Golden Knight – Part I
I was at Marui again for work.
When I arrived at the office, Mimori-san immediately called me to the director’s room.
And there he was.
The golden humanoid.
The same one I’d seen on the street.
Black suit, perfect posture, radiating an elegance that absolutely did not match the cheap office chairs in the reception room.
“Good morning, Tōdō-kun. This gentleman is from the Central Special Research Institute—”
“Aurum Eques Inter Mundos,” he said smoothly.
“You may call me Auri. The full name is… unnecessarily long.”
Humanoids aren’t supposed to have facial expressions,
but somehow I felt like he was smiling at me.
I froze.
The director continued, oblivious to my panic.
“He wants to see the exact location where you found that magic stone.
He requested to accompany you on-site today.”
Cold sweat ran down my back.
I didn’t find it.
I lied.
And apparently it was important enough to send a golden humanoid in a suit.
Maybe if I just point at the spot and say “here,” he’ll accept it…?
“A‑ah, yes. Understood.”
“Please follow Auri-sama’s instructions today,” the director said,
his eyes screaming Do NOT embarrass us.
Auri stood and extended his hand toward me.
“I look forward to working with you today.”
“…Yes. Likewise.”
I didn’t want to touch him—
but refusing a handshake from a golden humanoid felt like a crime.
The moment our hands met, something sparked.
Static?
Magic?
I couldn’t tell.
Auri didn’t react at all.
He simply released my hand and began walking.
The car was not normal.
We usually ride in the company’s beat-up light van.
But today, a luxury car I’d never even seen before was waiting.
I was placed in the back seat.
Auri sat beside me.
The director tried to join us, but—
“We will be fine with just myself, my subordinates, and Tōdō-san,”
Auri said politely.
The door closed.
And suddenly I was alone with him.
The car glided forward.
Silent.
Too silent.
I felt Auri’s gaze on me.
“You needn’t be so tense.”
He leaned closer—too close.
“To be direct… I would like you to tell me the real location where you found the stone.”
And then—
I blinked.
When I opened my eyes,
I was already standing inside the hidden cave on Marui’s 4th floor.
The secret door was open.
Auri stood beside me, perfectly calm.
“I see. No wonder we couldn’t locate it.”
He instructed his subordinates to collect the magic stones.
I stood there, sweating and shaking, trying to look normal.
“Tōdō-san,” Auri said gently,
“please relax.
Because you concealed this place, it was not discovered by scavengers.
You protected it.”
He turned toward me.
“You will not be blamed.
Nor punished.”
His voice was calm.
Warm.
Almost kind.
But the weight behind it—
The weight of someone who wasn’t human—
Pressed against my chest.
I swallowed hard.
“…Thank you.”
Auri nodded once.
And for the first time,
I realized:
This golden humanoid wasn’t here to interrogate me.
He was here because of something else.
Something bigger.
Something connected to the magic stone.
Something connected to me.
