Chapter 94 - The City Of Mondstad

As soon as Aiden stepped inside, he grinned.

"How long are you going to hide for? Did you think that I would not notice you?" Aiden asked as he looked back at the entrance and heard a chuckle.

A figure suddenly appeared in front of him and if Sera hadn't told him about the figure earlier, he would have definitely screamed.

"I knew that you were not like those other village people." The figure was a male who looked as though he was in his early thirties. He had salt gray hair and deep black eyes that were examining Aiden's appearance.

< He can see through your mask Aiden. The system has identified his threat level at S rank which means that he is an upper demon lord. Be careful. >

Aiden's eyes narrowed down when he heard Sera's words. But why would someone with the power level of an upper demon lord be hiding at the entrance of the city?

'Unless that's his job. Maybe that's why the guard was that weak. People would never expect an upper demon lord to be hiding near the entrance.'

"Anyways, would you like to become a member of the royal academy?" The man asked while raising his eyebrows as Aiden seemed dumbfounded.

"The royal academy?" He was already an expert at hiding his surprise so the man only thought that Aiden was asking about the basics.

"As you already know, the capital of the continent of Sephiroth is the city of Mondstad and we have an academy to train the best of the best here. I see potential in you and I want you to join the academy." The man answered as he moved a little closer to Aiden. "So, shall we go there?"

'He is too close. I can't escape at this rate since he can just grab on to me while I teleport.' Aiden then quickly thought of a plan to escape and one of the oldest tricks in the books came to his mind.

"I just go here and I am hungry. My village was raided a few weeks ago and I had to run away from there. I will definitely join the academy but can I have some food before?" Aiden asked back as the man sighed.

"Those raids are growing day by day. Tell me the name of the village and I will send some soldiers there to see whether some survivors remain or not. You did a good job by coming here." The man then put his right hand inside the pocket of his coat and brought out a bright silver-colored badge.

He then bent forward and fixed the badge on Aiden's shirt before leaning close to his ears.

"Always keep that badge on your body and under no circumstances remove that mask. Now, go and eat whatever you want. Any restaurant here will serve you free food." The man whispered before he leaned back with a smile.

When he saw Aiden nod, he turned back and went back to the walls. In the blink of an eye, the man vanished.

Aiden then looked down at the badge before using his inspect skill.

[ Badge of Mondstad academy

- This badge can be used to track any person using a certain spell.

- The badge can only be removed through excessive force or by the user of the spell. ]

'Why can't something be normal for once.' Aiden thought with a sigh as he decided to go into a restaurant and eat something.

After all, while he had been traveling, he rarely got the chance to eat good food. So after finding a decent-looking place, Aiden walked in to find a fight going on.

< Aiden, I don't think you were ever meant to be a protagonist because you definitely don't have plot armor and your luck is bad too. The only special thing you got was your bloodline otherwise you might have been dead by now. >

'Even you are roasting me Sera.' Aiden replied as he looked at the scene in front of his eyes.

"I am a member of the royal academy here. How dare you say that this badge is fake!" A woman was currently shouting at another woman who looked as though she was the owner of the place.

But the woman couldn't have been more than twenty years old and she was one of the prettiest women Aiden had ever seen.

< Wait till you see the goddess of beauty. > Sera commented but Aiden wasn't paying attention to her words. He was instead focusing on the shouting match that was about to happen.

"You know that creating fake badges is a serious crime and if anyone here reports it, you will be thrown in jail for ten years. But I can probably tell that you will ask your parents to free yourself." The owner said with a smile and her hand whipped towards the other woman's right breast.

With a swift movement, the owner pulled out the badge on the lady's clothes and crushed it between her fingers.

"See it's fake." She said while dropping it down on the ground.

"You bitch!" The other woman was about to lunge on the owner when Aiden did a fake cough.

Both the owner and the woman with the fake badge turned towards Aiden. The other woman looked as though she was about to launch herself onto Aiden but she stopped when she saw the badge on his clothes.

"That was indeed a fake badge," Aiden said with a small smile as the woman picked up her belongings and bolted towards the exit. But she bumped into Aiden's shoulder while dashing and their eyes met.

< She looks as though she wants to rip your eyeballs out. > Sera commented as the women looked away and left the restaurant.

But unknown to everyone, she was continuously muttering something under her breath.

"I will make sure that the bitch dies. Let's see who can stop me from doing it." She went towards another section of the city while saying this.

"Can I get some good food to eat?" Back at the restaurant, Aiden was currently sitting in a corner and was ordering his food. And the person taking his order was none other than the owner of the place.

"Anything you want to drink?" She asked in a polite tone as Aiden shook his head. But she still stood there while looking at the badge Aiden was wearing.

"Still thinking whether it's real or fake?" He asked with a smile as the woman nodded. "Then touch it to see for yourself."

The woman took a deep breath before she moved towards the badge with her right hand. But before her fingers could touch the badge, a small golden barrier appeared around it and prevented her from touching it.

"It's real…" She muttered before she went away to prepare Aiden's order. While she did that, Aiden could feel that many people were staring at him.

This meant that the badge was more important than it looked.

"Here is your order." The owner came back after a few minutes and have Aiden his food. But as he started eating his food, he saw that the woman was still standing beside his seat. 

"It was good," Aiden commented after finishing the food as the woman released a sigh of relief. "I wouldn't have said anything even if it was bad you know." 

"Really?" The woman asked in a skeptical tone as she was used to people screaming at her. She had half expected Aiden to do the same thing but the latter had just remained completely calm.

"If you still don't believe me, come and explain about the city to me." Aiden suddenly said with a grin as he stood up.

< Trying to make a move on her? >

'Well, I need someone to tell me about the city and if she is a good chef, why not? I can just eat here while I am in the city.'

< I don't think that badge would allow you to leave this city. >

'Guess I was not the only one thinking of that.'

Aiden then looked at the woman and waited for his reply. The latter felt confused at the fact that someone from the royal academy was asking her to accompany him in exploring the city.

But that's when she was reminded of something.

"You are not from the capital right?"

"No, I am from a nearby town."

"Then I guess it wouldn't hurt to tell you everything about the place." The woman's mood suddenly seemed to lift up when she heard that Aiden was not from the capital.

The two of them then moved out of the place while the people stared at them.

'What a lucky person…' The men thought with envy as they imagined the duo roaming around the city.

After all, the woman was a beauty.