As the afternoon sun grew stronger, Radon Town entered its most boisterous time. Han Jin and Miss Keeley stood silently on the second floor, watching the scene below from the window.
Over 200 townsfolk had gathered in a circle downstairs. The old man that had sat by Miss Keeley yesterday, was now standing in the center of the circle, saying something with his spit flying.
"That idiot is a forging master?" cried the old man, his hand pointing at a pair of armor. His voice was so loud that even Miss Keeley and Han Jin upstairs could hear him clearly.
Beside the old man stood a wooden shelf, on which a set of extremely odd looking armor hanged. Places that should have been flat were bulging out, while places that should have been round were covered in stiff edges. The most exasperating thing was that the armor was completely unsymmetric, especially the right leg, which was too thin and short to cover anything. In other words, it was as ugly as a set of armor could be.
The old man was obviously very competent at swearing. He first attacked the Villar's forging skill, then his personality. When he saw that his malicious words seemed to be amusing the onlookers, he turned to question the intelligence of Villar's parents, then finally dragged the entire race of the dwarves into his argument. He was so eloquent that words gushed out of his mouth like a river.
"Here he comes, the dwarf..." A turmoil started among the onlookers.
A sleepy Villar squeezed into the circle, gunk still in his eyes. He had just woken up and had been immediately irritated when he had heard someone outside cursing the dwarven race.
That old man continued his cursing as though he didn't see Villar at all, though he did shift the topic back to Villar's craftsmanship.
Villar stared at the armor with his eyes wide open, and suddenly reared up, "You are fucking making up bullshit!"
"I'm making up bullshit?" The old man sneered. "Master Villar, you had your seal behind the armor; are you telling me you didn't forge this armor?"
"It's true I forged it!" The sound of Villar's roaring was like thunder. "But… but it was made at the request of the customer!"
"At the request of the customer? Ahahaha… Master Villar, we are not fools. Who would hire you to forge a set of armor like this; is this even made for humans?" The crowd burst out laughing. The old man continued to shout with his nose in the air, "In fact, the customer you mentioned was the one who left this armor for me! He had felt cheated but was in a hurry to leave, which was why he gave me the armor to reveal your true colors!"
"You… You..." Villar's face turned red from anger, but he couldn't think of anything to defend himself. Even if he could, no one would believe him.
The old man was even more pleased with himself. He once again started to insult Villar's parents, as well as dwarves in general, which caused waves of laughter from the spectators. Villar's face started to turn red at an increasing rate. Finally, he lost control of his temper. With an enraged roar, he charged at the old man with his fist extended, and quickly landed a solid punch on the old man's stomach. Though Villar had intended to punch the old man's mouth shut, he was forced to pick a more… accessible point to attack because of his height.
The old man was caught off guard, and went flying back like a broken kite. After knocking down seven or eight onlookers, he landed motionless on the ground with a thud, blood gushing out from his mouth.
"Someone's been killed..." the crowd screamed and scrambled to flee the scene.
"And now, you have one less problem to worry about." Han Jin turned around and sat proudly on the chair.
Miss Keeley, likewise, turned around suddenly. Her chest was rapidly rising and falling, and she stared coldly at Han Jin with a mix of anger and condemnation on her face.
"What's wrong?" Han Jin asked casually.
"No, nothing!" Miss Keeley took a long breath.
"In that case... You should pay me the rest of the coins, shouldn't you?" Han Jin smiled.
Miss Keeley took out a small pile of coins which had been wrapped into a bundle using a scarf. She looked as if she was about to throw it on the ground, but then changed her mind. Instead, she slowly set the bundle on the table and said through gritted teeth, "Young Master Raphael, 'thank you' for taking care of my trouble!"
"You're welcome." Han Jin took the bundle without checking how many coins were in there. Then after a pause, he said, "It seems I am no longer welcomed here, but… I have to say that although I very much a failure of a noble, it doesn't mean that anyone can insult me as they wish. Anyway, I just wanted to teach him a lesson about controlling his mouth, though I did not expect it to end this way."
Miss Keeley didn't say anything and simply waved her hand coldly.
Han Jin stood up and casually walked downstairs with Steelberg meekly following behind him.
After they left through the back door of the shop and took a turn onto another street, Han Jin let out a long sigh of relief. He was in somewhat of low spirits, because what he had said to Miss Keylee was true, but unfortunately, she had not believed him at all.
Though the plan had tragically gone wrong in the end, it was by no means a bad thing for Miss Keylee. She could use this incident to firmly blackmail Villar, and maybe even force him into slavery. She was the aggrieved party, so if she refused to accept compensation, Villar was sure to suffer severe punishment, and by then, becoming her slave would be his only option if he wanted to live. However, Han Jin also knew that whatever Miss Keeley chose to do, it would be her last desperate struggle.
