Chapter 255: That's the Media for You
"Huh? You mean the girl who just ran out? Oh, that was little Maria."
The two uncles, who had been happily downing their drinks, snapped back to reality when they realized who Steven was referring to.
"You know Margaret, right? Didn't you notice how that cute little girl looks a lot like her?"
The old knight squinted at Steven with a teasing grin, clearly expecting him to connect the dots himself.
Steven paused to think, and then it clicked—Nearl had mentioned something like this before.
Back in her hometown of Kazimierz, aside from an uncle, she also had a younger sister.
There's no way that her Uncle is a tiny little crossdresser, right? So that only left one logical conclusion.
"Wait, you're saying that girl… is Nearl's little sister?"
"Bingo," the knight said with a grin. "Maria may be young, but she's got just as much presence as her big sisters. Sure, she's not as strong yet, but we've all got high hopes for her."
The old white bear chuckled beside him, adding with a playful tone:
"Just don't get any weird ideas, kid. She's still underage. If you try anything funny, it won't just be Margaret flying back to punch your lights out—Zofia might hunt you down first."
He wasn't being entirely serious, but the warning was clear enough.
Compared to her sister, Maria might not be as powerful yet, but in terms of looks?
She might actually be prettier.
Even though she was still just a girl, she already had suitors lined up out the door—literally.
If it weren't for Młynar and Zofia guarding her like hawks, some greedy noble would've sunk their claws into her long ago.
Steven raised both hands innocently.
"Do I look like that kind of guy? I was just curious why she rushed out like that."
Sure, she was beautiful—but it's not like he hadn't seen plenty of beautiful people.
In fact, most of the women he was close to were all stunning in their own ways. Looks just didn't impress him like they used to.
Still, now that he knew who she was, he could more or less guess what had gotten her so worked up.
She probably ran out to take care of Zofia.
After all, during the match, he had only helped her in passing—just enough to keep her from getting her arm permanently ruined.
But she still took a nasty hit.
And he hadn't stuck around to heal her afterward—just tossed her aside and moved on.
'If Maria is her relative, then it makes sense she'd be worried.'
"Anyway, speaking of that," one of the uncles suddenly perked up, eyes gleaming with excitement.
"Did you catch today's Major? That one match was seriously something else."
Clearly, the two of them were dying to talk about it.
"Oh?" Steven raised an eyebrow. "Let's hear it."
He had been the one orchestrating everything behind the scenes—but the view from the audience, especially through the media broadcast, was an entirely different story.
He already knew the live stream had a delay built in.
That was probably why Maria hadn't bolted until a few minutes after the match ended.
And a delayed stream… meant plenty of time to edit.
In fact, it'd be weirder if they didn't edit it.
There was no way the K.G.C.C would let his full speech air uncut.
After all, that rant of his not only tore into their image, it basically insulted all of Kazimierz.
Letting that go live would've been a PR disaster.
And that was the last thing the K.G.C.C or the Knights' Association wanted right now.
"Sigh… the match started off normal enough," one of the men began, "but then Olmer pulled some dirty trick. Anyone with a pair of eyes could see Zofia had a chance to turn it around."
"But for some reason… she didn't."
"And honestly, there wasn't anything else to stick around for. We were just watching the whole thing to see Zofia in action."
"But hey, turns out there was a surprise guest appearance too."
Just as Steven expected, the two uncles had only seen what the K.G.C.C wanted them to see. Up until Zofia's part of the match, the broadcast mostly aligned with what he already knew. But once it got to his own appearance... things started getting twisted.
"That guy—he shows up and starts attacking every single knight in the arena. Then he throws down some outrageous claim about challenging all the knights in Kazimierz!"
"And get this, he even used the unconscious knights as hostages so no one dared to touch him!"
The old knight recounted what he saw with an utterly serious face, clearly unaware that the very man he was describing was sitting right in front of him—his expression twitching uncontrollably.
Steven silently groaned.
'I really did underestimate just how shameless these people can be.'
Listening to them made him sound even more villainous than he remembered.
But at the same time… it also highlighted how hard the officials had tried to cover their own backs.
'If I didn't know the truth, even I would've thought the tournament organizers were just a bunch of kind-hearted saints.'
"But I'll give him this—he was seriously strong. No denying that. I don't think even the top few in the rankings could've taken him."
The old knight let out a low whistle as he spoke. Even now, he was still hyped up by what he'd seen.
