Chapter 5

“What… what did you say?”

“A so-called knight getting his ass kicked by a country boy—how are you still so smug, Sir Mero? If you’re a knight, learn what shame is. Hell, even as a human being, you should feel it.”

When Yuma started speaking like that, even Malon—who’d been fuming just moments ago—and Haka, who had held himself back for so long, suddenly felt their anger drain away.

As Maria bolted out of the fish shop toward Baron Louis’s estate, Yuma smiled and stared down at Mero.

“Malon, shut the door.”

The moment Malon closed it, Yuma kicked Mero in the face, who was still lying there in that ridiculous twisted position.

“Ghk!”

Before Haka could say a word, Yuma kicked him three more times square in the face.

With every shriek Mero let out, it felt like a heavy blockage in Yuma’s chest was finally clearing.

“If you’re lucky enough to be born with a dick—then use it right, you filthy bastard! How dare you… lay hands on a kid?! A kid!!”

With every syllable, Yuma stomped on Mero’s face, each strike perfectly in time. Mero twisted his head back and forth in pain, trying to escape.

Blood poured from his nose and mouth, splattering the wooden floor of the fish shop.

Honestly, Yuma wanted to slice off Mero’s manhood right then and there—but he calmed himself. Now wasn’t the time to kill him.

“Haaah…”

“Grrrhhh…”

Mero groaned in a metallic rasp, clutching his wrecked face. Haka and Malon could only stare, dumbfounded.

The Yuma they knew had always been kind and easygoing.

But the Yuma who had survived the Empire’s palace as a eunuch, who had seen every form of depravity imaginable and returned to the past—he was no longer the same boy from 40 years ago.

“Sir Mero, you should go report this to the city guards. I’m sure they’ll love hearing about a knight crying because he got beat up by a sixteen-year-old peasant kid. Right?”

Mero looked up at Yuma, wide-eyed.

In the stark contrast of light and shadow, Yuma’s face looked pitch black. That timid, gentle boy from earlier was gone.

He choked and gagged, nosebleed bubbling at his lips.

“Most knights are nobles, right? Nobles care a lot about bloodlines, honor, and appearances. Do you think they’ll see this as some peasant punching a knight and disgracing the order—or just a lowborn failure embarrassing them again?”

Yuma leaned closer, bringing his face near enough to feel Mero tremble.

He stared at him for a beat, then went on:

“Nobles already hate the idea of commoners becoming knights. ‘Why give titles to peasants when they could just be mercenaries?’ That’s how they think. Who knows… maybe they’ll use your little disgrace here to push out all the commoner knights at once.”

Yuma smiled pleasantly, his tone quiet and clear.

“When that happens, do you think the other commoner knights will help you? No—they’ll cut you off like a lizard’s tail. Maybe even your actual tail—your balls.”

He tapped the base of Mero’s crotch lightly with his wooden sword.

“Hell, they’ll probably work even harder to throw you under the wagon. They already have to walk on eggshells around the noble-born knights—now some idiot like you screws it up and gets everyone targeted?”

Mero shivered violently. Cold sweat mixed with the blood on his face.

Perol was just a tiny fishing village. There was no one here to stop Mero’s abuse—not with status, not with strength.

And the idea that there were not one but two people here who could use Sword Aura?

He had never imagined such monsters could exist outside the capital.

He’d seen heirs of prestigious sword families in the Empire—but never anything like this.

That’s when Mero realized:

He was totally, utterly screwed.

There was nothing he could do right now. No guards, no protection, no witnesses.

If Yuma didn’t show him mercy, he wasn’t getting out of this alive.

“Who knows—maybe we’ll even spare you. Someone might find use for a guy who can use Sword Aura. Families like House Zak or House Sorin are known to be pretty tolerant of talented commoners. They might adopt you as a bastard son. Or raise you as one of their private assassins.”

From Haka and Malon’s perspective, it felt like they were looking at a stranger—not Yuma.

Nothing about this felt like the words of a sixteen-year-old village boy.

Especially for Malon, it was hard to believe this was the same friend who, just yesterday, had joked about dreams of getting his manhood chopped off.

“Now you understand, right? You’re nothing, Sir Mero. Now get the hell out.”

Yuma grabbed a rag that had been hanging on the wall for cleaning fish and wiped Mero’s face with it—expressionless, but his eyes glinting darkly.

Mero staggered out of the shop like a man whose soul had been shattered.

“…Yuma, you should’ve held back. You too, Malon.”

Haka looked between the boys.

