I Became the Male Lead who was Clinging onto the Female Leads

Chapter 13: Why on earth do bandits have this? (2)

TL/Editor: Raei

Schedule: N/A

Illustrations: Posted in discord.

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Walking back to the dormitory after a visit to the sandwich shop, Tina ran into Yerina.

"Hi?"

"Hello."

They weren't exactly best friends, but they weren't strangers either.

As the sole daughter of a powerful Earl family and the eldest daughter of a Duke's house, they had been interacting since their childhood days.

"How about a cup of tea?"

"Why not?"

"My treat."

"Thank you, I appreciate that."

Whenever they met like this, they would share a cup of tea and catch up.

"Hows your magic coming along these days?"

"It's decent. I feel like I might be able to break through to the fifth star soon, but its not easy."

"Magic is always like that, isnt it? So elusive, always making us chase after it."

"Exactly."

Their most frequent topic was, of course, magic.

Despite their different primary elements, both of them, as the top magic prodigies of the Royal Academy, would lose track of time when discussing magic.

And if the topic ever shifted to Eugene, they could talk all night.

Sharing their experiences with the stalker that tirelessly followed them around seemed to be a never-ending topic.

But ever since Eugene stopped pursuing them about two weeks ago, they found themselves running out of things to talk about.

Sip by sip

Now, having exhausted all their topics, they both quietly drank their hot tea.

"The tea is good~"

"It is."

""

After a moment of awkward silence, Tina, who wasn't the type to enjoy such moments, broached a topic.

"...About that guy recently."

"Yes...?"

Even though Tina only mentioned that guy, there was no confusion about whom she was referring to.

"Hasnt he been acting a bit strange lately?"

"I thought I was the only one who felt that way."

"No way! So, you thought so too?"

"Absolutely."

Their conversation suddenly heated up.

"You remember last class? He shielded me from the superheated ball that was heading my way. I felt obliged to return the favor, so I asked him what he wanted. And he just said he wanted to have a meal."

"And then?"

"I thought maybe he still had feelings for me. I wasnt exactly thrilled, but since I offered, I agreed to go. But when we actually went, instead of eating together, he just asked me to buy him a sandwich and left!"

"Pfft."

Yerina, who was sipping her tea, choked back a laugh.

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"Are you okay? Here, wipe with this."

"Th-thank you."

Yerina, wiping her face, said,

"I thought I was the only one who went through something like that, but Tina, you too?"

"Huh? What? Did something similar happen to you?"

"Yes, during our Wind Magic practice session, he"

"Oh, I heard about that."

"News travels fast. So, I also tried to return the favor, and then"

Yerina recounted her story, and Tina couldnt help but burst into laughter after hearing it.

A question that had long lingered in their minds surfaced.

The magic he used to help us, he skipped the incantation, right? Isn't that something first-years can't do?

I think so too

Honestly, isnt he... a genius? At least on par with us.

I think he might even surpass us. I still can't skip incantations fully.

This is unexpected...

The fool who'd always followed them around turned out to be a genius, either their equal or superior.

Considering the support from their families and their solid backgrounds, surpassing them in magic in just a few years wouldn't have been easy for Eugene.

Yet, they couldn't help but admire his talent.

And the fact he'd lived like that despite such talent was simply astounding.

It was also hard to ask him about his abilities and talents.

Even if I wanted to talk, I've drawn boundaries

For me, it's different. Its not like before, where he'd almost faint from joy just by seeing me

Realizing that Eugene, the genius they knew, was finally getting his act together was undoubtedly a good thing for them and the world.

But for the girls who had pushed him away for over half a year, it wasnt that simple.

It would've been better if he remained somewhat clueless, right?

Thats what I'm saying...

The heavy sighs from the girls seemed to still the surrounding air.

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Raei Translations

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Upon arriving at the Adventurer's Guild, Eugene stood in front of the notice board, reading various job postings.

"I wonder if there's something I can do over the weekend to earn some money..."

He knew he was being ambitious, wanting to earn a decent amount of money in such a short period, but he wanted this to be his last time making money through these requests.

Every moment was precious for personal training, and he felt it was a waste to spend it earning money.

It felt like selling a stock that could multiply by a hundred in ten years for just double its value now.

"But I can't seem to find any good requests..."

Given that Eugene's adventurer rank was of the Fire tier, there werent many high-reward requests available to him.

The adventurer rankings followed the five magical attributes. Starting from the lowest, they are:

Water, Fire, Wind, Earth, Lightning.

Eugene was only a tier above the lowest, which was Water, so realistically, finding a challenging task with a good reward was hard.

"I might as well ask."

With that thought, Eugene approached the reception desk.

The receptionist he remembered from his last visit seemed to be off, replaced by a petite girl.

"Are there any dangerous tasks that someone with my adventurer rank can take on?"

"Dangerous... tasks?"

"Yes."

"Well... they should be on the notice board..."

The young receptionist raised herself on tiptoes to view the board, her face suddenly hardening.

"Why did someone remove it again? I've told them not to touch the postings!"

