Chapter 6 The Black Knight gains an ally.

 "I had a feeling that something was wrong with that boy. Searching for materials in the library at night. Ha, good joke," declared Chief Boleslava Lawana.
She was drinking tea casually in Kureha’s home, standing before the paintings in the living room and looking at them. Kureha’s father was in the kitchen, hastily preparing a snack to go with the tea.
“Am I right, Mr. Zavisha?”
The knight only nodded in answer. He felt like he shouldn’t speak right now. His gaze fell on Kureha, who was sitting on the sofa and looking down the whole time. She hadn't expected that the first thing she would do in the morning would be to take care of an uninvited guest.
She was already restless because everything had fallen on her all at once.
“Who would have guessed that one day I’d find silence unpleasant?” The chief looked at both of them and sighed. "Mr. Zavisha, could you please go to Mr. Thornlee and ensure he doesn't come in for at least five minutes?"
He bowed and went to the kitchen as ordered.
“Now, what happened between you, Miss Thornlee, and your weapon?”
Kureha couldn’t look up, only biting her lip. Her behavior made Boleslava sigh deeply.
"I know it's not easy. In my case, as well as that of all other police officers, a weapon that we got from Summon is a thing, an object. Yours is not. It’s a human. True, he has abilities that go beyond what a normal person can do, but you have to admit that he thinks and feels like a human. He’s not a robot or an AI secretary like my June.”
"I know," Kureha murmured.
"If you knew, none of this would have happened," she said. "Besides, I didn't order you to attack or protect anyone. You were supposed to investigate and find the spy. Do you know why?”
Kureha still didn’t look up.
"Because I knew you two had just met and didn't know how to work together. The investigation was supposed to help you form a bond, like that between an owner and their weapon. In your case, though, it would be more like the relationship between two partners working together on the same case.”
The chief's words struck the right chord. Kureha was aware of her mistakes, but she just didn't want to admit them and only unleashed her anger. Last night, when she finally saw a large portion of his memories, she noticed how similar some of their experiences were.
There are connections between them that she would see if she allowed herself to recognize them.
That one dematerialization was actually her saving grace because it finally opened her eyes to some things.
"I know," she murmured, repeating more to herself than to the chief sitting opposite her. "I know now."
"Then stop moping and look me in the eye," the chief ordered. Kureha slightly lifted her head. It was too much for Boleslava. She approached Kureha, pinched her cheeks, and made the girl scowl. Then she abruptly lifted Kureha's head with her hands.

"I want you to extract information from that boy. His name was Luke, right?" she said. Kureha opened her eyes wide, not quite understanding what the chief meant. "Despite your annoying idiocy, girl, I want you back on the case because I can still use you. But it will all be for naught if you mope around like a sad dog.”
Finally, light appeared in Kureha’s eyes. Boleslava released her grip and tossed a flash drive onto Kureha’s lap.
"It's a tracker," she said, grinning. "That stupid boy didn't know that every child taken into police custody has a chip installed in them. One might think we're invading their privacy, but it's for protection. After all, who knows if the perpetrators who killed their parents wouldn't come back to finish the job?"

"I never heard of that."

"Obviously you didn't. I might have gone too far by saying it's every kid. Actually, children involved in very difficult cases are the only ones with chips. They were installed by my order. Thanks to them, I saved some kids, and now...” She looked at Kureha with a devilish grin. “I can catch the idiot connected to the people who killed your mother.”

“You didn’t tell those kids about the chips?” Kureha was surprised by the information, about which she knew nothing and which seemed to her to be somewhat illegal.

“I did, but only after they were surprised that the police found them so quickly when they needed help.”

“So Luke doesn’t know he has one?”

“No.”

“Doesn’t that work against…”
“Oh, shut up. I would tell him if I had the chance. I have one now, and I'm excited to use it. After all, he'll wonder how we found him so fast." She smiled and extended her hand toward Kureha. "Are you joining me or not?" 

Kureha looked at the chief's hand. At first, she was hesitant and her arm wavered, but she eventually grasped her chief's extended hand. The sunlight streaming through the window illuminated her face.

"Now we can talk."

