-The girl stared blankly at the fountain.
A fountain where water gushed out with a vigorous *shwoosh*.
It was the landmark of the southern street plaza, a fountain visible to all regardless of status, built with prodigal use of jewels, gold, and marble, making it incomparably magnificent.
Furthermore, because such precious metals and jewels were used so lavishly, there was a fear of theft, so the guard squad always protected the fountain in rotating shifts.
In fact, there was likely no safer area than this central plaza, and those who caused unnecessary trouble were nonexistent.
Perhaps that was why.
"…It's quiet."
A place excellent for enjoying solitary contemplation.
With no unwarranted disturbances and not even a single interrupter, simply sitting there brought a sense of leisure to the mind.
…To the point where she strongly desired to remain in this spot forever.
'*Phew*, that won't do, though.'
Regrettably, if one lingered too long past a certain time, there were times when one attracted the attention of the guard squad.
Therefore, staying here for a long time was not a wise decision.
The girl, possessing both an elegance and grace reminiscent of a lush blue hydrangea, thus rose from her seat and began walking.
"…Oh."
And every time the girl passed by, the gazes of the guard squad gathered, but this wasn't because she looked suspicious.
Simply because she was beautiful.
"That girl is pretty."
"First time seeing her; was a girl like that in this street?"
"She's the first girl prettier than the flower shop miss…."
"Didn't you say the exact same thing when you fell for the bakery girl?"
"Love is naturally like a reed."
"Crazy bastard. What you're doing isn't love, it's just lust, you punk."
The guard squad had an extremely high ratio of young, vigorous youths.
Although guarding shouldn't be done half-heartedly, one couldn't stop eyes from wandering.
In other words, it was a law of nature for vigorous men's eyes to wander when seeing a pretty woman.
"Looking at her clothes, she seems like a commoner… hey. Watch my post for a bit."
"Crazy bastard. Not guarding and where are you going?"
"What are you talking about? I'm just going to briefly check out a 'suspicious individual.' This is strictly a duty too."
"…If you do something unnecessary, it won't end with just a written apology. Don't you know the royal capital's atmosphere is tense right now?"
"I said it's fine."
Whether it was ignorance being bliss, or his brain being dominated by his lower half, one of the male guards approached the girl without hesitation.
To use his status as a guard to press her and at least exchange names.
Thus, the guard-.
Thud.
"Hey, mister. You shouldn't cut in line. I have business over there first."
"You, what…."
For a moment, the male guard shut his mouth.
He was about to scowl when a stranger, who knows when he had come up beside him, draped an arm over his shoulder, but upon confirming who the opponent was, a chill naturally ran down his spine.
He was huge.
The man was incredibly huge.
A giant whose imposing frame dwarfed that of three average grown men.
However, the reason the guard felt overwhelmed wasn't simply because of the opponent's massive bulk.
'Wh-what the hell is with this bastard!? What's wrong with his eyes….'
His eyes were terrifying.
Enough to make even a resolute guard, who would normally face criminals without flinching, feel chilled.
In front of that murderous gaze, which didn't see a person as a person but rather like meat hanging in a butcher shop, the guard's body stiffened like a mouse before a snake.
"Mister, quietly leave. Quietly."
"H-How dare you threaten the guard squad…! E-Even if you've lost your fear, there should be a limit, how dare you…!"
Even so, there was such a thing as the guard squad's pride.
Though terrified of the opponent, he trusted in the name of the guard squad, thinking it would be a sufficiently effective threat.
"Is your status higher than Mark's?"
"…What?"
"Your superior, I mean. The guy with the mismatched eyes who's especially fond of taverns. Despite his appearance, I heard he's the Guard Captain?"
"!!!"
"But what's your name? I didn't expect to see such a spirited guy among Mark's subordinates. You'll have to tell me your name later. So I can tell him he has such an excellent subordinate under him, haha."
"……."
He couldn't dare utter a single word in reply to the giant who casually spoke the name of his superior, who was like the heavens to him.
