Chapter 311: Bread and Dagger (9)
Chapter 311: Bread and Dagger (9)
The Academy was a densely populated area, with a resident population reaching into the tens of thousands.
Naturally, the demand and profit generated from such a crowd were staggering. It certainly wasn't a scale that could be sustained by the Academy's internal micro-economy alone.
As a result, a bustling commercial district had naturally formed around the Academy's perimeter.
Population draws capital, and capital draws markets.
Then, the markets draw even more people, and thus, a city is formed. The area commonly referred to as "Downtown" by those at the Academy was no different.
Originally, the Academy was said to have been situated in a secluded backwater.
Long ago, a great mage gathered eminent scholars to share their wisdom, and ambitious young people gathered to seek their teachings—that was the beginning.
Since then, as excellent talents were produced, the Academy's reputation grew day by day.
And as rumors spread far and wide, more people were bound to flock there.
Eventually, even wealthy figures like royalty and nobles began visiting the Academy, and shops befitting their standard of living started to take root in the vicinity.
The result of all that time stood before my eyes now.
The streets of downtown were teeming with people. The crowds packed into every alleyway created the unique vitality of a central hub.
By now, it was hard to find even a trace of its past as a remote countryside.
The only remnant of those days was the fierce culture of competition remaining at the Academy.
They say it became a tradition because the eminent scholars used to compete over whose disciple was superior.
Whether then or now, it seemed masters were a breed that simply couldn't resist working their disciples to the bone.
I suddenly thought of Professor Derek. When I visited him recently, he told me to prepare for hellish training, but it seemed I would have to postpone that for another time.
I had far too much to do right now.
I had come downtown to take care of one of those tasks.
I pulled a note from my pocket. A short address was written there in a rounded script. It was the note Emma had written for me.
She said it was where the peddler who sold her the "Tip of the Frost Blade" was staying.
Even as she wrote down the address at my persistent request, Emma couldn't quite shake her anxiety. Glancing at me warily until the very end, she had asked me cautiously:
"……You're not going to do anything, right?"
As if.
If I didn't intend to do anything, I wouldn't have had a reason to look for him in the first place.
However, I had to force those words back down my throat.
There was no need to make Emma tremble in fear.
She was kind and good-hearted. No matter how much she had been scammed, she couldn't help but worry about an old acquaintance.
So, I simply gave her a faint smile and reassured her.
"Of course. What would I even do?"
"Like, cutting off his limbs……?"
When she put it like that, I was at a loss for words.
In the end, I had to keep reassuring Emma until the trembling in her eyes subsided. Then I headed straight for downtown, and only now had I arrived at the place Emma had written down.
From the outside, it looked like a shabby shop.
The fellow who ripped Emma off was likely staying inside.
First, I cleared my throat with a deliberate "Ahem" to signal my presence. Only then did my hand go knock, knock against the shop door.
A polite tone flowed from my lips.
"……Is anyone in?"
It was a response based on manners and common sense, just as I had promised Emma.
With this, even Emma wouldn't be able to blame me.
However, no matter how long I waited, there was no response from beyond the door. It remained the same even after I knocked a few more times.
"Hmm," I hummed, stroking my chin.
The bloody battle with the Corpse Giant had taken much from me, but it had also taught me many things.
One of those things was how to handle Aura.
Until recently, I was merely a beginner Expert.
At that time, I couldn't properly draw out the power of Aura, nor could I use it for much more than coating my sword. I was truly a "fledgling drunk on power."
But the current me was different.
My Aura's characteristics were slowly beginning to bloom. By applying this, I could use more advanced detection techniques.
Holding my breath, I spread my Aura.
Aura was the manifestation of one's Mental Imagery. As the refined mana spread out, the structure of the surroundings became more vividly etched into my mind.
It felt as if a new sense had been born, one that transcended the five senses.
It didn't take long to find an anomaly inside the shop.
I felt a faint breath and warmth.
It meant a living being was staying inside.
Once I realized this, I hesitated no longer.
BOOM!
A thunderous explosion rang out.
It was the result of a mana-infused kick slamming into the shop's front door.
The air was torn apart as a gale-force wind swept through. The wooden fragments scattering in all directions gave an idea of the impact's force.
I thought I heard a faint, small scream from inside.
Stepping over the wooden shards that were once a door, I asked the question again.
"Is anyone ho~me?"
It was still a polite greeting.
Yes, so far, I hadn't broken my promise to Emma.
However, even after breaking down the door, I didn't achieve my intended goal.
This was because I couldn't see a single human shadow inside the shop.
I could feel a presence, but I couldn't see anyone.
At most, there was only a single cat staring at me with startled eyes.
In that case, the place to suspect was obvious.
Tilting my head as if confused, I muttered to myself.
"Oh? Is nobody here?"
