Chapter 193 — A Different Schedule Than Expected

1

Foundation Day and Academy Anniversary.

Thanks to these occasions, there would be no classes from Thursday through Sunday.

Some returned to their families, others stayed to study, and some planned trips with friends.

The usually bustling academy became peaceful for once.

Manus, enjoying this rare free time, finished his morning training early and hurried to prepare for going out.

Training with Melanie had been so engaging that he almost forgot about their appointment time.

He could feel her rapid growth, and he himself had been thoroughly absorbed in their sparring.

‘Kael must be waiting.’

Making someone wait wasn’t a pleasant feeling.

In his previous life, he had always been the one waiting for others.

He would wait in the cold at meeting spots, arrive first at conference rooms, and be first for assignments.

So he knew how tedious and difficult it was to wait for someone.

His hands moved even faster.

He had no desire to make anyone experience such tedious waiting because of him.

As Manus hurried down, he saw two people.

“You came down early.”

“Yes. Today is quite an important day.”

“…Hello.”

There was Melanie with a refreshed face, perhaps from sweating during morning training, and Kael with a somewhat sullen expression.

Was it from waiting, or maybe breakfast didn’t agree with her?

Or perhaps…

‘I see.’

Manus immediately understood Kael’s expression.

Did she think they would be going together alone, but Melanie joined in?

But they hadn’t talked much with each other, so he wasn’t sure.

The solution to this situation was simple.

Draw a line regarding Melanie’s role.

And then tell them he would dedicate the remaining time entirely to Kael.

Plus, there was something else bothering him.

‘What’s that over there.’

He spotted two people poorly hidden by concealment magic in the distance.

They seemed to have carefully applied buff magic too, but it was useless.

Caesar’s Mindset made such magic stand out more than having none at all.

Sigh.

Swallowing his sigh, Manus spoke.

It was to verify if Kael had the correct information.

“Kael, do you know who we’re meeting today?”

“Huh? I just heard about a business contact…”

“We’re going to meet the head of the Harry family.”

“…What?”

Her eyes widened.

She turned her head to look at Melanie once, then back at Manus.

Finally, as if realizing something, she clapped her hands together.

At this comedic development, Manus let out a small laugh.

“Melanie will head somewhere else after our business is done. It would be nice if Kael and I could look around the city.”

“Th-that’s right. I’ll probably handle work with my father.”

“Really? Hehe… that’s gre-, I mean that’s too bad.”

“Sigh, don’t say things you don’t mean, just go enjoy your date with Senior.”

Melanie said with a bright smile while patting Kael’s shoulder.

Kael lowered her head.

She was hiding her reddened face, whether from embarrassment or happiness was unclear.

She suddenly turned and said.

“L-let’s hurry!”

“Melanie.”

“Y-yes?”

“You should follow from a distance.”

“…”

This was punishment for not explaining properly.

Manus added his final words and started moving.

It wasn’t awkward to speak clearly to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings.

It’s always the case.

Misunderstandings stem from improper communication.

This was something Manus found frustrating in various media.

He could see Melanie looking deflated after receiving this unexpected punishment.

But well, if she had explained properly in the first place, this wouldn’t have happened.

‘You reap what you sow.’

A total of five people, including the two following from afar, headed towards the great city: Labyrinthos.

2

“Oh? Kael?”

“Ah, Senior.”

“You came to the city.”

“Yes. Um, Senior Manus and Melanie came too.”

As soon as they arrived in the city, Kael ran into Alano.

She added that she had come to the city for shopping — books and training supplies.

“Where are you all going?”

“We have some business to attend to. Something important.”

“Important business?”

“Yes.”

Question marks appeared above Alano’s head.

Moving together and important business.

It must mean something related to the tower.

Manus glanced to the side.

He saw Kael with an anxious expression.

He wasn’t sure what Anais and Pearson had told her, but he decided to go along with it for now.

He decided to tactfully send Alano away.

“I’ll tell you tomorrow at the academy. Simply put, it seems the Harry family wants to help us.”

“The Harry family?”

“Yes, that’s why I came along.”

Alano nodded.

Being a merchant family, it would be good to establish connections.

Understanding the situation, Alano smiled knowingly.

She wasn’t completely oblivious after all.

“So who are you going on a date with? Kael?”

“That’s how it turned out. It’s my first time in the city too.”

“Hehe, have fun. I’m rooting for you, Kael.”

“…”

She could only lower her head deeply.

Alano waved goodbye, saying she had things to buy, and disappeared.

Kael couldn’t say anything and just bowed slightly.

Somehow, without her saying anything, things were moving in that direction.

With this strange feeling, she couldn’t raise her head.

Yet she felt quite happy.

A day with Senior Manus.

It was something she had only imagined until now.

“L-let’s hurry!”

“Alright.”

“Kael, you look really happy.”

“Ugh!”