When the chief released his grip, she went to the kitchen and called Kureha’s father and the knight back.
Kureha tightly clutched the flash drive and hid it in the inside pocket of her jacket.
When Robert entered the living room, he smiled when he saw the light return to his daughter's eyes. He gripped the tray of cookies he was holding. The chief turned to him.
"I'll be taking your daughter and her partner for a while," Boleslava informed him. Upon hearing her words, Robert’s eyes darkened as if some kind of vision had clouded them. The chief noticed that and added:
"Don't worry. I’ll bring her back. But I can't promise that you won't find any bruises or scars on her. She chose a job in which it's impossible to come back unharmed.”
Her father's gaze was fixed directly on Boleslava.
"If she comes back alive, she can go wherever she wants. I couldn't stop her, not even if I wanted to," he replied. "My daughter is incredibly resilient, and just look at her guardian. He's a true knight in a shining black armor." He gestured towards the knight standing beside him and let out a soft laugh. "With you two with her, I won't have to worry about anything."
"Great. I’ll wait outside. You have three minutes.” Boleslava took a cookie from the tray and went outside.

After Bolselava disappeared, Kureha stood up from the sofa and walked over to the knight.
"I realized I forgot to do something, and now I want to fix it," she confessed. She took a deep breath. 
"Let me start from the beginning," she said.
The knight looked at her questioningly, but his eyes lit up when she offered her hand in greeting.

"My name is Kureha Thornlee. I am 19 years old. I am studying hard to become a great police officer like my mother. It's a pleasure to meet you. I am extremely happy that I was able to summon you.”

The knight's face brightened. At first, his lips trembled, but then they formed a joyful smile.

“Pleased to make your aquinatnace. I am Zavisha of Garbow, the knight who serves under the King of Poland, and the King of Hungary. From now on, I will try to serve you as best as I can.”
He bowed deeply and stood up. He then took her hand, squeezed it, and added:

“As your partner, Kureha.”
The girl smiled.

"Now that this is settled..." she quickly pulled her hand out of his grip and bowed deeply. "I apologize for my outburst yesterday. I wanted the weapon so badly that I failed to notice your human heart. Actually, that's not quite right. I did notice it, and that's precisely why I said such hurtful things to you. I am very, very sorry!”

Zavisha gazed at her with his eyes wide open.

"As you can see, dear knight, when my girl realizes her mistake, she quickly tries to fix it," Robert said, his eyes sparkling and his face adorned with a warm, joyful smile.

“I can see that very clearly now.” The knight chuckled, then suddenly ruffled Kureha's hair.

“What are you doing?!” the girl looked up.

At that moment, her eyes fell upon a face framed by warm, glowing obsidian eyes and a bright, broad smile that showed genuine delight.

Her face flushed at the sight.

The knight took a step back and bowed, too.
“I would also like to apologize for dematerializing without your permission.”

Kureha sighed and ran her hand through her hair. "All right, you can get up now. Even though you did it out of spite, you made the right decision.”
"You realized that I did it out of anger?" Zavisha looked at her with surprised eyes.

Kureha bit her lip and answered. "How could I not? After recent events, when a surge of your memories popped into my head, it was easy to reach a conclusion: 'Ah, he really wants me to understand him and stop acting like a spoiled queen toward him.'”

“I wouldn’t go that far in your interpretattions of my actions.” he clicked his lips at her words.
"Are you one hundred percent sure that you didn’t think something along those lines?” She leaned toward him with a mischievous smile.
“Unfortunately, I will not be able to answer this question in the affirmative.”

“Dad, this knight is only nice when he is speaking. His thoughts are a completely different world!” Kureha complained.
“Huh? What do you mean?!” he asked in a slightly offended tone.
Robert could only burst out laughing when he heard their friendly argument. His amused chuckle was soon met with the voices of Kureha and Zavisha.

They heard a knock on the door, followed by a grunt.

"How long are you going to drag out this comedy routine?" Bolselava yelled.

Kureha quickly hugged her father. "I'm leaving. Wait for me." Her father returned the hug and nodded toward the knight. The knight understood and bowed his head slightly.

I will protect her.

Just as she had done after the test, the girl grabbed the knight by the hand and happily pulled him outside with her.

Boleslava used the key fob to unlock and the car parked in front of the Thornlee family's apartment building, allowing the two to get in.

