This is a story of some time away, back when Arthur was still crown prince, and what a prince he was, constantly going around on small adventures leaving the royal pace constantly, this worried his dad whoever, and decided to appoint a promising young recruit of the pace knight to accompany him for safety reasons.

  The knight was fttered, but he would much rather continue his work than to be a nanny, the man’s name is one everyone knows these days, but at the time, it was pretty uncommon and unknown, the name was Welst, proud member of the pace knights.

  The prince was young, about twelve years old at the time, ‘what kind of problems it can get himself into’ the knight thought, to his surprise, a lot, the prince was born with a vitality and strength that would be envied by even the strongest of knights, he was able to even wrestle with monsters in hand to hand combat, granted not the biggest ones, but it was still impressive.

  The prince was also capable of using combat oriented magic, which pushed him to test his strength further and further, he registered in the adventurer guild under a fake alias, and went monster hunting on the regur, something Welst had to end up participating, at first Arthur was not too thrilled to have him around, and yet he saved his life at least a couple of times already.

  The fact that they were two people, pushed Arthur to attempt even more daring jobs, his rank was increasing in the guild, and Welst entered as well due to the king’s insistence, they also met another aspiring adventurer, Eric, a swordsman of rather superior capabilities, he was so good, Welst formally invited him to the pace knights, something the man refused.

  “Office work is not my kind of thing” He said, he was a free soul, much like the king, and the three became close friends and companions, Sure, both Welst and Arthur had duties that they could not ignore, so Eric would sometimes adventure alone, Arthur was prince so he had to attend political events and other simir ‘work’, and Welst was still one of the knights appointed to serving the kings directly.

  Welts became quite strong all things considered, maybe it was the monster hunting, maybe it was the swordsmanship technique he created, mixing the stances of the pace knights with the freeform and flexible fighting style of his friend Eric, or maybe it was that he wasn’t stuck sparring with the same knights day in and out, and variety made his strength apparent, either way, it come to a point where he was the strongest knight in direct work of the king.

  Years went by and Arthur turned into a proper adult, he was still young, bold, and dumb, but he couldn’t just continue pying around, it was time for him to start settling, find a partner, and learn what it meant to be a king, much to his dismay.

  Not all was bad for him, those years is when he met the love of his life, her soon to be wife, Mary, adventuring had to take a backseat, same for Welst who was ter named captain of the pace knights directly by the king himself, no one doubted his strength in the slightest, but it was important and better used in service than fooling around pying adventurer.

  This left Eric alone for a while, but it still didn’t mean that they lost contact, whenever the three had time, they would adventure together, they were known as the ‘holy knight’s trio’, which was funnily enough, close enough to be called a quartet, they learned of a particur cloaked adventurer obsessed with dungeons, but she refused to join their party, she was a work alone kind of adventurer.

  Time went on, as did war, which was an odd remark, sure the empire and the kingdom were still at war technically speaking, but there wasn’t any proper attacks, that is until not long ago, the military had to mobilize, and the pace knights, former protectors of the king, were mobilized by his orders, to the border to defend the kingdom, life carried on, the three knight’s were now seeing each other rarely, at least together, Welst and Arthur still had contact, the knight became a close friend of the royal family after all.

  So much so in fact, he was even given a title of nobility for his outstanding service, Welst was now a war hero, the knights, leaded by him, single handedly managed to make the entire empire’s army retreat, his companions could not sing anything but praises for his work, how he torn through the enemy all by himself, like a deadly but graceful killing machine, practice he got from battling goblin hordes.

  Peace only reigned in the kingdom all thanks to Welst, and it was no exaggeration, still, war could only continue forward given the circumstances, that is when the king gave an order that Welst wasn’t expecting, a new town was to be built at the edge of the kingdom, one where it could be easier to mobilize from, and who knows, maybe even for the royal family to move next to the border in case their assistance is needed in immediate manners, which is why a second pace was built in that location.

  ‘Frontier town’ was built, and to everyone’s surprise, Welst was appointed town lord of the newly found town, this was unheard of, a knight of humble origins, not an established member of nobility or simir was made a town lord, this was unheard of, and caused a lot of backsh towards the king, backsh that resolved by arthur’s father saying ‘tough luck’ and carrying on with his pns, this created a division between the nobility and popuce, the former loved the king, while the tter hated his guts.

