The sound of thugs slapping their weapons against their palms and their low snickering filled the narrow alleyway. Ji Hoon, Ione, and Adrine stood facing them, the peaceful rhythm of their day shattered by the unexpected ambush.
Ji Hoon's eyes scanned the thugs laid out before him before locking onto the brute with greasy bangs, who flashed an ugly smirk back at him. 'Did he just say Alister?' Ji Hoon's mind raced. '...Teach a lesson? What is all this?'
While Ji Hoon was still processing the situation, the thugs began to advance, their steps slow and menacing. Adrine saw the movement and instantly shifted, positioning herself and leveling her blade into a ready stance. Her knuckles turned white as she tightened her grip on the sword's hilt.
"Young Master!" Adrine called out, her sharp tone pulling Ji Hoon from his thoughts. He composed himself, the shock fading from his features as he listened. She stepped back and whispered, her voice low enough for only Ione and Ji Hoon to hear.
The normally quiet knight spoke with urgent clarity. "We're outnumbered. I can handle them by myself, but I cannot do so while ensuring your protection." Adrine's face was serious, her eyes continuously measuring the thugs. She turned to Ione before returning her gaze to Ji Hoon. "Ione."
Ione turned to her, her hands clutching the books her master had just bought, her knuckles tense.
"I need you to help the Young Master get to safety," Adrine instructed. Ione looked at her, shocked.
"M-me?!" Ione questioned.
Ji Hoon was even more stunned. "No! We can't leave you he—!"
"Young Master!" Adrine's voice came harder and firmer, a tone of command that brooked no argument. Ji Hoon stared into her resolute eyes. "My task is to protect you. Please, do as I say and get to safety. I will handle this lot." She gestured with her blade toward the encroaching thugs.
Ji Hoon looked at her for a long moment, and then a calm smile touched his lips. "Right. I'm sure you can handle this much. You wouldn't be a knight if you couldn't."
He turned to leave, the books secure in his arms. "Don't get hurt!" he called back as he ran in the only direction the thugs hadn't yet blocked, with Ione closely following him.
"Don't let those two get away! They are the main targets!" the man with greasy hair barked as he noticed Ji Hoon and Ione fleeing.
One thug broke from the pack to give chase, but Adrine was a blur of motion. She swiftly took the man down in less than a second with a powerful swing of her sword's flat side. He crumpled to the ground, unmoving.
She raised her blade, a cool, confident smile gracing her features. "Now," she said, her voice ringing with challenge, "which one of you is next? I don't have much time. After all, I can't keep my master waiting."
* * *
Ji Hoon's mind raced as he ran, trying to piece together the situation and how to deal with it. 'Alister…? a lesson…? Was this all because of the duel? Because I humiliated him?'
Suddenly, a soft thud sounded from behind him. Ji Hoon skidded to a halt and turned to see Ione, flustered, trying to scoop up the couple of books she carried for him, which had now fallen to the ground.
'Oh, I forgot she was carrying those… Wait. Actually… I can do that, right?'
The realization cut through his panic. 'After all, she already knows.'
He knelt down to help her, his movements calm amidst the chaos.
"Oh, no, I will—" she stammered, reaching for the books, her voice tight with apology.
But Ji Hoon simply showed her his palm. A faint shimmer gathered in the air around the fallen books. In an instant, they dissolved into a cascade of golden particles, vanishing without a trace into his Infinite Void.
He had just activated yesterday his second level of
Ione stared at the empty space on the cobblestones, shocked for a second before understanding dawned. "T-The space magic..!" she whispered, her gaze lifting to meet his.
A small, reassuring smile touched Ji Hoon's lips as he helped her to her feet. "Very convenient, isn't it?"
The relief on Ione's face was short-lived. It crumpled, replaced by a wave of guilt. "I-I'm sorry, Young Master!" she suddenly shouted, her voice breaking.
Her golden eyes welled with tears, her ears pinned flat against her hair, and her tails drooped lifelessly behind her.
"It's my fault! All of it! With Alister, too... If not for me, today too, if I somehow chose a different path... you wouldn't be in this danger...!"
Ji Hoon looked at her—this girl who had known nothing but cruelty, now blaming herself for the malice of others. His smile, though touched with his own uncertainty about the situation, remained gentle and firm.
"Don't worry," he said, his voice softening. "Adrine will probably handle them just fine. And you shouldn't blame yourself, because he didn't send those men because of you. He sent them because of me, so don't ever say it was your fault again!"
His words, firm yet kind, sent a jolt through her. Ione's head shot up, her golden eyes wide. A deep blush instantly painted her cheeks, and her fox ears gave a frantic, flustered twitch. Unable to hold his gaze, she quickly turned her face away, her tails giving a shy, swishing flicker.
Seeing her reaction, a genuine, happy smile spread across Ji Hoon's face. In that moment, the danger faded into the background. For the first time since arriving in this world, he felt a true, weightless connection.
Was it perhaps the way she reminded him of the cat he'd loved in his old life—a quiet, comforting presence? Or was it the sheer relief of having a confidant for his otherworldly skills—one person who knew about the
She had seen him pull a latte from thin air and hadn't flinched. She was someone he could use his powers around without fear, someone who saw him. The air between them felt pure, and warm, and safe.
That fragile peace was shattered by a slow, mocking clap that echoed down the alley.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
"Oh~ what a heartfelt moment," a rough, familiar voice that Ione recognized, no matter how she didn't want to, drawled.
Ji Hoon and Ione spun around. Emerging from the shadows at the other end of the alley was the scarred man from the tavern, a vicious grin splitting his face.
