Everyone in the place froze after hearing Misaki's words—Sota, The Scorpion, the driver, and those nearby. Even Takeshi thought that time had stopped, until he heard some whispers from the surrounding people.
"Did you hear what she said?"
"Maybe we didn't hear well…"
"How did she decide if this person is good at swordsmanship to become a knight? And how would he become a knight for the King in the first place?"
"Look at his arms, he must be truthful in what he says, but does he really know swordsmanship?"
Everyone, including Sota and The Scorpion, fully realized that refusing this request indicated ignorance and foolishness, or even madness. The ultimate expectation of everyone was that Takeshi would kneel and lick the ground in thanks for this honorable position. A knight, especially the knights of those at the top of the class hierarchy, accompanied their masters wherever they went, ready to sacrifice their lives for the sake of protecting them. Certainly, the return was extremely enticing, making everyone think that Takeshi would covet this position.
But as soon as Takeshi opened his mouth and moved his lips, he destroyed all their expectations.
"I don't think this profession suits me, I refuse your request."
All the listeners were stunned by Takeshi's refusal of this high position, which confirmed to them Takeshi's madness, as he continued his speech:
"I don't know exactly what the goal is in asking someone you don't know to be a knight for your father. It is indeed an enticing request, but I have important matters that I might not be able to achieve if I become a knight."
It was indeed foolish to give such a position to a random person, and even foolishness to refuse such a great position, but Takeshi truly had his own goals and pride. He did not know everything about the work of knights exactly; he only knew that a knight follows his master and fights for him only, without looking into the rest of the deep details that might make a knight's life a heaven or a hell.
At the same time, the old carriage driver stepped toward Misaki and whispered in her ear:
"He is right, he is just a poor young man who cannot even use his arms currently, so how could he become a knight? And how will you convince your father of this? We will talk later about this matter…"
Misaki closed her eyes and turned her head in the opposite direction, saying:
"Fine, fine!"
Then she raised her hand, pointing her finger at Takeshi, saying:
"You have wasted a great opportunity, you vile fool!"
Misaki grabbed her money bag, which contained many silver pieces along with a few gold pieces, which were bright and new as if they had just been born. She quickly threw it in front of Sota, who stepped forward without thinking toward it and grabbed it, feeling its comfortable texture.
"You pay the amount for smashing this carriage and divide the rest with this fool!"
Misaki pulled herself away and headed toward the carriage with indignation. As soon as she opened the carriage door again and entered, the old driver stepped toward his compartment, holding the rope of the pure white horse. Once the carriage door was closed, it began to move forward, penetrating the gathered crowd that cautiously cleared the way for it.
As the carriage began to gradually move away, the people in the place began to disperse, all their eyes and talk before their departure centered around Takeshi, the man who lost the opportunity to become a knight on a golden platter. The Scorpion and Sota were also among this group that thought so.
"A knight! You were going to be a knight!" The Scorpion shouted to bring the eyes back toward him again.
Sota quickly followed him:
"Takeshi, you have wasted the opportunity of a lifetime! You are strong indeed, it's true I don't know if you are good at using the sword or not, but even if you weren't, it was possible to learn that at the hands of a skilled person!"
Sota lowered his head and said dejectedly:
"But I was the one who asked her to find me another job…"
The Scorpion suddenly turned toward Sota and grabbed him by his shirt again, saying in his loud tone:
"I am waiting for you to pay the price of what you committed under the cover of those claims of yours!"
"I will pay you the amount, just wait!"
"Then bring out the full amount piece by piece! And if you don't want to be unemployed again, you must pay 10 gold pieces!"
"What? This is direct robbery!"
As soon as their usual discussion began to become more heated, Takeshi turned his back on both of them to leave. Sota was indeed able to notice the matter, so he quickly shifted his focus and words toward Takeshi.
"Wait, Takeshi, won't you take your share!?"
Without Takeshi turning around, he extended his bandage-wrapped hand toward his back, specifically under his torn robe, and took out another old, worn-out bag from his hidden pouch. Takeshi raised his hand, saying:
"I will settle for this much, take the rest and support your mother, and make sure to achieve your goal."
Takeshi lowered the bag, moving forward, saying:
"See you soon, merchant, good luck with your work."
Takeshi blended into the crowd, disappearing from the eyes of Sota, who almost shed tears; the pupil of his green eye sparkled and his lips were moving involuntarily, for Takeshi's encouraging words had not been heard like that for a long time.
However, Takeshi's words since the beginning of the discussion with The Scorpion did not only affect Sota, but also some of the people among the onlookers who had indeed departed gradually with Misaki's departure, except for two people who had been here since the beginning of the crowded discussion.
They were Koji and the new member of the Royal Skull gang, Shinya. They were standing among the moving crowd, especially Koji, who watched Takeshi's back closely until the moment he blended with the rest of the people.
"I'm sorry, Shinya, I have an urgent matter I must attend to." Koji spoke while scratching the back of his head, trying not to lose Takeshi's location.
Shinya replied in a cold tone:
"Even I have to go, let's meet tomorrow at this place in the morning."
"Fine, we will meet tomorrow, Shinya."
Each of them took a direction opposite to the other; after all, they had already spent enough time as new friends. Koji headed in the same direction from which Takeshi departed, trying to search for him before he lost his trace completely. Because of his extreme haste in chasing the person who grabbed his attention, he was accidentally colliding with the common people, which made him a target of cursing and insults. Nevertheless, he did not care; he only wanted to follow Takeshi. He felt a light that had shone in his heart since seeing Takeshi, and that light was hope—hope for the stopping of this long suffering he lives.
***
After a few moments, Koji was indeed able to notice Takeshi entering a dark alley on the side of the road. The alley emitted disgust because of its darkness and its foul garbage smell mixed with stagnant blood. The alley was full of old garbage containers that had not been emptied for months. Koji quickly entered that alley, to catch a glimpse of Takeshi standing in his place without movement. Koji threw his body before Takeshi noticed him behind one of the garbage containers, holding his nose so as not to have to smell that stinking scent.
"I have a bad past with trust, so I want to ask you, can I trust you?"
Takeshi's voice echoed along the dark alley, and a response soon came to him from the end of the alley.
"Don't worry, in the end we have the same goal, which is bringing down the Royal Skull gang…"
Koji's eyes widened to the point that they almost came out of their sockets after hearing this person's words. He was a tall man with a thin body, close to thirty in age, possessing pale yellow hair that could barely be noticed in the darkness. His narrow eyes were staring at Takeshi with great scrutiny, while his dark black robe dangled by a light wind erupting from outside the alley.
The man smiled, revealing his broken teeth, saying:
"In the end, you must trust the person who saved you from death before your foot stepped into this big city."