Since he was taking a guest out for the day, Dark obviously couldn't bring his whole household along. He took only DemiDevimon, picked up his copy of Around-the-World Travelogue, and stepped out of his bedroom.
In his hand was also a small bottle of "sugar beans."
Those were medicinal candies Ollie had brewed late into the night, seeing that he'd need something to restore his magic — sweet, with a faint sourness.
When he arrived at the meeting place and waited a short while, Aurora came drifting in on a trail of perfume.
She wore a sun hat with an open-worked embroidered brim, a snow-white ruffled dress, white silk gloves, and a pair of adorable short boots.
Her hands were clasped tightly in front of her, and a flicker of nervousness showed on her face.
Unlike Dark, who was already fairly used to being around the opposite sex, Aurora didn't spend much time around unfamiliar men.
She'd only just turned twelve, and this was her first time going out alone with a boy — a little shyness was only natural.
Still, she actually knew quite a lot about Dark, so he wasn't exactly a stranger to her.
"Let me introduce myself properly, then. I'm Dark Demon, your future senior," Dark said, extending his hand once Aurora had come close.
Aurora raised her hand and shook his, saying shyly, "Aurora... Montielfali."
Dark smiled faintly and let go. "Shall we get going, then? Is there anywhere you'd like to go?" He'd asked mostly out of politeness.
After all, Aurora hadn't been back to the capital since she was small, so she couldn't possibly know her way around.
But to his surprise, the moment he asked, Aurora pulled a slip of paper from her small bag. On it were several locations, written out neatly — she'd clearly come prepared.
When a flicker of astonishment crossed Dark's face, Aurora happened to glance up and catch it. Her face flushed instantly, and she mumbled, "J-just a few places..."
As she spoke, she tilted the paper slightly, trying to block Dark's view of it.
Dark almost laughed, but managed to hold it back. "It's fine. We'll go one at a time. We've got plenty of time."
"Mm." Aurora gave a small nod.
Dark led the way outside.
Of this little girl the Lord of the Free City had brought along, he knew almost nothing beyond the fact that she was Diana's cousin.
But judging by her demeanor, she seemed like the well-behaved, sensible type.
That sort of girl really was easy to like.
But in the end, that was about all there was to it.
Nearing the entrance, Dark slowed his pace and asked, "Where first?"
Aurora thought for a moment, then offered a name: "Blue Jade Street."
"Blue Jade Street?"
Dark repeated it to himself, then said, "Blue Jade Street it is, then."
Blue Jade Street wasn't too close nor too far from the Duke's estate — about fifteen minutes by carriage.
He wasn't particularly surprised that Aurora wanted to go there; it was a fairly well-known street lined with jewelers and gemstone shops.
It made perfect sense for a city lord's daughter to want to browse jewelry stores.
Still, looking closer, he noticed Aurora wasn't wearing any jewelry at all — far more modest than the noble ladies of the capital.
Dark thought idly, "Since we're going to Blue Jade Street anyway, I might as well buy her something as thanks — she did give me that precious Flame Sun Spirit egg, after all."
The Duke's main gate had already been opened.
Two guards stood at rigid attention.
A luxury carriage bearing the Demon family crest waited at the gate, with a Dragon-Taming Guard standing beside it.
The Duke's estate kept several dragons on the grounds, privately raised, and the Dragon-Taming Guards were responsible for tending and training them.
They weren't just skilled at raising dragons — their combat ability was formidable, and they could fight while riding.
When Dark went out, he was usually accompanied by only two guards — one doubling as coachman, the other as his personal bodyguard.
Since the horses pulling the carriage were dragon-horned horses carrying a trace of dragon blood, the coachman was usually chosen from among the Dragon-Taming Guards.
The personal bodyguard, meanwhile, was chosen from among the twelve head maids.
In the past, the one who most often accompanied him out was "Aries" Ollie.
But Ollie had a lot to see to today, so the chance went to another head maid.
As Dark stepped through the gate with Aurora, a head maid in a standard uniform came around the other side of the carriage.
It was "Leo" Trina Demon.
Trina stood nearly six feet tall, with short hair that brushed her ears and remarkably long legs.
Her hair was a light brown, matching her eyes, which tilted up slightly at the corners, lending her a faintly fierce look.
