Sipping my mead and stabbing my fork into the tavern fair, I started relaxing my mind, enjoying the bunnies shy and crude attempts to entertain our group. One of them knew how to play a strange flute-like instrument, fashioned out of a form of hollowed reeds it was a primitive looking thing, but that bunny had it the best out of any of them. The rest had no choice but to use their body to entertain... and while that didn't mean sex, it was transparently an attempt to entice us some of us towards that. Clearly the owner's plot to have us reconsider and spend more time and money here than we already had. The rabbits reluctantly offering their unguarded breasts and butts for the men to fondle as they served them their meals and filled their cups, the owner watching to ensure they did their jobs properly. 

It seemed this kind of thing was pretty common around here, having beastkin as the hostesses that is. Seeing as they weren't actual human waitresses, the owner didn't seem overly concerned with their welfare... only that they brought in more money than they cost.

As the bunnies served Belle her meal, they stayed reluctantly. Looking at her a second longer than they maybe should have, jealousy written on their faces. Seeing as she was being treated essentially the same as any other of their human customers, it was the first time they had seen it since being captured. Humans often had beastkin slaves, but they seldom treated them as an equal, or as close to an equal as Belle was. 

Belle taking their admiration with a sense of pride and superiority, snuggling up to me to emphasize that I was hers just as much as she was mine.

As if right on cue, a flash of red passed by the windows. Five armored knights with fluttering red capes walking calmly and slowly into the space left by the open tavern door. As the knights surveyed the room for the suspects, the bunnies at our table shrunk back in fear, clearly thinking their lives were in imminent danger and scrambling out of the way, back to the safety of the kitchen. The onlookers who followed us earlier were still visible from through the window, across the street with faces lit up in expectations. Soon to be sorely disappointed.

Remaining seated as I watched the special guard block the exit with their bodies, their finally eyes settling on Belle and I, probably mentally connecting us the descriptions they had been given. Four of them approaching while one remained at the door, as if they expected a struggle. Not showing any concern to the fact we had more than thirty armed men sitting around. Brave if anything. 

"How can I help you gentlemen?" I asked with an air of unconcealed arrogance, like I didn't care what they had to say. Not bothering to put down my drink, I took a sip and sunk back further in my chair. 

If they thought I was some spoiled young master, then I might as well play the part. 

The lead knight cleared his throat, "We had reports about a theft from the public garden, you wouldn't happen to know anything about that would you?"

"Do we look like thieves?" I scoffed, smiling as if his actions were a joke and his words were of no consequence to me. Truly from what Marcella told us, we were somewhat in the wrong, but this all seemed ridiculous to me. All of this over a single fish?

"We have witnesses." The knight remained stone-faced, unphased. "First time in the capital I take it?" The knight asked me, putting on a more authoritative tone. "Everything in the public gardens are the king's domain. Stealing from the king is a capital offense... but, given that it was your pet's actions and not your own, we can settle this with just her and let you off with a warning. Be more careful next time." Speaking as if he was he were doing me a favor. 

My [protective instincts] skill warning me they more than likely intended to kill her, which subsequently killed any thoughts I had about playing nicely.

"You saw the carriage out front, we're with the church." I explained, motioning to Bael who was watching expressionlessly as usual. I hoped they would let us off with that, but apparently we had no such luck.

The knights' eyes softened, but they still didn't appear like they were leaving any time soon. "Even the church isn't exempt from the law. As a member of the church you should understand, beastkin can't be allowed to flout the public order. Without a stern hand they're no better than monsters."

I understood their reasoning, but I wasn't about to let them have Belle, narrowing my eyes at their insistence. They were making this hard for us.

"We have a black coin, does that mean anything to you? Overlook this incident and leave us." Maintaining my arrogance even the face of their armed threat, I ordered them to leave as I imagined anybody with actual authority would act. 

The knight's attitude did a temporary turn for the better, with the leader taking a step back and grimacing before bowing his head somewhat respectfully. Opening his mouth to speak, "My apologies... but I must... insist on ascertaining the coin for myself. Even if you are an esteemed agent of the king I can't take your word's alone. I'm sure you understand why." Still somewhat shocked that people like us would have a coin, but proving the effectiveness. Nonetheless. 

I nodded, glad that we could resolve it this way, "Bael, show them your coin." I motioned again to Bael, demonstrating that he was the one with the coin... and who just looked at me curiously with a face lacking in emotion, as if he had no idea what I could be talking about. 

