ALAN'S MERCENARY CORNER. NOLMES.

A trickling melody sounded as someone pulled open the door.

"Welcome to AMC. How may I help you?" Alan Grennor raised his head with a typical customer-service smile. "Ah, Lord Faren! It's been a while, hasn't it?"

Faren Ablemore greeted him with a small bow and closed the door behind him. "I am here to pick up my enhancers."

After losing the match against the traveller, Edris, he immediately purchased a batch of enhancement potions to strengthen his physiques. The match showed Faren Ablemore the importance of having multiple cards at hand rather than over-relying on a speciality.

While his family didn't seem even half as upset about his loss as he did, Faren knew he had smeared dirt on the family's name.

He needed to get stronger.

"They're all here in the storage room. I'll go fetch them right now," Alan said, with his shoulder-length hair tied behind him. "By the way, I heard about your participation in the Wulin Tournament. The results are unfortunate, but I heard it was a phenomenal match."

"Not at all, I still have a long way to go compared to Sir Edris. Pardon me, I mean, Prophet Edris." Faren shook his head.

"Prophet? But aren't those just rumours?" Alan raised an eyebrow.

"I was there during the incident." Glancing around him, Faren lowered his voice. "His deeds were truly phenomenal. I do not doubt the rumours."

He had seen with his own eyes the moment Edris teleported across the banquet hall in order to save the King, even at the expense of being impaled himself. Even though he was a foreigner to the kingdom, he had acted faster than any of the people present to protect it.

Despite all the blood pouring out of the traveller's body, Faren Ablemore could never forget the peculiar expression on Edris's face as he reached outwards, towards the soft, glowing light behind the window.

It was truly a divine sight.

"That sounds like…quite something." Upon seeing the young mage's adamant look, Alan didn't ask further questions.

A few moments passed, and he emerged from the storage room with a box filled with colourful containers and slid them across the counter.

"Here are your enhancers."

Faren nodded as he took the box into his hands.

After affirming its content, he pulled out a leather pouch from his pocket and poured all the enhancers into it. Even as he emptied the box, the pouch maintained its original shape, which was only the size of his palm.

It was his enhancer-specific Spatial Pouch, with a capacity of two hundred enhancers.

"It's good doing business with you." Faren nodded as he passed the remaining payment in a Yone Pouch that contained 10 000 gold yones. He had already deposited half of the amount when he placed the order.

"Likewise. You're AMC's beloved VIP customer, after all," Alan said with a smile. "Looking forward to our next transaction."

After Faren Ablemore left the store, Alan leaned back into his seat. Before he could fully sink into the backrest, however, the door flung open again.

"Oh, did you forget something—" His words faded into the air as Alan stared at the hooded figure by the entrance. His golden eyes flickered a few times before speaking again. "Edris?"

The man yanked off his hood, revealing his midnight blue hair. At the machina's dazed expression, Edris shrugged a smile.

"It’s been awhile."

Even though he had recovered the third day after the incident, Dolan and Celio still insisted that he rest at the royal palace for another week. As a result, he resorted to sneaking out of the palace himself.

"First the Tempest Initiator, then the Prophet. I was right. You seem to be creating quite the ripple after all." Alan leaned back in amusement.

Edris didn't bother sustaining his facade in front of the machina, who cared not for formalities unlike the nobles of the upper-society.

Of everyone he met so far in the Zacriya Kingdom, he found it easiest to communicate with Alan Grennor due to their similar values. Both Alan and Edris shared the sentiment that the best interactions between human beings were ones that followed the principle of equivalent exchange.

He tossed a bag full of coins onto the table and smirked.

"The nicknames don't matter. What matters is this."

Alan shared a matching expression as he eyed the pouch before him.

"What are you looking for this time?"

"I need something related to invisibility," Edris said.

Even though he had refuted Dolan Zacriya's absurd speculations about him being a prophet, the rumours still managed to spread throughout the kingdom faster than he had expected.

Edris lamented inwardly.

With eyes preying at his back every other step, it would be a hassle if he couldn't move freely without being recognised as the person with cringeworthy nicknames.

"Invisibility…" Alan seemed to catch onto his thoughts as the machina let out a chuckle. "I don't have any available at the moment, but new products are coming in later this week. I can get back to you once they arrive."

"Let me know as soon as they do." Edris nodded. "I also need more enhancers, and a mana detector."

From the assassination incident, Edris felt he still needed to strengthen his physiques.

Even though the injuries he sustained from the Queen weren't severe and healed relatively quickly, he still felt slight discomfort after waking up. The pain likened to the spiking sensation after taking a sip of a steaming soup, although he could no longer experience even that thanks to the Sacrifical Hourglass.

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Subtle pain, but still pain.

"Mana detector?" Alan blinked. "Why would you need that?"

Not only were mana channel detectors expensive, but they were also mainly sought after by nobles for their children, in order to test their mana aptitude.

"Do you have it?" Edris didn't bother answering his question.

Normally, he wouldn't spend money on a one-time usage item, especially a detection device, but he needed to know how much he could improve with only enhancers.

Enhancers could improve one's physical abilities only to the extent their mana channel allowed it. After that, the individual would have to work to strengthen their physical body little by little through arduous training, often resorting to the path of an adventurer.

However, Edris didn't want to put himself through such troubles.

His only goal was to live a comfortable life, after all.

"I do. Are you making the purchase today?" Alan rummaged through a cupboard, pulling out a cube-shaped device.

