"Hey both of you! You are under arrest for assaulting people and causing public disorder. Now come with us quietly, or we will have to use force," said one of the guards, ready to take Mason and Bowen into custody.
The dark elf became increasingly worried but felt helpless. Though she had known Bowen for a short while and believed he was a good person, she had no means to help him. She wasn't aware of his relationship with Mason, the drunkard, but she felt it was best for Bowen not to associate with him. Despite her desire to assist, she lacked the ability to do so.
"I knew it, that drunkard is nothing but trouble. Why would he bring someone as irritating as him?" the dark elf cursed Mason in her mind.
"Hey, kid, I'm talking to you. Raise your hands and kneel down, or we will use force," shouted the guards again when they saw Bowen remaining quiet.
"If you accuse me of breaking his wrist, I only did it in self-defense," Bowen calmly replied.
"Go to the city court to defend yourself. Now come with us," the guard responded impatiently. It was normal for the criminals to always defend themselves when caught. Of course most of the time it was a lie.
"Are you sure, Mr. Guard? I think it should be him that you have to arrest," Bowen retorted with a smile, leaving everyone dumbfounded.
[Is this child right in his mind? Why is he smiling when is is about to be arrested?] thought the dark elf. Other onlookers also had similar thoughts in their minds.
"What audacity you have? Are you teaching the police what to do?" shouted the man with the broken wrist. He was annoyed of Bowen's smile.
"Yes, don't try to act all big and mighty. You will go to jail today. Mr. Guard, please arrest them quickly," added the tall woman. He was in a hurry. It's better the guards arrested them quickly.
The guards couldn't wait any longer; they didn't want the situation to escalate into a commotion. They moved forward to restrain Bowen, only to stop in their tracks within a couple of steps.
Their eyes widened, and they trembled when they saw the item in Bowen's hands—the Golden Emblem of Starfall. Normally, having a Bronze Emblem of a kingdom meant the person was related to someone working in the empire castle, like low-ranking knights. Having a Silver Emblem indicated a connection to one of the ministers or important members of the castle. However, possessing a Golden Emblem meant being directly related to the royal family. Moreover, the emblem belonged to one of the three major kingdoms of the Yuria continent. In contrast, Del City was a small city in the minor kingdom of Luthania. Even the Emperor of Luthania would have to treat Bowen with respect; otherwise, it wouldn't take a single day for a major kingdom to swallow up a minor one like Luthania.
Heck, it is possible for this small mishap to end up in a full-scale war between countries!
One of the guards quickly reacted, delivering a loud slap that echoed through the streets. The man with the broken wrist felt the full force of the guard's hand on his right cheek.
"SSI... SIRR..." another slap resounded before the man could utter a word.
"Si..." (SLAP)
"S..." (SLAP)
Finally, The man decided to keep his mouth shut with only tears dripping down his swollen cheeks.
"How dare you try to attack a noble?" said the other guard, not wanting to leave a bad impression on Bowen. Bowen is equal to a noble while having the golden emblem.
The people felt a growing sense of frustration. The victim had now become the criminal? Nice.
"We are extremely sorry, sir. Not only will we arrest this scoundrel, but we will also make sure he learns his lesson," said one guard.
"Yes, don't worry. He must spend at least five years eating prison food," added another guard, trying to please Bowen.
In that moment, Bowen finally grasped the significance of having connections with powerful individuals. "Is that why the system gave me such missions?" he pondered. Just then, he noticed the beautiful woman slowly sneaking through the crowd, observing the guards taking Bowen's side.
"Miss, where are you going? Don't you want justice?" Bowen called out, cleverly redirecting everyone's attention to her.
"N... no, I forgive him now. It's fine... ha ha, it happens... well, I should get going..." the woman stammered.
"Enough! Stop with your acting," Bowen said, feeling frustrated.
"Acting...? I don't understand," she replied innocently.
"Aren't you a harlot? Don't play innocent," Bowen shocked everyone with his accusation.
"You...!" The lady gritted her teeth at being called a harlot in front of everyone.
"Guards, let me tell you what really happened,"
"By the smell of acida coming from her body, I'm sure she is a prostitute. (Acida is a medicine used by courtesans in Yuria continent to prevent unwanted pregnancies.) Not only that, she stole a common-rank weapon from my partner when he was careless and tried to run away. Her sleeves must have torn when he tried to catch her. Instead, she wants to put the blame on my partner for molesting her and gather public opinion against him. Isn't that what happened, Mason?"
