Hermes slowly approached the old man and his children. He could see how happy their father when he embraced them, crying in joy.

The children pointed their index at the young Don, telling their father that the man saved them from a huge monster earlier. They even reminded him to stop crying too much because he's looked awful at all. Then, the chief laughed it off, wiped his eyes, and faced the young Don. ​​

The first impression of the chief after he saw him turned out so bad as he expected.

'A, a monster,' the chief stated inside his mind, lips retracted.

He pulled his children behind his back and picked up his weapon. Then, he warned the young Don to stay in his position.

Hermes placed a hand on his forehead and heaved a disappointing sigh.

"Hold up, please put down your weapon. Look, I'm just an unarmed and harmless man. Seriously, are you perhaps planning to shoot me?" he abruptly asked. "Whoever you are, sir. I'd truly appreciate what you've done to save me earlier. But to think you're wearing a despicable mask that is already rarely seen in this present era. It's is very unsightly. I'm sorry if I instinctively do this. It's out of my habit. But nevermind, I'm sorry for scaring you like that," the chief explained promptly. He slowly lowered his weapon thereafter.

"Hoo~, then I am deeply pleased to accept your apology. I also want to apologize for what my servant did to you earlier." He, lowered his head, ignored the statement about his clothes but deep inside he wanted to punch him because of his insult. What's wrong for wearing something like he had? There's nothing wrong with that according to his opinion. He based his clothes on the same casual suits of the merchants traveling abroad.

Seeing a young masked man reminded him of someone, but he might be imagining things. The chief presumed that the person he was talking to right now was a noble and honorable person because of his words and the way he treated him like a normal person.

Honestly, he wanted to uncover his true identity but he's afraid of his servant. Then, the chief had no other choice but to act friendly.

As the young Don approached them with his hands raised up, the chief gave in and let him do what he wanted.

'May my appearance won't let myself get killed. This person I'm facing is one of the NPC in the game that holds the highest position in the village. Not to mention, he is one of the most important people in the end game, and no one could pull out the potential skills of the playable characters but him through his knowledge, guidance, and teaching how to handle the people. This time, I have to create a good relationship with this old man. It's now and never,' he stated inside his mind.

"Please to meet you," Hermes greeted. He placed a hand on his chest and bowed his head once. "My name is Aljen the merchant from Southern Cimeria Continent. I'm no enemy but a friend, sir. Please you don't have to fear me. I'm harmless like no other. Take a look, I'm unarmed. No weapons carried on my hands. Rest assured, I don't bring no harm to your family and people, Village Chief," he added.

The village chief's eyes opened wide after he heard the word, village chief. Then, his face turned serious and looked at him with a cold stare.

He hadn't said anything about his identity but he figured out who he was, so he couldn't help but increased his distance from this young man. With that kind of reaction, Hermes gasped his breath when he saw his aloof response.

Thankfully, the tension between the two had slowly diminished after July told him to believe him.

Chief Zamor blinked his eyes twice and his attention turned at his son who was stopping him from raising his weapon. Both of them were tugging his sleeve to trust the young man in front of him.

With no other option, he gave in.

"Then, forgive me. It looks like it's my loss. I can't believe someone other than my daughter could gain the trust of my children. Man, I'm getting old. Frankly, I don't want to trust someone dresses like that, sire," Chief Zamor pointed out the young Don's clothes. "But considering how eager my children believe you are unbelievable. I don't trust you but my family. Consider this as a favor then," Chief Zamor affirmed. "Oh, sure. I don't mind at all," Hermes nodded.

"Please bear in mind that anything that happens between us should be kept a secret. The villagers would panic if someone heard this humiliating defeat from two travelers. Got it?" asked Chief Zamor, smiling. "Fine, sir. I will," Hermes assured.

'Thank you, kids. My plan works. Cuteness is the key to this success! But again, the clothes? Really? Man, these people have no sense of fashion at all,' Hermes said inside his mind.

"Alright, it seems we settle down. You and I are now agreed on a truce through oral conversation. With this, we're no longer enemies and everything is already forgotten, as per your request. Right?" Hermes confirmed with a question. "Yes, sire. We're now in a neutral relationship, so we will no longer attack you unless you provoke us," Chief Zamor clarified with cold sweat.

