LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 32: A Terrifying Martial Artist
"Are you leaving now?"
It is currently the next morning after the 'little incident' with the noble in Old Man Arthur's restaurant, said middle-aged man currently polishing his glasses behind the counter as usual, opening his mouth as he saw a tall, handsome young man with a small bag packed, carrying it on his back, said young man seemingly revealing a positive expression as if he's really looking forward to this trip of his.
"Old Arthur… I guess I won't be seeing you for a while…" as he looks back at the middle-aged owner of the restaurant and inn he stays in for more than half of his life already, Diluc replied with a smile on his face before he turns around, taking a detour and sitting right in front of the counter instead of heading directly to the exit of the building.
"Any advice you can give me before I leave?" as he looks at the middle-aged man who took care of him all these time after he lost his real parents, Diluc couldn't help but feel a bit sentimental as he already treats this man as he second parent, giving him respect that equal, if not even higher than his birth parents who leave him at a young age.
"Hahaha, what advice can an old, decrepit man like me can give a youth like you…" the middle-aged martial artist replied in a joking tone as he dismisses the young man's words, only for him to take his words back as he saw the seriousness on the young man's expression.
"What about your revenge? You're getting stronger now, sooner or later, you can take down that Michael's family without any trouble" the middle-aged owner of the restaurant probe for a bit as he wants to know the current mindset of this young man he nurtured due to his sudden explosion in strength, wondering if such rapid progress affects his way of thinking.
"Do you really take me as a fool Old Arthur? Those fucking bastards has no way of defeating my old folks if not for some external assistance, and dispatching them might only alert those external powers" Diluc replied as he starts looking a bit grimmer as he thinks about all the trouble he is going to go through just to seek justice and clear his parent's name, something that he is willing to go through the depths of hell for though.
Hearing his words, the middle-aged man couldn't help but feel surprised despite all the things he had already experienced in life, said surprise causing him to be unable to hold himself back as he starts laughing uncontrollably, letting the emotions out of himself as he laughs to his heart's content, something that he never did but had always wanted to for some years already.
'Always careful and considering all possible variables one might encounter, that's a good trait to have…' Old Arthur thought to himself as he looks at the young man once again, nodding his head as he couldn't help but feel satisfied on how this young one grew up, hopefully becoming someone that is far more powerful than him to prevent any more misfortunes to descend into this young man's own life.
"That's good, looks like you learn way more than I give you credit for" the middle-aged man said with a fatherly smile on his face, proudly smiling at the young man as if his face is saying that 'I raise this boy' without any shade of shame on his face.
"Old Arthur, don't forget that I have the best teacher around…" Diluc replies as he looks at him, nodding to give credits when due as he knows just how much the simple advices of this mysterious middle-aged man manages to change his entire life, something that he will always be grateful for.
"Of course, most of the credits goes to my unrivalled genius, but who am I to not give credits to you right?" he added lastly causing the two of them to laugh once again, this atmosphere lasting for a while before it turns serious once again as the middle-aged man starts telling some good tips and tricks from a veteran to the outside to him.
"…well that was all that I can think of when it comes to practical knowledge…" after explaining for quite some time, the middle-aged man stopped as he thought that he finally goes through all the basic knowledge he has, causing him to remember something that he wants to tell this young man as a final farewell with him for a long time.
"Well, if I were to give a life advice of sort, that would be to treasure the people around you more than you want, because once you lose them, then you will never be able to reclaim all those time you don't spend with them…" Old Arthur said as the image of his wife carrying their young daughter in her arms appears on his mind once again, causing him to feel really shaken as he starts to stabilize his emotions, just this image alone enough to make him lose himself, creating a crack to the nearby glasses without him even touching them.
Hearing the words of wisdom from the middle-aged man, Diluc couldn't help but agree to his words as he also knows the feelings of losing someone important to him, the lost of his parents something that will be etched into his heart and very being for a long time to come, hence making the two of them feels like birds of the same feathers.
"Thanks for your advice, Old Arthur, I'll try my best in the capital" the young man said as he gets down from the seat, proceeding to walk out of the building with the middle-aged man cheering for him after he said his words.
"I fucking bet you will, young one, go and rampage with all your heart there" the middle-aged man shouted as he watches the figure of young man he took care of for a long time starts getting smaller and smaller as he got farther away, eventually disappearing from the crowds in the street, his disappearance signaling his change in expression as he looks towards a specific place, an obscure location that one might even think of as a dilapidated building if not for the board standing solidly right in the middle of the building.
Locking on one of the papers pasted on the board, the middle-aged man couldn't help but feel quite the anger in his bones, prompting him to take a step, a step that causes him to disappear from his previous place and arrive at his target destination.
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"W-what the hell do you want from us!?" a man clad in a black cloak asked with a panicked and terrorized expression on his face as he looks at the middle-aged man currently lifting him high in the air through his throat, said middle-aged man clearly someone who has beef with them given how much hatred and anger in in his eyes as he incapacitate, and sometimes even kill, the members of his clan.
Hearing the man's words, the middle-aged man takes out one of the posters hanging on the quest board, the figure of a young man, a handsome and attractive one albeit being on the thinner side at that, is drawn on the paper, with his name being printed right beneath his picture.
Diluc Leonhart – Mage, cultivation estimated to be around Bright Red Core to Vague Orange Core
Dead or Alive
10,000 Gold Coins
Reading through the basic information displayed on the paper, the man clad in black couldn't help but feel like they kicked an iron bucket this time around, thinking that what they think is something of a quick cash grab of a mission is something that will make their clan branch razed to the ground.
"Revoke this young one's task on your kill board, and I know you have your integrity as well so I will ask it just in case, are you willing to give me the identity of the people who orders such attack?" despite knowing who is it that sent an assassin to trail behind Diluc, the middle-aged man, Arthur, still decided to ask as this is an evidence that can help the young man fight with a more reasonable excuses with this family.
"I-I'm sorry, but this is an iron rule of the Shadow Blade Clan, senior, we can easily revoke that quest from the kill board but we can never reveal the identity of our clients" the man replied with a scared expression, his entire being already accepting that he is going to die on this man's grasp but luckily for him, the days of certain slaughter is already the past to this middle-aged man.
"Fine, just inform the ones already going after the boy to pull back" the middle-aged man, Arthur, said with a menacing tone in his voice, said middle-aged man not even sending a warning for this entire branch of the Shadow Blade Clan for them to know that will happen to them should they fail to accomplish what this middle-aged man wants.
What this middle-aged man, and even the cloaked figure doesn't know though, is the fact that this is not the only branch of the Shadow Blade Clan that has Diluc's face posted on their kill board, and a lot of assassins are already out for his blood.
Meanwhile, the young man in question is currently traversing through an unfamiliar woods as he navigates with a map that always used, a map given to him by his Big Sister Beatrice in order for him to find his way through all sorts of places, said young man completely unaware of the dangers he is about to face on this travel of the dangers he is currently facing.