Chapter 63: Human Empathy

"Let them in"

Count Paul informed the servant as he began thinking, ignoring the woman before him. It was quite easy to guess that if the Marquis knew about this place, then he knew about the "business ventures" the count had been partaking in during his stay in this city.

Seeing that there were people wanting to enter the room Reniris quickly moved to the door and melted the ice, and opened the door just as the Marquis was about to enter, she was quite surprised to see Eon.

The eye contact the two of them made was a bit awkward, but neither said anything to the other.

"Good evening Marquis, I do hope this day finds you well"

Paul greeted as he took a look at the people who entered the room, and he took note of Prince Nathaniel, which basically confirmed that Marquis would be housing the young prince.

"Indeed, I can't say I was aware this was your house as well. Having multiple residents in someone else's territory is quite bold, Count"

The Marquis voiced, his eyes squinting just slightly, already taking note of the signs of a conflict that were present; this made the Marquis surmise that, at least to some extent, the woman who opened the door wasn't in a good relationship with the count.

He also assumed the person lying flat on their back was one of the Count's subordinates, who were knocked out by the woman.

"This place belongs to a friend, I was simply taking care of it in his absence"

"That so? Then I suppose being a good friend is not a bad thing"

Eon frowned as he witnessed the two nobles completely talk about something utterly irrelevant, instead of the Marquis getting to the point of why they came here.

"Enough with the Bullshit. Get to the point!"

Eon expressed, folding his arm and giving the two nobles a scowl of disapproval.

"Ehem! Right. We're here to discuss the matter of taking down the bounty"

Taking that little outburst from Eon, the Marquis chose to do as told; under normal circumstances, speaking like that in noble company was something that cannot be overlooked even if the person speaking is a prince; however, in this case, the Marquis had no choice but to let it go.

Although he was quite surprised by just how crude Eon was, he had expected some level of noble-like behaviour from him.

"I see. You are the lord of this city as such that should be a simple matter to complete"

"I definitely can do that, but you and I both know you won't heed any official orders from me and continue to either hire people or coerce people to try and complete the bounty."

The Count gave the Marquis a scrutinising gaze, trying to figure out what he may be trying to say. There were a few ideas he had, but none of them required that the both of them be in the same room.

"To assume such things is to assume that my whole house is not a house of ethical and moral standard, and that is a heavy slight against me"

The Marquis contained the urge to roll his eyes at such a response.

"I don't believe you to be so incompetent as to believe that you can conduct "business" in my city and expect me to be none the wiser"

One thing the Marquis both appreciated and hated about being a noble was the fact that depending on who was your backer, you could practically do anything you wanted.

The reason why he hadn't gotten rid of Count Paul yet was because the man was under the wing of the prince and messing with a vassal of the prince had consequences he wasn't ready for, at least not until Reniella's position as a possible crowned princess is more solid.

"I see. Well, if that's the case, then you have my word, I won't hire anyone or coerce anyone to complete the bounty"

The Count agreed; of course, he didn't necessarily have to agree to this; with the Prince's backing, he didn't need to even consider the Marquis; however, at the same time, the Prince's long-time plan required him to play things safe and bide his time.

"Excellent, you do that. Your Highness, is that acceptable to you?"

"Don't call me that, but yeah, it's fine, but in the event, someone does take the bounty, I'll assume it's your doing"

Eon expressed addressing the count with a scowl. Reniris took a brief look at him before turning her gaze away, quickly realising that at the moment, she could not say anything to him.

Luke, on the other hand, was preparing to speak. The man had been doing his best to appear as small as possible to avoid being noticed. However, an opportunity presented itself to him.

Here was the lord of the city, who better to plead his case to than the man who controlled the very laws of this city; however, at the same time, this meant if he did, he would have to detail his involvement in illegal activities and may end up losing everything.

"LORD Marquis!!"

The man shouted, startling everyone in the room with his outburst. Once he received the attention of the Marquis, he took a bow and spilt every single detail about his situation before asking the Marquis for help, not failing to bring up his family.

While Luke believes in the typical moral code and ethics of society, he believes in being good to others and vice versa but that was to a point, at his core Luke was driven by a desire to protect his own, his family and as such there were very few things he wouldn't do for that end.

Eon, having witnessed the man do this exact same thing to him back in the forest, chuckled as he came to an understanding of what sort of person Luke truly was. This new understanding of the man only made it easy for him to realise that, if the opportunity ever presented itself, the mage would once again attempt to kill him.

"I see"

The Marquis responded thoughtfully, and Luke had some small hope in his eyes.

"But I'm afraid you'll have to go through the proper channels if you want to report a crime, and since you also participated in a crime I'm sure you know what that means, as an adventurer"

The Marquis informed the mage he did feel for the man. However, he couldn't just offer assistance to this one man; otherwise, everyone dealing with the same situation would be at his doorstep.

"Although since you did something that's technically heroic, by saving a mother and son from slavery at the very least the punishment shouldn't be severe"

He added, giving the man a bit of hope; it wouldn't do if morally just acts were not rewarded sufficiently; that's the least he can do for one of his citizens even if he can't do anything to Count Paul just yet.

"With that, everything we came here for has been dealt with, Mr Eon. Are you satisfied?"

