How to Live as a Knight After the Ending

Chapter 249: The Prodigal Son Returns (2)

Seated in the vehicle, Lucent couldn’t stay still.

He kept shifting his gaze nervously, alternating between looking out the window and lowering his head.

“Can’t you just stay still?”

Osian, sitting next to him, snapped, unable to hold back any longer.

“B-but I’m nervous.”

“Of course you’re nervous. But nothing major is going to happen.”

“Even though we’re heading right into enemy territory?”

“Think of it as returning to your former workplace. If things seem dangerous, we’ll protect you, so stop worrying needlessly.”

Lucent looked around.

In the large steam limousine’s back seat, besides Osian, there were also Loraine, Diolan, and even Edgar.

Diolan had an excited expression, Edgar looked disgruntled as if wondering why he had to be involved, and Loraine was trying to drink champagne since they were in an expensive car.

While he understood intellectually that they were all highly skilled individuals, seeing their current behavior made his confidence waver…

In truth, even with complete trust, venturing into the heart of enemy territory was something one wouldn’t do even with ten lives.

‘Yet here I am, doing exactly that?’

Though he had experienced many heart-stopping moments recently, this was undoubtedly unprecedented. And likely would remain so in the future.

But it was too late to back out now. Lucent couldn’t understand why his past self had so boldly declared he would do anything.

It was as if he had been possessed, inexplicably overflowing with courage.

Meanwhile, the scenery outside the window changed as they entered a different district.

Osian, watching Lucent’s condition carefully, cast his gaze outside.

‘As expected, they’re following us.’

From the moment they left the Goldiron mansion until now.

He was already aware that they were being tailed by those who had been secretly watching them.

As they left District 29 and moved further away, more eyes were fixed on them.

While most were probably the Saint Tree directors’ subordinates, there were occasionally others mixed in.

‘Even Tirna is keeping a close watch.’

He had vaguely sensed it when Executor Sestain deliberately sent them.

They probably wanted to observe how things would unfold since they couldn’t intervene directly.

‘While the increase in surveillance isn’t welcome, it ultimately works in our favor. Thanks to them, the Saint Tree folks can’t launch an attack.’

By intentionally increasing patrol guards along their route, even Saint Tree couldn’t move carelessly despite their status.

Thanks to this, contrary to their worries, the limousine smoothly glided along the road toward Saint Tree headquarters.

“We’ve arrived. However…”

The limousine driver trailed off, sounding troubled.

The group could immediately guess why by looking out the window.

“There are a lot of people.”

In front of Saint Tree headquarters, all sorts of people had gathered into a crowd.

Men and women of all ages, along with non-humans like beastkin, dwarves, and orcs.

They were all holding picket signs and shouting in front of the headquarters.

“Saint Tree, come out and explain yourself right now!”

“What the hell is going on!”

“My money! Give me back my money!”

They were investors who had lost huge sums of money after buying stocks during the Saint Tree bubble incident.

They were wailing and crying out in anguish, while guards blocked them from entering Saint Tree.

“Why aren’t you arresting those bastards!”

“You must be in on it too!”

Some angry citizens threw empty bottles and food at the guards.

The guards blocked them with shields, but their expressions weren’t pleasant, unable to hide their irritation.

They weren’t doing this because they wanted to. They were just following orders from above to block the entrance.

“There are too many people.”

The vehicle couldn’t get through because of the crowd.

It seemed they would have to get out and move separately.

“Will it be alright? What if we get attacked?”

“I told you not to worry about that, didn’t I?”

Meeting Osian’s gaze, Lucent nodded, acknowledging he had spoken unnecessarily.

“Thanks for the ride. You can head back now. We’ll walk from here.”

“Yes. I wish you the best of luck.”

After exchanging farewells with the driver, Osian’s group got out of the vehicle.

Osian took the lead, with Lucent behind him, and Loraine, Diolan, and Edgar following as if escorting Lucent.

The protesting crowd didn’t look like they would easily make way.

They hadn’t even noticed Osian approaching from behind, too busy asserting their rights.

While he understood their feelings, Osian decided to take a strong approach since they had business to attend to.

“Move aside.”

A voice filled with dignity and killing intent.

That quietly uttered command spread like a wave, engulfing the protesters from behind.

*Flinch*

The people shouting at the back all shut their mouths at once.

They turned around instinctively feeling a chill, and their eyes widened upon seeing Osian.

Though he was just standing there, his uniquely intense aura was overwhelming everyone.

It wasn’t just Osian. Loraine, Diolan, and Edgar also fully displayed their auras.

‘This, this is…’

Lucent was internally shocked at how the atmosphere changed as if someone had flipped a switch.

While they usually seemed somewhat lacking, seeing them in crucial moments like this was something he couldn’t get used to.

Which was their true nature, he wondered.

“I said move aside.”

Osian spoke once more.

His tone suggested something would definitely happen if they didn’t move now.

As Osian took a step forward, the protesters stumbled back.

The same happened with the protesters beyond them. Even those who couldn’t see what was happening due to being blocked by others sensed something was wrong and made way.

As Osian walked forward, the crowd naturally parted creating a path.

The previously noisy entrance became somewhat quieter.

The protesters blankly watched as Osian’s group passed by them.

They should have questioned who these people were to pass through like this, but the words wouldn’t come out.

Just as Osian was nearing the main entrance…

“Ah! Th-that guy! It’s Lucent Philburg!”

