“Tch, these shits really don’t let up do they.” A wounded Knight beside Viran said in a distasteful tone. Viran could relate.

Viran wasn’t sure how long they have been fighting or how many rats they have killed so far but it has been an enormous amount.

He could feel his mana slowly increasing as every second passed, but it was too little of an amount to even use Resilient Hold for longer than a minute without even mentioning Sense Severance.

The same could be said for the Knights as they threw out one spell after another. It wasn’t a case of having too little mana like with Viran, but the real problem plaguing them was how many spells they were using and the strength of each spell. The Knights that had bombarded the frontlines with giant beams and arcs were already spent long ago and were barely able to fight.

Compared to the young and trepid Viran these Knights were much more experienced with the complete draining of mana. Though they were unable to use spells of any sort they could still use ranged weapons or even fight on the frontlines, though their efficiency is obviously plagued as a result.

For the Knights retreating there was an obvious problem with actually leaving the area. Though they may be able to outmaneuver the giant rat hordes behind them they would always somehow meet another horde just as big in front of them, of which they could either attempt to outmaneuver as well or fight head on.

Such a situation would be hell for anyone retreating from the detestable creatures.

“Sava we can’t keep this up! What are we supposed to do?”

Viran turned his head only to see the wounded Knight from before grabbing at the Knight that had saved his life before, and the one that exposed such a rude side to Viran before as well.

“First get your ass back over there. Or what? Do you wanna join in and fight again?” Sava said in a condescending tone dripping with annoyance.

“Tch.”

All the wounded Knight could do in the face of an angry Sava was walk away obediently. Looking at the angry face of the Knight Sava with his silver sword now dyed in crimson blood, Viran supposed he would immediately back off as well.

Viran silently giggled to himself at the sight.

“That’s the attitude you should have, Viran. I don’t mean to say I look down on you, but I really do look down on you.”

Ry’s words echoed in Viran’s head and the boy could not help but be considerably miffed at the incessant Spirit that would always say these things. He supposed the Spirit had seemed nice at first but now it was just an asshole to Viran.

‘Next time I should apologize to Ceru for doubting him…’ Viran thought.

Viran was lost in his thoughts as he gazed upon the battlefield until he felt a peculiar sense come upon him. Looking back he could see the wounded Knight standing not far away, and with a particularly distasteful visage.

“Oi kid.” The wounded Knight said in a seething tone.

“It’s Lord Viran to you.”

Viran had tried to make his words sound calm, but in fact they were filled to the brim with a seething anger at the Knight. But even so, the words chock full of anger by Viran had quickly gotten the attention of the wounded in the middle of the formation.

“Uh huh. Well you’ll only be a goddamn corpse if you don’t get out there and fight you brat.”

The wounded Knight drew closer and Viran could see he was missing an ear and his entire right arm was mangled to bits. Blood flowed down, still, despite the tight bandages tied around him. In normal cases he would be healed and sent out to the frontlines again but most of the healers had already drained their mana completely, the rest couldn’t be bothered to waste so much mana on one person. His wounds were much more than the scratches and bites that the rest received, including Viran.

“Oh don’t tell me you’re scared? Those bites and scratches on you hurt too much? Hmm? How about you go tell Leonard about that!”

Viran peered down at his own body. His body and arms were relatively uninjured save for a few bites and scratches, but his legs were filled with small bites and scratches. The wounds on their own weren’t much to fuss about, but having that amount of wounds was bound to cause problems for anyone.

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“It’s Sir Leonard to you asshole.” Viran growled at the wounded Knight in a fierce tone.

“Oh please, you’re insulting me as though you can actually do anything.”

The wounded Knight peers behind him and tenses while realizing everyone around him clearly noticed how he was treating Viran during a time of crisis like this. To put it simply, their opinions of him lowered greatly.

“Tch. Whatever.”

The wounded Knight spit on the ground before walking away from Viran. He felt he couldn’t be bothered with a kid like that, though that was just masking the trepidation he felt being stared at by so many others.

Even if they were all wounded and decrepit Knights just like him.

Looking at the soft curses thrown out by the wounded Knight Viran could only shake his head slightly. What was the use of picking a fight with a kid in a situation like this?

“You haven’t completely disappointed me.” The Spirit suddenly spoke. “However if you don’t do anything about that Knight happenings like this will only occur more often, and with more people involved as well.”

“Do you know the future or something, Ry?” Viran asked the Spirit. To the boy it seemed the Spirit was always so sure of whatever he said, as if he had seen the future himself.

“No. Nothing can truly see through the law of time. Even this honorable and venerable self can only determine what the future looks like by our own actions and careful observation, a skill like this would be very useful for a boy like you. Though something tells me you’re not exactly smart enough or brazen enough to do something like that. Many times I don’t know whether I want to punch you or the person bold enough to insult you.”

