When the knights reached the girl and her maid, they found them trying to wake the old servant and the portly coachman.
The scene was utter chaos, with clear signs of a magical battle, as well as the highwaymen bound with ropes.
"What has happened here?"
One of the knights said coolly as he looked at the scene before him. The young woman, standing beside her maid, spoke calmly as she looked at the knight in front of her.
"My name is Christie… daughter of Duke Williams of the Kingdom of Seiya… These men were harassing us, but a nobleman came to our aid and left quietly…"
The knights looked around calmly, then at Christie.
One of them dismounted from his horse, then began to look around calmly, before glancing at the carriage.
"Is there anyone inside, Miss Christie?"
Christie shook her head, but the knight peered inside; when he found no one there, he nodded to the rest of the knights.
"I apologise for this impertinent behaviour, Miss Christie, but there is a young man on the run whom we are trying to track down. If you happen to see a young man with black hair and grey eyes, please report him…"
Christie and her maid looked at each other, then at the horsemen. Pointing in the direction from which the horsemen had come, Christie said, "It's the same man who saved us, but he went into the woods and headed that way…"
The horsemen exchanged glances, then one of them mounted his horse and said as he turned his horse to return:
"Thank you for the information; we appreciate it… Also, please hand these men over to the nearest prison, and they will be dealt with appropriately… We apologise for asking this of you, but we have orders from His Majesty the King that this young man is a priority."
Both Christie and the maid nodded silently, standing there watching the knights as they split into two groups to cover a larger area of the forest.
The twenty knights then set off, riding swiftly into the forest, having noticed that the traces of the battle were very recent.
Shortly after the knights had left, from beneath the carriage—where there was a hidden compartment in which Athtar had previously concealed himself—he emerged slowly and looked at Christie and the maid with a puzzled expression.
"Why did you lie to them? What if they realised you were lying?"
"You saved my life… If you hadn't turned up, I can't even imagine what those men would have done to me and my maid to extract information from us…"
"Even though I'm a wanted man?"
"I don't know your reasons, but a man who steps in to protect others who are defenceless can't be a bad person—that's what my father taught me…"
Christie gave Athtar a small smile; he didn't reply, but looked away and quietly gestured towards the carriage.
"I'll accompany you to the Kingdom of Seiya… That was where I wanted to go anyway…"
Christie smiled with relief; she'd felt a little embarrassed about asking him to accompany her to the Kingdom of Seiya earlier, but since he'd suggested it himself, it was much better that way.
"I'd be honoured to have you protect me, Sir…"
She didn't know his name yet.
"Athtar… just Athtar… I've given up my family name."
"Very well, Sir Athtar…"
…
The Kingdom of Kaivan.
In the royal palace, in the throne room, stood six people, including a girl with blonde hair and blue eyes—none other than Evelyn.
On the throne sat the king, with his majestic blond hair and stunning blue eyes, seated with unrivalled dignity and majesty; the shadow of his throne fell over those standing there, making them feel the king's majesty.
Below, the Patriarch of one of the great churches stood quietly, appearing as though he were praying.
Beside him stood a burly knight, his eyes revealing a depth and a life filled with battles and wars, even though this was an era of peace.
Beside that man stood another, his expression cold and calm, as if he were quietly planning everything.
Finally, between him and Evelyn, who was at the back of the queue, stood a woman with deep blue hair and mischievous blue eyes.
She was wearing a long, tight-fitting blue dress that barely contained her curvaceous figure; her long legs were visible from the side as the dress was slit at the sides, revealing her legs from her hips downwards.
Her waist was slightly slender compared to her voluptuous figure. Her cleavage was clearly visible, and the top seam of the dress pressed firmly against her milky-white flesh. She had her hands on her hips, arching her back slightly due to their considerable size.
On her face was a seductive, sly smile.
"It seems everyone is here… That's good… Let's discuss our progress in ridding ourselves of the traitors…"
The king spoke coldly; his majestic voice made one's soul tremble slightly. Thanks to his lineage as a descendant of Philip, Mana loved him dearly; people were accustomed to saying that whoever Mana favoured was beloved by her.
"Let's start with you, Aldric… Have you published what I told you in the newspapers?"
