Chapter 4

As soon as Mero and Haka walked into the fish shop with their arms slung over each other’s shoulders, Kage’s expression twisted with displeasure.

“Haha, Kage! Bring out some snacks and beer, will you? Looks like business is slow today! Once you’re done, why not sit and join us?”

Kage’s face was swollen in several places, the result of being pummeled earlier by Malon. Haka cleared his throat and took a seat.

“This fish shop’s been here a long time... Back in the day, I used to hang out with the village girls here all the time. Not that any of them would look my way now.”

With the first beer downed, Mero launched into yet another round of grandiose stories and shameless bragging.

Haka, who had only come to appease Mero’s ego, just nodded along, offering polite reactions where needed.

“Consistent to the end… Empire’s finest scumbag. I can’t believe this clown is a knight. The world’s doomed.”

Haka chuckled into his beer. Unbeknownst to him, Kage had spit in it before serving.

“This beer is nice and cold. Good stuff. Kage, about your boy—sorry about that. I’ll cover the medical bill.”

Kage didn’t answer. He just silently grilled the fish.

“Come now, Kage. Why the long face? This attitude’s exactly why you’re still stuck in this backwater village. Hahaha! Isn’t that right?”

Mero downed his beer like it was water, laughing as if he were having the time of his life.

When Maria brought out the grilled fish, Mero eyed her from head to toe with obvious interest.

“What’s your name?”

“Maria, sir.”

“Oh ho… Kage, didn’t know you had a daughter.”

“She’s not my daughter. Just an employee.”

“Is that so?”

Mero stared at Maria the way one might gaze at a rare, beautiful animal.

If looks could pierce, Maria would’ve been skewered.

Feeling awkward, she turned to head back to the kitchen—but Mero grabbed her wrist.

“Even among these hicks, there are some real beauties. You’ve got quite the face.”

Haka, suddenly sober, scratched his head in discomfort. Mero licked his lips and ran a hand over the back of Maria’s hand.

“Come sit with us.”

“Sorry, sir. I’ve got things to do.”

“What things? The place is empty! Hey! Kage, your shop so busy this girl can’t even sit for a moment?”

“She needs to head to the market.”

BANG!

Mero slammed the table.

“Kage, who do you think you’re talking to like that? You’re getting on my nerves. You still think I’m the same Mero you used to play with as a kid?”

“N-no, sir…”

Kage quickly bowed his head, his face turning red with shame.

Maria stood frozen, trembling. She was just a year older than Yuma and Malon—also a war orphan, just like Yuma.

“Sit and pour us drinks. Kage’ll handle the market.”

Mero pulled a silver coin from his pocket—an entire week’s wages for Maria. Terrified, she looked to Haka, silently pleading for help.

But Haka just kept his eyes fixed on the grilled fish, his expression stone-cold.

While Mero forced Maria into the seat and leered at her, Kage glared at Haka.

His hatred toward Haka—enough to curse him even in front of Malon—stemmed from moments like this.

Years ago, when a noble had beaten Kage’s wife for “looking at him wrong,” Kage had begged Haka for help.

—You used to be a warrior! You know nobles—can’t you say something? Please!

—Sorry, Kage. I don’t think I can help you.

At the time, Haka had felt powerless. He couldn’t even protect his own wife—how could he protect someone else’s?

Once a famed swordsman, he’d turned down countless offers to become a knight, choosing instead to live as a simple fisherman.

He had thought that by retreating to the Empire’s edge, to a remote fishing village, he could escape the ugliness of the world.

But even here… the filth followed.

“Hahaha! Now this is how you enjoy a drink.”

Mero had now casually wrapped an arm around Maria’s waist.

“Please stop!”

“What? What did I even do?”

Haka just prayed for the moment to pass. As vile as Mero was, he didn’t think the man would go so far as to take a seventeen-year-old girl to bed.

“What about your parents?”

“T-they died… in the last war.”

“Ahh… a war orphan. Poor thing. Don’t you want something? Anything?”

“No, Sir Knight.”

“No way. You must want something. Just say the word—we’ll go pick it out tonight, together.”

Haka had been wrong.

Mero absolutely would take a war orphan to bed.

Ever since he’d received his knighthood, Mero had pursued young girls relentlessly. Some brothels in the capital Hale even kept a few underaged girls on standby just for him.

Maria kept glancing at Haka, eyes pleading for rescue.

“Eeek!”

Mero’s hand slipped down toward her backside, prompting a shriek from Maria.

“My ears! What are you yelling for? You should be used to this.”

Mero knew all too well what happened to girls orphaned by war. Compared to the boys, they were far more likely to face abuse—assault, exploitation, worse.

He never passed up such “opportunities,” even on the battlefield.

“Tch. She knows how to raise her price, huh?”

Mero pulled out another silver coin and continued pawing at her. Maria bit her lip, refusing even to glance at the money.

“Sir Mero, it’s still the middle of the day. Someone might see.”

Haka chose his words carefully—but it made no difference.

“What’s the big deal? So a warrior enjoys the company of a woman. Relax, it’s fine.”