Viran was flabbergasted by the Spirit’s words, though it did make sense. Viran desperately wanted to lash out and fight back, but he didn’t think it was worth it. It was likely to make the situation worse overall anyways. But letting everything happen without him having a say, was something he detested. Something he detested for practically his whole life.

“...Who knows. Maybe next time I won’t let this happen.” Viran muttered to Viran. His eyes began to relax once the warm sunlight finally hit his face.

“Very well. If you’re able to do that much, maybe I won’t look down on you as much as before.” Ry chuckled softly in a refreshing manner, Viran wondered if the Spirit could also feel the sunlight just like him.

“Just remember boy. Letting someone trample over you is only the gateway for your own peril. Doing so once will be hard, doing so twice will be difficult, doing so thrice will be easy. Eventually there will come a time where you become the doormat to anyone finding trouble, and by then you wouldn’t have changed at all. You would still be in the same decrepit world as before, except a world of your own creation.

Seeing the estate in the distance and the village, Viran was forced to shield his eyes from the harsh rays that struck at him.

“Yeah, sure.”

Viran muttered softly to Ry in response, and that was all.

----------------------------------------

“Heavens!”

“How could this have happened?”

“Tsk, looks like they were nothing but talk.”

As the stream of injured Knights shuffled closer to the village, it was obvious another spectacle was to be seen as the villagers quickly gathered into a crowd to watch. Children peeked around their parents only to be scolded and sent away moments later, the blood was simply too much for a child to see.

“Oh dear! There’s a child there!” One old woman gasped with worry written all over her face.

“That’s… That’s the son of Marquess Idicium!” Another villager exclaimed.

Where their pointed fingers laid upon was obviously the battle scarred Viran. Bloodied bandages were wrapped around his legs and arms and his entire body was practically drenched in blood, though most of it was the blood of the rats he had slain.

“...You remember when I told you to work to get in the Knights good graces?” Ry interjected suddenly.

“Yeah?”

“Same thing with the villagers here, except different. Insist to get your wounds checked last, and while the Knights are getting treated apologize to the villagers.”

The sudden words felt wrong to Viran. After all he did feel bad for the villagers he thought it wasn’t them he should apologize, but the Knights instead. There was also one glaring problem for the young boy.

“I’ve never learned anything about oratory! What do I even say?” Viran refused vehemently.

“Look, kid, becoming nice with the villagers and Knights will only benefit you in the end. You may not understand now what the little things are worth a lot more at times like these! Just use some flowery language and start saying solemn things. These villagers are largely uneducated and are largely isolated but they still understand how the class system works in this country. Having someone of a higher life than them apologize for something like this, and a kid at that, will only make them go crazy over you!”

“Ry… I- I don’t know.” Viran said as he somehow stuttered while talking to Ry.

“If you do this much, perhaps I may look at you in a different light.”

It was at this point Viran was filled with a peculiar feeling. The boy wasn’t sure why, but he wanted to prove himself in this capacity somehow. Viran’s mind was refusing it all the way, yet his body acted differently.

“Don’t worry. You all can go first.”

Viran waved softly to the Knights walking away from him as he approached the now still crowd. Due to their lack of knowledge they were unsure how to treat the Lord. Do they bow? Do they get on their knees?

Viran finally stands in front of the crowd ahead of him as he folds his hands together behind his back.

“My apologies for failing the subjugation against the monster horde.”

Viran’s words were shocking to those around, and particularly the Knights. Even some Knights who had been wounded greatly looked back in awe at their Lord.

“I was unable to understand the magnitude and risk of the rats, and that proved fatal to many of my comrades today. Though many of us have left that forest with some of our selves, the rest will be left with only bones.”

Viran’s visage was filled with the sadness and pain he had felt in the forest. Truthfully he was saddened by the deaths that had occured, but he hadn’t believed for a second it was his own fault. The boy didn’t know when, but he had become accustomed to the idea of death.

“Still, despite the challenges that may face me I will gather all that remains of my comrades and send them back to their homes for their loved ones. Those rats will serve as the catalyst for my feelings towards those that fought alongside me, and with that I will personally send those rats to their deaths.”

“Perhaps, that much will be able to let those that have perished be at peace in the afterlife.”

With a simple nod Viran walks away from the stunned crowd, through the stunned Knights staring still, and all the way to his tent.

Passing by Viran could not help but notice the gazes that followed him whether it be Sir Leonard, Sava, or the wounded Knight from before.

Once inside the tent once more Viran could not help but exhale a deep breath of anxiety and pain.

“I messed up. I messed up. I messed up.” Viran repeatedly said to the chuckling Spirit. Though, the chuckling somehow sounded kinder than before.

“Hehehe, quiet down kid. You did fine, you did fine.”

Viran knelt onto the dirt ground, and the blood that dyed him stayed still. Not a single drop fell in those moments.