Chapter 86
Chapter 86
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 86
Chapter Title: Secret Outing (2)
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“I shall obey Your Highness’s command!”
Sir James John shouted loudly. He looked exceedingly reliable.
In contrast, Demian wore an expression of fatigue. He was already busy enough just teaching the prince. He had no desire to stir up unnecessary conflict.
“I am Demian Haksen, the prince’s swordsmanship instructor. I have no intention of harming His Highness, so step aside.”
“No! That’s a lie! Don’t fall for it! How could a thug like that be a swordsmanship instructor!”
Oliver Apple cried out as if having a fit. Demian said briefly to the prince.
“Your Highness, let’s make it three hours.”
At that, the prince’s eyes shook violently.
“Demian Haksen?”
When Demian revealed his name, James John’s eyes gleamed.
“You wouldn’t happen to be that Demian Haksen I’ve only heard rumors about?”
“Probably.”
“Uhahat, it’s an honor to meet the famous person I’ve only heard about in rumors. I’ve been terribly curious about what you’re really like!
At those words, Demian could only sigh.
“Hey, why don’t we just sit down and have a drink instead.”
Demian said, tapping James John’s shoulder. At that action, James John’s face hardened rigidly.
“Don’t touch my body carelessly…….”
James John grabbed Demian’s wrist. But something was off.
No matter how much strength he put in, Demian’s hand showed no sign of leaving his shoulder.
“I said, sit.”
Demian applied strength to his hand. James John unwittingly plopped back down into his chair.
“You, you bastard……!”
James John tried to stand up. But he couldn’t push off Demian’s hand pressing on his shoulder.
“Ugh, uuuugh!”
James John put strength into his entire body. Bloodshot veins appeared in his eyes. Yet his body didn’t budge an inch.
‘His strength has certainly increased.’
Demian thought, looking down at James John, who was grimacing in pain.
Knights originally possessed far superior physical strength compared to ordinary humans. The mana contained within their bodies transformed their flesh.
By the Middle Class level, even without using mana, their pure physical abilities were enough to fell wild beasts.
He was overwhelming a Middle Class knight in a contest of pure strength. It was thanks to Alecto’s royal jelly.
By this point, a look of dismay appeared on James John’s face. He had realized the gap between him and Demian.
“Sir James John! Fight on!”
“Take down a guy like that in one go!”
But the nobles belonging to ‘Real Men’ began cheering without noticing James John’s inner turmoil.
In truth, they had no choice but to do so.
Who was James John? He was a fairly prominent figure even among the Middle Class knights in the capital.
From their perspective, James John had to look stronger than Demian, who had only just reached Middle Class.
“……Damn it!”
James John couldn’t shake off the expectations of his companions. Due to his pride, he was in a position where he had to show something.
James John circulated his mana. Power surged through his entire body.
No matter how much Demian’s physical strength had increased, it couldn’t surpass that of a Middle Class knight who wielded mana.
James John sprang to his feet. He immediately threw a punch at Demian.
“I’ll smash your face completely!”
Demian easily dodged the fist. Then he struck James John’s abdomen with his own fist.
“Guhk!”
James John’s body was sent flying toward the wall in an instant. His back hit the wall, and the rebound sent him sprawling forward.
“Guhk, kehuk.”
James John frothed at the mouth. His eyes were already glazed over in unconsciousness.
“If you don’t want to end up like him, will you all clear out?”
Demian said, pointing at James John. The ‘Real Men’ members hurriedly tried to flee outside.
“Take him with you.”
At Demian’s words, a few members turned back and dragged James John away.
And so, only Demian and Oliver Apple remained in the VIP room.
“Then, Your Highness, shall we have a proper talk?”
With even his last bastion James John ending up like that, Oliver Apple’s face turned pale.
* * *
Demian sat in an empty chair.
“Your Highness, please sit first.”
At Demian’s words, Oliver Apple timidly sat in a spot a little distance away.
“So, what exactly is this gathering?”
“R-Real Men…… It’s a place where nobles of the capital periodically…… gather to share friendship…… like that.”
“Unlike the name, it’s just a club full of cowards.”
At Demian’s words, Oliver Apple shouted indignantly.
“Insult me if you must, but don’t insult my dear friends!”
“Was there anyone else besides James John who stepped up to protect Your Highness?”
At Demian’s remark, Oliver Apple clamped his mouth shut.
Now that he thought about it, that was true. They always professed loyalty to him, yet only one among them had tried to stop Demian.
“Who arranged the venue?”
“The tavern owner provided it…… He sets the appointment time too…… When good liquor and women are prepared, the owner contacts us…….”
After hearing the full story, Demian clicked his tongue.
“Your Highness, I am deeply disappointed. To break your promise with me and come drink like this.”
“S-Sir Demian! Sp-Spare me! I-I won’t do it again! So……!”
Demian poured liquor into two glasses. He placed one in front of Oliver Apple.
Oliver Apple looked at Demian Haksen with a face asking what this was.
“Have a drink.”
Demian first downed his glass. Oliver Apple cautiously sipped his while watching.
“Kya.”
Even in this situation, the liquor tasted good. It was a shame it was just one glass.
“Would you like another?”
Oliver tentatively held out his glass. Demian poured again.
Oliver downed the second glass. As the alcohol spread through his body, courage slowly welled up.
“Um…… You’re not mad?”
