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Chapter 1: Attack of the Killer Bees

Chapter 2: A Creeping Presence

Chapter 3: Fishing and Other Activities: Ways to Deepen a Friendship

Chapter 4: A Cornered Rat Bites Back

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Chapter 1: Attack of the Killer Bees

Chapter 1:
Attack of the Killer Bees

SUNLIGHT POURED THROUGH THE SWAYING CURTAINS, filling the white room of the clinic.

The voices of cheerful children could be heard from outside the window, and although they were a little rowdy, they were a sign of peace. Not a bad sound to wake up to.

He opened his eyes, feeling strange about sleeping through the sunrise but disinclined to say anything about it. The white ceiling filled his gaze. He never stuck around in the same place for too long, so unfamiliar ceilings were the norm for him. However, he had finally gotten used to the one in the inn he had been staying at ever since he arrived on the continent.

Hospitalization left one with a lot of free time. His attending physician scolded him like a demon after he said he wanted to start swinging his sword again. He thought that he could also sneak some sets of push-ups secretly when he wasn’t looking. But then the doctor started doing paperwork in his room, seemingly having seen through his ploy.

He protested, asking the doctor what he would do if a patient came along. The doctor replied, “I have someone manning the reception desk. Besides, my small clinic doesn’t get many visitors.”

That was the end of that.

The doctor had a point; people’s prevailing situations prohibited most of them from going to the doctor every time they had a cold. Their finances wouldn’t allow it. The patient felt a little bad about thinking this, but the clinic was too small to provide services for a wealthy clientele too.

Zig sighed, sinking into his bed, resigned to being prohibited from moving his body.

The bed in the clinic was softer than the one at the inn. This caused Zig some discomfort, since he was used to camping out and cheap accommodations.

“Is business doing okay?” Zig asked, unable to resist his curiosity. He wasn’t exactly worried, he was just trying to kill time.

Dorea was quite the nag despite his peaceful clinic, but he also had a portly stomach. He probably wasn’t poor. Maybe he was the son of a wealthy man who ran a clinic as a hobby, but he was too wise for it to be true.

Dorea pushed his small spectacles up and wrote something in his medical chart.

“Oh, that. It’s practically impossible for doctors to go hungry in a town with a thriving adventuring industry. Not with the constant flow of patients.”

Dorea scratched his cheek, not sure whether to take pleasure in or lament the fact that there would always be people who needed his services, revealing the integrity of his character. The constant flow of injured adventurers turned out to be a steadier stream of income for the doctor than Zig thought.

“My clinic is small and isn’t in the best of locations, but it’s perfect for people who have been turned away everywhere else.”

Dorea stopped and Zig noticed his conflicted smile.

“Besides, I’ve had many chances to work lately. It all started with some adventurers from the Wadatsumi clan who got beat up. Then more people came in after they got injured chasing a bounty. Finally, I had to take care of a certain someone who almost died. It has been terribly busy.”

Dorea winked at him as if to say “Even doctors need a day off at some point, no?”

Zig didn’t object and only pulled the covers over his body, reminding himself that this physician was not to be messed with.

Zig continued to be hospitalized… At least when he wasn’t attempting to leave, slipping through his observers when he got the chance. He ended up getting an earful after that, but for the most part, his recovery was going well.

While Siasha watched over him, Zig sighed as his final medical examination came to a close. He felt strangely exhausted for some reason.

“Your recovery capacity is as amazing as always. Your injuries were so dire that it would’ve killed an ordinary person twice over. But here you are, able to move normally.”

“Indeed. You really looked like you were going to die back then. I should know, after killing a lot of people in my time.”

Dorea looked amazed as Siasha nodded in agreement. Even Dorea considered Zig’s regenerative capabilities astounding, and he had been a physician to many adventurers who were proud of their physical toughness.

The combination of Zig’s natural physical robustness and training, coupled with the healing magic unique to this continent, made it something of a miracle. They made his recovery all but normal. An unexpected advantage as long as you turned a blind eye to the one drawback: copious amounts of food.

“You would make an excellent adventurer if you had more mana,” Dorea lamented.

The two factors couldn’t coexist, though Dorea was kept in the dark about it. Perhaps it was because one individual couldn’t possibly possess so many talents, but Zig’s physical makeup and the people of his home continent were different. Their prowess was a product of training because they didn’t have magic where Zig came from. On the flip side, the people of this continent were physically weaker because they relied on magic.

This was Siasha’s theory about Zig’s recovery, but he found it very convincing after experiencing it himself.

“No point in wanting something I can’t have,” Zig said nonchalantly, brushing the subject away. He couldn’t exactly tell Dorea that he came from another continent, after all. He wasn’t about to let the doctor run some tests on him like a science experiment either. Being strapped to a bed this long was bad enough. He needed to get moving again, and soon.

“But your companion has so much magic in comparison. I guess women really are different.”

Zig stopped just as he was about to get up, hankering to get a sword in his hands again. The conversation had taken an interesting turn.

“What does being a woman have to do with magic?” Siasha wondered, her thoughts lining up with Zig’s.

Zig had heard of this before but had dismissed it, considering it hearsay. However, Dorea didn’t seem to be the type to believe in rumors, so there must be some kernel of truth in the saying.

“Well, let me preface by saying there isn’t a definitive explanation for it yet.”

With that disclaimer out of the way, Dorea started his explanation as he cleared his medical tools…

“Research has found that women have higher average and median mana values than men, taking into account individual differences. The difference is around 30 percent.”

“That’s pretty significant…”

Zig and Siasha were surprised at the gap.

That difference made sense when you really thought about it. The disparity of muscle mass between men and women was undeniable. There was no contest when it came to muscular density between the sexes even among those who were in the same weight class. That was why there were no female mercenaries on Zig’s continent. At most, they were relegated to being medics and weren’t found on the front lines. Some took up swordsmanship for self-defense, but only so they could have a chance to escape.

“Yet, the male-female ratio is still six to four—no, seven to three. Quite extraordinary.”

“Why is there such a big difference?”

Siasha was asking the right questions, but were witches even comparable to human women? Granted, there were no male witches, but the difference between a witch’s mana and a human’s was astronomical to the point that comparing the two seemed comical.

Dorea mused on the question seriously, seeming to have little grasp on the details of the subject himself.

“Some posit that the body compensates for the lack of muscle mass by piling on mana. But, my personal theory is that the difference lies in one’s ability to host life. To give birth, in short.”

“Ooh.”

“People take it for granted, but creating life is a momentous and amazing task. And women are the only ones capable of doing it. Perhaps this is the source of their mana!”

“I see!”

Zig put on his clothes as the two got even more excited in the discussion.

Siasha had the tendency to look into every detail of something she was interested in, giving her the personality of a researcher. Zig wasn’t convinced of the theory, since the women on his continent gave birth like everyone else did. He was an amateur, of course, and had no evidence to back it up, but he had a feeling that the ability to bear children wasn’t what made the women here capable of fighting on the front line with men.

But he was a mercenary, and as such was content to leave the complicated thinking to the academics. All he needed to do was swing a sword.

“Doc, I’ll be borrowing your garden.”

Although Halian was a remote town, it was among the most prosperous in terms of size, population, and economy.

The key to the town’s prosperity was its adventurers, monsters, and transportation stone, which gave it access to various regions.

However, the transportation stone’s magic seals and materials could not be analyzed, since it was too important to be taken apart. No one knew why such a useful stone was there in the first place, but it made it difficult for Halian to be conquered by the average settlement. The town was rich in profitable resources, but it was surrounded by monstrosity-infested forests and craggy mountains, which meant prospective invaders would have to get through. Merchants had to use large-scale caravans to get to and from the area, with guild-provided adventurers as their escorts.

However, due to its structure, Halian suffered from numerous internal conflicts due to several organizations keeping each other in check.

The association of merchants and tradesmen exercised heavy influence over the central district, where the business and artisan districts were located. They were interdependent in all things—business, armaments, food. There were some disputes here and there but never large-scale conflicts. Most disagreements in Halian were territorial, with factions fighting for control over the cardinal districts.

The southern red light and gambling districts belonged to the Cantarella while the northern ones belonged to the Bazarta—the two great mafia families of Halian. The Jinsu-Yah immigrated some twenty years ago and took the eastern district for themselves from the two warring families. The western district belonged to people who thought humans were the chosen race and treated demi-humans like foul sinners—the Claritists.

However, just the other day, some important members of the Claritists disappeared, causing a stir among the people. The members in question were the Claritists’ combat personnel and their leader, the remitter. With them gone, the Claritists would lose a great amount of their influence, creating a major power vacuum in its place.

He took a deep breath and breathed out.

He spread his feet shoulder width apart, shifting his weight onto his left foot.

The twinblade in his hand was lowered, the left side of his body pointing forward while the top blade of his weapon was pointed back.

The tail guard hid the range of his weapon while allowing him to swing with great momentum. However, it did mean that he would be one beat slower to react to attacks than if he had been in longpoint with his sword pointed at the enemy. In his case, the bottom blade of the twinblade could be used for defense while the top could be used for attack. The weapon’s size stood out, but the length of the handle could cause errors in calculation.

Such a weapon could be considered highly versatile if not for the fact that you had to account for the movement of the equally heavy bottom blade and the sheer amount of strength needed to execute the weapon’s movements properly.

He exhaled, focusing himself all the way to the tips of his limbs.

Once he knew that his muscles and joints were in good working order and they were supplied with enough blood, he moved.

“Hmph!”

There was a rumbling, followed by the blowing of the wind.

His hips rotated, power rising from his feet, transferring fully to his blade. The twinblade transmitted his energy, creating a gust of wind. The laundry hanging in the garden fluttered in the presence of the sword-generated tempest.

But a twinblade wasn’t restricted to a single slash.

The top blade swung in an arc from his lower right to his upper left, traveling to the twinblade’s opposite side. After both blades had slashed the target, he twisted, turning around to thrust with the bottom blade. The continuous attack didn’t stop as he tapped into his martial arts training to keep the flurry going. His skill with the blade was evident as he kept up the offense in a smooth and quick flow.

The movement had been set into his body, making him truly one with his blade. He had sent many to their graves with the skills he honed on the battlefield.

But it’s not enough.

No one would have the right to criticize his skill. And yet, Zig was not satisfied.

Scenes from his last battle played in the back of his mind as he swung his sword. It had been a true battle to the death with the remitter Yaesar Burlon.

Yaesar had been a formidable opponent, far more skilled than Zig, but he managed to claim victory through sheer strength and stamina.

A win was a win.

Zig had no plans of changing his statement any time soon, but if he had to fight him again or if someone of Yaesar’s level came along, he didn’t know if he could have the same result. He believed that combat was about one’s affinity against the opponent and overall strength. Perfecting a single point of your strategy might make you untouchable in one field, but in the real world, combat was rarely that convenient.

Speed, strength, skill—a time would come where investing in only one of these things would fail you. At that point, you had two options.

You could either run or make do with the cards you had in hand. There wouldn’t be a problem if you could run away from all situations.

The right person in the right place. The logical decision would be to let someone who was an expert deal with situations you weren’t good in.

It would be logical. It would be ideal. Many workplaces functioned in such a way.

But the battlefield was no such workplace.

You couldn’t say to an enemy “Hang on while I get someone who’s actually good at fighting you.”

When it came time to run away, you couldn’t get someone else to do it for you. At that point, the more cards you had in your hand, the better.

War wasn’t so kind as to let you escape from situations you couldn’t handle.

That was why Zig was brushing up on his speed and skill. It was so that he wouldn’t have to solely rely on his strength.