"..."

"Sorry for the inconvenience. Just give me a moment!"

She bent down, rummaging behind the counter, and then thrust a request form towards him.

"This is probably the closest to what you're looking for!"

"Thank you."

Eugene took the request paper.

'My granddaughter, suffering from a rare disease, worsens with each passing day.

To cure her, we need an antidote that was stolen from my apprentices three days ago.

Despite our best efforts, we've failed to retrieve the antidote from the unidentified thieves.

Many have tried but failed to even locate the den of these villains.

To anyone who can pinpoint the whereabouts of these cursed despicable, a reward of '3 gold' awaits.

To the one who can retrieve the antidote, a sum of '20 gold' will be given.

-Marshal, Head of the Luciana branch directly under the Earl of Florence.'

'This request...'

It was one Eugene was familiar with.

Although he hadn't taken it on personally and didn't know the exact capabilities or strengths of the thieves, he did know where their hideout was.

'Who would've thought that browsing community forums in my spare time would come in handy?'

Eugene felt pleased about his past online lurking.

'Just revealing their hideout earns me 3 gold, and retrieving the antidote, 20 gold.'

Merely providing the location could cover the living expenses of an average household for three months.

With that money, excluding food expenses, Eugene could sustain himself for a year.

'While it's tempting to just provide the location and be done with it...'

The final reward of 20 gold was extremely alluring, so Eugene was determined to see the task through if possible.

"Earning 20 gold from a single request sure feels like a jackpot."

Eugene left the Adventurer's Guild and headed towards the location of his request.

With quite a distance to cover, there was no time to dilly-dally.

Infusing his body with mana, he lightened his steps and ran without pause.

Thanks to consistent strength training, he could maintain a high speed for long periods with minimal mana.

After sprinting for about six hours, he approached his destination, finding the sky enveloped in darkness.

'I should take a short break.'

Having used up much of his mana while running, Eugene climbed a tree, sat in a half-lotus position, and meditated.

While sleep wasn't an option, meditation was the best way to restore both his body and mana.

Three hours passed before Eugene opened his eyes.

'This should be enough.'

Having recovered about 70% of his physical strength and mana, he expanded his senses using his mana, searching for the culprits.

"Over there?"

He faintly sensed human presence.

It was weak, but unmistakably human.

Staying concealed within the forest, Eugene slowly approached the source of the presence.

Soon, he saw a group of bandits in a clearing.

"They look like bandits... But why are they wearing robes?"

Eugene was baffled by the sight of bandits in robes using magic.

He focused his mana-enhanced vision to get a detailed look at their camp.

It wasnt a large camp, housing just about six bandits.

Four of them were asleep, while two, who looked like their leaders and appeared to be mage-bandits, sat by a campfire, talking.

Eugene used a bit of his mana to enhance his hearing.

"So what happened with that feisty girl?"

"Don't even ask, she was just..."

Feeling it wasteful to expend mana on such trivial conversation, Eugene reduced the amount he was using just enough to keep track of their discussion.

After about ten minutes, the conversation took a more interesting turn, prompting Eugene to once again amplify his hearing.

"Remember the antidote we stole a few days ago?"

"The one for petrification?"

"Yeah, that. You said it's super expensive. Is it really?"

"You have no idea."

"Spill it, before I really hurt you."

"Big talk for someone without the skill to back it up."

As one bandit raised his fist in a threat, the other laughed it off, taking out an antidote from a box.

"This antidote cures petrification. I heard that high noble families, like dukes and earls, use it as a crucial ingredient for a special elixir."

"Ah, an ingredient for a special elixir, you say. Does the antidote itself enhance mana as well?"

"No, it's just a cure for petrification. But when used to make the elixir, it supposedly has incredible effects."

"That's impressive. Must be worth a fortune, right?"

"Exactly. It might be tough to sell right now, but if we wait a few years for things to cool down, we could live comfortably for the rest of our lives."

"Heh, we really hit the jackpot."

The bandits fist-bumped in agreement.

Magicians ought to be clashing with staff, not fist.

'The antidote he's carrying seems like the one.'

After collecting all the necessary information, Eugene cut off the flow of magic he was using for his hearing.

He then opened his eyes wide, gauging the strength of the individuals around him.

'The one holding the antidote does seem relatively strong, but...'

The others didn't look all that strong.

Even the one with the antidote was doable.

Stealthily, Eugene neared them, masking his presence for a surprise attack.

The bandits, having just wrapped up their earlier conversation, were back to their lewd banter.

"So, bringing about half a dozen women shouldn't be too difficult, right?"

"Why even mention that? As long as they're pretty, there won't be any issues."

"And what about that feisty lady you mentioned?"

"Hehehe."

"Hehehe."

Suddenly, one of the laughing bandits received a blow to the head and collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

"What the...?!"

The bandit with the antidote turned, his eyes wide in surprise.

"Keep talking. Why'd you stop?"

With an imposing gait,

Eugene, a smirk tugging at his lips, continued to approach.

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