“I was going to be.”
At that, Oliver’s face turned pale again.
“But then I thought about it. You’ve been through a lot these past couple of days, Your Highness.”
Through a lot.
At that word, Oliver blinked his eyes repeatedly.
Yes, he had been through a lot. A tremendous amount. To the point of dying.
When had he ever heard such words? Had he ever?
Hearing something like acknowledgment from Demian Haksen made a strange feeling well up.
“You’ve worked hard so far, so I figured one day to unwind wouldn’t hurt. So, have another.”
Oliver Apple held out his glass again. He downed the third.
“Your Highness, if you want to drink again, just say so. I can’t permit it every time, but I’ll turn a blind eye occasionally.”
“R-Really?”
“Yes, but not in places like this. No women either. Strictly just drinking properly.”
At the mention of no women, Oliver Apple hesitated once more.
Liquor and women.
Both were indispensable in Oliver Apple’s life.
Yet even those two couldn’t fill some void. That’s why he kept seeking more, without even knowing what he wanted.
“I’m not hearing an answer.”
“Ah, understood! I’ll do that!”
“You must keep it.”
Demian held out the bottle again. Oliver Apple accepted and drank.
“Sir Demian…… C-Could you say it again.”
“Say what?”
“Th-That I worked hard.”
Oliver Apple asked, hiding his embarrassed feelings as much as possible. Demian said nonchalantly.
“You worked hard. You put in a lot of effort studying something you’re not used to.”
At Demian’s words, Oliver Apple’s mouth twitched like a worm.
He realized it for the first time.
How joyful it was to receive recognition from someone.
* * *
After drinking for quite a while, Oliver Apple passed out completely. He lay sprawled on the sofa, dead to the world.
“I don’t get why someone with such a weak tolerance for alcohol chugs so much.”
Demian emptied the remaining liquor into his mouth. Truthfully, it wasn’t that tasty.
He had only forced it down to play drinking buddy for Oliver Apple.
“Why did I like this tasteless stuff so much back then?”
Demian was muttering with a wry smile when.
“May I come in?”
A woman’s voice came from outside. Demian set down his glass and said.
“Do as you like.”
“Thank you.”
The door opened, and a woman entered. The red dress suited her extremely well.
“Allow me to introduce myself. I am Carmen, the owner of this place.”
Demian examined the woman who introduced herself as Carmen. She exuded elegance unfit for a mere tavern wench. Yet she lacked something to be called nobility.
“You don’t look like an ordinary tavern owner.”
At Demian’s words, Carmen smiled and replied.
“This tavern is just my side job. My main occupation is elsewhere.”
“Main occupation?”
“In my humble capacity, I manage ‘Green Pavilion.’”
At the mention of Green Pavilion, Demian looked at her with surprise.
He had heard of Green Pavilion a few times in his previous life. It was a shadowy organization spread not just in the capital but across the entire Apple Kingdom.
It had meticulous organization and vast influence, with even nobles connected to it.
“You’re quite the big shot.”
“Not compared to you, Sir Demian.”
Carmen said with a smile.
“So why set up this gathering? It must have cost a fortune to prepare.”
The liquor here wasn’t something you could find just anywhere.
The food laid out to eat with it was all made from top-grade ingredients.
Above all, emptying out an entire high-class tavern of this scale was an enormous loss.
“I wanted to lead a noble gathering centered on Crown Prince. Managing those connections would be very helpful.”
“You’re answering straightforwardly?”
“There’s nothing to hide.”
Carmen said matter-of-factly. Demian looked at her with an amused expression.
“You’d better not call on His Highness anymore after today.”
“Understood.”
“You say that too easily.”
From what Carmen said, the Crown Prince was the center of the gathering. If the prince stopped coming, Carmen would suffer a huge loss.
Yet Carmen nodded without a hint of discomfort.
“I may know nothing else, but I know a little about surviving.”
Demian let out a chuckle at Carmen’s words.
She was right. If she had refused, Demian planned to turn Green Pavilion upside down that very day.
“I hope you keep that promise.”
Demian was about to hoist the prince onto his back when he said as if it just occurred to him.
“By any chance, do you run a black market too?”
Black market.
A market opened to trade shady goods like stolen items or drugs.
Since it was illegal, not just anyone could run one. Only large organizations like Green Pavilion could.
“That’s right. Is there something you need?”
Right now, Demian needed exactly two things. Elixirs and mana cultivation methods.
He had grown tremendously physically from consuming Alecto’s royal jelly, but his mana was stagnant. He desperately needed an elixir to bolster his mana.
A mana cultivation method was indispensable too. To reclaim his previous life’s realm, Demian needed to create one perfectly suited to him.
Ideally, he needed to obtain as many high-level mana cultivation methods as possible.
“I’d like to participate in the auction at the next black market.”
Among illegal goods, the especially valuable ones were consumed at auctions held within the black market.
He might find the items he needed there.
But while a regular black market was one thing, the auction house wasn’t open to just anyone.
Only those with very close ties to Green Pavilion, and trustworthy ones at that, could attend.
“If that’s what you wish, Sir Demian, I’ll send an invitation when the next auction opens.”
But thanks to meeting Green Pavilion’s boss face-to-face, Demian easily obtained auction access.
“That’s appreciated.”
Demian hoisted Oliver Apple onto his back and stood.
As he stepped outside, the sun was already rising.