John smiled and said, "The Knight's Code includes the duties of protecting one's home and defending the weak. I don't believe I've violated either. Sir Vein will surely understand. Compared to that, your gang doesn't exactly inspire trust."
"You've got no proof!" Boss Jackson said, looking fierce.
Everyone knew that making witnesses unwilling or too scared to testify was the gang's specialty, and the Church rarely intervened in such matters. Besides, the influential figure backing the Allen Gang wasn't without connections in the Church either.
Lucian laughed, recalling all the lines he'd heard and read from tyrannical nobles and knights in the past, and said with an air of lofty superiority, "Proof? He's a knight squire, and you're a gang boss — that's all the proof anyone needs!"
From the Copper Crown Tavern, Lucian knew that in the Vorlite Principality, knights were true nobility. Their official squires, while not holding high rank, were by no means insignificant either. He was confident that a petty gang boss like Jackson had no standing to falsely accuse a knight squire — especially since neither he nor John carried any other great prize that would make the Allen Gang so eager to act.
John, on the other hand, had been steeped in chivalric spirit and the Knight's Code, and Aunt Elisa held the same views, so he had been somewhat intimidated by Jackson's bluster.
Jackson was left speechless by Lucian's words. Falsely accusing a knight squire — the Allen Gang could certainly manage it, but it would require pulling an enormous number of strings and spending considerable resources. Boss Allen would never go to such lengths for a minor underling like him. Especially now, when the atmosphere in Altor felt somehow off — beneath the calm, countless undercurrents seemed to be surging, and even Boss Allen had been acting mysterious lately, constantly disappearing without anyone knowing what he was plotting. So Jackson had indeed only been bluffing to scare John.
Besides, this wasn't some blood feud. There was no reason to gamble his own career and life over it.
Once he'd become a boss, Jackson had naturally lost the ruthlessness he'd once had for himself.
So Jackson struggled to speak up. "How much compensation do you need? I've only got two silver nars on me."
Lucian, having successfully scared Jackson into submission, turned to John and let him decide. At the same time, he glanced toward the far end of the street and said in a low voice, "Looks like the constable is heading this way with his men. Let's leave quickly before this blows up."
As for the Allen Gang members, they'd had plenty of experience dealing with the constable. It wouldn't be hard to come up with an excuse to slip away.
Although Lucian worried about future retaliation from the gang — and sometimes even considered the possibility of crushing them completely or cutting off the threat for good — neither his nor John's strength was up to the task right now. And killing someone in the street would genuinely get John expelled.
John strictly adhered to the Knight's Code and had no intention of extorting Jackson. He nodded. "Fine. Two silver nars in compensation."
Lucian had only been robbed of forty-odd Copper Fels and some unprocessed junk. The rest of his money was carefully hidden in a corner of the Witch's ruins — and because everyone feared the Witch and worried about being cursed, none of the villains dared get close enough to discover it. Adding up the broken furniture, the damage came to a little over one silver nar at most. Two silver nars was essentially double.
Jackson laboriously pulled out his coin purse and tossed it to John. It was nearly empty, containing only two silver nars. "I already gave out the Copper Fels as rewards."
John shook out two gleaming, beautiful coins and handed them to Lucian, then tossed the empty purse back by Jackson's hand. "Should we search those thugs and take back your stolen Copper Fels?"
Taking the silver nars, Lucian jerked his chin toward the constable and his men drawing ever closer. "There's no time. Let's go."
Being caught red-handed by the constable wouldn't necessarily result in any punishment, but better safe than sorry — Lucian wasn't willing to gamble John's future. So with only a small pang of regret, he gave up on those lovely Copper Fels.
"Right!" John picked up his wooden club, leaving no evidence behind.
Then Lucian and John broke into a sprint, dashing down another street before ducking into an alley. They vanished into the Market District in moments.
……
"Phew — stop running, that's far enough. Let's rest." By the time they'd made it back to a secluded corner of the slums, Lucian finally felt safe enough to let go. He leaned against the wall, gasping for air in great heaving breaths, and only then realized just how badly his legs were shaking. Thinking about it, he really had covered a lot of ground this morning. So he simply dropped to the ground, a bit of a smile on his face. "Heh… out of breath… phew."
John was panting too. Seeing that the two wounds on Lucian weren't deep and the bleeding had stopped, he sat down as well, leaning against Lucian. "I'm exhausted too. Those few dozen seconds surrounded by them were more tiring than running half a day. But it's been so long since I had a good fight — that felt great!"
The two sat there leaning against each other on the ground, catching their breath and letting their stamina recover.
"Yeah, that really felt great." Lucian narrowed his eyes and looked up at the vast, clear blue sky. That fight just now had been truly exhilarating for him — like he'd vented all the repression, pain, confusion, and hesitation that had built up over this whole period. His mind felt clearer than ever before. And he'd genuinely come to recognize John as a true friend. He couldn't help but burst into laughter. "Hahahaha."
The laughter was unrestrained and joyful.
John looked puzzled. "Lucian, what are you laughing about?"
"I'm thinking about the future. Once I've learned to read and earn some money, I'll travel across the continent — see different sights, try different foods, visit different countries, and hear all kinds of wonderful legends."
Lucian didn't answer directly. He gazed at the sky and spoke slowly, but in his heart, he continued silently:
"I'm going to learn Arcane Magic. I'm going to travel the whole continent, explore the knowledge and laws of this world, and fathom its true nature — all to find a way home."
"Whether I succeed or not, this is the direction I'll strive toward — for my parents, and for friends like John from my old life."
"I've already got over three silver nars. For the rest, even if I have to borrow at loan-shark rates, I need to scrape together enough as fast as possible so I can start learning Arcane Magic in the shortest time. The Allen Gang wouldn't dare retaliate openly, but striking in the shadows — that's what they do best."