The next day, Baston did not expect to see Levan again so soon.
The merchant was already waiting near the academy's stone corridor when Baston arrived after the morning breakfast. The sunlight filtered through the tall windows, illuminating the polished floor and casting long shadows behind the passing students.
Levan stood there quietly with his assistant beside him. His expression was calm but attentive. It almost looked as if he had been waiting for some time.
"Ah, Baston…" Levan greeted warmly, "I was looking for you."
Several students nearby slowed their steps when they heard the merchant's voice. The sight of a well-known supplier that was speaking personally with the academy's most talked-about participant quickly attracted several curious glances.
Baston bowed slightly, "Good morning, Sir Levan."
Levan studied him with a faint smile, "Yesterday, you mentioned wanting to postpone your decision."
His tone was gentle yet there was something probing beneath it.
"I thought about it last night but I still wish to hear your answer once more after a day had passed."
The merchant clasped his hands behind his back, "You must understand that the opportunity like this rarely come twice."
"You are already becoming famous inside the academy," the assistant added, "Many people are watching you now."
Levan continued calmly, "If you join my company now, I can make the announcement immediately. Your reputation will rise even faster."
The merchant's eyes seemed relaxed but Baston could feel the quiet pressure behind those words.
It was not just curiosity since Levan was testing him.
The fat boy scratched the back of his head awkwardly as if he were embarrassed by the attention. Inside, however, his mind was extremely clear.
Levan came again and he wanted his confirmation hurriedly despite having to wait for only a day. That must mean something important around.
The man was not merely offering an opportunity. He was measuring Baston's usefulness and Baston himself needed the man to remain interested.
The more confident Levan became, the easier it would be later. Baston hesitated for a moment before speaking again.
"I'm sorry but I need more time. Can I postpone it first until the competition finish, Sir Levan?"
Levan blinked in surprise, "Postpone again? Why?"
Baston scratched his cheek awkwardly, forcing a shy smile that made him look even more harmless than usual.
"It's like this…" he said slowly, "If I join your company right now, people will say I'm taking advantage of the attention. Everyone thinks I was just lucky in the first round. If I couldn't advance further, they will definitely say my glory won't last long."
"Wouldn't it be better to join now then?" the assistant said, "If you lose later, it will only embarrass you."
Baston tilted his head, "If I lose, then you don't need to announce anything. However, what if I win until the end?"
The silence fell for a moment and the question lingered in the air like an invisible hook.
Levan leaned back slowly and the interest flickered in his eyes. The assistant's expression also changed since the idea was simple yet strangely clever.
If Baston joined their company immediately but lost in the next round, the association would mean little.
But if Baston kept winning and only then, he chose to join them, Levan's reputation would rise alongside the young wizard's victory.
People would say he had the foresight to recruit the champion.
Levan could announce it proudly to the entire academy and the town. The more he thought about it, the better it sounded.
Levan suddenly laughed, "Interesting… It's very interesting..."
He stood up and patted Baston's shoulder warmly, "Then… I will follow your idea… Is there anything you want? Just say it..."
Baston hesitated slightly as if he was embarrassed by the offer.
"Then… Can I see your company first? I want to know the workers better. If I'm going to join later, I should at least understand the place."
Levan laughed loudly, "Ha! Curious, aren't you?"
He waved his hand casually, "Fine… Go ahead..."
He turned toward his assistant, "Take him around."
The assistant nodded and neither of them thought much of the request. To them, Baston was merely a young boy who was dazzled by the opportunity.
He was someone without status and someone too naïve to understand anything meaningful.
Levan returned to his office, already imagining how glorious it would be if Baston truly won the competition. Meanwhile, the assistant guided Baston through the streets.
*****
The warehouse stood not far from the academy. From the outside, it looked ordinary.
It was a wide wooden building with reinforced doors and narrow windows.
Yet, the moment Baston stepped inside, the atmosphere changed. The air smelled of metal, oil, and faint traces of mana. The dozens of workers moved around the room.
Some hammered small components while the others inspected glowing crystals that was embedded inside metallic frames.
Several people worked with delicate tools that looked more like surgical instruments than crafting equipment.
The place was busy yet it was strangely quiet. Most workers kept their heads down and their expressions were focused but weary.
Baston slowly walked through the aisles.
At first glance, everything seemed normal yet something felt wrong. His gaze lingered on the workers. Most of them looked healthy but a few of them stood out.
There were a man with a twisted leg, another with a scar running across his neck, and a woman whose left arm trembled constantly while she was working.
Baston turned toward the assistant, "Some of the workers seem injured."
The assistant shrugged, "Sir Levan took pity on them. He hired them in the end even though they were quite incapable. Until now, he doesn't force them to quit."
He spoke casually, "Even if their bodies are not perfect, they can still work here."
The assistant smiled faintly, "They're very grateful toward such kindness."
Baston nodded slowly. From the outside, it looked admirable.
A wealthy merchant was giving jobs to people who might otherwise be abandoned. He was a generous employer and a kind benefactor.
If Levan died suddenly, the work here would collapse. The dozens of families would lose their income overnight.
The thought tightened Baston's chest. The quest from the old book was simple which was to kill Levan yet the consequences were not simple at all.
He could easily assassinate the man but what would happen to these workers afterward?
What would happen to their families?
Baston kept walking silently and his face remained calm yet his thoughts were anything but fell into complicated consequence.
*****
He stopped beside a middle-aged worker who was busy assembling a small ornament.
"Sir, what are you making?"
The man looked up, "Oh? This?"
He held up the half-finished object, "I'm not sure exactly what it is but it's a component for magic equipment. Sir Levan said the nobles are ordering many of them recently."
Baston tilted his head, "It must be expensive, right?"
