Ch.7474. Unbroken Shackles (2)

“Junon…”

“Looks like I arrived just in time.”

When I first heard the voice, I wasn’t sure, but hearing my name confirmed it.

Silvia was nearby, and something was happening.

‘Two opponents. Judging by their insignia… they’re knights of a noble house. The Count’s knights, perhaps?’

I still don’t have enough information, but what’s certain is that their target is Silvia.

Knowing that, how could I let them take her? Even out of pity, I can’t allow that.

“You! Appearing out of nowhere and kicking like that. Do you have any idea who we are?!”

“Do I really need to know? From where I’m standing, you just look like thugs trying to lay hands on my friend.”

“We are knights of House Kutelli! It is our duty to retrieve Lady Silvia, a member of House Kutelli and the Count’s daughter!”

The knight was loudly proclaiming, trying to justify his actions.

‘This is really bad.’

For a while, I’d been worried about Silvia, fearing that the Count’s household might try to take her back.

Some abnormal parents demand repayment for the “gift of life,” asking for compensation.

I thought the Count’s household had lost interest in Silvia until now, but considering today’s events, this can’t be ignored anymore.

“Duty?! I never asked for that! I don’t need any of it—being a noble lady or an aristocrat—none of it!”

Well said.

That’s probably why those two knights are frowning.

“My lady, your dignity has deteriorated significantly. It seems you need to be re-educated.”

“The Count will be furious. If you come with us quietly now, we can pretend this never happened.”

“No!! I said no!!”

Their goal is to take Silvia away.

And Silvia’s wish is to not return to the Count’s mansion.

With such conflicting interests, it’s obvious whose side I’m on.

“You heard her, right? Just as I thought, you’re just two thugs trying to rough up a schoolgirl. Correct?”

The two knights gritted their teeth at my provocation and drew their swords.

For men who value honor, this was something they couldn’t possibly overlook.

“Insolent fool. You’ll pay for wagging that tongue without knowing your place.”

“To think a commoner would dare corrupt our noble lady. So you’re the problem!”

“You’ll pay with your life. How dare you seduce the lady with that vulgar mouth… Unforgivable.”

“Ha, so you’re blaming everything on me?”

“Shut that mouth! That foul tongue of yours… You’ll pay dearly for corrupting the lady!”

I had anticipated that a bloody fight might break out as soon as I encountered the family knights.

However, the situation and conditions are quite unfavorable.

The opponents aren’t just random thugs but well-trained knights, and I have to protect Silvia, their target, while dealing with them.

I left my Bluchar Arc behind at the night market since it could cause problems, so there’s only one way. I have to bet everything on a single chance.

“Silvia. Remember when we faced the Osoftera?”

“…When you told me not to use unique magic?”

“That’s right. Flinging that around would be useless against experienced knights like them—they’d dodge or deflect it easily. And we’d be at a disadvantage in a chase.”

So, I needed to approach this differently.

***

-Clang!

The metallic sound echoed repeatedly.

Quite some time had passed, but the battle continued in this awkward location.

Somehow, the knights’ swords couldn’t reach Junon.

‘It’s certain. This guy is deflecting them…!’

How many times had they swung their swords? Countless swings and slashes, perfecting their stance.

Yet somehow their swords felt like they hit something mid-swing, or veered off course toward unexpected places.

It had to be the doing of that commoner who stood in front of Silvia.

“Tch…!”

Swoosh.

Since the sword’s path kept getting twisted, the knight tried a different approach, creating an opening and using combat techniques to subdue the black-haired boy.

But he quickly rolled on the ground and got up, regaining his stance in no time.

His movements were too flexible and experienced to be just a student’s. Even facing two opponents, he barely showed any signs of faltering.

His responses to sword strikes were light and well-balanced, and even if a sword did make contact, a thick barrier spell was in place.

With wind magic support from behind providing perfect coverage, he was proving to be a formidable opponent.

They couldn’t afford to waste any more time.

“────.”

The knight’s sword burst into flames as he muttered something quietly.

“You… I see.”

He signaled to the other knight, who also began chanting, infusing his sword with magical power.

Enchant.

A magic that enhances weapon power by imbuing it with emission or manifestation magic—only those who can skillfully handle this can become knights, making it almost their identity.

However, the increased firepower comes with the drawback of making noise that echoes around.

Using magic that might cause a commotion meant they were done playing around—they intended to end this with one strike.

‘It’s absurd that I’m struggling against a mere Academy student.’

No matter how solid the defense, it would succumb to greater power.

He was a knight of the prestigious House Kutelli, while his opponent was just an Academy student.

Superior in every way, there was no way he could lose.

With that thought, both knights’ swords lunged toward Junon simultaneously.

