The Duke’s Madness

next day.

Arthur got into the limousine at the direction of Evan, who came out to meet him.

“The mayor is going to ＜Natalie’s Restaurant＞ first.”

With these words, Evan asked in a kind tone if there was anything uncomfortable during his stay.

“no. I like all of them. I especially liked the quiet surroundings of the house.”

Evan nods.

At the same time, the limousine stopped.

Arthur, who got out of the car, let out a small exclamation.

Area A-1, which can be called the main street of Arcane, is where the limousine stopped.

This is because it was the A-1(2) area where only the chosen ones could enter even within that area.

It was time to look around the streets of the privileged class, who had never been there even in the previous life, with curious eyes.

Evan got out of the car and beckoned.

“I will see you, Gongja. Come this way.”

Arthur, who came to his senses, followed Evan.

Evan walked into a building that could be said to be the symbol of Arcane with a very familiar step.

“Natalie Restaurant is a restaurant with the highest Michelin rating. It will satisfy Confucius’s mouth enough.”

After a brief introduction, Evan withdraws.

At the same time, Arthur once again burst into exclamation at the scenery that was revealed.

Gorgeous chandeliers and quality materials.

And an orchestra that creates good melodies in one corner.

Looking at the exterior alone, it could be called one of the best restaurants I have ever seen.

However, the only person sitting in this fancy restaurant was a woman with straight hair.

‘At first glance, that’s Mayor Angelina.’

A tight-fitting suit.

The front island that was boldly released.

Outstanding beauty that draws attention.

The appearance of the market was quite far from what Arthur himself expected.

In the meantime, Angelina also turned her head after realizing Arthur’s appearance.

“Welcome, Gongja. I was waiting for you.”

Arthur bowed his head and said hello.

Angelina snapped her fingers instead of answering.

At that moment, the music of the orchestra changes.

With more upbeat music than before.

In the meantime, the chefs who approached cautiously asked questions.

“There is a C course and an A course. Which one would you like?”

“I’m on the A course. What about Gongja?”

“I’ll do the same as the mayor.”

The cooks bow and withdraw.

At the same time, Angelina looked away and smiled brightly.

It was a beautiful smile.

“I don’t know if I was wasting my time, Gongja.”

“no. Thank you for meeting me like this.”

Arthur bowed his head.

Angelina burst into laughter.

“As I’ve heard, he’s a polite person.”

“… yes?”

“Evan complimented me a lot. He was different from the other nobles in many ways. I was puzzled that a reticent child would say such a thing, but I can understand it after meeting him.”

Arthur scratched his head.

‘hmm···. I’m not very close with Evan, so why did you say this?’

I was curious, but decided to skip it.

Because it wasn’t something to think about in the current situation.

In the meantime, the chef showed up with the first dish.

“A crab meat soup that will whet your appetite.”

After that, other dishes came out with a reasonable time period, and Angelina asked a lot of questions.

Why did you come to Arcane?

What will you do when you enter university?

Minor, but pretty poignant questions.

And Arthur stroked his chin at questions he had never thought of.

‘The biggest reason for coming to Arcane is college, but… It’s because of the lineage.’

However, I couldn’t answer this thought directly.

The opponent is the Mayor of Arcane.

He was also a very famous wizard.

‘I heard that he is a wizard with superior skills than the imperial wizard.’

I couldn’t give a clumsy answer to such a person.

Because of that, Arthur tried to answer more carefully than usual, and fortunately, Angelina seemed to enjoy the answer very much.

Until the main course dish comes out.

“Are you lying?”

“… ?”

“Amazing. You lied from start to finish.”

Arthur narrowed his eyes.

“uh···. How did you know?”

“I have rather peculiar eyes.”

Angelina taps me in the eye.

At that moment, a faint star twinkled in her eyes.

‘what? You said that Mayor Angelina was a bloodline expert?’

Arthur scratched his head, realizing that he had made a mistake with his thoughts.

Angelina, who was looking at him, asked the question again.

“But don’t you deny it? If you ask me like this, everyone says it’s not a lie.”

“I heard that Angelina-nim is a great wizard. I thought there was a reason why someone like that said so sternly.”

Angelina bursts into laughter.

“You answered honestly for the first time.”

“thank you.”

“Ummm… It’s not a compliment.”

Angelina, speechless, nodded.

“What good. It’s a lie, but it’s our first meeting, so there’s no need to know the details. Then how about this one?”

The corners of Angelina’s mouth drew an arc.

“I will give you a present. In terms of common sense.”

“… A gift?”

“yes. It’s a gift to impress Confucius.”