"Yeah," Edris took over the item, shoving it into his bag. He wasn't worried about the cost; his savings had increased quite significantly thanks to the Crown Prince's compensations.

As he also filled his bag with enhancers, Edris stared at the bulging sack and wondered if he should also buy a Spatial Pouch. After a short contemplation, he decided to save that for next time.

"Are you going to carry all that back?" Alan raised an eyebrow, eyeing the baggage on the ground.

Edris only smiled at the machina's question as he pointed below his feet. Simultaneous to his action, a ring of light seeped through the wooden flooring, enveloping the man in a glow.

Before Alan could say anything else, Edris had disappeared along with a flurry of dust.

Staring at the now empty space, Alan released another laugh.

"It seems that a crazy one has appeared."

***

"Oh, gentle one! Oh, Prophet Edris!"

The moment Edris arrived back at the royal palace, he was bombarded with the priest's enthusiasm as the latter trailed him from the grand hall, all the way to the front of his resting chamber.

"Prophet Edris!" The white-robed priest, Alder, followed him with a desperate look on his face.

Edris stopped walking, turned around, and inspected the man from top to bottom.

Things have gotten annoying.

His original plan was to put down his things and head out again. He had scheduled a meeting with a merchant to go cottage-seeing around the city coast. With a lofty amount of money added to his savings, Edris thought he'd at least start scouting the area and take the first step toward his dream.

Now, he seriously contemplated revising his plans.

Despite the circulating rumours, Edris didn't go out of his way to make an official denial as he thought the title would bring him more benefits than drawbacks. He didn't expect troubles to show up one after another.

This wasn't the first time Priest Alder had visited him.

Three days ago, he was getting ready to leave the royal palace when this old man, dressed in a white cassoke, suddenly showed up while telling him to join the church.

According to the old man, he had hurried here from the central Church of Serenity in the wills of higher-ups, after hearing about the prophet's plan to settle down in the capital.

Priest Alder was the start of the hassle, but definitely not the end. Aside from him, Edris had been pestered by nobles and Awakeneds alike, all trying to dig out his information and address.

Why? They wanted their fortunes told?

Edris jeered inwardly at the situation as he cast his eyes back onto the priest.

He knew well that the existence of prophets was far from their depiction to the general public, especially non-mana users.

Yes, prophets were known as messengers of the divine, but in no way did that implicate their ability to predict each person's future.

In fact, no one can predict another person's future.

Edris never understood the origins of this misunderstanding.

Suppose he took up this false role of a prophet and went around the kingdom misleading random citizens about their future. Would they mindlessly obey simply because he was a so-called prophet?

If he told someone that they would obtain immense affluence in the future, would that person proceed to live by his words and rot away for the rest of his life, with the false presumption that, in the end, he would gain affluence no matter what?

Just because the "prophet" said so?

The thought sounded utterly ridiculous to Edris, and even more so when he knew that there were actually people who lived like that throughout the world.

"Prophet Edris, please listen!"

At the priest's relentless pleadings, the dark-haired man let out a faint sigh. From the corner of his eye, he glanced at the pink ball in his trench coat pocket.

As he raised a hand to halt the pleadings, Edris spoke to Ace in a whisper, "How long is the meeting spot from here?"

He had booked a second meeting with the merchant to scout the Nolmes cottages.

— A block away.

"Hm. I suppose I could just walk then."

As Edris stood still, mentally finalising his plans for the day, Priest Alder approached him from behind with a chary smile.

"Uh, Prophet Edris? Sir…?"

Prior to meeting the rumoured prophet, Alder received several accounts of Edris's good-willed nature. He didn't expect the traveller to be so hesitant about joining the Church of Serenity.

"Master!" A cheerful voice echoed throughout the corridors, and following the sound, a golden-haired youth came running towards them.

"Celio, you're late," Edris said as he waited for the boy to catch his breath.

"Sorry, Master. I was making sure of the meeting spot with the merchant." Celio rubbed the nape of his neck as his eyes landed on the white-robed man. "And this is…?"

Seeing that Edris had no plans to proceed with the introduction, Priest Alder quickly introduced himself.

"A priest? What brings you here?" Celio cocked his head to the side.

"Ah, well. You see..."

"Priest Alder." Finally, Edris turned towards him, and Priest Alder nodded promptly, regaining hope after seeing his sudden initiative.

The dark-haired man smiled.

"I'm an atheist."

The corridors fell silent.

"P-pardon me?"

Priest Alder stared at the man before him, at the man who was supposedly a prophet sent by the deities.

Edris strolled past, ignoring his dumbfounded expression.

"I don't believe in those things."

During this whole time, the angelic smile never left his face as he exited the palace, leaving the priest completely flabbergasted.

***

"Sir Edris! Ah, pardon me, Prophet Edris!"

The moment Edris passed the palace's gates, he immediately regretted his decision to walk.

Stalled around the gates were several carriages, obviously owned by nobles of high status.

Before Edris could turn around, three butlers from three different carriages called out to him simultaneously. Without further ado, they approached him hastily, each carrying gifts in their hands.

"You're famous," Ace commented within the coat, amused.

"Celio." Edris pressed shut the rims of his trench pockets as he took in the situation with a sigh. "Tell the merchant we'll have to reschedule the cottage visit for another day."

Another day, surely.

Although Edris was smiling, the action didn't reach his eyes.