After about a week of travel North of Ardell, I crossed over the central territories of the kingdom and into the eastern ones.
Compared to the southern territories, the roads were wider and better, and there were also more people.
Yeah.
There were a lot of people.
But what was this?
Say it again.
L-let my sister go
Hnng? I cant hear you, you fucking bitch. Stop crying and say it again. What did you say?
I-Im a knight too I-if you dont want to get hurt, l-let my sister go!
Kuahaha! Im a knight! If you dont want to get hurt, let my sister go! Hahaha!
Ukahahahaha!
In broad daylight.
For an altercation to happen in the middle of this busy street
No, was it a kidnapping?
With just a glance, you could tell it was four n in their 30s holding onto a woman in her 20s, and in front of them was a young boy holding a real sword while shouting at the n, telling them to let his sister go.
However,
S-stop making fun of ! If you dont let my sister go
Youre just a bitch!
Ack!
Say it again. Hmm? Whos a knight? Huh? Are you, you little shit?
Bang! Pak! Pow! Tak!
A one-sided pumling that made the sword in his hand useless.
I looked around the surroundings.
Tch.
One, two, three, four
There were a little over ten people in the area who were watching this young boy get beaten up.
But no one even thought to intervene.
So would call the guards of a nearby city to stop this, but in reality
Kek.
There were even so spectators who would snicker at the sight.
Even if we lived in a world where minding our own business was a virtue
Wasnt this too much?
Even though I wasnt so knight of justice or a guardian angel, or even anything at all, I ended up getting off my horse, pushing past the spectators and involving myself in the situation.
I dont know whats happened here, but itll be good to stop now.
If you said this, there were so phrases you were bound to hear.
One two three.
What? Who the hell are
Who am I? Yeah. I knew you would ask that. Its still the sa no matter the ti, isnt it??
Wasnt I an outcast at the Academy soti before as well?
I grew up fighting a lot in those tis, and if I were to pick one thing I learnt
It was that there was nothing different about people like Michael Galehill and these thugs right here.
They were so similar that I got goosebumps just thinking about it.
I helped the boy on the ground stand up before turning to the flabbergasted thugs.
You dont need to know who I am, and lets end it here. Whats the point of four adults ganging up on just one kid?
What are you? A guard?
No.
Then what? This kids friend?
No.
This shit is ssing with us! Then why are you here?
Well, I had no response to that.
But whatever! Why was that important?
I already told you, you dont need to know who I am, and I even warned you to stop. But if you insist on continuing, I wont stand still either.
Hah!
The 16-year-old Ruin Ardell.
Even though I was a magician who had experienced all manner of hardships, to these guys here, I was just a normal young boy.
Pft! Puahahahaha! Ukakhahaha! Oh my, oh. What is this kid talking about? You dare say those things to us? You wont stand still?
Hey, hey. Kid. Looks like you want to be a knight of justice or sothing but fuck off if you dont want to die. If you hesitate even after I warned you like this, I wont stand still either.
Uahahahaha!
It wasnt just the thugs.
An old man who was watching the whole thing from behind spoke up.
Young lad, itll be good for you to listen to those fellas. Go on your way and dont interfere. Youll be in big trouble if you ss with the Gnarled Tree gang around here.
Thats right. You look like a noble from sowhere but those are evil guys who wont differentiate between nobles and commoners.
The Gnarled Tree gang?
What was that?
A group of kids?
Now that I looked at them, all four adults were wearing the sa brown clothes, and on their backs was an image of a skull on a tree stump.
They were probably a delinquent organization that was active in the area.
I asked the old man standing behind ,
Whats todays date?
Wha? Its the 25th.
The 25th.
Since it takes about a day and a half to get to the academy from here, I guess I have about two days of free ti?
Alright. But what are you all doing here?
Hmm? What do you an?
Youre not stopping them, and youre not trying to save the boy either. Are you just watching until they beat him to death?
The expressions of the spectators turned sour.
Their eyes were asking who I was to tell them off, but they couldnt bear saying it out loud.
They knew they should be ashad.
Theyre all the sa.
When I was in the academy, the one I hated most werent the people like Michael Galehill who openly harassed , but the ones who snickered on the sidelines.
Its over now, so please be on your way. Shoo, shoo. Off you go.
