When they arrived at where Lothur's item was supposed to be for sale, he and Elke could not find such a thing right away.
But watching those shelves in front of her for some time, Elke finally saw the item and its description in the lower, less visible corner of that shelf.
"Lothur..." She squeezed one of his arms and indicated the direction of the item.
Seeing that, Lothur finally understood why he had not seen his item or the reason for something so valuable to the people in that sector not being sold.
"Tsk!"
'They put an item worth thousands of bronze coins in the least favored location of this establishment, while pills worth a few hundred coins are in noble areas...' He looked to the side and saw some low-level pills on a more visible part of those shelves.
Realizing this, he soon understood there was something wrong in this place.
'Looks like someone is making things difficult for me here, huh?' He looked thoughtfully at where the attendant from before was standing. 'Or is it because of this Merten guy?
'It doesn't matter. This place probably won't be of any use to me...' He suddenly approached that shelf, intending to retrieve his items and leave this place.
However, as he did so, the attendant's voice sounded. "Hey, hey! You can't do that!" Such a person ran toward Lothur and Elke, preventing that young man from touching his own item.
"Since these items are in possession of our trading room, only officials can handle them!" He stopped beside the two, explaining the situation.
"Is that so? Are you telling me that I can't touch my own item?" Lothur asked with a smile on his face, looking coldly at the person in front of him.
"I don't make the rules..."
Elke frowned at this, finding it strange that such a person was making things so difficult for Lothur. "What's wrong here?" She asked in an indignant tone. "Why has a valuable item been left aside in this place?"
Noticing Miss Becker's questioning, that attendant felt insecure about dealing with such a person. So far, he had calmly behaved since Lothur was a nobody of no relevance. As such, he had not worried about following his superior's directions.
But when he realized that Elke was not there just watching, this individual felt a little nervous.
Elke could do nothing against him for following the rules of this establishment, but this could cause problems for him. After all, she was influential in her organization and could make insignificant beings like him suffer in many ways!
He then used the best excuse he had in mind. "All available spaces were occupied with other artifacts. Thus, we have placed Lothur's item here."
"I'm sorry the place is not so good." He lowered his head subserviently, further irritating the silver-haired young man.
'Absurd!'
Lothur closed his eyes for a moment, his heart beating faster as his hands itched for him to act. But he just tried to breathe deeply, reminding himself that he could not be careless, or the people of this place would find a way to kick him out of the academy.
He then thought of something and leaned his face against Elke's until his lips were next to her left ear. "Answer me, what happens to the fee charged at this place?"
Elke did not quite understand what Lothur wanted but answered him without delay. "The academy uses a portion to maintain this place and keeps the profit."
"So if people are misappropriating or hindering the gathering of resources here, that would be a problem?" Lothur's eyes sparkled as he felt he should not let this situation go unnoticed.
He, Lothur, was not a forgiving person.
In his previous life, this young man was the type to give the benefit of the doubt to the people he dealt with. However, once someone made a mistake with him, he would never trust that person again, no matter what happened.
He was not childish to stop talking to friends and colleagues, acting irritably, or even treating others with unnecessary disrespect. But upon losing trust in someone, he would simply not say anything relevant to that individual anymore, would start avoiding them, and would not believe promises or the like.
And now, in his second life, given the extreme circumstances of this world and the emotions left behind by his predecessor, he had gained vengeful traits in his personality.
So when he found himself in this situation where he was being unjustifiably attacked, he immediately thought of something to use against the people behind this all.
"Well, if that's the case, I can only lament having to wait any longer..." Lothur said this quietly, surprising both Elke and that attendant.
After that, he started walking towards the exit of that place, leaving behind the now shocked attendant.
"That..."
Lothur needed his coins. But if leaving his item was what it took to create doubt about the honesty of the manager of that place, he was willing to put such a thing aside for the time being.
Meanwhile, the idea of reporting what was happening in this place to the academy's management had crossed his mind.
Lothur knew that in this world, the word justice was worthless. But he also knew that the honor of the name, the respect, and the status in this place were highly valued.
So, even if the problem had started with something insignificant, what would the management think of a corrupt official who might be putting the name of this academy at risk?
Lothur knew that if someone was scheming for him in this place, then this should not be the first time such a person had done so. No, trying to make life difficult for a student like him over something so small was typical of those who had already corrupted themselves to certain practices.
Come to think of it, if the person behind this problem had already put the academy's interests aside for his own good, what would the academy do with such an individual?
He, Lothur, was a student who could compete for the Secret Realm slots. He was a student like many others there. Yet, he had been prevented from continuing his practices in this place, which could impede his progress. And while he was no big deal, what would happen if officials kept getting in the way of local students just like that?
The competition of this academy with others in other provinces was not small; even little things could influence the results in the Secret Realm. That way, this small thing could quickly turn into something gigantic!
All things considered, Lothur was prepared to counterattack the person who stood in his way today!
'Very well, I'll hire an investigative service in the Cultivation House and end the career of whoever did this.' He looked at the exit of that place and thought. 'I can't do much here, but even the students who live in the dormitory leave the academy now and then...'
'Just wait!'
...
Meanwhile, in the office of the leader of the area, Lothur and Elke had just left...
"Boss, brat Lothur left without causing any trouble!" The attendant from earlier said this in a nervous tone, finding such behavior from someone who had been so wronged strange.
"Oh? He didn't do anything?" The boss said this as he looked in shock at his subordinate. 'How can that be? Shouldn't this Lothur guy be someone out of control, a real jerk?'
'Is he just a coward?'
"Tsk!"
"Looks like he narrowly escaped expulsion..." Such a person said in a low voice, frustrated that his plan to get Lothur to start a mess in that place had failed.
If such a thing had happened, Lothur would have been quickly kicked out from the academy, which went according to Merten's plans!
However, that did not happen, and that fellow could not help but doubt Lothur's record.
'In any case, that brat won't get anything here. My job is done!'
"Go and release the people who have been occupying the spaces earlier today."
"That's already disrupted a lot of other students' operations today. If we delay any longer, the academy might notice..." He gave his orders just before that individual left that office.