Chapter 45: Bare-knuckle arithmetic – Part eleven

Claudine! This isnt the time to be looking at your opponent!

Wilma warned Claudine, who was fixated on Karan.

Claudine frantically looked away towards the question sheet, but she didnt become any less flustered.

Kuh Why?

Claudine knew very well that dragon people were not particularly bright, even among people from rural areas.

They were blessed with physical strength and magic energy that permitted them to fight two on one against other kinds of beast people, and many emerged from the war against demons as heroes and were respected, but many were also content to rest on those laurels.

On the other hand, Claudine was a simple human.

She knew she had a nice face, but not the shining beauty of an idol. She was always good with her hands, but didnt have the strength of a man or the magic energy of a sorcerer.

She didnt have a house or any assets. Her parents worked as stagecoach personnel, but were fired due to petty embezzlement. When it started to seem like they were going to sell her off to slavery, Claudine ran for her life. She couldnt rely on her family in the same way that dragon people can rely on their clan.

She knew all too well that she possessed very little tools needed to make it in this world, and she was jealous of people that did, those blessed by the heavens.

Claudine decided to fight back.

It was only natural for people with no skills to rely on underhanded means.

She was actually fully aware that Nick wasnt an adventurer that should be underestimated.

He seemed to not hold himself in high regard, but he had a good eye for equipment and loot, so he had a good head on his shoulders.

He lamented his own lack of raw physical strength, but just the fact that he could keep up with All Martial Arts proved he was not just an average adventurer. At the very least, he was much stronger than an average girl like Claudine.

But when he was kicked out of All Martial Arts, she figured he fell down to her level, or that she was even better than him.

Sneering at Nick felt good.

Yes, people were equal. Eventually, everyone would be brought down to their knees by this cruel world.

Surely, he would drop down to the depths of despair after being betrayed by her, and once he was ready to drop dead, she could offer a little kindness, and give him back one of the things she had stolen. Once he realized how weak people survived in this city filled with vice and immorality, she would guide him.

But Nick proceeded in a completely different way than Claudine expected.

He looked for new partners, did things that surprised even intermediate adventurers, and even helped someone being scammed by her.

She could have just stopped.

She could have simply not gone after someone that was becoming successful, and be content with living in a world where she could become a winner.

Deep down she knew how foolish it was, and she understood that she was being blind to her own shortcomings, but Claudine still thought to get revenge on Nick.

Her plan was to wangle some money out of a merchants idiot son, betray Leon, and escape the city, but even that was thrown out. She couldnt forgive Nick for joining forces with others and living an honest life.

Leon probably noticed her imminent betrayal, but still went along with her revenge. He probably realized that even though Nick should have hit rock bottom after being cheated and started walking the same path they did, he instead went off to a different place where the sun shined.

Im not Losing to this idiot!

Karan heard Claudines mumble, but she sighed, as if to say she didnt care about such scorn.

I think idiots are the ones that stay idiots, so youre the only idiot.

Said Karan with a boring sounding tone, which made Claudine snap.

[Beck! Trump card!]

[Yes, Im ready. I have a reference book and an abacus.]

[Im going to start dictating the problems so go ahead and solve them.]

Claudine sneakily sent magic energy to the orb hidden close to her chest.

She could have stopped.

Claudine didnt notice that Karan sensed something was happening, but felt pity towards her.

She also didnt notice that the other members of Survivors, who were supposed to be watching the match intentively, were gone.

Beck was a sorcerer from Steel Tiger Crew.

Even though he was a sorcerer, he lived by the principles of not thinking about things too much and living a simple life. He learned new things, performed magic, drank good alcohol, and was waited upon by women simply because he enjoyed it.

He spent his money very liberally, and when he didnt have any, he borrowed it. It was no wonder a man with such a reckless and pleasure-seeking lifestyle fell into the hell known as debt.

When a bill collector stripped him of all he had and was about to send him to a mine, he was saved by Leon, who bought him as a slave. Beck thought for sure Leon was a homosexual, but it turned out not to be the case, and Leon simply wanted an underling that could use magic.

And so, Becks life became a series of dangerous bridges for him to cross.

When Claudine cheated a man, he was there to be her bodyguard, and when Leon swindled other adventurers, he was there to be his partner in crime.

Beck didnt do these things out of his own volition, but he also had no complaints. Leon was a scammer, but he wasnt very stingy when it came to rewards, and he could drink good alcohol as long as he did what was asked of him properly.

If this led to Beck committing evil, then so be it. Beck had gone through a horrible time after being cheated himself, so now it was his turn to do the cheating, and he saw no problem with that. What was the problem with being friendly with scammers like Leon and Claudine?

There was no darkness surrounding Beck like Leon and Claudine, and he didnt even have any interest in such things. He was only interested in his own pleasure, and wouldnt complain about what anyone else was doing, which pleased Leon and Claudine.

[I see, I see Hold on, let me do some calculations.]

[Hurry up!]

[Yes yes]

By using a Telepathy Orb, Beck was solving the math problems that Claudine was seeing.

He was no idiot, in fact, his mind worked rather quickly and he had no issue solving problems or looking things up. Simply put, he had endless indifference towards things that didnt interest him.

Alright. That Claudine sure worries a lot.

Mumbled Beck to himself, as he sipped some coffee.

Beck was currently in the cafe next to Fishermen, with a reference book open and working out the problems he heard using Telepath.

Beck felt something was odd. The difficulty level was strangely high, and there was no way the dragon girl could solve them so easily.

Ah, damn it, I made a mistake. I have to start over.

Hohou, do you find those problems that difficult? I can assist you if you wish.

Oh, thanks?

Beck was focused on the problems, and was only now noticing someone else had entered his private room.

Yes, stay still, and take out the orb. Theres no point in trying to break it either. I know that is one of the Telepath Stones from the Labyrinth of Bonds, but it is fine, we will not be rough as long as you behave.

It was a boy with white hair, with a man that looked like a priest and a sorcerer girl.

They were blocking the exit.

So? Do you want us to get rough?

The sorcerers alluring smile made Beck lose the will to resist.

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