Naturally, Sarkegaar and Eleris weren’t here. It was only Loyar. The gang members I met on the way asked me if I was doing fine in Temple, so I answered appropriately.
Of course, I didn’t tell them that I was beating up kids.
“I heard the Imperial Prince and Princess entered Temple as well.”
“Well, yeah.”
“What do you think? Will it be dangerous?”
Loyar seemed worried about me. In a way, just entering Temple was quite the dangerous endeavor, but now two of my classmates were of the Imperial Family.
“So far, everything’s fine, but I think the Prince is trying to lure me to his side.”
“Hmm…. This feels dangerous.”
“If things seem to turn south, I’ll somehow escape using the ring.”
So, I told her not to worry too much about me. Loyar seemed to be worried that my life would be in danger at Temple.
And I didn’t only come here to report my life at Temple to her.
“And, there’s something I’d like you to look into if you could.”
“What is it?”
“Well, it’s something Sarkegaar should do, to be exact, not you personally.”
I didn’t know how far the reach of Count Argon Pontheus was, but Sarkegaar had the ability to transform, so it would be relatively easy for him to gather some information.
“It seems like the Princess has a supernatural ability, and that power is considered to be confidential.”
“…The Princess. You’re telling me she has a supernatural ability?”
“Yeah. I want you to look into that. Of course, there’s no rush. I just feel a bit queasy having something in front of me that’s kept a secret.”
I had a feeling that I needed to know what Charlotte was capable of. Perhaps Loyar hadn’t even thought of that as she furrowed her eyebrows.
I wanted to confirm if that confidential supernatural ability the Princess was said to have, was real, or if it was just a lie fabricated so that she could enter the Royal Class.
If she held a dangerous ability, I had to be careful.
“I will relay the message to Sarkegaar.”
“How is it going with the train vendor strategy, by the way?”
A smile spread across Loyar’s face, hearing my words.
The Rotary Gang had changed their strategy from selling candies to passers-bys to selling goods on trains.
“Very good.”
“Oh, how good exactly?”
Loyar explained to me that their sales had risen to an unprecedented level.
The items they sold also seemed to get good responses as they also sold simple snacks along with candy.
Anyway, it felt rather weird for them to become general merchandisers.
“I was thinking about what toys to choose to sell, but I don’t think things are running so badly as is.”
“Strictly instruct them not to fight with the passengers, tell them to just get off or go to another compartment if they seem about to get into one. If they start hurting the passagers, sanctions will be imposed at the Imperial level. Then our business would be over.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
This was an unlicensed business. If the vendors started to be shunned and caused the passengers inconveniences, there might be a possibility that the city guards would be dispatched to drive them away, or they might even permanently place guards on the trains.
It would be nice if their income was stable enough to cut ties with the Thieves’ Guild. It didn’t feel particularly good for my group to potentially get controlled by someone else.
I was about to go back after telling her those things, but Loyar called out to me.
“Your Highness.”
“Huh?”
“Don’t visit Eleris or Sarkegaar in person.”
No, I was actually planning to stop by Eleris’ shop though.
“Why?”
“Since you are supposed to come from this place, it’s alright to visit, but places like the mansion of Count Pontheus or Eleris’ shop might be considered unnatural.”
“Ah…. Yeah, that’s true. But do we have to implement that already?”
“Yeah, there was a tail on you already.”
What? No, how did you detect that in the first place?
“I didn’t take any actions because they seemed like Your Highness’ classmates, but you will have to be careful with your actions in the future.”
I never thought that there would be people tracking my actions for some reason.
I was careless.
Dropping by the Rotary Gang was a good thing, because I was supposed to come from this place. However, things would have gotten dangerous if I went anywhere unusual like Eleris’ Shop or the mansion of Count Pontheus.
However, I couldn’t believe I got followed.
I wasn’t some super human, so I couldn’t just suddenly stop in some alley and go: “Hey. Come out”. That was just impossible.
I didn’t have to think much about the reason why they followed me, because I could roughly guess. They probably went after me, because they were curious about how great I really was.
I should refrain from going to the Rotary Gang from now on. Loyar told me that she would send me a message from her side if necessary.
There was the possibility that the Prince might put tails on me, so if I came into contact I seriously had to check my back. I was really very glad that I first stopped by the Rotary Gang. If I decided to go anywhere else first things might have gotten pretty troublesome.
And.
– Here comes the beggar.
I was now facing a less cumbersome situation compared to being caught.
* * *
Upon hearing Loyar’s warning I immediately returned to Temple. I also went to talk to the guys I believed might have followed me.
However as soon as I entered the lobby of the Class A dormitory, all the students who stayed behind were staring at me with a look of contempt. Apparently, the rumor had already been swept away. They knew I was a beggar.
And the guys standing on the forefront, Cayer and Erich, were staring at me.
“Hey, why were you hanging out with the beggars under the bridge? Are you a beggar?”
I nodded at Erich’s words.
“Huh. You’re just a bum from the streets?”
When I readily agreed, the expressions of the people looking at me became spectacular.
I guessed they were expecting me to deny having hung out with beggars. However, when I just came out as a beggar, they were dumbfounded.
I stared at Erich and Cayer.
“It seems like you’re trying to tease me for being a beggar and making a fuss about it. But, it’s not like I haven’t heard this crap once or twice before. It’s annoying.”
I sighed with my arms crossed.
“If I were you guys, I would rather not touch me if I knew that I was from the streets.”
As I took one step closer, Cayer as well as Erich stumbled a step back..
“Wha, what? You’re just a beggar….”
“Yo, you dirty bastard rolling around with beggars…. Stay away from me…..”
It was kind of funny how they were running their mouths while feeling scared shitless.
“What do you think would happen if someone who lived a rough life on the streets suddenly came here and some bastards were staring down at them?”
