“Ugh... what the hell!”

Ahmed sat on the couch in his office, angrily checking his wounded body. He was still in pain, but what infuriated him was what happened earlier.

They were completely overpowered by an unknown assailant, thus making him regret imprisoning Chris.

He had misunderstood the situation and abducted someone he shouldn’t have to. However, Ahmed had no intention of pursuing this matter or exacting revenge.

His anger notwithstanding, he wasn’t stupid. Although he was a relatively capable and strong mercenary, he was still aware that there were people he shouldn’t provoke.

Jia was also sitting down, silent yet visibly restless. From seeing her dead comrade come back to life to getting knocked unconscious by that man.

Things kept going downhill ever since they snuck inside Silcard Fedge’s building.

“Are you okay?”

Ahmed glanced at the Druid, who seemed to have sustained the most damage. Whatever the man did to her, it made her body as thin as a skeleton… not unlike a corpse.

“I’m fine. We will forget about what happened.”

Although the Druid knew that the man was, in fact, a Parasite, she didn’t dare to say it outloud. He had used her connection with the vines to absorb her own essence, therefore weakening her vitality. If he continued absorbing, he could have killed her.

As a bout of tense silence between the three of them, a thin green mist slipped from outside and went through the half-open window.

It quickly materialised into the man from earlier. Ahmed immediately jumped to his feet and reached for his sword, but he didn’t attack.

The only door leading to the office opened as a slender woman wearing a regal black dress stepped inside.

“We need to talk.”

Arthur swept his eyes across the three of them as he calmly declared.

Ahmed and the Druid were startled, but they didn’t do anything rash. Jia, however, raised her chakrams, seemingly about to throw them.

Unfortunately for her, Evelyn dashed towards her and delivered a frontal kick to the stomach. Thereafter, she disarmed Jia and pinned her to the ground.

“Stop! She’s just scared!”-Ahmed

“I’m only subduing her.” Solemnly responded Evelyn as her knee was pressed on Jia’s back.

“I should have killed you, but I didn’t.” Spoke Arthur as he took a seat and smiled.

“...”

Ahmed gritted his teeth, still tightly grabbing his weapon. Meanwhile, the Druid was silent and pale-faced. She was usually calm and composed, but she could no longer maintain such an act when a Parasite was only a couple of meters away.

Repulsion, dread, worry, all sorts of emotions surged within her.

Druids weren’t particularly fond of parasites, and vice-versa. The former were agents of nature, peacekeepers and powerful mages, so they naturally didn’t like the parasites, which fed on the life force and souls of other living beings. In fact, throughout history, there had been a handful of Mutant parasites capable of absorbing and even possessing plants and other types of flora.

“I already got the gist of the situation: You abducted my mage friend and demanded that woman to pay a ransom in exchange for his life. Now, as it doesn’t involve me, I’m not going to talk about your attempt to burn down Silcard Fedge’s building along with his slaves, nor am I going to debate the morality of your actions. I came back here to speak of my demands.”

“Demands?”

Ahmed furrowed his brow and hesitantly lowered his blade. He had calmed down ever-so-slightly as the uninvited guest showed no signs of hostility.

“I spared your lives, so you’re going to do something for me. It’s quite fair, no?”

“Don’t listen to him, Ahmed! He’s a monster… a devil!” Jia, albeit pinned down, screamed while trying to break free from Evelyn.

“Shut up or I’ll break your arm.”

Evelyn pulled the woman’s arm backwards while threatening her, which seemed to work.

“What do you want? We’re just mercenaries.”

“Your ‘profession’ is irrelevant to me. I want any and all information you can gather about the Devil Doctor. Do that and our feud will be over.”

“The Devil Doctor…” Muttered Ahmed with an ugly expression. He didn’t look confused, which meant that he knew what Arthur was talking about.

“I-it’s not going to be easy. I’m going to need some time.”

The parasite nodded his head and raised two fingers.

“You have two days.”

There was no need to prolong the conversation or issue any more threats. Arthur stood up and exited the office through the door with Evelyn right behind him.

“Ahmed! I’m telling you! That man isn’t a human! He… he could be a Necromancer or a demon!”

Ahmed approached his long-time friend and put his hands on her shoulders,

“Take a breath, Jia. You’re still in shock after all that happened.”

“...”

She closed her eyes, inhaled and exhaled, and then nodded while forcing a sad smile.

“We will do what he wants.” Stated the Druid, who didn’t dare talk in Arthur’s presence. Like Jia, she seemed to have calmed down a bit, though her condition was still bad.

“I know. But since he wants information about the Devil Doctor, then that means he isn’t working for the Sultan.” Ahmed paused and pondered about something before adding, “To begin with, this my fault. I got greedy. We should’ve either killed that mage or let him go.”

The man let out a sigh of exasperation then walked out of his office.

“Was this your plan all along, Master? To use the mercenaries to gather information?”

The maid walked next to her Master, sneaking glances at him and silently wondering whether he was still in a sour mood or not.

“Of course not. I don’t care if they are mercenaries, knights, or aristocrats, I’ll kill anyone who threatens Chris.”

“You really care for him, Master.”

“He is my brother. Whether it’s fate or a coincidence, I met him again in this world, so I’m not going to lose him.” Arthur let out an angry snort, “It’s fortunate that those who caught him were only second-rate mercenaries.”

