Chapter 112: Dispute! Solo Hunting! |
In Laforin’s courtyard.
Laforin was putting on his light armor. Due to his overly burly physique, the task appeared somewhat clumsy in his hands.
Normally, when Manta was not busy, she would help him with this.
For decades, the couple had maintained this habit.
Dressing and equipping her beloved husband was a beautiful thing, carrying within it a wife’s wish for her husband’s safe return.
However, these past few days, although Manta had been idle at home, Laforin had been handling it himself.
Even the straps on his back, he clenched his teeth and tied on his own.
Because his back was too broad, the range of motion of his arms was limited, making the task somewhat difficult for Laforin.
He had intended to call Manta, but when he looked at her tending flowers not far away,
“Hmph what hmph.” Manta placed the watering can heavily to the side. Clearly, tending flowers was just a pretense. “If you’ve got the ability, then don’t ask me for help. Always calling this one stupid, that one stupid—I think you’re the real fool.”
As she spoke, she still walked behind Laforin.
She braced her foot against his lower back, yanked the straps hard, then tightened them with all her strength before tying a knot.
“Anyway, I don’t agree with Eve’s matter. If she’s going to marry, she should at least marry a high-tier knight. She can’t marry someone worse than her own father.” Laforin gestured with his fingers. “Besides, the person must have good character, decent looks, and we need to investigate the family background too.”
Laforin counted on his fingers, feeling his reasoning was completely sound.
“Knight, knight—every day it’s all about knights. He’s already a Tier 1 Alchemist at such a young age. The key is, I’ve worked with him in Alchemy—this Leo’s temperament is even steadier than mine when I first started. His future achievements in Alchemy will definitely go far beyond this.”
As Manta spoke, seeing Laforin’s attitude, her emotions rose again. “Look at all the Quasi-Knights in Blackstone City—who among them is better than Leo?! Eve is already nineteen. Do you think she’s still a child? If we follow what you’re saying, then go find her a high-tier knight as old as you!”
The two argued back and forth, neither willing to yield.
The more Manta thought about it, the angrier she became. She suddenly yanked the strap that had already been tied on Laforin’s armor. “Do it yourself.”
Clatter!
The armor on Laforin’s body loosened, clanging as it fell to the ground.
“You! Anyway, that taciturn boy—I will never agree!” Laforin was holding in his frustration. He couldn’t understand what kind of spell Leo had cast on his wife to make her speak so strongly in his favor.
That was just the kind of person Laforin was. It wasn’t that he particularly disliked Leo.
After all, he was the Knight’s Squire who ranked first in the year-end assessment.
But suddenly asking him to consider Leo as a son-in-law candidate—he simply hadn’t accepted it yet.
The couple had been in conflict over Eve’s matter for several days.
The more Madam Manta spoke, the more resistant he became.
He even felt that Leo was secretly fueling the situation.
However, Laforin had no intention of changing his stance. Stubborn as ever, he stated his bottom line, “Eve is now a Formal Knight. No matter what, she cannot marry someone weaker than herself. At the very least, it must be a low-tier Knight.”
In his view, other conditions were secondary. The most important thing was strength on the path of knighthood.
As a husband, one must have the strength to protect his wife.
“Isn’t it just a low-tier knight? He’s an Alchemist—he can make potions himself. Breaking through to the Knight Realm would be easy for him.” Madam Manta was clearly unconvinced.
At first, she had only mentioned it casually, but after facing such strong opposition from Laforin,
this matter was no longer just about Laforin not recognizing Leo.
It had become a conflict between Laforin and herself.
For a long time, Laforin had always talked about knights, about codes and principles.
She had long been fed up with his knightly temper, as if knights were superior to everyone else in this world.
These accumulated emotions made Manta refuse to yield at all. “I don’t think knights are anything special.”
“Easy? Nothing special? What do you know about knights, someone who just makes potions? Do you know how much sweat and effort it takes for a person to become a Formal Knight—” Laforin had clearly been touched on his bottom line, his tone growing increasingly agitated.
