Episode 25

Fuwa a, why do we have do something like patrolling at a time like this?

Wearing an armor which was carved with the emblem that represented the Saint Kings chivalric order, black wings similar to obsidian and a silver sword, a man in the latter half of his twenties muttered listlessly while yawning hugely.

His subordinate, who was following behind him, chided him seeing as he clearly had no enthusiasm at all.

Since it is work, please dont complain, Squad leader. Even I dont want to patrol so early in the morning

The clocks needle was currently pointing at a bit past 5 A.M. Moreover, the patrol had started together with sunrise, at 4 in the morning.

The reason was because of the already open and bustling shops. Especially flourishing were shops that served alcohol.

Once in a year, during the 3 days when the fighting tournament was held, almost all the fishermen would take a break from work, and they would drink alcohol from morning to get excited for the tournament and would let the merry-making unfold.

The town would overflow with drunk people, so there were repeated quarrels and the public order would get a little bad. The patrol would act as both a deterrence force and also to deal with cases like those.

I think that you cant be too merry just because theres a festival

Although youre saying that, why are you trying to go drink alcohol?

The subordinate grabbed the shoulder of his superior, Squad leader Cody, who was trying to enter a bar as though it was very natural.

Him being this informal in his speech and attitude towards his superior was solely because of Codys personality. It wasnt that he didnt give Cody any respect.

Ale is calling me

Dont suddenly say idiotic things with a serious face

Codys subordinate brought him back to the patrolling course as though he was dragging him.

Without being able to do anything, Cody just saw off the bar which was becoming distant. It wasnt clear as to whose position was higher.

Haa.........so, not being able to do anything other than look at the surrounding people drink alcohol will continue for another 3 days, huh............

Even though you say that, Squad leader, arent you weak against alcohol?

Moreover, its irritating that you get entangled in a quarrel after you drink, towards the subordinate who added such a complaint, Cody replied.

Its not that I like drinking alcohol. I like getting drunk

For Cody, drinking ale was a means and not the objective. He declared that anything was fine as long as he got inebriated.

Accompanying Cody to drink some cheap, unappetizing alcohol, and finally getting dragged into a quarrel, for him, it was unbearable.

While the 2 of them were engaged in such a worthless dialog, from the alley in front of them, they suddenly heard a sound as though glass was shattering. Consequently, they also heard a womans shriek and a loud noise.

They exchanged glances, and then, both of them sighed deeply.

Looks like its time for work

Good grief..........Cant they drink in a more enjoyable manner

Thats not something that Squad leader can say

Shut up. Well, Robin-kun, lets go control the situation with that frightening face of yours that makes everybody scared without any exceptions

While speaking, they ran towards the direction of the sound. Turning around the corner of the alley, they pushed through the crowd of people to confirm what was happening. He ignored Robin aka Robinson who was muttering,Cant you change the way you say it............, behind him.

Alright, please excuse me

Haah? Dont push through-!?

The robust man who lived on the seas, turned around to complain towards Cody, who was forcing his way through, and after looking behind him he saw Robinsons face and lost his voice.

A 190 cm tall figure with a muscular physique, with dark skin more tanned than fishermens. Those dark grey sanpaku

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eyes coupled with them being slanted, his fiendish face looked as though he was intimidating the other party.

He was much more scary than those monsters around here.

Robinsons temperament was gentle. He was the so-called type of person who was at a disadvantage due to his appearance.

But the amount of times it was used as an advantage when he was working as a knight wasnt scarce. If the enemy was weak-willed, they would become timid as soon as they were glared at, and in situations like these, his path would naturally open up.

Even this time, the effect was instantaneous. It was to the extent that as soon as they noticed Robinsons presence, the crowd parted.

Truly, its so smooth when Robin-kun is here

Ill accept that as praise..........

Like this, after Cody and Robinson struggled and arrived at the center of the crowd, there was a single boy and an adult man, and also a person who was wriggling while flapping his legs while his torso was thrust into a big water jug in front of a store.

Even while Cody and Robinson still couldnt grasp what was happening, the boy pulled out the man who was stuck in the water jug. While looking down on the soaked man, who was and coughing and choking while on all fours, the boy muttered sarcastically.

Hows it? Have you sobered up a little?

The man who was frantically inhaling air had no leeway to answer. Instead, the other man flared up at the boy.

You bastard, what the hell are you doing!

Cant you tell just by looking? It seems as though even you have no recollection of what you did, so how about you too pour cold water on yourself like this bastard? Well, if you werent sane from before itself, then it would have no meaning though

Spouting out shit as you please........! I wont show mercy even if youre a kid!

Maybe because he was too drunk, the man approached the boy in a run while brandishing his right arm, wanting to hit the boy.

Even though he knew he couldnt make it in time, Cody ran after the man to stop him. And he saw those eyes.

The boys penetratingly cold pupils.

Even with a man who wanted to hurt him right in front of his eyes, let alone showing hostility, the boy didnt even seem to be interested in him. And not only that, he even captured Cody, who was rapidly approaching from behind the man, in his vision.

