Chapter 43. Gratitude Is Heavier Than Armor, and Warmer Than Expected

Chapter 43: 43. Gratitude Is Heavier Than Armor, and Warmer Than Expected

She wrapped the new bandage around it in neat, firm turns. Alicia handed me a cup, and I took it with my free hand and thought about what I was looking at... which was two women, both strong enough to crush my skull if they felt like it, arguing over who got to hold my arm.

Now... I know that I said I was lucky before, but now... I wasn’t sure whether I should feel lucky or terrified.

After some thought, I decided the answer was both... and that I was fine with that. Laura and Alicia are still my prettiest girlfriends that I would keep until I die.

And yes... I want to marry them if I could, but we’re still knights. With tons of problems out there.

Elarion in the morning was a different city from the one we’d arrived in.

The barrier was back to its steady pale shimmer, and the guards on the walls looked a lot less like they were waiting to die.

The streets were noisy with carts and shopkeepers and kids running errands, and it took me a few blocks to realize why it all felt strange.

Two days ago, this place had been scared... And thank god. Today, it was trying very hard to act like it wasn’t and mostly succeeding.

I was in plain clothes, a gray shirt and brown trousers that Alicia had picked out of my wardrobe, because I’d been banned from armor, and wearing a Royal Knight’s uniform with a chest bandage looked, in her words, "like a recruitment poster for a hospital."

Even though I really wanted to show how much I’ve come a long way by showing everyone that I AM a royal knight. A worthy one at that too for saving this kingdom.

But right now... My left arm was freshly wrapped. And my right arm was currently in the custody of Alicia, who had hooked her elbow through it as soon as we hit the street.

We were heading for the eastern district because that was where the black-armored soldiers had come through the broken gate and because Alicia thought I ought to see it.

"They need to see you too," she said when I asked why. "A lot of the people who live there watched you throw a barrel stack on an enemy squad..."

"They want to say thank you."

"I really... don’t need that." But part of me is lying; for once in my life, I really need someone to glaze how heroic I am.

"I know you don’t... That’s why it’s good for you for once in a while, right?"

"That isn’t how thank-yous work..."

"It’s exactly how they work for my boyfriend."

I’d have argued, but she was right... and I was a little afraid she knew it.

The damage was worse than I’d realized. The inner wall where the secondary gate had blown apart was still a mess of broken stone, and a team of masons was working at it with ropes and scaffolding.

Half the shops along the main street had their shutters up and their fronts boarded over with planks, and the paving stones were scorched in long black stripes where the energy blasts had gone through.

But there were people everywhere, sweeping, hauling, and hammering, and nobody looked miserable. They looked like people who’d gotten hit hard and were already getting back up.

Gotta respect fantasy civilians because of how positive and hardworking they are, even after all that chaos and they still want to move on.

Laura was walking on my other side, a half step behind, with her hands tucked behind her back and her eyes sweeping the street like she expected someone to jump out of a doorway.

She was taking notes in her head, I could tell... Every few seconds, her gaze would linger on a collapsed awning or a cracked wall, and her lips would move a little as she counted.

"Fourteen shops with structural damage," she said finally. "At least six families displaced..."

"The Order will need to cover the repairs, but I doubt the Council will be generous about it."

Wait a minute... there’s something like that too?! This feels like déjà vu for me because the government in my world doesn’t really give a shit about his people anyway.

"The Council isn’t known for its generosity?" I had asked about this, just to make sure.

"The Council isn’t known for noticing that anything east of the high district exists."

Holy shit... it really is the same. And now I’m starting to get worried that I’m not a true royal knight like at all.

"Which is part of why Sharon pushed for the ceremony," Alicia said. "People here don’t see the Order up close very often."

"She wanted them to see us up close... in white and blue, looking like we’d won."

"We did win."

"Yes, but now... they can see it."

I thought about that.

It was a smart move, a lot smarter than the blunt, noisy woman who’d arranged it and usually let on. Sharon hadn’t forced the Council’s hand because she liked parties.

She’d done it because a frightened city needs to see someone standing between it and the dark, and two idiots in uniforms made a decent substitute for a miracle.

I was still thinking about that when I heard someone yell my name.

"Sir Ravenshield!"

I turned, and a woman about my mother’s age was hurrying toward us across the street with a basket in her arms.

She had flour on her sleeves and a determined look on her face, and for one terrible moment I thought she was going to hit me with something.

"It’s you," she said, and set the basket down at my feet. "I knew it was you!"

"You’re the one with the sword who came down the side street!"

"I think... that’s me? Nah, I’m joking with you!" I laughed and then struck a pose. "It really is me, yes!"

"You told my father to run into the alley."

I blinked. "Your father...?"

She pointed a floury finger at an old man sitting on a stool beside a doorway, wrapped in a blanket in spite of the warm morning.

He lifted one hand in an uncertain wave, and I recognized him, or rather I recognized the man with the shovel who’d tried to fight off a monster in the street.

Next to him sat two children, a boy and a girl, who had apparently decided that I was the most interesting thing they’d ever seen.

"We would’ve been dead," the woman said. "Honestly... we would’ve been a goner."

"Don’t say that... You wouldn’t have," I said. "Your dad was doing pretty well with that shovel, and I can tell he was a brave man."

"He’s seventy-three."

"I know right? That makes it even impressive, especially with that very impressive shovel he’s holding."

She laughed and wiped her eyes with her arm, and then she pushed the basket toward me with her foot. "Take it... as our payment."

"I know it’s not much, but it’s bread... and it’s still warm."

There it is. I expected that I would get ’this’ kind of thank you. But of course, I can’t take it from the people that are struggling right now.

"I can’t take that...! You’re rebuilding a shop, and it’s best that you keep it for you and your family."

"Don’t worry... the shop’s fine, and we’ll rebuild it better." The women smiled. "Just take the bread as our appreciation, especially now... you are a royal knight."

I looked at Alicia for help. She smiled, shrugged, and made it very clear she was not going to rescue me.

"Uhm... Thank you," I said, and I picked up the basket. "Seriously... I’ll make sure it gets eaten."

"By you, I hope... You look thin."

Well, jeez... that’s because I’m not in perfect condition right now.

Behind me, Laura made a small sound that might have been a laugh.

And of course... It didn’t stop there.