I haven’t been slacking off. There’s just been a lot of situations where my strength was enough. Not that it makes for a good excuse.

Put simply, he had been spoiling himself.

Oftentimes, his skill and speed had been good enough to see him through. His strength was first rate and carried him to victory, but he would be lying to himself if he said he hadn’t been slacking off because of it. His eyes were opened when he saw Yaesar showcase true skill.

I need to sharpen myself again.

He continued swinging his blade, tracing the movements of the remitter burned into his subconscious.

Yaesar’s skill had highlighted what was lacking in himself.

“Feel like giving it a rest yet?”

His whole body was drenched in sweat by the time he was done with sword practice. Though he was not completely satisfied, he would call it here.

“I guess I can’t build all that skill in a day.”

Zig turned to the voice that spoke to him as he concluded his training session.

Dorea, the clinic’s owner, stood behind him, his portly belly jiggling as he collected the laundry blown away by Zig’s training. He looked very impressed at what Zig had done.

“Absolutely amazing! I could hear your swings all the way inside the clinic. So much for rehabilitation… But are you sure you don’t feel any discomfort?”

Zig checked himself again at the doctor’s reminder. He had only borrowed the garden so he could swing his sword for a little while, but it shifted completely into training. He became so engrossed that Dorea had to check in on him, worried that he wasn’t coming back.

“Sorry, Doc. No problems here.”

“I see. Very good.”

Dorea gave him a kind smile and handed him a dry towel to wipe himself off.

“Thanks for taking care of me. I’ll be back.” Zig thanked him, feeling apologetic for his doctor’s courtesy.

Dorea smiled uneasily at Zig’s gratefulness. “I appreciate your gratitude, but as a doctor, I don’t know how to feel about wanting my patients to come back…”

Zig’s hospitalization came to an end after four days. He hadn’t been the most patient of patients, having attempted escape multiple times. But, he had made a complete recovery, and there were no signs of complications after the surgery.

He couldn’t complain about his health. His wealth, on the other hand…

“I’m…broke.”

To avoid any misunderstanding, the price for Dorea’s medical services was highly reasonable, and he didn’t gouge Zig a single cent. Still, four days of hospitalization were not cheap. Added to that was the downright violent food consumption Zig had over his entire stay. His wallet couldn’t cover the expenses—it was already light from buying a new weapon. In the end, Zig had to sell his precious gemstones to cover his medical expenses, leaving his coin purse terribly empty. If he got breakfast today, he would be left with less than a child’s pocket money.

Zig winced painfully. He couldn’t remember the last time he was so strapped for funds.

“Now that you mention it, you got caught up in this whole commotion because you were out of money and wanted to do some work.”

Siasha felt nostalgic about the events of a few days ago while Zig reflected on his mistakes with a frown.

“I’ll have to account for food expenses next time I get injured.”

Even though Zig just got better, the two were immediately headed to the guild after his discharge. It was already noon; there were probably no more jobs left around at this time, but Zig had to work today if he wanted to eat.

Walking into the guild, the atmosphere was much grimmer than he expected. Receptionists were running around in a panic, and injured adventurers were being carried off in gurneys. Most seemed to have laceration wounds and immediate medical attention was being given to those that were bleeding the most.

“What happened?”

“Maybe there’s another bounty.”

“That would be a problem. Your funds will dry up even further if we can’t go to the hunting grounds.”

Zig sighed. If that was to happen, Zig planned to get hired by some adventurer as a bounty hunter. He would have to do it behind Siasha’s back, though.

As the two stood around trying to understand the situation, one of the receptionists ran up to them.

It was Aoi Kasukabe, a sagacious beauty whose charm was negated by the fact that she was always expressionless. She was slightly sweating, although her face remained emotionless. Her picture-perfect poker face was clearly unsettled.

Zig thought that things might be more dire than he expected.

“Zig, Siasha. Good timing.”

“There’s quite the commotion going on… Did something happen?”

“About that… The guild has a request for the two of you—or rather, for Miss Siasha. And it’s an emergency request as well.”

As the name implied, emergency requests were only issued in times of crisis. It was a special job issued by the guild that carried a severe penalty upon refusal. Although it came with ample compensation, these requests were far more dangerous than ordinary ones. In a sense, it was like powerful medicine—one that the guild wouldn’t administer without good reason.

Something terrible had definitely happened.

Although the natural response to the situation would be a concerned frown, Siasha was beaming with expectation.

“What a stroke of good fortune! See, Zig? You really can acquire money from other people’s bad luck!”

“I agree with you, but don’t say that out loud,” Zig chided Siasha, deciding to turn a blind eye to his own lack of compassion. “With a smile.”

Zig turned his attention to Aoi as if to make up for his own coldness. “So, what do you want us to do?”

“A rescue operation.”

“Who are we rescuing?”

Aoi’s eyebrows knitted together as she gave a vague answer. “As many as you can.”

It was a strange request. A rescue operation usually had details of the person in trouble. Adventurers weren’t part of the army, and a disaster might have befallen them.

“Excuse me. Allow me to fill you in on the details.”

Zig scrunched his face, knowing that whatever was going to come out of Aoi’s mouth next wasn’t going to be pleasant.

“Someone kicked the bees’ nest.”

She wasn’t kidding. Though the phrase was usually metaphorical, it didn’t take long for Zig and Siasha to understand that this time it was literal. Siasha winced, knowing the awful implications that would follow.

“Oh dear. Someone hit the blade bees’ nest?”

Blade bees. These were bees that were the size of a small child with differently shaded black markings.

White lines ran along their bodies, and their stingers were curved like scimitars. Though not venomous, they hunted prey by forming large swarms and putting those weapons to good use. Blade bees weren’t dangerous individually, but a swarm was a suitable challenge for eighth-class adventurers. However, that only applied to swarms of ten.

Their gigantic nest was known to house thousands of bees, though their exact numbers were unknown since half was buried underground.

Numbers were always an advantage. Humans could probably take a nest of blade bees if they were prepared. The same couldn’t be said if a whole nest of blade bees started swarming adventurers caught unawares.

“We don’t have the details of what happened, but according to the adventurers who have been evacuated, the nest was hit by a powerful spell.”

Siasha shrugged in exasperation. “What? But you don’t even need powerful magic in that area.”

“Precisely.” Aoi agreed with her, sounding quite indignant, which was rare for the taciturn receptionist.

“Not only did the attacker use a powerful spell, but for it to miss and hit the bees’ nest… Even aiming the spell in its direction is an extremely reckless action.”

The error of a minor stray bullet could be solved by finding cover until the bees settled down. Such courtesy would not be extended if a powerful attack hit their nest, however.

Sensing danger, the blade bees would rush out of their nest to eliminate the threat and chase whatever enemies remained in the vicinity. They were not restricted by human questions such as “Who did that?” They would find and kill everything they thought responsible.

Zig steeled himself and asked the burning question.

“How many made it out?”

A lot of adventurers hunted blade bees every day—from ones who hunted them daily to make ends meet, to those who needed money to buy equipment after getting promoted to stabilize themselves.

The guild seemed lonelier than it usually was with the adventurers who successfully escaped being the only ones present.

Aoi calmly filled them in on the evacuation effort.

“Forty percent of adventurers have been successfully evacuated. Most of them were in front of the bees’ nest and ran straight for the transportation stone when the outbreak happened.”

Those on the opposite side of the nest could only escape into the forest and were still probably being chased by bees.

“An estimated eighty adventurers are still out there.”

“That’s a lot.”

Zig grimaced, not expecting Aoi to put out a number triple what he was expecting.

“About half of the adventurers weren’t hunting blade bees, but they had to run after getting caught in the crossfire.”

Being an adventurer was a dangerous job, and there was an implicit understanding that you consented to whatever happened to you on the field. A few dead adventurers weren’t enough for the guild to do something…unless they had high ranks, of course.

Even so, having this many adventurers die at once was a bad look. The guild would lose the trust of the big clans if they handled this poorly.

“I am calling on all available adventurers to help…but there aren’t enough. Most adventurers are out this time of day.”

“And so, the task falls to us.”

Siasha shook her head in annoyance once she understood the situation. The enforced request was unavoidable. Though she had zero interest in saving human lives, the compensation the guild provided, as well as the boost in reputation, would be enough to make up for it.

I’ll live, Siasha thought.

“Very well. I’ll head out as soon as we finish our preparations.”

“Thank you. And…there’s one more thing.”

Aoi glanced over at Zig. Zig knew what she was about to say and shook his head with a shrug.

“Sorry, but I’m not an adventurer. I have to prioritize my own jobs.”

He refused her tacit request. Zig wasn’t heartless and would help a dying person in his vicinity if he could, but this kind of rescue operation meant proper work.

He had no obligation to go along with the guild’s ulterior motive of taking advantage of him as Siasha’s attendant. He wasn’t so nice as to volunteer for a rescue operation either.

Aoi was a reputable receptionist, but even she didn’t have the authority to hire a mercenary for guild work.

“You’re right. I apologize.” She didn’t press the matter any further and backed off. Aoi wasn’t the type of woman to take advantage of relationships and force people to work for her.

But then, someone interrupted their conversation.

“Then there shouldn’t be a problem if I issued the request.”

They turned toward the voice that had rung so clearly. Before them stood a man with neatly combed hair, already graying in some spots, along with a well-groomed face. A cold, sharp gaze lay behind his glasses.

Kirk Wright, the Halian guild’s vice president, stood with his hands behind his back.

“Vice President…”

“Thank you, Aoi. You can go back to your post. I’ll take it from here.”

Aoi looked like she still had something to say to Zig and Siasha, but she had no choice but to obey her superior. She bowed her head and left.

Kirk resumed the conversation without seeing her off.

“First, congratulations on your full recovery. Do you need me to go through this?”

“No. I think we’re past pleasantries, aren’t we?”

“That we are. That kind of stuff is pointless between you and me.”

They sounded like old friends, but the truth was quite the opposite. They were only accomplices in taking advantage of other people.

“As much as it pleases me to get the nuisances out of the way, it has made me terribly busy,” Kirk said sardonically, adjusting his glasses before getting to the point. “Zig Crane. Regarding your ban from the adventurers’ guild—hold on, let me finish.”

Kirk quickly stopped when he noticed Siasha quietly creating a small stone spear in her hands.

Though little, its creaking sounds and mana density were enough to make cold sweat run down Kirk’s back.

Siasha had a chilling smile on her lips. “Oh, don’t mind me. Carry on.”

She motioned him to continue while continuing to play with the rock spear in her hands. She had a feeling that Kirk might try to use Zig’s ban to get him to participate in the rescue operation. Siasha kept her gaze on Kirk, her face betraying no emotion.

Kirk desperately tried to avoid eye contact with her and began to negotiate with Zig in a hushed voice. “Can you please rein in your client?”

“Sorry. I’ve never been good at horse riding.”

Zig shrugged and pointed his chin at Kirk as if to say “Well?”

Kirk began slowly, the immense pressure coming from his side not letting up.

“Recent circumstances have made it so that your ban has been lifted. On behalf of the guild, I wish to issue you a formal request regarding the rescue operation.”

“Oh? That was fast. Are you sure there won’t be a problem with you employing a mercenary?”

Organizations were slow to mobilize at times like this. Not to say that Kirk was dull of wit. It was more a matter of finances, precedence, and saving face that would make the guild become careless and roundabout in seeking solutions. Especially if it had to hire some no-name mercenary from who knows where.

“Only if you were an ordinary mercenary. In your case, you’ve already filled out the paperwork to be a companion. The companion system was originally made for researchers and surveyors to conduct geological and monstrosity research. They earn payment as external collaborators. Now, I will use this system to its full advantage.”