In this situation, he had a calmness and a broadness of vision unthinkable of a child.

His eyes met with the boys. In that instant, those emotionless eyes were dyed by a look of surprise, and then by vigilance.

But that too was only momentary. The boy slipped past the mans large swing and drove his elbow into the mans solar plexus.

That was more than enough to make the man kneel. The boy, who appeared from the other side of the man who had crumbled down, still had his sight turned towards Cody, severely glaring at him, even while being showered in the surrounding crowds applause.

Being in the middle of this series of events, Cody hit upon something.

(Dont tell me, he perceived my strength? Just by the intersection of our sight that didnt even fully last for even an instant?)

The unmotivated attitude, dislike towards fetters of obligation and hiding of true strength had affected Cody and had made him be content with the status of having the official post of Squad leader, but his fighting prowess was such that even in the chivalric order, it would be much faster if one counted from the top to reach him. It was to the that extent that he could fight on par with the person who would most likely become the next Captain of the Saint Kings chivalric order, Vincent Van Westerfort.

If it was that the boy became surprised at his strength and went on guard looking out for his intervention, then Cody could understand the boys reaction.

(Even more than his strength being able to defeat a large man in one blow, the surprising matter is his observant eyes)

To be able to accurately see through whether the opponents strength was higher or lower than oneselfs just by looking, the person himself should have a certain degree of ability. It seemed as though the boy was considerably strong.

Wanting to relax the boys vigilance, who was still observing him very closely, Cody raised both his hands and plastered a tired smile on his face.

Well, that was splendidly skillful. Onii-san was surprised

That figure of him laughing,Ha ha ha, was extraordinarily shady. But maybe because the boy decided that he didnt want to mix up matters with Cody, he slackened his vigilance. Thinking that it would be fine to ask him about the situation if it was like this, Cody continued to speak.

Im sorry, but could you please tell me what exactly happened? Even we just came running now, so we still havent grasped the situation

..........It was just that these drunkards were quarreling. And during that time, one of them was thrust towards me so I just dealt with him

I see. That was quite the artistic way of dealing with it. Joking aside

Remembering the legs sprouting out from the water jug, his laughter was welling up. Later on, it might become a funny story when he was drinking. The boy tried to leave since there was nothing else left to speak.

Ah, wait, wait! You arent injured, are you? Even if its a scratch, if germs enter itll be terrible

I just dealt with guys who couldnt even help me warm-up. Theres no problem

Really? Dont take it lightly. If you just move your body for a bit, then any pain might..........

Annoying. If you want to know about what happened, ask the rubbernecks. Or else, do you want to waste my time by questioning me?

Ah, you found out?

His true feelings was that about 20% was for grasping the situation. The rest of it was because he was curious about the boys identity, he wanted to drag the conversation but it ended futilely. Glancing at Cody who had easily confessed, the boy left.

Squad leader, what to do with those people?

Ah, right, lets see. For now, well wait for them to recover, and in the meantime..........

While firing orders to Robinson, Cody was thinking about the black-haired boy. That discernment and the way he carried himself, and also that unflinching grit even with a person as strong as Cody in front of him, all these were abilities that couldnt be learnt if he hadnt experienced real combat. As he saw it, the boy was about 12 to 13 years old, but it was unknown as to where he had piled up such experiences.

(There are many points that Im curious about, but to start with, lets pay attention to the fighting tournament. It seems as though Ill be able to see something interesting)

From his words that said they werent even able to warm him up, the probability of him participating in todays fighting tournament was high. When he thought of how the fight for the under-13 division was being held on the 1st day, the boys age too seemed to be dead on.

To the work that was boring, a fragment of enjoyment came rolling in. While thinking of remembering the boys name, Cody just realized that he had forgotten to ask for the boys name.

(I panicked! I seriously panicked! Why is Cody here!?)

As though running away from the crowd of people, or rather after actually running away, Harold entered an empty alley and held his head.

The reason was because of the one he had just now encountered, Cody. It was obvious since Harold knew his name, but as expected he too was a character who appeared in the game.

He was the core person of the mercenary group Furiel, which was made up of wanderers.........but he would occasionally appear in front of the hero party and from a common front, and at times would use them in a good way- he was that kind of incomprehensible character. Well, basically he was a good person who came out in some spots and had the role of rescuing the party.

Harold already knew about the setting of Cody being a former member of the Saint Kings chivalric order, so he wasnt surprised seeing him wear that armor, but he hadnt even thought that he would run into Cody in this place.

Because of the tumult of the city that started stirring at sunrise, Harold had opened his eyes when the time was bit past 4 in the morning.

While thinking about the boisterous and somewhat restless air, he was reminded of the college festival in his university years, and as though it was inviting him his legs turned towards the city.

30 minutes after he thought of doing some warm-up while also exploring Delfit, a loud shout reached Harolds ears when he was wandering in the market street without any aim. When he turned his eyes towards the origin of the voice, there were 2 men who were grasping each others collars and quarreling. Due to their scuffle, a wood