Chapter 6: In Another World

Parieze, the Capital of Iris Nationale.

A metropolis with a bustling economy. The streets of the city is full of life and energy.

Street performers, merchants, tourists and adventurers are literally everywhere.

Simply going from one side of the city to the other can take a while due to the crowded streets.

"Amelia, you have been summoned to the cathedral. " said our guild leader, Mr. Lacroix.

"Did the messenger state the reason why? " Ms. Oliviere, a fellow division captain, asked.

"No. There were no information on why Amelia was summoned to the cathedral. I assume it must be of utmost importance. "

"You didn't do anything bad didn't you Amelia? " Ms. Oliviere asked me.

"No. I would not dare to do such things. " I replied.

"I'm just joking Amelia. You can ease up a little bit. " said Ms. Oliviere.

"The messenger told me to send you to the cathedral as soon as possible. Are you free right now? " Mr. Lacroix questioned.

"Yes. Yes I am. " I replied.

"Alright then. Head to the cathedral. The Grand Mage is waiting. " said the guild leader.

"Yes sir. " I took a bow before exiting the room.

"She still as stiff as ever huh? She wasn't like this before she joined the guild. "

" She's a good girl. She's just not used to things like this. Maybe she's trying to uphold the holy knight front?"

"Awww that's adorable. Little Amelia wants to look cool. "

"She's not a kid anymore Louise. But I wish she could be more honest to herself. "

"She could act more like a cute little sister then. Right Pierre? "

"What was that?"

I felt a chill run down my spine.

I should head to the cathedral as soon as possible huh?

Let's see...

I am currently on the Guild Hall which is at the southeast portion of Parieze.

The cathedral is on the north part of the city.

So the shortest route from the guild hall to the cathedral is through the plaza.

But, taking this route is more of a hassle than a shortcut.

I can't possibly go through massive waves of people that easily.

Another route I could take is along the river.

It is located at along the west side of Parieze so it's on the opposite side of the city.

However, there aren't that much people over there so I could just run along the river bank.

"Guess I'll walk along the river bank. "

I am currently walking along the riverside.

The atmosphere at the riverside is far from that of the city center.

The bright city lights around the plaza is replaced by lamp posts which are rather dim, giving off a relaxing feel as you stroll along the riverside.

The breeze is also much cooler, helping me relax quite a bit.

"Ah... This feels nice... "

I have quite a lot of fond memories regarding rivers. I must be smiling like an idiot right now.

I was reallly taking my sweet time strolling along the riverside, so much that I didn't notice that the sun was already setting.

"W-what? It's already this late? Oh no! I must hurry to the cathedral! "

A holy knight must show poise and must always be dignified.

I reminded myself that.

Ever since I joined the Iron Rose Guild, I had to keep my reputation as one of its captains.

I must look cool all the time. I can't fail my master.

But even so, that doesn't matter if I'm late for an appointment with the Grand Mage!

"I'm sorry! "

"Aeugh! "

"Excuse me! "

*crash*

"Pardon me! "

I tore through an entire crowd of people.

"I'm really sorry random strangers! But I can't be late! "

I'm getting nearer to the cathedral.

I was about to make a turn when I heard someone scream.

"Help! Help! My friend is being attacked!"

Someone is being attacked?

I must help them!

I approached the crowd forming around the girl.

"Young lady. Tell me what happened here. "

The crowd immediately parted as I approached the girl.

"Isn't she a captain of Iron Rose? "

"Really? Someone as that young? "

"She's the girl from the revolution! "

"The Iris of Iron and Blood!? "

"Woah! Really?! " "Then she can handle this alone! "

I am hearing some chit chat about me among the crowd.

"My friends are cornered by some guys in an alleyway!"

"Where are they? Lead me to them. " I told the girl.

"Woah she sounds so resolute. "

"She's planning to go all by herself ?"

"I'm sure she can take them all down. She's strong. I can feel it! "

Why did I suddenly become the center of attention? This is a bit embarrassing...

"Anyway, about your friends. Lead me to them. "

"Right! "

" Let us press forward. "

The girl led me to a dark alleyway.

I am hearing some noises as we get deeper into the alleyway.

"There they are! " shouted the little girl.

"I'll kick your ass scumbag! " screamed a boy.

He attempted to hurl some punches towards a burly man which held the boy on his head.

"Aww little baby wants to play! Hahahahaha! " the man mocked the boy.

The burly man threw the boy towards the trash cans, making a huge noise.

*Clang!!! *

The boy crashed on the trash cans. He attempted to stand up but no to avail.

"Hahahahaha! "

The group of men laughed at the poor boy.

"Stop it already! I said we're sorry! " screamed another boy.

He looks even weaker than the first boy.

The man grabbed the boy on his shirt and he curled up one of his fist, aiming for the boy's face.

