Standing on the side of a crowded street, the man named Benedict Fermier was trying to be as inconspicuous as possible as he peeks inside a diner through the window. Their quarry is currently inside, eating a sumptuous meal with the kids and a beautiful woman. Not just any beautiful woman, but basing on the bandolier of throwing knives hanging on her person, she is most likely an expert fighter or an adventurer.

What he thought is an easy mission of tailing a commoner who made contact with the kids of the woman who caught their boss’ interest turned out to be more dangerous than he expected. He must not get caught.

Unfortunately, the one accompanying him in this mission is not making things any easier, judging from the stupid look on the man’s face as he peers through the window, with no subtleness whatsoever.

“Stop staring at them like a buffoon. You are blowing our cover moron.” Benedict whispered at his accomplice without looking at the man, in a last-ditch effort to not blow his own cover.

Sadly, the big buffoon has no tact, and looked at him directly and replied. “Sorry, Benny. I will hide now.” He said before ducking under the window. Which made him more conspicuous.

“Damn it, Dudley, keep quiet and go stand over there. Let me do the surveillance.” He ordered his dim-witted brother. Who nodded and walked over to a fruit stand. The heavens must be testing him. How could he rise through the ranks of their organization while watching over such a brain dead idiot?

Not even five minutes have passed, his little brother walked towards him and shook his shoulder. “Brother, I’m hungry. Can we have lunch now? It is almost noon.”

If there is one redeeming quality about his dimwitted little brother, it is his strength. Which like the lunkhead he is, he cannot control as his grip is almost crushing his shoulder. “Damn it, Dudley, could you please control your strength? Are you planning on crushing my shoulder with that gorilla-like grip of yours?”

“Sorry brother. I didn’t mean to hurt you. Stupid… Stupid...” He repeatedly hit his head with his fist that he started to bleed.

“Stop that!” His brother quickly stopped at his command. “Don’t call yourself stupid. Remember. Only your brother could call you that. Now come here. Let me tend to your wounds, then we will go get lunch. We could go find them later.”

His brother’s antics already drew much attention to them. They need to retreat for now before they risk being found out. He led his brother to a nearby alley and started treating his brother’s wound. He tried to stem the bleeding by wrapping his head with bandages, but it didn’t work as the wound seem to be deeper than he thought. Stupid Dudley. He couldn’t even control his strength while harming himself. If he didn’t stop him earlier, he would’ve caved his own skull in.

Oh, Mother. Why did you have to die and leave him to watch over big brother alone?

With the flow of blood still not stopping, Benedict didn’t have a choice but use that. Although it is only valued for a few coppers, he knew that this item costs a hundred times more than that. He brought out one of the handkerchiefs that he got from the kids. Such a wonderful item, not because of the beautiful embroidery. He couldn’t care much about that. No. This item is wonderful because of its effect. He placed the handkerchief on his brother’s head. Upon touching the wound, the fabric glowed in soft green light, and once it has faded, he drew the cloth back, leaving a now closed wound.

“There. You’re healed now. Don’t go hitting yourself with your gorilla arms again. We don’t have any more of these miracle handkerchiefs.” Checking his pockets, he counted the few coppers in his hand. “Five, six… Hmmm… We have twenty-five coppers left. Enough for one more meal. Good thing today is payday.”

“Sorry brother. We have to live like this because of me.” Dudley skulks in the corner.

Benedict just huffed and tried to raise his older brother’s spirit. “Don’t worry about it. I would’ve killed that bastard myself if you didn’t beat me to it.” He patted Dudley’s shoulder. Seeing his brother still sad, he continued. “Stop thinking about it or your head will hurt again. Let’s go eat lunch and go back to work. You don’t want us to lose another job, do you?” For a pair of fugitives like them, paying jobs are rare and often if they were offered one, it is often dangerous. Like the job offered by those snot-nosed nobles.

Like, who in their right mind would try to cross a member of the White Wolves?

One with a death wish, that’s who.

In place of that, babysitting the kids and making sure no one takes them away is much better, and safer.

Buying five meat skewers, he gave three to his older brother. “Here. Eat up.” His brother smiled widely and munched at the meat. What he would pay to be able to live in the moment, to be carefree as his brother.

