Scepter

Part 26

With Feizel being so directly called out, he couldn't keep up his facade even if he tried. After repeatedly apologizing to the dark-robed mage and the priest, Feizel found a flimsy excuse and left sheepishly.

Watching Feizel's departing figure, Yannick rubbed his nose. "There's no need to be so harsh on him. Everyone has their own motives, it's normal. Overall, he's still a decent companion."

"If I hadn't retaliated in time, you could have died there. Aren't you angry?" Chris asked.

Yannick smiled. "I can differentiate between friends and allies. For us, Feizel is an ally, nothing more. When there are common interests, we can cooperate, but once our goals clash, he could become an enemy at any moment."

For some reason, when Chris heard him say "us," he unexpectedly felt quite good. The slight downturn of his mouth softened, though this change wasn't visible to others. As they walked out of the city hall, he cast another illusion spell to conceal his appearance. Clearly, Chris didn't want others to associate his face with the mage robes he wore.

"I didn't expect Lacerena to look so guarded from the outside, yet it's bustling inside," Yannick remarked, marveling at the lively scene of bustling shops. Since his forced exile, he had been estranged from activities like shopping.

Occasionally, mages in robes could be seen on the streets, but more commonly, it was merchants and ordinary folks who constituted the city's vitality.

Moreover, there were many adventure teams preparing to venture into the Dark Forest. Typically, these teams consisted of mages and swordsmen, with priests being almost nonexistent. At least, Yannick hadn't seen a single priest during his time there.

Even if there were priests, they probably wouldn't dare to walk the streets so openly. Perhaps, like him, they had perfected their disguises. Lacerena was a melting pot of various backgrounds. Eccentric attire wouldn't draw much attention; instead, it might even imply hidden identities or abilities, deterring others from easily provoking them.

However, even though Yannick concealed himself tightly, his partially exposed face still attracted considerable attention.

"You could easily be recognized by your enemies with that face," Chris remarked.

"And then?" Yannick shrugged.

"I could cast a spell to distort your appearance for you," the dark-robed mage suggested earnestly.

Yannick twitched his lips. "Wouldn't that look even stranger?"

Now that he concealed every strand of hair, walking around in broad daylight with a completely obscured face might attract even more attention, wouldn't it?

"Oh." Chris didn't insist.

He just felt a slight displeasure at others frequently staring at Yannick.

Just a little bit.

Yannick didn't forget his purpose for coming out. Although Lacerena was just a border city, it was densely populated and rich in resources. Therefore, the magic shops had a wide variety of goods, including some advanced scrolls, which Yannick needed.

Although Chris was wealthy, he had spent almost all his money on a peculiar book earlier. The promised eight hundred gold coins from Feizel would have to be collected from Marlin Earl after returning to the imperial capital.

Yannick sold the bag of white magic crystals he obtained from the cave of the magic fire dragon, earning a total of two gold coins based on the rate of ten copper coins per white magic crystal. This was already a decent harvest. Coupled with the one hundred gold coin deposit from Feizel, he now had a total of one hundred and two gold coins.