Maria looked like she was about to burst into tears. Haka sighed, a dark shadow clouding his expression.

Beating Mero to a pulp would’ve been easy. With his skill, Haka could have subdued the fully-armored knight using nothing but a bamboo fishing rod from the corner of the shop.

He didn’t even need that. Five minutes of bare-handed combat, and Mero would be a pile of broken limbs.

But Haka couldn’t do a thing.

If he acted on impulse, not only his own family—but Kage and Maria too—would be in danger.

“Heh, Kage must have his reasons for hiring you. These days, who hires a war orphan? I didn’t think much of him, but he’s quite the shameless one. What are you standing around for? Go on, head to the market. Take your time. I’m renting the place out for the day.”

“…Yes, sir.”

Kage wiped his swollen face and quietly stepped out. The wooden door of the shop creaked behind him.

“You should really—huh?”

Just as the creaky door clicked shut, it creaked open again.

“Uncle!”

Yuma and Malon had arrived, smiling brightly as they entered the shop—clearly here to pull Haka out of the nightmare.

“So those were the kids from earlier.”

Mero cleared his throat awkwardly.

The moment Yuma stepped inside and saw the bizarre scene unfolding in the fish shop, he grasped the situation instantly.

After all, Mero’s twisted tastes were a frequent topic of gossip among noble ladies at imperial banquets.

Completely incompetent yet consistently the talk of the Empire, Mero was… impressive in his own deplorable way.

“Why are you here?”

Haka asked coldly. Knowing Malon, there was no way he’d see this and stay quiet.

Sure enough, Malon was already glaring at Mero with murderous eyes.

“Father. You just… let this happen?”

“Seems your son’s got the wrong idea,” Mero said with a forced laugh. Haka rubbed the bridge of his nose with a deep frown.

“Did you seriously just sit there? While that bastard was doing that to Maria?”

“Tch. I thought the boy had spine, but it turns out he’s just plain rude. You need to raise your kid better.”

Yuma’s mind raced, trying to figure out how to defuse the situation.

This was 40 years before his original timeline. There were no noble allies, no knights or mages to call on. No Empress Hella Roze.

‘Even if Mero’s an idiot, he’s still an official knight. If we hurt him, it’s the gallows. What a great start this is.’

At that moment, Maria couldn’t hold back her tears anymore.

And before a single drop hit the ground, Malon flared his Sword Aura and sprang into a combat stance.

“Don’t do it, Malon!”

“Uncle’s right. Malon, put your sword down. I’ll handle this.”

Before Malon could even respond, Yuma lunged straight at Mero.

At the same time, Haka moved, shouting as he attempted to intercept Yuma with a martial technique.

He aimed a precise knifehand strike at Yuma’s jaw to knock him out cold. But Yuma easily dodged the move and extended his wooden sword toward Mero’s neck.

“Grahk!”

Mero managed to jerk his head just in time to avoid a clean hit, but the right side of his neck throbbed violently. If he hadn’t been wearing plate armor, he would’ve been impaled.

Haka tried again, throwing a punch—but Yuma countered with a Sword Aura-infused strike from the hilt of his wooden sword.

Haka let out a low grunt, instinctively staggering backward.

Malon, eyes burning, also charged toward Mero—but Haka stepped in to block him.

“You’re just going to stand there?! You call yourself a warrior?!”

As Mero toppled over with his chair, Yuma brought his sword down toward the knight’s right arm.

With that thick Sword Aura, even ceremonial plate armor would be no match.

“AAAAAAGH!”

Mero screamed, flailing helplessly. Drunk and weighed down by full armor, he couldn’t even pretend to dodge.

CLANG!

“AAGHH! MY ARM! MY ARM!”

He wailed like a pig being slaughtered, eyes shut tight—sure his arm had been severed.

But Yuma had canceled his Sword Aura just before impact.

As much as this bastard deserved to lose a limb, cutting it off would make this situation far harder to resolve.

“Maria! Run to the lord right now—tell him exactly what happened. That Knight Mero tried to assault you. He’ll help. Be brave, and go now! You know the road to the baron’s estate, right?”

Maria wiped her tears with her fists and nodded.

The fishing village of Perol belonged to the estate of Baron Louis.

Baron Louis was a staunch commoner-sympathizer who, seven years from now, would lose a political struggle and end up imprisoned.

But Yuma figured someone like him would at least protect Maria.

Assaulting a knight, though—that was another story. They’d need a senior noble’s backing just to sweep that under the rug. And this wasn’t just assault—it was attempted murder.

Treason. Knight assault. Attempted murder. Yuma had really boxed himself into a corner.

“Haka, protect me! I’ll make sure you’re rewarded! If you let me go, I’ll forget everything! No, better yet—if you kneel and beg right now, I’ll recommend you as my squire! Don’t you want to become a knight?!”

As Yuma lowered his Sword Aura and seemed to pause in thought, Mero started screeching.

“Just shut up, you dumbass. This is exactly why you never got promoted your entire pathetic life.”