The Second Strongest Has Returned

Chapter 21

Personal Knight

“…Magic?!”

[Wind Bullet]

A bullet of wind condensed and fired beyond the hand. The wind bullet blew away the man next to it, striking him in the chest.

“I… I…! I won’t laugh…!”

“Yeah, I remember you because your gums were pretty.”

Thud!

Leo’s punch twisted the man’s mouth structure to emphasize his gum smile. The impact sent a shock to his brain, causing him to foam at the mouth, but it didn’t hide the charm of his gums.

“This is a different story…!”

“Oh, right. There was a client who told you to talk.”

[Stone Lance]

A rock rose, forming a blunt spear. It might be more accurate to call it a long club than a spear.

Thud!

“Argh…!!”

“But I don’t like your buck teeth.”

Saying so, Leo pierced his solar plexus. Though the spear had no blade, it was enough to silence him and fracture his solar plexus.

Without the buck teeth, the face looked quite pleasing.

“You bastard…!!”

Another man shouted this time. Simultaneously, several daggers rained down on Leo.

“Dagger technique… Judging by the style, it’s ‘Bloody Shadow’s technique.”

A light evaluation; merely spinning the spear was enough to deflect the daggers.

At the same time, the spear blade penetrated, allowing approach with a technique clumsy enough to be permissible.

“Arghhhhh!”

The sound of flesh being pierced drowned out the screams. A spear was a spear, even if blunt; it could pierce flesh if enough force was applied. And it could break bones within as well.

“That…! That bastard! It’s that bastard!!”

“Who…!?”

“The guy from the newspaper! Joke assassination…!!”

Thud!

Unfortunately, the words ended at “joke assassination…” The forcefully flying spear crushed the philtrum of the blabbering fool.

No one would know who he was trying to mention.

They had to remain unaware.

“I’ll…! I’ll kill you!! Joke…!”

For Leo, a joke was equivalent to murder.

Wasn’t he showing a fit like madness just upon hearing the word ‘joke’?

“Hey, who am I?”

“…Joke Assassin…!”

Crunch

It was the wrong answer.

By slightly twisting the neck of his subordinate, the last remaining assassin, the boss, realized the truth.

“Who am I?”

The boss

“…Sir…! Sir Leonardo Knight.”

“Not bad intuition.”

Thunk

As a reward for the correct answer, the fallen dagger pierced his palm and pinned it to the ground.

“Arghhh!!”

“Calm down. I still have many questions.”

Leo grabbed the assassin by the collar.

As a result, the dagger stuck in his wrist caused the wound to widen.

But he couldn’t scream.

The fear embodied by that child silenced even the screams.

No, was it right to call him a child in the first place?

A dissonance of perception… He felt something more absurd than that.

Thoughts shattered and senses blurred.

If left like this, torture would begin.

For that entity, such actions would be as simple as yawning.

He hurriedly slipped his tongue between his teeth to retrieve a pill.

A self-destructing poison used among assassins.

A pill prepared to prevent leakage of confidential information, but now it was the only way to avoid that torture.

“Oh, right.”

Thud

Leo’s grip forced the boss’s mouth open. And then

“Arghhhh!!”

He pulled out the tooth hiding the pill with his other hand. Blood flowed onto the floor, and the molar with attached gum flesh ended up in Leo’s hand.

“Why hurry? Let’s talk slowly.”

Leo prepared for a ‘conversation’ by tossing the pill and molar onto the ground.

“Name.”

No poison, no strength.

Only bluff remained.

“You…! You’ll regret this…!”

Thud!

A punch flew. The nose bone broke.

“Say your name.”

“That talk earlier was just bluff…!”

A knee strike came. The jawbone cracked.

“What? The pursuer sent after Aria earlier?”

“…Yes! If they don’t chase…!”

Flesh was torn. The flesh of the earlobe was ripped off beneath the nails.

“Doesn’t matter. You guys won’t catch Aria even if your whole organization went.”

Even the so-called pursuer was merely an assassin of mid-high rank among them. At most, two or three people would chase.

In that case, it was more appropriate to worry about the pursuer’s safety than Aria’s.

“…Then…! Then… why…?!”

Pain surged. The right side of the vision darkened. The thumb had been pressing on the pupil for a while.

“I’m asking the questions, right? Answer well because it’s the last one.”

Leo picked up a dagger. Even the ocean-like patience had its limits.

“Name.”

“Kahn…”

The dagger was pointed at Kahn’s remaining eye.

“…It’s Kahn…!”

Leo put down the dagger. And continued the questioning.

“Affiliation.”

“Bloody Shadow…!”

As expected.

The important part was from now on.

“Mission details.”

“…That is…”

The delayed answer, patience wasn’t long-lasting.

“Arghhhhh..!!”

Leo’s nails pulled out Kahn’s thumbnail from the root. Leo, dissatisfied with the scream, posed a stimulating question for his imagination.