Someone in the crowd who recognized Lucent shouted as if having a fit.

This caused a stir among the people. Lucent? Who’s that? Hey idiot, he’s a Saint Tree researcher. Why is he here?

Questions kept building up until they finally converged into one emotion.

That emotion was rage.

“Because of you! I lost my money!”

Someone threw a stone at Lucent.

-Tang!

But the flying stone was intercepted mid-air by Loraine’s bullet and shattered.

The citizens fell quiet again after seeing the scattered fragments. It wasn’t because of the gunshot. The people gathered here were prepared to resort to violence.

The reason they couldn’t say anything was because Loraine’s eyes as she drew her gun were unusually fierce.

‘Whoa, what kind of look is that?’

‘She, she looks like she has even less to lose than us who have nothing to lose.’

The protesters sensed some deep anger and sorrow dwelling in Loraine’s eyes.

It was a kind of instinctive empathy. Though Loraine didn’t say anything, the protesters felt an inexplicable sense of kinship the moment they met her eyes.

But that didn’t mean their frustration and anger disappeared.

“Go ahead and shoot! If you’re going to shoot, shoot us and go!”

“We’re dead either way!”

Just as the angry protesters were about to block the path again.

“Shut up, you bastards!”

Loraine shouted.

The protesters fell silent again at the inexplicable sorrow contained in that cry.

“You think you’re the only ones who are sad and frustrated!”

For some reason, Loraine’s voice had some indescribable appeal to it.

‘This is like… the resentment of someone who has lost more than us.’

‘How can she contain such deep emotion?’

That’s why they couldn’t shout anything more.

Osian thought this was rather fortunate as he tried to move forward.

“Damn it! What are you doing! We lost money! Everyone wake up! Let’s fight for our rights!”

There was still someone trying to incite the crowd without reading the situation.

Or rather, perhaps they understood the situation better than anyone.

‘But this isn’t a welcome situation for me.’

In times like this, it would be easy to subdue them by focusing killing intent on that person.

With that thought, Osian looked at the person who shouted those words, and when their eyes met, he couldn’t help but be surprised.

“……”

“……”

The person demanding they fight for their rights was someone who existed in Osian’s memories too.

How could he not know? They had even worked together before, even if it was just for requests.

Terence Progenen.

That talented young mage was mixed in with the protesters, raising his voice with them.

Though he wasn’t wearing his usual Grand Cloister uniform but rather casual clothes, there was no way Osian wouldn’t recognize him.

Osian and Terence silently stared at each other.

During that one second their eyes met, the two felt some indescribably complex emotions.

Osian, who regained his senses first, opened his mouth.

“You too……”

“……”

Terence pulled his flat cap down low, then immediately disappeared into the crowd.

It was such a swift movement that it was impossible to tell how he passed through so many people.

Was that movement impossible for a mage the result of effort over time, or was it the manifestation of potential brought out by embarrassment?

Osian couldn’t know the answer because Terence, who held that answer, was already gone.

“Huh? What’s this?”

“What’s going on?”

Even the people who were trying to shout with all their might were equally confused when Terence disappeared.

Now that their focal point was gone, the remaining people couldn’t even meet Osian’s eyes, let alone raise their voices.

“Did you know each other?”

“Well, um.”

When Diolan asked from behind, Osian hesitated a bit before answering.

“Just, must have been mistaken.”

*

After passing through the protesters and entering Saint Tree headquarters, security guards were there to greet Osian’s group.

The atmosphere turned hostile as men in suits surrounded them trying to look imposing.

But Osian’s group didn’t even blink an eye. Except for Lucent, that is.

“Well, well. Look who it is. Our Chief Researcher Lucent Philburg. The prodigal son has returned.”

A voice rang out from among the guards.

As the guards made their way, elderly men in suits appeared.

‘Those are Saint Tree’s directors.’

About ten elderly men.

Whether skinny, fat, rough, or composed.

While they all looked different, they had things in common.

That they were old and that their eyes were full of greed.

‘The main culprits behind this incident.’

Among them, William, who stood at the front, spoke to Lucent as their representative.

“No news for several days and suddenly you show your face. What’s this about?”

“Director William.”

“I was so worried, thinking you might have different intentions from us.”

Loraine frowned at William’s smiling face as he spoke.

To show such brazen behavior after openly sending people to get rid of them.

“I’m grateful you came back even like this. But there seem to be quite a few uninvited guests.”

William’s gaze turned to Osian and the other fixers.

He smiled at Osian with his wrinkled face.

“Still, I should thank you for safely bringing Lucent here. But that’s done now, so why don’t you head back?”

The guards naturally approached Lucent.

While the words seemed courteous, their attitude clearly showed they intended to detain Lucent.

Just as a large guard reached out his arm toward Lucent, Osian blocked his path.

“Who said you could touch him so casually?”

“What?”

The guard frowned and tried to push Osian aside, but it was useless.

Rather, when Osian lightly brushed off his arm and pushed his chest, he rolled on the ground helplessly despite his size.

“…!”

At that sight, the guards all drew their guns from their waists and aimed at Osian.

“Want to try it?”

Osian provoked them instead.

Behind him, Loraine drew her gun with a cold expression, and Edgar leaked blue magical power around him. Diolan also smiled with a hiss and tapped the floor with the tip of his boots.

“If that’s what you want, I won’t stop you.”