Chapter 38
The sapling didn't bother me for a while if I fed it an appropriate amount of mana.
I wanted to test it quickly, but there wasn't really a suitable place to swing a sword around here.
For now, I was planning to just return to the Magic Academy where Silveryn was.
Because I had a lot of money left, I had a different thought for a very brief moment.
I considered pretending to have spent the money but quickly abandoned the idea. That would be almost like theft, and if caught, it would ruin the trust between Silveryn and me.
Although I unexpectedly had a lot of money left, it wasn't my money to begin with.
It's better to be clear about money matters. Deceiving a benefactor who casually handed over such a large sum would be going too far.
"But where am I supposed to go?"
I had no idea where the Magic Academy was located at.
In fact, I was no different from a lost child thrown into an unfamiliar city.
She probably wouldn't mind if I used some of the remaining money to buy a few meals.
First, I started walking in the direction where Silveryn's carriage had gone.
Silveryn had said we would visit this city quite often, even during the semester. I thought I might as well familiarize myself with it since I'd be coming back anyway.
I could leisurely explore the city, and if I really couldn't find my way, I could ask passersby.
Although my appearance of wearing a mask and carrying a flowerpot in one hand might seem quite bizarre, people showed no interest in me at all.
There were many people on the street with covered faces like mine, and since potion-making was active here, there were also many people carrying bundles of plants like I was.
Fortunately, my current appearance wasn't that unusual in Rigved.
A surprisingly diverse group of people passed through the streets of Rigved.
Knights in full armor, nobles, mages wearing pointed hats, peddlers, beggars, students, and various other classes were mingling and passing by in one place.
It was like a melting pot of classes, with diverse groups of people living together in one place.
It felt like a different world to me.
I wondered if there were people among those passing by on the street who would be my classmates at Eternia.
Thanks to wearing a mask, I could openly observe the faces of people my age as they passed by.
As I was people-watching while walking, about a few hundred steps ahead, there seemed to be a commotion as the movement of passersby became noisy.
What's going on?
From the front, the crowd was parting left and right, avoiding something.
"Aaargh!"
"Catch them, catch them!"
Along with thumping sounds, there were also sounds of things breaking, and occasional screams echoed. Something was rapidly pushing through people and approaching this way.
And from afar, someone shouted, "Thief!"
***
The escort knights urgently pursued them, but it was in vain.
They weren't simple petty thieves. They had approached with a plan and stolen an item after breaking through the defense of twenty guards.
It happened in the blink of an eye.
Three elite escort knights were instantly taken down and severely injured. While they couldn't respond properly due to the surprise attack, it was clear that these were people skilled in swordsmanship and hidden weapons.
What they took was a rare artifact called the “Century-Old Wood Wand”. They had been ambushed while transporting it from the empire with the help of their family's power.
It seemed they had been targeting it for a long time after hearing the news that Lilith was staying in Rigved for the entrance exam.
The Century-Old Wood Wand was an important item that would play a pivotal role in helping Lilith pass the Eternia entrance exam.
Lilith also lifted her triple-layered dress skirt and chased after the thieves, but it was beyond her ability.
Born into nobility, Lilith had rarely run this long in her life. Even pushing through the crowd was a struggle for her.
She couldn't just stand by as this was a serious matter that would determine her admission to Eternia.
"Haah, haah, haah."
She ran until her vision turned white, but the gap with the thieves wouldn't narrow at all.
The escort knights rushed up behind her.
Two knights came to support her. It was the first time the knights had seen Lilith running so urgently.
"My lady, are you alright?"
"Haah, I'm fine, haah, quickly catch those guys."
The captain of the guard commanded the remaining men.
"Form an encirclement!"
The knights who had belatedly followed rushed into the side alleys.
"Block all city exits if you have to. You must catch them."
This was more important than anything else to Lilith.
It was just as she was straightening her bent body.
Clang!
The sound of clashing swords echoed through the street. The escort knights also turned their heads in surprise toward the direction of the sound.
It was clearly the direction the thieves had been fleeing.
"...!"
It wasn't far away.
Sensing that a fight had broken out, Lilith ran off without even catching her breath.
"My lady, it's dangerous!"
The escort knights hurriedly followed her.
Ahead, a crowd of people was circling around one spot on the street.
Something was happening inside.
