Chapter 97
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 97
Chapter Title: Incident in the Capital
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(5)
9.
As the evening sunset painted the sky,
the imperial princess's group had finally wrapped up their schedule.
All that remained was the return to the imperial capital. Yet Pertisha didn't head back right away.
"Can't we just browse the night market before going? Please?"
Heading back now would mean being cooped up in the palace until enrollment day at the academy.
So she wheedled her escort knight, Limer.
Just until night fully fell—let her wander the streets a bit longer.
Naturally, Limer opposed it.
All business was concluded, and lingering offered no gain. But her repeated pleas wore down his resolve, and he finally surrendered.
"Sigh... Fine. We'll look around a bit more."
"Really? For real?"
"But on one condition."
Limer held up two fingers.
First, she had to wear a mask.
In the bustling crowds of the night market, Pertisha's striking beauty would draw eyes and lodge in memories too easily.
That spelled trouble.
She was an imperial princess whose very existence was concealed. So he suggested masking her face.
"Got it. I'll wear a mask!"
She nodded eagerly, swiftly donning the mask she carried. Then Limer added the second condition.
"And promise that the moment we reach the end of the night market, we head straight back to the capital."
"Yes, I promise that too!"
Fearing he might back out, Pertisha nodded vigorously,
her face brightening.
With her firm agreement secured, Limer notified the Royal Guard via an attendant of the schedule change.
They were sightseeing the night market.
Up to that point, everything was fine.
He hadn't even worried about trouble. The imperial capital's night market was renowned across the continent for its impeccable security.
'But...'
Who could've foreseen this mess.
Limer furrowed his brow and sighed. Before him unfolded the sight of Pertisha raising her voice against a merchant.
"This is outright fraud!"
The trouble spot was one of the common gambling stalls in the night market—a game dubbed "lamp extinguishing."
The rules were simple.
Throw darts made from mana stone shards to hit the mana lamps decorating the wall.
A mana reaction would snuff the light, and extinguishing all five won a prize of choice.
'Curiosity's one thing...'
The real issue came next.
She'd succeeded in snuffing four lamps but failed on the fifth.
Pertisha demanded a retry, and this time she clearly hit the target.
But the lamp stayed lit.
'They rigged it not to go out.'
A dime a dozen in night market gambling.
Limer brushed it off.
Pertisha, however, did not.
She spotted the trick in the mana lamp and confronted them.
She even pinpointed the exact cheat in moments. Likely a spirit tipped her off.
'Spirits see what humans struggle to notice with ease.'
And so the fiasco unfolded.
When Pertisha first pressed them, the lamp game merchants looked guilty.
But realizing she had no proof, they turned the tables with outrage.
"What nonsense is that?"
"Got proof we did anything?"
"As I said earlier...!"
The argument dragged on.
As Limer sighed again, pondering how to intervene, the attendants approached with urgent words.
"...Sir Rapidus."
"Word from the Royal Guard."
"A 3rd-grade alert target spotted—heading this way."
A 3rd-grade alert target meant a potential threat warranting caution.
In imperial escort duties, it also signified the second encounter with this individual.
In other words, someone they'd met before had reappeared. No need to ask for details on appearance.
Limer had just spotted him.
'The red-haired barbarian.'
One glance at his attire told if he was a barbarian. He was the only one in the night market with his torso bare.
He was also the man from the cafe they'd briefly visited earlier that day.
'He arrived before us then, so we didn't heighten alert...'
Meeting again changed everything.
Especially since he was approaching first this time, demanding vigilance.
Limer kept eyes locked on the red-haired barbarian while nearing Pertisha, still locked in debate.
He whispered softly.
"Time to go, Your Highness."
"Ugh, but...!"
"Suspicious fellow nearby."
Pertisha's mouth snapped shut.
She knew she couldn't push further. Her face full of reluctance, lips pursed tight. The merchants, sensing victory, crowed.
"See? You pushed too hard and got caught—now you've got nothing to say!"
"Don't mess with our business—get lost!"
Pertisha's shoulders trembled.
Fury etched on her face.
Limer shot the merchants a chilling glare, then whispered again.
"Don't let it get to you. I'll make them pay dearly later."
They'd rue their rudeness to the princess soon enough. As he stepped back with that vow,
the barbarian approached.
Limer's eyebrow twitched.
Was Pertisha really his target? As wariness filled her expression,
he halted.
"Mind if I give it a shot?"
Right where Pertisha had stood moments ago.
