Chapter 274 – A Beautiful Night (3)

Cale recalled what his servant, Ron, had told him.

'Arm's branch managers have different uniform than the regular members, with theirs having one white star, five red stars, and a black feather pin.'

He shouted toward Arm's branch manager.

"Why are you just standing around like an idiot?!"

His voice was very loud to the point that the mercenaries chasing them, Choi Han running with him, and Arm's branch manager all heard.

"…What crazy nonsense is this?"

Arm's branch manager was so shocked that his true sentiments subconsciously came out. Cale was calm and confident even after seeing the branch manager's reaction.

"Block these bastards now!"

He confidently and shamelessly told Arm's branch manager to block the mercenaries.

"Branch manager-nim, are they involved with us?"

Cale was so confident that the subordinate next to Arm's branch manager couldn't help but ask the branch manager. Although it was shabby, they were wearing what looked like Arm's uniforms to the point that they could not be sure either.

While Arm's members were wary, one side was starting to become certain.
It was, naturally, Leeb-An City's Mercenaries Guild leader's side.

Cale turned around.
As a high-grade expert swordsman, he was able to keep up with Choi Han and Cale the most. That was why he could hear Cale better than anybody else.

"You dare, you dare!"

Although he was breathing heavily after chasing them all this way, the guild leader did not hide his anger at all.

He could not believe it.
He had chased them, wondering where these two unknown assailants were headed as they ran away.
Although they were saying, 'ran way,' the two masked men had destroyed the Mercenaries Guild building before retreating, forcing him to chase them because of his pride as the guild leader.

'My safe!'

More importantly, his office with the safe was blown up.
Of course, the safe itself was not the only issue.

'The agreement can't be revealed! It can never be revealed!'

He was worried that these two bastards might have gotten their hands on that document. That document could make the Mercenaries Guild lose everything that they have in Leeb-An City.

'…No. I can't think that way.
They said that even a highest-grade mage would not be able to open the lock on that safe.
I hired the only highest-grade mage in the Mercenaries Guild's headquarters to make it!'

The highest-grade mage who installed the safe had told him that, unless a Dragon showed up, a human mage would not be able to open this safe and that the only thing they could do was destroy it.
That was the reason the guild leader could walk around in peace at all times.

'Yes, that's probably why this mage bastard blew the office up too.'

The guild leader tried to calm himself as much as possible. Although the safe explosion was painful to see, he could gather the money again. It was disappointing, but it was not as precious as that document.

It was at that moment.

"You just keep chasing my tail."

'What?'

The bastard who was expected to be the mage had the wind gathered at his feet as he mocked the guild leader. That curve in the eyes would make anybody believe he was sneering at him.

"That crazy bastard wants to- eek!"

The guild leader felt as if his world was flipping over.

Clang clang.
The documents inside the glass box made small noises as the box was shaken.

Cale was shaking the box with the, 'Agreement Regarding Leeb-An City's Eastern Businesses,' inside it.

– Human! The guild leader's face turned blue! Do you think that that guild leader is tired from running for so long?

It was probably more correct to say that it was this document and not the running that made him almost faint.
Cale leisurely put the glass box in his pocket so that the guild leader who was looking at him without realizing that his face was shaking could clearly see it.

He then looked forward again and patted Choi Han's shoulder.

"I'll take care of things, so just follow me."

Choi Han nodded his head and Cale raised his hand.

– I understand, human!

Raon understood Cale's signal properly.
Cale stomped his foot.

Tap.

His body flew off the ground. He looked like a bird in the process. Choi Han followed behind him as well.

Cale's body easily flew up thanks to the Sound of the Wind and Raon's magic, creating a half-circle in the air before landing back on the ground.

Tap.
Cale's body landed back with a quiet tapping noise.
He turned around.

He could see Arm's branch members looking at him.

Cale had landed in the middle of Arm's members that had been standing there. Choi Han landed next to him. Cale waved at the members who were looking at him.