Clang!
Every time the swords clashed, the crowd murmured loudly.
Lilith pushed her way through the crowd.
Inside, a masked man with reddish hair was fiercely fighting two thieves.
Another thief was lying face down in a critical state with a broken ankle, having suffered some mishap.
While the thieves were wildly swinging steel swords, the masked man was skillfully blocking them with a wooden sword.
He's fighting with that?
The wooden sword looked like it would be cut immediately, but strangely, it was holding up well against the steel swords.
The escort knights were breaking through the crowd and catching up.
Predicting that the thieves would be pushed back, they pressed the masked man even harder.
Every time the steel swords narrowly grazed the man's body, terrified screams erupted from the crowd.
The man was quite skilled. As their urgent offensive failed to work, the thieves' expressions gradually distorted.
Seizing the opportunity, Lilith chanted from behind.
Blue energy gathered at one thief's feet, and soon after, one foot froze and stuck to the ground.
The man didn't miss this brief opening and strongly struck the frozen thief's ankle with the back of his sword.
With a cracking sound, the ankle bone broke, and the thief let out a scream.
"Aaaaargh!"
The remaining thief quickly realized there was no hope and ran away hurriedly with the stolen goods.
As if he had eyes on the back of his head, the man immediately turned around and threw his wooden sword.
It flew and accurately lodged itself in the fleeing thief's thigh.
"Uwaaargh!"
The thief fell face down on the ground with a scream.
The knights who had followed broke through the crowd and entered, looking bewildered.
The situation was already over.
The three thieves who had stolen Lilith's Century-Old Wood Wand were perfectly subdued thanks to the unidentified man.
The masked man slowly walked over and pulled out the sword lodged in the thief's thigh.
Lilith also ran over and quickly retrieved the box containing the Century-Old Wood Wand.
Fortunately, the contents were still intact.
If it weren't for the man, Lilith might have failed the Eternia entrance exam.
She approached the masked man.
"Thank you. Our Izelius family will remember this and certainly reward..."
However, the man ignored Lilith and walked past her.
"...?"
At that moment, Lilith had only one thought.
Is he deaf?
One of the thieves shouted at the masked man with a voice full of resentment, "I'll definitely kill you!"
A guard knight reacted to this by putting a sword to his neck and shouting sternly, "Shut up! You petty thieves."
The man briefly looked at that thief.
Judging by his reaction, he wasn't deaf.
He just didn't care about Lilith at all.
How rude. Does he even know who he’s ignoring?
What kind of guy is this...
Lilith's pride was quite hurt by the man ignoring her and walking past.
However, since he was also her benefactor, she couldn't really say much in this situation.
He stood at a corner of the road where soil was scattered about. Then, he quietly stared at a broken flowerpot.
Although his expression couldn't be seen because of the mask, he seemed somewhat angry that the flowerpot was broken.
From the circumstances, it looked like it had been broken in the process of the thieves pushing past pedestrians while fleeing.
Lilith's expression twisted slightly.
Don't tell me it's because of that?
To think the reason for ignoring Lilith was just because of a flowerpot.
She was being treated as less important than a flowerpot.
Moreover, there was nothing in it except soil.
The flowerpot could be bought anew, and the soil could be refilled.
But facing her and receiving gratitude from a prestigious family would have been a rare and precious experience in his life.
On the hand tightly gripping the wooden sword was a ring engraved with Eternia's seal.
Lilith's eyes widened for a moment.
That's Eternia's...
Lilith suppressed her pride and approached him again.
"Ahem! If you need anything, we will compensate you. Could you tell me your name..."
The man didn't even pretend to listen. She was completely invisible to him.
As if he had no more business, he ignored Lilith's words again and disappeared into the crowd.
"No..."
Lilith looked in the direction he had gone with a bewildered face.
Following the humiliation of having an important item stolen, she had now been blatantly ignored twice by a strange man.
Being coldly treated by a man was something she had never experienced before coming to Rigved.
Even princes of higher status than Lilith didn't treat her this way.
Lilith's face flushed with a mix of irritation and embarrassment.
She called the captain of the guard who was organizing the situation.
"You called, my lady?"
Trying to ignore her burning face, she pointed in the direction the man had gone and said, "That masked man just now. Track him down and find out who he is, I don’t care how you do it, just get it done."