Reborn as a Useless Noble with my SSS-Class Innate Talent-Chapter 197: Ch : The Pick-Pocketing- Part 1

Chapter 197: Ch 197: The Pick-Pocketing- Part 1

The road to Brulin was calm but long, weaving through lush forests and hill paths that had yet to be swallowed by the Empire’s roads.

Kyle rode in silence with Queen slithering beside his horse, ever alert, and the dragon egg carefully packed in his satchel, surrounded by layers of mana-insulated cloth.

He often reached back to check its temperature and pulse. It was stable—for now.

Brulin rose ahead of them by the third day, a gleaming silhouette wrapped in mana currents so dense that even Kyle had to adjust his senses.

This was the famed city of the Alliance Academy—where prodigies trained and mages were forged.

Tall towers touched the clouds, each etched with floating glyphs. Spell lights hovered around the clock towers and libraries like sentient fireflies.

It was a city made by magic, for magic.

Kyle entered without resistance, flashing a minor noble’s crest and paying the toll.

Queen flew close in her smaller form, drawing curious glances, but no one dared speak.

His destination was clear: find a rune specialist. Someone capable of laying down mana inscriptions strong enough to defend an entire village from divine interference.

Still, Kyle wandered a bit through the merchant district, observing how Brulin thrived.

People dressed well, their posture straight, their steps purposeful. Even beggars spoke in articulate tones.

Sophistication dripped from the city’s bones like rain from rooftops.

He stopped outside a curious shop built into a narrow street.

Runes floated above its sign like dancing stars, and the window was packed with trinkets—glowing stones, enchanted pens, self-filling notebooks.

Kyle pushed open the door and stepped inside, Queen curling near the entrance.

Inside, a couple stood before the shopkeeper, voices rising.

“This is ridiculous. This crystal shouldn’t cost five gold coins. That’s three times its value in Darvos!”

The man said, clenching his fist.

The shopkeeper, a man with spectacles and a long white mustache, sniffed dismissively.

“Then by all means, return to Darvos. Here in Brulin, we don’t discount fine craftsmanship for people who can’t appreciate it.”

The woman hesitated, looking at her partner.

“Let’s just buy it. We came all this way.”

Grumbling, the man threw coins onto the counter.

“This is robbery.”

“It’s value.”

The shopkeeper corrected him with a smile.

Kyle stepped up next, eyes wandering across the shelves.

He could feel mana in several items—weak but present. A few had interesting constructs: self-defense enchantments, low-level healing charms, a mana reservoir ring.

Curious, he picked one up. It pulsed faintly in his palm.

“How much for this?”

Kyle asked, gesturing with the ring.

The shopkeeper eyed Kyle’s clean clothes, his well-made boots, and the way Queen’s shadow loomed outside.

“Fifty gold.”

Kyle raised a brow.

“It’s worth fifteen.”

The shopkeeper laughed.

“That’s what someone without a real mana sense would say. Trust me, young lord, you won’t find better in Brulin.”

Kyle rolled the ring between his fingers before putting it back.

“Then I won’t be buying anything today.”

The shopkeeper blinked, caught off guard.

“Surely someone like you—”

“I don’t throw coin where it’s not deserved.”

Kyle said flatly.

The shopkeeper cleared his throat, adjusting his glasses.

“Perhaps I was mistaken. For you, thirty-five—”

“I said I’m not interested.”

Kyle turned toward the door.

The man rushed after him.

“Wait, wait! Twenty-five! You won’t find better—these are genuine Alliance-engraved relics!”

Kyle glanced back, amused.

“If that’s true, they should sell themselves.”

With that, he walked out, Queen lifting her head slightly, amused at the man’s desperation.

The door shut behind him, leaving the shopkeeper stunned.

Kyle’s mood soured further after the first shop encounter, but he didn’t give up.

He visited three more stores in Brulin’s marketplace, each more grandiose than the last.

Unfortunately, the pattern remained the same: overpriced junk disguised with shallow mana inscriptions, and shopkeepers speaking with bloated pride about “limited stock” and “exclusive imports.”

It was just like Venuce—where the truly skilled artisans were silenced, bought off, or hidden away by the powerful elite to prevent market competition.

A false monopoly under a veneer of luxury.

“Tch. Same rotten roots in a different soil. No wonder nothing meaningful gets done.”

Kyle muttered as he exited the fourth shop, mana swirling around his fingers in annoyance.

Queen, slithering beside him unnoticed by most, let out a low rumble of agreement. Her eyes shimmered with an understanding only he could comprehend.

If the real rune artisans weren’t in the open market, then Kyle would have to go to the heart of the city—the Alliance Academy itself.

The place where geniuses were born and forged. If there was any hope of finding a proper rune specialist, it would be there.

He turned toward the academy’s direction and began weaving through the packed crowd.

Street vendors shouted over each other, colorful fabrics fluttered in the wind, and the scent of spices filled the air.

That’s when it happened.

He barely noticed the small frame until they bumped. A brief impact. A mumbled apology.

“Sorry, sir.”

The child muttered, lowering their head before quickly darting away.

Kyle’s sharp eyes flicked downward—and then his hand snapped out like a whip, catching the kid by the wrist.

“Let go!”

The kid shrieked, immediately pulling back. But Kyle’s grip didn’t budge.

The child was young—maybe twelve or thirteen—and wore worn clothes, their face smeared with dirt and desperation. The kind that said this wasn’t their first time doing this.

Kyle narrowed his eyes.

“You’re light-fingered for someone so clumsy.”

“I didn’t take anything—!”

“You took my mana flare stone.”

The boy froze, eyes going wide.

“I didn’t—!”

“Lying won’t help.”

Panicked now, the kid twisted violently and threw something to the ground.

A sharp pop followed by a hiss—and thick smoke erupted around them, blinding passersby and making people scream in surprise.

But Kyle didn’t let go.

His mana wrapped around his body in an invisible cocoon, shielding him from the smoke, and his hand still clutched the boy’s wrist.

“These tricks won’t work on me.”

Kyle said calmly, stepping out of the dispersing cloud with the kid still in hand.

The child thrashed more violently now.

“Let go! You don’t understand—I needed it! I’ll be punished if I go back empty-handed!”

Kyle narrowed his eyes, reading more in the boy’s voice than just guilt. There was fear. Desperation.

“You’re being used. Who’s making you steal?”

Kyle said, tightening his grip just slightly.

The boy bit his lip, refusing to answer.

“Fine. You can tell me later. Or not. But I’m not handing you over to the city guard. You’ll come with me.”

Kyle said, tone flat.

The boy’s head snapped up.

“What?”

“I said you’re coming with me. Unless you want to keep working for people who punish kids for failing.”

“I—I didn’t say I was—!”

“You didn’t have to. And you’re bad at hiding things.”

Kyle reached into the boy’s coat and pulled out the flare stone.

The boy slumped.

Kyle gave Queen a nod, and she slithered ahead, parting the crowd with her imposing presence.

The people of Brulin kept a respectful distance now, whispering nervously about the noble-looking man with the snake monster.

“You’re not going to kill me?”

The boy asked, almost in disbelief.

Kyle glanced at him.

“No. But if you try to run again, I’ll make sure you can’t use your arms for a week.”

The kid gulped and stopped struggling.