  Welst lived in the pace, and the town slowly grew into the busy town it is today, war raged forward, but it was a stalemate, the empire was unable to raze Welst’s new town, and the kingdom had no intention for an invasion, simply defending themselves from the attacks.

  Eric, their former companion, moved to frontier town, not only was a guild recently established in pce, he was finally a max ranked adventurer, something that was so rare, the amount of people to reach such exalted position at the guild that were alive could be counted with your hands.

  Arthur got married not long after that, which the three celebrated drinking on a newly created bar in town, the three had settled down somewhat, Eric decided that a retionship was not for him, and he wished to continue his work, Arthur’s bombastic nature had to settle down, as prince and future king, he finally embraced his responsibilities, and settled down on his role, which only left Welst to decide his future.

  Was he to continue as the captain of the pace knights, or embrace his new position as town lord fully, it was a conundrum he himself found troubles in, that is until he met her, Jun, a new recruit of the pace knights, it was a love at first sight, and their feelings were mutual, knights by day, lovers by night, one thing led to another and Jun was pregnant as an accident from the inexperienced couple.

  That was the moment when the knight had made his choice, making Jun his dy formally, and resigning from the job of captain of the pace knights, but not leaving them to their own devices, along Jun there was another promising recruit, a knight called Frank, much like him, he was a humble commoner, but with a strong enough potential to be his successor, he taught him all that he know of fighting and swordpy.

  Life went on, that is until the emperor requested an audience to the king directly, he came to the kingdom completely unarmed, in a sign of good faith, what was discussed that day is something only the two of them know, but peace treaties were apparently discussed, which prompted the king to visit the empire to sign and let peace finally arrive to both nations.

  He decided to go without any guards, the same trust the emperor showed to him, a sign of good will, a big mistake for the king, the empire pulled such a trick to get the king’s guard down, it was an assassination plot for the king, something that Arthur caught wind of due to the intelligence network he managed to create, thanks to friends he made in his adventuring days.

  The king dashed to frontier town, riding his white noble horse and informing Welst about what was about to happen, the king had just left towards the empire, Arthur was desperate to save his father, yet he couldn’t just waltz through the border in a clear sign of hostility, but you know who could, a group of adventurers heading towards the empire for work.

  Eric was called and the holy knight trio galloped valiantly in a secret mission to save the king, what they found however was the full might of the empire army, they were ready to raze through the kingdom after the panic of losing the king.

  There was no choice, they had to fight an entire army and then dig through to save the king, or let the kingdom fall to ruin, the knights fought with honor, razing through their army, they weren’t knight, in the eyes of the empire army, they were monsters, effortlessly killing soldiers and nimble enough to avoid most if not all attacks.

  The fight was endless however, three men could simply not destroy an entire army quickly enough, they couldn’t afford to stall for longer, that is when Welst informed their companions.

  “Go ahead and save the king you two! I will hold the army here by myself!” It was nothing short of suicide, the army was enough for the three of them, if they separated, it would be the end, still, if the king falls, so does the country, hurt and indecisive, Eric and Arthur broke through and continued to the empire.

  But it was too te, the king was found dead, his carriage was attacked on the way to the capital, and discarded to the wasteside by the enemy, Arthur in rage, decided to gallop to the emperor and take his head, but was stopped by Eric, who was worried about Welst first and foremost, they returned to the battlefield.

  They found the army on the way there once again, they have decided to retreat as their losses were too big to sustain combat for longer, this infuriated Arthur, had they given up beforehand, maybe his father would still be alive.

  That is when they found Welst, his horse had been killed and he was injured beyond belief, covered in blood and tumbling towards the empire’s capital, he fended off an entire army by himself, still the damage was too grievous and his st moments were near.

  A knight to the bitter end, he managed to give his farewells to his friends, what the legendary knight said to them is a secret his friends kept to themselves, and Welst gave his st breath in Arthur and Eric’s arms.

  Arthur was crowned king immediately afterwards, and his first order was to rename the town, in honor of his friend who gave his life to the kingdom, Eric became the guild master in town and a w was reinstated shortly after for guild members to not be involved in war affairs.

