# Chapter 27
—
The next day.
Arthur boarded the limousine under the guidance of Evan, who had come to greet him.
“The Mayor is already waiting at *Natalie Restaurant*.”
With those words, Evan asked in a kind tone if there had been anything inconvenient during his stay so far.
“No. I’m satisfied with everything. Especially since the area around the house is so quiet, I really like it.”
Evan nodded.
At that moment, the limousine came to a stop.
As Arthur stepped out of the car, a small exclamation escaped him.
The limousine had stopped in what could be called the very heart of Arcane, the A-1 district.
And within that, it was even the A-1(2) sub-district—a place only the chosen few could enter.
Arthur’s curious gaze swept over the privileged street he hadn’t even been able to visit in his previous life.
Evan gestured politely after stepping out.
“This way, Young Lord. Please follow me.”
Arthur quickly gathered his thoughts and followed after him.
With steps that showed familiarity, Evan entered a building that could be considered the very symbol of Arcane.
“Natalie Restaurant is a Michelin top-rated establishment. I’m sure it will be more than enough to delight your palate.”
With that brief introduction, Evan withdrew.
And as the view unfolded before him, Arthur let out another exclamation.
A splendid chandelier, luxurious materials, and in one corner, an orchestra weaving beautiful melodies.
Judging by appearance alone, this was by far the finest restaurant Arthur had ever seen.
Yet, seated in this marvelous establishment was only a single woman with straight, flowing hair.
‘That must be Mayor Angelina.’
A tight-fitting suit.
A boldly loosened neckline.
A striking beauty that immediately drew the eye.
Her appearance was far removed from the image of a mayor Arthur had expected.
At that moment, Angelina, too, noticed Arthur’s arrival and turned her head.
“Welcome, Young Lord. I’ve been waiting.”
Arthur bowed his head in greeting.
Instead of answering, Angelina snapped her fingers.
At once, the orchestra’s music shifted—to a more lively tune than before.
Meanwhile, chefs approached cautiously with a question.
“We have Course C and Course A. Which would you prefer?”
“I’ll have Course A. And you, Young Lord?”
“I’ll have the same as the Mayor.”
The chefs bowed and withdrew.
At the same time, Angelina turned her gaze back and smiled brightly.
It was a beautiful smile.
“I hope I’m not taking too much of your time, Young Lord.”
“Not at all. I should be the one thanking you for agreeing to meet me like this.”
Arthur lowered his head once more.
Angelina chuckled softly.
“Just as I heard—you’re a very polite one.”
“…Excuse me?”
“Evan praised you quite a bit. He said you were different in many ways from the other noble heirs. I found it strange, coming from such a reserved boy, but now that I’ve met you, I understand.”
Arthur scratched his head.
‘Hm… I’m not particularly close with Evan, so why would he say that about me?’
He was curious but decided to let it go.
This wasn’t the time to dwell on it.
Meanwhile, the chef brought out the first dish.
“A crab soup to whet the appetite.”
From there, the dishes came at measured intervals, and Angelina posed various questions.
Why had he come to Arcane?
What did he intend to do once he entered the university?
Seemingly trivial questions, yet sharp and probing at the core.
And some were questions Arthur had never thought about before, making him stroke his chin.
‘The biggest reason I came to Arcane is the university, but… it’s also because of bloodlines.’
Of course, he couldn’t say that outright.
The person before him was not only the mayor of Arcane but also a very famous mage.
‘I’ve heard she’s even more skilled than the Imperial Army’s mages.’
Against someone like that, he couldn’t afford to give a sloppy answer.
So Arthur made sure to respond with extra caution, and thankfully, Angelina seemed to greatly enjoy his replies—
—at least until the main course was about to be served.
“You’ve been lying, haven’t you?”
“…What?”
“It’s astonishing. To lie from beginning to end like that.”
Arthur blinked.
“Uh… how did you know?”
“I have rather unique eyes, you see.”
Angelina tapped her eyes lightly.
In that moment, faint starlight twinkled within her pupils.
‘Wait—Mayor Angelina has a bloodline ability?’
Arthur scratched his head, realizing his mistake.
Watching him, Angelina asked another question.
“But you don’t deny it. Most people would claim it wasn’t a lie when I say this.”
“I heard that you were an extraordinary mage. If someone like you makes such a firm statement, I figured you must have a reason.”
Angelina burst into bright laughter.
“That’s the first truthful answer you’ve given.”
“Thank you.”
“…Though it wasn’t exactly a compliment.”
She trailed off, then nodded.
