The Obsessive Regressor of The Academy

26. Above the Flowers of Lightning (Revised 02/14)

Within the Luminous district, there were several locations where carriages gathered. They were all managed by large merchant guilds, known far and wide for taking you anywhere on the continent for a price. But when he inquired about Weiheim, the response was always the same.

“We don’t handle carriages to Weiheim.”

“……”

“It’s an eternity just getting there, the road is treacherous. And the clientele… they’re all disagreeable types. No matter how much money you offer, I don’t want to go.”

“……Are you saying all this to my face?”

“……Are you a mage?”

The situation being what it was, he couldn’t return to Weiheim right away. Inevitably, he would have to spend the night here and find a way to travel somehow the next day. It was a nuisance, but there was no other option.

Fortunately, he had a bit of money to spare. Thanks to Ena giving him quite a lot. He had tried to refuse, thinking there wouldn’t be much need for it, but he would have been in real trouble if he had. He’d had enough experience with sleeping rough in his childhood, thank you very much.

‘I should secure a room first, then look around.’

Asel thought this as he surveyed the street.

Everywhere he looked, people swarmed. Nobles with their retinues, merchants, commoners, alchemists, arcane engineers, and those waiting for test-takers. A motley crowd filled the streets. Just standing there felt like being buried in the throng, suffocating.

It was a phenomenon caused by the academy’s vacation season overlapping with the entrance exam season. The area was already densely populated, and with the influx of transient people, the crowd grew as thick as insects. Every shop he looked at was packed to the brim.

He figured the inns would be no different. Probably, to find a decent room, he’d have to pay a premium or settle for some truly wretched place. The normal rooms were likely all gone ages ago. The entrance exam ended today, so rooms would become available tomorrow, but he still had to get through today.

“What a bother.”

Asel muttered to himself as he bought some street food.

Finding a place to stay with available rooms in a city he didn’t know. It would be easier to ask a local, but finding a local in this city right now was like finding a needle in a desert. If there was a building related to the Witch’s Coven, that would be helpful, but sadly, the Witch’s Coven was a closed organization and didn’t have other branches.

In the end, he had to rely on his own two feet. Asel let out a long sigh and started walking.

The fact that there were many sights to see on the street was at least a small consolation. Perhaps because they were catering to academy students, the street food sold at cheap prices was quite palatable, and the items sold in the artifact shops and scroll shops were also quite interesting. Among them, the scroll shops strongly piqued his interest.

But securing a place to stay came first, so Asel bypassed the shops for now and entered a moderately sized inn. As soon as the clerk sitting at the counter saw him, he immediately shouted.

“We only have one room left. Two gold coins for a night’s stay.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

A curse popped out of his mouth involuntarily at the insane price. Two gold coins for a night’s stay? There’s being crazy, and then there’s *this.* Asel turned around without looking back and left the inn.

But even after checking other inns, they were all similar or more expensive. Some places, operating more like hotels, were brazen enough to charge five gold coins for a night. They must have sold their conscience to a passing dog. No matter how much money he had, Assel had no intention of spending the majority of his funds on mere lodging.

So, he ended up in the city’s outskirts. Not quite the slum he’d known, but still a back alley with thick, heavy air. Assel took a deep breath and sighed.

Just because a city hosted an academy didn’t mean it was free of slums. In fact, with so many people passing through, beggars flocked in from all corners. It was the same principle as tourist towns or countries being rife with them. Criminals might be scarcer, but it was still a cesspool.

A familiar place for Assel, in any case. He never imagined he’d wind up in a place like this again, but all he needed was a place to sleep. Assel quickly surveyed his surroundings and entered the building that seemed to be in the best condition.

The inside was surprisingly decent, similar to the exterior. Several young ladies who looked like lesser nobles caught his eye. Their expressions weren’t pleasant, but it seemed they were forced to seek shelter here out of necessity.

Well, even sleeping in a place like this was better than sleeping on the street.

Assel ignored the young lady’s sideways glance and approached the clerk. A gaunt, thin man looked at him and spoke.

“Are you a noble?”

“I am a mage.”

“Just as valuable, then.”

He wore a friendly smile and popped the fruit he was holding into his mouth, chewing.

“We don’t have many rooms left, but how about I give you the best one?”

“How much for a night?”

“One silver coin.”

Expensive for a slum, but definitely cheap considering the city’s prices. Assel nodded and took out a silver coin from his pouch, handing it over.

“Thank you. The room is at the very end of the second floor.”

The clerk said, handing him a key. Assel bowed his head slightly and, key in hand, headed toward his assigned room.

*Click.*

He inserted the key into the lock and turned it, opening the door. Assel took off the robe he was wearing, examining the room.

Not bad, actually. No bugs, and no particular smell. The only furniture was a bed and a desk, but since he was only staying here for one night, it didn’t bother him much. This was acceptable. Assel tossed his discarded robe onto the bed and threw open the window with the closed curtains.

