A Glimmer of Edge (Part One)

It had to be said, being a thief was truly a profession that brought in money fast.

Over the next few days, Romon tallied the spoils from this haul: two hundred gold coins, two thousand silver coins, and a large pile of copper coins.

There were also ten rolls of new cloth, probably meant for the lair; six newly made, sharp daggers; five cowhide storage bags; a basic set of thief skill books; a manual on making poison; a small box filled with various toxins; and specialized lockpicking tools. There was quite a lot of good stuff.

If he had not feared being noticed, Romon would even have wanted to sweep up the valuables left out in the open. Still, he was already very satisfied with what they had found in the thieves' secret chamber.

Even hunting prey for money had never been this fast. And after reading those thieves' journals, contracts, and records, he no longer felt conflicted about killing them. They had harmed countless people. Killing them did not violate morality in the slightest.

The only thing that still bothered Romon was that neither the goods nor the money could be spent. They were too conspicuous.

While Romon was lost in thought, in a room elsewhere, the young priest of Rika Town was speaking with the middle-aged tax officer.

"Damn it! Didn't they say mages hated meddling in other people's business? That mage actually attacked the thieves outside town and cleaned them out. He was not even afraid of losing face. That bastard is completely insane!" Priest Tennis cursed viciously, with none of the proper bearing he displayed during sermons.

The middle-aged tax officer sitting across from him was much calmer. He gave a cold laugh. "What are you worried about? That the Church will discover the items you had them dispose of? Don't tell me you left evidence with the thieves. That would make you unbelievably stupid."

"You!" Priest Tennis flushed and rose to his feet. After thinking it over, he sat back down and sneered. "Don't think you can stay out of this. Not only were you involved in dealing with Romon this time, you were involved in this matter too. Heh, sorry to say, but in the letters I left behind, I also mentioned your intentions."

Bakasi froze for a moment before erupting in anger. "Are you an idiot?! You left all that behind for others to use against you? Has water gotten into your brain?!" If he had initially been amused by the situation, he was now thoroughly flustered.

"Yes, I admit that leaving evidence in their hands was stupid. But I do not think dragging you in was stupid. If I guessed correctly, your original plan was to deny everything, wasn't it? If those letters really fell into someone else's hands, and your connection was not mentioned, you would definitely kick me while I was down, wouldn't you?" Priest Tennis said coldly.

Bakasi's expression stiffened at once. Then he put on a smile. "How could that be? We both profited from the previous transaction. Besides, we worked together to deal with Romon this time. Why would I kick you while you were down?"

"Is that so? Then what should we do now? We did not find the letters at that hideout. Could that mad mage have taken them?" Priest Tennis was genuinely afraid of that unpredictable mage.

Bakasi shook his head. "Probably not. Why would that mage want them? There were quite a few signs of fire where the thieves kept their documents. I think those things might have been destroyed during the fight."

"I hope so!" Priest Tennis said with a sigh. "What a pity. If not for that mage, Romon should have been doing business with those thieves today. What a pity."

"They got lucky, but there will always be another chance." Bakasi gritted his teeth. He only assumed they had been lucky and never imagined that two boys had committed such a major crime.

The day passed quickly.

The Square Assembly would begin promptly at eight the next morning. Those attending included Rika Town's official residents, its officials, the baron and his confidants. As Temple Divine Authority personnel, Priest Tennis and Miss Eileen would attend as well.

The residents of Rika Town took the Square Assembly very seriously. Whenever one was held, nearly every townsman over sixteen put aside what they were doing and arrived at the town square on time.

At the monthly Square Assembly, aside from reports on the month's taxes, production, personnel matters, and other affairs, officials would also announce any shocking or heinous incidents that had occurred during the month, then impose severe punishments on certain people.

Romon and Fafier had only just turned sixteen, so this was their first time attending. Feeling somewhat uneasy, they could only wait outside the square and listen to the declarations drifting from far away.

Rika Town's square followed the sealed-square custom of other noble territories. Though it was open to the sky, a ring of hollowed high walls surrounded it, with guards stationed at the entrance. Anyone unqualified to enter would be stopped outside.

