Chapter 94

Chapter 094

"Really, you grew it yourself?"

Salco asked with a voice mixed with surprise and curiosity.

He was a student of the Blue Dragon Tower, and a boy from the Wodanaz family, one of the most prominent noble families in the empire.

The idea that such a boy had grown those fresh, appetizing, shiny, and plump potatoes himself was hard to believe.

"Yep, I grew them myself."

Yihan nodded calmly.

Other students from the Black Turtle Tower, who had been watching, stepped forward.

"It really was Wodanaz, Tutantha."

"I even got treated to them last time! They were really delicious!"

"Is that so? What did you pay for them?"

Salco asked his friends.

The Black Turtle Tower students hesitated.

...We just ate them...

"Surely you didn't get them for free??"

Salco glared, his expression so fierce it seemed he might swing a hammer at any moment, scaring the Black Turtle Tower students.

The Tutantha family's motto was simple:

-Those who do not work shall not eat.

Even if they were friends from the same tower, getting something for free without working was an unforgivable act.

The kind of thing conscienceless nobles or knights would do!

"U... Uh... No..."

Unable to bear it any longer, Yihan stepped forward.

"I helped him, and in return, I treated him."

"!"

The Black Turtle Tower students looked at Yihan with expressions of admiration.

'Wodanaz...!'

"Right! That's what happened!"

"We helped Wodanaz!"

Salco's expression relaxed.

"Thank goodness. I was worried you might have done something like getting food for free from others."

"That would never happen, Salco."

"My least favorite word is idleness, Salco."

"Got it."

As Salco was about to leave, Yihan asked:

"Do you want a potato?"

The reason Yihan asked Salco was simple.

First, the potatoes grown in the vegetable patch were loved by everyone, even the princess, who had praised them highly.

Of course, Yihan had his doubts about the princess, thinking she might find everything delicious, but...

And Salco had been staring intently at the potatoes in Yihan's basket just now.

He either loved potatoes or had a grudge against them.

"...No, I'm fine. I don't have anything to pay you with right now."

"You can just take it."

"Don't insult me, Wodanaz. The dwarves of the Tutantha family do not accept charity without working."

'But you're an elf...'

Before Yihan could say anything, Salco quickly left, as if staring at the potatoes for too long might make him tempted.

* * * *

"Times are tough for a thief like me."

Ratford nodded and explained the situation to Yihan.

Originally, the students of the Black Turtle Tower, coming from diverse backgrounds, tended to gather separately.

However, over time, standout figures would inevitably emerge.

Tutantha Salco was one such dwarf, or rather, elf.

His outstanding magical skills and rock-solid sense of responsibility attracted more and more friends to follow him.

'Why... Nilia...'

Yihan suddenly felt sorry for Nilia.

Despite Nilia's generous contributions to the Black Turtle Tower students, the Black Turtle Tower friends liked her but did not trust her as a leader.

It was the opposite of Salco.

'Is it the difference between dark elves and elves? No, it doesn't seem to be the reason.'

In any case, Salco's followers increased, and the black market run by the Black Turtle Tower grew in scale.

Students from the Blue Dragon Tower and White Tiger Tower, hearing the news, started coming to exchange various goods.

As a result, problems began to arise.

-Why are there five loaves of bread!

-You can't do this here!

-Hey, this coffee is fake! Give me my bread back!

-Once purchased, no refunds! And I told you it was fake coffee made from dandelions!

With more students from other towers coming and going, problems inevitably increased.

However, the Black Turtle Tower students found it difficult to strongly counter when conflicts arose with students from other towers.

The others were from noble families or knight families.

So the Black Turtle Tower students turned to the most reliable person, not Nilia, but Salco.

After much deliberation, Salco agreed but insisted on his rules.

-If you want other tower students to follow my rules, you must follow them first!

-Understood, Tutantha!

-Of course, we must follow your rules!

-Remember, those who do not work shall not eat.

-Good rule!

-Other tower students will never follow it?

-And stolen goods are also prohibited.

-......

-......

-Why? Is there a problem?

-No! No!

Of course, there were complaints, but thanks to Salco's stern attitude, other problems disappeared.

Yihan, having heard the explanation, was indignant.

"Anyway, a few troublemakers cause good people to suffer. Because of the White Tiger Tower guys, thieves like us are starving."

"That's right."

Ratford nodded strongly in agreement.

"It's tough, Ratford. What are you doing then?"

"Oh, I'm fine. I'm secretly selling stolen goods."

Yihan was slightly impressed by Ratford's calm response. Indeed, he wasn't just any professional thief.

Running a black market within a black market...

"Of course, since I can't do it openly, the scale has decreased. But I'm doing something else."

"?"

Ratford pointed to one side of the black market. Some Black Turtle Tower students were sitting, not trading but doing something else.

