Bastard sighed as he shrugged and spoke to the man who he had gained contempt for over half a second of his appearance.

“What did I do? I can't for the life of me think of any crime I have done recently that I haven't already paid for. Oh, right. Did that old man's shitty reports actually get through to the government? Wow, I guess you guys do get stuff done eventually. Still, it's a total waste of time.

“I have said this like, one thousand times already. Look, I did not sleep with the blacksmith's daughter.”

Bastard could not read the expression of the knight, being covered from head to toe in armour made it near impossible to read him, especially with visor that seemed to be pure blackness... but after a single second, he picked up the lightest of all chuckles a man can give before a quick cough to clear his throat and speak again.

"This is not about that incident with Miss Farrise. You are under arrest for the debts of your mother coming due. You are now an adult and thus liable for her debts. I will need to take you into custody unless you have some way to pay this now?"

Though the knight already knew the answer to that question and lifted his right hand without waiting for the boy to respond.

Bastard had not noticed it before that moment but… flowing from the white knights right hand was a ridiculous amount of chains, all coloured a dull and restrictive gray. They seemed as bountiful as flowing water in his hands and slithered out like a nest of snakes.

Then they began to move and hissed as they stretched out like the web of a spider, their will to strangle the prey right before them.

That was the exact he realised Bastard knew this wasn’t your average knight.

The massive snow coloured giant was a Magic Lord.

The difference between a knight and a Magic Lord was like day and night.

No, in fact that comparison didn’t even come close to doing it justice.

One was but a man who might dabble in spells. The other was… a monster in human flesh.

One whose power could ruin a small army with barely any effort.

Those who are called upon to tangle with titanic monsters.

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The warriors without fear that at the behest of their ruler, even face down a Calamity.

In the first place magic wasn’t something everyone had access to.

Magic is only formally taught to those with the money to afford the schools or tuition.

Bastard had heard even a single lesson on the basics of basics could cost around 50 golden cubs and that was the cheapest price he’d even knew about from rumours.

The man in front of him was someone who had the luxury of not only learning but sharpening those skills to the point most monsters, let alone men, would be suicidal to even want to exchange a single blow with him.

Still Bastard was not the type to simply bow and beg to those who were “above” him, no matter the circumstances. He had paid for it quite painfully, several times and the memories stung even now. The scars beneath his shirt no longer ached his body but his soul remembered the lashes to his pride.

The knight took a single pace forward.

"I highly doubt you have that sort of wealth on you. So please come quietly so we may figure out an alternative method of payment."

At this Bastard’s cheeks filled with airs before spitting out an exhale of disbelief.

“Did you really just say that with a straight face? Do whips and chains all that really excite you that much? We’ve got plenty of sticks and stones in a backwards town like this, so if you wanna break a few bones, go do it. If you have a desire to put a bone in my bunghole… I’d rather you just kill me now.”

The knight in white and his steel snakes stood frozen in shock.

There was a good moment of silence between the young man and the enforcer of the empire.

Then it was broken by a long groaning sigh from the ginger boy.

“Alright. Okay. I got it. Here you need my stuff right?"

Bastard walked up to his would be captor and handed over his string bag which held every worldly possession he ever had, which was in fact not much at all.

Nothing he’d consider important nor essential.

Some spare scraps of cheap food and a few creased pieces of paper and not very sentimental keepsakes, a few wooden utensils, nothing he’d really miss or cry to part with.

The moment the left hand of the knight gripped the bag that was easily handed over to him with no resistance, Bastard dropped his entire body, twisted to the left and leaped forward and broke into the fastest sprint he had ever performed in his life, his form looking like a gust of wind within the depths of a storm.

“Today is the day I go free. I escape from all this bullshit. I’m not handing it over for anyone.

Definitely not for some dead woman who slept around and didn’t bother to pay her debts.”

Especially to a woman who must have did something so awful that a Magic Lord needed to be called in to make sure the proper price was paid.

He dashed with what he considered as perfect form, his mind quickly going to nothing but two things. How to make sure he kept perfect pace and where he could hide too until the living heap of metal would give up because he was more trouble than he was worth.

The Knight in White smirked beneath his helmet as Bastard ran for freedom.

"Good. This way I can see what you're made of."

The red flare within the crystal attached to his neck flashed.

This boy was the one he was looking for.