Dungeon of Pride, Laplace

Just as those words came out from the young boy, the thug leader tried to kick the boy with his knee and teach him a lesson, when suddenly he realised that his entire body had become numb and a chill rose from the depth of his heart.

His body temperature fell and he started shivering as if he was suffering from a cold. Before long his entire vision became white and the thug fell down on the floor unconscious.

From the moment those words sounded out from the boy to the situation where the thug was knocked out cold on the road, only a few seconds passed. The other thugs looked at the boy and the absurdity of the situation with wide-open eyes.

Nevertheless, before they could make sense of the reality, a chill wind that came out of nowhere, seeped into their bodies and just like their leader, they too fell onto the road out cold.

The boy patted his clothes and fixed his collars before walking forward towards the only person that was standing still.

Simon who had kept his eyes on the boy from the moment he appeared till now, silently observed him approach closer. The peculiar phenomenon that knocked the thugs out cold, was due to the activation of some skill from the other party.

A skill that attacks other's spirits and make them fall unconscious; fundamentally, the skill used was similar to his [Demonic Eyes] in the regard that both can intimidate an enemy and exert pressure on their spirit.

Since he was not the target of the skill, Simon couldn't guess what tier the skill used belonged to nor what the skill was.

The boy carried himself without a hint of disorderliness, his posture was straight and his gait was like a sword. Even from a glance, it could be seen that these qualities were drilled onto him since young.

What was even more astonishing about the boy was that no matter how many times Simon used [Analysis], it would always get blocked by something. The young boy stopped a few inches away from him and looked at his surrounding excitedly.

"Hehe, brother there can you tell me where I am? I was curiously looking around my surroundings and following the crowd when suddenly I ended up here".

The boy scratched his hair and said in an embarrassed tone. Looking at his floundering eyes, it did not appear that he was lying; however, Simon who himself was lost had no answer to that. He could only shake his head and disappoint the boy that he did not know the answer.

Since he was getting this bad feeling of being caught up in some trouble from the moment this boy appeared in front of him, he thus chose to turn around and not get involved in it.

"Hey wait up, where are you going? You can't leave me here and go away… didn't I just help you before" the boy hurriedly followed behind him and protested.

"Your help was unwarranted, I could have easily taken care of those goons" Simon replied nonchalantly. His dispassionate words immediately made the boy shut his mouth.

A tall young man and a boy, weaved around the alleyway of the slum district for some time before coming to a stop.

"Why are you following me?" Simon asked impatiently, from the looks, presence and aura the young boy was releasing, he could tell that the latter's identity was anything but simple. Even though he had told the boy not to follow him, they still followed him no matter which turn or crossroad he chose.

"Hehe, don't be like that, I'm not following you because I want to. Just lead me out of here and I'll be gone before you even know it" the boy said not missing a beat. He then looked around his surroundings before remarking.

"Didn't we just pass by this signboard a few moments ago? Are you by chance also lost?".

Simon tried to maintain a poker face, he was a grown-up, at least mentally. There is no way he would admit that he was lost. Ignoring the words of the boy, he turned around towards another corner before coming to a stop once again. 

At this moment, he felt his face heating up that was because the road came to an end. There was a wall at the other end of the path, a dead-end to be exact.

The boy following behind him, narrowed his eyes getting suspicious. Simon felt his piercing gaze on his back, he was just about to tell him to find his own way back if he was so confident when he heard the boy's stomach make a growling noise.

Seeing the boy's face turn red like tomato, Simon smirked but the next second another growl sounded out. This time, it came from his own stomach.

At this moment he realised, that he had not eaten anything for quite a while. Although being a demon viscount he can make do even without eating anything for a few days, it was not like his body did not need any nutrients to sustain itself.

The boy leered; but maybe he was too hungry, he didn't have the energy to rub it on Simon. When Simon was internally debating whether he should buy something from the shop to satiate his hunger, the boy who had gone unusually silent squinted his eyes and pointed at the distant signboard that was at the end of the road.

Following his gaze, Simon was able to spot an obscure signboard on one of the dilapidated buildings that read 'The Nifty Table'.

The sign was so murky and placed in a way that made it extremely difficult for someone to spot it if they didn't pay a lot of attention to their surroundings.

Though the placement of the signboard was odd, it wasn't the only unusual thing. The signboard read The Nifty Table, but couldn't see anything neat or attractive about this rundown shack.

However, maybe he was not thinking clearly or he was just following the commands of his stomach, he had unknowingly stopped in front of the building.

From the way there were spider webs and moss growing at the corner of the building, it could be seen that the place was not doing well. It was already surprising for Simon that the place had not shut down yet.

'Do they even get customers?' while thinking that internally, Simon slid open the old fashioned door and entered the place which only had two story.

The moment he entered the place, a stale and a musty stench from improper ventilation, assaulted his nose. The inside of the place was dim with wooden tables and chairs which had seen their fair use during their time, strewn around the place.

Perhaps because he had misjudged the ceiling, he had knocked his head on one of the wooden planks which made a creaking noise.

"Welcome" the noise must have alerted the owner, a weary and old sound came from the counter which had varying bottles of liquor in the showcase.

The head of an old man wearing a cap popped up from the other side of the counter. He was wearing a round sunglass even in this dim and gloomy interior of the place.

"What would the two of you like to have?" the old man whose height could reach till the table of the counter, asked.

Only when the old man laid it down, that Simon realised the boy in black uniform was still following him. At some unknown time when he was not paying attention, the boy had sneaked towards the counter and was ordering something while looking at the bunch of papers that was the menu.

Obeying the signal of his growling stomach, he too plopped himself on a seat near the counter. Next, he ordered a dish called Braised Pygmy Drumette, Pinecore Bread and Innewi beer when the old man passed him the menu.

After taking the orders of the both of them, the old man then went into the kitchen adjacent to the counter.

Now when he had nothing occupying his mind, Simon observed his surroundings and fell in thought. There were more than a few bizarre points about this shop which was located at an extremely shady corner of the city where people were less likely to travel.

Doubting the business plan of the man and how he was still profiting from it, when the door to the shop was opened once again. 

Simon who couldn't that the store was getting customers other than the two of them, turned his head slightly to observe the newcomers. Yes, there were not one but two people who had entered the shop which he had deemed should go out of business soon.

Out of the two people, one wore a grey robe, and the other an off white. Both of them were covering their faces with a mask. What was more peculiar about them was that the moment those two entered, they stopped in their track after seeing that there were already customers inside.

Even if their faces were covered with a mask, their behaviour at that moment seemed to be saying that they didn't expect other customers in this goddamn shack of a building in this secluded corner.

Their reaction was exactly the same as him when he realised there were other customers besides them. Simon who was about to shift his gaze away from them, frowned at that moment when he felt the intense glare of one of the two newcomers on him.

How should he put it, the glare was not hostile nor did it have any ill intentions, it was the kind of stare that one would give when they unexpectedly met a familiar face.