Meaning that Zig wasn’t hired as a mercenary, but as an outside collaborator.

Although hiring a mercenary for a rescue operation was unheard of, it didn’t break the system due to how often it had been used in the past. You would have to broaden the interpretation a little bit, but the system would hold.

Zig had no problem with it as long as he was getting paid. He asked the important questions one at a time.

“What are the terms?”

“Twenty thousand for everyone you save. Forty thousand if they’re under forty years of age. Zig’s portion will be half of the total people the two of you rescue.”

“And what does a successful rescue look like?”

“Injuries must be contained so that they could still function as adventurers. Help them to get back to the guild on their own or take them to a safe zone. Either works.”

“Conditions for completion?”

“You decide. I will be rating your overall performance, however, so keep that in mind.”

The pay was neither good nor bad. Zig appreciated the fact that they would be splitting the rescues in half due to his and Siasha’s roles of sword and magic.

Siasha wasn’t getting any extra pay from this, but there were no problems there—she was still getting rewarded as an adventurer. She would probably get boosted ratings instead. Although Zig appreciated that he was free to decide when the job was over, he still couldn’t afford to do sloppy work.

He couldn’t cut corners, but then again, he had no intention of doing so to begin with.

Commission-based work was a great way to motivate your contractors. It was also a great way of lining your pockets.

“All right, deal.”

Zig casually clapped Kirk’s outstretched hand. “Good. You best get right to it.”

It was a purely verbal contract without any paperwork.

The dry sound of their agreement echoed through the guild, made weightier since it could be rendered null and void at the drop of a hat.

“I have a question, if you don’t mind.”

Siasha had dismissed her rock spear and put her now-empty hand against her chin.

Kirk glanced over his shoulder, still desperate to avoid eye contact.

“What?”

“Why the difference in pay according to age group?”

Siasha’s question was not based on any moral concern.

For a witch like her, the difference between a twenty-year-old and a thirty-year-old was like a blip, and she couldn’t understand the point of differentiating between the two.

Kirk was unaware of this, however, and to him it sounded like she was questioning the absolute worth of a human life. He gave a disgruntled scoff and walked away, saying with the most matter-of-fact tone:

“They’re human lives. Of course they’re valuable.”

***

With the contract settled, all that was left to do was get ready and do the job. The more time passed, the more money would be lost…and more human lives would be lost. There wasn’t much to do in terms of preparation, since Zig and Siasha came into the guild looking for work anyway. The survivors told them about the general terrain and direction in which the remaining adventurers fled.

“These are your provisions. Free of charge, but there will be consequences if you misuse them.”

They were given a large stretcher-type dolly to transport the wounded along with a first aid kit.

The male staff member, likely from the medical team, quickly explained the contents of the first aid kit.

“If the person is still conscious, use this tonic after you’ve stopped the bleeding. In the event they’re unconscious, inject this syringe into the inner part of their elbow. You do that by—”

“I know how injections work.”

“I won’t ask how you know, but all right.”

Zig avoided the medical staff member’s gaze as the latter narrowed his eyes. He grabbed the stuff and went over to Aoi for a final authorization as he waited for Siasha to receive the same explanation.

Other adventurers were also present for the emergency quest.

“According to the latest survivors, the blade bees have split their swarms into two. One to protect their nest and another to chase down adventurers who escaped into the forest. Although there aren’t many of them away from the nest, their numbers are still larger than usual.”

Aoi pointed to the nest at the center of the map, drew a semicircle some distance away from it, and then slid it toward him.

“First, you are to rescue survivors while going around the nest. As soon as you’re done, you can proceed to search the forest. The search for survivors around the nest is probably finished.”

Primarily because most, if not all, of the people near the nest were already dead.

The spell that hit the nest unleashed a frightening number of blade bees who proceeded to attack nearby adventurers. However, the distribution of the bees was uneven.

Perhaps the hole in the nest was on the larger side, but most of the bees ended up going into the forest. This allowed most of the adventurers that had been in front of the nest to escape while forcing those behind it to scurry into the trees. Adventurers near the nest were either hiding or too injured to move.

Blade bees weren’t known for sniffing out their enemies and mostly used their overwhelming numbers to overpower any opposition, for better or worse. Still, it was only a matter of time until the swarm found what they were looking for. Survival was impossible without a great bit of luck.

“The number of blade bees is overwhelming. Avoid contact at all costs. If you must engage, take care of them as swiftly as possible before reinforcements arrive. Obviously, you are to refrain from using loud magic.”

Zig and Siasha weren’t the only members of the rescue party. Other adventurers who just arrived, or came late, had also taken on the guild’s request.

The rescue party was split into two groups. One would be posted near the nest to secure a safe route and transport any survivors to the guild. The other group would go into the forest to search for the other adventurers. The latter was made up of higher-class adventurers since they would be more likely to encounter blade bees.

Several Wadatsumi adventurers were present. They noticed Zig and raised their hands in a silent greeting.

“There are eighty adventurers who haven’t made it back yet. Rescue as many as you can.”

And with that, the adventurers moved out.

They filed out in an orderly fashion, teleporting one party at a time with the transportation stone.

“Looks like you’re finally back to adventuring,” Siasha said.

“Yeah, looks like I can get a lot of money from this job too,” Zig replied. “You’re not used to defensive battles, right? Don’t let your guard down.”

“Okay!”

Zig and Siasha followed suit and disappeared within the light.

When they arrived, the adventurers who had gone ahead had already secured the area. Fortunately, the transportation stone was clear of blade bees.

The rescue team assembled without wasting time. There was a transportation team made up of fifteen members and a search team of ten, which meant there were twenty-five members in total.

The adventurers stood around, not organized but not disorderly, until a man stepped forward.

“I’m Norton Wilser, clan master of Sibasikul. I’ll be leading the operation today.”

The tall man was in his early thirties, with blond hair and blue eyes. His refreshing smile made him look youthful, but he stood with all the authority of a powerful adventurer, which nullified his young age.

He looked impressive with a double-edged greatsword on his back, his body clad in black heavy armor.

“We’ll split the team into two groups and look for survivors while going around the nest. We’ll regroup in the forest once we’re clear of the nest. I’d prefer that we play it safe…but we don’t have the luxury of time. It’s up to each of you to stay on alert. Any objections?” Norton asked.

No one raised their hands, so the team was quickly divided in two. Zig and Siasha were in the same group, entering the forest on the right side of the nest.

“Commence operation! Good luck out there!”

Scouts had gone ahead to plan a route for the team.

Eleven adventurers followed the route in formation. Among them were mages along with frontliners who protected the back line. Zig wasn’t obliged to follow orders, but breaking formation would only cause unrest and get in the way of the job.

“Sorry, do you have a minute?”

Someone called out to him as he was looking for survivors. He turned toward the voice.

Looking around, he spotted the clan master of the Sibasikul and commander of the operation coming toward him.

“I’m Norton, like I said earlier.”

“Zig. Mercenary.”

With the introductions out of the way, Zig wondered what Norton wanted from him.

“First, I’d like to thank you, Zig. Having you follow my orders is a great help. It’s important to keep the team together at times like this.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m just being professional.”

“Not a lot of mercenaries are these days,” Norton said with a friendly smile. “You’re the exception. So, the stories are true. Oh, excuse me. I’ve always wanted to meet you ever since Isana talked about you.”

Zig narrowed his eyes. “Did she, now? What’d she say?”

That clumsy battle junkie was a liability. He would need to check out what else she had been telling people when he got back.

Norton put his hand on his chin, trying to remember.

“I think it was… ‘A monstrosity with a mind,’ and ‘a man that can either be medicine or poison.’”

“Oh?”

The princess in puberty really had a habit of running her mouth.

“Still, it’s rare for Isana to take an interest in other people like that…” Norton said in a low voice as his eyes looked Zig up and down. “Though now I can see why.”

The man had a well-trained body with a core that could withstand rigorous punishment.

Norton’s gait was efficient but relaxed enough to have the right amount of flexibility. Although he wasn’t particularly on alert, his eyes and posture were always ready for the unexpected.

This was his natural posture. That meant he was always ready for battle.

If Zig attacked him now, he knew that Norton could easily defend himself.

“Very impressive. And here I thought I was good. Ha ha ha… I can’t remember the last time I thought I couldn’t beat someone.” Norton laughed sheepishly, shifting his attention to the greatsword on his back. “How about we spar sometime?”

Zig gave a noncommittal answer to Norton’s cheerful invitation. “If I feel like it.”

Is Isana surrounded by people like this?

He felt worn out, unlike the clan master who was cheerful at the prospect of fighting a powerful opponent.

Norton noticed Zig’s shift in mood and scratched his cheek, embarrassed.

“Ah, my apologies. We should focus on the task at hand.”

“That we should.”

The forest felt different than usual.

It was no longer filled with the sound of small animals and monstrosities. Instead, the ambient noise was replaced by something else coming from the distance.

The buzzing of blade bees.

The residents of the forest were hiding, holding their breaths while trying to avoid the countless predator swarm.

“This is worse than I expected…”

Things were so bad that Zig, who was inexperienced as an adventurer, could notice. The veteran adventurers grimaced at the forest’s eerie atmosphere.

“Let’s hurry.”

They increased their pace. The route set by the Sibasikul scouts was highly efficient, allowing them to avoid blade bees while also taking the shortest possible path to their destination.

The flying blade bees were quite impervious to an ambush of blades.

Since they couldn’t use flashy magic, the adventurers were left with bows and crossbows.

A Sibasikul scout fired his bow while an unknown swordsman whipped out a crossbow, his secondary weapon, to quickly dispatch the enemy. Siasha joined in with her earth magic since it didn’t make that much noise.

The number of blade bees increased the deeper they went, and with it, the number of dead monstrosities that had fallen victim to the swarm.

Mixed among them were human remains.

“Shit!” an adventurer spat.

Human limbs and clumps of meat were strewn about—and they didn’t come from just one or two people. These remains confirmed their suspicions that there was no hope for survivors who happened to be around the nest.

The adventurers collected the adventurer cards of their fallen comrades since they were unable to bring their remains back with them. However, they were unable to do so for the corpses still swarming with blade bees, forcing the adventurers to clench their teeth and move on.

Norton offered a silent prayer before quickly following.

Blade bees used their powerful mandibles to cut up and bring their prey back to the nest. They couldn’t carry much, however, as they were limited by their size and their necessity of flight.

Their stinger blades were powerful weapons but unfit for sawing. Blade bees would use their forelegs and mandibles to neatly cut up their prey, turning torsos into manageable meatballs so they could carry it to their nest.

Zig thought that the creatures were fascinating but understood that saying that out loud would be terribly disrespectful to the dead.

The team was able to follow the blade bees using the trail of prey they left behind and made swift progress in their search.

The number of blade bees did not increase as they progressed, and they eventually reached the spot where they would regroup with the team who went from the opposite side of the nest.

“Looks like we got here early,” Norton said, setting the team at ease. “Let’s take a short break.”

Everyone was still on alert, the tension remaining in the air.

Norton approached Zig as the latter was leaning against a tree.

“The monstrosities have been behaving strangely as of late.” Norton started, sticking his greatsword into the ground to lean against it.

“Really? I don’t know much about monstrosities.”

“Their change in behavior isn’t much of a problem in itself. The problem is with how much it’s been happening across the board.”

Norton counted the number of incidents with his hand.