He could have dismissed it as a lie, but the Guard Captain having mismatched eyes was surprisingly a secret known only to those in the know.
Since he always wore a prosthetic eye.
Therefore, he couldn't simply take those words as a lie, and the male guard simply.
"…M-My apologies."
Quietly bowed his head and stepped back.
The giant smiled with satisfaction.
* * *
The girl—no, Levi—wore an expression of contempt toward the giant who approached her with an ill-fitting friendly smile.
Could he be monitoring her?
A chill passed over her once, but Levi struggled to hide her inner thoughts and opened her mouth with a calm expression.
"…What business do you have here? The appointed time should still be far off."
"It's nothing special. I just came to escort you. We can't have weirdos like that bug earlier getting entangled with you, right? You're a precious 'merchandise' after all."
"……."
"Ah, a slip of the tongue. I'm such a lowly bastard I chose the wrong words! My, my mouth is the root of disaster."
"…Just leave. Taking care of myself isn't an issue."
Displeasure swept over her entire body, but Levi exercised patience.
However, the giant trampled on Levi's earnest patience….
"I can't do that. How do I know when you'll run away."
"!!"
…without mercy.
"…You'd better watch your words. I made a promise. And I gave up everything to keep it. Are you saying you won't trust my promise?"
Even though she was in such a disadvantaged position, Levi was a noble.
And a noble's promise must carry weight and trust.
For Levi, who regarded the name of the Volt family as her pride, such doubt itself approached as a massive insult.
However.
"Do you think I've experienced that bullshit noble honor only once or twice? Honor my ass, they were all nothing but scoundrels spouting nothing but lies! So why should I trust you? Especially a miss who has absolutely nothing to her name."
"……."
The opponent spat out an even greater insult, and Levi's hand was already on her rapier.
As if ready to draw it at any moment.
But the giant snorted.
"I know you have quite a sharp move for your age, miss, but it won't work on me, so put that blade away. Unless you want to lose an arm or a leg for nothing."
"Rather than stay quiet after suffering such an insult, I'd rather gladly accept a disability."
"…Those eyes are serious."
Smack.
Only then did the giant smack his lips, realizing that unlike the nobles he usually dealt with, the girl had a considerably upright and stubborn personality.
Getting into an argument needlessly would lead to bloodshed, geez.
'She's like a prudish knight. What do I do, I really can't break through even one spot.'
To say it again, the girl was precious merchandise.
If he dared to harm her…
'I'd get an earful from the Guild Master for nothing.'
That was undesirable, and the giant changed his direction, deciding to persuade her with words.
The best method to make this high-class noble lady obedient was, after all—
"-If you don't listen to us, I'll have no choice but to mess with your younger sister or your wife. How about it? Do you want that to happen?"
"You…!"
"So just listen to what I say. Don't make things needlessly annoying."
The best method when dealing with high-class people is to become a thug.
If you mess with their family, friends, or lovers, nine out of ten become compliant.
As expected.
"…Don't make empty threats. I'll cooperate."
"Haha, you should have done that from the start."
The giant was satisfied, yet also found it curious.
Even if they are family, her own life is on the line, so how can she devote everything so wholeheartedly?
'If it were me, I'd sell them all, family or whatever. They're like that because their bellies are full.'
If one had lived as hardship-filled a life as he had, they would have known that family or lovers were all in vain.
Looking at it this way, even a noble lady was pitiful.
'No, in this case, didn't she just meet the wrong father?'
Unlike this high-class girl, a father who sells his daughter.
Under the pretext of doing it for the family, selling off someone who would become a female knight someday….
Ridiculous, truly ridiculous.
Seeing this, one might say it's a case of a tiger being born to a dog.
'*Gulp*, makes my mouth water.'
The giant liked this kind of woman.
A filial daughter possessing untainted purity and nobility.
And on top of that, was she not a noble lady that a lowly being like himself couldn't dare covet?
