Callum

The sunset peaks....

"How did this happen?" He muttered tiredly under his breath.

"Erebus,.... Is everything okay?" Callum asked him.

A few moments ago he happened to escort the couple out of the mountain who were seated beside him during the ritual.

When they reached the exit they thanked him for his help.

"I don't know how to repay you?" The man thanked him but he waved his hand like it was nothing.

"May I know you name sir? And could you please tell me which territory you might be?"

Erebus sighed and introduced himself.

"Margrave Erebus Stygian of Stygian West Frontier."

He was speechless for a long moment gawking at him as if he had seen a miracle.

"What?" Erebus found it visibly uncomfortable being stared like that in the public.

"Whaaaat ~! Y-youre that Erebus?" He foolishly pointed him made his wife embarrassed of his ridiculous actions.

She slapped his hand and reminded him to behave.

"Do we know each other?" Erebus raised a brow trying hard to recall the clown that stood gawking at him.

"Huh?" He was shocked by his question.

"It's me! Did you forget about your one and only friend? It's me Callum." He waved his hands as if conjuring up some spells to make him recall about him.

"My dear have you really lost your senses?" His wife whispered to him.

"N-not at all Calypso! Remember I told you about my time in mercenary guilds? Erebus and I were a team back then!"

He reminded her of the days when both of them used to take jobs together in their days living in Central Capital.

"Ah! The time when you met that goddess?" She gasped in surprise at looked at Erebus.

"No not a goddess...but she was otherworldly beauty." Callum corrected her.

Erebus felt sense of familiarity with his memories rushing beck from their time as mercenary assassins.

He was dazed at this peculiar moment. It was a pure coincidence he happened to reunite with his only friend who had stuck with him through every pain and hardship.

"Callum? You're that Callum who used to compete with me in every job?"

He nodded gleefully respond ming to Erebus.

"You finally remembered? Even though I was heartbroken that you totally ignored me the last time I met you at the imperial palace."

Erebus wondered if there was a moment he met with Callum after he was given his title and left for Stygian.

Callum dragged him to his carriage and took him to his estate.

They arrived at the villa located near the central city square.

"I'm surprised you managed to buy a house in the Central Capital." Erebus complimented his efforts as he looked around the furnished hallways following him to the guest reception.

"It's a humble one as compared to the other nobles'. I managed to get some agricultural lands at the outskirts of the capital and a noble title of a baron. I sold off one third of my lands and bought this villa. My wife had her upbringing in the Capital. So we decided to move here."

He summoned a maid and asked for refreshments.

"The usual treats?" He asked him.

Erebus nodded but he had long forgotten about them as he spent his time in Stygian.

"So how's life going in Stygian Frontier?"

His question was rather odd to him.

"Still hanging out there." He replied with a sarcastic grin.

"Hahaha! I had predicted that answer well! You're the only person I know would say something like that."

He laughed it off while getting a gist of unease from his reply.

The maid entered with refreshments. Dried meat drizzled in honey and two bottles of malt.

"Tell me you're still single aren't you? I got a wife in the meantime and I'm about to be a father coming fortnight." He bragged about his life as a noble while chewing on the meat strips.

"Still competing I see." Erebus sighed at Callum's neverending old habits.

"You used to like Aphrodite too much! Did you finally woo her to make her yours?"

"There's no need for that." He denied it.

"Why? Did you finally give up on liking her!"

Callum suddenly attacked him with questions without any break.

"I'm already a father of one. My second born is due come fall." He chugged down the pale yellow bubbling malt drink from the bottle.

"YOU'RE MARRIED!??" Callum shouted at the top of his lungs.

Erebus' ears rang in temporary pain as he put down the bottle.

"You're catching up to it now?" He shrugged.

"W-wayy~w-w-w-wait! You got married! To whom? Who is this woman who willingly married to you?"

-"I can't tell him I forced Luciana into marrying me."

"It just happened."

"That's not the answer to my question!"

"Who's the lucky woman?"

"Aren't we supposed to go to the imperial palace? Yet you dragged me here and attacked me with unnecessary questions."

"Damn! The palace I forgot. Calypso! I need to tell her to hurry up. We can't miss tonight's ball."

He got up and hurried to get door and suddenly looked back.

"Sorry I won't be able to see you out. And remember to introduce use to your wife."

"No problem. I'll be leaving soon." He chewed on the last piece of meat and left the residence.

He looked around the suburbs of the the Central Capital where the rich resided. Most of them were high ranking officials working in the palace.

The luxurious villas showed off the wealth of the owners. Some almost compared to the size of those luxury mansions owned by the highest ranking nobles who owned domains like he did. Although his was only an impoverished area isolated from the mainland that no one wanted.

He walked out of the suburbs into the main city square.

Some demons looked at him with all sorts of looks and whispered something about his appearance.

His kind was already shunned by both demons and humans.

He went to the inn where he booked his stay for two days.

Before he entered a hand grabbed his left leg.

Startled he kicked it away instinctively when he heard a cry at the same time.

He saw a man lying near the entrance of the inn wearing odd clothes.

"F-ood.... please...even a piece of bread..."

He begged.

Erebus had seen many beggars loitering near the public square and shopping district. But they were always chased away even for taking stale morsels.

He went inside the inn and after a few minutes he was back with a bag.

He put it beside him and looked at the man. The man looked at him and then at the bag.

"Leave this area before they arrest you." He warned him and went inside.

The man took the bag and opened it. It was filled with half cooked meat and fresh bread.

"God! You sent me a saviour."

He took the bag and hid behind the inn taking off his hood that exposed his pale sky blue hair.

"Damn those robbers. Curse that pond. Who knew it was a distorted portal." He scarfed down the meat and bread nearly choking on it.

"I wonder if Octavius came here aswell."