"Justin, come here. I want you to apologize," Hermes ordered. "Sir, I apologize for the terror I commit despite the fact, you guys are the ones who started it at all. But anyhow, an order is an order, so I have no other choice but to comply. Be grateful that I don't need to slay - *cough* I mean, I'm grateful that I have no longer have any ill will to eradicate you all," Justin declared with a terrifying smile.

"R-r-right," Chief Zamor gasped and gulped his saliva. "We should take responsibility. As the leader of these people, I wish for your forgiveness for hurting your master. It is their solemn duty to protect the place from wicked people with tremendous power and strength," the chief approached the butler and offered a hand to be shaken.

The butler's face looked disgusted after he saw his hand. He was apathetic to accept it, but the young Don made a move to settle this at once.

"We're honored to accept your apology," Hermes grabbed the hand and shook it. "The honor is mine, sire," Chief Zamor simpered.

The cold atmosphere had finally disappeared. The children rejoiced and thanked their father thereof.

"By the way, is there something we can do? I want to express my gratitude for taking care of my children and I hope I can do something to pay for all of these messes we made after all. I hope you don't mind," Chief Zamor offered. "Oh, that's very kind of you, but I don't think it's a good idea. You see, both of our parties created a conflict by accident. All of us are guilty of hurting each other. On my part, we did something bad that we couldn't help but feel sorry, chief. Honestly, we only helped the children out of my goodwill. We acted on our own so you don't have to reward us. Let's pretend that it never happened," Hermes suggested, smiling.

'Oh, well. I hope he takes the bait. Of course, I want to get rewarded. Who wasn't? Only a silly noob player won't take this chance at all. Thankfully, Chief Zamor is a type of man who won't let this slide, though. He will insist the people agree with him,' Hermes simpered.

Chief Zamor got surprised. And as Hermes expected, this man won't let him go unrewarded.

"Hmm, that is not a good idea. It only makes me feel bad. How about this proposal? My family is known collectors of the rare herbs of the forbidden forest, and we have a lot of stocks that could be considered as a good offer for you. Would you like to check it?" Chief Zamor suggested as he pointed his thumb in the direction of his house. "I, I don't know. But you don't have to. Let's just ―" Hermes got stopped. "Oh, please, I insist," Chief Zamor interjected before he could finish his sentence.

'Good,' Hermes' face turned dark as he smirked behind his mask.

Hermes heaved a fake sigh and gave in.

'What a wonderful plot, my Don. I can see through your mask that you're scheming something. This Justin here won't let your efforts in vain,' his butler declared, guts pose.

"Alright, you win. You're very pesky, chief, " Hermes shrugged off. "Oh, please. Forgive my importunate behavior, sire," Chief Zamor lowered his head and apologized.

"July is happy," the twin girl rejoiced.

"Yepiiii," Troy jumped in joy, twice.

"Please allow me to accompany you," asked Ubert as he approached them with an injured leg. "Oh, you should take a rest, pal. You're already, uh, tired with a broken part, " Chief Zamor chuckled.

"A, at least, I can still be kicking. Ouch, my legs. I need to see the doctor. Oh, shit, no gaaah―" Ubert yelped, falling down on the slope field. "Oof, Ubert. Oh, he's okay. Nevermind," Chief Zamor placed a hand on his head and sighed.

"S, Sure. Aah, do you have the map of your village, chief?" asked Hermes. "Of course, I have. Why do you ask?" Chief Zamor pulled out on his chest pocket medium size of a folded paper. "For reference," Hermes affirmed.

"Reference?" Chief Zamor tilted his head with a confused face. "Nevermind. Can you mark the location of your clinic or hospital and your home? It'll be a great help," Hermes avowed. "S, Sure," The village chief, confused, marked the locations of the location he asked earlier before he gave it to him.

"Here. It's done. What're you planning to do with that?" Chief Zamor inquired. "You'll see. Oi, get over here. Can you take care of those men, the pitiful guards that got knocked down by you earlier, Justin? Oh, don't forget the man who is still sleeping on the other side where our car parked. You can find him on the east. Then, use the car to bring their bodies to this location. And after that, meet us in the Camelia House in this position," Hermes urged. "Yes, master," Justin nodded.

