Chapter 93: All-Business Hain

Chapter 93: Chapter 93: All-Business Hain

「The next morning.」

Hesia slept in until past nine o’clock before scrambling out of bed.

He scarfed down the breakfast Lady Cassandra had prepared, rushing out the door with half a meat pie still stuffed in his mouth.

"Crap, crap, I’m going to be late!"

The town was bustling with pedestrians that morning, so he couldn’t use a conspicuous skill like Wild Charge. He could only jog, rushing as fast as he could toward the Oak Tavern.

When he arrived at the tavern’s entrance, panting, he let out a long sigh of relief.

’Thank goodness, Belte isn’t here yet.’

He found a shady spot under a nearby oak tree, catching his breath while he waited for Belte.

However, for a habitual offender, there is no in-between; you’re either never late or you’re late all the time.

Hesia waited under the tree for nearly an hour before he saw Belte’s familiar figure sauntering around the street corner unhurriedly.

"Hey, Galen, my friend! Great weather today, huh! Haha..." Belte laughed, trying to change the subject with a well-practiced maneuver.

Hesia sighed.

’Whatever. I’m the one asking for a favor, after all.’

He cut straight to the chase: "How long does it take to get to your friend’s place?"

"Not far from here, we can get there in an hour." Then, as if he’d remembered something, he lowered his voice and added, "But later, no matter what you see or hear, don’t be surprised. Just leave everything to me."

Although Hesia didn’t understand why he said that, he still nodded.

The two of them walked side-by-side toward Hain’s residence.

Just as Belte had said, the place wasn’t far. It didn’t even take them an hour.

They arrived in front of a two-story wooden building that looked like it had seen better days.

The building was divided into many small rooms. Clothes of all colors hung from the balconies, and the hallways were cluttered with junk, giving off a complex odor mixed from dampness and old food. It was clearly a tenement building in Rose Town, rented out to single Adventurers or low-income earners.

Belte stopped in front of a wooden door with peeling paint.

At that moment, the poorly soundproofed wooden door failed to block the sounds from inside.

A man’s voice was speaking with an exaggerated, undulating tone, though he sounded a bit out of breath:

"...Emperor Sorison... *huff*... he invited me several times! But you know me... I yearn for freedom! To be an... unfettered Adventurer... that’s the life I want, isn’t it?"

A woman’s trembling voice followed. "Oh, by the gods! No wonder... *ah*... my sisters all told me to call you ’Imperial Tutor’ in private! You’re just so... so different!"

"But of course!" The man’s voice rose, as if matching some sort of rhythm. "I’m an excellent Adventurer, too! Did you know? I once saw a real Giant Dragon with my own two eyes! Too bad I was feeling a bit unwell at the time... otherwise I would’ve gone right up... and brutally... ripped off one of its scales as a souvenir!"

The woman’s gasp of amazement was clearly interrupted, and her voice became breathless. "Wow... then you... oh!... you really are... so experienced..."

"Don’t call me experienced!" the man suddenly commanded. "Use my title! Now!"

"Oh! Imperial Tutor! Imperial Tutor—"

Belte’s expression was strange, but he still sighed in relief. Clearly, their target was home.

He raised his hand, knocked on the door, and called out, "Hain?"

"Who is it?" The voice from inside was tinged with impatience.

"It’s me, Belte."

"Wait outside! Don’t come in until I say so!"

Then, more hushed conversation could be heard.

"Who is it, darling?"

"Oh, just one of my followers, some trivial matter. It’s fine, let him wait. We’ll finish our business first."

Hesia and Belte exchanged a glance, saw a hint of embarrassment in each other’s eyes, and then tacitly looked away.

Fortunately, they didn’t have to wait long.

The "business" inside was finished with astonishing speed. A minute later, the door finally opened with a CREAK.

A woman with heavy, gaudy makeup walked out quickly with her head down. She gave Hesia and Belte a disdainful look, then swayed her hips and hurried away.

"Come in."

The room was small, even smaller than the one Hesia rented. The furnishings were simple and a bit messy.

A man with small eyes but unusually thick eyebrows was sitting shirtless on the edge of the bed.

He was holding a long pipe, the bowl connected to a small tobacco pouch, and was puffing out clouds of smoke.

The air was a mixture of sweat, cheap perfume, and tobacco, a testament to the heated atmosphere just moments before.

Belte walked expertly to the window and threw it open with a CLANG, letting fresh air circulate.

