Regular Patrol (4)
Chairs and tables toppled over.
In an instant, silence blanketed the entire area.
The woman shoved out of the tavern landed hard on her backside right in the middle of the busy street.
"Hah, you're really pissing me off. Just take off your damn lower clothes already!"
The woman spoke in a trembling voice.
"I-I'm just a simple hostess—"
"Huh? What kind of whore talks like that!?"
At his bellow, the woman clamped her mouth shut in terror.
The man's hand rose.
Her colleague standing nearby stepped in to block him.
"S-Sir. You can't do this he—"
His voice dropped low and cold.
"Who the hell do you think you're touching?"
Under that chilling glare, she released his arm at once. He shoved her hard by the shoulder and sent her sprawling.
Thud!
"Get the hell out of my way. Don't you know who I am? Damn lowlifes, every last one of you."
He spat the insults down at the two women lying on the ground. Neither their colleagues nor even the men who had come with him as fellow customers dared to intervene.
He was a noble, after all.
Lately the gap between commoners and nobles had been narrowing bit by bit. But these were people who had been raised from childhood on the rule that you never crossed a noble. In short, you avoided shit because it was filthy—you never knew what kind of retaliation might come down on your head.
As countless stares fixed on him, he clicked his tongue and barked,
"What are you looking at? Eyes on the ground!"
That was when Amanda arrived on the scene and stepped toward him.
"I apologize for the inconvenience, sir. Might I ask what the trouble is?"
Amanda bowed her head with perfect courtesy. Even though her own people had just been assaulted and insulted, as the overall manager of this place she had no choice but to treat a noble this way. All she could do was stall until the knights arrived.
"Ohh, right. You're the owner here, aren't you?"
"We are all colleagues."
The retort seemed to get under his skin; his face twisted.
Heily started to step forward, but Orion stopped her. The man was drunk. Even if her position carried weight, there was no telling what he might do while his mind was this far gone.
"Hmm."
He looked Amanda up and down. A lecherous smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
"I failed to recognize a woman of your caliber. If you serve me with all your heart tonight, I might just forgive—"
His hand reached for her chest.
Orion shot forward on pure instinct and seized the wrist.
Grab!
He twisted the arm behind the man's back, seized a fistful of hair at the nape, and drove him face-first into the floor. Thankfully a carpet covered the ground, so the man's face did not end up looking like a suction cup.
This counts as self-defense, right?
Orion had stayed put at Amanda's earlier signal. But this crossed the line. This had to be self-defense. If it wasn't, then the law itself was broken. Right?
"You little shit!!!!!! Let go of me right now, you bastard!!! Do you even know who I am!!?!?!"
Even with blood pouring from his nose, the man kept screaming at the top of his lungs. Apparently his face still wasn't widely known.
If I tell him I'm the boss's guard knight, will he start shaking and drop to his knees?
While Orion was thinking that—
"Hey? Hey? What are you doing? Stay still, will you?"
The man thrashed wildly while still pinned to the floor. At this rate his shoulder would dislocate or his arm would snap. Startled by the sheer insanity of it, Orion loosened his hold for a split second.
"Fuck!!!"
The man scrambled up like a newborn foal and whipped his head around, scanning the surroundings. His eyes locked onto Heily.
And then—
"Huh?"
The world flipped upside down. He slammed into the floor again. Gasps erupted from the onlookers.
"Guhh…"
Breath knocked clean out of him, he sprawled flat on his back, unable to move. The last thing he saw was the twins racing toward them from the far end of the street. Then his eyes rolled back and he blacked out.
"Wow. Secretary, that was seriously badass."
"You flatter me."
"I'm sorry. I tried to handle it myself as the manager, but I only ended up causing trouble for everyone."
Amanda bowed her head deeply in apology.
"It's quite all right. Please raise your head."
"I'm fine too. Do people like him show up often?"
Amanda shook her head.
"Mmm, not often. They are nobles, after all. That one was probably a fallen noble with no money and no backing. What house was he from again? I can't even remember."
She let out a long sigh.
"Haa. Still, because he's a noble, there's not much we can do from our side. Better to just endure it than risk getting hurt."
"Come on, there's such a thing as self-defense. The boss will take care of it somehow."
"True enough, but it's fine either way. The knights who were already patrolling nearby will be here in a few minutes. Waiting is better than jumping in and creating more problems."
Just then the twins pushed the door open and came inside. They had handed the man over to the knight order.
"All done?"
"Yeah, they dragged him off."
"Bad man. He should get divine punishment."
