Fate really worked wonder in strange way. Alicia wanted Baston to be a slave while Luke wanted him to be a servant. Both of the options were not so important, because in the end, the fat boy only used this disguise
to finish the quest. However, the matter between Alicia and Luke were very
important for them at the moment. When the coin went to the side of the tail, Alicia thought she already won.
"That's it! I win!" Alicia smiled.
Unbeknownst to her, although the coin should stop in any moment, but strangely, it suddenly flipped to head side. This change of development made everyone dumbfounded. They couldn't believe the coin still could change its direction at this moment. Surely, Alicia couldn't accept it
and she stared at Luke.
"Did you use magic?"
"Of course not! I'm not that low to use such a magic in this simple bet…" Luke defended himself.
Alicia stared at Baston and the fat boy only shook his head. She was sure the coin should go to tail side, but suddenly, it flipped into the head side. There was no way to explain this except it was affected by magic. To make sure Luke didn't cheat, the noble boy handed over the coin to Alicia so she could flip it by herself. Luke and Baston also stayed far to make sure they couldn't use magic to flip over the coin. With this, Alicia nodded and she then flipped the coin into the air.
The coin floated for a while before it dropped quickly to the floor. It bounced repeatedly before the coin lose its momentum and the tail side was showed although the coin still didn't stop completely. It really should be on tail side but strangely, it suddenly gained a momentum to flip once again to the head side. When it stayed motionless on the floor, the atmosphere was quiet. Alicia looked at the surrounding and sensed there was no
one who used magic in here. She could only accept this fact however; she still couldn't explain the way the coin flipped in the last momentum. It should not happen, but since there was no magic detected, she could only sigh over the fate.
"Alright, you win…" Alicia looked over Luke.
Luke only nodded and he then discussed the more detailed about what Baston and he should do as a pair of lord and servant. While they were busy, Baston looked at the old book hidden inside his clothes. When the
coin flipped, he felt a small tremor and then, the coin showed its head side. The second one also happened when Alicia threw the coin. The fat boy then realized the old book tampered with the coin, resulting him to always get the head side. It meant the old book preferred him to be the servant and not the slave.
This was the first time Baston saw the old book decided to change the course of event in real world. At the beginning, it only issued new quest after he finished the old one. He thought the old book was pretty simple
because it gave a job to do and a reward to get. Apparently, this time was different because the old book finally tampered the result of his disguise. He was wondering whether there was hidden meaning or not by doing this.
Several days passed after the event. Baston right now stood in front of the mirror. His clothes were neat and clean. The hair was combed and his appearance changed completely. Before, he was a cold and gloomy person. After this day, he appeared sunny and full of spirit. There was no other way because he had to adjust to his disguise. If he still stayed as his former
self, Luke would be mocked and ridiculed because his servant was bad. Sometimes, the servant represented their lord so they had to make sure they could keep up with the trend of society. At least, to make sure they didn't become dazzled when someone asked a simple question regarding the job.
Luke's uncle was in another big city, far from Prius Academy. Baston didn't know how long to get there, but as long as he didn't
need to pay a dime for it, he was fine. The trip must be long but fortunately, Luke had rented the best magic carriage the town could offer. Although it was unlike Alicia, the room inside was wide enough for him to rest leisurely. While there were only Baston and Luke, both of them started discussing what they needed to do once they arrived.
"Baston, I won't introduce much about my family since our relationship is very complicated. For the outsider, it's better to know less so people can live peacefully in their lifetime."
Baston furrowed his brows, "Complicated? What do you mean?"
"Well, somehow strong people have their own faction in the family. Either you get to choose or be abandoned, strength is the only measurement we take for now."
"Do you follow other?"
"No…" Luke shook his head, "Even I want to follow a certain faction, they won't let me join since I'm too weak. My wealth and influence are less than many family members, so they never invite me. Anyway, I also don't plan to side with anyone since it never benefits me at the first place."
"Until now, you are being neutral then…"
"Yes, being neutral has their own advantages and disadvantages. The advantages are I will never offend someone from my family deliberately. They will think I just act casually without any hidden intention. Still, the disadvantage is more serious. My uncle wants me to die and no one in the family will help me."
Unlike Xavierius family, the Anderson family seemingly had chaotic management. There was no unity between them so if there was any scheming from outside, he wondered what would happen. However, the fact that
this family still existed proved they were not simple. There must be some secret inside that could make them survive in noble society.
"Why you want to kill your uncle?" Baston continued to ask, "I thought usually, nobles like to mediate first before taking this last
resort."
