Chapter - 4 - Bidding Ruby Adieu

"I'm going to leave the march tonight and I have no plans of backtracking no matter what you say."

Looking at the person in front of him dead in the eye, Joshua repeated himself with more confidence. Meanwhile, Ruby was completely dumbfounded by his demeanour. Normally, she could've brushed it off as a joke coming from a child but she could tell that Joshua in front of her was dead serious.

The Joshua she knew was shy and liked to isolate himself, that's why she felt relieved when she saw him start to open up to other people bit by bit but never in her life could she imagine that he was actually planning on running away. She could clearly see the determination in his eyes which only left her more stupefied.

Finally freed from her paralyzed state, she got up in shock as her eyes never left Joshua even for a second.

"Wha-Wait why? I know that the march wasn't the best home but there's no way I'm letting a 15 year old kid run away without anyone, any money or anything to protect him! Are you crazy?!"

"Calm down for a second."

"What do you mean 'calm down'?! How am I supposed to be calm in this situation? No little one, I'm not letting-"

"Ruby."

Hearing her name from his lips in a cold tone made Ruby flinch.

Waiting for her to settle down for a bit, Joshua walked up to Ruby and helped her to sat down. After glancing at him for a second, Ruby decided to go with his flow. Seeing her calm down, Joshua breathed a sigh of relief in his heart. He carefully chose his next words.

"I know that you are worried about my safety but both you and I know that this place is no different than a tiger's den to me."

"Even so-"

Cutting the worked up Ruby, he continued his words in a gentle tone.

"Ruby, in the absence of parental warmth, you were the only one that was kind to me. I don't know what you think about it but for me, you were nothing short of a mother figure."

"..."

Joshua's words seem to hit her weak-spot as her body relaxed a little bit. Her mood became more sentimental than before.

"However, I want you to understand that I NEED to leave this house for now. As for the second part, I have a way of protecting myself."

"...and how is that?"

"What if I just showed you?"

Feeling her curious gaze on him, Joshua opened up his palm. Just like he did for the past days, he combined the mana around him with the mana from his mana core as he redirected them to his palm. Instead of the sole warmth he felt last time, he felt waves of different feelings clashing against each other. A warmth that gave him comfort, a coolness that kept him calm and a fieriness that made his blood boil. Those three feelings were coming from fire, ice and lightning elements respectively.

Within a few seconds, an ice blue fire covered with yellow sparks of electricity materialized. Unlike normal ones, this fire radiated excess cold.

Proudly, he looked back at Ruby only to see her looking blankly at his palm. Her mouth opened and closed a few times before she could muster a sound.

"Eh?"

With shaky hands, she pointed to the triple-element ball in his hand.

"...You- You can use three elements at the same time?!!"

Even though her voice was already loud enough by itself, her shout was enough to cause an echo in the room. Caught completely off guard, Joshua could feel his ears bleeding as he stood blankly.

'Ah, fuck. I knew that she would be shocked but isn't this too much? Have some mercy for my poor ears please.'

Glaring hatefully at Ruby who was lost in her dreamland for a second, he let out a long sigh. There was no way he could say such a thing to her face.

"So what do you think? If this isn't enough I can show you some other tricks."

"Oh my god, indeed! It's only proper for you to attend to a proper academy if you have such talent!"

Academy?

What academy?

You mean the one for education?

He had already went through that hell called 'school' in his past life and she wanted him to repeat that?

Absolutely not. Not even a chance.

Unlike his inner thoughts, he simply smiled at Ruby who was already on cloud nine like that was his plan all along.

"So, should I take that as you're okay with it?"

"Nope."

"Why not?"

Even though she refused, Joshua could see that Ruby was looking at the situation more lukewarm than before. As long as he pushed a bit more, he could convince her easily.

"I won't deny that you have a talent for magic but outside world isn't as kind as you think. If you truly want to convince me, you need to find a guardian."

Under Ruby's firm gaze, Joshua had no choice but to shake his head.

He knew very well that it was just Ruby being overprotective right now. If it was before he reincarnated then sure. Anyone with morals would be against a kid making life decisions for himself but this world and the old one weren't the same. No matter which country you went to, other than a selected few, the age of majority is 16.

Adding to the fact that his birthday was only 6 weeks later, he was just around the corner to come of age.

"Even without one, I can just stay at a dorm."

