Knight and Guardian (1) - Ambiguous Status Difference
Knight and Guardian (1) - An Ambiguous Status Difference
"I went out of my way to interfere to put Risolde in my debt... You're not Risolde? Then what are you?"
His rude way of speaking showed that he'd thrown all first-meeting etiquette to the dogs.
Towards the blond man, who was frowning as if interrogating a criminal, Rose,
- And what about you?
barely suppressed the urge to retort and answered curtly.
"Guardian, Rose."
"Guardian, Rose?"
The man repeated her name in a mocking voice that strangely grated on her nerves.
"Is that all, without any affiliation or any other explanation? Seeing you poking around in swamps with those shabby Mercenaries trailing behind you, it doesn't seem like there's anything more to hear."
"And what about you, sir?"
Rose's patience was slowly running out, and her voice dropped coldly.
"What kind of person are you?"
"What- kind- of- person- am I?"
What was so amusing about even Rose's deliberately cold expression, the man mixed a sneer into his drawn-out, teasing tone.
"Oh, my apologies for the late introduction, Guardian Rose-yang. I am Theodore, a Knight from the Helios estate, the heart of the East."
[ Flap- ]
With an exaggerated gesture, the man flapped his cape on his shoulder and bowed.
'Helios? Wasn't that the commercial city east of Deluna?'
As Rose was mentally tracing the nearby geography-
"We greet the Knight-nim."
The four Mercenaries, including Carlton, simultaneously knelt on one knee on the ground and bowed their heads.
"Hmm- right. I thought you were ignorant Mercenaries, but you still have basic manners."
Theodore looked down at the Mercenaries' heads and snorted.
And soon his gaze,
turned towards Rose, who was still standing upright and glaring at him.
"Now that you know, you should kneel too, shouldn't you?" - an arrogant look.
"He doesn't seem that old, but why is this bastard so arrogant?" - Rose, with a displeased expression.
The reason for the sparks flying between the two, due to their respective thoughts, was -
The status system of this world was basically the same as a typical medieval class society, following royalty, nobility, Knights, commoners, and slaves.
However, there were exceptional beings existing outside that solid pyramid: the 'Lords' and 'Guardians' who wielded Mana.
There was no problem within the same status.
Just as the commoner Mercenaries respectfully showed deference to the commoner Guardian Rose, the difference in power was immediately the class.
There was also no problem when the status difference was the same as the power difference.
Just as it was natural for anyone to bow their head to Balthazar, who was both a noble and a Lord.
But when the standards of status and power diverged, like now.
An ordinary person with the 'status' of a Knight, and a Guardian who was a commoner but possessed 'superhuman power'.
It was usually customary to respect each other's domains and show courtesy, but as there were no fixed rules, it inevitably varied depending on a person's disposition.
A Guardian who prioritized power and disregarded Knights.
Conversely, a Knight who asserted their status and treated Guardians disrespectfully.
Theodore, standing before them, as could be seen from his unreserved attitude, was clearly the latter.
"Oh. You're going to keep your head held high until the end?"
"......??"
Rose, experiencing such a subtle relationship for the first time, hesitated, unsure how to react, and that brief silence -
for the young Knight Theodore
was enough time to conclude, 'This arrogant commoner before me is not showing me respect.'
"The Protector of commoners, the great Guardian-nim, is that it?"
Also, that low murmur made Rose conclude,
"From his voice to his tone, expression, and gaze, everything about him is displeasing -"
which led her to that conclusion.
Theodore, looking at the even more curt Rose, raised the corners of his mouth.
Towards such a Theodore, Rose made an even colder expression.
As their negative perceptions of each other spun and grew like an endless cycle,
"Right. I've always been curious. They say Guardian bitches leak Mana from their crotches when they're embraced by a man, how about you? If it's alright, would you let me confirm it once?"
"......What..."
At his vulgar remark, without even a chance to retort.
Turning his body immediately, Theodore approached his companion, the silver-haired swordswoman Sherin.
"Ordinary women without Mana are boring, you see."
[ Grab- Squish- ]
"Hmph...!"
The bastard roughly snatched his companion's waist,
and roughly grabbed her chest, prominent over her leather armor.
'...He was a crazy bastard.'
Truly rude speech and vulgar actions.
When the opponent went that far, Rose, who had lost the will to even respond, ignored him and turned away.
