Riches On Riches

Ground Line. Kies saw that it was a massive place with multiple buildings. From the looks of it, there was a race track in the center, a casino right next to it, and several other buildings that he didn't recognize, but they all had one thing in common...

"Hey," Kies looked at Nyana.

"Yes?" she looked back at him, noticing that he was a little troubled. "Is there an issue?"

"Yes. That money, are you saying that we gamble!?" Kies couldn't believe it. Although this was a quick way to make money, it was an even quicker way to lose all your money if you're not lucky. Just what was she thinking?

"I'm not going to take the risk," Kies told her. His luck was extraordinarily bad and he didn't want to try this. In the past, he went through many misfortunes which he could only label as a result of his bad luck. Just thinking about them gave him a headache.

The elf crossed her arms. "Well, yes and no. I wouldn't say it's gambling if you know the results," she said.

"What do you mean?"

"We're not betting on horses or playing cards or anything like that. We're betting on the tournament winner," she explained, pointing at a bulletin board next to them. On it was a single notice.

Kies walked over to the notice and took a close look at it. It was a listing of the most favored winners of the tournament, but it was outdated since the only people left in the tournament were Kies and two others.

"Oh that." The mercenary also walked over to the notice and chuckled. "I heard that one person wiped the floor with everyone today. In the end, the third round of the tournament only consists of three people because of the mess they made. I'd really like to meet the person who did that," he said in an amused voice. It was hard to believe that one person could do that, and it was even more unbelievable that the person responsible was standing right next to him.

"Erm... Anyway, what is this?" Kies asked. He had an idea of what it was, but he wanted to make sure.

"Every year, people bet on the winner," he told Kies, confirming what he thought it was.

"I see..."

"This year, it isn't much different, well, other than the lack of contestants I guess. That person made such a big mess that everything is in chaos this year. Hmph, serves them right, I say. They tried to teach him a lesson but they ended up suffering because of it."

"It doesn't sound like you like them very much..." Kies noticed from the way he spoke of them. While he wasn't the fondest of them either after how they treated him, Kies was a little curious to know why the mercenary didn't like them either.

"They're pests that soak the kingdom's money. The tournament is supposed to be held every year per culture but they eventually came up with the idea of leeching some of the military funding for prizes," he said in a distasteful voice, as if talking about them left a sour taste in his mouth.

"Is it really that much?" Even though the prize moment was nothing to scoff at, it should only be enough for one person to live a normal and comfortable life for a year or so. Was that really enough to put a dent in the national treasury's budget? It should only total to a year's worth of salary for a soldier which shouldn't be much considering the size of their army.

"Yeah, the prize money doesn't amount to much," Bachi agreed. "But the problem is that they ask for a lot more than just the prize money..."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you see, the people in charge of the tournament claim that they don't have 'sufficient funding,' and because of that, they ask for more money. And the organizers are nobles who are in charge of big businesses might I add," he explained.

"Oh. And here I thought that the nobles of Otane were different..." Kies mumbled. If he remembered correctly, the nobles of Otane were chosen based on their military contributions, but in the end, they were no better than the ones of Silverfield. Greed was all they amounted to.

"Well, I wouldn't say that they're all bad... I mean, my acquaintance that I'm visiting here is quite nice. And since you're planning on betting on the tournament, we'll have to head for the main house," Bachi pointed at the mansion near the edge of the entire place. "And since I'm also going there, this is a good chance for me to introduce my friend and her daughter to you."

"I already told you, I'm not interested."

"Are you sure? Who knows, you might change your mind if you see her. Like I said, she's quite the beauty," he winked at him.

"..."

"Really now?" Nyana butted into the conversation, finding what the two were talking about interesting.

"Well, she's not as beautiful as you," the mercenary coughed. "But she is very pretty compared to most others, maybe even rivaling that of an elf's, who knows?" There are hardly any humans that are prettier than elves, and for him to say that, he was making a very bold statement.

"Well, I really like to meet her now," Nyana said. Beauty that rivals an elf's. That was something she really wanted to see. And it wasn't her being cocky or anything. In fact, Nyana herself was very beautiful. She had long brown hair with a sharp face and green eyes. If you were to take any human from Otane and compare them to her, they would almost certainly lose, and most certainly not come even close at all. "What are we waiting for? Let's go," the elf prompted the mercenary to guide them.