The Patriarch, Aldric, looked calmly at the King and gave him a slight nod.
"Everything is in order, Your Majesty. The knights are doing their utmost to arrest everyone connected with that ridiculous coup…"
"That's good…"
Evelyn, who had remained silent for a while, said after plucking up her courage, "Are all these people really traitors? They were all close to the palace."
When the Church put up the wanted posters, Evelyn noticed that they were mostly members of the Royal Guard, or maids at the palace, as well as a few people from the slums. If you looked at it that way, it might make a little sense; nevertheless, Evelyn didn't dare speak out loud about anything else that was troubling her.
Valora Michelle, the woman with blue hair, placed her hand on Evelyn's shoulder, causing the girl to look up at her. Valora was smiling a hollow smile as she said:
"Are you trying to say that the King issued a senseless order? Or that there was no coup attempt?"
Evelyn's face darkened, and she lowered her head, quickly denying it. "I wouldn't dare say that…"
Valora's cold, frightening smile transformed into a tender one, almost motherly, as she stroked Evelyn's hair from above.
"That's good. If you understand, then there's no need to ask stupid, unnecessary questions."
"Yes…"
The king nodded to Valora and said, looking around, "Let's pick up where we left off…"
This time he looked coldly at the burly man, who straightened his posture and said:
"Troops have been deployed across the kingdom; not even a mouse will slip through our grasp, and I am reviewing the records of every entry and exit from the kingdom and its borders."
"Well done…"
The King cast a glance towards the last remaining man, the quiet one, who in turn closed his eyes and said:
"The Jones family has been completely wiped out, save for a few rats who fled due to their clear involvement in the coup. As for your late nephew's daughter, Margret Philip, the ringleader of the coup, her sentence was carried out under the orders and supervision of Her Highness Princess Evelyn. As for her husband, that rat Jones, Athtar… he is still being sought."
The King nodded calmly, then closed his eyes to reflect for a moment; when he opened them, golden mana, resembling his fearsome and regal aura, surrounded him, and he said coldly:
"Leave no one alive…"
"Understood…!!"
…
A few hours later.
In a carriage drawn by a single horse, the elderly servant and the portly coachman sat in the driver's seat, chatting quietly as the carriage made its way along.
Inside the carriage, Christie Williams and her maid sat side by side on the double seat, whilst on the opposite side Athtar sat quietly on his own, staring at his sword as he lightly stroked it.
This sword had been a gift for his eighteenth birthday, some three years ago. He had set off on a journey to a small kingdom near the Kingdom of Kaivan with Margret, and after a journey lasting a few days, they encountered a powerful wolf. Athtar was still untrained, so Margret, who was merely a high-ranking knight, had to fight it.
After a fierce battle, they obtained its pelt, fangs and claws; Athtar used the claws to fashion his small dagger, and the wolf's fangs were one of the components of this sword he now carries.
They sold the pelt for a good price and both celebrated that night, enjoying a delicious meal, before Margret got drunk and began to ramble. Athtar was forced to take her to her room, but she pulled him into her arms, and he found himself sleeping beside her all night.
Athtar smiled slightly, unaware that tears were streaming down his face. Christie noticed this and said, "Mr Athtar? What's the matter?"
Athtar quickly wiped away his tears and shook his head from side to side.
"Nothing…"
Christie nodded at him, though concern flickered in her eyes. It was true that they were complete strangers, but her sense of gratitude for him saving her life had made her open her heart to him, and she regarded him as more than just a kind stranger.
"If you want to talk… I'll listen to you, Mr Athtar…"
"There's no need…"
His heart was closed off. He spoke politely and was easy to get along with, but no matter how much Christie asked him, he wouldn't say anything about himself.
The midday sun blazed overhead, so they decided to stop for a while to let the horse catch its breath. The horse Christie was using was just an ordinary horse, because this journey was supposed to be secret and nobody was supposed to know about it—that was how it was meant to be, until the bandits appeared.
After getting out of the carriage, Athtar stretched his body calmly and looked up at the warm sun above him. Both Christie and the maid had gone for a walk and to wash, so he decided to take a short stroll himself.
He thought to himself, and the system screen appeared before him. He saw that the blue screen looked like a distorted television screen, and felt as though it were broken.
