How to Live as a Knight After the Ending

Chapter 180: The Vagabond Gang (2)

A new group of beggars had appeared.

They wondered if they had come to avenge their fallen comrades, but it didn’t seem so, since Osian and Martinez couldn’t sense any hostility from them.

More than anything, what felt different from other beggars was that they seemed surprisingly calm and possessed a somewhat neat demeanor.

“Who are you?”

“I’m roughly the boss of those you’ve knocked down.”

A man in his mid-40s slightly lifted his pressed hat and revealed his face.

His features were quite neat. Would someone handsome in their youth look like this when they age?

It was in stark contrast to the beaten-down vagrants who had been knocked down.

For a beggar, he had such a well-organized feel that it was hard to shake off the sense of dissonance. Would someone like him have any reason to be a beggar?

“Did you come to avenge your subordinates?”

“Revenge? That’s something you do depending on the opponent. I’m not the type to charge like an angry wild boar without assessing the opponent’s skills.”

“You’re more perceptive than you look. So what did you just say?”

“The boy you’re talking about, Colleo, isn’t it?”

Martinez, who had been listening quietly, pressed him.

“Do you know about Colleo?”

“I know him well. I’ve met him a few times and we’ve talked. We know each other’s names.”

“For what reason would Colleo be here…”

“Didn’t I say? He came to find his family.”

Martinez still looked like he didn’t understand, which made the boss chuckle.

“Can I take those who’ve fallen over there? They’re beggars, after all.”

“How unexpected. I thought if you were the leader, you would immediately try to skin us alive.”

“I said I’d assess the opponent’s skills. Moreover, I’m somewhat different from these fallen subordinates. If we delve deeper, it’s even dubious to call us the same organization.”

“Weren’t you all from the same beggar gang?”

“To outsiders, we might all look like beggars and vagrant groups, but more precisely, we’re a vagrant alliance. Those guys will do anything for money, but I’m against creating unnecessary conflicts.”

Martinez didn’t hide his skepticism and retorted, “If that’s the case, you should have stayed out of it.”

“An organization doesn’t always move exactly as you want. Even if our affiliations differ, we’re all from the same beggar background – if we don’t step up, who will?”

The boss’s words contained multiple meanings.

Immediately, there were factions with different intentions within the vagrant organization, yet they united to help each other.

They were weak and poor, so they had to stick together. Only then could they become strong.

“Boy there, you’re surely from the church. Let me ask you one thing. Do all church people move according to a single will?”

“That is…”

“Think carefully before answering.”

“…”

Martinez, who was about to say “yes”, swallowed his response.

Were church members truly moving with a unified purpose?

The Martinez before coming to this city would have certainly answered affirmatively.

But Martinez had seen many things since coming to Tirna.

In colloquial terms, his perspective had broadened, but simultaneously, his values were experiencing countless conflicts with reality.

The boss shrugged his shoulders.

“We’re the same. We’re a gang formed by weak and struggling people to support each other, but as too many people joined, that intention has faded. They say they’re managing carefully, but it’s not easy.”

“We didn’t come here to discuss such trivial matters,” Osian coldly interjected.

The boss nodded, understanding.

“Colleo is a child whose head works very well, despite his young age. He’s remarkably talented for someone born in a place like this. Because of that, his thoughts are deeper than those of his peers.”

The boss’s subordinates began carrying away the fallen vagrants one by one.

With the space clearing, only the boss, the land seller, Osian, and Martinez remained.

“What do you think such a child would be seeking?”

“Is he looking for recognition from adults?”

“More precisely, recognition from his parents.”

At the mention of parents, Martinez flinched.

“I know it sounds absurd. Why do orphanages exist, and why is Colleo living there? Obviously, he has no parents. More precisely, his mother abandoned him.”

Osian looked at Martinez.

Feeling the gaze, Martinez shook his head, indicating he had never heard such a story from Colleo.

“How can I believe that?”

“Believing or not is up to you. Just know that our vagrant group knows many things. For instance, the orphanage where Colleo stays is an abandoned church district on the hill, under the Petra church, and his guardian is Sister Dorthea.”

