As soon as the bottle struck the old man on the head and he fell to the ground without reacting, Leon placed his hand on his sword but stopped before even drawing it from the sheath. "You know what you did wrong, right? I won't have to explain it."
"Oh wow, we're so scared of you, brat," the one closest to him said. He shoved the table aside, opening a clear line between them and Leon, who stared back at them seriously.
Then the man rushed toward Leon, holding what remained of the broken bottle in his hand to attack the boy in front of him. Leon remained calm as he watched. The moment the attacker entered his range, Leon lifted the sheath, meeting the arm that was coming at him.
He struck the man's wrist with the sheath, knocking his arm backward as the remaining shards of glass fell aside.
'That was slower than the orc's charge…' he thought. He hadn't even gotten nervous from the attack. Of course, he could still get hurt here. But these opponents were just common thugs. Leon felt he could handle this.
As soon as the first blow was delivered and deflected, Leon stepped forward and drove his leg into the first man's chest. The kick sent him falling backward, and Leon advanced toward him.
"Robbing a woman who's just doing her job, and hitting an old man…" He didn't understand what Quentin was doing, but Leon imagined it was some kind of test. The man wouldn't go down from just a bottle to the head.
As Leon finished speaking, the other three men surrounded him. That was when he realized he had made a mistake. He had allowed himself to be surrounded. "We'll ruin that pretty face of yours for this, kid!"
The thugs began throwing threats at Leon, and one of them pulled a small dagger from his waist. The fight started to escalate. Still, Leon had not drawn his weapon. It would only make things worse if he did.
Taking a deep breath, he held the sword by the sheath with one hand, keeping his focus on the three men, especially the one with the dagger. He couldn't let the situation spiral further out of control. With that in mind, he acted first, moving toward the man with the dagger to neutralize or at least disarm him.
With a quick step forward, Leon swung the sword, one hand on the hilt and the other gripping the sheath so the blade wouldn't come free as he struck. The blow connected in a downward arc against the man in front of him, who grunted in pain as he was hit.
The dagger flew from his hand and he fell to the ground. That was when Leon felt an impact against his back. The other two had taken advantage of the moment to attack him. His head throbbed, and he felt warmth running down his neck. He knew the wound where he had been struck had reopened.
Not wasting time, Leon threw an elbow backward, hitting one of the men behind him, and with his other hand he twisted his torso and struck the other across the face. Leon breathed heavily as two heavy thuds echoed through the room, the last two men collapsing unconscious.
Leon looked to the side and saw Quentin lying on the floor as if he had been watching a movie. He had a piece of meat in his hand, eating casually. "I'd give you a six out of ten, Leon," the old man said in a relaxed tone.
He tossed a cloth toward Leon. "Wipe the blood. You'll have to train more if you don't want to get hurt next time." He said as he stood up.
"Next time??" Leon looked at him, confused. Taking the cloth, he pressed it against his head, feeling the pain. Fortunately, the cut wasn't deep. Looking around, he saw the waitress who had been shoved aside and walked toward her, extending his hand to help her up.
"Are you alright, miss?" Leon smiled faintly, and even though it was night, the room seemed to grow a little brighter, the candles flaring slightly for a brief moment.
The woman took Leon's hand and thanked him. "Thank you! We usually have some problems, but no one's crazy enough to do that since Quentin likes this place." She looked at the four men still unconscious on the floor. "But they don't seem to be from around here."
Quentin was already back on his feet. "The guards should arrive soon with all the noise we made. Kid, pay for dinner. I'll cover the rest. One silver will do."
Leon nodded, taking a silver coin and placing it in the waitress's hand.
"Sorry for the mess. It's a good place. I'll come back more often." He was about to say more, but as he opened his mouth, he felt Quentin grab him by the collar as if he weighed nothing and start dragging him out of the place.
"Let's go, let's go. The guards are already here. I don't want more trouble today."
Leon had time to wave at the woman and the owner while being literally carried away.
"You were about to say something before the fight started. Something about me, right?" Leon asked.
"Kid, I've seen many like you. The kind who see injustice and can't help but act. And that is the right thing to do. In a perfect world. Here, you can't be impulsive."
After a few meters, Quentin dropped Leon back onto the ground and looked at him seriously.
"Here, you can't use only this." He tapped Leon's chest with his finger. "You have to use your brain too. Learn your limits. I don't think I'll have much free time with the outbreak coming. But remember this."
Quentin looked up for a moment, pausing, as if recalling something. His expression grew more serious.
"Justice without the strength to enforce it will lead you to death. Get stronger, Leon. Being weak in this world is a sin."