Today, Elric followed behind Chione as they strolled through Eastgate.
"The Eastside is so different now compared to before. Back then, people hardly left their homes," Chione said happily as she walked.
"I used to think Eastside had no hope, but when the Guardian of Eastside arrived, everything changed."
"..." Elric.
"There are many stories about you here, Sir Elric, and many people admire you. I know that the job of patrol soldiers is to protect people, even commoners, but often they don't do this and sometimes even abuse their power."
"But when you arrived in Eastside, this didn't happen, and you immediately took down the gangs terrorizing the people," Chione continued.
"You are different from all the other patrol soldiers who have been here," Chione said.
"Well, I did it because it was the right thing to do," Elric replied straightforwardly.
Chione smiled at Elric's response.
"Sir Elric, do you want to become a 1-star knight?" Elric stopped walking at Chione's question.
He had been trying for months, looking for a way to become a 1-star knight, but he still couldn't achieve it.
"Of course, that's why I plan to join the mountain expedition next month to receive an essence stone."
"I have received some essence stones from the academy if you want—"
"No, those are yours, Miss Chione."
Chione stopped speaking, already expecting Elric to say this because he was different from other patrol soldiers or knights.
______
A few days later.
Elric was currently accompanying Chione outside the city.
Chione was going to a village for a quest from the academy, and Elric didn't ask about it; he simply followed her to protect her.
Chione also hired five knights for this journey.
The village they were headed to was almost 100 kilometers away from Ironspire city, so the journey would take about two days.
Elric was riding a horse, looking around, while Chione was inside the carriage.
Inside, Chione was seated, looking at Elric outside.
Chione really admired Elric because he was so different from all the men she had met.
She had many suitors at the academy, but they were all spoiled young nobles who only bragged about their backgrounds.
Recently, Chione secretly went to the patrol soldiers' training camp. She was curious about what Elric did every day.
There, she saw that he trained all day, dedicated and focused, and she admired him. She knew that Elric would achieve great things in the future.