Luckily, Kai didn’t trot out any of those infuriating lines like, “I’ll handle it myself.”
In fact, he spoke up as if he’d been waiting for this very moment. That caught me slightly by surprise.
Mario, Beric, Karlo.
Those three were supposedly the main instigators behind the bullying.
No chance I’m letting this go quietly.
The moment I heard the story from Kai, I got up and left without hesitation.
It was an issue bound to rear its head sooner or later.
My men were knights who hadn’t gone through regular Order of Knights training, but had been dropped in from above by a higher power.
To make matters worse, they were my own picks—men I’d brought in as the soon-to-be son-in-law. Of course the backlash was fierce.
Naturally, I could see where they were coming from.
They’d suffered through endless drills just to earn their spurs, while my men had been knighted in a single leap. Anyone would feel slighted.
But really, was that my concern?
The world, by its very nature, is about as fair as a loaded dice game run by the house.
Imagine seeking equality in a society divided between nobles and commoners. The sheer absurdity of it all left me momentarily speechless.
And now, they’d dared to lay hands on my people.
That wasn’t just boldness—they’d completely lost their heads.
Time to make it clear. Show them what happens when they mess with my own.
With eyes flashing, I headed for the Praha Knight Order’s quarters.
It was a rather well-appointed building, just across the drill yard.
Anyone could tell at a glance it belonged to the knights of the House—far better than your average inn, which was saying something.
I stepped inside. Then, taking my time, I strolled past the nameplates outside the living quarters.
But only for a moment.
“Here it is.” I stopped in front of one of the rooms and murmured to myself.
And then—
CRAAASH!
I effortlessly sent the door to the living quarters flying.
* * *
“Wh-what’s going on?!” Mario, who’d been resting inside, sprang up in shock.
Normally, he’d be out training at this hour. But after being ignored by some good-for-nothing, his mood had soured.
So he’d decided to lounge in the living quarters—only for a disaster to come crashing through the door.
Mario hurriedly turned to look at what remained of the door.
Standing there, still gripping the doorknob, was the man responsible for bringing a most unwelcome disturbance to the peaceful North.
“Hm, the door’s a bit flimsy. You really ought to replace it,” he said, spouting nonsense.
Mario, staring at the man, found himself muttering almost involuntarily, “Louis Berg?”
Raven hair, the look of a wolf, and that extravagantly furry coat—there was no mistaking it. That was Louis Berg.
But the real puzzle was why this fellow, who should have been lounging in the guest of honor’s suite, was here of all places—in the knights’ dormitory, no less, a place strictly reserved for the Praha Knights.
Mario stood there, stupefied, so Beric spoke up from beside him. “What brings you here, sir?”
Truth be told, he’d rather not have exchanged words at all, but that simply wasn’t an option. The man before them was a noble, after all.
As they were knights of the Duke’s House, Louis couldn’t just kill them outright, but it was wiser to tread carefully.
“If you’re lost, I can show you the way,” Beric offered.
“No need to worry about that. I’m not lost,” Louis Berg replied, tossing the doorknob to the floor with a casual flick.
“By the way… I heard you calling my name just now,” Louis said, slowly making his way toward Mario.
Mario looked at Louis as if to ask what his problem was, but his face quickly twisted as he was sent flying through the air.
CRAAASH!
“Gah!”
“Calling a noble by name, are we? You must be tired of living,” Louis murmured, having launched Mario with a single punch.
As Louis moved to approach Mario again, Beric hurriedly stepped in to block his path.
“P-please wait! This is the residence of the Northern Duke’s Order of Knights! Not even you, Young Lord, are allowed to just make a scene here!” Beric cried out, swallowing hard as he stared at Louis Berg.
Damn it… What is going on here?
The truth was, Beric was under orders from the High Elder.
“Isolate Louis Berg’s men.”
To execute that command, he’d manipulated Mario and Karlo, and had orchestrated the ostracism within their knightly order.
On top of that, he’d managed to prod Lancelot into beating up a fellow knight.
Now, thanks to Lancelot having struck one of his own, Beric could use that as an excuse to isolate him as well.
But… how did things end up like this all of a sudden?
Beric stared at Louis Berg, who wore an indifferent expression.
The whole mess had started with that man. What sort of noble would go to such ridiculous lengths for his own men? Especially one who didn’t even hold any real power in his own family!
Beric simply couldn’t make sense of it.
Still, what was done was done. He’d have to deal with the situation as it stood.
“It seems Sir Mario has wronged you somehow, Young Lord Louis. I ask for your generous forgiveness,” Beric said, bowing his head.
That should be enough to let things return to normal. The offending knight had apologized, and had even been punished. The noble’s honor was preserved.
In fact, to press the matter any further would be less than honorable.
However…
“There’s no sincerity in that apology. And why should I listen to you?” Louis Berg replied, brushing Beric aside and heading for Mario once more.
Beric bit his lip as he watched Louis.
So he really wants to see this through to the end!
Sacrificing Mario was no great loss. Losing a useful pawn stung, but if it meant putting pressure on Louis, it wasn’t a bad trade. But would Louis really stop at Mario?
Beric shook his head firmly.
Of course not.
He was certain. Louis would make sure everyone who had touched his men ended up just like Mario.
If that was the case…
A dangerous glint flashed in Beric’s eyes.
…I’ll strike first.
