Chapter 8
All the accumulated exhaustion, overwork, and tension struck Jake at once.
He spent the entire day suffering from fever and body aches.
Of course, the biggest reason was probably falling asleep inside the bathtub.
Fortunately, after resting for an entire day, he recovered completely.
I really am young again.
Jake sat up under the morning sunlight and felt strangely moved by how healthy he felt.
Near the end of his old life, even one hard day had left every joint aching.
Now...
After everything he had endured, one day of rest had been enough to recover.
A young body truly was a blessing.
Then Jake looked at the arm he had lifted.
His mood immediately sank.
A pale, thin arm.
In this life, his only regular exercise had been walking to and from work.
His comfortable life was over now.
From this point forward, he would need to train until his bones practically broke.
It was impossible not to worry.
The bathtub that had caused most of his fever had already been removed from the room.
A basin of clean water stood nearby.
A freshly washed set of clothes had been neatly folded beside the door.
Just like on Earth...
If you had money, you could always purchase convenience.
During the day he spent sick, Jake had eaten every meal in his room.
He had also ordered new clothing to replace his ruined clothes.
That had cost another two shillings.
Still, Jake was satisfied.
He washed his face using the basin.
Then he looked at his reflection in the water.
A fairly handsome blond boy stared back.
He looked exhausted.
Small scratches covered parts of his face.
But there was no way his appearance could have changed dramatically in only a few days.
Jake messed up his hair enough to partially cover his face.
Then he changed and headed downstairs.
The first-floor tavern was crowded again.
Some people were still collapsed from drinking.
Others were holding their aching stomachs while eating hangover food.
Since the inn was right beside the Mercenary Guild, it was naturally filled with mercenaries who had finished work and others searching for new jobs.
That was exactly why Jake had chosen this place.
Here...
He could avoid attention from the slums.
And he could disappear among wandering mercenaries.
His young age was somewhat troublesome.
Still, Jake intended to act older and bluff his way through it.
Fortunately, the tavern was slightly quieter than usual today.
Jake found a seat and ate breakfast.
Thick soup.
Hard bread.
The taste was not terrible.
Still, the mercenaries who had stayed here for a long time looked sick of the same food.
In a way...
It felt surprisingly ordinary.
After finishing his meal, Jake gave two copper coins to the worker clearing his dishes.
"This is way too much for a tip."
Jake had given him twenty gron.
That was one-fifth of a shilling.
The worker earned only thirty gron for an entire day's work.
Of course he was surprised.
"I want to ask you a few things."
"Ask me anything!"
He had just met the god of wealth.
Naturally, he intended to repay that generosity properly.
Fortunately, he was not busy.
The worker immediately pocketed the money and sat across from Jake.
He was a boy around Jake's age.
If Jake had not hidden his face behind messy hair, the worker probably would have looked older than him.
"I haven't heard much about what's happening in the Imperial Capital."
Jake intentionally lowered his voice, trying to sound even slightly older.
"It seems like things have been pretty chaotic lately. Do you know anything?"
"Oh, you asked the right person."
The boy brightened.
He lowered his own voice and began talking.
"A few days ago, there were two huge explosions inside the inner palace where the Imperial Palace is."
Two explosions?
Because Jake had been buried underground and unconscious, this was the first time he had heard about the second explosion.
"The second explosion happened above the inner wall, so lots of people saw it. That night was terrifying. Even I was shocked."
The worker shook his head.
"Soldiers and knights were running everywhere. I thought a rebellion had started."
Fortunately, the chaos ended before dawn.
By the following day, most of the Imperial Palace and Imperial Capital had returned to normal.
"Most places were fine, but apparently the noble district and mage towers were pretty chaotic."
The boy leaned closer.
"I heard a spy infiltrated the Imperial Palace and caused all that trouble. The noble district and mage towers were busy searching for other spies."
Jake's eyes sharpened beneath his hair.
As far as he knew...
There had only been one spy involved that night.
"Did the spy escape?"
"No way."
The boy looked almost offended by the question.
"The Archmage himself went after him and killed him. They say the last explosion was magic cast directly by the Archmage."
So he got caught in the end.
Jake felt slightly bitter.
From the story...
Judas probably failed to escape the Archmage and killed himself.
Judas had betrayed Jake and escaped alone.
Jake had fully intended to repay him someday.
Hearing that he had already died somehow left Jake disappointed instead.
"Thankfully, things have been quiet since yesterday. Inspections are back to normal."
The worker smiled.
"Now everyone's busy preparing for the coronation. You came here because of that too, right?"
Jake roughly nodded and dismissed him.
The worker started heading back toward the kitchen.
He was immediately caught by the innkeeper and scolded for sitting around.
Still...
Perhaps because of the money in his pocket, he kept grinning even while being yelled at.
So they didn't realize I escaped.
If the empire knew Jake had survived, there was no chance security inspections would already have returned to normal.
Perhaps the collapsed tower made it impossible to verify.
Or perhaps the explosion destroyed the bodies badly enough that the empire simply assumed Jake had died.
Whatever the reason...
It was fortunate.
Even so, he could not remain in the Imperial Capital.
He might run into someone who recognized him.
And the imperial family might eventually discover he survived.
For now, I'll follow the plan I made yesterday.
Jake had not spent the entire day doing nothing while sick.
Even while lying in bed with a fever, he worried about his future and created a plan.
