How to Explain?

"Human man?" Ugh! Such an awkward way to address someone... Glen couldn't help but grumble inwardly, but his face showed a victorious grin. "I thought elves were incapable of apologizing, but it seems you do know a bit of manners."

Gotaia got irritated as soon as she saw his smile, but couldn't flare up. She could only restrain herself and ask, "Can you tell me where I can stay here? Human man."

Glen couldn't be bothered to correct her address, and deliberately thought for a moment before muttering, "I do have a place where you can stay, but I can't just give it to you for free..."

"What do you want me to do?" Gotaia asked directly, picking up on his implication.

Seeing her cleverness, Glen chuckled. "I've been needing some help with things lately, and if you can help me with that..."

"I knew it. You're up to no good," Gotaia thought to herself, taking a deep breath. "Tell me what needs to be done? I'll consider it."

Glen changed his sitting position and spoke in a casual tone, "Don't worry, it's not anything hard. Just tending to some pigs."

Since Rawell had other uses coming up soon, Glen had been worried about finding someone to take over his work. Now this elf girl came in handy.

"Raise pigs?" Gotaia was confused.

"Yes, raise pigs. Don't think of me as some mastermind. You don't have anything I want," Glen explained.

Gotaia was half convinced but still agreed, as it seemed like the best option for now.

By the time they reached Glen's house, the sun had already fully risen. Glen, having stayed up all night, didn't look particularly tired, but Gotaia was clearly exhausted, having held on throughout the night.

She had been mentally tortured in the cage before, and now without proper rest, she urgently needed sleep. Fortunately, she wasn't physically harmed, which had given her the confidence to act against Glen earlier.

Glen pushed open the door and went straight to wake up Tiya, asking her to vacate the bed for Gotaia to rest.

Tiya, rubbing her sleepy eyes, sat up, her messy hair spilling out as her loose clothes exposed her bare shoulder, her pale skin almost blinding in the morning light. Glen couldn't help but glance a little longer.

"Glen, why are you up so early?" Tiya asked, still barely awake.

"A new guest arrived. She hasn't slept all night, so I need to borrow your bed for her to rest."

"Ah?" Tiya began to wake up. "But..."

Seeing her reluctance, Glen sighed. "I'll give you a silver coin."

Tiya's unwilling expression disappeared in an instant, and she feigned restraint. "Well, since it's your request, Glen, I have no choice."

"That's more like it," Glen nodded with satisfaction.

Few could resist the allure of money, myself included… Glen thought with some amusement.

Then, Tiya seemed to finally realize something, blushing furiously. "Oh my God, Glen! How can you barge into my room without permission?!"

As she spoke, she hurriedly pulled the blanket up to cover her from the waist down.

Glen felt a bit guilty as well. He hadn't thought too much before entering, and only afterward did he realize something was off.

"I just didn't want to wake you up by calling you out loud. I'm actually quite a gentleman in the usual sense…" he said, quickly backing out of the room.

Outside the door, Gotaia cast a skeptical look at Glen as he hastily retreated, clearly doubting his character.

After adjusting his mood, Glen turned to Gotaia. "Go on in. You can rest here for now. I'll give you a proper room later."

Gotaia looked at the cramped space that could barely fit a few people and frowned in disdain. "Your house is so small. You expect me to stay here?"

Glen didn't even blink. "As long as it keeps the wind out and protects from the rain, it's good enough. What more do you want?"

"More?" Gotaia was confused.

"I mean, stop being so picky," Glen clarified.

Duder Town

The scarred man, just waking up, stretched his body in his room. After twisting his neck, he opened the door and bellowed in his signature booming voice, "Rise and shine, boys!"

He walked down the corridor, banging on every door as he went.

When he reached the room of a wizard, he knocked loudly. "Eric! What time is it? We should be getting ready to move! Were you thinking about women all night? Still sleeping at this hour?"

After waiting for a while, there was no response.

The scarred man frowned.

The other mercenaries who had been called were already stepping out, but none of the three wizards had appeared.

Feeling something was off, the scarred man slammed his hand against the door, shaking the entire wall with the impact, causing a layer of dust to fall off.

"Eric! You dare defy me? Get out here now! Or I'll come in!" he yelled.

Still no answer. The mercenaries who had just woken up began to notice the strange silence and started knocking on the other two wizards' doors.

The results were grim. None of them responded.

Losing patience, the scarred man kicked the door down with force, causing the innkeeper to appear with a frustrated expression.

When he saw what was inside, the scarred man's pupils constricted.

The wizards' bodies were lying on the floor near the door, their heads turned at odd angles.

The scarred man stepped forward, checked their conditions, and then shouted at his subordinates, "Check on that elf! See if she's still alive!"

Several mercenaries sprang into action, rushing toward the yard.

The scarred man followed them out, his anger rising.

When they saw the fallen guards and the empty cage, the scarred man's face twisted in rage.

His voice dropped to a hiss, "Why!? Why is this happening to me?!"

But the culprit couldn't hear his cries.

"Boss, this can't just end like this!" One of the men, carrying a curved sword, stepped forward angrily.

"Of course not!" The scarred man turned around, shouting furiously, saliva flying from his mouth. "Everyone, go investigate! We must find that bastard!"

"Understood," the man with the curved sword wiped his face and gestured for a few disheveled mercenaries to follow him.

As the group left, the scarred man still appeared distraught. "How am I supposed to explain this to the employer?!"

The news about the Hunter Mercenary Group spread quickly through the small town, and many of the townsfolk started gossiping about it.