Reborn As Noble

From outside the shop, a sudden commotion rose.

The nobles inside paused, brows furrowing. One of them glanced toward the open doorway.

They could hear something was broken outside.

”What’s all that noise?” he demanded, his voice sharp with irritation.

Another lord turned to his attendant, snapping his fingers.

”Go see what’s happening out there. Quickly.”

The attendant bowed and hurried toward the door, peering outside.

Several nobles strode toward the door, their guards following close behind.

Only to see chaos already unfolding.

Their guards were flung through the air, crashing onto the cobblestones with groans of pain. Horses shrieked, tearing free of their harnesses and bolting down the avenue, dragging fragments of reins and splintered wood behind them.

”What in the world just happened!?” one noble shouted.

Before their eyes, two enormous birds dominated the street. One dug its beak greedily into crates of food from a shattered carriage, snapping up bread and fruit with gleeful squawks. The other slammed its taloned foot into a wheel with brutal precision.

Wood splintered, iron bent, and the carriage collapsed sideways in a spray of debris.

”All of you, stop these monsters at once!!” the viscount bellowed, his voice cracking with panic.

Private guards and hired soldiers rushed forward, blades ringing from their sheaths. Yet hesitation showed in every eye.

”Cuquaaawked!!”

Buddy squawked, his sharp eyes glaring at the nobles as he gulped down a thick slab of meat from the shattered carriage.

Beside him, Pikko moved with calm precision, her talons striking again and again. Each kick landed with a crack of splintering wood and snapping iron.

One by one, the wheels gave way, splintering into useless fragments. Axles groaned, frames tilted, and the once-proud noble carriages collapsed onto their bellies.

With no wheels left to hold them upright, they were stranded in the middle of the avenue, heavy loads grinding against the cobblestones.

The grand noble procession, which only moments ago moved with pomp and arrogance, now lay crippled and immobile, a line of toppled wealth gutted by two monstrous birds.

The nobles’ faces drained of color, watching helplessly as their symbols of pride and status were reduced to useless husks on the street.

”Stop these monsters at once! Kill them!!”

”But... my lord... they’re too strong!” a soldier stammered, only to be silenced by a noble’s furious glare.

”All of you useless! You there!” One of the nobles jabbed a finger at Buddy, spittle flying from his lips.

”Don’t you know who I am!? I am a noble! How dare you, a mere beast, defy....”

His words ended in a scream as Buddy’s talon struck like a hammer, sending him flying across the avenue. He landed in a heap, silks torn and powdered wig tumbling into the dust.

”Cuquaaawk!” Buddy cried, eyes blazing as he swallowed another slab of meat, triumphant in his rampage.

Pikko continued her ruthless work, her kicks snapping wheels apart one by one.

Carriages buckled, frames sagged, and piles of stolen goods spilled across the road. The noble procession was reduced to a broken line of stranded hulks, pride and wealth scattered in the dirt.

Their private Soldiers lunged in desperation, but every clash ended the same. Shields shattered, men rolled screaming into the gutter, and not one could stand his ground for long.

The other nobles cowered behind shattered doors and overturned crates, their fine cloaks dust-stained and their faces pale.

”Do something!” one howled, his voice shrill with panic.

”Stop them at once! I will reward any man who can bring those monsters down!”

The nobles clung to their carriages, robes dusty, faces twisted with rage and fear. When they spotted the royal knights patrolling nearby, their eyes lit with desperate hope.

”Oi! Peasants!” one noble bellowed, pointing a trembling hand at Buddy and Pikko.

”Do your job! Stop those monster birds from wrecking our carriages!”

The captain of the patrol paused mid-step, his eyes sliding toward his men. With the faintest flick of his gaze, he gave a silent command. The knights straightened, their armor gleaming, but none moved toward the chaos.

The captain spoke calmly, his voice carrying just enough to be heard.

”Do you all see anything?”

One knight rubbed the back of his helmet, frowning in mock confusion.

”Ah... I think I heard something. But far... like a whisper.”

Another turned toward the gathered townsfolk.

”Anyone see anything?”

The merchants and commoners, still pressed against the walls, shook their heads almost in unison.

”We didn’t see anything,” one answered firmly.

”Nothing at all,” another added, eyes glinting with satisfaction.

”Damn you!!! Just you wait, all of you peasants!” one noble shrieked, his powdered face red with rage. ”Once this news reaches Duke Kimar, and when our duke becomes king, the first thing he will do is strip you dogs of your armor and cast you into the streets! Trash! Worthless trash!”

The royal knight captain didn’t even slow his stride. He passed by their toppled carriages with an easy calm, only glancing once at the towering Pekkos tearing into crates. His lips curled faintly as he turned back toward the nobles.

”All I see,” he said in a flat tone, ”are two birds sitting quietly, basking in the sunlight.”

He looked at the gathered townsfolk. ”Right?”

The crowd chuckled, some nodding eagerly. ”Yes, Captain. Just sitting here, not causing any trouble.”

”Haven’t seen a thing,” another added, eyes twinkling.

Buddy let out a triumphant squawk, snapping through another crate of meat, while Pikko gracefully stomped down on a carriage frame until the wood screamed and split. Neither looked the slightest bit interested in sunlight, but the townsfolk’s voices rose in unison, amused and mocking.

”Yes, these two are just resting.”

”They didn’t do anything.”

The nobles’ faces contorted with fury. ”You insolent peasants! How dare you mock us! We will report this to Duke Kimar! He will...”

The knight captain’s smirk cut them short. He raised a finger toward the massive birds, just as Buddy lifted a talon and sent a gust of wind slamming into an overturned cart, flipping it end over end into the street.

”You all do remember... Pekko only belong to one region. One household.” His eyes gleamed with deliberate amusement.

”So if you’re bold enough... why not go complain directly to that lord?”

Buddy and Pikko rampage through the wreckage with precise, murderous glee. Talons slam into crate after crate; wood splinters fly. Each kick sends a load tumbling onto the cobbles, bursting open.

People surge forward like a tide. Mothers snatch bread, children clutch sacks to their chests, bakers lift trays of pastries with shaking hands. No one bothers with ceremony; hunger is louder than fear. The crowd moves with hungry efficiency, filling baskets, slinging bundles over shoulders, vanishing into alleys with stolen hope.

The nobles scramble to snatch what they can, but their gilded hands fumble in the sudden press.

The royal knights stood back, armor catching the sun, helmets turning as the tide of people took the goods. The captain’s eyes swept the scene once, slow and unreadable. He said nothing, only watched the city reclaim what had been paid for in Garius’s pouch.

( End Of Chapter )