Athtar understood the words and thought about the first mission: to survive until nightfall that day.
The screen changed, and the mission details appeared before him in a blurred manner, as if through a cracked glass window.
[ Mission 1 ]
[ Successfully escape the knights and stay alive until nightfall ]
[ Difficulty Level ]
[ Medium ]
[ Reward ]
[ Location of a Consciousness Fragment ]
[ Progress Bar – 40% ]
Athtar was a little surprised; this morning, the mission had been urgent and rated as difficult, and there had been no progress bar at all.
'Does this mean I've passed the danger stage? But I must remain vigilant in any case…'
As he continued walking, he closed the sub-window with a thought and opened the second mission window to view the details.
[ Mission 2 ]
[ Rescue Lady Christie, daughter of Duke Williams… and return her safely to her home ]
[ Reward ]
[ Unlock the Body Path ]
[ Progress Bar – 0.4% ]
When he saw these changes, Athtar felt as though he was beginning to understand the system better.
'It's not a system that knows the unseen or anything of the sort; its power lies, as far as I'm concerned, in my knowledge of my surroundings—usually to a certain extent… In other words, it's not an absolute or infallible system, so it's most likely not the work of a deity… Has a being close to divinity responded to me?'
Athtar thought calmly, wondering whether it was possible for anyone other than the gods to create something like this.
His thoughts on the system were cut short when he heard Christie's voice screaming in fear, and he moved swiftly towards her.
When he reached the source of the sound, he found a bear drooling from its mouth, looking as though it were in a frenzy. Athtar was somewhat taken aback; a bear was not supposed to appear in a place like this.
He didn't stand idly by; he drew his sword and attacked the bear immediately, driving his blade into its brown fur and causing blood to gush forcefully from the wound.
The wound made the bear even more frenzied than it already was, and it tried to strike him with its claws, but Athtar skilfully dodged it and began rolling backwards nimbly.
When Athtar was far enough away, he began to mutter faintly, and the mana began to respond. First, what appeared to be white particles emerged from within Athtar's body.
The particles spread from every pore of Athtar's body, then began to coil around his arm like stars, continuing to twist and turn until they came to rest at the tip of his sword.
Gathered there around his arm like ripples on a river, the colour of the mana particles began to change to a pale red, then slowly grew darker.
A ball of fire formed at the tip of his sword, slowly growing until it was larger than a football, and flew towards the bear, which was taken by surprise and felt a little fear.
The bear was vulnerable to fire, so as soon as the flames struck it and a powerful burst of fire exploded against its body, it recoiled. It felt the heat and the stinging pain and roared in anger as it tried to extinguish the flames that had ignited its fur.
Athtar did not stop casting the same spell, but in order to send more, he reduced the size of the balls to roughly that of a baseball, so he could summon them more quickly.
And so the bear seemed to be hit by baseball-sized fireballs one after another, unable to do anything about it.
Eventually, the bear retreated completely behind the trees and fled, escaping the danger it perceived from the fire.
Athtar began to pant slightly and felt a little drained, but he remained standing and showed no sign of losing consciousness any time soon. He sighed, then regained his composure and looked towards the two girls.
Athtar approached Christie coolly and said, staring at her:
"Are you both all right?"
"Yes… you've saved our lives yet again."
"No need to mention it. Stay close to me from now on."
"All right, Sir Athtar…"
The two girls obeyed and began to follow him back to the carriage.
Deep in the forest, the bandit leader stood watching Athtar successfully drive off the bear by casting repeated magic spells, grinding his teeth in anger.
"How did he manage that? Who is that damned knight? Why have the knights of the Kingdom of Seiya become ridiculously powerful, as if they were knights of the Kingdom of Kaivan?"
But he did not continue watching for long; content to walk away for now, he turned and set off to devise another plan to bring Athtar down.
In his heart, he harboured intense annoyance and hatred towards Athtar, but suddenly, a certain figure appeared behind him. The bandit leader was startled and turned coldly to hurl abuse at him.
Yet the figure terrified him; he could not stop himself from screaming, for he saw the stranger's hand clamped over his mouth, silencing him, and he saw a cunning smile on the stranger's face.
.
.
.
To Be Continued.