“Wouldn’t it have been worse if you had killed them? They are connected to Espero Garcia. He could have tried to contact them at a later time and even employed the help of the Sultan.”

“In case you’ve forgotten, we’re already in deep shit. Isabella is a runaway slave and after the ruckus I had caused, the Sultan will definitely try to investigate and search for the perpetrator. After all, this happened in his city. You will take Chris and Isabella and leave the city.”

“I understand, Master.”

Evelyn didn’t object. Simply staying at the inn wasn’t going to protect them, and only Arthur was capable of fleeing from many pursuers thanks to his arsenal of diverse skills and spells.

They succeeded in freeing Isabella, so all that was left was to gather some information about their target, the Devil Doctor.

Sooner or later, the Sultan will catch up to them and send his Hashashins. Arthur wouldn’t be able to protect Isabella and Chris in such circumstances, therefore, it was better to send them outside along with Evelyn.

The two, side by side, walked the streets. Arthur was absentminded and seemingly still in a bad mood.

“It's rare to see this side of you, Master.”

“What side?”

“Worrying about others and prioritising their safety. I thought you cared only about your survival.”

Upon hearing this, he let out a chuckle, “Things have changed. I’m no longer alone… and I’ve got people to protect. They depend on me.”

“Then you should depend on me too, Master. I’m more than capable of holding my own and helping you. Furthermore…” Evelyn stopped walking and gave him a meaningful stare, “You focus on many things all at once. Rescuing Isabella, making sure Christopher is safe, searching for the Devil Doctor. Isn’t it fine to stop, even for a bit, and take a breather.”

“...”

As he listened to her, Arthur maintained a long silence. He stared back at her dark eyes, which contained a bit of worry.

“I… nevermind. Thank you, Evelyn. I’m truly glad you are with me.”

He extended his hand and lightly patted her head, which made her backaway and frown.

“Don’t act weird, Master. This is disturbing.”

“Weren’t you trying to comfort me? I’m just telling you that you’re a precious friend of mine. I believe, and trust, that you will always help me and make sure our ever-growing group is safe and in good health.”

“I was offering a suggestion and laying down the facts, Master. I wasn’t comforting you. Your fight with Christopher was making you think irrationally.”

“Okay okay! Your comforting did lift my mood. Indeed, it feels good to have someone worry about me.”

“Your mocking grin and tone is making me want to punch you, Master. Please stop.”

“Oh? But I caught a hint of a smile when I patted your head. Was I wrong?”

The maid mumbled some inaudible under her breath before walking away and leaving him behind.

Meanwhile

Hollow Creek, Archwood

“Nothing?”

The Minstrel of the Ages was cleaning his violin while looking at his travel companion, the Undead Jester.

“A lot of Arman facilities. That’s it. However, they seem to be activating. I didn’t think there were any Armans left.”

Aerin shrugged his shoulders, clearly disinterested in that topic.

“If only the Signal is activated once again… we can locate it.”

“Well, we’ll search the entire Eastern coast of this continent if we have to. We’ll find it.”

“...”

Aerin didn’t respond to his friend’s enthusiasm. Once he finished his meticulous cleaning, he put the violin on his back and stood up.

“Let’s go a bit further South. We’re going to search every ruin and building if we must.”

…

Wilsden, Archwood

The Baron’s manor

In the dining room, Feylord looked at the envelope in his younger sister’s hands. She read its content before putting it aside.

Julie no longer kept her older brother imprisoned in the basement. He had grown more obedient and less noisy, but he still had no authority whatsoever. He was treated like a guest, though none of the maids or servants liked or respected him.

His condition was still the same and were it not for Julie’s assistance, he would have already been consumed by the Phoenix Flames.

Fortunately, after the unexpected arrival of the Masked Queen, the Holy Church no longer sent forces to capture the Baron. In fact, they had grown silent and even pulled their handful of knights out of this region.

The Aeternus Family had publicly declared that Wilsden was now under its control, and from what Julie had heard from Marjory herself, the Militant Syndicate was already informed of this and didn’t object at all.

It was quite surprising as Wilsden was far from the territory of the Masked Queen, but that just showed how much power Marjory actually wielded.

Julie suspected that her patron must’ve brokered a deal with the Ten Seats or else they wouldn’t have conceded so easily.

“Is that what I think it is?”

“It doesn’t concern you.” Retorted Julia as she started to eat, paying him no attention.

“What do the Imperials want? I-is it about me?”

“...”

Hearing only silence as a response, Feylord crossed his arms and clenched his fists. He wasn’t angry at her sister but afraid that the Imperials were going to deploy more forceful methods to recruit him.

“Come on, sis, what is it about?”

After a lot of obnoxious insistence, Julia finally relented.

“It’s a formal invitation to a Banquet held at the Imperial Capital.”

“An invitation? But why would they invite a Baron from a backwater town?”

“...” Julie gave him a piercing glare, but he just shrugged,

“I mean… aren’t I right? I doubt anyone from the Empire actually knows this town even exists. They must have a reason to issue such an invitation.”

“It doesn’t matter because I’m not going.”

“Huh, why? I think mingling with high-status aristocrats will help you in the long run. Perhaps the Emperor himself will attend.”

“Stop being so noisy. I told you I’m not going, end of discussion.”

Julia wiped her mouth and left the dining room, not sparing him a second glance.