Chapter 156 - 82: Market

Chapter 156: Chapter 82: Market

「On this day.」

The weather was clear and sunny.

Navia’s northern location meant the air was dry and the skies were vast and clear. It was nothing like Hillflan, where the spring and summer skies were often shrouded in gloomy clouds, making everything hot and humid.

Not only were the skies an endless blue and the sun bright, but the temperature was also perfect.

It was always good weather for an outing.

「Early morning.」

Victor pushed open his door and stepped into the courtyard.

He was about to walk on when something caught his eye.

He turned, and a familiar figure came into view.

A girl with black hair and black eyes, dressed in a light-colored long dress, sat gracefully on the courtyard wall, watching him with a curious expression.

Perhaps unsure when he would emerge, and considering the sun would get hot, she had the foresight to bring a parasol.

The blue sky, the brilliant sun.

The small, lace-trimmed parasol, and the girl in her beautiful dress.

She looked like an exquisite doll someone had placed upon the wall.

Under Victor’s gaze.

The doll spoke. "Are you going to the Valgipps Mountain Range today, too?"

Victor lowered his gaze and looked away.

He didn’t answer.

"What’s hidden there?" Lilia pressed on, ignoring his evasion. "Is it some secret I’m not allowed to know?"

As if guessing her intentions, Victor said, "Stay away from there."

"Stay away from there, or stay away from you?"

"..."

Victor was silent for a moment. "Stay away from both."

Lilia scoffed, muttering, "You make me sound like some kind of pathogen."

A flicker of pain crossed Victor’s face at her self-deprecating remark.

But it was only for an instant.

He closed his eyes. "...Go back."

Lilia had no intention of listening. "I’ll go back after I’ve gotten some sun."

"I mean, go back to Hillflan."

This time, Lilia didn’t reply. She just looked at him quietly.

A few seconds later, Victor gave his reason. "The conditions here are far worse than in the Royal Capital. You don’t need to stay here and suffer."

"...If you really care about me and don’t want me to suffer here," Lilia said, "then you shouldn’t be hiding things from me."

Victor wouldn’t look at her. "I’m not telling you for your own good."

"In what capacity are you doing this ’for my own good’?"

Lilia let out a small laugh. "As my teacher? If I recall correctly, you’ve already resigned from that position."

Victor froze.

"There’s nothing between us now. You have no right to tell me what to do."

She said, somewhat petulantly, "It’s none of your business if I sit here until nightfall."

Her words left Victor speechless.

He instinctively opened his mouth to say more, but forced himself to stop.

"...Suit yourself."

He left her with those words in a hoarse voice and strode out of the courtyard gate.

Lilia: "..."

’Seriously,’ she complained to herself.

’Mages really are a cold-hearted bunch.’

’Lucian is still the best.’

’He’s all bark and no bite. He agrees to whatever I say. If I sold him out, he’d probably smile, help me count the money, and give me tips on how to get a higher price, afraid I wasn’t getting enough.’

Lilia pushed off with her right hand, leaped gracefully from the wall, and followed behind Victor, parasol in hand.

She made no effort to hide her movements, and Victor, for his part, seemed to be taking his "suit yourself" to heart, never once looking back at the little tail behind him.

The two of them, separated by a distance of less than two meters, began to stroll through the streets.

That’s right, strolling.

With Lilia right behind him, there was no way Victor could go to the Valgipps Mountain Range.

His destination was the market on the west side of town.

Lilia watched him picking through items at a stall, but because something was blocking her view, she couldn’t see what he was buying.

She began to circle him from two meters away, as if he were the center of a compass, until she found the perfect vantage point.

Victor was selecting some herbs and ores.

Her movements were too obvious; there was no way Victor hadn’t noticed.

She was wearing a brightly colored silk dress and holding a lace parasol. She was the kind of person who drew the eyes of passersby just by standing still.

Not to mention, Lilia made no attempt to be subtle about it.

She might as well have used amplification Magic to shout "Look at me! Look at me!" in his ear.

Victor paused in his selection, but still said nothing.

The stall owner beside them noticed her curiosity and called out warmly, "Young lady, looking to buy something?"

Lilia walked right up to the stall, standing on one side of it while Victor was on the other.

"What are you selling here?" Lilia asked.

"Herbs gathered from the foot of the mountains."

"And these stones?"

"I thought they looked nice, so I just picked them up," the stall owner said with a laugh. "If you like them, I can give you a few."

Lilia picked up a stone to have a look.

In the sunlight, the stones shimmered with iridescent colors. Their shapes were quite uniform, and they looked very pretty.

’But if I’m not mistaken...’

"Navia doesn’t have any ore deposits, I thought..."

Before the words had left her mouth.

Lilia froze for a second.

She felt Magic Power in the stone in her hand.

A very faint, but tangible, trace of Magic Power.

The stall owner looked very surprised, as if she hadn’t expected a girl who looked like a young Noble lady to be interested in such things.

She couldn’t help but laugh. "How could these be ores? They’re just worthless little pebbles you can find anywhere."

’These are no worthless little pebbles...’

Ordinary stones aren’t like Demon Crystals, which are naturally able to contain Magic Power.

For them to become imbued with Magic Power, they must be soaked for a long time in a place rich with it.

But the stall owner said she just picked them up randomly.

Navia was on the border of the Kingdom; the concentration of Magic Power here was far from "abundant." When Lilia practiced her Magic, it took her much longer to recover her Magic Power here than it did in Hillflan.

’The "foot of the mountains" the stall owner mentioned... it couldn’t be...’

Lilia asked, "Where did you pick up these stones?"

"Just in the Valgipps Mountain Range to the west."

’Just as I thought.’

Lilia feigned curiosity. "But I heard it’s very dangerous there. Even the Knights say you absolutely shouldn’t go near it unless it’s urgent."

"It is dangerous, but the danger is up on the mountain. We medicine farmers usually just stick to the foothills. The chances of running into trouble are very, very low."

The stall owner insisted, "I’ve been gathering herbs for so many years, and look at me, I’m still alive and well, aren’t I?"

Lilia nodded. "That’s true."

Seeing her curious expression, as if she was captivated by her words.

The stall owner’s heart suddenly went THUMP.

This young lady had an extraordinary air about her; she must be the treasured daughter of some Noble family.

The stall owner didn’t know much about Noble lords, but she recognized the material of the young lady’s dress. It was an extremely expensive silk; she’d heard a single bolt was worth a commoner’s entire annual expenses.

Someone who wears gold is more precious than gold!

The stall owner was suddenly terrified that Lilia might actually believe her careless words and go adventuring in the Valgipps Mountain Range for no good reason.

According to her experience, it really wasn’t that dangerous there, but what if!

If something happened to her, it would be a total disaster!

Just as she was about to offer a few words of caution, to tell the young lady not to go to such a dangerous place, a detached voice spoke up from the side.

"Miss, let’s settle up."