Chapter Two: No Good Men in Wildfire Town (Part Two) Please vote!

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Chapter Two: There Are No Good People in Wildfire Town (Part Two)

(Is it that I really look like a villain?) Dodoro suddenly felt an urge to weep. Yet, faced with a beggar, he still maintained the dignified air of a true mage.

He glanced at Shaya Thunder’s robust frame and thought better of simply snatching what he wanted. (Better to lure him somewhere deserted and then knock him out!) Dodoro narrowed his triangular eyes, feigning aloofness as he smiled. “Allow me to introduce myself—I am a mage.”

Shaya Thunder gazed at Dodoro in utter confusion, showing no reaction whatsoever.

Dodoro waited, anticipating the usual look of awe, but none came. It seemed the young man before him regarded the word “mage” with the same indifference as if he’d heard “pig’s head.”

An awkward silence ensued. Dodoro soon lost patience with the staring contest and cleared his throat. “Ahem… Don’t you know what a mage is?”

“I do,” Shaya Thunder nodded earnestly. Though he was a mountain dweller, he frequented Wildfire Town—how could he not know what a mage was?

“Then… you’re not the least bit surprised to see a distinguished mage standing before you?” Dodoro was genuinely surprised himself. To remain so unfazed before a mage—could this young man be some hidden master?

But judging by his appearance and age, the shabby fur robe he wore, and the way his hair was braided in the local mountain fashion, he looked as honest and simple as could be—not a master of any kind.

“Because you don’t look like a mage,” Shaya Thunder replied truthfully, scratching the back of his head a bit sheepishly. “I thought mages were supposed to be handsome.”

Dodoro: "…………" (His resentment only grew.)

Stung to the core, Dodoro snapped, “Then what do you think I am?!”

“A swindler,” Shaya Thunder answered straightforwardly—honesty being his nature. “My adoptive father always told me: if someone on the road smiles at you for no reason, your first instinct should be to clutch your purse tightly.”

He gave Dodoro a sincere and peaceful smile, his tone equally earnest. “Respected Mr. Swindler, you see, I’m poor—I don’t even have a single copper coin on me. So, I suggest you don’t waste your time.”

With that, Shaya Thunder tried to sidestep Dodoro.

Damn it, after trekking nearly thirty miles down from the mountains and drinking his fill only at a spring on the way, he’d arrived in town so hungry his stomach was growling like a drum. His belt was cinched tighter and tighter, and he felt so starved his vision was tinged green—he’d gnaw on a block of wood if it appeared before him. Right now, the most important thing was to find something to eat, and he couldn’t be bothered to waste a second on a swindler. On any other day, he’d have already broken this swindler’s bones with a punch.

Dodoro grabbed the departing Shaya Thunder in desperation. “Hey! I really am a mage! What will it take for you to believe me?”

“Believe you?” Shaya Thunder blinked twice and, after a moment’s thought, maintained his guileless look. “Unless… unless you show me some magic.”

“…Fine!” Dodoro nearly coughed up blood from frustration, but for the sake of that fine magic crystal, he held back his anger, pulled Shaya Thunder to the side of the road, and used his own back to block the view of passing pedestrians. He extended a finger: “Watch closely!”

He muttered a few incantations under his breath, then flicked his wrist—suddenly, a cloud of gray powder appeared and burst onto Shaya Thunder.

It was just a puff of dust.

Shaya Thunder looked down at his now dust-covered robe and brushed it off with displeasure. “What kind of magic is this?”

“Dust Spell!” Dodoro raised his chin proudly. It was indeed his most proficient spell and, among earth magics, one of the simplest. It lifted a cloud of dust, which could be used in combat to obscure the enemy’s vision—a principle not unlike throwing lime powder in a brawl.

Shaya Thunder seemed unimpressed—if anything, he was more disdainful. “That doesn’t prove you used magic.”

His skeptical gaze swept over Dodoro, and he shook his head vigorously. “Just the other day I saw a circus performance in town—much more interesting than your little trick. There was even a man who could pull rabbits out of a hat!”

