Once upon a time, there was a small city called Elgrid, which was pretty ordinary.
But then, boom! Sounds of a trumpet! Aios Academy popped up here because of its lively transportation, turning this place into a bustling metropolis. From a good perspective, it was a city of culture and freedom, but you know what that means – a whole lot of incidents!
Thanks to the busy sea routes up north, foreign trade was thriving, and the kingdom’s friendly policies made it a cakewalk for outsiders to settle down. In short, Elgrid was a melting pot of numerous races and diverse people.
And when people gather, oh boy, strange things are bound to happen!
“Eww, what’s that smell?”
Hayun pinched her nose and squinted as she glanced around the alley.
“I heard they did this on purpose to keep people away,” Rin piped up.
Smelling like something lost in the dumpster, this alley was nearly deserted.
“Wanna borrow a handkerchief?”
Hayun offered me one, but I shook my head. The stench was awful, but I could manage.
“Rin, here, use this.”
“Thanks!”
I passed a handkerchief to Rin, but Hayun kept pulling more out of her little bag. I wondered how many she carried. Rin asked for the price of one, and Hayun started explaining the details to her like she was prepping for a big sale.
“By the way, why carry two handkerchiefs?”
“Actually, I’ve got more.”
Hayun pulled countless handkerchiefs out of her tiny pouch, each one designed differently. They looked homemade – crafty!
“Since they stopped giving me living expenses, I figured I could sell these to make some cash. I have some skills, you know.”
“Wow, this looks nice!”
She also mentioned that the last pouch she had was one she made herself.
Before we knew it, we heard a voice yelling, “Alright, we’re here.”
In the alley, next to a trashcan, a guy puffing on a cigarette came into view. At first, I thought it was Demalico, but nope!
‘Are you saying ‘You lot are dangerous, so I won’t smoke?’’
With a casual shrug, I stepped forward, but the guy spat and gave us a warning.
“Listen up, kids, you’ll get hurt coming in here. Just scram.”
“But I heard you could live here?”
“……”
Noticing we might know something, the guy took a deep drag on his cigarette and sized us up. I felt the need to break the ice.
“I’m a friend of Demalico.”
“That scumbag! I told him not to tell anyone, yet here you are! Tell him not to show his face around here again!”
He looked ready to kick us out, but I just nodded in satisfaction.
“Okay, this truly is the right place.”
“What?”
With a thud sound, the guy melted to the ground, his nose planted firmly in the dirt.
Hayun and Rin looked at me, wide-eyed, but I just shrugged and headed inside.
At the end of the alley was a shabby door. I swung it open, and what do you know? Inside was a bar with a counter full of drinkers and some folks playing pool.
“Hmm?”
“Hey, aren’t you academy students?”
“That rat Remy really doesn’t know how to keep things in line.”
Clearly, Demalico hadn’t roamed this far before, as the atmosphere turned chilly when they spotted us students.
I turned to the two girls behind me.
“Hey, do you know the birthday song?”
“Uh?”
“You know… the birthday song?”
The two looked puzzled, so I closed the door behind me and said,
“Start singing it!”
Just in case of an ambush outside, if the song stopped, I’d know it was time to sprint out!
Click.
The door locked as the thugs snickered at me.
“What’s this kid thinking?”
“Just because he learned a thing or two at school doesn’t mean he can handle himself in here, right?”
“Hey, that kid looks like he’s got skills.”
From the gap in the door, Rin’s voice floated through.
“Happy birthday to you.”
“Wait, you’re really singing?”
“Uh-huh. They told me to!”
Without skipping a beat, Rin sang, while Hayun hesitated before joining in.
I could clearly picture the two of them leaning against the door singing, and I chuckled.
Bang!
“Happy birthday to you~”
Crunch.
“To my beloved~ Daniel~”
Screech!
“Happy birthday to you~”
Eek.
“That’s it, let’s get in!”
Just in case, I checked my face in the mirror to make sure there wasn’t any blood, and the song ended perfectly.
The two girls stepped in, looking dazed as they passed by the groaning thugs sprawled on the ground.
“Eek!”
“Oops! Sorry!”