Despite being a maid, she carried a sword at her side, and a dagger was hidden beneath her long skirt against her thigh.
Trina headed the "Leo Corps" of maids, tasked with combat, as opposed to the "Scorpio Corps," who handled assassinations — one bright, one shadowed.
Dark and Trina didn't talk much, but in truth, she was probably second only to Ollie in how often she accompanied him outside.
After all, combat was her specialty, and she'd received sword instruction directly from Alvit, who trusted her deeply.
Dark didn't mind her company either — mostly because she was a woman of few words.
"Greetings, young master!" As Dark drew near, Trina immediately dropped to one knee and looked up.
"Get up," Dark said, curious. "Where were you the past couple of days?"
Trina let a faint, thin smile show. "Just got back."
"Right, you're always out on business." Dark nodded and turned toward the carriage.
He climbed aboard first, then half-crouched and reached a hand down toward Aurora.
Aurora's cheeks flushed slightly, but she still placed her hand in his palm and used the other to lift her hem slightly as she stepped up onto the footboard.
Dark pulled, and she came up smoothly.
The two of them entered the carriage together.
There wasn't much inside — just a small table in the middle with cut fruit and a few small forks laid out.
Dark guided Aurora to sit by the window while he took the seat opposite. He casually picked up a fork, speared a piece of fruit, and chewed slowly, savoring its sweet juice.
Right after, Trina bent down to enter as well and asked, "Where to?"
"Blue Jade Street," Dark said.
Trina turned and opened the door, calling out to the Dragon-Taming Guard, "Blue Jade Street."
"Understood," the guard replied, and flicked the reins.
The carriage began to move.
Because the undercarriage was fitted with a special magic array, there was almost no jolting inside.
Once the ride steadied, Dark started up a conversation. "Aurora, what kind of city is the Free City?"
Aurora took off her hat and set it on her knees, saying softly, "It's a lively place. We haven't quite solved the residents' internal needs yet, but we're making progress, and it'll only get better."
"I hear it's dangerous outside the city," Dark said.
Aurora nodded. "It was built on what used to be Demon race territory, after all. Every so often, monsters attack. But we're working hard to build up an adventurer culture — we've already managed to establish an adventurers' guild, and more and more people are coming to help us clear the monsters around the city."
Dark said, "Monsters themselves are both a danger and a resource. A steady stream of them means the Free City always has a way to gather monster materials. The industries that spring up from that — processing, trading — might well become the city's economic backbone."
Aurora spoke with a little excitement. "Exactly. I hope that one day the Free City becomes the world's largest market for monster materials. More and more people would come and go, and through all that exchange, they'd start to set aside their prejudice against half-bloods, letting half-bloods be accepted little by little. Once half-bloods can be treated equally everywhere else too — then the Free City will truly be free!"
Dark smiled. "That day will come, for sure."
Aurora gripped the brim of her hat and lowered her head. "Thank you."
...
Pulled by the dragon-horned horses, the carriage moved quickly and soon entered the city proper.
The pace slowed.
Dark lifted the curtain and looked outside, enjoying the pleasure of viewing familiar sights with a different frame of mind.
Aurora followed suit, watching the life along the streets.
The Free City, naturally, was nowhere near as lively as the capital.
As she watched, Aurora suddenly asked, "Does the capital have vagrants too?"
Dark was a little curious why she'd ask that all of a sudden. "Why, what did you see?"
Aurora said, "Two vagrants arguing."
Dark said, "The world moves forward, and some people just can't keep up. Besides, the war left behind more grief than anyone could count — vagrants are only one small part of it. There are shelters set up in various places to help them, but not every vagrant wants to be helped."
Aurora asked, puzzled, "Why wouldn't they want help?"
Dark was silent for a moment before saying, "Pride, Sloth. Some can't swallow their pride, some don't want to work anymore. The shelters exist mainly to help vagrants find work — not to feed and house them for free."
Aurora fell into thought.
...
Soon, the confusion of the outskirts fell away, replaced by the noise of the city.
They'd arrived at Blue Jade Street.
The carriage pulled to the side. Trina got out first, then Aurora, then Dark.
