Chapter 15: Quiet! Mind the Knight's Demeanor!

"I'm sorry, but you must be mistaken. This is the territory of the Matthews family, and he is one of my incompetent kin. How could he possibly be a knight of the lord's family? Just look at him—does he seem like someone the lord would take an interest in?" Pito said.

But as soon as he finished speaking, he regretted it. Seeing the expressions of the other Centaurs, he realized that the human was speaking the truth.

Although he didn't understand what had happened, it was clear now that this vast forest did indeed belong to the Thune family, and they had truly sworn allegiance to the Thune lord!

From what was written in the books, the Thune family had long since fallen into decline, and their territory didn't even have a single guard, but luckily, there wasn't anything valuable left in the land.

How had the information been so outdated?

No, that wasn't it. It was the sudden, rapid growth of the Thune family!

"Buddy, I don't think I can beat you," Hato said, looking up at the towering Pito. "But I must report this to the lord. A stylish Centaur like you? The bounty description should be easy enough to write."

"No."

Pito slung his bow and raised a hand to stop him.

He stepped forward slowly, his expression calm. "If what you're saying is true, I'm willing to go with you to apologize to the Thune lord. It was Pir who charged at me. If the Thune lord is fair, he should find me innocent."

"My lord is indeed fair-minded. You better show him respect," Hato replied firmly.

He dusted off his hands, leading Pito and two other Centaurs toward the castle.

The other Centaurs remained behind to continue guarding the area.

...

"Lord! Lord!"

Inside the castle. 

Romon was studying the magic book with Talia. As he had suspected, the magic formulas he had seen with his eyes closed indeed needed to be transcribed into the blank pages of the book.

But each one could only be used once. Afterward, the page would return to blank.

Under Talia's magical guidance, his mana had slightly increased, and he had successfully transcribed three magic formulas.

Before he could even celebrate...

Shouts came from outside the castle.

"What now?"

Romon stood up, revealing the magic book. It was the perfect time to test his new spells—Explosion, Binding, and Flight.

Spells cast from the magic book didn't require mana to be used. Only when reading or transcribing did it consume any.

He flew out of the study, a little nervous on his first flight, but the flight spell from the book was surprisingly stable. Any slight tilt of his body was corrected by a force that kept him balanced.

Reaching the castle gates, Romon saw the three Centaurs with Hato.

"My goodness! The lord can fly!" one of them exclaimed.

"Lord! This guy attacked Pir! Please, judge him," Hato explained.

Upon hearing this. 

Pito quickly defended himself. Looking up at Romon flying in the air, he was somewhat stunned.

According to rumors and records, the Thune family's descendants were nothing more than unfortunate victims. Even if they had the desire to practice magic, their family never gave them the opportunity to learn. High taxes, poverty, and the daily struggles of life with basic necessities left no room for one's spirit or energy to study magic.

But his information was clearly wrong.

The lord was flying in the air, and Pito had seen him from a distance in Stone Town. It was definitely the real thing, not some imposter in disguise.

"Lord, may you be well. I am Pito, a Centaur from the Matthews territory. I entered the Great Forest today after receiving information about the Grand Labyrinth, intending to explore it. But I unexpectedly encountered members of my former tribe nearby. Pir charged at me like a mad bull, and I had no choice but to take action and knock him down. If I had known he was one of your knights, I would never have struck him."

Pito was clearly intimidated now.

Earlier, he had been confident, saying that as long as right and wrong were clear, he had nothing to fear.

But seeing a lord who could use magic, he now feared that the lord might be like those powerful lords who didn't care about the specifics and would immediately execute someone for breaking the law.

After hearing the explanation, Romon casually opened a simulator to take a quick look. He saw that Pir wasn't seriously hurt and sighed in relief.

Pito was indeed Pito, the Perfect Shot Centaur, worth 45 gold coins. But the guild master had explained that his lower price was due to his subhuman status. Otherwise, the price would have been much higher.

