chapter 56: Slow day

[City of Hen]

The two men walked back to the city in silence, a cold breeze was present in the forest thanks to Eon putting out the fire he caused.

Luke stared at the man's back, carefully walking behind him; the man was certainly an odd one; he was bobbing back and forth his head and mumbling to himself Incoherent words that didn't even rhyme.

"Uhm"

Luke interrupted the man, causing Eon to turn his head to look at him; there was a slight frown on his face, one that made Luke reconsider interrupting the man.

"What?"

"There are some people coming our way"

"I know"

Eon responded with a little bit of frustration; he didn't like being interrupted, and he once again regretted the fact this world had little modern technology; he would have his earphones on at this moment.

Just as Luke predicted, a group of 5 people came into view; all of them were armoured, and one of them wore full plate mail and had a shield; he was the first to speak as they arrived before Eon and his companion.

"Hey there, my name is Jude; we saw signs of fire. Is everything alright? You didn't leave anyone behind?"

"No, the fire has been handled, if you're sent by an observer you can report back"

Luke was the one who spoke and quickly explained that the fire had been put out, that no one had been hurt and even told Jude and his crew to go check the site for themselves.

"Alright, I'll take your word for it, plus the smoke had subsided before we even made it to you guys, we just wanted to make sure, although you'll have to come with us to the guild for a proper report on what happened"

Eon gave Luke a glance but said nothing before they agreed to Jude's request.

So the two men headed to the guild first and reported the fire while also maintaining the secret that they were the cause, it took a couple of hours as the guild put them under scrutiny.

This led to Eon having to come up with a lie about why the quest document was burned, which he found out that he had to pay about 100ixe for negligence, plus it was a waste of paper.

They were also held up for about an hour as a guild staff checked for any signs of a possible monster's stampede, forest fires are one of the few reasons why monsters stampede and trample over whole cities, the others being monster evolutions and invasive predators.

Incidentally, Eon was also informed about the bounty on his head, which, unfortunately, the guild can't help him with, but fortunately, since he doesn't have a criminal record, no adventurers will be tasked to apprehend or kill him.

By the time it took for Eon and Luke to be let go, Reniris was done with her library trip and was making her way back to the inn

She walked with an undeniable pep in her step, humming the patty cake lyrics with a small smile on her face, she didn't get much information about devils or demons in the library however, speaking with the staff, (mostly Maria who worked part-time there) she was once again told her to find out more about such things she had to go to the capital.

She also left the library with a newfound interest in monsters and their function, she also found some information pertaining to monster evolution, which is the process that happens when a monster is in a location with large amounts of ambience mana.

"I was going to delve deep into the functions and mechanics of mana, but I have all the time in the world, I don't need to hurry"

She said as she navigated through the streets, making her way towards the inn; as she did, she took notice of the city; it was mostly peaceful and lacked the tension she felt back in Rix City.

She observed children walking with their mothers, happily pointing at things and the mothers just nodding along with a smile. She saw the elderly slowly trot along with their adult children who seemed to be chatting their ears off.

She saw families walking in groups, husband and wife walking with their children, Brothers and sisters good-naturedly annoying each other. She couldn't help but smile at each sight; seeing all these families together made her feel a type of way.

Of course, these heartwarming things weren't the only thing that she could see. However, she wasn't concerned with those unpleasant parts or perhaps she was subconsciously ignoring the barely perceptible drug addicts in the alleys, among other things.

As she walked, she was suddenly approached by a woman. The woman wore black robes that covered half her face but revealed her shining black lipstick, sparking intrigue to those who saw.

"Excuse me, miss, would you be willing to take a pamphlet and join the church of the Night?"

She asked, and the devil found herself curious but had no desire to join a church.

"I'll take the pamphlet but I'm not interested in a church"

The devil saw the woman slump in disappointment before giving Reniris the pamphlet and turning to walk away. Reniris had some questions to ask as she was curious but decided to let her go and tucked the paper in her pocket.

On her way towards the Inn, she ran into Eon and Luke.

"You're back from the quest already?!"

She asked, seeing his shoulders were slumped and he had his hand in his pockets, something that made her a bit concerned.

"I practically never went to one because this bozo decided to fucking attack me!"

He expressed while pointing at Luke and the mage couldn't help but feel a bit small. She felt the frustration laced in his voice and she turned her eyes and looked at Luke with a slight frown.

"He attacked you?"

She asked for clarification; Luke was a person she didn't particularly like or hate; she did not have any feelings about him as they met only once; however, his wife Maria was helpful, plus he has a son, and she'd rather not make his family sad.

"Yeah, and I'm fine; we're going to his house now; he's gonna make me some food as I decide what to do as retaliation."

"Alright, let's go then"

She shrugged, although she didn't like the connotations of Eon's retaliation, but she was sure it wouldn't be too extreme.

....

[Capital; Arthur]

Much like always the capital city of the Hendrix Kingdom was a bustling city that seemed to be always in motion, people constantly interacting, buying, selling and haggling, women and men sharing news and gossip about the most mundane of topics.

"Did you hear? The princess rooted out a whole criminal organisation in the city of Rix"

"Of course, I heard, not only that but I heard she burnt a ton of drugs and freed nearly 100 illegal slaves"

The common folk chatted amongst themselves as a lone cloaked figure walked past them, their words darkening his mood.

"Even though she's so young she is working diligently for the betterment of the kingdom, she would make a great queen someday"

"I know, she's putting her talents to great use, hopefully, she wins the sword tournament and becomes the crowned princess"

Alexius covertly walked the streets, his face covered with a mask and his whole body cloaked, hiding his identity.

It was certainly suspicious but he thought it better for people to think he's suspicious than try to blend in and inadvertently be spotted entering shady places.

Beneath the mask, the young prince could not help but gnash his teeth in silent anger; hearing the common folk gossip about his sister's accomplishment and her foiling his careful plans fueled him with rage.

The anger only intensified when he heard them mention her being crowned which would mean she was next in the line of succession.

The king and queen were still fairly young; as such, even if Reniella becomes the crowned princess, she still has a long way to go before she sits on the throne, but the commoners were a bit mistaken; winning the sword tournament does not necessarily result in being crowned.

The prince ducked into an alleyway before walking a few steps and taking a turn and entering the space between two buildings that were back to back, until he reached a wooden door.

With a single knock the door opened, revealing a man wearing a black apron with black crow embroidery on the chest.

The black crow was an underground mailing company that sent mail anywhere and to anyone, but, more specifically, criminals and crime bosses.

Sometime in the past, Reniella, when she was 14, discovered them and had them shut down, but thanks to Alexius' efforts and using his funds, he managed to revive them; he couldn't allow such a useful organisation to just be shut down.

Incidentally Reniella discovering and shutting down the black crow was her first act that made her quite beloved and ever since then she's been on a roll of success after success, something that only made him despise her more and more.

"hmm"

The man with the apron hummed and the prince mouthed some words, the words being "I'm receiving a missive" before he received a nod from the man.

The two men did not exchange any words out loud and the prince was given a stack of envelopes, which he tucked under his cloak and left as the door was closed behind him.

....