Aurora, still very much a child at heart, gazed around at the bustling scene she'd never witnessed before, her eyes lighting up.
People came and went along Blue Jade Street, loud calls mixing with the occasional argument, all blending together so naturally that none of it seemed out of place.
This wasn't the truly high-end jewelry district — the crowd here was a mixed bag.
Dark walked ahead with easy familiarity, pointing out shop after shop to Aurora.
Aurora listened from beside him, showing no particular interest in going inside any of them.
Not until Dark mentioned a jade shop called Liutian Studio did her eyes light up. "Can I go in and take a look?"
Dark eyed the brand-new sign of Liutian Studio with a strange expression.
Still, he nodded. "Of course."
So the two of them, with Trina in tow, walked into Liutian Studio.
As one of the more famous shops on Blue Jade Street, Liutian Studio mostly sold unprocessed raw stones, though it also carried some jade ornaments — all handmade by the shop owner himself, purely out of personal interest.
When Dark walked in, there had been quite a few customers inside.
But as soon as he entered, the faces of everyone gathered there changed. One by one, they set down whatever they were doing, lowered their heads, and slipped out of the shop in a hurry.
The shop owner's face changed even more dramatically — he even looked outright alarmed.
But seeing that Dark showed no sign of turning to leave, the owner had no choice but to steel himself and step forward to greet him. "If it isn't young master Demon? What wind blew you in here?"
The owner was a man in his forties or fifties, dressed plainly, but with a bright green jade ring hanging from his neck and both wrists loaded with jade bracelets, giving him a look of gaudy wealth.
Dark had known him for years and didn't bother with pleasantries. "Brought someone along to have some fun. Bring out your best stuff."
The owner glanced at the delicate, doll-like Aurora and immediately understood.
But just as he turned to fetch his best hidden stock, Aurora spoke up. "No need — I'm not here to buy jewelry. Do you have any uncut raw stones?"
"We do have some." The owner stopped in his tracks, wiping sweat from his brow.
In truth, this shop's main business was gambling on raw stones.
But with this little troublemaker standing right there, he didn't dare take the risk.
Aurora, though, said eagerly, "Then bring some out for me to look at."
Reluctantly, the owner dragged an uncovered box out from behind the counter.
The box was filled with raw stones of various sizes, none of them cut.
Because these stones had been buried deep underground, they still bore a weathered outer crust once mined.
Without cutting through that crust, there was no way to see what lay inside.
There was no telling what quality or size of jade might be hidden within.
The shop set a price, the buyer paid, and then the stone's crust would be cut open on the spot to reveal the jade inside.
If the quality exceeded the purchase price, the buyer profited.
If it fell short, the buyer took a loss.
This was commonly known as "stone gambling."
Only here, the stakes weren't limited to jade — there were also much pricier rare metals and magic ore.
Aurora crouched down and began sorting through the box of stones.
Dark stood nearby with nothing to do, so he peered in as well.
But after picking through them for a long while, Aurora simply looked without buying, and eventually stood back up.
Dark asked curiously, "Not going to try one?"
"No," Aurora said cheerfully. "I just wanted to see."
With that, she didn't even glance at the jewelry on display and walked straight out of Liutian Studio.
Dark was thoroughly confused.
The shop owner, meanwhile, was overjoyed.
...
Afterward, Aurora visited several more "stone gambling" jewelry shops, each time full of enthusiasm, yet never buying a single thing.
As the time slipped by and an hour was nearly gone, with her still buying nothing, even Dark couldn't help himself anymore. He leaned in and said, "Why not buy just one?"
"No," Aurora shook her head firmly. "I don't have that much money."
The shopkeepers standing nearby didn't dare mention that some of their stones were actually quite cheap.
All they wanted was to send this little plague spirit on her way as fast as possible.
When they finally left the last shop, Aurora, clearly satisfied, pulled out the slip of paper again and pointed to the second line. "Shall we go to the next place?"
...
The carriage set off again, and when it stopped next, they were in front of a high-end dessert shop called Sweet Honey.
Dark had assumed Aurora had come here for the shop's fame — and she had, but true to form, she bought nothing.
The three of them wandered inside for about ten minutes, and Aurora examined each of the display desserts one by one.
When Dark offered to buy some, she shook her head again and declined.
