Why the Masters Are Like This (1)
The warm sunlight bathed my skin.
It was neither too hot nor too weak—just the perfect amount of brightness to feel good.
The soft blanket of sensation on my skin gently rubbed against it, creating a pleasant friction, and the warmth inside wrapped my body snugly, as if it were saying it was happy.
My mind was awake, but my body was asleep. I liked feeling this.
How wonderful. I could keep enjoying this cozy, warm sensation while my mind stayed awake and alert.
In the battlefield, of course, you couldn't even dream. And in this peaceful royal capital, this feeling was one I rarely got to experience. The fact that my body was sleeping but my mind was awake itself was rare.
But the pleasant coziness only lasted a moment before a sense of unease began to rise in my mind.
The sun above was shining down on my skin through the window.
The sun high in the sky was sending warmth toward me.
What could that mean?
‘Lateness… is it?’
As soon as those words entered my head, the blanket was flipped upside down.
I threw the blanket that had covered my body off like it was on fire and shoved it into the corner, then quickly placed my feet on the floor.
I looked at the clock hanging there.
The time was 9:43.
According to the schedule, that was already well past the start of the first class.
“This is insane.”
My pride wouldn't allow it.
For all this time, I'd lived my life as a proper, upright role model student.
Lateness was an impossible thing for me.
But it was already too late.
Then I had no choice but to hurry in and enter during the middle of class to avoid cutting class.
The sound of fabric from my shirt brushing against my skin quickly.
The sound of the cape fluttering as I moved.
Washing up was a luxury. I hurriedly changed clothes, rushed to the entrance, and was putting on my boots.
‘Things I need to do today. Things I need to do today—’
While tying my shoe laces, I stopped and looked at the calendar I'd made.
It was five lines.
After making the table to write down the things I had to do, excluding weekends, based on a month, my hands that had been busy tying the laces froze.
The rightmost column of the five lines.
There, a circle had been drawn.
In my memory, it seemed like I'd circled it yesterday by mistake while half-asleep.
That meant—
‘Today is the weekend.’
I exhaled sharply.
I stared at the calendar for a few minutes in silence, then had no choice but to let out a sigh.
And I untied the shoe laces again, bit by bit.
***
Today is the weekend.
And it's Saturday.
It was a joyful day where I could kill time without anything to do until tomorrow.
Exams were over, and all assignments were finished.
It was truly a time of ‘freedom,’ as the word said.
‘Of course, there was a small trouble that kept me from realizing it—’
Snip, snip.
The sound of scissors cutting came from the bathroom.
I heard something being carefully cut, and there I was trimming my own hair with scissors.
‘Why does my hair seem to grow so fast?’
Looking at my reflection in the mirror, I pulled my bangs forward with my fingers and cut my hair.
Even though it's white, my hair has a slight bluish tint that can quickly grow if I let my guard down for a moment.
After going through periods like exam time where I couldn't pay attention to anything else, my hair had grown long enough to prick the eyes.
‘Should I shave it all off?’
Honestly, that would be easier to deal with.
I've tried shaving it a few times in the knight order.
I kept my hair short the whole time in the knight order.
It was better not to have long hair, which just took extra time to maintain.
My hair now reached just below my waist, above my hips.
After washing it, it stayed wet for a while, so honestly it was uncomfortable.
My hair got tangled, and it was hard to brush.
The worst part was that when I ate, my side hair kept falling forward.
That's why hair kept getting into my mouth.
‘…I can't cut this. Ah~.’
Even though I said it, I didn't have the courage to cut my hair short or shave it.
I thought it was pretty long hair, but if I cut it short and it turned out strangely, I'd feel uncomfortable myself.
Snip, snip.
While complaining about this, I put down the scissors.
I shook off what was on my clothes, sprinkled the water in the bucket, and cleaned up the hair on the floor.
Looking in the mirror, I plucked the hair stuck to my white shirt and threw it away.
Then I put on the vest I had worn.
‘What I need to do this weekend… was to get medicinal herbs.’
I checked inside my pocket for any knife just in case, took out the note, and looked at the underlined part.
Chrobel, Yakolin, Shiffton.
Medicinal herbs that were popular enough for me to know, and I figured they would be sold in the market as well.