He shook those thoughts away from his head. As much as he wants to enjoy the moment, he must work hard. His brother wouldn’t be able to survive in this cruel world alone, that is why he must work hard to climb up the ranks of the Hidden Hand organization. If he works hard and shows result, he could get promoted. That way, he would have a stable position which will earn them more protection, not to mention the increase in pay. The days where they have to scrape by to survive till the next payday will be behind them. He could finally be able to provide more for the both of them, and maybe give some to the kids so that they don’t have to stay in the streets.

After a while, he noticed his brother looking around. “What are you doing?” Benedict asked.

Eyes still wandering about, Dudley replied. “I feel like someone is looking at me brother.”

“Of course someone will look at you. A man stuffing his face with meat skewers like there is no tomorrow is bound to have a couple of eyes looking at him.”

Giving one last glance at his surroundings, Dudley just nodded. “Is that so brother? Sorry. I am just so hungry.”

“Well, we don’t have any more money so you just have to wait till we go back to the base for our dinner ration. For now, finish your skewers. We have to go back to work. The big dogs might be occupied with entertaining boss’ visitors but who knows if one of them comes and check in on us. We don’t want to get caught slacking now, do we?”

“I don’t want to get in any more trouble.”

“Is that so? Then quickly finish your food then.” While the couple that’s with the kids don’t look like crooks, he still needs to watch over them and make sure they are safe. The boss may be kind enough to let two convicts into his fold, but not for a second does Benedict believe that their boss would tolerate failure. Especially on this one. Just ask their predecessors.

If he wants to continue to be able to put food on the table, then they must continue with their vigil and show some good results.

Gods know they wouldn’t find another job this good again.

++

“Hey there Hans! I’m here for our finder’s fee. Is the old bastard in?” Drogo greeted the man standing by the door of the mayor’s office.

The man visibly shaken at his words, but still answered. “The esteemed mayor is meeting someone right now.” Hand hovering over his hilt, the guard also added. “Mr. Drogo. The esteemed mayor Adam Longley is a great and honorable man. You may be friends, but such disrespect must have limits.”

“And if I continue to disrespect him? Would you be able to stop me?” Releasing his Aura, the guard flinches for a second, but his eyes show determination and were still able to stand his ground, even able to unsheathe his sword. Seeing this, Drogo brazenly moved forward, with only a meter of distance between them, he looked the man directly in the eyes, then he smiled and gripped the man’s shoulder. “Bahaha! Don’t be so tense, lad. I am glad that my old friend has men that he could depend on.”

Suddenly a loud voice could be heard from the room. “I already told you lot, that I will not do business with you. Get out of my sight.” It was Adam.

Leaning on the door, he tried to listen to their conversation. “We ask you to reconsider. This is of importance to our race. Your assistance will be greatly appreciated, and rewarded.”

“You dare try to bribe me? Your race truly exudes arrogance. My answer is no, and if you continue to pester me with this, I will have you forcibly thrown out of town, the Treaty be damned.”

“We ask you to recon-“ A female voice could be heard.

Judging that the situation, Drogo has an idea of what could grind the gears of his old friend like this. Thus before the situation spiral into violence, Drogo kicked the door open, revealing Adam Longley and a pair of hooded figures. Try as he might, he couldn’t see their face. Their hoods must be enchanted with magic to conceal their face. No matter. He could at least deescalate the situation before the old bastard cut them up and cause an international conflict. “Hello there!” Putting on his best smile, he greeted the surprised party. “Oh, you have guests. Would you like to introduce us?”

“No need. We are just leaving.” One of the hooded figures said. A man, judging from his voice. Turning one last time towards Adam, he spoke. “We are staying in town for a few more days. Please contact us if you changed your mind.”

“I WON’T. Now leave.” Adam said, his arms crossed.

Once the hooded pair left the room, Drogo went towards the liquor cabinet and grabbed one bottle of whiskey. He then took two cups and placed them on his friend’s table. Pouring both of them a cup of whiskey, he offered a cup to his friend. “Getting too strung up is dangerous to old men. Here. To help you calm down.”

