Episode 193. The Helpers (3)
Two days later, in the commercial city of Adyen.
Adienne was one of the cities near the Roinen Manor, and the closest city in a straight line.
“Sir, I have something to ask you.”
A spacious bar located on the second floor. The owner looked at the old man who had just started talking to him. He was a rather rough-looking old man.
“The alcohol in this city is really bad. So I brought something else to drink. Can I drink it here?”
“…What?”
“I’ll give you enough money. Just bring me some decent snacks instead.”
“What is this old man doing in broad daylight…?”
The bar owner had no choice but to swallow his saliva. A heavy bag of money was placed in his hand. It was money that he could barely handle on a festival-like day, or on the busiest of days.
“Yes, sir.”
“Anyway, in Adyen, money is status. I’ll just stay for an hour or so and then I’ll be gone. Is that okay?”
“Of course, I don’t know what kind of alcohol you brought, but I will prepare something that will satisfy you as much as possible.”
“Please make it a beef dish. For two people.”
“Sir, are you a big eater?”
He was a decent person. He was short, stocky, and looked like he had been drinking alcohol his entire life, but he didn’t look like he had much of an appetite.
“We’re going to eat together. Over there.”
The old man unfolded his sword from the hand holding the bottle of liquor and pointed to one side. The balcony table. A noble lady had been sitting there for 30 minutes before the old man showed up.
“As you can see, the seats there are already taken.”
“Let’s join. At that pretty lady’s table.”
“I don’t know much about you, but I don’t think you can even offer money to a lady of that rank to join you. If you were to be rude, you could be in serious trouble… … .”
The old man answered by waving his hand and walked away with a stomp.
The master’s expectation that he would be immediately rejected was pleasantly dashed. After saying a few words, the old man received the lady’s permission.
“Huh… Really.”
After the owner tilted his head and stepped back to prepare food.
The old man chuckled at the funny reaction. Across from him, a somewhat nervous noblewoman was looking around and pursed her lips.
“Puree, look what I brought for you.”
Dribble, dribble, dribble.
An empty glass is filled with alcohol.
Puree smiled at the familiar scent. It was Oakum. She, like Killian, did not like alcohol that was not Oakum.
“There’s nothing to be nervous about. We can just stay here and chat.”
Puree, who just sips the oasum without saying a word.
“Let’s just consider it an outing. You must have been so frustrated being stuck in that dank mansion.”
“Did my father ask you to call me here?”
“Well, it’s not like I didn’t think about that either… Rubin was the one who suggested it first.”
“Huh, really?”
Killian filled his glass and toasted with Puree. Puree was wearing an old-fashioned dress that only a noblewoman would wear, and her beautiful appearance pleased her adoptive father, Killian.
“Rubin is leaving today. You know that, right?”
“… Yes, I know. But I suddenly don’t know what I’m doing here.”
“It’s a picnic, you know. Just eat as much delicious food as you want.”
“… Don’t joke around.”
Killian nodded toward the bottom of the balcony.
Groan, groan.
As a city that thrives on commerce, the wide streets are lined with shops and bustling with merchants and pedestrians.
“The external reason is that it’s a test, but I’m just seeing you off. That Rubin you cherish so much.”
“Is it a test?”
“Over there, there’s Rubin among those pedestrians.”
“really?”
Puree opened her eyes wide and looked out into the distance. Killian rested his chin on his hand with sleepy eyes.
“In front of the third building on the left from you. Can you see it?”
“… It’s true, it’s Master Rubin!”
Puree, who had suddenly raised his voice, looked around the restaurant with a surprised expression. His voice probably didn’t reach the street, but it was enough to make the other customers who were eating look at Puree with strange eyes.
“… Uh, uh.”
But the guests simply frowned or shrugged, then quickly went back to their meals and conversations.
“Don’t worry. Everyone except the restaurant owner is our guest. But don’t shout Rubin’s name out the window.”
“Even the people who work at this restaurant?”
Concealment and disguise. Fake identities and disguised lives… … .
For a moment, I forgot what the Roinen family was. And it wasn’t just the people gathered in this restaurant. Even the waiters and cooks could be members of the Assassin’s Sword.
“The only ones here who aren’t disguised are me and Rubin over there. Even you’re dressed like a noblewoman.”
Although the scale of the Purero cannot be compared, there was a huge number of vassals of the Assassin Swordsman distributed around them. This was also the case outside the tavern.