He’d wanted to live quietly here in Perol, just sipping beer until his time came. But that dream had been crushed in an instant.

This wasn’t the kind of swordsmanship he’d hoped to pass down.

“I’m more surprised you just stood there and let it happen, Father.”

“No matter how pathetic he is, he’s still a knight. We’re just commoners. They’re not going to let this slide.”

“So what? If we hadn’t shown up, were you just going to let Maria suffer?”

Silence fell.

Haka let out a long sigh.

“I can’t do that. I’m disappointed in you, Father.”

“Malon, enough. Uncle’s right—we should’ve held back. If Baron Louis doesn’t help us, all of us—Maria included—could be in serious danger.”

“Both of you, pack your things. We leave Perol tonight.”

“Uncle, no. That’ll just make us fugitives. Assault, attempted murder, blasphemy—it’s all tied together.”

“There’s no choice. After beating a knight like that, we’ll need to find somewhere to hide.”

“No—please, hear me out. We don’t have much time.”

Yuma cleared his throat, and Malon quickly shooed away Kage, who’d been eavesdropping from the door.

Kage looked terrified, worried some of this fallout might land on him.

“Mero won’t report it right away. But you’re right—he won’t let it go either. That’s why you need to go to the lord, Uncle. Baron Louis will take you in. He’s always supported talented commoners. If you stay with Maria in the estate, you’ll be safe.”

“How do you know Baron Louis is a commoner sympathizer?”

“I read it in a book. His family’s supported commoner rights for generations. And you’ve met him before. Since Malon and I were the ones who led the attack, you’ll be safe if an investigation happens.”

“And what about you and Malon?”

“I’m going to the capital. There’s someone there who can help cover this up.”

Haka almost asked, What connections could you possibly have in the capital? But he swallowed the question. He could tell Yuma had been hiding something for a while.

“Malon, you…”

For Yuma, this was like seeing his only friend—who had just died in the previous timeline—come back to life. And now he had to part with him again.

With time already altered in several ways, Yuma feared Malon might die even sooner this time around.

“You’re heading across the border, to the Egon Mountains. It’s too dangerous to go to the capital together. Look for the Black Wolf Corps. There’ll be two gatekeepers. Just punch them both. You’re strong enough. That’ll get you a meeting with Commander Hugo. Tell him: ‘I’m here because I hate this rotten Empire.’”

Even if things hadn’t gone south today, Yuma had planned to steer Malon toward the Black Wolf Corps eventually.

“Hugo’s a bit scary, but don’t be nervous. Just tell him you want in. Once you’re part of the Black Wolf Corps, no guards or knights will be able to touch you. No one wants a full-on war over some bottom-feeder knight. Mero’s not worth the effort.”

Hugo had led the Black Wolf Corps for over a decade—even after Yuma had become a eunuch.

Hugo had led the Black Wolf Corps for over a decade—even after Yuma had become a eunuch.

He was infamous for his extreme hatred toward knights and was fated to be betrayed and killed by his own vice-captain, Kagor, just before the outbreak of the Dragon-Horse War.

Yuma leaned in and gave Malon one last tip.

“There’s probably a squad leader named Kagor. Always be on your guard around him—never fight him, no matter what. Got it? Keep that temper in check. We have to stay alive long enough to meet again.”

The sudden warning left both Haka and Malon feeling disoriented and uneasy.

“We need to split up now. Mero won’t take long to act.”

The three of them hurried home to pack whatever they could.

They had lived so modestly, it was hard to even call it “packing”—there were barely any belongings to take.

“A wanted order will be issued within a few hours. Uncle… thank you for everything. I’ll come find you as soon as I can.”

“Hey! Do we really have to do it like this? Just drop everything and leave?”

“Malon. Yuma.”

Haka looked up at the ceiling with a resigned expression, then turned toward the boys.

“Don’t die. Here—take these.”

He pried up a floorboard. Hidden beneath it were two finely crafted live blades.

He wrapped each sword in a worn cloth and handed them to Yuma and Malon.

“Go. I’ll head for the lord’s estate as well.”

Yuma was the first to walk out the door.

Without a proper goodbye, he trudged off into the distance. Watching his retreating figure made Malon boil with irritation for some reason.

“Take care of yourself, Father. And stop doing lame stuff all the time.”

“…Got it.”

With that brief farewell, the father and son parted, heading down their separate paths.

Several hours later, the local guards raided Haka’s house—but all they found were a few of Baron Louis’s servants collecting the family’s remaining belongings.

The unfortunate Kage, however, was dragged in and interrogated for a full five hours in place of Haka’s family.