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Chapter: 12
Most wandering knights are dead weight.
It means they either lack skill, or their character is seriously flawed—one of the two.
If a knight were both skilled and decent, someone would have already snapped them up, so in a way, it was only natural.
For that reason, people generally judge wandering knights as individuals with something wrong with them.
‘Still, every once in a while, there’s a jackpot among wandering knights.’
Once every few years, an outstanding knight emerges from among them.
‘Like the first Imperial Grand Knight Commander.’
The first commander of the Imperial Grand Knights had wandered the continent because there was no one he wished to serve as his lord. Only after meeting the founding emperor did he swear his loyalty.
After that, he became the emperor’s first knight and made tremendous contributions to the founding of the Empire.
Despite having died hundreds of years ago, he remains a legendary figure revered by knights to this day for his remarkable achievements.
With such an excellent precedent, choosing a decent person from among wandering knights isn’t such a bad idea.
‘But it’s still a gamble with a low success rate.’
If I manage to find the right person, I’ll gain a loyal knight with both skill and character. Otherwise, I’ll just end up meeting people lacking either ability or integrity.
Well. I don’t urgently need a bodyguard knight right now, so there’s no harm in taking my time.
‘Should I put in a request with the Information Guild?’
If I commission the Information Guild, I’ll be able to gather information on wandering knights faster and more reliably than searching on my own.
Money isn’t an issue, so as long as I have time, I’ll eventually reel in a big catch.
So I should relax and take it slow—
“Impudent little bastard!”
From a dark alley came a loud shout, followed by the dull thuds of someone being beaten.
“What’s that?”
It sounded like someone was being hit.
Apparently, it wasn’t just me who heard it—people passing by nearby stopped in their tracks.
“A kid’s being beaten?”
“A kid? What kind of scum would do that!”
A few people with a sense of justice stepped forward, but someone quickly stopped them.
“Arthur! Don’t you know who those guys are? They’re the Black Scorpion gang that’s been expanding their influence lately!”
“Gasp!”
“The Black Scorpions? The ones who’ll beat you half to death and leave you bedridden for months if you pick a fight with them?”
The moment the identity of the ‘scumbags’ became known, the would-be do-gooders lost their nerve and backed away.
“Tsk.”
Among them was a man at least twice my size.
‘What a waste of a body.’
Even as I clicked my tongue, the sounds of violence continued to echo from the alley.
“Tough little brat. Not even a single scream!”
Perhaps irritated that the kid wasn’t reacting, the beating only grew louder.
“This won’t do.”
I couldn’t just stand by and watch.
“Miss!”
As I strode toward the alley, Bell stepped in front of me.
“N-no, not this time! You could really get into serious trouble!”
“It’s fine, Bell.”
“N-no, it’s not!”
Bell shook her head firmly, her expression resolute as if she had no intention of moving aside.
She didn’t look like she’d give way easily. What should I do?
Moments like this made the need for a bodyguard knight painfully obvious.
If I had one, Bell wouldn’t try to stop me, and those thugs—nothing more than small fry—would be subdued in the blink of an eye.
No. It wouldn’t even take a bodyguard knight.
If I could summon a spirit right now, I could deal with those delinquents without even moving from where I stood.
But just because I have neither a bodyguard nor the ability to summon spirits right now, does that mean I should do nothing?
I thought carefully about how to subdue several grown men.
If I reinforced my body with mana, I could easily handle one or two ordinary thugs.
‘But if they all rush me at once… it might be close.’
Still, it was worth trying. And I had another idea.
“Don’t worry. Wait here.”
Before Bell could grab me, I slipped into the alley.
Inside the narrow alley, a bald man who looked like the leader was beating a small boy, while three men with vicious expressions—likely his subordinates—stood watching.
“Damn it.”
The sight made me frown, and a curse slipped out before I could stop myself.
Hearing it, one of the thugs noticed me and stomped toward me.
“What the hell?”
“…I have something to ask.”
I calmly looked at the thugs who had frozen at my sudden appearance and asked,
“What are you doing right now?”
“Hah! What kind of nonsense is this wench spouting—”
Clink!
When the gold coin I tossed hit the ground with a clear sound, the thug’s eyes widened.
“A gold… coin?”
“I’ll ask again. What are you doing right now?”
“W-well, uh…”
“Is that not enough?”
I dropped two more gold coins.
“I asked what you’re doing. I’d like an answer worthy of the value of those coins.”
“You’ve got some nerve, girl!”
The bald leader stopped punching and walked toward me.
Up close, he was fairly tall—at least a head taller than his subordinates.
He was broad-built too, with scars scattered across his face and body… quite an intimidating sight.
‘Well, I suppose you need at least this much presence to play the role of an alleyway boss.’
As I coolly assessed him, the bald thug answered like a proper back-alley ruffian.
“You asked what we’re doing? Can’t you see? We’re teaching that insolent brat a lesson!”
“Teaching him a lesson? Why? For what reason?”
“Why are you asking—”
Clink!