  Finally Welst’s son Gwendal, was appointed town lord and in charge of continuing his father’s legacy.

  —————————————————————————————————————————

  ***Marisa’s POV***

  That is a thing, I skimmed through it but I see the reason why Arthur felt so responsible about Gwendal, what a shitshow, I guess the trip to the library was not all lost, maybe I should ask the old man at the guild about it ter, I don’t know if I should pry even further though.

  Life moved on after that, I have no idea where the piggy went. I expined to Adele about losing the test subject, but she seemed to understand, it’s been two weeks however, and not a bleep from the piggy, I wonder what he’s doing...

  —————————————————————————————————————————

  Announcement from here on, there’s a depiction of rape, if that’s not your thing, stop here and see you on monday, you’re not missing much, that’s why it’s a decimal chapter

  ***Gwen’s POV***

  I can’t believe King Arthur! Doing something like this to me! How dare he!

  Hmpf! It’s fine, I don’t need them anyways, I'm the great Gwendal, son of Welst! Even if I can’t use my name anymore I’ll climb up the ranks and become town lord again in no time! Just you see!

  I’m not just a peasant, with my intellect I’ll start by aiming for nobility to begin with!

  Ah, but for that I need money! I don’t have a penny, I should’ve taken some from the pace but, I doubt that bitch it’s gonna let me grab any, if there’s any left after her wild expenses, what is she thinking wasting money on things like orphanages!

  Well, money would make it easier to make more but I can start from zero! For now-

  *thud*

  “Careful! Watch where you’re going missy!”

  Hmm? I bumped into someone, but he does look capable, he should be perfect.

  “Hmm! It's your lucky day! How about help-”

  “I don’t have time to py missy, sorry but move aside!”

  He just left me talking, how rude! It’s his loss, he could’ve been a noble, well, sucks for him let’s look for someone who’s willing to help!

  “Hey you peasant-”

  “Young dy, that is no way to address your elders!”

  ...

  “Commoner-”

  “Excuse me!? Who do you think you are!?”

  ...

  “You seem capable, how about-”

  “Get lost”

  ...

  ...

  N-no one it’s listening to me...

  W-well it’s their loss, I don’t need them anyways, let’s start with-

  *grumble*

  M-maybe I should get something to eat first...

  But... where?

  I’m tired of the terrible food that bitch gave me in the dungeon, I remember compining but she said I was being fed properly, how dare she! I kinda want to eat steak...

  Should I go back to the pace and ask for food? No I can’t do that! I have my pride! Plus I was left to my own devices by those two! I refuse to ask for their help, especially that bitch of Marisa! If I want to eat I need money, I guess my goal hasn’t changed, more of a reason to start working.

  ...

  ...

  It’s te...

  *grumble*

  Ugh... no one listened to me, I even had the decency to ask with please and no one took me seriously!

  I’ve walked so much and that bitch gave me a very unfortunate outfit. I hate wearing these rags, they don’t fit a man of my nobility! But the worst part it’s the cloth shoes, my feet hurt so much from walking...

  A-at least the wells are public, my throat it’s killing me, I feel so thirsty, I hate the water from the well, it feels yucky but I have no other choice...

  *grumble*

  I- I guess I’ll have a bit more, even if it tastes weird...

  It’s dark outside already, I should call it a day. It was a terrible day but, I’m sure tomorrow will be smooth sailing.

  But... where should I sleep? Should I ask for lodging to the houses around? Why bother, they’re too stuck up to help me, I’ll have this district executed once I’m back in power, ungrateful assholes.

  ...

  ...

  Haa... Haa... I’m getting tired, curse this frail body...

  In the end my wandering took me to a park, I’ve never seen this park at night, but more importantly, there’s benches in the park, good thing too because I’ve been walking nonstop all day, my legs and feet hurt so badly, I’ll just sit in the park bench for a minute.

  I’m so small, I... I could y down on the bench, it’s fine right, just for a minute...

  Man, parks... are so nice, didn’t I get a few of them cancelled for residential and commercial districts? Had I known how nice they are, I would’ve given it a second though...

