Plan or free meal

"What do you mean you won't let me out of the academy?" Alexander spread his arms angrily

 Swanson, who was disguised as an old man with a thick white mustache and wearing heavy clothes, with a stick in his hand to support him while moving, stood in front of the academy gate, preventing Alexander from leaving, "These are the orders, boy, you are forbidden from leaving the academy..."

 Swanson sighed bitterly, "You could say it's your punishment for spending thirty thousand coins in two hours."

 Swanson could only shake his head

 It was a shock to him when he learned what Alexander had done 

 This is what made him realize why Walter was so angry. The bank card was linked to an intelligence express account for people under the witness protection system. This bank account was protected and difficult to trace from outside parties. 

 But suddenly thirty thousand currencies were withdrawn from this account, and when the matter was investigated, it turned out that the account in the Varyag city had made a huge purchase once. 

 Walter immediately realized that Alexander was the one responsible for this, so he made the decision to prevent him from using the bank card and stop the bank account.

 But after some thought, Walter found that this was a light punishment, so he decided to ban Alexander from leaving the academy permanently 

 "Okay..." Alexander looked away in embarrassment, "I know I made a small mistake, but don't you think that preventing me from going out is an exaggerated reaction to what I did?"

 "..." Are you saying that purchasing materials worth thirty thousand coins is a small mistake?

 Swanson didn't know why Alexander was acting like they were the one making a big deal out of it 

 Swanson's face became strange as he thought about the spendthrift who had thrown away thousands of coins acting like an innocent person who had done nothing wrong.

 "We still can't accept you leaving without permission." Swanson refused even after Alexander's urging

 Then he looked at the sports bag on Alexander's shoulder, "What's in this bag?"

 "They are the essentials any modern teenager needs."

 " really...?" Swanson decided to search this bag later when Alexander wasn't looking

 "Oh, it's Marco…" A familiar voice came from behind Alexander

 Alexander and Swanson turned to the owner of the voice

 A group of four students approached them, and among them, Alexander was able to recognize only three: Isaac, Charlotte, and Vincent. 

 Swanson frowned at the sudden intrusion of unwelcome guests

 Isaac reached Alexander's side and patted him on the shoulder, "We were invited to attend a banquet at the expense of one of our friends. Do you want to come?"

 Is it possible that Isaac is my guardian angel?... Alexander's eyes lit up when he heard these timely words.

 "I wouldn't be Marco if I turned down a free meal." Alexander accepted this offer without any hesitation

 "Haha, that's great..." Isaac couldn't help but laugh at this strong response, then pointed towards a young man with long, shoulder-length hair, "This is Desmond Avarta."

 "Marco Polo..." Alexander extended his hand to greet Desmond 

 "..." Desmond stared at Alexander with wide eyes as if he had seen a ghost

"Desmond..." Isaac poked him on the shoulder to get him to wake up from this awkward state

 Desmond came back to his senses after Isaac's gesture and shook Alexander's hand, "I'm Desmond, nice to meet you."

 "Okay..." Isaac then pointed to a beautiful auburn-haired girl standing next to Charlotte, "This is Vanessa Emmett."

 Alexander nodded towards her with a gentle smile, "It is an honor for me to have met the young lady of the Emmett family. I was fortunate to visit one of your family's stores and try the tea that your company is famous for."

 "The honor is mine, Mr. Polo." Vanessa's response was dull and she did not show much emotion

 "Let's go..." Vincent took a step forward, unable to wait any longer

 "Oh, give me a minute." Alexander approached Swanson, who had remained stationary all this time, and then leaned forward to whisper to Swanson, "I'll go with these guys."

 "You know that you are forbidden from leaving the academy." Swanson stood his ground

 "If you try to stop me, I will scream my real identity here." Alexander decided that an attack was the best way to solve this problem

 "You!" Swanson looked around at the crowded street

 If Alexander shouted his true identity, it would be a big problem because a large number of people would surely hear this

 "You're going to hurt yourself with this." Swanson whispered in horror. He didn't think Alexander would do such a stupid thing

 "Do you want to bet?"

 The smile that Alexander showed made Swanson sure that Alexander was sincere in all his threats

 Alexander turned to Isaac and the rest, "Come on, guys..." 