At the sight of another gleaming gold coin hitting the ground, the bald man frowned and answered honestly.
“Because that little bastard was being disrespectful. His life’s already no better than garbage in the gutter, yet he acts all high and mighty like he’s better than everyone else. It pissed me off!”
“Oh, really? So you’re beating him just because you don’t like him?”
The boy crouched against the wall was covered in wounds wherever his clothes didn’t hide them.
Fresh cuts and bruises from the recent beating, along with older scars that had clearly been there for a long time.
His head was bowed, so I couldn’t see his face, but it was probably the same—swollen from the beating.
“That’s right! He dared to offend me—offend the Black Scorpion gang! That’s more than enough reason to beat him!”
The bald man puffed out his chest, pointing at the scorpion tattoo etched into his arm.
So this was the Black Scorpion gang the bystanders had mentioned—apparently a somewhat notorious bunch.
“By the way, you. Hand over all your money and I’ll let you go nicely. Or better yet, you’ve got a pretty face—how about I have some fun fir—”
“I’ve heard enough.”
When I cut him off, his leering smile vanished.
“What did you just—”
“Are you deaf? I told you to shut up.”
“Y-you!”
The bald man, clearly unable to control his temper, threw a punch at me. When I didn’t dodge, a smug grin spread across his face.
‘Did he think I was scared?’
That’s not why.
Tap—
“Huh?”
I casually blocked his fist with a mana-reinforced hand, and his eyes went wide.
The moment I tightened my grip around his fist—
“Aaaargh!”
With the sensation of bones being crushed in my hand, the bald man screamed in agony and collapsed to his knees.
“H-hhhk… ahhh…”
When I let go, he clutched his shattered hand to his chest and began to sob.
Just moments ago he’d been strutting around like some untouchable king of the streets, yet now he was bawling over a crushed hand.
“B-boss!”
Seeing their leader go down, the small fry behind him rushed forward with weapons in hand.
“I don’t really like violence. But I do think hitting is better than being hit.”
At my words, two of the three charging thugs stopped short. It seemed they hadn’t forgotten how easily I’d taken down their boss.
The one in front shouted at his hesitant companions.
“It’s just one woman!”
The thugs’ gazes fixed on me.
Perhaps deciding that one woman was manageable, they began inching forward again.
Three of them.
‘With three, it’d be a bit of a struggle, but I could win. Still, wouldn’t it be best if I won without getting hurt?’
I decided to put my earlier plan into action.
“Do I really look like I came alone?”
I deliberately glanced behind me and smiled.
“You saw earlier, didn’t you? I don’t just have one or two gold coins. Do you think someone with that much money is ordinary?”
The thugs froze again.
At the same time, their eyes were drawn to the gold coins on the dirt ground, still gleaming brilliantly.
Their shoulders sagged even lower.
“Unless you’re exceptionally stupid, now would be a good time to assess the situation. Someone as rich as me—do you really think I walk around alone?”
“D-don’t tell me…!”
“That’s right. My guards are already stationed all around this area.”
As if.
The only people around were bystanders who’d fled the moment they heard ‘Black Scorpion,’ despite their wasted physiques.
But to the thugs, who didn’t detect the lie at all, my bluff…
“G-gah!”
…worked perfectly.
Losing all will to fight, the three thugs dropped their weapons and prostrated themselves on the ground.
“We’re sorry! We were wrong! Please forgive us just this once!”
‘If these guys were reckless idiots who charged in without thinking, this would’ve been troublesome… but thankfully, they’re not.’
I cheerfully asked the completely cowed thugs,
“Do you really think you were wrong?”
“Yes! Truly, sincerely! I was so stupid just now that I want to smash my head against the ground!”
“Then do it.”
The thug who had been desperately begging fell silent, staring at me blankly.
I smiled brightly at him.
“Ah, y-yes, o-of course.”
Realizing there was no reasoning with me, he obediently slammed his head into the ground.
Once one started, the other two followed suit, nervously bowing and banging their heads beside him.
Arms crossed, I questioned the thugs as they sweated and kowtowed before me.
“You won’t do this again, right?”
“Y-yes!”
“What won’t you do?”
“Huh…?”
Having answered first without thinking, the thugs fumbled, unable to grasp my meaning.
‘I suppose I should be kind enough to explain.’
With great generosity, I decided to instruct them properly, one by one.
“First, apologize to that boy you beat over there.”
“We’re sorry!”
“Why are you speaking casually? You’re the ones who were wrong, so you should speak respectfully.”
“B-but that brat—!”
“That brat?”
I deliberately lowered my voice.
“Still not enough, huh? They say animals that don’t listen need to be beaten before they learn…”
“I’m sorry! We’re sorry!”
The thugs shouted their apologies to the boy with voices drawn up from deep in their bellies.
Despite their apologies, the boy showed no reaction, remaining curled up against the wall.
‘Did he lose consciousness? If so, he needs treatment right away.’
His complete lack of movement made me worry about his condition.