Robert approached Bolselava, awaiting the two to enter her car, and spoke with the utmost sincerity.
“You know, he's supposed to be her weapon. But I can't shake the feeling that I've actually let my future son-in-law into my home.”

The chief opened her mouth wide and furrowed her brows.

"You come to interesting conclusions, Mr. Thornlee." She paused for a moment and posed a serious question. "You seem to have a good intuition. Have you ever thought about becoming a detective?"
“Being a painter is enough for me. Wait.” His gentle smile turned into a stunned look. “Do you think something could really happen between them?”

“Who knows? Maybe?” Seeing that the passenger seats were occupied, Bolselava climbed into the driver’s seat and shut the door. She drove away, leaving Robert stunned by the possibilities of the future outside his house.

***

“So, where are we going?” Kureha asked Bolselava, who was driving the car.
“Hand me the flash drive I gave you.”
Kureha took the flash drive out of the inside pocket of her jacket and handed it to Boleslava.
"Here you go."
The chief quickly and skillfully entered the information into the GPS using her left hand. After a few seconds, a signal appeared on the screen, showing a map of the city.
"Who would have thought?" A smirk appeared on Boleslava's face.
“What?”
"We're going to the church." She quickly turned the steering wheel and turned onto the street leading to the only church in Modar, where the catacombs were located.

***

They stood in front of the cathedral on Rykhensen Street, about a fifteen-minute drive from the Modar Police Headquarters.
Before the grand portals of the cathedral, Kureha's gaze was drawn to the intricate rose window that gracefully adorned the brick facade above the three arches. Her admiration was interrupted when Zavisha tapped her on the shoulder gently, and pointed to Boleslava, who opened the door to the right. They both followed her inside.

The cathedral interior was silent. Although it was early morning, some people were already sitting in the pews, praying and waiting for Mass.
Boleslava stopped in front of the sacristy entrance to take another look at the GPS screen on her watch. Once she was sure of their target's location, she entered the sacristy, where she met a priest preparing for Mass.
She pulled out her police ID.
"I would like to ask for permission to go down to the catacombs," she said.
The priest's eyes widened.
"Has something happened again?"
"Possibly. That's why I'd like to solve the problem that has plagued this noble place once and for all," she explained.
Kureha didn't know what the chief was talking about. She was surprised by the priest's quick response. He handed over the keys to the catacombs without hesitation and showed them the way.

The entrance to the catacombs was located behind the altar in the right wing of the transept. The priest lifted a flap in the floor to reveal stairs leading down.

"Is it the same group as before?" he whispered to the police chief.

"I'm not sure, but it's quite likely. When the special forces arrive, let them in behind us,” said Boleslava. The priest gave a knowing nod.
The policewoman turned on the flashlight on her watch and gestured for Kureha and the knight to follow her.
The catacombs beneath the cathedral were not a tourist attraction. The entrance was closed to outsiders. However, they were so extensive that other entryways could be found in different parts of the city. This included nearby churches. Sometimes, old buildings' floors would collapse, revealing remains from centuries past hidden in the underground complex of dark corridors.
One of such they were heading into.
"Who would have thought I'd be back here again?" Boleslava commented, trying to break the silence as they descended the stairs.

“What do you mean?” Kureha asked.
"This is where your mother and her squad got rid of the cult that inhabited the catacombs."

Kureha's eyes opened wide in surprise when she heard this.
“Is that so?”

"And come to think of it, that boy probably didn't choose this place by accident." Boleslava grinned to herself. "If I had known right away that he was such a romantic, I wouldn't have bothered looking at the GPS to find him."
"Huh?" Kureha and the knight looked at each other, unsure how to respond to Lawana.

They climbed the last step of the stairs.

Much to their surprise, the interior of the catacombs was lit by flying lamps that floated in the air like fireflies. There were so many of them that they could easily see every skull, whose eye sockets watched the new visitors. They found themselves in a large room that marked the beginning of a maze of catacomb corridors.
However, the grotesque sight of skeletons did not cause the surprise on their faces. In the middle of the room, as if he were at a picnic, Luke sat on a blanket eating cake from a basket and washing it down with red wine from a silver goblet.

They all stood rooted to the spot at this sight, not knowing what to say.

