How to Live as a Knight After the Ending - Chapter 9
Only Noblemtl
Episode 9. Violet Fox (1)
‘What just happened?’
Everyone inside the tavern thought the same thing.
Even though I saw with my own eyes what was happening, my mind didn’t quite understand it.
Taiwoo couldn’t control his anger and fired his gun in a fit of rage, and Ossian swung his sword.
That was all there was to it.
But Ossian did not fall down spewing blood. Instead, the bullet split in half and lodged in the wall of the tavern.
‘That kid, that kid. Did he really shoot the bullet with a knife?’
It would be more accurate to say that he cut it off rather than saying that he kicked it out.
In fact, whether you throw it away or cut it, from a third party’s perspective, it was all the same.
Because both were equally impossible.
And at the same time, I realized that the rumors that had spread to Ossian the day before were definitely not unfounded.
They say you can chase down a gang of 40 with just one knife, so if you know how to cut a flying bullet, isn’t that something you can do?
Taiwoo was still frozen, as if he had not expected Ossian to kill the gun he had shot.
“W, how on earth… … . Even for a mutant with enhanced physical abilities, this would be impossible.”
“I just got kicked.”
“Just? Just, you say?”
“Yeah. More importantly, you… … shot the gun.”
Only at the sound of Ossian’s cold voice was Taiwoo able to regain his senses and look around.
All the onlookers gathered in the first floor bar were staring at him.
Taiwoo didn’t know what the emotion in those eyes meant.
Taiwoo glared at the mercenaries as if he was going to kill them. Those bastards who can’t even make eye contact with each other, who dare to do that now!
But this time, the mercenaries did not avoid Taiwoo’s gaze.
The wounded lion gave the hyenas no fear.
This was especially true for those who broke the rules within the tavern.
Ossian also knew that, which is why he pointed out Taiwu’s actions.
And that was enough to give this side a reason to swing its sword.
“Oh, don’t come!”
As Ossian slowly approached, Taiwoo became thoughtful and shouted.
His pronunciation had improved, but his legs were shaking like aspen trees.
Taiwoo realized that Ossian was trying to kill him, and that no one was stopping him, and that this was a justified execution.
In the face of the fear of death, Taiwu aimed the gun he was holding in his hand at Ossian again in a fit of rage.
The moment his fingertips were about to pull the trigger, Ossian’s figure disappeared like a candle going out.
Where are you?
It was the moment when Taiwoo’s eyes turned around to look for Ossian.
The disappeared Ossian suddenly appeared right in front of Taiwoo’s nose.
Before Taiwu could open his mouth to shout anything, Ossian’s sword dug into his groin.
“Cough!”
Taiwoo let out a breath of pain. The last thing he saw was not Ossian, who was killing him, but his partner Jake.
Jake couldn’t bear to look at her eyes asking him to do something, so he turned his head away.
At that sight, Taiwoo’s face twisted into a despairing expression, and soon he lowered his head.
Ossian pulled out the sword he had stuck in Taiu’s forehead.
As he swung his sword once, the blood on the blade fell to the floor with a splash.
Ossian opened his mouth, looking back at everyone who was looking at him.
“You see, this guy disregarded the rules here, pulled out a gun and shot it. So I asked him to pay the appropriate price for his infraction. I don’t think you’ll mind.”
No one dared to contradict Ossian’s words.
Rather, there were only people who nodded their heads in satisfaction as if Taiwoo had died well.
Ossian, whose situation had been roughly sorted out, looked at Jake again.
“Do you still need further proof?”
“… … That can’t be.”
“Then I wish you would hurry and leave here. I don’t want to see the blood of the dishonorable once more.”
The words were blatantly insulting, but Jake couldn’t help but get angry.
He picked up Taiwoo’s fallen body and quickly left the tavern.
Ossian looked at Jake’s back and then returned to his seat and sat down on his chair.
“Okay, then let’s start the story again.”
Isabella and Osborne, who had been looking at him as if exploring him just a moment ago, now had an unconcealed greed in their eyes.
It was even more tempting to find out that the rumors about it cutting bullets were true.
However, greed is greed, and on the contrary, the two people became more cautious in their actions.
Ossian killed Taiu, the fixer at Jake’s office.
Bringing in Ossian ultimately meant gaining a great force while also losing Jake and Chuck.
Jake himself is not a fearful person at all.
Jake is a man of great ability, but he has excessive pride and a bad personality. He is a man of great talent, but nothing more.
What was more frightening than that was the huge organization behind Jake.
From the perspective of not knowing what they were going to do, Ossian was a talent that was very difficult to embrace.
Ossian was not unaware of the complex emotions contained in the eyes directed at him.
“It seems like it’s already been decided who the contract will be with.”
Ossian’s gaze turned to Ronan.
Ronan Rolland.
This man’s attitude didn’t change at all, even when he got into an altercation with Jake and killed Taiwoo.
“Are you sure it’s okay with me?”
“Wasn’t that what you were waiting for since last night?”
“That’s right… … that’s right.”
Ronan nodded instead of questioning.
There were several incidents, but none of them were enough to shake Ronan’s resolve.
“We promise to provide you with the best treatment in the industry.”
Ossian and Ronan shook hands.
Although it was only a tentative contract for now, there was no sign of this deal being swayed.
“Then would you like to come straight to our office?”
“office?”
“Yes. It’s a bit far from here, but it’s a place you’ll be visiting often in the future, so it wouldn’t be a bad idea to go there first.”
“Okay.”
Ossian nodded and stood up from his seat.
As Ronan was about to follow him who was leaving first, there was a voice from behind that stopped him.
