บท 35: Stab

Rows of different kinds of weapons welcomed Zeke and the other two's sights. They were neatly arranged and categorized per type of weapon.

"What brings you here, fellows?"

A middle-aged man came and asked the trio.

"We're just looking around."

"I see. do you want me to guide you and your children around?"

The middle-aged man thought Esteban's the father with Gaia and Zeke as his children.

"Of course." Esteban nodded and didn't bother explaining the misunderstanding. He knew it was better to further hide their identities.

Zeke and Gaia knew this too, so they didn't bother about it.

While the middle-aged man saw some of the weapons filled with dust, he hurriedly cleaned it with a piece of cloth he had in his pocket. When he wasn't looking, Esteban whispered to Zeke.

"Zeke, what exactly are we doing here? are we here just to look at weapons?"

"Mr. Esteban, I want to buy myself a weapon."

Zeke's reply stunned Esteban. Soon after, he didn't know what to reply to him as he thinks he needed to have Charles' opinion regarding this. He didn't know about the matter with the training room yet so he felt like Zeke was rushing too much into this.

"Don't worry, Mr. Esteban. I will tell my father that I bought it myself under your stubborn refusal."

Zeke smiled and winked playfully. Esteban couldn't take it and just nodded. However, in his mind, he was thinking up what to say to Charles when they get home.

"Can you guide us through each type of weapon you have?" Esteban asked the middle-aged man who was busy wiping

"Yes! Follow me, customers!" The man gestured and went to an aisle full of short blades.

"Good sir, this is our dagger-type weapons. Feel free to look at it and see if there's something you like."

"Can you explain to us about all these weapons? I already know it, but I figured my kids would want to hear it."

"Sure! Sure! As you little fellow can see, these are what you call daggers! These are small one-handed weapons best fit for people of short stature and for those who prefer fast and nimble attacks. Daggers prioritize speed over strength, you see."

Zeke and Gaia nodded, particularly Gaia who was immersed with the man's explanation.

They were then led into another aisle, and this aisle contained what Zeke knew from his previous world as swords.

"These are what you call swords. These are medium-range weapons who are also the most versatile as their performance really relies on the individuals themselves. They could be utilized on either speed, strength, or sometimes even both! It all depends on the user and this is also what soldiers normally use, particularly because of its diversity in its attacks. You see, everything in a sword could be used as a weapon, be it the point, the edge, or the hilt itself."

"These are spears. They're long-ranged weapons made for stabbing and have strong piercing power. They're made for..."

The man continued guiding them throughout his store and the trio got to see different kinds of weapons.

"Zeke, what weapon would you like to buy?"

Esteban whispered to Zeke.

"Mr. Esteban, can I get one for each weapon? I'd like to try all of them."

".... what?"

Esteban was very surprised by Zeke's nonchalant reply. He looked at Zeke's figure and then the huge spears on the cabinets. How the hell would his Young Master carry that?

Then again, he couldn't disobey him and he just hoped his father would talk sense to him.

"I'd like to buy the best one for each type of weapon, please."

"Really?! Then please wait for a minute and I'll pack it all up, sir!"

The man excitedly bowed and went to each aisle to get the best one out of each weapon. He couldn't delay as this was his best customer yet.

After a few minutes, the man came back along with a ring.

"Good sir, all your purchases are in this spatial ring. Would you like to take a look and see if everything's in there?"

Esteban received the ring and imbued some of his mana inside. Indeed, different kinds of weapons lay organized inside.

"Everything's in here. Here's the payment, keep the change."

Esteban held out two gold coins. The man was shocked by the payment of his customer. The overall cost of all the weapons bought could only amount to 40 silvers or half a gold at most. Yet, the customer in front of him casually handed out two gold coins, which is equivalent to 200 silvers. This was 5x the amount!

"Keep the change. Just forget we came here, alright?"

The man seemed to understand why Esteban gave extra payment. It was to conceal the fact that they bought weapons there.

"Rest Assured, Good sir. I won't rat out my customers especially those who pay right!"

"Good. We'll be going then. Little girl, are you good to go?"

Esteban looked at Gaia who was mesmerized by the array of swords in the aisle. When she heard Esteban, she quickly returned to Zeke's side and nodded.

As they were going back to the meeting point, a loud shout was heard near Magnifique, the store where the rest came inside earlier.

"Help!" A weak and anxious voice was heard.

