Chapter 60…………..
“If I don’t show up in front of Alfeo for a while, I’ll cut three hundred gold off per kilo.”
“Clemens, where was your lab again?”
“Five hundred!”
“The way is truly difficult.”
“A thousand! Not a single coin more than that!”
Finally, Aaron’s footsteps came to a halt.
“As expected, I could trust you, Clemens.”
“…The others should know just how nasty you are.”
“They say birds of a feather flock together.”
Ignoring Aaron’s words, I quickly began calculating the potential profit I’d lost.
‘Fine, let’s just think of it as paying for Lennox’s training.’
If I only looked at potential profit, I’d thrown away hundreds of thousands of gold. My stomach churned a little.
“How strange. His Highness never stays in one place for long.”
Then Aaron suddenly spoke out of nowhere.
“I see.”
Since I couldn’t exactly say that we were tangled up in a ruthless money dispute, I just gave a vague answer.
“It’s good to see you looking at ease for once.”
Aaron gave a faint smile, left those words behind, and departed.
The next day, after solving the problem Alfeo left yesterday, I headed to the black market.
‘A massive source of energy.’
Excluding Melin, there was only one way for humans to refine magic ore.
‘Ignis.’
The holy relic mentioned a couple of times in the original story.
As its name literally meant “fire,” it contained energy as vast as a volcano.
Unlike magic ore, which vanished once its energy was used, this relic—nicknamed a “god’s artifact” because its origin was unknown—held infinite energy.
‘If that ends up in my hands…’
Not only could I secure Alfeo, who was still wavering on whether to join Tara Transport, but it would also open a paved road for all my future business.
Fortunately, Mion had once met someone who tried to obtain this relic, so I was able to gather information about Ignis with ease.
‘And that information points to around this time.’
The exact auction date was unclear.
Worried that it might already have been sold, I immediately brought Mion along to the black market.
‘At times like this, legwork is the best option.’
To avoid being targeted by thieves, I pulled my hood low and tugged Mion’s hood down as well.
“Why’d you drag me here…”
Mion grumbled, sounding annoyed, but didn’t swat away my hand adjusting her clothes.
Maybe out of guilt for past events, she was more obedient than before.
“When we’re done, I’ll buy you a snack.”
“Tch, one won’t be enough.”
“Yeah, yeah. So, any harvest?”
I asked if she’d picked up any information from passersby. Mion shook her head.
“Nope.”
“Then it hasn’t shown up at auction yet.”
If a holy relic had appeared at auction, just its existence would have been seared into the memories of everyone in this market.
For now, that was reassuring.
While I was wandering around, a burly man with a beard approached.
“Hey there, miss. A place like this is too rough for someone like you. Are you sure you’ll be all right?”
He pretended to be concerned, but since I was only with a child and another woman, his tone carried a mocking edge.
“Yes, I’ll be perfectly fine.”
“Hahaha! Just as I thought, a sheltered young lady who doesn’t know the world!”
After laughing loudly at my firm answer, the man suddenly switched to a slimy voice.
“Well then, shall I help you out, miss?”
Though it sounded like an offer of kindness, his murky, sticky gaze told the real story.
Then he sneakily placed his hand on my shoulder.
“Take your hand off me.”
When I glared at him with disdain, my eyes must have been sharp enough to make him flinch.
“Oh my, how scary. Quite bold for an unarmed young lady, aren’t you?”
‘You think I’d be crazy enough to come here unarmed?’
I was already armed to the teeth with all sorts of protective scrolls, including one specifically designed to ward off molesters.
If this man—no, this creep—touched me again, his hand would be forever parted from his body.
Just as he was about to reach out again—
“You filthy bastard! Get lost already!”
Mion suddenly shouted furiously beside me. The creep’s face instantly hardened.
“You disrespectful brat…”
His hand veered toward Mion. No matter that she was a divine beast—her appearance was that of a child.
“Mion!”
I quickly pulled her into my arms. It was a reflexive action, one I hadn’t even realized I’d make.
At that moment, a gentle male voice cut in.
“Pardon me.”
Hearing it, I hurriedly pulled Mion’s hood down further and hid her behind me.
The man who intervened was also wearing a hood.
From beneath it, I glimpsed a swaying lock of pink hair and murmured,
“…Julian?”
An encounter with the most unexpected person in the most unexpected place.
“And who the hell are you?”
The mustached creep glared irritably.
“You shouldn’t lay hands on women and children.”
Despite the man’s rough words, Julian spoke without a hint of concern.
“Look at this soft-looking wimp… If you don’t want a beating, get lost!”
“If you behave so recklessly, I’ll have to report you to the guards.”
“What? You bastard—”
I darted my eyes around at the escalating situation.
‘Should I stop this?’
But Julian didn’t back down in the face of the mustached man’s fury.
‘What’s with that confidence?’
Could he be one of those secretly strong types?
I looked at him with a hint of expectation—
Wham!
“Ugh!”
—but no. He was kicked flat to the ground at once.
Whack! Whack! Whack!
Curled up, Julian was pummeled relentlessly.
It was a one-sided beating, a crystal-clear distinction between strong and weak.
‘Not secretly strong… just a courageous weakling.’
Watching Julian get dusted, I quickly tore open an attack scroll.
From the center of the ripped parchment, a fist-shaped mass of light rose up.
The glowing fist shot straight at the back of the mustached man’s head.
Smack!
“Guhhh!”
With a scream like a dying animal, the man collapsed unconscious.
“Yikes… that’s gotta hurt,” Mion muttered beside me.
I hurried over to help the fallen Julian up.
“Are you okay?”
“Th-thank you for saving me…”
“No, that’s what I should be saying to you…”
Taking my hand, he stood up and smiled brightly.
His hand was soft, like someone who had never done a day of rough work.
‘Probably hasn’t even held a wooden sword.’
So where on earth had that confidence come from?
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
Though he didn’t seem visibly injured, I asked just in case.
“I may not be good at fighting, but I can take a hit pretty well.”
“…I see.”
What a weirdo.
Labeling him in my mind with that one word, I nudged the unconscious creep foaming on the ground with my foot.
“What should we do with this criminal?”
“It would be best to hand him over to the nearest guards.”
“Right, then.”
But how were we supposed to move a man who had passed out?
As I was wondering, Julian began whining like a puppy while trying to lift the man.
Unable to watch, I stepped in to help.
In the end, we each took one arm and dragged the creep together.
On the way to the guard station, I asked Julian,
“So, young lord, what brings you here?”
“Ah… well.”
Julian glanced around awkwardly.
“There’s something I want to acquire.”
“With your status, most things could be yours with a word. Must be something very rare, then.”
“…Yes, it’s not easy to come by.”
That only made me more curious.
But it didn’t look like he was about to reveal it so easily.
Still, I had a hunch.
I spoke up.
“Could it be the holy relic—Ignis?”
