Luther, the ice magician, didn't want to return to his homeland, Toris Kingdom, so soon. For the time being, he rented a room in Aswalt and continued practicing the new ice magic skill called "Frost Burst" that was rewarded to him by the third prince. It had been three days since the competition, yet he couldn't forget the small kid who had helped him so much. Feeling a sense of guilt for not repaying Bowen, Luther decided to show his gratitude by giving him something. He learned that Bowen resided in a small confectionery called Sweet Treats, which was famous in Aswalt. After breakfast, Luther left his room and, by asking around, managed to find his way there.
With a happy expression, Luther opened the door and called out Bowen's name. However, he stood frozen in place when he saw a fairy-like figure dressed in orange, smiling at him from behind the counter. In that moment, he felt as if all his struggles in life had finally borne fruit. He stood there, mesmerized by the sight of the beautiful Lydia across the reception table. Unbeknownst to himself, his face flushed, and he looked away, feeling embarrassed. Lydia couldn't comprehend what was happening as the customer stood motionless for a while, occasionally stealing glances at her and then turning away. What was going on?
"Hello, sir. How may I assist you?" she said in her sweet voice. Luther found her voice as sweet as honey. He couldn't help but steal occasional glances at her, quickly turning away each time. Just then, the shop's door swung open with a loud noise. Two men entered, as if they owned the place. one tall and the other bearded, both dressed in rowdy clothes. One of them hopped over the counter while the other began rummaging through the candy jars on display.
" Yo beauty! how's the shop going huh?" he said, looking at Lydia with lust in his eyes. Luther's instincts urged him to kill the rogue, but he remained silent, knowing that he was in unfamiliar territory.
"Who... who are you guys?" Lydia asked, growing more alert. "This is a place of business, don't cause trouble."
"Oh, why do you say that? Do we look like troublemakers? Come on, don't be scared," the man eating the candy replied. "In fact, we're here to help you, you know?"
"Yes, it must be really tough running a business, isn't it?" chimed in the man leaning over the counter, snickering at Lydia. "How about this? You pay us some money as a protection fee, and we'll keep this shop safe from bad people."
"There is no trouble here other than you people, and we don't need your protection. Please leave," Lydia firmly responded.
The man on the counter suddenly lost his temper and lunged at one of the braids on Lydia's head. "Yo, bitch! Can't you get the hint? Pay up the money, and we'll leave this place untouched," he growled. His lustful gaze and the lascivious lick of his lips caused Lydia to flinch and cry out in fear.
Luther could no longer tolerate the situation. "Leave her, you bastard!" he shouted. With a forceful punch, he struck the man holding Lydia's hair, causing him to collapse, unable to withstand the impact from a D ranker's blow.
The other rogue swiftly smashed a candy jar on the back of Luther's head. "Eek!" Lydia shouted in shock and backed away against the wall. Blood trickled from Luther's head, but he paid no attention to it. As a D ranker who fought spirit beasts to the death, such injuries were normal for him. Without hesitation, Luther turned around, freezing his fist to strike the rogue in the stomach. The rogue collapsed, clutching his abdomen in pain.
The tall rogue, who had fallen from the counter, rose up with a bleeding nose and swiftly grabbed his knife, lunging at Luther. However, Luther reacted quickly, creating an ice shield just in time. The knife struck the shield and shattered into pieces. Only then It dawned on the rogues that they were facing a higher-ranked ice magician. Before they could decide their next move, Luther conjured an ice blade in his hand and went straight for the kill. Lydia closed her eyes, unable to witness the bloodshed.
"STOP!" Gia's voice rang out, causing Luther to halt his blade just before it could pierce the tall rogue's neck. Gia had been keeping an eye on Bowen's magic training progress when they heard a series of disturbing sounds coming from the shop. They quickly abandoned the training and rushed downstairs, but it seemed they were a little too late.
"What's going on here?" Gia asked, surveying the chaotic scene in the shop.
Lydia was the first to approach Gia and hurriedly confessed, "Boss, those rogues bullied me and demanded a protection fee. That customer over there got involved trying to help me. We should report this to the police."
"How much is the protection fee?" Gia asked, surprising everyone in the room.
"Three small silvers every week," the bearded man responded cautiously, still wary of the ice magician.
Gia took five small silvers from her pouch and instructed Bowen to hand them over to the rogues. Luther, Lydia, and even the rogues themselves couldn't believe how smoothly the issue was being resolved.
"Keep the extra two silvers as compensation for the injury," Gia said calmly. "We will pay the protection fee every week," she added, without batting an eye.
"Hmph! Today you guys are lucky. Let me see if you don't pay next time," threatened the tall man as he rushed outside with his partner, escaping before Luther could take any action.
