Marcel Mistmer

I realised a second later that it was the same name I came up with to scam the young lady at the inn.

'No, why do you even know that name?'

I didn't answer Mr. Elysium Shopkeeper. Returning to my room. I just assumed the people present at the inn yesterday listening to our conversation were the ones responsible for spreading that nonsense.

It was already evening by the time I returned and after taking a bath, I decided to go to sleep. I had plans to leave this town tomorrow morning so I wanted to go to bed early.

Knock!

Knock!

...And someone out there wouldn't just let me.

Hearing the knock at my door, I opened it and saw two men wearing official knight uniforms.

"How may I help you?" I asked.

"Umm… Sir, are you the courtier of King Johnathan de Graham Serendipity III?" The one with a star badge present on his shoulder questioned me while checking his notebook occasionally.

I still didn't know how the official Knights of humans were ranked but I assumed he wasn't a low ranking one.

But that wasn't my main concern here.

'No really, who's spreading all these rumors?'

With a slight delay, I replied, "Yes, that's me"

"So are you the one who killed the goblins today at the market."

I didn't know if it was for a good civilian award or just some casual checks on a suspicious person, but right now, without any identification proof on me, the safest option will be not to get too much attention.

"It was a small task. The people were scared so I decided to lend a hand."

"I see. Thank you for that. If you don't mind may we know the reason for your visit to this town, sir? " The Knights really looked persistent.

Sigh...

'Looks like I already gathered a lot of attention today'.

Usually they would like to avoid some King's courtier but I guess they were bound to have some doubts as it was a King they haven't heard before.

And today's incident added some more fuel to their doubts.

"Uhh... As everyone already knows, His Majesty's son ran away from home. But the guards couldn't find him even after a week. So I came here to check the vicinity of the forest just in case." I replied, clearly showing my annoyance at their uninvited enquiry.

A noble kid running away from home is not that uncommon. Many kids would just go out and rebel if they were given a harsh schedule since childhood.

"I see. In that case, I would like to see some identification proof, if you don't mind."

And here it comes.

"Sure. It's in the closet. Please wait for a while"

I proceeded to close the door but suddenly stopped. Starring both the Knights for a second, I decided to ask.

"Umm.. You?"

"Yes?"

"Do you know how to clean goblins' blood from someone's clothes?"

For a second, both the guards looked at each other with highly confused faces.

"Uh... You can try using white vinegar and soap together."

"Thank you."

I closed the door and put all my stuff into the ring. I already predicted a situation like this might happen so I was able to calmly analyze my next steps very quickly.

'Though the name- King Johnathan de Graham Serendipity III was completely out of expectations'.

I opened the window which could easily fit me and jumped down towards the back of the inn.

It was already night so I wasn't that worried about anyone recognising me. I just had to use the alleys to be safe.

Guided by the moonlight, I left for the next town making myself a mysterious figure among the people of Pearlton.

****

February 10, Year 1161, The Capital

Esmeralda was with here new squad early in the morning. She had discussed the plans of her first mission with the Madam Royce last night.

"So everyone is present? "

"Yes Captain!" The members of her team all looked hyped up for their new mission. They were all people who admired Esmeralda before.

"Okay. For now, there're many tasks in human territory so we'll have three teams."

"Yes!"

"Lois, Ray and Celine. You three will go watch the competition. Take note of every demigod that stands out. I heard that they will be appointed as knights when they return." She said pointing towards her three members.

"Yes, Captain! "

"Okay~ Cap"

"Diana, Evan and Brian. You three will join some other elves, humans and dwarves officers to form the Main Security Group. Gather information in the surrounding towns before the competition and if you find anything suspicious let others know."

"Don't worry, Captain. Lead these two idiots to me." Diana answered, giving a thumbs up with a large hand.

"But what about you and the Vice Captain?"

Based on what others heard, Esmeralda still didn't assign anything for the Vice Captain, Katherine or for herself.

"Kathryn and I have to meet the King of the Royal Palace of the humans. It's really troublesome, but we have no choice. It's better not to offend them. Anyway, both the two groups will meet at the end and bring the winner to the Royal Palace to meet us. There our squad 'Vindicta' will regroup completely and we'll escort the winner to Elysium. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Captain!!!"

