Chapter 69

Encounter

When I thought about the person named Ganesha Aldebaran, there was no denying that the evaluation of the skills she possessed couldn't possibly be bad.

A hidden giant who controlled the continent's underworld, a tycoon, a magnate.

...That was the "surface-level" information available.

What Aiden knew, the more "deep-layered" truth, was that she was a dangerous individual who had to keep such titles as mere "cover."

So, the fact that such a person already held interest and favor toward him was good.

'...The problem is, there’s nothing I can do right now, right?'

The frustrating part was that he couldn’t proactively approach her. He had to wait until she made the first move.

According to the quest window, she didn’t seem to have any hostile intentions, so there was no real need to prepare for a confrontation either.

If he ever came face-to-face with her, he had a few ways to drastically raise her affection level but the key was that he couldn’t go looking for her.

Therefore, what he had to do for now was continue with the tasks at hand.

She had said she'd come find him eventually anyway. And since he didn’t even know how she’d approach, there was no point in preparing. In that case, it was better to use his limited time as efficiently as possible.

Training made the man. Even though Meyer beat the crap out of him every night, it was still a whole different matter to replicate those movements with his real body.

So then.

The fact that he got seriously injured to the point of being reduced to a pulp while practicing mounted combat with Reaver since morning wasn’t all that embarrassing.

"...Are you all right?"

"......"

Even seeing Noel trying to hold back a laugh as she said that didn’t make him feel too humiliated.

Better to think of it as self-hypnosis. After all, it would’ve been pretty heartless to scold the one who’d supported and escorted him all the way to the pharmacy just for laughing at him...

"...I’m fine."

With those words, he slowly opened the door to the pharmacy.

"Excuse me, I—"

"Get out this instant!"

"..."

The timing was so perfect it was easy to misunderstand the harsh words, but Aiden quickly realized they weren’t directed at him.

Even through the slightly ajar door, the scene inside was already plenty tense without any intervention from him.

The first thing that caught his eye was a girl crumpled on the floor.

Her disheveled appearance made it impossible to tell the last time she’d bathed, and her poor nutritional state showed clearly on her pale face.

She was clutching her stomach with her arms, as if in pain, so it was obvious something hurt. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have even thought to come to a place like this pharmacy. A natural conclusion.

Judging by her posture, it looked like someone had shoved her, causing her to tumble across the floor.

It wasn’t hard to figure out who might have done that. When Aiden slightly turned his gaze, a middle-aged man with a furious expression came into view behind the counter.

He was probably the owner of the shop—the same person who’d just shouted for someone to get out.

"I’ll... I’ll pay, I swear. Please, it hurts so much, I just need some painkillers..."

The girl begged in a trembling voice. Her tone was unstable, and her voice itself was so faint it sounded like it was dying out.

But despite her desperate plea, the middle-aged owner who had just laid hands on her didn’t seem willing to back down in the slightest.

In fact, the moment the girl made any motion to inch closer, his expression turned even more savage, and he started yelling again.

"I said get out! Come any closer and I’ll call the police!"

Aiden noticed the expression on Noel’s face, which was gradually twisting in anger.

To someone as kind-hearted by nature as her, this scene had to be utterly unacceptable. Of course, it didn’t look right to him either.

At the very least, the girl was saying she’d pay, and just from a glance, she clearly seemed to be in pain.

Treating a girl like that so violently wasn’t just poor customer service—it was a disgraceful act that would utterly destroy one’s reputation as a human being.

What was the reason?

Even as this incomprehensible act of aggression unfolded before his eyes, the first thing that came to Aiden’s mind was that question. You could even call it the mark of a true con artist.

First, quickly and accurately absorb the information that makes up a situation. Second, in every step of the process, organize that information properly without letting your emotions interfere.

So, let’s take a look.

There were several medicines spread out across the counter, clearly intended for the girl now collapsed on the floor. There was also some small change, probably what she had placed there to pay.

When she collapsed, everything had scattered from the impact.

A good clue.

In short, the owner hadn’t taken any action against the girl until she approached the counter with money in hand. That meant something must have happened the moment she either handed over the money or at the very least, came closer.

Then, what could make someone want to kick out such a visibly unwell customer, to the point of ignoring all common sense and reputation?

It wasn’t hard to guess.

Aiden carefully examined the girl lying on the ground. He found what he was looking for almost immediately.

"Noel. Don’t."

And to Noel, who looked ready to kick down the pharmacy door any second now, Aiden whispered quietly.

"Aiden, are you seriously—"

"Near her wrist."

"...What?"

"Look. Near that girl’s wrist."

Noel paused at Aiden’s sudden words. Following his lead, she shifted her gaze toward the girl’s wrist.

It wasn’t hard to spot the dark mark poking out between the folds of her skin.

"..."

Noel bit her lip tightly.

It was a clear sign of an infectious disease.

Though it wouldn’t spread to healthy individuals, it was a common condition among children in the slums—those who suffered from poor nutrition and lived constantly exposed to contaminated environments.

The stigma surrounding infected individuals hadn’t improved much, even with the advancement of medical technology. And if the patient was a child from the slums, there was no telling what kind of illness it might be.