 The group began to move away from Swanson, who could only stare helplessly

 "Who was that man?" Isaac asked out of curiosity

 These two kept whispering secretly and strangely, making it seem unnatural

 "He's just a beggar." Alexander shrugged carelessly

"..." Since when have beggars worn brands?

 Everyone's looks became strange

 Any of them were easily able to tell that this man was not a beggar because of his clothes, which were of an expensive brand.

 But they decided not to mention it further because it was clearly a private matter 

 The group stopped for a few minutes, engaged in conversation on the side of the road, until a luxury limousine pulled up in front of them

 --------------

I couldn't help but whistle in amazement when I saw the limousine that stopped in front of me

 Why don't nobles use such cars instead of carriages that cause back pain

 These guys kept chatting even after we got into the limo and I was the only one who remained silent 

 This may be an embarrassing situation for others because it makes me feel like an outsider in this group of friends

 But on the contrary, it was perfect for me

 Being ignored is all I want

 Because I intend to withdraw when I have the opportunity 

 I wasn't interested in hanging out with them and didn't even think about going with them 

 But because Swanson was standing in the way, I had to think of an excuse to get out of the academy, so I thought I could use this group as an excuse to escape from Swanson. 

 Once they get out of this car, I will use my abilities to escape without anyone noticing

I had gazed at the Emmett Company Tower for hours from my bedroom window until I could find the right angle

 From this, I was able to conclude that the place where I was in the dream was the eastern part of the city 

 After seeing pictures of that place, I immediately realized that it was the same place in the dream

 That dream still haunts me, not because of its strangeness, but because of the words I heard 

 They came after you...

 Those words were enough to send shivers down my spine

 who are they?

 I have a lot of enemies

 Mithraites?

 Corrupted monks?

 There is a possibility that it was the Church of the Elements because they were always disturbed by my presence

 The worst possibility is that one of the Great Ones has discovered my presence here

 That would be a real nightmare, although it's unlikely because entities like the Great Ones will attack me as soon as they find out my whereabouts.

If the Great Ones knew I was here, I would be dead and wouldn't even have the chance to think of an escape plan

 Whatever the truth, one thing is certain: there is someone chasing me and he is currently in the eastern part of the city 

 That's why I made a simple plan

 Go to that place and kick their asses

 I must eliminate the danger before it comes to me 

 This is the best way to avoid problems 

 My enemies certainly think they are hiding in safety 

 These scoundrels are unaware that I will come to them myself today to eliminate them 

 Just imagining their reaction when I broke into their hideout was enough to get me excited and unable to suppress my smile 

 I felt a slight vibration indicating that the car had stopped, then everyone started to get off, so I did the same quietly, preparing for the hellish plan to begin.

 When I got out of the car, the first thing my eyes caught was the amazing building in front of which the car stopped

It was clear from the facade and shape of the building what kind of restaurant it was 

 The clothing of the customers entering and leaving the restaurant indicated that it was a luxury restaurant frequented by the wealthy class.

 "I'm starving…" Vincent rubbed his stomach excitedly

 Isaac looked at Desmond sarcastically, "You're definitely going to lose a lot of money because of Vincent's stomach."

 "No problem..." Desmond showed no concern about the money

 I stood behind the group and began to back away, ready to escape at any moment without anyone noticing me

 Vanessa tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, "Ribs are the special meal of the day. My father is addicted to them." 

 My steps stopped when I heard the word 'ribs'.

 I couldn't help but swallow my saliva while thinking about the look, taste and smell of this meal 

 "I remember trying it..." Isaac nodded in confirmation, then shook his head after a few seconds. "I have to admit, their way of preparing ribs is great, but it doesn't compare to steak with mushroom sauce."

 I felt as if I had received a fatal blow that had made me fall in surrender 

 I had the option of running away now and losing the chance to get a free luxury meal 

 I don't know when I'll have this opportunity again 

 The plan or the free meal

 The choice was difficult, as if I was facing an existential question that could not be answered

 " will you come...?" Isaac's voice brought me back to reality

 Everyone had entered the restaurant and only I was left standing in my place

 Isaac stood in front of the door to wait for me 

 I took a deep breath and made the decision

 Being one hour late won't make my enemies run away or anything like that

 After all, it wouldn't be a good idea to go and commit a massacre on an empty stomach