wiz began her chant.

“Sip… drip… and bloom—Blood Rose Wand.”

From inside the castle came distorted screams—

“Guh!” “Gyaaaah!”

So the phantom knights other than the commander could scream after all.

Either way, it was safe to say they’d been caught by Wiz’s magic. She continued chanting, binding and tormenting the enemies without pause.

“T-Tect…”

Shia looked at me, clearly shaken, so I explained.

“Shia, why did you choose the ruined castle as the place for the ritual?”

“Ah, yes. I wanted to prevent the rebellious knights from scattering. If they stayed there as a base, it would be easier for a subjugation force to deal with them.”

“Yeah, that’s what I figured too. So I turned that idea into a tactic.”

I pointed at the ruined castle’s entrance.

“That castle is basically a box. Once the entrance is sealed, it turns into a cage—you can only escape by jumping down. And jumping from that height in heavy armor? No one wants to do that. That hesitation gave Wiz the opening to bind them.”

I swung both arms.

The pile bunkers—now reloaded with magic stones—smoldered with heat, and the grappling wire writhed beside them.

“Now all that’s left—Is to crush the box itself.”

I fired the grappling hook toward the upper part of the ruined castle.

I shot upward at high speed. When I reached near the rooftop, a sharp shpin! rang out as I released the wire and was flung into the air. Through the gaps in the collapsed rooms, I saw exactly what I’d aimed for—The phantom knights bound tightly by blood-thorns.

But there was one exception.

The commander—the one who had bothered me earlier. Only he had cut through the blood-thorns and stood there, sword in hand, staring up at me.

Our eyes met in midair.

I watched him without letting my guard down, while he looked back with a strange expression.

The commander spoke.

『I ask again. Why do you side with the witches』

I didn’t answer. Instead, I started heating the pile bunker.

Fire ignited inside the internal combustion system. The heat climbed, and the pile bunker glowed red.

Free fall.

My target was the castle’s main support pillar.

If I shattered that, the entire ruin would collapse.

“PILE—BUNKERRRRR!!!”

PAGOOOOOOON!

With a ringing metallic roar, the pile shot forward.

The sheer force obliterated the main pillar down to its base. From there, the stone walls caved inward one after another. The ruined castle collapsed with a thunderous rumble, swallowing the phantom knights inside.

Men’s screams mixed with the sound of crushing stone as everything was buried.

I fired the grappling hook into a tree branch, swung in a clean arc, and landed lightly on the ground.

“Phew… that should do it.”

“““……!?”””

When I said that and walked back over, the three of them were completely speechless.

“Huh? What’s wrong?”

“N-No, ‘what’s wrong’ isn’t the question here, Tect! T-That! You destroyed the entire castle with one hit!”

“Yeah! I mean—what!? Does a pile bunker really hit that hard!? Even with my hammer throw, smashing a whole castle would be a pain!”

“Well, there’s kind of a trick to breaking buildings. If you take out the support pillars, things usually go smoothly.”

““That’s not the point!””
“It really isn’t!”

Wiz and Aegis protested at the same time.

I tilted my head, wondering what the big deal was, when—

“Pfft… ufufufufu…”

Shia suddenly started laughing.

“T-Tect… fufu… a-are you all always like this…? Ufufufufu…”

“What’s with you, Shia? You lost all your tension at the worst time.”

“Ufufufufu… ahahahaha! Y-You’re one to talk! Ahahahaha!”

Like the last of her nerves had finally snapped, Shia clutched her stomach and laughed.

But I tapped her shoulder and spoke seriously.

“No, I mean it. Don’t relax yet. …The enemy isn’t fully wiped out.”

“—?”

Shia sucked in a breath.

The other two instantly shifted back into combat readiness.

And right as I turned back toward the ruined castle—

A single shadow rose up from within the rubble.

“…”

It was the phantom knight commander—the same one who had spoken to me earlier.

He pushed aside the rubble and slowly stood. With steady, confident steps, he advanced straight toward us.

Then he swung his sword.

A shiver ran through my entire body. Without thinking, I drew the cursed blade at my waist. Everyone else stiffened too, their faces tight with tension and fear.

He was on another level.

Only now—close enough for a direct clash—did I fully understand it. This guy was stronger. Strong enough to overwhelm all of us by himself.

『I ask you… for the third time.』

The commander leveled his blade straight at me.

『Why does a man of your caliber side with witches? Those who steal magic from men, take lives before they are even born, and seek to trample all men out of selfish hatred—why do you stand with the children of witches?』

I forced a stiff smile, raised my sword properly, and answered,

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”