‘I had enough money….’
Everything was prepared.
My goal for today was to take one step closer to my original body.
With that buoyant expectation, I put on my shoes and prepared to go outside.
***
Markets are plentiful inside the royal capital.
There are markets mainly dealing in hard-to-obtain items from various regions, markets full of items for adventurers, and markets full of items related to agriculture.
Of course, I only knew that, not detailed information about which specific items were sold or which ones weren't.
So, where should I go?
The answer was to go to the largest market that handled the most goods, and it wouldn't fail in general.
Of course, the probability of great success was low, but since the items I was looking for weren't that rare, I didn't think I needed to go to a specialized place.
That's why I headed to the largest market in the royal capital—the Northrup Market.
‘…Wow. There are so many people.’
When I'd visited the royal capital before, I hadn't been to the Northrup Market.
When buying interior items, I'd just gotten them from nearby stores.
During the knight order days, I didn't have the mental space to pay attention to markets like that.
But I thought coming to such a huge market that I'd never been to was a mistake.
The bustling people and the merchants calling out to them stretched all the way to the end of my field of vision, showing the grandeur of being ‘the largest market in the royal capital.’
Of course, there were plenty of shops.
Shops densely packed in big and small buildings, and merchants on the street spreading mats and selling miscellaneous goods were quite a lot.
‘…I should have come earlier.’
Beyond like or dislike of such places, if there were this many people and things, I thought I could have a good experience.
I might find unexpected items to expand my collection, and I might even meet someone helpful to my life by chance.
Well, remember.
Chrobel, Yakolin, Shiffton.
Chrobel, Yakolin, Shiffton.
Recalling the materials I must not forget, I started walking into the market.
From potions and armor to gloves, leather, magic devices, and potions—miscellaneous items were visible on the market floor.
But those I glanced at once and passed.
Things that weren't the purpose were just curiosities; I walked quickly.
While asking the market people, I entered a place where I could get herbal or alchemical materials.
It was much darker than other streets.
‘Why do they like these dark alleys so much? They should clean them properly before selling.’
The market floor was dirty.
Herbs gathered haphazardly were lying on the floor.
Shredded herbs were rolling around on the floor.
And crushed juices stuck to the floor looked awful.
People also looked quite gloomy.
Although the scale was smaller than the beginning of the market, the lack of merchants calling out made it even quieter.
The only merchants who were there—
“Miss, how about this potion…? Just three drops and you can put the opponent to sleep.”
‘…If you drink this potion, you'll forget all the pain in the world, so try it once?’
They were obviously shady people.
I didn't know what the ingredients were, and they were casually offering me unknown potions in glass bottles lying on the street.
I turned my gaze away uncomfortably and walked inside.
‘These things sold in back alleys look bad from a glance. Is there no proper place?’
A strange feeling of disgust arose.
Both the dirtiness and the gloominess were unpleasant.
Somehow the alley atmosphere was damp, like a hotbed of crime.
Of course I had a knife, and as a knight I wouldn't come to harm, but it was hard not to be vigilant.
‘I'll go a little deeper, and if there's no proper shop, I'll come back out.’
Every time I entered the alley, a foul smell of mixed herbs and potion stung my nose.
Since sunlight didn't reach properly, it was dark, and moss clung to the gaps in the buildings.
Only after going deeper inside did I see places that weren't just mats spread out but shops opening and selling.
‘…This time, the shops were all similar, so I didn't know which one to enter.’
Even in the quiet shops, a man's voice was heard from here.
“It hasn't been delivered?! You said that last time too.”
“I'm sorry, but I can't help it. The process for quantity coming down from above makes it hard to get. But… if you show that much sincerity, who knows?”
“……”
The stiff-faced man extended his hand and demanded money bluntly.
In front of him, the man with relatively small stature who looked like a young master with platinum-blonde hair gritted his teeth and took out his pocket.
‘…Wait, if it's a platinum-blonde young master like appearance.’
Just as I was hurrying on my way, I had no choice but to turn my gaze.
Because I saw a face I wouldn't have expected in such a place.
‘Ferdan Aitana.’
A student of the magic department and successor to the Noche Magic Tower.
‘Why is he here in a place like this?’