As Arthur tilts his head, Angelina explains while drinking tea.

“The reason I split my busy time to meet the sons of noble families is to make a connection with them. The gold money they spend coming to this city. These are one of the pillars of Arcane’s economy.”

“oh… .”

“In that sense, Confucius is a person full of qualifications. The only heir to the largest family in the empire. The market of Arcane that presents gifts to such heirs to buy favor. Need more explanation?”

Arthur strokes his chin.

It seems that there was a more political reason than I thought.

‘Uh… Not bad though. If I can build a relationship with the Arcane Mayor, that’s a good thing.’

The remaining question, then, is what to ask for as a gift.

However, when I thought about it, it was a problem that I didn’t have to worry about.

‘I can’t lie… The answer has been decided, isn’t it?’

Having reached a conclusion, Arthur raised the corners of his mouth.

“Mayor, can I get some blood?”

“… ?”

“Not up to a handful, but a few drops, would that be okay?”

Angelina blinks.

It was the first time I came here and was embarrassed.

“her···. Are you serious?”

“yes. He told me honestly because he saw through the lies.”

“… That’s amazing. What will my blood be used for?”

“That is a secret.”

Angelina’s gaze narrowed.

She looked at Arthur with a more serious look than when they first met.

“I didn’t know you were such an interesting person.”

“thank you.”

“…But my blood is difficult. It’s the same reason why Confucius wants my blood.”

This time, Arthur burst into exclamation.

Because it was truly precious.

Angelina burst into laughter at that appearance.

“Then shall we do this?”

“… ?”

“Let’s have one more meal. I’m talking about the gift I want to receive at that time.”

Arthur tilted his head.

“Aren’t you busy?”

“He’s busy, but Confucius seems well worth his time.”

Arthur thought for a moment and then nodded.

“all right. Until our next meeting, I will think about the gift I will receive.”

Angelina gets up from her seat.

Then, he winks at Arthur and holds out his hand.

“It’s belated, but welcome to Arcane, Gongja. Please enjoy this city to the fullest.”

* * *

After successfully ending the meeting with Mayor Angelina, Arthur thought.

‘He’s much more unique than I expected.’

I thought he would be very naive because he was a wizard, and he would be snobbish because he was a mayor.

However, when I met her in person, she was more like a merchant than a wizard, and she was very confident in her actions.

‘And the bloodline he had was surprising. hmm···. With eyes that can see through lies, what kind of lineage are they?’

Arthur licked his lips along with the thought.

Looking back, I realized that I had missed a great opportunity.

‘The blood of a person who reached the market of Arcane… This is so precious. However, just because you want blood, you can’t attack the market without hesitation… Should I wait for the next opportunity?’

After the meeting with Mayor Angelina, Arthur returned to his daily life.

There are two weeks left before entering the university.

Thinking about what to do during that time.

‘The best thing is to get a bloodline by accepting a request… In the sense of filling the remaining two positions.’

The Bavarian blood was capable, but not all-round.

There was a limit to the number of bloodlines that could be absorbed and dealt with.

A total of five of them.

In other words, at this point, if you add spirit magic, Frakil’s lineage, and finally Furis’ lineage, there are only two spots that can be filled.

‘Even if I go later and change to a good lineage, it’s better to fill all five, so I have no choice but to make a request.’

Having concluded, Arthur left the mansion.

This time, I went out without wearing a mask, but it was to test the necklace Furis gave me.

Fortunately, the necklace Furis gave me seemed real.

“… Your impression is very blurry.”

“yes?”

“It’s the first time I’ve seen such a blurry face. Could it be the power of an artifact?”

The corners of Arthur’s mouth drew an arc at Willett’s question.

“yes. Masks are uncomfortable in many ways.”

“… It wouldn’t be easy to find something like this, but I managed to get it.”

Arthur shrugged.

Willett didn’t ask any more questions.

Instead, I turned around and headed to the pub located in the basement.

Following him to the tavern, some mercenaries who had not been seen before were sitting at a table and drinking.

At Arthur’s appearance, they put down their drinking glasses and gave meaningful glances.

“Don’t look at me.”

“yes?”

“There are some guys with a strong sense of victory. There are some idiots out there trying to see if your rumors are true.”

Arthur narrowed his eyes.

Meanwhile, Willett, who led Arthur into the office, locked the door and said,

“Thanks to solving two major cases, your name started to spread around the world. There will be good points, but there will also be annoying things like that. But there are more good things, so let’s just say that.”

Arthur nodded at Willett’s advice.

In the meantime, Willett takes out the papers from the drawer.

The moment Arthur is about to accept the paperwork as usual, Willett throws a sudden question.

