“…Get out of my sight.”
“What?”
“I will tell you one more time. Get out of my sight.”
“You bastard!”
This was bad. They were about to strike the old man.
Climb’s face was dyed red as he desperately tried to push his way inside. What entered his vision was the appearance of an old man and the men surrounding him. A ragged boy lay at the feet of the men.
The neatly dressed old man gave off an elegance that made him seem like nobility, or someone who served one. Each of the men surrounding him had a rough appearance and seemed to be drunk. It was obvious which side was in the wrong.
The largest among the men made a fist. When comparing him and the old man, the difference was overwhelming. The girth of their bodies, size of their muscles, the violent temperament that did not hesitate to spill blood; if he were to strike him, the old man would easily be sent flying. The people around them who realized this imagined the tragedy that was about to befall the old man and let out a small scream.
However, Climb who was in the middle of the crowd felt a small sense of danger.
Without a doubt, the side with the men appeared tougher. But instead, he felt as if it was the old man who was giving off the atmosphere of absolute strength.
That moment of absent-mindedness cost Climb the chance to stop the man’s violence. He raised his fist and—
—collapsed.
Voices filled with surprise came from Climb’s surroundings.
The old man had accurately struck the man’s chin. Not only that, he did so with incredible speed. It was so quick that someone like Climb who trained their dynamic vision could only barely catch it.
“Will you continue?”
Composure and skill that you could not tell from his outer appearance. Combined, they had no trouble sobering up the men from their drunken stupor. No, even the onlookers were becoming ensnared by the old man’s energy. The men completely lost their will to fight.
“N-no, it was our fault.”
As they retreated back a few steps while apologizing in unison, the men grabbed their leader and fled. Climb had no intention of chasing after them. As if his heart had been stolen away by the old man with the straight back, Climb could not move.
A posture that was as straight as a sword, it was an appearance that any warrior would long for.
The old man touched the boy’s back as if to check his condition. He then asked a person nearby to treat him and moved on. The crowd parted in a straight line to make way for the old man. No one could tear their eyes away from his back, an appearance that commanded nothing less.
Climb quickly ran to the collapsed boy and took out the potion that he received from Gazef during training.
“Can you drink?”
There was no reply. He was completely unconscious.
Climb opened the lid and poured the contents over the boy’s body. Although it was easy to think of potions as medicine to drink, there was no problem in pouring it over the body. That was the greatness of magic.
The potion seeped into the boy’s body, as if his skin was absorbing the fluid. Seeing that the boy’s complexion regained its color, Climb felt relieved and nodded his head.
The surrounding people saw Climb use an expensive item like a potion and were just as surprised as they were with the old man’s skill. However, needless to say, Climb did not regret it. As long as citizens paid taxes, it was the duty of those who lived off of those taxes to protect them and ensure their safety. Since he could not fulfill his duty, Climb felt that he had to do at least this much.
Although the potion should ensure that there would not be any more problems with the boy, it would be better to take him to the temple just in case. Climb signaled to the guards that he had on standby. It seemed they called for more; the two guards were joined by three more men.
The surrounding people looked at the guards that were arriving only just now with reproach. The guards looked nervous as Climb spoke to one of their men.
“Take this child to the temple.”
“What happened here? Exactly…”
“There was violence. I used a healing potion so there shouldn’t be any problems, but take him just in case.”
“Yes, understood!”
Leaving the guards to finish up, Climb judged that there was nothing more for him to do here. Nothing good will come of a soldier who worked in the palace meddling any further with the work of others.
“I assume you can find out what happened here from a witness who saw it from the beginning.”
“I will do as you say.”
Having received their orders, the guards found their confidence and quickly moved out. Climb then stood up and ran, ignoring the voices of the guards asking where he was going.
Arriving at the bend in the road where the old man had turned, Climb slowed his pace.
He then followed him.
His eyes fell on the old man’s back walking ahead
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