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Translator: uly
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: The Iron-Blood Knight's Defeat Fantasy
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I stared at the knight commander who had shown up out of nowhere with this absurd demand.
Empire 1st Knight Order Captain, Iron-Blood Knight Yuris.
She was far too famous a woman.
Her battlefield record stood at 99 battles, 99 victories, 0 losses.
No need to belabor the "Undefeated Knight" moniker everyone knew so well.
But she hadn't earned the title Iron-Blood Knight just from that flawless record alone.
It was her blunt, sword-sharp personality.
She tolerated not the slightest mistake from her subordinates, devoting everything solely to victory—that unyielding nature had branded her the Iron-Blood Knight.
Yeah.
The Iron-Blood Knight Yuris, who chased nothing but victory.
And right now, she was saying this to me.
"You want to experience failing a mission?"
Had I heard that right?
The Iron-Blood Knight, who'd lived for victory, talking about failure?
"Yeah."
I'd heard her correctly.
"I've heard you're definitely an illusion mage. Illusion magic doesn't inflict physical harm, right? And if it can show whatever scene I want, I figured I could feel the experience of failure without any real damage. Am I wrong?"
"That's right. Yeah, that's true, but..."
I stroked my chin as I looked at her.
"Why go out of your way to experience failure?"
"Simple. I want to know what it feels like—the experience and memory of botching a mission."
"...So why the hell do you want that?"
I couldn't wrap my head around it.
Failure, defeat—they were fundamentally negative emotions.
That despair was utterly horrific, beyond words.
I'd been driven to the brink by just a few failures while creating this thing.
And she wanted to go through that on purpose?
"Hmm, was my explanation lacking?"
"Tell me more in detail. That way, I can incorporate it into the video."
She looked down at me and spoke calmly.
"Fine. The reason is simple. You have to experience failure to reflect on it, to strive harder and avoid it in the future. I've never lost once so far. A single failure could hit me like a massive shock. I thought simulating it once beforehand would prepare me for any real shock down the line."
"Yeah?"
"Right. Lately, I've been taking on tougher and tougher missions, but I concluded that failing one in this situation would impact not just me, but the entire knight order."
I see.
She wanted to preempt defeat to brace herself for it.
I wanted to say that wasn't the kind of thing you could prepare for,
but...
'Can't just turn away my first customer.'
Sending off the first one like that could spawn bad rumors.
Went there and all, but they showed nothing.
Rumors like that could keep this hard-earned illusion magic from ever seeing the light of day.
And there was one more reason I hesitated.
I'd told others this place sold illusions of their desires, but in truth, the videos from this illusion magic circle were basically porn.
Experiential porn.
Jerk-off material, basically.
Should I tell her that?
Yuris narrowed her brow as she watched me mull it over.
"Don't tell me it's impossible?"
She seemed to think I'd say no.
"It's not."
"Then what else do you need?"
"Not that either. Just..."
"Just?"
"Since we show desires, it might get pretty explicit."
"Explicit, huh. Fine by me. I can endure any kind of pain."
Tsk, that's not the issue.
But I couldn't quite bring myself to say it.
Well, if she said she was fine...
'If there's a problem, I can just stop it right away.'
First customers were precious.
"Got it. Before we start the illusion magic, let me run through a few preliminary questions. Follow me."
"Understood. Oh, and..."
Yuris sniffed the air, pinched her nose, and furrowed her brow.
"It'd be nice if you cleaned up a bit. There's an unpleasant smell in here."
"Ah. Sorry about that."
Physiological stuff.
The patience juice and sweat from watching the demo video earlier were mixed in, and I couldn't do much about the smell right now.
Of course, I didn't have the guts to tell her that.
"So, what kind of enemy would you like?"
"Starting there?"
"It's an important step."
"Bandits, then. The weaker the opponent, the less the damage from defeat."
Hm, losing to weaklings would probably hit harder.
But I didn't point that out.
She must have her own plan.
"Understood. Then let's build a story around failing a bandit subjugation mission."
I began sketching out the blueprint of Yuris's desired fantasy, one detail at a time, through the preliminary questionnaire.
Iron-Blood Knight Yuris had a worry.
"We won again."
The undefeated knight who never lost.
Her knights, the empire's citizens, even the mercenaries and soldiers she met—they all looked at her with eyes full of respect upon hearing her renown.
"Thanks to you, the empire remains safe today."
"I could fight those monsters because of you, Captain!"
Even the Empress ruling the empire and the Hero saving the world praised her victories.
And that was just the start.
