Chapter 324: Not So Gallant.

Chapter 324: Not So Gallant.

“Thank you for your patronage and please come again.”

“Will do!”

A door opened with a bell sound as a rough-looking adventurer stepped through it. In his hand, he was holding a new magical longsword that he had been saving up for. With it in his hand he felt like the monsters on the deeper levels wouldn’t pose as much of a threat as before. While walking through the forest he quickly unwrapped it to examine it closer. The design was quite simple but the runic symbols on the blade and how his mana was able to circulate through them freely, told a story.

“This is one of the best enchantments I’ve ever seen... Now those damn salamanders don’t stand a chance, can’t wait to see those guys blue with envy!”

His grin was apparent as he wanted to show this weapon to all of his adventurer friends. Previously their party leader had bought a shield from the same shop and after seeing it at work, everyone else wanted an item for themselves. Now he was the second person to get it and he would be sure to rub it in.

However, while going through the road out of the shop he suddenly halted in his tracks. It took a moment for his mind to process a few things but when it did, with haste he bolted to the side to make way. The weapon he was so eager to use made its way behind his back to hide it from view. In no way did he want to show that he posed any sort of threat to the people that were approaching.

“...Whew... that was close... but why is a group of armored knights going to the magic craftsman? They didn’t seem to lack equipment... I should probably tell the leader about this.”

His eyes were filled with fear after seeing the group pass by him. They looked strong and were armed to the teeth. The crest that was imprinted on some of their shields and armor pieces belonged clearly to the Valerian noble house. The fear of nobility was ingrained in the very being of every commoner, he could not help to step away and hold his head down even if he did nothing wrong.

“I hope that store lady will be fine and there was also that young lass at the entrance...”

The man quickly started running, there was nothing good that could happen from staying here too long. Even though he felt bad for the people in the shop, there was nothing he could do there. There were some bad rumors concerning some of the knight orders from this household. They weren’t a unified faction, there were many Valerian siblings and each had their own sub-knight order to do their bidding. He could only hope that the ones that were going for the store, were more of the honorable bunch.

...

“Hey, did the boss say when he will be back? I need him to look at something.”

“Hm, I don’t think he will be back for a few hours, he said he wanted to buy a few things?”

“Aye? Well, when he comes back.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll send him right over.”

“Haha, Missus you’re a lifesaver.”

“Hey, stop calling me that.”

Elodia and Bernir were having a little conversation in the store which left her blushing slightly.

“It’s only a matter of time now.”

“...”

“I’ll head out then, Jorg should be finished by now, have to keep the boy occupied or he’ll get lazy!”

Bernir laughed while leaving the store through the backdoor. The day seemed very peaceful and the weather was fine. After Roland returned from his trial the workshop was ready for a change. His two half-dwarven workers had been given the task of going through their stock and drawing up some plans for more rooms. This time they would be going even further down and even installing a contraption that would somehow bring them down to the lower levels automatically.

“I need to tell Dyana to knock some sense into him.”

“Worf?”Th.ê most uptodate novels are published on n(0)velbj)n(.)co/m

“No Agni, you can’t bite him.”

“Woof!”

Elodia was left with Agni inside the store, the ruby wolf usually spend his days around here and acted as a deterrent against potential shoplifters. The only problem was that he had gotten slightly too large for the inside. That ruby tail of his would sometimes knock wares off the counters and thus he was relegated to sitting behind the counter without much room to move.

On the outside, Marcie was greeting the customers and also waving to them as they left. It actually seemed to work as people entering the store were usually in a better mood after seeing the cute girl outside. If this actually increased their sales were still debatable but at least it made the atmosphere better.

“It’s slow today, usually there are at least some window shoppers around.”

“Yes, can I help you with something, Sir, Knight?”

