The Strategy to Become Good at Magic Chapter 86

TL: Schedule for TSTBGAM is probably once per two weeks.

Recap: Sue met up with the a.s.sa.s.sins’ boss and secured herself an “older brother” and “dad” (vice-guild leader). She is now free to do whatever she wants in the city.

Chapter 86 – The clash between the guards

“Sue, what you did just now wasn’t a good thing.” Lawrence said after a moment of hesitation as they walked down from the third floor. The guild leader had agreed to Sue’s request and he had to accept the fact that a little devil had entered his home, no matter how much he did not want to. He obviously did not want her to cause any trouble, so he tried to point out certain things and remind her this moment while she was still in a good mood…..

“What wasn’t good?!”

“Well, take for example that conflict you caused in the hall on the first floor earlier……” Lawrence wanted to sigh: “You must understand that this place is the a.s.sa.s.sins’ Guild. Even if my friends and I are easy to get bullied, it does not mean that everyone is easy to.”

He knew he was a failure as an a.s.sa.s.sin.

The four of them had their life planned out for them and they just needed to follow it step by step. An a.s.sa.s.sination mission was more of a game rather than a mission for them. Even though they dreamed of becoming legendary a.s.sa.s.sins, they knew that their eventual path was still handling administrative roles.

[It’s because I’m nice to kids and not because I can’t win against her.]

Lawrence lied to himself over the fact that he got bullied by a little girl……

“The job as an a.s.sa.s.sin is dangerous, so many people here have extreme personalities, for example……”

[That person you just knocked out is infamous for being evil…..]

Before he could gently pa.s.s that information to Sue, a door near the staircase suddenly banged open. A masked man walked out from the room with a brandished sword and glared at his surroundings with furious eyes, before he chanced upon Sue.

“You little b@!$%…..”

“Xiao Bai.” Sue snapped her fingers without even turning her head back to look at him, and the white tiger pounced over with incredible proficiency and speed. It smacked his head with its claws and caused him to faint. It saved the healers some work by throwing him back into the room where he came from.

“Uhh…… Thanks.” The few healers who caught the man’s body looked back with opened mouths before they spoke. The situation was complicated enough and they were hardly interested in getting involved since they worked in the backstage. The doors to the healers’ room quickly closed, and the white tiger pranced back with cat-like steps and rubbed against Sue’s legs with meows.

Sue patted its head as praise and looked back at Lawrence: “What did you say wasn’t good again?!”

“……… Nothing.”

Lawrence blinked furiously and wiped away his sweat with forced resolution. He suddenly realized his new sister was much worse than anyone else in the guild……. Yup, he needed to let her have her way.

Sue realized the silly a.s.sa.s.sin beside her was actually quite popular on the way back to her new home. There were many people who greeted him regardless of age or profession. It looked like her brother’s image was pretty good.

“You even speak the same lingo with that fishmonger, are you really an a.s.sa.s.sin?!” Sue finally asked in a burst of curiosity.

“What’s wrong with that? And how did you know he sells fish?!” Lawrence was a little surprised.

“There’s a strong stink of fish about him and there are also fish scales on his clothes….. I thought a.s.sa.s.sins should be loners, kind of sn.o.bbish and condescending?!”

“Haha. Actually, a.s.sa.s.sins make friends with commoners easily because there’s no need to worry that your next target would be them.”

The people who were rich enough to employ the a.s.sa.s.sins Guild were most likely someone of a certain level, and their targets were unlikely to be commoners.

“That’s kind of true.” Sue thought for a while before she agreed with Lawrence’s viewpoint and felt it was quite rare for him to show his sharp side. It looked like he was actually a smart teenager when it did not involve any a.s.sa.s.sination missions. “Let’s talk about something else, are there any dessert shops that are famous in this area?”

“Dessert shops? All of them are pretty good in the capital, but if it’s something famous, I think it’s Alfred’s.” Lawrence daringly patted Sue’s head, perhaps he did not even realize what he was doing: “Their desserts are famous and they make new seasonal products from time to time. Their signature desserts are Mocha pie and Lemon Candy. Does little Sue want to have something sweet?!”

[Haha, she’s a kid after all…….] thought Lawrence.

“……”

[Little Sue?!]

Sue felt black lines on her head. He was really acting familiar with her.

“I guess so. I need to see a little friend this evening, so it doesn’t look good if I go empty-handed.” She said.

“Little friend? But there’s no one in the capital that……” Lawrence wanted to ask who she knew in the capital, before he suddenly remembered Prince Fedrus and quickly cut off his words: “…… I’ll take you over now.”