She vowed never to associate with those 'Knights' again.
"Everyone, pack your bags. Let's return to Deluna."
"Oh, Deluna-"
But Theodore, who had no intention of letting the arrogant commoner bitch go so easily, changed his target and gestured with his chin towards the kneeling Mercenaries.
"Hey, Mercenaries. I'm also on my way to meet the Lord of Deluna. You lead the way and guide me."
"......."
The power struggle between the two was felt even from the side.
The Mercenaries, suddenly caught in the middle.
Between the powerful Guardian who hired them and the Knight giving orders, they hesitated, unsure what to do -
"Ha, right."
Theodore, displeased even by their hesitation, removed the hand that was fondling her chest and threw something.
"Mercenary bastards only move for money, right? One Gold Coin should be enough for guiding the way. If there's any change left, share it with the Guardian next to you."
Along with the Gold Coin that fell to the ground, Rose's patience finally reached its limit.
[ Woooong- ]
With Rose's gesture,
the Gold Coin that had been stuck in the muddy ground, enveloped in blue Mana, floated into the air -
[ Ting-! ]
flew at high speed, strongly struck Theodore's breastplate, and bounced off.
"These people are currently carrying out my request. If you need guidance, go find someone else."
Rose's cold gaze.
The Gold Coin rolling on the ground.
- ignoring them,
Theodore, looking at the Mercenaries who weren't reacting to his orders, his lips twisted into a vile sneer.
"So money isn't everything, huh? Then what is it? Does that Guardian bitch give her body every night? Is that why they're so loyal?"
"That filthy mouth..."
Rose raised her left arm, clad in a Gauntlet, and pointed it at Theodore.
Mana gathered at her fingertips, and the surrounding air began to sharpen like blades.
[ Wooooong- ]
Should I kill him -
murderous intent flashing through her mind.
"I swear I won't use that power for trivial personal feelings -"
The promise she made to become a Guardian.
"It's natural to want to use power if you have it. Someone like Lucian is special -"
Balthazar's voice, as if he understood everything.
'...To be swayed by a mere bastard like this...'
Rose bit her lip and slowly lowered her raised left arm,
How he interpreted that, Theodore, whose momentum had risen even further, -
[ Grab- ]
grabbed Sherin's shoulder next to him and pushed her forward.
"Money, women. That's all Mercenaries need, right? If that's what you want, I can give it to you. This girl, she's an apprentice now, but she'll soon be a full-fledged Knight. If you guide me properly, I'll let you embrace her to your heart's content. How about having a go with a precious Knight-nim whom you can't even look straight in the eye?"
"This crazy...!"
The anger she had barely suppressed finally crossed its limit,
the moment Rose clenched her left hand tightly -
[ Clink- Pshoo-! ]
"!!"
The two longswords tied to Theodore's and Sherin's waists, as if living beings, slipped out of their scabbards on their own and shot into the air.
"A bastard like you, right now...!!"
As the two swords, changing direction in mid-air, passed over Sherin's head and rushed like lightning towards Theodore's neck.
"Guardian-nim!! No!"
[ Kiiiiiik-! ]
Right before they could touch his neck, the swords made a scraping sound in the air and barely stopped.
"Ah... haha... As expected of a Guardian. That was interesting magic."
[ Chang-grang- ]
Theodore, trying to act composed, raised the corners of his mouth.
As Rose turned her body, the longswords lost power and fell to the ground.
What stopped the swords at the last moment was not Carlton's urgent voice.
Towards the flying longswords, Sherin's expression as she was about to throw her body to protect Theodore.
From the moment the bastard fondled her chest until she was thrown forward, what had been on her face the entire time,
was not loyalty or strong will, but...
a resignation that seemed to say, 'I must endure everything.'
She wouldn't have been able to block the flying swords.
It didn't seem like she would get angry or attack if Theodore were killed.
But,
'...It felt like she would commit suicide...'
Rose suppressed her anger,
turned around and walked away.
But since their destination was the same, Deluna,
the group inevitably ended up walking in the same direction as the uninvited guests.
"......"
Rose, walking ahead, her nerves were entirely focused on what was behind her.
The white Aura that had cut down the Ogre.
Considering that power, she couldn't relax for a moment, fearing the bastard might harbor resentment and attack from behind.
Chivalry? A challenge for an honorable duel?
'He's not some noble Knight-nim who would care about such things.'