"Still, we can’t just leave her like—"

"Of course not."

Just as she raised her voice slightly to protest, Aiden’s flat, even voice cut her off. Then, a smile appeared on his face.

It was an expression she remembered.

One she had seen before.

The kind of smile that had planted this man deep in a corner of her heart.

That unique smile he wore when he expressed his convictions.

In the next moment, Aiden naturally slipped his body through the pharmacy door.

His light, brisk steps felt out of place in the tense atmosphere, drawing dumbfounded stares from both the shop owner and the girl on the floor.

Unbothered, Aiden walked casually toward the counter.

Locking eyes with the shopkeeper, he spoke brightly.

"I’ll take these meds. Please ring them up just as they are."

Snapping out of his daze, the shopkeeper looked at Aiden with suspicious eyes. He glanced toward the girl, wondering if they knew each other, but she too was staring blankly at the man, so that didn’t seem to be the case.

"...These weren’t prescribed to you, sir."

"Oh, no, I had a look and they happen to be exactly what I need."

Noel, watching from behind, let out a soft laugh at how boldly he lied. But if he could be that confident, then even such obvious deception didn’t come off as pathetic.

He was plainly saying he’d buy the medicine for the girl in her place. The shopkeeper must have been flustered, as he rolled his eyes for a moment before finally coming to his senses.

And once he realized Aiden’s true intent, a look of strong aversion appeared on his face.

Regardless, selling medicine in this situation wasn’t a welcome prospect. If Aiden happened to be infected with the same disease, that would be a major problem.

After all, no matter the shop, rumors of a visit from someone with an infectious disease would quickly scare away customers and slash sales.

And the record of selling merchandise was one of the most definitive pieces of evidence proving their presence more than anything else.

However, it wasn’t as if he could just suddenly frisk them to find a stone fragment that might be hidden somewhere, so the shopkeeper cautiously broached the subject first.

“Sir, all the products here can’t be purchased without a doctor’s prescription...”

“I already know that. Let’s not pretend otherwise.”

“......”

“The medicine the kids from the slums buy—it’s all the same. None of those are so impressive that they actually require a prescription.”

Aiden flashed an even brighter smile than before at the shopkeeper. On the surface, he was smiling, but the pressure in his gaze said they both knew what was going on, so let’s not play games and just move along quietly.

At that, the shopkeeper adjusted his expression and responded again.

“Even so, it’s a bit... difficult to give medicine to a patient who doesn’t appear to have any symptoms...”

To be frank, that wasn’t a very valid excuse either. After all, the person being told this had injuries all over his body, minor as they might be.

Moreover, the kinds of products where such an excuse might work were the ones that explicitly required a doctor’s prescription, and Aiden had already pointed out that the items currently laid out didn’t fall under that category.

So, the kinds of excuses typically used in situations like this were often flimsy but still effective.

Things like “We’re out of stock and need to save the remaining inventory for more urgent customers” were common go-tos. Even if the shop was rotting with so much overstock that mushrooms could start growing, if the seller claimed that, there wasn’t much the buyer could say in return. It was a simple but powerful tactic.

So then, what must be done to break through such an excuse?

The same applies here. One just needs to offer something simple and powerful in response.

The method Aiden chose wasn’t just powerful—it bordered on madness.

He pulled a fountain pen out of his pocket. It was a gift from Sisela, one he cherished and always kept on him.

Using something so precious in this way made him feel a bit uncomfortable, but his resolve was firm, and he acted swiftly. He rolled up his sleeve. Beneath the coat and shirt, Aiden’s bare skin was revealed.

Then, with a light motion, he moved the fountain pen.

He stuck the pen into the outer part of his upper arm and dragged it straight down to his wrist.

The nib tore through his skin, and bright blood gushed out, mixing with the ink into a dark crimson liquid.

Because the motion had been so light, it took everyone present a moment to process exactly what Aiden had done and react.

The shopkeeper stared at him like he was insane. Noel, standing behind, swallowed a groan. The face of the girl lying on the floor turned pale.

A sharp scent of blood wafted through the air, and within seconds, Aiden’s arm was drenched in blood. Drops of blood quickly formed and began falling—drip, drip—onto the shop floor. He raised his bleeding arm and deliberately placed it atop the counter, as if to make sure everyone could see. It was a rude, unreasonable, and barbaric act.

But the method was simple, and the effect was incredibly strong.

And throughout the entire series of actions—

Aiden kept smiling.

“Wow, this really hurts.”

That calm voice, combined with his expression, finally stirred a sense of fear in the shopkeeper’s eyes.

“It hurts so bad that I think I’ll need a painkiller to calm it down. Wouldn’t you agree?”

Spinning the blood-soaked fountain pen between his equally blood-dripping fingers, Aiden spoke in a clear, cheerful voice. The blood on the counter had already formed into a small puddle.

Still smiling.

“Oh, and since I’m worried about secondary infection, I’ll take some antibiotics as well, please.”

That polite voice must have sounded absolutely terrifying to the shopkeeper.

“...You’re getting more and more...”

“......”

Of course.

Noel’s voice, now tinged with outright resignation, echoed strangely, painfully in his chest.