The Lazy Genius of the Duke - Chapter 49



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The Lazy Genius of the Duke’s Family (49)

What’s wrong with just leaving out the good things (4)

The day and night in Zone 2 were clearly different.

As the daytime energy waned, the nighttime excitement came alive, and places that used to operate as restaurants or cafes during the day changed into bars and pubs, creating a strangely lively atmosphere throughout the street.

The evening air was filled with the sounds of people chatting and the minstrel playing his mini harp.

Of course, there were also places that were just as lively as during the day.

“Cheap, cheap! The hair of an orc that arrived from the Dudek Viscounty three hours ago was….”

“Kids, go away! If you eat just this, your beloved husband will be….”

Night market.

The night market, which has a different atmosphere from the daytime, is open on a scale that is not as small as the daytime, but is still not small. In fact, it operates 24 hours a day with almost no time for the lights to turn off.

That means there is a lot of floating population.

The academy requires a lot of materials, and since there are many children from noble families, there are a lot of necessary items, so mercenaries and merchants come and go all the time, day and night.

Swish.

Benio mingled with the crowd, his hood pulled down low. Fortunately, he wasn’t the only one wearing a hood.

Fortunately, it is not easy to spot them, as there are more mercenaries and merchants walking around wearing hoods than expected.

But that was Benio’s misjudgment.

“He is a guard.”

“Academy guards? Why them?”

Beep!

The sound of a whistle rang out, and merchants and visitors began to chatter. Benio quickened his pace as he watched two merchants talking.

“Everyone stop moving!”

At that moment, a knight wearing armor on the platform in the center of the market shouted with his aura in his voice. People stopped without realizing it because of the momentum filled with aura.

‘This quickly.’

Benio let out a small sigh. The Academy Knights and guards were much more active in capturing the escaped cadets than he had expected.

“I would like to ask for everyone’s understanding! Three cadets have escaped from the academy, and I require everyone’s cooperation.”

Groan, groan.

The merchants were in an uproar when they heard that a cadet had escaped from the academy and that the academy knights had failed to catch him.

This area was created because it was strictly necessary for the Academy. That is why, while other territories revolve around their lords, this area revolves around the Academy.

It is also a rule that those who reside here must follow to cooperate with the knights when a cadet escapes outside of the designated time, as is the case now.

‘They all have such funny faces.’

Benio realized that the merchants’ murmuring was not due to worry.

“Escape? Three this time?”

“Hey, how long will it take?”

“I have three hours.”

“Three hours? I have two hours.”

“Okay, call!”

Some merchants even went as far as to place bets while gossiping. Benio laughed bitterly at how it had become a little show.

‘It seems there have been cadets who escaped before.’

Of course, the energetic cadets had to stay in the dormitory at 10 o’clock, so there was no way they wouldn’t have tried to escape.

‘Most of them were caught within three hours?’

And from what the merchants said, it seemed that none of the cadets who attempted to escape managed to escape the knights’ hands safely.

But that was to be expected.

‘I have never heard of successful cadets.’

I’ve only heard stories of failures. Even though he escaped, he was caught after three hours, which means that this world is like the palm of the hands of the Academy Knights.

‘But there are three?’

Benio tilted his head. The article clearly stated that there were three cadets who escaped. So Benio assumed that Giovanni was the only one who managed to escape.

But Severus also managed to escape.

‘how?’

There must be two of them somewhere around here.

‘We’ll meet at the black market.’

If they don’t get caught, they can meet up with those two at the black market. Benio felt the need to hurry to District 3 and looked around.

‘Over there.’

Benio carefully moved away from the center of the market, trying not to be noticed by the knights on the stage. The escape of the cadets seemed to be a good source of entertainment, as alcohol, money, and street food were being traded all over the night market.

‘You must have worked hard.’

Finding the cadets in this atmosphere wouldn’t be easy for the knights and guards. Benio turned into the alley.

‘Zone 3 is south.’

Although it was called a back alley, it wasn’t as smelly and dirty as you’d think of a back alley.

Because there was no way such an environment could be created in District 2, which existed solely for the academy. It was a small alley that naturally developed between the buildings.

There was a spiderweb-like alleyway like that, and Benio was walking down it to the south when he flinched and jumped up in place.

Tub.

Benio, who was hanging precariously on the railing of the second floor of the building, flipped over and hung on the railing as if doing an acrobatic feat, while five guards passed by in pairs right below him.

“There is no trace.”

“Where did you go?”

Benio jumped down after they had passed. Then he stuck out his tongue, wiping the cold sweat that had formed without him knowing it with the back of his hand.

“Is it a heavenly net?”

It was as if a net had been spread out around them. There were five guards walking around in pairs, showing their eagerness to catch the cadets.

Even though he was a student of the swordsmanship department, he couldn’t deal with five guards in a short period of time. The plan was to set off a signal flare in the meantime to gather the knights.

Feeling a renewed sense of urgency, Benio went south even more cautiously.

As the alley ended and the main street appeared, Benio held his breath and pressed himself against the wall, hiding his presence in the shadows created by the darkness.

Hururuk.

On the street, flames from a large brazier were driving away the surrounding darkness, as if they were determined not to miss even a single mouse.

And there, a thorough security system reminiscent of the Academy Gate had already been established. The guards, including the knights, were arresting everyone walking around there, removing their hoods, and checking their faces one by one.

‘What should I do?’

Benio looked up at the rooftops but shook his head. If the knights weren’t fools, then the rooftops would be on guard too.

