Chapter 20: I am a Knight

The street the guild sat on was a busy one with adventurers and traders using it as the main path in the lower city. As Joshua turned the corner onto the road, out of the alley, people looked at him and screamed. Even in the lower city it was uncommon for anyone to emerge from a dark alley dripping in blood.

Because of the commotion adventurers standing outside of the guild rushed over to confront the bloodied Joshua. They went to him with their weapons drawn. "Who are you?! State your business!"

Joshua took a moment to respond. His chest hurt and every breath was agony. He was sure he had a few broken ribs from this encounter with those men. "Healer…" Joshua struggled to get out, coughing blood as he said it.

"Wait, isn't this the demon slayer kid?" One of the adventurers asked. She wore a metal breast plate and a white cloth shirt underneath. She had a long two-handed sword with a slightly curved blade. Her hair was crimson and her eyes matched.

"Healer…" Joshua struggled to say again. This time collapsing onto the ground, still holding his weapon.

"Bring him inside!" The female adventurer commanded. The others did as she said and picked Joshua up by his arms and legs and carried him inside the guild. "Put him on that table there."

The men complied and placed his unconscious body down on a round wooden table that was sitting in the bar area of the guild hall.

"We need a healer!" She yelled, "Is anyone here capable of using healing magic?"

A young girl, no older than Joshua and just as thin raised her hand. She wore a long white robe and a large white hat that looked odd on her small frame. "I c-c-can." She said nervously.

"Tilly!" The female adventurer yelled. "Yes, thank you, now come heal him."

"Okay." The small girl nodded her head and rushed over. She ran so quickly that the oversized hat fell off her head to reveal her blonde hair. She held her staff over Joshua. "By the merciful light of the gods may your wounds be healed. Holy Light!"

A massive beam of yellow light covered the table as the bruises on Joshua's face and body began to disappear.

"Give me a drink." The female adventurer said.

Misha rushed over with a tall mug of water and handed it to the female adventurer.

"Here you are Doreen." Misha said as she handed the water over.

"This will work great, thanks, Misha." Doreen replied. "Hey you! Demon boy. Wake up." She then tossed the full contents of the mug onto Joshua's face causing him to sit up quickly. "Welcome back."

"Joshua!" Misha said. "What happened to you! Why are you covered in blood?!"

"I was attacked." Joshua replied. "Four guys in hooded cloaks said I owed them for stealing their quest."

"Must have been the party known as the four thieves." Doreen explained. "Bullying rookies is definitely their way of doing business. Still, it doesn't explain the blood. Usually, their marks are just beaten and bruised, maybe a few broken bones. Nothing a healing spell won't cure."

Joshua looked down at his soaked clothes. "This is their blood." Joshua explained. "I defended myself."

"That much blood…" Misha said.

"I agree." Doreen said. "Joshua, did you kill those men?"

The whole thing was still a blur in his head, but he knew those men were dead because he killed them. He took human lives for the first time and yet he did not feel remorse or pity for them. Murdering was unfathomable in his old life, but now he was calm and fine. He didn't know if it was Joshua's left-over hatred for the world or what. But he did not feel sorry for the lives he took.

Still, he didn't want to confess to murder even if it was self-defense. He sat there silently while thinking of something to say.

"It's a problem if you did." Doreen said. "Those men all belonged to families of squires. For a commoner to kill someone of noble birth…"

"It was self defense though!" Misha spoke up. "You can't expect people to just lay down and get robbed just because of their status! Joshua had the right to defend himself."

"You know the law, Misha." Doreen explained. "Commoners are not allowed to harm, much less kill, those of noble birth under any circumstance."

"What if I wasn't a commoner?" Joshua held up his blood covered hand and wiped his ring clean. "What if I was a Knight."

The two girls looked in amazement at Joshua's hand. That was the ring of a knight.

"So that was the other reward?" Misha asked.

"It was." Joshua replied.

"Well, I would say the law is in your favor then." Doreen said.

Before anything else could be said the double swinging doors at the guild's entrance opened loudly with the last hooded figure standing pointing at Joshua. "There he is guards! They peasant that dared kill my friends!"

Six guards entered the guild hall, all with weapons at the ready. "You will be coming with us, rat." The head guard said to Joshua with his weapon pointed at him. He then noticed Joshua's hand still in the air where he was showing his ring to the girls. The guard knew what that ring was, and his face became as pale as a ghost.

"I am terribly sorry sir." The guard said in his most apologetic tone.

"What are you waiting for!" The hooded man yelled. "Arrest him already!"

It didn't take Joshua but a second to read the room. He grinned wickedly as a plan came to his mind. He jumped down from the table he was sitting on and walked toward the guard.

"I would like to issue a complaint on this fool." Joshua said. "He dared attack and attempt to rob one of his betters."

"Sir!" The guard said. "We will execute him at once!"

"Wait what?!" The hooded adventurer said as the guard next to him grabbed him by the back of the neck and pulled him outside. "You can do this to me! Do you… AH!!!!"

"If that is all sir." The guard said with a bow. "I will take my leave of you now. Should you ever need anything from the guard, do not hesitate to ask."

"I do need something." Joshua said. "I need you to remove the word rat from your vocabulary. Either that or…"

"I do not need to know the or else sir." The guard said. "I shall never utter that word again. I thank you for your mercy."

The guard quickly left the guild hall and could be heard yelling outside. "Why did you men kill him in the dirt! Now there's blood everywhere! Nobles use this walkway! You fools! Get me a shovel!"

CREATORS' THOUGHTS
Alphachoas

Thanks for reading! And a big thank you for my supergift yesterday! It makes me overjoyed that you like my work that much! Thank you a thousand times!

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