The old man looked at the encirclement and although he couldn't the person in the middle because she was too short, he knew such a phenomenon like this couldn't be brought upon by a normal lady.

The underground market was lightened up by individual candles on the mats and tables of the merchants.

Under the dull lighting, William wore a calm smile but with the bandages wrapping his face and his eyes that were shrouded by the hood, he looked so devilish.

William raised his head so the old man could see his smiling red pupils as he wickedly said, "I'm willing to forget everything, even willing to forget you tried to sell me a bad product if you sell the sword to me for 100 Emers."

The old man wanted to scream at William but he choked on his words as his skin crawled upon witnessing William's evil smile.

He stumbled upon the type of customer merchants only go to church to pray against.

…Is this God's punishment? The old man thought to himself. He couldn't say that William had no evidence because the Sword of Radiance itself was evidence of his bad practice. The worst part of it was, that he was really bluffing about Mr. Manager's involvement in the scams. Mr. Manager was well known for his integrity and as someone who highly respected Viscount Maxton.

The old man stood up weakly and said in a low tone, "L-Let me wrap it for you…"

…Yes! William held in the joy he was feeling at the moment. He paid the old man 150 Emers instead and hugged the sword wrapped in brown paper as a mother would to her newborn child.

"Luke!" Athena called William. She had several black sacks in front of her as he pointed to the merchant, "I'm done. Pay him."

William grinned fiercely and mumbled to himself in annoyance then walked back to Athena and asked, "How much is everything?"

"Five hundred and twenty-two Emers sir." The merchant happily responded with a calm smile on his face.

…Tch. She really is a b*tch… William handed the merchant a pouch filled with silver coins with the side face portrait of Emperor Theodore Caliscus III.

The merchant carefully counted each Emer and when he was done, he looked to 'Starze' and smiled, "It's complete. If you need any other thing you can't find here you can tell me. I have connections."

Athena was about to reply but her eyes suddenly grew wider then she turned around and quickly searched the area.

William noticed this and drew closer to her and whispered, "What's wrong?"

Athena wore a serious face full of disgust as she said, "Something or someone smells immensely foul."

…I mean, not everyone has the luxury to have a bath… William thought jokingly due to the happiness he got from the sword he bought, but upon seeing Athena's serious face, he asked seriously.

"What do you mean?" William also used his eyes to look around, hoping he would spot something unusual but he didn't.

Athena ignored William's question and turned back to face the merchant.

William didn't mind Athena and because he had another way to find out even if she didn't answer, he thought …Nova, can you sense anything unusual?

「Environmental sensory function is currently unavailable due to my disconnection from the Unity.」

…Damn, this is now looking like I'm wasting my time. What's so bad about connecting to the Unity?!

「I do not have the answer to your question.」

…Don't worry. Tsk, I'll force this 'goddess' to talk after we leave. And if she still keeps bullsh*ting me, we're connecting to that thing. I'm tired of this crap. I can almost quickly become OP in 5 years! I will be able to easily defeat that Evil God and leave this accursed world.

「Master, it is not a certainty that you will win, but your chances increase by 4% only. The Evil god possesses the major parts of the Crown.」

…That's the Mind and Heart stuff you were talking about before, right?

「Yes.」

William sighed and turned around to see Athena staring at him, he was startled a bit but controlled himself before he let it show.

She looked at the item he was hugging like a baby with scrutinizing eyes then just turned around and headed for the exit.

William and the merchant stared at her back as she trotted majestically then they stared at each other.

The merchant calmly pointed to the sack of things she bought.

❈  ❈  ❈

Bleurgh… Bleurgh…

In a dark alley not too far from Three Horns Tavern, a man was hurling over a barrel and was throwing up nonstop as a side effect of all the booze.

He gasped then cleaned his mouth and weakly sat beside the barrel. The man was wearing a dirtied black suit. His round face was flushed and his weak eyes looked even weaker.

It was the drunkard from before that William helped up, Aganes.

Aganes grabbed his brown hair and gnashed his teeth then screamed with tears rolling down his face, "What do you want?!"

"You look even worse than usual." The voice of a boy came from within the shadows deeper in the alley in a tone full of mockery.

"Please! No more!" Aganes pleaded. He could see a small figure hiding at the edge of the narrow lane between two buildings.

"It is not your choice to make. The products arrive at the same place tomorrow night. Be there." The mysterious boy said.

"Those aren't products! They're children! With parents and families that love them!" Aganes cried out to where the boy stood with a hand on his chest.

"Don't make me a mistake this time. I have eliminated your so-called savior. His son managed to survive though."

Aganes felt a chill run down his spine, "You… what did you do to Count Walter?"

The boy giggled, "Now no one can stop what's coming. You should be thankful you get to keep your loved ones safe. Try to lessen the amount of booze you consume, Aganes. If you die I can't guarantee what happens to those around you."

"You… You promised!"

"We had an agreement. Yet you let Viscount Maxton catch on to our trail because of your carelessness. I won't tolerate such next time. And if there's a next time, trust me, you're not the only one that'll receive the punishment." The boy left after he finished.

Aganes laid down on the cold ground and cried profusely.

On the building a meter away, A boy wearing a brown monkey jacket on top of a worn-out long sleeve with brown trousers and pauper shoes stood at the edge of the building. He arranged his brown flat cap and smiled gently before disappearing into the night.

It was Berne!