Han Jin suddenly noticed that someone had blocked off the sun and turned around. Aside from Steeleberg, he also noticed the tall Moxinke. Han Jin curiously asked, "Sir, your task is complete; why are you still following us? "
"Exactly, my contract with her just ended. Why would I stay?" Moxinke smiled.
"Ah..." Just as Han Jin was about to ask more, he suddenly heard a cry from behind them, "I finally found you two bastards!" Someone then firmly grabbed his shoulder.
Han Jin turned around and recognized that the man grasping his shoulder was his old butler Barbato, whom Steelberg had pointed out for him yesterday.
"You don't have a conscience, do you?" Barbato shouted hoarsely. "For the old master's sake, I have always treated you as my own child. When did I ever turn you down when you sought my help? You two rats! How dare you come to my house and steal?? Take off your robes right now!..." Still shouting, Barbato tried to tear the robe off of Han Jin.
Han Jin slightly frowned and casually pushed Barbato off.
The old butler retreated several steps before stabilizing himself. At this point, his lips were shivering from anger. "You bastards, how dare you push me! Go..."
Before he finished his words, Han Jin casually threw out a gold coin, which flew into the air with a shimmer, then dropped back down into Han Jin's hand. The whole process appeared very casual and smooth. Barbato was immediately dumbfounded by this, and so was the woman and the men from the law enforcement team who were standing behind him.
"Catch." Han Jin smiled and flicked his thumb. The gold coin immediately flew toward Barbato with a golden arc.
Maybe because he was too familiar with this scene, familiar to the point where it was ingrained in his mind, but Barbato stepped forward with an agility and speed unfit for his age and deftly caught the coin. An extremely joyful smile boomed on his face as he bowed and said flatteringly, "Thank you, Young Master..."
"Ha..." Han Jin snorted and didn't bother to respond to Barbato any more. Instead, he turned to Steelberg and Moxinke and said, " Let's go. I will treat you two to a feast"
Barbato was indeed old. He only realized what he had done after he had caught the coin. Now, he didn't know whether to push the matter or not, and could only stand numbly in place. After all, he was the one that had voluntarily caught the coin. No one had forced him to act like a slave, so he had no one else to blame.
"Get out of the away!" Moxinke pushed one of the men away. The other men's faces instantly turned angry, but they immediately lowered their heads again after seeing the badge on Moxinke's chest. With that, the group of people scrambled out in embarrassment.
It was the same rule everywhere. If you want respect, you need either power, money, or immense strength, because in the end, no one wants to respect the weak.
***
In a small tavern to the east of Radon Town, Han Jin and his two companions sat around a table. Moxinke put down the menu and asked, "Young Master Raphael, What would you like to eat?"
"Let's spare the honorifics; it feels too awkward," Han Jin said. "Call me Raphael."
Moxinke thought for a moment, and nodded. "So be it."
"You two order for yourselves. As for me..." Han Jin hesitated. "Give me two plates of salt boiled cassavas." To Han Jin, eating in the tavern was a waste of money. It would be much cheaper to buy some cassavas from the market, but since Moxinke seemed to be becoming friendlier, he thought it would be worthwhile to spend some money and get to know more about him. Han Jin had never been one to skimp on places where it was necessary to spend money.
"Why would you eat cassavas?" Moxinke twitched his mouth.
"I like light food," Han Jin replied.
A moment later, their dishes arrived. Moxinke ordered a fragrant steak cooked in straw, and roasted dragon heart, as well as a bottle of wine. Though the name 'roasted dragon heart' sounded quite scary, it was actually just the heart of a small passive herbivore that looked like a lizard. Steelberg, on the other hand, ordered nothing. In the past ten odd years, he had always tried to see through his young master's thoughts and feelings in order to better serve him, which he had considered to be his lifelong career. Though the true Raphael was gone, Steelberg had still somehow managed to see through Han Jin's emotions. Just like now, even though Han Jin acted generously, Steelberg clearly knew that his young master's heart was aching with how much money he had to spend.
"Moxinke, you said the contract between you and Miss Keeley was terminated?" Han Jin asked.
"Mhm." Moxinke nodded. "She had hired me to deal with the dwarf, Villar. Now that you took care of it, what else would she need me for?"
"That's quite fast. She really kicked you out immediately?" Han Jin sighed.
"Ha… I didn't really do anything since arriving at Radon Town. Now that I got my money, I'm quite content with leaving."
