Cassie ignored the first knight, her gaze locked on the lead one. "This is ridiculous. It isn't fair. Do you have any idea how long a royal order takes to prepare?"
"That is not our concern," the knight replied, his voice a low rumble. "The order is the order. And if it's not ready by evening, you'll be answering to the king himself."
Levi, who had been quietly observing with a silly smile, finally spoke up. "That won't be necessary." He said as he rose to his feet.
The two knights turned to face him, the first knight's hand instinctively moving to his sword. The lead knight's gaze lingered on Levi, a hint of disdain in his voice. "And who might you be?"
"Just a friend of Cassie's," Levi said, a slight smirk on his face. "And I can tell you right now, she won't be taking any more insults from you two."
The second knight laughed, a harsh, grating sound. "Look at this, Sir Cedric. A peasant trying to play hero. Get out of our way, or we'll make you."
Levi shook his head slowly. "I don't think so. I'm afraid you'll have to leave. Now."
The man addressed as Sir Cedric's eyes narrowed. His gaze flickered from Levi to Cassie and back again. He couldn't explain it, but his instincts screamed at him to run, sensing a dreadful power simmering behind Levi's calm exterior. He had to make a choice: push the matter and risk a brawl or back down and live to fight another day.
He chose the latter.
"This isn't over, commoner," The haughty knight said to Cassie, a promise in his tone. "The king will hear of this."
Cassie didn't flinch. "I'm counting on it," she said, her voice now cold and hard. The haughty knight, reluctantly sheathed his blade and shot a dagger-like stare at Levi. The two knights turned and left, the broken door laying on the ground helplessly.
Cassie let out a long sigh and ran a hand through her hair. "Thanks, Levi," she said, her voice filled with relief. "I thought I was going to have to make a run for it."
Levi just smiled and took another sip of his drink. "Don't worry about it. I've got your back." He cast a pitiful look at the broken door. "Does this happen a lot?"
Cassie remained silent for a moment, her gaze fixed on the broken door with a regretful expression. She collected herself and smiled once more, facing Levi. "Yeah, but... won't the king be angry?" she asked, visibly concerned.
Levi raised an eyebrow and burst into a fit of laughter. The ground shook violently, the building swayed. Bottles shattered and chairs and tables scattered into splinters.
He stopped laughing abruptly, wiping a tear from his eye. "The king?" he said in a mocking tone.
Cassie looked around her destroyed shop and sighed, muttering, "Please forgive me." Not only had the door been unfairly kicked off, now the hero caused more damage to it by his "harmless" laughter.
"Yes, the king, won't you get into trouble" she answered.
"Aren't you forgetting something?" Levi asked. Cassie thought for a moment, her eyes widening slowly as she came to a realization.
"I'm a hero, and the king has no power over me... Remember?" Levi declared with a grin. Hearing his words, the tavern's remaining customers cast respectfully awe-filled gazes at Levi. He turned to meet their eyes, he palmed his face and slowly stood up, returning the cup to Cassie.
She looked at the departing hero and smiled, "Yeah, it's hard to remember that" she continued, "Leaving already?"
Levi scratched the back of his head. "Yeah! My cover is kinda broken, so I gotta run… besides I have something to attend to" he said as he walked out of the tavern and back into the streets.
Cassie waved at him and placed her hands on her slender waist, surveying her disarranged tavern. "Time for some cleaning," she said with a sigh, heading to fetch a broom.
The moment Levi stepped outside, the playful smirk vanished from his face. His carefree attitude was a luxury he couldn't afford right now. He wasn't worried about the king's power, but he dreaded the sheer bureaucratic hassle and the long-winded lectures from the other heroes. The last thing he needed was a scolding from Aurora, that bastard, who always seemed to find a way to make him feel like a misbehaving child. It was far easier to intercept those knights and handle this mess himself before it turned into a palace-wide headache.
Levi stretched his body, sighed and ran down the asphalt road, his figure a blur of motion. He moved so fast that people felt a whistle of wind, not even spotting its source. He was running to intercept the guards before they reached the castle. He might have said the king had no power over him, but he didn't want his already fragile relationship with the king to become strained. The last thing he wanted was the other heroes coming to question him, especially Aurora.
The castle's massive silhouette loomed over the capital, blotting out the sun and casting a portion of the city in shadows. Levi searched every nook and cranny of the capital for the guards, but they were nowhere to be found. He stopped, thought for a moment, and went to a nearby building. He climbed onto the roof, figuring a higher vantage point would give him a better view.
Sure enough, his targets soon came into view. The two were walking on the road leading to the stadium where the tournament's venue was being prepared. 'Gotcha,' he thought, leaping from building to building with surprising swiftness until he reached a building closer to the approaching duo. The streets were half-deserted because of the curfew, so there were fewer witnesses.
He jumped down from the building, startling the two. Cedric's foreboding expression was visible even from behind the visor of his helmet.
Levi waved at them and walked closer, his steps steady. The haughty knight's hand was already on his blade, and Cedric's mirrored his action. "What do you want, commoner?" the haughty knight barked. Levi didn't spare him a glance, offering only a friendly smile.
"About that, I wanted to give you guys a message," Levi said in the most friendly voice possible.
Cedric scrutinized Levi. He didn't like how things were going, but he was prepared to do something risky if necessary. "Which message do you speak of?" he asked, his anger quietly restrained.
Levi raised his hand and started counting his fingers. The haughty knight flinched and grabbed the hilt of his blade in response. Levi suppressed his laughter and suddenly looked at the two with a serious expression.
"You guys committed three crimes today," he said. Cedric's muscles tensed, not liking the feeling he was getting.
Levi held up three fingers. "First, you damaged my friend's store by kicking the door off its hinges." The haughty knight opened his mouth to speak but was beaten to it by Levi. "Second, you guys insulted her in her own store," he continued, a smile slowly forming on his lips. "And third..." he pointed at the haughty knight, "you had the guts to point your sword at her in my presence."
Cedric grabbed the hilt of his blade as the wind whistled past the three, the atmosphere suddenly becoming tense. "Soooo, you have to be punished," Levi said in a playful voice.
The haughty knight was about to retort, but Cedeic outstretched hand stopped him.
Cedric spoke up, "And what is our punishment?" he said in a confident voice.
Levi looked at him and tilted his head slightly.
"Death!"