The sun hung high in the sky, casting warm rays. When the Square Assembly ended without anyone making trouble, it was clear that they had made it through this time. Romon felt relieved. He glanced at the people on the platform, gave a cold laugh, then sighed.

He had plenty of evidence, yet he could not use it to strike at them. That was the gap in status. For those below, evidence alone was enough. For those above, evidence was not enough; strength was required.

But having survived this time, he had at least bought himself some time. Romon took one last look, then turned and left.

Time passed swiftly, and November arrived in the blink of an eye. The forest outside Rika Town had long shifted from lush green to withered yellow. The colorful flowers that had always dotted the greenery had all faded away. Though the air still carried the fresh scent unique to grass and trees, it was no longer as rich as before. Instead, it held a touch of desolation.

Winter was coming. Perhaps in another month, heavy snow would blanket the entire forest, and sunlight would no longer shine so warmly upon the world. The land would be enveloped in the freezing cold of ice and snow. But that did not matter. The dense forest also needed a period of rest and adjustment. The plants were gathering strength, preparing to burst into wild growth again when spring came.

In a clearing at the edge of the forest, Romon closed his eyes and silently sensed the breath of nature.

Slowly, an invisible energy began to rise faintly from around him, from the countless plants. It continuously gathered in the air, becoming brighter green light before converging upon his body.

Some specks of light were absorbed the instant they touched him, while others merely hovered around his body before dispersing into the air and vanishing.

This power was extremely scarce, and it did not gather very quickly.

As time passed, the energy gathered more and more slowly. Eventually, it slowed to the point where not even a trace of light appeared for half a day. The thin halo of energy that had accumulated around Romon was so sparse that it could not even cover his entire body.

After a long while, Romon slowly opened his eyes. Only a small portion of the green energy surrounding him had merged into his body. Most of the rest dissipated into the air.

He had expected this outcome, but Romon still pulled at the corner of his mouth helplessly.

"The progress is really slow!" Romon looked at his hands in frustration.

Since successfully foiling Priest Tennis and the tax officer's scheme, he had been living quite comfortably these past days.

But fearing that others would notice, he had not touched the gold or silver coins. He only divided the copper coins collected from the thieves into three portions: one for Fafier, one for Nick's family, and one for himself. Even then, he carefully instructed them to spend the money sparingly.

He now had two thousand silver coins alone. That was a huge sum. The problem was that he needed a legitimate source for them. These days, thanks to Miss Eileen's instructions, he was once again free to read books in the Temple. This had helped Romon greatly.

Ever since that Square Assembly, Miss Eileen had rarely appeared at the Temple. Romon felt somewhat disappointed by this, but his attention was soon drawn back to his cultivation progress.

For some reason, his cultivation was progressing very slowly now. To outsiders, his progress would still seem fast, but that was because the green plants within Shennong Horn Space gave him energy unconditionally. In this world, absorbing green light was somewhat difficult.

"Is it because I lack a teacher's guidance? Or because killing that wild bull last time without eating it violated the Way of Nature?" Romon sighed. He suddenly felt that although Jefa had not liked him much before, Jefa's guidance had indeed helped him avoid many detours on the path of becoming a druid.

Without a teacher's guidance, he always found it difficult to move forward at certain critical points.

Although he possessed Shennong Horn Space and the wisdom of someone from another world, both had made his path of druid cultivation much smoother. Yet at certain crucial points, those things alone were not enough. He needed someone to exchange experiences with and receive guidance from.

He suddenly remembered that Temporary Adventurer's Permit and could not help chuckling.

As its name implied, the Temporary Adventurer's Permit could serve as proof allowing him to leave town and travel between cities, though nominally, he still belonged to this town.

After returning to town, he headed straight for the military camp. Fortunately, because of the company commander, that squad leader had been quite serious about teaching him swordsmanship. Romon and Fafier had both been training hard there lately.

Romon was currently assisting the apothecary Ansen in making potions. Miss Eileen had ordered this after learning of it, so he could earn some money as well. He could always make fifteen silver coins a month.

However, that was still far from enough to repay Jefa within three months.

As Romon trained, he thought about how his basic swordsmanship and footwork could now be considered proficient. But because he had not trained since childhood, any qualified warrior was stronger than him in both strength and skill.

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