"For now at least"

With that, everyone left the building, although the Marquis took note of Luke and began to formulate a way to get rid of Count Paul for good in the future.

Due to the Dragon Isles floating above the city, the streets were well-lit with torches, some being brighter than others, but this created an atmosphere that made it seem like the entire city was inside a cave.

"I have to say this is a bit interesting to see, I wonder who's making those Islands float like that?"

Reniris asked now, really wanting an answer and simply adding a note to look for books related to the subject in the library.

"Some scholars say it was the Eternal Witch that used a lost magic to make those Islands fly"

Luke answered, and Eon couldn't help but feel as though this Eternal witch was a bit ubiquitous.

"Although, the history books say the witch was born long after the Divine age when the high plane was closed off from the rest of the world, so she couldn't have done it.."

"I see"

Reniris responded; her interest had now peaked, although she did not ask any further questions on the matter, and the conversation died, creating a silent and awkward atmosphere.

Luke glanced at Eon, seeing his neutral expression. The mage wanted to speak, but he hesitated, not wanting to set the man off with his words.

The awkward silence persisted.

"It's not manipulation"

Luke spoke, surprising the two. There was a look of firm resolve on his face as he said.

"Huh?"

Both Eon and Reniris sounded, confused by the words of the person beside them.

"Back in the forest you said me telling you about my situation was a form of manipulation, I disagree"

Luke spoke with more than a little assurance and earned a raised eyebrow from Eon.

"When I told you my situation, I wasn't trying to manipulate you but trying to make you relate to me, that's how humans communicate, our sympathy is what allows us to understand each other and build communities because we can relate to each other and sympathize with each other"

The mage explained.

"heh! I suppose that's another way of seeing it"

The Dragonoid said with a shrug, although he did suppose Reniris was the way she was because of that ability to sympathise, and perhaps she was too sympathetic for her own good, she wasn't even human.

"Alright, since this is going to probably be the last time we'll talk, a goodbye is in order, don't you think Reniris"

"I think so, Maria was quite helpful to me"

Reniris concurred, and Eon smiled as he walked towards Luke, who looked at him with a bit of confusion.

"Since you'll be in the city for a while, don't think it's necessary"

The mage voiced as he watched Eon stand before him with a strange smile on his face.

"Oh yes, it is, now brace yourself!"

"Wha–"

Luke's words were cut off as a swift punch was delivered right at his torso, His stomach and he felt as if a hole had been punched through it, as the pain forced his eyes to pop out and wads of saliva to exit his mouth.

His legs shook, and his knees gave out, forcing him to drop to the floor and lay there, his mouth wide open and unable to speak. The pain he felt made it difficult to breathe.

"I'll leave you with that, later"

Eon said all that and then walked away with his hands in his pocket.

"Eon–"

Reniris was about to reprimand but held her tongue.

"What I didn't maim him or anything"

"I suppose"

She said and said her goodbyes to Luke before following after Eon; catching up to him, the two began to talk about their next move, with Eon planning to rank up.

Luke laid there for a full 20 minutes before he could get up and go home, although the embarrassment of having peed himself was palpable.

...…

Both Reniris and Eon returned to their Inn. Their walk back was a bit awkward, neither knowing how to broach the topic.

It wasn't until they arrived in their room that the ice was finally broken.

"I'm sorry"

Reniris began, and Eon looked at her with a raised eyebrow, not in confusion but because he'd much rather avoided the topic altogether.

"I tried to make you act how I want to act, and have the same thoughts even though you don't have the same troubles as me"

She explained realising it was unfair on her part. Just because she is hung up on the idea of family doesn't mean she gets to tell others how they should do things when they are wronged.

"I accept your apology, Ren, and I'm sorry too, I shouldn't have said what I said earlier. Just because I don't like it doesn't mean I should insult it. I'll let you deal with your things the way you want, at least until you ask for my help"

He expressed, honestly, if Reniris isn't going to kill people that try to kill her that's fine, all he has to do is accept that and ensure she doesn't die because she was merciful.

"Yeah and I'll let you deal with your own thing, at least until you ask for my help"

She concurred,, both still weren't convinced of the other's position however, neither of them wanted to continuously argue back and forth all day, sure they'll disagree about it again in the future however if either of them care for the other they'll let each other believe whatever the other wants.

Besides, you don't convince a person of your viewpoint so easily. It takes time, and it will take time for either of them to concede to the other's way of thinking.

"So I saw someone had gotten into a fight there, fighting with a noblemen now?"

Eon said with a teasing grin on his face, and Reniris couldn't help but blush in embarrassment.

"I just wanted the name of the person that put the bounty on you"

She responded, looking away from him and scratched her cheek, Eon chuckled in amusement.

"And you call me reckless, guess that applies to you too."

He expressed and threw himself on the bed.

"Oh please, I'm not nearly as reckless as you. You just want to enjoy the thrill of the fight. You never fight with any plan or thought"

She returned, not wanting to be labeled reckless by him of all people.

"Nothing wrong with that, and it doesn't change the fact you recklessly picked a fight with a noble. Heh!"

He said, and the two then began going back and forth on the whole thing, light heartedly arguing, with Reniris firmly refuting the label of being reckless.