Chapter 648 Someone Get This Begger Out Of Here

Agatha stared.

Mary stared.

Liam stared back.

A strange silence settled between them.

Mary’s lips twitched.

Agatha’s eyebrow rose.

Liam’s eyes narrowed.

"Don’t."

Mary immediately covered her mouth.

"I didn’t say anything."

"You were about to."

"I wasn’t."

"You were."

Agatha finally looked away, but Liam could see the faint movement of her shoulders.

She was trying not to laugh.

Liam’s expression darkened.

"You two are terrible people."

That finally broke Mary’s restraint. A tiny laugh escaped her before she quickly turned her face away. Liam rolled his eyes and looked toward Irina, hoping for at least one person to behave normally. Irina was staring at him too, but there was something different in her expression. She seemed to be struggling between concern and amusement. Her lips were pressed tightly together as she tried not to smile.

Liam pointed at her.

"And you."

Irina immediately straightened.

"I didn’t do anything."

"You’re thinking it."

"I have no idea what you’re talking about."

Liam stared at her for another second before deciding he didn’t have the energy to argue. Instead, Irina turned toward Agatha and Mary.

"Did you find somewhere for us to stay?"

Agatha nodded, finally recovering her composure.

"Yes. We found a very nice place. It’s not too far from here either."

"Good," Liam said immediately. "Let’s go."

He started walking before anyone could say anything else.

"I need to wash this filth off my body."

The group followed.

The journey back turned into one of the longest walks Liam had ever experienced.

Not because the distance was particularly far.

Because every single person they passed seemed determined to look at him.

At first Liam tried to ignore it. He kept his head forward and walked with the confidence of someone who had absolutely no reason to be embarrassed. Unfortunately, confidence could only do so much when a person looked like a walking pile of chimney ash. People glanced at him from shop entrances. Merchants stopped speaking whenever he passed. Children pointed at him from behind their parents. One particularly brave child even followed him for several steps before his mother grabbed him by the arm and pulled him away.

Liam’s eye twitched.

He could tolerate monsters.

He could tolerate being nearly killed.

He could tolerate being thrown into a cauldron.

But being stared at by ordinary citizens was somehow becoming unbearable.

Then they passed a homeless man sitting beside a wall.

The man had a torn blanket wrapped around his shoulders and an old wooden bowl beside him. His clothes were worn, his hair was messy and his face showed the exhaustion of someone who had spent far too long sleeping outdoors. Liam glanced at him casually as he walked past.

The homeless man looked at Liam.

Then he looked at himself.

Then back at Liam.

His expression slowly changed.

It was pity.

Actual pity.

Liam stopped walking.

His head turned.

The homeless man gave him a sympathetic look and slowly lowered his gaze.

Liam stared at him in disbelief.

"Even you?"

Leonid, who had heard him, immediately turned his face away.

Liam pointed toward the homeless man.

"That guy doesn’t even have a house and he’s looking at me like I’m worse off than him."

Leonid finally chuckled.

Liam continued walking while muttering under his breath.

"Fuck me. Even a dude with no house doesn’t rate me."

Tatiana tried to hide her smile as she walked beside him. She knew Liam’s pride well enough to understand that this was becoming a genuine crisis for him. The worst part was that nobody in the group was actually worried about him. They all knew he could clean himself up eventually. The problem was that Liam was taking every single reaction personally.

Then things somehow became even worse.

A little girl walking with her mother suddenly noticed him.

She whispered something to her mother.

The woman glanced at Liam.

Her expression softened.

The little girl hesitated before approaching.

Liam stopped.

The child looked up at him with wide innocent eyes.

Then she held out a small piece of bread.

Liam stared at it.

The little girl smiled shyly.

"You can have this."

The entire group went silent.

Liam slowly looked at the bread.

Then at the girl.

Then at her mother.

The mother gave him an apologetic smile.

Liam’s soul nearly left his body.

He had been mistaken for a beggar.

Not just any beggar.

A starving beggar.

He slowly accepted the bread because refusing it would probably make the child feel bad.

"Thank you," he said.

His voice was completely defeated.

The girl smiled before running back to her mother.

Liam stood there holding the bread.

Leonid was shaking.

Gregor had turned away entirely.

Mary was biting her lip.

Even Tatiana’s shoulders were trembling.

Liam looked at all of them.

"If any of you laugh, I’m leaving you here."

That only made it harder for them.

Liam continued walking.

Every step added another layer of hatred toward the dwarf.

He had come to the city because a goddess had sent them to find a legendary blacksmith. He had expected powerful weapons, ancient secrets and perhaps some clue about his mysterious identity. Instead, he had found a drunk dwarf, nearly died under a sword, destroyed a table and somehow become the poorest-looking person in the entire city.

By the time they finally reached the place Agatha and Mary had found, Liam was convinced that the day could not possibly get any worse.

Then he saw the building.

He stopped.

For the first time since leaving the blacksmith’s shop, he forgot about his appearance.

The establishment stood several stories high, its exterior built from smooth pale stone with enormous wooden beams running across its walls. Tall windows reflected the sunlight, while polished lanterns hung from ornate brackets around the entrance. Two enormous doors stood beneath a carved archway, and above them was a beautifully engraved sign bearing the name of the establishment in elegant lettering.

It wasn’t exactly an inn.

It was closer to a grand fantasy-era lodging house, the kind of place where wealthy travelers, merchants and nobles could rent private chambers while passing through the city.

Liam’s eyebrows rose.

"Wow."

The building was far larger than he had expected.

Agatha smiled.

"We were lucky."

They walked inside.

Liam’s eyes widened again.

The interior was even more impressive.

A massive chandelier hung from the high ceiling, its countless crystal pieces catching the light and scattering it across the polished floor. Thick carpets covered the stone beneath their feet, while elegant wooden pillars rose toward the ceiling. Several large tables were arranged throughout the main hall, surrounded by comfortable chairs where travelers sat eating, drinking and talking among themselves. The walls were decorated with paintings of landscapes and ancient cities, while glowing magical lamps provided a warm light that made the entire place feel more luxurious than most castles Liam had seen.

A broad staircase curved upward along one side of the hall, leading toward the private rooms above. The reception counter was made from dark polished wood, with brass decorations running along its edges. Behind it were shelves filled with bottles, ledgers and neatly arranged keys.

Liam stared.

This was nothing like the filthy blacksmith’s shop.

"This place is actually nice," he admitted.

Mary smiled.

"I told you we found a good place."

Liam nodded slowly.

For the first time that day, he felt his mood improving.

Maybe things weren’t so bad.

Maybe he could simply get a room, wash himself, eat something and forget the entire disaster at the blacksmith’s shop until tomorrow.

He took another step into the hall.

Then a woman’s voice suddenly cut through the room.

"Someone get this beggar out of here."

Liam froze.

The entire group froze.

Several people in the hall turned toward them.

Slowly, very slowly, Liam turned his head toward the woman who had spoken.

His blackened face remained completely expressionless.

Only his eyes were visible.

And those eyes slowly narrowed.

For the second time that day, Liam began questioning whether the universe personally hated him.