SSS-Knight in a Hero World

Ferris couldn't believe the response, "are you sure?"

. . .

Instead of replying, the man simply started to push his food stall away, attempting to make a run for it, and be as far away from the strange man as humanly possible.

Quickly reacting to this sudden refusal, Ferris began his pursuit. "Wait!"

Damn, he's actually fast. Ferris was surprised by the man's unexpected athleticism, but he gradually accepted that fact when he remembered that the man casually dismembered a villain only a few hours ago.

"I got more questions for you!" Ferris shouted behind the man, his voice echoing faintly across the narrow street.

"Get away from me, someone help!" the man called out in desperation, his voice cracking with fear.

But, knowing that this was a small city crawling with villains, nobody seemed to care much for the man's situation, or even bother to look in his direction.

"I won't hurt you, trust me!" Ferris reassured, but thanks to Alaric's terrifying form, it came out more like a super obvious lie.

Seriously... Ferris eased the restrictions on his legs to catch up.

Once he was close enough, Ferris tried to grab the man's shoulder.

"Please, it'll only take a minute—

Splat!

"Argh!" Suddenly, his vision became a blurry red blur, and most importantly, it burned!

Hot sauce? Did he really just chuck a bottle of hot sauce into my eyes?!

Wait...

Ferris noticed bits and small chunks clinging to his vision, then he slid his index finger across his eyelids before tasting them.

There's meat mixed in... It tastes really good. Ferris thought, sliding his finger across his face a few more times, almost absentmindedly.

I should've gone with Miss Evening when she ordered, and since she would've paid for me, I could've asked for extras.

After thinking about his past regrets, Ferris decided to just slide his forearm across his face to remove everything, staining his armor in the process with streaks of sauce and grease.

Damn... it burns like that serpent's anus. Ferris sneered, his lips curling in frustration.

Luckily, once his vision cleared, he could still see the man that was in front of him, only this time he was much further away, pushing his hotdog stand like his life depended on it.

Then almost instantly, the man switched streets and changed direction, moving away from Ferris's gaze.

When Ferris caught up to the corner, the man was nowhere to be seen.

I hesitated using Essence Gaze since it's still straining for me but...

Ferris opened and closed his eyes, but each time he did that, the burning sensation spiked like tiny flames. And keeping them open was also painful.

I don't think I can use it when it's like this.

Ferris halted his pursuit for now, since the only search area was the museum and the town around it.

There were no other places for the man to escape to, so Ferris wasn't afraid of losing him.

So for now...

I should get this fixed.

Fixed... Ferris hovered over that word for a moment, then made a slightly grumpy expression. Perhaps it was best that Fixer wasn't here.

I'll just go find some water.

After adjusting to the pain, Ferris began searching for anything that could alleviate his eyes.

But finding a drug store that sells eye drops in this place would be a near impossible feat.

Asking for help was also an option, but a "villain" wouldn't ask for help, lest they want to be treated as a servant, or worse, a slave.

But even if he wanted to ask for help...

The hot sauce made his eyes extremely bloodshot, and even more dangerous-looking than before.

So every villain who saw Ferris with such a murderous expression would immediately turn away in fear, as they slipped into the corner of his eyes.

He aimlessly walked around the cascading roads, scanning every street corner, finding any opportunity to get his hands on water.

Then, he soon found himself walking near a brightly lit building, with neon lights surrounding every crevice as it pulsed like a heartbeat in passion.

"Hey handsome~ come inside~" an alluring voice called out to him, sweet like honey.

Turning his head, Ferris noticed a group of ladies leaning from the entrance, calling out to him.

A brothel? Ferris made a slightly disturbed expression, but to the ladies, it had quite the opposite effect.

Wait a minute, if it's a brothel, then they should at least have access to water! Ferris suddenly lit up with hope.

In the ladies' eyes, they saw Ferris smirking at them seductively, his bloodshot eyes only making him appear more intense.

As Ferris walked the steps towards the entrance, he casually approached one of them, leaving no space for personal privacy.

She doesn't look like a villain... Perhaps a servant like Fixer or the bartender? Ferris inspected their revealing clothing, but he could not find any weapons.

He averted his gaze away from them for the meantime and scanned the surroundings.

It wasn't that much different compared to the ones he visited in his old world, it had all the same aspects expected of a place like this.

Temporary pleasure.

Temporary fulfillment.

And no permanent affection.

Remembering that aspect, Ferris also reminisced on a particular person he met during his darkest times as a knight.

That's right... I did meet someone a long time ago.

"I'd like some water, as much as possible if you will," Ferris requested.

Despite how odd the request sounded, the servants accepted it without question, treating it as though it were the most ordinary thing in the world.

In no time, they handed him a glass jug brimming with cold water.

The instant Ferris felt the chill of the wet surface against his palm, he tipped it over himself, dousing his head and soaking his eyes. The water cascaded down his face and armor.

There was an instant sense of relief in his eyes, the cold water counteracted the effects of the burning hot sauce.

Ferris set the jug down on a nearby table, then brushed the water from his hands as he turned to face the crowd of women.

His dark hair, damp from the water, shimmered like a flowing void.

The sight was strangely sweet, had it not been for the heavy armor covering him, they might have witnessed something even more breathtaking.

"Thanks," Ferris said simply, before turning away.

The women could only stare, frozen in place as their prize was walking away, the hopefulness in their eyes slowly turning into disappointment.

Now that his eyes were finally free from the shackles that bound them, he could now move around the town like a normal person instead of a headless chicken.

He began scouting the streets, even if there were a lot of people going about, that man was quite easy to find due to his hair color, and relatively normal clothing.

But even with his eyes fixed, Ferris began to feel troubled when he couldn't find him after an hour of searching.

He must've went home already... I might have to stay here overnight and—

Thud.

From out of nowhere, his armor-clad foot struck a metal protrusion, creating a clanking noise.

I almost tripped, what is this? Ferris inspected the culprit behind his near downfall, it looked to be a wheel that was attached to a metal post which was also attached to something else.

It was a small box-like structure, but since it was draped under a thick cloth, he couldn't tell what it was.

However, his nose did recognize a familiar smell which prompted him to lift the cover and reveal what was under it.

It's the hotdog stand!

Just like the odds of finding a person that fit Zaku's description, the odds of stumbling upon the hotdog stand was also unlikely, and yet there it was right in front of him.

He saw that the stand was neatly packed into an alleyway filled with junk and trash.

Without hesitation, Ferris immediately headed inside the dump to search for the man.

At first thought, it was surprisingly odorless despite Ferris's expectation.

Moreover, it was rather clean, suspiciously clean, almost as if the random junk was neatly placed together to form an invisible illusion, a perfect hideout for an urban environment.

And since this was a town made and run by villains, there was no system for cleaning, and so, the junk here wouldn't be touched by a single person.

A dead end... Ferris encountered a wall of trash.

But that didn't deter him as he placed his palm unto the mix of rubbish and traced it in random directions, feeling the surface beneath it.

At first it was rough, similar to discarded glass bottles or metal cans, then soft like mattresses or pillows.

And then, there was a particular spot where it was quite hollow.

It doesn't look any different than the rest of the trash, this is an impressive hideout, I must say. Ferris praised.

Not wasting any time to figure out how to unveil the hollow space behind the trash, Ferris simply drew out his sword and sliced the wall in a swift vertical motion.

It revealed an empty and dark tunnel, exactly what Ferris expected.

Sheathing his bone blade, Ferris entered the room without the single thought of even knocking first.

At times like these, a knight can bend the rules a bit, and discard any pleasantries as long as it benefitted the mission.