Chapter 85
Chapter 85
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: EP.23 – The Knight Holds a Private Meeting (3)
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-The girl stared blankly at the fountain.
With a mighty whoosh, water shot up powerfully from the fountain.
It was the pride of the southern street square—a fountain visible to all regardless of status, lavishly adorned with jewels, gold, marble, and more, dazzling in its splendor.
Given the precious metals and gems used so generously, guards were always posted in shifts to protect it from thieves.
In truth, no area in the central square was safer, and troublemakers were nowhere to be found.
Perhaps that was why.
"......It's so quiet."
A perfect place to enjoy some quiet contemplation alone.
No disturbances, no interlopers—just sitting there filled the heart with peace.
...She wanted to stay in that spot forever.
Sigh, but I can't do that.
Unfortunately, lingering too long drew the guards' attention.
Staying here indefinitely wasn't wise.
The girl, elegant and refined like lush blue hydrangeas, rose gracefully and walked away.
"...Oh."
As she passed, the guards' eyes followed—not because she seemed suspicious.
Simply because she was adorable.
"That girl's pretty."
"First time seeing her. Was there a cutie like that around here?"
"Prettier than the flower shop girl... First one like this."
"Didn't you say the exact same thing when you fell for the bakery girl?"
"Love's fickle like a reed in the wind."
"You're insane. That's not love—it's just lust, man."
The guard unit was overwhelmingly young and full of vigor.
They couldn't slack on duty, but they couldn't control wandering eyes either.
In short, it was natural for hot-blooded young men to gawk at a pretty girl.
"Looks like a commoner from her clothes... Hey, cover my post for a sec."
"You're nuts. Skipping guard duty to chase her?"
"What? I'm just checking out a 'suspicious individual.' That's part of the job."
"...Mess around and you'll end up with a report. Don't you know the capital's on edge right now?"
"It'll be fine."
Whether bold from stupidity or ruled by his groin, one male guard approached the girl without hesitation.
To throw his weight around as a guard and get her name.
And so the guard—
Poke.
"Hey, buddy. No cutting in line. I got business with her first."
"You, what...?"
For a moment, the male guard shut his mouth.
A stranger had snuck up beside him, arm slung over his shoulder—his face twisted in annoyance, but upon seeing the man, chills ran down his spine.
He was huge.
The man was enormously huge, dwarfing most grown men threefold with his massive frame.
But that wasn't the only reason the guard felt overwhelmed.
What the hell is this guy!? Those eyes...
His eyes were terrifying.
Even a tough guard who'd faced criminals felt a chill.
Those eyes didn't see him as human—like meat hanging in a butcher shop. Frozen like a mouse before a snake, the guard stiffened.
"Quietly beat it, buddy. Quietly."
"D-Daring to threaten a guard...? Y-You've lost all fear of consequences, where do you get off...!"
But a guard had pride.
Frightening or not, he trusted the guard's name to carry weight. He thought the threat would work.
"You higher-ranked than Mark?"
"......What?"
"Your boss. The one-eyed guy who loves bars. Surprisingly, he's the guard captain despite the looks."
"!!!"
"So, what's your name? Didn't expect such a gutsy subordinate under Mark. Gotta tell him later. 'You've got such a fine man under you,' haha."
"......"
He couldn't retort to the giant casually naming his sky-high superior.
It could be a lie, but the captain's glass eye was an open secret among those in the know.
Always wearing an eyepatch.
So he couldn't dismiss it as fiction, and the guard merely.
"...S-Sorry for the intrusion."
Bowed his head quietly and retreated.
The giant grinned in satisfaction.
The girl—no, Levi Polt—glared contemptuously at the giant approaching with an incongruously friendly smile.
Was he watching her?
A chill passed, but Levi hid her feelings and spoke calmly.
"...What brings you here? The appointed date is still far off."
"Nothing much. Just came to escort you, miss. Can't have weirdos like that pest earlier bothering you, right? You're valuable 'merchandise' after all."
"......"
"Ah, faux pas. I'm such a lowly brute, bad with words! Mouth's my downfall."
"...Just go. I can handle myself."
Disgust swept her, but Levi held her patience.
But the giant trampled her earnest endurance...
"Can't do that. Who knows when you'll run."
"!!"
Without mercy.
"...Watch your words. I kept my promise. I gave up everything for it. You don't trust that?"
Though in this position, Levi was nobility.
A noble's word carried weight and trust.
To Levi, who prized the Polt name, such doubt was a grave insult.
However.
