Chapter 252: Villain [3]

Chapter 251

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Episode 63 - Villain [3]

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Ting!

As I opened the door, the sound of a small bell rang out. I then stepped inside and closed the door behind me.

"Please wait a moment, customer."

A girl’s voice reached my ears. The shop was empty, just as it had been every time I came here.

Tap! Tap!

A moment later, footsteps echoed, and the girl peeked out from behind the door behind the reception desk. The moment she saw me, her eyes widened, and she hurriedly said.

"Master, what brings you here? Aren’t you supposed to be at the Academy? Besides, as far as I know, today isn’t the day Astella brings the report."

After leaving the Academy, the first place I came to was Mia’s shop.

"Some things happened. You’ll probably find out tomorrow."

Confused, Mia asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing, forget it. I just came for a few Invisibility Potions. I need them for the time being."

Mia nodded.

"Of course. I think I have a dozen. Do you need all of them?"

"Yes, bring them."

Mia turned around and left. I then walked toward the living room and headed into the kitchen.

I made myself a cup of coffee, then sat down at the dining table and took a sip.

"...!"

At that moment, I caught the smell of blood coming from my body and wrinkled my nose.

’Ugh, I need to take a bath.’

A minute later, Mia returned carrying a box that made the sound of glass clinking against glass.

Mia placed it on the table and said.

"Here they are, Master."

I nodded slightly and stored the Invisibility Potions in my Inventory.

At that moment, Mia asked.

"But what are you going to do, Master?"

At her question, I remained silent for a moment before answering.

"Espionage, assassination, massacre, infiltration, and other things."

"W-what, and where are you going?"

After remaining silent for a few seconds, I replied.

"You’ll find out... in three months. But you’ll have an idea tomorrow. Anyway, I’m going to take a bath, if you don’t mind."

"Ah, no, I don’t mind. The bathroom is upstairs."

I finished my coffee, then stood up from my seat and walked toward the stairs leading to the second floor.

"Oh, and prepare about twenty Doppelgänger Potions for me. I’ll come pick them up in two months."

Mia suddenly nodded. Finally, I went up to the second floor of the shop and headed straight for the bathroom.

’I won’t go visit Astrid smelling like blood.’

Especially because she had keen senses and was smart enough to discover or deduce what I had just done.

***

"Aah."

I let out a sigh as I dried myself with a towel.

Then, after taking some clothes out of my Inventory, I was fully dressed a minute later. Afterward, I fixed my hair.

At that moment, I noticed something about my hair.

’It’s gotten pretty long.’

I hadn’t cut my hair since I woke up in this body. Around eight months had passed since then.

Clank!

I left the bathroom and went downstairs to the first floor. At that moment, a child was sitting on the sofa, with a stack of books in front of him.

It was none other than Rowan, the thief boy I had caught on the day I was preparing to infiltrate Black City.

"Oh, ah, hello, Sir."

"What are you doing?"

Rowan looked at his books and explained.

"Well, the older sister always makes me read Alchemy books. Of course, on the first day, she taught me the basics they teach at school, like reading and writing. You know, my parents died some time ago, so I couldn’t go to school."

"Ah, right, I understand. But how exactly did you learn to move around while stealing things?"

At my question, Rowan turned his head away and muttered.

"T-that... I-I only did it because I had no choice, but I didn’t learn it from anyone. I was just good at it."

I sighed lightly, then sat down in the chair at the table.

Then I said to Rowan.

"I heard from Mia that you had your Awakening last month."

I looked at Rowan’s internal Mana. Although there wasn’t much of it, he was definitely a One-Star Awakened.

At that moment, a thought crossed my mind.

’Mhm, now that I think about it, the Mana around Astrid has become strangely dense over the past month.’

That was a sign of Awakening, which meant Astrid was going to Awaken soon, perhaps within the next few days or even today.

’It’s impressive. Astrid is barely turning ten.’

According to the orphanage, Astrid would turn ten on October 29. It wasn’t far away.

’What should I prepare?’

At that moment, Rowan’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts.

"That’s right. I Awakened last month. Even the older sister congratulated me, since I’m 14 years old, and it’s very rare for someone to have their Awakening at this age."

I nodded slightly. Then, I said.

"And so, what Specialty did you Awaken?"

"I’m a Swordsman, although I’m more talented with daggers than with swords."

