Chapter 48

Chapter 48 – Frate’s Festival (1)

The inn owner gave Artpe’s party a once over.  He tsked as he spoke.

“A single night in the guest room will cost 5 silvers.  The cost of the meal and bath water will have to be paid separately.”

In the past year, the three of them had been under the influence of Maetel’s Innate ability.  They had grown a lot, so they no longer received questions like ‘Are you kid alone?’ or ‘Where’s your guardian?’

The fact that they didn’t hear such words was a blessing, but…..

“Why is it so expensive?  This inn doesn’t look so grand that it should be charging 5 silvers!”

It was too expensive!  A cheap inn in a big city should cost a silver.  At most, it should cost two silvers!  At Artpe’s righteous indignation, the innkeeper snorted as he gave a retort.

“Do you not know what kind of a situation Frate is in?  The numerous countries connected to Diaz by the ocean are participating in a limited-time auction right now.  This auction was stopped three years ago, but it is being opened once again this year.  The merchants from Diaz kingdom as well as other kingdoms are all gathered here.  The streets are packed with people that came to spectate this auction.  You should be thankful that there’s at least one room left.”

“It was stopped 3 years ago!?”

If that was true, it was no wonder people were all gathering here.  When Artpe let out a sigh, the innkeeper took advantage of that moment.  He started acting in a condescending manner.

“I’ve been saving that room.  I was going to rent the room to someone that could pay a higher price.  However, I’m being very considerate towards you and the two women.  I’m sure they’ll be annoyed if you take them to somewhere that is more run down than this place.”

Artpe hadn’t wanted unwanted attention, so they were wearing robes.  The Artifacts they possessed was influencing how their appearance was perceived, and it was supposed to make them look average.  However, it didn’t allow them to hide their appearance.  It was becoming more troublesome especially for Maetel as she got older, because she was becoming more and more beautiful.  He wouldn’t go into the trouble it had caused.

“Ah, yes.  You were being considerate.”

“Of course.  I’m not joking.  You should go out right now to search for another room.  No one will give it to you as cheap as me..”

Artpe could read what the owner was thinking.  Basically, Artpe had come in here with two beautiful women(It was still more fitting to call them beautiful girls) on both arms, and he was jealous of Artpe.

This was why he was being verbose.  He was trying to get the beauties to say thank you to him.   He was old, but he was acting a bit cute.  If everyone was as innocent as him, it would be worth living in this world.

“All right.  I’ll pay the 5 silvers.”

“Each meal costs 30 bronze per person.  A single tub of bath water is worth 1 silver.  Have you tried our store’s buttered corn cob?  It is absolutely amazing.”

“This is the first time in my life visiting this inn, so how could I have tasted it?  All right.  I’ll try in once tonight.  I don’t really need the bath water.  So…”

Artpe handed over 5 silvers and 90 bronze as he asked a question.

“When’s the auction, ajusshi?”

“It’s tomorrow.”

“The timing is uncanny.”

He had to spend a lot for lodging because of the auction, but in the end, this was a golden opportunity for Artpe.

Originally, this auction used to be held periodically in the harbor town of Frate.  It had been the gathering place of various items ranging from specialty items made in Frate to Artifacts.  Loot gathered from nearby Dungeons and ocean were had been gathered here.  The auction had been the confluence of treasures!

It was very difficult to have a complete assessment of the worth of specialty items when one went into an auction. However, Artpe could clearly and accurately assess the worth of any items that was viewed through his eyes.

In his previous life, he had participated in auctions in the human world.  He had cleared out all the treasures that the humans had failed recognize.

Of course, it had all ended up in the hands of the Demon King.  The very thought of it made him wake up at night.  It made him grind his teeth.  However, it was no longer like that!  He could pocket everything now!

“Why? Are you going to participate?”

“It is a festival that hasn’t happened in 3 years, so shouldn’t we take the opportunity to look around?”

