The Second Strongest Has Returned

Chapter 20

Personal Knight

One Month

Thirty days had passed, and a year had been divided into twelve segments.

In that long yet short span of time, many changes had occurred.

The first change was within Leo himself.

[“You’ve become quite decent now, haven’t you?”]

During this month, Leo had properly established the basics of magic. Even the Sage, known for his sharp tongue, praised him, which was a significant achievement.

He had also learned the 1st Circle of magic in various fields, making it practical for use in real situations.

The second change was the treatment he received from the family.

When he first arrived, he was looked down upon and treated with disdain, like a country bumpkin who got lucky. But now, at least in front of him, that kind of behavior had ceased.

The reasons for this could be easily inferred from previous events.

The last change was…

“Thank you! Leo!”

Ariasphil’s personality and attitude had changed.

In the previous life, Ariasphil always looked down on him, but now, she seemed to view him as an equal.

In other words, as a friend.

[“How was it before?”]

The Sage asked as he glanced back and forth between Aria and Leo.

[“It seems your jealousy blinded you quite a bit.”]

Jealousy might have distorted his view, but at the time, Ariasphil truly saw the world that way.

She saw people simply as the “same species” without assigning any higher value or discrimination.

As if she were a machine born to be a hero.

[“That’s kind of scary.”]

She could smile like that because she hadn’t faced the storms of life yet.

“…Leo?”

“Yes?”

At some point, her face had come right in front of Leo.

“Are you okay? I’ve been calling you for a while…”

“Yes? Oh, yes. I was just thinking about something.”

“Training’s over, so let’s go down now. We need to buy a gift.”

Leo nodded and followed Ariasphil.

[“A gift? For what?”]

Silica Reinhardt was the wife of the family head, Gladiolus.

[“Ah, Aria’s mother?”]

<…That’s correct, but do you have to say it so rudely, Sage?>

Though he wasn’t a wizard, Leo’s common sense as a human had long been shattered and crumpled.

[“I used to eat and bathe with the heroes here! I did everything with them!”]

It wasn’t a connection he wanted to know about.

If they were so close, why wasn’t there even a portrait of the Sage in the hero’s household?

[“…You don’t believe me? I’ve just hit a rough patch now…! I used to be amazing!”]

The Sage, with dead fish eyes, picked his nose while glaring at Leo. Somehow, this disgraceful behavior made the treatment and actions of the hero’s family understandable.

<…Tsk.>

[“Don’t click your tongue.”]

[“Do you brush your teeth with aura?”]

Ah, he didn’t fall for it.

“Leo! Come quickly!”

When he turned his head outside the mansion, a girl without her armor was waving her hand.

“Yes! I’m coming!”

Leo followed the lady outside the mansion.

***

[“The market 300 years later is quite nice.”]

The Sage, with an age-inappropriate whistle, looked around the market and said.

Leo was a bit curious about the market 300 years ago, but the abundance and liveliness of the surrounding shops made it hard to bring it up.

The merchants on the edges of the alley were busy showing off their prepared goods, and the people on the streets were negotiating prices, assessing the value of the goods.

[“But does a noble lady need to come to such a shabby place?”]

As if to prove it, Aria was captivated by the liveliness of the market.

“Leonardo!! Leo!! Look at this!”

As if she wanted to share the liveliness, she waved her hand and called her knight.

“…This is…”

What Arisaphil saw was a blue flower. Not just any flower, but a blue rose.

“It’s a blue rose! I’ve never seen such a rose before!”

“Oh ho ho! You have a keen eye, miss!”

The florist, speaking in a strangely delicate tone despite being a man, confidently presented the blue rose.

“This rose, gathered by an adventurer from the high plateau of the Ellim Mountains, grows near ice, and is famously known as the Frost Flower! It should originally cost 2 gold coins, but for such a lovely couple, I’ll give it to you for 9 silver coins!”

Though the speech was grandiose and flamboyant, Aria was captivated by only one word.

‘Lovely couple…’

It was quite a fitting resonance.

That one word was enough to charm the young lady from the hero’s family.

“Then one…”

“Sir.”

Leo grabbed the florist’s wrist.

“Trying to scam us?”

“…Scam?”

But to a seasoned mercenary, such tricks were futile.

“…What do you mean? This is…”

“First, the Ellim Mountains aren’t in bloom season yet. It’s still too hot for that.”

Yet the flower was still fresh. If it were an artificial flower, the previous statement would indeed be a scam.

“That’s because of our flower shop’s special preservation method…”

“Second, use the terms correctly. Frost Flower refers to a blue flower frozen with magic as a decoration. Anyone can see this is a real flower.”

“That’s because you’re a kid…!”

Ignoring the informal language, Leo took the rose.

“Third, this isn’t a blue rose to begin with.”

Leo broke the stem of the blue rose. Light blue liquid oozed out.

“You thought you could fool me by not applying the dye on the outside? You should pick your targets more wisely.”

“You…! Brat…!!”

The florist tried to swing his fist. But,

Smack!

Aria quickly intercepted the punch, catching the wrist.

“Ugh!!”

“Lying to me? How dare…!”

With a murderous look, she looked like she could kill the burly man at any moment.

[“…Oh…”]

Though she hadn’t shown such killing intent before, she usually looked at him with cold eyes filled with contempt.

“…Ugh…!”

“Let’s calm down. Let’s resolve this peacefully if possible.”

Leo picked up a few white roses.

“Or do you want to lose your hand and your business?”

The experience as a mercenary was also useful in negotiations.

***

“That’s amazing, Leo! How did you know?!”

“I was suspicious from his speech. If someone talks too much, it’s right to doubt them.”