But that didn’t mean I could go any further south without exiting this alley.

It’s literally a desperate situation.

But then there was a rattling sound, and a back door that Benio hadn’t noticed opened with a click.

“Huh.”

Benio, who had not yet sensed the presence, was startled and held his breath. Then, an old woman came out and gestured to Benio while looking exactly where he was.

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Gently, gently.

Benio tried his best to hide his presence and pretend not to exist. However, the old woman was clearly waving her hand at Benio.

‘what?’

[I heard a noise from over there. Go check it out.]

[yes!]

But then, the knight’s voice rang out from the other side. The keen senses trained in aura heard the small sound of a bell as the door opened.

If a knight enters the alley, he will be caught without fail.

Because of that, Benio had no choice but to walk towards the old woman at a brisk pace, and as Benio approached, the old woman stepped aside.

It meant to tell me to go inside.

‘Did you know I was coming?’

The old woman waved her hand as if she knew Benio was there. Then, as she naturally let Benio in, it seemed as if she had known Benio would come.

Click.

Daughter.

At that moment, the door through which Benio had entered closed and the tinkling sound of bells rang out again. At that moment, Benio realized why he had not sensed the old woman’s presence.

“magic?”

“That’s right.”

Benio muttered. The inside of this door was protected by magic. That was why Benio did not feel the old woman’s presence.

When the old woman answered Benio’s monologue, Benio flinched and was surprised.

“It’s not very pretty, but it’s a place that uses magic to block out any outside noise.”

The old woman was half-bent. Benio’s shoulders shook as he looked at the old woman’s face, her white hair wrapped in a black cloth.

‘Blind?’

The old woman’s eyes were white, even down to the pupils. This meant that she couldn’t see. However, she was clearly waving her hand in the direction of Benio.

“Who are you?”

Benio’s voice naturally became sharp. It was an unusual place for an unusual old woman. The place that was expected to be the semi-basement of the building was half-filled with white smoke and various objects were scattered around.

Paper with geometric patterns, stuffed animal heads, and even metal objects of unknown purpose.

‘A Taoist priest? A sorcerer?’

Benio had seen a place with a similar atmosphere. It felt like a place where there were no formal Taoist priests like the Shamanist or Hwasanist priests, but rather shamans who practiced sorcery or divination.

Among them, there were those who spouted out empty boasts like they could predict the future, but these false Taoist priests and sorcerers were surprisingly popular with the common people.

Because they too were curious about their own future.

The old woman answered Benio’s question.

“I’m just an old man waiting to die.”

“But did you know I was coming?”

“When you get older, you start seeing things you couldn’t see before, and hearing things you couldn’t hear before. That’s all there is to it.”

“…good.”

Benio decided to change the question to the old woman who only answered questions.

“Who are you?”

“Fortune teller.”

“Astrologist?”

A fortune teller is literally a street fortune teller who tells people’s fate by looking at the stars in the sky. When Benio frowned, the old woman shook her head.

“I’ve long forgotten your name, so I can only call you Fortune Teller.”

“I forgot the name….”

I felt an aura from the old woman that seemed to be that of a high priest from the Amipa. I felt the detachment of a high priest who had transcended everything, turned his back on the secular world, and was on the verge of ascending to the throne.

Benio’s voice softened. At least he wasn’t his enemy.

“What were you waiting for?”

“I was waiting for someone. The stars told me that someone with a story would come.”

A man with many stories. And one person.

It’s Benioda.

It is said that the stars had foretold her that Benio would come here.

“So I opened the door. And I raised my hand, guided by the stars. And you came in.”

The old woman is blind. That means she can’t see. But when she did as the star said, Benio was there.

A series of unbelievable stories.

But Benio did not do anything rash like getting up from his seat.

“Do I have a story to tell?”

“Yes. They say there are two stories.”

“Two stories.”

Benio and Yukhang. It is a story of the lives of two souls. Benio’s face hardened slightly. It was because he felt that he could not look down on the old woman as just a fortune teller.

“So what are you trying to say?”

So Benio changed his tone. Then the old woman smiled faintly.

“The two stories eventually merge into one. If you want to find what you want, look for what you see in the great mother sea and where the great ships dance.”

“that is….”

“The biggest star tells me that it is I who illuminates you. So if you follow the biggest star, you will find what you want along the way.”

I felt dizzy from the old woman. She was just talking nonsense, but at least I could feel that it wasn’t absurd.

“Find what I see. What do I see?”

“You already know.”

The old woman finished what she wanted to say and pointed with her hand to a door on the other side, not the one through which Benio had come in.

“Go.”

“….”

Benio got up from his seat. The old woman wouldn’t say anything more. Feeling that, Benio had no choice but to get up from his seat.

It felt like I was talking to a high priest rather than a fortune teller.

This was exactly what the conversations with the great monks and Taoists who recited the profound scriptures of Buddha or Taoism were like.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. I guess.”

Benio took this place to heart.

“I’ll be back later. I think I need to talk to you more.”

The old woman didn’t even look at Benio. Benio opened the door she pointed to. Then a musty smell pierced his nostrils.

“Zone 3?”

Benio looked back in surprise. But Benio realized that the old woman was nowhere to be seen. As if everything had been an illusion, Benio opened the door and came out to one of the warehouses in District 3.

“What the….”

“Bennio!”

But then Giovanni and Severus came running from over there. They had both reached the third district in good health. Benio looked surprised when he saw them.

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