Episode 001: The Two Who Came from Another World

“…Haa…”

Christopher let out a deep sigh.

The Kingdom of Twaizaran—
the largest and oldest nation in this land.

Within the 1,200-year history of the Twaizaran Royal Knights, I had risen to the rank of Knight Commander at the youngest age ever. An elite admired by all.

As Knight Commander, my days were spent training and disciplining my subordinates, while constantly remaining vigilant in protecting the royal family. It was a job that wore me down both physically and mentally.

Even so, I take pride in my work. I truly do.

But lately, with the surge in monster attacks—and the revival of them—I hadn’t had a proper day off in quite some time.

And today… today was supposed to be that long-awaited day.

Sleep in until noon.
Go shopping.
Read a book at a café.
Then meet up with my old academy friends for drinks at night.

Nothing extraordinary—just an ordinary day.
But to me, it was something irreplaceable.

And yet…

Last night, two suspicious individuals suddenly appeared in the palace’s Chamber of Prayer.

One was a man with short black hair, about 170 centimeters tall, appearing to be around twenty years old.
The other was a woman, her skin a pale violet—unusual in color—and said to be a breathtaking beauty of about the same age.

Both were severely injured, and by the time they were discovered, they had already lost consciousness.

We couldn’t simply abandon the wounded, so they were taken to the palace infirmary for treatment. However, the possibility that they might be spies or assassins from another nation couldn’t be ruled out.

As a result, I was assigned to guard the king.

Dragging my heavy feet, I arrived at the palace.

First, I decided to speak with the minister and headed to Minister Mu’s office.

An elderly man sat behind a desk.

Piles of documents were stacked so high that only the upper half of his face was visible.

“Good morning.”

At my greeting, Minister Mu rose from his chair, revealing the thick white mustache that had been hidden behind the paperwork. He approached me with a warm smile.

“Oh, Christopher, my boy. Sorry to call you in on your day off.”

He lightly patted my shoulder.

There was something about his smile that put people at ease. It was hard to believe he was effectively the second most powerful man in the kingdom.

The reluctance I had felt moments ago vanished in an instant.

“Not at all. Protecting the palace and the royal family is my duty as Knight Commander.”

“As expected of you, Christopher. A true model knight. There’s a reason you were entrusted with one of the kingdom’s three great knight orders at such a young age.”

There are three knight orders in this kingdom:

The Order of Flame,
The Order of Ice,
and the Order of Earth.

I am the commander of the Order of Ice.

“Thank you. Now, about those two—where are they?”

“Hmm. Levin, commander of the Order of Earth, was with them until just now. The man regained consciousness. He asked about his homeland, but none of the places he mentioned exist in this world. The court mages believe… he may have come from another world.”

“Another world…?”

Could such a thing truly exist?

But now wasn’t the time to debate that.

“It may be hard to believe,” the minister continued, “but given how they appeared in the Chamber of Prayer, it is a possibility the king has accepted. For now, they are not considered spies or assassins—but we cannot take any chances. The three knight orders will take turns watching over them.”

“Understood. But… why were they treated within the palace? Even if they were injured, wouldn’t it have been safer to send them to a physician in the city?”

“That is because… they appeared in the Chamber of Prayer.”

“The Chamber of Prayer… what of it?”

“The king was there last night, praying for a savior—someone who would save this land. And then, those two appeared before him. His Majesty is convinced they are the ones he prayed for. He has ordered that they be treated with the utmost care.”

…

Despite the existence of the three knight orders, the king had been praying for a savior.

The words nearly left my lips—but I swallowed them.

A knight does not question the king.

“Christopher, would you go and see them? They should still be in the infirmary.”

“Understood.”

Leaving the minister’s office, I made my way to the infirmary.

A savior…

Was I not enough?

At seventeen, I had become the youngest Knight Commander in history.
It was true that I was not yet as strong as Saran of the Flame Order or Levin of the Earth Order—

But I still had room to grow.

Give me a few more years, and I would surpass them all.

Clenching my jaw, I carried that quiet frustration with me as I entered the infirmary.

The moment I opened the door, I saw them.

The woman was still lying in bed. Even from a distance, her beauty was unmistakable.

Seated beside her was the man—the one said to be from another world.

Standing behind him, grinning, was Commander Levin.

To be honest, I disliked him.

There was no denying his strength—he was formidable. But his complete lack of decorum was unbecoming of a knight commander.

Putting that aside for now—

I needed to introduce myself.

“Nice to meet you. I am Christopher Ostrein, Commander of the Order of Ice—one of the Three Great Knight Orders of the Kingdom of Twaizaran.”

The man stood as I spoke.

“Nice to meet you. My name is Zeke Astroi. I come from a country called Trizary.”

His long black hair flowed loosely down his back. His sharp green eyes met mine directly.

He wore practical leather armor and a simple cloak—nothing extravagant, but clearly suited for real combat.

There was a composed steadiness about him… the kind that only came from experience.

Zeke bowed his head politely.

“Hey, Chris! You gotta hear this—Zeke’s story is wild!”

Levin’s crude voice echoed through the room.

Honestly… how did someone like him become a commander?

“Apparently, these two were fighting each other when they got sent here! Sounds like one hell of a lovers’ quarrel, huh?”

Levin burst into laughter.

“Zeke,” I said calmly, “would you mind telling me more about yourself—and what happened before you arrived here? If we cannot verify your identity, we may be forced to detain you as a suspicious individual.”

That order hadn’t actually been given.

But sometimes, a small lie is necessary.

Zeke nodded and began to explain.

He was nineteen.

In his world, there existed a race called demons—beings superior in intelligence, physical ability, and magical power, yet inherently violent.

They sought to conquer the world.

Zeke had been traveling with companions to defeat their king—the Demon King.

At the moment he was about to deliver the final blow, he was swallowed by a black sphere… and found himself here.

…

Then—

Does that mean…?

I turned my gaze toward the woman.

Could she be the Demon King?

It was hard to believe.

Just then—

“Mm… n…”

The woman stirred.

Her brow furrowed slightly before her eyes slowly opened.

They were a vivid, fresh green.

“Where… am I…?”

She looked around in confusion.

“This is the Kingdom of Twaizaran,” I said. “Nice to meet you. I am Christopher Ostrein, Commander of the Order of Ice.”

And then, I proceeded to explain her current situation.