Chapter 11
Bang! Bang! Bang!
“Open the door!”
Bang! Bang!
“Aaron!”
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
“If you don’t open it immediately, we’ll break it down!”
Even as my hands pounded on the door until they were sore, there was no answer. Anger rose, and my fists clenched harder.
‘Did this guy run off?’
Just when I was imagining the worst-case scenario, the door rattled open.
“What business do you have at someone else’s home at this hour… huh?”
Aaron’s body, usually wilted like a plant exhausted from fatigue, stiffened as hard as stone.
Well, considering the impressive people behind me, anyone would be intimidated.
“…K-K-Kin?”
But being completely ignored by the person right in front of him was a little bruising to his pride.
Aaron pushed past me halfway, bowing to Kin.
“What business brings you to the home of a mere apothecary?”
“I need to confirm something.”
Kin cast a sharp glance at me as he passed. That look was so fierce that it sent shivers down my spine.
It reminded me of the terrifying threat I had heard earlier.
“If that guy isn’t the culprit… you’d better be prepared, fortune-teller.”
While I swallowed nervously, Kin beckoned Chek with a nod.
“Chek.”
“Yessir!”
In a flash, Chek sprang out of the group and grabbed Aaron’s shoulders with his huge, pot-lid-like hands.
“Alright! Let’s see what you’ve got under that skin of yours!”
And he shouted this lecherous, classic pervert line!
“W-What are you doing! Aaah! L-Let go! Let me go!”
Ricky, being perceptive, shoved a cloth into Aaron’s mouth to muffle his screams.
“Our captain doesn’t like noise, so let’s keep it down, okay?”
What dedication. I glanced discreetly at Kin.
‘I didn’t think things would escalate this far.’
Of course, with evidence this solid, nothing could go wrong… but with Kin right there, I couldn’t help but be tongue-tied.
While my eyes rolled nervously, Aaron’s tunic suddenly slipped off, revealing his scrawny body.
Chek examined Aaron like a wooden puppet, shaking him gently.
After some time, Kin, standing with one leg slightly cocked, urged Chek on.
“Still nothing?”
“Well… uh…”
Chek, placing flat stones—gems of ability manifestation—on Aaron’s body to find the awakening pattern, clicked his tongue.
“We even took him aside and pulled down his pants, but there’s not a single tattoo, let alone a pattern.”
I screamed.
“Th-That can’t be! He really is an awakened one!”
I saw it with my own eyes! The wanted poster clearly said Awakened!
I felt like a servant who had seen something incredible and pounded my chest.
“He just couldn’t find the pattern! Aaron is definitely an awakened one!”
Look at this! Isn’t it clearly written on his wanted poster too?
Like this:
Name: Aaron
Race: Human
Age: 34
Gender: Male
Hometown: Gerk Basin
Traits: Chronic fatigue, addicted to reading, apothecary, behind the scenes
“…Huh?”
I rubbed my eyes and read the last line again.
Traits: Chronic fatigue, addicted to reading, apothecary, behind the scenes
‘That can’t be…’
The keywords were gone.
No matter how many times I read it, the words I had seen were gone.
‘But I don’t make mistakes.’
I clearly saw “Awakened (Alchemist)” written in Aaron’s profile.
‘Then how could the awakened mark disappear in just a few days?’
It was unbelievable. Or rather, it was a situation I didn’t want to believe.
I really wanted to slap the past me who had confidently approached Kin.
“The gems of ability manifestation in the Ashen Fortress are less than ten in total. Once used, they disappear. And you expect me to use one on you?”
“You don’t trust my fortune. That’s why I’m showing you proof.”
“Alright. But if your prediction is wrong, I’ll cut off one of your hands as punishment for wasting my time and a gem.”
“O-One hand? Eek!”
“Only one arm. Be thankful you’re still alive despite your foolishness.”
…This was the situation.
‘Even if I can’t catch the culprit, at least the awakened mark should have appeared!’
Before Kin could order my arm cut off, I let out a scream.
“Ahhh!”
Everyone’s gaze turned to me. I clutched my temple and collapsed to the floor.
“What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”
Ricky panicked and tried to lift me, but I twisted slightly, pretending not to hear him, and whimpered.
“Sniff… My head… something, something’s definitely wrong.”
Then, from a few steps away, a cold voice struck like a dagger.
“No awakened mark came from that guy, so it makes sense that you feel your head spinning with how wrong this is.”
“…”
This guy… his judgment is impeccable.
But I remembered someone telling me that in unlucky situations, I’m the luckiest person alive. Time to believe that again.
“There must be another variable.”
I pointed at Aaron’s house, determined.
“I just saw some kind of vision. There’s something here. Let me inside. If I follow the energy, I think I can find it.”
“What… what are you talking about? You talk nonsense! Lord, should we listen to this con artist any further? Better to just kill him now!”
I didn’t back down from Aaron’s gnashing teeth and kept negotiating with all my might.
“I’m sure! I swear on the sun, moon, and countless stars!”
“Nonsense!”
“Don’t defile sacred nature!”
In the midst of our struggle, a shiny object flew and embedded itself at our feet.
“Eek!”
“Ugh!”
“Stop. It’s noisy.”
It was Kin who threw it. He frowned and waved his hand.
“I don’t give second chances, but since you owe me your life, I’ll give you one more chance. Astrologer, find evidence, find the variable, whatever it is, and show it to me. Otherwise…”
The rest was left unsaid, but I could almost hear it.
‘Otherwise, he’ll make me a one-armed Ash!’
I was trembling with fear, tears threatening to spill, but I couldn’t show it.
I lifted my chin resolutely and demanded:
“Of course. But you have to let me enter alone.”
“Alone?”
I emphasized “alone” with wide eyes.
“Yes. Absolutely alone. If other people’s energy interferes, it won’t work.”
Because…
If I went alone, I could somehow escape through a mousehole!
Kin mercifully allowed me to enter Aaron’s house alone.
Half out of curiosity, half because I owed him my life.
Of course, Aaron’s protests about “this is illegal trespassing!” were ignored.
“Please, please, please!”
Alone inside Aaron’s house, I searched desperately. The interior was in chaos, but I didn’t care.
“Ah! Why isn’t it here?!”
I scratched my head frantically.
“Shouldn’t every house have at least one escape hole?”
In neighborhoods like this, danger always lurks, and having a small emergency escape was common sense…
‘He’s an apothecary; he couldn’t have lived without enemies! Aaron, were you just reckless?’
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Just then, a knock on the door and Chek’s shout reached me.
“Hey, miss! Still not done? It’s taking too long! Lord said to resolve it within five minutes!”
Damn, I was screwed.
The thought that today might be the last day my arms remain intact made me dizzy.
‘No! I have to find a way!’
I scanned the room desperately. Still no escape in sight.
‘Is there anything nearby I can use to buy time or as proof?’
I turned the house upside down, but saw nothing. Truly nothing…
“Damn it!”
As I stared blankly at a corner, something popped into my mind.
It was…
“New Ability Awakened! Appraise Evidence.”
“Appraising… appraisal complete!”
“Name: Alchemist’s Gloves
Traits: Awakened (Alchemist), Metallurgy, Evidence (Importance: Supreme)”
