After finally finding two volunteers brave or greedy enough to deliver the messages, Mike could finally go back to the rented rooms. But travelling back wasn't as easy as it sounded!

Considering what he ordered Xyenna to tell during her negotiations, he at least should keep up with the appearances. Instead of just taking his hood off and strolling to the streets in the direction of his tavern, Mike decided to go to the real town centre.

It was easy to observe that the closer one got to the castle area and partisans location surrounding it, the better the quality of the surrounding building was. While most of the peasants lived outside the city, there still were some districts inhabited by those who lost their wealth or had to escape the hands of the local militia.

While those dirty parts of the city were always loathed by the middle and the higher class living in every single town around the world, they were simply necessary. While on the outside, the government would fight with them and clear the areas up, every bigshot in every city needed a way to make their shady businesses.

Supplying drugs? Smuggling forbidden items? Trading the secrets? All of those and many other actions were done in those shabby locations, who often very close to the distinctive Inn's! There was even a saying, that the cleanest looking tavern in every city was sure to have some secret passageway leading to the slums!

While all of that holds true, there had to be some boundary. Majority of the wealthier people would hate living near the poor areas, it would easily influence the pricing of the houses as well. Since the rulers couldn't outright go at war against the poor for the sake of the rest of their cities residents, there had to be a buffer zone!

Mike was travelling exactly through this kind of place. His clothes were stained in blood, so he had to cover himself in the coat he forcefully acquired from one of the thugs back in the Inn. Only after he finally entered the guilds area did he allow himself to take his hood off.

This was strictly City Hall territory. As most of the City wealth came from the trade and production, various gilds were a local treasure trove, supplying the higher class with various intricacies and everyday necessities. Ranging from clothes, through furniture all the way to the jewellery, these areas were overstaffed with city guards!

Why did Mike choose this roundabout way to get back into his inn then? As the saying as old as this world goes, the closer one gets to the light, the harder it will be to see him!

Strolling leisurely through the streets, he visited a few of the street stalls selling various foods or trinkets. Pacing through the city with roasted meat would make him invisible to the guard's eyes! While there was a conflict between him and the City Hall, most of the bigshots would rather consider it a minor occurrence, by no way was he a major threat!

After finally reaching the outskirts of the partisan area from the west, he entered the outer road leading around it. Only when he reached the south entrance, did he finally set his destination back at the Inn!

Covering his face with the hood yet again, he moved slowly, as if anxious of getting seen. This was yet another act served for all those eyes that had to befall on him sooner or later. Mike needed only a moment to notice the first observer that was tracking him!

From then on, his travel was just a simple matter. Acting like he didn't notice anything at all, he continued moving covertly back to the Inn he was staying at. When he finally reached the building, instead of going through the front doors, he moved to the backside of it. As soon as he got there, he climbed on various supporting structures and jumped onto the taverns second floor. Using one of the empty room's windows, he finally entered the building.

Reaching his bed, Mike could finally relax. All this acting, fighting and scheming was really tiresome. 'I left this kind of life for good…' Stressed by how his current job required him to use his old methods, Mike could only lie back and wonder.

'If even a simple merchant need's to go through these lengths just for the sake of earning money… Maybe Revy was right in the end.' The young trader couldn't help but consider this option. When he was leaving the family, she urged him to stay. Growing up and going through so much shit together made them rather close. She used to joke that he might even be her actual blood brother…

Looking back at how the Ritzy acted, he had to consider that some big changes happened back in the Latavia. He left the family seeking refuge from the bloody life he was leading, yet it seems that this act changed the whole organisation. He used to deal with the worst kind of jobs, but since he left - someone else had to stand up and do his piece. Considering this, it was no wonder Ritzy called him a traitor...

While he ventured deep into his though's about his past life, Xyenna finally returned with an accomplished smile, waving a paper around!

"I did it!"

Pure joy and pride reverberated through her high pitched voice! She was hopping around instead of simply walking as if she broke through to the third layer of her proficiency blessing.

"How did it go?"

Considering how joyful she was, there were bound to be some pleasant surprises. Mike couldn't wait to hear about them!

"I have no idea how did you predict it, but he signed the first draft of the deal! I didn't even need to lower our demands at all!"

Finally settling down and sitting on the chair, Xyenna took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, trying to calm her heart. While she was a great fighter, dealing with those pesky and scheming merchants wasn't her piece of the loaf at all! Overcoming her limits and reaching her desired goal was bound to make her happy! And there was a promise connected to it!

"But no matter what, I did accomplish what you asked from me! I want my reward!"

"Sure, give me your sword."

Knowing what she meant, Mike didn't give any excuses. Giving back what one promised was the basic rule of employing people.

After receiving the sword, he unsheathed it and put the scabbard away on the bed. What appeared in front of him was a thin, delicate-looking blade, with a handover connecting the small dace and the hilt of the weapon.

It was truly a piece of art, not a killing tool. Devoid of any engravings that would weaken the structure or decorations that would only serve as a temptation for the enemy to focus on killing the owner, this sword could be considered a pinnacle of practicality and simple beauty. No wonder Xyenna was soo keen on enchanting it with his gift!

Cutting slightly his hand with the tip of the blade, Mike spread the blood on the whole weapon, starting from the thrust all the way to the tace. Only when all of the metal got covered in a thin layer of his blood, did Mike stop his actions.

