Chapter 86: The Knight Gives a Counseling (5)

“It’s an attack! We’re under attack!”

The attack warning reverberated throughout the building. Since that was the case, it would only be natural if the people inside were to start panicking.

However…

“Again?”

“Why are there so many attacks this month…?”

“Who is it this time?”

“I heard it’s a knight.”

“Huh? Did he get scammed by an alchemist or something?”

Most of the people inside were just playing poker leisurely, showing no sign of panic in their faces. It was as if they had already experienced this to the point that they were sick of it.

Well, that was actually the truth. After all, they were the most hated organization in the kingdom, the Guild Union, the same organization that represented all the guilds gathered in the capital.

“Don’t pay much attention to it, just get to work.”

Simon, the leader of the Guild Union Branch in Pendragon didn’t pay much heed to the warning. Such a thing was already part of his daily life, a trivial matter.

“Some nobles who had a grudge against us probably sent that guy. Maybe it’s the viscount who lost his land to us the other day.”

“Well, there are indeed a lot of people who’d send in someone to attack us. Hmm… Who should I send to deal with him?”

“Just send a moderate amount. The attacker is still a knight, he should be pretty strong.”

“Understood, Simon.”

Their response was almost arrogant. Even though a knight had come in person, they were treating it as if it was nothing. However, this wasn’t just a blind arrogance, they were genuinely confident in themselves.

This was an open secret, but the guild always had many strong people around. After all, they were the kind of organization who’d bring in people without looking at their backgrounds. As long as they weren’t the scummiest of criminals, they’d recruit them in.

Of course, to get their hands on such people would sometimes require them to reach an undesirable agreement with the nobles, but those nobles would fold in front of money, so it wasn’t a big deal for them. If anything, exchanging money for talented personnel was actually a great deal.

Thanks to that principle, there were a considerable number of strong people in the guild. Some of them could even be compared to a knight commander. That was why it would be comical for them to get nervous because of a mere attacker.

Even if it was a group of assassins who came to attack them, they still wouldn’t show any signs of panic and would just go about their daily work.

“The Production Guild asked us to look for a missing person, right?”

“Yes. His name is Hans, a fairly high-ranking blacksmith. There is a concern that he was kidnapped by an illegal mage, and the kidnapping had been going on for at least ten years.”

“Then he should already be dead at this point. How are they expecting us to find him?”

“But…”

“I know, I know. We need to at least pretend to look for him.”

As stated before, Simon was the leader of the Guild Union Branch in Pendragon. In other words, he was the person in charge of the third largest guild among the 101 guilds spread across the continent. As someone who ran such a large guild, he was someone who made the minimum amount of mistakes, and preferred to handle things efficiently and quickly.

Solving everything quickly, and efficiently. That was his motto.

“Haa, I understand. I’ll just tell them, ‘We tried our best, but the results weren’t satisfactory.’”

“As expected of you. Alright, on to the next matter, the thing with Marquis Jeminia…”

Rumble-!

Rumble-!

“…Marquis Jeminia’s matter is already being handled, so you don’t need to worry about it…”

Boooom-!

“I know, it’s just… There’s something about it that really bothers me…”

Boooom-!

“…Why the hell is it so noisy?”

“Ugh, is the attacker this time actually quite skilled?”

“There’s no sign of it quieting down anytime soon too, tsk.”

“I’ll personally handle it then.”

“Alright, take care of it for me then, Rem.”

“I’ll come back before the tea gets cold.”

Despite his thin stature, the man who stepped outside, Rem, was actually known as Simon’s left arm. He was a former member of a rather prestigious knight order, and his skills were equivalent to that of a vice-commander of a knight order.

Since he had stepped forward this time, Simon believed that things would finally quiet down.

And as expected…

“…Finally, peace and quiet.”

The outside quickly turned quiet.

A satisfied smile appeared on his face. He was about to continue his conversation with his secretary, but…

Boom-!

“!?!!”

Both men’s eyes opened wide, becoming as big as lanterns.

Normally, even if the door was broken and something appeared from behind it, they wouldn’t have been this surprised, but…

“R-Rem?”

The one who appeared turned out to be Rem. His body came crashing through the broken wall.

No, to be exact…

“Keuuuugh…!”

His body was used to destroy the wall. His healthy body couldn’t be seen anymore.

