As he entered the inn, he saw the Veneta party, who were quite drunk, in the same spot.

"But... brother..."

The sound of slurred words, which were hard to understand, went back and forth.

"Ugh..."

They were also exchanging what they called nonsense, without knowing what they were saying.

'How pathetic.'

Lucas, who saw the scene, shook his head and went up to his room.

'To think of giving a corner of the territory to such pathetic humans... tsk.'

Lucas, who had entered the room, took out the subspace pouch he had just purchased.

Lucas's face began to fill with anticipation as he opened the pouch and put his hand in.

'There were definitely things that I could feel with my hand...'

Something that his hand, which was rummaging inside, had caught was pulled up.

-Swoosh

"What... is this?"

The first thing that came up in his hand was an ordinary-looking blanket.

The blanket, which had no fancy patterns or any energy, had a whitish-gray color, whether it was its original color or because it was stained.

He, who had put the blanket on the floor as if he were disappointed, put his hand in the pouch again.

"Hmm..."

Normally, he could take out things just by thinking, without having to put his hand in and rummage like this, but now he didn't know what was in the subspace, so he had to put his hand in and search like this.

-Swoosh

Once again, his hand caught something and pulled it up.

"What's this again?"

A sense of disappointment came over him again as he looked at the thing in his hand.

"Is it a stove?"

When he examined the thing in his hand carefully, it was a stove that would be used for camping.

He, who had put the thing on the floor again, put his hand in again.

And so, several times. The things piled up on the floor were all things that were not special at a glance.

Starting with the blanket and the stove, there were pots and ladles, and there was no such thing as ordinary.

"No, who was the previous owner to have put all these useless things in here?"

Lucas's face was full of dissatisfaction as he looked down at the things.

He, who had been looking down like that for a long time, finally began to put the things back into the subspace.

"I can't help it. This much income is a big income."

Lucas, who had put the pouch away again, began to chant a spell.

Incomprehensible ancient words, like when he had first encountered the pouch, began to flow from his mouth.

-Pssss

Then a light began to shine from the pouch.

"The binding is over, so I don't have to worry about losing it."

The spell Lucas had just chanted was a binding spell. It was a high-level magic, but since he had made a contract with Aman, he had no worries about his mana.

Lucas, who had thrown the pouch on the bed, held out his hand in front of him, and the pouch appeared on his hand again.

"It's done well."

Lucas, who had nodded with satisfaction, collapsed onto the bed.

"Alone..."

In the past, he was very used to being alone, but now that he had become a human, the fact that he was completely alone felt a little awkward.

'I've become as cunning as any human. To think that being alone is awkward.'

Lucas, who had been thinking about this and that for a while, smiled.

***

The dawn of darkness.

An unwelcome shadow was cast in Lucas's room.

The man, who had carefully set his foot on the windowsill, carefully opened the window with his face covered with a mask.

-Screech

The sound of the window opening and closing was so soft that a person who was sound asleep would not have noticed, as befitting a high-class inn.

The man, who had landed lightly in the room through the window, carefully moved his steps.

The man looked at Lucas, who was lying on the bed, for a moment to confirm that he was asleep, and then he headed to the side where the luggage was placed.

-Rustle... rustle...

The man who was rummaging through the luggage with a careful touch.

"Are you looking for something?"

"...!"

The man, who was startled by the voice from behind, quickly stood against the wall.

"Don't be surprised. If you tell me what you're looking for, I'll help you."

Lucas, who was lying on his side with his head supported by his hand, asked indifferently.

"Khak! You have a lot of guts. Unfortunately, I don't think there's anything you can help me with."

The man, who seemed to be at a loss for words at Lucas's appearance, laughed loudly once and then brought his hand to the dagger at his waist.

-Swish! Swish! Swish!

The daggers that were quickly shot from the man's hand were aimed at Lucas.

-Clang.

But the daggers stopped in mid-air as if they were blocked by an invisible barrier.

"Fast hands."

"T-this...!"

The man, who had not heard that the other person was a mage, could not hide his bewilderment.

"The negotiation has broken down."

"Khuk!"

The man, who had guessed his defeat, turned his body and jumped to the window.

"That won't do."

"Gak!"

But at Lucas's gesture, the man cried out in pain and fell to his knees.

"Now, tell me."

Lucas's eyes, who was standing behind the man, shone brightly in the moonlight.

"Who ordered this."

***

At first, he had thought that a petty thief had come in to steal his luggage.

But the short daggers at the man's waist and the stealth that a petty thief could not show. That's why Lucas could tell.

That he was not a petty thief, but an assassin who had been hired by someone to steal.

Therefore, if he were just a petty thief, he would have taken what he needed and run away, but it was different for an assassin.

It meant that there was a specific item he wanted, and if he couldn't find it, he would try to harm him.

That's why he had come to interrogate the culprit himself.

"So you approached me for my money?"