"Think I've dealt with noble 'honor' just once or twice? Honor my ass—all I saw were lying wastrels! Why should I trust you? Especially a penniless miss like you."
"......"
He spat an even greater insult, and Levi's hand drifted to her rapier.
Ready to draw at any moment.
But the giant snorted.
"I get you have a sharp trick or two for your age, but it won't work on me. Put that sword away. Unless you want to lose an arm or leg."
"If I have to sit still after such an insult, I'd gladly accept the disability."
"...Those eyes are serious."
Tsk.
Only then did the giant realize this girl, unlike the nobles he knew, had a stubbornly upright character. He clicked his tongue.
Verbal sparring might draw blood—trouble.
Old-fashioned knightly wench. What a pain—can't even pawn her off anywhere.
Again, the girl was valuable merchandise.
Harming her would...
Bring an earful from the guildmaster.
No thanks. The giant switched to persuasion.
The best way to tame lofty noble ladies was...
"-If you won't listen nicely, we'll have to touch your little sister or mother instead. How about it? Want that?"
"You...!"
"So behave. Don't make this annoying."
Thug tactics worked best on the refined.
Threaten family, friends, lovers—nine out of ten folded.
And sure enough.
"...Don't make empty threats. I'll cooperate."
"Haha, that's more like it."
The giant was satisfied yet puzzled.
Family or not, with her life on the line—why such devotion?
I'd sell family in a heartbeat. Fat cats like her...
If she'd lived as harshly, she'd know family and lovers meant nothing.
Poor noble ladies, in a way.
No—bad father, maybe?
A father selling his daughter, a future knight, for the family name...
Ridiculous.
Like the saying: a tiger born under a dog's tail.
Slurp, mouthwatering.
The giant liked girls like this.
Pure, noble filial daughter.
A noble lady untouchable by scum like him.
And so pretty.
Lust boiled.
Her worn clothes hid her status, but nobility and beauty shone through.
Young, not fully bloomed—but a flower was a flower.
Worth plucking.
Stuck together awhile anyway... Sweet-talk her?
He knew her weakness.
Bait with family often enough, maybe bed her.
Guildmaster said protect till the date—no "don't touch."
So the giant.
Just a little...
Started by lightly draping an arm over her shoulder.
"-Move that arm a hair closer, and it's dead to you for life."
Crunch!
But prioritizing uncontrollable desire brought what disaster—"calamity"—the giant should have known.
...Too late, of course.
"Gaaahhh...!"
"Shut it, you bastard."
-Gonna kill you.
Crack!
The screaming giant's mouth was forced shut by a brutal hand.
"-----!"
He writhed in agony, desperate to thrash, but the hand over his mouth...!
The sheer strength crushed him entirely—a horrific pressure.
But the ordeal was just beginning—
Krunch, crack...!
"!?!!!"
His body folded in impossible ways.
Ominous snaps from his spine.
Irreversible "terror" surged; he resisted desperately.
Humans summon superhuman strength at death's door sometimes.
Unfortunately for him.
"That your best? ...Wasted size."
His foe had faced true superhumans—this resistance was laughable. First misfortune.
Thud!
Lee Han slammed the giant repeatedly into the ground with icy eyes.
Like flicking a scab—over and over.
Scabs eventually fall; this one never left his grip, just kept smashing.
Once, twice—
Crack!
......Ten times.
Even after exactly ten, he couldn't escape.
And even if he did.
Drip...
It meant nothing.
The giant was now well-tenderized meat.
No longer human.
Gruesome, horrific...
"...K...hng..."
But he didn't die.
Intentionally spared—to teach him death would be mercy upon waking.
The thug's—now meat lump's—second misfortune.
"...Tch, ruined my clothes."
Lee Han brushed off the bloodied fabric, annoyed.
As if touching such trash soured his mood.
"I-Instructor..."
Levi Polt gazed pitifully at her master, who appeared and pulverized the giant.
Just five days apart.
Yet why so welcoming, so missed?
As complex emotions swirled and she tried to explain...
"Runaway ninja—no, disciple. We'll talk later."
"...Pardon?"
"I'm a bit 'excited' right now?"
"......"
It showed.
First time seeing her master this riled—furious.
Speaking to him felt daunting.
And he.
"This scum's guild, right?"
"...W-Why ask?"
"Guild it is. Let's go."
"W-Wait...!"
She grabbed pitifully, but he dragged on undeterred.
Levi thought with a grimace.
...Oh no...!
We're screwed.
One of the bad swear words learned from Lee Han.
Now she grasped its meaning.
...Unhappily so.