Much as it galled him, Falin found that he was grateful for the town of Lorith's existence. A patch of almost-civilization was an oasis—a paradise, even—amidst the open roads and the glorified piles of sticks called villages. Perhaps that was a bit harsh. While his tastes tended toward cities, it was not rural areas themselves he hated. He would never spend time in one willingly, but they were fine in and of themselves. It was just the ignorant filth in this one who had earned his ire.
Still, his preference for cities made Lorith a step up. Oh, it was nowhere near a city—that would have been too good to be true—but Falin wasn’t seeing any of those for a long time. By his estimation, the next city he would hit would be Zentril, over a month’s travel away. As human cities went, Zentril was nice—if not as much as Seris—and there were plenty of relti around who wouldn’t try to drive him insane. It would have been nice if more of his journey had been in places like that. Even so, at least in Lorith, you were more likely to hit something than not if you threw a stone at random. That density was the sure sign of proper civilization winning over the wilds. He would have liked to blame a lack of understanding of that on humans, but it was just the nature of commoners of all species.
Unfortunately, this area was still enough of a backwater that the people hadn’t changed much. They still glared at him with open fear and suspicion, despite his obvious occupation and status. The young woman working the general store counter was no exception.
Her eyes were glued to him every second he picked out what he needed—mostly food to replace what he had eaten. She was a bold one, at least. Rather than terror, her eyes shone with contempt. Even her body language, though tense, spoke more of annoyance than preparation to fight or flee.
Once he was done and approached the counter, she glanced between him and the door, as if he might run out. He was tempted to, rather than pay this wretch so much as a copper.
She looked over what he had chosen, weighed some of it, and shoved it back across the counter at him. With enough vigor that some of it almost fell off the counter. He was forced stop it, and the girl clicked her tongue, as though disappointed he had not had to pick his things up off the floor.
“Fifty copper,” she said briskly, her expression set in a petulant scowl.
“Of course,” he replied. “Since you asked so nicely.”
She scoffed. “I know my stuff. Reltis and demons look the same, and I’d rather be rude to a reltus than nice to a demon. Serves you haughty lot right anyway, Sacred Knight or no.”
He produced a fifty copper coin and slid it across the counter. “Quite the mouth for someone who thinks I’m a demon.”
She couldn’t even use the proper plural of reltus.
“Demon or not, I know you could kill me before I could say ‘Sir Knight,’” she said, taking the coin. “Not gonna die sniveling and crying. Thanks for your patronage.”
It was a change of pace, but Falin couldn’t say it was a good one. At least the fearful humans knew their place, after a fashion. Those travelers before had at least been friendly. This one was insolent and hostile. The worst of both worlds. A shame. She might have been pretty, but that personality soiled the one thing she might have been able to offer the world. Her brains clearly weren’t contribution much. Antagonizing a demon would have been mind-bogglingly stupid. They might have all been vile, but they weren’t always immediately dangerous. Provoking one was suicidal, not brave. He grabbed his goods and left without another word.
With that, he made his way to the local inn. He wasn’t going to stay, but he was going to see if he could grab some fresh bread before continuing on his way. The quality varied out here, but it would make a decent enough supplement to his lunch and dinner. Most inns could at least turn out a passable loaf of simple bread. And as long as it wasn’t horribly repulsive, fresh bread was always a joy to eat.
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Of course, it was just his luck that he was told there wasn’t any ready and he needed to wait, delaying him. On the bright side, the bread would be nothing if not fresh. Still, it had better be good bread to make up for the wait, especially when the place wasn’t even busy. There wasn’t a single other person in the inn when he got there. Though now that he thought about it, that itself might have been the reason there was no bread available.
Falin took a seat at the bar and waited while the bread baked. And waited. And waited. He might as well have just ordered lunch at this point. The innkeeper had told him, “Just a minute, Sir Knight,” but it was almost an hour before the man returned with a bundle of cloth, a pleasant smell emanating from within.