  *yaaaaawn*

  When I’m in power again I’ll open a few parks...

  ...

  ...

  *achoo*

  S-so cold... I fell asleep on this bench! What’s wrong with me!? Sleeping on a bench like some beggar! Hmpf! I’m no beggar, the tiredness just got the best of me.

  *groowl*

  Ugh... so hungry...

  Maybe I should focus on getting food today, rather than try to get money...

  ...

  ...

  Ugh... I can’t! How do people normally afford food? I even had to go as low as to ask for employment but no one it’s taking me seriously, and the few people that do at least talk to me ask for my parents and so on, sorry my parents died a while ago ok! And then they told me the town lord it’s helping the orphans, but I refuse to go back there!

  *grooowl*

  Now what...

  I look around and see nothing but pines, I seem to have reached the border of the town...

  No way I can make it to another town by myself, and crossing the forest it’s a no go...

  ...

  Memories of camping with my dad came to mind, it was so annoying and I hated being out in the forest...

  *************************************************************************************************************

  “I don’t like it dad”

  “Don’t act so spoiled son, we’re just having a nice camping trip”

  “Whatever, I hate it”

  “Son...”

  “...”

  “H-hey son, did you know, the pines in our town are special?”

  “Why?”

  “Well, you see, around these times, you can just pick some pinecones, and then if you crush them open!”

  *crack*

  “You can eat the seeds inside, they’re a bit small but they can get you out of a pinch!”

  “I’m not eating that! It’s just a tree dad!”

  “Haha! I guess there’s better food after all!”

  “Who would be dumb enough to eat pinecones!?”

  *************************************************************************************************************

  Dad...

  I can’t believe it but I’m actually picking up the pinecones from the trees...

  Just how low can I get...

  How do I crush it? Hnn!!!

  I can’t, they’re too hard!! I tossed them at the tree and everything but they won’t open!!

  I picked up a rock on the floor and banged the pinecones.

  “Ouch!”

  Ah, I cut myself with the rock...

  B-but the pinecones finally cracked open! Although it’s not a lot that’s edible, I ended up shoving them in my mouth.

  It’s hard, and tastes like wood, and yet I can’t help but feel that they taste like the best meal in my life...

  *sniff*

  “Dad...”

  ...

  ...

  One day, and the next, and the next... I couldn’t do anything but look for something to eat and then fall tired on a park bench...

  Everyone gives me the eyes when I pass by, I know I must look awful, I haven’t bathed and I’m covered in mud...

  “C-could you spare a coin please...”

  I... ended up resorting to begging in the streets... I’m so hungry, and so desperate I’ll do anything...

  “P-please just one coin...”

  Despite this everyone still ignores me... why do I even bother...

  I...

  “Poor thing, it’s not much but, here”

  A-an old dy gave me a copper coin!

  “T-thank you very much!!”

  It’s just one copper coin, I’ve had thousands upon thousands of these before, but I couldn’t help but feel happy when I looked at it.

  In the end I couldn’t help but go spend it, what can I get with this?

  I dashed to a stall, it’s probably not a lot but... maybe a piece of bread would be nice, I thought but... I really can’t afford anything with one copper coin...

  I felt so disheartened, so I left the commercial district crying...

  Why is everything so expensive! What it’s that idiot Marisa doing! The economy it’s in shambles! What poor management!

  In the end, I’m gonna have to get more money, and-

  ...

  N-no, I’m not gonna stoop that low, i will not dig through the trash!

  I...

  I will never!

  ...

  ...

  “Excuse me, girl”

  “Eh?”

  I was sleeping on the park bench like everyday, but then this guy woke me up...

  “Y-yes?”

  “What are you doing here? Are you by yourself?”

  “U-un...”

  “Did you run away from home? And your parents?”

  “I, I don’t have any, not anymore...”

  “Oh you poor thing...”

  Don’t just casually pat my head, get off!

  *groooowl*

  “You’re hungry huh...”

  “N-no... maybe”

  “What’s your name girl?”

  “Eh? I’m... Gwen...”

  No one asked me for my name before...

  “Say Gwen, I’m feeling rather lonely, see, why don’t you accompany me for dinner? I’m sure you’ll make perfect company”

  “Eh!? R-really!?”