"Hah! Begging for help? Like someone's helping a poor bitch like you!" A voice that seemed to enjoy what he's doing was also heard.

Esteban became vigilant, looking out for possible schemes.

"Sir Esteban, w-what's that?" Gaia nervously asked.

"Don't worry, Young Mistress! I won't let you two get hurt. Rest assured! Let's just go somewhere around the meeting point first."

"No, Mr. Esteban. We're going there. We need to help!"

Zeke shouted.

"B-but Young Master, w-what if it's dangerous?"

"Don't worry, Mr. Esteban. When worst comes to worst, just protect Gaia. I can handle myself."

Zeke's confident voice slightly bewildered Esteban

'Where did Young Master get this confidence? Did he learn magic already?!'

Esteban shuddered at the possibility of a 3-year-old magician. However, he quickly trashed the idea as he felt it was too unbelievable.

'Then why's he so confident?'

When Esteban's thinking about this, Zeke already walked ahead, followed slowly by the nervous Gaia. Esteban caught up and prepared himself for potential trouble.

When the trio got near the scene, they saw the whole street slightly empty. The people were only inside the establishments, while the only persons outside were an old woman and two guys, one young and one middle-aged. The young man seems to be in his twenties while the middle-aged man is in his forties. The young man's facial features were really ugly that Zeke immediately felt disgusted upon seeing his face. The young man's thin face with a pointy chin as well as two protruding front teeth made him look like a rat to Zeke's mind. The young man was also smiling maliciously, making his appearance much worse.

The middle-aged man looked to be the young man's father as he also shares the same pointy chin and the same malicious smile. The man had a scar on his face from his left cheek stretching to his right forehead, making him look scary when he's near.

The old woman was sitting on the ground along with some kind of fruit in front of her. She seemed to be selling something when the two men came to her. There were also signs of destroyed fruits underneath the men so it's obvious they were bullying the old woman.

"Hey old bitch, why don't you just give us all these and we'll let you go scot-free, eh?" The young man asked as if the life of the old woman is in his hands.

"Yes, grandma. Just hand all of these over to avoid getting hurt. I promise we'll let you off. Isn't this a good transaction? Here, I'll give you these 5 coppers in my pocket. Take it as my gift to you. Come on now, Go away and leave all these behind. We'll sell them for you." The middle-aged man spoke like a businessman, but his words felt like venom to the old woman.

"What are you guys doing?"

Before the old woman could agree, a leisurely and innocent voice resounded from behind them. The two men and the old woman looked towards Zeke's direction and saw a man along with 2 children.

"Hey, kid. Back off here, alright? or else you'll get hurt. A LOT."

"You heard him, boy. Go off now and play with that little girl. You shouldn't be here at your age, right?"

Zeke replied casually, ignoring them both.

"What were they doing to you, grandma?" Zeke politely asked and walk forward for a bit.

"Young man, no! Stay away from here and don't meddle with my affairs! This is just a normal transaction. Sir, please take away your kid and leave this place." The old woman looked towards Esteban, hoping the man would take the boy away.

"Oh? It seems this kid is a bit innocent in the head, huh?" The middle-aged man walk closer until he was in front of Zeke. Zeke also stopped, and the middle-aged man crouched, matching eye level with Zeke.

"Leave, boy." The middle-aged man smiled.

"Old woman, are they bullying you? Tell the truth, I don't want any lies." Esteban, who was silent for a while, suddenly asked the woman.

The old woman couldn't answer, but in the end, she chose to believe in a sliver of hope that Esteban would take the boy away if she said the truth.

"Yes! Now please, go away before he gets hurt!" The old woman pleaded.

Zeke turned around and winked at Esteban, who in turn covered Gaia's vision.

"W-what's happening? Sir Esteban?"

"What are you doing, man? Are you-" The middle-aged man looked at Esteban while still keeping the same eye level as Zeke, but he couldn't finish his sentence when he felt his throat run dry.

The young man on the side was utterly horrified by the sight he was currently witnessing.

The right hand of the young boy was lodged deep within the Middle-aged man's neck, so deep to the point that the tip of the boy's middle finger could be seen piercing through the neck. Blood gushed from the man's neck as he didn't know how he died.

Not even a few seconds had passed when the boy suddenly threw a short sword, or a dagger rather, held by his left hand to one of the legs of the young man. The young man couldn't move due to intense shock as well as the seething anger and hatred coming from the young boy, causing his right leg to be hit as he suddenly issued a painful loud scream.