Riezel and Nibald didn't go far before settling down on an empty grassy area on the other side of the main road.
Originally, this place wasn't meant for sitting but as soon as Nibald arrived, he tapped his staff lightly on the grass, and the ground immediately came to life, rising swiftly to form several stone seats and a small stone table.
Still unsatisfied, Nibald tapped his staff on the ground again, causing an even greater upheaval, and before long, a finely crafted stone pavilion appeared.
'Oh, not bad.'
Riezel glanced at Nibald with newfound respect since he had never seen magic used so effortlessly before.
What Nibald used wasn't magic from the Structure System but magic from the Control System, manipulating the earth and the bedrock beneath it to create the stone pavilion.
It looked simple, but in reality, it required a high level of skill.
At the very least, even Yuri, who specialized in the Control System as a Strategic-Class Magician, wouldn't be able to pull this off. Riezel himself wouldn't be able to do it either if he only used and depended on Control System Magic.
Needless to say, that alone spoke volumes about Nibald's magic attainments.
'Didn't that guy from the Hadyth family call him 'Grandmaster' or something?'
Riezel found himself curious about Nibald's status.
'Looks like there's something to that title.'
With such a thought in mind, Riezel soon took a seat at Nibald's invitation, while Andrea sat nearby before the three of them casually chatted.
Most of their conversation revolved around the commotion Riezel had caused in the royal capital, making it clear that both Nibald and Andrea were quite curious about him.
Felix, on the other hand, sat restlessly for a while before he finally couldn't take it anymore and excused himself.
He just couldn't ignore Riezel's occasional glances in his direction or the deep meaning behind them, so he hurried off to the side and used a communication magic crystal, contacting his father, Count Hadyth, to explain everything that had happened.
Thanks to that, Felix got a brutal scolding from Count Hadyth—his furious voice was so loud it nearly reached Riezel and the others, making Felix fully realize just how intimidating and extraordinary the status of 'Sword Saint' was.
Fortunately, Felix hadn't done anything wrong yet, so while his father was pissed, he wasn't about to abandon him.
"I'll contact your aunt and have her try to persuade your uncle to apologize to the Lightning Sword Saint on your behalf. If he's willing to step in, the Lightning Sword Saint probably won't hold a grudge against you."
Count Hadyth said this while also issuing a stern warning.
"From now on, behave yourself and make sure to properly entertain the Lightning Sword Saint. Got it?"
Upon hearing this, Felix said 'yes' repeatedly, agreeing without hesitation—his timid demeanor was a far cry from the arrogance he had displayed while running rampant in Karudia.
Count Hadyth gave a few more instructions, reminding and warning Felix multiple times as if he still wasn't convinced Felix wouldn't mess up. It wasn't until Felix repeatedly promised to comply that Count Hadyth finally ended the call.
Felix let out a sigh of relief before cursing under his breath.
"Fuck... what the heck is wrong today?"
Today was a seriously unlucky day for Felix.
In front of Nibald, he had to maintain his image and suck up to the great magician—speaking politely, acting all refined, and basically playing the role of an obedient servant.
In front of Andrea, he had been scolded by her multiple times and humiliated over and over again, yet he couldn't lash out and could only swallow his frustration.
And now?
It was even worse.
He hadn't even done anything, yet somehow, he had ended up catching the attention of the damn Lightning Sword Saint.
Simply put, Felix was completely screwed today.
Since when had he ever suffered this kind of humiliation?
Back in Karudia, everything always went his way and no one dared to go against him.
Because his father was a count and also the lord of Karudia, everyone in Karudia had to suck up to his father, and by extension, they had to suck up to him as well.
Even when dealing with people of higher rank than his father, they still had to show the Hadyth family some respect, simply because the Hadyth family was a vassal of the Mavros family, and on top of that, the Guardian Sword Saint's wife was the elder sister of the current head of the Hadyth family.
With such connections, even marquises or dukes wouldn't dare to mess around too much—at the very least, they had to show the Hadyth family some courtesy and respect, so even when facing those from marquis or even duke families, Felix could always keep his composure since they couldn't afford to look down on him.
Felix didn't have many people he couldn't afford to mess with, as aside from the royal family, the only ones on the list were Sword Saints and Strategic-Class Magicians, who held power and influence on par with his uncle, the Guardian Sword Saint.
And yet, not only did this kind of existence show up today, but two of them appeared at the same time.
Riezel Brynhart was a newly ascended Sword Saint, backed by a Strategic-Class Magician and the Frenzel family.
