249 Elena is Safe!
The only reason Arthur did not rush in attacking everybody was because he was not sure if Elena was safe. One strange noise could make these bandits go all out and kill her.
It would be a disaster! He was not there to punish bad guys or anything like that. Arthur was there to rescue Elena, so he should focus on that, and not on attacking bandits like a madman.
But now everything was different. He had the youth who hired these bandits right in front of him, as well as the leader of those bandits and Elena itself.
“How should I go about this? Killing everyone and flee with her? No, that could traumatize Elena and maybe my reputation can be tarnished on my first day here.”
Arthur thought about how he should proceed with the situation, and he opted to just use his identity! Elena was going to the One Hundred Thunder Academy, and he had a tremendous authority there.
Using that authority to save her without combat would make Elena see the academy with better eyes, but see Arthur as someone decent!
He was not someone that cared too much about reputation, but when in front of ladies, one had to showcase their power in all the ways possible, and look like a knight on a white horse.
So, Arthur went to a corner, changed back to his normal appearance, and confronted the youth and the leader of those mercenaries, who were surprised to see someone there.
The mercenary leader took out his weapon, taking a fight stance. As for the youth, well, he was barely a one circle mage, which was a joke in front of Arthur.
“Who are you? How are you here? Kaleb, weren’t supposed to be guards all over the cave? How can this lowly brat appear here? This will be deducted and- “
“Shut the fuck up, NOW!” Kaleb yelled.
Different from that spoiled youth, he had way more experience and power. Kaleb knew the youth in front of him was not simple.
“May I know who sir is?” Kaleb said.
“Oh? Someone that knows their place. First, tell me, are you bandits?”
“No, sir. We don’t see us as that. Look, we are mercenaries and accept all kinds of jobs. Some are bad, some are good. It depends on who is hiring us. We all have families, you know, and we do what it takes to feed them.” Kaleb said.
The honesty in his words was clear, making Arthur see him with a better light. He was not wrong, and the only bad person was the youth just beside him.
“Farewell. I am Arthur, a professor at the One Hundred Thunder Academy. Here, this is the token.” Arthur said, picking up the token Laura gave him, showing to Kaleb.
Elena was already alert at everything that was happening the moment she saw someone unknown there. It was a chance of survival, and she hoped that the person who appeared was friendly.
But after hearing the name of the school she would go to, as well as the title of a professor, Elena had her eyes wide open in shock, trying her best to hold up the tears from falling.
“What?”
Kaleb went forward, picking up the token to have a better look. It was authentic. He had done some business with the One Hundred Thunder Academy before, so he knew the difference between the tokens.
The token Arthur had meant he was someone with a foremost authority there.
“You knew this girl would go to that school?”
“Uh, I did not see that as something important to tell you.”
“NOT IMPORTANT? Do you know that the One Hundred Thunder Academy is on the TOP 3 of the entire continent? Of course you don’t. You are just a spoiled brat. Fuck!”
Kaleb was angry with that youth, but also scared.
“How much did he pay you? I can give you more than that, and we can call it even. Maybe you can give him a beating to make him learn things properly? But please, don’t kill him.”
“Of course. Don’t need to ask for the beating, as this brat deserves it!”
Arthur then paid the man gold, more than he would get for the job. Kaleb also invited him to have a drink at the inn, and Arthur said he would show up at night.
Everyone who was under Kaleb’s control inside that cave bowed to Arthur on the way out, showing the most respect they could for such an important figure. Some even had thoughts and dreams of one day reaching such a level!
After Arthur left with Elena, Kaleb looked at the youth, who were already shaking with fear.
“Now, this is what you get from tricking me, you bastard!”
The screams of pain from that youth were so loud that some mercenaries in the cave shook in fear, too.
~~~~
“Are you truly a teacher from One Hundred Thunder Academy? This is destiny! Thank you for saving me!”
Elena was completely different after being saved. She was happy again, asking lots of questions, trying to know more about the youth who saved her.
“He has an age similar to mine, yet he is already so powerful!” Elena thought, staring at Arthur on their way back to the village.
She had an orange hair, and amber eyes! A unique look that gave her a unique charm! Still, she was quite young, having 16 or 17 years of age.
“You can come with me back to the school if you want to.”
“Really? That would be awesome! When will we leave?”
“Soon, don’t worry. First, go talk with your parents. They were worried about you.”
It did not take long for them to reach Tom’s house, and when both of Elena’s parents saw her, they could not believe it! Tears streamed down the face of all of them, and Arthur left the area, giving space for the family to reunite!
“I should buy a map, and seek information about schools which are recruiting.” Arthur thought.
Wisa, Jane, Theo and Kai had to find places to stay and flourish. Arthur was thinking of letting Theo and Kai study in one school while Wisa and Jane worked on creating Odemore on the central continent as well!
He wanted to get full control of the central continent before leaving that planet, so having a branch of Odemore there would help him achieve such a feat!
Also, getting control of the central continent meant control over information, and he still needed to find Nefion, but Arthur was almost sure Nefion had left the planet.
Those were things for the future. What Arthur needed was a complete map of the central continent to prepare for his travels.
It was a good thing the village had a general store with just that!