He placed a hand on his chest and bowed his head once before he disappeared from his sight.

'Good, there's no hindrance for my objective,' Hermes simpered with a terrifying smile.

His butler picked up one by one all of the injured troops around the area. Then, all of them disappeared on the site instantly.

The chief ran to his friend's side and checked his condition.

"Ubert, can you still walk?" asked Chief Zamor, helping him to stand up. "O, of course, but my back is now aching like a rug. "Ubert replied, removing the dust and grass around his body.

"Good. Tell the doctor that the bill is on me when you arrive there, okay. Right now, I have a guest to entertain at my home," Chief Zamor simpered, tapping his back to ease his pain. "You're too cruel, chief. Nevermind, I can handle it. Man, that butler ain't no joke," Ubert cried in pain whilst walking towards the car.

'Man, I feel bad for this fatass,' Hermes said, lips upturned.

A few moments later, Hermes was sitting together with the children in the medium-size wagon, clinging his arms on both sides. Chief Zamor kept on watch whilst looking at his adorable twins.

The young Don slowly folded up the cloth of the wagon to take a peek, and when he opened it up, a huge concrete wall appeared on his sight.

The functionality and design could match with the Roman architectural blueprint of the past. There was a huge fourteen feet steel-made double-door gate, one of the only paths to enter the village, and anyone permitted by two gatekeepers should enter.

"Please sit tight, I will handle it," Chief Zamor assured as he showed his face at the guards.

They nodded once and the gate slowly opened up for them.

"Hey, pal. There's a vehicle that will come, so let them in. He's carrying my wounded men. Don't block his way or else, capiche?" Chief Zamor ordered as he pointed his thumb in the direction where they left Justin. "Y, yes, chief. Understood," the guard gulped as he obediently followed his instruction.

Hermes's eyes blinded after they entered the place and his face couldn't hide his delight after he saw inside of the village. Finally, he's now in the place where the last game would end, and where the heroes began to rise from the ashes.

All of the settings here were originally copied from the past of the Victorian era such as concrete houses, postal lamps on the street, and vendors selling their products.

"Good morning, chief," one of the street vendors saw their wagon and recognized the person beside him. "Morning, sir," Chief Zamor replied with one wave of a hand.

"Oh, fancy seeing you there. This is your order, chief," the store owner gave them a basket of bread. "Thank you, Madam," said the chief as he accepted it.

Everyone greeted their chief as they passed through on the street. Then, it only stopped when they finally arrived at their destination, The House of Camelia.

Hermes closed his eyes as he recaptured the period where the players went here for the assistance of this man. There were several quests they had to face and every single event that appeared on their screen would help them to increase their abilities and improve their knowledge about the game.

With his great help, the ambitious players would experience incredible growth in no time and they would acquire a lot of lost artifacts of the past and learned the forbidden art of ancient society.

Within this place, there was a powerful item that will help one of the female protagonists became an overpowered character in the series. No one but his junior knew what it was since she's the one who developed it.

This man was the key NPC who would accompany the players for victory against the tyranny of original Hermes Archnemesis.

Should the special item reached by the wrong people, it would increase the chance for his death flag to descend quickly.

'I just hope it won't happen before I leave this island.' He prayed inside his mind, cold sweat.

The wheel of the wagon stopped and the chief told everyone to get off. Then, he instructed his twins to carry their baskets to the storage area and he strictly told them to take a bath afterward.

The twins obediently followed his instruction and went ahead.

Hermes followed the chief to the entrance of their house.

"Thanks for having me here," Hermes said, entering the house. He removed his shoes and he put on the slippers offered by Chief Zamor.

They went into the living room and Chief Zamor asked him to sit down in the chair he liked.

"Thanks, I will choose this one then," Hermes sat down in the small foamed chair next to the wooden table.

"Would you like a coffee or a tea?" asked Chief Zamor. "A coffee, please. Oh, I like a normal sweet aroma, so one cube of sugar should be enough. Thank you," Hermes instructed.

"Stay there, I will prepare the coffee. Please wait for a minute," Chief Zamor advised as he left him alone in the room. "Aaah, thanks. I'll keep in touch," Hermes earnestly said.