'So damn pretty.'
Lust surged within the giant.
Though the girl wore old clothes to hide her status, an unmistakable aura and beauty lingered around her.
She was still young, so her beauty hadn't fully bloomed, but even if it hadn't bloomed, a flower is still a flower.
And there was worth in plucking it.
'We have to stick together for a while anyway… Should I try coaxing her during that time?'
He had already figured out the girl's weakness.
If he constantly picked at her using her family as leverage, he might be able to push her all the way to bed.
The Guild Master only told him to protect her until the appointed time anyway; he didn't say not to touch her.
Thus, the giant.
'Just a little….'
Thought of starting by lightly leaning his arm on the girl's shoulder.
"-I'll take that arm as meaning it's unnecessary for the rest of your life."
Crack!
However, the giant should have known what misfortune—no, 'disaster'—prioritizing his uncontrollable lust would bring.
…Though it would be a belated realization.
"Aaaargh…!"
"Don't bark, you bastard."
-Or you'll die.
Crunch!
The screaming giant's mouth was forced shut by a vicious hand.
"-----!"
The giant wanted to struggle and thrash in pain, but from the hand covering his mouth…!
He was experiencing the horrific ordeal of his entire body being crushed by the powerful pressure emanating from the 'brute force' itself.
However, as if the experience was only just beginning—.
Crack, cr-crunch…!
"!?!!!"
His body was bending in a direction it should never fold.
An ominous cracking sound coming from his spine.
The 'terror' of there being no turning back rushed in, and the giant put up a desperate resistance.
For humans sometimes display superhuman strength at the crossroads of life and death.
But unfortunately for the giant.
"Is that you putting in strength now? …What a waste of a physique."
His opponent was someone who had experienced true superhumans, and the fact that this kind of resistance was nothing to him was the giant's first misfortune.
Boom!
He—Lee Han—wore a gaze as cold as a sheet of ice as he repeatedly slammed the giant onto the ground.
Continuously, like playing a flipping game.
However, while a tile might leave the hand for a moment, the giant wasn't released from his grip even for a second and had to keep crashing into the dirt floor.
Once, twice-.
Crunch!
…Ten times.
Even after being slammed exactly ten times, the giant couldn't escape Lee Han's grasp, and even if he had escaped.
Slither….
It was meaningless.
The giant's condition was already like well-tenderized meat.
Because he no longer looked human.
It was dreadful and horrific….
"…Keuh… heok…."
But the giant didn't die.
He was intentionally left alive, to teach him what it meant to wish for the comfort of death when he woke up.
This was the second misfortune for the giant… no, the thug who had now become a lump of meat.
"…Tsk, only my clothes got dirty."
Lee Han expressed his displeasure, flicking the blood-splattered clothes.
As if laying a hand on a worthless thug like this only served to dirty his mood.
"I-Instructor…."
Levi Volt looked with pity at her master, who had appeared out of nowhere and tenderized the giant.
A mere 5 days.
It was a master she hadn't seen in 5 days, but she didn't know why she was so glad and missed him so much.
As Levi felt a torrent of complex, indescribable emotions and was about to offer some sort of excuse….
"Deserting ninja—no, disciple, let's have our counseling session later."
"…Pardon?"
"I'm in a 'slightly' excited state right now."
"……."
It certainly looked like it.
It was the first time she had seen her master so excited—no, 'angry' since she met him.
A state where she was afraid to even dare speak to him.
And such a person.
"This thug bastard is affiliated with the Guild, right?"
"W-Why do you ask?"
"I knew it, Guild affiliated. Let's go."
"W-Wait a minute…!"
She tried to pitifully grab hold of the instructor, but she was just dragged along, and he didn't stop.
Levi thought with a tearful face.
'…N-No, this is bad…!'
We're screwed.
One of the bad slang words she learned while hanging around Lee Han.
It was only now, in this very moment, that Levi realized the reason for those words' existence.
…Unwelcomely so.