"The Thune Grand Labyrinth welcomes adventurers," Romon said. "But, for harming my knight, you must make reparations. According to the customs passed down in Thune, you must duel with one of my designated knights. If you win, you may leave freely."

Pito, who had read many books, immediately understood the custom Romon referred to—if he won, he could leave, but if he lost, he would die in the duel.

He glanced around. If a fellow Centaur was considered the lord's knight, he had complete confidence in winning.

"I accept."

"Good," Romon turned to Talia. "Talia, my magic knight, go duel with him."

"Huh?"

Pito froze. He heard a familiar name. Although they had never interacted much, Pito paid close attention to intelligence gathering, and he quickly realized this must be the rapid-fire mage.

Sure enough.

At Romon's call, Rapid-Fire Talia stepped out of the castle. She gripped a silver staff in both hands, clearly ready for battle.

According to rumors, this rapid-fire mage was a dismemberment fanatic. Any monster hit by her spells never had any skin left intact. Adventurers who collected skins never teamed up with her.

Pito broke into a cold sweat. He had underestimated the situation.

He didn't know if his arrows were faster, or if her rapid-fire magic was quicker. Not knowing meant high risk. He could end up dying here, or worse—he could die at the feet of the lord. Neither outcome seemed desirable.

It should be noted that the cause of the situation wasn't any deep-seated hatred, but rather Pir, that stubborn fool.

Pito quickly thought about how he could avoid the upcoming battle.

"Right. My lord, according to Thune's tradition, if I were to become your knight, I could offset the damage done to your knight, wouldn't I?"

"You?"

Romon was still considering his response.

But then—

Pito immediately dropped to all fours, holding his bow with both hands in a formal manner, and declared, "From this moment forward, I, Pito, swear to become the guardian knight of Lord Romon Thune, the lord of Thune territory. I will become his sword, slaying his enemies, and I will become his shield, protecting his safety."

Before Romon could retract his words, Pito had finished his oath at lightning speed.

"This..." Hato looked at Pito's profile. This Centaur was indeed different from the others. They weren't even the same species.

This guy was quick-witted to an extreme degree, while those others were just brutes!

"Rise," Romon said, unable to resist the appeal of a talented individual volunteering for the role, especially without bargaining over the terms. "Knight Pito."

"Thank you for your generosity, my lord," Pito responded with a bow.

"As one of my knights, I need you all to be united. Pito, make peace with your family. You will shine anew on my land, no longer bound by past hardships."

"Yes, my lord. As long as they're willing to budge a little, I'm open to anything."

"Go and talk things through with Pir."

Romon planned to appoint Pito as the knight captain. This man's knowledge was undoubtedly the highest among the Centaurs. With him leading, a usable knight squad could be raised in the shortest time possible.

But he couldn't announce Pito as knight captain just yet.

The other 20 Centaurs, who had already become his knights, harbored resentment toward Pito, especially Pir, the de facto leader. His hatred for Pito was the deepest.

Therefore,

At the very least, Pito needed to reconcile with Pir before Romon could declare him to be the captain of the knights.

To expedite the reconciliation, Romon personally flew toward the Great Forest—he had to save time and use the fastest method to improve their relations.

In the forest.

Pir was rubbing his forehead, where a large swollen bump had formed from being kicked by a hoof.

"Damned Pito, I just slipped, but if we fought for real, he'd definitely lose!"

As soon as the words left his mouth,

Romon flew in, with the sound of hooves coming from behind, and Pito followed closely behind.

Cough! Pir was startled by the sudden arrival, quickly getting up to maintain some semblance of pride. "Pito, you damned bastard! I'm going to skewer your chest with a spear!"

"Shut up! Mind the conduct of a knight! Pir! How dare you act so rudely in front of the lord!" Pito scolded fiercely.

Upon hearing this,

Not only was Pir frozen in place, but the other Centaurs were also stunned.