As I spoke, I slowly scanned the inside of the shop. Every time I did, I felt a tense gaze fixed on me.
Amateurs might have been fooled.
Sight accounts for a significant portion of the five senses. If you can confuse that, it's easy to mislead the rest.
It was just that I possessed yet another sense.
My hand shot out toward a certain spot like a bolt of lightning.
"NYAAAAAAOOOONG—!"
A gray-furred cat screamed as it struggled. It bared its claws and scratched at my hand, but my mana-reinforced skin didn't budge.
Before long, my hand was gripping the cat by the scruff of its neck.
The cat's blue eyes looked up at me, filled with terror.
My gaze had long since turned cold.
"……I'm asking if anyone is in."
With that single sentence, the cat's thrashing came to an abrupt halt.
Instead, the cat began to watch me warily, trembling all over. It seemed it was still trying to hold out, even though its disguise had clearly been blown.
In times like this, there was only one effective means of communication.
I sighed and pulled out my hand axe. Only then did the cat scream and admit its mistake.
"I-I'm here! I'm right here, so please……!"
Hearing human language from the mouth of a cat.
I let out a hollow laugh at the rare sight.
I had heard that some mages could perform such tricks. Since it was a spell closer to a petty trick, not many orthodox mages practiced it.
Finally, the minimum conditions for a conversation were met.
Without hesitation, I tossed the cat onto the floor. Then, as if it had been waiting for the chance, the cat performed a mid-air somersault and changed its form.
It was a frail-looking man with gray hair.
He was wearing cloth robes, a common characteristic of those in magic-related professions. Since he dealt in rare alchemy ingredients, it seemed he was no exception.
Emma called him "Avian."
Leaving him to watch me while trembling, I crossed my arms and issued a threat.
"Avian… why were you hiding?"
Avian hesitated for a long time, unable to answer.
Only after a while did he manage to squeeze out an excuse.
"T-That's because today is a holiday……."
"Stop the nonsense… I'm busy."
At the same time, thwack! My hand axe slammed into the desk.
Seeing this, Avian's face turned even paler.
It was a blatant threat.
If Avian were innocent, it would be one thing, but he was the one who had scammed Emma. Furthermore, since he had tried to hide himself, my suspicion could only double.
Above all, there was another reason why I was being so sensitive.
Even now, my eyes were carefully observing Avian's appearance.
Regardless, Avian simply squeezed his eyes shut with an expression that said it was all over.
"I understand… I suppose this day was bound to come. I've been in business for over ten years and nothing like this has ever happened, but I will tell you everything without hiding a thing."
He slumped his shoulders and raised both hands in surrender.
"It's true that I committed a scam. But there's a reason for everything, and I was planning to give a refund as soon as the funds were ready in the near future……!"
"I thought you said you'd speak without hiding anything."
But Avian's excuses could go no further.
At my cold remark, Avian looked at me with eyes that didn't seem to understand.
His acting was truly excellent.
To create a crack in that brazen face, I revealed the reason why I was still on guard against him.
"Then why do I still feel a sense of dissonance from your appearance? That doesn't look like your real face."
That was the signal.
Avian's frail demeanor changed instantly.
A chilling silence, like a parched permafrost, settled over the room. Avian's blue eyes were now glaring at me like ice spikes.
Yes, it should have been like this from the start.
A taut tension that felt like it could snap at any moment.
The end was clear.
Snap.
Two flashes of light intersected.
An ice dagger was suddenly held in Avian's hand. I blocked it by meeting it with my arm.
Of course, that wasn't the end.
Thud! My foot slammed into Avian's solar plexus. Without even a groan, Avian was sent flying, crashing into a corner of the shop.
A dry cough echoed from among the luggage piled haphazardly there.
I dusted off my hands and gave a bright smile.
"Why does a mage try to engage a swordsman in close quarters?"
However, Avian was surprisingly a man of grit.
Though I had controlled my strength to some extent, he immediately pushed himself up after taking a blow to a vital point. Although, judging by his staggering, it didn't seem like he was unscathed.
The inside of the shop was cramped anyway.
It was safe to say he had zero means of escaping me.
Just as I was about to take a step forward, certain of my victory.
I couldn't help but stop dead in my tracks at the sight that suddenly caught my eye.
"Hey, your ear……."
At my remark, Avian flinched and hurriedly covered the area around his ear.
But it was already too late.
Perhaps because his breathing had been disrupted and the magic had worn off, his ear was now revealing its true form.
A long, pointed ear.
It was nothing less than the symbol of a certain race.
Because that fact was so unexpected, I could only blankly mutter his identity.
"……You were an Elf?"
Avian bit his lip even harder at my dumbfounded voice.
Then, glaring at me with sharp eyes, he immediately kicked off the ground and lunged at me.
"Die!"
Filled with killing intent, as if he truly wished for it.
It was an encounter I hadn't expected in the slightest.