Honorable Knight: Life after Death

A Heart that is No Longer Shackeld

"What is he doing? Does he really like old Mama?” someone grumbles in a depressed voice, feeling annoyed at herself for watching herself lose to the charm of Azura, the mother of the owner of the Zura Clothing Store.

So annoyed, she forgets that the small pillar supporting her hand seems to be starting to wobble. In wooden piles that are close to the connection or pile foundation, small cracks can be seen along with the pile tilting slightly to follow the direction of the thrust of her hand. She really doesn't feel that way, until...

CTAK!

Unprepared to balance her body, she helplessly falls. And, she who was hiding got the attention of Alexander as well as Azura.

“Lumina!?” Azura, who is shocked, rushed to the young woman who had previously interacted with Alexander whose name turned out to be Lumina, her favorite child who is the only one she has.

Alexander immediately follows Azura.

"Honey, why did you fall like this?" Azura holds Lumina's face, she looks at her with so much attention.

Before Lumina can answer Azura's question who only seems to have just opened her mouth, Alexander preceded her. "Whoa! You really are a loving mother. Truly, you are very worthy to be called as an angel who fell from the sky. Just looking at it, the love you give to this lady to the point where it touches my heart to make it vibrate inside here…” Alexander points at the chest, where his heart is.

Azura coughs at Alexander's words which sounded embarrassing, especially since her daughter is here and hears it in person. With her face turning pink, Azura tries to ignore it and keeps her eyes fixed on her daughter.

However, Lumina is not that innocent. She looks at his mother who looked embarrassed and affected by Alexander's compliments. It makes her smile a little, she feels like playing a prank on his mother who looked like a girl in love.

"Ahem... Mama, I'm fine. Better, Mama just serves the handsome young man behind Mama. Don't you feel sorry for making him wait? Besides, I have business outside…” Lumina looks at Alexander with one eye that is deliberately closed.

As her mother, Azura knew Lumina well. Hearing Lumina's words like that make her feel even more embarrassed. She glances at Alexander for a moment, before she stares at Lumina's departure. She doesn't know what she's feeling right now. But, a flower seems to have just bloomed in his heart.

Ah... Feels like I'm still young, Azura thinks.

Alexander who also looked at Lumina who has just left closed the door, his eyes immediately turn to Azura. “Would you mind taking me to find a suitable outfit for a party? If possible, I want you to choose it for me to wear. I would be very happy…” He touches his chest with a slight bow, pleading with Azura in an elegant manner.

Having a hand waiting for a response from him, Azura shyly holds out a hand in response "Yes" or "Okay".

With the other hand allowing Azura to walk first, Alexander follows her by the side while his gaze is fixed on Azura. A gaze that seems to be locked from looking at anything else, he doesn't even blink as long as he stares at her.

Azura is really embarrassed. Her heart is pounding wildly, but she feels it is a beautiful feeling. Even when she was young, she did not feel the feelings that she is currently feeling. Mr. Alexander is cheating, she thinks.

In fact, they return to the place where Alexander was first captivated by a cloaked mantle. Azura herself still remembers which cloaked mantle it is, so she immediately gets it for Alexander.

"This one, how is it?" asks Azura.

"You really know which one I like, Azura..." Alexander praises. Whether he had forgotten that the cloaked cloak that Azura has chosen earlier is chosen by him or not, what’s clear is that he was very happy from the bottom of his heart that Azura understands him this far.

"Is this a sign, that you will be my soul mate?"

Bravely, Alexander caresses the side of Azura's face which feels very soft.

Azura doesn't know why her body is hard to move. She helplessly watches Alexander's face getting closer and closer. Until finally, she is unable to see any further and immediately closes her eyes. The feeling that somehow, like, she expects it to happen, waiting with her eyes stay closed, the feeling she has been waiting for never felt. Then, she hears a whisper next to her ear.

“Be my partner at the party later...”

...

No matter how many times he looks at it, Ympilia City really feels great to him.

Alexander would have liked to have walked a bit longer. But in this crowd, his heart is beating so fast. He feels so bad. His body still holds bad memories of being in a crowd.

“What is there to be afraid of? What I see, people don't care about my existence-...” Alexander mutters, which is immediately stopped when someone calls out to him.

Several people walk up to Alexander. They have come from the bend in the road, and yes, Alexander is now right in the middle of a crossroads. Hearing someone's call makes them the center of attention of those around them.

Six young men, they looked two or three years older than Alexander. The faces that make his body feel intimidated, they are some of the people who gave bad memories of the real Alexander, thus making this comfortable-looking Ympilia City seem scary.

“Master Loser, are you finally tired of being alone in that remote village?” asks a young man whose haircut looked strange, he only trimmed the edges with the middle part left long.

His friend laugh at the cynical question directed at Alexander.

People seem to be talking about the impoliteness of the youths in front of this Alexander. Like, they don't agree with the attitude these young men have towards Alexander, but they don't seem to have any intention of interfering.

'Okay, how should I react to them?' Alexander doesn't answer, he is just staring at the young men in silence.

Having no response to the previous question, another young man said while pointing at Alexander. He ignites the emotions of the youth with his strange hairstyle who asked earlier.

“Look at that Loser! He doesn't even listen to your question, man!"

"Yes. It seems, he must be awakened from his daydream..." says the young man slowly. He starts walking toward Alexander while stretching some joints in his body. “Hey, have you forgotten how my fists taste, heh?” he asks in a depressed voice, suppressing the emotion that is so easily ignited by his friend's statement.

Alexander does not heed the intimidation of the young man. He casually looks at the people around him, before finally exclaiming “I'm sure all of you are troubled by the presence of these youths. I'm here to teach them a lesson. Therefore, bear witness that they are the ones who started this all…”

Although confused, the people seem to agree with Alexander's words after most of them nod at him, like giving a “Yes!” answer.

"Cuh! You're just getting bigger and bigger, you Acute Loser! Let's see, to what extent your arrogance keeps you from this blow of mine..."

Finished with his words, the young man begins to walk quickly while holding back his emotions. His hands tighten into fists. His footsteps are made heavy by him as if hoping that it would scare Alexander. However, in reality, it is not something he hopes for.

The young man frowns as he manages to pull Alexander by the collar without getting into a fight. The worry he feels, he doesn't need to feel it just disappeared. With that, he completely ignores his vigilance.

'Hmph! Arrogant youths like this everywhere would exist huh. Look! How many loopholes he has exposed…' Alexander is still relaxed. Seeing the gap wide open of course made Alexander chuckle for a moment before he starts his action.

The body is made heavy so that Alexander who pretends to be lifted by the tug of the collar regains a strong position to provide resistance. Glancing at a wide-spread leg with no visible strength to resist the urge, he takes advantage of the youth's unpreparedness to make him lose his balance.

He doesn't stop there, Alexander immediately continues to give another attack.

The young man is in shock. Without being able to react, he has to struggle to balance his body position before making him forget Alexander's existence. And, it makes him get a series of pains, starting from his ribs that felt sore, his heart suffocating, and finally the stinging feeling in his nose that makes him fall backward.

People are shocked to witness such an unexpected event, especially the friends of the young man who is now wailing in pain with his position curling up on the street.

“You... YOU!!! Come on, let's attack him!"