"-And since when did you have so much money? I would do my best to support you but considering that it would only be right for you to go to an exceptional academy, even my life's savings aren't worth as much."

"Leave that to me."

Standing up from his seat, he glanced at Ruby who folded her arms for some reason before walking towards to the wall on his right. Kneeling over the the third light bulb on the left side, he searched the floor with his hands until he felt a thin string. He grabbed it with his small hands and pulled it to himself.

By that point, Ruby has already given up on making sense of Joshua's actions as she watched his back blankly.

--𝘊𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘬𝘬..

With a creaking sound, a part of the wall opened up like a cupboard, revealing a hidden place at the size of a suitcase. The only thing in that narrow space was a black bag devoid of any decorations.

Joshua took the bag out without much difficulty and returned to his seat. Placing it in front of Ruby, he beckoned her to open it. Glancing at the bag for a second, Ruby raised one of his brows. She decided to open it without much resistance. After all the things she heard and saw today, she thought nothing else could surprise her anyways.

Well, she was proven wrong.

Looking at the contents of the bag she was holding, her hands shook like crazy before dropping it down. The moment the bag touched the floor, colourful jewels scattered all around the room.

"What!"

When Ruby looked back at Joshua, she could see a sinister smile on his face.

"Well, it would be a pity to leave my dear home like fugitive. Don't you think so?"

"W-Where did you take them fro-- Wait. Don't tell me..?"

As she came to a realization, Joshua's smile deepened. Clapping his hands with an over exaggerated motion, he nodded his head.

"Yup. They are all from the Second Concubine's vault."

If someone were to ask who Joshua hated most in the march, the answer would be The Second Concubine, Medea.

Not only was she half of the reason for what he went through till now, he knew very well that a part of his mother's death was on her.

"You... you should return these immediately!"

"And announce to them that I was the one who stole those jewels? I have already stolen them Ruby."

"E-eh... then..."

Unlike Ruby who was panicking and shaking like a leaf, Joshua was quite carefree as he waved his right hand like it wasn't a big deal.

"I'm going to leave today anyways Ruby. It's unfortunate that I couldn't break in the main vault but I still managed to gain quite a lot."

"...You. You know what? I don't know anymore."

After going through this roller coaster of emotions called 'Joshua'. She was completely exhausted. Getting up from her seat, she thought the best course of action she could take was to pick up those jewels from someone entered.

...It was only a slight chance but she of them knew very well that the Second Concubine assigned a maid with checking Joshua's room once a week. Since it was the day of the first-born in the family's birthday, the chances of someone checking in should be lower but...

That was only Ruby's wish.

Joshua knew that there was no way The Second Concubine would waste such a good opportunity to accuse him of something.

Since he was going to take the blame for something he didn't do anyways, why not go all the way? In the worst situation, he would be chased by a few knights.

It's not like he was afraid of being at odds, that was how it always was anyways.

--And it would be much easier for him to get information out of the knights about the march. That way, he could prepare himself more thoroughly for his next visit.

While putting the jewels back in the bag, Ruby noticed that the bag had more space than what he looked like on outside. Other than jewels, there were more things in the bag such as herbs, potions, gold coins, a pouch and a few books.

"Haa... it seems like there isn't a need for me to worry much since you are quite through. Just contact me from time to time, alright?"

"Uhm."

Joshua, who was also picking up the jewels put them inside the bag with Ruby's help. He replied to her curtly.

While placing the bag back on the table, Ruby suddenly had a question.

"But what if they use drones or such to chase you? You can deactive them with your lightning but that's only if you notice it. What are you going to do if they come to you when you are sleeping?"

By now, Ruby has stopped treating Joshua as a child and talked to him like someone her age.

"I've also thought about that. I'm planning on buying an item that will help me with that."

"Hmm..."

Considering the money he had with him, Ruby didn't doubt his words. Especially since technology-related items weren't that rare in the first place, it was just the price that prevented many people from buying them.

However, Joshua wasn't thinking about the same thing as Ruby. He knew that those devices could cover him up for some time but the problem was their functions were too limited. Not adding the fact that if the Marquis really wanted to, he could easily defeat a 15 year old child with no income. He didn't want to have a battle of wealth at all.

And rather than 'buying' it, he had already bought it. It was an item from the system.

====================

◌〔The Linker <low-rank>〕◌ <700 coins>

It allows one to link their senses with an inanimate object for a limited time.

[If the user and the object has a sense of compatibility, additional effects will be given.]

