"Ah?"
Ifrit processed this sudden message, and after understanding it, she suddenly realized what was going on.
"Oh! You're the knight dad Lily was talking about!"
Gregor was momentarily surprised by this unexpected coincidence, but then quickly thought of someone with very similar traits.
"Are you the Silverlight Knight?"
"Yes."
"Huh? Didn't Lily say her dad was invincible... um!"
Centaurea covered Ifrit's mouth shyly, while Nolan chuckled self-deprecatingly.
"I'm sorry, it was this useless adult who lied."
"Understandable."
Gregor tried to comfort the other person.
"A child always sees their father as omnipotent; perhaps that's how she sees you?"
"A fake is a fake..."
Nolan didn't remain depressed for long; he smiled nonchalantly.
"Could you please keep this a secret? I still have some self-respect."
The two naturally agreed, Ifrit nodded reluctantly.
After announcing their names, the group descended the passage and soon arrived at a familiar platform.
The Infected were somewhat surprised by this strange combination, while the children's eyes lit up and they immediately surrounded them.
"It's Uncle Nolan!"
"And there's also Sister Ifrit!"
Why am I in the back?!
Ifrit grumbled in dissatisfaction, but was quickly appeased by the younger children who happily shared the candy they had brought.
Nolan was momentarily speechless, but his thoughts were quickly interrupted by excited shouts.
"Dad!"
Nolan's expression softened instantly, and he scooped up Lily who was running towards him.
"Haha, long time no see, my little princess."
Gregor watched this scene quietly, a sweet voice coming from the side.
"... Are you guys really bored and have nothing better to do?"
Sona leaned closer somewhat awkwardly.
"The Armorless Union just left not long ago, aren't you afraid that the child will be in danger?"
"They can't do it."
The calm electronic sound made Sona pause, and her fluffy tail wagged irritably.
"Next time you want to come, just let me know in advance and I'll pick you up."
Gregor instinctively reached out to pat the other person's head, but the other person flinched and dodged.
With some regret, Gregor lowered his hand and asked:
"Have you run out of money? There's more if you need more."
Sona's face stiffened upon hearing this, and she gritted her teeth as she moved closer.
Gregor looked at the other person's head as it reached out, somewhat puzzled, when he heard Sona's voice filled with gritted teeth.
"Touch it!"
After a moment's thought, Gregor shook his head speechlessly.
"I'm not threatening you, don't think so darkly of people..."
Sona awkwardly stepped back, and Gregor asked the same question again.
"No, how could you possibly spend that kind of thing here?"
Sona quickly recovered, somewhat speechless.
Gregor was somewhat puzzled:
"So what are your usual food sources?"
Sona's eyes dimmed slightly, and noticing Gregor's gaze, she immediately raised her head and pointed in Nolan's direction.
"Look, that's the middleman. Infected like us aren't qualified to trade with those at higher levels."
Seeing the harmonious scene between Nolan and his daughter, Gregor's doubts deepened.
"He's not Infected, is he? Why would Lily...?"
When this question was raised, Sona clenched her fists.
"Lily was infected by Originium dust during the Infected attack..."
An aged voice came from the side; an Infected man sighed.
"An Infected nearing their limit ran into the city, and the Originium dust from their self-destruction infected Lily's mother."
"Mother?"
Gregor was taken aback at first, then his heart sank.
"Mother-to-child infection..."
"That's right... Lily is a natural-born Infected."
The old man's voice grew increasingly mournful.
"Lily's mother was driven here, and shortly after Lily's birth... sigh."
At this point, Sona's indignant voice rang out.
"If it weren't for that bastard who self-destructed, Sector Zero wouldn't be being cleaned up every now and then."
Gregor wasn't surprised; in any world, there are always such madmen. He turned his gaze to Nolan:
"Nolan wasn't here at the time; he was on the battlefield."
Noticing Gregor's gaze, the old man explained on Nolan's behalf.
"Everything was over when he came back. Lily stayed here voluntarily, and Nolan came to see him every now and then."
The old man looked at Lily with loving eyes.
"She's a good girl. Nolan bought her a lot of nice clothes, thinking of the other children... Lily always wears this outfit."
In the distance, Lily seemed to notice their gazes. Lily looked over and excitedly spoke to Nolan.
Nolan's expression showed some surprise, which then turned into a wry smile.
Nolan put Lily down and walked over, awkwardly speaking amidst the puzzled looks of the crowd.
"Mr. Gregor, could you please perform with me?"
"What?"
As the group wondered what was happening, they heard the sounds of children playing.
"What? Uncle Nolan is going to compete against Gregor!"
The group looked in the direction of the sound and saw Lily and Ifrit staring at each other with a piercing spark.
"My dad is even more amazing!"
"The boss is even more amazing!"
Gregor's head started to ache too, and Nolan gave an awkward smile.
The two children had already run over, looking at their parents with hopeful eyes, Gregor reluctantly agreed.
"Great!"
The children laughed and called the others over. Gregor looked at Nolan:
"Just give a performance, okay?"
"Yes, please don't worry, I won't use force."
Sona and the old man had strange expressions, and the latter pulled Nolan aside and whispered something in his ear.
As the words "Black Iron Knight" and "repelled the Armorless Union" floated out, Nolan's expression became increasingly interesting.
