Mage? Magic Engineer!-Chapter 129 - 126: All Teahouses on the Continent Are Rip-offs

Chapter 129: Chapter 126: All Teahouses on the Continent Are Rip-offs

Rorschach wanted to ask the partner from the Chamber of Commerce if he knew Bart, but the manager was still there. He decided to wait until the chattering... gentleman had left.

Unexpectedly, the manager kept rambling on, and even started pitching stocks. Rorschach finished his meal, but the man still hadn’t taken a hike. Rorschach didn’t want to listen to the manager’s sales tactics anymore. If anything, he was more interested in how to safely cash out the stocks he had on hand, preferably for metal currency.

’If you won’t leave, I will!’

Rorschach stood up, excused himself, paid his bill, and went across the street from the tavern.

This was a street lined with restaurants and tea houses. Rorschach found a seat in an outdoor area across the street and ordered a cup of hot tea.

"A cup of licorice tea, hot, no sugar. Do you have any newspapers or magazines?"

"How about the Century Times? The latest issue has a new serial by Little Dumass." The waitress here wore a floral kerchief and had a more artistic air than the tavern’s server.

Rorschach had actually never heard of Little Dumass, so he just said, "Sure. How much?"

"It’s free, young sir. As long as you don’t spill tea on it and leave it behind when you go."

"Thanks, then."

Rorschach didn’t actually read the newspaper. He kept glancing at the restaurant, waiting for the gentleman from the Balderom Chamber of Commerce to come out.

After his second cup of tea, the man in the trench coat finally came out, followed by two burly men. One of them wore an eyepatch, making one wonder if he was a sailor... or a pirate.

’Were those two waiting for the partner on the first floor of the tavern? Bodyguards? Or captors?’ The man in the trench coat tightened his hat, now holding a leather suitcase. He unfolded a map and, along with the two big men behind him, ducked into a small alley on the street.

Rorschach used his teacup to hold down the newspaper and two one-livre bills. He quickly got up and followed them, shouting to the waitress as he left, "Keep the change!"

The waitress walked over, took the money, and paused. "Sir, the total is two livres and twelve daniers..." Danier was the formal name for copper coins, and this was the first time Rorschach had heard it called that since arriving in the Holy Kingdom.

’Is every tea house this ridiculously expensive?’ Rorschach was reminded of the twig-water that cost Six Silver Coins. He pulled out two more livre bills. "This should cover it, right?" he said, then chased after them into the alley.

"A twenty-percent tip is recommended..." the waitress was still muttering, but the boy had already hopped the railing and vanished. Unsuspecting onlookers might have thought he was dining and dashing.

’And here I thought the free newspaper was a nice perk. Turns out you wouldn’t lose money even if you gave me the whole stack...’ Rorschach frantically dashed across the road and into the alley.

The men were out of sight, but Rorschach could hear the sounds of a conversation.

"Hey, hand it over! Fucker, empty your own goddamn pockets for me!"

"It’s all in the bag. If you take the money, can you give it back to me..."

"Son of a bitch, you trying to bargain with me?" BANG, BANG, AHHH—The sounds of fists and feet hitting flesh alternated with cries of pain.

’I’m an idiot. A real idiot. I deserve to have been a Middle Level partner for over twenty years.’ At that moment, Hasse, the merchant from the Balderom Chamber of Commerce, was enveloped in regret and pain.

A punch.

The man throwing the punch wasn’t actually that strong, but his knuckles were prominent. It struck Hasse’s face, crashing against his cheekbone and jaw, and a dull, crushing pain dominated the sensation.

’Why did I take the alley? Right, because I was counting on my bodyguards and taking a shortcut according to that damn map. They were the Chamber’s seasoned hands on the high seas, tough guys who could fight pirates.’

’Then why’d they get taken down? Those two must have been drunk, couldn’t even hear the footsteps... A couple of idiots. Onshore, they’re like fish out of water, utterly useless... Got knocked out by these thugs who just threw a cloth over their heads.’

’The cloth must have been soaked in some kind of anesthetic.’

Another kick landed on the partner’s shin. The attacker probably hadn’t studied fighting; at least for now, he was just throwing punches and kicks indiscriminately, without any specific targets.

