Chapter 135 – Unrequited Consequences
My Lady? Is she a noble of this city?
Calron inwardly pondered when he saw the vendor’s reverent behavior.
“Haah? No need to bow, mister! I just want to buy that core from this young man.”
The blond-haired girl held out her hand to stop the plump vendor from kneeling on the ground.
“If I had known that the young lady wanted that beast core, then I would have freely given it you instead of selling it.”
The vendor spoke nervously in a regretful tone.
*clack clack clack*
The sounds of steel armor rattling against the ground reverberated throughout the area, causing the nearby people to glance towards the source of the sound.
Five heavily armored knights hastily rushed towards the shop where Calron was located, and an intimidating aura was spread in the vicinity as the leading knight slowed down when he approached the shop and gave a light bow to the blonde-haired girl.
“Lady Mirane, please don’t run away like that without your guards. The Tower Lord will punish me severely if something happens to his daughter.”
The knight captain spoke in a gravely voice, as the rest of the remaining knights soon arrived behind him and stood on high alert.
Calron probed the knight captain and found that the man only had the cultivation of a mere fifth rank of the Vajra stage, while the other knights were around the second or third rank. However, despite their low cultivation, Calron had an uneasy feeling about them.
As he was scrutinizing them, something on their chest plate caught his eye.
It was the engraving of a crest.
Calron assumed that it was most likely the crest of the blond-haired girl’s family, and it was the image of a large diamond-shaped shield with a black cauldron printed on it.
That armor is not normal…
Calron silently thought.
“Sorry Darton… I got so excited when I heard that there was another aquatic Vajra stage beast core being sold here, so I rushed here without thinking.”
Mirane answered guiltily in a soft voice. She had been scouring the whole city for some aquatic beast cores that were at the Vajra stage, but she had only managed to find fourteen of them. She could have easily asked her father or uncle to send some servants to collect them, but she was in urgent need of them, so she decided to buy the cores herself in the market.
It was her fault that she completely forgot that there was an alchemy test from her teacher tomorrow and was now suffering for her mistake . Fortunately, she had heard from the last vendor that someone was selling another aquatic beast core in this shop, so she sprinted here.
Her recipe required fifteen aquatic beast cores at the Vajra stage to be used as the main ingredient, so it was essential that she obtained this beast core from Calron. She might be able to find another aquatic beast core from a different shop, but her time was already limited, and concocting the pill would take more than eighteen hours.
“No need to worry, my Lady, it is our duty to protect you. Please take the core and let’s return back to the mansion.” Darton stated with a smile.
“Young man, will you please sell that beast core to me? I will pay you twenty gold squares for it.”
Mirane quickly scrambled in front of Calron, and proceeded to take out the money from a spacial ring on her finger.
She’s kind of cute.
Calron thought, finding her clumsiness and kindness endearing. Mirane had a different personality than that of the cold Felice, and judging from her polite treatment of the vendor, it was clear that she was not one of the haughty nobles that Calron was used to.
“I’m sorry, my lady, but I have already gifted this beast core to my brother so it is up to him if he wants to sell it.”
Calron shrugged while opening his hands, and nodding his head at Roran’s direction.
Hearing Calron’s words, a dark glint flashed across Darton’s eyes, but the knight captain remained silent. Even the other knights behind Darton exuded a tense atmosphere.
Calron remained unperturbed by the change, and folded his arms behind him in a carefree attitude.
Hearing that the decision laid in the hands of the other young man, Mirane turned to Roran and asked again in a pleading tone.
“Will you please sell the beast core to me?”
Similar to Calron, Roran was unaffected by the knights’ dangerous aura and thought of refusing, but after seeing that tears were almost beginning to form in the noble girl’s emerald-golden eyes, Roran let out a sigh and held out the sapphire beast core to Mirane.
“No need for the extra coins, just pay back my big brother the nine gold squares and you can have it.”
Roran said while letting out a small smile. He could always buy another beast core later, so it was not worth it for him to make an unknown girl cry over it. Especially when she was so polite to him and his big brother.
“Really? Thank you very much! My teacher would have failed me if I did not make this pill by tomorrow.”
Mirane quickly rubbed her eyes against her sleeves and cheerfully took the beast core from Roran, and gave him a light bow. Turning towards Calron, the blonde girl handed out ten gold squares to his outstretched hand and gave another grateful bow to him.
“If you need anything in the future, please look for me at the Royal Alchemy School within the inner sector, and I will do my best to return this favor. Please excuse me, as I am running out of time for my assignment.”
Mirane conveyed happily to Calron while putting her spectacles back on, and running towards the direction that she came from. The knights helplessly ran after Mirane awkwardly in their heavy armor, but Darton remained for a brief second as he turned to face the two youths and gave a dark smirk before following after the blonde lady.
“Well, we’ll find another beast core for your sister.”
Calron walked up to Roran and patted him on his back.
“Yeah, it’s not a good idea to get into trouble on the first day that we arrive here. Big brother, let’s go find some cheap inn to stay at for the night.”
Roran sheepishly grinned, and walked ahead.
“Sure, let’s go.”
Calron laughed and followed Roran, ignoring the stares and gossip of the nearby people. It seemed that they had caused a bigger commotion that they realized.
What Calron and Roran forgot to pay attention to, though, was that Darton called Mirane’s father “Tower Lord”, and the significance of that title was only known to those who lived within the city.