A rainy Wednesday

The next morning, fine rain once again blanketed South Los.

Wednesday was no day off, and people began their usual busy routines again.

Arthur brought the beef he had simmered over low heat all night to the dining table, broth and all. The broth was clear, with a thin layer of fat floating on top, and the beef was already fall-apart tender.

After tasting a dice-sized piece of beef, Arthur narrowed his eyes in contentment.

Although his cooking could not compare to a proper chef's, food he made himself always earned bonus points, multiplying its original deliciousness anywhere from one to ten times.

The multiplier depended on how hungry he was.

This morning's beef scored a fivefold increase.

And by the time Arthur finished cooking the noodles, that multiplier had shot up to ten.

He sprinkled scallions and cilantro over the bowl of beef noodles, the fresh green contrasting with the white. Having waited long enough, Arthur could not resist picking up the bowl and taking a sip of broth.

The broth was seasoned just right, rich with meaty flavor that whetted his appetite.

Especially after he added the bright red chilies, which stimulated his taste buds even more.

At that moment, Arthur was deeply grateful to South Los. As the city with the largest port in all of South County, its thriving shipping trade gave him access to a wide enough variety of foods.

Chilies were one of them.

Of course, so were scallions, cilantro, and numerous spices.

On the farms surrounding South Los, chilies, scallions, cilantro, and many spices had long since become essential crops, as well as the farmers' main source of income.

Yet none of those farmers had grown rich off these seasonings and spices, which were far from cheap, with some even qualifying as expensive.

Because...

They had to pay taxes!

The lord of South Los was not someone easily fooled.

Although he had a good reputation, he was by no means merciful, especially toward tax evaders, whom he treated harshly.

Even Old Charlie, a Medium, had to pay twenty-nine Sol in taxes every year, a rate appropriate for middle-class clerical work.

Slurp, slurp!

Arthur ate his noodles in great mouthfuls as his predecessor's memories of the Count of South Los flashed through his mind.

There were not many such memories.

In fact, given his predecessor's station, he had merely known that such a man existed.

In his predecessor's memories, the Count was more of a symbol.

That was true for the vast majority of people.

Arthur included.

Beyond a few words of thanks, he certainly would not do anything more, even if the man was the lord of South Los whom he had just thanked.

After all, in Arthur's view, with South Los's uniquely favorable location, even a dog tethered there could have accomplished much the same thing.

"Burp~~"

As the bowl of noodles emptied, a satisfied belch followed, and Arthur smiled contentedly.

The next moment, his smile grew even brighter.

Because the text before his eyes flickered-

[People are discussing the murder at the Jorjok Swordsmanship Club. More people are beginning to pay attention to you; XP +10]

[More people have heard your name; XP +1]

Everything was just as he had expected.

Between the Jorjok Swordsmanship Club's own reputation and the approaching Swordsmanship Tournament, the attention it received was anything but ordinary.

If Arthur revealed a little information now about how Ritter had taken third place in the previous Swordsmanship Tournament...

He would surely gain even more XP.

Unfortunately, he had already accepted Todd Gilly's compensation.

Although one hundred in gold notes and a promise to find a swordsmanship technique would ordinarily be no match for XP, he also had to consider that he would be entering the Swordsmanship Tournament himself.

To avoid unnecessary trouble and earn more XP at the Swordsmanship Tournament, he believed he needed to keep his promise.

Likewise, that was consistent with the impression his predecessor had given people.

Just four more XP.

Arthur glanced at the XP needed to raise [False Swiftbird Swordsmanship] to Lv3, but he was in no hurry. He knew that as coverage of him increased, more people in South Los would learn his name, and his daily XP gains would multiply.

For quite a long time to come, he would earn a steady amount of XP every day, until he hit a bottleneck.

And then?

Naturally, he would need to develop new sources of XP.

He could repeat what he had done in South Los in other cities, or try combat, exploration, quests, eating delicacies, and so on.

The latter options still needed investigating, however.

There was no point even discussing delicacies. If that sort of food counted as a delicacy, Arthur would start questioning his life.

Exploration and quests probably referred to something specific.

Combat, however, left Arthur puzzled. He had already fought several battles and killed more than one enemy, yet he had received no XP notifications.

If the earlier battles had not been intense enough, then what about yesterday's fight with Beggar? He had nearly died.

Even the fight with Toad had been quite dangerous.

Yet neither had produced an XP notification.

Could it be that I only get XP for killing enemies of that level?

Arthur frowned as he considered it.

Not only would such a requirement be extremely difficult for him at present, but if his theory was correct, it meant Toad was still alive.

That made Arthur a little uneasy.

The one fortunate thing was that when he woke this morning, the stench had completely dissipated, so he no longer had to worry about attracting others from the mystical side.

If Toad is still alive, I have to find him!

Arthur's frown deepened at the thought.

Finding Toad would be harder than finding Beggar.

Although Beggar was powerful, Arthur knew what he looked like and had reasonably reliable people searching for him.

But Toad?

Arthur had never even seen his true face.

Put simply, he had nowhere to start.

What can I do to lure him out?

If he could not find him, his only option was to make him come forward on his own.

Arthur narrowed his eyes and began considering workable plans.

Just then-

Ding! Ding!

The doorbell sounded unusually crisp in the rain. Wiggins stood at the entrance to 2 Kirk Street, unable to hide the joy on his face, which surprised Arthur.

"You found him?"

"Yes, I found him!"

Wiggins nodded repeatedly, excitement written all over his face.

As Arthur's name appeared in the papers time and again and his reputation grew, the Golden Fingers' awe of him only deepened. In his heart, Wiggins wanted Arthur's approval even more.

Because, to him, that would open a road straight to the top.

So after receiving Arthur's message yesterday, he had truly given it everything he had. Not only had he stayed awake all night, he had also mobilized every contact he had.

And just now, he had finally found him.

Arthur, however, frowned inwardly.

Had Wiggins really found Beggar?

Arthur was skeptical, but he neither voiced nor showed it. He merely motioned for Wiggins to lead the way.

Before leaving, however, Arthur tucked the puppet from the end of the corridor inside his coat.

As Wiggins led the way, he kept glancing back at Arthur, who carried the Medium's Case in one hand and an umbrella in the other, with the Eerie Puppet doll tucked inside his coat. He could not shake the feeling of the hairs on his back standing on end.

The Golden Fingers was frightened.

And he was not the only one. When Arthur boarded the public carriage, the man and woman inside were frightened too. Even the baby in the woman's arms began crying in fear.

Arthur frowned as he looked at the wailing infant.

Something's not right!