The Academy was a densely populated area, with tens of thousands of permanent residents.
Naturally, the demand and profits generated were also enormous. It wasn’t sothing that could be sustained by the small market economy within the Academy alone.
As a result, bustling comrcial districts inevitably ford around it .
Population attracted capital and capital attracted markets.
And then, markets draw more people, forming a city. The area commonly referred to as ‘downtown’ by those at the Academy was no exception.
Originally, the Academy was said to have been situated in a quiet, remote area.
It was said that long ago, a renowned mage brought together distinguished scholars to share wisdom and earnest young people gathered to receive their teachings—that was how it all began.
After that, as outstanding talents erged, the Academy’s reputation soared day by day.
And the more widely the word spread, the more people flocked in.
Eventually, even wealthy individuals like the royalty and nobles began visiting the Academy, and shops befitting their standard of living started to establish themselves around it.
And the result of that long process now lay before .
The streets of downtown were teeming with people. The crowds filled every alley, creating the unique vibrancy of a central district.
By now, it was hard to even find traces of its past as a remote countryside.
The only remnant from those days was the fierce competitive culture that remained within the Academy.
They say it beca a tradition for the distinguished scholars to compete over whose disciple was superior.
It seed that, whether in the past or now, teachers were the kind who couldn’t help but push their students hard.
I suddenly thought of Professor Derek. When I visited him recently, he warned to brace myself for so hellish training, but it seed I would have to postpone that for another ti.
Because I had too many things to take care of at the mont.
I was visiting downtown to handle one of them.
I took out a note from my pocket. On it was a short address written in round, neat handwriting. It was sothing Emma had written down for .
She said it was the address of the peddler who sold her the ‘Sword frost moss’.
Even as she wrote down the address in response to my persistent request, she couldn’t shake off her unease. She kept stealing glances at until the end and then carefully asked.
“…You’re not going to do anything, right?”
How could that be?
If I wasn’t planning to do anything, there would have been no reason to find him in the first place.
But I had to forcibly swallow those words rising up to my throat.
There was no need to unnecessarily frighten Emma.
She was kind and compassionate. Even if she had been swindled, she couldn’t help but still feel worried about an old acquaintance.
So I simply gave a faint smile and reassured her.
“Co on, what could I possibly do?”
“Like cutting off his limbs…?”
When she said that, I had nothing more to say.
In the end, I had to reassure Emma until the nervous look in her eyes finally subsided. Then I headed straight downtown and finally arrived at the place she’d written down.
From the outside, it looked like a shabby shop.
The guy who swindled Emma was probably inside.
Ahem. First, I deliberately cleared my throat to make my presence known. Only then did I knock on the shop’s door.
Knock, Knock.
Soon, a polite tone flowed from my mouth.
“…Is anyone there?”
It was a courteous and sensible approach, just as I had promised Emma.
With this, she couldn’t bla .
But no matter how long I waited, there was no response from beyond the door. Even after knocking several more tis.
Hmmm. I let out a quiet hum and thoughtfully stroked my chin.
The fierce battle with the Corpse Giant had taken much from but also taught many things.
One of them was how to handle Aura.
Not long ago, I was rely at the beginning stage of being an Expert.
At that ti, I couldn’t properly draw out the power of aura, nor use it beyond coating my sword. It was truly a ti when the expression ‘a chick drunk on power’ suited .
But now, I am different.
I was gradually beginning to awaken even the attributes of my aura. By applying this, I could now utilise more advanced detection techniques.
I held my breath and spread out my aura.
Aura was the manifestation of one’s state of mind. The more the refined mana spread, the more vividly the surrounding structure etched itself into my mind.
It felt as if a new sense, beyond the five senses, had awakened.
It didn’t take long for to detect sothing unusual inside the shop.
I could sense faint breaths and warmth.
It ant that soone alive was inside.
Realizing this, I no longer hesitated.
Bang! A resounding bang echoed.
It was the result of my mana-infused kick smashing into the shop’s front door.
The air was torn apart as a razor-sharp gust followed. The wooden fragnts scattered everywhere, hinting at the sheer force of the impact.
I thought I heard a faint scream from inside.
Stepping over the wooden fragnts that were once the door, I asked again.
“Is anyone there~?”
It was still a polite greeting.
Yes, technically, I still hadn’t broken my promise to Emma yet.
However, even after breaking down the door, I hadn’t achieved my goal.
Because I couldn’t find a trace of a person inside the shop.
I could sense soone’s presence, but couldn’t see them.
At most, there was a cat staring at with startled eyes.
In that case, the place I needed to suspect was obvious.
Tilting my head as if puzzled, I muttered to myself.
“Huh? Is no one here?”
As I casually scanned the shop, I could feel tense eyes fixed on with my every move.
