Chapter 170: It Was Me First!
"Alright, sir."
"Mmm, good."
The man in the chair carefully examined his polished shoes, which gleamed like new, and nodded in satisfaction. He then pulled out a few copper coins and placed them in the shoeblack's hand. The shoeblack beamed, showering him with thanks.
Seeing the seat become free, the man in black who was next in line stepped forward to sit. But at that moment, a well-dressed merchant quickly walked up from the side. He shoved the man in black aside and unceremoniously took the seat.
The man in black glared furiously at the merchant.
"What are you looking at? I'm not like you yokels. I have a meeting at the city hall soon. If you delay me, can you bear the consequences?"
The crowd waiting in line behind the man in black instinctively recoiled. Even the shoeblack froze, unsure what to do. The man in black looked at the merchant, then at the shoeblack. He ultimately swallowed his anger. But just as he turned to leave, he heard a taunting remark from behind him:
"Mud-foot will always be a mud-foot, no common sense at all."
A vein throbbed on the man in black's forehead. But before he could react, a young witcher, with two swords strapped to his back, emerged from the crowd. He grabbed the arrogant merchant and threw him to the ground.
"Get down from there!"
The merchant landed with a splat, face-first, amidst the mocking laughter of the onlookers. He looked down at the mud on his clothes, and his expression instantly turned to rage.
"Do you know who I am?! How dare you treat me like this?! Do you want me to call the Duchy Guard and have you arrested?!" The merchant yelled and screamed at the guards patrolling nearby with halberds. The two guards exchanged glances and walked over.
At this point, a kind person in the crowd quickly whispered a warning. "Young man, you should leave quickly. If the Duchy Guard gets involved, you'll be in trouble."
In the eyes of the onlookers, on one side was a well-dressed merchant claiming to have a meeting at the city hall and actively summoning the guards.
On the other was a young man struggling to make a living by selling his swordsmanship. Toussaint, though often lauded as a fairy-tale kingdom, was still reality, and there were no true fairy-tale kingdoms in reality. Moreover, the young man had initiated the physical contact; he was ultimately in the wrong.
However, the merchant overheard the warning. Before Lynn could say anything, the merchant jumped up, blocking Lynn's path. "You're not going anywhere! Trying to run now? Scared, are we? I'm telling you, it's too late!"
Lynn stood with his arms crossed, calmly watching the merchant jump about. "Who said I was leaving?"
The two guards finally arrived before them. "What's going on? Why are you all gathered here?"
The merchant proceeded to give a heavily exaggerated, distorted, and blame-shifting account of what had just happened. "Just arrest him, quick!"
The next moment, the merchant's triumphant expression froze on his face. Not only him, but the onlookers were also dumbfounded as the two halberd-carrying guards respectfully bowed to the young man they had thought was in trouble.
"Master Lynn."
The crowd stirred. "Master Lynn? Wait, wasn't the witcher who brought back the Holy Grail for Her Grace the Duchess also named Lynn?"
"He's so young?"
"What a handsome man."
"I heard witchers plow the fields with more strength and endurance. I really want to try it someday."
Lynn returned the bow. "I apologize for troubling you with such a small matter, but since you're here, I'd appreciate it if you could mediate. It was this gentleman in black's turn for a shoeshine, but this unreasonable merchant insisted on cutting in line. Not only did he cut in line, but he also had the audacity to mock and ridicule others."
"I can hardly believe that such a thing could happen in Beauclair, where the radiant Duchess resides. Is this still the land of knights, revering the Five Virtues of Chivalry?"
Lynn's words caused everyone present to lower their heads in shame. Once upon a time, the first Duke of Toussaint, Ludovic the Lancemaster, who founded Toussaint, established the Five Virtues of Chivalry for his descendants to uphold.
Though Ludovic himself possessed little chivalry. For generations, these Five Virtues, along with the famous Toussaint wine, Est Est, were national treasures of Toussaint.
However, somewhere along the line, people stopped upholding the Five Virtues of Chivalry and instead began to worship money and authority. Even knight-errants treated their knightly vows as a means of gaining rank and prestige, rather than merely a virtue.
The merchant suddenly felt the atmosphere become subtle. Especially when the guards looked at him with unfriendly eyes, his legs immediately began to tremble uncontrollably.
"I... sirs, no... I was rushing to a meeting at the city hall... I didn't mean to..." For some reason, his tongue, which could usually talk the dead back to life, was now incoherent and stuttering.
"A meeting at the city hall, huh? I don't care how urgent your business is. Take your time. Come on, let's go to the jail first and relearn Toussaint's virtues."
The merchant was dragged away by the two guards like a dead dog.
"Please, have a seat, sir. It's your turn." Lynn gestured for the man to sit.
The man in black gave Lynn a long, deep look. After a moment of hesitation, he sat down. Once his shoes were spotlessly cleaned by the shoeblack, the people waiting behind him instead insisted that Lynn go next. Since everyone was so polite, Lynn didn't refuse. His shoes weren't particularly dirty, but since he was already there...
As Lynn stepped out of the alley, he immediately saw the man in black leaning against the wall, arms crossed.
"Why did you help me?" The man in black's tone held a mix of gratitude and wariness.
"Does helping someone need a reason? Besides, I wouldn't say I specifically helped you. I just couldn't stand those bullies who take advantage of others."
"However, if you insist on expressing your gratitude, I'm happy to accept."
The man in black turned and presented his back to the witcher. "Come with me. I have a shop in the city. We can talk there."
The man in black's shop wasn't far from the shoeshine alley. It took only a short walk to reach it. It was a house with red-painted outer walls, and its wooden sign was carved into a rocking horse. Lynn followed the man in black inside. The already small room was filled with numerous cabinets displaying various toys.
Stepping onto the creaking wooden stairs, the two ascended to the attic. It was even smaller and more gloomy here. There was a window in the attic, but the single beam of light shining through wasn't enough to illuminate the entire space. Some candles were placed in the corner of the attic.
.....
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