It wasn’t all because of Rubin. Siren was out to greet Rubin.
“Yes, sir. Why aren’t you disguised? Are you still the same as usual?”
“The cover identity that the Imperial Order gave Rubin this time is ‘Imperial Inspector.’ Do you know how unusual this is? It’s the perfect identity to investigate something without being suspected.”
Puree focused her eyes on Rubin. Rubin was eating skewers he bought from a street vendor by himself.
“However, the age of the inspector is set to nineteen. Siren is trying to confirm whether the citizens see him as that age.”
“So that’s why you said it was a test. You’ve grown so much in the two years I haven’t seen you, so it could be seen that way depending on how you look at it.”
Killian nodded. After all, Rubin swallowed the ‘Tears of the Elder Dragon Givenrath’ that led to his climax. He’ll probably still look like that when he’s thirty or forty.
“So, the lord came here too? Where is he?”
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Killian chuckled.
Pure didn’t recognize the woman standing a step away from Rubin. No wonder, her hair was dyed and her clothes were not at all reminiscent of a siren.
‘It’s an interesting play.’
Naturally, memories of the past came to mind. As a Roynenser, he had created all sorts of difficult situations to test the Siren’s acting and agility.
for example-
Or, they even drive them out as criminals.
“Hey!”
A loud shout echoed through the streets. Hearing this, Pure looked out onto the street with pounding eyes.
“Give me my purse, please? And my ring too.”
“Kkkkk. It’s started.”
Just then, the restaurant owner brought out a well-cooked beef dish. Despite the steaming deliciousness of the dish, Puree didn’t even glance at it.
“Sir, are there any pickpockets in this neighborhood?”
The owner shook his head and smiled bitterly, as if he understood the situation on the street.
“Yes, sir. This is a big city. You have to be careful when walking down the alleys. You never know when someone might come knocking.”
“Just now, that black-haired young man over there was accused of being a thief. The woman next to him is screaming that she lost her money. If we drink here, there will be plenty to see, so we won’t be bored.”
“The thieves need to be burned to the ground like cockroaches! Don’t worry, the guards will be here soon. There are as many guards here as there are thieves.”
Then the restaurant owner felt a sting. Suddenly, the noblewoman across from the old man glared at him.
Oops! Thinking of cockroaches in front of food. Maybe it was because I was in front of an old man who had no manners, but I forgot my manners for a moment.
The restaurant owner hurriedly turned his back, not even dreaming that the lady in front of him was the thief’s nanny.
“Kuuuuu.”
A laugh escaped Killian’s lips. As he cut up the beef and placed it on a plate of puree, he added:
“Anyway, Siren is also really funny. How could she have thought of turning her own child into a thief?”
* * *
-That woman is a siren? No way.
It is no wonder that Haneke was surprised. Even Rubin could not sense the slightest trace of a siren in the woman before his eyes.
If it weren’t for Dorian standing next to her, Rubin might not have noticed either.
‘This is my first time seeing my mother’s stomach.’
At one time, she too would have disguised herself and acted, but after reaching the peak of her power, she no longer needed to do so.
Disguise meant nothing to the targets she had to eliminate. It was no longer a question of whether she could deceive them, but whether she could kill them.
Groan, groan.
Before long, pedestrians stopped walking and surrounded Rubin.
Among the people watching with interest, there were also the assassins. The dark smoke they were emitting could not be disguised.
“Guards! Guards!”
The man standing next to the siren called out to the guards, his blood running high.
‘Dorian.’
It was Dorian with a bushy beard.
He too was almost perfectly camouflaged, but he couldn’t fool Rubin. Thanks to finding Dorian first, he was able to spot the Siren next to him.
“Get out of the way!”
As expected, the guards suddenly appeared in Adyen, where pickpocketing was rampant. They were wearing helmets and stood in front of Rubin, pushing people away.
“I am not a thief. I have been treated unfairly.”
“It always starts like that.”
There were two guards who appeared, the shorter one was the assassin’s vassal.
From the beginning, he was living undercover as a guard for Adyen.
“This is really unfair.”
Still, the tall guard glared and lightly pushed Rubin’s chest.
“First, we need to search the body.”
“You may do so. As far as I know, the correct procedure is to first verify identity before conducting a body search.”