"Yes, yess mastra! Sheee... she stolee weapoan," Mason said, glaring at the woman.
"NO, NO... YOU ARE LYING! Just because you have influence, can you twist the story around? Don't commoners like us have justice?" the woman cried, begging for justice. However, the guards and people remained silent this time. They knew whom they should support, even if she was a victim. It didn't matter; it was her mistake to stand in the way of a noble. Such was the way the world worked.
Bowen didn't waste time listening to her wailing. He swiftly grabbed the necklace from around her neck, which startled everyone present. "It's a necklace with space attribute. It must be inside," he said, pouring a bit of mana to examine its contents.
(A/N: Bowen doesn't need help of system to use mana as it is already stored in his mana vessel. But he cannot use the cultivation technique- Nova's breathing technique.)
"Ah, there it is!" Bowen exclaimed, revealing a sleek bow and arrow to the crowd.
The lady, though quivering, remained insistent, "That... that is mine, yes, mine." She said without batting an eye.
With a sigh, Bowen challenged her, "If it's truly yours, then tell me its name."
"Name? It doesn't have one," she replied. Usually, common-rank weapons don't bear names.
"Wrong. Its name is Thorn Whisper. You can see the name engraved at the base of the bow," Bowen explained and handed the bow to one of the guards.
"Yes, sir, it's true," the guard confirmed respectfully. Gritting their teeth and glaring at the lady. She could have almost cost their lives if they had belived her earlier.
Suddenly the lady's tears gave way to anger. There was no more innocent look on her face. Without wasting time she attempted to flee, but the surrounding crowd and guards quickly apprehended her.
"leaveee..i will kill you all… leave meee…LEAVEE! She shouted as the guards dragged her away.
"Damn, she really is an actress," someone remarked.
"Yes, see how she fooled us. If it weren't for the noble young master, she could have deceived us all," another person added.
"So, she's that kind of woman. I fell for her innocent act," a bystander admitted.
The public turned against the woman, hurling words of frustration at her.
Some of them even came to apologized to Bowen. They don't want to make enemy with a noble after all.
The dark elf couldn't believe what she had witnessed. Was she traveling with such a person? Even though Bowen wasn't a noble himself, the emblem he possessed granted him noble status. She regretted her earlier arrogance towards him. But she was still surprised to think how patient he was with her. Bowen's status rose several heights in her mind.
"Mason was moved to tears. 'Thankk you, Mashter... I... I...'" Mason expressed his gratitude.
"It's alright. Be careful from now on. I will soon get you a space artifact to store your things," Bowen reassured Mason, patting him on the back. Mason became too happy on hearing that he will get another gift from his master.
Bowen kept Thorn Whisper in his space bracelet and prepared to go to the office of the White Order.
The dark elf gestured for him to hop on her spirit beast. Bowen would gladly take her help. He doesn't want to aimlessly wander around asking for directions.
"To the White Order. How much?" Bowen asked.
"You've already paid me plenty, so it's free. I don't want to incur the wrath of a noble for overcharging," the elf replied playfully. Bowen chuckled and got onto the spirit beast with Mason. [So, this elf can joke huh?] he thought.
While traveling, Bowen inspected the necklace's contents again. Something caught his interest while he took the weapon from it, which made him decide against returning it to the lady or the guards. The necklace contained exactly 27 large silver coins, 2 low-grade healing potions, a hair ornament, and a rolled bundle of paper.
He quickly unrolled the paper and realized it was not an ordinary piece; it was a treasure map with mysterious markings and words in an unknown language. One word, "la-de-qudielda," written at the back of the map, was comprehensible to him.
"What is this? Why would a prostitute have this map?" Bowen wondered.
Anyway, the routes depicted on the map were not land routes but rather sea routes. It appeared that he would soon embark on a journey at sea. Another intriguing item that caught Bowen's attention was the butterfly hair ornament. It had a unique stone that pulsated with mana. Bowen already knew it was not a simple accessory, but he had to wait for the system to identify its true nature. Moreover, he noticed a butterfly theme tattooed on the tall woman's underarms when she exposed her torn sleeve. While others might not have noticed it, Bowen's keen observation skills allowed him to catch such details in a split second.
"Ha! Treasure in the sea, huh... why not? Let's go for it!" Bowen chuckled with excitement.