“Well, fine. Lies or not, this is our first meeting. No need for me to know all the details. So then—how about this?”
A sly curve formed at the corner of her lips.
“I’ll give you a gift. Within reason, of course.”
“…A gift?”
“Yes. A gift to win your favor.”
Arthur tilted his head, and Angelina sipped her tea as she explained.
“The reason I make time to meet noble heirs is to form connections. The gold coins they spend when they come to this city—those are one of the pillars that sustain Arcane’s economy.”
“Oh…”
“In that sense, you more than qualify. The sole heir of one of the Empire’s greatest houses. And here is the mayor of Arcane, offering a gift to such an heir to earn favor. Do I need to explain further?”
Arthur stroked his chin.
It seemed this meeting was far more political than he’d expected.
‘Hmm… still, it’s not a bad thing. Forming ties with the mayor of Arcane is valuable in itself.’
Which left one problem—what to ask for as a gift.
But then Arthur realized there was no need to deliberate.
‘Since I can’t lie… the answer’s already decided.’
With that conclusion, Arthur’s lips curved upward.
“Could I have some of your blood, Mayor?”
“…What?”
“Not a handful, just a few drops will do. Would that be possible?”
Angelina blinked.
For the first time since this meeting began, she looked genuinely flustered.
“…You’re serious?”
“Yes. Since you can see through lies, I spoke honestly.”
“…Remarkable. And what would you use my blood for?”
“That’s a secret.”
Angelina’s gaze narrowed.
She studied Arthur with a far more serious look than before.
“I didn’t expect you to be this intriguing.”
“Thank you.”
“…But I cannot give you my blood. For the same reason you cannot tell me why you want it.”
This time, it was Arthur who let out a sigh of disappointment.
It was genuine.
Seeing that, Angelina laughed.
“Then how about this?”
“…What do you mean?”
“We’ll have another meal together. At that time, tell me what gift you’d like.”
Arthur tilted his head.
“Aren’t you busy?”
“I am. But you seem worth spending my time on, Young Lord.”
After a brief thought, Arthur nodded.
“Very well. By our next meeting, I’ll decide what gift I’d like.”
Angelina rose from her seat, winked at Arthur, and extended her hand.
“A belated welcome, Young Lord, to Arcane. Please enjoy this city to your heart’s content.”
—
—
Arthur, having safely concluded his meeting with Mayor Angelina, thought to himself:
‘She’s far more unusual than I expected.’
He had assumed she would be rigid because she was a mage, and worldly because she was a mayor.
Yet in person, she was closer to a merchant than a mage—overflowing with confidence in her own path.
‘And her bloodline was unexpected too. Eyes that can discern lies… what kind of bloodline could that be?’
Smacking his lips, Arthur felt once again that he had missed a precious opportunity.
‘The blood of someone who became the mayor of Arcane… that’s truly rare. But I can’t just attack her outright to get it… I’ll have to wait for another chance.’
Leaving behind his encounter with the mayor, Arthur returned to his daily life.
There were two weeks left before he entered the university.
He pondered what to do during that time.
‘The best would be to take on commissions to acquire bloodlines… especially to fill the two remaining slots.’
The Bayern bloodline was powerful, but it was not omnipotent.
There was a limit to how many bloodlines he could absorb and handle.
That limit was five.
Meaning, with Spirit Arts, the Frakil bloodline, and now Furis’s bloodline, there were only two more slots left to fill.
‘Even if I plan to replace them with stronger bloodlines later, I should fill all five for now. Which means I’ll have to take on commissions.’
With that decision, Arthur left his residence.
This time, he didn’t wear a mask—he wanted to test the necklace Furis had given him.
Fortunately, it seemed genuine.
“…Your features are quite blurry.”
“Excuse me?”
“This is the first time I’ve seen someone with such indistinct features. Is that the power of an artifact?”
At Willet’s question, Arthur’s lips curved in amusement.
“Yes. The mask was inconvenient in many ways.”
“…Such an item isn’t easy to come by. You managed well.”
Arthur shrugged, and Willet asked no further.
Instead, he turned and headed toward an underground tavern.
Following him inside, Arthur noticed a few mercenaries drinking at the tables—ones he hadn’t seen last time.
At Arthur’s appearance, they set down their cups and shot him meaningful looks.
“Don’t make eye contact with them.”
“…Why?”
“Some of them are very competitive. A few fools might try to challenge you just to test if the rumors about you are true.”
Arthur blinked.
Meanwhile, Willet led him into his office and locked the door.
