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Chapter 20
Honestly, he wasn’t even that good-looking.
Which somehow made him even harder to read.
Anyway, I couldn’t shake this uneasy feeling.
“Are you close with the young duke?”
“Hmm. You could say that. More precisely, it’s a relationship where being close is kind of inevitable.”
“Because of the Kazliden family?”
“Yes. As you know, that man practically owns this whole district. If you want to do business, you’d better know who’s above and who’s below.”
In other words, for the sake of a stable business, they’d built ties with the Kazliden family.
“I heard the connection goes all the way back to the previous generation.”
“So there’s a longstanding relationship.”
“Exactly.”
Roten beamed as if that were self-explanatory.
‘Ugh, this is bad.’
That meant as long as I kept coming to work here, I’d inevitably be seeing him often.
And it wasn’t like someone as important as Kazliden would be greeted in a different parlor. He could just come straight up to the sixth floor whenever he wanted…
‘If I’m not careful, I’ll get dragged into something.’
I was hiding my abilities for now, but if we kept bumping into each other, who knew what might happen?
If he found out what I could do, he might try to recruit me—maybe even pull me into the ducal household itself.
My abilities were rare enough that it wasn’t impossible.
“Has he left already?”
At my question, Roten checked the clock.
It was exactly 5 p.m.
“Yes. He should’ve gone back by now.”
“Then I’ll get going too.”
“Good work today. I can’t believe you made this many potions already…”
Roten’s gaze swept over the line of bottles on the table. I’d made four today. Compared to when I struggled to finish just one, that was a huge improvement.
Even I thought it was impressive, but Roten looked even more astonished.
“Is that really such a big deal?”
“Of course! Normally, even producing a single high-grade potion in one day is cause for celebration.”
He flailed his hands in excitement, saying now he understood why Gilbert had wanted me here so badly.
Feeling a bit embarrassed, I coughed and popped the last bite of cake into my mouth. Just as I was about to stand up, a question popped into my head.
“Roten, earlier—Vensan acted like he already knew me.”
He definitely shouldn’t have. Yet he behaved as if he’d heard something about me.
Roten’s eyes widened, as if he’d suddenly remembered something.
“Ah! I should’ve mentioned that beforehand. Since you’ll be coming here often…”
“R-right?”
I felt guilty; I’d been secretly plotting how to quit.
“The building’s huge, and there are tons of people. Those of us stationed at the entrance or working near the upper floors see you often enough to recognize you, but…”
“Others don’t?”
“Correct. So we shared a brief personnel notice with the merchants’ guild—just basic info. That way, if you ever need to make a request or order supplies, it’ll be easier.”
He explained that it was only simple personal details—name, age, physical description. Nothing about my work or abilities.
“So you don’t have to worry about your safety. Everyone knows you’re someone the boss personally recruited.”
“I see.”
So that’s why Vensan acted like he knew me.
It didn’t seem like anything harmful. If anything, having that kind of recognition might make things more convenient.
“Please get home safely. Shall I escort you down?”
“No, it’s fine. I should learn the way myself.”
Roten was Gilbert’s direct aide—he had plenty to do. I couldn’t in good conscience ask him to walk me downstairs just because I got lost easily.
Pushing him back gently, I hurried toward the stairs.
‘Good thing the layout’s simple.’
Today I’d walked around a lot to learn the place, but normally there was a warp gate for quick travel. I planned to use that from tomorrow on; today was just for orientation.
As I descended, a sudden commotion rose from below.
‘Huh?’
Instinctively, I looked down. A small crowd had gathered.
‘What’s going on?’
It didn’t look like employees. A few people in shabby clothes were huddled together.
Curious, I glanced around and stopped a passing staff member.
“What’s happening down there?”
The worker recognized me and quickly answered.
“Oh, we received some people from the illegal fighting arena today. They’re being brought in now.”
“Illegal fights?”
Surprised, I asked for more details, and the employee kindly explained.
“The Proud arena’s infamous for its brutality. The boss sometimes raids them to shut it down, and I guess he did that again today.”
“I see…”
“It’s actually quiet this time. Usually, those fighters are brainwashed and violently resistant.”
That made sense. I’d heard about the Proud arena before.
A human hell.
Not guard dogs fighting—but people, tearing each other apart. Only the strong survived.
A place like that would drive anyone insane.
I thanked the staffer and looked back over the railing. For some reason, my eyes wouldn’t leave the scene.
Then I noticed something dark amidst the crowd.
‘Hm?’
Under a mop of messy black hair, a pair of sharp, striking eyes caught the light.
Even so, his gaze was deadly—like he could kill someone at any moment.
“Hm.”
Why did he look so familiar?
‘Have I seen him before?’
But since my transmigration, I hadn’t attended any social events, and my family had gone bankrupt soon after. I hadn’t met anyone new.
So it had to be a first meeting.
‘Wait—?’
Just then, as if sensing my stare, the boy lifted his head. The moment our eyes met—my body lurched forward.
My hand slipped!
“Ah?!”
I tried to regain my balance, but it was a staircase. One wrong step and I’d shatter like glass.
‘And below are all those people—!’
No way!
I had to come here often; I couldn’t start off with this kind of disastrous first impression!
I tried to cast a spell to stop myself, but—
“Whoa?!”
Something solid slammed into me, blocking my fall.
‘Ow—my nose!’
What the heck did I hit…?
Uneasy, I pressed my forehead against the “wall.” Then the “wall” shuddered slightly beneath my touch.
“Huh?”
The wall… trembled?
Before I could figure it out, a strong arm wrapped tightly around my waist.
“Hey.”
A pair of arrogant eyes swept over me.
“Are you trying to die?”