“What do you want?”

“yes?”

“It’s like when I bought the suit, and it’s the same with this artifact. Money doesn’t seem to be in such a hurry, but isn’t there a purpose for coming here?”

Arthur looks up and looks at Willett.

The thick-boned broker was looking at him with an expressionless expression.

“If you don’t want to talk, you don’t have to. But, if you want something, it’s better to tell me. Maybe I can focus my work on that… It is the role of a broker to provide this level of service.”

At the explanation, Arthur tapped his fingers.

‘I don’t know about Mr. Willett because his expression hasn’t changed. Did I just throw the words to scoop me up? Or is it really for convenience?’

After thinking about it, Arthur concluded that it was both.

Willett was a broker with an uncommon sense of mission, and in proportion to that, he was also very cautious.

In that sense, there was a high probability that the question included both of these meanings.

After thinking this far, Arthur gave a half-length answer.

“hmm···. To be honest, I am not doing this for the money.”

“then?”

“Artifact, or… We are looking for the first elixir that will increase mana.”

Willett stroked his chin.

“It is a difficult target. Not to mention artifacts, elixirs too.”

“yes. That’s why I’m trying to solve the request diligently to increase the value of my name.”

“Certainly, to get something like that, you have to go up to a higher level. what···. once you know Then, how about this request?”

With these words, Willett showed Arthur the new papers.

Arthur, who was reading the contents, tilted his head.

“Is this an escort mission?”

“that’s right. President of Adventure Pharmaceuticals. It’s a request to escort the president of Tartan for a week.’

“uh… Is there any particular reason for showing you this request?”

“Adventure Pharma only handles very special drugs in Arcane. One of them is a healing medicine called a potion.”

Arthur’s eyes go up.

“A drug that can heal any wound… A company that makes them?”

“It’s not any wound. We can only treat the trauma.”

“Ummm… Then, are you giving a potion as a reward for the quest?”

“You can get a potion if you want, but the reward is surprisingly clever.”

Arthur exclaimed.

“If it’s a spirit group…”

“It is not a high-level command. I’d say it’s about intermediate level. But even this much is hard to find. From the higher ranks and above… If you count as nothing.”

Arthur nodded.

A mysterious medicine that increases mana and magical power,

It is difficult to obtain this spiritual altar even if you have money, and from the advanced level, it was only passed down in legends.

In that sense, the intermediate spiritual group could be called the best among the spiritual groups that could be obtained in reality.

‘If only I could eat it in the current state… I should be able to rise to the 2nd circle at once.’

Yonel is sending a command, but there has been no intermediate command yet.

That’s how precious the middle class was.

Finding a good lineage was important, but increasing mana was also important, so Arthur replied that he would accept this request.

Then Willett shook his head.

“Don’t be so quick to decide. As the payoff is high, this request is dangerous.”

“What do you mean dangerous?”

“It looks like the president of Tartan is entangled with a human from the underworld. That’s why I raised the commission’s reward as a decision.”

Arthur’s eyes go up.

‘A human from the underworld? How did you get involved with those people?’

humans from the underworld.

Warlocks, murderers, lunatics, there were many different types and different powers.

The only thing they had in common was that there were no incompetent people called humans from the underworld.

‘That’s why Mr. Willett said it was dangerous. Intertwined with humans from the underworld.’

Thinking this far, Arthur started weighing.

Do you take the risk and get a decision?

Or should I just give up and accept a slightly safer request?

The answer was fixed.

“I will accept it.”

“… Sometimes, when I see you, I can’t understand what you’re thinking.”

“yes?”

“Usually people say they are worried when they make a decision in this way. But you don’t see that concern.”

did you worry?

However, Arthur did not dare to open his mouth to speak.

Willet asked if he didn’t want an answer either, so he pulled out his pipe.

“To go back to work… First of all, this request is not an individual.”

“… sure?”

“As a team. If so, there will be one more actual escort, and there won’t be any bumping into them. Give up if you get stuck on this. As a mission is a mission, you cannot take it personally.”

Arthur pondered and nodded.

It didn’t matter if we worked as a team as long as there were no conflicts.

“… nice Then I will introduce the mercenary to join you.”

With these words, Willett knocked on the table, and at that moment the door of the office, which had been closed, opened.

Arthur looked away and raised his eyes.

‘uh? He’s home… .’

Meanwhile, a woman entered the office.

Ginny Daven greets you.

“My name is Ginny.”

At the introduction, Arthur’s gaze once again turns to her ears.

Ching Ching Ching Chuck!

Her pointy ears, very different from those of human beings, told her that her bloodline was unusual.