Hermes's jaw dropped after the chief opened his statement to him.

His body trembled with cold sweat. His lips were downturned. ​​

'Why the hell do you want to kill me on the spot? I fully understand that the villagers are angry at me, but to think this man, he's really loathed me to the core. This is completely not part of the main plot, though.'

Hermes gulped his saliva. Then he took a deep breath and exhaled.

'This is fuckin' bug setting. Damn you, Stump G. You send me on purpose here. Fuck you, bastard!'

"What's wrong, Aljen?" asked Chief Zamor, tapping his index on his armrest. "Did something botherin' you?"

Hermes flinched and he quickly faced him again. Then, he shook his head whilst he composed himself to control his emotion.

"Oh, where're my manners? I'm sorry for spacing out earlier. It was nothin'," he said, calmly.

'Good, I speak a good excuse. Man, I don't know what to do next if I let my emotion prevail and deter my plan. This is nothin' but a test of courage and perseverance. Calm down, Hermes. You can do it.'

Chief Zamor tilted his head with a grave gaze. Then, he closed his eyes and nodded.

"Fine, it seems you're not lying, so I won't ask any further," said Chief Zamor, drinking his cup of coffee.

"So, thank you for sharing the classified information. I promise I will keep it to myself. By the way, the raw materials used to make this coffee will change the world. The quality of the product is fascinating indeed. If you don't mind, I can help you to spread its popularity outside the nation," Hermes suggested. "Oh, that's very kind of you. But the production won't sustain the supply demanded by the customers. Also, there's a little bit a problem for that," Chief Zamor scratched his chin. "Those products are illegally manufactured, though."

'W, what? Illegal?' Hermes's mouth was agape.

"Wait a sec, I'm confused. This product is illegally declared by the lord of this territory?" inquired Hermes. "Nope," Chief Zamor denied.

"Then, why do you say this is illegal?" asked Hermes, confusingly. "That's because I did not inform the existence of the coffee beans made of the Dark Scily Forest. Our main customers mostly are the vendors who were formerly a citizen of this place. To tell the truth, we don't even pay protection money from that bastard, though. Not a single penny ever entered to his treasury ever since he ordered a raid a few years ago," Chief Zamor explained briefly.

Hermes read the lines as the chief aforementioned his name.

'I see.'

"Oh, Sir Aljen, I'm so happy that you enjoy the coffee. Despite every odd and misunderstanding that happened between our group, you're still willing to invest and lend us a helping hand. I won't be bothered to tell the rest since only half of my story is still classified," Chief Zamor commented, smiling.

'Half? You only mentioned half of your plans? Sounds like you haven't even acknowledged me yet. But... thank you for your compliment, Chief.' Hermes scratched his left cheek when he saw his appreciation.

"My, my, my, I didn't do anything much during that time," Hermes confessed, scratching his chin." I ain't the right man to receive such appreciation. But honestly, even I'm weaker than a bear, I won't hesitate to risk my life to save the kids. After all, they are the key to the future of this divided nation. Not only that, it is a natural thing to do to save innocent lives from monsters on their trip. Even we just passed by before - oh," he paused after the chief's hand raised up.

The old man lowered his hand down and placed a hand on his chest.

"That's why I'd really grateful. Not only you save my kids, but you also salvage the reason for my living in this unfair world. I don't know how much I should pay to repay you, but this is the first thing I want to present before your eyes. As the head of the Camellia household and the chief of this village, I promise to give you a certain reward befitting to your heroic deed for my children and my people. I guarantee and swear to my life that I won't let the man unrewarded," Chief Zamor declared.

"Sir," Hermes sighed, "I'm very happy to hear that, but please, don't overdo somethin' that'll cause a new problem."

"No, as the Village Chief, I must do what is venerable to the saviors of my twins. Also, it is also my fault for causing a misunderstanding recently. The fault of the subordinates should be blamed for the incompetency and negligence of their leader. And, that's me. Please don't hesitate to ask for anything, okay," said Chief Zamor.

"If you insist." Hermes gave in. "Who am I to refuse? I'm sure this is once a lifetime opportunity," he giggled.