The worker chuckled, "Probably, but we can only make simple parts. The assembling will be then done somewhere else."
Baston nodded and the worker continued talking.
"The demand for magic tools has been increasing across the kingdom nowadays. There will be more wizards, more soldiers, and more of everything."
He sighed softly, "To be honest, most of us expected to lose our jobs when the production expanded. After all, we don't have advanced skills but Sir Levan kept us."
The man smiled faintly, "He said the loyal workers are more valuable than the perfect ones."
Baston forced a smile, "Sir Levan sounds like a good man."
"Of course he is," the worker replied proudly, "Honestly, I don't understand why the kingdom hasn't granted him a noble status."
He lowered his voice, "I heard some nobles oppose it. They don't like the merchants for becoming too powerful."
Baston's lips twitched. If only the man knew the truth but there was no point telling him since the worker would never believe it.
After a short conversation, Baston moved on.
*****
He soon approached an elderly woman who was busy polishing the small metal rings. Her hands trembled slightly but her movements were precise.
"Young boy," she greeted with a warm smile, "Are you new here?"
Baston nodded politely, "Something like that."
He crouched slightly beside her, "How long have you worked here?"
The old woman laughed softly, "Only a few months."
Her voice carried quiet gratitude, "You see… After some thugs robbed me, I thought I would die on the street."
Baston's eyes darkened, "Robbed?"
"Yes..."
She continued polishing calmly, "They took almost everything I had. I still have a house… But no one would hire an old woman like me."
Her smile remained gentle, "But then, I heard about Sir Levan and here I am…"
Baston spoke carefully, "Don't you have children?"
"I do but they already have families of their own. I really don't want to trouble them."
"Have they visited you?"
The old woman laughed again, "They must be busy. As long as they're living well, I'm satisfied."
Baston lowered his gaze, "You're a good mother."
For a moment, the silence lingered between them. Baston felt something heavy in his chest.
The old woman was lonely yet she still protected her children with pride. It was admirable but the cause of her suffering, that was something else.
It was because of the thugs and Baston knew exactly where those thugs came from.
It was surely Levan's hidden operations since he was always creating the problems before appearing as the savior.
It was a perfect cycle where the victims would become the workers and the workers would praise him. His reputation would grow then since he used their own money to buy their own faith and loyalty.
It was a brilliant scheme and a disgusting one.
Baston clenched his fists slightly. The old book had ordered Levan's death. At first, he questioned it but now, he understood why.
Before leaving, Baston quietly took out a small pouch of coins, "This is for you..."
The old woman immediately shook her head, "No..."
"It's fine," Baston said.
However, she pushed his hand away, "If I take it, I'll feel ashamed. As long as I can still work, the others should receive help first. After all, there are many people worse off than me."
Baston stared at her silently then he bowed slightly, "I understand…"
*****
The warehouse inspection ended soon afterward and the assistant soon left to handle the other matters.
Baston watched him disappear.
He was finally alone and he exhaled slowly. His gaze shifted toward another building nearby which was Levan's office.
There were two large guards stood beside the entrance. They were crossing their arms and watching everything.
Clearly, Baston could not enter but he never intended to. He closed his eyes briefly then he summoned one of his puppets secretly. A small creature crawled out from beneath his sleeve.
Its form twisted, shrinking and changing. At the moments later, it became a rat. The rat slipped silently across the ground but no one noticed it.
Through the puppet's eyes, Baston watched the world from a low perspective. The guards' boots looked like towering pillars and the rat slipped through a crack beneath the door.
Inside the office building, the atmosphere changed immediately. The halls were quiet, too quiet for someone like Levan.
The rat moved carefully along the walls. It looked for the rooms, the documents, and the locked cabinets. Some papers revealed the financial transactions while the others contained several delivery routes.
By then, the rat reached Levan's private office, and inside, something strange appeared.
He found several sealed ledgers in hidden compartments and a map that was marked with unfamiliar symbols.
Baston frowned because the markings were not the trade routes. Instead, they displayed the locations consisted of the small villages, the isolated roads, and the places where robberies could easily occur.
Slowly, the cold realization spread through his mind because Levan was directing everything from this place.
The rat continued exploring, then suddenly, the sound of footsteps approached. A guard entered the room briefly to check something before leaving again.
Baston immediately withdrew the puppet because the risk was too high. He could not afford to get caught at the moment.
*****
The night had already fallen when he returned to his room. The door closed behind him with a soft click.
For a long moment, Baston simply stood there without moving.
The magic lamp on the table hummed quietly, shining with the faint night breeze that slipped through the window. The shadows stretched across the walls. It was thin and restless as if something invisible was breathing inside the room.
Baston lowered himself onto the chair and his mind replayed everything he had seen inside the warehouse including the injured workers, the grateful smiles, and the old woman who was polishing the metal rings with trembling hands.
After that, he found the map of those quiet villages, those isolated roads, and those places where the desperation could easily be created.
There would be also a kind savior who could conveniently appear afterward.
Baston slowly rubbed his forehead, "So… That's how you built your reputation…"
The words slipped out almost inaudibly.
For the workers, Levan was a benefactor. For the kingdom, he was an admirable merchant. But behind that smiling mask, he was a puppeteer. A man who created the suffering so he could sell the salvation.
Baston leaned back and stared at the ceiling. Killing such a man should feel righteous.
The old book had already decided his fate yet the faces of the workers kept appearing in his mind.
If Levan died, their fragile world might collapse overnight.
Baston's fingers slowly tightened, "This quest is going to be troublesome..."
Outside the window, the wind brushed against the academy walls. Somewhere in the distance, the bells of the night watch rang softly.
Tomorrow, the competition would continue but Baston knew the real battle had already begun.
Unlike the arena, this one would not end in several minutes.