Magic Academy's Villain Bodyguard: I Must Tame All The Princesses-Chapter 26: Cicero

Returning to the City Square, Azariah now started to find a specific building.

It didn’t take him long to find it as it wasn’t just any regular building. In fact, it was a giant skyscraper extending to literally the edge of the sky.

Reading the name from the front of the building, he confirmed that he was at the right place.

[Zenith State Building]

Zenith was a code name for the emperors of Nippon. This building basically served as the main administration area for the whole of Edo City.

Walking inside the building, Azariah was immediately greeted by a sense of lavishness and premium-ness.

Floor-to-ceiling windows, chandeliers hanging from the tall ceilings, shiny glass furniture, etc.

It gave off royalty from every corner of the room.

Azariah walked up to one of the multiple counters at the center of the floor.

"Welcome to Zenith State Building! How can I help you, Sir?" the woman at the counter greeted him with a wide smile plastered on her face.

Dressed in the same black suit and makeup, all the women across the counters were looking like robots.

Azariah couldn’t be less concerned though.

He slowly and silently slid the letter across the countertop to the woman, who picked it up without a change in her expression.

Breaking the seal, she read it in a second and slid the letter underneath her counter.

Before taking a token from the same spot and passing it to Azariah.

"Oh, I see, Sir. Please head to the elevator and show the man the token you have received. He will take you to your destination."

The whole exchange between the two passed without a break in the woman’s eyes or smile.

’They are trained for this.’ Azariah noticed.

Regardless, he simply took the token and nodded before turning to the corridor behind the woman.

However, as he walked down the normal corridor, he suddenly took a right to another secluded pathway.

Walking down the stairs ahead, he quickly put the crimson mask given by the innkeeper on his face.

After a minute, he found himself in front of a steel elevator with a man waiting outside the door.

He seemed to be young with an athletic body. However, his facial features were hidden with a grey mask just like Azariah.

"Greetings, where would you—"

He was interrupted as Azariah simply tossed the token to him.

One look and the guy immediately knew his destination.

"Very well, this way please." He pressed a button on the elevator and stepped inside, followed by Azariah as well.

***

After a minute, the door of the elevator opened and Azariah found himself in a completely different establishment.

But it was no less lavish compared to the State Building.

Obsidian-colored walls and ceilings with integrated lighting and people roaming around with masquerade masks on their faces.

It almost gave a cult-like feeling.

But Azariah knew well where he was.

This was the underground Linkgate market.

On the surface world, if you were to register yourself for a Dungeon Linkgate raid with a party, you were entitled to give up some of your rewards to the State Building as well.

However, this was the underground dungeon market.

Here you’d be allowed to keep 100% of the rewards obtained from the raid.

It was funny and strange how the market existed right alongside the State Building. But the funnier thing was that the State Officials were well aware of this.

Rather than simply not caring, they simply couldn’t do anything. Underground Markets and Black Markets were a significant part of the city’s economy.

They were needed; otherwise, the market and prices would crash.

The Underground Market officials were themselves responsible for dealing with the State officials.

The only thorn for the customers’ side was that it wasn’t that easy to enter the underground market.

There were only a handful of places in the whole city from where you could obtain a letter.

Additionally, you were responsible for keeping your identity anonymous while talking or roaming.

If you were identified by the State, you’d be taken into account for illegal operations just like how it was stated in the law.

So it was basically a message saying: do what you want, but on your own accord.

It was why he didn’t interact with the guy in front of the elevator, not giving away his voice.

Though the mask given with the letter was described to mask your voice automatically, that too was a trap.

It only did so when you were underground, actually in the market, and not outside.

Falling for the trick would have him arrested on the spot. Fortunately, he was not this dumb.

Focusing ahead, Azariah walked up to another counter for the umpteenth time that day.

The guy looked at him with an uninterested stare, wanting to get done with it as quickly as possible.

"I’d like to perform a Dungeon Linkgate raid." Azariah spoke.

The guy’s expression didn’t change a bit.

"Rank?" he asked.

"Advanced."

From behind his counter, he passed Azariah a tablet with all the advanced Linkgates available for a raid.

Immediately, the white-haired boy found the one he was looking for.

"Volca Blaze." He told the guy the name of the Linkgate as he passed the tablet back.

For the first time, the guy nodded to his words and passed him another tablet.

"Please put your hand on this after wearing this glove," he said in a monotonous voice, passing him a black glove as well.

Putting on the black glove, Azariah put his hand on the terminal and it instantly started scanning.

After a few seconds, however, it suddenly glowed red and the guy looked up at Azariah.

"I’m sorry, but your Novice rank does not let us allow you for a solo raid of a higher-ranked Linkgate," he said bluntly.

Azariah, however, wasn’t surprised. He was already expecting this to happen.

"Pair me with a party," he said.

Nodding, the guy immediately started working on the screens in front of him before taking out a chip and passing it to Azariah.

After some minutes of payments and verifications, the guy behind the counter finally took out a chip and passed it to him.

"Here, this is your Linkgate raid token, sir. Show it at the gate along with your party to gain access. You are requested by the party Evenus Creed for the role of a support at the third exit."

Taking his token, Azariah simply nodded and made his way out of the crowds.

Walking around the market, he was quick to find the third exit, where his party was supposed to be located.

And as he looked around, he heard a voice from behind.

"Are you Cicero?"

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