The silence didn’t last long, one of the kids taking a swing at him with a wooden club. He’d been so caught off guard by the one he’d taken out that he responded on instinct, smashing the wrist of the attacker with his palm and pulling him closer. With a small turn he threw them into the ground with all his might, only just catching himself before he crushed their throat with his foot. Instead, his foot made a crater on the ground next to them. Another went behind him and tried to aim for his head, another coming from the side to tackle him to the ground.

It was strange, he’d never been in a fight that wasn’t one on one before, but his body almost instinctively knew how to react. He took the hit from the top with his right arm, kicking in the knee of the one trying to rush him down. The kid squealed in pain as he fell to the side, and Elliot took the time to ram his elbow into the second one’s stomach. The attacker bent over and almost fell, but it didn't seem enough to take them down so he brought a leg down on their back. Forget passing out, when Elliot heard the kick he almost started asking if they needed help.

Only two were left. He turned around to face the kid knight’s final two attacker’s, only to be met with a pleasant surprise. The knight had already taken one out. It was fighting the last one, less a contest of blows and more a one sided grapple. The knight was manhandling the poor kid, eventually picking him up by the torso and slamming him into the ground, along with themselves. He just stood and watched as the kid knight smashed the attacker’s face in, not stopping even when they had no fight left to give.

He had been treated rather roughly, so Elliot only stepped in before the injuries turned lethal. He stopped the knight’s fist with his arms, locking them back and pulling him away from the bludgeoned victim. He was surprised at the strength behind the knight, who struggled to get away from him. His strength was above even his sister’s, and that girl was a demon. He let him go, of course. It was impolite to give the quest giver a hard time. The knight tried turning to Elliot but almost fell, barely able to compose himself. It seemed the adrenaline had worn off. “You… You get away from me. You’re after… me too, aren’t you?”

The knight spoke in a husky but clearly female voice, shocking Elliot completely. A girl? Were those people really ganging up on a girl? That… He wished he knew sooner… He’d let her get attacked for a good few minutes before stepping in. “No, i was just-” He was interrupted by the knight, who hit herself on her helmet as if to reawaken. Even in her ruined state, the knight didn’t falter. Taking off her helmet and throwing it aside to get a better view, he noticed her bright blonde hair and blue eyes, a pure sight that was ruined by the dirty and beat up armor. The knight put up her arms, ready to brawl once more.

Elliot was impressed, not many could keep themselves on their feet after such a beating. Even Elliot would have passed out with only half the punishment, hell if one of them had hit him in the head he’d probably have been down for the count by now. While he was admiring the girl’s spirit she swung a right hook to his jaw, barely missing as he fell backwards. She must have taken his silence as a want to fight. Placing an arm on the floor just before he hit the ground, Elliot pushed himself into the air and landed a good five feet away.

“Wait! I just wanted to help!” He shouted, arms outstretched to show he didn’t want to fight. “They were really going at you, it seemed a bit unfair, you know?” Damn, if he knew she’d have been like this then he’d have just run off after he took down the group. The knight gave him a suspicious look, “Why would you help a stranger? Did you want money? If that’s the case then you were better off leaving me to my fate.”

Money? She was just a brat! How could he expect any money from someone so young! He didn’t show his disdain, knowing it’d just cause her to swing at him again. “Look, I just wanted to help, seriously. You don’t look okay… Do you need help walking?” He tried to get closer but only received a harsh look, causing him to back off. “I… I don’t need help. I’m a proud knight…”

Her words didn’t seem empty, but the way she barely held herself up made him think otherwise.

He didn’t ask the second time, jumping in just in time to stop her from falling backwards. “Wha!? Get off me! I wont have you treating me like… Like…” Her eyes started drooping as he gently let her down on the ground. Guess she finally realized he didn’t want to hurt her and finally lost the last of her adrenaline. He paused as he looked at her sleeping face, wondering if he should leave her or not since his quest was already finished. He didn’t get to choose before receiving another quest notification.

Quest: How terrible! The prince should never leave his knight’s side! Who would protect him otherwise? Stay by the knight until she wakes, or take her back to her home. Make sure not to harm a single hair on her head, you’re a prince, not a beast. You’ll receive one free stat point as a reward. You’ll receive one extra stat point if you bring her unharmed.

What!? Two in one? That was the first time the system had tried this. …Hah, did this girl have luck over the hundreds? This system really favored her. She reminded him of himself at her age, constantly trying to prove himself by trying to beat the old man. He had overworked himself to death before, such a silly memory. …He struggled not to get red in the face as he recalled his past. God, that was an embarrassing time. Well, either way, he wasn’t just about to let two stats get away from him.