“We are both the same age, smartass.” Adam downed the cup of whiskey in one go. Filling his now empty cup with more whiskey, he also finished it with deep gulps. “Those knife-eared bastards. Walking in here thinking they own the place. Bastards, all of them.”

It has been years since the thirty-year war with the elves has ended. But the scars left by that pointless war is still fresh. Especially on those who fought and survived it. Grabbing the bottle of whiskey away before his old friend could refill his cup for the third time, Drogo tried to change the subject and lighten up the mood. “Hey now. Slow down a bit. Getting drunk this early in the day. People might think that their mayor is an irresponsible drunk. If I remember correctly, you are a lightweight when it comes to alcohol.”

From the looks of it, he succeeded. “When you have to meet with dignitaries as often as I do, you will develop some level of tolerance with alcohol.” Visibly calmed down, Adam sighed before speaking once more. “By the way, I am going to charge you on that door you broke.”

“Since I am here for our finder’s fee, I wouldn’t mind it even if you charge me ten times the cost of that door.”

“Smug bastard. But yeah. The clerks have arrived earlier after inspecting the stash left by the bandit Gen. I don’t know how he was able to horde that much treasure, and I don’t have the time or interest to find out.” Adam then called over one of his guards. “Hans! Go bring their reward here.”

Hans quickly answered. Entering the room with a small chest, about 30 cm long and 20 cm in height, in his hands. “Yes, Mayor Adam! When Mr. Drogo came, I already knew his aim. So I went ahead to the accountant to get his reward.” Placing the chest on the table, he continued. “Here it is Mayor Adam.”

“Thanks, Hans. You can go back to your post now.” Adam told the guard.

“Hey now. What’s going on? I don’t even have to open the chest to know that what it contains is way less than what was told we are getting.” Drogo said. At most, there are a thousand gold coins inside the box. A far cry from ten to twelve thousand gold that they were expecting.

“What are you trying to say, adventurer? I will not let you disrespect the mayor any longer!” Hans was about to draw his sword, but Adam swiftly held him back.

“Stand down. He is not at fault. This is true but a tiny fraction of what was supposed to be awarded to them.” He explained. Turning to Drogo, Adam Longley continued. “Apologies old friend. I was supposed to give you eleven thousand gold coins. But what can I do? Mukala is but a small frontier town. We don’t have that much gold to give as finder’s fee.”

“I thought this town is thriving? The town is bustling with trade. Surely it generates boatloads of gold.”

“It does. But for Mukala to continue to thrive, we also need boatloads of gold. Security, infrastructure, maintenance, and much more, all these cost gold. Maybe if we empty the town’s coffers then we could afford to give you your reward, but then what will be left for our daily operation?”

“I understand. I just don’t know what I am going to tell the others. They are already expecting a big payday.” Not to mention that he is planning on buying new equipment. Seeing that shiny mithril sword on the lad’s waist, he became slightly jealous and had to have one for himself. Not a sword per se, his sword, Voracity, is a lot better than a measly sword made from mithril, but armor is another story.

Rune crafted mithril armor made by Giles Grisham, the runesmith. It may be pricy, with the price not going lower than a few thousand golds, but the quality is top-notch. He’s seen one adventurer wearing one of his work once, be it claw attacks or a tail attack from the red dragon that they were fighting off, none of it even left a mark on the armor. Although it was a different story when it comes to the body parts that were not covered by the armor. Those were torn to shreds or crushed to a bloody pulp.

Alas, that armor was taken away by the dragon before it was driven away.

How nice it would be to wear a full set of that armor.

That is why when he saw Gen’s stash, he expected a big reward coming his way and sent a letter to Giles for a commission. What’s worse, he already sent the down payment to Giles, which meant once he received his letter, the man would work right away and expect full payment upon completion. Knowing Giles, he would be able to finish that armor in a month, and if Drogo doesn’t pay on time, his name might get blacklisted in the craftsmen guild for not honoring his contract.

What the craftsmen guild hate the most are people who don’t fulfill their contract.

“One or two hundred gold per person is still plenty. Also, you don’t have to worry about the rest of your pay. Once the owners of the stolen goods arrive to retrieve their merchandise and pay the twenty percent holding fee. Then we will be able to pay you your proper due.” Adam explained. “If not, then all the items will be yours, minus the twenty percent of course.”

