Failed To Abandon the Villain

***

“Ah…”

Valletta touched her nape and rolled her eyes.

She opened her mouth with a slightly tired look.

“Do you have something to say to me?”

“What? If you disrespect people, then you should apologize!”

“Ah… yes, I’m sorry.”

Valletta answered meekly without hesitation. Then she pushed the man’s arm off her shoulder and turned around again.

The bartender somehow kept his mouth shut and lowered his head. Seeing his trembling shoulders, it seems like he’s not feeling well.

‘We’re still going to go, right?’

She had no desire to make time for this again.

“You… you, damn b*tch!”

At that moment, the man lifted his hand. Valletta glanced at the man’s hand that was rapidly descending, and slid her body back.

The man’s hand cut through the air.

“What…”

“Drink properly.”

Tsk, Valletta clicked her tongue, as if the man was pathetic. The man opened his mouth at the sound of Valletta’s words, who was now treating him like a drunkard. Her voice made it seem like he was pathetic that even those who were watching shut their mouth.

‘Why are there so many people who raise their hand when they can’t control their anger?’

It was not just once or twice that Valletta had seen a hand coming down like that.

Thanks to Count Delight, her dodging skill has improved quite a bit. Of course, she had never properly avoided him like that.

“Come here.”

“Y-yes!”

Valletta took Therion and went to the bartender. The bartender was looking at them with slightly startled eyes.

“Shouldn’t the matter of drunkenness be dealt with by the store?”

“… Excuse us. We will take care of it.”

When the bartender winked to one side, two staff members approached and quickly subdued the arms of the rampaging, rugged man.

She watched the man as he was dragged away and lightly brushed her shoulder that was grabbed.

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“Well then, this way please.”

“Yes.”

Valletta, who was guided by the bartender, went out through the back door.

The inn got very quiet right after Valletta and the bartender left through the back.

It was partly because of Valletta, who didn’t look at the drunken man until the very end, but it was also because everyone understood what it meant to be dragged out of this place.

‘… It’s not good.’

Everyone in the inn had the same idea.

Various information and various personal connections come and go at the inn.

Not being able to come there literally meant being pushed out of the mercenary job, where information is life.

Everyone who knew it drank without a word.

***

“It’s this way.”

The bartender suddenly put on his robes and started walking into the alleyways of the busy market.

In the alleys there were few people, and many looked shabby. As they passed that area, the number of people gradually decreased.

Valletta glanced at the boy who was following resolutely, and then continued following the bartender. In time, the bartender opened the door of a pub at the end of a complicated road that was hard to find even if one would know where it was.

“Come in.”

Valletta paused for a moment and looked at the bartender. He told her to follow him, so she did, however, she was honestly not sure if this was a good idea.

Her violet eyes moved slowly and glanced over the exterior of the pub. On one side was a hanging sign that was wobbly and was about to fall. The writing, which was once clearly engraved, was so blurry that even the shapes were hard to recognize. She could even see rats running around in the corroded parts of the pub.

‘I probably didn’t get tricked.’

Still, since she has Jin and Nereid, she wasn’t that worried.

“Come to think of it, I haven’t been able to say my name. Excuse me, I’m Roman, what about you, miss?”

When Valletta did not come in easily, the bartender opened his mouth first.

She only glanced at the man who introduced himself and did not answer, then she went into the pub with an expressionless face.

Therion, who had been turning his eyes here and there, clutched the hem of Valletta’s robe tightly, as if it was his last life line. He followed her immediately, moving his short legs.

When Valletta and Therion entered, Roman closed the door.

Creak. The pub’s door made a creepy sound as if it had not been oiled properly.

The old wooden floors creaked with every step, and the smell of oil burning from the lamps struggling to illuminate the tavern gave her a headache.

Like Reinhardt, Valletta, who did not like noise and strong smells, let out a low sigh.

She looked around the pub slowly.

They weren’t the only ones in the pub. A few people were sipping alcohol, glancing over at them.

Lanterns scattered in various places swayed lightly in the change of air.

“Hey, why won’t you give me a common name?”

“It’s Valletta.”

“Miss Valletta seems very familiar with this kind of thing. It was the same at the inn earlier.”

If I said this was the first time in my life, would I look shallow?