"Well, you don't understand…" Luke sighed, looking outside the window, "Even though nobles usually keep their manner and behavior in check, they sometimes have worse attitude behind them. The poor and the commoner might do their daily routines casually without any embellishment, but
for nobles, they have to make sure everything they do must spell the nobility they receive from their predecessor."
Luke continued, "Despite many good news and impression from nobles, they have an ability to trample anything that dare to fight over their authority. For commoners, money is the most important. For us, face is more
important than anything. They rather kill someone than admit they are wrong. At
least, this what was my impression for years. If you ask me now, I think I will still give the same answer."
Baston had already made conclusion regarding what the nobles at the beginning, so when he heard the truth from Luke, he confirmed what he believed should be true. Despite the glory and noble act from nobles, they had a capability to become a devil themselves if their interests were disrupted. It was true that the higher the position, the more hideous they could become. It
wasn't really surprised since he already pictured what they looked like. Still, he wouldn't judge them all to be like this. Perhaps, there would be a few nobles out there who were really a noble in their hearts. There was no need to entangle himself with this matter so Baston only needed to enjoy the trip. Before he could go to sleep in soft bed, there was harsh loud outside.
"HALT!!! GIVE ME ALL YOUR MONEY OR YOU WILL DIE!"
"It's bandits!" Luke exclaimed, "Only them who dare to do robbery on this way!"
"Really? They really dare to do it even though this carriage has a noble insignia…"
Even though Baston came from the poor class, he knew robbing noble carriage wouldn't end well. Luke had already put the noble insignia outside so if the bandits weren't blind at the beginning, they should see and quickly fled from here. Surprisingly, they still attacked this carriage. He didn't know who was the brave soul that dared to do this. In the meantime, Luke and Baston came out and stared at the rough bandits in front of them.
"Who are you? How dare you stop us? Do you not see this carriage is belong to noble?" Luke shouted.
"I don't care if you are noble or not. Hand over the money or you will die!"
"Don't you know that if you dare to kill a noble, the punishment itself is death at the worst?" Baston confronted.
"Like I said before, I don't care! If you don't want to give the money, then you must die!"
The bandits suddenly rushed forward, trying to slash first. Despite the warning before, it looked like they just acted hurriedly without
any concern. They even never looked at the noble insignia which should be impossible if the bandits themselves targeted Luke directly. Luke wanted to confront them, but Baston blocked his way. This time, it was a best chance to deploy his status as the servant. The fat boy held his hand forward and suddenly, a freezing ice magic emerged from the foot of bandits. It slowly climbed over their body until only their heads who were still free. The rest of hands and legs were frozen still with no chance to move unless they were strong enough to destroy it.
"You! How dare you do this to us! Don't you know who I am?" the head of bandits shouted loudly.
"Don't know… Don't care…" Baston simply answered.
"YOU! If you are really a man, fight me head-to-head!"
"Nope…"
"I see that you are a sissy! A man like you who have no balls is destined to be alone forever!"
"Go back to your mother! Just suck the milk from her until you're old! Ha… ha… ha…" another bandit added.
"Such a disappointment! No wonder you can only become a servant! You will never become a noble in your life!"
Baston smiled and looked at the last person who said he was the servant, "I'm not a servant. I'm also a noble…"
"Bullshit! You're Luke's new servant, right? Don't think you can fool me! A person from poor class dares to claim he's a noble? What a joke!"
Just on this short conversation, Luke already found something strange. If the bandits here were really bandits, they surely wouldn't know exactly who was Baston. They only killed and robbed, never complicating their thoughts with another matter of conflict. Precisely, not only they knew Baston was his new servant, they also knew the origin of the fat boy. This meant only one thing. There was someone behind them and this person lurked around so they already knew the first information beforehand. Just this simple
clue and the behavior of the bandits, it must come from one person.
"These people must be ordered specifically by my uncle to eliminate me…"
Luke was thinking and a few seconds after that, he unleashed his sword from the sheath. He might be weak for his magic capability, but his ability as knight or swordsman was far from others. He stepped forward, rushing ahead and with just one slash for each bandit, their heads were rolling down from their body. It was gruesome sight but there was no fluctuation in his emotion. Luke was still as usual while Baston prayed that he wouldn't be the victim of that quick slash. It was the first time he saw someone who was proficient in sword. He mostly dealt with the wizards so against such quick response from Luke, he wondered if he had a time to react. He could quickly cast the spell, but the slash from the knights seemed to be faster.
"Wait, I think I have to revise my strategy to cope with the present quest…" Baston thought urgently.