They had been growling and snarling the whole time until the knights arrived. The moment someone mentioned tearing off his balls, he had gone very quiet.
At any rate, once the incident was settled, they finally received the ledgers.
"Sorry that took so long. Here's the books."
Heily accepted the ledgers and reviewed them on the spot.
"Well? Thorough, right? We don't skim taxes, you know~"
"Yes, everything is neatly organized. Easy to read."
With that, their purpose here was complete. The district stayed open at night, but Orion and Heily were ready to head home and sleep.
"We'll be going now. Good work, everyone."
"Yeah. Bye."
"See you."
They answered the twins' yawning farewells and started for the door.
"Wait a second."
Amanda stepped up beside Orion. He almost bolted, half-expecting her to latch onto his arm again, but that wasn't it this time.
"Young master Orion. Did you know?"
Her whisper brushed his ear. She pointed toward Heily.
"That girl is still a virgin."
"Excuse me?"
"Hehe. A little thank-you for saving me earlier. Pretty amazing news, right?"
Why are you telling me that…
Three days later.
Orion woke earlier than usual. The promised day had finally arrived.
Aura.
Was there a man alive who didn't yearn for it? The image of swinging a sword and hearing that sharp shiiing as the blade energy flared outward in a brilliant arc. He had been so excited he could barely sleep.
After bolting down breakfast, Orion headed straight for the office.
Knock knock—
"Boss. No work for me today, right?"
Karen, reviewing documents at her desk as always, answered without looking up.
"Shouldn't you ask whether there is work first?"
"Eh, same difference. So? Is there or isn't there?"
"The fact that you're asking tells me you already have plans."
"Yes. I was thinking of heading to the knight order today."
"The knight order?"
Karen tilted her head.
"Why would you go there?"
"I have some business with my secretary."
"Your secretary?"
One of her eyes narrowed. The look said, There he goes with that nonsense again. She sighed and rose from her seat.
"Wait a moment, then. We'll go together."
"You're going there too, Boss?"
"Yes. I had planned to stop by today anyway. I'll change clothes and return. Stay here."
The two of them climbed into the carriage. Heily had the day off.
"What has you so worked up?"
Karen crossed her legs and propped her chin on one hand.
"You've been like this ever since we visited the Red-Light District. Was it truly that enjoyable?"
"Huh?"
She had clearly gotten the wrong idea. That wasn't it at all.
"Speaking of which, Boss—did you create that place?"
"I merely granted permission. I was not directly involved."
"Same thing, really. Hmm. Still can't believe you actually allowed it, though."
"And what is so hard to believe?"
"Well, it just… doesn't match your image, I guess."
Orion looked her over. In response, Karen crossed her arms and hugged her own shoulders.
"…Lewd man."
"What?"
"Excuse me? Don't just decide that on your own!"
"Enough. It is my own fault for forgetting that you are a man as well."
"Hey, that's the look you give a street pervert!"
"Your imagination."
Orion felt deeply wronged. Where else would you find a Confucian gentleman like him? But Karen clearly thought otherwise. She fixed him with a sharp glare.
"From this day forward, you are banned from the Red-Light District."
"What!?"
That "What!?" was not a protest against being barred from the district. It was the cry of a man outraged at being treated like a potential criminal.
"You are my guard knight, are you not? Taking in a lecherous man like you was my mistake, but that is something I must simply endure."
"Okay, that last part was just straight-up insulting…"
"In any case, the guard knight of a great house must not be dissolute or promiscuous. As your master, it is only proper that I correct this."
"I'm telling you that's not—"
"Only by suppressing instinct and desire does one become a true knight. Now that you are my guard knight, it is only natural that you strive toward that ideal."
Karen added with a little nasal hum,
"And I dislike the smell of perfume wafting about beside me."
Unbelievable.
Orion's sense of injustice finally boiled over.
"Hah. Fine. Then why don't you come with me?"
"Where?"
"To the Red-Light District."
She was completely set in her ways. Venting his grievances now would clearly fall on deaf ears. So why not go together and prove his innocence?
That was the thought behind the suggestion.
And yet, for some reason, she hugged her shoulders again. The look of pure contempt was a free bonus.
"…Are you telling me to stand beside you and watch you couple with someone?"
How did it turn into that?
Orion's mouth snapped shut.
At that exact moment—
"We have arrived."
The coachman announced their arrival. The door opened, and Karen stepped down without so much as a glance at him. Orion's hand, left with nowhere to go, simply hung in empty air.
This is pure character assassination!!