Honest merchants tend to keep explanations brief, allowing customers to properly judge the product and think of additional questions.

“Then! How did you know the flower was dyed?!”

Aria looked at Leo with sparkling eyes. She had thought he was only good at fighting, but his intelligence surprised her as well.

“That’s just general knowledge. If you put the stem of a white flower in colored water, it absorbs the color.”

The accomplishments of a warrior weren’t just in combat skills or strength. Travel provided light general knowledge and high-level information like magic.

Learning the 1st Circle magic quickly was also thanks to this.

[“No wonder you learned fast.”]

Maybe it was just the way he spoke, but it felt overly sarcastic.

[“No, you really did well. Traveling is more practical than being stuck in the magic tower, scribbling on papers.”]

When he put it that way, it was indeed praise.

Now even sarcasm seemed to be turning into praise.

Such a pity. Let’s offer condolences.

“…So what about those white flowers?”

“They’re a gift. I think they’ll be perfect.”

“Mom doesn’t like white flowers much. She once mentioned it and everyone sent her lilies.”

Leo knew that from his previous life too.

“Don’t worry. The gift will be a rainbow-colored flower.”

Leo grinned and pointed to a shop selling paints and dyes. Seeing the sign, Aria connected the scattered pieces of information.

“Oh…! So we can make it ourselves!”

“That’s right. We can easily make it in a week.”

With that, the lady and her personal knight entered the store.

Of course, haggling was basic for a mercenary.

***

“…It’s already this late.”

The day was gradually ending. The setting sun was turning the blue sky red.

“Did I drag out the haggling too long?”

“No, thanks to you, we bought a lot of good stuff.”

She smiled and looked at the dyes Leo had bought. While haggling might be unnecessary for a hero’s household, teaching economic sense from a young age was beneficial.

[“Hey, there’s someone behind…?”]

The Sage’s warning was cut off.

“…Huh?”

A man running from behind snatched their belongings.

“A thief…?!”

It wasn’t a question of doubt. The running pickpocket already proved his identity.

“Damn it…!!”

“Miss, wait…!!”

Aria had already started running. Leo, having no choice, followed her in pursuit of the pickpocket.

[“Doesn’t something feel off?”]

Leo noticed the strangeness just as the Sage did.

[Why would a pickpocket run into a dead-end alley?]

There were two main reasons for that.

The first was that there was an

alley they didn’t know about.

The second was something Leo didn’t want to consider…

“…Leo! It’s a dead-end! We can catch him!”

“That doesn’t seem to be the case, Miss Aria.”

Leo drew his sword. It felt excessive to use it on a mere pickpocket.

“Leo…?!”

“I’m sorry as a knight, but…”

Gripping the sword handle, Leo spoke.

“It seems we’ve been caught rather than catching him.”

With Leo’s reaction, the pickpocket was no longer hesitant.

Or rather, he was no longer hesitant because he wasn’t a pickpocket to begin with.

“…For a kid, you’re quite perceptive, huh?”

Masked men emerged from the alley entrance and over the surrounding walls.

The second scenario Leo didn’t want to think about.

It was an ambush.

“…Stay behind me.”

Leo tried to protect the young lady with one hand. Aria shook her head and drew her sword. Seeing the two armed youths, the assassins sneered.

“This is scary. Should we surrender?”

“It would be appreciated, but you won’t, will you?”

The leader, who had posed as a pickpocket, laughed loudly.

Indeed, he must be the leader.

“Right, we won’t surrender. But there’s room for negotiation.”

The leader pointed a dagger at Leo.

“Drop your sword and raise your hands. Then I’ll let the girl go.”

“How can I believe you?”

The leader gestured to his subordinates, who promptly cleared the alleyway.

“Believe me now?”

“I’ll believe it when you’re all 500 meters away.”

“300 meters.”

“400 meters, no less.”

“You brat…”

“Take it or leave it.”

The leader sighed and looked at his subordinates.

“…Alright. Let her go.”

“But, boss…!”

The leader glared at his subordinate, who fell silent without further protest.

“Go ahead, Miss.”

“…But…! Leo…!”

She couldn’t leave Leo behind. No matter how strong he was, the opponents were skilled and numerous.

“It’s okay. Aria.”

Leo whispered softly in her ear.

“…Get help. You’re faster than me.”

With that whisper, Aria nodded.

“Alright.”

Aria, determined, ran out of the alley.

She hadn’t abandoned Leo.

Trusting her knight, believing in his abilities, Aria could run forward.

“Now, put down your sword.”

“Alright.”

Leo dropped his sword without hesitation.

“Hey, tie him up.”

The subordinate quickly bound Leo’s hands with rope.

“Taking a knight hostage? Just a mere knight?”

“…You’ve been disrespectful since earlier.”

“Doesn’t matter. You’re all dead anyway, right?”

At his words, they all burst into laughter. Even the leader, who had tied him up, couldn’t help but laugh.

“Do you think that girl got away safely? Do you think she’ll call for help?”

They were busy laughing, not realizing the predicament they were in.

“We’ve already sent pursuers. That girl is already caught.”

Leo could only sigh deeply at this.

“…Ha…”

His sigh made them laugh even more. To them, Leo was just a frog in a well, boasting ignorantly.

“Why are you all laughing like idiots?”

At that moment, an explosion occurred.

The explosion, along with crackling sounds, transferred to the person holding the rope.

“Ahhhh!!”

[Fireball]

A series of 1st Circle fire spells. The assassin’s scream ceased with the final explosion.

“Hey, I’ll give you ten seconds.”

The rope had long since burned away.

“Raise your hand if you think you didn’t laugh.”

At least in front of Leo,

“I’ll kill the rest.”

Laughter was something that had to be controlled.

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