Rubin opened his arms obediently. The soldiers, without paying attention, opened Rubin’s backpack and began searching every part of his body.
Rubin looked at Siren and Dorian standing across from him. Then he added:
“You two, you have just caught a living person.”
“… … .”
The search continued, but not a single piece of jewelry, not even a ring, was found on Rubin’s body. The same was true for his purse.
A moment of confusion crossed Dorian’s face. Rubin snickered.
“First… let me verify your identity.”
A somewhat lenient soldier asked Rubin for a pass. Rubin obediently handed it over.
“Luhan Melas… nineteen years old… from the city of Joanilos in the Kingdom of Pamuk…”
The soldier deliberately recited Rubin’s identity so that the onlookers could hear.
Even when he revealed his age, saying he was nineteen, no one questioned it, thinking only that Rubin looked a little young.
“Okay?”
In that moment, the soldier realized that Rubin was no longer respectful to him.
“… … !”
When the tall soldier next to him tried to accuse him of being rude, Rubin grabbed the tall soldier by the neck and pulled him away. Then he took something out of the front pocket of the guard’s uniform.
“Hey! That can… … .”
What Rubin pulled out was a small can. Inside was powder.
“Do you know what this powder is used for?”
The tall soldier kept his mouth shut at the ominous feeling that was creeping up on him. He couldn’t help but know. It was one of the things he had to keep in mind when he was always on duty.
A powder that identifies special positions in the Empire. If someone reacts to this powder, it means that they are carrying out a special position in the Empire.
And the ‘Imperial Inspector’ was one of the most important positions among the special positions.
Sssssut.
Rubin sprinkled powder on his pass in front of the soldiers. A soft glow appeared over the pass. The onlookers didn’t know what it meant, but the soldiers knew otherwise.
“Huh!”
Leaving the startled guard behind, Rubin glanced around with annoyed eyes. He saw a fleeting look of satisfaction in the eyes of the siren he happened to meet.
An unusual disguise created by the Imperial Order, the Imperial Inspector. There was no doubt about Rubin’s inaction, but Siren was curious about whether he would be able to carry out this heavy disguise well.
-It was a needless worry.
The siren’s sound echoes in Rubin’s head.
The next moment, Siren disappeared into the crowd. There was no word of goodbye, but that one word was her farewell.
“Even though I am just a junior inspector, I don’t think I deserve to be treated like this by Adyen’s guards.”
grasp!
Rubin turned his head and struck the shins of the two soldiers standing right in front of him. He used a little force, and the soldiers groaned sincerely.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”
“Is there anyone here higher than me besides the Lord of Adienne? I want to personally rob the Captain of the Adienne Guards.”
“Father, please forgive me… … .”
“Fine. It’s all a waste of time. I have a long way to go, so I’ll just endure it for now.”
Rubin hurled the powder can he had taken back at the guard.
“… Oh, and the ring and purse that the lady lost earlier.”
“Yes? Yes! Inspector!”
“If you’re going to catch a thief, you should catch him properly. Check out that beard.”
“…yes?”
Rubin pointed at Dorian with his finger and picked up the backpack he had left on the floor. That was it.
“… … ?”
Dorian’s eyes opened wide. Only then did he realize that the things that should have been in Rubin’s pockets had been moved into his own pockets.
Even as Rubin, he couldn’t move the ring into Dorian’s pocket while fooling Siren’s senses.
But Rubin had plenty of ways to frame Dorian other than using the shadows.
For example, the Phantom Tribe companions who can transform into even the smallest creatures.
Fooddeuk.
-Did I do well?
Rubin quickly returned to his backpack, glanced at the beetle fluttering its wings, and moved on.
-By the way, Dorian, is he okay?
-We don’t need people who can’t even solve that problem on their own.
-Hmm, that’s spicy.
-A realistic beggar.
If it’s Dorian, he’ll be released quickly even if he’s accused of being a thief. He’ll go back to the mansion and diligently learn the ‘Shadow Force Master’ from Damon, who’s directly under his command.
Rubin emerged from the crowd and left Adyen Castle.
An open street outside the city gates.
From now on, it was another beginning.
A journey to follow Brion Auror’s trail through the Northern Plains, to find a blacksmith worthy of Glayton, and to meet a companion to accompany the Emperor on his first task.
‘I hope you are doing well?’
The starting point will be the commercial city of Avern.