"Look closely. There are three cards, and one is the Emperor card. I'll flip and shuffle them... If you find it, you get double the money."

Flip the three cards, shuffle them skillfully, and if you find the Emperor card, you get double the money.

...It's gambling!

"Is gambling okay?"

"Tutantha doesn't like gambling, but he allowed it. If he banned everything, there would be too many complaints."

Among the students, the Black Turtle Tower had the highest proportion of criminals.

Thieves, gamblers, and the like typically ended up in the Black Turtle Tower.

Salco knew this, so he turned a blind eye to money-making activities, considering them a form of labor.

Besides card tricks, there were chess bets, lock-picking (which seemed to be Ratford's specialty), and other activities.

'Is this an adventurer's guild?'

"Ah! My bread!! My three days' worth of bread!!"

"I, I'm sorry. I mixed them slowly enough..."

A White Tiger Tower student, having lost his property, was tearing his hair out in despair.

"Don't give up, Duke. You just had bad luck this time. Let's try again!"

"It's not hard! I'll win this time!"

Yihan looked at the opponent. It was a face he had seen before.

Imirgr, the half-giant he had met in Professor Mortem's black magic class.

Yihan was oddly impressed.

'Being a giant, he must make his opponents relax.'

Imirgr's huge hands looked clumsy and slow to anyone.

But Yihan could see clearly.

Imirgr was subtly using his skills while shuffling the cards.

'He's good at it.'

In a world with magic, it was easy to think that magic-based tricks had no place.

However, there were people who mastered such hand skills.

The gamblers from the gambling guild.

Using magic to cheat increased the risk of getting caught, so they relied on pure hand skills.

Yihan suspected Imirgr might be from the gambling guild.

"Never bet against Imirgr."

Ratford, misunderstanding Yihan's gaze, gave a warning.

Ratford, who had some hand skills, had never beaten Imirgr.

He was that good, unmatched in the Black Turtle Tower.

"I'm not interested in gambling, Ratford. I was just watching for fun."

Yihan clenched and unclenched his fist, making a coin disappear. Ratford, amazed, said:

"Indeed, Lord Wodanaz! I thought you had the qualities of an excellent thief, and I was right!"

"Keep your voice down. It's embarrassing if others hear."

Receiving such enthusiastic praise for a simple coin trick made Yihan even more embarrassed.

"No, Lord Wodanaz. With such skills, you deserve a spot here."

"......"

Yihan was momentarily tempted.

It sounded plausible.

'Was all my practice for this moment?'

To steal bread and meat from the White Tiger Tower students' pockets...

"But I belong to another tower."

"I'll talk to them. There are several friends who owe you, so it should be fine."

However, before Ratford could stand up, Salco appeared from behind.

Behind Salco stood the Black Turtle Tower students, looking like criminals.

"Wodanaz, I asked again, and these friends admit they got food for free."

'What a bunch of loose-lipped guys.'

Yihan cursed the Black Turtle Tower students.

If they were going to deny it, they should have stuck to it.

Yihan was different. He could deny it until the end of the world.

"Couldn't help it. Our family motto is 'Share food with the hungry.'"

Yihan's appearance made even the most absurd lies sound serious.

The students, listening, nodded unconsciously.

Indeed!

No wonder Wodanaz always fed his friends well...

"I'm not blaming you, Wodanaz. It's not your fault. I came to apologize for my friends' irresponsible behavior. It's the kind of thing lazy nobles or reckless knights would do."

Salco bowed, and the Black Turtle Tower friends followed suit.

Then, students from other towers waiting outside protested.

"That's too harsh!"

"Lazy nobles! You don't know how hard life is for nobles!"

"Do you know the heavy honor and responsibility we carry as knights?!"

'They're my fellow tower members, but they're really annoying.'

Yihan almost took Salco's side.

Such shameless and conscienceless people...

Salco ignored them completely.

"I want them to pay for what they ate, but my friends don't have enough right now."

"That's not necessary."

The Blue Dragon Tower friends kept detailed records, but the Black Turtle Tower students didn't plan to do the same.

"No, I'll pay for them."

"!"

Yihan was surprised.

'Paying for them.'

'The Tutantha family must be wealthy.'

As a famous stonemason guild family in the empire, they must have plenty of money.

Yihan pondered how much to charge for the tomato vegetable stew from last time.

"I heard a rumor that you wander the school at night, Wodanaz. Is it true?"

"I don't know what ridiculous rumor you heard, but it's a complete lie."

"......"

"......"

Students from the Blue Dragon Tower and White Tiger Tower, listening outside, were flabbergasted.

'Does this guy have a steel plate on his face...?'

'The Wodanaz family must teach emotional control.'

Despite Yihan's denial, Salco persisted.

"I have information that might help you."

"!"