Chapter 39

"Alright, everyone! Looks like we’re good to go!"

Adonis beamed with excitement, ready to lead the students out of the Castle gates.

It was unusual to see Adonis so cheerful. It was clearly his first time leaving, but it seemed to some perceptive eyes that he already knew what to look forward to in town.

"Since we’re all dressed casually, they won’t recognize us as anything special. The Council hasn’t made the Otherworlder Summon public yet," Adonis explained.

The Mages, along with everyone else involved, had taken an Oath of silence, so discussion about it remained confined within the Royal Estate.

Even the guards stationed there couldn’t breathe a word about it to outsiders.

“If you ever get into trouble, just flash the Royal Badge. You all have them with you, right? So it should be fine…”

After Adonis finished explaining everything, everyone grew restless, eager to leave.

“Alright then, let’s get moving!” Adonis declared.

The students filed out, with the Hero leading the way, followed closely by Billy and the Alpha students near the front.

One student, however, lagged behind the group.

It was Rey.

**********

‘Okay. I’ve already told Noah the gist of the matter. He’s to conclude business for the day in the Black Market while I go to the Royal Dungeon.’

Rey wanted to make as much sales as possible. Since they could now enter the town freely, he knew more opportunities would come.

He just didn’t like to leave a day unproductive.

‘I have over a thousand Platinum Coins at my disposal right now…’

That was more than enough money for anyone.

But for Rey, it still wasn’t enough.

He wanted more!

… much more.

Locking eyes with Noah, they exchanged a subtle nod of understanding.

‘I just need to find the perfect opening.’

Rey knew it wouldn’t be easy. He might have to get into more trouble, and he could even be under suspicion for his actions, but right now he was desperate.

‘I have no choice! As long as there’s no concrete evidence, I can always wriggle out of it,’ Rey reasoned with himself.

Plus, the entire United Human Alliance was in quite a delicate position with the Otherworlders already.

Since Rey knew they were in desperate need of all the help they could get, he doubted they would make a big fuss about his whereabouts if he was able to rendezvous with the rest of the group as soon as possible.

‘We’re supposed to spend a total of three hours exploring the town. That’s more than enough time to go and come back.’

The tricky part was timing.

He had to be extra careful about when to leave and when to return.

Rey bit his lip anxiously as he prayed he would be able to escape without notice.

‘Adonis will be the biggest obstacle…’ His thoughts trailed in frustration.

‘I just hope he won’t make things too difficult for me.’

********

“Let me make it easy for you guys! We’ll split up here, so you are all free to explore the town as long as we all meet up at this exact location two hours from now.”

Rey felt like his jaw would hit the ground when Adonis made the announcement.

‘W-what?!’

It was completely unexpected.

‘I-I mean, this setup works perfectly for my plans, but…’ Rey couldn’t shake off the feeling of unease.

The decision seemed strange to him.

‘Why in the world would he do this?!’

Rey knew the reason Conrad didn’t bother with the guards was because Adonis would be present to keep an eye on everyone.

If he just allowed everyone to go off on their own, it betrayed the purpose of his being there in the first place.

… Right?!

‘This is definitely strange. There’s no way Adonis doesn’t know all of this. Maybe there’s more to it than meets the eye.’

A bunch of thoughts swirled in Rey’s head as he struggled to decide the best explanation for the current situation.

‘Maybe he plans on watching all of us from a distance. Or maybe… could he have somewhere he wants to go privately?’

Rey dismissed the second thought because he knew this was the first time Adonis would be in town.

This wasn’t due to blind trust or anything, but the guy had an alibi.

He was always seen training, and when he wasn’t doing that, he was hanging out with everyone.

Adonis didn’t have much time to himself, except when he slept.

‘Maybe he snuck out at night one time or something…?’

However, Rey found that equally difficult to believe.

‘A high-profile guy like Adonis sneaking out? Eh… seems unlikely.’

Not only did Adonis not have stealth-based Skills, but his role as Hero—and the stickler for the rules—made it very doubtful that he would resort to such in the dead of night.

‘Plus, it doesn’t fit his personality. He could easily get permission from the higher-ups if he wanted to leave town.’

Rey also doubted that Adonis had a specific place in town he urgently needed to visit alone, especially on his first official outing.

As such, Rey dismissed his second line of reasoning.

‘That means it’s maybe the first? But even that seems doubtful.’

Why would Adonis want to watch everyone from the shadows, like a creep, when he could just watch them openly?

Was it even a good plan to do so, considering the fact that Adonis had no stealth-based Skills?

‘It just seems like some unnecessary trouble…’

Rey paused, considering a simpler explanation he had initially dismissed due to skepticism.

‘Maybe he just wants everyone to enjoy themselves freely, trusting that we’ll follow the rules,’ Rey speculated.

It seemed a bit too naive, but Adonis seemed like the guy who would hold such ideals.

‘Besides, he just gave that badass speech. I’m sure most of the students wouldn’t want to disappoint him or something…’

It made sense that his classmates, even with their respective agendas, would simply follow Adonis’ instructions.

‘A few might be late, but I doubt anyone would actively ignore the time limit.’

‘I bet the Royal Badge has a tracking function, ensuring they can keep tabs on us as long as we wear it,’ Rey speculated.

However, he knew that continuous use of tracking magic drained a lot of Mana, so Rey was sure they would only utilize this Magic in emergencies.

‘Maybe if after the two hours and some students are still absent…’

But for now, Rey had to admit that Adonis seemed to have planned things thoroughly.

‘It just so happens to be convenient for me! Nice one, Adonis!’ Rey couldn’t contain his grin, hiding it behind his palm.

‘You really are my Hero!’

********

‘Looks like everyone has left…’ Adonis observed, glancing around at the lively scene of his classmates enjoying themselves in town.

He nodded in satisfaction.

‘Now that I have some time to myself,’ Adonis thought, a determined glint in his eyes, ‘I can finally get that Special Item.’

It had been a while, but Adonis knew exactly where he had to go to get what he desired.

…. The Black Market!

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[A/N]

Thanks for reading!

Looks like the option that Rey was quick to dismiss ended up being the case.

I wonder if they’ll bump into each other in the Black Market one of these days…