Starting With an SSS-Rank Swordsmanship Talent

Alaric took an impromptu trip to the Garden of Roses with Elena and Hershey. To ensure their safety, he thought of bringing Butch and Galanar with him.

However, the former looked so scary that his presence alone made Elena and Hershey uncomfortable.

In the end, Alaric decided to bring Franklin instead.

This guy was a former slave warrior so Alaric wanted to bring him somewhere peaceful to expand his horizons.

Alaric also brought some of the new Knight Apprentices as escort warriors.

“Rasmus, you were once a resident of Vale. Have you been to the Garden of Roses?” Asked Wolf, the youngest Knight Apprentice in the group.

Rasmus shook his head and replied with a bitter smile. “How can I afford to visit such a wonderful place? I spent most of my time helping with the chores in the orphanage.”

“I see. No wonder the kids in the orphanage like you the most.” Wolf chuckled.

“That’s true. Those kids…”

While they were chatting, the people behind them were unusually quiet. This was because Aliya was giving them the death stare.

She wasn’t fond of idle chitchat and she held strong aversion toward the opposite gender. Because of her personality, they had given her nicknames like ‘thorny flower’, ‘fiery tigress’, etc.

The only man that she looked up to was her sword instructor and her savior, Alaric.

Aliya secretly harbored affection toward him, but she felt that she didn’t deserve him because she was someone who had been defiled before. Furthermore, a dreadful scar had been inflicted on her beautiful face. For these reasons, she chose to bury her feelings and focused on improving her swordsmanship to be more useful to Alaric.

Aliya turned her head and took a glance at the carriage, but she quickly averted her gaze.

At this moment, Franklin who was in front of the entourage suddenly raised his hand and stopped everyone from marching.

“What is going on, Sir Franklin?” Rasmus asked while staring at him with his eyebrows furrowed.

Franklin narrowed his eyes as he replied. “There are people approaching us and there seems to be a lot of them. Go and report the situation to Lord Alaric!”

Hearing this, Rasmus nodded his head. “Yes, sir!”

He pulled the reins of his horse and urged it to march toward the carriage. He then cupped his fists while facing the carriage door and reported. “My lord, there is a group headed in our direction. What are your orders?”

“I know.” Alaric’s response came immediately.

“Just tell everyone not to make a fuss. Those people are not enemies. They are just traders, slave traders to be exact.” He added.

Slave traders?!

Rasmus’ face darkened upon hearing this. He had a bad experience with these people when he was still in the orphanage.

They had repeatedly tried to get their hands on the children. They even went as far as to threaten them to fulfill their goals.

If it weren’t for William, some of his younger siblings might have been forcibly taken by those people!

Thinking about this, Rasmus almost failed to hold back his anger.

He took a deep breath to calm down before he acknowledged Alaric’s instructions. “Yes, my lord.”

After Rasmus left, Alaric looked at Hershey and Elena with a serious expression as he said. “Whatever you see later, do not feel burdened by it. There are things in this world that we cannot change no matter how strong we have become.”

The two ladies felt nervous when they heard his mysterious words.

“Alright,” Hershey replied, while Elena simply nodded her head.

A moment later, they finally crossed paths with the slave traders and there were familiar faces among them.

“My lord, the slave trader introduced himself as a merchant named Roy. He says he is from Hairo. He wants to speak with you.” Rasmus reported.

Alaric frowned. He didn’t want to meet this person again, but it seemed like the guy was still the same man he had seen back then. “Tell him to wait.”

“Yes, my lord.”

Roy, who would have thought that I would see you again?

Alaric told the ladies to remain inside before he stepped out of the carriage. This was because he saw the ‘goods’ that Roy had brought with him. If the ladies saw them, they might feel uncomfortable.

“Oh, my! We meet again, my lord! Fate is truly fascinating, isn’t it?” The fat merchant, Roy, approached him with a surprised face.

So the person I met back then was actually the famous rising star, Alaric Silversword!

He had never forgotten the deal he made with this young warrior. Alaric had exchanged a Fatal-grade beast soul crystal for a few slaves.

It was a deal that brought him a lot of profit!

“Indeed. I wonder where you are headed this time, Sir Roy. Will it be alright for you to disclose this information?” Alaric probed with a faint smile.

This direction only led to North Pine Town, but he wanted to confirm this from Roy’s mouth.

Roy gulped nervously when he sensed the underlying message behind his inquiry. He squeezed out a smile as he replied. “To tell you the truth, we are heading to North Pine Town…”

He noticed Alaric raising an eyebrow when he mentioned this so he quickly added. “But you can rest assured, my lord. We are not heading there to do some shady things. I have a client who requested to do the trade in your town, but I hope that you won’t ask me their name, my lord. I can’t disclose any information about my clients, even if it’s you.”

Hearing this, Alaric was amused. This was Roy telling him that he had someone backing him up.

“I see. I respect you for protecting the privacy of your clients.” Alaric was no longer interested in prolonging their conversation, but before he could excuse himself, Roy said.

“It was destiny that brought us once more, my lord. Why don’t you check my goods? I’m sure you will like them! Hahaha! You see, I brought a special product with me, my lord.” Roy whispered with a broad smile.

Alaric frowned, feeling somewhat annoyed, but he decided to play along with him. “Fine, but I am in a hurry so let us get going.”

“I will make the introductions quick, my lord. I guarantee that you won’t regret it!” Roy eagerly brought him to the slave wagons to show off his ‘goods’.

He noticed the Elite Knight leading Roy’s escort warrior. It was the same warrior he had seen back then when he purchased Fredrinn from Roy.

The Elite Knight seemed to have noticed his gaze and turned his head to him.

It’s him! This is the entourage of House Silversword. Does this mean he is… Alaric?

He had also reached the same conclusion as Roy. It wasn’t that difficult to guess Alaric’s identity since House Silversword only had one heir.

He immediately cupped his fists to Alaric to show his respect.

Seeing this, Alaric smiled and nodded to him.

The Elite Knight wasn’t offended by this simple response for this was how nobles usually respond to someone. Some of the arrogant nobles even ignore people like him who do escort jobs.

“My lord, what do you think of these goods? I only brought women this time since my client requested this. Most of these women are commoners, but there are two of them who came from a merchant family. You see those young ladies over there? Their father became addicted to gambling and he lost all his wealth so he sold off his daughters to pay off his debts.” Roy’s tone was filled with disdain when he mentioned the father of the two poor ladies.

Alaric looked at the two women he was referring to.

Both of them had coppery auburn hair and light hazel eyes. The older one looked to be in her mid-twenties. She was quite tall and her figure was impressive in certain areas. She was a looker too.

On the other hand, the younger one looked like someone in her late teens. She was shorter than her elder sister by half a foot. Unlike her sister who had a valiant appearance, she was more feminine. She had freckles on her face and she wore a white dress which was a stark contrast to her sister who wore battle armor.

While Alaric was staring at them, Roy’s voice drifted into his ears. “The older one is a Knight and the younger one is a 1-Ringed Beast Soul Master. Impressive, right?”

Alaric had also sensed the aura of the two women. He didn’t make a thorough check on the slave wagons so he failed to detect them earlier.

He felt tempted to buy them, but he was afraid that Hershey and Elena might misunderstand him.

Just as he was about to say something, he heard a soft exclamation from the carriage.

He immediately turned his head. He saw Elena and Hershey poking their heads out of the carriage window.