Kyle looked nervously at the two of them.
"They are Knights. Actual Knights," Theodor said. "You better hope they don't want to kill you."
"Friend, can we help you in any other way?" one of them asked with a fake smile.
Kyle took a step back.
"No, it's fine," he said. "Thank you for saving me. If there is any way in which I can repay you, tell me."
"No, no, it's fine," the first Knight said. "We'll escort you to the Fire Coast. Just follow us."
"I can find my own way. Thank you very much," Kyle said.
"That's too dangerous," the other Knight said with a frown. "You need some escorts."
Kyle looked at them.
Then, he started running towards the Fire Coast.
The two Knights looked at each other before they easily overtook Kyle, running towards the Fire Coast in front of him.
"I'm fine! You can go!" Kyle shouted.
"Don't worry!" one of the Knights shouted. "We are going to keep you safe. Leave everything to us!"
Kyle noticed that the other Knight chuckled deviously after the first one said that.
"I see," Theodor commented.
"What do you see?" Kyle whispered.
"What?" one of the Knights asked.
"Nothing!" Kyle shouted.
'Fuck, how did that guy hear me?! I was whispering!'
"It's a policy," Theodor answered. "They don't want to kill you. In fact, they want to help you."
Kyle seemed suspicious.
They did not act like they were trying to help him.
Their entire demeanor was… off.
"The Fighter you met most likely has opted to take a family-and-friend protection policy," Theodor explained.
"His friends and family can ask anyone in the royal army for help in exchange for payment."
"Of course, that payment doesn't come from you but from the policyholder."
"You can use them to travel to the Big Bazaar."
Yet, when Kyle heard that, he didn't feel relieved.
Instead, he felt guilt and pressure.
Mandrake, the guy who had taught him Air Current, was currently paying for two Knights to save and escort him.
While running, Kyle put his arm over his mouth like he was coughing.
"I don't want to cause Mandrake trouble," he whispered into his arm.
The two Knights glanced at Kyle's weird way of running, but they didn't mind.
Easy money!
"Who cares?" Theodor asked with annoyance. "You barely know him anyway. Just use him and be done with him."
"I refuse," Kyle said into his arm. "I want to pay for the trouble I've caused. I already told you I repay my debts!"
Theodor remembered the conversation he had with Kyle in the past.
He thought this kind of ideology was stupid and naïve.
However, he also remembered that Kyle having his ideology was actually a good thing for Theodor.
After all, Kyle had promised that he would end Hieronymus' lineage.
"Fine," Theodor said. "Just tell them what I tell you to tell them."
Kyle nodded as he kept running.
After a couple of minutes, the ground started to change.
It transformed from brown wasteland ground into black and hard ground.
By now, Kyle could also see a giant volcano in front of him.
The Fire Coast!
He had finally reached the Fire Coast.
Kyle stopped running, and the two Knights also stopped.
"There, we escorted you, correct?" one of them asked.
"Yes, thank you," Kyle said. "I do not require your services anymore. I would like to pay for the services myself."
When the two of them heard that, they furrowed their brows.
Kyle had spoken the specific phrases that made it impossible for them to push their services on him anymore.
"We saved you from mortal danger and escorted you for four minutes through the wilderness," one of them said. "That makes 1.5 Ether Stones."
When Kyle heard that, his heart nearly stopped.
'That's fucking expensive!'
"I didn't ask you to save me," Kyle said. "I would have survived on my own. This was danger, not mortal danger, as you have seen."
One of the Knights walked closer to Kyle. "You would have died. You even told us that we saved you."
"Yes, from an expensive armor repair," Kyle said, pointing at the holes in his armor. "For that, I thank you. I will be submitting a gratitude notice to the royal army and tell them that you have done a lot for me."
One of them sneered before looking at his partner.
The other one sighed and just motioned to Kyle.
"Saving from danger and four minutes of wilderness escort. That's 90 Ether Pebbles," the first Knight said.
"Controlled wilderness," Kyle said. "Fire Coast has a Sandworm Barrier. Anything between a Sandworm Barrier and a-"
"We know what controlled wilderness means!" one of them shouted, his eyes showing his annoyance. "In fact, how do you know that? You ran through the Sandworm Barrier without any corpses!"
"Yes, that was my mistake. I apologize," Kyle said.
The two Knights just looked at Kyle.
"One-way escort through controlled wilderness for four minutes and saving from moderate danger. Is that accurate?" the Knight asked with a threateningly low voice.
"Yes, that is fine," Kyle said.
"60 Ether Pebbles," the Knight said.
Kyle nodded and took out all the Ether Pebbles the Ore Fiend had harvested for him.
41 Ether Pebbles.
"You're missing 19," the Knight said.
Then, Kyle took out the big piece of Wasteland Metal.
When the two of them saw the Wasteland Metal, they were surprised.
That was quite valuable.
Sadly, they were part of the royal army, which meant they had to follow the law.
Kyle used his Soul to cut off a chunk of the Wasteland Metal and handed it over.
"What is the current exchange rate?" Kyle asked.
By now, the Knights were no longer surprised that Kyle knew all of these things.
This guy must have some kind of relative working in law or something.
One of the Knights took out a book and flipped through it.
Then, he just shoved the book into Kyle's face.
The next moment, the other Knight took the piece of metal and threw 13 Ether Pebbles back to Kyle.
"Everything to your satisfaction?" one of the Knights asked in a sarcastic tone.
"Thank you. I am satisfied with your service," Kyle said respectfully.
One of the Knights snorted.
Then, they just fucked off without saying anything else.
As Kyle saw them leave, he sighed in relief.
Then, he looked at the Fire Coast.
"Well, we made it."
"The Fire Coast."
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