"Alright, guys! Seems we're all set!"
Excitement could be seen on Adonis' face as he prepared to lead the students out of the Castle gates.
It felt like an odd thing, seeing Adonis so giddy. 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 special. The Council hasn't also made the Otherworlder Summon public yet."
The Mages, and everyone else, who were involved in it took an Oath of silence, so no one spoke of it outside the Royal Estate.
Even the guards situated within the Estate couldn't open their lips to anyone about it.
"If you ever get into trouble, just flash the Royal Badge. You all have them with you, right? So it should be fine…"
Once Adonis was done making these clarifications, and all seemed to be in order, everyone was pretty restless to leave.
"Alright then. Let's go!"
The students ventured out, the Hero at the forefront, with Billy and the Alpha students closer to the front than the back, and a certain student trailing almost behind the entire group.
That student was Rey.
**********
'Okay. I've already told Noah the gist of matters. He's to conclude business for the day in the Black Market while I go to the Royal Dungeon.'
Rey wanted to make as many sales as possible. Since they could leave for town freely now, 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!
… Way more.
His gaze was met with Noah's, and they both nodded subtly at each other.
'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 conclusive evidence, I can always squirm out of it.'
Plus, the entire United Human Alliance was in quite a delicate position with the Otherworlders already.
Since Rey knew they were in desperate need for all the help they could get, Rey 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 outside. That's more than enough time to go and come back.'
He just had to be extra careful about when to leave and when to return.
'That's the most complicated part right now…'
Rey bit his lip 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 hard 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 jaws would collapse the moment he heard Adonis say this.
'W-what?!'
It was most unexpected.
'I-I mean, this whole arrangement works well for me, but…'
It was the perfect, ideal situation for Rey's plan to ditch, but he couldn't help but think the decision was strange.
'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 his purpose of 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 around 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 really 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 an stealth-based Skills, but his status 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. I'm sure if he asks the higher-
ups, he'll be convincing enough that they'll let him go out.'
Rey didn't think Adonis would need to sneak out to leave town, and since this was the first official time he was here, there really wasn't a place that Adonis would particularly want to go to alone.
As such, Rey dismissed his second line of reasoning.
'That means it's maybe the first? But even that seems dubious.'
Why would Adonis want to watch everyone from the shadows, like a creep, when he could just watch them normally?
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…'
At this point, Rey had to consider the simpler third option that he had initially ignored due to his intense skepticism.
'Maybe he just wants everyone to have unrestricted fun, and he trusts everyone will stick to the rules?'
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'm sure the Royal Badge has some sort of tracking function, so as long as we have it on us, they can track us.'
Tracking Magic consumed a lot of Mana, though, especially if it was used consistently, so Rey was sure they would only utilize this Magic in dire situations.
'Maybe after the two hours and some students are still absent…'
For now, though, Adonis seemed to have already thought things through.
'It just so happens to be convenient for me! Nice one, Adonis!' Rey tried to hide his wide grin under the mask of his palm.
'You really are my Hero!'
********
'Looks like everyone has left…'
As Adonis looked around him, smiling to see his classmates were having fun in town, he nodded slowly to himself.
'Now that I'm here, and all alone, I can finally get that Special Item…'
It had been a while, but Adonis knew exactly where he had to go to obtain what he desired.
…. The Black Market!
*
*
*
