Zemina was still sobbing as she walked alongside Vlad, even after the funeral was over.
Zemina had seen the death of many people as she had lived in the rough and treacherous back alleys, but today the tears did not stop.
Perhaps the old man's death was enough to leave a profound impact on Zemina's heart.
"Now you're left with only 1 gold and 10 silver for your wages."
"....Well, there's nothing I can do about it."
The first salary of 4 gold he received was eventually used to buy a tombstone and headstone for the old man.
It was a considerable amount for a funeral for a back-alley person, but still, Vlad decided to bury the old man in the most dignified place near the monastery.
He just wanted to ensure that the old man's final resting place was away from the back alley.
"But I asked around, and no one knew his name."
"Is that so?"
Harven even went as far as asking people directly, but no one knew the name of the old blacksmith.
He seemed to be just another component of the back alley, someone who had always been there and was taken for granted.
"Well, since even I didn't know, there's nothing we can do."
So, instead of the old man's name, Vlad had to engrave the image of the old man as remembered by Vlad on the tombstone.
The best blacksmith in Shoara.
He was a man who made a sword that slayed ghosts and stabbed dragons, so it wouldn't be a completely wrong name.
"....But why are they acting like that?"
"Who? The kids?"
On the way back to Rose's Smiles after a funeral for an old man.
There were people gathered in small groups all over the alleys, looking at Vlad.
"Recently, they've been acting like that. If they want to beg, they should just do it."
The children's eyes are looking at Vlad from afar, as if approaching.
Vlad felt uncomfortable and uneasy with the changed attitudes of the alley kids compared to before.
"Why are they acting like that?"
"Why indeed?"
"It doesn't matter if we don't know."
Harven was not unfamiliar with the looks the children were giving them now.
Even Vlad, who was now walking by his side, had those same eyes when he was young.
"This winter seems colder than last year."
"Yeah, it does."
Vlad, furrowing his brows for no reason as he made eye contact with each child, spoke again, adjusting his tone.
"People might freeze to death."
Only those who had experienced it knew, and only those who had never been through it didn't understand.
The memories of a cold and hungry childhood were enough to group Vlad with the children standing far away.
"Wouldn't even having one blanket be enough to survive?"
"That's true."
Vlad scratched his chin with a cough and looked at Harven.
"Gathering money this month is probably a lost cause anyway."
"You'll still manage to save up 1 gold."
Harven already knew what Vlad was trying to say.
"Even having just 10 silver can get you through more than a month."
"There were times like that."
The unadorned sword the old man made was shining, giving Vlad hope.
And now, if there was anyone shining brightest in the alleys of Shoara, it would be the blonde-haired knight.
A person who, despite being born and raised in the filthy alleys, grasped the title of knight through his own strength.
There was someone who made it here too.
"Give them to the kids and tell them to say a prayer for the old man."
"A prayer for the old man with just one blanket is a good deal."
The unadorned sword was buried in the ground with the old blacksmith, but the star the old man made was still lighting up the back alley.
Even though the name and form might have changed.
※※※※
The weather was freezing, even making one's breath freeze, but the foul smell of blood and rotting flesh emanating from various places didn't easily dissipate.
"They say you can't eat if you know how sausages are made..."
Gregory seemed quite shocked that meat was being slaughtered in such an unsanitary place.
The poor condition of the black bear's slaughterhouse vividly reflected the living standards of the people in the alley.
"Otar, Aage, you two open the door first."
"Sure."
As always, Otar responded to Vlad's command without a word, raising his axe.
"Do you have something to say?"
"What about this time? Can I stretch a bit?"
However, Aage just grunted in response to Vlad's command.
As a free spirit of the meadows, Aage wasn't yet accustomed to the command structure of the Northerners.
"He's the one who sold pregnant women and babies to those practicing black magic. How do you feel about that?"
"I can kill them as much as I want."
Aage, now understanding the situation, chuckled as he pulled out his sword unique to barbarians.
He thought it would be an uncomfortable partnership, riding alongside someone who rode a spiritual horse, but the young captain turned out to have a temperament that suited the meadows surprisingly well.
"They must have noticed it by now."
"I'll go in."
Vlad nodded silently at Gregory's words.
Two knights followed by the soldiers Josef had provided and their own retainers.
Despite moving as discreetly as possible along the path provided by Harven, there was no way the black bear hadn't noticed the movements of over 40 soldiers.
"Alright."
The vanguard was led by Knight Vlad's troops.
The blonde knight was the proposer and primary person in charge of this operation.
"Now!"
With Vlad's signal, the two men burst out towards the black bear's stronghold.
Being the headquarters of the oldest boss in the back alleys, the building had a large and sturdy door.
"Hah!"
Otar mercilessly swung his axe at the bizarre bone ornament that served as the door handle.
However, it seemed that people were supporting the door from behind, as it only shook heavily but didn't budge.
"Prepare the ladder."
Zayar had said that the flow must not be interrupted.
Even if the attack was thwarted, there must always be a next move prepared, and through that, they must seize the initiative.
"Wait."
As soldiers moved to attach the ladder to the second-floor window, Aage momentarily raised his hand towards Vlad.
A faint light began to flicker between the tattoos engraved on his palm.
"It's time I showed you once."
Your world is not everything.
The world manifests itself in various ways, and barbarians also have their own ways and worlds.
"You cowards hiding behind the door."
With a faint chant dedicated to the ancestors, Aage's tattoos began to emit light.
The world of barbarians is a world built with ancestors.
For the sake of survival, the spirits of the meadows lent their strength to carry the burden of obligation and to protect the pitiful descendants.