When they reached Alfred’s shop, Lawrence insisted on paying for Sue with the reason that he should not let a kid pay for candy. Sue was polite for a while but realized that he was adamant in paying, so she reluctantly chose the “Deluxe Sized Mocha Pie” and a large bag of lemon candy. He felt happy and pained at the same time when he saw that she didn’t treat him like a stranger, handing half of his monthly pocket money to purchase the desserts.

“Do you need me to send you to the palace’s gate?!” Lawrence secretly pinched his anemic pouch and smiled as though he did not mind.

“No that’s fine, I’m going to make a walkthrough and move during the night. If there’s someone else with me it will interfere with my progress.” Sue waved her hand.

“…… Excuse my ears, perhaps I heard wrongly but did you say ‘make a walkthrough’?!” That strange word made him feel uneasy.

“I mean I’m going to investigate the area to gather information and make a plan to infiltrate the palace….. Executing a plan based on information and observation is called a walkthrough.”

“……” Lawrence dabbed his forehead with his sleeves to wipe off the cold sweat and gave a hallow laugh: “I thought you’re friends with the little prince?!”

“We are.”

“…… Then if you’re friends with the little prince, surely you can go in by the main entrance. Surely there’s no need to…..” Lawrence floundered his arms for a long time but he was still unable to describe Sue’s actions…… Was she trying to pick a bone over nothing?! Or perhaps she was worried that her status as a commoner would not be allowed to see the prince?!

“Who set the rules that one must enter through the front door when they visit a friend’s home?!”

Who the heck would be able to stop her if she wanted to jump onto a windowsill?!

“I’m heading off. You should go back too, I can take care of myself.”

“Huh, okay…..”

It was very easy to find the palace because the building was too conspicuous. Sue went onto the biggest street and started moving to the direction she believed was the center. She was fortunate enough to find the palace…… walls.

She stared at the clean walls for three full minutes before she took out several buckets of paint and started painting on it. A huge red sun, over the blue sky, and blue-green lakes with several ducks on them……

The palace’s guards were indeed efficient in their jobs. There was a group of guards who rushed over to check the barrier within minutes. When they saw the scene they puked out blood at the same time. An innocent and cute little girl was waving her arms about to perform artistic creations on the wall.

Since the Tobias’s kingdom image was kind to the citizens, the palace guards were also much more understanding at the outer walls….. Of course that would be a different matter if it was inside the palace.

“……” The guards’ leader had black lines over his head as he waved his hand to get the guards to lower down their weapons. He squeezed out a smile and spoke with a friendly tone: “Little girl, it’s not permitted to draw on the palace’s walls.”

“Hmm, why is that?!” The little girl looked up innocently. The question made him want to cough out blood again.

[Why, you ask?! Because the palace isn’t a kiddy’s playground! Because the palace has to maintain dignity at all times!]

But that answer would be too difficult for the little girl’s comprehension, so the guard leader used his best gentle voice and explained to her in a way that she could understand: “If you dirty the walls, the palace maids will have to clean them up as part of their job. You are making it harder for them and that is very wrong.”

“Oh…..” The little girl looked down sadly and she tried lifting up the bucket of paints with effort: “Then I won’t paint anymore.”

“That’s a good little girl.” The guard leader was quite pleased and quickly ordered his guards to clean up the mess. He really did not think that he could settle the issue so easily and this kid was so understanding…..

“….. The Elven king’s socks!” He suddenly shouted.

[How did this little girl carry so much paint over?! Why did no one discover her actions?!]

“Mister, are you the leader of the guards?!” The little girl grabbed his sleeves and asked with upturned eyes.

“You…… Yes.” The guards’ leader was defeated by her pure eyes. The corners of his lips convulsed a few times as he avoided looking at the palm prints on his uniform: “Let this mister escort you out, okay?!”

“Hmm?!” She blinked, then shook her head: “No, I want you to carry me.”

“……” He just sacrificed his sleeves, now he had to sacrifice his whole s.h.i.+rt?! The guards’ leader silently swallowed the mouthful of blood as he looked at the extended arms of the doll-like little girl. The words of refusal refused to come out from of his lips, and he could only grit his teeth and let his tears flow freely: “Okay, this mister will carry you.”

Five minutes later, the guards’ leader returned with three hand prints altogether. His men comforted him.

“Captain, stop looking so gloomy. At least you got to carry a pretty girl.”

“…… Maybe if she wants me to carry her ten years later I might be happy.” The captain said: “Do you think it’s okay for me to take a leave to change my clothes?!”

“I think the fourth captain will grab this chance to mock you. He’s not the best of terms with you…..” One of them said with sympathy.

