Chapter 60

Chapter 60

Ellen did not particularly ask me to keep her identity a secret. Whether she thought it would be okay if others found out now that she had revealed it to me, or if she just believed that I wasn’t the type of person to babble about it elsewhere, I did not know.

Of course, if Ellen’s true identity were revealed, it would create a major uproar in the Temple. Since I certainly did not want that to happen, I had no intention of spreading the word.

However, it seemed Ellen felt a bit better now. Perhaps she found comfort in knowing there was finally someone who truly understood how she felt.

It was the next day...

—Mic test, mic test. Greetings, dear citizens of the imperial capital.

—In the midst of your busy travels, I have stopped here to suggest a fine item to you all.

—Everyone, look at this! It is carved out of wood, with an iron core inserted in the middle. Yes, in professional terms, we call it a ‘top’.

—And this is no ordinary top—it’s a magical top.

—I will now demonstrate to everyone a piece of magic, right before your eyes.

I was currently on a magical train headed towards the Aligar district. The subway peddlers who had been sent out by the Rotary Club were appearing on every train. They seemed to have gotten quite used to the gig, and they had remarkable skills for marketing and selling even the most trivial items on the trains.

I also saw parents traveling with their children who only bought something just because of their child’s eagerness.

I was informed that the income that came from this operation was quite satisfactory. However, I doubted that this business could last long. After all, the magical trains were a public space, and the peddlers were using it at their own convenience. Moreover, although none of the passengers said anything explicitly, quite a few seemed annoyed by them.

The main objective of this plan was to create an alternate revenue stream so as to eliminate the club’s dependency on the Thieves’ Guild. Of course, Vertus had also made a proposal that we take over the Thieves’ Guild altogether. That proposal, however, was still on hold.

“Hey.”

“Oh... yes?”

“Who gave you permission to do business here?”

One of the passengers, who had apparently lost his patience, finally confronted the subway peddler.

It was a tense moment. I had warned Loyar to be vigilant about this and to prevent any brawls from happening. A fight must not break out.

The man approaching the street vendor looked quite fierce and intimidating.

“Didn’t I warn you that if I caught you selling stuff on this train line again, I’d teach you a lesson?”

As I listened to their conversation, however, it seemed the context was not what I thought it to be.

“Well, actually... we were the ones who set up our shop here first...” Updated from novelbIn.(c)om

“What are you talking about? We said we’d do it, and that this is our spot!”

What exactly was happening?

“Ah, yes. I will get off at the next station...”

“Don’t let me catch you again, got it?”

I felt like I was beginning to understand the situation.

The smell of honey had drawn a swarm of flies.

“You bloody unscrupulous swine. This business we’re doing may be slightly shady, but there’s still a system to it and you ought to respect it!”

“... Wh-what?”

It wasn’t the street vendor who had spoken up; I had stood up and made that statement.

“What... Who are you? Some little brat...”

I approached the man with a fierce appearance. The passengers looked dumbfounded. The situation had gone beyond hostile to downright bizarre.

After all, a passenger had suddenly become agitated, and was confronting another person who seemed like a thug.

“Hey, punk, listen. If you’re the new guy in this business, you should just quietly do business in a corner somewhere, and not just barge in like you own the place. If you’re going to copy someone else’s business idea, don’t you think the least you can do is get tips or advice from your seniors who have more experience than you? Show some respect and stop messing with someone’s bread and butter before I do something about it.”

“This... this little... What are you saying...? Who are you?”

“Who am I? I’m the fucking guardian of justice, a student from the Temple’s Royal Class, you bastard.”

Being a student from the Temple’s Royal Class meant that you were recognized as someone with special status immediately after you enrolled, no matter if you entered as a commoner. So messing with them could have serious consequences.

The subway peddler from the club finally seemed to realize who I was, and his eyes widened in recognition.

Even though we were not previously acquainted, he seemed to remember that there was a club member who had enrolled in the Temple.

“Temple student or not, you’re still a brat with no human decency whatsoever”

Not only did the thug not believe me that I was a Temple student, but it seemed he had now grasped the situation and looked ready to “educate” me properly.

He raised his right hand and tried to slap me in the face.

Whoosh!

With a slight backward tilt of my head, I dodged his swing.

“Oh look at this guy. Aren’t you old enough to know better?”

I was strong.

Stronger than the old thug in front of me.

“You dare to try to hit a minor?!”

Thwack!

“Ugh!”

I struck his shin hard. While it wasn’t enough to break it, the blow was strong enough to send him crumbling to his knees.

“I may be considered an underachiever in the Temple, but I’m not weak when we’re out here, you bastard!”

Even if you were in last place amongst national-level athletes, at the end of the day, you were still considered a national-level athlete.

So I was essentially sparring with national-level athletes on a daily basis. And when I lacked the skills, I fought with barbarism.

Now, I was able to easily beat those who fought with barbarism using my own skill.

This was the practical result of enduring Ellen’s harsh training.

All the passengers on board initially tensed up when they saw the thug picking a fight with the subway peddler.

Then they seemed confused at my sudden entrance, with me yelling and cussing, and now, they were in disbelief when they saw the thug struck to the ground by a young kid.

The training I’d undergone certainly improved my stamina, strength, and reflexes. With the added assistance of my supernatural abilities, I could easily take down a clumsy thug. Moreover, since the thug was caught off-guard, it wasn’t surprising that he would collapse from a single blow.

“Yeah, I know.”

The mechanics of my ability, where I had to brainwash myself in order to make my thoughts into reality, appeared somewhat bizarre to Eleris.

Not to mention, I currently had a total of 2280 achievement points. I had used 20 points on the Revise function during the duel, and I’d gotten 600 points as a reward for winning the duel, plus an additional 500 points after Ellen revealed her secret to me.