It had been less than 30 seconds after he left, and yet he reappeared in such a miserable state.

Gone was the clean inspector from before, replaced by a battered, beggar-like guy. On top of that, he was also bleeding profusely.

Looking at that, Simon…

“Crazy—!”

Immediately threw his body to the direction of the window to escape. He was quick-witted and overall a sharp person. The moment he confirmed that Rem had been beaten, he knew that he wouldn’t have any chance of winning. So, he opted to escape. After all, as long as he could escape through the window, he’d be able to access the emergency exit immediately.

He had quickly calculated all possible scenarios and laid out a plan for every single one of them. So, he figured that he wouldn’t find any problem in escaping, but…

“Are you the leader of this union?”

Bang-!

That confidence only lasted for so long. The moment he got hit, it fizzled into nothingness.

“!!”

Gulp-!

Simon stared at the sharp dagger that had grazed his ear. It was firmly stuck in the wall, and he could see how powerful it was just by looking at it. He could also tell that the dagger missed his head on purpose.

However, the moment he turned his body around.

“Hoooooooo!!”

He could see a Barbarian mercenary appearing through the broken wall.

Bent!

This man was a strong man from the mystical Barbarian race. He was a famous man whose skill and prowess was well-known in the capital, and he was someone who had single-handedly harvested the heads of 200 vicious bandits.

He wasn’t a member of the guild, but a top-tier mercenary they hired through a huge amount of money and long negotiations.

Good, it’s all over now!

Seeing that Bent was fine, Simon surmised that the Barbarian had probably been drowning himself in booze and came late, but that wasn’t important right now. The important thing was for him to eliminate this attacker.

Simon stared at Bent with expectant eyes, and the Barbarian didn’t disappoint. He swung his fist with all his might.

His fist was strong enough to crush even a shield made of iron, but sadly…

The other person was just a different breed.

Bang-!

“…?”

“Are you done?”

…I hit him in the face, but why does it feel like I’m hitting a plate armor?

He didn’t even dodge Bent’s punch and just tanked it instead. But the attacker didn’t get pushed back at all and just stood there calmly.

“…Steel Rock?”

At that moment, Bent suddenly remembered the existence of a huge rock that only existed in the Serpent’s Forest, the home of the Barbarians. It was rock that boasted the highest toughness that only a great warrior could break. The man’s body reminded him of such a thing.

Because he really didn’t feel like he had hit a person, but instead a rock with a dense amount of iron ore in it.

Then, the attacker whose body seemed to be made of steel—well, he was actually using a technique called [Vajra Body]—made his move.

Whoosh-!

He extended his fist and hit Bent squarely in the stomach.

Pfft-!

A huge cracking sound like a drum bursting was heard from his body.

“…!!”

Fortunately, he didn’t die. He just fell to his knees and fainted because of the pain. Although, he’d probably rather die than experiencing that kind of pain.

In any case, a top-tier mercenary had collapsed with a single blow. The sight was so absurd that Simon just couldn’t believe his eyes. Nevertheless, the fact that the skin of Bent’s stomach didn’t burst out from that attack meant that he was extremely skilled.

It was just… The attacker, or rather, the knight…

“Hey, are there gonna be any more people coming?”

“…”

Was too monstrous for the Barbarian to handle…

“If you have more guys, bring them out quickly. Don’t make them bother me later.”

“…T-There aren’t any.”

“Really? Then sit down. Time for some counseling.”

“…”

“What? You don’t want to do it? Is that it?”

“O-Of course I do, how can I refuse such an offer!”

“Hmph.”

“…”

Gulp-!

Once again, Simon showcased his quick-wittedness. He noticed that if his answer had been even a little late…

That guy would have killed me.

Without any hesitation…

He could bet on his position as the Union Leader on it even.

Bang-!

The knight sat down on the broken chair and threw the hatchet with a natural movement, like flowing water.

Simon flinched, feeling his heart sink as he thought that the hatchet would fly at him. Fortunately, the knight wasn’t throwing the hatchet at him, but rather…

“T-That table is an expensive one…”

“Look around before saying something, you idiot.”

“…Yes.”

After sending the clueless secretary a glare, Simon turned to see the hatchet sticking firmly in the center of the table. He suspected that it was a warning towards him, that he could end up like the table at any moment.