"Then what are your next plans?" Han Jin said with a smile.
"What about you?"
"Me? I don't know."
"Me neither." Moxinke spit out a piece of broken bones and said with a humble laugh, "My master had always told me that since I'm not the brightest person, I need to make more clever friends; that's the only way I can learn."
"Oh?" Han Jin laughed silently. He knew Moxinke was not as dull as he appeared to be. On the contrary, he knew the big fellow was very smart. Otherwise, he would not have responded so fast in the bar while cooperating with him the day before, nor would he have frightened those men from the law enforcement to get revenge.
"Raphael, you are a very smart person," Moxinke said bluntly.
"Why would you say that?" Han Jin laughed.
"Yesterday, when you said you could deal with Villar using your brain, I thought you had just been bluffing. But the fact is, you really did what you said, even though the method was a little... evil..."
"I don't think I did anything wrong," Han Jin seriously said. He knew that Moxinke had intentionally called him evil to his face to judge what kind of person he was. "Miss Keeley had helped him and trusted him, but what did he do in return? A simple, despicable traitor. Does he really have the right to demand things from others?"
"Well... It does make sense if you put it that way." Moxinke thought for a moment, and nodded. "By the way, when I tried to follow you downstairs I heard Miss Keeley pronouncing your name, Raphael. I think she likes you."
"Really?" Before Han Jin could say anything, Steelberg lit up with pleasure. He had always thought his young master still loved Miss Keeley, so when he heard this, he felt happy for Raphael with all his heart.
"What was that?!" Han Jin rolled his eyes at Steelberg. "Like? Ah… She probably hates me."
"Why would she hate you, Young Master?"
"Because one of her men was killed by Villar, and she thinks I'm the one that set her up."
"Did you?" Moxinke asked.
"Yes," Han Jin answered in a low voice. In the span of a few minutes, Moxinke had tested him several times. No matter what conclusion Moxinke had arrived at though, Han Jin had already seen through his act of a dull fellow with more brawn than brain. "The only mistake I had made was that I had overestimated Villar. I thought that he would have learned his lesson after running away from Holy Crown City. I hadn't expected him to still be short-tempered enough to beat a man to death with just one pound."
Moxinke was silent for a moment, then asked, "Raphael, what kind of person... do you think Miss Keeley is?"
"Very clever, but not that sophisticated. She lacks experience." Han Jin thought for a while and continued, "When I told her to arrange the old man to laugh at the dwarf, she hadn't objected, which meant that she didn't think it could be dangerous. But since she knew immediately that I had set the whole thing up, it indicates that she is clever enough."
Moxinke scratched his head as if he couldn't quite understand what Han Jin was saying.
"Give her a few years, and she will become a very powerful woman." Han Jin tapped his forehead. "Of course, that is if she can survive these few years."
Moxinke was immediately intrigued and asked, "Raphael, what do you mean by that?"
"Do you really think a convicted dwarf would betray Miss Keeley if he had no backers?" Han Jin lowered his voice, "The way I see it, the dwarf was either used by someone, or threatened. If I thought of this, then Miss Keeley must also have thought of it as well. But what did she do? She hired you to kill Villar at first, and then paid me to deal with him. Heh...Moxinke, do you still not understand?"
Moxinke shook his head as he stared unblinkingly at Han Jin.This time, he didn't pretend to be dull, because he really didn't understand.
"In her secret battle with the person behind all this, Miss Keeley is obviously in a bad position, which means she was only capable of, or dares, to target the dwarf. She didn't try to persuade him, and instead immediately chose the most drastic option of murder. She did this because she knew her opponents were very powerful, and if Villar fell into their hands, there would be no chance of him coming back."
"But... but... All that only means that Miss Keeley is in trouble. Why do you assume her life is in danger?" Moxinke was still confused. "Perhaps those people are just trying to force Miss Keeley to agree on some conditions?"
"Not bad. You thought of all that as well?" Han Jin said with a half smile, "Seems your teacher was wrong about your cleverness."
"Ha..." Moxinke scratched head embarrassingly, then shifted the subject. "Raphael, please continue."
"Whether Miss Keeley will be in danger or not will be determined by her own character." Han Jin said slowly, "To be honest, I went to see Miss Keeley for two reasons. One is that I was in need of money, and the second is that I was trying to offer myself for her future needs through my actions. Since I could help her deal with Villar, I could, naturally, solve other problems for her, right? Though her opponents are very powerful, I could at least bring her some hope, and she would at least give me a chance, right?"
Moxinke listened carefully, while Steelberg was totally confused at this point.