This time, Martinez spoke, “Let’s say what you’re saying is true. But why did Colleo come to where the vagrants are?”

“Because his mother was originally from here.”

“…”

“Oh, didn’t you know? Not all vagrants are men. That’s what people who don’t know much think. Deep inside, in places beyond people’s eyes, there are many women.”

“His mother was from here…”

“I don’t know who his father is. I also don’t know why Colleo was born. He was just born, and what choices does an unmarried mother have?”

With no means to earn money and now with a child, she had little choice.

However hard she tried, the practical problems were far too vast to be solved by willpower alone.

Eventually, like most parents, Colleo’s mother also abandoned him at the orphanage.

“Why give birth at all then?”

“That’s not just Colleo’s problem. Beggars might have no money, but they have so many children. Surprisingly so. I’m not married, so I don’t know, but everyone must have their reasons.”

Martinez fell silent while the boss continued in a soft voice.

“It was a very long time ago. Colleo was only 3 years old then, so it was almost 11 years ago. That brilliant little kid remembers that time. He thought that if he came here, he might find his mother, that if he studied hard and became respectable, his mother might take him back.”

“What happened to Colleo’s mother?”

“Why? Are you planning to question her? About why she abandoned her child?”

“At the very least, a mother shouldn’t do that.”

“Sadly, she died.”

The boss said this as casually as if talking about a neighbor’s dog dying.

“About 10 years ago, she didn’t survive the winter. She was never particularly healthy to begin with and was also mentally overwhelmed.”

“Does Colleo know this?”

“Would he be here if he knew? He still knows nothing.”

“Why didn’t you tell him?”

“Oh my, our young holy knight is forcing too much righteousness on me.”

The boss chuckled and then fixed his gaze more seriously on Martinez.

“What if I had told him?”

“…”

“Telling a child, ‘Your mother abandoned you and died of illness a year later’? Would that make it right just because it’s the truth, not considering the wound such words would inflict on the child?”

The boss’s voice dissected each point, but contained no anger.

Instead, it was more like an elder gently admonishing a child who doesn’t yet understand the world.

“The world doesn’t always run on truth and righteousness. Sometimes, you must hide the truth or lie.”

“So you lied to Colleo? Saying his mother was alive?”

“Not quite that far. I just said I didn’t know. It was too long ago to know who was who. She might have gone somewhere. A suggestion that she went far away is easier to accept than saying she died.”

The thought that his mother might be alive somewhere.

The hope that while living in the world, he might somehow meet her again someday.

That’s how people can live more enthusiastically.

“But Colleo was persistent. Unable to give up, he came to me several times, boldly asking me if I could tell him anything about her whereabouts.”

“So that’s why he came to a place like this…”

“I always warned him that this place is dangerous and he should go back. Recently, I told him there are dangerous people who kidnap children.”

At that moment, Osian, unable to bear the strange atmosphere, interjected.

“Wait. People who kidnap children? Are you saying it’s not you?”

“What are you talking about?”

The boss also frowned, hearing this for the first time.

“The other day, Colleo didn’t come here?”

“Yes, that’s right. I saw him,” the boss replied.

“As always, when he tried to ask me something, I scared him off, telling him it was dangerous and to go back. There were suspicious people wandering around the area.”

“Suspicious people?”

“Human traffickers. I don’t know where they came from, but they were targeting this area where people can disappear without the guards caring…Wait.”

At this point, the boss trailed off, seemingly sensing something was amiss.

“Didn’t Colleo return to the orphanage?”

“We came here to find that child.”

“That can’t be…No, it’s not a lie. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have been searching this area so thoroughly.”

“You said you sent him away?”

“Yes. I confirmed he was sent out of the alley. This friend also saw it.”

“But Colleo didn’t return. Which means…”

Martinez, who had been silently listening, spoke the worst possible scenario, which was essentially the truth:

“The human traffickers kidnapped Colleo.”

“That seems to be the case.”

“Where are those bastards now?”

Martinez’s voice boiled with anger. The atmosphere rippled like a heat haze, as if the barely suppressed flames were about to burst again.