“The appearance of a ghost shark, the swarm of saber-clawed insectoids, spellweaver mantises infesting double-horned blue beetles, crag drill dragons and three-faced ogres appearing outside of their habitats…and now a stray spell hitting a blade bee nest? All of that happening over a short period of time seems highly unlikely.”

“Hmm… Now that you mention it…”

“I’m beginning to think that all of these incidents are connected.”

“Aren’t you jumping to conclusions? Maybe it’s just a string of unfortunate coincidences.”

“I can accept one or two, but this many unrelated coincidences? Something has to be up.”

“I see.”

Norton was enthusiastic as he shared his views on the strange occurrences that had been happening. He tried to convince Zig that something was happening but had little luck doing so. He would overreach with his speculations, putting them under “too wild,” in Zig’s opinion.

Meanwhile, Zig silently and casually calculated the range of Norton’s weapon and memorized the length of his stride. He needed to prepare for the inevitable time when everyone related to the incidents would come together.

Any information he could get his hands on beforehand was of great value. He learned that after his ignorance allowed Elsia to put him in a world of hurt. It seemed that he would be able to observe Norton’s fighting style today, so he counted that as a silver lining in this mess.

Zig was already thinking about the possibility of fighting Norton.

Diplomacy had failed him every time ever since he got here, so he decided to resign himself to his fate sooner rather than later.

He was already considering beating everyone who came at him and stripping them of their possessions for damages. Maybe that could work.

He banished the temptation from his mind. Even if that worked, wanting things to turn out that way was a bad sign for him as a person.

Eventually, the other team appeared and regrouped with them.

The time for small talk was over. They needed to get back to work.

“That took a while. Did you run into some trouble?”

“We found some survivors along the way and brought them with us.”

The adventurers celebrated quietly for finding the missing survivors. They didn’t think anyone around the nest had survived.

“That’s good news. How many?”

“Six. They hurt their legs in the commotion and couldn’t run, so they dug a hole with magic and hid inside it.”

The adventurer laughed, recalling the confusion that ensued when the team stepped into the hole the survivors were hiding in.

“I thought blade bees could dig since they made their nests underground,” Zig wondered to one of the Sibasikul scouts.

The scout flinched when he looked at Zig closely but provided him with an explanation since he saw Norton talking to him earlier.

“The blade bees have different functions. The ones we usually see are soldiers tasked with hunting prey and eliminating external threats. They can’t dig holes. There are worker bees whose sole function is to dig and build the nest. I’ve never seen one myself, though.”

“Those tails don’t look like they’re suited for underground life. I guess monstrosities have roles to play too. Thanks.”

Zig thanked him and left.

After exchanging information with the other team, Norton gave the order to move out.

“The transport team will stay here and send survivors to the guild after treating their injuries. The search team will spread out and look for more survivors. Be on alert for more who have dug holes to hide in.”

This meant they would have to look through the woods with a fine-toothed comb.

Zig returned to Siasha as the other adventurers grouped with their usual parties.

“All right. Commence—” Norton stopped before he could give the order. The adventurers stared at him. Clearly something was wrong.

“Norton, what’s—”

Norton hushed his comrades when they called out to him.

“Quiet.”

His eyes were now fixed on the deep woods.

Zig also noticed the anomaly.

“Zig?” Siasha asked.

“This is bad.”

Cold sweat formed on his forehead.

A breeze came through, carrying with it the sound of a low drone—countless wings buzzing to stay hovering. There came the sound of trees cracking in the distance.

Everyone watched as the pressure mounted until several adventurers eventually burst from the forest at a desperate sprint.

“Take cover!” Norton shouted, noticing the calamity before them.

A black cloud—those were the only words that could describe the congregation of creatures before them. The black cloud was made of small dots the size of children and moved with a low and ominous hum. The swarm of blade bees was heading toward the adventurers, blotting out everything behind them.

“Siasha, wall!”

Siasha gave a nod and immediately started casting at Zig’s signal.

She slammed one hand to the ground to activate her spell. A gigantic wall instantly sprouted out of the earth.

However, their enemies could fly, and one bit of wall wasn’t going to do much against them. All the bees needed to do was go around it, but the point of the wall was to draw their attention.

Although the search team had been prepared to move out, the transport team was only getting settled and weren’t ready to escape. Zig and Siasha could get away in time, but the transport team would be decimated. That was why Zig ordered Siasha to make a wall—to physically hide the transport team and cover them from the blade bees.

Several adventurers gasped. It didn’t take long for the blade bees to spread out.

The rest of the team understood Zig’s intention of drawing the blade bees’ attention, although it took them a little longer than Siasha. They quickly moved away from the transport team, splitting up into three directions.

Groups of six, three, and four acted as decoys for the blade bees.

Zig, Siasha, and Norton were with three survivors who had just escaped.

The blade bee swarm wavered in the air, seemingly hesitating after their prey split up, before launching into one direction.

“Damn it, just our luck!”

Perhaps it was their great number or the fact that they were fixated on the prey they had been chasing, but the blade bees followed the party of six with a loud buzzing that made your skin crawl.

“What happened out there?!” Norton asked the adventurers who had just joined them.

They were a swordsman, a man with a bow slung across his shoulder, and a woman with mage-like robes. The three adventurers were on the younger side but didn’t have the air of greenhorns.

The archer and swordsman answered.

“W-we were hiding, but then another big monstrosity came and found us!”

“The noise caused all the nearby blade bees to gather! The big guy was instantly massacred by the swarm!”

The mage-looking woman didn’t seem to have much endurance and was mainly focused on keeping her breathing steady.

“Any other survivors?”

“We didn’t have time to check! I think there’s a lot left out there, but I don’t know the exact numbers!”

Fortunately, the adventurers had not been decimated after all. Though, this was hardly the time to celebrate.

“Siasha, can you cast your spells?”

“N-not while I’m running!”

Casting on the move required a lot of stamina and lung power. Siasha grew up in a forest and wasn’t lacking in endurance, but she didn’t have enough to cast spells while running. She would be consumed before she could finish casting her second spell.

These weren’t the kind of enemies you could fight with a sword. Even a master would be overwhelmed by the swarm in an instant. A seasoned mercenary and a powerful witch were helpless against the great swarm that knew no fear.

Zig and Norton would be able to get away, but they couldn’t just leave the adventurers to fend for themselves. Even if they were the ones who had brought the swarm to them, they were still in need of rescue. Because he had taken up the job, Zig would only abandon them as a last resort.

“I’ll carry you!”

“Huh? What are you—eep!”

Zig picked up Siasha and slung her over his left shoulder, her head facing behind him.

The sudden scoop caused her to let out a cute, startled yelp, but this was not the time for him to appreciate such things.

Zig did his best to maintain his speed while keeping Siasha steady with one arm.

“Run offense!”

“Of course! I have it covered!”

Siasha settled her breathing before starting her incantation. The strong smell of magic surrounded Zig as countless stone spears appeared.

“Don’t hold back! Let loose!”

The stone spears flew at his signal. The sheer mass of the projectiles shook the air.

The spell Siasha unleashed made a whizzing sound as it crashed into the black mist. She had adjusted the speed of her magic to match the rate of the swarm’s flight, leaving no time for the bees to avoid it.

Although more speed meant more power, the blade bees weren’t known for being robust. The stone spears tore through them like a spoon through pudding. A mere graze was all it took to turn them into mincemeat, and hitting their wings meant they could no longer fly. The rain of magic fell on the blade bee swarm, reducing their speed.

“W-wow!”

“Why are there so many?”

The adventurers were awestruck at the scale of Siasha’s magic.

“What powerful magic!”

Norton widened his eyes at the magic’s density and force.

Although Siasha’s spells were simple stone spears and rock bullets, their speed and quality were on another level.

A regular mage would run out of mana in about five seconds if they tried to exert this much force without stopping. Siasha wasn’t using magic items enchanted with crystals as an external fuel source either. Everything she was casting came from her own mana source. Yet, she showed no signs of ceasing.

Norton felt a chill run down his back.

Her spells didn’t account for the trees blocking their line of fire. The stone spears felled them along with the blade bees as they sped off into the distance.

Norton could only hope that no one would get hit by one of the stray spells.

“Why were they the only ones who got chased?”

“Who knows? Good for us, though. We can look for more survivors while they’re acting as a distraction.”

Noticing that the blade bees weren’t following them, the rest of the rescue team quickly returned to formation. Another Sibasikul member took over command and mobilized the scouts, focusing on speed.

His behavior was oddly calm, as if his clan master wasn’t being chased by killer bees.

“Are you sure about this? Your leader’s in a rough spot…”

“People might misunderstand if you put it that way. Look, our leader’s not someone who’ll get killed by a bunch of bees. He can protect himself, if nothing else. It’s too late for us to go look for him anyway.”

The Sibasikul representative scanned his surroundings as he answered the confused adventurer. “We all have a job to do. If he dies…well, I guess I’ll be clan master then.” He smirked playfully before returning to the task at hand.

Of course they were worried, but they also believed in Norton. Trust wasn’t something gained just by wanting it, but something that was slowly built over time. One should trust their comrades and play their role.

Inspired by the work ethic shown by the elite adventurers, the others returned to their own tasks with renewed vigor.

Meanwhile, Zig and the others had run a great distance from where they started. Returning to their original position would prove difficult.

Their escape would continue for some time. Although the size of the swarm had been greatly reduced by Siasha’s attack, their numbers were still absurdly high.

Siasha started using spears and walls to pierce and crush the bees, but she eventually switched to only using one spell. Spears were ineffective against the flying blade bees and timing the walls to crush them was difficult since they could easily go around them.

Siasha’s magic was strong enough, and the bees were so frail that she didn’t need to do anything complicated.

However, she wasn’t having an easy time either.

I-it’s hard to breathe!

Even if she was only using one spell, she couldn’t afford to stop casting it, and being carried by Zig meant that she was in a less-than-ideal position for breathing.

Since she was being carried like a bag of rice, Zig’s shoulder was pushing into her stomach. Running through the forest meant she was also experiencing turbulence. Breathing wasn’t the easiest thing to do at the moment.

Blade bees fell out of the air as the hail of spells rained at them.

Siasha had a lot of mana left in the tank but couldn’t breathe. And now an adventurer was having trouble.

“Huff, huff… Cough!”

The adventurer’s companions took too long to notice what was happening, since they were occupied with the danger behind them. The female mage had reached the limit of her endurance, and her legs could no longer be fueled by willpower. Her face was turning blue from lack of oxygen. Her ragged breathing, uncoordinated legs, and plain bad luck caused her toe to catch on a bump in the ground.

“Huh?!”

Time slowed down as she watched the ground rise to meet her face. Her comrades finally noticed what had happened, but it was too late to do anything.

She wanted to scream, but the best she could manage was a dry croak. Having lost control of her body, she could no longer right herself.

I guess… This is it.

The fear of death gave way to the sweet surrender from suffering. As her vision went dark, she could almost see the reaper’s hands coming for her neck. The reaper’s hands came closer until…

“Hang in there, Money!”

A powerful hand grabbed her collar and picked her up.

“Meep!”

The reaper—or rather, the miser—used his arm as a fulcrum and spun. Her stomach crashed into his right shoulder, the sound escaping her lips very much like a frog that was being stepped on.

Zig picked the woman up and was now carrying her on his right shoulder.

He stomped with his right foot to fix his tilted posture, pushing into the ground. He steadied the weight on his right shoulder while using Siasha’s weight on his left to right himself.

“Zig, are you okay?!”

“I can take another person!” Zig said to Norton, focusing his energy on his legs. “I’ll figure it out!”

“Don’t overdo it!”

He was slowing down due to carrying two people on his shoulders. Zig managed it with his physical prowess and core strength, but the situation was bad.