While waiting, Hermes explored his eyes around. The living room was ordinary. It only composed of a wooden table in the center, a fire chimney on the side, and four single-seated fur-made foamed chairs, one unit on each side around the table. There's also a tiger rug with a head underneath.

On the side, there's a wooden window and an empty long vase next to it.

"Here you go. A cup of coffee for you, sir," Chief said, holding a mug of coffee in his hands.

He put one mug for Hermes and kept holding his own before he sat down on the opposite chair. He took a sip of his coffee and started a conversation.

"Don't worry about the taste. I didn't add any poison in your cup." Chief Zamor assured whilst taking a single sip. "Umm… thank you for the coffee. It's not what you think it is. I'm just fascinated by the aroma of this coffee. Not only that, this product tastes so good like no other. Two things I can tell, it's delicious and fantastic," Hermes confirmed as he started his review.

"Haha, I'm glad you like it. Well, the coffee was made from a rare bean called Dark Scily Beans that could be only found inside the Seerside Garden of Dark Scily Forest," Chief Zamor gushed. "Wow, that was amazing. I hope I could bring one in my home too." Hermes grinned as he sniffed it before he took a sip.

'Man, being addicted to coffee ain't bad at all. I love to bring a pack of beans at my mansion if I must,' Hermes said inside his mind, lips upturned.

"Well, I'm glad to hear that. This might be a good opportunity to give you a gift as an apology earlier this morning. I'll give you one sack of these beans. How about that?" the chief offered. "R, Really? That's very kind of you. Then, make it two then," Hermes chirped as he raised two fingers on his hand.

"Of course, if that's what you want who am I to refuse? Unbelievable, I'm glad to meet a fellow coffee drinker who truly loves it so much," Chief Zamor grinned. "The honor is mine, chief," said Hermes.

"Well then," Chief Zamor put his mug on the table, crossed his leg. "Let's talk about the important matter today. Enough of the coffee break. By the way, how did you know that I'm the chief of this village? Honestly, I didn't even carelessly spout out in that place my real identity, and I was so sure that no one but my men and the villagers knew my face. Forgive me for my rude manner. Who are you then?" inquired Chief Zamor, smiling terrifyingly.

Hermes flinched when he heard the questions. His body trembled and dropped a sweat on his back. But he won't let his fear prevail over it, so he decided to make a made-up story.

He placed his mug down on the table and heaved a sigh.

"Oh, please. Don't stare at me like that. It doesn't suit your face, chief. It's very simple. No one won't be able to recognize a man who lead his team against us. Not to mention, I heard a lot about you from the children and I ain't that silly to unable to recognize the man of his words on this island. Never underestimate the intel of this merchant in front of you. After all, I'm no ordinary traveling businessman from Southern Cimeria Desert, " Hermes explained.

It was partly half-true and some information was nothing but a white lie.

"Ooh, scary. To think I'm that popular. Honestly, I admit that I'm very upset to learn that my children leak my background. Nonetheless, everything is no longer limited and there's a chance that one day it will get leaked out. By how you speak and how you interact with a mere commoner like me, I cannot deny that you act like a son of a brilliant noble," Chief Zamor praised.

"You cannot earn the trust of the person you're having a friendship with if you don't reveal the truth. That matter, of course, is the same. I agree. Nothing is true, everything is permitted, " Hermes declared. "I, I don't get it but anyhow. So, you're from that colonial nation. It must be the reason for you to wear that strange mask. I heard that the place ain't a good environment and there's no way for anyone to survive in the sandstorm, as well. But the land is rich in raw resources like natural gas and crystals. I do hope I can visit your hometown someday," Chief Zamor cackled.

"Hmm… fair point. Impressive, I'll make sure to reserve you a room at my hotel in Libya. As a fellow gentleman, I won't forget it, Chief Zamor," Hermes promised as he made a toast. "Thank you, Sir Aljen," Chief Zamor simpered.

"Now, then. I hope you don't mind sharing something with me, chief," Hermes said, making a move.

"How about we discuss a trade agreement?" asked Chief Zamor. "Trade agreement is a good idea, but there's an important thing I want to do before I decide that," Hermes refused.