“Want to know something? There are ten nails and ten fingers. That means twenty instances of torture are possible just with hands. How many will it be if you include the feet?”

A simple arithmetic problem.

“He… ordered us to kidnap Sir Leonardo…!!”

The problem’s effect was tremendous.

Information that was uncertain before now became certain.

There was a sense of déjà vu from the beginning.

Holding a knight hostage as a negotiation condition, and the ‘kindly’ tying up instead of severing the tendons also hinted at it.

“Who ordered it?”

“…Tha-that is…!”

“Oh, if you don’t want to say, don’t. I have a rough idea. Killing you is more convenient for me.”

Leo prepared to stab, holding the dagger in a reverse grip.

Was it the fear of death?

Or was it the primal human instinct of rebellion?

“Jehad…!!”

He opened his mouth.

“Jehad Dainons…! He ordered it…!”

An unexpected name came out.

He had done well to trick them into thinking he had a grasp on things.

“Jehad?”

Although his memory was foggy, he distinctly remembered that person. His pettiness and small-mindedness were unmatched even among the most insignificant individuals.

“Yes! He promised to pay a hefty amount if we brought him back alive…!”

“So, Jehad, who worked as a bodyguard for Reinhardt?”

“Yes! That’s correct…!”

“Alright. I think I’ve asked everything I needed to.”

“Then…!”

Of course, it was only proper to keep promises.

Boom!

Leo kept his promise by slamming the man’s head into the ground.

The boss twitched like a legless insect, unable to even scream.

[As expected of the Joke Assassin. Very effective.]

[But do you think it’s okay not to kill him? You said you would.]

In reality, despite his threats, Leo hadn’t killed anyone. All the assassins were only knocked out or severely injured, not dead.

For now, he hadn’t killed anyone. Attacking the young lady of the Reinhardt family was an unforgivable crime.

[Your hands seem plenty dirty already. Look at them.]

The truth was, Leo hadn’t sent Aria away out of concern for her safety. She was an exceptional genius, after all.

But Aria was still a young girl, and it would be too much for her to witness such a dirty scene. She wasn’t ready to handle it mentally.

[By the way… Jehad? Isn’t he the idiot bodyguard who got fired after being beaten up?]

Jehad’s disgraceful behavior had left a lasting impression, even on the old Sage.

[But to seek revenge in this way? Is he really insane?]

The Sage was busy showing his disdain, but Leo looked at the almost-dead assassins with a puzzled expression.

As a regressor, Leo knew that his intervention had caused significant changes between his previous and current lives.

This attack was one such change.

But the unnaturalness of the situation persisted.

The Reinhardt family was untouchable, even for the most deranged individuals. Direct retaliation wasn’t necessary; societal or media annihilation was enough, and sometimes fanatical followers would take revenge on their behalf.

[That’s why they targeted you specifically.]

When the assassination squad first attacked, Leo had drawn his sword defensively. The assassins from the ‘Bloody Shadow’ were adept at throwing daggers, requiring his utmost caution.

[They threw them earlier.]

This made the concept of revenge contradictory. Why be so gentle with someone they wanted to take revenge on?

Jehad’s disgraceful history was too infamous for him to care about such honor.

[…Then…]

This battle was not the end.

It was just the beginning.

In that moment of realization,

“Leo!!”

Aria came running.

And simultaneously,

Click.

The rough sound of handcuffs echoed.

Leo was arrested…?

***

“…”

“…”

The familiar situation, familiar room, and familiar silence continued.

“Ah…ha…”

Amid the silence, Leo sighed deeply.

[You seem to have a knack for ending up in prison. Why not make it your permanent home?]

Hearing that annoying tone brought him back to reality.

Here’s what had happened.

After evading the pursuers easily, Aria contacted the nearby guards and her family.

Once the contact was made, she returned to the alley with the guards to support Leo.

At that moment, the guards arrested Leo.

It was a bizarre incident, but the reason for the arrest was simple.

[Who told you to use magic?]

A mere mercenary using magic was enough reason for suspicion and arrest.

Even without direct evidence, there was enough circumstantial evidence to suspect him. Especially the ground scorched by Fireball served as clear proof.

[So what’s going to happen this time? Are you going to get released right away again?]

[You seduced the young lady of the hero’s family, right? Maybe…]

This guy always showed his most detestable side, making him incredibly hard to respect.

If he had taken down the assassins with just swordsmanship or aura, the reaction wouldn’t have been so severe.

[So what? Back in my day, that wouldn’t have been…]

The Sage, a 300-year-old bachelor, had outdated knowledge that didn’t align with modern times.

[Why is that?]

Everything had changed over 300 years.

The landscape, villages, cities, and even the laws.

[Who are they?]

Clank.

The locked door opened, and two robed figures entered.

Their thick robes and wide-brimmed hats gave away their identity more than anything else.

It could only be…

The Sage’s distant and long-forgotten juniors.

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