About the time I was picked up and adopted by Tallulah

-It seems like there are a lot of opponents.

27. Serious Knight

“It’s much more than expected…”

After finishing his part-time job at his aunt's coffee shop, which was a bit strange but unexpectedly popular, Xia Guang looked at the heavy wallet in his hand with a subtle expression.

Because of Orson's outstanding performance, the two received about 3 to 4 times the expected salary from Zofia (about half of which was forced on Orson by those weird guys)

"Although some problems occurred along the way, overall it's pretty good. This should give us funds to upgrade our equipment."

Orson said this even though he has so many rich women around him, he himself has never been associated with "rich".

But Orson was already very satisfied, not because of the money he earned this time, but because of the fact that the group of weird guys behind him had subtly misplaced their time.

After all, money can be earned again, but life is gone forever.

"Well... at least I can have a backup weapon for the real competition."

Xia Guang no longer thought about the group of people she had seen in the cafe before, but she still couldn't take her thoughts away from Orson.

The short period of time they had spent together during these few days made Xia Guang clearly realize that this young man, who was almost as tall as himself, was far more unfathomable than he appeared.

His connections and combat abilities were definitely not what an "ordinary infected knight" should have. If Orson suddenly told him he was a "mobile city-state lord/large company leader/armed forces commander," Xia Guang probably wouldn't be too surprised.

But the question is... why would such a young man choose to become the "attendant knight" of someone like himself?

Xia Guang knew very well that the other party was not helping him just for the name [Lin Guang]. After all, Lin Guang was now just an empty shell and had no meaning worthy of others coming to him.

No matter where he went, he would definitely get more than becoming his attendant knight, but this boy chose to stay with such an immature self.

Xia Guang couldn't find any reason why Orson did this, but she knew very well that since Orson chose to help her, she must work hard to respond to this expectation.

"In short, we must work harder!"

Xia Guang made up his mind and encouraged himself.

"You're on a roll, Maria."

Orson, who was standing by, saw the sudden burst of light. Although he was a little confused, he still smiled and encouraged the young knight girl.

"Hmm... Anyway, I've earned enough money through work. Now let's go check out the equipment!"

"Ok."

After seeing Orson's encouraging expression, Xia Guang turned his head away hastily, complaining in his heart that this guy sometimes did super foul things unconsciously, while pretending to be calm and inviting Orson to accompany him to go shopping.

Initially, Knight Xia Guang had planned to use the equipment he used during training to participate in the knight competition. After all, what he was going to do did not allow him to have any company-made products on him.

But in order to find an opportunity to hang out with Orson, Xia Guang found a reason that sounded good.

Although the two of them had been struggling for a long time because of this 'reason' and even caused some subtle disturbances, they were now finally able to return to their original goal.

"Then let's go—"

When Xia Guang was about to leave the room, the entrance door was suddenly opened from the outside, and Uncle Maenna, a corporate slave, walked into the room and stared into the eyes of Maria who was about to go out.

"Ah...Uncle, you haven't been back for several days. What happened?"

Xia Guang was stunned when he saw Mainna, and asked about the other party's situation in a guilty tone.

"What happened? Your childish behavior is having a wider impact. Every day I have to explain these incomprehensible news reports to my boss - what do you think?"

Mainna threw out a newspaper from his briefcase. As expected, it was the classic Red Wine Daily that never hesitated to stir up trouble. Almost one-fifth of the page on the newspaper was describing "the private life record of the new knight of the Linguang family in recent times."

Not surprisingly, Orson was also very honored to appear in the Casimir newspaper for the umpteenth time in his life.

"This...most of it is just nonsense from the reporters, Uncle! I really hope to participate in the knight competition, not only to help the family get back on its feet, but also to--"

Keng!

When Maria was halfway through her speech, Mainna suddenly pulled out the accessory from her waist and swung it towards Xia Guang, but before the attack was fully swung, Orson stopped it in mid-air with a pause.

"Are you testing Maria's reaction speed?"

Orson looked at Mainna coldly. Orson had no way of being nice to this office worker who drew his sword on him without saying a word when they first met.

"I'm trying to stop her from overdrawing on the Linguang Family's remaining glory. You probably played a significant role in Maria's foolish and impulsive behavior."