"You got it. By the way, can you show me your passport?" asked Chief Zamor, waiting for the object to be handed over on his palm.

Hermes flinched, lips pursed.

'P, p, passport? Fuck, I forgot!' Hermes thought to himself.

"May I see your passport, Sir Aljen? Hmm, are you okay? Wait a sec, don't look at me like that. It is part of our policy here in this place. You need at least to show me any kind of identification card to prove yourself as a legal immigrant from other states," Chief Zamor chuckled as he misunderstood his reaction.

"Ah, sure...," Hermes, smiled, scanned his pockets to look for it. His body couldn't stop trembling when he couldn't find anything inside.

He, petrified, gulped some air and exhaled.

'Aaaaaah, holy crap! I don't have anything like that. All I know is that there is no need to show some kind of passport in this place. Oh shit, I remember now! Passport and any type of ID are always needed in this world. What the heck am I doing?'

Hermes realized his mistake today. He had forgotten the most valuable items to secure his life such as visas, insurance cards, and other government documents. He must make a good excuse before the chief became suspicious again.

Thanks to his mask, he covered his overreaction.

"W-w-well, too bad for me, I forgot to bring one in our journey. I can just go back there to bring one, but it'll take two days to arrive at our place. Is there another way to do it legally? You know some sort of secondary option if ever the tourist lost his passport in his travel," Hermes claimed, calmly.

"Aah yeah, I remember we do have another way to do that. Too bad you don't bring your passport for that, but where did you leave it then?" inquired Chief Zamor, patted his right closed hand over his left palm. "Hehe~, I maybe forgot it in my room at the hotel," Hermes replied, fidgeting his hands from right to left.

"Hotel? Is there a hotel in this place, I don't even recall anything like that unless it was from the Eastern Scily, what is the name of the hotel?" asked Chief Zamor with a confused face. "It is the Archne - I mean Arch Hotel," Hermes has almost spilled out the word, Archnemesis mansion, but thanks to his rapid critical thinking, he changed his answer in a split second.

"Arch Hotel, huh," murmured Chief Zamor. He placed a hand on his chin and pictured the place.

"I never heard such a name on this island. Is it possible that there's a nearby inn but I guess the neighboring territory establish a new building," said Chief Zamor with a grave face.

"Oh, by the way, when we will go to the village hall?" Hermes interjected before he overthought the place. "Oh, if it's okay for you, maybe today we should go," Chief Zamor answered.

Hermes stood up but he got stopped.

"Please, give me a minute, sir. I need to notify my children that we're going to leave. And, I need to pick up the materials needed easily to get your new card here. Anyways, enjoy yourself for a while. Feel free to wander around to ease your boredom," said the chief. then he left his chair and picked up the cups from the table.

He went into the kitchen thereafter.

'Man, it's boring. Maybe, I should try to look around for a bit. He gave me permission, so why not,' Hermes smirk.

The young Don went outside thereof. He first checked the warehouse and wandered his eyes for a bit. But nothing made him entertain. He saw nothing but a lot of sacks full of different herbs. Red, blue and green from his right whilst yellow and orange on his left.

But when he decided to go around somewhere, a small orb fell down on the ground. This caught him in surprise and after that, he got interested in what kind of object it was.

Upon arriving at the bottom, the glowing object disappeared from his sight. He tried to search for its whereabouts but to no avail. Suddenly, a portion of liquid dripped down to his forehead, he wiped his face and looked at his palm. Then, his eyebrows wrinkled after he confirmed it was just water.

'Fuck, another one.'

When he looked above him, he saw the glowing object changed its color from black to white, and suddenly spread its liquified body like an open mouth, dropped itself down on his face.

"Aaargh, what the fuck?" Hermes yelped. Then, he collapsed on the ground thereafter.

The young Don opened his eyes and his head raised up. He got surprised when he found himself in the same chair he was sitting in a while ago. In the same place, he was having a conversation with Chief Zamor earlier.

'A dream? But... it felt real earlier,' said Hermes inside his mind.

He placed a hand on his mouth and recalled the incident earlier.