"Oh, what kind of important thing is that? Care to share it with me?" inquired Chief Zamor as his eyes turned sharp whilst reading his body movement. "Oh, well, you already forgot that I ain't an ordinary merchant who uses his connections for trading or sort of. I'm a man of my word who's doing the nasty jobs that no ordinary man could handle by my beloved customers," Hermes explained briefly.

"I'm all ears. Let me guess, your customers receive a good favor from you. That's what kind of service you've been provided for all this year," Chief Zamor presumed with a smile. "Exactly, " Hermes nodded, tapped his finger twice on his armrest.

The atmosphere froze as the two gentlemen turned silent.

"I see. So, there are some rascals like you exist in this world, huh," Chief Zamor said as his face turned dark. "Y, yes," Hermes gasped as he sensed a terrifying aura coming out from his body.

"Brilliant, what wonderful news. I'm glad," Chief Zamor beamed, rubbing his neck. "E, eh?" Hermes tilted his head with a confused face.

'I thought he's mad but thankfully, he's not,' Hermes said inside his mind, lips upturned.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Sir Aljen. I don't mean to scare you earlier. It is out of my habit. I guess God is on our side. I thought we're already forgotten but to think, he gives us a man for the right job. I'm very pleased," Chief Zamor chuckled. "S, sure," Hermes simpered.

"By any chance, are you free? I mean you don't have any pending contract with anyone yet, I presumed," Chief Zamor prompted. "Yes, I'm already free from any job, " Hermes answered.

"Great, how about you work for me?" Chief Zamor urged as he went to the point. "I don't know how should I respond to it. I, I don't mean any disrespect and ruin our relationship, but right now, I don't plan to get hire by anyone yet. Please do understand," Hermes explained.

"O, of course, but I hope someday I can get your permission. I'm sure you won't regret being hired by me. I'm going to make sure to pay you properly," Chief Zamor assured. "I'm looking forward to it," Hermes thanked.

"But be honest with me, is killing people part of your job too?" asked Chief Zamor, gravely. His pupils turned dark and his face turned serious with bloodlust. "Yes, and I can guarantee that we never fail to accomplish our mission. Please get to the point. You want to kill someone, am I right? This is why you're trying to hire me at all," Hermes enunciated.

His deep question made the atmosphere froze for a short period.

"I admit the truth, yes. This is why I want you at my side," Chief Zamor confirmed.

"Are your men legal to bring weapons?" asked Hermes. "No," Chief Zamor shook his head.

"Hey, do you think it's a good idea to create a militia group without the approval of your lord? It is prohibited for the village to arm themselves without the approval of the mafia boss, though," Hermes explained promptly. "No, but it can't be helped. Despite the fact that we violate the law of this divided nation, we won't allow ourselves to get unprepared for combat. We need to arm ourselves for self-protection," Chief Zamor responded with a sad face.

"Oh," Hermes put down the cup on the table. "Then, in what ground? I mean, why did you guys armed yourselves? I'm sorry for digging too much. I'm very inquisitive about this topic, so forgive me. It's alright not to share it at all," he added.

"Gentleman, I think it's no longer a secret at all. Let's take this slowly and let's redo it from the beginning. If you're that interested, I'll share it with you, but the accumulated price to pay shall be deemed equivalent to this. After all, this is classified information that only a few selected and trustworthy men know about," Chief Zamor prodded, winked one eye. "Wonderful, I'm sure that should suffice us both. Here's the thing, I'm searching for a place to stay in and build my own business kingdom, a permanent place to settle down. Looking at the environment and how undeveloped this place is, I'm sure it would benefit both of our parties if I invest my money here. Not to mention, I have a lot of connections abroad who are willing to build their businesses here through foreign direct investments, and I'm very sure that these might increase the potential face value of this place. That's why I want to know everything about this place before I do that. Fairtrade, right?"

The old man went into silence for a second, and he carefully contemplated it inside his mind. Then, he rubbed his chin and grinned.

"Fair enough. Alright, you win. Have you heard the family name of Archnemesis? The family is very well-known in the society, an organization seeks glory and prestige through bloodshed and violence, and with incredible and great assets, their influence is destroying the balance of power in this divided nation. Their number and resources are outstanding and it is full of secrecy that no man should enter, or else. Death will come upon those who oppose them. That clan has a large sum of money that they could use on their sleeves, " said Chief Zamor with a cold gaze. "Oh, the taboo clan. The only clan that has a male Don as the heir," Hermes commented.