"That’s an influence. Regardless of what you did or the talent you unknowingly displayed before your Awakening, it will be reflected in your natural talent. So you have talent as an Assassin."

"An Assassin...?"

"Don’t worry. It’s a Branch of the Swordsman Specialty. For example, Squire, Warrior, Knight, among others; anything related to weapons."

"Oh, that’s interesting."

Rowan smiled faintly. After talking with him, Mia appeared a short while later.

"Are you leaving already, Master?"

"Before I leave, there’s something I want to know."

Mia nodded.

"Yes, what do you need to know?"

I pointed at my hair and then asked.

"By any chance, do you know how to cut hair?"

***

It was around noon.

I had left the Academy around 9 in the morning, then left Mia’s shop around 11 and walked through the streets, buying a few things.

Finally, I arrived at the orphanage.

’According to my calculations, there won’t be any news about me until tomorrow.’

So I wasn’t worried about anyone seeing me at the moment. After all, not much time had passed.

A short while later, I entered the orphanage. However, instead of going straight to Astrid, I headed toward the office of the orphanage’s director, or matriarch.

An employee guided me to the office, and then I knocked on the door twice.

Knock! Knock!

A moment later, the director’s voice rang out.

"Come in."

I opened the door and then closed it behind me. At that moment, the director was slightly surprised when she saw me.

"Oh, if it isn’t Adel. It’s unusual for you to come looking for me without Saint Rinna accompanying you."

"Ah, I’m not here with her."

"Mhm, then it also seems like you just arrived. It’s unusual for you not to meet little Astrid immediately."

I smiled faintly and then sat down in front of her desk.

"Actually, I’m here for something else."

The director briefly narrowed her eyes at me and said.

"You’re still too young to adopt a daughter."

".....?"

"No, I’m not here for that. Rather, it’s about something else."

I took some papers out of my Inventory and then handed them to the director.

She took them and began reading. After a few seconds, her expression changed from surprise to relief.

"How ironic human relationships are, aren’t they?"

I nodded slightly.

"Yes, I thought the same thing when I noticed it."

"So, you’ve come to take her with you."

I sighed softly and nodded.

"Yes, I’ve come to take her with me, but I don’t want her to know yet. There are some... circumstances that prevent me from doing so."

The director stared at me in silence. Then she let out a sigh and handed the papers back to me.

"She might hate you, at worst."

"I know that very well. However, right now, it’s impossible to tell her the truth."

"I understand. Then, how do you want us to handle the act?"

I thought about it carefully for a few seconds before saying.

"It might be a little difficult, since that girl..."

"...is smart. She could figure it out easily."

The director finished my sentence, and there was something in her expression that seemed to indicate she regretted being found out.

’Don’t tell me she discovered some embarrassing secret.’

I shook my head internally. Then, over the next few minutes, the orphanage director helped me with the preparations.

Finally, I said goodbye to her and then walked toward the backyard garden.

After a while, I quickly found her. I walked toward her and then gently patted her head.

"You’ve grown half a centimeter so quickly."

Astrid flinched and then turned around.

"You could at least say something before suddenly appearing out of nowhere. What if I were an old woman and then you scared me to death?"

"But you’re not, right?"

"Hmph, anyway, what are you doing here? It’s not Saturday yet. It’s barely Wednesday."

I sat down on the bench nearby with Astrid and said.

"Mhm, something happened that... you might scold me for."

"Um, why would I scold someone older than me?"

"Because you’re you, obviously."

Astrid let out a long sigh.

".....?"

However, at that moment, I frowned beneath my bandages and couldn’t help but look at Astrid’s internal Mana.

’W-wait, she’s already Awakened.’

She was only nine years old, barely a few days away from turning ten. A nine-year-old Awakened—something that had never been seen in the history of Awakened.

If the news spread, it was likely that even Ten-Star Awakened would try to take her as their disciple.

"Astrid..."

I asked Astrid.

"What?"

"When did you Awaken?"

Astrid’s eyes widened, and an expression of surprise appeared clearly on her face.

"How... how did you know?"

"I have excellent senses."

Astrid snorted and replied.

"I Awakened on Monday night. It was a little painful. Anyway, I was going to make it a surprise not only for you, but for the matriarch as well."

"Then, you haven’t told anyone, right?"

Astrid shook her head. At that moment, I couldn’t help but sigh in relief.