With that, I could acquire a new talent. I was not allowed to have more than one supernatural power, so I was wondering what to choose for my next talent.

Objectively speaking, although the pace of my growth was slow, the things I was doing were quite extraordinary.

To awaken two talents after being enrolled in the Temple’s high school program for less than a semester was unheard of. People might envy me for having infinite aptitude, but at least they wouldn’t be skeptical about the talents I was able to acquire.

I was contemplating whether to choose a combat-related talent or a magic-related talent next.

Talking about the Temple with Eleris kind of made me feel like a son meticulously reporting to his mom everything that had happened while he’d been away in boarding school. Eleris’s expression helped to cement that feeling, especially when she sighed deeply in reaction to the fights I’d been getting into.

“That’s pretty much what I’ve been up to. How about you? Any news lately?”

“Hmm... There have been some happenings here and there.”

It seemed that Eleris had run into her share of events while watching over this shop as well.

“First of all, visiting like this is definitely dangerous.”

“I’m aware of that.”

That was why I’d taken an intricate detour in order to shake off any tails.

Eleris shook her head. “No, that’s not what I mean.”

“Your Highness, this place has been identified as the location where you were last spotted.”

“Oh... really?”

It wasn’t clear whether Vertus or Charlotte had discovered this, but their followers had discovered that I had been there. I guess it was inevitable since a young kid wandering around this area trying to sell scrolls was unusual so most merchants thought I was a scam and probably remembered my face as a result.

My plan the first time I’d come to this marketplace was to earn some money and then go into hiding. Meeting Eleris had been pure coincidence.

“Have these agents been here as well?”

“Yes. They didn’t seem to suspect me, but since this was the only place where they found any clues, they’re keeping an eye on this shop.”

It turned out that Aligar marketplace was the only place where I had been seen. Therefore, those looking for me were monitoring this place.

It wasn’t just the ones tailing me that was the problem. The Aligar marketplace itself was already under surveillance. This was why Eleris said it was dangerous for me to come here.

“And, I’ve also heard the rumor...”

“What is it?”

“That, you stole a Fireball scroll from a shop... I heard that it was from Mr. Borton’s scroll shop, and they seemed to have gathered some specific evidence from there. It appears to be the scroll I had purchased from you, Your Highness.”

‘Ah. I think I know who she’s talking about.’

“It wasn’t stolen; that guy gave it to me.”

“Oh? Is that so? Well, Mr. Borton was furious, claiming someone had stolen his Fireball scroll...”

“That guy was such an asshole to me.”

Eleris didn’t seem to understand what I was talking about.

“Wait, so everyone thinks I’m going around selling some fake demonic scrolls that look somewhat convincing?”

“Yes.”

“Do you know what that guy said to me while all the others were telling me to shove off?”

“What did he say?” Eleris asked as she tilted her head curiously.

“He said he would pay me to draw up an exact copy of the scroll. The way he mocked me was so aggravating, but he genuinely seemed to think it was a good business idea, and so he gave me one of his scrolls to copy. And that’s how I got the Fireball scroll.”

After listening to my explanation, Eleris furrowed her brow.

“... I never thought he was such a bad person. Lying about it being stolen, too...”

Eleris shook her head in genuine disappointment. Then again, it seemed almost no one in this marketplace was truly generous, so what was there to be disappointed about?

“Tricking someone into purchasing a fake scroll when they believed it to be real could lead to them dying. How could he even think of doing such a thing...?”

Magic scrolls were expensive. Although I was still not quite sure how adventurers made a living, a party of adventurers that didn’t have a mage in their squad mostly bought scrolls for use in emergency situations. However, if such a scroll didn’t work when it was most needed, the whole team could end up dead.

That was why this Mr. Borton guy was the scumbag of scumbags in this pit that was already overflowing with immoral traders.

Eleris laughed and looked at me.

“You did well, Your Highness. People like that need a dose of their own medicine.”

“I mean, he was so excited that he just handed it over to me himself.”

Blinded by greed, the guy hadn’t even managed to see a step ahead and had just handed the Fireball scroll over to me. It was pitiful when one’s greed didn’t correlate with their intelligence. Scams should be reserved for the ones who were street-smart. A fool like him wouldn’t even be able to pull off a simple scam like that due to his own stupidity.

Anyway, I fully understood Eleris’s point that this place was dangerous for me, since it was the last place I’d been spotted.

“Ah, dang it. I planned to stay here during the school break.”

“Isn’t the Temple a much more comfortable place to stay in?”

Eleris seemed puzzled as to why I would want to stay here, especially since I had the ring, and thus had no worry about being exposed.

“But you’re here.”

“Ah... is that so? Thank you, Your Highness,” Eleris said with a nod and a smile.

“I’ve checked and confirmed that there’s no one watching this place right now. I believe it should be fine for you to stay for a few days, as you planned.”

Forget the title of swordmaster or supernatural powers; nothing could beat magic. Magic was indeed the most convenient thing in this world.

While I planned to stay with Eleris for a while, I wasn’t just going to fool around for the entirety of the break.

“By the way, about the Rotary Club... Earlier, it seemed like there was some kind of power struggle going on. Do you know anything about it?”

“Is that so? Loyar doesn’t have the habit of informing us about the internal affairs of the organization unless it’s something very serious.”

After all, the organization hadn’t been created deliberately, but had coincidentally come into existence on the streets. That was why Loyar, despite being in charge of the financial aspect of things, did not seem open when it came to discussing the organization’s operations.

“It seems about time for us to have a gathering and talk things out,” Eleris suggested.

There was no regular meeting in place, so when she mentioned having a get-together, I nodded in agreement.