But just as the three of them were about to leave, the shop owner came hurrying out from the back, carrying a full tray of pastries, still steaming.
With an ingratiating smile, she presented the tray. "Young master Demon, these are the shop's newest creation — please, you must try them."
Dark glanced at Aurora, who showed no particular interest, and instead said, "We'll have a taste, then. Bring a pot of black tea too."
"Right away!" The owner clearly let out a quiet sigh of relief, personally leading Dark into the small dining room inside.
Dark had Aurora sit down while Trina stood attentively to the side.
The owner soon brought a pot of fine black tea, took out cups, and poured for everyone.
"Go on with your work," Dark said, waving her off, then began sampling the pastries.
The owner was only too glad to comply.
After tasting a bite, Dark said, "Not bad. Won't you try some?"
Aurora no longer refused. She speared a piece with her fork and ate it carefully, narrowing her eyes as if analyzing the ratio of ingredients used.
After a while, seemingly satisfied with her analysis, she finished the rest of the piece.
Dark asked calmly, "How was it?"
Aurora nodded slightly. "Very good."
"Mm." Dark had nothing more to say.
He turned to look out through the floor-to-ceiling window at the crowd hurrying by, a hint of nostalgia in his eyes.
...
Once they'd finished the pastries in front of them, Dark declined the owner's offer of more, and had Trina pay with Saint Coins.
Under the owner's flattered gaze, the three of them left the high-end dessert shop.
They continued their tour of the streets.
"Where's the next stop?" Dark asked.
Aurora pointed to the name written on the third line of her paper. "Star Tower."
"Star Tower it is, then."
Dark felt rather pleased.
Having a clear destination was always better than wandering aimlessly.
He liked a life with a plan.
...
Star Tower was some distance away, so they climbed back into the carriage and continued on.
After about twenty minutes, they reached a bustling district.
From here on, it was noble commercial territory, where the prices weren't in the same league as outside.
With the dragon-horned horses clearing the way, no one dared block the road.
But the noble youths who frequented the area carried the news forward like wind.
Though age gaps usually kept different social circles apart, Dark's status transcended such boundaries.
Some who'd been twelve or thirteen when he'd tormented them scrambled to keep out of sight.
Others, a bit older, had their own schemes brewing.
Nine months had passed. What kind of storm would the Duke's son stir up, now that he was back in the capital?
Star Tower stood at the most dazzling spot in the district — over twenty meters tall, six full stories, covering more than three acres, hexagonal in shape, with a stone pillar at each corner topped by the statue of a different person, six in total.
One statue stood out above the rest — that of First Prince Charles.
The noble youths who frequented the tower considered it an honor to have their statue placed atop one of those pillars.
But now, one of the statues on Star Tower had been cleaved clean in half, leaving only the lower body — the cut edge unbelievably smooth.
That statue had been severed for over a year now, and no one had dared repair it, making it something of a landmark in its own right.
"Is this Star Tower?"
The carriage slowed to a stop about ten meters from the building. Aurora leaned her head out the window, looking up at the towering structure, her gaze finally landing on the broken statue, eyes shining.
Dark followed her line of sight and couldn't help but look faintly embarrassed.
Youthful recklessness. Youthful recklessness indeed.
Trina lightly touched the hilt of her sword and only let out a soft huff.
...
The area around Star Tower, which had been growing lively as noon approached, suddenly fell as quiet as if a gust of wind had swept through.
The carriage pulled through the front gate and stopped in the inner courtyard.
As the three of them stepped out of the carriage, a staff member hurried over.
"Care to join us? We'll be staying at Star Tower for quite a while," Dark said to the Dragon-Taming Guard.
The guard visibly startled — the young master had apparently never considered his feelings before.
Still, dutifully, he said, "No, thank you. If I'm not here, no one else can handle these dragon-horned horses."
"Fine," Dark said. "Buy whatever you want, then, and put it on my tab."
"On your tab..." It took the guard a good while to grasp the phrase, and delight spread across his face.
Who wouldn't want a young master who was so easy to please?
It seemed a year at school had really changed him.
St. Marian's Academy sure was good — St. Marian's really was great!
...
After the staff had led the guard off with the carriage, the three of them turned inside.
