Badge in Azure

Chapter 165: Pompeii City (Part 2)

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

“Wow, you do have good taste. This place is run by the merchants from Cloudflow Empire,” Lex said thoughtfully.

“It’s not a matter of taste. I just feel that since this store is bigger, it’ll be easier to strike,” Saleen replied as he followed Lex across the public square. As soon as he said those words, he felt a bad feeling form in his gut.

“Strike? What do you mean, Master? Do you intend to rob this store?” Nailisi asked, trying to be as discreet as possible. Saleen glared at her, effectively shutting her up. Nailisi gulped and slowed down as she trailed behind Saleen.

Humans were strange creatures. Even powerful people like Lex needed to spend money whenever they needed something. In the demonic realm, robbing and stealing were the norm. As Nailisi mulled over what Saleen had said, an idea was already forming in her head. Master Saleen probably wants to steal something when no one’s looking. Robbing is such an ugly word. Let’s just go with stealing, Nailisi thought.

Immediately after entering the store, Saleen noticed that the design of the shop was indeed unique. From the outside, the store looked like any other ordinary one story shop. Once he had entered, however, what greeted Saleen was a winding staircase that was located in the middle of the spacious store. The second floor was supported by pillars made entirely out of metallic dragon bones. Thick squarish windows were scattered throughout the entire building. Rays of light shone through the windows in the ceiling onto the counter on the ground floor.

There was even a small staircase located to the right of the shop entrance inside of the store. This staircase led to a floor that was in between the first and second story. The only decoration there was a gigantic crystal counter.

The crystal counter had a silver lamp on top of it, making it more prominent. It would not take a genius to realize that the things displayed in this counter were likely more expensive.

Just then, a beautiful young woman emerged from the back of the shop. She was wearing a high-waisted long dress manufactured in the Cloudflow Empire and her top barely covered her neckline. If a Qin person saw it, they would find the outfit ugly; if a Tanggulasi person saw it, they would think it was tasteless; if a Sikeqinya person saw it, their first thought would be about how much fabric had been wasted in the creation of the hundreds of pleats that were on the dress she was wearing.

The young woman had put on some light makeup and sprayed on some perfume. As Saleen inhaled the scent of the perfume, he realized that some magic potion had been mixed in with it. It was a cheap, low-quality healing medicine that was used to instantly cure anxiety, be it in patients or wounded people. However, the medicine did have some side-effects, one of which was that smelling it would cause people to lose their alertness.

The beauty of the young woman, along with her medicine-infused perfume, would cause customers to become very agreeable and prone to spending large amounts of money here. However, to people from Sikeqinya, this was mere child’s play.

As the young woman saw the young mage sniff the perfume she had sprayed on, she blushed. She knew that a petty trick like this would not fool a mage, especially a powerful one like Saleen.

“Master mage, is there anything I can help you with?” The young woman spoke in Qin language, but did not bother to hide her Cloudflow accent. Even if she had not opened her mouth, her submissive body language would have confirmed any doubts that she was not a Qin citizen.

“What is your name?” Saleen asked before Lex was able to.

“Gessica,” the young woman replied.

“Okay. Gessica, would you mind calling your boss over for me?” Saleen said, immediately rejecting Gessica’s offer to assist him with a warm smile on his face.

Upon hearing Saleen’s words, Gessica had a disappointed look on her face. It caused her to look quite pitiful, but Saleen knew better.

“Master mage, the boss is still chatting with a customer. They won’t be able to entertain you at the moment,” Gessica replied.

“Then we shall explore the store on our own,” Saleen said, completely ignoring Gessica’s disappointed expression. If Gessica had not put on that potion-infused perfume, perhaps he would not have minded asking for her help. He knew that a job like that did not bring in a lot of money. The main source of income for these people were tips given by customers.

Lex did not understand the hardships of these lower-class people, nor did she bother trying to. What did bother her, however, was the scent of Gessica’s perfume. As a Grade 6 mage, her sense of smell was much more keen than Saleen’s. She threw a glare filled with hatred towards Gessica before turning around and walking towards the staircase that led to the mezzanine.

As Gessica’s eyes darted back and forth between Lex’s back and Nailisi’s beautiful face, she understood why Saleen had been able to outright reject her. In terms of looks, she paled in comparison to the two ladies before her.

Not only was Nailisi beautiful, but she also appeared meek and well-behaved. However, people who knew her personally would know that she was nothing like that.

Gessica stood there awkwardly, at a loss as to what to do. Just then, two people emerged from the mezzanine and made their way downstairs. Gessica instantly cheered up and pointed at the fat middle-aged man before saying, “Master mage, that is my boss.”

Saleen pushed a silver piece in her hand to convey his appreciation. However, what caught his attention was not the boss, but the young male beside him. He looked about twenty-five years old and had long black hair. His eyes were dark blue, and he had a broad forehead as well as pitch-black eyebrows. He was clad in a narrow-sleeved, brightly colored robe. If it had not been for his decent looks, the brightly colored clothing would have seemed silly on him.

However, Saleen was not too caught up on those things. What caught his attention was the fact that the young man appeared to be skilled in swordcraft. He was about as strong as, if not slightly stronger than the bronze grand swordmaster he had killed.

After having studied the sword aura present in the bronze grand swordmaster’s body, Saleen had become more confident in distinguishing the ranks of different swordmasters. In this aspect, icy sight was much more effective than real eye, as the former allowed Saleen to judge an opponent’s abilities in greater detail.

