"An amulet," He muttered while staring at a wrinkly old bracelet of sorts with the outline of an eye carved in the middle.

"Kid, are you looking to buy mana potions and skill boost items? You have come to the ri..." Before the peddler could complete their sentence, Ingal interrupted.

"How much is this amulet?" He inquired.

"Oh, that is just an old piece of jewelry I picked up some time back. If you are looking for better items, I have..."

"I want this. Just tell me the price," Ingal interrupted once more with a tone of certainty.

"But kid, it's not even valuable..." The peddler had a look of confusion.

"That is what I want. Are you selling? Or not?" Ingal stated.

"If you are willing to buy it with a few mana potions, I'll..."

"Sure," Ingal had never felt so decisive about wanting something. It almost did not seem like him.

He grabbed the amulet and a couple of blueish bottles before keeping them away.

The peddler was still surprised, but he had no choice but to give Ingal a price.

Ingal paid and kept moving further.

He didn't notice two figures blend into the shadows in the vicinity while inconspicuously following him from behind.

Ingal visited a few more places in the mid-market and, for the first time, bought a few delicacies to take home with him.

He noticed that he had spent around a total of three gold, six silver, and thirty-seven bronze pieces. Ingal couldn't help but smile after realizing that he might be able to make ends meet henceforth.

It was finally time to leave the mid-market area.

Ingal was tempted to board a cart since it was quite a ways from the mid-market to the slums where he dwelled. However, after a brief contemplation, he decided not to.

He didn't want to get used to spending unnecessarily until he knew he had more than enough. He trekked to the market, so he knew he could definitely trek back.

'Maybe one day when I manage to get my level up, I'll join the adventurers guild. I heard they make a lot of money,' He said internally while peering in the direction of a great structure located in the heart of the kingdom.

Despite the distance from his current position to the Adventurer's guild, he could still spot it.

Ingal turned to enter a dimly lit alley and kept walking forward. There was barely anyone in sight there, but it was a normal view, so he didn't give it a second thought.

Fhreww~

A figure suddenly phased out from the end of the alleyway.

"Hmm?" Ingal paused as his expression turned wary.

The figure who had a discoloured green scarf wrapped around half his face, slowly stepped forward.

His action set off alarms in Ingal's head, and he quickly turned around, only for him to be faced with another figure, taller than the one before him. The second figure also had a scarf wrapped around his face, leaving Ingal to make out the rest of whatever evil face lurked underneath.

"What... what do you want?" Ingal stuttered as they boxed him in.

There was nowhere to run to.

"Give us..." Before the one ahead could speak, a buff figure descended from above.

Bang!

He immediately threw a fist at the face of the assailant, causing a loud cracking sound to ring out as the first one spun across the air repeatedly before slamming into a wall.

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Teeth and blood covered his face, which was revealed after he passed out.

"Ezrel," Ingal voiced with a look of surprise.

The one who had arrived was none other than Ezrel Devonne, who was currently dressed in simple garments as opposed to his usual armor wear.

"Hey kid," Ezrel voiced in response.

"One of the Devonne Twins?" The eyes of the second assailant widened.

He swiftly turned around to make a run for it.

Bam!

Just as he did, he slammed into a figure who had been standing behind him the entire time.

It felt like he hit an unmovable wall, causing him to stagger backwards.

The scarf around his face fell, revealing his mouth, which was wide open in shock as he stared at the figure before him.

Bang!

A fist slammed into his gut, causing him to fall to his knees, retching. The newly arrived figure held him by the head and rammed his face into a nearby wall, causing the second assailant to pass out as well.

"Ekiel," Ingal called out in surprise.

"You need to be careful out here, kid," Ekiel voiced while stepping forward.

Both Ekiel and Ezrel had arrived to save Ingal from the assailants before anything could happen.

"Thank you both. This is the first time I have experienced anything like this. No one has ever tried to rob me before," Although Ingal was surprised by their appearance and help, he made sure to show his appreciation.

"Must be because you always looked like you had nothing. Now you no longer do, so be careful," Ezrel voiced with a cautioning tone.

Ingal stared at his clothes and realized that they were right. The two thieves must have followed him from the marketplace and waited for an opportunity to strike.

"I will be more careful next time," Ingal answered.

Maybe boarding a cart would have prevented such an incident. Either way, he decided he would be more careful next time.

"What are you two doing around here?" Ingal asked with a tone of curiosity.

"Erm... That's..." Ekiel stuttered while looking up and rubbing his chestnut colored hair.

"We were looking for you," Ezrel decided to spill the tea.

"Hmm? Me why? Is there a new gate?" Ingal blinked even more curiously.

"No, that's not it," Ezekiel shook his head.

"Hmm? Then why?" Ingal was even more confused, especially after realizing that they might be having the longest conversation he had ever been in with any member of the Hero's Party besides Sword Hero Morningster himself.

"We were looking to..."

"We wanted to apologize,"

The Devonne Twins voiced simultaneously, causing Ingal to be taken aback.

"Apologise? Why?" Ingal questioned in shock.

"For everything... Sword Hero Morningster made us see the error of our ways," Ezrel said in a remorseful tone.

"Yeah, kid... we understand that we didn't treat you in the best way we could have, and we're looking to change that in the future," Ezrel added.

"What he said..." Ekiel chimed in while folding his arms.

Ingal was speechless for some time. He didn't know how to respond to the entire conversation. While he understood that Morningster put them up to it, he was still in disbelief that they pushed their pride aside to apologize to him personally.

A smile appeared on Ingal's face. He had taken the world's attitude and behaviour to him as normal, so he was never really bothered about everything.

Although he was a timid person by nature due to how he was treated by people, he didn't harbour hatred for them.

All he had known since he knew how to walk was that he was a lowlife. He wasn't royalty, and from what he could remember, he didn't even have parents.

He just blended into the background like any less privileged would, and since it was normal for people of higher class to treat people of lower class like waste, he went along with it.

Sword Hero Morningster was the first person he met who didn't treat him the way many other people did. Sometimes, he wondered if it was because the hero didn't come from their world.

The two thieves were later carted away by the kingdom's guards to be tried for attempted robbery.

Ezrel and Ekiel followed Ingal back to his small shed in the slums. As expected, they were repressed by the view, but they wanted to make sure Ingal arrived back safely.

When they got to his shed, they chewed him out for a couple of minutes, telling him to find somewhere better to stay. After all was said and done, they left.

They had even more sympathy for him after seeing the conditions of his place.

'Maybe the Sword Hero was right to compensate him that much,' This was their thoughts at the time.

They had decided that they wouldn't complain about Ingal receiving compensation thereafter.

....

Ingal sat in his shed while staring at the wide array of of food before him. A couple of roasted meat on sticks, fruits, and other edibles.

He also bought a bunch of cooking materials, so he knew there would be no issues with feeding for the next couple of days.

Ingal placed the amulet he bought at the market on the table beside the container, where he kept a collection of coins.

The shed and everything in the environs looked the same as it always had as if nothing had happened there in the middle of the night.

Ingal chewed away, enjoying delicacies he was never opportune to savour.

He couldn't help but adore the Sword Hero for the privilege because he would have never been able to taste such sweetness had it not been for Morningster's acceptance.

~ "He is just a pawn!" ~

"Hmm? Who is there?" Ingal yelled the moment he heard a voice.

###############

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