Farewell

“Okay.”

Tyr nodded and turned to run out of the house. Even if Lanier hadn't said anything, Tyr had already planned to go and say goodbye to them.

“Young Master Tyr.”

The knights of House Callis stood outside the door in perfect formation. Seeing Tyr come out, they bowed to greet him.

Tyr was still not quite used to this kind of situation and didn't know how to respond. He simply nodded to them and ran toward the center of the village.

“Tyr, over here!”

Just as Tyr arrived at the small square in the center of the village, a childish voice called out.

Looking in the direction of the voice, he saw a boy with chestnut-colored hair.

Beside him stood a young girl with pink hair tied in twin tails, and a little boy with green hair who wore a pair of round-framed glasses despite his young age.

Because of his mental age, Tyr wasn't interested in the games the other children in the village played, so he didn't actually have many friends here.

Loren, Alisha, and Winter were his only three friends in the village.

In the past, because his parents worried he wouldn't make friends, Tyr had also tried to fit in with the village children.

But how should he put it? It was exhausting. Especially since the kids loved playing make-believe, running and shouting all over the village.

Even though Tyr had often played these kinds of games with his friends when he was a child in his past life, he now found it inexplicably embarrassing.

Especially holding a wooden stick and shouting that he was a hero who would defeat the Demon King—Tyr simply couldn't bring himself to say such things.

Loren's parents had passed away early, leaving him to live with his grandfather. Alisha came from a single-parent home, and Winter was introverted and highly nearsighted. Due to their family backgrounds or personalities, they naturally became the targets of bullying by the other children in the village.

The little brats in the village were always finding new ways to cause trouble.

They isolated the trio of Loren, Alisha, and Winter, frequently picking on them.

Once, they stole Winter's glasses and threw stones at the three of them. Loren got into a fistfight with the other kids to get the glasses back, while Alisha cried helplessly.

Tyr happened to pass by and witness this scene, so he took a stick and taught those spoiled brats a lesson.

From then on, the three of them became the little tails following behind him.

Loren had also kept following Tyr, clamoring to learn the sword so he could become a knight in the future and protect everyone.

Seeing his determined look, Tyr had taught him a few basic swordsmanship moves.

“Loren, Alisha, Winter.”

Tyr waved at them and walked over in their direction.

“Tyr, is everything okay at your house?”

As Tyr approached, Loren asked with a worried expression. To commoners like them, “nobles” was not a positive term.

“It's fine.”

Tyr shook his head, signaling that they didn't need to worry.

“What are they here for?”

Alisha poked her head out from behind Loren and asked curiously. This was her first time seeing nobles other than the local lord.

Besides, those knights looked far more impressive—nothing the local lord's knights could compare to.

“They are from my family. They've come to take us back.”

Tyr had come to say goodbye anyway, so he took this opportunity to tell them.

“What?! Tyr, you're a noble?!”

Hearing Tyr say those were his family's knights, Winter's eyes widened.

Loren and Alisha were also in disbelief. Their boss was actually a noble.

Although they had always felt that Tyr's family had a different air about them, they had only assumed it was because his family was wealthy.

After all, Tyr's family had meat and white bread for every meal, making them by far the wealthiest household in the village.

But even so, they had never thought of them as nobles.

It was simply because the concept of nobles was too deeply ingrained in their minds—they were seen as arrogant, overbearing people who looked down their noses at others and enjoyed trampling over commoners.

Yet both Tyr's father and mother were very kind to them, nothing like nobles at all.

“Yeah, I only just found out myself today.”

Tyr scratched his cheek with a finger. Even now, it still felt somewhat surreal.

“Then... Boss, are we still going to be friends in the future?”

Tyr could hear a trace of cautiousness in Alisha's voice.

Even Loren and Winter had a hint of apprehension in their eyes, fearing that Tyr would abandon their friendship.

There was no helping it. In this world, commoners' impressions of nobles were too deeply rooted.

“Don't worry, I won't forget you guys. We're friends for life.”

Tyr reached out and ruffled Alisha's hair.

“Loren, after I leave, you'll be the boss. You have to protect the two of them.”

Among the three, Alisha was a girl, and Winter was very frail—Tyr doubted he could even beat a strong girl in a fight.

So, the only one who could protect the other two was Loren.

Although Tyr had only taught him basic swordsmanship, it was more than enough for this village and the surrounding areas.

Tyr was confident that if Loren practiced the basic swordsmanship he taught him well, even the local lord's knights would be no match for him once he grew up.

After all, their location was relatively remote within the empire, and the local lord was merely a Baron with limited strength among his knights.

“Don't worry, Boss! I'll definitely protect Alisha and Winter.”

Loren thumped his chest hard, his face filled with determination.

“Boss, I've heard that competition is fierce in noble families. Once I become strong enough, I'll go and help you.”

In Loren's eyes, even though Tyr's family were nobles, the fact that they lived in such a remote place meant they must have their own struggles—perhaps even enemies within their family.

They had heard from passing adventurers that there was intense competition within noble families.

“Haha, if you want to help me, you should beat Berntai first.”

Berntai was the ringleader of the kids who had been bullying Loren and the others before Tyr arrived.

“Boss, Berntai is long past being a match for me. It's just that you said learning the sword isn't for causing trouble, and since he hasn't come to bother us lately, I didn't go after him.”

Loren pumped his fist. He was confident now that even if Berntai's whole gang came at him together, he could beat them to a pulp just like their boss did.

“Alright, let's not talk about that anymore. Today is my last day here, so let's go play!”

Tyr decided that today, he would play with Loren and the others just like an ordinary child.