Hayun squeaked as she accidentally stepped on someone’s hand. Ouch, that looked painful!
“I cleared out the first floor, so I’m heading to the second. If something goes wrong, you two run away, okay?”
“Huh.”
“……”
Hayun didn’t respond, looking uneasy, while Rin just stared silently at me.
“Rin?”
“Nope.”
She frowned like she wasn’t budging at all.
“If Daniel runs, I’ll run too.”
It was clear nothing I said would change her mind, so I twisted around and headed for the stairs to the second floor.
From above came the sounds of chaos. I guess they got the idea from all the screams on the first floor.
But nothing much changed.
Second floor? Check.
Third floor? Yup.
Fourth floor? Yup!
The girls didn’t lift a finger, just trailing behind me as I dodged the criminals’ attacks.
‘This is way easier than hunting magical beasts!’
In my past life, I’d either lifted boulders with one hand or made the earth tremble just by walking – battling magical beasts while casting multiple spells left and right was a walk in the park compared to this!
“Whoa…”
“Daniel, you’re incredible!”
Hayun stared at me, dazed with admiration, while Rin jumped up and down cheering me on.
A bit embarrassing, but whatever.
We finally arrived at the fifth floor and, bang! Arrows flew at us!
I swung my sword to deflect, but they missed and clattered to the ground instead.
“Who the heck are you…?”
Rin, sensing the tension, emitted a killing intent and dropped her protective spell. Inside stood a massive, one-eyed man with a cigarette in his mouth, holding a crossbow.
“Little brats, you think you can come here and mess with me?”
“Are you the boss here?”
“What? Are you kidding me?”
He threw his cigarette to the ground and stomped it out, puffing out his chest confidently as he nodded.
“Yeah, I’m Zavalanco, leader of Belon Corporation.”
“Corporation? What a load of crap…”
I was about to spit some harsh words out, but held back considering the girls were behind me.
“Who do you think you are, just a bunch of thugs playing around with drugs?”
My taunt seemed to hit a nerve; his eyebrows twitched, but he didn’t charge blindly.
‘Oh-ho!’
Looking at this guy’s thick arms and the arrogant stance he held, it was clear he was battle-ready with balanced muscles – not your regular thug!
‘Definitely not your average crook!’
Unlike those who were just swinging tools around down below, this one had skill!
“You think you can come here and show off your academy tricks? Big mistake!”
Zavalanco pulled out a gigantic cutlass.
It seemed to be a common weapon among sailors, so finding one in a coastal city like Elgrid wasn’t surprising.
‘Is he a pirate or something?’
I had my theories, but I didn’t feel like playing the courtesy game anymore, so I charged right at him.
Thwack!
He swung the cutlass upward, blocking my sword.
“Gaaah?”
Surprisingly heavy! Blood vessels throb! Zavalanco grunted and swung back to throw me off, but…
“Whoosh.”
I spun midair, kicking him right on the chin, making him stagger with a thump!
I initially wanted to rush in and finish him right then and there, but we were too far apart, so I tossed my sword, and it lodged into his shoulder.
“Gaaah!”
He was trying to muffled a scream, but I was already in front of him, delivering a punch to his gut and trip-wiring him.
“Whoa.”
Clap clap clap.
Hayun and Rin were applauding like they were watching a performance!
“One of you go call the guards! Let’s get these guys locked up!”
“I’ll do it!”
Fast-footed Hayun dashed out. This was exactly why I brought her along!
While I was gathering information, I needed her to get the guards!
But hold on – looks like someone else was here too. Rin was staring blankly at Zavalanco, who was groaning in pain on the floor.
“Rin, stay outside for a sec.”
What’s coming next is pretty brutal, and it’s not something I want the students to hear.
She nodded, looking like she started to trust me, then asked as she moved towards the door.
“Are they still singing?”
“……If they want to.”
With a playful grin, I closed the door behind her.
Song time!
Little bunny~ bunny bunny!
With a simple kids’ tune, Rin’s sweet voice soared, while I stomped on Zavalanco’s hand, snapping his fingers with a crunch!
“Gaaaaaah!”
The sweet melody and his screams harmonized excellently in that moment.