Even the slums of Luminus got decent sunlight. Maybe even the slums were in good shape in a thriving city. Assel chuckled to himself and gathered his backpack and money, leaving the room.

‘Now that I’ve found a place to sleep, should I wander around a bit?’

There was still plenty of time before nightfall. He might find a way to get to Wiheim while exploring the city. He also wanted to visit the scroll shop he had seen earlier.

‘Scrolls are disposable, but still, if I take apart the incantations inside, they’ll help me research other spells.’

For him, with so much research still left to do, scrolls were a decent option. Buying the parchment needed to make scrolls and adjusting the incantations himself might not be a bad path to take.

As he thought this and left the building, he noticed a strange scent wafting through the alley.

A sweet, almost addictive scent. Assel recognized it and scrunched up his face.

“…Drugs.”

He’d never bought or used drugs, but ironically, Assel was more of an expert on them than most addicts. Thanks to that, he immediately recognized the drug the scent was coming from.

Originally an herb, but if processed differently, it could enhance mana-related abilities as well as physical capabilities: Quirgalsh. It was incredibly difficult to obtain; Assel had only delivered it a few times. The price was as expensive as a decent mansion.

“Why’s that stuff here?”

Drugs in a city hosting an academy. So it wasn’t the crime-free zone he’d imagined.

He clicked his tongue and turned to walk away from the pungent aroma. Just then, someone grabbed his shoulder.

“Where d’you think you’re going?”

The man was a giant. Judging by the sword at his hip, he was likely a swordsman. And the druggy stench clinging to him suggested he was with the smokers back there. Asel’s brow furrowed; he shrugged the hand off.

“What’s the meaning of this?”

“Nah, didn’t you just see what was going on over there? You looked like you knew what they were up to.”

“So what if I did?”

“Woah, woah. Why so hostile?”

The man smirked, his hand drifting to the hilt of his sword.

“Making me want to kill you.”

“…Haaah.”

A sigh escaped him involuntarily. Could he really be running into this kind of scum the moment he stepped into the back alleys? It was so reminiscent of the old days; he could just die of joy.

“Why the sigh-“

Not bothering to listen further, Asel pulled forth mana of an electric nature and seared the man’s chin. The shock was enough to send him collapsing forward. Fluids poured from his mouth and eyes in a grotesque fountain, his muscles spasming in a macabre dance before finally stilling.

Asel stared down at the chilling corpse, his eyes cold. A commotion erupted from the alleyway reeking of drugs.

“What’s all that noise?”

“That’s Lyle’s voice. Something must’ve happened.”

The men, mid-conversation, peered over the edge of the alley. Their gazes shifted from Lyle’s prone form to Asel, their expressions hardening as they drew their weapons.

“You little shit. What did you do to him?”

“Always some kind of trouble.”

Asel ignored the man’s growls. Instead, he sighed, a sound of weary familiarity. The gesture only twisted the men’s faces further.

It was all the same to him. Asel casually disregarded their loud protests, and began preparing his spell, unhurried.

*

The fight ended anticlimactically.

They’d taken mana-infused drugs, so he’d assumed they’d possess some semblance of combat ability. But they were helpless, taken down with a single spell. Their lower halves burned with unbearable pain, knocking them out cold. Asel dusted off the embers clinging to his clothes and rifled through the unconscious men’s pockets.

He may have left the slums long ago, but he hadn’t forgotten the survival tactics of those days. He pocketed anything of value and then departed from the slums. Erasing all traces of magic, he didn’t have to worry about any potential repercussions.

“Hmm.”

Asel found a suitable clearing to sit in, examining his spoils one by one. The self-defense dagger would fetch a decent price at the smithy, and the trinkets could be pawned off to a merchant guild for whatever they offered. The silver coins, he’d simply keep.

That left a single black gem. Asel held the gem in his hand, slowly channeling mana into it.

“Oh.”

The gemstone’s brilliance amplified in direct proportion to the influx of mana. A mineral with high mana conductivity, then. Seemingly, he’d kept it simply because it looked expensive, oblivious to its true worth. A gemstone with such potent mana conductivity could be invaluable for jewel enchantments or inscriptions. And its market value was substantial.

A worthwhile find, in its own right. With a small, pleased smile, Asel gathered the mana within the stone, then tucked it away into his coat.

‘I’ve been meaning to delve into inscriptions anyway. This saves me the cost of buying the gem, at least.’

His mood lifted considerably. Asel flicked a silver coin between his fingers as he strolled through the Academy grounds. He detoured by the blacksmith’s, bartering a dagger for two silver coins, and pawned off a piece of trinket jewelry to a merchant for five. Soon, his purse felt surprisingly full.

No need to waste any more time elsewhere.

Asel, a hint of a smile playing on his lips, his pouch now pleasingly plump, headed for the scroll shop.