[IHTTMBW] Chapter 52

"Hurry up. Are you doing this or not?"  

"Well, well... fine! Let’s do this! If you’re going to wager a gold coin, I’ll make sure you get a taste of reality."

At that, the large man greedily eyed the gold coin and began to slowly flex his bulging muscles. His muscles were so enormous that it was hard to believe a person could even have such a body.

'This kid’s going to get hurt.'

I worried about that pretty boy, so I moved closer to his side, wanting to watch what would happen. If the boy got injured, I was ready to help immediately. Allenan seemed to feel the same way, standing close to me and positioning himself to shield me from the surrounding crowd.

My heart fluttered quietly at his considerate gesture, but the large man spoke up.  

"Alright! Let’s do this. I don’t know how you got that gold coin, but I’ll teach you that some things in this world just can’t be done."  

"Say that after you’ve tried," the boy responded calmly. His steady voice carried an air of dignity, much like Euphil's, but without as much sharpness—rather, his words had a way of provoking people.

"Ugh, let’s start!"  

The large man, frustrated that his intimidation wasn’t working, placed his arm on the table with a loud thud. The boy sat across from him and raised his much smaller arm. The large man grabbed the boy’s tiny hand.  

"Ready, start!"  

And then, something incredible happened. As soon as the match began, the large man collapsed. With a loud crash, the chair broke, and he fell to the ground, groaning. He seemed to want to say something, but no words came out.

"..."

"I won. Five gold coins."  

"W-what trick did you pull?!"  

"You saw what happened."

The crowd buzzed with murmurs. No one had seen what actually happened. The large man had simply grabbed the boy’s hand, and just as he was about to apply force, his hand slammed onto the table. Now, he was writhing on the floor, clutching his hand in pain.

"Look, everyone here saw it. Are you not going to pay?"  

The boy glanced around. At that small movement, like an elf in the night, an elderly man spoke up.  

"Indeed. A bet’s a bet. You need to pay up."  

"...That’s right. Even if the kid won, you have to pay."  

"Yeah! Hurry up and give him the gold!"

The crowd now murmured in a different tone. Some people were even snickering, mocking the once-confident man. The barker’s face flushed with anger and embarrassment. Finally, after scanning the crowd, the barker had no choice but to hand the boy a pouch of gold coins.

The boy snatched the pouch containing the five gold coins from the man’s hand and stepped back.  

"See you next time," he said before turning to leave.

No one understood what had just happened. Why was the large man on the ground? Did the boy possess superhuman strength? The scene was puzzling to everyone—except me.

"Allenan, come here," I said.  

"Why, Myrthi?"  

I began following the boy. I had seen the look on the barker’s face, and it wasn’t good. Besides, I was the only one who actually saw what had happened.

'Mikhail.'

I realised who the boy was. He was none other than Mikhail, the man who, at nineteen, would meet the original Myrthi and fall in love with her. This was Mikhail’s childhood.

The boy had used his left hand to strike the man’s wrist just as he gripped with his right. It seemed like he hit a pressure point, but what was truly astonishing was that only I, standing so close, had noticed.

'As expected of the First Knight.'

Mikhail would later become the first knight of Crothasone, rising from the back alleys to gain glory, becoming a rival to Duke Gelbart, and serving as a knight of the House of Capille, a family known for their swordsmanship. His beauty and cold gaze would break the hearts of many ladies and defeat the swords of many knights. Though his appearance was beautiful like a woman’s, he was famous for his immense strength.

However, the secret of his strength lay in his mastery of martial arts. The books never mentioned that he had learned these techniques at such a young age, which is why I didn’t recognize him at first.

'There can’t be many boys who are both that cold and that beautiful.'

The real problem was the men following him. While the crowd had been distracted by the commotion, I had noticed something the others didn’t—the barker had disappeared without anyone realising it. Instinctively, I knew. He was going after those five gold coins, plus one more.

"That boy’s in danger," I whispered to Allenan.  

Realising the barker had vanished, Allenan’s expression grew serious. If things continued like this, the boy might disappear into the back alleys, never to be seen again. Of course, I knew I would meet Mikhail when he turned nineteen, so he likely wouldn’t die now. But with the future already changing, nothing was certain anymore. And besides, I couldn’t just stand by and let that boy get beaten up and robbed of all his money.

"Let’s go help him."  

"Can we do it, Allenan?"  

"We can. Help me, Myrthi."

I nodded. Though I wasn’t skilled enough to take down a grown man in a fair fight, I could still attack from behind. Allenan and I quickly grabbed wooden sticks from the ground, then dashed into the shadows.