Their sounds echoed through the whole room.

****

After traveling the whole night, I finally reached the next town, 'Springbell'.

Right now, I am waiting outside a bar called 'Good Man's Bar'. It was a tiny bar and wasn't that fancy looking. There weren't that many people here too, only a light brown cat just outside the bar purring softly.

The reason this bar looked bland and common wasn't because it lacked funds to upgrade it. It was because this bar had a secondary profession.

A really secret one at that.

As Rowan said, it was one of the confidential information gathering places. And here I needed to meet someone whose name is Prof. Larry.

Of course, it was just an alias.

He's also the one that provides Rowan with the newspapers and information now and then. In other words, the secret source that Rowan mentioned was none other than Prof. Larry.

I went inside and saw a muscular bartender in the counter. Beside him was another man, not as muscular as him, scanning through some papers.

Seeing me approach the counter, the muscular man scanned me through his eyes and sighed.

"Kid, we are not open yet. And I don't think that a noble like you should visit a small shop like this. We don't want any trouble for us."

I already changed my bloodied clothes and wore another pair. This was not as grand as the other one, but still Rowan's standards looked much higher.

"Umm... Do you know where I can find the night before morning?"

It was a secret code for meeting Prof. Larry. At the end of the day, this place was an illegal market and they needed some level of security for it.

As soon as I said those words, both of them exchanged glances with each other and then replied to me in a low voice.

"Go downstairs, Room 12. Only the professor is available now. "

I went downstairs and soon found the room without much difficulty.

Knock! Knock!

"Oh... You're finally here? I was waiting for two days. You are hella late." A man in his thirties answered the door. He wore round glasses and had a nice moustache with a round belly.

"I am sorry, sir. I was kinda lost in the forest. "

"It's okay. It's okay. You can just call me Professor. You're his student after all. He already informed me two weeks ago that you'll be arriving. So, you want an identification card?"

Looks like the Professor already made his preparation. So luckily it shouldn't take that long.

"Yes, that's what I want, sir."

"Hmm okay.. Anything else?" He asked, already getting ready to make the identification card.

To be honest, I was quite short on money. I have a little more than 2 gold coins after spending.

And using a portal costs very much depending on the distance. From here to Lumina Town, it may cost one gold too.

After racking my brain for a while at this problem, I decided to ask him.

"Do you know where I can earn money?''

"Well, once you have the identification card, you can go take missions at the Adventurer's Guild."

The Adventurer's Guild. It was one of the fastest ways to earn money by putting your life at risk. They are very upright and disciplined on the front and it's very beneficial for the adventurers.

But, that's just a facade. If you join the Guild and enter the inner divisions, there's nothing but politics.

"By the way kid, you said your name's Owen, correct? Do you really want to use your real name in this?"

Firstly, I thought using my real name would be better. In case I failed to win, there's a chance that my family may hear the news and may come to rescue me.

But, if that happens I'll be questioned by the official knight about what I was doing the last four years. If they use skills to detect my lies, Rowan's situation will be ultimately revealed.

And also, I always had a certain bad feeling about the One Eyed Wyvern Bastard incident. The more I thought, the more I felt that it would be better to hide my real identity for now.

So ultimately, I decided that I will meet my family myself and let them know that I'm alive. I will then investigate the incident by hiding my real identity. I don't want my family to be in any danger again after all.

"I think using a fake name will be better" I replied after some thought.

"Yes... I thought so too. So have you thought of any? "

I thought that if I really used a fake name, it should be cool and mysterious. Like a mysterious person hiding in the mist and slaying his enemies...

"How about Mystory Mistagon? "

He stared at me with a dumbfounded expression for a while and finally opened his mouth.

"How old are you actually?"

'Is he telling me that it's a name only small kids can think of? I think it's a really good name though!'

"You know that everyone can realise that's a made up name, right?"

'I-is that so? Man, my naming sense is really bad.'

I thought really hard for the next couple of minutes. The Professor stared at me with an amusing expression on his face and finally suggested a name himself.

"... How about Marcel Mistmer?"

"Marcel Mistmer…"

A smile suddenly escaped from my lips. This name really had a nice ring to it.

"Yeah, let's go with that."