A circus? Pulling rabbits from hats?!

Damn it, what does this fool take me for?!

Dodoro felt he might actually cough up blood.

“Besides… maybe you had that dust hidden up your sleeve the whole time.” Shaya Thunder eyed Dodoro’s voluminous sleeves with ill intent. Dodoro was clad in a rather fine fur robe, tailored for the dignity of a mage, with wide sleeves rolled up several times.

“Idiot! Why would I do such a thing?!” Dodoro bristled with indignation.

“Unless… you let me check your clothes to see if anything’s hidden inside.”

Shaya Thunder looked perfectly sincere.

“…Fine!” Dodoro’s face turned red with fury—he felt deeply insulted! In that moment, he even forgot about the stone hanging from Shaya Thunder’s neck.

What a joke! A mage of my stature, mistaken for a mere conjurer?!

And being a mage was the last thing Dodoro had left to be proud of.

Angrily, he shrugged off his fur robe and tossed it to Shaya Thunder. “Go ahead—see if I have anything hidden! Hmph!”

Shaya Thunder accepted the robe and began inspecting it meticulously, inside and out, from collar to cuff, even examining the lining.

As he checked, Shaya Thunder asked offhandedly, “This robe looks valuable.”

“Of course! I bought it from a tailor’s shop in the royal capital for six silver coins! It’s genuine high-quality bear fur! Such a garment befits the dignity of a mage!” Dodoro replied irritably—though he lied. It was indeed bear fur from a shop in the capital, but the price was three silver coins, not six.

Shaya Thunder’s expression didn’t change, but a glint flickered in his eyes. He looked up with his harmless, honest face. “I’ve finished. I must say, you’re certainly not a cunning swindler.”

“Obviously!” Dodoro puffed out his chest.

But then Shaya Thunder suddenly grinned. “But you are a foolish swindler.”

No sooner had he spoken than Shaya Thunder clutched the fine fur robe, turned, and fled!

He shot off like a streak, vanishing into a nearby alleyway.

Dodoro stood frozen, stunned for a long moment before finally roaring, “Someone just stole my clothes!!”

When he finally raced into the alley, there was no sign of Shaya Thunder.

Shaya Thunder, after all, was a local; he’d roamed Wildfire Town for over a decade and knew the place like the back of his hand—far better than an outsider like Dodoro.

After sprinting through two streets and confirming he wasn’t being followed, Shaya Thunder stopped beneath a large tree by Medical Street to catch his breath. He stroked the fine fur of the robe.

“Lucky day—first thing in town and I meet a foolish out-of-towner. Lunch is sorted!”

He broke into a satisfied grin and, clutching the fur robe, headed to the nearest shop.

In no time at all, the robe became a handful of copper coins, which in turn became several meat pies at a roadside stall, and the meat pies quickly found their way into Shaya Thunder’s stomach.

Patting his now-silent belly, Shaya Thunder sighed contentedly.

What a pity—fools like that outsider are hard to come by in Wildfire Town.

“Now that I’ve filled my stomach, time to find some work,” Shaya Thunder said, striding toward the black market.

This was the first meeting between Shaya Thunder and Dodoro.

If one were to borrow the florid words of the bards, it might be described thus:

“On a certain day, in a certain year, the future king of the continent, Shaya, encountered his first loyal follower, Lord Dodoro. The mighty King Shaya radiated an aura of unmatched sovereignty, causing Dodoro to tremble and yield, swearing eternal allegiance unto death! The wheel of history rolled ever onward…”

Yet, truth departs from legend.

At this moment, Dodoro was indeed trembling—but not from awe or devotion.

He was furious.

“Damn brat—just let me run into you again!”

Dodoro’s face was livid as he spat on the ground. “There are no good people in Wildfire Town!”

(Because this is a new book, there are very few highlights this week, but I’ve read every single one of your reviews—over a thousand! It took me the whole afternoon. Finally, thick-skinned as ever, I ask for more favorites and votes!)