“Congratulations, Ronan. You’ve recruited quite a capable individual.”
Ronan, who was about to leave, stopped and nodded slightly at Isabella, who was looking at him with a subtle gaze.
“Oh, I just got lucky.”
“What about luck? Even if it is luck, have you forgotten that in this industry, it is also a skill? Anyway, I want to congratulate you again, and at the same time, tell you to be careful.”
When Isabella said be careful, she meant Jake.
Now that Taiwoo is dead and has been humiliated in front of so many people, Jake will do whatever it takes to get at Ossian later on.
And the same was true for Ronan, who recruited Ossian.
“Be careful. Jake is a man as sinister as a snake. He may smile on the outside, but inside, there are few people as twisted as he is.”
“I know.”
“I’m glad you know. At least I think highly of you in this industry. It’s suspicious that you always have a smiling face but you can’t read what’s on your mind.”
“Oh, is that me? I’m sorry if it hurts you when you say that.”
Isabella snorted in disbelief.
“Hurt? Forget about jokes that don’t even make sense.”
“… … .”
It’s true.
Ronan couldn’t understand why people didn’t take his words at face value.
If I smiled, I was wary, and if I said I was having a hard time, I didn’t believe it.
Is it because the world is so harsh?
Ronan took off his hat and held it against his chest, bowing his head slightly.
“I appreciate your concern, but from now on, this is a path that Ossian and I will have to shoulder entirely. I will make sure to take your advice to heart.”
“… … Okay. Do your best.”
“Hehehe, I hope we get to see each other more often, Ronan.”
“Yes. Goodbye to you too, Mr. Osborne.”
After exchanging brief greetings with the industry people, Ronan put his hat back on his head and left the tavern.
Outside, Ossian was waiting for him with his arms crossed.
“Have you been waiting long? I’m sorry. I thought we should say hello.”
“I can wait long enough to exchange greetings.”
“That’s great. Oh, and before I go straight to the office, I’d like to stop by somewhere else. Is that okay?”
“I don’t really care, but where do you plan on going?”
“Clothing store.”
“A clothing store? Why there?”
When Ossian asked with a look that said he really didn’t know, Ronan stared at Ossian’s armor without saying anything.
Ossian looked down at his armor and realized it belatedly.
“ah.”
The armor was so comfortable that I almost forgot about it.
*
Daughter.
Ossian, who came out of the clothing store, looked at the clothes he was wearing with a subtle gaze.
Brown leather pants that are comfortable to move in, a pure white dress shirt, a simple vest worn over it, and a frock coat worn over it.
Although it was better than armor, it was still difficult for Ossian to adapt to such attire.
Ronan, on the other hand, glanced at Ossian and nodded in satisfaction.
“Hmm. You definitely feel more alive after changing your clothes.”
Even when Ossian was originally wearing armor, he looked like a nobleman from some place, but when he was fully dressed up, he was no joke.
Not only the clothing store clerks but also the store owner came out and made a fuss, and even now, pedestrians passing by on the street would glance at Ossian.
“The store said they’ll send the armor separately, so let’s go straight to the office.”
“… … Okay.”
Ossian felt empty without his armor.
Then, I laughed inwardly, thinking that it was funny that I had even thought of that.
How long have you been in this world and you already miss your armor?
Still, it was better, because the long sword on his waist was still there.
The two went to a nearby platform and boarded the tram.
It was a tram running in the 30th district, and Ossian sat inside it and glanced around.
‘What a different world.’
There were gangs, guns, and architectural styles, but with the trams, it really felt like a completely modern world.
Even now, steam-belching cars were occasionally passing through the streets, and the appearance of non-human beings was also visible.
Eventually the tram stopped at a stop and Ossian and Ronan got off and started walking.
The place we finally arrived at was a store with a sign on a street where people were just walking around.
“This is our troubleshooting office, [Violet Fox]. Come on in.”
I thought it would be something special since it was a solution office, but it didn’t seem much different from other buildings on the street.
As we followed Ronan inside, the bell installed on the door rang with a tinkling sound.
“Hoo.”
The interior of the building was neater than expected.
A wooden table and chairs. A sofa on one side and picture frames hanging on the wall.
Brass pipes were installed in the ceiling and walls, and soft light streamed from the ceiling lights, illuminating the interior.
Classical music flowed softly from a gramophone placed on a wooden table.
On one wall was a long display case, lined with bottles of various kinds of liquor.
“Was this a tavern too?”
“It’s a side job. Since the job of a problem solver is diverse, we run a restaurant or bar like this and gather customers to get information.”
Ronan immediately took Ossian to the office on the second floor.
Ronan, sitting on the sofa, immediately handed over the contract.
“Here is the contract. Please read it and let me know if there are any terms that are lacking or if there is anything you don’t like.”
Ossian, who received the contract from Ronan, quickly looked over it.
I don’t know what the conditions are like in this industry, but objectively speaking, it wasn’t bad.
Beyond being bad, it was honestly incredibly good treatment even by modern standards.
“Oh, and I need to write down Mr. Ossian’s special skills. Could you tell me what he is good at? I’ll need it when I take on commissions later.”
Ossian said, looking up from the contract.
“My specialty is swordsmanship. Just remember that.”
“Uh, um. So, Mr. Ossian, you’re saying you handle swords?”
“Yeah. Didn’t you see it too?”
“Yes. Oh, then, may I ask what you did before this? If it’s difficult, I’ll leave that part blank.”
“There’s no need for that. I was a wandering knight before.”
“… … .”
Ronan was about to say something, but then nodded as if he understood.
“I see. That’s the concept.”