Chapter 13 : Chapter 13
Chapter 13. You Little Spendthrift! Glutton! Flat-Chest!
But strangely enough, after shouting all of that and seeing the look on Bob’s face as if he had swallowed a fly, along with the dumbstruck expressions of the surrounding crowd as though they had collectively turned to stone, the embarrassment in Wu You’s heart suddenly transformed into a reckless sense of exhilaration.
To hell with it!
His carefully maintained image had already fallen apart ever since the day of his class awakening anyway.
One more incident would not make any difference!
Bob’s wild laughter came to an abrupt stop, and his face darkened.
He released Vivian Shadowmoon and took two steps forward until he was nearly pressing against Wu You’s face, spittle flying as he spoke.
“I do not care whether you are some damned wandering swordsman or some knight of justice! This brat wrecked my place, so she has to pay! Want to play the hero? Fine! Then Hand over the money! One gold coin! Not one copper less! Otherwise, I will drag this little bean sprout away right now!”
He glared viciously at Wu You, then glanced at Vivian Shadowmoon, who was still sobbing quietly and too frightened to speak. His threat could not have been more obvious.
Wu You ignored him and turned his head toward Vivian Shadowmoon instead.
“Hey! Glutton! Say something!” he barked in a low, frustrated voice. “Is what he said true or not? Did you really blow up his arena?”
Vivian Shadowmoon shuddered from his shout.
Her little face was covered in tears and mucus as she stammered out a soft defense between sobs.
“H-he was the one who said my magic was just a trick for fooling children… I only wanted to prove that my magic was powerful… The arena was made of old wood. How was I supposed to know it was that flimsy…”
“You still think you are in the right?!” Wu You became even angrier. “If someone says something about you, you just blow things up? Then listen to the people around you now. There are plenty of them calling you a ‘one-time-use mage.’ Why do you not blast them one by one too?!”
Vivian Shadowmoon was rendered speechless by the rebuke.
Her lips trembled, and her tears fell even more fiercely.
Seeing her so cowardly and pitiful, Wu You rolled his eyes in irritation.
Forget it.
There was no relying on this chuuni little brat whose condition clearly had not improved at all.
He turned back to face the aggressive Bob.
The exaggerated expression of a “knight of justice” vanished from his face, replaced by an almost calculating calmness.
He even sheathed the iron sword in his hand and crossed his arms over his chest, looking at Bob with leisurely composure.
“One gold coin?” Wu You raised an eyebrow, his tone unhurried. “You are Mr. Bob, right? You say she smashed your arena, so she has to pay compensation. Fine. Let us talk reason.”
He cleared his throat.
His voice was not loud, but it carried clearly into the ears of everyone around them.
“According to the revised Provisional Regulations on Temporary Gatherings and Stall Management issued by this city last year, Chapter Three, Article Fifteen, any temporary arena, platform, or similar structure privately established for profit-making or public contests shall have all safety standards and liability for accidents borne entirely by the structure’s owner and the organizer of the event. If a participant causes damage to the structure during normal activity, they shall not be held responsible unless it can be proven that they engaged in ‘deliberate malicious destruction’ or ‘serious violation of operating rules.’”
He paused for a moment, looking at Bob’s slightly dazed expression, then continued leisurely.
“In addition, Chapter Four, Article Seven supplements that the establishment of such temporary facilities must be reported in advance to the City Guard Office, and the appropriate site-use and safety deposit must be paid. If the facility is damaged or causes injury or death due to its own quality issues, the owner shall not only bear full responsibility, but the deposited bond shall also be confiscated, and a fine may be imposed depending on the circumstances.”
With every clause Wu You recited, Bob’s face turned a shade paler.
Even the rough adventurers in the crowd who had come to watch the spectacle were left staring blankly.
How were they supposed to understand such flowery legal provisions?
Usually, when fights broke out, whoever had the bigger fists got the final say.
“Y-you are talking nonsense!” Bob finally snapped out of it and roared with forced bravado. “What bullshit regulations? I do not understand any of that! I only know that she damaged my property, so she has to pay!”
“You do not understand?”
Wu You smiled, and there was a chill in that smile.
“That is fine. The officers at the City Guard Office should understand. Conveniently enough, I just finished a quest and also need to head there to update my adventurer information. Why do we not go together and ask the officer to settle it? We can see whether your unregistered, possibly illegally constructed shabby arena should be paying compensation, or whether Miss Vivian Shadowmoon, who merely made a mistake in the moment, should be paying. While we are at it, we can also have a chat about your unlawful detention and intimidation of a minor, as well as your threats to sell her. How many years do you think that would get you?”