Siasha had stopped her spell casting due to the turbulence Zig was producing, but the blade bees were closing in. Norton looked like he could still run, but the other two adventurers were audibly winded.

Having caught her breath, Siasha resumed firing her spells, but the endless swarm of blade bees kept up the chase.

Earth magic was powerful, but it had its limits due to its lack of coverage. Although it was effective against humans due to its power to frighten them after seeing their allies die, it was of little use against insect monstrosities unafraid of death.

They had to push back against the relentless swarm somehow. Wind or water or even fire would be ideal against them.

Hang on.

Zig remembered his other passenger.

“Hey! You can still use magic, can’t you? Help us out!”

“Huff, huff… Nora, are you okay?!”

The swordsman checked in on his companion even as he was huffing and puffing from exertion.

The woman called Nora raised her pale face and looked suspiciously at Zig.

“I’m alive?”

“We might die if you don’t do something.”

“Koff, hurk… I don’t see the…enemyyyy?!”

Nora had been facing the other way and didn’t know of the swarm chasing them. However, her soft whispers turned into a scream when Zig tossed her into the air to spin her around. She could no longer hold back her nausea following the second impact.

“Don’t just throw up on me,” Zig complained.

Nora groaned resentfully as an acidic smell wafted through the air, followed by the sound of a wet splat.

“I’ll…I’ll get you for this…”

“If you have time to complain, you have time to do something about this situation,” Zig said.

Nora painfully began her incantation. A ball of fire launched itself toward the head of the blade bee swarm, incinerating it with a loud noise.

They were in luck—Nora was a flame mage.

The explosion slowed the blade bees down, allowing Siasha to take them out with her stone spear. Earth and flame—the two elements together kept the blade bees away while reducing their numbers.

They kept running and fighting back for some time. Explosions and rock bullets whittled the swarm down.

Monstrosities that lived in the forest would usually approach if they made this sort of noise, but the blade bees’ bloodlust kept them at bay. In the event any of them decided to try their luck, Norton would cut them down or they would be swallowed by the swarm.

“Huff, huff… All right! There’s a lot less of them now!”

The swordsman turned around, celebrating through his ragged breathing. The blade bee swarm had been reduced to a much more manageable number.

“I’ll end this with a big one,” Nora said as she began her incantation. “I’ll be out of mana after this, so I leave the rest to you.”

Siasha scattered larger stone bullets to buy her some time.

The blade bees flew faster to make up for the loss in numbers, but they were no match for the improved stone bullets.

Nora finished her incantation. A direct hit would wipe out the blade bee swarm completely.

“Y-yes, we’re saved! Urgh!”

The archer tripped over his own feet.

Perhaps it was the sudden relaxation of his nerves, or maybe he had just run out of stamina. Zig’s arms were occupied, Norton was in no position to help, and the swordsman was out of energy.

“Argh!”

The archer couldn’t recover and rolled across the ground. He no longer had the energy to pick himself up after running for such a long time.

Nora’s eyes widened and she hesitated as she recited her incan­tation.

If she cast her spell now, her comrade would be caught in the crossfire. If she didn’t, he was dead for sure.

However, she wasn’t so heartless that she could immediately decide to kill her comrade with her own hands.

This time, no one extended a helping hand—it was more like a helping foot.

“Better not die on me.”

“Huh?” The voice of salvation sent a chill of unease down the archer’s back.

He watched as Zig’s right leg came flying at him at full force and without mercy.

Zig planted his weight and the weight of two people on his shoulders on his left leg and swung his right leg in an arc like the reaper with his scythe.

“Fly!”

At that point, the archer felt closer to death than ever. No blade bee swarm, monstrosity, or bounty hunt came close. Zig’s leg went in a scooping motion, making direct contact with the archer’s chest. He let out a pained scream as the impact made a dull sound, sending him flying into the air. He probably said something too, but he was pretty much incoherent the moment Zig kicked him.

The archer flew diagonally from where Zig and the others were running. Blood spat out of his mouth as he spun in the air.

Norton and the other adventurer watched with mouths agape, but quickly snapped out of their reveries to resume their sprint.

The incantation was complete.

Nora unleashed her spell, unfazed by the turbulence Zig’s desperate kick produced.

A hot wind blew violently, and a vortex of flames suddenly erupted between Nora and the blade bees. Because they had no time to stop, the intense heat and swirling flames engulfed the blade bees.

The magic unleashed using Nora’s remaining mana was so powerful that it even turned the greenwood trees—which fed on mana and were resistant to fire—into charcoal. The flame vortex settled and disappeared after about five seconds. The heat remained, as well as a black ring on the ground where it had just been.

The blade bees were completely incinerated; the only thing left of them were the ashes blowing away in the breeze. The stragglers were quickly shot down by rock bullets.

Zig and the others finally stopped running after seeing that their pursuers were no more. Norton helped the archer down from the tree and stood guard as the swordsman tended to his friend’s injuries.

“Looks like we’re in the clear,” Norton said after checking their surroundings. He breathed a sigh of relief, finally allowing himself to relax.

“Huff, huff… Looks like…we made it.”

Zig was on his knees, taking deep breaths after putting the other two down from his shoulders. Even if he had been carrying two women, they were still fully grown adults and he had been running in full gear. It had been an ordeal even with Zig’s impressive stamina.

Siasha moved to tend to him, seeing that he was no longer able to move.

“Zig, are you all right?”

“Wa…”

“Water? Here.”

Taking the flask from Siasha with trembling hands, Zig chugged it like he was bathing himself. He coughed midway and splashed the rest of the flask’s contents on his head to cool himself off.

Siasha wiped him down as Zig groaned from lack of air. She used magic to replenish the flask and handed it back to him. He took it and slowly drank.

“Thanks.”

“Not at all.”

Zig expressed his gratitude, feeling well enough to speak, and Siasha returned it with a smile.

He slowly got back up on quivering knees and went to check on the archer he kicked earlier.

“Leslie, hang in there!”

“Urk… Radian…?”

The archer called Leslie was being slapped back to consciousness. He groaned as he slowly opened his eyes. The swordsman looking after him and inspecting his injuries was called Radian. Leslie’s armor needed to be taken off, but they couldn’t move him. Since it was an emergency, they cut the straps of his armor with a knife so they could carefully remove it.

“What a state.”

Radian winced when he saw the condition of Leslie’s armor. Archers wore light armor, but his breastplate was made of a tough material. It now had a huge dent in it after failing to absorb the impact to his ribs. This was not the kicking power of a regular human.

“Use this.” Norton gave him medicine provided by the guild.

“Thanks.” Radian promptly administered it, suggesting that he might have had experience handling it in the past.

Zig, the man who punted Leslie, appeared behind them. “He okay?”

“He’ll be hospitalized for a while, and probably would’ve suffered some lasting side-effects if he didn’t manage to land properly. Can’t say he’s exactly okay.”

Radian calmly relayed Leslie’s condition as he continued treating him, his back to Zig.

“I see.”

“But…thanks. If it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t have survived that ordeal.”

“All in a day’s work. I didn’t want to damage the goods, though.”

“Don’t worry about it. With the situation we were in, you didn’t have much of a choice. There we go.”

Having finished his treatment, Radian got up and turned to Zig.

“I’m Radian. The one who flew through the scenery is Leslie, and the one who threw up on you is Eleonora.”

Zig introduced himself, shaking Radian’s hand.

“Zig. I’m a mercenary.”

He could tell from the calluses and strength of Radian’s hand that he was an accomplished swordsman.

“I’ve heard the stories. You helped Heinz out last time.”

“You know him?”

“We started around the same time and we’re in the same class right now.”

Radian had short brown hair, while Leslie’s locks were black and Eleonora’s red. The three adventurers had survived after Zig and the others’ great escape. One needed a great amount of bed rest, but no one was injured to the point where they could no longer be adventurers. Everything was still within Kirk’s completion criteria.

Norton got up once everyone finished catching their breaths and rehydrating.

“I think that’s enough of a break. We’re probably in the clear, but we’re finished if more blade bees decide to show up. I’m also getting worried about the rest of the rescue team.”

“My legs are still on fire, but you have a point. I never wanna go through that again…” Radian put away his flask, getting up after voicing a brief complaint.

Norton approached Zig, clearly worried about his condition.

“Are you all right? You definitely hustled the most out there just now.”

“I’m fine,” Zig answered casually and then stood up. “I have energy left to leave you all behind if it comes to it.”

Although he looked tired, he wasn’t unsteady on his feet. He really did have that much energy left.

“That’s…very impressive.”

“All of my daily running is paying off.”

Zig’s training had helped him countless times in the past, but today he really appreciated it. He was grateful for the teachers who beat the habit into him, as well as himself for not slacking off.

“So how are we carrying him?”

“I’ll take him. I threw my sword away, anyway.”

Someone had to manually carry Leslie, since a dolly was not available.

Radian had thrown away his sword earlier because it weighed him down, so he took the responsibility on his own shoulders. He was just as exhausted as the rest of his party but was willing to do it for his comrade.

“Oh, I can carry him for you if you want.”

“Oh no, I’d feel bad letting a mage do physical labor…”

Radian refused Siasha’s offer, but then saw how she had already repurposed an earthen shield for Leslie to lay on. Granted, it wasn’t the safest platform to carry someone with broken ribs, but Radian bowed deeply to the woman who looked younger than him.

“Thank you!”

“He is in good hands.”

The group carried on to the rendezvous point while looking out for possible threats.

Norton took the lead with Radian and Nora at his side. Zig was at the rear, while Siasha and Leslie were in the middle of the formation.

Suddenly, Zig called out to Nora. “By the way, how old are you?”

“How out of the blue… I’m nineteen.”

“Nice.”

Zig pumped his fist into the air without changing his expression. He wasn’t going to ask everyone for their age during the rescue operation, but the fact that he had secured a high value target cheered him up.

“Oh, I see…”

However, the others took it the wrong way, ignorant of Zig’s contract. Nora sighed and shrugged.

“I guess once or twice is fine… You did save my life, after all.”

Nora didn’t look too shabby. She had a decently nice body too. She was used to male adventurers looking at her that way. Radian winced as the atmosphere became more awkward but said nothing.

Zig was only asking since Kirk would pay him more for younger adventurers, but he wasn’t about to refuse a reward if offered. He had been pent up lately and wasn’t thinking straight.

“Huh, I didn’t mean it that way…but I suppose—”

“What’s this, Zig?” Siasha said. “Are you trying to double dip on your rewards? That will not do.”

“The guild is already paying me for rescuing you, but I will accept your gratitude.”

Siasha turned toward him with a glare. Zig peered through her flowing black hair—doing his best to ignore her gaze—and promptly refused Nora’s offer.

Nora and the others immediately understood the power dynamics between the two. From that point on, they diverted all their inquiries to Siasha instead of Zig.

Back at the rendezvous point, adventurers had been brought in and were being treated one after another.

“We need some help here! The bleeding is bad! Real bad!”

“All right, this one’s done. Take him away!”

“We don’t have enough medicine. Anyone with mana left over, come over here and heal him! But be sure to have enough energy for yourselves so you can make the walk home.”

“It hurts? Then you’re fine. You can still walk if you can feel pain. Get going!”

Some were examining the injured and the extent of their wounds, while others were treating them. Still more people were carrying those who were too injured to walk.

Having set up camp, the adventurers were buzzing with energy.

There were a few stray blade bees and monstrosities, but nothing the adventurers couldn’t handle. Other monstrosities began to show up, perhaps because the blade bee swarm had been diverted earlier. However, as the rescue operation went on, medicine was beginning to run out.