Everyone who saw her face said the same things.
"Iron-Blood Knight, congratulations on the victory!"
"You're so strong, as expected!"
"You'll win today too, right?"
From the moment she headed into battle, those gazes assuming victory weighed on her like a burden.
Even her enemies crumpled without proper resistance, crushed by Yuris's fame.
They had no idea how burdensome that was.
She knew better than anyone: never losing once meant a single loss would bring an equal backlash.
'I don't want to disappoint them.'
'I absolutely can't lose.'
'I'm the knight who protects the empire.'
The more she won, the heavier the load on her shoulders grew.
From the moment she realized she wasn't just any knight captain, Yuris had been crushed by that constant pressure.
She wanted to shake it off, even just for herself, but it was impossible.
That's when she heard an illusion mage had invented something new.
"It's a magic that lets you experience whatever desire you want. I'll open a shop on the outskirts soon—come visit."
From what she'd overheard between mages, he was some absurd genius.
Researching something pointless, though.
That's when it hit her.
Couldn't illusion magic let her experience defeat without aftereffects?
So she came right on opening day.
It was a weird shop.
No windows at all—just one door.
You could only enter and exit through it; no other ventilation.
She figured it was designed for illusion magic and stepped inside, where she saw countless magic circles lining the place.
A bit suspicious, but she couldn't imagine this guy doing anything to her.
Her strength was more than enough to subdue a mere mage.
She could crush him anytime if needed.
That was her confidence.
Confidence that she wouldn't lose to anyone.
She called it a burden, but it wrapped her body like sturdy armor.
After the tedious questionnaire in that weird-smelling room,
"We're starting now?"
"Yes. I've calculated and set everything for your desired scenario."
"Good. How long can I experience it?"
"You set the time. Maximum three hours for now."
"So real time and experience time differ?"
"Yes. Three hours real-time, but up to three days in the experience, depending on the staging and scenario."
"I see."
Not well-versed in magic, she just nodded along vaguely.
For a first try, then.
"Make it three hours."
"Got it. Please stand in the center of the magic circle."
"Fine."
"Now, Lady Yuris's desire will be projected. One last reminder: everything you see from now on is an illusion. Not real—keep that in mind."
"What do you take me for? I know that much."
Illusion mage Max smiled at her words.
"Then, enjoy your time."
He snapped his fingers.
Snap!
In that instant, the world around her changed.
The dim room full of magic circles became a forest with a cool breeze.
A familiar forest she'd seen somewhere before.
"Mangor Mountain."
She could tell from the forest's shape alone.
Mangor Mountain.
A rugged peak in the empire's eastern region, where bandits frequently gathered.
They'd subjugated it multiple times, but bandits kept coming back, requiring periodic raids.
"Classic backdrop. I like it."
Silence all around.
Nothing but birdsong, wind, and insect chirps.
"Am I alone right now?"
She checked her outfit.
Same armament as always.
Half-plate armor protecting her body.
For these missions, mobility mattered, so leather armor everywhere except shoulders and chest.
"You've reflected what I said perfectly."
She'd only mentioned a bandit subjugation mission, yet he'd detailed her gear this accurately.
Definitely a skilled illusion mage.
"Bandits should be showing up soon."
She'd come to see defeat, but she'd fight her best to win.
Victory was her duty, after all.
No half-assing it.
If they couldn't make her lose, it proved the mage's skill was lacking.
Shing.
She drew her sword, stayed vigilant, and climbed the mountain.
Then.
"Who're you?"
Rough-looking bandits blocked her path.
Finally here.
"I'm Yuris. Drop your weapons and surrender now."
"What? This bitch name-dropping someone?"
"No customers lately—been bored to death."
"But hey, this one's got a nice body. Why not take her along?"
Yuris clicked her tongue at the bandits' vulgar talk.
No need for realism there.
"A good beating will change their minds."
That's what trash like them needed.
As she advanced with sword raised,
"Huh?"
She felt a taut pull from her foot, and the world flipped.
"Krahaha! She took the bait perfectly."
Damn.
An uncharacteristic mistake.
How could she screw up like this?
But it was fine.
She could just cut the rope with her sword aura now.
She twisted her body, summoning aura to slice the rope.
Or tried to.
No aura on the sword—not even proper strength.
Impossible.
Normally, she'd slice the rope effortlessly and take down the enemy mid-fall, but now she dangled in midair, one leg bound, flailing helplessly.
"Huh?"
A dull thud of pain, and the world went pitch black.
This couldn't be happening, right?