Ryouta readies his sword, pointing the sharp end towards the enemies.

Although he seemed prepared to take them on, the luxuriously dressed man and his posse did not seem to be worried at all; rather, they seemed confident that they could win the fight.

They were confident in the fact that they outnumbered him, and they were even given a handicap. The strongest-looking man in the bunch snickered. Was the boy expecting to fight them with the girl in tow? It was certainly a recipe for losing, he thought. He couldn’t help but look down on the boy who was overestimating his own strength.

“I’ll teach you a lesson, boy,” Lackey #1 says, grinning fiendishly.

“Hmph! Bring it on!”

Lackey #1 made the first move. He took out his sword, swinging it down heavily towards Ryouta. The attack was not fast, but it was a strong one nonetheless. One could clearly tell that Lackey #1 had placed a lot of strength behind the attack.

Seeing that it would be too heavy for him to parry, Ryouta immediately fell back, narrowly dodging the hit.

He was grateful for the fact that Shiro was almost weightless; even while carrying her in his arms he was still able to move around freely.

Ryouta raised his sword once again. But before he could do anything, Shiro who was in his arms start to move. Before he knew it, she was already making herself comfortable on his back, positioning herself piggyback-style. With this, it was even easier for him to swing his sword around.

“Hold on tight, Shiro!”

“Mn!”

“Hyaaaah!” With a shout, Ryouta begins to move. He held his sword with two hands, swinging it with practiced ease.

Even after leaving the castle, he still kept up the daily training, following the routine imparted by the royal guard’s captain who had been his sword-fighting instructor. Although the person did not teach him anything else other than a few sword techniques, he was still grateful for the man who still patiently taught the basics to him, who was constantly lagging behind.

Lackey #1 parried the attack.

After exchanging a few more moves, Lackey #1 finally realised that the kid in front of him had some skill.

“What are you waiting for, defeat him!” The luxuriously dressed man shouted, spittle flying everywhere. He had expected the boy to fall quickly under his lackey’s attacks, but somehow the boy was still standing without a single scratch.

“Is that all you can do?” Ryouta says, taunting the man.

Lackey #1 gritted his teeth. He had underestimated his opponent. It was a grave mistake. If his opponent had killing intent, he might even be dead by now.

“Guys, attack together!” Finally, he threw away any semblance of a warrior’s pride, calling out to his underlings to attack simultaneously.

The other three rough-looking man immediately moved at their leader’s signal. However, before they could even land an attack, a voice shouted from afar, “Halt!”

Immediately after the voice fell, a few knights in blue uniform came to surround the group. “To create trouble in Bluer Port Town, you people sure have guts!” The voice roared angrily.

A strict-looking man comes into view, adorned with the same blue uniform.

“You are—Margrave Vista!”

The luxuriously dressed man gaped. He hadn’t expected that the margrave himself would appear. Margrave Vista was supposed to be a busy man who was in charge of the security of the town, so it was unexpected for them to encounter the man.

“Right on time, Margrave. Seize that abominable boy!” The luxuriously dressed man pointed angrily at Ryouta, “he raised his hand against the nobility! He, a commoner, dares to raise his hands against me, a true noble of the kingdom!”

Margrave Vista looked at the man, eyebrows furrowing. One look at his facial expression would tell you that the margrave was definitely thinking of something along the lines of, how annoying.

“I have been informed by my men that you were the one who attacked first. Men, take them to the dungeons!”

“Margrave! You can’t do this! You are overstepping your boundaries!” The man shouted as he tries to fend off the strong grips of the blue-garbed guards. “I am the son of Visount Tallus! You have no rights to detain me!”

Margrave Vista sneered, “So what? If you cause trouble in my territory, then you can only pay the price yourself. Even if you are the duke or even the prince, if you committed a crime, then you committed a crime.”

With that, the commotion ended and the passers-by continued with whatever they were doing.

“Thank you for your help, mister.” Ryouta bowed, sincerely thanking the man. He found that a person that took care of the public order seriously like the man was a rare find, thus he truly thanked him from the bottom of his heart.

“No need to thank me. I simply did my job.”

Margrave Vista sent a sidelong glance towards the boy carrying the girl on his back. He noticed that the boy was rather protective of the girl. “Slaves in the kingdom are seen as commodities. If you want to give her a better and safer place to live, it’s better to go to the Republic instead.”

Ryouta raised his head to stare at the margrave in surprise. He did not expect that the man would give him an advice all of a sudden.

“The Republic…” He pondered about the familiar term.

In the world, the Republic of Vine, also known simply as the Republic, was a place that was rumoured to have many species living together in harmony. Although the Kingdom viewed the place as an enemy due to the influence of the local religion, the Republic was a rather prosperous and bustling place filled with different races, according to the words of the travellers and merchants.

He had also heard that slaves were illegal in the Republic. If he brought Shiro there, she could be liberated, he thought. He might even be able to find a skilled blacksmith or magician to help him with removing her collar, as well.

“Thank you for the advice. You have my gratitude, mister.” Ryouta once again bowed. The margrave’s words allowed him to plan his future course of action more thoroughly.

Margrave Vista had a ghost of smile playing on his lips. He felt rather positively towards the younger boy; most people his age—those who had recently just reached adulthood—were usually rather brash and hot-headed, often ignoring their mannerisms. Seeing the boy’s politeness, he felt that if the boy was not a noble, then at least he was someone who was raised with proper manners.

Without saying a single word of farewell, the margrave returned to his task of patrolling the town.

Finally having been left alone, Ryouta continues to head towards the auction house, wondering how he would get to the Republic.