“That’s true. Never mind, I will wait until our s.h.i.+ft is over. We should report back on the incident so let’s go back now…… Huh, where’s my token of authority?!” The captain paled at once, and his hands went all over his body to search for it. He recalled that he placed it in his pocket before his s.h.i.+ft, why was it gone?!

“Your token is gone?! We need to find it now…… The Elven kings above, could it be that the little girl…..”

“Are you stupid! How old is that little girl!” One of the men retorted.

“It’s not that kid. Her hands were full of paint, if she took it my clothes would be dirty. Perhaps I dropped it somewhere.” The leader ruffled his hair as he thought about what happened a while ago.

“We need to find it quickly, if we can’t we have to apply for an emergency request to destroy the magic on the token!”

“You’re right. But I really don’t want to see my superior for this matter. He and I are not really on the best— Never mind, come on guys help me find it……”

They quickly left the area and went back to search for the token. Since they were not patrolling guards and acted only when the alarm rang, they were quite free to move about…..

Sue was squatting down silently in a nearby bush. She glanced at the token……

[Only half an hour?!]

She immediately took out a magic mirror: “Lawrence, I remembered that you mentioned before the guard’s authority token is able to bypa.s.s the palace’s barrier?!”

“— That’s right.” Lawrence swallowed with hesitation: “Are you thinking of killing the guards?!”

“No.” She shook her head and waved the token in her hand: “I want to ask you if this is the token?!”

She had no choice but to get the guards’ leader to carry her. At her height, she was only able to steal the money pouch on his waist. The question was whether she stole the right object inside his armor…… Even though it appeared she got the correct item, she wanted to make sure it was the right object. If she took some token used for discounts in a market instead, she might end up getting jailed.

“You already killed one of the guards?!” Lawrence felt faint.

“Hey, are you really an a.s.sa.s.sin? Can you stop acting so pathetic?!” His group was so eager to kill the young prince and now he was scared of the guards?! Sue sent him a condescending look: “Don’t worry, I ‘took’ it from him and no one got injured.”

Lawrence blinked a few times as he tried to register the meaning in his mind: “Very well, I just hope that you consider your actions a little more…… Congratulations, that’s indeed the guard’s token. Before it is destroyed you can use it to bypa.s.s the barrier. But that is limited to the owner’s patrolling area.”

In other words, to advance further she still needed to continue ‘taking’ more tokens, or at least find another way.

[It even has a designated area?!] Sue hummed to herself.

“By the way, where would they go if they want to request for an emergency destruction of the token?!”

“How should I know? I never worked in the palace.” Lawrence scratched his head: “Hold on, let me ask the people from the guild. I remember a few of them retired from guarding the palace.”

Magic mirrors are bound as a pair and it was fixed. Sue saw him take out a stack of magic mirrors and finally took one out after looking at them: “Dad, I want to ask…..”

The vice-guild leader contacted his a.s.sistant, and his a.s.sistant to another….. After ten minutes, the information finally came back: “The request is made at the building where the Royal Wizards are working at. They stay in the outer area within the palace, and beyond their basic duties they are also in charge of the palace’s security.”

“The person who loses the token must personally make a request?!”

“Yes.”

“But how is he supposed to enter the palace if the person doesn’t have any authority token anymore?!”

“He can apply for a temporary pa.s.s and enter the barrier but there’s also a time limit to that.”

“Oh. I see. By the way your guild is really ineffective in pa.s.sing information.” She disconnected the link from the angry Lawrence without even a word of thanks, then chucked it back to her dimension bracelet. She wore the Lafiel’s Disguise and set out with the appearance of the guards’ leader.

Sue thought her acting skills were good. Regardless of what the situation was, she could steady herself regardless of anyone’s taunts or mockery……

However, she really did not expect the wizard to be so difficult even when the guards’ leader displayed so much annoyance. It was fine if the wizard just ignored her, but he actually scoffed with disgust when she poured him a gla.s.s of water.

She would have tried to accept her luck but another young man came in with the same uniform like the guards’ leader. Even though they looked like they were of the same rank, the d.a.m.ned old mage’s face actually softened and was friendly to him. Then they both mocked her……

[F%@#! Did I step on your toes or something?!]

Sue’s intention was to act like an ignorant idiot and tolerate them, but the more the two of them spoke, the more engrossed they became. It was nearly half an hour since she stole the token and the real deal was about to appear any moment.

“I say, number four……” She tried to interrupt them.

The young man’s expression twisted: “…… Number four?!”

“That’s right, aren’t you the captain of the fourth squad?!” She should not be wrong, the token had number 1 written on it, and his token was number 4……. That person seemed like he was vain; the d.a.m.ned token was hung on his belt. It would be much more convenient to steal it if she met him instead.

