Takeshi shook his head and replied to Misaki with total indifference.
"So?"
Both Sota and The Scorpion were stunned by Takeshi's words, which were insulting to anyone of high status and name; indeed, Misaki felt the insult.
"You will benefit from kneeling to me instead of staring at me with those expressions!"
Since classism had invaded the world and society, anyone even one degree higher than another felt entitled to despise them—especially in this case: the Mayor's daughter versus two merchants and a boy who lived alone in the forest. She was certainly going to be arrogant and condescending. Takeshi closed his eyes, saying:
"I kneel to no one."
The Scorpion turned toward Takeshi, his face as red as a tomato with rage, saying in a low, sharp voice:
"Kneel! Who cares about your principles or whatever they are?"
Misaki raised her hand slowly, saying:
"It is fine. In any case, I only came because of your shouting; you disturbed me during my usual shopping trip."
Before The Scorpion could try to justify what had happened, Misaki pulled out a carefully sewn bag filled with gold coins and said with disdain:
"If you had something good for me to buy, perhaps I would have forgiven you… but unfortunately, it seems you only sell hay—"
The Scorpion rushed from his spot toward Sota's carriage and quickly grabbed a few golden stalks of hay that made Misaki's horse crave them intensely.
"But this hay can satisfy the stomach of any horse, especially if it is a noble steed like yours!"
Misaki shook her head and said with a wicked smile:
"I am sure my horse eats better than the three of you. I will forgive you if the reason for this shouting of yours is logical."
The Scorpion's "Philosophy"
The Scorpion let the straw fall from his hand and stepped forward a few paces, lowering his bald head.
"As you can see, one of my traders has destroyed one of my carriages and lost half of the goods I ordered him to bring to the city. On top of that, he brought a stranger with him, even though I asked him not to let anyone ride in the carriage due to the abundance of thieves these days."
"But he is not a thief!"
Sota interrupted The Scorpion with a voice rougher than his usual tone, but he lowered his head immediately after seeing The Scorpion's angry features. Misaki turned her gaze back to The Scorpion, saying:
"I recognize you! You are the one they call The Chameleon, or The Scorpion, I believe."
"It pleases me that you recognize me—"
"A short, old, bald man who employs poor youth for low wages. I have heard much about you, and it seems all the rumors are true."
The Scorpion raised his head slowly and cleared his throat, saying in a serious voice:
"It seems many negative traits are rumored about me. But regarding employing the youth, I have a reason for employing this specific group."
Misaki raised her eyebrows.
"And what is the reason?"
"I am trying to establish a true commercial system that includes all segments of society, whether by age, gender, or class. And here I am at the beginning of the path to founding it."
Misaki took one small step forward.
"But you have only included one group. As I understand from your words, you want to include me and those in my social class and higher into this system of yours."
"A journey of a thousand miles does not start with a mile; it starts with a small step. And this step I speak of is providing work for these young people suffering from acute poverty, so they can provide for their daily bread and the bread of their families as well."
Misaki placed her hand over her mouth and let out a few quick laughs.
"Truly? and how did someone with your reputation come to want to achieve such a noble goal?"
The Scorpion did not answer this question; in fact, the question didn't even need an answer. For an arrogant person whose only concern was money to have a goal and philosophy like this was a calculated move. Beyond any "philosophy," hiring this specific group was a stroke of genius rather than humanity; since they were in their youth and full health, they would accept any amount, especially since The Scorpion only employed the destitute.
Among them was Sota, who stood up and raised his eyes toward the Mayor's daughter, saying with hesitation:
"I am sorry for the interruption but… could you provide me with another job for an acceptable wage?"
The Scorpion's eyes widened with indignation, and he quickly turned toward Sota without saying anything, listening to the rest of his words.
"In truth, this job does not compensate for the hardship and fatigue I endure, and the wage I receive is not enough to cover my mother's expenses…"
"Your mother?"
Misaki asked, but the response was The Scorpion suddenly lunging toward Sota, grabbing him by his worn-out shirt and saying in a loud voice that drew the crowd's attention again:
"Have you forgotten the help I provided to you and street rats like you? You will never see a merchant like me in this world providing this work to people like you! And the favor you return to me now is trying to leave the job I gave you for nothing? If not for me, your mother would have died from her madness, and if you do not continue with me, you will never find your father as long as you live!"
