[Vol 1] Chapter 57

White had thoroughly, and completely made the woman cum multiple times, to the point where she'd fainted a few times during their contest of endurance. And using the information he'd conveniently gleaned, White had managed to use Filly's Gift against her.

One thing he realized to his surprise was that the「Gift of the Matriarch」seemed incredibly detrimental to its holder once they lost control over their target. Once the Gift had determined the loss of the Matriarch, Filly began to succumb to all of his requests in the carriage, magnanimously giving him anything he needed without question. It was to the point where it almost seemed like Filly had become a puppet. However in that state, she was unable to speak proper sentences thus White was unable to glean any tangible information about who her Master is, or whose identity he had been using all this time.

It was easy, because the weakness of the Gift was conveniently explained to him through that strange red glitch.

But since he couldn't leave Filly in that state as it would arouse the suspicion of her bodyguard, White told her to "forget his existence", and "enjoy the rest of the day off".

It worked like a charm, and light returned to Filly's eyes again. She muttered a few words at the start like "what just happened", and "where am I...", probably because she had just broken out of her trance.

As soon as White was certain that Filly's condition was coherent enough to speak properly, he left the carriage. He was quickly stopped by the mercenary guard who was guarding outside, but White knew he'd won the gamble as he observed the changes on his expression.

Luck was on his side. Filly began to whine about visiting the theatre, redirecting the attention away from White.

Of course, if the employer was so nonchalant about his departure, why should he, a mere hire care?

The carriage soon drove off without turning back. Things had progressed smoothly, almost too smoothly. He'd expected to pull another act out of his ass, but it didn't seem like Filly had even registered his presence when she was arguing with her bodyguard chauffeur. Probably because he'd told her to "forget his existence", White had truly become invisible to her eyes.

As he heard his stomach grumble, White sighed and navigated his way back into the main street.

He didn't want to move around on an empty stomach either, especially after having spent himself in the carriage.

There was no end to the crowd that flooded the bustling night streets. Many goods were sold by the side of the road; special ornaments for trees, vibrant-looking outfits, thick coats that kept warmth. There were also many pastries, which seemed to be selling really well among the young women in Halvan- The festive atmosphere felt just like Christmas.

Halvan is celebrating the biannual Moonhalo. With soft, gentle snow falling from the sky, he could see many people covered in tight and snug clothing. The amber lights from the windows and street lamps provided the ambience, illuminating the night activities going on in the city.

Looking at the citizens like this really gave him a sense of how much they trusted the Adventurer Guild, and that they were at the peak of the peacetime after the last Demon King had been defeated. Roofs were long repaired from where White used to see wreckage, and adventurers were now seen enjoying the festivities in their own ways; It almost felt like everyone had already completely forgotten about the turmoil in the city not too long ago.

Was this not the life he used to seek?

"Irashaiii, what would you like to have boy?" The friendly voice of the stall owner beckoned.

White pointed at one of the skewers on display, and gave him exactly six coppers.

"Two rabbit skewers it is!" Saying so, the man quickly set to work. The aroma of rabbit meat cooking together with that particular blend of spices made White's stomach growl.

"Gahaha, looks like you're a hungry one. Here you go... ... eh?" The man suddenly stopped, and stared wide-eyed at the young man who had half his face hidden with a hood.

White simply ignored that reaction, picked up the two skewers the man was holding, and left.

All this time, he heard voices behind him, but White simply walked faster as he took a bite off the rabbit meat.

It was just as good as he remembered it to be.

Having had his fill, White decided to return to his apartment first. But he stopped just short when he noticed a street performance nearby.

A woman who appeared to be a bard was sitting under a canopy of a building that was recently repaired since the monster outbreak. Alongside a peculiar-looking string instrument, the bard's carols, or rather simple humming brought along a whimsical yet somewhat forlorn descant to her tune.

White listened quietly by the side, closing his eyes to the soothing melody of acoustics. Before he knew it, the performance was already over. The bard began to accept tips as the crowd gave their applause and slowly left in waves. Perhaps it was because he was slightly enamored by her work, or maybe he was somehow influenced by the festive mood; White stopped to leave a small tip. 

It wasn't much, but the bard lowered her head in gratitude. When she looked up again to see his face, the young man was already gone.

White made his way to his old dormitory.

His adventurer plate acted as his apartment key, so he would have some difficulties entering from the front. He had the trinket confiscated when he was captured, so the only way was to break inside.

However it seemed like someone had already been here.

The windows were shattered, and it seemed like no one had bothered to clean up the broken glass outside. White tip-toed his way over the glass shards and entered through the window while making sure to avoid the sharp edges.

He was relatively calm, because it came as no surprise that someone, or at least the officials would ransack the place during his absence.

The inside was rather... empty, as he'd expected. Looks like they've done quite the work to his place. All of the circuit devices he'd bought and placed around the apartment were all gone, leaving only an unsightly mess behind.

But he still held some hope.

"Found it."

His savings that were hidden properly in a corner was left intact.

Seems like the burglars weren't very thorough in combing the place; The fountain pen, pocket watch and coin case that he'd left together with his money were also untouched. Out of some dumb luck, he also found the Moonsift Fang, along with his usual equipment together nearby. White recalled that this was during the time when he was apprehensive about being assaulted at night, thus he'd always wore them whenever he went outside.

One, two low grade potions. His dagger, leather equipment and the weight-enhanced coat he bought from Richard. Perfect. It saved him some time to buy a weapon for what he was about to do.

After confirming that these items were everything he could salvage in his apartment, White held out a ring lodged on his index finger. The clear sphere that had been crafted meticulously at the center glowed lightly in response to his gesture.

In the next instant, a cubicle appeared before him. The walls appeared translucent, giving one the impression that it was intangible. That was proven to be true, as White's body passed through the cubicle surface effortlessly almost as if it weren't there in the first place.

White dragged the heavy camping rucksack into this 5x5 space.

〚 Ring of Dimensional Storage V ♦ Unique Grade ✠ Equipment - Ring ♦ 1 Defense 〛 

⤷ Dimensional Storage V: Gain access to a 5x5 storage grid.

Besides money and the hood to cover himself, this ring was another item generously gifted to him earlier.

There was not much left to say about it, because it was exactly as it's described.

The Ring of Dimensional Storage was the essential item for a player. It was 'inventory space'. A cheat item.

As expected, being rich made a huge difference in this world. You could have access to fancier equipment, powerful skillbooks and legendary weapons. Even if you had no talent, you could quite literally buy talent in this game-like world.

The ring shone again, and the space disappeared along with the things inside of it.

White took one last look at the apartment he'd been living in for these past few months... and left unceremoniously.