After turning away the spectators, I grabbed the boys arm.
It was a signal for him to get out of there.
I dont need your help, so you go too.
This boy, eyes swollen from getting beaten up so much, didnt move an inch and stood upright while facing the thugs.
Ah, right.
This guy had a sister he needed to protect, didnt he?
* * *
* * *
Let my sister go right now.
Hah. You clingy bastard. Youre making us look like the bad guys again. Arent we doing this because your sister couldnt pay her debt?
Th-that was money our dad borrowed! Why are you putting this on my sister?
If your dad was capable of paying off his debt, would we do sothing like this?
I-Ill do it! Ill pay off the debt! After I beco a knight, I
Puahahaha! A knight? A squirt like you is gonna be a knight? You, who cant even face the four of us, is going to beco a knight and pay off the debt? Theres a limit to joking around. Why should I wait for you to grow up when this problem can be solved right now if I sell off your sister?
I could get the general gist of the situation.
Money.
Money
The start of all problems was always money.
I-if you sell off my sister Im really going to kill you
For a mont, I beca curious about what this young boys life was.
He looked to be around my age, but rather than a wooden sword, he was holding onto a real, steel sword.
But he didnt look to be a noble, and seeing that he called himself a knight, he was probably a trainee knight from one of the territories in the vicinity
But he looked far too weak for a trainee knight.
Even now, the hands holding the steel sword were shaking terribly, and his legs looked as if they would collapse at any second.
However
His eyes are fierce.
His gaze was quite impressive.
Even in the face of violence, he had the courage to stand, despite his fears.
This wasnt an easy feat.
He had eyes that shone to protect sothing he must, eyes that endlessly strived for strength.
They were the eyes that I liked to see.
For a mont, I wondered what the true worth of this boy was.
To see this, I taunted him a little.
Save her.
What?
Shes your sister. So stop talking and go save her yourself.
The boys eyes ignited even more by what I said,
However, that was it.
The fear of violence that was holding him tight froze his feet solid.
You cant do it? Well, its true that those who were hit find it hard to fight the fear of pain. If you really cant do it, should I help you?
What are you? Why are you talking to
You dont need to know that, but just so you know, compared to you, Im really strong.
Shut up. I dont need your pity.
Really? Then show .
That fear you feel. Is that important? More important than their taunting and you protecting your sister?
Hed regret it if he ended up losing his sister, so
Destroy it. If you destroy that wall, youll realise it was nothing at all.
!
As the words left my mouth, the look in his eyes changed.
And in that mont, he turned and charged at the thugs.
* * *
The boy had broken the wall.
He had a good look in his eyes, and he showed courage befitting of them.
But, unfortunately, his talent couldnt match his conviction.
Were the trainee knights in Poldren all this puny? A weakling like this is gonna be a knight? Dont make laugh.
If this guys a knight, then am I swordmaster? Uahahahaha!
Stomp him! Stomp him so hard he wont ever crawl back again!
The boy was thrust to the ground again, and his sister kept crying.
There was one thing I was impressed by.
That, even under the constant kicking, his eyes never faltered.
I decided to help that young boy who told he didnt need my help.
Crack!
I very easily punched the forehead of the closest thug.
Kugh
The man flew backward, spinning in the air.
Didnt I tell you? I wont just stand still.
Ting.
I flicked my finger, and a rciless gust of wind hurled a thug.
A m-magician?
That was the last thing he said before being knocked out cold.
Bang!
He flew back from the imnse wind pressure and hit his head on a tree, fainting.
Th-this bastard!
These guys who hadnt properly faced a magician before charged at recklessly.
I shouldve warned them.
That when facing a magician, they should run.
I flicked my fingers again, and one of the charging thugs was lifted into the air.
Ugh.
I gave him a good thrashing on his stomach, and he collapsed, drooling from the mouth
There was only one left.
Hmm.
D-dont co any closer!
He was captivated by fear and staggered back as if he had seen a ghost.
It wasnt a good look.
Rather
You Who are you?
I liked the wonder in the eyes of the young boy much more.
I smiled brightly for the boy and replied,
Ruin Ardell.
R-Ruin Ardell?
Hearing that, his expression changed.
He had definitely recognised my na.
And the answer to his question was already plain in sight.
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