“Here you go, Sir Knight, straight from the oven,” the innkeeper said. “I hope it’s to your liking.”
Falin accepted it from the man’s trembling hands. “Thank you.”
He paid for the food and left with it tucked under one arm. It smelled good, at least. He unwrapped it just enough to tear off a single bite before wrapping it back up. It was good bread. Fluffy, with just the right amount of crunch on the crust. Could have used a pinch of salt, but it was good enough as it was that he didn’t regret waiting for it. He started making his way out of the village, when he heard a familiar voice coming from between two buildings.
“Bront, for the last time, no,” the girl from the general store said. “Go away.”
Falin stopped at the opening of the space. The girl had her back against the wall, with three men close around her.
“No need to be shy,” the man in the center of their little formation, presumable this Bront said. “Trust me, you won’t be able to get enough after a taste.”
“You should be proud,” the man to his left said. “It’s an honor for someone like Bront to be interested in someone like you.”
“Then you be his woman, you absolute dolt,” the girl snapped at him. “If you’re not already with how you cling to him.”
“Hey,” Bront said, leaning closer and putting one hand on the wall beside her. The girl tried to inch away, but there was no room, “I don’t tolerate that kind of talk from my girls.”
The girl scowled. “Good thing I’m not one of your girls, then.”
“Oh, you will be,” Bront said. “How’s Daddy’s shop doing these days?”
The girl’s eyes widened. “You little—”
“What’s going on here?” Falin asked as he walked closer.
Bront sighed without turning to look at Falin. “Look, buddy, I’m this city’s next mayor. Don’t cause trouble and my father won’t cause trouble for you.”
“Noted,” Falin said. “Now, I believe I asked you a question. That is, I, Falin Rivelda, Thirteenth Paladin of the Sacred Knights of Ysuge, asked you a question.”
Bront and his lackeys whirled to face Falin. Bront was forced to release the girl to do so, and they all took a step away as they laid eyes on him.
“Y-you’re not serious,” the one on the right said. “No way a Paladin comes somewhere like this.”
Their incredulity was justified, and he couldn’t blame them for not recognizing him. Really, a more recognizable uniform for the Paladins was probably in order. He understood the reasoning behind making it so discreet. It avoided putting the Paladins on too high a pedestal over other knights and kept the common folk from being too intimidated, but he didn’t agree with that logic. It was better for all involved if everyone knew who they were dealing with. He supposed a more noticeable uniform might open the door to impersonators, but they could solve that problem when they got to it.
“It’s not by choice, I assure you,” Falin said. “Would you like to test me? Of course, if you push this any further, I’ll have to report to the Executive Council about the Malice-growing activities the mayor is sponsoring here. That will get to your king, and, eventually, I suppose we’ll see how your father feels about it.”
Bront gritted his teeth. “You’re bluffing.”
Falin sighed. “I’m sure you must feel quite big around here, feasting on lesser vermin, you little worm, but the world is much wider than the patch of mud you squirm around in. I’d advise you to keep that in mind. Now, I believe the lady asked you to leave?”
Bront seethed, then turned and hurried out of the alley, the other two men close behind.
Falin looked over the girl. Having called her a lady made him feel almost gross, but at least it had gotten the job done. She did not seem to be hurt. It seemed they had only cornered and harassed her.
She looked back at him in silence, wide-eyed. “You saved me. After…before.”
“I was doing what I’m obligated to,” he replied. “Unfortunately, your rotten attitude doesn’t change the duties of a Sacred Knight to reduce the flow of Malice.”
The girl averted her gaze and nodded. “Well, thank you anyway.”
“I don’t need your thanks,” he said. “Like I said, it was just my job.”
“Well, I’m giving it to you anyway,” she said with a hint of her earlier temper. “And, um, sorry for all that stuff I said about relti. I guess you’re not all bad.”
She smiled a bit. What, did she want a trophy for the bare minimum courtesy she owed him? Did she think them friends now?
“Think what you want,” he said.
“I will.”
He scoffed and walked away.