Ch.84EP.23 – The Knight Conducts an Interview (3)

The girl stared blankly at the fountain.

With a splash, water shot up powerfully from the fountain.

The fountain, a landmark of the southern street plaza accessible to people of all social classes, was dazzlingly splendid with its generous use of jewels, gold, and marble.

Since such precious metals and gems were used lavishly, there was concern about theft, so guards always took turns protecting the fountain.

In reality, no place was safer than this central plaza, and there had never been any troublemakers.

Perhaps that’s why.

“…It’s quiet here.”

A good place to enjoy solitude and contemplation.

With no disturbances or interruptions, simply sitting here brought peace to one’s mind.

…So much so that she wished she could stay here forever.

‘Sigh, that’s not possible.’

Unfortunately, staying too long sometimes attracted the attention of the guards.

So lingering here wasn’t a wise decision.

The girl, who possessed both elegance and grace reminiscent of lush blue hydrangeas, rose from her seat and began walking away.

“…Oh.”

As she passed by, the guards’ gazes followed her, not because she looked suspicious.

Simply because she was beautiful.

“That girl is pretty.”

“I’ve never seen her before. Has she always been in this district?”

“I’ve never seen anyone prettier than the flower shop girl…”

“Didn’t you say the exact same thing when you fell for the bakery girl?”

“Love is fickle like a reed.”

“You’re crazy. What you feel isn’t love, it’s just lust, man.”

The guard unit consisted predominantly of young, vigorous men.

While they couldn’t neglect their duties, they couldn’t stop their wandering eyes either.

In other words, it was only natural for hot-blooded men to be captivated by a beautiful woman.

“Judging by her clothes, she seems like a commoner… Hey, watch my post for a bit.”

“Are you insane? Where are you going instead of doing your job?”

“What are you talking about? I’m just going to check on a ‘suspicious person.’ This is part of my duty too.”

“…Don’t do anything stupid. Do you know how tense the atmosphere in the royal capital is right now?”

“I’ll be fine, trust me.”

Whether it was courage born from ignorance or his brain being controlled by his lower half, one of the male guards approached the girl without hesitation.

Intending to use his position as a guard to strike up a conversation.

And so the guard—

Thwack.

“Hey, buddy. No cutting in line. I have business over there first.”

“Who are you…”

The guard suddenly fell silent.

A stranger had somehow appeared beside him and placed an arm over his shoulder, causing the guard’s expression to sour. But when he saw who it was, his blood ran cold.

He was huge.

The man was enormously large.

A giant with a frame three times that of an average adult man.

But the guard wasn’t intimidated solely because of the other’s size.

‘W-what’s with this guy!? What’s wrong with his eyes…’

His eyes were terrifying.

Even a hardened guard who had faced numerous criminals felt chilled.

Those savage eyes didn’t see people as people, but rather like meat hanging in a butcher shop. Before such a gaze, the guard froze like a mouse before a snake.

“Buddy, just go away quietly. Quietly.”

“D-dare you threaten a guard… h-have you lost your mind? How dare you…!”

Still, he had his pride as a guard.

Despite his fear, he believed in his position as a guard and thought his threat would work, but.

“Are you higher ranked than Mark?”

“…What?”

“Your superior. The one-eyed man who particularly likes taverns. Despite his appearance, he’s the guard captain, right?”

“!!!”

“By the way, what’s your name? I never expected to meet someone so spirited among Mark’s subordinates. I should tell him your name later. That he has such an excellent subordinate under him, haha.”

“……”

The guard couldn’t respond to the giant who casually mentioned his superior’s name as if it were nothing.

He might have thought it was a lie, but the fact that the guard captain had one eye was a secret known only to insiders.

He always wore a prosthetic eye.

Therefore, the guard couldn’t dismiss the giant’s words as mere lies, and he simply…

“…I apologize for my rudeness.”

Bowed his head and retreated quietly.

The giant smiled with satisfaction.

* * *

The girl, or rather Levi, gave a contemptuous look to the giant who approached her with an incongruously friendly smile.

Could he have been watching her?

A chill ran through her, but Levi deliberately concealed her feelings and spoke with a composed expression.

“…What brings you here? The appointed date is still far away.”

“Nothing special. I’m just here to escort the young lady. We can’t have strange bugs like that one earlier getting involved, can we? The young lady is a precious ‘commodity’ after all.”

“……”

“Ah, a slip of the tongue. I’m such a lowly person that I chose my words poorly! My mouth is truly my downfall.”

“…Just leave. Taking care of myself isn’t a problem.”

Though disgust swept through her body, Levi exercised patience.

But the giant trampled on Levi’s diligent patience…

“That’s not possible. How would I know when you might run away?”

“!!”

Without mercy.

“…You should watch your words. I made a promise. And I gave up everything to keep it. Are you saying you don’t trust my promise?”

Though she was in such a disadvantaged position, Levi was still a noble.

And a noble’s promise should carry weight and trust.

For Levi, who regarded the Pollet family name as her pride, such suspicion itself felt like a great insult.

However.

“Do you think I haven’t experienced that so-called noble honor before? Honor, my ass! All I’ve met were liars and scoundrels! Why should I trust you? Especially when you have nothing to your name.”

“……”

The other hurled an even greater insult, and Levi’s hand was already on her rapier.

As if ready to draw it at any moment.

But the giant snorted.

“I can see you’re quite sharp for your age, but it won’t work on me, so put that sword away. Unless you want to lose an arm or a leg.”