He stood up from his seat and rushed to check the warehouse where he got assaulted. Then, he investigated the crime scene, but he failed to find any clues about the existence of an unknown species that attacked him earlier.

This made him feel disappointed. Then, he gave up his objective.

He realized that the chief had taken it too long so he decided to go back. Then, he looked for him on the second floor.

As he explored the area, he found an opened door and the voice of the person he's looking for. He planned to knock on the door first before he entered, but he stopped after he heard the chief's pleading tone.

"I know. I know. But please, don't do any harm to my people. We'll pay. We will pay you so much.... Alright, goodbye," Chief pleaded, then he hanged the phone with a growling face. "What a bunch of morons. Damn it, I need more time to finish my task."

*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*

"Who's that? Oh, it's Sir Aljen. Sorry for taking too long, I got a call from someone," said Chief Zamor, rubbing his back neck. "It's fine. I don't mind. By the way, if you're done, let's head off, sir, "Hermes suggested. "Right," Chief Zamor nodded.

Afterward, both of them strolled the street towards the hall. Hermes was amazed by how the village maintained its security and beauty of their village even though they've suffered a lot from continuous raid committed by his mercenaries.

"By the way, Sir. Aljen, the village was subdivided into five districts. The four districts are under the protection of our security while the fifth one is still on the verge of chaos. So, I wanna remind you not to cross that place or else you will encounter a lot of criminals. No help will come to aid you."

"Alright, I will note that one." Hermes narrowed his gaze to look around while following the chief. " Chief Zamor, may I ask you something?"

"Hmm? Yes, what is it then?"

"Why the kids in the Scily Dark Forest, anyway? Why you let your children work at that time? I'm sure you have a good reason for that."

The good mood chief changed to a serious look. He stopped moving his feet and faced the young Don. He invited him to enter the emptied clock shop next to them. Hermes obediently followed him, waiting for his reply.

The essence of the room changed when the chief gave him ferociously looks. He offered him a sit, which he mounted and he sat down to opposite in front of him. Chief Zamor gulped some air and exhaled. He bowed his head after, while his hand clasped together.

Hermes noticed his timid attitude so he took the courage to start the conversation. "You're the twins' sole father. You must never let them do such a thing," he said.

"Well, I admit my own mistakes." The chief finally answered, fidgeting his hand and feet. "Although I told them not to go to the forest last night, they just escaped from the house and leave a letter in my table telling me not to be worried about their journey. They insisted to do such thing knowing that their lives would be at risk."

"Hold on," Hermes interrupted him. "I think you misinterpret what I mean."

"Huh?"

"Sorry to interrupt your emotional grumble. I just wanna know why they need to go to the Dark Scily Forest. Why the kids went to that place earlier? They won't risk their lives in such a place without taking anything creditable."

Aljen knew the Chief would tell a long story if he didn't stop him. He knew this character would probably trigger an event. He didn't want to steal the part of the female heroines, the twelve playable characters of the game. All he just wanted to know; the reason for the twins to risk their lives in the Dark Scily Forest.

"Aah, I apologize. They might be heard 'bout the latest proposal of the Naples government. Both of them wanted to contribute to our village and assisted their hopeless father. The only way they thought was to collect those herbs that the government requested. Of course, the herbs will surely help the village from economic depression temporarily. Y' see, our clan has an ability to perceive and locate at the rapid speed the right herbs to collect. It's called the [Ora]. My twins have already mastered our hereditary skills that were passed down by our ancestors. Well, the price and reward of the herbs would only sustain for only one to two weeks. Certainly, some rich people, too, want some high-value herbs for their industry that'll pay a high price equivalent to our products. Because we're the only family applicable to the job, we risked our lives to do that dirty job. My kids might learn about our financial crisis right now. Our village has an insufficient amount of money to buy some supplies from the other provinces. Due to the continuous assault of the fucking Archnemesis troops and robbed of the bandits from District 5, we couldn't even bear to repair the damages they've caused. I think the twins heard about our plan to trade our herbs as another way to save our village. Those people must die. They don't deserve to be in here. They are not originally descendants of Italia. Fucking Archnemesis. But now, that brat is the true nemesis!"