“……” That young man was silent for a moment before he gave a cold laugh: “Raeder, I didn’t know you had such a strong sense of humor.”

“My humor is usually hidden deep within me. I feel we didn’t have misunderstandings between us in the past, so why are you picking on me?! We’re supposed to do our jobs in the palace, so would you stop bringing in your personal feelings and interfere with our duties….. Am I right?!”

She threw the ball onto the mage, but Sue nearly lost herself when she found him in sipping his drink with perfect concentration and acted like he did not hear anything she said.

That young man gave a proud smile: “And so what if I’m picking on you?!”

[You’re that arrogant?!] Sue looked at him suspiciously and asked in an earnest tone:

“Where exactly did I offend you?!” At most she would just apologize to him? It was not her dignity she was throwing away anyways.

“Hmph!” He glared at her.

[Where did you offend me?! You’re younger than me but you have the same rank as me. You disarmed me at the last compet.i.tion with just a single move. I’m a n.o.ble, you’re a b.l.o.o.d.y commoner. You’re even more popular than I am…..]

There was no rhyme or reason to hate someone in the first place, and he had plenty of reasons to see him as an eyesore. Of course, he would not say these words out loud…..

“I owed you money?!”

“*snort*”

“I broke your house’s window with a slingshot?!”

“Tsk!”

“Did I steal your woman?!” Sue continued to persist eagerly.

“Pfffff….” This time it was the old man who spat out his drink.

[Oh ho!] Sue thought she discovered the truth.

“Bros are for life while girls are like clothes that need changing all the time. Someone like myself don’t really care about having different clothes, you can have them instead…..”

“When did I fight over a woman with you?!” The young man jumped up in anger.

“When?! Let me think.”

“I won’t let this slide if you don’t explain your insult today!” He angrily drew his sword: “State when it happened, Raeder! Or wash your lies with blood! I want a duel!”

[Bro, staph! I’m in a rush here!]

“Yesterday?! Or the day before?! Alisha or Serena?!” Sue was also desperate.

“Lies!” The young man was almost screaming.

“I’m not lying!” Sue decided to gamble everything: “You even accepted her handkerchief, if you dare to prove you’re innocent show us your pouch!”

“Fine I’ll show you, I….. Huh, when did this handkerchief get into my pouch?!” The young man was really screaming this time.

Of course it was Sue who put it in….. She pointed her finger at him: “Look! There’s the proof!”

The old mage’s expression changed completely. His warmth turned into the bitter cold in the winter, staring at the unfamiliar but beautiful handkerchief. He looked like he was about swallow him whole: “Explain yourself!”

“Father-in-law, I didn’t……”

“Cough……” Sue choked on her own saliva and raised her hands when the two of them glared at her: “Excuse me, can I leave?”

[c.r.a.p I fooled around too much. They actually had a proper relations.h.i.+p, no wonder they are friendly with each other…..]

The old mage looked at Sue’s embarra.s.sed expressions, rolled his eyes as he thought of something and looked like he came to an understanding: “Raeder, I’ll send your new token soon, go ahead and leave.”

“Oh……” Sue did not understand why the old mage was so understanding when his son-in-law was caught cheating, but she nodded quickly: “Then please chat among yourself, I’m going……”

“Okay, go back now.” The old mage’s sudden friendly att.i.tude made Sue feel gooseb.u.mps.

When she reached the door she heard two voices, one which was stern and one which was pleading:

“Father-in-law, let me explain……”

“Don’t address me with that! You’re not married with my daughter yet!”

“But……”

“There’s no but!”

“Still……”

“There’s no still!”

“I…..”

“From this forth, there’s no room in our family for you! I will find a more reliable man for my poor daughter. Even Raeder is a hundred times better than a playboy like you……”

Sue immediately dashed out with her head lowered.

[Holy s^@&, it look like this old man is interested in me?! Before I even got to see the little prince I earned a fiancee….. This is way too exciting for me.]

“Captain?!”

“Huh?!” She met someone who knew her again?!

“Didn’t you said you were urgent……”

“I’m done with urgent.”

“……..Oh. Should I come along with you to destroy the token’s magic now?”

“You’re right….. but that old man isn’t happy at the moment, it’s best not to enter now.”

“Oh.”

“One more thing, what-is-your-name, if the blood rushes to my head and I want to enter the building, remember to stop me.”

“…… Oh.” The poor guard did now know what else to say other than ‘oh’.

“Remember that, don’t forget it. Bye.”

“What! Where are you going now?!”

“I’m urgent again.”

“…… Oh.”

That guard looked at his captain leaving hurriedly…… Did the hot sun caused him to go crazy?