“Huh?”
Astraea had been in a daze for so long that she still couldn’t snap out of it. She suddenly remembered something.
‘Didn’t I promise to teach Luo En magic a month ago?’
This couldn’t be blamed on her. Now, whenever Luo En was involved, she acted as if she’d been drinking cheap liquor—it was already a wonder she could keep herself from immediately going into heat, let alone teach Luo En anything.
Unfortunately, during these days of long travel, the bored little elf’s mind was filled with thoughts of Luo En most of the time, and now that Luo En had brought it up, she just remembered this matter.
As for Luo En? His thoughts were very simple.
He had already hit a bottleneck on the path of knighthood, so why not try other avenues? As they say, multiple choices lead to multiple paths. After all, knighthood wasn’t the only extraordinary path in this world.
“Right, Teacher Astraea. Let’s first find a place to settle down, and then you can teach me magic properly.”
Luo En held the reins, walking through the street under the varied gazes of the crowd, while the little elf and Lily obediently followed him.
There were indeed many nobles in the capital, but few had the ability and means to make elves into slaves. After all, elves were naturally proud (Aiouwen: Not really). It was already good if they didn’t commit suicide after being captured, so how could they willingly become someone’s slave?
So when Astraea appeared on the street, she attracted a lot of attention.
As the saying goes, wealth should not be revealed—especially when your appearance doesn’t match the wealth you possess. Being so conspicuous would only bring trouble, especially in the capital, where throwing a brick could hit several noble descendants.
“Hey! You slave trader over there, your goods look pretty good quality.”
A young man dressed in seemingly quite luxurious attire spotted Astraea wearing the collar from afar. That one look was no small thing—it stirred his heart immediately.
‘I’ve been through the capital’s romantic scene, but when have I ever seen such a beauty? The legends say elves are all beautiful as flowers—so it’s true! As for that tall man leading her? He’s probably a lucky slave trader who was fortunate enough to pick up an elf slave and came to the capital to try his luck. That happens often. He’s really lucky to run into me as soon as he enters the city—he’ll be able to cash out that elf right away.’
Luo En naturally heard the young man’s shout. He frowned and looked at the youth.
He was adorned in gold and silver, his clothes luxurious but utterly unrestrained—one look and you could tell he was dressed like a nouveau riche.
‘If a noble had any brains, who would show off like this out of nowhere? But there are plenty of brainless nobles anyway.’
“And you are?”
Although dissatisfied with the youth calling the little elf “goods,” Luo En maintained proper restraint. He didn’t want to start off in the capital with unpleasantness, as that would disrupt the little elf’s plans for sightseeing.
But ironically, this behavior only made the youth more convinced that Luo En was just a lowly slave trader.
And it wasn’t surprising he thought that—look at what Luo En was wearing: a set of coarse cloth clothes paired with a pair of rough straw sandals. The only thing on him that might be worth a little something was the longsword on his back. His hair was also messy, though traces of grooming could be seen—but that was all.
“Hmph, enough nonsense. I’ve taken a fancy to this elf. Name your price.”
The youth had no desire to engage with Luo En further, so naturally he didn’t answer Luo En’s question. He just wanted to quickly get his hands on the exceptionally beautiful elf slave and go home to enjoy himself.
“Impossible. Get lost.”
Since the other party was so rude, Luo En naturally couldn’t be bothered to be polite either. If this were out in the wilds outside the city, he would have already drawn his sword and cut him down.
“Oho? You dare tell me to get lost? Do you know who I am? How arrogant!”
After being refused, the youth didn’t get angry but instead laughed. It had been a long time since he’d encountered a victim who stood so firm in the face of extortion. This actually piqued his interest a little.
As the son of a merchant noble, his own combat ability was actually not strong. At nearly thirty years old, he wasn’t even a squire.
But just because he couldn’t fight didn’t mean he had no one under him who could. The guards he had left behind earlier when he ran too fast ahead now caught up.
And these guards naturally knew what kind of person their young master was. With just a look from the young master, the guard squad understood his meaning.
Of course, private brawls were not allowed in the capital, but they could just surround him and give him a little care. This didn’t violate the kingdom’s laws, and the capital guards wouldn’t be able to interfere.
Several guards without armor cheerfully surrounded him, and the surrounding crowd quickly dispersed, as if used to all this.
“Young man, I advise you to just name a price quickly, so you don’t have to suffer physical pain later.” One guard, still having some conscience, spoke up after seeing Luo En’s ragged clothes.
And Luo En’s reaction to this was…
He drew his longsword, held it with both hands, then turned to the little elf and said, “Teacher Astraea, stay away from me and protect yourself.”
The guards immediately became excited. Although Luo En was big, this was the capital. He had drawn his weapon first, so when the capital guards arrived, Luo En would be in the wrong!