Hain glanced at Hesia, took a drag from his pipe, and asked slowly, "Who’s this?"

"This is Galen," Belte introduced. "A new partner in our party. Like you, he’s a Mage Apprentice."

Hain’s eyebrows shot up. "Like me?"

"Er... of course, he’s still... a tiny bit behind you."

Only then did Hain grunt in satisfaction and pick up his pipe again. "Watch your wording, Belte. Don’t call me a Mage."

"Emperor Sorison invited me several times, brother. You know what that means?"

He deliberately paused, his gaze sweeping over Hesia and Belte as if savoring their imagined shock. Then, he answered his own question: "It means that with a single nod, I would have become the tutor to the first great emperor in Dwarf history! An Imperial Tutor! You get me?"

With that, he leaned back against the headboard, crossed his legs, and leisurely blew a smoke ring. "So, don’t call me a Mage. Call me—the Imperial Tutor."

Belte took a deep breath and clenched his massive fists, his knuckles letting out a soft CRACK.

"That’s enough, Hain. Get to the point!"

Hain, who had clearly been on the receiving end of those fists before, immediately deflated. "Alright, boss..." he muttered. "What’s up?"

"I’m here to ask about Magic Wands. Where did you get that Birch Wand of yours? My friend Galen wants to buy one, but it seems like there are no shops selling them in Rose Town anymore."

"A Magic Wand?" Hain sized Hesia up again, his gaze turning more critical. "So, you’re really in the same trade as me, kid? What’s your specialization? Molding Energy? Curse Technique? Or Protection? You need me, the Imperial Tutor, to give you a few pointers? I can even give you a discount..."

’Listening to Hain’s barrage of questions and shameless self-promotion, Hesia couldn’t help but wonder: Where the hell did Belte meet this cast of characters?’

’Yesterday it was Maurice, claiming he just got back from Blackwater Swamp, but he still ended up trying to scam a free meal and drinks out of Belte.’

’And today, this Hain guy is even more absurd. One minute he’s a Dwarf Imperial Tutor, the next he’s a reserve Dragon Slayer.’

’Each one is a bigger blowhard and more unreliable than the last.’

Just as Hesia was racking his brain on how to politely respond to the "Imperial Tutor’s" "kind offer," Belte had already lost his patience and cut him off:

"Cut the crap! Get to the point!"

"Alright, alright," Hain shrugged. "In a dump like Rose Town, Mages are scarcer than a goblin’s integrity. There’s just no market for Magic Wands. The weapon shops and general stores stopped stocking them long ago."

His tone shifted. "However... I do know one shop that still specializes in selling Magic Wands. It’s called the ’Pulsating Goblin Head,’ and it’s near the Bell Tower."

"The Bell Tower?"

Hesia was taken aback. He lived not far from the Bell Tower. He’d asked Thomas and Lady Cassandra before, and they both said they’d never heard of a place in town that sold Magic Wands.

’Even though they aren’t Adventurers, you’d think they would have heard something about it, living so close.’

"Where exactly near the Bell Tower? Is there any special sign?"

Hain wagged his finger smugly. "An ordinary person could never find it. The owner is a strange woman with a temper worse than a Giant Dragon’s. She’s a Mage, too. As for her power... probably about the same as mine."

He took a drag from his pipe. "She doesn’t want to be bothered by idle folks who have no use for a Magic Wand, so she put up an Illusionary Barrier at the entrance."

"The uninitiated who walk by will either fail to notice the door entirely, or if they do see it, they’ll just think it’s some rundown old place and instinctively want to avoid it."

"Go to the narrowest alley on the east side of the Bell Tower. Walk to the end, then focus your Spiritual Power and sense the most unstable point of Magic Power on the wall—there’s usually a buzzing sound, like tinnitus.

"Then, channel a sliver of Magic Power into that spot, and the door will reveal itself."

"Once you’re inside, drop my name—just say ’Imperial Tutor’ Hain sent you. That strange woman and I go way back. For my sake, she might even give you a discount. After all, in Rose Town, the Mage circle is only so big. The big shots have to show each other some respect, you know?"

Hesia memorized the address and the method to open the door. "Understood, thank you."

Their objective achieved, Belte didn’t want to stay a second longer. He pulled Hesia toward the exit. "We’re leaving! Thanks, Hain!"

Hain yelled after them, "Hey! Remember to use my title! ’Imperial Tutor’! Don’t forget! Come by for a lesson next time you’re free! I’ll give you twenty percent off!"