He wasn't alone. Behind him, a second wave of thugs—at least two dozen—poured into the narrow passage, their weapons drawn and gleaming in the dim light. They were completely surrounded.
The scarred man's eyes, full of malicious glee, locked directly onto Ione.
"Did you miss me, little vixen?"
"Y-You...! What are you doing here!" Ione's voice was a sharp mixture of fear and fury.
Her face darkened into a mask of pure hatred—an expression Ji Hoon had never seen on her before. He turned to see the scarred man, who was grinning as he watched them, backed by the wall of thugs that now completely surrounded them.
"It seems you've found a new owner, little Ione? One other than the one I so generously provided for you?" the scarred man sneered, his eyes then snapping to Ji Hoon.
"Oh, my apologies. I haven't introduced myself, have I?" he said with a predatory smirk. "The name is Hansel. I'm the one who originally sold that little vixen to Lord Alister." His gaze lingered on Ione, who was trembling with rage, her hands clenched into white-knuckled fists.
Ji Hoon's voice was cold. "Did Alister send you?"
Hansel flinched for a second before his smile returned, wider and more crueller.
"It seems Jonny talked more than he should. I see. He couldn't even hold you back with those men I gave him? I did expect you to escape him but not this fast. Guess I have to take care of things myself." he added.
"And for your question, yes. Young Master Ahn, after you humiliated him publicly and took Lord Alister's property, he wasn't... pleased."
Ji Hoon's eyes flickered into a deep frown, his mind snagging on the word 'property'. Hansel saw it and his smile turned into a leer. "It seems you've grown attached to her. Anyway, I don't judge what you do with your... stuff. I'm just here to do my job."
He stepped forward and with a casual flick of his hand, ordered his men to attack.
The thugs surged forward, closing the distance. Ione tried to pull Ji Hoon back, but every exit was sealed, blocked by a wall of armed men.
'What do I do? Use my alchemy? But I've only ever used it for food. Is there anything in my inventory I can use?' Ji Hoon's mind raced, desperately searching for a solution.
Ione's hands suddenly shot up, her fingers curling. With a sharp shing, wicked, needle-like claws unsheathed from her fingertips.
"Stay behind me, Young Master!" she cried, her voice fierce. Ji Hoon was surprised to see the shy and quiet Ione actually was capable of fighting.
As the first thug lunged, Ione quickly moved. She ducked under a wild swing and lashed out, her claws raking across the man's arm, forcing a yelp of pain.
She spun, delivering a sharp kick to another's knee, hearing a satisfying pop before he crumpled. She was a whirlwind of red hair and flashing claws, a desperate, one-fox barrier trying to hold back the tide, punching and slashing at any thug who dared get too close to Ji Hoon.
Ji Hoon was impressed by her strength and ferocity, but he reminded himself that beneath her shy exterior was a strong capable beast girl. He watched as she defended him from every angle.
But there were too many. While she was occupied with two others, a burly thug she hadn't seen slipped past her guard. He lunged directly at Ji Hoon, a cruel, serrated knife gleaming in his hand.
Ione tried to reach him, but two thugs moved to block her path.
"Got you now, pretty boy!" the thug snarled, twisting the knife in his grip.
Hansel called out to him. "Be careful when dealing with him, and don't damage him too badly. We just need to send a message."
"It's fine! After all, he's just a noble." the thug smirked. "Hey, noble boy. I heard you're a cook? Hahaha! Well then, let's see..." he pointed his knife at Ji Hoon.
"How well can a cook fight?!"
"YOUNG MASTER!!!" Ione tried to reach him, but the others blocked her path.
The thug lunged, a rusty knife gleaming in his hand. Ji Hoon's mind went blank, his body freezing for a critical second. Time seemed to slow. He saw the man's snarling face, the grime on his clothes, the deadly arc of the blade coming right for his chest.
This was it. He was going to get stabbed.
But deep down, a different instinct, honed in another life, kicked in. The instinct to swing.
His lips barely moved, a whisper lost in the chaos.
"Retrieve…"
"...Rolling pin."
There was a faint shimmer in the air around his hand. Suddenly, his empty grip was filled with the solid, familiar weight of a cylinder of smooth, dense wood.
Muscle memory took over.
He didn't think. He swung.
It wasn't a swordsman's swing. It was a batter's. A clean, powerful, horizontal arc he'd practiced a thousand times in a batting cage, a memory of a simpler life where the only thing he was fighting was stress.
THWACK!
The sound was brutally solid, a sharp crack of wood against jawbone. The force of the impact vibrated up Ji Hoon's arms. The thug's head snapped to the side, his eyes rolling back as he crumpled to the ground, unconscious before he even hit the cobblestones.
For a heartbeat, the entire alley fell into a stunned silence, the ongoing scuffle seeming to pause.
The remaining ruffians gaped, their weapons lowering slightly. Their leader, the scarred man, Hansel, stared, his smug grin wiped clean off his face, replaced by pure disbelief.
Ione's eyes were wide, her tails frozen mid-swish, a flicker of shock crossing her features as she parried a blow, her eyes darting to the unfamiliar weapon in her master's hand.
In the center of it all, Ji Hoon stood, chest heaving. He let the rolling pin rest on his shoulder, the way he'd seen baseball players do. With his other hand, he raked his fingers through his short silver hair, pushing it back in a frustrated, adrenaline-fueled motion.
He let out a sharp sigh, a puff of air in the tense quiet. Then he looked up, his ocean-blue eyes now cool and sharp as ice, scanning the remaining thugs. The nervous noble was gone. In his place stood someone calm, focused, and dangerously unpredictable.
The rolling pin, a simple tool of creation, now looked like the most menacing weapon in the alley.