"Boss of the sweet shop, I don't know who you are, but please don't encourage people like this. If you give in silently today, they will ask for more and more until you're forced to close your business. How about I accompany you to the police station?" Luther suggested, looking at Gia.
"May I know what this customer wants?" responded Old Lady Gia.
"I came to see Bowen," Luther replied, casting a glance at the quiet Bowen standing beside Gia.
"Bowen, see him off after treating your guest properly. And from now on, if any of them come asking for money like this, just give them the amount they need and send them off quickly. Try to prevent any unwanted mess like this," Gia instructed firmly.
"Yes," uttered Bowen and Lydia in unison. Gia went back inside while Bowen pondered over the rogues. When Gia asked Bowen to hand the coins over to the rogues, he seized the opportunity to discreetly touch the hand of the tall rogue, activating his status awareness.
Lackey from the Raven Gang - Bipin Status: (E-)rank
Bowen realized this was one of the new ways for the Raven Gang to earn gold, as ordered by the baroness. They had become so desperate to reach their target that they had started engaging in their atrocious activities in broad daylight. Normally, three silvers per week would be a hefty amount even for a well-established business like Sweet Treats, not to mention smaller shops barely managing to thrive amidst Aswalt's sky-high commercial taxes. Bowen couldn't understand one thing: Gia clearly must be stronger than those rogues. The "C" on the badge she showed Dale at that time likely indicated that she was a C ranker. If that were the case, she alone could handle half of the Raven Gang when they all came at her together, No, she could very well wipe all of the raven gang and Aswalt forces easily. So why did she pretend not to notice their actions? Upon reflection, Bowen realized that Gia focused on reading books, teaching magic, and making her cookies; she seemed unconcerned about many other things. Bowen was certain that Gia held many secrets, but he couldn't dwell on them any longer.
While Bowen contemplated these thoughts, Lydia finished carefully bandaging Luther's head. Luther sat there, blushing and avoiding eye contact with the beautiful Lydia.
"How kind of her to treat me even after all this," he thought to himself.
"I'm sorry for all the trouble," Luther apologized to Lydia.
"No, no, you don't have to apologize. Rather, I should be the one to thank you. Thank you for saving me from those rogues," Lydia said, smiling gratefully.
"Well, I cannot tolerate injustice. Moreover, as a ranker, I have taken an oath to protect the people, so..." Luther explained.
"Umm... you're really humble for a ranker," Lydia replied, blushing slightly.
"Haha, don't mention it. You can be comfortable with me. You can call me by my name, Luther. I'm from Toris Kingdom," Luther said, trying to ease the tension.
"Oh! I'm Lydia. I'm a native of Aswalt," Lydia introduced herself, her cheeks turning even redder.
"Wow, such a nice name. It's as sweet as your voice. Is it because you work in a sweet shop?" Luther began to flirt playfully, making Lydia laugh and blush even more. Just then, Bowen snapped out of his thoughts.
"Cough cough.." Bowen coughed sarcastically to attract attention. Lydia's face turned red as tomato while Luther put on a smile telling "Things are going well, should you interrupt us now?"
"Mr ice Magician tell me what you want. Finish your business quickly and get out." Said Bowen without hiding his frustration. [how dare this uncle flirt with my beautiful sis. I won't allow you to taint my innocent naïve big sister.] he thought. His brotherly instincts kicked in all of a sudden.
"Haha, that's right. I simply want to repay you," said Luther.
"Well, then, let's make it quick so you can be on your way," replied Bowen, wanting to dismiss Luther soon.
"Bowen, you can't treat our guest like that. We should be polite and show respect, especially since he is a respected ranker," Lydia interjected, correcting Bowen.
Of course, sister. We are young, but this gentleman here is almost 30. We should show him the proper respect," Bowen said, raising an eyebrow towards Luther.
Luther grew frustrated as he noticed Lydia's youthful appearance, realizing she was likely around 17 or 18 years old. Being 29 himself, he worried that Lydia wouldn't want to talk to him if she knew his true age.
"So what? Age is only a number. Don't rankers live longer?" Lydia abruptly exclaimed, shocking both Bowen and Luther. While Luther was pleasantly surprised by her response, Bowen felt as if thunder had struck him. He didn't want to see his young sister with an older man.
"Well, then, Miss Lydia, you should rest. I should be going now," Luther said hurriedly, getting up and unable to hide his happiness.
"Hey, what about your repayment?" Bowen shouted after Luther as he made his way to the door.
"I will give it to you next time... I will come back soon!" Luther shouted back, exiting through the door.
"Take care," Lydia said with a warm smile. Then she hopped away, her face beaming with giggles and a radiant smile.
"Don't come here ever again! I don't want your repayment!" Bowen shouted out of frustration.