“Calm down. I understand your feelings, but venting here won’t solve anything.”

Osian also placed a hand on Martinez’s shoulder to restrain him.

“It’s not like we have no way forward. Now that we know what kind of people they are, we can chase them. The trail isn’t broken yet.”

Martinez slightly bit his lip and as the air returned to normal, the boss let out a sigh of relief.

“We’re also closely monitoring who these guys are. We’ll definitely be able to find something out.”

“Then I want to seek help.”

“Help?”

“You’re the only one who might know when and where these guys appear.”

Was Osian’s statement too unexpected? The boss, who had been acting cunning, let out a bewildered sigh.

“The person who broke all my subordinates’ limbs is now asking for help?”

“You were the one who started the conflict. It was clearly self-defense. Didn’t you say your affiliations are different?”

“Still, we’re all beggars.”

“It’s not just talk. Let’s make a kind of deal.”

“Oh? What deal? What can you do for us?”

“It could be money, or perhaps we’ll need force.”

Martinez stared at Osian with a surprised look.

Feeling the emotion in those eyes, Osian quietly asked Martinez, “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“No. I just thought it was unexpected.”

“What?”

“Asking beggars for help. Most people wouldn’t do that, even out of pride.”

Who would think of getting help from beggars?

It was an unexpectedly practical observation, but Osian spoke nonchalantly.

“Even if they’re vagrants or beggars, if they can help in a situation like this, we should seek help. Wouldn’t it be exhausting to live by measuring such social status? Just as everyone is equal before the heavenly father.”

Martinez was secretly impressed by Osian’s words.

Osian’s statement was both righteous and clearly penetrating one of the Petra church’s doctrines.

All are equal before the heavenly father.

It was a good and beautiful statement. At the same time, Martinez reflected on himself.

He had arbitrarily concluded that the vagrant gang would be of no help.

‘I should reflect on this.’

As Martinez thought this to himself, one of the vagrants who had stepped aside approached the boss and whispered something in his ear.

“Hmm. Today is a busy day. An uninvited guest has arrived.”

After some contemplation, the boss quickly made a decision.

“It seems the newly arrived guest is quite a troublesome opponent, so if you help us sort this out, we’ll also contribute to finding Colleo.”

“The deal is set.”

It was time for Osian to demonstrate his specialty. Naturally, this meant using force to drive out the outsider who had rudely intervened.

Osian and Martinez followed the boss and his subordinates to a location.

The beggars who were confronting each other welcomed the boss urgently when they saw him.

“Boss! That, that crazy woman is acting on her own!”

“Calm down. I’ve already called in a specialist in this area.”

As the boss gave a look, Osian and Martinez naturally stepped forward.

The beggars who didn’t yet know the two looked puzzled as a young man and boy approached.

Stepping forward, Osian could see the uninvited guest the boss mentioned.

“Elise Denarova?”

A beautiful black magic user girl with her usual cold face.

As Osian looked puzzled by her appearance, Martinez asked, “Do you know her?”

“She’s a black magician belonging to the Black Magician’s Guild. And an extremely skilled practitioner.”

Martinez observed Elise Denarova.

‘Despite her young age, I can sense an extraordinary black magic power. She’s a remarkable talent. To possess such magical power at that age, she must have been born with tremendous talent.’

The church, which once defined black magicians as heretics, had now formed an ambiguous relationship as black magicians gained recognition and came into the light.

They no longer hunt them indiscriminately as heretics, but neither are they particularly friendly.

In any case, Elise Denarova was certainly a genius.

She also looked at Osian and slightly widened her eyes, clearly indicating they knew each other.

‘So he’s acquainted with a black magician of this caliber. Indeed, he forms equal relationships with anyone, regardless of who they are.’

He had such relationships with witches and the mafia, so it was natural he would be familiar with a black magician.

Martinez looked at Osian with a slight, reverent gaze.

He was truly a person who was equal to everyone.

At that moment, Osian looked at Elise and spoke in a cold voice:

“What are you doing here, you dirty black magician?”

“…?”