5 – #005 Home
I had visited big cities several times while returning from various places with my father, but this was the first time I had ever been to such a magnificent city.
Named after the wise man who sealed the demon, this academy was a small educational institution 1,000 years ago, but now boasts a scale comparable to that of the capital of a great country.
According to my father’s words, the demon god sealed with the souls of the wise man and the dragon is asleep in this land.
Thinking so, I felt like a majestic city I had never seen before, like a demon world where a large army of demons lurked.
‘… Want to go home.’
If the strategy guide left by my father had remained, I would have been at least reassured. I really regret why I bothered to burn it.
I wanted to turn away even now, but running away from here won’t solve anything.
Of course, nothing will be solved by my going, but it will be much better than being afraid of a bomb that will explode at any moment.
If I die the same death whether I run away or not, I want to at least know what happened and die a satisfying death.
Resolutely, I got off the train and looked at the people who got off the station.
There were a lot of people in the same age as me, probably thinking of entering the academy like me, but there were also a lot of people who looked like adventurers or merchants.
It looks like Penwood and the others haven’t gotten off the train yet, but it seems like there’s a lot to prepare, probably because there are so many of them.
‘I didn’t promise to see you later, so let’s go first.’
Mixing with the crowd, I stepped out of the station and opened my inventory to test the hermit’s mask.
The mask is as white as a canvas that hasn’t been brushed on yet.
I put on a mask and mingled with the crowd, exiting the station and out onto the main street, but no one looked at me.
Just in case, I purposely stopped on the road and deliberately bumped my shoulder with a passer-by, but he glanced at me and passed by as if nothing had happened.
After that, the same experiment was repeated several times, but the result was the same.
Despite wearing such a dubious mask, no one stopped for a moment, lowered their heads and continued on their way.
‘This is amazing.’
At first, I was planning to use it only for the purpose of not attracting attention, but I think it can be used for assassination or infiltration.
Of course, I haven’t tested it yet, so I don’t know how it actually works, but considering how to use it, there’s nothing wrong with it.
Now that I have a mask, I put the hat in my inventory to hide my face, and I headed for the academy in the center of the city with lighter steps than usual.
Since the city is so large, it took quite a while to get to the academy, so I had to use the streetcar.
“One ticket.”
I wondered what would happen if I had a conversation with someone in this state, so I talked to the ticket salesperson wearing a mask, but nothing was wrong.
He took one glance at my face and gave me the ticket without a raise or a frown.
‘Is this an ordinary life without persecution?’
I even had the stupid thought of peeling off the skin on my face and attaching a mask to the small happiness I felt for the first time.
Arriving without glare at anyone I’ve never met, the academy was teeming with students in uniform, even though it was probably before the semester started.
Apparently, my father said that the facilities are good, so he said that there are many students who use the library or training facilities even during breaks.
At that time, since my father had never been to the academy, I thought it was a rough story, but seeing it with my own eyes, it was definitely so.
‘… Should I take off my mask at reception?’
If you apply while wearing this mask, you may have trouble proving your identity later.
Who is this guy when he takes off his mask later? If the same reaction comes out, you may be expelled on the spot or, in the worst case, the death penalty.
With a feeling of vomiting blood, I took off my mask and followed the information board in the center of the academy to the reception desk.
“Come on….”
The receptionist hesitated momentarily when he saw my face, but immediately changed his expression to a friendly smile.
“Welcome. What business did you visit?”
“I came here because I wanted to get an application for the entrance exam.”
He looked a bit surprised, but that was all, he submitted the application without not giving in or getting paid more than other students.
“I… If you are not good at writing, the receptionist can write for you.”
“No, that’s fine.”
Her words could have sounded disrespectful, saying that she was an illiterate savage.
As much as that is proof, she immediately bowed her head and apologized for the rudeness.
When I wrote her name and personal information on her application form and returned it to her, she took a quick look at it and said that it was accepted and gave me the date of her test.
‘The exam is in three days.’
In three days, it will pass quickly if you buy a house and look around the city. At least it will be more enjoyable than the days of admiring the scenery endlessly on the train.
When I visited a suitable real estate to find a place to live during my stay at the academy, an older looking broker greeted me.
I wanted to set up a house as close to the academy as possible, but the closer it is to the academy, the more expensive it seems.
The reason was not simply because it was close to the academy, but because most of the houses around the academy were mansions for high-class aristocrats.
Other buildings other than the mansion were also unsuitable places for a commoner like me to live.
The maintenance cost alone was about a year’s rent for another building, so I couldn’t afford it with my own pocket, which I had spent quite a bit on equipment purchases and maintenance.
From noble mtl dot com
Even if you can afford it, it will be a problem if an Asian like me enters a place where nobles can live….
“It doesn’t matter if it’s far from the academy, so are there any cheap places? You don’t even need a streetcar.”
“Um… Then how about here?”
The real estate agent pointed to a house far away from the academy, far from the streetcar station.
It was a remote place with nothing to be called a shopping mall, and the security didn’t look that good, even if it wasn’t a slum.
“If you leave around 6:00 a.M., You’ll be in time for the streetcar. Will you be okay though? You have to get up at least at 5:30 to be on time.”
“It’s okay.”
Although the distance is far, it is far from the standards of ordinary people who have not trained.
With my legs, I could reach the academy in 30 minutes even if I ran leisurely.
“If you like me…. Then let’s go.”
The broker seemed a little bothersome because the new house was far from the real estate.
The building we arrived by carriage together was a shabby house that could not be called clean with empty words, and with a few gold spots visible here and there.
“…… It’s not like you’re wrong, right?”
“Everything is cheap for a reason. 1,000 Jenny per month. There is no maintenance fee, but instead, we are not responsible for any problems.”
“Is there a place like a restaurant nearby?”
“No. You have to walk for about 30 minutes to reach the market, so you should be able to eat there. Then what will you do?”
It was the worst building with no restaurant or public bath in the same building as the abandoned house, but if it was the former, I could cover it with my physical strength.
Plus, in a remote location like this building, if anything goes wrong, you’ll be able to finish it without being noticed by the guards.
“I will do it here.”
“Are your pockets that bad?”
As if I hadn’t thought that I would actually live in a building like this, the broker gave me a vague look of surprise and pity at the same time.
If I take off my mask, will that old man sympathize with me like he does now? I was a little curious, but I didn’t have the courage to do it for real.
‘Is there any magic that changes the face….’
After that, I met with the landlord and formally signed a contract, and I went inside to unpack.
It was worse on the inside than the outside, but when I signed the contract, I could understand why the landlord looked at me like a madman.
‘No, I don’t have any keys….’
Heck, a guy who lives in a place like this wouldn’t store anything valuable enough to require a key, but isn’t it too bad that he doesn’t have a key?
Still, there was a latch that could be hung from the inside instead of a key, as if there was a last conscience.
Of course, the room was full of dust and cobwebs, as if it had been neglected for decades, and there was no bed, so I had to sleep on a blanket spread on the floor.
‘… Isn’t it very different from the original house, except for the dirty things?’
I thought so and already signed a contract. I tried to open the window to clean first, but….
“Huh? The window….”
This room has no windows.
Ha, f*ck…. From next time, you should see the inside of the building before making a contract.