Chapter 18
Chapter 18
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: Irrational Adaptation Period (4)
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I still remember that day.
A night sky thick with clouds. Yet beneath the unusually brilliant moonlight...
'She' whispered words of love to me.
"Leon, didn't you say you'd do anything I wanted?"
"Of course, Your Highness. If that's what you desire, I'd pluck the stars from the sky for you."
"Hehe, that's blasphemy. It'd be like stealing from the goddess's jewel box."
"Haha, you're right."
"...Leon, I don't need any of those treasures. There's only one thing I want. You."
"Your Highness...!"
Every word seeped into my heart.
More alluring and fragrant than the scent of thousands of roses, more beautiful than the moonlight piercing the dark night sky.
How could I not love a woman like this?
"Leon. Do you still remember our promise?"
"Of course. I will forever be a knight for ladies and the weak."
"Thank you, Leon. My knight...!"
Beneath the spire, we shared our love and confirmed our hearts, or so I thought.
Her heart and mine were one, our gazes fixed in perfect harmony without a single distortion.
"I swear to offer everything I have to uphold that promise."
Even if it meant sacrificing my heart and my sword. My friends and my blood ties! No matter the cost...!
"When that promised day comes, I will be a blade that guards only you, Your Highness."
Leon swore it.
...
Among a knight's ten commandments, the foremost was to act with valor, embody goodwill, and become a champion fighting against evil.
Though there were countless other principles to uphold beyond the ten, Leon adhered strictly to those three sentences, setting an example for all in everything he did.
How could he demand others follow principles he himself ignored? It was a reaction to that sentiment, and a fanatical devotion to keep the promise with the woman he once loved.
Thanks to this zealous practice, he was hailed as the most devout and valiant knight among the five kingdoms' order—and even earned the goddess's qualification as a hero...!
He could boldly declare that his life had been on the right path.
Some called his meddling foolish and naive. But Leon firmly believed that true meddling was what changed the world.
And he still did now!
"I did the right thing."
"...Doing the right thing lands you in a holding cell. What a harsh world."
"Two run-ins with the law already... That's gotta be a record."
"......"
"Leon, got nothing to say?"
"......Sorry."
He still had some shame.
"Man, this foreigner can really fight."
"He some pro MMA fighter or what?"
"Hmm, maybe special forces? That'd make sense..."
"Could be."
The clustered cops watched the CCTV footage, letting out exclamations one after another.
The recording started with a handsome white guy scolding a group of over ten thugs in an alley.
Well, "scolding" didn't faze those punks—they just mocked him back and lunged first with violence.
"Kids these days..."
"They act untouchable 'cause they know they won't get punished."
But the white guy dodged their wild swings like a pro boxer, then swiftly subdued them.
It looked like an armbar at first—oohs of admiration—but the next move silenced them.
—Krunch!
"...Oof. Shoulder completely shattered."
"Can that even rehab?"
The dozen or so who piled on after fared no better.
Shoulders routinely dislocated, legs and ankles snapped.
The worst were the cracked ribs—looked like light taps, but he put real power behind them.
Rumor has it shattered ribs can puncture organs, leaving you suffering for life if you're unlucky...
"Huh? But if he only overdid it on this guy, couldn't we let the other two go?"
"Watch to the end."
"......Ah, got it."
Then the man and woman who joined—probably his crew—frowned at the sprawled thugs, yelled at the white guy, and soon...
"Damn, cleanup's spotless."
They erased traces, threatened the conscious ones, and straight-up knocked some out with one hand. All crystal clear on tape.
Total disaster!
"Good call bringing 'em in."
"Those guys are dangerous. Keep eyes on 'em."
"The problem is..."
"Haa...!"
Yeah, as plain old violence, it could've ended there.
But the issue wasn't the aggressors—it was the victims.
And boy, was it ever...!
"My kid ends up like that, and you toss 'em in gently? You bastards! Do your jobs!"
"What'd our kids do to deserve this...?!"
"Do you know who I am?!"
...The assault victims—aka the punks—were underage delinquents, minors under 19. That was the problem.
[Why the hell touch kids in Korea...?]
"S-Sorry..."
"Is being a minor such a big deal?"
[Yeah, huge.]
"Why? They threw the first punches, right? Isn't Leon's response self-defense?"
[Where'd you learn 'self-defense'?]
"TV's full of info."
[......Well, Valian, you're not wrong in theory, but...]
The delinquents—students—were beating up a kid their age.
And they swung first at Leon, swarmed him.
Why ignore that and spotlight Leon?
It made no sense.
[Look, long story, but bottom line: minors are age-based gangsters here. They get slaps on the wrist for anything—even murder gets swept under sometimes.]
"What...? That's absurd!"
[And Korea pulls it off.]
"......"
Valian was baffled.
An age for crime? Reducing sentences by age? Repeatedly?
Unreasonable! Illogical!
"...Even we face punishment regardless of age for our crimes. This world's so advanced—why ignore basic common sense?"
Even barbarians called savages had laws. Bully the weak or harm others, and justice strikes.
Not death, but brutal penalties were commonplace, ingrained.
How could a civilized society ignore that?
[Dunno... Too many idiots running the country?]
"...?"
As they debated these bizarre laws, chaos raged outside the holding cell.
Delinquent parents swarmed, demanding Leon's group be handed over—eyes murderous, ready to tear them apart.
Not that it'd faze them.
"Daring to bare killing intent at us?"
Alicia bristled instead. One glaring parent locked eyes, convulsed like an epileptic, nearly fainted.
"Honey!?"
"What the hell's wrong with you?!"
A brief commotion, but no one knew it was just a glare.
One second from blackout, Leon wisely disrupted the intent.
"Cut it out. You'll cause real trouble."
"You gonna say that now?! Look at this mess! I told you to quit meddling, why...!"
"Couldn't just stand by."
"Let it go next time...! That ungrateful bastard we saved didn't even appreciate it!"
"...Yeah."
"Even beasts repay kindness! Humans are lower than animals!"
"You saying you're worse than a beast?"
"You little...!!"
Ignoring the bickering pair, Leon mulled Alicia's words.
—"I-I...! N-Nothing...! D-Don't know...!"
The victim, Aram, called it bullying or ijime?
Yet she defended them, not us delinquents.
Easy to guess why.
"...If we'd defended her, it'd just make her life hell."
"...Hm?"
"I get it. Distant authority scares less than nearby fists. Human nature."
Leon wasn't reckless, clueless, or ignorant of the world's ways.
Power dynamics were universal.
For the kid, cowardice was survival.
So he understood.
Just bitter...
"Even in this advanced world, it all boils down to power. Tragic... and bittersweet."
"......"
"Thought it'd be different here."
Valian and Alicia fell silent at his lament, poignant as it was.
They weren't arrogant enough to claim they understood his feelings.
A quiet sorrow hung in the chilly cell.
[......I'd let you brood, but now's not the time.]
"Oh, right. Gotta figure out how to fix this."
[Not what I meant...]
BAM!
[......Yuseong's pissed.]
"......"
[You gotta survive first to reflect, yeah?]
"......"
The sorrow gave way to a different vibe in the cell.
"Where are they?"
"Huh? Who the hell are you...?"
"You worthless leeches who can't even earn your keep! Where're those animal punks?!"
...Terror of surviving this savage predator.
Luke—his old comrade—eyes swirled with irritated fury.