She has never been very good at this in the past. Valletta looked at Roman without saying a word as she slowly shrugged her shoulders.

“I don’t think this is what we came to do.”

“Of course, you can just show it here.”

“… Here?”

Valletta’s eyes narrowed.

She glanced at the people in the pub at once. In the darkness, her purple eyes reflected the dim flames and slowly grasped the situation. There were two possible situations that could be considered. Either this place was for for human trafficking, or all the people in there were alchemists.

“Valletta-nim…”

Therion called out to Valletta in a shaky voice, holding onto the hem of her robe.

The child’s trembling stopped in an instant as she silently lowered her hand and stroked Therion’s head.

Valletta let out her sigh.

“What kind of potion should I make?”

“Anything is fine. Please make the one you are most confident in.”

“Then, I’ll go with the most basic one.”

There was nothing that could hurt her self-esteem now. She had endured gazes as if she was a monkey in a zoo, how can she not endure this much.

Roman pulled out a pen, paper and an empty vial from one side and handed it to her. Then he pointed at one of the chairs.

“Sit down at this table and draw comfortably.”

Valletta stayed standing and flipped through a notebook. As she stood in her place, she used the pen to write the formula that she remembered, and drew her sigil with the alchemy formula written on it.

Despite drawing while standing, her sigil lines were very straight. And with no hesitation. The eyes of those who watched were filled with surprise.

After she had finished drawing her formulas, she pulled out a vial containing herbs from the bag she was carrying by her side.

She was making the potion she had shown Roman and collected the remaining herbs in one place.

‘I didn’t know how to write it like this.’

All of a sudden, everyone was watching Valletta. She could feel their gazes on her in the dimly lit pub. She put the vial on the sigil that she had drawn in the notebook.

“Extraction.”

With her command, an ancient symbol rose above her violet eyes.

Contrary to the brightly shining medicine potion, the sigil that was clear in her eyes slowly disappeared.

“…!”

When the light completely disappeared, Valletta held out her vial to Roman. Inside the vial that used to be filled with her herbs, a blue liquid was glistening.

“This is the only herb I have. Will that be enough?”

“Yes, of course.” Roman said as he carefully took the vial of pure potion with both hands.

“If the proof is complete, I would like to receive a proper introduction, Roman.”

“Excuse me.”

Roman took a step back and took off the robe he was wearing over his head. He placed his hand carefully on his chest and then politely bent his back.

“I am the Unofficial Alchemist Association, Distinguisher of the Alchemists, Royceman.”

Valletta responded with a nod to his introduction.

‘The distinguisher…’

Distinguisher was the right word for him as he was the one who was distinguishing the authenticity of the countless alchemists who came to the Unofficial Alchemist Association.

“Valletta, I’m Valletta Delight.”

She also said, taking off the robe she was wearing, to show her respect.

“If it’s Delight that… Isn’t that a Count? The annihilation of the whole residence case?”

“What? Isn’t this dangerous?”

“I’ve heard that the Count’s daughter is a pretty good alchemist.”

Voices of agitation and bewilderment were heard from the onlookers sitting in the pub.

She thought that if she revealed her identity, she would get this kind of attention.

Valletta’s gaze was focused solely on Roman. He didn’t seem to be surprised as much as the people around them.

“… Is that the reason why the President of the Association came in person? A very precious person has stepped in.”

Roman muttered a little as if he had realized something about her and then gave her a formal greeting.

She was not interested in the latter words, but she was a little interested in the first ones.

“President of the Association?”

“Yes, I told him your story and he sent me a message that he would come himself.”

“My story?”

“I told him about your appearance, age, and gender. And now that I have judged you as an alchemist, I will guide you to the President of the Association.”

Roman opened the door behind the old counter and entered.

‘I thought it was just the kitchen.’

When she opened the door, she saw a warehouse full of clutter.

On one side of the warehouse, there was a large old wooden wall clock, which seemed to be broken, as the second hand was not moving.

Roman opened the clock and moved the hour and minute hands.

‘4 o’clock, 27 minutes, 42 seconds?’

It’s a very detailed time. What does it mean?

With that thought, Valletta tilted her head.

At that moment, there was a sound of something interlocking in the clock. At the same time, the clock on the wall, which she thought was attached, shook like a hinged door.

***