I Am Really The Best Anti Hero In Another World!-System Of Anti Hero! Chapter 42 - Frozen Fire

Alice and Arthur reached their mont of enlightennt almost simultaneously—she sensing the breakthrough just a bit before him.

Noah waited a while to see what would co of it—the system had answered his query—and as ti passed, he put away the remaining fabric strips and left the room with Sophia in silence, careful not to disturb the discussion between Arthur and Alice.

Even though Noah insisted it wasn't necessary, Sophia urged him to take a map with him so he wouldn't get lost in the city. It wasn't as if that would help him much during his journey through the forest, though, so she asked him not to venture too deep and to keep a distance from the walls.

"Everything's fine..." he said—a phrase that once was enough to change his ex-girlfriend's expression and make her smile as he got his way—so Noah couldn't understand why Sophia's expression remained unchanged. She continued to hold him back from leaving, grasping his hand while looking down with a saddened gaze.

"..."

It was sothing he had, at most, witnessed on the streets but had never truly experienced—so he reciprocated the gesture. Noah smiled as he caressed Sophia's head:

"I'll be right back..."

He said it, and strangely, that also made him feel a recurring warmth in his chest whenever he was near her.

Sophia nodded, embarrassed—she couldn't believe Noah had done sothing like that when the guards were right beside them. She hurried back inside, even though she didn't understand why—nor did she understand why her heart was racing so much.

This new scene of the two together—this ti alone—spread just as widely as the previous one, becoming yet another topic of conversation among the Radiance family servants and further fueling the already-established rumor that there was sothing between them.

"...I don't get it... People didn't react that way when others did that to them before..." Noah said, confused by Sophia's reaction. "Do you think she didn't like it...?"

He left, puzzled and reflective, glancing at Sophia's map—which, yes, is a good map—but it's far less detailed than the system's version, which even shows, beneath the lands of that city, sothing similar to what lies under the Demon Beast Forest—a sort of underground vein.

The map shows that he had co from the southeast to reach this city. It indicates that to the northeast and southwest there are plantations and livestock farms, which supply food for the entire city—aside from the provisions kept by the major families, of course—as well as the location of the forest in the northwest, where most of the more well-organized families (though not the prominent ones) are based. These families, despite not being large in number or particularly powerful, have their own martial art and are thus held in higher regard than the rest of the populace, who can only train by being accepted by one of the major families or so other force.

"Really, there's nothing much useful on these streets... They don't sell much beyond food or handcrafted accessories, it seems."

Noah gave up trying to find anything useful in the city after passing the second comrcial street, but he still had to go through the third—after all, it was the fastest route to the forest entrance.

"Huh...? Isn't that...?"

He approached an old man standing in front of a table—Noah had seen him before and rembered him well—it was the sa man who had been peddling his wares a few days ago. The only doubt Noah had now was whether, as he saw it today, that little black pouch with a red cord fastened around it and the dark book, from which he felt a faint trace of Qi emanating, had already been on the table before as well.

"Sir... how much do you want for these things?"

Noah could feel the old man's scrutinizing gaze sweeping over his body, examining him—and he also heard nearby vendors laughing and chatting:

— Haha, that was quicker than I expected. How much do you reckon he'll say now?

— Last ti he said a thousand crystals, so I bet it'll be sothing even more ridiculous than that.

— Right? A thousand crystals for a little pouch and a book—who would be the idiot to—!

"Pay one blue crystal, and these things are yours," the old man declared.

— Tsk! Say you don't want to sell everything at once—what's with all the theatrics?

One of the vendors jeered.

"One blue crystal, seriously...? Are you sure?" Noah asked.

The old man hesitated, doubting that Noah would actually pay that—until he caught sight of the blue crystal in Noah's hand, which made him reconsider:

— ...One blue crystal is rely the negotiation fee. If you want my stuff, you'll have to shell out more than that trifle.

His words left the surrounding vendors astonished and complaining—even though the matter had nothing to do with any of them.

The voices were irritating, but they didn't unsettle Noah in the least—they only caused him to change his angle. The old man cleared his throat and, in an instant, his expression shifted dramatically:

— I'm sorry, young man... the truth is, I never wanted to have to sell these things.

— Then don't waste everyone else's ti! a

A vendor shouted, with the others chiming in like a chorus.

Ignoring the clamor, the man continued:

— ...But... my granddaughter... she's sick, and I... I thought that by doing this I might at least get so money to help her. But it's still difficult... to part with these things is...

His voice trailed off as he tried to evoke sympathy from those who still criticized him.

The street fell silent.

"...Exactly how much do you need, sir?" Noah asked, eager to put an end to the situation and move on.

"I... I don't know, young man... even after searching so long, I haven't found anything that could help her, so..." the old man replied, wiping away the single tear that escaped down his cheek while sniffling. He scanned the crowd milling about and wondered what he should say next—finally deciding on the truth and hoping that if anyone were truly watching him, they would react:

— ...I haven't found much information about 'Frozen Fire'...

Many of those who heard the na of the illness murmured among themselves about the existence of such a disease—none of them had ever heard of it. Noah, however, froze in front of the old man—not because of what he had said—but because of the reaction the system displayed. The number of similar ssages was far too great to ignore:

[!!!]