#19 Aftermath

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A few kilometers away from where the explosion took place...

'I was able to take the young lord away from that place without being attacked by any danger beasts but...How can he still have his sword in his hand even though he is unconscious?' Ichika thought when she finally noticed this odd thing.'

Ichika gently put Akashi's body on the ground and took off his upper clothes to check on his wounds.

"W-what?!" Ichika exclaimed when she noticed Akashi's previously broken ribs were no longer broken.

She was too shocked to do anything more and simply observed and guarded Akashi. After a while, she noticed that even his broken left arm was slowly healing.

'What the hell is that? How is young lord able to recover so fast?!' Ichika thought while she was observing the healing process with a wide-open shaking eyes.

'Anyway, I have to quickly dress him up before he wakes up!... That was a really big explosion, there weren't even the remainings of the Danger beast...I can't imagine where will young lord stand after a few years later.' Ichika thought while dressing up Akashi and occasionally looking behind her towards the direction where she came from.

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I slowly opened my eyes and found myself lying on the ground, staring at the bright blue sky.

...There is something soft supporting my head, what is it?

I thought and moved my head to have a better look.

"Oh?! Young lord, you are finally awake! I was really worried the entire time...I didn't know what to do but when I saw your regenerative ability, I just let you rest." Ichika immediately put her face close to me to explain everything.

Although I didn't see her expression through her mask, it was still evident from her violet eyes that she was still panicking.

...Is she letting me rest my head on her lap? Anyway, her eyes are pretty nice when compared to the clear blue sky.

"Thanks for taking care of me while I was unconscious, I will definitely remember this and repay you one day. By the way, you have pretty radiant violet eyes, it makes me feel of the space with a lot of stars, hehe" I said and tried to get up from her lap.

"No! W-wait, young lord! You have yet to recover! ...Wait, what did you just say?" She quickly pushed me back on her lap with worried eyes but then finally registered what I have said to her and she asked with wide-open eyes.

"...That I will repay you?" I asked with a confused expression.

"N-no after that..." She said with a nervous voice.

"? That you have fascinating eyes?" I asked with a confused expression because it was the last thing I have said to her and it doesn't sound like anything to be surprised about. I simply complimented her eyes which are shining with full of life.

"Yes! D-do you really mean it?!" She asked me and brought her face even closer to me, staring intensively into my eyes.

"...Yes? I don't know what you are thinking but there is no need to be surprised or anything...I just complimented your eyes, nothing more or less." I said with a helpless expression.

"Y-yes, I am sorry for my actions!" She said with an embarrassed voice and moved her head away.

---

'No one has ever said this to me...People always just stared at my body and overly big breasts for my age...No one has ever complimented such a little part of me which should be uninteresting when compared to everything else. *sigh* I am starting to slightly regret that I wasn't born a decade later...but then again, I might not have the opportunity to meet the young lord and protect him.' Ichika thought and released a genuine smile that was slightly sad under her mask.

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[Health: 103/130]

[Energy: 100/255]

<Stats>

Strength: 7 (8)

Agility: 9 (14)

Intelligence: 10 (16)

Constitution: 7 (10)

Charisma: 6 (9)

My stats are much better than compared to when I left the city. With this agility and strength, I should be able to kill weaker Danger beast even without a weapon. But thankfully I have at least half of my sword which can be used as a dagger. It was also so nicely broken that I can still use it for piercing attacks.

"I have rested enough, let's go slowly back to the Capital, hopefully, we will meet a few more Danger beasts because we have yet to get any materials to sell." I got up and this time, I didn't let her push me back down on her lap.

"A-are you sure you want to hunt more Danger beast after what had just happened, young lord?" Ichika also got up and asked with a worried voice.

The next time we go outside, I have to give her a better weapon.

"Don't worry...I feel like a luck is on our side after that previous battle." I said with a smile beaming full of confidence.

What I have just said is the truth, I really feel like there won't be any bigger Danger beasts.

I have always trusted my instincts, and whenever I felt like right now...I was always lucky for a specific period of time.

"...Alright, I will follow the young lord no matter what or where." Ichika said with a cheerful voice and patted her butt off the dirt and jumped behind me, ready to follow me anytime.

...

On our way back to the Capital we killed a few Danger beasts but most of them already run away due to the explosion.

[Class: Assassin (Lv. 4; +5 Agi, +3 Int, +1 Str) 50/80 XP]

I didn't get any BXP because we skinned them to sell their furs and potentially some of their meat. Ichika was educated enough to tell me which parts are quite valuable and which are worthless so we efficiently took only things that had some value.

...I guess my broken arm will fully heal only after a full night of rest. But my title is still really overpowered, even when I was unconscious it understood it as if I was resting. But I also discovered that by using [Absolute Dominance] will also negate my passive buff from my title for some time.

Also, it can't be used on weaker or similarly strong enemies. I already lost the feeling named fear, at least for my life but still...acting arrogant in front of a stronger enemy is really mentally tiring, much more than I thought.

[Absolute Dominance] is more of a trump card right now and I have to use it only when in real danger. But pretty broken skill if you ask me even if one must know how to truly use it efficiently. Not to mention that I got it from the 2nd level of my Special Class. At least it shows that Special Class is really special and not just for show.

I thought as we were slowly nearing the Capital's entrance.

At this hour, the entrance was filled with a lot of people and most of them were merchants. We had to wait in a pretty big line before we were to be inspected.

"Hm? Hey, how about you forget about that kid and have some fun with me?" Asked most likely the captain of the squad guarding the gate when he noticed Ichika's body.

