The Former Holy Knight. Having Lost My Job and Childhood Friend, I Decided to Start a Dark Guild - Chapter 2

“I’m sorry. I was told by the guild master that we cannot allow Leon Stein to join our guild.”

After leaving the knights’ station, this was what I was told at the third officially recognized guild I visited.

“With your background as a former holy knight of the active generation, we would normally be eager to have you join us… I’m truly sorry.”

It was clear from the results of the test I took for guild admission that I wasn’t refused due to a lack of skills or abilities.

The test involved a one-on-one match with an adventurer from the guild. Given my background as a former holy knight, I was immediately pitted against an A-rank spear user, whom I effortlessly overwhelmed.

The other adventurers watching were astounded, but the result was a failure when I asked the receptionist why, she could only apologize profusely, unable to answer me.

Well, I could somewhat guess the reason. It seems I’ve caught Prince Raymond’s attention, and some kind of pressure must have been applied to exclude me from the guild.

For someone like me, who has lived by martial arts since childhood, joining an officially recognized guild and becoming an adventurer was essential to earning a living. In the royal capital, delving into dungeons without going through a recognized formal guild is considered a crime. In other words, it’s as if most of my means of earning a living had been taken away.

After leaving the guild, I stood dumbfounded in the bustling Triumph Square in the royal capital, feeling like I had returned to my past.

Before passing the holy knight examination, I was an orphan who lived on the streets. Without a home or parents, I survived by begging and occasionally stealing. I thought I had finally escaped that life after passing the examination to join the holy knights, but now, I was back to square one.

As I absentmindedly watched the lively Triumph Square, I noticed a woman and a man getting into trouble despite it being such a time. From their attire, the woman seemed to be a priestess, while the men looked like warriors and a thief. One of the warriors began to threaten the woman with a drawn sword, but the passersby paid them no mind.

Having resigned from the holy knights, it wasn’t my concern anymore, but I couldn’t help but pay attention due to habit. I looked around, wondering what today’s Triumph Square patrol was doing, but no holy knights were in sight.

It would be best if it were just a quarrel within the party, but my instincts from serving as a holy knight told me something bad was about to happen.

I decided to intervene if the situation escalated. As I watched the dispute from a distance, someone tapped me on the shoulder.

“Excuse me!”

A young female elf, looking tense, spoke to me. “I happened to hear at the guild, but is it true you were a former holy knight associated with the holy knight order?”

“Uh, yes, that’s correct.”

“Um, if you’re looking for a place to go, would you consider joining our guild?”

I stared at the young female elf intently. She was a good-looking young elf but seemed not to live a prosperous life, appearing thin and in modest attire. She didn’t look like an adventurer or seem to belong to any guild. I was about to ask, “What’s the name of your guild?” when there was a movement among the three I had been watching. The two men had grabbed the priestess and were walking towards an alleyway.

“Sorry, I don’t have time to talk right now.”

“Wait, please!”

I left the elf behind and followed the three. Dealing with the trouble took precedence over finding a job for myself.

Entering the alley, the lively voices of Triumph Square faded, and an eerie silence filled the air. As I felt an ominous sense of discomfort, I heard groans. Drawing my sword from my back, I turned the corner of the alley.

“Are you alright?”

On the ground lay a priestess, bleeding and with her priestess robe and underwear torn, exposing most of her skin. I rushed to her side and took out a potion from my bag.

“Please, drink this.”

The woman was breathing but too delirious to drink the potion. It was clear that she needed professional healing rather than just first aid. Considering she was involved in some incident, the best course of action would be to report to the holy knights and leave her treatment to them. As I was thinking this, I heard the familiar sound of armor approaching, feeling relieved that a patrolling knight must have been notified.

The knights that appeared were told everything I had witnessed. “The men can’t be far since not much time has passed.”

However, I felt a strange discomfort again. The knights didn’t look at the fallen woman but fixed their gaze on me.

“What’s going on?”

Confused, a grave voice came from one of the armors. “Indeed, as Lady Nadale said.”

“Huh?”

“Lady Nadale claimed that your lack of skill manifestation meant you were unfit as a holy knight. Now I understand what she meant. To think, on the day you left the knight order, you would assault a woman.”

I was speechless for a moment. Assault a woman? What are they talking about?

“No, I didn’t do anything. I was just trying to mediate a dispute between three people.”

“Excuses are unnecessary. Why would a former knight need to mediate a dispute? Kneel on the ground. You’re under arrest.”

“Please, listen. I didn’t do anything.”

“Silence! You disgrace to the holy knights. Make one false move, and I’ll cut you down in the name of the knight order.”

This had to be a joke, but the knights in front of me suddenly drew their swords, pointing them at me and advancing.

“I didn’t do anything!”

“The woman is the evidence. Hey, you, this man assaulted you, weren’t you?”

The woman on the ground suddenly nodded as if coming back to life. “Yes, this man forcefully abducted and assaulted me. When I resisted, he hit me repeatedly…”

My mind went blank.

“I would never assault you…”

Before I could say more, a knight interrupted. “Enough, we’ll hear the rest later. Kneel on the ground now.”

“But I haven’t done anything!”

“Next time, I won’t warn before cutting. Kneel now! Leon Stein!”

Overwhelmed by the unfolding events, I couldn’t think straight anymore. I raised my hands and knelt on the ground. One of the knights approached with binding ropes.

At that moment, something unexpected happened. A dry bursting sound echoed through the alley, followed by homemade smoke bombs rolling on the ground, emitting white smoke. More smoke bombs were thrown, quickly filling the alley with smoke.

The knights, caught off guard by the sudden events, could only look around.

Amid the confusion, I felt a strong pull on my hand. It was the young female elf who had spoken to me earlier.

“I don’t know the situation, but it might be wise for you, Leon, to escape now.”

Escape from the holy knights in the royal capital was unthinkable. No one knew that better than me, yet before I knew it, I was being pulled by the elf, running at full speed through the alleyways.