Nibald Garland wasn't a noble, nor was he a Strategic-Class Magician, but in some ways, his influence surpassed even theirs—at least in the world of magic.
Neither of these two was someone the Hadyth family could afford to mess with—not even with the backing of the Mavros family.
For this reason, Felix had been holding in his frustration all day.
Instinctively, he glanced at Riezel and, seeing that Riezel looked way younger than him, jealousy started bubbling up inside him.
'How the hell did some lowborn country bumpkin become a Sword Saint while I had to force a smile at that kind of trash?'
Felix's expression twisted slightly.
Even though he was a magician as well, his talent was unfortunately not anything worth mentioning.
In Karudia, Felix could still be considered a genius, but when he was fifteen and went to the royal capital for testing, hoping to get into Spriller Academy, he didn't even get accepted.
In other words, while Felix had some talent as a magician, it wasn't nearly enough to earn him a spot in one of the four top magic academies in the Akasha Continent.
Felix's magic compatibility was also painfully average.
He had the Transformation System in third grade, the Control System in third grade, the Interference System in second grade, and the Structure System in second grade—not a single fourth grade.
Forget becoming a Tactical-Class Magician, he couldn't even learn the highest-rank magic below that class.
As a result, Felix's strength was only about the same as an ordinary knight from a major noble family's knightly order—essentially, a Level 3 in the world of Danmachi, only slightly stronger than Gerald, but that was about it.
With Felix's abilities, the only real path left for him was inheriting his family's title and becoming the next Count Hadyth since there weren't many other ways he could rise up in this world.
Count Hadyth had tried to give Felix a chance by arranging for him to study under Nibald, which was why he had been traveling with Nibald and his granddaughter since the whole point was to get close to Nibald and learn something from him.
Regrettably, Nibald's attitude toward Felix had been distant—polite but cold as Nibald never gave him any real chance to ask for guidance.
Felix even had a sudden urge to marry Nibald's granddaughter, Andrea, wondering if marrying her would make him as popular as Nibald, even more so than a Strategic-Class Magician.
Unfortunately, Felix's intentions were too obvious, too deliberate and wicked, which made Andrea, who had vaguely sensed it, feel nothing but disgust toward him.
'Fuck them, they're all just commoners and lowlifes without a single noble title, so why the hell did I, the future count, have to care about their damn opinions?'
Having this thought, the more Felix thought about it, the angrier he got, and the more jealous he became, especially when he saw Lizbeth among the refugees handing out monster meat—he almost couldn't hold back the storm of emotions inside him.
"Dammit..."
All Felix could do was hide in the corner and curse, venting his frustration like this.
Until—
"I'm back."
A deep voice rang out as Jack suddenly appeared behind Felix.
Felix hadn't noticed at all and was startled, but the moment he saw Jack's stiff, corpse-like face, he finally relaxed.
"Forget it. I made you go for nothing." Felix waved a hand dismissively. "No need to investigate those people anymore. I already know who they are."
At this, Jack simply nodded without saying a word.
Felix seemed used to Jack being like this and didn't care.
"He's Riezel Brynhart, the Lightning Sword Saint. He's not someone I can mess with."
Jack's eyes flickered slightly upon hearing these words.
Felix shot Jack a glance and suddenly lowered his voice.
"You good? You better not slip up in front of that damn Sword Saint."
"...I won't." Jack paused for a moment, then continued expressionlessly. "No one can see through us—even that so-called Guardian Sword Saint couldn't either."
"I see..."
Felix finally felt relieved, but once he was at ease, his mind started working again.
"Wait, if no one can see through you guys, then... is there a way to kidnap someone without that Lightning Sword Saint noticing?"
In the end, Felix just couldn't let go of his desire—the desire to possess the perfect prey right in front of him.
He wanted that silver-haired girl so badly, really wanted her more than anything. If it weren't for Riezel and Nibald being there, he would've just taken her on the spot.
It couldn't be helped.
She was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen since any other girls he had met before weren't even fit to carry her shoes. If he couldn't have her, he felt like he would never be able to let go of it for the rest of his life.
Because of this, he ultimately chose to ask Jack, hoping for a chance to have his desire fulfilled.
Upon hearing Felix's question, Jack paused for a moment before answering.
"We can try, but... there's a price..."
As soon as Felix heard this, he didn't even think before agreeing.
"I'll give you three hundred people this time."
Felix named his price without hesitation, making Jack's eyes flicker again.
"Alright."
As Jack agreed, a smile spread across Felix's face.