Chapter 214 Ch 212: Scheming Out In The Open [Pt1]

Once that was done and Yohan had delivered his message to the resistance, it was time to head back. He had spent a lot of time outside already and it would make the head butler suspicious of his moments.

Or that had been the plan before Yohan spotted someone familiar in the town.

'Well, look who it is. I guess Hobbit decided he needed to take action and came crawling out all on his own.'

Yohan was sure that it was Hobbit he could see in front of him. The other butler was cloaked from head to toe but his aura was shining brightly with happiness and glee.

Whatever Hobbit was doing in the town, it could not be legal or he would not be trying this hard to hide it. It made Yohan curious and he decided to follow him.

Hobbit entered a bar that had seen better days and Yohan also decided to enter it. He was getting more and more curious by the second.

"Look here, guys. The betrayer decided to finally come back to us. So, how does it feel to be a noble's doormat? Do you find your dignity being lifted? Do you feel superior to us all now?"

There was a gang of guys stopping Hobbit from getting to the counter. They looked like your typical thugs, out here to get someone in trouble. Yohan watched them corner Hobbit from the corner of the room.

Their provocations seemed to be getting to Hobbit because he got angry and decided to flip the desk. The clerk who was standing just behind Hobbit jumped up in fright.

"I am not in the mood for your teasing. I don't know who you people are but I would advise you not to make me any angrier."

Hobbit's voice was full of anger and resentment. But his words did the opposite of what he was trying to achieve. Instead of getting calmer, the others only got angrier and their anger manifested in their eyes.

It was now that Yohan could see that these newcomers were demons for real. Their skin broke out into scales and their hands turned into claws.

"Y-You bitch. Just because that fancy butler decided to take you in, you think you can say all this to us? Don't you dare forget your roots and who helped you to get to your current position? You are indebted to me, you bitch."

The gangster demon unleashed his claws in an intimidating way but Hobbit refused to look scared.

Instead, he stared the man right in the eyes, and then his mana surged. Before the gang knew it, they were being thrown back and restrained.

"We had a deal. Just hand my stuff over so that I can leave this place."

Hobbit sounded annoyed and the man in front of him struggled. The struggle lasted for quite some time before the man realized that it was enough and he took out a small vial from his pocket.

"Fine, you win. Here, this is what I promised you to get. But be careful because this potion is very strong. Even the tiniest drop will be enough to make someone fall in love with you."

Hobbit grabbed the potion out of the leader's hand in a second and looked at it with a gleeful look in his eyes.

Yohan did not need to be a mind reader to know who the recipient of this potion would be.

'Hobbit does not know its place. But this is a clever trick nonetheless. Now then, how should I use this to my advantage?'

Yohan could tell this directly to Lady Rui but he doubted she would do anything openly. She might even develop an interest in Hobbit once she knew what he was planning.

So that meant that Yohan would have to secretly take care of Hobbit on his own and make sure he did not mix this love potion into Lady Rui's tea at any given time.

"W-Wait! Before you go, you should know something. Do not let this potion touch lemon juice or anything sour. It would spoil the effect of this potion."

'Well, this is an unexpected piece of information I came across.'

Yohan was surprised that the leader had spoken of this in the open. But then again, there was nothing he had to worry about in this pub.

No one except Yohan seemed even remotely interested in the ongoing fight or the exchange of information. They were all minding their own business.

"Fine. This is such a pain but at least you told this me beforehand."

Hobbit sounded annoyed with what he had to deal with but he accepted his fate and decided to move on.

Truthfully, he could mix this into tomorrow's tea which was planned out to be all sweet. It would serve his purpose well until the end.

Once Hobbit left, Yohan was about to stand over and head to the leader when someone stopped him by placing thier hand on his shoulder.

"I would advise not to interfere in other's business if you are in town. The biggest rule of this city is to not care and show interest in other's business. If you cannot follow these rules, then I am afraid that we must think of you as our enemy."

Yohan's back stiffed as the breathy words hit his ear and their breath tickled Yohan's ear.

He swiftly looked behind, only to see an unknown female placing her hand on his shoulder. She was beautiful with her wavy hair and charming eyes.

But something about her felt 'fake' to Yohan. It was as if this woman truly did not exist and she held no presence.

"An illusion? Someone wove a warning illusion all over this town. Do you care about others' privacy this much?"

Yohan could not help but question the illusionary female.

He doubted he would get an answer from her but he still wanted to try and converse with the illusion. And as expected, the woman in front of him did not say anything. She just continued to smile at him.

"Fine, I will not interfere with the dealings that are being made inside the town. But anywhere else is fair game, right?"

Yohan had picked apart the illusionary woman's words already and had noticed the loopholes already.

It would be a little more annoying to draw these people out of town but it was not impossible. And the lack of response Yohan got told him all he needed to know - he had been right.

"Well, thanks for your advice. I will make sure to use it wisely."

The illusionary woman faded from behind Yohan and as expected, no one was paying attention to him openly. This town was peculiar in that sense.

Yohan condensed his magic into a small familiar and used a pen and paper to write a traditional letter. Then, he sent them both toward the leader who had to deal with Hobbit.

He had asked the gang to meet him outside the town and now he had to just wait for them to show up. Yohan was sure that they would show up due to the huge sum of money he had written on the paper.

Unlike other realms, the demon realm dealt in dungeon currency and Yohan had a shit tone of it due to his excessive dungeon run-ins. He had more than enough money to waste.

Soon enough, the gang members showed up at the location Yohan had written on his note but they looked suspicious.

"Are you the one who called us here? What do you want? Do you not know how crazy you sounded to offer that much money out for free?"

The gang leader asked with a suspicious look in his eyes. He was trying to read Yohan and his intentions but he was not being very successful.

"Well, I did call you out here because I wanted to hire you. There is some information only you can give me. It's about your dealings with Hobbit and the potion you handed over to him."

Yohan watched the gang members flinch as he asked them questions. It seemed as if they were afraid of something but were not willing to say it.

"Listen, kid, I am not sure if you know it, but we cannot disclose anything regarding our former contract in this town. It will be better for you not to try and dig into it."

The leader explained with a pained expression. The leader instantly knew that this was a losing deal for him and he will not be able to make much from it.

But Yohan's smiling face caused the gang leader to feel confused. Why was Yohan smiling like this after hearing that he would not be helped? Had he gone mad?

"Well gentlemen, I knew that you could not help me *inside* the town's boundaries because of the magic barrier, but we are no longer inside the town, right?"

It took a second for the gang leader to realize what Yohan meant. They were no longer in governed land but in uncharted territories. The law of the town did not govern them here.

"I see. That does make things easier for us then. So, what would you like to hear about? Be quick because every second will cost you money."

In the end, Yohan got the answers to his questions and he was satisfied.