Chapter 25: Shining Tavern

Smoky, white mist radiated off him, and Levi stomped his feet, and energy surged through him violently.

Like an arrow, his sword pierced through the void.

Levi himself vibrated violently, and he phased in and out of perception, and the leader couldn’t help but tremble upon witnessing the scene before him.

“…a Quasi-Knight?! How is this possible? A-at your age?”

“Afraid?” Levi’s voice boomed in the leader’s head.

With a single swipe, the leader’s inferior, rusty knife shattered into pieces.

In his daze, Levi pierced his sword through his chest.

The other bandits didn’t expect that Levi would kill their leader in such a short time—the strongest person they knew was their leader, and he was dead in seconds.

Now that his body lay in the scarlet snow, they panicked and started to scatter.

Levi will not let it go. Those who cross him must be afraid of him.

A few arrows rained down from the sky, and those who ran were all shot. Some knew it was futile to escape and kneeled at Levi’s feet.

“O Great Knight, please do not kill us. We are ordinary people who just want to make a living.”

“R-right! O Great Knight, I just wanted something to eat. Please spare me!”

“I have a b-blind wife at home. She needs me.”

Levi could feel their sincerity and nodded, “Leave.”

The bandits fled for their lives, thankful they were able to live another day.

Levi looked at them with cold eyes and drew his bow again.

On the scarlet snow, Levi found some dry firewood, piled the thirteen corpses together, and lit a raging fire with flint.

“Let the flames warm the world on your steed.”

Muttering a silent prayer, he thought of the bandits. The youngest was about his own age.

Levi believed the bandits, but if he didn’t kill them, he would be killed.

Levi looted their remaining pouches and harvested more than a dozen silver coins. He glanced at the fire one final time before continuing on his journey.

Soon, he reached the City of Icy Winds.

From a distance, he could see the silver-white city that stood among the mountains. Perhaps the most striking thing was the pure-white Church in the centre of the city.

It’s… beautiful, he thought. ‘My father’s Land of Tulips was exquisite and gorgeous, but this… is just magnificent.’

After showing the pass, he entered the city without trouble.

Compared to the deserted and barely populated Blackwater Valley, the City of Icy Winds is too lively.

Hundreds of thousands of people lived in the city.

This is also the hub for travelling merchants and travellers alike, making the population much larger.

This reminded him of modern cities that housed millions of people in his previous life. He could compare the City of Icy Winds to the early Middle Ages of Europe.

Levi went directly to the largest chamber of commerce in the city: the Emerald Chamber of Commerce.

The Royal Family themselves funded this market, which was overseen by several Grand Dukes.

If you want to become a shareholder in this market, you must be an Earl of some sort.

Hence, this is practically a chamber of commerce established by the nobility, which monopolises all walks of life in the Emerald Kingdom.

Its headquarters were in the central Emerald Kingdom. This one in the City of Icy Winds is a tiny branch.

Levi patted the gold coins stored in his bosom and felt at ease. Now that he has hundreds of gold coins on him, he could be considered a local Earl.

“Hello, do you have ambergris for sale?” Levi asked.

He doesn’t have to worry about being known by others. Being an inconspicuous little lord in the North has its benefits.

As soon as the staff heard the word “ambergris,” they knew that the strange guest before them was rich, and there was a high probability that he was a knight who practised breathing methods.

“Sorry, sir. There is no ambergris in stock right now, but you’re welcome to look at others…”

And Levi’s figure had already disappeared from the street.

‘I was already prepared for this. If the market didn’t have ambergris in stock, then there’s only one place left that sells it…”

Levi bought a pair of white wolf masks in a gift shop and put them on himself to obscure his identity. He walked around the streets and alleys that were drowning in the melodious sounds of harps, playful whispers, and the joyful guffaws of men. Amidst the laughter, he stumbled upon a warm tavern.

[Shining Tavern]

[Today’s Offering: Lion King Spirit]

“Come, ‘ye, come all! Down this glass of spirit, and may ‘ye future shine like a lion upon the wild!”

At the entrance of the tavern, a burly man stood tall. Everyone who entered had to pay one gold coin to buy a glass of “Lion King Spirit,” and supposedly drinking it proves your financial strength and courage.

The Shining Tavern is just a tavern on the surface but is secretly an underground trading market.

Colloquially, it’s known as a black market.