Not only did the young man appear to be a powerful swordmaster, but he also appeared to be from a wealthy background. The jade belt secured around his waist had a flexible sword hidden behind it, though it was pretty obvious to Saleen. His boots had been made entirely from magic beast skins. From the high-quality materials to the young man’s flippant gaze, Saleen was certain that he came from a rich family. Not only that, he was likely the type of person who only knew how to eat, sleep, party, and waste money. In other words, he was a waste of space and resources.

These people were the hardest to deal with as they would never reveal their true colors. If they did reveal them, it meant that an unfortunate soul was about to be killed.

Saleen absolutely detested interacting with such people. He would rather have spent time with Aini. He decided to continue exploring the store to avoid having to talk to him. All of a sudden, Saleen heard the young man shout from behind him, “Master mage! Master mage!”

Saleen sighed in resignation as he turned around, expecting the young man to be looking at him. He was wrong. As the young man called out to him, his eyes were fixated on Lex. His gaze was a little too bold, but it did not take a genius to figure out from the look in his eyes that he was attracted to her.

Lex was accustomed to being sought after in Bitter Water Prefecture, so she did not feel uncomfortable. Saleen, on the other hand, did not like it. He coughed loudly, bringing the young man’s attention back to him.

“You called?” Saleen asked, not wishing to utter any more words than he needed to.

“Ah, I forgot. Master mage, could you introduce me to your companion?” The young man spoke bluntly as his gaze slipped back onto Lex. Saleen had not expected him to be so direct. He had thought that the young man would be a bit more tactful.

“No, we don’t have time for this,” Saleen replied, simmering with anger. Saleen did feel a little attraction towards Lex, but it was not love. However, as soon as the young man appeared, it felt as though Saleen’s testosterone had gone into overdrive.

“It doesn’t matter. I’ll just get to know her myself,” the young man said as he walked towards the stairs.

Saleen gave a loud huff as he simply took out a Grade 5 magic scroll. If Lex were to attack the young male, he would not hold back either. At that moment, he recalled the bad feeling he had felt back in the public square. He had not thought that it would be realized so soon. With my prophecy magic, I should really be a holy master, Saleen thought.

Seeing Saleen take out the magic scroll sent the plump middle-aged man into a frenzy. The latter strolled towards Saleen, bowed, and said, “Master mage, please do not attack him. He is the mayor’s son!”

“That’s the mayor’s son?” Saleen replied coldly. He did not give a care in the world about who the young man was. If Lex attacked him, Saleen was not going to just stand there and watch.

“Yes, he’s the son of the Duke Dominic, the city mayor! ” The shop owner said, waving his hands frantically in an attempt to diffuse the situation. He was only a businessman and he could not afford to offend both sides.

“Oh? A duke, I see,” Saleen replied sarcastically. He did not put away his magic scroll. If anything, he paid even more attention to the young man.

Ever since he had arrived in the Qin country and interacted with some noblemen, Saleen had realized that they were completely different from his original impression of them. The Qin noblemen were mostly intelligent and powerful. It was a completely different story in Sikeqinya though. Even so, the higher the rank, the less likely they were to be stupid people.

This was because the educational backgrounds of these noblemen were excellent. Even the children were considered geniuses, as they were far more intelligent and capable than other ordinary children.

As a duke’s son and a master of swordcraft, this young man could not possibly be that stupid, right? Saleen thought. Surely he was able to tell that Lex was a mage. If he were to strike up a conversation just like that, it was probably because he wanted something. Or it could have been because he was struck by Lex’s beauty. But it couldn’t be that simple, right? Saleen thought grumpily.

When Saleen had first met Lex, they had still been little kids. Back then, he had not felt anything for Lex. As they slowly got to know each other, he had gotten used to Lex’s company. Although Lex’s looks were very appealing, Saleen knew that deep inside, he was more fixated on the Grade 6 status that Lex had attained.

Lex turned around and told the young man who was slowly making his way up the stairs, “Stay right there. I don’t wish to talk to you.” Her tone was cold and firm.

Lex had heard the boss’s words loud and clear. This young man was the son of the Duke of Pompeii, but she could not have cared less. Her status was far higher than that. She was not going to accommodate him.

The young man simply brushed it off and asked with a playful smile on his face, “My beautiful mage, may I have the honor of knowing your name?”

“No,” Lex replied almost immediately.

“Then allow me to introduce myself. My name is a bit too long, so let me just tell you my nickname. Even though I am a very outstanding individual, I simply cannot shoulder the glory of all my ancestors…” the young man spoke narcissistically as his affection for Lex grew. The fact that Lex was dressed in such a ridiculous robe did not bother him in the slightest. In fact, he felt like it complimented his flamboyant clothing perfectly.

It was the first time he had seen a female mage with such good taste in clothing. This alone caused his heart to beat even more erratically as he continued staring at her.

“As a nobleman, you should know that your behavior is unacceptable. The only reason I’m holding back now is because of your father. If you don’t stay in your lane, don’t blame me if you end up on the floor,” Lex snapped.

“It’s alright, don’t be so formal with me. I’m sure that if we spent more time together, you’d find that I’m very generous towards the people that I like,” the young man said, unfazed by Lex’s words.

At that moment, Saleen began to question whether this young man was merely oblivious to the situation or was plain stupid and unaware. He had heard through the grapevine that some noblemen, in an attempt to maintain the purity of their bloodlines, would only allow arranged marriages between their relatives. However, studies conducted by mages had found that offspring born through incest possessed many deformities. In fact, only a small percentage of these newborns grew up to become geniuses.

However, that probability was even lower than the probability of a junior swordsman slaying a giant dragon.

“Boss, do you know if this duke’s son suffered some sort of brain damage when he was young?” Saleen could not help but blurt out.

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