"Have you ever heard that you should accept the gifts that are offered before you?" Bael asked me, the words sounding incomprehensible to my ears. Getting a little irritated that he was playing around instead of producing the coin to settle this issue.

The knights all tensing up over the fact that none of us were complying.

"Stop playing around Bael, show them the coin. You know what's going to happen if you don't, right?" I asked again, somewhat nervous because of the escalating tension in the air.

"I fail to see how that's a bad thing... you need the experience after all." He just smiled before turning to the officers. 

"I'm afraid I have no idea what he's talking about... I don't have any such coins..." A fake smile plastering his face as he pulled the trigger on the looming confrontation. As if the whole situation was a joke, but the knights here clearly had no room for being played around with.

"Imposters and thieves, you steal from the king and impersonate a royal agent... you must think the royal laws a joke; kill the cat, arrest the others for this blasphemy!" The red-cloaked captain roared out to his men, drawing a sword as if he had heard enough. 

Five against thirty and they thought they could win? Either they're that confident or they didn't expect us to resist, but they fact remained; they crossed a line. Whether they're royal knights or not, I'll have them dead for this. 

Standing up in a hurry and kicking my chair in-between the incoming captain. Not doing any damage but temporarily blocking his path to Belle and I, buying me time to retrieve my sword.

Flourishing a blade from thin air turned the red-cloak's eyes from anger to alarm. Given my lack of armor and attitude earlier, he must have thought this would be an easy win. Get to me and my men would fold. 

"I'm not paying you lot for nothing! We're in for a fight, get the one on at the door and let none escape!" If they had just tried dealing with me I might have spared their lives, but their intentions for Belle had crossed the line. I'd deal with Bael's mischief next, but first we had to deal with these knights.

My hired men went wide-eyed, but eventually took up their arms. Fighting the city watch was probably the last thing on their mind after reaching the capital, but now that we were in a scrap and I had thrown their lot in, they had no choice! Pulling out blades and arranging to fight more than seven to one with the remaining four knights. The one at the door admirably diving back into the fray to help his comrades rather than running. 

 My women ducked down under the table as did Cal and his women, while the tavern owner who was already cowed from the disturbance dove for cover as blades flashed and chairs flew; Bael sat unmoving, observing it all. 

Even so, it wasn't turning out like I had hoped. The knight's swords cut through ours like butter, killing a few of my men right off the bat before they adjusted to the discrepancy in gear. Threatening to stab at the knight's faces every time they went in for an attack, forcing a kind of stalemate situation. What on earth were they using that was that sharp?

Clashing my own blade against the captain's, my sword didn't melt through immediately like the others, but it still rang with inferior quality, the edge chipping audibly. Sighing that I'd need to use my skills here fully to settle what was supposed to be a peaceful meal. 

Settling to test some of the new abilities gained from the rush of experience the bandits had brought me earlier. A round-shield appearing around my left arm just as suddenly as the sword had, beginning to shine with a brilliant light as [shield bash] activated and my arm snapped forward like a viper's strike, smashing the captain's face before he even knew what hit him, the blade in my right following before his body hit the floor with a dead thump that echoed through the tavern. 

"Good skill." I commented, before turning my attention to another. Testing out each newly gained skill with innocent excitement like a child unwrapping a present. The remaining knights panicking at the realization their leader had just fallen.

Utilizing guardian's [trade places] I switched locations with an otherwise unlucky soldier of mine, taking a sword in the stomach in his place and returning a blade through the neck to the offending knight. The red-cloaked survivors panicking at the open display of magic and continued killings, making them easy prey in their outnumbered state. Each taking no less than a dozen stab wounds as my men surrounded them and poured in from all sides. 

Red stained the noble's garb where I had been stabbed, but on closer inspection the belly wound had closed up already, and the blood-spray from those I had just killed made the rest of my outfit indistinguishable. 

Using the fallen knight's red cloak as a rag, I wiped the blood off my sword, cleaning it enough that it could be stored again. 

Digging through the captain's possessions, I found a small pouch of gold which I tossed over to the terrified tavern owner, who shrunk back in fear, thinking we were about to kill him like we did the knights.

"Relax, we're not criminals." I simply stated, shaking my head in disappointment over the senseless slaughter. Turning my attention to Bael who had intentionally escalated the conflict, seeing that he coincidently produced the black coin he had been withholding earlier. Turning it over between his fingers. 

"Ah, I seem to have found the coin you were talking about," he smiled innocently, like the death around him was of no consequence to his own actions. 

"Explain yourself," I demanded. 

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Kaguro

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