Ch. 289
[I thought I was hiding it pretty well.]
[You can’t hide it completely from someone stronger than you or equal to you, Master. And fellow Spirit Mages are more sensitive to it.]
Recognizing another being with similar power was a different matter from sensing a presence.
It was far more instinctive, you could say.
As natural as a swordsman recognizing a swordsman, or a noble recognizing a noble.
[Rai, what do you think? Could Theatrazen be stronger than me?]
[I’d say the probability of that is quite low?]
[What if you exclude the power of the Dragon Heart?]
[Well…? Then maybe you’d be similar… Why? Are you planning to fight without it?]
[No? I won’t exclude it, and I won’t fight, but I’m just curious, you know? Who would win in a fight against the continent’s strongest Spirit Mage.]
Because the winner would be the strongest.
I was enjoying this encounter, but it seemed Theatrazen couldn’t take it so lightly.
I saw the door of the carriage blocking the road open.
Though they couldn’t get out right away because of the crowd gathered nearby.
“Oh my goodness! It’s an honor to see you!”
“Lord Theatrazen! Please accept this fruit! I’m sorry it’s for sale, but please!”
“Move aside! Lord Theatrazen, just one glance…!”
What incredible popularity.
When the door opened, people swarmed in even more, shouting Theatrazen’s name, and I used that opportunity to turn my steps toward a back alley.
“Let’s go, Rai.”
[You seemed interested. Are you just leaving?]
[I have a feeling that running into him would be a huge pain.]
My built-in radar for troublesome things is quite effective.
It was easy to weave through the people who were now flocking in from all directions, and it was no difficult task to erase my presence and disappear.
As I jumped into a narrow alley where carriages couldn’t enter, I gave the commotion a brief glance over my shoulder.
‘Someday. Well, if the opportunity arises.’
I was curious about how strong he was, but that was all.
The person I had to settle things with was Rovenin, not Theatrazen, so I had no regrets.
After catching that strong scent of wind, I felt like running, so I ran until I was out of breath, which was unlike me.
I ran lightly, trying to get as far from the square as possible.
Only after I was sure no one was following me did I take off my hood and look around.
It was an unfamiliar alley I’d never been to before.
Even though a considerable amount of time had passed since I started staying in this city, I couldn’t tell where I was.
[That’s because you’re surprisingly bad with directions, Master.]
“Thanks? For adding the ‘surprisingly’?”
[You get angry if I say you’re terrible with directions!]
“Even the truth gets annoying if you hear it too often.”
The solution to getting lost in a city is surprisingly simple: you just have to look up at the sky and follow the bell tower, the top of the castle, or the roof of a temple.
Doing so would, with high probability, lead you to a crowded street or a square.
But there was nothing to be seen here, as if it were on the outskirts.
‘In times like these… there’s no choice but to walk wherever my feet take me. I’m a free spirit!’
[…You don’t think that’s why you get even more lost, do you?]
“I know what I’m doing, okay?”
[Why! You can just ask me! It’s not like you being bad with directions is anything new! Why are you being so stubborn!]
“Shut up! Who said I’m lost! I know exactly where this is, okay? If I go this way, the inn will show up!”
‘The earth is round! So if I keep walking, a familiar road is bound to appear!’
Though I wasn’t sure if this world was round, too.
Its credibility was low, but according to the myths, this world was shaped like a four-tiered cake stand you often see at tea parties.
Several wide, plate-like worlds existed in a line, and in the middle were the Middle realm and the Spirit realm.
Of course, the celestial realm was at the very top, and the demon realm was at the very bottom.
[Excuse me? Master, you said you knew the way. Why do you keep going in the opposite direction?]
I do know.
It seems I know how to get lost.
It was an unpleasant fact, but unlike me, Rai had a good sense of direction, and just because he was a little better than me at some things, he was an impudent Spirit who dared to rebuke her master.
“I’m just taking a detour for a walk. Why? You got a problem with that?”
[So stubborn…]
“I was about to go the other way at the next alley.”
[When you get hungry, you’ll end up going the way I tell you anyway.]
That was for then, and right now, I was full.
I had just bought and eaten a ton of snacks back at the square.
I treated it as a walk and strolled along as my instincts led me, but for a long while, there was no one else but me.
It was a strangely deserted place.
All around were only large, old buildings used as warehouses, and not even a common bakery was in sight.
No, that’s what I thought.
It was around the time the sun began to set that I discovered a general store standing alone in the middle of the alley.
What’s with that landlord-like location choice…? There’s no way they’d get any business here.
I thought it was random and strange, and at first, I was about to pass by without much thought.
Until I saw the suspicious phrases on the general store’s sign and door.
「A General Store for Only the Strong and Wise Traveler」
-Danger, the weak should not enter.
Without realizing it, I grabbed the doorknob of the general store as if possessed.
‘Isn’t this place obviously for me?’
How could I possibly pass up a place like this?