Putting his wounded hand on top of the sword, he closed his eyes and focused on the item in his hands. As if he was meditating, his hands started slightly shining, slowly covering the blade in the eerie light. Drops of sweat started falling from his face, as the light seemed to solidify and merge with the weapon. A short while later, young merchant exhaled deeply and opened his eyes.

"This is a beautiful weapon. I won't lecture you to take care of it, but you should definitely treasure it!"

Putting the blade back in its cover, Mike passed the sword back to the Xyenna, holding it on top of both of his palms. Since both of them were deeply infatuated with this almost mystical scene, neither of them could feel any shame of this almost a knight inauguration act!

When the weapon reached the girl's hands, she slowly unsheathed a small bit of the blade. Admiring the faint shine on the metallic surface, she seemed to be hypnotized by it. Mike thoughtfully didn't interrupt this important moment of his bodyguard bonding with her renewed weapon.

"Okay. Thanks for that! I will be sure to show you that it was a worthy investment in the duel!"

Xyenna finally broke away from her trance, sheathing back the blade and attaching it to her belt.

"Speaking of which, would you mind explaining a bit what those arguments were? I used them as you instructed me, but this guy made a really funny face when he heard Xantia word!"

The girl couldn't help to ask. While she wasn't a manipulator herself, she learned a long ago that if someone did you a favour, it was all the easier to ask him for another one right away! She was curious about her employer! She wanted to know!

"Well, you will get to know it soon enough, but I guess it won't hurt to explain some things to you beforehand."

Mike sighed deeply. His eyes swiftly got covered by a mist of regret, as he seemed to stare back into his past.

"Xantia brotherhood, Xantia family, Xantia, Revy company… All of those names means the same. There is an organisation that was created at first by orphans in the slums of Latavia, with the aim to help them to survive and support each other."

While recalling those past events, a small smile grew on his face. While he wasn't proud of the last part of the story, he would always feel nostalgic happiness when recalling their beginnings.

"At first, they worked just for the sake of food and warm place to sleep. Later, they started doing some small tasks for serious underground cliches, earning favours and sympathy. While most of those real criminals were hardened murders, thieves and simply a scum of society, somehow they managed to get on their good side. As the oldest of them started to enter their teenage years, the profits from those odd jobs skyrocketed. Scamming the citizens in the card games, stealing the pouches from arrogant merchants… As someone who grew up in the worst area of the town, they definitely knew how to chose their targets."

After saying this part, Mike's smile seemed to fade away, giving place for a complicated expression.

"Latavia at that time was a boiling pot of interests for all kinds of groups. Mercenaries, royal officials, cliches, gilds… There were too many of them to recall all of them all. Long story short, by helping every side bit by bit and pitting them against each other in the process, this formerly small brotherhood suddenly grew to an astonishing scale. On the outside, they legalised their existence by creating a fake society for poor people, but in reality, they managed to put their pawns in every single important position in the city while keeping everyone else in dark about it. There were even occasions when government officials argued between themselves about the best way to implement Xantia orders, without knowing that both of them were bought by the family!"

For some reason, those witty and insane feats only made Mike's expression tense. Instead of pride or happiness, his face was full of grief.

"This whole process wasn't as delicate as one would think. Some people tried to oppose them, some tried to eradicate their roots. Without elaborating for no reason, most of them are buried in the city outskirts now, while the rest either serve the family or hides in faraway places. You wouldn't believe how far their hands reach in case of need!"

Suddenly turning silent, Mike took a while to recollect his thoughts. Shaking his head to discard his memories, he took a deep breath and livened back up.

"To not give you a lecture, right now they are ruling the Latavia from the shadows, with absolute control over every aspect of its economy, politic or laws. All of the surrounding villages or neighbouring towns house a fair bit of their influence too. You could say, that the only thing preventing them from officially separating from the Kingdom is their lack of ambition! At least that was the case at the time when I left them."

Mike suddenly stood up, smiled and continued.

"But to hell with all of that. We have a long way to go before we even depart on our way to the city. Let's eat dinner now!"

It was obvious that by escaping like that, he tried to change the topic and avoid any discussion over it.

Overwhelmed by the whole story and the implications behind it, Xyenna could only nod. Following Mike's back downstairs, she was still trying to figure out and sort the details of the story, trying to find her employers place in that plot.

"Look who is here! Come on, let's eat together!"

As soon as they reached the main hall, a familiar voice called out to them. Sitting in the nearby table was their recently made acquaintance, Damash. Since ignoring his invitation could be considered rude when he was a subordinate of the faction they wanted to cooperate with, they had no choice but accept it.

"Come on, don't sulk like that!"

Seeing the serious face of Mike who was still spiritually back in his past, Damash patted his back, forcing him to drop down on the stool with the sheer force of the friendly pat!

Instantly, platters filled with food and gours of wine appeared in front of them, as if some magician teleported them for the sake of pranking them!

"Is that tasty?"

Seeing that the duo didn't speak at all, Damash got rather confused. While the Xyenna he knew was always cold and aloof, Mike used to be an approachable guy! Seeing him focusing on eating while deep in thought was really strange.

"I'm sorry, I'm trying to be sure this food isn't poisoned."

Mike's reply hit the mark. From the troubled expression that appeared on Damash face, it was obvious that he knew about this attempt.

"I'm not gonna say any excuses. We are all slaves to something. I just did what I was ordered to."

The burly man tried to fight off his uneasiness coming from those accusations. By admitting to doing so, he could at least alleviate some of his guilt!

"All I can do now is to say sorry. So… I would like to apologize for trying to handicap you. I hope you won't hold it against me!"