Before the merchants.
Evidently here to play. The merchants, recognizing a customer, switched to welcoming faces.
"Welcome, sir."
"Entry fee's three large coppers."
"Here."
The red-haired barbarian—
Ullan handed over the coins silently.
The merchants took them and vanished to reset the mana lamps, asking him to wait.
As they waited quietly,
"Wow, that's fascinating."
A familiar voice rang out.
Clear as a bell.
Pertisha, his comrade from his past life. Though far younger than in his memories.
Meanwhile, Pertisha—about seven paces from Ullan—suddenly pointed at the ground.
She spoke in wonder.
"First time seeing a wolf that lives in shadows."
She'd detected the White Wolf instantly.
Ullan responded indifferently.
Of course. She could see spirits and apparitions, no matter where they hid.
So he said nothing.
Pertisha spoke again.
"But hey."
"...?"
"Why walk around half-naked like that?"
"It's hot."
"Hmm, true—it has gotten warmer lately."
After the trivial exchange,
her lips curved upward behind the mask. A gentle smile.
"Still, that's a relief."
"What do you mean?"
"No need to worry about your clothes getting wet like that."
Without past-life memories, Ullan would've puzzled over it.
But familiar with Pertisha's abilities and speech, he grasped it immediately.
"I see. Rain's coming soon?"
"...!"
Her eyes widened behind the mask.
Shock plain.
"H-how'd you know?"
She could predict weather via spirit communion. Few knew, and even they only because she told them.
Ullan was different.
He'd deduced her exact ability from their brief chat. He was the first to figure it out unprompted.
"That's what it sounded like."
Meanwhile, Ullan brushed it off.
No point in lengthy explanations—it'd drag on.
Pertisha, doubts unanswered, wanted to press but held back.
"Customer! All set."
"Here's your darts."
The lamp game was ready.
Moments later, Ullan received six darts. The twelve mana lamps on the opposite wall lit up brightly.
"How's it work?"
"Throw these to hit the mana lamps dead-on. Mana reaction snuffs the flame."
"Hit all five, and pick any prize from over there."
Simple. Ullan nodded.
Then Pertisha, who'd watched silently, chimed in.
"You should explain this too. Extinguish all twelve in one go, and you can pick three prizes."
An offhand detail.
The merchants frowned. Ullan turned to them.
"That true?"
"Well, yeah, but..."
"Impossible in one round. No one's ever done it."
"Of course. The outer lamps are coated with reagent—they won't go out."
Pertisha's mocking tone.
Her persistent jabs irked them.
The merchants scowled fiercely.
"Hey, miss!"
"Keep accusing us, and we'll call the guards!"
Threats with grim faces.
As debate reignited,
"Understood."
Ullan nodded calmly.
Gripping a dart, he added,
"Then I'll snuff them all."
"Haha, bold one."
"Won't be easy, as we said."
The merchants retreated with laughs,
signaling to begin.
And in that instant,
two changes occurred.
First, the wind died.
The breeze tickling cheeks, rustling leaves—all vanished.
As if the area turned dead calm.
And next...
Ullan's muscles ballooned massively.
'Drank the elixir, so strength's boosted.'
No more, no less—just half his maximum power per throw.
Decision made,
Ullan hurled the dart without hesitation.
Whoosh! Boom-rumble-rumble—!
The dart flew with terrifying force.
Parting the air with a rip, it punched straight through the wall's center.
Kaboom! Crack! Crash!
Mana lamps shattered amid deafening noise.
But that wasn't all.
A shockwave erupted from the impact, blasting other lamps and the entire wall away.
"Kyaa!"
"Wh-what?!"
"An accident?!"
Chaos and screams erupted nearby.
The massive boom toppled the lamp-hung wall, billowing thick smoke.
When the haze cleared moments later,
it was utter devastation.
Shredded tent.
Debris and shards strewn across the ground.
Remnants of what was once a wall. Like an explosion hit.
The wall's total collapse turned the attached mana lamps to dust.
No lights left as proof.
"... ."
The wreckage before them.
An unimaginable sight left the lamp game merchants dazed, half out of their minds.
Staring blankly, incredulous. Into their ears came Ullan's flat voice.
"That snuffs them all."
Ullan's voice.
He turned.
"Now for the prizes."
The tent was gone, wall crumbled—but the lamps were indeed extinguished.
As he approached the display,
the recovered merchants blocked his path.
24. What Happened in the Capital