[Ehh? Where are you going, Master!]
As I stepped into the store out of curiosity, I heard Rai grumbling about me straying off course again, but I lightly ignored him.
The inside of the general store was larger than I expected, much older than it looked from the outside, and dim and suspicious.
The thought that this might not be an ordinary store came to me when I realized the books piled haphazardly at the entrance were original texts in the Ancient Language.
“Hoh.”
I had a feeling I might be able to find something useful here.
After all, valuable items are often unexpectedly unearthed in remote places like this, rather than in specialty shops.
The thrill of finding a treasure sleeping defenselessly under the indifferent gazes of people who don’t know its true value…
“You there.”
I hadn’t felt a single trace of a presence, so I thought there wasn’t even an ant here.
Startled, I looked toward where the voice came from, and an old woman—who seemed to be floating with only her face visible, as if she were wearing black clothes—was staring intently at me with eyes that had an unusual amount of white.
Eek!
“…You scared me!”
[I thought it was a ghost!]
[My thoughts exactly!]
[Let’s turn him into a real ghost for scaring us!]
[…That’s enough.]
I had been rummaging through the books, wondering if there was anything about Spirits, and in my fright, I dropped the book I was holding.
Picking it up again, I examined the old woman more closely.
“Are you the… owner of the store?”
She wasn’t a customer like me—well, am I ordinary?
Anyway, she didn’t seem like a customer, so she was either an assassin or the owner of this store.
That extreme lack of presence was proof that she was a trained individual.
Her build was small and her exposed face was gaunt, yet the reason I couldn’t act carelessly was due to an instinctual warning to keep a proper distance.
Despite looking older than any other elderly person I had ever seen, her eyes held a sharpness that could only be called killing intent.
[Master, there are Magic tools all over this store.]
[What? I don’t feel anything.]
[They’re hidden with sealing formations. But I can feel all the Mana stones!]
What is this store… it’s strange…
“Yes, I am the owner. And you are…”
“A customer?”
“You, from the looks of it… hmmm.”
“…What are you trying to say?”
Her persistent, scrutinizing gaze was unpleasant, and I couldn’t figure out what she was up to, which made me consider just leaving, excavation be damned.
It didn’t seem like there would be anything worth buying in a shabby store like this anyway.
“You pass. You are qualified to enter this store.”
“What?”
“We are selective about our customers.”
“That’s ridiculous. What qualifications are there to enter a store…”
“We only accept the strong as customers.”
“‘Welcome, customer,’ I don’t think I’ve heard that yet.”
This store recognizes its customers.
Though the hospitality seems poor.
“Come in. It’s been a while since we’ve had a Spirit Mage as a customer, so I am pleased.”
Already slightly on edge as I surveyed the inside of the store, I became even more guarded.
I didn’t go in deep and stuck to a spot near the door where I could leave at any time.
“What. How did you know?”
“Judging by your slender body, you’re not a swordsman, and since your attire isn’t that of a traditional mage… you must be a Spirit Mage. To be the owner of this store, one must have a very good eye. My greatest talent is ‘judging people.’”
“…Does that count as a talent?”
“Of course. You have no idea how many times this ability has saved my life. A young one like you wouldn’t know yet—just how important an eye for people is.”
I agreed that it was important, but for me, who had the Tears of Truth, it wasn’t a particularly necessary talent.
The old woman beckoned me to come closer.
But I still hadn’t let go of my suspicious gaze.
I narrowed my eyes, trying to deduce the old woman’s identity somehow.
She didn’t seem to be a swordsman, nor a mage, nor a Spirit Mage… If it was a profession specialized in hiding one’s presence, it could only be an assassin.
Going near an assassin in a dark place like this is a suicidal act, even if I am Geenie Crowell.
“No need to be so wary. Have you ever seen an owner who harms a customer?”
“I have.”
“…I am merely a shopkeeper trying to sell my wares. Now that you’ve come to our store, you will get what you desire.”
“I just came in because the sign caught my eye while passing by… I don’t particularly need anything.”
I was torn between leaving this suspicious store or taking the risk to obtain something.
It was unsettling, that was true, but I also had a strong premonition that there was something equally extraordinary here.
“Did the sign catch your eye?”
“Well, yeah, because it’s in such a random place?”
“Then you are more than qualified to be our customer. That sign is a special item that not just anyone can see.”
“Don’t tell me that sign… is a Magic tool or something?”
“Indeed, it is only visible to the eyes of those who can handle Mana. It serves to filter our customers once.”
The old woman made a strange “ho ho” sound, laughing without any change in her expression.
This is definitely not an ordinary store.
What kind of general store has so much money to spare to do something like that?
“To have entered this city and reached this store, you are a lucky one. A special one. You will obtain what you need, so cast aside your doubts. Special items are only fitting for special people. Now, if there is anything you are looking for, tell me whatever it may be.”
“Whatever…?”