“I think now’s a good time to call it,” a man carrying a crossbow pointed out to Sibasikul’s acting commander as more injured were carried away.

“How’s the operation looking?”

The commander gave it some thought before asking the scout about their current situation.

“Fifty survivors. Twenty confirmed dead. If we count the three who showed up earlier, that’s seventy-three confirmed adventurers, dead and alive.”

“That’s ten less than the information we got.”

The scout grimaced as he delivered the news. “Probably got carried off to the nest. A lot of bodies were mutilated beyond recognition.”

He had seen some blade bees cut up their prey into more manageable pieces while he was searching for survivors. The missing adventurers probably shared the same fate. Neatly preserved corpses were few and far between, and he could only confirm victims’ identities if their heads were intact.

“That’s a lot of deaths.”

“Can’t be helped. Considering all that’s happened, we’ve saved a lot.”

Twenty confirmed dead with ten missing and presumed dead.

Not many on the grand scale of things, but thirty was a lot of lives. Even if adventurers were used to facing death on a daily basis, the fear of it never went away.

After offering a silent prayer for the fallen, the acting commander turned and raised his voice.

“We’re withdrawing once the search team comes back! Get ready!”

Some complained at the order, but the adventurers got to work. They focused their attention on the most injured and helped the ones with more minor injuries back on their feet.

“What about Norton?” the scout asked, drawing attention to the elephant in the room.

It went without saying that the acting commander was worried about him too, but prioritizing his own comrades over the job would set a bad example for the others.

“This is a rescue operation. Norton’s an adventurer,” he said, failing to keep a straight face. “He knew the risks going in.”

The acting commander clenched his fist and looked down bitterly.

“Excellent decision making… But can’t you be a little bit more worried about me?”

“Huh?!”

He turned around toward the source of the new voice. His familiar comrade stood there, raising his hand in greeting with the three adventurers in tow.

“Norton! You’re alive!”

“Looks like it. I was ready to die but somehow survived. All I did was run, though.”

Norton’s comrades approached him. After celebrating their friend’s good health, they filled him in on the situation.

As they wrapped up, an adventurer called out to them, confirming that they were ready to go.

“You take care of the rest. I’m not cut out for this stuff.”

“I disagree. Good job out there today.”

Norton threw a joke at the former acting commander before getting back to work.

“We’re going home now but don’t get careless! Our work doesn’t end until we’re back at the guild. If you die a silly death, you’re not getting paid!”

Under Norton’s orders, the rescue team returned to the guild.

Perhaps it was because some time had passed since the nest was hit and the main threat had been dispatched, but the buzzing sound of wings in the forest was much quieter compared to when they first arrived.

The rescue team’s retreat was going smoothly, since many injured had already been carried off and an escape route secured.

The adventurers carefully walked through the forest, huddling around the injured.

“Can I ask you a question?”

Leslie had been moved to a stretcher-dolly that Radian was manning, so Siasha decided to ask him a question, since she had nothing better to do.

“Ask away.”

“So, who was the fool who fired that spell at the nest?”

Zig put his hand to his forehead at the insensitive inquiry, but it was too late.

The air grew tense immediately. Siasha’s innocent question carried heavy implications. Thirty people had died because of the stray spell.

The survivors had probably been asked about it, but it seemed that the identity of the culprit was still unknown. What if the culprit was among them? They probably wouldn’t be killed as a form of reparation, but there would be heavy penalties placed upon them.

Everyone watched with bated breath at how the conversation would unfold between the two.

Radian was dripping with cold sweat due to the pressure, while Siasha innocently tilted her head in curiosity.

“We didn’t see it happen, but we knew when it did.”

Radian furrowed his eyebrows, trying to recall the terrible incident, and glanced at Nora.

“It was wind magic. I only saw it for a second, but the scale and force was huge. The spell hit the nest, broke it, and blade bees came pouring out of it like smoke.”

Nora rubbed her arms under her robes to ease her goosebumps. There were no words for the overwhelming fear the scene evoked.

“Wind magic… We can narrow down the list of suspects if the culprit is skilled at it,” Siasha suggested, her black hair swaying. She failed to see how Nora reacted.

Norton shook his head. “I don’t know about that. Wind magic is quite common, and the adventurers that were in the forest today are in a class where it wouldn’t be unusual for them to have it. It’s going to take some time before we can get a better picture from eyewitness accounts.”

The culprit would obviously lie to protect themselves, and getting testimonies to form a clear picture out of the chaotic situation would be incredibly difficult.

But above all else…

“Did the culprit even survive?”

Everyone fell silent at Zig’s question. Forty percent of the adventurers escaped into the forest. The odds of his proposition were not low. If anything, it was hard to believe that someone who made such a clumsy mistake could survive.

The adventurers were torn between leaving the matter as settled and wanting to see whoever did it pay.

“This is bad.”

Zig ignored them, hiding the fact that his own expression was becoming grim. He didn’t really care about the man who broke the bees’ nest.

Civilian lives were one thing, but it seemed silly to make such a big deal of the deaths of thirty people whose living it was to fight.

A monstrosity’s nest was something adventurers got used to seeing every day, so it was easy to forget about the danger it presented. They were always one bad day away from getting massacred. It just so happened that the bad day was today.

Thirty was a small number for Zig, who was used to seeing hundreds of people die on the battlefield when he was a mercenary.

So, why was he so bothered? Well, it had to do with his contract.

“Three people…one and a half since I’m splitting it with Siasha.”

Zig frowned as he remembered the conditions of the job from Kirk: twenty thousand for every adventurer, forty thousand if they’re under thirty. That left him with a net of sixty thousand.

That amount was no joke. Circumstances were circumstances; while Kirk would understand why his numbers were so low, it wouldn’t change his reward.

Of course, he was tired after running all day. Zig had expended a tremendous amount of energy, especially after carrying two adults while being fully armored.

To put it simply, he was hungry.

The bigger an organism was, the more food it had to take in. The more you trained, the more calories you burned just by existing. Even when Zig was healthy, he still took in three times the amount of food compared to a normal person.

Sixty thousand was dicey; it might not last three days. Fortunately, his armor didn’t take a beating today, but his boots definitely needed fixing.

In conclusion, this request was a giant waste of effort.

“Urgh…”

Zig mourned his lack of profit along with the adventurers who lost their comrades that day.

A gloomy air followed the rescue team as they returned to the guild, each member having their own reason for being sad.

They stepped into a war zone as soon as the transportation light faded.

The angry shouting and rushed footsteps sounded like they were amplified by the light given off by the transportation stone.

“We have more injured here! Get on them!”

Guild staffers seemed like demons as they hastened to care for the injured. The adventurers quickly moved to steer clear of them, expertly handling the situation.

“E-excuse me! But the request report…”

“Now’s not the time for that, you idiot! Want me to heal that muddled brain of yours?!”

“S-sorry!”

Some were not as experienced as their peers, however.

The guild staffers turned their rage on adventurers who just returned from another job site. An older adventurer smacked the young rookie upside the head after he retreated.

All guild activities ceased as the building was temporarily converted into a field hospital; first aid came first. They stopped the bleeding of heavily injured patients so they could be transported to a proper hospital. The number of physicians was limited, so guild staff took over anyone they couldn’t look after. Some of them were quite knowledgeable, allowing them to spearhead the operation and weather through the storm.

Idle adventurers were also drafted to the cause.

“Hey, you there! Why don’t you buy us more medicine if you’ve got nothing better to do!” a staffer shouted at Norton, handing him a grocery list of medicines.

“Uh, me?”

“Yes, you! Move it!”

Guild staff were usually placid, behaving more like civil servants than anything else. Today, they were channeling their inner sailors. Adventurer class didn’t matter under these circumstances. Even a high-rank adventurer could be reduced to an errand boy.

“Uhh…”

“Buy everything you can get on that list. The guild will reimburse you for it. Try to filch any of it and I’ll kill you.”

Even Siasha was taken aback at the scene. “Whoa…”

Hearing the clear threat behind the staffer’s voice, the Sibasikul clan nodded and moved out.

Next, the demon staffer turned his eyes to Zig.

“The big one over there… Oh, you’re an outsider. Excuse me.”

“It’s all right. What should I do?”

Zig still offered to help the obviously perturbed employee. The guild’s field hospital setup reminded him of his old battlefields. He was more than used to this kind of treatment.

“Well, it’s just that the vice president is looking for you. Go upstairs. We’ll be borrowing the mage, though.”

“All right. Siasha.”

“Of course. I have it covered.”

Zig left Siasha on the first floor and climbed up the stairs.

He looked inside the waiting room, but found no one there. Remembering that Kirk probably wouldn’t have noticed Zig and the others returning, he took the liberty of going through the room until he reached an impressive looking door. He knocked on it.

“It’s me. We just got back.”

Zig waited for an answer before entering.

“Come in.”

The room was sparsely decorated, probably matching its owner’s taste. A wide desk was set before a sofa that could fit four guests.

Behind the desk, Kirk was doing paperwork. Although today’s events had kept him busy, his hair was still neatly slicked back. As vice president of the Adventurers’ Guild, he was probably used to these types of situations.

Kirk motioned Zig to take a seat without looking up from his paperwork. Zig sat down, and Kirk started the conversation, his pen not stopping.

“Good work out there,” Kirk began, closing off any avenues of escape Zig might have had in mind. “I’ve heard reports from the other adventurers.”

Zig wouldn’t be able to pull a fast one on him.

“Fifty-three survivors in all with only thirty missing…not bad. It’s a shame we lost a lot of lives today, but all things considered, I think things worked out for the best.”

Kirk stopped, put his papers aside, and steepled his hands. He looked at Zig with a gaze so sharp it could cut through lies. Nothing Zig cooked up would work on him; the difference in experience was far too great.

“So, how many did you save?”

“Three,” Zig reported bitterly. “All under thirty.”

The results were made even more embarrassing by his initial bravado.

Kirk sat pensive, expression unreadable, before nodding and writing something down in his papers.

“As promised, that will be forty thousand orth for each of the three survivors, totaling to one hundred and twenty thousand orth. You only claim half of it which makes out to sixty thousand.”

“Yeah.” Zig could only nod at the announced amount.

It wasn’t worth the trouble, but results were results.

He wasn’t going to make excuses about how he ran into some problems, refusing to embarrass himself even further by laying out the complications after he had taken an obviously disadvantageous contract. He would simply have to accept his shame.

Kirk continued as Zig hung his head. “Also…”

What mattered more was trust. He could get by with losing his reputation and take on more work if he were dealing with an ordinary client, but Kirk was the vice president of the guild. Losing his trust wouldn’t just be a matter of lost standing; working for the guild would become a lot more difficult.

Zig probably wouldn’t get banned thanks to his contract, but it would still be more difficult for him to get more jobs. Maintaining a good relationship with Kirk would help him stay out of trouble if adventurers tried to pick a fight with him. Zig could only sigh after considering the benefits and drawbacks.

The situation continued to develop as he brooded.

Kirk got up, holding a small piece of paper, and sat across from him. Zig remained silent, prepared for any sentence Kirk would pass on to him.

“…An extra eight hundred thousand orth for diverting the blade bees and eliminating them. That makes a total of eight hundred and sixty thousand orth.”

“What?”

Zig couldn’t believe what Kirk was saying. He looked up to him, dumbfounded, and found Kirk shoving the piece of paper in front of him.

Zig sat with his mouth agape. He remained silent, unable to grasp the situation.