A less experienced person might have been fooled.
Vision accounts for a significant portion among the five senses. If you can confuse it, it’s easy to muddle the remaining senses as well.
But I had yet another sense.
My hand shot out like lightning toward sowhere.
oooooow—!
The gray-furred cat struggled and scread. It extended its claws and scratched at my hand, but my mana-reinforced skin didn’t budge.
Before long, my hand was gripping the scruff of its neck.
The cat’s blue eyes looked up at , filled with fear.
My gaze had long since turned cold.
“…I asked if anyone was there.”
At those words, the cat’s frantic struggling suddenly stopped.
Instead, it began to tremble and watch warily. Even though its disguise had obviously been uncovered, it still seed intent on holding out.
At tis like this, there was only one effective ans of communication.
I sighed and pulled out my hatchet. Only then did the cat scream and admit its mistake.
“Y-Yes! I’m here, so please…!”
Human language ca out from a cat’s mouth.
I let out a faint laugh at the rare sight.
I had heard that so mages could perform such tricks. It was a kind of a trivial spell, so not many mainstream mages practised it.
At last, the bare minimum conditions for a conversation had been t.
Without hesitation, I threw the cat onto the floor. Then, as if it had been waiting for this mont, the cat flipped in mid-air and transford.
It was a frail-looking man with gray hair.
He was wearing a robe, typical of those working in magic-related professions. Since he dealt with rare alchemical ingredients, it seed he was no exception.
Emma called him ‘Aviang.’
Watching him tremble and glance nervously, I crossed my arms and asked in a threatening tone.
“Aviang… why were you hiding?”
Aviang hesitated for a mont, unable to answer.
After a long pause, he finally managed to co up with an excuse.
“W-Well, it’s just that today is a holiday…”
“Cut the nonsense… I’m very busy.”
At the sa ti, I slamd my hatchet onto the desk with a loud thud.
His complexion grew even paler at the sight.
It was a blatant threat.
Unless Aviang was innocent, which he clearly wasn’t—he had scamd Emma. On top of that, he tried to hide himself, which only amplified my suspicions.
More importantly, I had another reason for being so sensitive.
My eyes were still carefully observing his deanour.
Whether he noticed or not, Aviang just had his eyes shut tightly with a look that said it was all over.
“Alright… So this day has finally co. In over ten years of running my business, nothing like this has ever happened, but I’ll confess everything without hiding anything.”
He slumped his shoulders and raised his hands as if surrendering.
“It’s true that I committed a fraud. But there are reasons for it and as soon as the funds are available, I plan to refund everyone…”
“You said you’d confess everything.”
But Aviang’s excuses couldn’t continue any further.
At my cold remark, he looked at with eyes that seed clueless.
His acting skills were truly superb.
To crack that shaless facade, I revealed why I was still wary of him.
“But why do I still feel sothing off about your appearance? It doesn’t seem like this is your true form either.”
That was the signal.
Aviang’s feeble deanour completely changed.
A cold stillness, like a barren wasteland, descended over us. His gaze seed to pierce through like icy daggers.
Yes, this was how it should have been from the start.
A tension so tight it seed ready to snap at any mont.
The outco was clear.
Thwack!
Two flashes of light intersected.
Before I knew it, an ice dagger had appeared in his hand. I blocked it by raising my arm.
Of course, that wasn’t the end.
Whack! my foot slamd into his solar plexus. Unable to even utter a groan, he flew back and crashed into the corner of the shop.
Soon a coughing sound erged, among the haphazardly piled goods in the corner.
I dusted off my hands and flashed a grin.
“Why would a mage engage in close combat with a swordsman?”
But Aviang was unexpectedly a tenacious fellow.
Even though I had sowhat held back, he still managed to get up after taking a direct hit to a vital spot. Though judging by his unsteady steps, it hadn’t been an insignificant blow.
In any case, the shop’s interior was cramped.
It was safe to say he had no ans to escape from .
Just as I was about to take a step forward, confident of my imminent victory,
I suddenly froze at the sight that caught my eye.
“Hey, those ears of yours…”
At my remark, Aviang flinched and hastily covered his ears.
But it was already too late.
Perhaps his disrupted breathing had broken the spell, for his ears were now revealing their true form.
His ears were long and pointed.
They were nothing less than the symbol of a certain race.
The revelation was so unexpected that all I could do was blankly utter his identity.
“…An Elf?”
At the sound of my dumbfounded voice, Aviang bit his lip even harder.
Then, glaring at with sharp eyes, he imdiately kicked off the ground and shot toward .
“Die!”
His killing intent was palpable, as if pleading for it to co true.
It was an encounter I hadn’t seen coming in the slightest.
Reviews
All reviews (0)