"Long time no see."

'Long time? Who?'

All of them had that type of gaze on their faces, however, they all had to face someone's wrath almost instantly.

"You bastards! You dare to touch the Mercenaries Guild?!"

Once Cale and Choi Han who were in the middle moved away, Arm and the Mercenaries Guild had to face each other.

Arm's branch manager saw the frown on the Mercenaries Guild leader's face and immediately started to speak. He had enough information to realize what was going on now.

"Immediately surround those two unknown assailants!"

This shout made the Mercenaries Guild leader flinch. Arm's branch manager did not give any openings as he pointed to Choi Han and Cale and continued to shout.

"We need to catch them and hand them over to the Mercenaries Guild! The Mercenaries Guild's enemy is Leeb-An City's enemy! Assist the Mercenaries Guild!"

The sharp subordinates quickly grabbed their weapons and started to surround Choi Han and Cale. That action made the Mercenaries Guild leader calm down a bit as he asked Arm's branch manager a question.

"Are they not related to you?"
"No, they are not. Guild leader-nim, you know how our side feels."

That was the truth. The guild leader remembered how careful Arm had been until now. The branch manager continued to speak to the guild leader who barely managed to catch his breath and calm down a bit.

"We're not sure what is going on right now, but they are not from our side. Can't you see those shabby outfits?"
"Then what is that outfit?"
"Excuse me?"

The guild leader pointed behind the branch manager.
It was the location of where those two masked individuals should be surrounded by his subordinates.

The branch manager slowly turned his head. He could hear the guild leader's voice behind him.

"That outfit underneath the robe of that reddish brown-eyed bastard doesn't seem to be a fake?"
"…Uh… that-"

The branch manager was suddenly at a loss for words.

It was when Cale was leaving the third-floor room of the inn.

'Cale-nim.'

Choi Han had called to him and had brought the robe and mask.
It was the shabby robe with the shoddy patching of a red star. It was the same as usual.

The only difference was the outfit Cale had hidden underneath the robe.

Once Cale took the shabby robe off, an outfit that any Arm subordinate should know about appeared.

It was a black outfit with a red star. The uniquely tilted star shape that was different than any average star was accurately visible on that outfit.

'I asked Eruhaben-nim to make this.'

The shoddy work was the best that Cale could do, however, the ancient Dragon was able to accurately make an outfit after looking at the Dragon half-blood's clothes.
Cale confidently spoke to Arm's branch manager who seemed to be shocked while looking at him.

"I'll leave the rest to you. This is an order."

The voice that had suddenly turned serious gave an order that seemed impossible to not follow.

– Human, you seem a bit strong!

It was naturally because he had used a bit of the Dominating Aura.
The problem was that, although Cale had used only a bit, it had gotten stronger, so it did not seem like just a bit to the others.

'…Is it real?'

Cale's aura made Arm's branch manager subconsciously brush his arms that were full of goosebumps. A chilling amount of dominating presence could be felt. It was a stronger aura than he had felt before when he had seen other red stars from a distance.

'Is it a mission that I don't know about?'

The majestic presence was so natural that it even made the branch manager question things. The one that became even more anxious at that majestic aura was the Mercenaries Guild leader.

'…Are they really from Arm? Then is Arm trying to become enemies with all of the Mercenaries Guilds on the continent?'

The Mercenaries Guild leader started to worry. The presence surrounding the reddish brown-eyed man made him think of the Mercenary King.

Cale snapped his fingers at that moment.

Snap.

A clear noise filled the area.

"Huh?"
"Mm!"

Everyone then noticed a teleportation magic circle appear.

Ooooooooong-
The spell activated and surrounded Choi Han and Cale. It all happened in a moment. Raon's magic abilities were now so amazing that they were almost at par with Eruhaben.

Of course, a few people managed to react.
The members who remembered the branch manager's order threw daggers toward them with urgency.