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He picked up the helmet she had thrown to the side and awkwardly placed it back on her head. It was a bit crooked but he knew a passed out girl like her wouldn’t care whether she could see or not. Picking her up gently, he started walking. It was a bit comedic, while he was a bit taller than average for his age, this girl was built bigger than even Keyla. That added with her bulky armor made it a bit much to carry around. Even with his strength stat of almost 60, he had to strain his arms a bit to carry her.

He kept walking until he realized something. Ah, he had no idea where the girl lived… Choosing to ignore his own idiocy, he ran directly to the town square. People rarely needed help there due to how populated it was, so he rarely went. There were barely any people around the area at this point since the sun was already setting, so the town square was his best chance. He kept a steady pace, speedily making his was down the road while trying not to move his upper body too much. It wasn’t a jog but definitely not a sprint, so it took him a good 15 minutes before he got there.

The sky was already turning orange, so there were only a few people in the area. He walked around before he noticed one man with big doe eyes and a big, scraggly beard. Something about him rang a bell but he couldn’t tell what. The merchant was packing up his stuff, a small but apparently quite sturdy donkey holding what seemed to be a mountain of stuff. “Hello, sir! How are you doing!” Elliot said, making his way up to the merchant with the battered girl in his arms.

“Why hello there- oh my… What happened to her!?” The merchant turned around to realize the scene before him. Elliot only smiled. “She was ambushed by a group of people. She managed to chase them away but she passed out when I saw her.” He kept himself out of the story, if the knight had been suspicious of his help, then why wouldn’t others? “Do you know where I can find her house?” The merchant seemed wordless, looking at the girl’s battered self.

“The… You can find the Praetelum’s house out to the north. A blue shield is placed across the front. How do you not know this, little Elliot? Everyone in the town knows young Alice.” He laughed. He had spent quite a while inside his house, training the sword required all his focus, after all. Why would he know anything like… wait. “You know me? how?” Elliot asked, a quizzed look on his face.

The merchant gave Elliot a funny look, before bending back in a hearty laugh. “Oh, how quickly kids forget. That’s right, it’s been what, a year? Three? You used to come to the town square all the time as a kid, saying it was better than being worked to the bone by your family!” Ah, that was right. It had been the first quest he’d received in this world. He barely remembered because this man’s part of the quest was already finished, but he’d been told to get rice from him. This man helped Elliot a lot in his younger days.

He smacked his own head, as if he’d just remembered. “Ah, Gerald… I haven’t forgotten, you just look a bit different than before. Did you lose weight?”

All lies, the merchant seemed just as big as before, the only difference was his financial situation seemed to be a bit better now. If his memories served him correct, then the geezer didn’t wear such expensive clothes before… and such expensive rings. The items on the donkey didn’t seem to be food anymore, either. He wanted to talk more, but that would have been a bit awkward with the injured girl between the two.

“Let’s talk later, actually. If i stay with this girl any longer i’m going to get even weirder looks than now.” Gerald nodded, a hint of disappointment on his face. The whole town square had started staring at the two, whispering amongst each other in concern. This probably wasn’t something they saw every day. “Aye, can’t be helped. Take care of the girl, will you? Oh, and yourself as well… I don’t think her family will take this lightly. Elliot nodded and started heading towards the Praetelum house. “Take care, Gerald!”

He kept to a steady jog until he was out of the view of others, and then changed into his normal pace. He wondered what the house would look like. The past Elliot had no memories of these people, and considering how important the merchant had considered them it probably meant they were new to the town. It could also be the reason she was getting bullied before. That along with her prickly personality probably set off her peers into doing that. It could have just been as simple as she was being robbed, too. He stopped overthinking it as he came across the house.

Well, calling it a house was a bit wrong. The place was about twice as big as Elliot’s already massive home, only with the splendor and grandeur that came with expected nobility. Adorned with white and pale blue, it almost shone amongst the area around it. On the middle of the door stood a large, blue shield, telling him that it was the right place. He had a bad feeling about what would happen if he set foot inside the place. It didn’t seem to be of nobility, though, as he saw people going in and out of the place.

Was it a shop? Curious, Elliot walked into the place, carrying the poor girl in his arms. What he expected to see on the inside was the same style of decor, and in a sense he got just that. The front was the same beautiful white, with a blonde haired lady standing in front of a counter, speaking to the customers. Behind her was wildly different, though. Instead of the frilly white, there was a roaring fire burning in a furnace, while the clang of metal filled the area. A large, muscular man with the same hair and eye color stood over the anvil, pure determination in his eyes as sparks flew from his strikes to the red hot metal.

It was only then that he realized what the hell was happening. This wasn’t a shop…

This was a family of blacksmiths.