Lilia's new teacher

"Yes." Katel nodded without hesitation. "Just this morning, we saw a mage hurrying down this alley and tried to stop him to beg for money. To our surprise, he tossed us a silver coin without a second thought. So when I saw you..."

"A mage? How did you know he was a mage?"

"He wore clothes much like yours, sir. I can't really tell, but very few people wear robes like that..."

"Then did you get a good look at his face?" Rhode asked eagerly.

His instincts told him that this mage might well be the murderer!

"No." Katel shook his head.

"Was the light too poor?"

"No. I tried very hard to get a good look at our generous benefactor, but for some reason, I just couldn't..."

"Glamour," Rhode said bitterly.

"Glamour?" Lieutenant Drake interjected curiously.

"It's a spell we mages often use. It distorts people's vision a little, making certain things hard to see clearly," Rhode explained. "From the looks of it, this murder was most likely the work of that mage."

Lieutenant Drake nodded. "Then I'm afraid we'll really have to trouble you with this case, Master Rhode."

"I'll..." Rhode had been about to agree outright. After all, solving a case would be quite satisfying, and his opponent was a mage, too!

But when he saw Lilia standing before him, his eyes suddenly shifted. He grinned at Lieutenant Drake. "I'll help you, but I have one condition."

"A condition?" Lieutenant Drake froze.

He was so eager to ask questions just now, but now that I actually need his help solving the case, he wants to bargain?

Were all mages this absurd?

"Yes." Rhode nodded, then pointed at Lilia. "I'll help you solve the case, and you teach this little girl swordsmanship. How about it?"

Well, he had learned this trick from Redpath, the marshal of Southshore.

Back then, Redpath had offered swordsmanship lessons in exchange for Rhode's help killing the Great Yeti. Now Rhode was simply turning the arrangement around.

Solving a case for swordsmanship lessons. An equal exchange.

Lieutenant Drake seemed like an excellent choice.

In a world where might made right, anyone who could become a lieutenant in a city this large had to have some real ability. At the very least, teaching Lilia would surely be no problem for him.

But Lieutenant Drake was a little dazed.

This little girl?

Swordsmanship?

A little girl who called herself a mage's chief assistant was going to learn swordsmanship instead of spells?

That sounded strange no matter how he looked at it.

Lilia had already jumped up excitedly. "Yes, yes! Hello, swordsmanship teacher!"

But then she turned her head away and said with an air of solemnity, "No, this teacher is too mean. Hitting people like that... no, no."

Lieutenant Drake didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

He hadn't even become her teacher yet, and she was already rejecting him!

Rhode lowered his head and told Lilia, "Teacher Drake was investigating a case, so he had to be a little stern. But he won't be like that with you."

Then he looked up at Lieutenant Drake. "Well? That's a simple and reasonable condition, isn't it?"

"All right." Lieutenant Drake agreed readily enough. "I'll make time to teach her."

Matters involving mages were best left to mages.

Besides, Lilia looked adorable with her innocent, carefree manner. Teaching her swordsmanship would probably be quite enjoyable.

"Okay." Lilia gave Lieutenant Drake a timid glance. "But you can't hit me if I don't learn well."

Rhode laughed, then turned back to Katel, the middle-aged beggar. "As for you... if you don't mind, I can arrange some work for you all."

"Really?" Katel's face lit up with delighted surprise. "We'll do anything as long as we can fill our bellies!"

Rhode nodded.

Over the past few days of teaching his magic apprentices, he had noticed one inconvenience: all of them commuted, usually staying at home or renting rooms nearby.

Although they were diligent and arrived at the Magic Tower early to study, some were inevitably late from time to time. In the evenings, they also had to head home one after another, which made things awkward whenever Rhode needed them to do lengthy group exercises.

So Rhode had been considering building a student dormitory on one side of the square where the Magic Tower stood, so they could all live there.

And now he could build accommodation there for these beggars as well.

It wouldn't exactly be a handout. After all, the beggars would have to help build the dormitory when the time came. Their wages could count toward the rent!

There was another important point, too: these beggars might become a valuable source of information for him!

For instance, without what Katel had just told him, Rhode would have struggled to narrow down the murderer's identity.

Start a real Beggar Gang?

That sounded rather interesting...

If he organized these people, they might be a great help in the future.

With that in mind, Rhode looked up and told Katel, "Bring your brothers to Audric's Tower tomorrow and ask for me. I'll arrange work for you. Try to bring more people who've worked as carpenters, masons, or builders..."

"All right." Katel agreed immediately, then left with the other beggars.

Rhode then turned to Lieutenant Drake. "I'll help you investigate the case, but we can't rush it. So... teach our little friend swordsmanship first. I'll let you know if I make any progress."

Lieutenant Drake nodded, though his eyes were still on the departing beggars. "But I don't understand. Why are you so kind to these lowlifes..."

"They're people, just like us," Rhode interrupted him. "I don't want you calling them lowlifes. Besides, they may be working for me from now on, so I'd also like you to treat them more politely."

He didn't hold Lieutenant Drake's earlier behavior against him too much. It was simply how things were.

After all, living in this world meant being influenced by its outlook and values, gradually coming to believe that an unbridgeable class divide existed between nobles and commoners.

Wasn't this the limitation of people shaped by their historical times?

From their perspective, then, they would instinctively assume that commoners were more likely to commit crimes.

And these beggars weren't even commoners.

So the fact that Lieutenant Drake had punched and kicked the beggar earlier didn't necessarily mean he was a bad person.

In fact, judging by their subsequent conversation, Lieutenant Drake was quite reasonable.

Lieutenant Drake wasn't offended by Rhode's words. He simply smiled faintly. "I can see that you're different from the other nobles."

"No, I'm not really a noble." Rhode chuckled. "But in my eyes, nobles aren't particularly 'noble,' either."

Lieutenant Drake found that rather odd and was about to speak when Rhode continued:

"How about this? Since I've agreed to help you solve the case, take me to the crime scene so I can see whether there are any more clues."