Crack!
The vast northern meadows do not tolerate anything blocking its path.
"Come out! You cowardly bastards hiding behind the door!"
The door began to break down due to Agee's kicks, which brought out the untamed world of the meadows.
Along with the ominous sound of breaking wood, the bone ornaments hanging on the door fell weakly to the ground.
That crazy bastard!
Barbarians! Barbarians have invaded!
"I am not a barbarian, I am from the Budart tribe!"
He said they were the ones who sold weak and young ones.
Then they can be killed.
The spirits of the meadows within the tattoo also agreed with Aage's anger.
Thud! Thud!
Crack!
Through the opening Aage created, Otar's axe struck wildly.
The sight of the two men breaking through the solid door with simple violence made the soldiers of Shoara, who were waiting behind, gulp down their saliva.
"We can enter now."
Gregory couldn't help but laugh at the simple and brute yet efficient sight. Sometimes, such satisfying scenes were necessary.
"Then let's go…."
Gregory looked at Vlad as if it was time, but the boy who should have been there had already leaped ahead.
"Move!"
Vlad's entire body began to glow, with his left eye tightly closed.
"Ah!"
"Watch out!"
Otar and Aage quickly dodged out of the way as it looked like a bolt of lightning was coming towards them.
Crash!
The door, barely holding its form, shattered into pieces under Vlad's fierce assault.
However, despite the rough impact of breaking the door, Larmund's Body Strengthening Art protected Vlad firmly.
"They're in!"
"Block them! Stop them!"
Amidst the clattering bone ornaments, Vlad's sword flashed.
Even though Vlad needed the help of voice to deal with the headless knight, his hands will be enough for them.
"You bastards!"
A shining world began to gush out from the fingertips of Vlad, who had wiped away Anna's black tears.
The sadness and frustration felt in the fog-filled village were sucked into the boy's world, serving as a solid foundation.
Thus, the world Vlad now emanated was firmly established, unlike before.
"Charge in!"
"All forces, enter!"
Aage and Otar quickly followed Vlad, and Shoara's soldiers began to storm into the Black Bear's stronghold according to Gregory's orders.
The breath and swear words emanating from the organization members and soldiers began to fill the space that could be described as wide, if not wide, in the lobby.
"Enter!"
There were people who stood in the way, but they were cut down.
Thus, Vlad created an area where no one dared to attack, took out the orders he was holding in his arms, and shouted loudly.
"I am Vlad of Shoara! I have come here to arrest the Black Bear, who has disturbed the order of the city!"
A scroll falls down with a single gesture from Vlad.
At the bottom of the scroll was the seal of Shoara's rightful ruler, Josef.
"For murder! Fraud! Human trafficking! And the crime of deceiving the noble owner of this city!"
Shining at the forefront.
Assertive like no other.
Therefore, everyone present had no choice but to listen to Vlad's commanding voice.
"Now, the Black Bear, come out before me!"
In response to Vlad's declaration-like order, there was only a heavy silence.
Because no one could make an excuse to the knight who came with a legitimate order.
"Damn it."
"...Damn it all."
They knew they would face execution if caught anyway.
However, unlike Jack's henchmen, the Black Bear's subordinates couldn't easily approach Vlad.
"From now on, anyone who obstructs me will be executed."
A faint aura was emanating between Vlad's left eye.
Now, there was a knight here who could read the orders without anyone's help.
※※※※
Ahh!
Spare me! Please, spare me!
Screams echoing up the stairs.
The Black Bear's subordinates, skilled at killing and cutting, were proficient in their tasks, but when it came to their own peril, they could only scream loudly.
"..."
Vlad quietly ascended the stairs, following the path opened by Aage and Otar.
With an expanded role came an increased sense of presence, stepping up despite the sticky blood pooling around.
"Open up."
The man guarding the boss's room was there, but at Vlad's gesture, he bowed his head like willow trees.
The knight's duty, his own anger, and Vlad's momentum were too much for a single gang member to handle.
Click-
As Vlad commanded, the door to the boss's room opened, revealing the Black Bear sitting inside.
His pupils were constantly shaking and his forehead was wet even though it was winter, showing how nervous he was.
"Welcome, Sir Vlad."
But Vlad's gaze wasn't on the Black Bear.
It was on the man slowly standing up with his back turned.
He was wearing a white robe.
"...Who are you?"
Vlad was momentarily taken aback by the unexpected figure, but soon composed himself.
If the person in front of him was a priest who followed the will of God, as he seemed, Vlad could not treat him carelessly, no matter how much of a knight he was.
Nobles and priests had their own separate areas, as he had been taught.
"I am a person who has come out of the Shoara church under the bishop's orders. I heard there was a lost lamb here, and so I came."
The face was wrinkled, but it was full of radiance.
It was the complete opposite of Andrea, the noblest priest Vlad knew.
"I have come here under the orders of Lord Josef. The person standing beside the priest is a clear sinner..."
"But there are no sinners here now, Sir Vlad."
A truly comforting smile.
The priest, with a smile full of kindness, then took out a piece of paper and held it out to Vlad.
"His sins have been forgiven in the name of God."
The Black Bear, upon hearing the priest's words, wiped his sweat with a sigh of relief as if finally feeling relieved.
Vlad silently looked at the paper the priest presented.
The ink on the paper was still fresh, as if it had just been written. At the top was written the word "indulgence."
[T/L: INDULGENCE: A certificate issued by the Roman Catholic Church during the Middle Age as a token of remitting a person's sin in exchange for an offering of property.]