But it still hurt. Hasse nearly lost his footing. He was now hunched over, covering his head with his hands.

’Why did I come to this godforsaken place? Oh, right. The Holy Kingdom’s economy is booming, and the Balderom Chamber of Commerce wants to expand its trade here. They needed a capable and experienced partner to investigate and negotiate business deals.’

’But it’s all a sham. Right now, all the old foxes at the Chamber are bustling around Young Master Bart’s post, fighting to get noticed and leave a good impression on the next boss...’

’They took advantage of me being an honest man, pushed old Hasse, the one with no major achievements, out to this place, and even called it a rare opportunity for me...’

’Fine, I’ll show you all what I can do!’

The third blow landed in an effective spot. An uppercut to his chest left him gasping for air.

’The Empire wouldn’t have so many street loiterers. Idle young men would be sent to the Empire Army to learn loyalty and obedience... or, if they committed a crime, they’d be immediately sent to the manors in the northeast. The lords there have always treated such people like cattle...’

As he was being beaten, Hasse’s thoughts raced. He fancied himself familiar with this sort of bored youth. You had to groan—not too loudly, but not silently either. Either extreme would just provoke their viciousness. As long as they had some sense left, they wouldn’t dare to kill. Once they’d vented their useless energy, they would just take the money and leave.

Sure enough, the beating stopped. But to Hasse’s surprise, when he moved his arms from his head, he saw the thug in front of him had a face completely twisted in on itself, as if all his features were just folds of skin.

It was an expression of extreme agony, but he couldn’t open his mouth, unable to even cry out. Only snot, tears, and a faint whimper escaped him.

His arm. Hasse noticed that the man’s entire arm—the one he’d used to hit him—was twisted into an impossible shape. The two parts of the joint had appeared from under the skin at his wrist and elbow, giving the limb a grotesque freedom of movement.

Then, with a THUD, he knelt before Mr. Hasse. It turned out his ankle was dislocated as well. If the ligaments couldn’t recover, he would likely walk with a limp for the rest of his life. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

There were four of these scoundrels bred in this winding alley. Seeing their boss crippled out of thin air left the other three momentarily unable to comprehend the situation.

’Is that man a Wizard? Then why did he let himself get beaten up first?’

If these men had played video games, they might have suspected Mr. Hasse had a "damage reflection" buff.

CRACK, CRACK. The sound of dislocating joints rang out again. In the moment of confusion shared by all five people, the second thug was incapacitated.

’There’s someone else!’ The remaining two idiots finally understood. In the twilight, the silhouette of a boy appeared in the darkness, but they couldn’t see him clearly. They could only see that he was enveloped in a strange mist.

The two took completely opposite actions. One unfurled the anesthetic-soaked cloth again—the same thing that had knocked out Hasse’s bodyguards. The other abandoned his companion and turned to run.

"Be careful, the cloth is drugged!" Hasse felt it was necessary to warn the kind Mage who was saving him. The newcomer was clearly a Mage.

But his warning was unnecessary. Before the thug could even get close to the mist, his limbs were also dislocated. His entire body was seized as if by an invisible giant hand, squeezed into a contorted shape, and then pressed to the ground.

Meanwhile, the thug who tried to run was suddenly tripped by something and fell flat on his face. The ground was soft, so the fall didn’t hurt at all! He hadn’t even had time to feel relieved when he suddenly discovered the ground around him seemed to have turned into a swamp, and he couldn’t get up no matter how hard he tried.

’It’s too soft, too soft! I need to find something hard to pull myself up!’ As if hearing his thoughts, the ground began to harden again. However, the would-be escape artist hadn’t managed to crawl out yet and was left half-buried in the road, unable to move.

Fortunately, he managed to lift his head just in time. Smelling the mix of dirt and excrement on the ground was better than suffocating.

At both ends of the alley, earth and stone slowly rose up, forming walls with the texture of brickwork. To any pedestrian passing by in the encroaching night, it would simply look like they had walked into a dead end.

The rising walls hid the pained and desperate, tear-filled eyes of the four thugs.