Chapter 69
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 69
Chapter Title: Just Someone I Know
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Ian and his group cautiously followed the suspicious figure into the alley.
A dimly lit spot deeper in the alley, out of most people's sight.
Rin, leading the way in pursuit, turned back and signaled to Ian.
It was a sign that she'd found something.
By the time Ian arrived, the suspicious figure had already vanished from the alley, and Rin was scouting the area nearby.
"He went in through this door."
"An underground warehouse?"
An old, abandoned building with no owner in sight.
Its location and condition were both terrible, and it surely wouldn't come cheap.
It didn't look like a new owner would show up anytime soon.
The scammer must have picked the lock on the basement and been using it as his hideout.
"For now... let's just have Lia go in with me."
"What about me?"
"Stay outside and grab him if he tries to run."
"Got it! Leave it to me!"
Just in case, all the non-combatants stayed well back, while Ian and Lia opened the door to the basement.
With a rusty creak from the hinges, a dust-covered staircase came into view.
Lia met Ian's eyes, nodded, and stepped inside without hesitation.
"Wh-what the hell? Who are you bastards?!"
It was a small space, just big enough for one person to hole up, so the scammer inside immediately noticed the intruders.
Two suspicious figures cloaked in robes had entered the basement.
They clearly weren't there with good intentions, so the scammer quickly drew his weapon.
"You from 9th Street? Think you can throw your weight around just 'cause you've been hawking wares in the market for a few days?"
Ian and Lia ignored him, so the scammer let out a creepy chuckle and brandished his dagger.
"Heh heh, only two of you, and you don't even know what I can do? Big mistake."
Gripping what looked like a cheap, ordinary dagger, the scammer assumed an aggressive stance and lunged first.
"Die!"
The scammer swung his arm wide, hurling the dagger at them.
From the wind-up to the flight path toward the two—everything was so laughably slow that both Lia and Ian simply twisted aside to dodge.
"Wha?!"
He hadn't even considered the attack might miss; seeing the pair effortlessly evade his throw, the scammer's face twisted in shock.
"......"
Lia silently closed in and swung her fist.
Without even attempting to dodge or block, the scammer took the punch and went flying.
"Gah, wait! I surrender! I surrender!"
"Eh, what...? He's weak."
Rin, who had been peeking anxiously from behind, muttered to herself.
Having overheard the exchange from inside, Rin had assumed he was a real threat and was ready to rush in at any moment.
But the guy was pathetically weak—way below expectations.
Wondering if it was all an act, Rin eyed the scammer suspiciously.
Lia, looking unsurprised, called out to her.
"How strong do you think a lowlife slinging scams like this would be?"
It was only natural that the guy had no real skill.
In a city like this, there were countless ways for swords-for-hire to make money.
No need to spell out how pitiful the skills of back-alley thugs scraping by in the shadows would be.
The scammer, dragged out by Lia after collapsing, was met by the other members who had fallen back nearby and now gathered around.
Mika, drawing close, recognized the voice and scowled loudly.
"Ah! That's the voice—it's him! The guy who sold me the fake magic book!"
"What? Oh, that gullible mage..."
"What did you call me?!"
Mika swung her staff.
"Kyak!"
She might look like a frail mage on the outside, but Mika had grown close to level 20 by now.
Sure, her strength growth as a mage was minimal, but it was still more than enough to hurt.
After taking a solid beating from Mika and screaming, the scammer yelled out.
"Got any proof?!"
"What?"
"You got no evidence I scammed you!"
"Is that what you wanna go with?!"
Mika raised her staff again, fuming.
...To play along, no, there wasn't any.
No contract, no witnesses notarized. A street stall deal like that wouldn't leave paper trails.
"Call the guards!"
The commotion from the fight had already stirred things up outside the alley.
The guards were already heading their way.
"I've got the guards in my pocket! Try this crap without proof—you're done for!"
The scammer shouted confidently.
Time to cash in on all those drinks he'd bought the guards to get on their good side.
He couldn't bribe everyone, of course—just a few—but that should be enough.
Trivial squabbles like this usually sided with whoever had the better connections anyway.
His opponents looked like mid-rank mercenaries, but without proof, it didn't matter.
When it was word against word, the side friendlier with the guards usually won.
Just then, a few guards entered the alley.
"Over here! These guys jumped me out of nowhere, and I'm innocent—"
"Captain Ian."