Clang-!

“…!”

“…!”

The two enchanted swords definitely made contact.

But what was this sound? A metallic clash that made the two knights doubt their ears.

Despite the boy holding no visible weapon.

Setting that aside, these were enchanted swords.

One wrapped in flames, the other lined with wind blades. The magical properties alone should have burned or cut through.

Yet the boy who blocked both knights’ swords was standing there unharmed, withstanding even the two enchant magics.

Two swords that couldn’t even slice through a mere boy’s arm, and enchantments that couldn’t inflict any magical damage.

Finding this situation strange, the two knights exchanged glances, thinking it best to step back for now—,

“Silvia!”

But he called out the noble lady’s name as if he’d been waiting for this moment.

Silvia, who had been conserving her magic power well, created two large gusts of wind that engulfed the two knights.

“W-what is this…!”

“Damn, we can’t approach…!”

It was just a gust of wind, but deployed with maximum magical power, it easily prevented human movement.

The two knights caught in the gust could barely hold their ground by stabbing their swords into the earth.

Junon didn’t miss this opportunity.

“What…?!”

“Something at my feet…!”

“Sir Knights, when you charge ahead blindly, you end up falling backwards.”

Their bodies tilted as they caught on something circular.

The strange force that had been twisting the path of their swords each time they swung was now precisely disrupting the knights’ balance.

By the time they realized it, it was already too late.

The two knights toppled over and were sent flying toward a shabby building, carried by Silvia’s gusts of wind.

***

Soon, with the sound of crashing into a corner, the two knights disappeared from Junon and Silvia’s sight.

“Haa… haa…”

Having squeezed out all her magic power, Silvia’s body swayed heavily from the recoil.

“Are you okay? Can you move?”

Silvia shook her head.

She tried to move somehow, but having used up all her magic power, she could barely take a step now.

But that wasn’t why she was shaking her head.

“It’s fine. We’ve put enough distance between us. We just need to run to the city and alert people.”

While they had indeed created enough distance, that wasn’t possible.

Silvia knew something that Junon didn’t.

“There’s… more…”

“Silvia?”

Why did her throat sting so much when she tried to speak?

The inside of her throat felt as hot as if it were being heated in a blazing furnace.

“Let’s go, Silvia. If I carry you on my back, we can get away quickly.”

“No… can’t… there’s, someone else…!”

“What are you saying? Hurry and get on!”

Junon shouted in frustration, but Silvia had a good reason.

‘I need to tell him that Hena was captured…!’

The presence of another person was an unexpected variable for Junon. Only Silvia knew that someone had taken Hena.

But her body wouldn’t cooperate, and having used her magic to its limit, her eyes closed.

“Haah, really.”

Looking around, all he could see was the commotion caused by the knights being blown into the building.

Having caused this much disturbance, they wouldn’t try to cause trouble here again.

All that was left was to carry Silvia away… or so he thought.

“Senior, huff. What’s going on here…?”

“…Did you follow me all the way here?”

“Is that all you have to say? Running off without a word!”

Lenias looked at Junon with concerned eyes, seeing that he appeared to have been in a battle.

“Sorry. I had my reasons.”

At the mention of reasons, Lenias tilted his head in confusion before noticing the unconscious Silvia.

“Oh? It’s your friend from before, Senior?”

“Who also happens to be the daughter of Count Kutelli.”

“…!”

Lenias, who had been tilting his head, snapped to attention at those words.

The knights who had ridden through the night market. The insignia of House Kutelli drawn on their armor.

He immediately understood why Junon had rushed here.

“Don’t tell me… your friend was being targeted?”

“That’s my guess.”

“…Wait a moment. I’ll call someone.”

The face that had been excited about snacks was gone, replaced by sudden seriousness.

Lenias hurried off, possibly using magic to speed his journey, and quickly returned with help. Silvia was transported with the assistance of the student disciplinary committee members.

Junon, who had watched from nearby, and Lenias, who had reported the incident, were about to move to give their statements, seemingly bringing the matter to a close, but…

“Hmm… I heard someone was fighting with magic at this festival, and I wondered what was going on…”

“Speak. Who are you, and why are you carrying an Academy student?”

The commotion had attracted the attention of Senia and Aris.

Senia, witnessing the suspicious situation, was pointing her sword at a knight.

“He won’t listen to reason. That knight is from House Kutelli, a family that treats commoners like livestock.”

“Is that so? Then as you said, Aris…”

“How annoying!”

“Ugh…!”

However, the remaining knight set off a smoke screen and escaped from the scene on horseback.

‘Damn it, in this situation, I’ll have to take this girl instead…!’

One knight, unable to act rashly due to the commotion, was desperately taking Hena to the Count’s mansion.