“If so, you should take good care of the ladies.  Gangsters always gather in places where there is money.  If you go out with the pretty girls, you could probably fill an ocean with the men that’ll try to pick a fight with you.”

“I’ve already experienced it plenty, so you don’t have to worry about that.”

Artpe snorted as he took the key from the innkeeper.  As always, Maetel and Sienna behaved as they watched him speak to the innkeeper.  It was the absolute rule of the party.  They had to leave the negotiations with other people to Artpe.

“Ooh-wah.  It is really small.”

The room had a single bed, and there was a lot of dust covering it.  There was also a chair in the room.  That was it.   First, he used his cleaning magic.  It took him two seconds to make the room look like it was new.  Then he placed his bedroll on top of the bed to make it cushy.   Next, he took out an enormous wooden tub that could easily fit two people with room to spare from his Dimensional pouch.  He created water and fire at the same time, and he filled the tub with hot water.  He created a cozy bathhouse where no one would disturb them.

“There is nothing Artpe cannot do.”

“You guys wash up first.  I’m not sure about myself, but you guys are really dirty.”

“Let’s wash together!”

Maetel yelled out energetically, but Artpe pushed the two towards the wooden tub.  Then he closed the curtain. Maetel and Sienna continued to complain loudly, but he completely ignored them.

They were now at an age where such proprietary had to be observed.  Their level was high, and they possessed warrior type abilities.  So their development was much faster than the girls their age.  Artpe decided to omit that line of thought.

“Let’s see…”

While the two girls were taking a bath, Artpe carefully leaned back on the chair.  The chair was so weak that it felt as if it would give way at any moment.  He gently closed his eyes as he stretched out his Mana Strings into the surrounding.

The Mana Strings went past the inn towards the large roads.  Then they went past the large roads to the square.  From the square, the Mana Strings extended out to the whole city.

That’s right.

He was surveying the entire city from within the small room of the inn.

In the past year, the party had focused on Sienna’s growth rather than the development of Maetel and Artpe.  Above all else, their goal was to arrive at Frate, so they hadn’t bee able to raise their levels too much.

However, Artpe had focused on gaining command over his Mana String until he was sick of it.  He also focused on increasing his proficiency in other magic spells.  There were the basic everyday magic like Fire and Aqua.  Then there was the Hyper Rubbing, which had been unexpectedly helpful in decisive moments.  Obviously, Mana String had developed into being his main spell.

He had used all his spell whenever he had Mana to spare, so most of his spells had exceeded level 40.  Amongst his spells, Mana String had reached level 51.  No words need to be said, but the power and effectiveness of his spells couldn’t be compared to before.

It wasn’t just the level of his spells.  Whenever he gathered money, he used Dungeon merchant Mycenae to gather spell books for all classes.  He used them to increase his Magic stat.  It resulted in his Magic stat reaching 1,200 when he was at level 187.

In his prior live, Artpe had gone past the 1,200 mark when he had reached level 300.  His magical energy reached a realm where his level couldn’t be use to gauge his power.  Moreover, he possessed enough magical energy to overcome disparities that should be impossible to overcome.  He possessed that power within his hands.

His spell level was over 50, and he possessed a massive pool of magical energy.  It had reached 1,200.  It would have been strange if he wasn’t able to search a mere city with his magic.

His Mana Strings had started out as several dozen strands, but now it had branched into hundreds than thousands.  In a flash, his Mana Strings had blanketed the entire city.  The Mana Strings were able to observe everything near their vicinity, and all the information was delivered to their owner.  Nothing could escape Artpe’s eyes.

Nothing.

“······huh?”

However, when he completed his search of the city, he wanted to deny the validity of his absolute ability.  It felt as if he learned an information that should be present in this city.

‘There is no way······ There is no way she’s here.’

He denied the reality of the situation as he strengthened his Read All Creation ability.  Artpe was so taken aback that he had almost fallen over backwards in his seat.