"This'll teach you a lesson! " shouted the man.

"Unhand him this instant! " I shouted.

"What? "

The group of men turned towards me.

"Put the boy down and no one gets hurt. "

"Hah? Haha.. Hahahaha... Hahahahahaha! "

The man laughed, mocking me.

"Look at this missy right here! You want me to put him down? There you go! "

The man hurled the boy towards the other boy.

"Aeugh! "

"What!? How dare you!? "

My vision dimmed.

"Ohhh? What's with the ice cold stare? " the man taunted.

"Scum like you should be served justice! "

I pulled out my rapier together with its scabbard.

"Quick Raid! "

The man was thrown backwards by my attack.

"Gwooah! Damn you woman! You fools! Don't just stand there! Attack her! "

On command, the goons tried approaching me.

"Hah? All of you against me? "

"Why? Are you scared? "

"Stand back little girl, I'll deal with these scoundrels. "

I dashed towards the group of men.

I unleashed a flurry of attacks towards the enemies approaching me.

"What the-"

"Aurgh! "

"Motherfu-"

Three of the assailants are thrown back.

"3 of them in instant??!! You damn bitch! "

The largest of their group charged at me.

"Crescent Moon! "

The largest man was sent flying by my attack.

"What the fuck? Even him? " the burly man shouted.

"You're next. "

I pointed my sheathed rapier at him.

"Why you!!! "

The man screamed, charging at me.

"Crown attack! "

I slammed the rapier towards the top of this head.

He was immediately knocked out.

"Scum like you deserve to be punished. "

"You guys! "

The young girl ran towards her friends.

"Why did you even fight those guys?! "

"Because they hurted you silly! " the young boy said proudly.

"You got yourself hurt! You even dragged him in this! " the girl pointed towards the other boy.

"I was trying to stop hin from making a bad decision but he still badmouthed those guys. Thats why we got our asses kicked. "

"Those bastards derserve to be beaten up! " exclaimed the first boy.

"But you can't beat them up alone. You even got your ass kicked. "

"Well all that matters is they got their asses kicked tonight thanks to that big sister over there" the first boy pointed his finger at me.

"Thank her properly! She came here to save you guys! " said the girl.

"Oh right! Thanks miss lady knight! "

"Thanks for helping us. "

"Thank you very much miss knight! "

"No problem. Just be more careful next time. "

I slowly walked away from the children.

"Woooooah! That was so cool! "

"She's really cool! And powerful! Just like the heroes we read in our story books! "

"I wish we could be like her someday! Right? "

As I am getting near the exit of the alleyway, I hear a bunch of people talking about the incident.

"She's here! She's here!" Shouted one of the bystanders.

As I walked out of the alleyway, I was swarmed by the people, chit chatting all around the place.

"Send a few men towards the alleyway. Two children are injured, and there are several criminals to be apprehended. " I told the crowd.

I continued walking away from the crowd until someone caught my attention .

"Miss knight! I am a reporter from the press! Could you tell me something about this incident? "

What should I say?... Something cool perhaps?

"Justice will be served. "

The next day, I prepared for my work.

"Armor. Check. Weapons. Check. "

I was preparing my gear when I realized something.

"Oh no! I completely forgot about the cathedral! What should I do?! "

How could I forget such and important thing!

"Nooo! Now Ms. Oliviere is going to make fun of me again! "

Should I report back to the guild? I won't be able to face them-

"Newspaper delivery! "

"Ahh the newspaper. "

I worder what's going on in the country today?

I picked up the newspaper delivered at my doorstep.

"Huh? What is this? "

Princess Knight single-handedly destroys legion of bandits!

An image of me holding my rapier is shown at the newspaper.

"W-what the heck?? I didn't do anything like that!"

Evildoers beware! This knight has a message to all of you!

"Justice will be served."

Cold-blooded and unforgiving, the knight absolutely destroys the bandits single-handedly!

"W-what!? T-this isn't! "

What the hell is this!?? This is so cheesy! Princess Knight!?? Justice will be served!? Oh no.... They're going to tease me all day again...

"So she did not come yesterday, Grand Mage? "

"Yes. Although it is unfortunate, she did perform a heroic feat instead. "

"Princess Knight single-handedly destroys legion of bandits? Uh... What's with the title? "

"You know how some of the press works these days. The more outrageous a story is, the more copies they can sell. Some of them even resort to making false statements. I believe this is what they call Clickbait on the other side?"

"What? "

"Nothing, nothing. Pay me no heed. "

"Anyway. I know this girl well. She must be kicking and screaming right now. Louise will never let fact that Amelia said a couple cheesy lines pass up. She'll never live this day down. "

" Are you laughing guild leader? "

"Kinda, this amuses me. "

"I agree. It is indeed quite amusing to watch this girl. "