"But I thought myself clever. I not only overestimated Villar, but also underestimated Miss Keeley. She didn't hide her hatred for me after what happened, nor did she think to get revenge by withholding my payment. If she had refused to pay me the other half of the golden coins, there would be nothing I could do, and she knew it. Moreover, she was going to throw the coins on the ground to show her disdain and anger, but she didn't do that. Instead, she put the coins on the table." Han Jin paused for a while. "Through all that, I can say that Miss Keeley is a person of principle who knows clearly what to love and what to hate. She will not suppress or bully her partners to show her disdain, nor will she hide her disdain and act falsely. Such a lady usually has a very strong personality. In other words, if faced with unavoidable pressure or suppression, she would rather die than yield! Do you understand?"
"Ah, I see." Moxinke nodded. "On a continent which is falling further into chaos, it is indeed rare to find such a person."
"But those are only mere theories." Han Jin put the last piece of cassava into his mouth. "Things may not go the way I predict. Unexpected things happen all the time, after all."
"You mean… what you just said was crap?"
"You can very well treat it like crap." Han Jin smiled and turned his eyes onto the menu. A platter of salt boiled cassavas only cost him twelve copper coins, which meant that this tavern only charged a tiny amount.
Han Jin called a waiter, but who knows if a servant in such a small tavern can be counted as a waiter. The waiter came immediately with a smile on his face and asked, "Young master, what else can I do for you."
"50 plates of salt cassavas, please."
"How many??" Moxinke and the waiter simultaneously asked with a surprised expression on their faces. Only Steelberg kept his calm.
"50 plates of salt cassavas; is there any problem?"
The waiter stood there for a long time, shocked, then walked straight toward the kitchen.
"Why do you need so many salt cassavas?" Moxinke asked curiously.
"To eat," Han Jin answered simply.
After a short time, the plates of cassavas arrived. Han Jin didn't hesitate. He rolled up his sleeves, and started digging in like a wild animal. Soon, all the cassavas were wiped out. Since Han Jin had already accumulated some energy, he didn't need to carefully choose what he ate anymore. All he needed was speed.
At first, Moxinke had just been curious and wondered if Han Jin could eat them all, but when Han Jin wiped over twenty plates of cassavas clean, Moxinke was stunned. His eyes opened wider and wider as if they were going to pop out of his eye sockets. He couldn't help but bend down to see if Han Jin was hiding the cassavas under the table, or if he had thrown them away by some magic tricks. Naturally, he found nothing, since Han Jin was at a crucial stage of his energy accumulation process; he would not even waste the peel, let alone throw away the cassavas.
In what seemed like an instant, Han Jin had finished the forty plates of cassavas. The waiters who were bringing in more plates, seemed to have stopped caring at this point. Moxinke put down the glass and asked, "I… I wonder... Raphael, are you a dragon? How can you eat so much?"
"Have you seen a dragon that looks like me?"
"No, never, but high grade giant dragons can transform!"
"Have you ever heard of a dragon eating salt boiled cassavas?" Though still busy eating, Han Jin didn't forget to smile. "One who eats cassavas instead of delicious roasted meat?"
"True." Moxinke thought. "But what if you're a poor dragon?"
"You are really… Even if I am poor, have you considered what dragons symbolize? Instead of chatting with you, why wouldn't I just fly to Holy Crown City and directly talk to Lord Dismark?"
"But it's impossible for an ordinary man to eat so much! What if you… If you are a little bit eccentric… I mean, really weird, and only like cassavas?"
"Moxinke, tell me the truth. Did your master beat you too hard or something before?" Han Jin was totally stunned by Moxinke's imagination. He knew he shouldn't underestimate this big fellow, but he also couldn't overestimate him. Contradicting others was just a habit of Moxinke's, not because he had sensed something abnormal.
"What does that mean?"
"Nothing." Han Jin reluctantly shook his head. "I admit, I am a dragon; does that make you feel better?"
"Who would believe that?!" Moxinke scoffed. "If you are a dragon, why would you let Miss Keeley go? I'm telling you, all dragons are perverted!"
Though Han Jin had always disciplined himself by strict moral codes, he still almost lost his temper and almost threw the plate at Moxinke's face. When he had been analyzing Miss Keeley's personality, the guy had started to argue with him. Alright, fine, that was a serious matter - it was understandable that he was being cautious. He had denied that he was a dragon, and that guy had argued with him. Now that he had admitted he was a dragon, that guy had still argued with him, just in the opposite direction! What could he say in that situation?! If you only judged Moxinke by his looks, or only knew him briefly, you would have never known he was a person like that!