Return Of The Strongest Player
chapter-22

"What happened, Jamie?" a feminine voice resounded across the area. The origin of the voice was a teenage girl who seemed to be around eighteen or nineteen years old.

Her figure was slim yet curvy, and her attire only highlighted that fact. She wore a cyan sweatshirt that matched perfectly with her eyes and hair, which were of the same color. With pale skin and tied-back hair, she was a goddess any man would wish for.

Her pressure leaked as she gazed at a crimson-eyed man whose hand rested on the sheath of his blade. "Let's not bring violence into this shop."

"You might want to educate your little brother about that," Arthur responded, shooting a death stare at the child who shoved Lily. Apparently, his name was Jamie. "He shoved my sister onto the ground."

Lily ran into Arthur's arms, and the latter wrapped her in his embrace.

"Jamie?" The cyan-haired woman glanced at her little brother, who shook his head violently in denial.

"I didn't!" Jamie protested. He then pointed at the little girl in Arthur's arms. "She fell on her own, and I was coming to check up on her."

Arthur's grip on his longsword tightened, and the pressure that the woman exuded rose in intensity.

"I don't think you know who I am," said the cyan-haired woman.

"I don't give a shit who you are."

"Alisha Mason Ainsworth."

"Are you deaf or just plain stupid?" Arthur growled in indignance. "Now, are you going to discipline that boy or should I?"

"What are you going to do?"

"This."

A gust of wind swept by Alisha, and her eyes widened. A shrill scream reverberated across the bakery, and one of Jamie's fingers fell to the floor. Blood sprayed like a geyser from the wound, and the boy's eyes turned bloodshot.

Arthur glared at Alisha before exiting the bakery with Lily in his arms.

Alisha ran to her little brother, who was rolling around in pain. The former's eyes turned bloodshot, and she contemplated whether to chase after the man or not. But it wasn't worth it, considering her brother's condition.

Instead, she rushed her brother to the hospital.

'I will fucking kill you,' she swore in her heart. The crimson-eyed man was one person she would never forgive.

*

"Is she all right? What happened?" As soon as Arthur and Lily returned home, Anna flooded them with questions. Her sheer worry was quite distinguishable, considering she dropped whatever she was doing to rush over.

She snatched Lily from Arthur's hands before cradling her in her arms. "What happened, Arthur?"

"She… tripped," Arthur explained, scratching his head in embarrassment.

Lily understood the man's intentions and didn't refute his statement. Instead, she simply nodded at Anna's gaze. "Yeah."

"Well, make sure you are careful, okay?" said Anna as she gently touched Lily's nose.

"Okay!"

*

Once the family finished eating the cake, Arthur headed out on his own. He simply assured his mother that he was heading out for a stroll, yet that wasn't his only purpose.

Information was most valuable when one did not possess sufficient strength. It was the root of leverage, and difficult to acquire through regular means. Information was acquired through betrayal or espionage.

Melzer, a former Elite Ranker of Heaven's Spire, had been a teacher at Arcadia Academy immediately after retiring. Only after a few years of gathering funds did he retire from his job and settle on the outskirts.

Since he was an employee, Melzer had valuable information about the Academy.

And he was generous enough to provide some to Arthur.

Professor Noxickle, a mana arts professor at Arcadia Academy, was in cahoots with the Jester Organization. Although it may seem insignificant, Arcadia Academy and the Jester Organizations were two antagonistic organizations.

The two hated each other.

Since that was the case, they prevented each other from acquiring information about their acts. However, the two also strived to obtain information about the other, doing everything in their power to attempt to gain leverage.

Professor Noxickle was one of the Jester Organization's subjects.

And he was known to hang out at a certain cafe every evening.

"Could I get a black coffee?" Arthur ordered at the counter, to which the barista nodded. While the latter prepared his order, Arthur walked over before sitting at a particular table. He sighed, as if exhausted.

"Could I… help you?" The person sitting opposite to Arthur asked, tilting his head.

"No thanks, I'm good."

"No, I mean, you sat in front of me when there were several empty seats," the person explained, placing the newspaper in his hands on the table.

"I have something to talk about."

"Shouldn't you… ask to sit, first?"

"Oh… am I supposed to do that?" Arthur asked cluelessly, tilting his head. "I'm sorry, then. Could I sit here?"

"You're already sitting… never mind," the person shook it off as if it didn't matter. "What do you want to talk about?"

At that moment, the barista placed Arthur's coffee on the table. "Have a great day, sir."

"You too."

An awkward silence descended upon the area.

"What's your name?" Arthur asked, leaning in towards the person sitting opposite to him.

"Henry Noxickle," he responded awkwardly, tilting his head as if unbeknownst to the point of the question. "Why? Who are you?"

"It doesn't matter," Arthur dismissed. "What matters is that you're lying."

"About what?"

"Your name."

"I'm not."

"So, if I call the Jester Organization–"

Before Arthur could finish his sentence, Henry Noxickle flicked his wrist, causing an invisible barrier to surround their table. The expressions of the other customers didn't change, as if they hadn't noticed the disturbance in mana.

Arthur simply smiled viciously, resting his head atop his palm. He calmly stared at Henry, wondering what his next words would be.

Unbeknownst to Arthur, Henry was sweating buckets. Metaphorically, of course.

Anxiety built up inside his mind, and he wondered whether to attempt to kill Arthur. But that would reveal his intentions.

'Fuck. Is that why he approached me in a cafe?'

He was caught.