I started walking to the way where the woman points at, and the moment I look up I can already see the church on top of a small hill, even if its a bit far out. Looks like this world values religion a lot because that church is clearly glistening. I just hope this is not like those isekai stories where the priests are..very.. disgusting.
As I turned left I saw that, this is an intersection for three streets, now the question is which third street is the bookstore..from the right third street or from the left. Well, good thing there are people here I could just ask them right away.
I approached a group of people who were just casually standing by the side.
"Excuse me, may I ask which street is the way for the public bookstore?"
Hm? Was it just my imagination or did they just smirked?
"Take the right one, that's where you will find the bookstore" he pointed at the street and resumed talking to the other man.
I said my thanks and began walking to the street where the man points. As I kept walking I realized the street is becoming less crowded. Is the bookstore not that popular? Hmm.. this is clearly fishy. I slowed my walking and try to focus on listening to my surroundings.
'Heh.. I knew it'
I stopped walking and firmly tighten my bag on my body.
"Hey.. don't you think its time for you guys to come out!"
I'm not the top best in class but I'm quite confident with my physical abilities since I studied offensive attacks and a bunch of self-defenses tactic from my uncle who was a retired military man, also these guys I'm dealing with are just a bunch of crooks.
"Eh? Are you guys scared? Ohoho.. I think I can hear you guys pissing~~!"
"SHUT UP!!!! DIE!!!!"
I easily evaded the man's knife attack and proceeded to knock him out dead with my kick. He flew away a bit and crashed into a wall.
I ran my fingers through top of my forehead and into my hair then clicked my tounge.
"Your line is so cliche."
'Ah right, I almost forgot'
I went to the passed out man and took his money and dagger.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing?!"
I turned around and saw three grown man trying to corner me while they stand up guard with their weapons
"Huh? What do you mean? I'm just doing what you're about to do on me"
I rapidly lunges to the man in the middle.
"Aren't I right?"
Then I slit his throat. before the other two react, I quickly took the middle man's dagger and slitted the two man's throat at the same time.
Their body slowly getting lifeless fell on the cold hard ground. I turned my head behind me.
"Who's next?"
I heard a slow clapping sound and a black-haired slender old-looking man in his 50s with a beard dressed elegantly appears from a dark corner of a building. This is clearly not a crook man, rather a rotten nobleman.
"Young man, what do you say? Would you like to work for me? I can pay you ten times what I pay them." He smiled joyfully as I tossed one blade past his face, dropping his smile and causing a small cut on his right cheek.
"Well, I don't like to work with the nobles, how's that answer to you?"
He cleaned his cheek with his thumb while wearing a dark glove, and behind the nobleman, a big looking guy slumped dead and is now slowly bathing in his own pool of blood. I tossed the dagger past him since there was a hired crook behind him. Furthermore, whether rotten or not, he is still a noble. I still can't do anything I want to him. This is why I despise heirarchy.
The nobleman was disgusted from the pool of blood and slightly raised his one hand signaling something. A five man crooks begins to move in front to protect the nobleman.
"You will regret this"
The nobleman shouted as he retreated to the shadows.
I kicked the dagger that was close to my feet making it fly upwards then catching it with my other hand.
"I guess the party has finally started" I snickered and ready my stance.
The bearded buff man with a longsword charges at me, swinging his sword multiple times but I evaded each strike.
I smirked at him and remarked, "So slow."
I use my left foot to heavily kicked him by his side, forcing him to groan and tremble in pain. I was about to use my blade on him when a second man hurled thin sharped long needles beside me. I rapidly wield my dagger to deflect the needles. The second man was astonished to what I just did, I grabbed the first man by using his other wrist with all of my strength and yanking him towards the secondman. When he was about to collide with the other man, I quickly dashed towards them, stealing the longsword from the man's slipping grip and sinking it into both of their skulls.
I took the other man's needles and was amused with it. "This looks fun to use" I snickered as I play with it
"You....you monster!" cries out by the other man, lunging with his sword towards at me. In comparison to the other two, his form was that of a rookie; there was a lot of vulnerability and he was slow. I toss three needles at his face at the same time, and when the needles penetrated his skin, they all detonated at the same instant.
"Damn, that's cool!" I excitedly said as I watched his body fall to the ground, his head was shattered into pieces.
"That leaves you two," I said, turning to face them and smirked, "or should I say three?"
I noticed the two of them was peeing on themselves. A puddle of piss was forming. Before I could say anything, a gigantic figure wearing a dark cloak from head to toe and a red wolf half-mask plummeted from a building. He landed on the other two, killing them instantly.
"You. Fight. Me." He strongly said and pointed at me.
"Ah well, I'll take yo-"
He was already in front of me, about to deliver his first blow, before I could finish my sentence. Fortunately, I make it out but almost stumble my landing. When I turned around, he was already behind me. I immediately duck down, causing his fist to kiss the air, producing a powerful gust of wind to sweep in. He looks down and I winked at him as I used my knee to land a hefty hit on his jaw, forcing his head to shift upwards.
I use a dagger to make a s***h on his torso, but he jumped out to create a safe distance between us, but before he could attack again, he collapsed on his knees. He was immobilized by the heavy blow to his jaw and clenched his palm on his stomach, only to discover that he was bleeding.
"I must say, you're quite good, not only do you move quickly, but you were paralyzed by the heavy impact instead of becoming unconscious." I remarkably said while I stare down at him.
He grins and laughed, "If only you didn't refused his offer... you could have been fighting side by side with me.."
I locked my gaze on the man who had collapsed on the ground.