With every sentence he spoke, Wu You stepped forward once.
Bob was forced to retreat unconsciously, cold sweat already appearing on his forehead.
That broken arena of his had indeed been built in secret without any report whatsoever, and its quality had been questionable from the start.
Normally, he only used it to fool outsiders and ignorant rookies.
If this matter truly reached the City Guard Office, he would absolutely be the one to suffer.
And trafficking people was a serious crime. Even though he had only been trying to scare her, if it was treated as fact, the consequences would be severe.
“Y-you… stop trying to scare people!” Bob still tried to act tough, but eight-tenths of his momentum had already vanished. “The officers at the City Guard Office are busy with important matters. Who would have time to care about something this trivial?”
“Whether it is trivial or not, we will know once we get there.” Wu You shrugged, wearing an expression that plainly said, I do not care either way. I have plenty of time.
Bob’s eyes flickered.
He looked at the calm Wu You, then at the crowd, who had started pointing at him and casting suspicious glances. He realized that there was no way he would get his extortion money today.
If this blew up into a bigger matter, the unlucky one would definitely be him.
Grinding his teeth, he glared fiercely at Vivian Shadowmoon, then at Wu You, and stretched out his rough hand.
“Fine! Kid, you win! I admit defeat today! But my arena really is broken! At least pay something! Otherwise… otherwise I will keep an eye on this brat every single day from now on!”
That was pure shameless bullying.
Wu You sneered inwardly, but his face revealed an expression that seemed to say, You should have said this earlier.
He weighed the shriveled coin pouch in his hand.
Inside it were the pitiful copper coins he had just received in exchange for the Slime Cores.
A pained expression appeared on his face. After hesitating again and again, he finally tossed the entire pouch to Bob as though cutting off his own flesh.
“That is all there is! Take all of it!”
Wu You’s voice carried the tragic weight of a hero sacrificing everything.
“Take the money and get lost! If I see you causing trouble for her again…” He patted the sword sheath at his waist. Though the gesture itself was not very intimidating, combined with his earlier recital of regulations, it still managed to bluff people somewhat.
Bob caught the light coin pouch and opened it.
Inside there were only a few dozen copper coins, nowhere remotely close to the one gold coin he had been demanding.
His face darkened at once, and he was just about to flare up.
Wu You immediately cut him off, raising his voice. “What? Think it is too little? If it is too little, then let us go to the City Guard Office and have the officials judge whether your rotten arena is worth even a single copper coin!”
Bob choked on his anger.
He knew that if he kept pressing the matter, he would not gain any advantage and might instead end up covered in filth himself.
He glared viciously at Wu You and Vivian Shadowmoon, cursing as he did. “Damn it! Just my luck to run into two broke little jinxes! Bah!”
He weighed the pathetic handful of copper coins in his hand.
In the end, he could not bear to throw them back. He stuffed them into his clothes, pushed through the crowd while cursing, and left.
Once there was no longer any entertainment to watch, the surrounding crowd gradually dispersed as well.
However, the looks they cast toward Wu You and Vivian Shadowmoon now carried a bit more strangeness and curiosity.
Only after everyone had gone did Wu You let out a long breath.
His back felt slightly damp.
Just now, he had been bluffing through the whole thing.
If they had really come to blows, then with his Level 2 body and five unstable skills, it would have been hard to say whether he could defeat an old street thug like Bob.
He turned around and looked at Vivian Shadowmoon, who was still standing there blankly, staring at him with a little face so covered in tears that she looked like a tabby cat.
A burst of irritation flared up inside him again.
He strode forward in two steps, reached out with two fingers, and mercilessly pinched Vivian Shadowmoon’s thin cheeks, yanking them hard to both sides.
“Ah! It hurts, hurts, hurts!” Vivian Shadowmoon instantly snapped out of her daze, and tears sprang out again from the pain.
“It hurts? So you do know what pain feels like?!” Wu You gritted his teeth, shaking her pinched cheeks as he scolded her. “You little spendthrift! Glutton! Flat-chest! That was the hard-earned money I busted myself to get! And it all went to paying for your mess! Pay me back! Did you hear me?! Pay me back!”
“Wah… I will… I will definitely pay you back…”
With her cheeks pinched so hard that her speech became slurred, Vivian Shadowmoon nodded repeatedly.
There were still tears shimmering in her large emerald eyes, making her look pitiful beyond words.
“But… since you knew those regulations, why… why did you still give him money?”