"And he looked pretty damn cool doing it too. Sure, he ran his mouth a bit, but I'll be honest—some of what he said really hit home. He called out stuff we've all been thinking but never dared to say out loud."
He wasn't angry at all—in fact, he seemed energized. As if Steven's words had lit a fire in his heart.
'He really looked like he wanted to switch places with me and scream those lines himself…'
"But of course," the white bear chimed in with a sigh, "the Knights' Association's already issued a wanted notice for him. And the reward's no joke—just giving them a lead nets you two hundred thousand LMD. That's enough to buy a high-end Originium-powered vehicle!"
He shook his head, clearly tempted—not by the manhunt, but by the impressive craftsmanship of that stranger's armor.
'He's probably been obsessing over it ever since.'
Steven could already tell—the bear wanted to know who built that suit more than who was inside it.
"So that's what you guys saw, huh…"
Steven's tone was dry, his smile strained.
He had clearly underestimated this world's media.
'Of course. What else would I expect from the mouthpiece of the capitalists?'
Everything he'd said about the corrupt knight system? Completely cut.
All that remained was a provocateur threatening the country—A violent, unhinged terrorist.
Meanwhile, the K.G.C.C and Knights' Association were portrayed as righteous victims.
Even letting him escape was spun as a tragic necessity to avoid collateral damage.
'Unbelievable. Actually, no—it's hilarious.'
Steven let out a helpless chuckle.
'Fine then. Let's play that game.'
Sure, they could cut and edit all they wanted—for now.
But if they kept this up? Eventually, the truth would catch up to them.
There were already people out there who saw through the lies. The more that joined them, the harder it would be to plug the leaks.
'Let's see how long they can keep this farce going.'
With a light-hearted grin, Steven leaned back in his seat, unfazed by the slander.
After all, none of the things he did was done with the thought of fame or praise.
'Who even cares what they think of me?'
Steven shrugged off the thought with ease.
"Pretty exciting stuff, right?" the old knight laughed heartily, taking a long swig of his fiery liquor. "Ever since the Kazimierz Major was established, we've never had something like that happen before."
His eyes gleamed with something between nostalgia and longing.
If he had the chance, he would've stood right where that mysterious knight did—pointing at the arena and hurling insults at everything wrong with it.
Now that would've been satisfying.
"Well, it was definitely interesting. But I've got to say…" Steven scratched his head, putting on a sheepish grin. "...what I saw and what you guys saw—it doesn't quite line up."
"Huh?" Both of them blinked.
"To be honest with you, I actually bought a ticket and watched the match live today."
He let out a chuckle. "And let's just say… what I saw in person and what showed up in the broadcast are very different. But hey, that's the Knights' Association for you—nothing surprising there."
Steven didn't elaborate. He wasn't about to argue in his own defense or expose the whole scheme. He just casually dropped the truth into their laps.
The old knight and the bear-like craftsman exchanged a look—and immediately understood.
They knew what the Knights' Association and the K.G.C.C were capable of.
They'd already seen enough of the dirty side of this city to believe every word Steven said.
They didn't press him further. No need.
If they were truly curious about what happened, well… Zofia would eventually return.
And who better to ask than the person who actually fought in the arena?
"Then, could you tell us how Zofia's doing?"
The bald bartender—who'd been silent until now—finally spoke up.
"The broadcast only showed her collapse. Nothing after that. No wonder little Mariya ran out in such a panic."
Despite their calm demeanor, it was clear: they were all worried.
They'd been trying to act like everything was fine, but anyone could see through it.
Zofia was important to them—like family.
And that hit from the Brassrust Knight… it looked bad.
Especially since he'd clearly moved in to finish the job afterward.
"You can relax about that part."
Steven leaned back, putting on a thoughtful expression like he was piecing it together.
"Right after she was knocked back, that guy appeared. From the looks of it, the Brassrust Knight didn't get the chance to land a follow-up hit. So Zofia probably only took the initial blow—might've fractured something, sure. But nothing life-threatening."
He made it sound like a logical deduction, but of course, no one in the room knew the truth better than him.
After all, he was the one who'd pulled Zofia out of the Brassrust Knight's hands.
If anyone knew her condition best, it was him.
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Note: Character Illustration is in this Google Drive:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1iuyfwNVFHzIi9H4rWNT_lAm7jTSiah_M
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