“Thanks to the two big jobs you’ve already handled, your name is spreading in this field. It has benefits, but also nuisances like that. Still, the benefits outweigh the trouble—just let it slide.”
Arthur nodded at the advice.
Willet pulled a document from his drawer.
Just as Arthur was about to take it, Willet suddenly asked:
“What is it that you want?”
“…Pardon?”
“When you bought a suit, when you obtained that artifact—money didn’t seem to be your priority. So why enter this business? Surely you have a purpose.”
Arthur lifted his head to meet Willet’s gaze.
The seasoned broker regarded him with an expressionless face.
“If you’d rather not say, don’t. But if you do have a goal, it helps to tell me. I can steer jobs in that direction. That, too, is part of a broker’s service.”
Arthur tapped his fingers lightly on the desk.
‘Hard to read, since Willet’s expression never changes. Is he probing me, or is he genuinely offering help?’
After some thought, Arthur concluded: both.
Willet was a broker with a rare sense of duty, but also exceedingly cautious.
So the question likely held both intentions.
With that in mind, Arthur gave a half-answer.
“…Honestly, I’m not doing this for money.”
“Then?”
“Artifacts—or… elixirs that can enhance mana. That’s my first goal.”
Willet stroked his chin.
“A difficult aim. Artifacts are rare enough, but elixirs?”
“Yes. That’s why I’m trying to raise my name through commissions.”
“True enough. To obtain such things, you’ll need to climb high in rank. …Very well. In that case, how about this job?”
Willet handed him the document.
Arthur skimmed through it, then tilted his head.
“A guard duty?”
“Correct. Guarding Tartan, the president of Adventure Pharmaceuticals, for a week.”
“…Is there a particular reason you’re showing me this one?”
“Adventure Pharmaceuticals deals exclusively in very special medicines in Arcane. One of them is the so-called potion of healing.”
Arthur’s eyes widened.
“A potion… that can heal any wound?”
“Not any wound. Only external injuries.”
“I see… And the reward is a potion, then?”
“If you want, yes. But surprisingly, the reward is actually an *Essence Pill*.”
Arthur let out an exclamation.
“An Essence Pill…”
“Not a high-grade one. Mid-grade. But even that is hard to come by. High-grade and above—might as well not exist.”
Arthur nodded.
The mysterious elixir that expanded one’s mana and magical power—the Essence Pill.
It was difficult to obtain even with money. High-grade and above existed only in legends.
In that sense, a mid-grade Essence Pill was the highest realistically attainable.
‘If I take it now… I could reach the 2nd Circle instantly.’
Yonel had sent him Essence Pills before, but never mid-grade.
That alone spoke to how rare they were.
Acquiring strong bloodlines was important, but so was increasing mana. So Arthur answered that he would accept the commission.
But Willet shook his head.
“Don’t be hasty. The high reward means it’s dangerous.”
“…Dangerous in what way?”
“Apparently, President Tartan got entangled with people from the Underworld. That’s why he offered such payment.”
Arthur’s eyes narrowed.
‘People from the Underworld? How did he get mixed up with them?’
The Underworld.
Dark mages, assassins, madmen. Their types and factions were diverse.
But the one commonality was this: no one called part of the Underworld was weak.
‘So that’s why Willet said it was dangerous. Because of his ties with the Underworld.’
Arthur weighed his options.
Take the risk and obtain the Essence Pill?
Or give up and accept a safer commission?
The answer was clear.
“I’ll take it.”
“…Sometimes, I really can’t figure you out.”
“Sir?”
“Most people agonize over decisions like this. But you—there’s no sign of hesitation.”
‘I did hesitate, though.’
Arthur chose not to say it aloud.
Willet didn’t seem to expect an answer anyway, as he lit his pipe instead.
“Back to the job itself—this isn’t an individual commission.”
“…Then?”
“It’s a team job. Though in practice, it just means one more guard. You likely won’t clash with them. But if that bothers you, turn it down. Given the nature of the task, it can’t be assigned to an individual.”
Arthur thought for a moment, then nodded.
If there was no conflict, working in a team was fine.
“…Good. Then let me introduce the mercenary you’ll be working with.”
Willet tapped the desk, and the office door opened.
Arthur turned his gaze—and his eyes widened.
‘Huh? Her ears…’
A woman stepped into the office.
She introduced herself with a bow.
“My name is Jeannie Davern.”
Arthur’s eyes flicked to her ears once more.
Perked and pointed.
Quite unlike human ears—her sharp ears made it clear her lineage was extraordinary.
—
