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Chapter 42
Lionel entered just before the magic stone auction began.
The auction process was dubious. At first, several people joined in, aiming for the magic stone. But once the price rose to a certain level, only the man who had succeeded in winning the first stone and a few others kept raising the bids in turns.
Recently, the price of magic stones had gone up, so high-capacity stones rarely circulated on the market. Still, the winning bid today was strangely high.
Of course, it wasn’t impossible. Stones with high mana capacity were always in short supply, and only a select few could keep bidding until the end. If things had ended there, Lionel would have had no reason to be suspicious.
But the timing of the stone’s disappearance was far too perfect. During the auction, the item was clearly still there. Yet right after the price was paid, it vanished in an instant—within mere seconds.
And the winning bidder knew very well that if the shop failed to deliver the purchased item after payment, the contract would be void, and the shop would owe double the payment in compensation.
The man framing Stephan as a thief and the man who kept driving up the bids, stirring hostility—turned out to be the same person.
It was a rigged scheme. Stephan had just been unlucky enough to get caught up in it.
How many of them are there?
Lionel calculated silently.
The auctioneer, the magic designer, the woman leading the crowd’s mood, and four men… no, stealing the stone without help from the inside would’ve been impossible. If insiders were involved, maybe five total.
Most likely, they had already confirmed with the shop that the stone was missing, planning to use the shop’s unilateral contract breach as grounds to claim compensation.
That way, they’d not only get back the auction money they’d paid but also receive multiples of that amount in damages—on top of ending up with the magic stone itself.
Lionel narrowed his eyes. He caught sight of some of the suspects secretly exchanging glances. He was certain of the collusion, but he lacked hard evidence.
The stone had probably already been moved elsewhere, or tampered with so its mana could no longer be measured.
Unless the stone was shown and verified directly, Stephan wouldn’t be able to get out of this.
The quickest, cleanest way was to persuade Stephan to show what was inside his pouch.
Though the schemers annoyed him, Lionel had no reason to get involved.
In the end, it was the shop owner’s problem to deal with, and their loss to bear. He had no desire to stir up more trouble without proof. And yet…
Lionel looked down at Jaelyn, standing beside him. She clasped her hands tightly, her face drawn with worry for Stephan. That bothered him even more.
Exhaling a faint sigh, just soft enough not to be heard, Lionel spoke.
“Jaelyn, could you draw me a design that tracks the currently active spell arrays in here? I think you could pull it off.”
At his request, Jaelyn tilted her head slightly. It sounded like Lionel suspected there were additional spell arrays in play.
“I–I could… but…”
Unable to grasp his true intent, Jaelyn rolled her eyes nervously.
Lionel knew she wanted an explanation, but instead of answering, he simply smiled and asked again.
“Then I’ll count on you. If possible, do it without anyone here noticing.”
“Th–that won’t be difficult.”
Glancing around, Jaelyn looked for a space where she could conceal herself and draw.
“Behind me.”
Lionel whispered softly in her ear, gently pulling her arm behind his broad frame.
His tall height and broad shoulders easily shielded her from view.
From behind his back, Jaelyn began sketching the design. A faint glow flowed from her hands, tracing delicate lines in the air.
Geometric shapes and intricate runes appeared where her fingers moved.
Because of the hidden structure of the shop, she hesitated slightly, unsure of the exact interior dimensions. But she estimated based on the central point where they stood and set the approximate range.
Once complete, Jaelyn infused mana into the design. The array flickered, and a number appeared above it.
“F–four… four active arrays.”
“Oh? As many as four?”
“D–did something go wrong?”
“No. Could you also locate them?”
“Um… sure. One moment. But if I try to pinpoint them exactly, someone might notice…”
“A rough idea will do.”
“There’s one spread across the entire shop. Another is that detection array the man just cast. A third is near the shop owner… and the last one, huh? Wait, did I make a mistake?”
Jaelyn’s voice wavered as her hands fidgeted nervously. Then, a small gasp escaped her lips as realization dawned.
“Ah! Right, one of them is the array I just activated. So, it’s mine.”
That left only two suspicious arrays.
Earlier, Rodrigo had said it was impossible for an unauthorized item to leave without detection.
The array spread across the shop must be the alarm for unauthorized items moving in or out. Which means the one near the shop owner is the real culprit array.
“Good. Thank you, Jaelyn. That’s enough.”
Lionel moved quietly toward Rodrigo.
No one in the shop found his movements strange; they were perfectly natural.
Meanwhile, Sasha and Adrian continued to raise their voices, holding the crowd’s attention.
“He’s not my friend, I told you!”
“Then just show us! What’s so hard about that?”
“Then how about you take off that cheap wig of yours and show us the bald head you’re hiding under there first?”
“W–what did you just say?”
“Why? Easy, right? Nothing difficult about it, so come on, let’s see! I’m dying of curiosity!”
Hands on her hips, Sasha shouted confidently. But her words clearly struck a nerve. The man shot up from his seat, trembling with fury.
“You brats! Still wet behind the ears, daring to mock an adult?! Insolent little pests!”
“Oh my, sir, your face is turning bright red. Don’t you know heat rushing to the scalp makes hair fall out faster?”
Enraged, the man lunged, swinging a fist at Sasha. Adrian quickly stepped in front of her.
“Now, now. Even if you’re angry at her insults, threatening a lady with violence is not acceptable.”
Stephan added his own remark.
“Yeah, Sasha, that was a bit much. Pointing out the flaws someone desperately wants to hide doesn’t seem right. Go on, apologize to him.”
It was impossible to tell whether he was deliberately provoking the man further or genuinely thought Sasha had gone too far.
Either way, the man’s face was now as red as an overripe tomato about to burst. Whatever Stephan’s true intent, they had succeeded in enraging him.
Thanks to Sasha, Stephan, and Adrian’s antics, every eye in the shop was fixed on them.
Their disruption gave Lionel the cover he needed to slip behind his target.
One of Rodrigo’s staff, sensing someone nearby, stiffened and glanced back. His expression tightened as he spoke.
“W–what is it?”
His eyes wavered nervously as he looked at Lionel.
It’s him.
His face betrayed everything.
“Oh, I couldn’t see well from over there with so many people crowded around.”
Lionel answered kindly with a harmless smile. Relieved, the staff turned back toward the commotion in the center of the shop.
Lionel heightened his senses, sharpening every nerve. The faint smile that usually lingered at his lips vanished, replaced by a chillingly blank expression.
He closed his eyes, blocking out sight to focus.
There—a subtle flow of mana nearby. He opened his eyes again.
He spotted the man’s hand fiddling unconsciously with his back pocket, as if to guard whatever was inside.
There it is.
Summoning only the bare minimum mana needed, Lionel unraveled the array hidden in the man’s back pocket.
Feigning ignorance, Lionel stood idly by. Moments later, light began gathering toward the staff’s back pocket.
It grew brighter and brighter, soon shining more brilliantly than Stephan’s pouch ever had.
At just the right moment, Lionel spoke, feigning concern.
“Excuse me, but it looks like this gentleman’s item has an even higher mana reading.”
Startled, the staff immediately twisted his body to check his pocket.
Lionel almost laughed. To check so reflexively without hesitation—every action of his was a dead giveaway.