“Take this to reception and they’ll pay you what you’re owed. Not now, of course. I believe you can tell, but it’s best to wait until things settle down a bit. Lives are still at stake, after all. Besides, I doubt you want to cross our murderous staffers.”

Kirk’s words entered in one of Zig’s ears and came out the other.

If his eyes weren’t mistaken, on the paper was an invoice of eight hundred sixty thousand orth for Zig in Kirk’s name.

“Are you not satisfied with the pay? We don’t have an infinite amount of money, you know.”

“That’s not the problem…”

Slowly recalling the terms of his contract, Zig turned to Kirk for a clarification.

“I only rescued three survivors. I thought I was just getting paid for every adventurer I saved.”

“Are you stupid?”

The barefaced insult caused Zig to flinch. Kirk narrowed his eyes in obvious exasperation and pushed up his glasses with a sigh.

“I did say your reward depended on how many lives were saved but what kind of rating do you think an idiot would get if he got in the way of others for the sake of fattening his pay? You thought the best way to save the most lives was to divert the blade bees’ attention, correct?”

Kirk neatly laid out his logic.

“Not only did you distract the blade bees, you also managed to kill them. It would’ve been much easier for you to do the opposite if you were only concerned about your own score. The fact that you did what you did meant that you were concerned about saving the greatest number of survivors.”

He tapped his desk twice to punctuate his point.

“You said you would deliver and you delivered,” Kirk continued. “You saved a total of three people. No more, no less. But I also said that I would be rating your overall performance, and you were free to decide on the terms of completion.”

Kirk pointed to the piece of paper, repeating what he said to Zig when he took the job.

“I’ll only say this once. Good job. On behalf of the guild, thank you for saving our adventurers,” Kirk said with a serious face as he bowed his head so deeply that it almost touched his desk.

“Now, regarding the incident.”

Kirk’s grumpy demeanor returned as he lifted his head again. It was over so fast that it was as if him thanking Zig never happened.

It didn’t feel like Kirk was only paying lip service. He really was doing what was best for the guild. Kirk looked at everything through a lens of profits and losses, meaning he was no friend of Zig’s. However, Zig didn’t hate that side of him.

Kirk narrowed his eyes, suspicious at Zig’s shift in mood. “Yes?”

“Nothing, I just wasn’t expecting you to bow your head like that.”

“Hmph… I do whatever is necessary when necessary. Praise only matters when given by someone in a higher position than you.”

Zig had to smile at how forced Kirk sounded.

Although Kirk seemed annoyed, he didn’t regret bowing his head to Zig. His attitude toward his work was evident in the way he refused to let his ego get in the way of doing what was best for the guild.

“Back to the point… We don’t know who it was exactly that fired the spell at the nest.”

“Norton said that too. Is wind magic so common?”

The lack of certainty was surprising considering the guild had information on all their adventurers.

“There are more wind users than other elements, but the difference isn’t too big. And that’s if they’re being honest.”

“You think people weren’t being forthright when they signed up?”

Kirk’s eyebrows furrowed, and he nodded. “People don’t want everyone to know what they can do. You’re in the business of violence, you understand.”

“Of course.”

Tactics could be devised against a particular fighting style as long as the opposition weren’t complete fools. When fighting against archers, it was best to avoid open areas and look for zones that made it difficult to get a clean shot.

Against spearmen, fight them in cramped spaces and corner them so they would no longer be able to turn. Having this information was enough to make or break a battle.

“But that only applies to mercenaries and bounty hunters since we fight people. Wouldn’t it be better to advertise your strengths as an adventurer?”

“Precisely. You would get jobs which suit you more according to your supposed strengths. However, there will always be people with devious intentions. Fortunately, they’re rare. But the thing with wind magic…is that it leaves very little evidence.”

Zig pursed his lips.

Earth, lightning, water, and ice magic all left traces, with fire being the most obvious one. However, wind was different. Whatever it left behind could barely be distinguished from a sword cut.

Zig put his left hand at his side.

There was a man in Elsia’s party who used wind magic… Zasp, Zig thought his name was. The cuts his wind blade made felt very similar to that of a sharp sword. Zig could understand the concern.

“With its silence and lack of a trail, wind mages tend to commit more crimes compared to the other elements. The stereotype doesn’t apply to all of them, obviously. Maybe the problem is with having just the right tool for the job when the opportunity to do mischief arises.”

Kirk had seen adventurers do just that, having worked for the guild a long time. Though, Zig noticed that the vice president’s words were deflective, as if covering up a past shame.

“So, it’s possible that some adventurers may have falsified their personal information.”

“That’s how it is. Look at this.”

Kirk slid a document across the desk.

Looking at it, the file contained the names of various adventurers. They were separated by parties and had additional information such as their class, weapons, and the types and strength of the magic they could use.

The list contained about thirty names in all.

“This is our list of suspects.”

“Are you sure I can see this?”

Kirk scoffed while Zig was taken aback that he was sharing confidential guild information with him. That alone was enough to tell Zig what the man wanted.

“You trying to get me to run internal affairs for you?”

“Thought you said you’d do anything as long as you got paid.”

“I did, but…”

Mercenaries basically did anything for money. Anything.

Although you no longer needed to take extra jobs once you were attached to a big enough mercenary group, freelancers and mercenaries who had too much time on their hands were more than welcome to do so. Anything from bodyguarding, training new recruits, to unloading cargo from carriages or ships were on the table.

However, that didn’t mean they would take on every job.

“This isn’t your usual line of work… Am I reading you right?”

The edge of Kirk’s lips curled into a grin, having read Zig’s mind.

“It’s not,” Zig replied.

“I don’t have so much free time on my hands that I would play a practical joke on you just to see how you would react.”

Zig felt a rush of relief at what Kirk said. He already had a feeling that was the case.

The man hated inefficiency and always did what was best for the guild. He wouldn’t go out of his way to hire a mercenary unless he had a very good reason to.

Kirk got up and made sure the door was locked before activating the cylindrical magic item on the wall. The magic item was familiar to Zig; it was used to soundproof a room and was the exact copy of the one Kirk used when they talked about the Claritists last time.

The old one had been destroyed in Siasha’s fit of rage, and Kirk’s usage of it sent Zig very clear signals.

“This whole incident reeks,” Kirk said with a heavy voice, his crow’s feet making deep lines at the corners of his eyes.

“We’ve had similar incidents in the past, so the dangers revolving around the blade bee nest is common knowledge. That’s why we thoroughly drill that fact into adventurers who are heading out into the zone.”

Siasha had received the same instruction. Warnings concerning the blade bees were so thorough that even an outsider like Zig was aware of them.

“Yet this happened today… I don’t think it’s because we’ve been lacking in our instructions.”

“Maybe it was someone who just got promoted. People who just don’t listen are common enough.”

“We can’t rule it out. But there is very little evidence that that is the case.”

Zig saw the logic in Kirk’s words.

Even an idiot knew what would happen if you kicked a blade bees’ nest. Someone would have spotted said idiot messing around if he really did exist. The fact that there were so many adventurers present with no name to the culprit made it far too unlikely.

“The list is made of names that couldn’t be ruled out after eyewitness testimonies,” Kirk continued, pointing to the document. “As long as the culprit isn’t dead, he should be on that list.”

“You seem to think that he’s not.”

“That is what I would like you to investigate. If he is dead, all the better. If not…” Kirk trailed off.

“You’ll make him pay?”

“Don’t be silly,” Kirk smirked, his gaze becoming sharp. “There are limits to what money can do.” His eyes weren’t smiling one bit, however. “If this whole thing was done intentionally, what happened today wouldn’t be the end of it. There will be a next time.”

“You’re probably right.”

If there was someone behind this incident, then they wanted to hurt the guild as much as possible.

This morning’s attack of the blade bees would be considered a failure by their standards. The scope of damage was small and far too many people survived. There was a high likelihood that the perpetrator would want to cause more mayhem.

If there is a culprit.

Zig wasn’t fully convinced. Although he understood the lack of closure in writing this whole thing off as an accident, he didn’t understand why anyone would try to pick a fight with the guild. Kirk probably knew some people that had a good reason, but he kept Zig in the dark about it.

“Contract period is twenty days with a reward of five hundred thousand. This is your minimum payment even if you don’t find anything. If you find additional evidence, that’s an additional five hundred thousand. Find the perpetrator and I’ll pay you one million and five hundred thousand.”

Zig whistled, impressed at the unexpected payout. “Whew… That’s generous of you.”

“That’s how important this investigation is.”

“But I’m still on the clock as a bodyguard.”

“I don’t think that thing even needs a bodyguard… But, fine. It won’t be a problem. You won’t appear out of place looking into adventurers while you’re on your current contract. An outsider might raise eyebrows if he starts sniffing around, but I think most adventurers are used to seeing you by now.”

Kirk didn’t mind Zig going about his usual job.

“You also know your way around the underworld. Ask around, it’s not uncommon for some adventurers to have connections to the mafia. I hope you can see why I chose not to assign one of our members to this investigation. Too dangerous. With you, though, I have nothing to worry about.”

Zig’s reasons to refuse were getting knocked down one after another. It wasn’t a bad gig. With a little effort he could get a cool five hundred thousand orth even if he didn’t find anything.

“I can’t guarantee that I’ll find him.”

“That’s fine. I know you won’t shortchange me on effort.”

Kirk had rated Zig quite highly after the rescue operation. His trust was worth more than whatever he could pay.

“You never know…but I’ll take the job.”

“Good. Take the list with you. Be careful with it, though, because it doesn’t actually exist on paper.”

Zig took the payment slip and suspect list from Kirk before deciding to head out. He stood up and put his hand on the door handle.

“Oh, I almost forgot.” Kirk then stopped him as if he just remembered something. “It’s not a random list. The adventurers on that list are all known for behaving poorly and getting terrible ratings. It’s arranged from worst to least bad. It’s no proof of their guilt, but refer to it as you will.”

Zig took a peek at the list and noticed notes scribbled in the margins. They were the guild’s evaluation of the adventurers.

“You’re pretty thorough… Hrm.”

Zig raised his eyebrows when he scanned the bottom of the list where the most well-behaved suspects were.

“A demi-human?”

“Public sentiment aside, he is a rare individual with great character and abilities. You should talk to him.”

Zig didn’t discriminate against demi-humans, and his first contact with Urbas caused him to view the race in a positive light. The demi-human would make a great starting point.

“I’ll do that.”

“I await good tidings.”

Having accepted his new assignment, Zig left the room.

“Now, where do I start?”

Zig thought about his next move as he walked away from Kirk’s office. Although he was inexperienced in this line of work, he wasn’t completely clueless.

Zig thought about Cossack, the information broker who helped arrange passage to this continent. He knew a little bit about gathering information from his interactions with him. When Cossack got drunk, he would start talking about the intricacies of information gathering, provided you knew him well enough. Zig had also been employed multiple times on Cossack’s trips of obtaining dangerous data.

“For an information broker, he sure ran his mouth.”

A smile crept onto Zig’s lips as he remembered the old days.

Cossack ran his mouth because Zig wasn’t in the same industry and was very tight-lipped. Zig was completely oblivious to this reason, however.

Things had settled down by the time Zig walked down the stairs to the first floor.

Adventurers in critical condition had already been treated and were out of the danger zone.

Although things had settled down, business as usual had yet to return.

Zig looked around for Siasha. He didn’t need to look too hard and quickly found his companion as he headed toward her. Siasha wasn’t exactly small, but she was barely visible when surrounded by other adventurers. Still, her strange aura made her easy to spot.

“Oh, Zig.”

On the other hand, Zig stood out so much that Siasha spotted him as he was looking for her.