"Please... show mercy."
"It's just an exhibition match, I'll only use my shield."
"Thanks!"
Nolan visibly breathed a sigh of relief. Once everyone had gathered, Nolan casually picked up a steel pipe from a corner and struck a pose.
Don't you use a sword?
Gregor remembered that his opponent used a sword and shield during the match, but now it seems... his opponent is also skilled with guns?
"To be honest... I'm actually better with guns."
Nolan readily admitted it, Gregor nodded, as a shield appeared in the holy light.
A gasp rippled through the crowd. Nolan snapped out of his daze at the familiar light and hesitated before saying:
"May I ask... what is your relationship with the Nearl Family?"
"Nearl?"
Gregor thought of a certain lively little pony, then shook his head.
"It has nothing to do with it."
"Is that so...?"
Nolan gripped the steel pipe tightly, glancing out of the corner of his eye at his daughter, who was clenching her fist and cheering him on.
"Well then... I'm going in!"
Clang--!
The metal clashed, and the probing attack was easily blocked.
Nolan increased his speed and quickly found the right force in the collision.
Gregor thought to himself, "As expected of a skilled athletic knight, even such a weak attack can create a huge impact."
The Infected cheered, each encouraging the side they favored.
"I never expected to see knightly competitions here."
"Wow, that's a really intense fight! Which side do you think will win?"
"Nolan, huh? You can't win just by defending."
As the performance went on for longer, the crowd began to urge Gregor to fight back, with Ifrit cheering loudly on.
Gregor felt helpless. He casually blocked Nolan's attack and pondered how to end the fight.
Meanwhile, Nolan is under increasing pressure.
From the initial performance to the later probing.
His strength and speed gradually increased, but his opponent's were also increasing in the same way.
Although his earlier movements were somewhat clumsy, showing some mistakes typical of a newcomer, his shield-raising and blocking movements became increasingly fluid as he progressed.
Even...
Nolan looked at his slightly trembling arm. Every time the opponent blocked, a shockwave came from the shield. Was it Originium Arts?
Wrong--
Nolan recalled an experience he once had with an Ursus Shieldguards, a battle of pure skill.
Clang--!
Once again deflecting the incoming steel pipe, Gregor wondered why Nolan's force was becoming lighter and lighter.
The next moment, a muffled groan was heard.
"Dad!"
Lily rushed forward with a worried expression, and the crowd gathered around in a panic.
Nolan gripped his elbow, looking humble.
"I'm sorry, Daddy lost..."
Gregor was bewildered by the end of the battle. Watching his opponent's movements, he suddenly remembered what he had seen in the match before: the arm that had been stabbed by the Wave Knight.
Are you injured?
Nolan's face fell, and before Gregor could figure out why, Lily screamed.
"Dad, you're hurt! Where? Are you alright!?"
After a flurry of explanations, Gregor healed the other's injuries and then spoke earnestly to the sullen Lily:
"Your father is very capable. If he hadn't been injured, I..."
Noticing Ifrit's gaze, Gregor quickly changed his tune.
"It may take a long time for us to determine a winner."
"Yeah! You're amazing too, brother!"
Lily quickly recovered and smiled broadly.
"Brother, you must be a really great knight too, just like my dad."
"Everyone says that Dad has never lost in the arena."
"Once I recover, I must go see it with my own eyes!"
"Yes..."
Gregor ruffled the girl's hair.
"That day will come."
After bidding farewell to Nolan, who expressed his gratitude repeatedly, Gregor and his group headed back.
Ifrit kicked at the pebbles on the ground, looking distracted. Centaurea sighed and went to comfort her.
"Alright, my little darling, the boss was just putting on a show, don't take it seriously."
"That's not what I was thinking about!"
Ifrit pursed her lips, then fell silent again.
"What's wrong?"
Gregor asked a question, Ifrit looked up after a moment of silence.
"Boss... why am I so different from Lily?"
Seeing the two people's puzzled looks, Ifrit scratched her head in frustration.
"It's just... I'm Infected too, so why can I be up here while Lily is stuck underground and can't even watch her dad's game?"
The two fell silent, surprised that a child as young as Ifrit would be thinking about such a question.
"Because the boss is strong enough."
Centaurea attempted to explain,
"So I can protect you, but Lily and the others are different, they..."
"Is being strong enough all you need?"
Ifrit asked blankly,
"If I were strong enough, could I make Lily and the others like me?"
"Um, maybe?"
Centaurea looked at Gregor with some uncertainty, but he was lost in thought Ifrit's question.
He asked himself, "Can I help those Infected?"
Of course!
He has both money and violence, and he can improve their lives either way.
But that only treats the symptoms, not the root cause.
Gregor understood that the oppression suffered by the Infected was not only because of the Oripathy they had, but also because they had become a "dumping ground" for people to vent their malice.
Discrimination and oppression are not uncommon, but the label of Oripathy exacerbates this.
A utopia without discrimination... even the Ultra Star in fantasy tokusatsu shows can't achieve that.
My head is starting to hurt...
Gregor pulled his thoughts from his mind and decided to ask Vane later.
He suddenly... became interested in Rhodes Island, the organization Vane had mentioned, which was dedicated to solving the problem of Infected.