"Get up, you can't fool me by playing unconscious"
After a few minutes of not moving, I heard a 'neigh' of several horses and heavy armors clanking. I turned my head behind me, only to realize a hot feeling on my upper stomach was forming. I tried to block it with both daggers but I was already too late. The man punched me so hard making me fly a couple of blocks away.
's**t'
I crashed into a hard wall making me puke out blood.
'My bones are broken, I can't even move'
My eyelids started feeling heavy as I heard someone shouting. I saw some silhouettes in front of me but I can't open my eyes no more. Then, the light fades away.
**NATHAN's POV**
"Mother, I'm really sorry about earlier"
I walk towards my mother who was cleaning the countertop. My mom stopped cleaning and hugs me tightly.
"Mother! I'm too old for this!"
I heard her giggle and finally released me.
"What do you mean? You still haven't reach your twenties yet! You're still a 17 years old boy" She mockingly said and pinches my left cheek
"Brother! Kiel is calling you outside!" My little sister yells with her head sticking out by the door frame
My mother stopped pinching my cheeks and went back to cleaning, and I rubbed the area where I had been pinched.
"Tell him to wait for a bit!"
I arrange the chairs in a neatly manner and went outside to see my friend. My mother said "Take care" and my little sister went inside.
"Oh hey Kiel, what brings you here?"
I asked him and he looks kinda uneasy.
"Did something happened?" I asked and looked at him directly
"Well, you know the right third street?" He asked while fidgeting. His questions perplexed me at first, but then I remembered all the horrors that could happen on that street. That's when I had a realization.
'THE MAN FROM EARLIER!'
I grabbed his shoulders and I didn't notice I was already yelling at him. "DID SOMEBODY GOT LEAD THERE?!"
He appeared stunned and simply nodded in response to my question. The fear rose on me as I remembered the man who was easily scared and is now there. He could be in big danger now!
I frantically went inside and saw my mother slumped on the floor.
"I..I forgot to tell him which..side.."
My father was helping my mother to get up from the floor. I rushed into my room and took my dagger and a magic powder to use it for escaping.
"Son! Where are you going?!" My father grabs my arm.
"I can't let an innocent man get killed like that." I locked eyes with my father and he let my arm go, I went to my mother and hugged her.
"Don't worry mother, I'll be going out for a bit, so please call the knights as I leave, then instruct them to go save someone" I hurriedly left the inn and was about to run when my little sister called me.
"Brother! Wait up!" She shouts while carrying something.
"What are you doing?! You can't be thinking of coming with me?!" I was panicking so I didn't mean to shout at her since she is just a 12 years old girl.
"But! I want to help!" She tearily yelled back so I just sighed and told her to go with Kiel and find guards that can easily go to the right third street.
She nods and went back inside to tell Kiel what I just ordered them to do. I rushed to the way of the right third street but it's quite far so I felt like my lungs were on fire. I was trying to run as fast as I could, only to get stopped by two knights in front of me.
'Perfect!'
"Young lad, why are you running so fast" The tallest knight asked me as he try to calm me down.
"Did something happened, lad?" The other knight looked at me worriedly.
"I'm really sorry but please help me! Someone I know got lead to the right third street!" I rushly said and I continue to breathe heavily trying to catch my breath.
I looked at them and their faced turned gloomy. "That..street.." the shortest knight said and shuts his mouth.
"I'm sorry lad, but we can't go there.. that's..a certain noble's den..."
I slowly realizes what they meant, I felt my mind was swirling as my body getting heavy. 'I.. I forgot about that...'
"As you know, only titled knights are able to go there." he expressed regret for the man caught up in the situation.
"We're only a commoner knights and we can't go against a noble" I get it by what they meant but I was getting a bit pissed off.
"Call for someone with a title then!!" I clenched my teeth and unknowingly yelled at them, slowly losing my footing but managed to stand firmly.
"What's going on here?" A man with blonde hair and a different armor appeared beside us. The two knights saluted to the man. "Captain! May the sun and moon bring glory to all!"
'Captain? Wait blonde hair and red eyes.. he is..? The second son of a viscount family!!, It's the Reidengar family!!'
He looked at me and I immediately fixed my posture up straight . He asked me what was happening so I told him everything I could.
"Let's go" he ordered the other two knights to gather more reinforcements. The two of them hurriedly to find more men.
The captain ushered me to ride his horse with him but I politely decline because I'm a commoner. "Stop wasting time and come on, wasn't it you that want to save that man?"
I couldn't say no after what he had just said, so I accepted his offer and we quicky went towards the street. The additional reinforcements arrived as we approached the third street.
We went deeper in the street than we thought we would, I suddenly felt a huge of uneasiness growing on me.
"Sir, how fa-"
Something rapidly flew beside us, startling the horses, causing them to be anxious and some of them to become uncontrollable.
I looked at the place where it landed, I was so shocked by the sight of what I saw, it was the man from earlier! He was bleeding and puking out blood. I instantly jumped down and ran towards the man, shouting at him endlessly.
The other knights and healers went to the man trying to save him, blocking my path and I couldn't see him clearly.
I knelt down and started praying for miracles, hoping the gods will answer my prayers.
'Please! Please live! Oh, Goddess of the Sun and God of the Moon! Please save this man!'
I felt a hand grasped my shoulder and looked up only to see the captain looking sorry. He shaked his head sideways and tighten the grip on my shoulder.
'No..'
I looked towards where the lying man is and saw the healers are giving up.
'No.. No.. No.. it can't be..'
"HEAL HIM MORE! PLEASE I'LL PAY YOU GOLD COINS! SO PLEASE!"
A knight came forward to me and crouched down. "I'm sorry lad but..he..he's long gone.."
I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my chest and couldn't breathe normally.
"He..he's dead.." I silently said while I stared down on the ground.