The man nodded slowly with a bruised face at Lucas's question.

"That's right..."

The man was in a state where he couldn't even answer properly because his mouth was bruised and his teeth were knocked out.

"So why did an assassin like you open your mouth so late, trying to be loyal? You'll just live as a dirty killer and end your life."

"Khuk..."

"If you live like this, you'll also be killed by someone without a sound. You know that well, don't you?"

The man seemed to move his swollen lips a few times at Lucas's sneer, and then he closed his mouth tightly.

"This is the last mercy I'm showing you because you're pitiful. If you give me all the information, I'll spare your life."

"That's absurd. (That's absurd.) Just kill me. (Just kill me.)"

"I'll give you money too. Enough to start over wherever you go. So stop taking other people's lives for money and leave."

The man's eyes trembled at Lucas's words.

"And no one will chase you."

"What do you mean by that? (What do you mean by that?)"

"I'll personally go and rehabilitate you."

The man trembled as Lucas smiled brightly.

"Sometimes, for people and animals, a beating is the best medicine."

***

The assassin who had come to see him disappeared in a flash, limping, as Lucas had promised and had given him gold.

"Is this the place?"

Lucas, who had arrived at the place he had told him, scanned the small three-story building with his eyes.

The black building, which had no signs or lights, looked like the hideout of those who did bad things, no matter who looked at it.

-Knock, knock, knock

Lucas knocked on the door with the most polite gesture possible.

He thought he heard some murmuring from inside, and then the small gap in the door opened with a click.

"Who is it?"

"Is this the Black Hand Guild?"

Lucas asked politely.

"I asked who you are."

As the man asked back, Lucas smiled brightly and answered.

"This is how you visit. Not by secretly coming in through the window."

"What's that..."

-KABOOM!!!

The man couldn't even finish his words and was sent flying far away with the door.

"Gak..."

The man, who was crushed behind the door that Lucas had blown away with magic, groaned.

"What!!! Who is it!!!"

As a dozen or so men who had appeared at the sound of the explosion looked at the messy entrance, they saw Lucas, who was standing tall in the hazy dust and smiling brightly.

"I'm sorry to have come so suddenly in the middle of the night. But you also forgot your manners, so I don't think I need to keep mine, do I?"

"You son of a b-tch! He's a mage!!!"

The man, who had noticed his identity at Lucas's very relaxed attitude, shouted, and the other people also took out their magic tools from here and there.

"Focus on defense! We just need to hold out until our mage comes!"

The man took out a gauntlet and put it on his hand. The shield shape drawn on the back of the hand seemed to be a piece of equipment with a magic defense function.

"Haha. How cute."

"I don't know how many circles you have, but you'd better save your mana!"

The man and the other people also had quite a relaxed expression for having faced a mage.

There was definitely a reason for their calmness.

It was no exaggeration to say that the amount of mana determined the mage's circle, so it meant that they were confident in defending against any magic.

"Is that so? Then I'll try to use it sparingly."

Lucas, who smiled slyly, raised one hand high.

-Swoosh

As a red flame began to swirl on Lucas's hand, the men held onto the magic tools they each had.

"Don't be scared! Whatever that is, it won't last more than 5 seconds!"

"Oho. You have some pretty precious things. Right."

The flame that had been gathering in Lucas's hand became a vortex and engulfed the entire building.

-KABOOM!

A huge roar erupted, and the people who were holding out inside also began to scream.

"Gaaah! Ugh!!!!"

"It's hot!! It's hot!!!"

-Crack! Crack!

As the defensive barriers created by the magic tools in their hands broke one by one, flames shot up from the bodies of the people who had been hiding inside.

"Gaaah! Save me!! Aaaah!!!"

Lucas, who was watching the screams increase one by one, raised his hand and scattered the magic.

"I-it's done!!! A-attack!!! The remaining ones, get into attack formation immediately!!!"

At the man's command, the remaining few also came to their senses and got into attack formation.

"They're burning to death, and yet... tsk, tsk."

Lucas, who clicked his tongue as if it were pathetic, raised his hand again, and the men cowered.

-Swoosh! Hiss...

For a moment, they were flustered by the sudden downpour of water. The people who had been running around with their bodies on fire also collapsed on the floor.

"R-run away...!"

Did he realize that the person who could wield such magic was not someone he could face?

The man shouted at his subordinates, barely squeezing out his voice, which was not coming out well.

"Running away won't do. You disturbed my night's sleep, so it's only right that you receive your punishment, isn't it?"

As Lucas's hand passed through the air again, all the holes in the building were covered with earth.

"Life is a series of choices. This is a true lesson for you who have made the wrong choice. I will personally give you a chance to clean up your trash-like life."

As Lucas took a step closer, the terrified men took a step back.

"Think of it as a small favor from me, who has come out into the world after a long time."

Lucas smiled at the power he was feeling after a long time, and the men in front of him despaired.

(End of Chapter)