Star Tower, conceptually, was similar to Lingering Dreams.
The clientele and price range were simply different.
Star Tower was, arguably, the noble youth of the capital's most frequented spot for entertainment, and it did cater to those with thinner wallets, so not everything there was expensive.
Of course, Dark Demon had never once worried about that sort of thing.
In his old life, he'd never touched money — everything went on the maids' tab.
And now, it was exactly the same.
Dark Demon had only academic credits in his pocket, never Saint Coins.
...
"Welcome, young master Demon."
The maid who greeted them was quite pretty.
Dark felt a faint sense of recognition.
He nodded slightly. "Introduce this young lady to the specialties of Star Tower."
Though her legs trembled slightly, the maid forced herself to stand straight and gave Aurora a smooth, practiced introduction.
Aurora listened attentively, and once the maid finished, she suddenly asked, "The sword mark on the sixth floor — is it still there?"
The maid's expression froze instantly, and she turned her neck toward Dark like a robot.
"It should have been patched up by now — can't have a draft coming through forever," Dark said breezily.
The maid's face went pale, her legs trembling even harder.
The manager of Star Tower had pushed her out to receive young master Demon precisely to use her as a sacrificial shield.
Back then, young master Demon had ordered the maid behind him to slice a sword clean through a wall — not only tearing an opening straight through the sixth floor's wall, but also cleaving a statue in half in the same instant, with strict orders that neither be repaired.
Since he'd never explicitly said the wall couldn't be fixed, and since young master Demon had miraculously gotten into St. Marian's Academy, and since the man whose statue had been cut in half kept pressing the issue, the manager had finally, under pressure, repaired the wall — but still didn't dare touch the statue...
And now that young master Demon had returned from the academy, no one dared risk his displeasure.
Only she — whose family's fortunes were entirely in the manager's grip — had been forced to greet the guests.
She'd come with a sliver of hope, however faint.
She never imagined young master Demon would come back even more ruthless!
Back then, young master Demon had been overbearing, sure, but he'd always spoken his mind directly, never hiding anything — which had actually made him easier to deal with.
Now, this opening remark alone was laced with hidden menace, the kind that sent chills down one's spine.
"They say school is a microcosm of society — could it be that young master Demon has come back seasoned by experience?"
The maid didn't dare say a word.
Dark, in truth, hadn't given the matter any thought at all.
Aurora, on the other hand, seemed quite taken with the idea of the sixth-floor sword mark.
She even said softly, "Why don't we go up to the sixth floor first?"
Dark gave her an odd look.
Ever since Aurora had pulled out that slip of paper, he'd sensed something was off, and the feeling had only grown stronger as the day went on.
Now, here at Star Tower, Aurora's intent was becoming unmistakable.
He finally realized — could this child's entire itinerary have been mapped out following the trail of his past glorious exploits?
That Liutian Studio on Blue Jade Street — he'd gone there once at age eight, after hearing that "stone gambling" sounded fun, and had dragged Ollie along specifically for it.
Back then, the owner of Liutian Studio had taken one look at his obviously noble bearing and had pushed hard to sell him the highest-quality stones he had.
Eight-year-old Dark hadn't had any concept of money — he'd just wanted the thrill of cracking open stones — so he'd accepted every offer, and ended up cracking open the entire stock of Liutian Studio!
When word of this reached a relative of the Duke's household, they'd rushed over and had every piece of jade he'd cracked open appraised. The total value turned out to be less than one percent of what he'd paid for the raw stones.
Dark hadn't known much else, but that hundred-to-one ratio had been crystal clear even to him — so he'd smashed the very archway sign of Liutian Studio right then and there.
If the shop owner hadn't come to his senses quickly enough, tearfully insisting he wanted no payment at all, the whole shop would have been burned to the ground.
Of course, in the end, "kind-hearted" young Dark had still paid the equivalent of one percent of the price and bought back every stone he'd cracked open.
Those stones had eventually ended up being skipped across the pond in the back garden.
As for the other shops on Blue Jade Street, he'd visited a few of them occasionally too, leaving behind traces of his own particular brand of chaos.
And Sweet Honey, the dessert shop — that one, he really had burned down!
