Listening to the series of crashes echoing from below, Lin Ling furrowed her brow as she was pulled along.
“So what on earth is going on?”
Niya didn't say anything to Lin Ling's puzzled question, only tightening her grip on Lin Ling's hand.
Little Niya's subconscious movement betrayed her nervous state of mind.
She began to recall how Lin Ling had behaved in the dream when facing such a situation, but that had only been a dream.
As she thought, the two of them reached the spiral staircase on the second floor. Walking down a few steps, they could see the first floor perfectly.
By now, the rest of the demons had already gathered at the staircase.
However, they didn't seem to notice Lin Ling's arrival, keeping their eyes fixed on Kainster, who was deep in thought.
“So... Prince, what are your thoughts on this?”
“What are you even talking about?! You riddle-speakers are so annoying! I just got here! I literally just got here!”
But even when Lin Ling reached out and yanked on the gloomy Ichikawa next to her, he simply kept his arms crossed, lost in thought.
“Damn it, why are you acting so cool and aloof at a time like this?!”
Lin Ling looked around, but Ivelia was nowhere to be seen.
Seeing that everyone was completely ignoring her, Lin Ling decided to head straight downstairs.
Since no one would tell Miss Saintess what was happening, she would find out for herself.
The wooden steps creaked softly one by one as she descended.
Ichikawa watched Lin Ling walk down, a peculiar look in his eyes.
If it were you, what would you do?
“Thump, thump—”
Lin Ling's footsteps paused. When the scene downstairs came into view, her pupils suddenly contracted.
...
“My lords, this really won't do.”
A man was kneeling before several armored men with overbearing expressions, a forced smile plastered on his face.
One of the armored men held a bag of glittering gold coins in his hand.
“My lords, really, no. I have a very important use for this money. I truly cannot give it to you.”
The man's hand trembled as he reached for the pouch held by the armored soldier.
“Are you saying we protect you at the border from demon attacks, yet you aren't even willing to give us a tiny bit of funding?!”
The armored soldier slapped away the tavern keeper's hand.
His companions immediately kicked the smiling tavern keeper away.
“Bang!”
Another loud thud echoed as a heavy object slammed into the floor.
Lin Ling's puzzled expression darkened as she watched the tavern keeper get kicked to the ground.
Although she still didn't know what had happened, it was clear that the middle-aged man was the victim.
“Cough, cough... Sss...”
Charis's face was pale from the fall, and several dark bruises had already formed on his skin from the impact.
It was obvious this wasn't the first time he had been kicked down while trying to snatch the pouch back from the soldiers.
Yet, despite being beaten to the ground, Charis still got up with a smile on his face, casting a glance behind the bar.
Determination filled the middle-aged man's eyes. He stood up and once again approached the soldiers, who looked at him with disgust.
Seeing this trembling, heavily bruised man approaching them again, the soldier grew irritated.
“Are you ever going to piss off?!”
The soldier drew the blade from his waist and slashed at Charis.
But this time, Charis dodged.
He no longer blindly smiled and begged them to return his money.
That was unrealistic. Moreover, that money was Lina's precious treatment fund. He would absolutely not let these scumbags waste it on their drinking and merrymaking. Never!
Even if it cost him his life...
Just as the soldier's blade neared his neck, a fierce glint flashed in the tavern keeper's eyes. He twisted his body to the side, dodging the slash.
Immediately after, the soldier felt a sudden impact slam into his armor.
The damned tavern keeper had lunged forward, slamming his shoulder directly into him.
“Ugh!”
Staggered by the impact, the soldier dropped the coin pouch from his other hand.
Seeing the money scattered all over the floor, Charis completely ignored the soldier he had knocked down and scrambled toward the gold coins.
As if clutching a literal lifeline, he frantically scooped up the scattered gold coins.
“Damn it, this bastard dares to fight back!”
The soldier glanced at his companions and nodded.
Clang—
A synchronized sound of unsheathed blades rang through the tavern.
From the stairs, Lin Ling clenched her fists as she watched the tavern keeper still picking up the scattered coins on the floor.
She didn't understand. Why was this owner completely ignoring the danger right behind him? The desperation for the gold coins in his eyes seemed to surpass his own life.