“Someone who just makes potions? Fine, fine.” Madam Manta no longer wanted to continue this meaningless argument. “Let’s make a bet. If I can make Leo become a Formal Knight within three months, from now on, whenever you see an Alchemist, you must respectfully address them as ‘Alchemist Sir.’”
“Three months? Naive.” Laforin was clearly confident in victory. “Fine! If I win, then from now on in this house, you are not allowed to talk back to me.”
Laforin seized this opportunity, intending to completely reverse his status in the household.
“Fine! It’s a deal, honorable Knight Sir.” Manta exaggeratedly performed a knight’s salute, then mimicked Laforin’s usual stern expression and made a face.
Clearly, this bet was the final showdown of their argument.
Madam Manta strode toward the house. During this period, she was full of energy, evidently unaffected by Laforin at all.
Because she was about to become a Tier 3 Alchemist.
In the future, there would be many times Laforin would have to rely on her.
Laforin had clearly fallen into her trap.
In this household, it wouldn’t be so easy for him to suppress her.
Arguments between husband and wife were often like this—starting from a trivial matter. There was no major conflict, yet emotions escalated more and more.
Laforin was exactly like that now. Sitting on a stone stool in the courtyard, one hand supporting his chin,
the fingers of his other hand held a pebble, grinding it repeatedly until it turned into nearly invisible powder.
But just as he was sulking, a hurried set of footsteps suddenly sounded outside the door.
“Sir Laforin.”
A voice he did not expect came from outside.
Hearing it, his brows furrowed in surprise as he quickly walked to the courtyard gate.
Sure enough, it was Leo.
He hadn’t expected that this fellow would come to him on his own.
“Taciturn boy!?” Laforin blurted out, his expression not looking good.
“Sir Laforin, what did you just say?” Leo looked puzzled.
“…” Laforin took a deep breath. As a knight—and the lord of a city—he had clearly lost composure in front of a junior.
He straightened slightly, steadied his breathing, and continued, “What do you want from me?”
In his impression, this was Leo’s first time coming to him.
If the boy dared to bring up Eve, he would definitely teach him a good lesson.
“Sir, I wish to ask you for a favor.”
“Mm?” Laforin’s expression turned cautious. “Speak. What is it?”
Leo felt a faint, inexplicable pressure, but it was not as dangerous as before. “Sir, I wish to request permission to take on group hunting missions alone.”
Hearing Leo’s request, Laforin seemed to let out a sigh of relief.
The boy hadn’t mentioned Eve at all.
But the next moment, he raised his eyelids. “What did you say? Take on group missions alone?”
Among all the previous Quasi-Knights, only Zoro had possessed such ability.
It wasn’t just about realm—it also required powerful wilderness hunting capability.
Zoro had proven himself through countless hunting missions.
But this Leo before him had only been appointed a Quasi-Knight for a few days and had never even left the city before.
Going out alone like this was simply courting death.
“Foolish!” Laforin was clearly more serious than usual. “The requirements for team missions are to protect reckless newcomers like you.
Do you think hunting outside is child’s play?
Do you think getting first place in the year-end assessment makes you something special?
Do you think being appointed a Quasi-Knight makes you powerful?”
Leo had never seen this knight speak such long sentences in one go—let alone three consecutive questions. He didn’t understand why Laforin was so angry.
Looking up, he saw that Laforin’s expression indeed didn’t look good today.
“No, Sir Knight.” Leo lowered his head, about to explain, but was directly interrupted.
“Arrogant!” Laforin continued his reprimand. “Looks like everything has gone too smoothly for you. Your mind has become restless—you no longer know the immensity of heaven and earth.”
Laforin stood firmly like an iron tower, hands behind his back.
“Come. If you have the ability to make even one of my feet move,
not only will I agree to your request—
even letting you marry Eve would not be impossible.”