After all, the justification was on their side: self-defense. No matter how noble he was, even a noble couldn’t just go around killing another noble’s knights on a whim.
Knights, after all, were sometimes called “quasi-nobles.” If, in the process of defending themselves, they roughed up a noble a bit, well, that was hardly a crime.
Besides, the High Elder will take care of the aftermath.
Beric thought of his liege, the High Elder. If anyone wouldn’t abandon him, it was that man.
“…”
Having finished his deliberations, Beric began to stir up his fighting spirit.
Louis Berg paused at the sudden surge of hostility, turning around.
Then, fixing Beric with a look, he spoke. “What’s that look supposed to mean?”
“…We have to survive too, don’t we?”
“So you’re going to attack me?”
“We don’t really have a choice. Even a cornered rat will bite a cat.”
Beric gripped his sword and stared at Louis Berg.
To Beric’s eyes, Louis was only at the entry-level Aura Adept stage.
There were all sorts of rumors floating around—some said he was a late-stage Aura Adept, others claimed he was an entry-level Aura Expert—but Beric knew that was nonsense.
Hadn’t he heard it himself? The rumors about the black sheep of House Berg.
The idea that someone like that could reach such a level in just a few months was absurd—unless he was some kind of once-in-a-generation genius.
Besides…
He’s an archer.
Beric had seen it himself: Louis wielding a bow with destructive power that rivaled an Aura Expert. If Louis had his bow now, and if there were other knights around to protect him, Beric might have felt a flicker of anxiety.
But Louis was alone, and he was holding a short spear.
Which meant, quite logically, there was absolutely nothing to be afraid of.
Thud. Beric tapped the ground with his sword, and Karlo—who had been dithering nearby—hurriedly raised his own blade.
Just as the two of them prepared to rush Louis together—
“…Huh?”
KA-BOOOOOOOOOOM!
A tremendous shockwave crashed down on Beric and Karlo, and that was the last thing either of them remembered.
* * *
I clicked my tongue as I looked down at the fallen fools.
I hardly expected them to faint from something as minor as this level of spear technique.
Anyone watching would probably assume I was an Aura Master or something.
“Tch, so they were only Aura Adepts.”
Even if I had no particular talent for spearwork, my current prowess was mid-level Aura Expert.
Besides, I’d trained in spear techniques in my previous life, hadn’t I?
True, I hadn’t mastered them because my greater talent lay in archery, but I still had more than enough skill to be considered above average.
Well, it’s true my spear arts aren’t quite what they were in my previous life.
Back then—before the whole business with regression—I’d mastered my family’s secret techniques. Of course I was stronger.
In any case…
I turned my head to look at the men sprawled on the ground. They had been brimming with confidence entirely out of proportion to their actual skill.
At a glance, you might write them off as simple fools, but something about it didn’t quite add up.
No matter how thick-headed you are, showing that much murderous intent to a noble isn’t the sort of thing you do without a reason.
They must have had something—or someone—they were relying on.
I thought it was their own strength, but that wasn’t it.
Which meant what they trusted wasn’t their own ability, but whoever was backing them.
I paused, thinking it over.
Come to think of it, around this time the High Elder was busy filling the Order of Knights with his own people. Odds were, that’s who they were counting on.
Not that it matters either way.
I shrugged and walked over to them.
Then, skipping Beric for the moment, I gave the rest a good, hard kick in the gut—one after another.
Thud! Thud!
Each of them woke up in turn, gasping for breath.
“Gah!”
I approached the groaning men and sliced the tendons in their legs with my spear.
“Aaaaaaaaagh!”
“Gyaaaaaaah!”
They shrieked and began crawling across the floor.
I watched them with no expression at all. Just stared down at their pitiful, worm-like squirming.
By the time their voices had faded to whimpers, I turned my attention to Beric and gave his stomach another solid kick.
Crunch!
Beric’s midsection folded up, and he spat out a mouthful of white froth as he snapped back to consciousness.
“Gah!”
“Mm, you’re awake.” I crouched down in front of Beric and asked, “Do you have someone backing you?”
“!!!”
His pupils trembled, unable to focus, as if his mind was still reeling.
Blood oozed from the wound where my spear had pierced him, but apparently pain had decided to take a holiday.
Which made sense, really, since he didn’t even bother to grimace as he opened his mouth.
“H-how…?” He trembled, lips opening and closing in silent terror.
I kept my face blank and raised my spear.
Crunch!
Then I stabbed him straight through the thigh.
“Gyaaaaaaaaaaah!”
Only then did pain seem to remember its appointment, and he let out a resounding scream.
I addressed him again. “Tell me who’s behind you, and I shall let you live.”
“Y-you can’t kill me anywa—Gyaaaaaaaaaaah!”
I sliced off his arm mid-sentence.
Maybe it was because I used the edge of the spear, but the cut was anything but clean. At this rate, even the Temple wouldn’t be able to reattach it.
“My arm! My aaaaaaaaaaaarm!”
He thrashed so much that blood splattered across my face. I wiped it away without ceremony and continued. “Why do you think I can’t kill you?”
My voice was utterly flat.
Only then did he seem to realize I was perfectly serious. A yellow liquid trickled down from the hem of his trousers.
At the same time—“P-please… spare me.” He started to sob, voice trembling.
I looked at him and, still utterly devoid of emotion, spoke again.
“Then talk. Who’s backing you?”