Afterwards, the curtain was put aside, and the naked form of the two girls was revealed to Artpe’s eyes.

“Artpe, you should wash now!”

“You guys should put on some clothes.”

Artpe had one Mana String ready in preparation.  He used it to close the curtain again.  His reaction speed was on par with the speed of a goblin shooting its poison dart. Maetel clicked her tongue quietly from behind the curtain.  He ignored her as he gave them instructions.

“Once yous put on your clothes, you guys should rest after eating dinner.  Later, you should tell me what the buttered corn cob taste like.”

“What about oppa!?”

Sienna, who was putting on her clothes from behind the curtain, asked in surprise.  Artpe let out a sigh.  It seemed his body was now used to making that sound.  He got up from the chair.

“I have something I have to do.  I have to go do it right now.”

“Let’s go together!”

“You guys will blow my cover.”

In this city, it might have been better if Silpennon had been with him.  In his past life, Silpennon had been awesome at sneaking around.

Unfortunately, Maetel and Sienna were incapable of moving around quietly.  Maetel had used the authority as a hero to learn a thief’s skill called ‘Covert Steps’, yet it failed in making her able to move around quietly.

However, Artpe was different.

[Artpe]

[Level : 187]

[Stealth Lv19]

Even in his past life, there had been too many powerful beings around him.  He had to learn how to move around quietly without being noticed.  Now that all the skill restriction was lifted when he became a hero, his talent for being clandestine blossomed!

Of course, it wasn’t something he was proud of at all!

“That is why you shouldn’t follow me.”

“Chet.”

First, Artpe retracted all his Mana String before he stepped out of the inn. As he walked amongst the large population, he naturally activated his Stealth ability.  He melted into the crowd.  Then he closed his purple colored eyes as he took off his ring.

The hair and eye colors, which had been changed into different colors, returned to their original coloring.  His appearance, which had gone through minor changed to make it average, returned to its original form.  Of course, he had his stealth activated, so no one noticed the change of his appearance.

‘As the throne kept changing hands, the efforts to find the heroes had died down considerably.  They’ve already forgotten the names and description of the heroes.  At a certain point in time, it became more about hiding our unique appearances rather than hiding our identities with the artifacts.’

Of course, they had been able to avoid considerable amount of conflict using the artifacts.  Still, he had worried about the possibility of facing someone that could see through the artifacts.  He would have the tackle the issue of explaining why he was hiding his appearance using an artifact.

‘Mycenae was confident that anyone below level 250 would be unable to see through it.  I came to the same conclusion when I evaluated the artifact.’

This was why he had to take off the artifact right now.

His opponent was over level 250.

‘It might have been better to have ignored her……’

Still, it would cause him way more trouble if she developed a weird misconception of him.  This was why Artpe took the risk to assess his opponent’s situation.  It should be fine if he didn’t get too close.  It would probably be ok if he observed from afar……

“Oh my.”

“Ah.”

He had been walking as he had such thoughts.  As he walked amongst the countless people, his eyes met a woman’s eyes as if by a miracle.

When their eyes met, Artpe realized his Stealth ability had been seen through in an exceedingly easy manner.  However, that wasn’t the only problem he faced.

“Ah, hello.  Are you here by yourself?”

When the woman discovered Artpe, she approached him.  Her cheeks were slightly red.  She had long red straight hair, and she had striking blood-colored eyes.  She was taller than most most man, and she possessed a voluptuous body that 100 out of 100 men would turn to look at her.  She was a beautiful woman.

Moreover, Artpe knew this woman better than anyone in the human world.

[Etna Carlyfate Mirecarde]

[Demon race]

[Level :376]

[She is bound by the Innate ability Absolute Control.]

‘I planned on observing her, yet I was caught on the outset.  This is crazy….’

Artpe let out a sigh

It was the moment when he encountered the woman, who had been the 2nd ranked Four Heavenly King in his previous life.