"Yeah, I got it... You elves really pride your beauty, don't you..." he mumbled.

"What was that? I didn't hear it."

"Nothing."

Bachi waved for the two to follow him and they did. They followed him down the stone road until they were directly in front of the mansion. From a distance, he couldn't see it with all the trees and other vegetation in the way, but the place was massive. Like massive-massive. This mansion was a lot bigger than all the other mansions that they passed. It was also made out of a different material than them. Kies wouldn't be surprised if Bachi's friend was at the top of the top in terms of wealth.

Starting from the top, the roof was made out of some sort of wood that was not native to this desert. Kies has seen all the trees here, and he knew that none of them had that light color. All of them were a dark shade of brown after being scorched by the sun for so long. The walls were made out of hardened clay, or something close. Kies wasn't sure what it was, but it was durable. And lastly, surrounding the entire mansion was a porch with many benches and potted plants all over.

"Nice design," Nyana noted. She ran her hand across the wall of the building, feeling its smoothness. The house was very well made and just from this, she knew that a lot of effort was put into constructing the entire thing. It was safe to assume that the insides were just as impressive.

"There's also a lot of people here..." Kies said uncomfortably, looking from side to side. All around them, there were people everywhere. Most of them were crowded near the entrance of the mansion. The doors were wide open, and taking a peek inside, Kies saw that there were even more people. "Ugh..."

"Of course, that's a given. The tournament is the most popular event in all of Otane. It is where warriors go to show off their strength," Bachi said. "Though..." he rubbed his chin. "There are a lot more people here than there are normally," he scratched his head. "That might be because the third round came a lot earlier than expected," he guessed.

"Yeah, and I wonder who we have to blame for that," Nyana chuckled a little.

"Really, that guy is uprooting the whole tournament. It'd be nice if I could get into contact with them..." Bachi wished.

"Why is that?" Kies asked. The mercenary didn't know it, but the person that caused all of that was standing here right next to him.

"Well, to hire them, of course. Not only is that person strong, but I heard that they're pretty young too. The young miss really needs a guard around her age," Bachi explained.

"So it's not just me? You're going for everyone?"

"Yes."

"Wow..." If only he knew... But Kies wasn't planning on telling the mercenary that that person's identity is actually him. Bachi was already clingy enough as it is, constantly telling Kies to work for his friend. He could only imagine how much worse it will get if Bachi finds out that he is that person that he wants to meet so badly.

The three of them entered the mansion and it stunned both Kies and Nyana. Bachi, who has already seen the place many times before, wasn't surprised by their reactions.

"Just how much money..." Kies was in utter disbelief. The insides of the mansion dwarfed the outside in comparison. The floors were decorated with animal skins and the walls were lined to the brim with paintings. There wasn't a gap between each one. There were ornaments, expensive-looking based, golden chandeliers, you name it. Everything a person could possibly have was in this single room alone. Furthermore, the temperature inside was cool, unlike the outside. Did they have some sort of machine or magic device to do that?

Bachie looked at their expressions and laughed. "So, are you interested in working for them now?"

After seeing the amount of wealth the family had, there was no way a normal person would refuse an offer to work here, but unfortunately for the mercenary, Kies wasn't planning on staying in Otane. "Sorry," he apologized, shaking his head. "My answer is still the same."

"What!? You still don't want to work here even after seeing this!?" Bachi threw his hands up, unable to comprehend the reasoning behind Kies' rejection of his offer.

"It's impressive, or should I say, beyond impressive what this place has, but I cannot accept that offer."

Bachi stared at Kies for a good minute before signing. "It's a shame, but I can't convince you. Maybe that other guy might say yes..." he muttered. Sadly, the 'other guy' that he was thinking about was no other than Kies, and unknowing to him, he had been rejected twice in that case.

"Huh... Strange, why do I feel like they will say no as well?" Bachi suddenly thought. They haven't met yet and he had this weird feeling that would turn down the offer too. "Ah, whatever." Brushing aside that eerie gut feeling, the mercenary scanned the room, searching for something or something. When he found what he was looking for, he called out to them. "Hey, old man! Over here!"

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