Not because of anything to do with the shop itself, though — he'd just gotten into a fight with someone inside...
He couldn't quite recall who the noble kid who'd thrown fireballs had been, but the incident had certainly happened.
As for Star Tower...
That had happened in the first half of last year.
So Dark remembered it fairly clearly.
Back then, for some reason, someone had mocked him to his face for not having a statue among Star Tower's six.
And so...
A boy always has to get what he wants!
Dark Demon had summoned the manager and demanded a statue of his own be put up, no questions asked.
But those six statues represented figures no one dared cross — that was precisely why they'd earned their spot.
The manager hadn't dared offend any of them, so he'd tried to reason his way out, explaining the criteria for having a statue erected in painstaking detail.
In short, it all boiled down to achieving certain accomplishments by a certain age.
Then the six statues were ranked by the scale of those achievements.
Young Dark hadn't been entirely unreasonable, either.
He'd known perfectly well that his only real "accomplishment" was tearing down a few houses, so he hadn't forced the manager to put up a statue for him.
After all, a statue like that would've been a joke — undeserved and easily mocked.
But not getting a statue — could he really let that slide?
Of course not!
So Dark had given the order, and his personal maid Trina had swung her sword once.
Everyone present had only seen a flash of light before an extraordinarily long sword mark appeared on the wall.
The man who'd mocked Dark to his face — his statue had been sliced clean through at the waist!
The statue, falling from a great height, had smashed straight through the tower's entrance hall, the thunderous crash shaking the entire noble trade district.
Of course, in the very instant she'd drawn her sword, Trina had already sensed through her qi that no one stood in the path below.
After that single strike, a lock of hair had drifted down from the head of the man whose statue had been cut — the shock had left him trembling all over, nearly collapsing to the ground.
Being a marquis's son, at least he hadn't wet himself.
His bodyguard had drawn his sword in fury, but as Trina sheathed hers, the force of her blade had surged in reverse, pressing down so hard the bodyguard couldn't even catch his breath.
The famed sword in his hand had actually trembled and whimpered.
The overwhelming gap in power between the two sides had brought what looked like an imminent bloodbath to an abrupt halt.
It had left everyone watching, as well as the tower's manager, immensely relieved.
But it seemed that in the year since Dark Demon had left for St. Marian's Academy, the marquis's son had regained some of his nerve?
Dark thought for a moment. What was that marquis's son's name again?
...
"By the way, who was it whose statue got cut in half?" Dark asked casually.
Trina answered flatly, "Joshua, the youngest son of Marquis Middleton."
Dark nodded. "So that's his name. I wonder if he's around?"
"Thud!"
The poor maid, hearing this exchange, collapsed to the floor with a plop, trembling all over like a sack of chaff.
"What's wrong with her?"
Dark was baffled.
Still, he quickly crouched down and took her hand, asking with concern, "Miss, are you all right?"
"I-I'm fine—"
The maid's face was ghostly pale, her limbs weak, and with Dark holding her hand, her voice trembled as though it, too, had been fitted with a vibrator.
It was as if the marquis's youngest son had already been sliced in half right in front of her.
Her distress was so obvious that Dark couldn't help but frown. "If you're not feeling well, you shouldn't force yourself to work. If there's some kind of trouble, you can tell me."
"No, no..." the maid said hastily. "I just didn't sleep well, that's all."
Dark sighed. "I didn't think a place like Star Tower would force its staff to work like this. Go rest. I'll go have a word with your manager in a bit."
"Please, please don't! I'm really fine!" The maid suddenly found a burst of strength and managed to stand herself back up.
Seeing that her back was straight and her legs no longer shaking, Dark shook his head helplessly. "Then let's head up to the sixth floor."
...
Beside him, Aurora's mouth hung slightly open, at a loss for what to say.
Though she'd already been helping City Lord Montielfali manage the city's internal affairs, when it came to reading people, she was still far too green.
Led by the resilient young maid, the three of them climbed to the sixth floor of Star Tower.
____
Gift for Everyone: Once we hit 10 Powerstones, I'll release +1 bonus chapter
________________________________________
If you want more chapters, please consider supporting my page on (P). with 50 advanced chapters available on (P)
👻 Join the crew by searching Leanzin on (P). You know the spot! 😉