At the city gate.
Looking at the magic device's reading showing no abnormalities, the guard casually waved his hand and called out to the long queue in front of him, "Next."
His expression showed neither impatience nor any sense of accomplishment or anticipation. Like a factory worker inspecting parts on an assembly line, his face was completely stiff and lifeless.
Clearly, this kind of monotonous and mind-numbing work had nearly drained him of all passion.
Suddenly, a flash of color caught his eye—something no commoner would possess.
He instinctively looked over.
Then, the gemstone decorations on the figure before him nearly blinded him.
In a fraction of a second, the dull and numb expression on his face vanished, replaced by a sycophantic smile.
If you encountered someone important and kept wearing that dead-fish face, and ended up being reassigned to the frontlines because of bad luck… now that would be a senseless tragedy.
Sure, this job was boring—but the frontlines? That was way too exciting!
He quickly said with great enthusiasm, "Sir, please stand still for a few seconds. The results will be ready shortly."
Orsaga replied flatly, "Mm."
Then he let the man wave the magical scanning device around him without any resistance.
He calmly endured the waves of magical pulses scanning every inch of his body.
In his perception, although each individual detection spell was rather weak, when layered together they achieved a compounding effect—one plus one equaled three, maybe even four. With hundreds of them stacked, even he felt it was difficult to deceive them.
Still, he chose to trust in his innate abilities.
After all, even if he guessed wrong, it wouldn't matter. If he wanted to leave, no one at the city gate could stop him.
Not long after, the guard—wearing a big smile—let Orsaga pass without issue.
Once Orsaga walked away, that smile vanished instantly, replaced once again by a numb expression.
The sudden shift in attitude made the next person in line feel a harsh contrast in treatment.
'Damn, that's a massive gap...'
One of the two brothers frowned, clearly displeased with the guard's complete disregard for his noble identity.
But he held himself back. After all, his noble status hadn't been granted by this country. Outside of earning a few respectful glances, he had no real authority here.
Unless someone hailed from one of the truly powerful nations, nobles like him could only throw their weight around at home. Their status didn't carry global influence.
This was also why so many corrupt nobles were willing to bleed and die for their respective countries.
It had nothing to do with patriotism—just simple self-interest.
No country meant no noble title. For them, that was a devastating blow.
So whether they wanted to or not, they had to step up. If there wasn't an opportunity, they'd make one.
'Once I inherit my ancestor's legacy, I'll become a Legendary-rank powerhouse too… Then, guys like him wouldn't dare look down on me again…'
With that thought, he glared at the guard who was looking at him like he was just another slab of pork—utterly expressionless.
His mind began to wander, imagining the glorious days that would come after he unearthed the treasure…
Beside him, Bensek looked on in confusion.
He couldn't figure out why this guy, who had just been talking and acting pretty normally, suddenly had such a pervy, idiotic grin on his face—like a toad that had just eaten a swan. It was enough to make him not want to stand next to him.
Even the guard inspecting him looked visibly disgusted, like he'd just stepped in something foul.
Bensek, too, felt embarrassed. If they weren't blood brothers, he'd have long since kicked this idiot to the curb.
---
Orsaga didn't pay any attention to the fools making a scene behind him.
As soon as he entered the city, a kid no taller than 1.5 meters in slightly shabby clothes enthusiastically ran up to him.
"Sir, you look unfamiliar. First time in Augustus?
Need a guide?
I know the city like the back of my hand—from libraries and shops to brothels. You name it, I know where it is!"
Orsaga hadn't planned to entertain the kid, but after glancing at the numerous magical formations within the city, he realized that his X-ray vision wasn't going to work very well here—it would likely attract unwanted attention. And since he was too lazy to search for a map himself, he casually nodded. "Sure. Take me to the largest library in the city first."
The kid's face lit up with joy. "Sir, I charge 1 per day—"
Seeing Orsaga's attire, it was clear he came from wealth. The kid was just about to quote a rate several times higher than usual, planning to milk this one gig for days.
But before he could finish, a golden shimmer flashed before his eyes, stuffing his words right back down his throat.
Orsaga asked nonchalantly, "That enough?"
With trembling hands, the kid caught the gold coin Orsaga tossed him. His head bobbed like a woodpecker. "More than enough, sir! Whatever you say goes! The biggest library, yes? I'll take you there right away!"
This one coin was worth dozens of times more than what he was about to ask for—it completely shattered his mental resistance.
A gold coin!
He had lived his whole life from hand to mouth. This was the first time he had ever touched something so valuable!
What he didn't know was that to Orsaga, gold coins were the least valuable thing he owned.
Anything worse than that? He literally couldn't be bothered to pick it up.
After all, just like in games, when farming monsters, you don't waste time collecting trash-tier drops—not even if all it takes is a single click.
(P.S.: Just treat 1 gold coin as equivalent to about 1000 dollars.)
---
Twenty minutes later.
Pointing to a towering conical structure in the distance, the guide rubbed his hands and said, "Sir, that's the largest library in Augustus. Entry requires a fee. Regular folks can only access the first floor. Warriors and mages can access up to the third floor, and even lower levels. As for the rare knowledge stored deeper inside, you'll need to pass special evaluations to access those.
Since there's a fee involved, I'll wait for you out here. Or if you prefer, you can give me a time, and I'll come back early…"
Normally, he might've looked for a chance to sneak off, but this time, Orsaga had paid generously—enough to ignite his professional ethics.
He was genuinely prepared to wait for further instructions.
But before he could finish his sentence, Orsaga waved him off. "No need. You can go."
And without waiting for a response, he walked straight in.
"Huh?"
The guide froze as he stared at Orsaga's back and recalled his utterly indifferent tone.
He had just earned a gold coin in a mere twenty minutes—it felt like a dream.
And the way Orsaga treated money like dirt made him feel the sheer gap between people.
Even though… based on Orsaga's appearance, he didn't really look like a person at all…
Clutching the coin in his pocket, the kid suddenly thought—maybe it was time to get himself tested for warrior or mage aptitude.
If he turned out to have potential, maybe one day he could live as freely as that man…
__
T/N:
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