Chapter 9: Borrowing

Ji Bai silently rubbed his eyes, his cold gaze landed on the four aggressive and arrogant knights.

‘What did I just witness? These were just a pack of rude and unreasonable hoodlums, or perhaps just a bunch of bullies that liked throwing their weight around? Maybe? I don’t know. However, they were anything but a group of knights.’ 

It seemed that he had set the recruitment standards too low back when he was in the Chivalric Order of Radiant Knights, leading to a situation where any Tom, Dick, Harry could join. In the eyes of these repulsive fellows, Ji Bai was unable to see any knightly spirit described in the creed; the only things they had on them were an unerasable ruffian-like aura and a shamelessness befitting of the local gangsters.

‘Who gave them the authority to tyrannize the people? Who allowed them to trespass into a citizen’s home and destroy their properties without providing a knight’s warrant? After ruining a shop that someone relied on their livelihoods, they’re still acting like it was inevitable and that they were in the right. Am I supposed to believe that people of such caliber are worthy of becoming knights these days when their deeds and actions resembled a bunch of uncivilized bums? The Sacred Martial Association must truly be in decline nowadays. If it weren’t for the unfavorable conditions right now, I would have loved to trample on that stupid president’s face.’              

Moreover, the owner of the noodle store was actually a pretty nice person in Ji Bai’s eyes. Ever since the day began, he was the only one who didn’t treat him coldly even after knowing he was poor.    

Ji Bai’s clearly emotionless eyes were fixed on the ruffians clad in knightly armor nearby, they were trying to outdo each other in terms of viciousness. The expression he was currently wearing was something only his intimate friends knew about; he had now officially lost his temper.

Ji Bai was determined to meddle in today’s business. If one were to head into the Chivalric Order of Radiant knights and just simply ask about, they would easily learn that Ji Bai loved to deal with corrupt officials who had no other abilities except to bully the common people. Today was no exception either.  

However, despite all this, Ji Bai wasn’t just planning to rush forward and burst their scummy heads with a jump. It was also not possible to summon ‘Radiant Judgment’ to go towards them and give them a beating. If he did that, then news that the ‘Radiant Knight’ was still alive would quickly spread like wildfire throughout the human society.        

After sweeping his eyes around his surroundings, Ji Bai unhurriedly fixed his sight on the doors of a toy gift shop. There was someone wearing an Ultraman1 costume, holding onto a bundle of balloons. The side of Ji Bai’s lips slowly curved to form an arc, the scarlet inscription on the back of his hand began to light up inside an inconspicuous alley.  

At the same time, the staff member who was wearing the Ultraman costume and standing outside the entrance felt a chill run down his back. He felt as if something dangerous was locking onto him. 

“Wahoo~! It’s—It’s Ultraman~” The youth who was clad in the costume had just managed to recollect his senses when a puerile and mellow voice, the type whose adorable tone was capable of piercing through every adult man’s heart, floated over towards him.  

Before waiting for him to react, the silver-haired loli, wearing a cute dress and a pair of bat-shaped hair clips was jumping in a circle around him.    

Her long and lush eyelashes were reminiscent of a palm leaf fan while her glistening eyes were like a pair of scarlet jades. Her white and adorable face nearly resembled an elf queen out of a fairy tale. Her long, silver-haired twin-tails ran down her body like two flowing rivers. It danced along with her jumps, as if there were an actual pair of dancing sprites.   

“Ah…” The moment the costumed employee laid his eyes on the girl, he was stunned. She was just like an unblemished angel, causing people to feel an uncontrollable sense of affection towards her.       

“Ultraman~ It’s really Ultraman!” The silver-haired girl’s innocent face was filled with delight as her cute scarlet eyes each had a heart symbol in them. Her expression was truly adorable, it was to the point that one might even think it should’ve been illegal.  

“Urgh!” The costumed employee quickly clenched his chest. 

He had fallen victim to moe…

“Um… Big brother Ultraman! I-Is it possible to take a picture with me or something? I’m really a big fan of yours, gyarun~” The silver-haired loli extended her small paws and formed a small heart shape in front of her chest. Her small face carried both anticipation and a slight trace of shyness.      

“Uwoh… You’re a pretty cute little girl.” The costume-clad employee hastily covered his nose.

“Can I please?~”

“Yes, T-That’s definitely not a problem.” It was impossible that anyone could have the heart to reject a request made by such a cute loli. 

“Really? Yay! Then, can we find a more secretive place around?~ There’s too many people here~”  

“Th-There’s N-No problem.” Seeing the girl’s adorable expression once more, he knew that it was impossible for anyone to turn down her proposal.  

He was completely unaware that the hint of a crafty smile was on the face of the small loli leading the way. 

“Over here! Let’s begin!!” After being brought into a small alley, the employee looked around with a dignified posture. 

“…Hehehe~ I’m so sorry big brother~ I want to borrow and use something on your body. So let me apologize ahead for making you go through this, alright~?” 

“Eh?…” Before the employee could react, a scarlet ball suddenly bore down on him and entered his head. His consciousness immediately entered into a sea of darkness.