While Elodia was racking her brain for some answers the leader of the group that they referred to as the Lieutenant pointed out to her with his finger. He was wearing a full suit of armor with part of his face sticking out through the visor. There was a certain grin on the man’s face as she was replying with a proper bow. The way that he was looking at her was similar to some of the drunk adventurers with ulterior motives. She was not the only one that noticed as Agni’s growls became even louder.

“Wench, quiet your beast down.”

“Y-yes, my apologies.”

One of the armored men shouted out from the side while putting his hand on the hilt of the sword. Elodia instantly started trying to push Agni back into the shop to keep him from attacking the overbearing soldiers. If he actually attacked one of them it would be over, not even Roland would probably be able to diffuse the situation then. As it stood now, they probably wanted to take him in for questioning. He was an official member of Arthur Velerian’s side and in a sense part of the household. There was no reason to fight as everything could be resolved in a peaceful manner.

“He just gets excited when he sees new people.”

While trying to laugh it off, Elodia managed to push Agni back into the store. It wouldn’t be possible for her to force him in but the ruby wolf was well-behaved enough to listen to the order. Soon the door was closed and both Elodia and the adventurer were left behind with the group of armored men. It was clear to her at a glance that the man would probably not do anything if things got rough but she couldn’t really blame him for it. One wrong move and his life could be over.

“We came for Wayland the Runesmith, where is he? Is he inside? Our Commander doesn’t like to be kept waiting”

“My apologies but Wayland is out on an errand... but he should be back soon.”

“He isn’t here? Are you serious?”

She wasn’t sure what the problem was but the leader of the group looked annoyed. Ever since arriving at this place they were all acting strange and looking around. Their gazes also landed on the magical turrets that were pointing in their direction. It was surprising as most people that arrived here had no idea what these magical devices were.

“Lieutenant, what if the wench is lying?”

“Yeah, what if they just want to buy more time, the commander will be angry if we don’t bring the Runesmith over in time.”

“That is true...”

“W-what are you.”

The group of knights continued to walk forward while talking, they found themselves at the doorstep. Elodia was far too stressed to move out of this spot, she was afraid that if she actually started running that something could go wrong. In the past she heard about stories where knights abused their power, some would seek for the faintest excuse to exert force against a commoner.

“Please stop... why are you doing this?”

“Now that I’m this close, you aren’t half bad why don’t you join me for tonight.”

“Haha, look at him go, he does this in each city.”

“I bet he will get rejected again.”

The Lieutenant towered over Elodia who was stuck standing in front of the store. The adventurer on the side started backing away as he knew that this didn’t look good. The knight grasped her chin between his thumb and index finger while forcing Elodia to look up to him.

“... Should we be doing this, won’t the Runesmith be back soon?”

“Newbie don’t be a stick in the mud, this is the best part of being a knight, just relax. The Lieutenant is just being a bit playful, just keep your eyes peeled at those things, you know what kind of place this is.”

One of the knights that was standing in the back voiced some concerns about the whole situation. He was shot down by another one from the group and told to just watch. Instead of looking at the woman that was being harassed his gaze fell toward the runic turrets.

“Please...”

Then suddenly the situation escalated further. Elodia’s body reacted on its own by trying to push the hand holding her chin. The Lieutenant’s grinning face contorted into something ugly as he felt the resistance.

“You dare strike me. A Valerian Knight? You? A worthless whore? I think someone needs to be taught a lesson.”

Elodia didn’t even know when it happened but a metallic taste entered her mouth as she found herself down on the ground. Her cheek was red and her head was spinning. The men that were around her were constantly laughing and the man that initiated the hit was doing the same.

Yet this wasn’t what started the trouble as soon after the sound of glass on the side entered her ears. It was followed by a ferocious growl of an angry dire wolf that quickly tossed himself at the man responsible for the injury to her cheek.

“Agni... NO!”

She could only look in horror at the armored men going for their weapons and shields. The magical devices that were meant to protect her and the hose began glowing as the battle that she was hoping to avoid unfolded before her and there was nothing that she could do to stop it now.