As he finished his words, he gritted his teeth, tightening his grip on Sota's shirt. Sota moved his exhausted hands and grabbed The Scorpion's hand, saying as despair filled his trembling voice:
"I expected you to fire the person you have been screaming at since morning—since the moment you decided to provide him with this cursed job! I am always the liar; if anything happens, the eyes are directed at me immediately despite always telling the truth!"
"I understand! I understand that a weak boy surviving slave traders and a swarm of Rivarg monsters is a true story, not a lie or fabrication!"
The Proof of the Beast
As their quarrel grew more intense, a serious voice from behind stopped them.
"Is this not the Mayor's daughter for whom you would have licked the ground just by seeing her? And here you are brawling like children in front of her."
The two froze in their places, yet their gaze remained fixed on each other. Misaki let out a quick laugh and said, her eyes fixed on Takeshi:
"It is good for them that you intervened. I heard everything that went on between you before I stepped in. Indeed, I read in the newspaper that slave traders were present in a village not very far away. But how can you prove that monsters we only heard about in school were encountered by you? That is, if they are even real in the first place."
The inhabitants of the major cities—including the spoiled ones living in luxury who had never set foot in rugged areas like the darkness of the Fargrim Forest—mostly did not believe in the existence of monsters called "Rivarg," as most in this world do not believe in what they have not seen. The Mayor's spoiled daughter was no exception.
"Certainly, you would not believe in the existence of those monsters if you did not see their brutality..."
Takeshi thought before extending his injured, bandage-wrapped hands. With his mouth, he slowly opened the ties on his hands, and Misaki's indifferent features quickly shifted to visible shock.
Takeshi's first arm was covered in deep wounds that had been closed by cauterization. Some wounds were in a critical state and had already begun to fester, not to mention the blood staining his wrist. The Rivarg monsters had caused the injury to this arm.
Sota wanted to say something, but he swallowed his words, merely gulping; his reaction made it clear he hadn't realized Takeshi's injury had reached such a horrific state. The Scorpion did the same, as he hadn't wanted to believe the account of Takeshi and Sota.
Then he quickly opened the bandage on his other hand, which was partially burned. His fingers had turned a light purple, and his palm had become as rough as stone; the harsh friction against that rocky cliff with the dagger Orvin gave him was the cause of his hand being burned. Even so, if an ordinary person had been in Takeshi's place, their hand would have been torn apart by the sharp claws of the Rivarg, and their hand would not have withstood the friction on the rocky cliff.
Takeshi relaxed his hands and bit his lip from the intensity of the pain, saying:
"I possess no proof stronger than this. I hope you believe what we said previously about the slave traders and those monsters."
The Mayor's daughter knit her brows, shocked at how someone's hands hadn't completely rotted from these wounds and injuries—moreover, how had he not screamed in pain for help?
"Driver…"
The carriage driver turned without a single word and moved his thin body quickly toward the carriage, specifically to the driver's compartment, and pulled out a simple first aid kit. He quickly moved toward Takeshi, took out antiseptic and bright white bandages from the bag, and without even asking, began directly disinfecting Takeshi's wounds and bandaging them. The latter showed a few signs of pain, such as closing his eyes and gritting his teeth hard.
Misaki crossed her arms and said:
"Are you a fool? You must head directly to the hospital before your arm rots, in which case you must amputate it."
"I have a friend who works at a nearby hospital. What is your name, you fool?"
"Takeshi."
Misaki shook her head.
"Your full name?"
Takeshi lowered his head slightly without taking his eyes off Misaki, saying:
"Just Takeshi. That is my full name. I do not possess a family name to be proud of. I am not like you."
Misaki looked away for a moment as her cheeks turned slightly red, almost unnoticeably, saying:
"Fine, I understand! You are Takeshi."
She brought her gaze back and said in a serious tone, far from arrogance or disdain:
"Takeshi… I offer you to become a knight for the mayor of this city. A knight for my father, and then you might become a knight for the king of this country!!"