Fortunately, the other party didn't seem to intend to get along well with him, and the conversation between the two was full of tension.

Orson and Mainna were instantly on the verge of a fight, and this time there was no sudden DingTalk notification to send Mainna away.

"Wait a minute, Orson...!"

Maria tried to stop the two of them in a panic. On the one hand, it was because she knew very well the strength of Mainna. This guy who looked like just a miserable middle-aged office worker that could be found everywhere actually had the same strength as Margaret Linguang... no, it was even stronger than Margaret.

On the other hand, she didn't want her only remaining family member to completely break up with her because of this kind of thing. Xia Guang believed that there must be a way to communicate well with her uncle.

"I hate people who make subjective judgments about others without knowing anything about them, Maria."

Orson looked at Maria with a serious and determined look. Maria had never seen Orson look like this before.

Mainna on the side also frowned. The aura of the young man in front of him suddenly changed. Compared with the last conflict, Orson gave her a more oppressive feeling this time.

"I've witnessed your goals and beliefs firsthand. They aren't some 'foolish impulse'; they're the resolve of a noble soul and strong convictions. Therefore, I won't let anyone trample on your ideals."

Orson pulled out Maria's training sword from her waist, placed his right hand on the sword and gently stroked it to tune it and change its physical properties. The originally dull training knight sword instantly became red and hot.

"I know a good medical company, so don't worry, just fight like a man."

Orson's voice was low and calm. Xia Guang never thought that the first time he saw Orson angry, the reason was actually because of him.

——I should have quickly tried to dissuade my uncle and Orson, but...what exactly was this emotion?

Xia Guang was feeling extremely complicated. She was determined to become the most authentic "knight", but she first experienced the feelings of the princess being protected in the knight's story.

Uncle? Who is that? I don't know him well.

28. Fast forward to marrying into the wife's family (?)

Mainna Linguang, once considered by everyone to be the most likely successor to the legendary old warrior knight of the Linguang family, had once rejected the Linguang family's invitation to continue to maintain the "Knight" rank in front of the Grand Master of the Knights' Association.

"I refuse to become the next Long Knight of the Linguang Family, even if this choice means the Linguang Family will lose the rank of Knight."

Mainna said this in an extremely calm tone, becoming the first eldest son of an old knight family to voluntarily give up his seat as a knight and refuse the privileges of the knight class.

Everyone thought that he would do something shocking and change the entire behavior of Casimir, so they rejected the invitation from the Grand Knight to come in person.

But... Mainna didn't do anything after that. He literally "found a class to attend", and it was the most busy kind of job.

Mainna's actions surprised everyone, but even so, Maria was still very in awe of her uncle. Xia Guang knew very well what kind of power her uncle possessed - that was the power that could subvert knight competition like her sister.

However, now, the uncle who "possessed the power to change the knight's competition" is...

"cough……!"

Keng! !

With a loud bang, Orson's scorching slash hit the sword that Mainna used to block it. The heat wave immediately rushed to Mainna's cheek, and the burning pain stimulated the nerves distributed in the brain.

After the two of them clashed several times, Mainna gradually fell into a disadvantage. Although the two of them seemed to have a tacit understanding and did not use their own offensive Originium skills, Orson was able to gain the upper hand in the weapon combat, which far exceeded Maria's initial expectations.

"Is this the only way!"

Orson was not going to give Mainna time to get ready. After suppressing him, Orson swung his sword continuously, making Mainna tired of defending.

Xia Guang didn't know how Orson had such tremendous strength in his small body. The only thing she knew was that even though Orson was using an "unsuitable" weapon, he was still able to suppress his uncle for a while.

During training, Orson once told Xia Guang that he was actually not very suitable for the knight's sword. Because of his physique and his own strength, the knight's sword would cause Orson to have relatively large gaps between attacks.

"Don't get too carried away...!"

While blocking Orson's slash, Mainna stabbed out with the long sword in his hand. While he was constantly parrying, he also noticed Orson's flaw.

"—!"

The long sword accurately avoided its trajectory and stabbed towards Orson's neck. The latter had to forcibly twist the trajectory of the knight sword in his hand to block the attack.

The offensive and defensive positions were instantly switched. After Mainna broke through Orson's continuous suppressing attacks and counterattacked, Orson, who was not so flexible, had to constantly adjust his position and sword to block Mainna's attacks.

