SSS-Knight in a Hero World-Chapter 109: Hagglers

Close!

A gust of air rustled his bangs in that instant, but he remained unmoved as the awkward silence after the bang kicked in.

He remembered his encounter with the kidnappers and his encounter with her.

I wasn’t able to get a good look at her face back then, and her voice was rather weak, Ferris thought. For him, this was just a first time.

But to her, this would feel like a second time.

She looks lively, alright... unlike Judas.

She’s also a psychic, if I remember correctly.

I don’t even know her name yet... he worried.

Ferris closed his eyes and mentally prepared himself as he knocked softly on the gate thrice.

After a few seconds, the gates opened again, this time not fully and suddenly.

Half of her body poked out, and she grabbed the edge of the gate in a defensive stance as she stared at him with a pensive expression.

Despite her attitude, Ferris couldn’t help but stare at her cyan hair that reached down to her waist.

Hair colors in his old world weren’t diverse amongst the mortal species, and the colors in this world were a bit more diverse thanks to the easy access of hair dyes and other products.

I knew it was cyan, but that’s natural?

Suddenly, Ferris remembered a few key details in his life.

Elizabeth and Lionheart have light-colored hair, and Zaku has green hair.

He wondered if hair color attributed to importance.

As he thought of that, he wondered if his ash-blonde hair was considered unique.

Regardless, as Ferris stared at her, he gradually saw the resemblance of the girl hiding behind the gate and Tyr, the draconoid with azure-colored hair.

Aside from their height difference and race characteristics, the two would’ve looked like siblings or a parent and child duo.

That makes me more comfortable actually. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Ferris smiled and greeted her warmly. "I’d like to see the hero, Tailoring Swift. Is he here?"

She hesitated at first, but she opened the gates wide in the end. "Are you Ferris?" she asked.

He nodded. "I am."

"...Follow me."

Ferris began following her a bit from behind. He noticed that his burning core suddenly went cold.

Do you not want her to notice? Ferris questioned, but Judas wasn’t in a state to respond. He could only guess what state he was in.

Being a psychic comes with extra senses. Ferris assumed that to be the case with the girl in front of him.

He increased his essence restriction until he only had the strength of a normal person, effectively hiding away most of his presence.

Why didn’t you tell her name... I want to ask, but it’s seriously the wrong time to ask.

"I heard there’s new residents who arrived yesterday, is that true?"

Ah, I ended up saying that instead. Ferris blinked.

"...Yeah, the house has been busy taking care of them. I tried getting close with them, but it always felt like I’m talking to a wall."

A long response!

Ferris sighed an imaginary breath of relief. He was worried that she would be as shy and awkward as Prin, but it gladly turned out to be the opposite.

It must’ve been true that Yaromech had an effect of lowering anyone’s intelligence.

She turned out well, even without a parent.

After harboring his thoughts in silence, the two finally arrived at what seemed to be the main structure.

A large wooden mansion that exuded the sense of a palace.

Although it wasn’t tall, with it looking like it had two floors, Ferris could tell that it made that up with a vast floor space.

Compared to Prin’s mansion, which exuded a sense of new money, this one felt more like old money.

Generational wealth.

Tailoring Swift told me he saved enough money to support the orphanage for years.

Was it wrong for me to assume that the orphanage was broke?

There should be at least more than a hundred residents here. Add that with maintenance and extra caretakers...

Ferris didn’t feel any different compared to when he was back in Prin’s mansion.

He gulped, having had an evil thought just now.

Ferris wondered what kind of reward he’d get for saving Zaku.

Come on, that money should be given to the orphans! Ferris slapped himself inside.

"That’s normal, considering what they’ve been through.

They need to adjust to this new environment."

The girl flinched a bit, since Ferris took an unnaturally long time to reply.

"Fair enough... Tailor’s currently dealing with a few clients, so you can wait in the lobby."

"What about you?"

The girl softly crossed her arms and shrunk. "I’m busy."

Without another word, she left the scene in a blink of an eye, leaving Ferris to handle himself.

He sighed before entering the mansion, but instead of doing as he was told and waiting at the main lobby, he tracked the nearest essence signature.

Due to the unnatural layout of the mansion, the journey proved to be a difficult one as he constantly had to take paths away from the nearest essence source.

Even their indoor garden’s the size of a small park... surely I’m passing the same garden over and over, right? Ferris worried as he gradually understood the wealth he stood and treaded upon.

After a while, he became used to the layout and was finally able to get closer to the source.

Walking along the pristine wooden floor, he accidentally stumbled upon the inner courtyard.

There, he saw something that prompted him to stop and hide himself in a corner.

There was a steel behemoth larger than most helicopters parked in the center. It lacked the rotor blades that all helicopters had, instead packing engines used in VTOL craft.

Are these the clients?

Ferris observed the vehicle and quickly noticed the logo of the Hero Association. A sword.

He remembered another familiar emblem and scoffed. Villains should’ve been more original... honestly.

But what is the Hero Association doing here?

There’s a few guards over there, and they haven’t seen me yet.

Since Ferris didn’t see any residents present in the mansion, he thought that his presence would’ve been suspicious.

Knowing that, he waited calmly in his hidden corner and waited.

Thankfully, he didn’t have to wait long as Tailor and a group of Hero Association officials appeared on the other side of the courtyard.

He noticed that the officials were praying to Tailor as if they were begging, though it seemed that Tailor was quick to dismiss them with a polite expresion.

The Hero Association’s lackeys gave up soon after and finally went inside the steel behemoth.

The aircraft lit up with a roar as its engine lifted the behemoth up to the sky.

As if to leave a bad review, the aircraft quickly went in another direction instead of continuing to gain altitude, which caused the exhaust to destroy the well-kept garden in the courtyard, making a total mess.

Now I’m curious. Ferris crossed his arms with a smirk, wanting to know what the hero association had in mind for their retired hero.

He released the restriction on his essence and caught Tailor’s attention with his essence gaze from far away.

There was a momentary chill that went through Tailor’s body, but it quickly dissipated as, in the distance, he saw Ferris smiling at him.