[(0/100)]

====================

Even without anyone chasing him, this item was the reason why he bothered with [Acat's Needle] in the first place. He was planning on using this item on the needles he had with him to both spy and eliminate others without a worry of him being discovered. Since he had already awakened [Acat's Needle] with his blood, there was no room for doubt that he was compatible with it, making it a lot easier for him.

With that being said, the 'additional effects' part was what he relied on most.

Combining his compatibility with the effects of the item, he now had 78 needles that could protect him even in his sleep unless he was too far away from them. In that case, even though [The Linker]'s effects would last no matter where he was -since it combined the item with his soul-, he couldn't send mana to the needles which would make them no different than a normal needle other than [Acat's Needle].

"But what are these books for?"

Bringing Joshua out of his thoughts was Ruby's voice as she was looking at the two books in the bag. One of them had a black cover like the book he found a few hours ago but this one had a title written with purple letters.

"They are for me to study, no matter how much talent one has, they can't reach anywhere unless they don't make use of it, right?"

"Ohh... a clever boy, you are."

Without much thought, Ruby patted Joshua's head as her eyes scanning over the second book. So she couldn't see Joshua's eyebrow twitching.

Sighing ruefully, he looked at the book in Ruby's hands, which somehow improved his mood.

To tell the truth, even though he was quite interested about the black book, there was a special reason that made him like this book more.

Yesterday, right before entering The Second Concubine's room when she was downstairs for dinner, he heard three maids talk about a 'special gift for the second son'.

Other than the white box it was in, there wasn't much they knew about it but just hearing those words left Joshua excited. Thankfully, the white box was left on her bed which made it easier to spot. Inside the box was a book at the of an encyclopedia.

'So it was indeed a skill book!'

Joshua was delighted when he saw that it was a book since he couldn't find much in the library. Well, it was actually quite normal since most people kept their skill books in their library and not in a public space. Just finding a few was unexpected.

Looking back at the book, he noticed that it had a abyss-coloured cover with gold letters engraved on it.

<Mana Eyes>

Joshua was flabbergasted.

Considering that her son was a mage, it was indeed one of the best skill books she could ever buy.

Even though Joshua started to feel bad for stealing such a present from the second son who had done nothing wrong to him and was the only proper living being in this household, his earnings exceeded his morale and took the book after hesitating slightly.

Thankfully, the book was in another Empire's language so she had no idea what kind of treasure she was holding.

"If you say so."

Without much thought, she put the book back in the bag and handed it over to Joshua.

"There you go."

"Thank you."

Taking it with care unlike a certain person who just dropped the bag dead on the ground, he put the bag back in the section in the wall and closed it.

"So, you are okay with it now, right?"

"Alright, I'm convinced. However, as I said, you need to give me a call at least twice a week."

"Sure thing."

Finally convincing Ruby after a three hour talk, Joshua breathed a sigh of relief. He felt like a weight was taken off his shoulders.

Just as he was about to open his mouth, He felt his body getting pulled.

"-Huh?"

"Come here."

Before he could even make sense of the situation, he found himself buried in Ruby's embrace as her hands caressed his back.

"-Please be careful..."

Replacing the loud and energetic tone she always used was a depressing tone. With her cracking in the middle, it sounded like she was just about to cry.

"I have already lost your mother when I left her side for a second, I don't want the same to happen to you."

"Uhm."

Listening to her melancholic voice, Joshua slowly patted her back. It looked a bit funny from outside view as he was only at the height of her shoulders but he tried to keep his cool and continued patting.

He knew very well about Joshua's mother, Daphne's, death.

"-Uh. I guess I bugged you a lot today, huh? You know, I was really happy when you told me you saw me as your foster mother."

As Ruby kept going about this and that, she let go of him eventually.

"Well, well! Since you told me so, I'll trust that you'll give me a call, don't you forget that."

"I won't."

After a few more pleasantries and such, they bid their farewells to each other.

Watching Ruby's departing back for a bit, Joshua closed the door.

"Now... what's the time?"

He reached for the telephone on his desk and turned it on.

[6th October 2203 // 15:57] [PS: 3:57 pm]

He had exactly 5 hours and 3 minutes left till the party.

Fortunately, he was already finished with looting the items around the mansion apart from one.

"Huu... let's go and get the last item, shall we?"

With that, his final destination before the party was set.

It was none other than his mother, Daphne's grave.