The young Don titled his head with half-smile and remained quiet, while his legs trembled. He feared that someday he would found himself inside his own tomb.

"Ooh, I see," he tapped the chief's shoulder twice, and said, "I suppose that brat won't try to lay his hand on this place."

"Ho, ho, yeah," the chief nodded and grinned. "But sorry, Mr. Aljen. You haven't met that person yet that's why you're saying those words. That man is despicable brat, cruel, ruthless, outrageous and murderer."

'Sure, I do. I'm that brat though,' Hermes thought. He wanted to reveal himself but he knew that death would reach upon him right now.

"So, how come a brat like him was referred like that?" he added as he pressed his hand under his chin on the table. "Did he just killed someone?"

"No, not really, Mr. Aljen." The chief replied quickly, waving his one hand in denial. "I, uh, umm, I just hate what he did that day. The new Don of that fucking family just took away my elder daughter from me. She hasn't come back since December of the previous year." He heaved a sigh and added, "I wish to see her soon."

"Wait what? Seriously-" the young Don was interrupted after a familiar person called him.

"Boss, I'm back." Justin barged in, in the middle of their talk, making Aljen and Chief turned their attention to him. "Fuyuuu, I made in time."

Hermes clicked his tongue and replied, "So, you're finally done, huh. Glad you found us so quick."

"Mr. Justin, glad to see you, " Chief Zamor, stood up, moved forward to the butler, and waiting for his hand to be shaken by Justin. But a disgusted face was replied to the gentleman. For Justin, he was unworthy to be entertained because of his status as a commoner.

"Justin, " said the young Don, gave him a warning sign to be gentle. He feared that his master would punish him so he decided to act for now. He replied to the chief a fake forced half-smile and shook his hands while enduring the pain of disgust.

"Thank you very much for your good hospitality, sir. I want to report that your men were all fine… for now... Doctors told me that these men of yours only received bone fracture, broken ribs, and other critical parts. So, it's really good news that they are still alive. So don't worry."

'What the heck are you talking about? That's more severely bad news.' Hermes muttered and waited for the response of the chief.

"Ooh thank goodness." The chief smiled, "Thank you, Sir Justin. You're truly a man of your words."

'What? Are you kidding me?' Hermes couldn't believe what he heard. He couldn't grasp their own mindset.

The three men leave the shop and proceed to the village hall. Hermes noticed that the people were gossiping. It might because they were beside the head of the village and new faces around the place.

"Boss, what should we do next?" Justin whispered to his ears. The sound tickled the young Don but he remained to compose and turned his gaze at his servant. He waited for the chief to distance himself behind and let Justin continued.

"Boss? Why we -"

"Sssh, be quiet," he suggested. "Have you check the whole area?"

Justin changed his concept and returned to normal. He became decent and serious.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I used my [Agenda] to explore it quickly. I already memorize the exact location of each street, buildings and secret tunnels of this place. The only thing left is to know the names of each places one by one. I also discovered that there's something strange happening around the village. It might be implied that the spy I killed was telling the truth."

Hermes, grinned, had already realized about it. He was thankful that his servant read his mind to investigate the whole place.

"So, do you think we should investigate further? I'll be the one to spy this place. Just one word from you and I'll accomplish it." Justin suggested.

"It can't be helped. I need to find out what's really the truth." He gulped some air and exhaled. And added, "Time to create a quest certainly for us."

Chief Zamor extended his hand to be shaken which Hermes accepted.

Hermes realized his role so he must make sure no one was messing around the whole plot. If there are some stupid morons were trying to change the route of the setting, he would do everything within his power to end their career. Of course, he would only destroy only those who hinder his peaceful life.

"Right, sir," Justin followed.

"Oh Chief Zamor, may we explore the whole village by ourselves after we fill out the papers in the Village Hall?" He asked, moving closer beside the chief.

"Of course, "the chief smiled and added, "That'll be an easy path for you lads to explore this place whatever you want. You don't have to worry to show some papers to the patrol guards around this place." Chief Zamor poked his hand on his chest with confidence.