It was fun seeing her bright red face.

Manus headed to their next destination while enjoying the lazy morning sunlight.

3

At that time.

Pearson and Anais were also walking through the streets, following Manus and Kael.

Their hearts sank when they saw them meet Alano, but fortunately, she tactfully excused herself.

The two smiled watching this.

They followed Manus and Kael while maintaining a distance.

Though things seemed to be going smoothly so far, you never knew what could happen at any moment.

That’s what the city was like.

Probably quite a few people had come to the city.

“Nom… this is delicious.”

“Aren’t we here to watch them?”

“Yeah, but we should enjoy ourselves too~”

Anais spoke nasally while munching on skewers from a street vendor, smiling brightly.

Pearson shook his head watching her.

Were they on a date themselves, or here to observe…

Well, this wasn’t bad either.

When was the last time the two of them had fun like this?

They were both busy even before entering the academy.

Pearson smiled watching Anais trudge along.

“Okay, let’s have fun while we watch. Who knows? Something interesting might happen.”

“Don’t say ominous things.”

And so, the two found their own entertainment while keeping an eye on Kael from afar.

Though their focus had quietly shifted from surveillance to enjoyment.

“Let’s go there too. There are lots of festivals for Foundation Day.”

“Hey, we’re supposed to… nevermind. Okay, let’s go.”

“Hurry up.”

Anais pulled on Pearson’s wrist.

Someone watching them intently smiled and quickened their pace.

The two had no idea.

That they were being watched in return…

They probably wouldn’t realize unless the person themselves told them.

4

The place where the head of the Harry family was waiting was a large pub.

Since people were legally adults at 15, academy students could enter without issue.

However.

“Hey, pretty student! Want to sit here for a bit?”

“We’ll pour you some drinks! How about it?!”

Sometimes there were vulgar people like this.

Kael passed by them expressionlessly, but Manus couldn’t do the same.

With a wave of his hand, one of the men who had spoken was lifted into the air.

“Wh-what is this?!”

“I knew he would do that. Why did you have to bother academy students…”

“Did something vulgar move its mouth?”

Manus spoke with glowing blue eyes.

His gaze was so cold that the man floating in the air could only close his mouth.

One wrong word and it felt like his body would be torn apart.

He looked like a mercenary.

A fierce face with bushy beard and scars here and there.

Though muscular, he had no mana.

He could only roll his eyes in terror.

“I don’t want to dirty my hands with vermin’s blood, so I’ll stop here. If you have complaints… come find me at Caesar.”

“…”

Manus casually waved his hand.

Following his gesture, the floating mercenary went flying.

Leaving behind the mercenary who crashed with a loud noise, Manus disappeared beyond the stairs.

When his figure completely vanished after Kael and Melanie asked if everything was okay, murmuring grew louder.

“Did he say Caesar?”

“Why would Caesar be here…”

“He definitely had black hair…”

“That idiot. Serves him right for not knowing when to keep his mouth shut.”

Though the unconscious mercenary couldn’t hear, most people said he was actually lucky.

Of course.

He had shown such vulgar intentions without recognizing Caesar’s presence.

Honestly, even if he had been torn limb from limb on the spot, there would have been nothing to say.

The shop owner, angered by the commotion, strode over.

The mercenary who had just been sent flying unconscious.

He approached those supporting him and spoke menacingly.

“Hey.”

“Huh?”

“Get. Out. Now.”

“What?! Come on boss, why are you being like this, we’re regulars.”

A muscle-bound man a head taller than them.

A frying pan that looked tiny compared to his frame was swung with a whoosh.

Towards the exit.

He growled as he chased out the mercenaries.

“What era do you think this is, harassing academy students without fear? And what? Caesar?”

“…Well, that…”

“If you say it was because of alcohol, I’ll wake you right up. With this.”

He said while tapping his frying pan.

Soon after, the group could be seen leaving the shop dejectedly.

5

Second floor of the pub.

The place where Manus, Melanie, and Kael arrived was very quiet.

Some magic had been used to completely block out the noise from below.

A man sitting there.

He smiled warmly when he saw Melanie.

It was immediately obvious who he was.

“You’ve come, daughter. And precious guests have come as well.”

“I’m Kael.”

“I am Caesar Manus.”

Ooh-.

The man from the Harry family exclaimed in admiration, stood up, and bowed his head.

Manus waited for his words.

“It’s an honor to meet the young lord of Caesar. I am Roderick, the one leading the Harry family.”

Harry Roderick.

One of the most successful merchant guild leaders on the continent and also the head of the Harry family.

The clean-cut man looked at Manus and began speaking.

“I heard you want to handle artifacts. However, there are things you should know, so I arranged this meeting.”

His eyes sparkled as if telling Manus to explain.

How could a student obtain artifacts?

He felt it was time to tell the truth.

–TL Notes–
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