Drogo knew all that. But it still didn’t sit well with him. Alas, he didn’t have a choice but to accept the fraction of their reward for now. A thousand gold is still plenty. Enough to cover their expenses for months to come until they receive the remaining reward.

“Beats having nothing. Thanks, Adam.” He thanked his old friend. He was about to leave the room when his curiosity gets the better of him. “By the way, what are those elves doing here?”

It was but an instant, but the flame of anger flashed in his friends’ face before it vanished with a sigh. “You know. Elven stuff. An entitled bunch who think that they could get what they want just because.” He then waved his hand in a shooing motion as he signals Drogo to go away. “Anyway, it is none of your business. It doesn’t concern you and that is the end of it. Now, I have things to do.”

Drogo knew that it is useless to further push the subject. The war with the elves took so much from them. Especially on their last encounter. That is why he could understand if his friend still harbors distaste towards their race.

Seeing that Adam already started going through the documents on his table, Drogo started to walk towards the door. But before he could exit, he heard his friends’ voice again. “If you are free this evening, come see me. We’ll have a drink.” Adam said, his eyes still glued in the document in his hand.

“I would like that. Just make sure you don’t regret it when you have to go back to work with a hangover in the morning.” With that, he waved his friend goodbye. Passing by Hans, he took out a gold coin from the chest and gave it to him. “Here. For the door. Keep the change.” Han’s face cycle between irritated and confused as he tries to figure out if Drogo is sincerely paying for the door or trying to bribe him.

Laughing at the rigid man’s dilemma, Drogo marched towards the Sleeping Giant’s inn to wait for his companions. On his way, Claus appeared from an alley and approached him.

“Hmmm. I see you finally got our reward.” Seeing the box under his arm, he noted, “Isn’t that a little too small to contain thousands of gold? A dimensional box maybe?”

“You wish! It’s just an ordinary box. Anyway, let’s talk about that later, after we filled our bellies. Seeing that you’re here already, I reckon that our newest member is in the inn already?”

“No. Not yet. Mikaela went to get him herself. Unfortunately, instead of dragging his sorry ass to our meeting place, she instead joined him and the brats that accompanying him to lunch.”

“Oh? Little Mimi agreed to have lunch with the lad eh? Isn’t that surprising? Even Esteban was turned down when he tried.” He hummed to himself. Is the lass finally becoming a woman? Although he couldn’t believe that a plain-looking man like Artreus could awaken such a thing within the little firebrand. Then, realizing something about what Claus said, he asked. “Did you say something about kids? Is the lad already acquainting himself with the locals? Who are they? Children of nobles? Of Merchants?”

“From what I can tell, they are street children. Yesterday, he bought all the handkerchief that they were selling. Today, he pays them to watch over him as he meditates. Which is reckless since he knows that he is being followed and the children will surely be targeted if those tailing him wish him harm.”

“Endangering bystanders. How careless of him.” He sighed. He then turned his attention back to Claus. “I reckon you know what to do?”

“Already done. I’ve sent Riku and Roco, my two shadow hounds to hide within their shadows once they exit the restaurant. I instructed them to only act if their ward is in danger.” Claus stated.

“Sorry to bother you and your pets for this.” Drogo apologized.

“It’s no problem. Both of them are happy that they could go outside of the beast farm, so it’s fine.”

“What about Porsha?”

His face visibly scrunches up upon hearing Porsha’s name, which is understandable since he is often the target of her playful nature. “I haven’t seen her for a day now. More likely she is locked up in a lab somewhere, doing her crazy experiments or whatever piques her attention.”

“If she is in a lab, then there is no use trying to get her to come.” Whenever Porsha is immersed in research, disturbing her is the same as stepping on a sleeping dragon’s tail. Thus, it is better to exclude her for now. “So, Porsha’s out. Let us go-ahead to the inn and wait for the love birds to arrive.”

“Don’t joke like that. It sends shivers to my spine.” Claus said while walking beside him.

Walking towards the Sleeping Giant inn, Drogo thinks about how he should break the situation with his companions.

Well, eating good food and drinking a barrel or two of good cold beer or wine is a first.

News is better received while drunk.