As for another possibility… the guards didn’t think of it, and neither did the arrogant youth. In their eyes, with Luo En’s appearance, how could he possibly be a noble?
But things wouldn’t develop according to their wishes. After drawing his longsword, Luo En declared loudly, “I am the son of Baron Ili, Squire Luo En Ilwan Logan. You just insulted me, and I now challenge you to a duel.”
Duel? The youth found it somewhat funny. That was a privilege reserved for nobles. Luo En was just a slave trader—how could he have the right to demand a duel? He suspected that this big idiot had heard about this law and made up an identity on the spot to scare commoners.
But well, he was in a good mood today, so he could play with this commoner a bit. From the looks of him, he probably didn’t even know how to use a sword, right?
The youth, who had been forced by his father to learn a little bit of swordsmanship, was now full of confidence. “You commoner have no right to duel me, but I can have a wager battle with you. The prize… let’s make it that elf, how about?”
What the heck? He wanted to get the elf for free? Luo En really couldn’t understand the thought process of this nouveau riche-looking youth.
‘Just because of my clothes, he decided I’m not a noble? Well, I have to admit I wouldn’t think someone in coarse clothes was a noble either.’
As for this so-called wager battle, Luo En naturally…
“I refuse. I want to duel you.”
“You don’t appreciate kindness! You even dare to impersonate a noble—that’s an additional crime! Men, seize him!” The youth became excited. Now he could get that beautiful elf without spending a single copper coin. He felt he was really lucky.
He was a noble, so it was perfectly normal for him to help the kingdom punish a commoner who committed assault.
The surrounding guards drew their straight swords from their waists and stared intently at Luo En, who had assumed a fighting stance.
These guards were different from their good-for-nothing young master. Most of them were veterans from the kingdom’s provincial legions and had some swordsmanship experience. They could naturally see that Luo En’s stance was a standard military stance.
But so what? They outnumbered him, and the capital guards would probably arrive soon. Four against one—the advantage was theirs!
The guards pressed forward, four straight swords sealing off Luo En’s escape routes. This time, Luo En had no way to avoid it.
If this were Luo En from a month ago, he could only trade wounds for wounds, forcing his swordsmanship through.
But the current Luo En was different. His physical abilities had been greatly enhanced, and the guards’ movements seemed slowed down in his eyes.
He swung his longsword, parried two guards’ attacks, then quickly retracted his blade and delivered a backhand slash.
Clang!
The two straight swords were knocked away by the powerful force. The two guards behind felt a tremendous impact at their tiger’s mouth, nearly making them lose their grip on their swords.
At that moment, the four guards realized they had run into a tough opponent, but their young master still had that arrogant look.
Just hoping the kingdom’s guards would come soon, one guard gritted his teeth and delivered another slash.
Luo En didn’t even dodge; he just casually swung his sword and deflected the incoming blade.
“Come on! You bunch of trash!”
The youth’s face twisted. He really wondered why his father’s elite guards were such trash that they couldn’t even break through an unknown nobody’s defense.
Unfortunately, the kingdom’s laws stipulated that merchant nobles like them couldn’t hire knights as guards, or else…
“No fighting in the capital!”
A loud shout rang out. The four guards all stopped attacking simultaneously, and they unanimously breathed a sigh of relief in their hearts.
If they kept fighting, they would be beaten up on the street. If word got out that they were beaten by an unknown kid, they wouldn’t be able to claim they were legion veterans anymore (sad).
Astraea, who was holding Lily’s hand and waiting for Luo En, looked at the blue-armored knight who had shouted. Behind him followed several knight attendants, and those attendants also wore matching blue armor.
At this moment, the blue-armored knight’s right hand rested on the sword hilt at his waist as he glared at the four guards and the sword-wielding Luo En.
The experienced blue-armored knight immediately understood the situation. He waved his left hand, and the blue-armored attendants immediately stepped forward to arrest everyone.
The four guards did not resist, while Luo En sheathed his sword and took a step back. “Knight, I have not violated any of the kingdom’s laws.”
“Quickly arrest that commoner! He dared to draw a sword on me, a noble!” The youth shouted loudly, pointing at Luo En, who looked disdainful. “Attempted murder of a noble, disrupting order in the capital—this commoner has already defied the kingdom’s laws!”
The blue-armored knight’s eyes narrowed. He of course recognized that youth. Although he was just the son of a merchant noble, he was still a noble. As for the kid with the longsword across from him…
He hadn’t seen him before. He had patrolled the capital for years and had never come across such a figure. That meant the other party was probably really an outsider who had offended a local noble.
As for Luo En’s own claims, the blue-armored knight really found them hard to believe.
Setting aside everything else, with Luo En’s coarse clothes, who could believe he was a noble?