On the streets of Atte City, a drowsy coachman was yawning while driving, his horse equally listless as it slowly made its way through the streets.
Suddenly, a dark shadow whooshed past, blowing off the coachman's hat and revealing his shiny bald head underneath.
Feeling the cool breeze on his scalp, the coachman jumped in fright: "What on earth just flew past?"
At this hour, it was peak time for Atte City residents heading to work, and the streets were exceptionally crowded.
But Laine's horsemanship was nothing to scoff at.
Galloping through the bustling crowds, Laine never slowed the horse's pace. Instead, they went faster and faster, weaving through the gaps between people.
Hearing the wind whistling past her ears, Nanaly's body grew increasingly rigid.
If something were to go wrong, someone could die, right? They would definitely die, wouldn't they?!
Finally, Laine arrived at Olcott Academy just before classes began.
Olcott Academy was the most magnificent building in Atte City. The Duke who governed this place invested even more in it than in his own residence, and even the Imperial Capital's cathedral couldn't compare to this academy.
Laine charged through the main gate at lightning speed, startling the guards so much they didn't dare try to stop them.
After scanning the spacious academy grounds, Laine quickly found the stables near the entrance designated for horses, galloped in, and suddenly pulled hard on the reins!
"Neigh—!"
The lean horse reared up on its hind legs, finally coming to a stop, nearly strangled by Laine's sudden pull.
Nearby, a tall, muscular man in armor was leading his horse, apparently intending to stable it in that very spot, but Laine's sudden intrusion left him dumbfounded.
"My lady, we made it!"
Laine dismounted while carrying Nanaly, setting her down on the ground with a smile.
Finally feeling solid ground beneath her feet, Nanaly felt somewhat safer, though her legs were still weak, forcing her to hold onto Laine's leg for support.
Seeing Nanaly in this state, Laine realized he might have gone too far: "Uh... My lady, I apologize."
"I'm... fine!"
Nanaly stood up straight with forced bravery, slowly releasing Laine's pants and taking a couple of steps, her voice returning to normal: "I'll head to class now."
"My lady, I'll accompany you."
Just as Laine was about to follow Nanaly, suddenly, an armored hand clasped his shoulder.
Turning around, he saw the armored man looking at him - presumably a knight guardian for some noble lady.
The knight pointed at Laine's horse, his meaning clear - you've taken my spot.
Laine noticed there were still plenty of empty spots in the stable, but to avoid unnecessary trouble, he apologetically said:
"I'm sorry, we were in a hurry and were discourteous. I see there are many empty spots around, would you mind stabling your horse elsewhere?"
With that, Laine intended to escort Nanaly to class.
The knight's eyes narrowed, and his grip on Laine's shoulder suddenly tightened, clearly trying to intimidate him.
—Hmm, the level of a Dark Erosion apprentice knight.
Laine could feel the knight using his full strength, but this fellow's ability was... truly pathetic.
Grabbing the knight's wrist guard, just as the knight was looking confused, Laine shifted his stance and executed a shoulder throw, suddenly slamming the knight to the ground!
"Bang!!"
"Gah!"
Like a mountain crashing down, the burly knight was thrown to the ground by the seemingly frail Laine, causing the surrounding ground to tremor.
After being slammed down, the knight bounced twice in his armor before lying there unable to get up, clearly badly shaken by Laine's throw.
"Sorry about that, I need to escort my lady to class first. I'll check on you later!"
With that, Laine hurried after Nanaly toward the academy interior.
While surprised, Nanaly couldn't help but grimace slightly - wasn't her new butler a bit too prone to causing trouble?
Though ultimately, this was her fault. If she hadn't delayed and almost been late, Laine wouldn't have gotten into this trouble.
However, truth be told, what had just happened made Nanaly feel... somewhat thrilled, very exciting!
Laine wore a bitter expression: "Is this the usual style at your Olcott Academy, so rough and tumble?"
Nanaly calmly explained to Laine: "That knight wore the Odis Family crest - he's a knight from a marquis's household, probably used to being overbearing."
"Huh?"
Laine expressed confusion - how could a marquis's daughter's guardian knight be so weak?
"Won't this cause trouble for you?"
"The Odis Family won't make trouble for me over a single knight, but you should be careful."
Nanaly's expression was very serious as she said this.
Whether influenced by her earlier excitement or not, this was the first time Nanaly had spoken so many words at once since meeting Laine.
—Well, that's a relief then.
Laine sighed in relief; as long as they didn't cause trouble for Nanaly, it was fine.
Making it to the classroom with just a minute to spare, Laine finally delivered Nanaly to class, wiping sweat from his brow.
That was too close!
This was his first day as butler escorting Nanaly to school - absolutely nothing could go wrong.
Originally, Laine had planned to wait outside the door until Nanaly's class ended, but looking around, he noticed no one else was waiting there. Standing alone would be too conspicuous, so he decided to leave.
What should he do next?
Check on that marquis's knight he had knocked down? Better not - that knight had probably disappeared by now.
As for whether the knight would cause trouble later, Laine wasn't worried. The knight seemed like the type to bully the weak and fear the strong; after being taught a lesson, he'd probably avoid Laine in the future.
If he really did come looking for trouble, that would actually suit Laine just fine.
After all, Laine wasn't really a gentle and refined butler by nature. If Nanaly hadn't been present earlier, that knight would probably have vanished from this world by now.
After hesitating for a moment, Laine headed toward Olcott's grand library, planning to read some books while Nanaly was in class.
Within Olcott Academy, aside from the central teaching building, the grand library was the most magnificent structure.
Entering the library, Laine found the spacious interior eerily empty, with hardly anyone around.
Just as Laine was about to look for books related to events of the past decade, suddenly, he noticed a petite figure in the corner of the library.