“I’d rather accept becoming disabled than endure such insults without resistance.”

“…Those eyes are serious.”

Tsk.

The giant finally realized that, unlike the nobles he usually dealt with, the girl had a remarkably stubborn character, and he clicked his tongue.

He didn’t want to end up shedding blood over a mere argument.

‘What an old-fashioned, knight-like woman. This is troublesome, I really can’t harm her anywhere.’

To reiterate, the girl was a precious commodity.

If he damaged her…

‘I’d just get an earful from the guild master.’

That was something he wanted to avoid, so the giant changed his approach, deciding to try persuasion.

The means to make this noble lady compliant was probably…

“-If you don’t obey us, we’ll have to target your younger sister or wife instead. What do you think? Is that what you want?”

“You…!”

“So just listen to me. Don’t make things difficult.”

When dealing with dignified people, the best approach is to become a thug.

Threatening family, friends, or lovers makes nine out of ten people compliant.

Sure enough.

“…Stop with the unnecessary threats. I’ll cooperate.”

“Haha, you should have done that from the start.”

The giant was satisfied but also curious.

Even for family, when one’s own life is at stake, why could she so devotedly sacrifice everything?

‘If it were me, I’d sell out my family or whoever. These people are too well-fed to understand.’

If he had lived such a hard life, he would have known the futility of family or lovers.

In this light, even noble ladies seemed pitiful.

‘No, in this case, is it that she had a bad father?’

Unlike this dignified young lady, a father who sells his daughter.

Selling off a potential future female knight in the name of the family…

It’s laughable and absurd.

This must be what they call a tiger born under a dog.

‘Slurp, my mouth is watering.’

The giant liked women like her.

An untainted purity and nobility, a filial daughter.

And on top of that, a noble lady that someone as lowly as himself could never aspire to.

‘And so beautiful too.’

The giant’s desires surged.

Though the girl wore shabby clothes to hide her status, her innate dignity and beauty were unmistakable.

She was still young, her beauty not yet in full bloom, but a flower is still a flower, even before it blooms.

Worth plucking.

‘Since we’ll be together for a while anyway… maybe I can sweet-talk her?’

He had already identified the girl’s weakness.

By constantly threatening her family, he might even be able to push her into his bed.

After all, the guild master only said to protect her until the appointed time, not to leave her untouched.

So the giant…

‘Just a little…’

Planned to start by casually resting his arm on the girl’s shoulder.

“-Consider that arm something you won’t need in your future life.”

Crack!

However, the giant should have known what calamity would befall him for prioritizing his uncontrollable desires.

…Though this realization came too late.

“Aaaaargh…!”

“Stop howling, you bastard.”

-You’re asking for death.

Thwack!

The screaming giant was forced to shut his mouth by a powerful hand.

“—–!”

The giant wanted to writhe and struggle in pain, but the overwhelming pressure emanating from the hand covering his mouth…!

The terrifying experience of having his entire body crushed by the sheer ‘physical strength’ was just beginning. But, as if this was just the start-

Crack, crunch…!

“!?!!!”

His body was being bent in directions it should never bend.

Ominous cracking sounds coming from his spine.

As the ‘terror’ of no return washed over him, the giant showed desperate resistance.

People sometimes exhibit superhuman strength when their lives are at stake.

Unfortunately for the giant…

“Is that you exerting force? …What a waste of size.”

His opponent was someone who had experienced true superhumans, and such resistance was utterly insignificant—the giant’s first misfortune.

Thud!

He, Ihan, with an ice-cold gaze, repeatedly slammed the giant onto the ground.

Like playing with a tile-flipping game, continuously.

However, unlike tiles that are released from the hand, the giant was never released and kept hitting the ground.

Once, twice-

Crack!

…Ten times.

Even after being slammed exactly ten times, the giant couldn’t escape from Ihan’s grasp, and even if he had…

Splat….

It would have been meaningless.

The giant’s condition was now like well-tenderized meat.

He no longer resembled a human.

It was horrific and tragic…

“…Ugh…huk…”

But the giant wasn’t dead.

He was deliberately kept alive, to teach him what it means to prefer death when he wakes up.

This was the second misfortune of the giant… or rather, the thug who had now become a lump of meat.

“…Tsk, just got my clothes dirty.”

Ihan brushed off his blood-spattered clothes with displeasure.

As if the very act of dealing with such a worthless thug only sullied his mood.

“In-Instructor…”

Levi Pollet, who had appeared at some point, looked pitifully at her master who had pulverized the giant.

Just 5 days.

Though she hadn’t seen her master for only 5 days, why did she feel so happy and nostalgic?

Feeling an indescribable flood of complex emotions, Levi was about to offer some explanation when…

“Runaway ninja, I mean disciple, let’s talk later.”

“…What?”

“I’m ‘slightly’ agitated right now, you see?”

“……”

That was evident.

She had never seen her master so excited, or rather, ‘angry’ since meeting him.

She was afraid to even speak to him.

And then he said.

“This bastard belongs to a guild, right?”

“…W-why are you asking?”

“So he does belong to a guild. Let’s go.”

“W-wait a moment…!”

Though she tried to stop her instructor pitifully, she was just dragged along; he wouldn’t stop.

Levi thought with a tearful expression.

‘…Oh no…!’

She was screwed.

One of the bad slang words she had learned while spending time with Ihan.

Levi was now realizing the significance of those words.

…Much to her dismay.