Was money really that important?
The keeper's actions clearly answered her: yes, it was important—more important than his very life.
Soon, Lin Ling noticed that Charis's hands were trembling slightly.
He was afraid. He was terrified that the soldiers behind him would sever his head in the next second.
Yet, his eyes kept darting toward the bar counter before quickly snapping back.
Faint traces of red magic were continuously swirling around his hands. Through her magic circuit, Lin Ling could sense that the red magic carried... the aura of life? The keeper was using his own life force to cast a teleportation spell.
And the source of this magic was tightly linked to the direction of the bar counter.
Lin Ling followed the thread of mana and looked toward the bar.
In the next instant, her figure vanished from the stairs.
The moment she disappeared, the yellow-haired figure who had been on the second floor vanished as well.
“Live, Lina. You must live. Take this money and find a priest from the Holy See. They will heal you for the sake of the money.”
Behind Charis, the soldier's sword swung toward his head, carrying a heavy aura of death.
In the face of this impending death, the keeper smiled.
The tightly gripped pouch of coins vanished from his hands. Along with it, the life-fueled teleportation magic dissipated.
But Charis remained collapsed on the floor, and the blade still lunged toward his head.
Looking at the dying embers of the teleportation magic, Charis peacefully closed his eyes.
As for the tavern's guests?
He believed that guests who could produce so many gold coins at once would surely have a way to deal with these damn noble soldiers.
Clang—
A sharp metallic clash rang out from behind him.
Charis snapped his eyes open and looked back. The yellow-haired figure stood before him, blocking the blow with a sword.
“Hey, hey, Uncle. Playing out a tragic parting right in front of a Hero is a bit much, don't you think?”
It would have been a very cool line if one ignored the strong smell of alcohol wafting off Ichikawa.
“You bas— What is this?!”
Before the soldier could finish, he was hoisted into the air by a golden magic arm.
“So, now we can confirm that these guys are absolute trash, right?”
Lin Ling walked out from behind Ichikawa, her expression dead serious.
“For trash who barge in, trash the place, and extort people, I believe they are targets that must be subjugated.”
Disgust filled Ichikawa's eyes as he looked at the soldiers. Say what you want, but was he truly a Hero? He transformed the moment trouble arose.
“Understood.”
“Hey! What the hell are you two talking about to yourselves?!”
The soldier struggled wildly within Lin Ling's magic arm.
But the more he struggled, the tighter the magic arm gripped him.
The immense pressure caused his bones to creak and groan, and his armor began to warp under the crushing force.
Crack, crack—
The soldier finally began to realize that he had gone from being the abuser to the helpless victim.
The arrogance on his face vanished instantly, replaced by a fawning expression.
“My lords, you two must be noble young masters from the capital, right?”
“I am the son of Baron Will! Ah, you might not know since you've just arrived.”
“Baron Will is the lord of this city! We can get to know each other!”
Feeling death drawing nearer, the soldier frantically began to shout out his identity.
Since they could use magic, they had to be high-ranking nobles, unless they were the damned commoners who secretly traded with the border demons.
Glancing at Charis, who had been pulled aside by Ichikawa, the soldier's gaze shifted back to the clothes Lin Ling was wearing.
Their attire made it absolutely clear that they could not be dirty commoners.
Since they were all nobles, there was no need to cause so much unpleasantness over a mere commoner.
It was highly likely these two had even come to see his father.
“So, being a noble means you can bully and kill commoners as you please?”
“Uh, well...”
“Never mind. Soldier, go pave the way for your father.”
Lin Ling didn't spare another glance at the panicking soldiers.
She turned and looked toward the second floor.
There, Kainster was staring intently at these noble soldiers who had just revealed their identities.
“Agaaaahhhhh—!”
The soldier suddenly began to shriek in agony.
Looking closely, the magic arms gripping them were continuously flooding their bodies with massive amounts of mana.
The soldier felt his internal magic circuits snap one by one under the violent influx of mana.
“No! Stop! What are you doing?!”
An unbearable burning sensation began to tear through the soldier's insides.
Ignoring the soldiers' screams, a flash of magic illuminated the room, and then the entire tavern returned to silence.
Rate on N.U.
