The Mysterious Black Magician

Seeing Yman in the barracks, everyone looked stunned. They were looking at him as if their time stopped for a second.     

Then, a second later,     

"T-The R-Rat Slayer…" someone muttered. After that, "Rat Slayer!" They suddenly gathered around him and called him in loud voices. "We saw it! We saw the competition! Congratulations on winning the championship!"     

Yman could not even figure out which of them was saying that. Everyone was talking and most of them were congratulating him. There were also some who were thanking him for what he did when the commotion happened. Yman did not expect such a warm welcome from them.     

Unbeknownst to Yman, in that competition, most of the members in the barracks were watching it live on a large monitor. They were pumping their fists every time he won and lamenting every time he looked hurt. Of all the contestants there, he was the most they could sympathize with because they knew how hard he worked before just to become stronger.     

Repeatedly killing rats in that smelly Underground Channel before was truly hard to imagine for any of them.     

That's why when they saw his insurmountable improvement when he appeared in that competition, they could not contain their shock.     

Although the competition did not end the way it should be, the decision of the competition committee was understandable for them. Also, he had nothing to prove, right? He defeated the strongest male students in their batch. So, what else is there to question about his strength?     

The only problem was, who among the three finalists was the real goat? But that wasn't important now. The city was still not safe. So calling off the competition was the most right decision right now.     

Also, the competition committee states clearly that they were basing their decision based on their battles and opponents. Clearly, among the three finalists, only Yman had the most sweaty opponents, from Jugo to Kiko. Only idiots would still believe that Yman wasn't strong enough to warrant being the champion.     

Even Miss Almina and Miss Maena were silent about this issue for now.     

Also, his contribution to defending the city from the attack of Vigilantes was truly admirable.      

Looking at the gathering of people around him, his mouth just showed a faint smile. Rea beside him was very surprised at what happened around her. She did not expect that this guy beside him would become this popular.     

Before the crowd could become noisier, they suddenly heard a shout from someone. "The barrack's head is here!" Someone suddenly shouted.     

Because of that, everyone fell silent as they looked around.     

??     

"Sigh~ what a lively youth…" they suddenly heard a dispirited tone.     

When Yman saw the owner of the words, he gawked. Even Sistela on his shoulder was also gawking.     

Sistela shouted.     

Exactly. That person was not other than the fat smith.     

"Mister Sar Smith!?" He did not expect to see him here. Another person came and said, "He's the new Barrack's Head, RatSlayer, bro."     

"Eh? Mr. Ult!?"     

"Wait, new Barrack's Head! Mister Sar Smith is?"     

"Yes," Ultima nodded.     

He also noticed everyone was nodding their heads.     

Yman gawked, he couldn't believe what was happening.     

Seeing his bewilderment, "Anyway, brat, come up. We need to talk about something, right?" Mister Sar Smith said to him.     

Yman nodded and followed him. Rea and Sistela also came along with him.     

"Uhm, Mister Smith, uh, I mean Barrack's Head, how did you become the new head of this industry?     

That surprised me, honestly," Yman asked when they arrived inside the office and sat on a soft sofa.      

Yman could not connect the dots on how the smith became the head of the barracks.     

"Well, I'm surprised too. Just kidding. Instead of a new Head, I am actually one of the founders of this barracks along with some of my friends."     

One of the founders? Now, that was even more shocking. Yman wanted to ask more questions but he asked first the most bothersome one for him.      

"How about your shop?" Yman asked. Honestly, he likes Sar Smith's smithing skill.     

"Oh, you didn't notice below?" Said Mister Sar as he pointed at the floor using his index finger. Yman understood that he meant the first floor.     

"I see. We didn't have a chance to look around, so I didn't notice," Yman said and sighed in relief.     

"If anything, let's talk about the letter you handed before," Sar Smith changed the subject right away.     

"Ah, yes, what of it Mister Sar? Uhm, I mean Barracks Head."     

"Just call me the usual, kid." For some reason, after asking that, Mister Sar Smith shifted his gaze to Rea. "Regardless, I believed this girl here is the Mangrove's Princess?" He said.     

From that question, Yman and Rea widened their eyes. "Eh? H-how…" Rea mumbled and Yman squinted his eyes slightly.      

Seeing the expression on their faces, the Barracks' Head looked more serious now. "Ahem. Relax. Don't worry. It was mentioned in the letter. Sorry for the late introduction, Princess Merea," as he said that, the barrack's head also bowed slightly.     

Rea was taken aback. She did not expect to hear that the person in front of them was a former friend of her aunt. Even Yman did not expect it also, but he did not interfere with him and just waited for Mister Sar Smith's next words.     

Sar Smith continued saying. "Aside from being friends, I am also your aunt's former party member back when we were still active adventurers. I am also a former resident of the Mangrove Kingdom."     

Learning about him being a former person of the Mangrove Kingdom was very surprising. Yman and Rea then started to listen closely. They could feel that there was more to this meeting.     

Originally, Yman just came here to talk about the co-op between the Adventurer's guild and the barracks. He did not expect to hear more. And to think that it was from a person he least expected to talk more about himself. It was even more surprising.