  “Un! I don’t have much, just soup and a bit of bread but, better than nothing right?”

  “I! O-Ok!”

  “Great, come with me”

  I have no idea what the deal is with this guy but, I’m very grateful! There’s still kind people out here, I’ll make sure to repay him one day!

  The soup and bread were so good, I have never tasted anything this tasty in my life! I couldn’t help but stuff my mouth, compared to the pinecones I have been eating, it’s so delightful!!

  “Do you want seconds?”

  “Can I!?”

  “Of course, all you want”

  “Thanks!!”

  ...

  ...

  Puah, I ate a lot, when was the st time I felt so full...

  *yaaaawn*

  “Feeling sleepy?”

  “A bit...”

  “I have an extra room, feel free to call it a day, we’ll catch up tomorrow morning”

  “Really? You’re so nice, thank you mister!”

  Ah~ a bed! I can’t believe it, finally! I didn’t remember anything, I just hit the bed and passed out.

  ...

  ...

  Hmm? What’s happening?

  “So you woke up~”

  “Hmm?”

  I can’t speak, there’s something in my mouth...

  “How are you feeling Gwen?~”

  “Hmm”

  “Of course you can’t speak with the gag~ it’s fine really, but you see, I’m feeling a bit lonely~”

  W-what is he doing!?

  “Food isn’t cheap but, as long as you can keep me company, then I guess it’s fine~”

  W-why is he undressing me!? I can’t move, my body feels completely numb!!

  “Just stay still, I’m sure you’ll enjoy this too~”

  H-he’s pulling his pants down, he’s not thinking of doing that!!

  “Hmmfff!!!”

  Get away from me!! Why can’t I move!?

  “Are you scared? Don’t be~ this is completely normal, it’s just a game see~”

  Don’t just touch my legs like that! D-Don’t touch me!!

  S-someone, anyone!! Save me please!!

  ...

  ...

  ...

  N? W-what happened? Ah!! T-this, this bastard just!!... I remember it, it felt so gross and I was so scared, I screamed and struggled, but he mercilessly assaulted me, my crotch hurts so much!!

  I remember him choking me and I don’t remember anything past that!

  “Hnn!!”

  I-it hurts...

  It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts!!

  It really hurts!!!

  *click*

  H-he’s still in this house!? I, I have to run away!! I have to flee!!

  W-where, what can I-

  “Hey~ did you woke up?~”

  “G-GET AWAY FROM ME!!”

  When I saw him I couldn’t help but shake uncontrolbly!! I, I have to get away!! Anyway possible!!

  “Don’t say that~ we had so much fun st night~”

  “D-DONT TOUCH ME!!”

  I picked up a vase that was in the room and tossed it at his face, he seemed taken aback so I quickly dashed past him and fled the house!

  “Come back here!!”

  “Get away!! Anyone HELP ME!!!”

  I dashed as the other guy followed me, I needed help, I ran towards a guard!!

  “H-HELP ME!!”

  “Whoa, take it easy missy, what is it?”

  “*gasp* t-this guy!! He-“

  “There you are!! Don’t just run away!”

  “Sir Frederick, is she with you?”

  “Yeah, sorry for bothering you”

  “E-eh!?”

  “You shouldn’t run away like that~”

  T-the guard, he’s getting on his side!?

  “Let’s take you back home missy”

  “LET GO OF ME!!”

  I yanked my arm and continued running, if the guards are with him then who can help me!?

  I’m... I'm near the pace! I hate the idea but it’s the only one that I can think of right now!!

  I dashed as fast as I could but the guard grabbed my arm.

  *sp*

  “Don’t run away like that”

  I-I froze in terror, I looked all around, I was just 2 blocks away from the pace, the entrance it’s right there!! The way he grabs my arm fills my heart with an overwhelming feeling of terror!

  “H-HELP ME!!!”

  I then saw that bitch of Marisa in the front garden, I had no other choice but to scream, hopefully she can hear me!

  As this asshole and the guard looked taken aback when Marisa turned this way, I then dashed towards the pace again, yanking my arm away again.

  I’m so close, just a little more!

  Joanne_carper