Just a Cannon Fodder

Chapter 13

"Anna?"

I snapped out as soon as I heard someone calling me by my nickname.

In front of me was a pretty lady with auburn eyes. An angelic beauty.

"Are you alright?" Shasha asked. worriedly.

"Ah, yes. I'm totally fine. I apologize for spacing out. I was just thinking of something."

"Oh. As I was saying, he's your new escort right?" She glanced at Justin.

I looked at Justin and he held a serious expression.

"Yes. His name is Justin." I introduced.

Justin just bowed at Patricia.

Yesterday, Justin became my newly appointed knight. At night, Kelly handed me a letter. It was a meeting with Lady Patricia.

'That was fast...'

So right now, I'm totally held captive for some reason.

"Why do you only have one escort? You should have at least two or three. Oh I know, I'll just send you some from our estate. Our knights are very capable." She offered kindly.

"It's alright. Justin is enough." I softly declined.

"Alright..." She pouted.

What a cute girl.

We chatted until 2 pm. I bid her goodbye and she held a puppy-like expression.

"Finally." Justin suddenly said.

"Is something wrong Justin?"

"It's nothing. I just felt strange seeing that lady talking with you comfortably earlier." He said.

'Oh? I wonder why...'

While walking, I spotted a store.

We walked towards it and they were selling weapons there. I thought that it was a good opportunity to buy Justin a sword.

"Welcome! What brings a lady here in a weapon shop?" A man who looked like in his forty said.

"I'm looking for a sword."

"What type of sword young lady?"

Right, there are many types of sword. Wood, bronze, iron and platinum. But a good sword is one that contains a mana stone.

Whether it's a wood or any type of sword, as long as it has a mana stone, it will be the best.

"One that has a mana stone." I replied.

"Alright! Wait for a moment young lady." The man said.

"My Lady?!" Justin spoke.

"Sir Rey told me that you possess a large amount of mana. It's better for you to have a sword that has mana stone so that you can use it as you like."

"....."

"It's alright Justin. This way, you'll be able to protect me better." I smiled.

"Yes.... thank you, My Lady." He shyly replied.

I just nodded.

"Here you go young lady!"

The man placed a large box in front of us and opened it.

"This one is a platinum type with a clear mana stone."

The clear mana stone will be colored once the ability of that person is showed.

There are five colors of mana stone. Yellow for light, red for agility, green for  aura, and blue for strength. But the most rare of all, is black. The combination of all.

Mana stones are mostly seen in weapons like swords, daggers and such.

I wonder what color will show once Justin uses it....

"How much is this?"

"That will be 500 gold."

I handed the man a cheque written with 500 gold in it.

"Thank you young lady!"

I nodded and we went out.

We walked towards the carriage when suddenly, a group of men surrounded us. There were seven of them.

"My Lady." Justin put me behind his back.

"What do we have here...." One of the men said.

"Oh! That woman looks like Moriana Allisson. Our leader will be happy if we bring her to him." Another one added.

"Capture the lady, I'll take care of the knight." The man who held a dagger said.

"That lady looks totally refreshing. I bet she'll taste good. Kekeke." Another one added.

"My Lady." Justin spoke.

"Y-yes?" I stuttered.

"Is it alright if I use the sword you just bought?" He asked.

I nodded.

Justin then took the sword and positioned himself.

"Should I kill them, My Lady?" Justin said in a dreadful tone.

'Kill?! No! Don't kill!' I screamed internally.

"Just... make them unconscious." I thinly replied.

"Take her now!" The man shouted.

Justin then moved fast and blocked the men's movement.

I noticed that the clear mana stone in his sword suddenly began to take color. First, it became green, and then blue, red and yellow. And then, it turned black.

'It became black!'

It didn't take a minute for the men to be unconscious.

All this time, I just watched the color of the stone and didn't recognize that all of them became unconscious after what Justin did.

"Are you alright My Lady?" Justin asked.

"Me? I'm alright. Thank you for protecting me Justin." I was truly grateful.

"It's nothing. It was my job in the first place."

"Let's go home."

This time, we finally entered the carriage without any hindrances and rode back home safely.

***

Somewhere...

"What!? You failed? What happened?!"

A person in the sidelines shouted in front of a crystal ball.

"I apologize boss. We failed because her knight was too strong." A hooded man shown in the crystal ball said.

"Tch. Just admit it that you're useless."

"I apologize boss..."

"Whatever."

The person turned off the connection and sat in a chair.

'How dare you stick close to the crown prince. Just you wait Moriana Allisson..'