Interrupting the scammer, the squad leader who'd brought the guards spoke to Ian first.
"We got the message you sent this morning."
"Squad Leader Mikhail. You came yourself."
"Haha, I didn't even get to properly greet you last time."
Mikhail, the patrol lieutenant who Ian had helped in the forest before.
Thanks to Leona's letter of recommendation, he'd finally transferred to the city posting he'd always wanted, and his face was noticeably brighter than before.
Mikhail grabbed Ian's hand firmly.
"It's all thanks to you putting in a good word."
"......"
In truth, Ian didn't recall saying anything particularly glowing about Mikhail.
After a brief hesitation, Ian replied carefully.
"No, no. They already knew your name and face."
"Really?!"
Ian wasn't fabricating praise.
Mikhail seemed thrilled, so it worked out.
Ian just nodded without a word.
"Anyway..."
After their rather lengthy greeting, Mikhail's gaze shifted sideways.
Seeing Ian apparently on real friendly terms with the guards, the scammer had gone pale as a ghost.
Without proof on either side, the crime would be decided by guard connections.
"Is this the guy?"
"Yes. A scammer."
Mikhail glanced toward the basement interior.
"And illegal occupation to boot. Serious crime."
The scammer was hauled off by the guards without another word.
Ian gestured toward the basement and quietly mentioned to Mikhail.
"Oh, one sec. One of our members got scammed, so can we look inside for our stuff?"
"Go ahead."
"Mika, over here."
"Ah, yes."
Ian led Mika down the stairs and quickly found the scammer's pouch of coins in the basement.
Ian pulled out seven gold coins—the amount the scammer had taken from Mika—and handed them back.
"Huh? Captain, I only gave him five..."
"Honest girl. Here, take all the silver too."
Ian dumped the rest of the coins from the pouch into Mika's hands.
No contract or notary on record.
Street deals like that often had a bit of wiggle room anyway.
"...Huh?"
With the money recovered, Ian was about to leave the basement when his gaze paused.
It was a scammer's lair, full of junk dressed up as valuables and sold off—all fakes.
But one item among them caught Ian's eye.
Ian quietly pocketed an old book.
"Find what you were looking for?"
"Yeah, it was all still there. Lucky."
"Good to hear. We'll handle the rest."
With a helpful acquaintance on the inside, they skipped a ton of messy procedures.
Ian exchanged goodbyes with Mikhail and left the scene.
On the way back to base after fully resolving Mika's issue.
In the excited chatter about the day's events as they walked, Ian handed a book to Mika beside him.
"Here, Mika. This is for you."
"Huh? What's this...?"
Ian held out one of the worn books piled up in the hideout.
Mika took it with a puzzled look.
"There was a real magic book in there."
"...Huh?"
A scammer who dressed up old books to pass as magic tomes and sold them.
Ian had spotted one genuine magic book mixed in with the fakes.
The guy probably never knew; if he had, he'd have sold it for a fortune ages ago instead of scamming.
"A-a magic book? This one?"
"Yeah. You wanted to learn a new spell, right? Take it."
Was there such a thing as fate after all?
She'd been scammed and half-given up, but now...
Gazing down at the magic book now in her hands, Mika murmured in a voice thick with emotion.
"Finally... I can learn a wide-area attack spell too?"
"...Huh?"
Ian looked at her quizzically, and Mika blinked back in equal confusion.
"It's not... an attack spell?"
"Never said it was."
...Come to think of it, yeah.
Attack spells were just Mika's wishful thinking.
Stumbling on the book by chance meant it was unlikely to be what she wanted.
"I-I wanted a big area spell to wipe out monsters though..."
Mika hesitated, then cautiously voiced her hopes to Ian.
But Ian shook his head firmly, as if that was out of the question.
"No way a scammer like that would have something like this by coincidence."
"Yeah, but..."
To cast the kind of massive area spell Mika dreamed of, one spell alone wouldn't cut it.
She'd need specialized traits like [Wide-Range Destruction], [Elemental Scatter], or [Blast]—a whole suite of them for that power.
In other words, talent.
"Yeah, but..."
Mika drooped her head.
She was truly grateful for the magic book.
But another support spell.
To Ian, it was a perfectly satisfactory outcome.
[Mana Injection]
- [Connection] Attribute Magic
- Consumes MP to restore ally's MP