Clang! Clang!
However, the daggers were blocked by an invisible shield.
Arm's branch manager started to frown. This was an individual who was strong enough to quickly cast both teleportation magic and shield magic at the same time.

He was at minimum a highest-grade mage. If not that, then he was an existence that was greater than a highest-grade mage.
Cale nonchalantly spoke the truth to the enemies as Arm's branch manager was trying to figure things out.

"The Real Arm will not stop until Leeb-An City's underworld is in our hands. We will only charge forward."

Paaaaat!

That was the last thing he said before a bright light flashed and they then disappeared.
It took less than 10 seconds.
The two unknown assailants had disappeared in a very short amount of time.

The only ones left were the real, 'Arm,' members and the Mercenaries Guild members.
A situation that felt like hell soon happened for them.

* * *

Cale did not care about any of this as he opened his eyes and looked around before taking the potato sack out.

"Raon, here."
"Weak human, yes, I will carry it for you!"

Raon grabbed the potato sack that Cale handed him. Cale started to walk again.

"We will move while remaining invisible from here on. Also."

The night was far from over.
There were still things to do.
Choi Han and the children averaging nine-years-old paid attention to what Cale had to say.

"We will stealthily sneak into the Mostue headquarters and just loot the safe. We must be as stealthy as possible."

There was nobody in Mostue's faction that would be able to detect a sword master, a Dragon, and the two Cats that wanted to be stealthy.

– Human, why do bad guys have so much money? They have too much! Something is weird! I'm just glad we looted it all!

Cale returned later that night with the potato sack filled to the brim.
Leeb-An City's underworld. It was now a total mess.

* * *

Leeb-An City was covered in shock as they welcomed in the new morning.

"…Crazy. The Mercenaries Guild's building was hit by terrorists last night!"

The Mercenaries Guild had turned into a mess.

"I know! So be quiet! Haven't you seen that the mercenaries are all sensitive right now?"

'My goodness.'

< Hope and Adventure Loving Inn > first floor, dining hall.

The adventurers sitting at the tables were all quietly discussing what had happened last night.

"But I heard that nobody died?"
"I don't know either. The mercenaries are being quiet about it."
"Does the Merchant Alliance have nothing to say?"
"Are you crazy? You think that they want to flap their lips and become enemies with the Mercenaries Guild?"

The Merchant Alliance was remaining quiet.
Even the victims, the Mercenaries Guild, had nothing publicly to say.

This was a city made up of merchants, mercenaries, and adventurers.
Something big had happened to one of those three core sides. It was no wonder that the entire city was in a state of nervousness.

Even beginner adventurer Bob who was coming down the stairs to the first floor noticed the heavy mood. That was why he was even more scared.

"What should I do? It's my first adventure and I'm getting nervous."
"It's okay, Mr. Bob. Only luck will follow you on your journey. You don't have to worry."
"Thank you very much."

Bob became energetic after hearing the nice words of the inn employee he had met yesterday.
The nice employee said something else to support him.

"You can do it, Mr. Bob."
"Thank you. I'll see you again next time!"

Bob headed out of the inn through the first-floor entrance. It was so that he could prepare for his adventure for the day.
The employee who received Bob's thanks slowly headed toward the dining hall.

"Young master-nim, over here."
"Okay."

Cale, who no longer had that gentle expression on his face, took a cup of lemonade from Ron and headed toward the end of the hall.

"Here."

There was someone raising his hand and calling him over.

– It is Goldie gramps! Our Goldie gramps really is good at being on time!

Eruhaben was in his human form while showing off his explosively handsome appearance. There was someone wearing a robe next to him.

"Cale-nim."

Choi Han who had approached Cale at some point looked at the table and called out to Cale with concern.

"Choi Han, it's fine."

However, Cale calmly continued to speak.

"He's just in the process of dying. He's currently in pain as well."
"…I understand."