Even though she had a cloak on, it was still visible that she was a woman and a pretty good developed one.

I completely ignored him and once we were done with inspection of our items, I went forward to pass through a gate.

"No, thank you." Ichika said with a cold tone and followed right after me.

"Hey, what's with the tone, bitch?!" He said and stopped Ichika by putting his hand on her shoulder.

When this happened I stopped walking and couldn't help but think: Such a cliché but I guess these guys can't even find a wife or maybe their wives are too ugly to satisfy them.

Before Ichika could cause a scene I decided to resolve it myself.

"Hey, you scumbag" I called out to him even without turning around.

"Huh? Did that kid just tell something rude to me? Haha" The guy turned at his colleagues who already had uneasy expressions on their faces and asked them with a ridiculing laugh.

"Haven't your parents taught you that you can't touch lady without her permission?!" I snapped my head at him, revealing a part of my hooded face, mainly my red eyes glowing full of hostility and killing intent.

"Eek!" *Thud* After he saw my eyes, he took a few steps back but he lost his balance and fallen on his ass.

"Let's go!" I disinterestedly looked at him and then waved my hand at Ichika to follow me.

...

Since I got back into the city, I changed my Class to [Young noble].

[Charisma: 6 (11)]

"*sigh* Young lord, thank you for your help, I don't know if I would be able to keep myself from cutting his hand off if you haven't intervened." Ichika thanked me with a grateful tone.

"Small thing. There is no need to cause a scene, even though we wouldn't be in any trouble for killing one idiot, it would definitely spread rumors and I don't think my father would be delighted to hear that we went out of the city." I told her with a stoic expression.

Ichika just nodded with a serious expression because she would be the one who would be punished.

WE went to the general store to sell the materials but the woman sent us away and told us that we have to sell these to Hunter's guild. Merchants can't buy Danger beasts' materials from hunters but they must buy it through the Hunter's guild

When we got to Hunter's guild that was located in the middle of the Capital, we immediately made our way towards the reception.

"Hello, we want to sell the materials from Danger beasts" I said to the closest woman to us standing behind the counter.

"Good afternoon...sir, do you already have a guild's license?" She was caught off guard when she saw my small hooded figure but she still quickly asked us with a smile.

"No, don't tell me we need to have a stupid license just to kill Danger beasts." I said with an annoyed tone.

"No, no, no...You don't need any license for killing them but if you don't have a license your materials will be bought by us for a cheaper price than usual. I recommend you to get one before selling your materials" She immediately waved her hands to deny that fact and explained with a bright smile.

"I see...I don't have time for this, can you look at this stuff and tell us how much you are willing to pay?" I asked and threw 2 full bags on the counter.

"Y-yes, wait a moment, please!" She took them and dagged them to the room behind the counter.

...

"We are willing to pay 4 golds and 53 silvers for your materials." She returned after a minute and informed us with a smile.

"Make it 5 golds and we have a deal" I said with a decisive tone.

"This...wait a moment, please!" She ran off to the same room.

She came back after a few seconds with 5 golds in her hand.

"Thanks, have a nice day!" I said and turned around to leave.

"Same to you two!" She shouted at us with a bright smile.

Ichika just nodded at her and followed after me without saying anything.

...

"Hey, old man, how much does this cost?" I came to the same stall where I have seen the earrings today and asked the man, still with my hood on.

"Hm? I am sorry young man but this is already reserved by someone." The man said with a forced smile and I couldn't help but form a smirk.

I left and when I took my hood off in the dark alley I came back to the same stall.

"Oh? Young lord, are you here for the earrings?" The man immediately noticed me and asked me with a smile.

"Yes but I don't want to spend 10 golds on them. Won't you make it 5 golds?" I asked and he immediately had a shocked expression but before he could say anything I continued talking.

"You see...these earrings are perfectly made but they have a silver color. As you know, they are pretty expensive so they won't attract commoner's attention but even nobles won't really be attracted to them. Most of the nobles like golden color or colorful gems like colors. I wonder how long you are trying to sell them..." I said with a small innocent smile.

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'This kid!!! How can he be so smart?!!' The man almost peed himself when he saw Akashi's innocent smile combined with his slyness.

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"I...It's the truth that I bought them without knowing that despite their nice craftsmanship, they will be useless." He said as regret filled his face.

"Then take 5 golds, that should cover the original price at least by a bit. Better than nothing and you can treat it as a lesson." I said and extended my arm with 5 golds in my hand.

"...*sigh* Alright, who am I to refuse the young lord's request, hehe." He said with a small laugh and we exchanged items.

...Now I have a perfect gift for my mother. It will definitely suit her, together with her silver hair.

I thought while observing the earrings more closely while Ichika was peeking from behind my shoulder at them with a curious look in her eyes.

-----END-----

[Name: Akashi Phoenix

Title: King of Sloth

Class: Young Noble (Lv. 2; +2 Cha) 0/20 XP

Special Class: Fire Monarch (Lv. 3; +3 Cha, +3 Int, +3 Const) 30/40 BXP

Health: 68/130

Energy: 0/225

<Stats>

Strength: 7

Agility: 9

Intelligence: 10 (13)

Constitution: 7 (10)

Charisma: 6 (11)

Free Stat points: 11

Classes: , Assassin (Lv. 4; +5 Agi, +3 Int, +1 Str) 50/80 XP

Special Classes:

[Active Skill: Absolute Dominance - When facing the formidable foe, show no fear, instead show your arrogance. + 25% to every stat, fire intensity, and explosiveness]