When Luke saw the guests, he smiled broadly and pulled himself up from the blanket. "You're finally here. I've been waiting so long for you," he said longingly. "Kureha," he said her name in such a soft voice that Kureha herself felt a cold shiver run down her body like she had never felt before.
"You've been waiting?" she asked.
Boleslava and Zavisha retreated slightly into the shadows, leaving the two alone to talk, but staying within reach in case Kureha needed to be rescued.

"Yes, I was waiting for you here, in a place that is so special to us," he said.
“Special?” Kureha asked doubtfully, looking around at the tombs filled with skeletons that surrounded her.

Zavisha watched the boy's every move. "Did he hit his head too hard?" he whispered to Bolselava, who stood next to him with her hand on the hilt of her Excalibur.
"I get that impression, too. I wonder how hard the blow must have been for someone to lose their mind like that."

Luke hugged himself tightly and said in a quiet voice, "Yes, special." Spreading his arms, he presented the place as if he were hosting an extraordinary television show. “It was here that your mother embraced me. It was here that I was taken in by her, which ultimately led me to meet you.”

His eyes, filled with a maddening light, focused on Kureha. He ran up to her and bowed as if he were a prince from a fairy tale. "Meeting your mother brought me here to meet you, my princess."

"He didn't hit his head anywhere. He's just generally not right in the head," Zavisha commented quietly.
"Couldn't agree more," the chief said, looking at Kureha.
In Boleslava's eyes, the girl looked confused, as if she didn't know what she was hearing or looking at. Her eyes were wide with fear, and goose bumps covered her skin.
“What happened to you?” the Academy student asked.
Luke was surprised by her question. "Nothing. I just decided to throw off my shackles."
“What are you talking about?”
"What do you mean, 'what?' I can finally be with you without any secrets!" he announced happily. "I thought it over and realized that old Loi was right after all. If I want to be your perfect prince and you want to be my perfect princess, we have to tell each other everything. No secrets!"
Kureha took a step back. She couldn't look at Luke, who was staring at her so intently that he couldn't see anything else.
"Kureha, at first, I thought being the one your mother saved was destiny bringing us together." His voice had already shown confidence, but it took on a new tone of pride as he continued. "But now, think about it. I was there, but as a child, I didn't have the strength to save her. That's why I promised myself that I would make up for that mistake by protecting you in your mother's name! How romantic does that sound? It's like a prelude to the most beautiful romance!"
Kureha bit her lip as she looked at Luke, who was kneeling in front of her. He held out his hand and asked,

"Would you fulfill my dreams and become my princess?"

Kureha took a deep breath, ran her fingers through her hair, closed her eyes for a moment, and focused her gaze on Luke. When her nerves calmed down, she replied,

"I like you."
Luke's eyes lit up even more.
"But..."
With each word Kureha spoke, the glow on Luke's face began to fade.

"You were like a friend to me. I admit that I once thought about the possibility of us being a couple, but I became sure that this was not possible. When I found out that my mother wanted to adopt you, I thought it would be great to have a brother like you. I thought it would be fine to ask you a few questions about her case. Because you’re a friend I can always lean on. That made me realize that I probably wouldn't feel anything romantic toward you."
Luke lowered his hand. His gaze wandered toward the ground. For a moment, silence reigned in the room, but it was shattered by the boy's loud scream.
"This wasn't supposed to happen!" He jumped up and pointed his hand at Kureha.
Sensing that he might hurt her, Zavisha ran up and pulled the girl close.
"Oh no..." Boleslava quickly realized how badly an unstable romantic might interpret this scene.

She decided to intervene.
"Are you surprised, boy?" She stepped out of the shadows and stood in front of him. Though she was shorter than he was, her presence drew everyone's attention. "What kind of moron chooses a dark place like this for passionate confessions?"

Luke's eyes locked onto Lawana.

"You're right. Indeed. It's a bad place, if you consider how it looks, but..." The boy looked at the knight, who was still holding Kureha close. "I doubt changing the location would do any good," he said coldly.
Then, he turned and started running down one of the corridors.
 The lights of the flying lamps followed him.

"There's going to be a trap waiting for us, huh?" Bolselava commented. "But if we want to find out anything, we have to walk into it."

She turned to Kureha and Zavisha.

She didn't have to say anything. They both nodded in agreement.

The three of them ran after the light of the lamps.