Chapter 88: Pawns
On the other hand, a slightly obese chubby face kid instantly squatted down, picked the coin, and then stood up with a foolish smile on his face.
"This is mine." He said in a proud tone.
"Drop that thing now, Noel. This doesn't belong to us." The whirly blonde-haired girl refuted in a cold tone. At that moment, Titus raised his eyebrows and whispered.
"Big Sis Jessie, that white-haired old man is still staring at us."
Upon hearing those words, the brown-haired girl named Jessie turned her head and stared at the old man in curiosity and puzzlement.
Then, she hurriedly snatched the gold coin from Noel's hand and started walking towards the old man.
Meanwhile, the black-haired girl, brown-haired Titus, and the chubby-faced Noel glanced at each other and silently followed her.
Charles watched their action in amusement and soon straightened his back as he saw that they arrived in front of him.
"Is this coin yours, old man?" Jessie asked in a cold voice.
Charles didn't respond to her, though; instead, he checked her information through the [Inspect] skill and asked while sharpening his gaze towards Jessie.
"Why do you think that this coin is mine?"
Noticing his gaze, Jessie raised her eyebrows and responded vaguely.
"Moon Kingdom citizens rarely use Life Gold Coins as currency and you are the only one who is a foreigner in the surroundings." She paused for a moment and then added in a low voice.
"And, you have been watching us the whole time." Her tone contains a hint of hostility.
Charles nodded his head in approval and asked.
"Then, you should have noticed others' prying eyes, right?"
Upon hearing those words, the black-haired girl suddenly pulled out a dagger from her waist and gripped it tighter.
"Calm down, Rhea. He is not one of them." Jessie raised her tone a little and spoke calmly. Then, she glanced around for a moment and soon asked in vigilance,
"What do you want, old man?" She felt no hostility from the white-haired old man and became more suspicious.
Charles maintained his face expressionless and said a serious tone.
"You guys seemed to be well aware of those thugs' movements. Yes, they are thugs from Slums and already placed their eyes on you guys. If you walk into the Slum Borough, they will take you as their gang members by force and make you work for them as beggars or thugs." He deliberated for a second and then gave a warning,
"If you don't want that to happen, you guys should go back to your village and live with your parents."
At that moment, Titus's face turned gloomy as he clenched his fist and said while gritting his teeth.
"We are orphans and we don't belong there."
"Then, are you guys willing to become slaves for those thugs?" Charles silently observed those kids' facial expressions and asked.
"We won't. Rhea's water element affinity level is 'Good,' so we are planning to go to the Tower of Elements and ask the mages to take her in. Once she becomes a mage, we don't need to be afraid of those thugs-." The chubby-faced Noel said as he turned his gaze towards Jessie and soon shut his mouth as he met with her sharp glare.
Charles's eyes squinted a little and soon returned to normal.
"What a foolish hope." Charles heaved a heavy sigh and continued in a cold tone.
"Once the mages took her in, they won't even let her see you guys again."
"W-What do you mean?" This time, Rhea started showing a nervous expression and asked in confusion.
From the information she gathered from villagers and merchants, she learned that mages would rise to become noble and have complete freedom.
"You will indeed rise to become a fully-fledged mage in few years and would live a happy life." He purposefully paused for a second and then continued with a smile,
"But until you become one, you must abide by the rules of Kingdom and stay in the tower. During that period, you won't be able to leave the tower at all."
Upon hearing his words, the black-haired Rhea's eyes suddenly turned watery.
'Heh, there are indeed pure-hearted souls. If nurtured properly, they will indeed become good pawns for my future plan.' Charles nodded inwardly and waited.
"I don't want to go to the tower." Meanwhile, Rhea squeezed those words out, and tears started to fell.
At this moment, Titus's and Noel's faces also turned gloomy. They suddenly felt that they had made a wrong choice and began to show hesitation.
The only one who showed a calm expression was Jessie. She placed her hand on Rhea's shoulder and said.
"I know that already. That's why I'm planning to let her become a mage."
This time, it was Charles's turn to be surprised.
"Then, how are you going to live after that? What if the mages didn't take her in? How are you going to deal with those thugs?" Charles felt that this girl must have prepared for the worst and asked in curiosity.
Meanwhile, Jessie shook her head and stared back at him in silence.
'She is good at hiding her secrets.' Charles's eyes flickered.
"Then, I won't stop you guys." He knew when to back down, so he stood up with much difficulty and gripped the black cane handle for support. After that, he turned around and started walking in Slum Borough direction.
"Wait."
This time, the brown-haired Titus took a step forward and asked.
"Why did you put the gold coin on the road? Is it to test us?"
Charles instantly halted his footsteps and smiled.
He turned his head, stared at the kid for a moment, and nodded.
"I actually thought of making a deal with you guys."
"Deal?" Jessie's ears perked upward as her face flashed in surprise.
"I will take you guys as my disciples and protect you from now on. In return, you guys have to listen to my every word and work for me for the next three years." Charles said in a calm voice.
"You don't look strong." The chubby-faced Noel pointed it out.
At that moment, the black hat on his head suddenly flew upward, circled the area like a kite, and soon landed on Charles's head.
"What do you think?" A mysterious smile appeared on Charles's face as he stared at Jessie and returned the hat to her.
"Y-You are a Mystic!" Her emerald-green eyes widened in shock and amazement.
Meanwhile, the other three also got stunned for a moment and soon began to feel nervous.
Jessie soon hid her shock and hurriedly spoke.
"We need some time to think about it."
Saying so, she hurriedly dragged others and soon went towards Mystics' Borough. That's where the Tower of Elements was located.
Meanwhile, a sly smile crept on Charles's face.
'Except for the foolish chubby face kid, all of them are perfect targets.' The Holem's Crown said in approval.
'No, all of them will be useful in many ways.' Charles replied in a mysterious tone.
From his earlier observation, Charles noticed that the chubby-faced Noel kid appeared somewhat odd in the group. But Charles knew that these types of peoples' actions were always unpredictable and thought of putting him to good use.
'Not only that. The Thugs seem to have already noticed Rhea's ring. Hehe, before getting that artifact, they would never let them move inside the Mystics' Borough.' He muttered inwardly, returned to the park bench, and sat on with a calm expression on his face.
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