"Yes, you're right. This family has a bad reputation and hostile relationship with the feminist society," Chief Zamor agreed.

'Feminism intensifies,' Hermes said with cold sweat, lips downturned.

"I kinda heard the infamous family of Archnemesis. They were originally a western family that came from the Land of New World and they were the Amerigons descendants who occupied the western part of Scily a hundred years ago. I wonder why you mention this clan," Hermes explained.

"After the Mafia war between the Corleon and Archnemesis family, this place has faced a lot of harsh and tragic crisis for a long month. Yes, we achieved peace across the entire Scily, but the aftermath turned us into a laughing stock with no hope to convey. I thought we're going to be okay after this, but to think, a bloody man would take the throne and made us suffer for the past five years," Chief Zamor grimaced as he recalled the past. "I, interesting, please continue," Hermes persuaded.

"One of the family members survived the war that made everything changed, however. For the last five years, the youngest son named Hermes terrorized the whole village by sending his mercenaries to raid us. Instead of helping us, he kept sending his henchmen to destroy our hopes and made us despair. You know, almost half of the population of the village decided to run away and leave this place. But unfortunately, the fugitives were murdered by his orders, henceforth, no one followed their example. They feared to die like them. I don't understand why he needed to do those awful things to his own people. So, we decided to rearm ourselves to prevent it to happen again. We started to trade some materials to create our own rifles and supplies to defend ourselves secretly from that kid. This new year, we have almost readied to free ourselves and murdered the new Don of Archnemesis family. But we need someone with great leadership to lead us to victory," Chief Zamor declared, angrily.

'Oh my goodness, what kind of person you are Hermes Archnemesis? I didn't expect how cruel this character I possessed right now.' Hermes's eyes trembled in fear as he glared at this man's fierceness sight.

"S-s-so, are you guys planning to do it?" Hermes asked, starting to sweat in his face. "No, I don't think we can do it. There's a lot of things we need to do in this place before we commence it. But, but remember this, we always prayed to God that one day the young boy changed his way. Since he's just a kid around your age, we hope that one day he finally realized his mistakes, but ―" Chief Zamor paused for a second.

"Good then… " Hermes relieved from what he heard. He took another sip after.

"If the opportunity comes in, we will strike without remorse. I don't care if he's a teenager and he has the backing of the Mafia Council. We will ravish that kid and beheads him, hanging his head on the dirty torch," Chief Zamor promised with a terrifying smile.

"... Eh?" Hermes was stunned, covered his mouth to prevent the leak of the coffee inside, and his eyes opened wide in fear when he heard his resentment. He swallowed all of it and began to petrify.

"We want to execute in front of everyone that sluggish, stupid, and mad Don. If we have enough manpower, we should go to his mansion and began to siege it. Burn it down until only his bones can be seen in his place. If he dares to strike us, we will defend our turf until the end of our time. That's one of the reasons we started to guard our own boundary to make sure his men won't be able to go back to this place. Arson, protection rackets, and assassination were now banned in this place. We don't want to become part of his ideas for his own childish ways. If possible we want to be separate from his turf and became an independent village as I said earlier. We want to convert our village into a town," said Chief Zamor, smiling.

Hermes gulped when he heard it. His body trembled as he heard his reasoning.

'Eeeh? Seriously, this is kinda different from what I know in the story.' Hermes muttered in his mind.

This situation was very different from the original plot. Village Chief shouldn't hate Hermes this much, but he's willing to rebel against his lord if he must. The correct path should lead for any female protagonists to form a group and started a rebellion with this man as a supporting character.

The village chief and his fellow villagers shouldn't act recklessly like this. Rearming themselves wasn't a good idea either. It's only making them advance to the bad ending.

The Mafia Council won't tolerate this situation and they would rather punish them albeit they liberated their village. A law was a strict rule in this world. Killing your lord won't even help at all because he's only a replaceable pawn for the next generation.

Hermes couldn't believe what was he discovered lately. The only person he knew who screwed up the whole gaming plot of the world, would be none other than that individual.

'Stump G, what are you planning right now? You're totally screwing the whole plot of the story,' he grimaced. Then, he turned his face at the side, wrinkled face.