"D-don't come closer!" A young boy, trembling, held a knife pointed at three men.
He was shielding his little sister behind him.
"Hehehe, kid, what do you think that toy you're holding can do?"
The three men laughed as they slowly approached, but they suddenly stopped when one of their companions fell.
"What happened?" one of them exclaimed in shock, seeing his fallen comrade lifeless.
The two turned around simultaneously and saw Elric standing there, his face cold and emotionless.
"Patrol Soldier!"
"Run!"
They quickly started to move, but Elric acted even faster.
"Thinking of escaping? People like you shouldn't be allowed to live!" Elric said angrily.
He swiftly killed the two remaining kidnappers and immediately approached the two children the men had intended to abduct.
Elric went to the crying little girl and gently patted her head, smiling.
"Little girl, the bad people are dead now," said Elric.
He took out 30 coins and gave them to the older boy.
"Buy a house and some food," Elric said.
"T-thank you very much, Sir Knight," the boy gratefully replied.
Elric nodded and then left the two children. They also left to find a place to buy food, while Elric discreetly followed them to ensure their safety.
While walking, Elric noticed a commotion among people at a house, so he approached to see what was happening.
"Sigh, the Larka family is so lucky to have a child who studied at Ironspire Academy."
"If they wanted, they could leave the Eastside, but they chose to stay here."
Elric heard the conversations around him and learned that the Larka family's Young Lady would be visiting the Eastside because it had become safe again.
He quickly lost interest and was about to leave when he saw the arrival.
A carriage had arrived, guarded by two soldiers.
Moments later, a young woman, around Elric's age, stepped out. She had deep black eyes and slightly curly hair.
To Elric, who grew up in a village, she was very beautiful.
Well, in his 30 years of life in his past life, Elric never had a girlfriend. His only crush was his childhood friend Sarra, but when he found out Sarra liked their mutual friend Darwin, he didn't pursue her.
Darwin was a soldier, and Elric was just a lumberjack. He thought he would live a quiet life until old age.
But everything changed when the demons attacked.
Elric smiled as he watched the Larka family's daughter, then continued walking away.
He reminded himself again that he could not form any deep relationships and should focus solely on gaining strength.