Chapter 81: The Kept Lorin

Chapter 81: Chapter 81: The Kept Lorin

"W-what did you just say?" Hawthorn took a step back in astonishment. In all his life, no woman had ever dared to speak to him like that. This woman was... she was just too interesting!

"What an arrogant girl. You probably don’t know who you’re talking to, but... that’s fine. Your beauty is enough to pardon your offense." Hawthorn shook his head gently and gave an elegant wave of his hand. Flashing a haughty smile, he said slowly, "I forgive you."

Erin stared at him, dumbfounded. She opened her mouth but found herself at a loss for words, as if she had suddenly lost the ability to speak. "Is this guy... sick in the head?" she thought.

Hawthorn took another step forward. Pressing one hand to his chest and waving the other in the air, he said in a tone of pure narcissism, "Oh... a beautiful and proud lady who would rather arm herself with harsh words than admit to the fluttering of her heart. Please don’t deny it; I saw the look in your eyes just now."

Upon hearing this, the two guards behind him looked absolutely dead inside. The one on the left turned his head and started inspecting the rolls of fabric on the shelves, as if checking for hidden assassins, while the one on the right stared up at the ceiling, praying for this farce to end as quickly as possible.

Erin had never been so speechless in her entire life. She closed her eyes in resignation, took a deep breath, and said, "Let’s go... This guy is starting to give me a headache."

"Oh! Wonderful." Hawthorn’s expression lit up with pleasant surprise.

"She wasn’t talking to you, buddy." Lorin walked up with a sigh and stepped in front of Hawthorn, putting an end to the ridiculous theatrical display.

"Buddy?" Hawthorn raised an eyebrow and shot him a disdainful look, as if only just realizing there was another person in the shop. "A mere attendant dares to call me his buddy? Get lost. Don’t block my way." He waved his hand dismissively, as if shooing away a fly.

"...Have you felt like something’s been off with you lately?" Lorin frowned at him.

"What?" Hawthorn hadn’t expected this attendant to suddenly show concern for his well-being.

"Your emotions might be fluctuating more easily than before. For example, getting inexplicably furious when things don’t go your way? Or acting like you are today..."

[Human hair, male, aged approximately twenty-five to thirty years old, abnormally excited.]

Lorin used Fur Perception a few more times.

"Abnormal again?" he thought. He quickly connected the word to that baffling young shop assistant from last time.

Before this, he had used Fur Perception numerous times. Although the emotional readings were usually somewhat vague, even for those Adventurers who had gotten into violent brawls at the tavern, the result was only ever "extremely angry."

He had previously assumed the young assistant just had a screw loose, but seeing this "abnormal" reading again made him acutely aware that something was wrong. "Could these people be under some sort of influence?" he wondered. However, he still had far too little information to make any solid judgments.

"What do you mean? Are you saying there’s something wrong with me?" Hawthorn furrowed his brows. He suddenly felt a surge of rage welling up inside him. How dared this lowly attendant say he was sick? As the thought crossed his mind, he suddenly froze.

"You feel it, don’t you?" Lorin asked, watching the man’s expression shift rapidly.

"Of course, maybe I’m just overthinking things. But I still recommend you visit the Divine Hall and let the Priests take a look at you." Lorin suddenly appeared beside the two guards. He shoved their half-drawn blades back into their scabbards and held them down firmly.

"Young Master..." the two guards called out nervously, unable to draw their swords again despite using all their strength.

Lorin ignored them. He turned his head to look at the startled Hawthorn and said mildly, "Now, take your men and go back."

"A... a Caster?" Hawthorn thought. His emotions wavered wildly between fear and anger. His lips trembled, but he ultimately refrained from saying anything else outrageous. Instead, he simply squeezed a single sentence through gritted teeth: "You will regret rejecting me!" With that, he turned and hurriedly left.

The shop finally fell quiet. Erin glanced at Hawthorn’s retreating figure, then looked at the silent Lorin and asked in confusion, "You think there’s something wrong with him?"

Lorin nodded. "There’s an issue with his emotions. And it’s not just him... We’ve encountered this before. Remember that guy in the tavern who claimed to know us? And that shop assistant."

"I see... Let’s keep an eye out then. If we run into anyone similar in the city again, I’ll try using Magic to examine them."

"Alright."

The two didn’t say anything more on the matter.

Erin picked up the roll of dark cyan fabric again and handed it to Felix. "With this one included, how much is the total?"

Felix, having just recovered from the drama that had unfolded before him, quickly did the mental math and quoted a figure that made Lorin’s heart skip a beat.

"Holy crap... How can a few pieces of clothing be so expensive!?" Lorin thought, his heart aching.

Erin tossed a small pouch of coins onto the counter and asked evenly, "Alright, how long until they’re ready?"

"You can come pick them up in a week." Felix picked up the pouch, glanced inside, and pointed out, "Miss, you’ve given me too much."

"Use the remainder to make him another pair of trousers to match the dark cyan top," she said, waving her hand.

"Understood."

Felix accepted the Gold Coins, took out a receipt, quickly jotted down a few words on it, and handed it to her. Erin took the receipt and stuffed it into Lorin’s pocket. Seeing his dumbfounded expression, she pressed her lips together, forcing herself to maintain a nonchalant demeanor as she said, "Let’s go. What are you standing around for?"

Lorin followed her out of the shop just like that. Looking at Erin’s brisk, light steps, he still hadn’t fully processed what had just happened. "Am I a kept man now?" he wondered. Feeling a bit awkward, he finally couldn’t hold it in after walking a short distance. "I’ll pay you back later."

"No need."

"How can I not?"

Erin turned around and looked at him seriously. "Do you think that just because I paid for you, you owe me something?"

"Uh..."

"You managed to construct the Disguise Skill model after only looking at it a few times. That’s a highly remarkable talent."

Lorin was just about to say yes when Erin continued. She raised her chin slightly and said with a hint of disdain, "But you can’t be a Caster based on talent alone. You need Magical Artifacts, materials, Scrolls, and lots and lots of money."

"So you paid for me?" Lorin raised an eyebrow. He decided to take back his previous thought about her just being a little girl. This woman was way too smooth...

"Just treat it as my investment in a future Great Mage. To think I can earn the absolute devotion of a Great Mage for the mere price of a few articles of clothing." Erin’s tone was unusually flirtatious, though her slightly reddened ears betrayed her true feelings. "Dammit... Why did I say something like that?" she thought. "I don’t actually want his absolute devotion!!!"