I took yet another step towards them while they took another step back.
“Huh? Your eyes are spinning suddenly. Yeah, you’re supposed to be scared of this, right?”
As I approached them with gleaming eyes, they tried to retreat. Eventually they reached the couch and fell on top of it. They looked white as a sheet as if they were intimidated by my words.
“I don’t think you know this because you’re still kids, but you don’t mess with people who have nothing to lose.”
You’re glad that I was just a beggar? I don’t have anything like a powerful background, so you think you can handle me?
Adults, you see, are more afraid of people like that.
People who had nothing to lose wouldn’t think about what they could lose by doing certain things.
“If some crazy guy down on their luck feels threatened, huh. I don’t know. Like this. They’ll hit you. You want to feel that? Huh? If you want me to show you, just say so. Ah, don’t you want to know? You do want to see it, don’t you? So, do you want me to show you or not?”
“Tha, tha….”
“Huh, should I show you or not!?”
I shouted at Cayer.
“N, no…. No….”
“Next. You, you bastard. Erich. Should I show you? Tell me.”
“Wha, what…. Show me what…. What do you want to show me!?”
Erich frantically shouted.
“How about showing your right eye what your left eye looks like, huh? Do you think I won’t be able to harm you even with a knife because you’re stronger than me and you have decent stamina?”
While I explained with a dirty look, Erich shook his head violently, his face blanched, perhaps imagining it.
“I see. If you ever feel like wanting me to show you that, you just have to follow me again.”
When I smiled at them like a psycho, those kids looked like they were about to pee their pants.
Those who were watching this scene weren’t any different.
They seemed to wonder what was wrong with a beggar bastard like me.
In fact, they seemed to have realized that I was an even crazier psycho than they first thought.
“If you’re so full of energy on the weekend, just play some ball. How could kids not know how to play like kids…. Tsk.”
I patted the cheeks of those two who had just lost their face.
* * *
It seemed that it was Erich and Cayer who followed me. I also wondered if Heinrich would come at me all excited after he heard that I was just a beggar, but he didn’t.
The fact that I was a beggar would probably spread around rather quickly, but thanks to that scene I just showed them, the rumor that I was just some maniac who didn’t know how precious life was would spread much faster.
I was sure they would become even more reluctant to touch me, although it would probably be better for me if I didn’t directly saw these kids giving me ugly looks. Well, right now I was just keeping them at bay with my crazy gangster bluff, but depending on the results of my training I would become a real hard hitter.
I mean, what else could I do?
Even if I got into a fight and acted tough, what was most important were my abilities after all, so it was important to unlock that damn locked ability.
In the end, I couldn’t think of anything even after the sun went down, so I was kind of worried.
Just when I was thinking about my future.
-Knock, knock.
Someone knocked on my door.
What?
Is it finally time for me to show them something nice? Were they coming to pick another fight with me? Did they forget already?
“……Huh?”
When I opened the door, I saw a totally unexpected person standing there.
It was a pretty girl who was wearing a track suit even though it was the weekend. My apprentice in the studies of Cheonggukjang.
It was Ellen Artorius.
“Go to the gym.”
Not “Would you like to come to the gym” but “Go”? What was she talking about? Who told her to bring me to the gym?
“Who wants me to come?”
“I don’t know. I think she’s a senior.”
Senior?
What nonsense was that?
“The others went, too.”
What was the meaning of this?
* * *
Somebody had to go call me, but no one wanted to do it, so it seemed like Ellen went. But why the hell did a senior call us?
The gym was in the form of a very large hall. All the Year 1 Class A students present in the dormitory were gathered here, except those that were away over the weekend.
Everyone was there except Bertus and Liana de Grantz, who had a mansion in the Capital.
So there were 9 people in total….
Why were they doing that?
“Is he the last one?”
Ellen nodded her head. I could see my classmates in prone position and a little kid trying to keep as grim of an expression on her face as possible.
That little brat spoke.
“What are you doing? Lie down.”
“…….”
“Won’t you get down already?”
She wasn’t wearing a uniform, but she was indeed a kid. I mean, I was a child as well, but she was more of a child than I was.
Wasn’t she just a middle schooler?
But that brat was supposed to be our senior?
Ellen lay face down next to the other children. The little one then looked at the lying children and started to talk.
“Guys. I think your friend has rather bad ears.”
The children were staring at me and seemed to cuss me out very hardly with their eyes. They were telling me to quickly lie down. No, but why were these prideful bastards doing this just because of one little brat?
“Don’t you understand words?!”
The little brat screamed.
“What kind of senior are you?”
“Wha, what…?”
As soon as I said that, the little brat’s expression turned into bewilderment.
“You’re telling me you‘re a senior? Someone as tiny as you? What’s so crazy about this little thing that everyone is lying on their bellies?”
The faces of my classmates who were lying down turned bizarre.
“Yo, yo…. You don’t know who I am…?”
“I don’t, get out of here before I flick you. So annoying.”
“Eeek!”
When I raised my hand suddenly, the little brat stepped back in confusion. Her face turned blue.
How could this girl be like that? That look.
She seemed confused.
“Y, you…. You are done here.”
“Yes, thank you.”
The blue faced little brat gnashed her teeth at me and strode out of the gym. Everyone was looking at me blankly, doubting their own eyes at this crazy thing I did again.
Although, this time, my mad act seemed more welcome than before.
“Why aren’t you getting up?”
Everyone slowly began to get up with puzzled expressions on their faces. I looked towards Cayer, not the others.
“What’s going on here?”
He was a pushover after all.
“Ah…. No, this.”
Only
Cayer hesitated to explain as it might hurt his pride.
“Ah, hey!”
When I came towards him with a harsh look in my eyes, he hesitated first but then opened his mouth.
