The Knight immediately released the grip he had on his axe and let it fall to the floor, showing his sincerity. Then, he kneeled on the ground, looking down with repentance in his eyes.
"I hope you all forgive me for my assumptions. I did not know that you were all part of a sovereign nation."
The veteran peddler heaved a sigh of relief and immediately went over to Michael.
"I'm sorry, Michael. I should have told the Knight before all of this happened. Since this territory is still part of the Knightly Court in Angora City, they have jurisdiction over criminals roaming around it.
But since we were attacked by the thieves, and we are part of the Nation of Reborn, we have the authority to apprehend them.
The Knight didn't know that and thought that we were trying to take the criminals captive."
Michael waved off his worry. "It wasn't your fault. It's just a small misunderstanding. It's all behind us now."
The Knight got up and faced the chocolate merchants. "I understand that you have all come from the Nation of Reborn. Forgive me, but I do not recall such a sovereign state anywhere in the Queens region."
"We're based in the Kings region," Michael replied.
Sir Jon nodded in understanding. "Ah, now it makes sense. I take it that those…Orcs… are also part of your Nation. Are they also your…tamed beasts?"
Fudge suddenly popped out of Michael's shadow and faced the Knight with anger in his face. "They're not beasts! They are my shadow members!"
Sir Jon was still a little bit started as he faced Fudge, not expecting him to speak at all. A sentient monster was a rare sight even in the capital cities of the Queens region.
He turned to Michael, who was the youthful genius who seemed to have tamed these surprisingly strong creatures of the shadow.
"May I know your name, young man? Surely a man of your talent would be widespread even in the Queens region."
"My name is Michael."
The veteran peddler once intervened once again to give a little bit more context for the clueless Knight. He knew Michael disliked bragging about himself, so someone else had to do it for him.
"You must know, sir Jon, that Michael here is the esteemed leader of the Nation of Reborn."
A look of surprise and disbelief flashed across the Knight's face. Even if this 'Nation of Reborn' turned out to be a small sovereign state in the backwoods countryside of the continent, it was still unusual to see a kid pushed into the leader position so early.
"I understand it now," Sir Jon said, scratching his chin. "Those Orcs must be part of your elite defense force intended to protect the leader of your nation while he travels outside the Kings region, am I correct?"
"Yes we are!" Fudge immediately answered. "WE are the elites, not those scaly meanies!"
Michael could only chuckle at Fudge's shenanigans. Of course, if there was a group titled to be the elite defense force of the Nation of Reborn, then it would be none other than the Dragonborns who still reigned supreme over every other Rebornian with regards to their fighting abilities.
But since Fudge and his Shadow Orcs did a great job, Michael let them have this small victory for now. He just had to make sure Sheina didn't hear about this or else they'll both get in trouble.
"Those Orcs are indeed elite, as I thought," said Sir Jon as he remembered clashing blades with the Orcupines. "Even though I am ranked in the top 50 of our Knightly Court, I still felt overwhelmed when facing just one of your Orcs. Truly heavy in their strikes. It is no wonder that the thieves were quickly dealt with in just a few minutes."
The Knight looked at Michael and Fudge, his mouth quivering as he hesitated to say something.
"And it may just be my presumption, but I can tell that the Orcs had not yet shown me their best power. I can tell. Before we were stopped, they were about to consume something darkish brown. You don't need to tell me, but I feel as if they were about to become even stronger than they were before."
Fudge's bulbous body immediately inflated with pure pride and confidence.
"Hehe, you guessed right, my curious Knight. I must admit, you were a hell of a fighter yourself to force our Shadow Orcs to use their hidden power."
The Knight looked extremely impressed. Michael could see the fire of curiosity and competitiveness in his eyes, as if he longed for nothing but to clash his axe with the Orcs once again.
"Ho ho… What was it? Perhaps it is one of those famous cultivation pills from Sinclair's Elixirs?" Read latest stories on My Virtual Library Empire
Michael shook his head. "I don't know what that is, but it's nothing like that. It's just a simple snack."
He took out a bar of chocolate from the merchant's carriages and showed it to the Knight.
There was no reason for him to hide the fact that Orcs got stronger by consuming chocolate. After all, the Orcs were supposed to always be in a state of enhancement through it at all times. And, there were plenty of other secrets and trump cards for the Orcs later on, like the Mithril Artifacts, the Resonance, and other such shadow-related skills.
The violet and gold wrapping shined under the moonlight, illuminating the Knight's face with a sliver of gold for a brief moment.
Sir Jon's eyes gleamed with recognition. He couldn't help but point at the chocolate, as if it was something that he had been looking for this whole time.
"Chocolate!" he excitedly yelled out. "That's chocolate! The one being sold in our City!"
"You know this?" Michael asked him.
"Of course! Chocolate is extremely popular in our Knightly Court. It is the most sought-after product within our community, as it has shown great effects upon consumption! I can't believe it's here!"