And as expected…

“I’m going to ask you some questions. Answer it late, I’ll throw the hatchet at you. Who knows if it’ll hit your forehead, eyebrows, chest, or if you’re unlucky, your fucking crotch.”

“…”

“Answer.”

“I-I understand.”

Has anyone ever treated me this badly since I was appointed as the leader of the union?

…No one. There’s been no one.

Even the nobles and the people who were dubbed as great men showed him their respects. There were even people who always walked on eggshells around him.

But the man in front of him held no such respect towards him. All he could feel was his murderous intent that as if saying he wanted to tear him apart at any moment.

J-Just who is he…? When did I ever offend such a monster…?

Simon kept on racking his brain. As if to prove that he didn’t win his way to this place by playing poker, he didn’t stop observing and pondering about the situation.

Seeing him doing such a thing, the knight…

“Your eyes are rolling like crazy. Are you curious about my identity?”

“…Yes, I am.”

Simon answered honestly. He would be an idiot if he didn’t bite when the other person clearly gave him a chance. Even though he had to bow down when he had to, if he went all the way in a humble manner, he would end up getting bitten and killed.

To Simon who still asked about his identity even when he was sweating profusely, he…

“My name is Lee Han. I’m just a demoted knight.”

“…”

Simon was momentarily dazed when the man in front of him announced his name so easily. But soon, it clicked. He was familiar with that name.

Lee Han. The same name as the knight who was active in the monster attack the other day. He didn’t even bother thinking of the possibility that this man in front of him was only sharing the same name with that person.

——!

Instead, his brain quickly recalled and organized the information he had known. Just like that, he deduced the reason why such a person had come to the Guild Union.

“S-Sir Knight I-I want to clear up the misunderstanding first. I-I have reached an agreement with Miss Levy Fault through a legitimate contract. I-If you come in like this, Miss Levy Fault will be the only one in trouble…”

“…Sharp one aren’t you? You really guessed the reason why I came here in just three seconds, huh?”

“Haha…”

As stated before, Simon didn’t win his current position through a game of poker.

Damn it! I knew this would happen!

Upon hearing Lee Han’s name, he immediately figured out why he came here, hence he threw out Levy Fault’s name without hesitation.

That girl is his disciple…!

Currently, Lee Han was classified as a ‘special’ person in the Guild Union, as well as a target of their surveillance.

The guild members had already witnessed his absurd power during the monster attack, and they knew that the woman called Levy Fault was one of his disciples. When he took on the task, Simon was actually a little afraid.

Because he was worried that he might end up offending the knight.

However, the guild higher-ups were confident. Even if the noble young lady called Levy was the disciple of the knight, it wouldn’t lead to a problem between the noble families.

Because if he were to take action for real, it would be an overstepping of authority.

Even if he was a knight with great power, there was no way he wouldn’t know what he had to do.

That was the higher-ups opinion, and Simon shared that opinion.

Hence, he spoke in confidence…

“L-Let me be clear. The guild is nothing more than a broker in this case. Of course I know it’s not dignified, but why should we be persecuted like this? This is an oppression of the guil-”

“─I saw the bastard you put in charge of my disciple trying to sexually harass her.”

“…”

…Fuck, I should have just kept quiet. Screw being confident!

Simon’s face turned pale, as if his blood had drained away. The knight continued on, and each of his every word felt like they were strangling him tighter and tighter.

“Think about it from this perspective. You have someone that you cherished as if she is your own sister. Then you see her being insulted and harassed by some punk. Can you stay calm after that?”

“…”

“Just in case you think I’m lying, I left that punk right in front of your front door. He isn’t in the state to talk right now, but if you want to, I can use whatever means necessary to make that bastard healthy again. Then we can see if I’m lying or not. So, what do you think?”

“T-That…”

Simon couldn’t even answer him properly. No, rather, he wasn’t in the right state of mind to finish any kind of sentence at all.

Thankfully, the man sitting in front of him wasn’t such a bad person that he’d attack him for being unable to talk.

Nevertheless…

“Just know this. If you’re making me do all that and I get to prove my words, I’ll grant you a painful death. Not only that, I will also find your family, brothers, all your friends, and wipe out every direct relative they have. I swear my everything on this…”

It was clear that he was a ‘dangerous person’ who ‘absolutely’ should not be touched.

“…”

Simon didn’t dare to refute his words, so he remained silent.

Thud-!

Then, he quickly slammed his head into the ground.