Choi Han looked at the person next to Eruhaben after hearing Cale's response.
The Dragon half-blood.

He was now human and had black hair and black eyes like Choi Han.
He seemed to be in pain from the clashing of darkness attribute and light attribute as his face was pale and his fingertips were shaking, but Choi Han was still not going to let his guard down just because of that.

However, he still felt a bit sorry for the Dragon half-blood who was cautiously looking around the inn.
Anybody would be able to tell that he seemed to be amazed.

It was similar to how he had been when he first found Harris Village.

However, Choi Han erased that sorrow from his mind and did not forget about his most important mission as he coldly looked down at the Dragon half-blood.
On the other hand, there was someone looking at Cale with a shocked expression.

"You unlucky bastard."
"It's been a while, Eruhaben-nim."

'Ho!'

Eruhaben suppressed his flabbergastion as he petted On and Hong who were both on the table. How shocked had he been after the children had told him about what happened last night as well as from overhearing the people chatting at the tables?

'Does this bastard want to take over the world or does he just find joy in causing trouble?'

At this point, he could not tell whether Cale was unlucky or just enjoyed doing things like this.
Cale didn't care as he started to eat the soup and salad that Ron had brought over as he looked at the Dragon half-blood.

"Is it bearable?"

The Dragon half-blood responded to Cale's question.

"Yes."

That was the end of their discussion.
Eruhaben clicked his tongue after seeing Cale seeing so uninterested after asking him to bring the Dragon half-blood here. It was hard to figure out what this unlucky bastard was thinking.
He felt that the words he used to describe Cale were continuing to grow, however, that didn't matter as asking the questions he had came first.

"What are you going to do with the money?"

The Cat children had proudly told Eruhaben about how Cale had become a thief of justice and looted the underworld.
Of course, Raon was babbling on in Eruhaben's mind right now as well.

– Goldie, did you hear? We took the first step to save Leeb-An City's underworld yesterday. My piggy bank is already half full! Let's go buy some apple pies later!

Raon was excited at how he was going to use that money.
Gathering money was fun, but spending money was great too.

– I'll buy you some too! I feel bad for you because they destroyed your home!

The ancient Dragon was flabbergasted, but it was obvious that he was enjoying it as the corners of his lips were twitching and going up.
Cale slowly responded to the ancient Dragon's question.

'What are you going to do with the money?'

The answer to that question had already been determined.

"I plan to strengthen it a bit."

The ancient Dragon, Dragon half-blood, sword master, and two Cats at the table all seemed confused at this answer. This was the same for the invisible Black Dragon as well.
Choi Han asked for everyone.

"What are you planning on strengthening?"

What did Cale have to strengthen?

'I heard that his current glass plate was the best that it would ever be.'

Cale continued to speak as the ancient Dragon and Choi Han had serious expressions on their faces.

"Ah, there's something. Throwing money away like last time."
"…Excuse me?"
"Meeeeeow?"
"Meeow?"

On and Hong were included in the confused individuals.
However, the pupils of the invisible six-years-old Dragon that nobody could see right now was shaking.

Raon recalled that shocking moment.
He remembered how Cale Henituse had laughed while throwing the silver coins into the lava.

Raon was so shocked that he forgot to speak in Cale's mind and mumbled on top of the table.
It was quiet enough that nobody else could hear, however, the others at the table could still hear him.

The invisible Dragon took his piggy bank out of his spatial dimension and started to speak.

"…That-"

Throwing money away, that.

"…Is very exciting, but also extremely shocking."

Raon had not forgotten the shock he received when he was just five-years-old.
As for Cale, the cheapskate Fire of Destruction was currently cheering loudly in his mind.

***

If you find any errors or have suggestions, please feel free to provide feedback.

Thank you for reading!

[Author – Yu Ryeo Han]

[Translator – Anowa]

[Proofreader – Rai_Mayank]