But whether her earlier threat had worked,
or if he had some other scheme.
Theodore no longer opened his mouth and merely followed, maintaining a certain distance.
That ambiguous distance narrowed when-
as darkness settled and the Mercenaries prepared to camp.
Rose ignored Theodore approaching her way, pretending not to see him.
Theodore, who walked past, ignoring Rose in the same way, the place he headed for was.
"Coincidentally, you had a tent. Good. I'll use this."
"......Huh?"
An abrupt, baseless declaration.
As Luke, who was sweating while fixing the tent to the ground, looked up with surprised eyes -
"What, do 'you' also look down on Knights?"
"....."
"No, Knight-nim. Please use it."
In place of Luke, who had frozen speechless,
Carlton, who was nearby, quickly approached and bowed his head.
"Hmph. Anyway, you bastards have to stay up all night on watch and guard the surroundings, don't you? I'll make very good use of this tent, so don't worry."
Theodore smiled vilely, snatched Sherin's wrist, and dragged her into the tent.
And.
How "useful" he found the tent was soon revealed.
[ Squish... Squeak... Slap! ]
"Hmph...! Aah...!"
The wet, squelching friction sound of flesh hitting flesh.
The suppressed moans of a woman leaking through her covered mouth.
Even the sticky sounds of licking and sucking.
"How is it, Sherin? Thinking that those lowly commoners outside are hearing all your lewd sounds, doesn't your lower body feel hotter and wetter than usual?"
"Ah... no... hmph..."
"Were you scared when I said I'd throw you to those bastards earlier? No, actually, are you disappointed I didn't do it? It would have been a perfect chance to take on the hungry bastards' things all at once!"
[ Thwack! Thump! ]
"Aaaah! Hngh...!"
Vulgar curses and the rough sounds of copulation like animals.
Rose frowned, and sat alone, leaning against a tree stump far from the campsite.
Sherin's expression she had seen earlier kept flickering before her eyes.
With that face that even showed self-loathing, what could she possibly be thinking while being embraced by such a trashy man?
Suddenly, another person's face overlapped on top of that.
'Risolde...'
She too had been embraced by Balthazar with a broken body that couldn't feel pleasure.
But she had a longing and devotion to somehow care for the person who had saved her.
[ Rustle. ]
Just then, careful footsteps were heard from behind.
It was Carlton, with a stiff expression, who had moved away from the sounds coming from the tent, just like Rose.
"Carlton."
"Yes, Rose-yang."
"......Isn't that person afraid?"
"Afraid? What do you mean by that..."
"He must know that if I set my mind to it, I could kill him. No, if he acts like that, anyone, not just me, could take his life with a single knife stroke. How can he be like that? Is he so dominated by lust that he's forgotten even that fear?"
Rose had nothing to say if it was about being dominated by lust, but.
She wouldn't lose her mind to the point of risking her life like that.
He was an opponent she couldn't understand from the start, and didn't even want to understand, but-
she couldn't help but feel curious about the bizarre behavior unfolding before her eyes.
"Perhaps that... Knight wouldn't think such thoughts. He probably didn't take Rose-yang's threat seriously either."
"Huh? After insulting us that much, the thought that it might be dangerous if he shows a weakness to us..."
"Because he wouldn't even consider it an insult. Such words and actions towards commoners... To him, they're all as natural as breathing, and simply obvious."
Carlton smiled bitterly.
Looking at his face, a sudden thought occurred to her,
if the class differences determined from birth were truly that obvious and natural-
why did Carlton's current expression seem unable to accept it as natural?
"I once asked the Guild Leader-nim. 'Why doesn't the Lord-nim appoint the Guild Leader-nim as a Knight, and instead make her do rough Mercenary work?'"
"...So what did Risolde say..."
"She said it was the Lord-nim's will. Under him, distinctions among commoners are meaningless. He doesn't want to bother with nobles or Knights. That's why in Deluna, there are no other nobles or Knights besides the Lord-nim.
Living in such a Deluna, I suppose I've become a bit dull. Seeing me babbling on about high-ranking Knights like this and that."
Looking at Carlton, who was faintly smiling,
'I'm a very excellent, good Lord-'
Rose recalled Balthazar's face, who had confidently puffed out his chest.
One more thing,
in this world overflowing with all sorts of trash like Theodore,
Lucian's face, who had wanted to stop by Deluna first.