It was a quiet morning. I noticed the weather had just started to cool off after the heat of summer. The cool air contrasted with the heat coming from everyone's bodies. The funeral began at 9 in the morning. My father was the first to speak. They were the first words I had heard him speak since he returned from battle.

"We are gathered here today to honor a hero. He threw himself in front of danger so that I could live. He took a fatal attack meant for me so that I could be here and stand before you all today. My knight Sir Elwood never ran from danger. He was always the first to volunteer for a dangerous mission. Always the one leading the charge forward. He was a knight, a warrior, and my friend. We say our final goodbyes to Sir Elijah Elwood the Tower's Shield! The greatest Knight to ever walk the streets of Renee!" My father shouted at the top of his lungs. His voice had started cracking halfway through his speech.

"Cheers!" The crowd quickly joined him.

The funeral was held one week after my father had returned from battle. My father hasn't spoken a word since he came back home. The night my father came home he hugged me and held me in his arms before going to his room and sleeping. His mind must have been just as preoccupied as mine or even more so.

Elijah was going to be buried in our family's cemetery. Buried in our family cemetery together with the rest of us. Over a thousand people were surrounding the service in a wide circle. Adventurers, soldiers, mages, knights, and even common street vendors came to see Elijah one last time. Standing to my left were Elijah's parents who I had never seen before. There was also a woman, a tavern worker I recognized that was crying a little harder than the others. Every member of the Red Tower from cooks to mages was at the funeral. There were even knights and adventurers who came from others in attendance.

"Elijah was passing by our town when we were under attack. He was in a hurry to relay a message from the Red Tower master. Elijah had every right to ignore us and pass through, but he rushed in to help us when no one else would. He took control of the situation in a flash leading the men in our village to fight back against a horde of goblins and orcs. He saved our village and then immediately ran as fast as he could to get his message relayed."

There were a lot of similar stories from adventurers and soldiers. Many people who knew Elijah spoke of their experiences with him.

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How he had saved their lives.

How he had made them laugh.

All of his antics, and his ridiculous training sessions.

Tobias finally spoke, "Elijah was annoying, unprofessional, and a disgrace to every damn knight in the Tower! The bastard can't do his job if he dies! He was supposed to live! He wasn't supposed to leave this world before us!" Choking back sobs Tobias continued, "That damn bastard better keep a place for us in Heaven! Shit. To that damn bastard!"

"TO THAT BASTARD!" A large number of people responded with a shout.

The clergyman came up after everyone had spoken. The clergyman asked, "Is there anyone else?" When no one else spoke up he said, "May Sir Elwood rest well. May his eternity be filled with peace and grace." He blessed the coffin before it was lowered in the ground. That was the moment. When the casket was lowered to the ground, it all became real to me. I began to cry. My face grew wet. I looked into the sky and noticed there were no clouds, and the sky was clear. It came like the rain suddenly, and most of the crowd began to shed tears for my friend.

I would miss him.

Argon had made a mistake. A mistake they would pay for with blood.

There were two people in the crowd that were watching the funeral who never met Elijah. The blue-haired man spoke to his red-haired neighbor, "Row, the target is the Tower Masters family get a good look without leaking any killing intent."

"I'm not an idiot. We'd be caught and killed pretty quickly if I leaked any killing intent here."

"At least you know, the Tower Master isn't a target we can pursue. His wife is difficult enough as is. If we can eliminate her and the child then the Tower Master will be incapable of rational thought and will become a much easier target."

"Yeah, if we don't get killed quickly after. It sounds easy on paper Derick, but we both know it's not going to be that easy."

"For now we are instructed for a slow move. We could kill the child in a week, the wife maybe in a month, but if we want to do more and get out of here alive an opportunity will probably take a long time."

The red-haired man smiled with his teeth showing, "Darien Northwood recently lost a knight correct?"

"Where the hell do you think we are? This is his funeral, idiot."

"Hehe, well won't he need a competent knight to help with the burden of losing his most trusted knight?"

"Row, two unknown individuals suddenly asking to be your knight would get us caught."

"Well, all we have to do is become known then."

"That's risky." The blue-haired man smiled back at him before whispering, "I like it. Let's make a plan. This mission in Elion has failed, but the plan is only just beginning."

The funeral slowly ended and the two strange men had already disappeared. Argon was moving around in many places.