Then, Mainna paused for a moment, gathering strength in her wrists and waist, preparing to swing her most swift and deadly sword strike yet.

On the other side, Orson was also ready. He crouched down and tried to use a thrust to end the confrontation.

"Deng, Deng, Deng, Deng~~~"

Once again, Mahenna's phone rang.

"..."

Maena was stunned for a moment, then silently put away her posture and took out her cell phone from her pocket.

Seeing that Mainna had let down her stance, Orson could only sigh and return the knight's sword to Maria.

"It's not fun to keep doing this. Next time, find a free time and I'll keep you company."

Orson looked at Mainna and said lightly.

"Hmph... stop talking in your sleep."

Mainna scoffed at Orson's words and seemed very dismissive.

"Are you afraid that I will defeat you?"

“I can’t find ‘okay time’ at all.”

"Ah... that, thank you for your hard work."

Orson rubbed his hair and at that moment felt sincere sympathy for Mainna.

At least I was still able to do it during the integration movement... well... it seems that I was not much better at that time. I was working overtime so hard that I could even fall asleep while brushing my teeth.

Who's in charge of the Reunion Movement in Kirei City right now? I think it's Jun-jun. It makes me feel really sorry for him, hehe.

Thinking that he himself is actually a hard-working office slave, there is no longer such a strong smell of gunpowder in Orson's eyes when he looks at Mainna. Instead, it reveals a kind of "I understand you" feeling of mutual understanding and the bond of office slaves.

Of course, it is well known that the information conveyed through eye contact will always be distorted. Mainna was a little scared by Orson's gaze, and even doubted his sexual orientation for a while.

——It feels like Orson has returned to his usual dazed look.

95 ㈨０⑨

Meanwhile, Xia Guang finally breathed a sigh of relief. The conflict hadn't escalated further, and judging by Orson's expression, it seemed unlikely a fight would escalate.

Maria felt half guilty and half happy to see Orson, who was known for his good temper, being serious about her.

As a result, this confrontation ended in nothing. Xia Guang bowed to Mainna and left Lin Guang's house with Orson.

"..."

As for Mainna, after being assigned work and scolded by his boss for more than half an hour, he put down his phone and sat on the sofa, silently looking at the painting of the Linguang family crest on the distant wall.

That kid... isn't as hopeless as originally expected. Rather, he gives people the feeling that... he's unexpectedly not bad?

The old knights often joked that when you are unsure of your decision, you should duel, and if you want to understand a person's true nature, you can also duel.

Although this sentence is followed by some pure nonsense like "If you have a cold and fever that doesn't go away, challenge the virus to a duel" and "If you find that you have no money in your account, challenge the bank to a duel", as a relatively "old-fashioned" existence, Mainna still agrees with the statement that "a person's true nature can be seen through a duel."

During the duel just now, Mainna could not feel any malice, impurities, distortion or other emotions from Orson.

Instead, it feels refreshing, just like wearing new underwear for the New Year.

In fact, Mainna is not without any guilt for the decline of the Linguang family. Although he does not regret his choice, when he sees Maria working so hard to train for the family and the empty mansion, Mainna still feels a little regretful.

——If the Linguang family really stops here... Hmm, it seems there is a solution?

Mainna rubbed his chin, recalling the scene where Orson stood in front of Maria to block his attack. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that these two people were quite... a good match?

"I must have lost my mind from working so much overtime..."

Fortunately, this terrifying and dangerous thought only flashed through her mind for a moment. Mainna shook her head, then opened the refrigerator, took out a can of coffee and poured it into her mouth.

After deleting the idiotic text messages from her boss that were full of smears and blame-shifting, Maena received a new email in her mailbox. It was signed anonymously and the content was also very strange.

I've contacted the leader of the recently rebellious retired knights. They're probably the most infected people in all of Casimir, hoping to overthrow the Commerce Union and the Knights' Tournament. So... when will you find time to contact him?

"You found the same chess piece, didn't you? But that's not enough."

Mainna frowned and deleted the text message, then placed her hand lightly on the sword at her waist and closed her eyes slightly.

Anyway, let Maria follow that guy for the time being. At least he has the power to protect Maria.