Zig looked over to find her sitting in a chair and drinking tea. Beside her was the receptionist Aoi, as well as Norton and other members of Sibasikul.

Siasha waved at him from afar, and he responded with a wave in kind.

“Are you finished?”

“For the most part, yes. It’s much easier when people with medical knowledge are helping. They know just the right places to heal for the most effective treatment.”

Siasha looked at Aoi with admiration. Aoi, however, didn’t seem flattered by the compliment, a conflicted look on her face.

“I think you’re much more impressive, Siasha,” she said. “You don’t seem tired at all after healing all those people…”

As a witch, Siasha had greater amounts of mana compared to an ordinary human. Even Zig didn’t know by how much. She would still get exhausted if she used a bunch of her mana at once, but more often than not, she was completely fine.

“It is very impressive. Even after casting so many spells when we were being chased, you seem no worse for wear.” Norton nodded, half astonished and half exasperated. “Would you like to join us? We’ll treat you well. I’ll guarantee that.”

“Hmm… I think I’d like to take it easy for a while.”

Siasha leaned to look at Zig and he shrugged, suggesting she was free to do as she wanted. Her response was to decline, despite being invited by one of the most reputable clans in the guild.

“I see. Well, let us know if you change your mind.”

Norton didn’t push her, so they dropped the subject easily.

“Have you settled your business with the vice president?” Aoi said, looking at the papers in Zig’s hand. She was looking at his invoice, since Zig had slipped the suspect list in his pocket.

“Yeah. He was very accommodating. Even gave me a bonus for my trouble.”

She raised her eyebrows.

“Oh, that doesn’t happen every day,” she said. “The old bespectacled recluse… Excuse me. It might rain blood tomorrow since our vice president is usually quite pragmatic.”

Aoi then followed with, “Oh, I suppose it already has started raining,” to deliver the punchline to her bloody joke.

It was a rare response from her since she usually treated everyone equally. There was always some tension between superiors and their underlings, so she probably hated Kirk to some degree. Kirk did seem to deserve it, and her response showed Zig that he wasn’t far from the mark.

Zig and the others seemed rather taken aback by her behavior.

“Uhh… Can you process this when you have the time?”

Best to let sleeping dogs lie. Aoi’s professional smile returned after Zig gave her the invoice.

“I’ll get on it right away.”

“Thank you.”

He felt a chill up his spine despite seeing her smile for the first time. He diverted his eyes from the ferocious beauty and saw her leave from the corner of his eye.

With the storm now passed, Zig turned to Norton.

“I wanted to ask you something.”

“What is it?”

Like Zig, he was still a bit rattled, but he was more than happy to talk about something else.

“Have you heard of a party called the Forestfangs?”

“I have. It’s a party made up of demi-humans, and they were among the adventurers rescued in the operation. What about them?”

The Forestfangs were at the bottom of the list of suspects.

The demi-human party was mostly made up of veteran fifth-class adventurers and were well regarded by the guild and their peers for their earnest work. Their ratings were affected by the fact that they were demi-humans, but they readily participated in joint requests.

“I want to talk to them. Do you know where they are?”

“They left the guild earlier, probably for lunch. I don’t know where, though.”

“All right. Thanks.”

Zig had a hunch as to where they were. There weren’t many restaurants where demi-humans were welcome.

Even if they didn’t refuse demi-humans, ordinary eateries were usually too small for them. They were free to dine there, of course, but they probably wouldn’t eat somewhere where they couldn’t relax at the same time.

However, that was perfect for Zig. He was getting hungry after all that running. He would check the restaurant Urbas showed him last time and get lunch after taking care of business. If they weren’t there, he would get lunch first.

Aoi soon returned with Zig’s payment. “Sorry to have kept you waiting. Here is your reward for today.” Her anger had subsided, and her expressionless face brought a sigh of relief to everyone.

Zig took the bag, heavy from the coins that were fattening it. The weight felt comforting and brought a smile to his face. It warmed both his heart and his pockets.

“Thank you.”

“Why don’t you become an adventurer, Zig?” Norton said, concerned for Zig’s money bag. “Carrying all that money with you isn’t convenient. The guild can store your money for you even if you just sign up as a formality.”

Walking around with coins jingling in your pockets was not admirable in this day and age. Getting pickpocketed was the least of your concerns. Some people might just kill you on the spot.

Norton didn’t think Zig would get taken out by any thug, but he still wanted to keep him out of unnecessary trouble.

“I know there are merits to being in the guild, but it still comes with responsibilities. Like today’s assignment, for example.”

“I suppose you’re right… Excuse me for my rudeness.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll convert it to smaller coinage. I don’t want any trouble either.”

Norton quickly understood where Zig was coming from, realizing that he was the type who didn’t like belonging to a group. Despite his appearance, he was well aware of the proverb “Different strokes for different folks.” He was easy to get along with; Zig considered it an extra benefit to get to know him today.

“So, you are suggesting he abuse the guild’s account system. You’re quite bold, Norton.”

“Um…”

“Good luck.”

Zig turned away just as Aoi grabbed Norton’s shoulder. Like true veterans, his own comrades had already slipped away from the scene.

Zig and Siasha left the guild, hearing the faint sounds of Aoi lecturing Norton.

“Did you take on a new job?”

“Yeah. But I can do it while I’m guarding you. You’re going adventuring again tomorrow, right?”

“Yes! I had so many interesting experiences today. I can’t wait for tomorrow.”

“It won’t be boring, I’m sure.”

The battlefield and his current job were much alike. Both required the use of his sword.

Zig felt an odd sense of fulfillment that he couldn’t quite explain. He still didn’t know where it was coming from.

The two headed to the restaurant Urbas showed them last time.

The town was more restless and bustling than usual, probably owing to the incident at the guild. Pharmacies were out of medicine due to the influx of injuries, and craftsmen were placing orders for materials to repair damaged adventurer equipment.

Fortunately, Zig’s gear was spared during the rescue operation. His boots were in need of work, but everything else was in good shape.

Siasha’s hair bounced as she looked about at the state of the town. She turned to Zig.

“It’s good that you got a lot of money from that.”

“Yeah. I can get by for a while.”

Although he seemed nonchalant, Zig was internally massaging his chest in relief.

No money meant no food, and no funds for equipment maintenance. Taking on jobs in less-than-optimal conditions would lead to mistakes and eventually injuries, resulting in even more expenses. Being broke was a universal problem, both for mercenaries in his homeland and the adventurers of this continent.

Fortunately, the unexpected windfall would tide him over until his next assignment. His worries were settled for now.

“Good thing I didn’t break anything during all that running.”

“I was just being carried around all day… But all that spell casting did wear out my throat.”

Siasha made some random sounds to check its condition. An ordinary mage would run out of mana long before their throat would start hurting. “I’m still impressed you managed to carry two people and run at the same time. What amazing stamina.”

“As the saying goes: ‘A soldier’s job is to run and dig holes.’ Soldiers carry materials before a battle starts, carry the injured during a battle, and carry corpses after the battle is over. We didn’t have time to be bothered by the weight of our own equipment.”

Which was why running was demanded of soldiers. Swinging a sword and defeating the enemy came after that. A new recruit would be made to keep running until he passed out.

“Even if you couldn’t swing a sword, you could beat anyone if you kept running and threw rocks at them.”

Siasha nodded, recalling the events of the rescue operation. “When you put it that way, that doesn’t sound too different from what we did today.” Since she used magic, she couldn’t completely agree with Zig’s meathead philosophy, but she couldn’t deny the violence that sheer numbers could do. If a bunch of humans swarmed me like those blade bees, I would be easily done in, she thought.

Siasha turned to the mercenary and smiled fondly at him, grateful that he defeated her before she was swarmed to death.

“Still, carrying two people and running at full speed wore me out. Let’s get some rest after we eat.”

“Of course.”

Zig’s legs felt like lead, still feeling the aftereffects of the morning. He had every intention of carrying out the investigation, but rest and nutrition were still important. Most importantly, he was starving.

It was time for dinner by the time they arrived at the restaurant.

Zig couldn’t help but recall the trouble he ran into the last time he came here. Ironically, the circumstances surrounding his current visit weren’t peaceful either.

When they entered, the waiter bowed apologetically.

“I’m sorry, sir, but we’re full at the moment…”

“No problem. You still have tables upstairs, don’t you?” Zig motioned with his chin when the waiter was about to suggest another restaurant.

The restaurant was indeed filled with adventurers, but that only applied to the humans on the first floor. There weren’t enough people to fill the second floor, which was reserved mainly for demi-humans.

“In that case, come on in. I’ll come to get your order later, so take any table you want.”

The waiter had worked here for a long time, so meeting a customer like Zig wasn’t a first. He led him upstairs, mistakenly thinking that Zig had demi-human acquaintances.

Zig scanned the second floor, full of dining demi-humans. Spotting the ones he was looking for, he motioned to Siasha and headed over to them.

The four demi-humans put their guards up when they sensed the humans approaching. The others looked on with interest at what was unfolding.

The two continued approaching, ignoring the stares, and stood in front of the party. Their description matched the one that was on the list—furry demi-humans with wolflike heads.

“You the Forestfangs?”

“What’s it to you, human?” a demi-human spat back.

His tail was standing on end and his legs were tense, ready to pounce at a moment’s notice. Meanwhile, Siasha stared at his tail intently.

Zig chose his words carefully so as not to escalate the situation.

“I wanted to ask you something. It’s about the blade bee incident today.”

The three demi-humans looked at the one sitting in the back.

This demi-human was bigger than his peers and had gray fur. A scar ran diagonally across one of his eyes and he carried himself differently from the others.

He looked at Zig with his one eye and spoke with a low growl.

“Why us?”

His gaze had enough menace to make an average person cower in fear. However, Zig answered him casually despite the threat-laced tone.

“You seem to have better ears and noses than the rest of us.”

The wolf demi-human bared his fangs, his mouth stretching from ear to ear. Although it was a terrifying display, the shaking of his shoulders and the sound of his voice revealed it to be a laugh.

“What’s your name?”

“Zig. I’m a mercenary.”

“Mercenary… Yeah, I’ve heard about you.”

The one-eyed demi-human nodded, not at Zig’s name but at the word “mercenary.” He looked at Zig as if appraising him.

“A giant merc wielding a twinblade…”

His eyes shifted to Siasha. She was unfazed despite the wildness of the demi-human’s gaze.

“A foreigner who brought a menacing girl along with him. Just like the rumors.”

“Chief, who is this guy?” the younger demi-human asked, not taking his eyes off of the two humans. He looked like a young wolf determined to protect his pack from outsiders.

“Bare your fangs against that man and they’ll be broken,” the older wolf rebuked the young wolf who looked like he was ready to pounce. “Stand down if you want to protect your comrades.”

“What do you… Ack!”

The young demi-human yelped before he could finish his question. Startled, they turned around to discover that Siasha was holding his tail.

“Wow, it’s so fluffy!”

“Wh-what’s this lady’s problem?!”

The demi-human looked thrown off by the excited Siasha. He turned to his chief for help, frozen to what appeared to be a young girl gripping his tail with a force not befitting her looks.

The elder took one look at Siasha’s azure eyes and quietly turned away.

“The adults are talking. Be quiet.”

“Huh?!”

“Siasha, go over there for a second,” Zig said.

“Okay!”

The demi-human, abandoned by his comrades, was dragged away by Siasha by his tail. Although they all felt bad for him, they knew that the conversation would go smoother without him.

“Sorry about her,” Zig apologized.

“My runt was being rude too,” the chief said.

The two began with a mutual apology and then pretended the whole thing never happened.

“The name’s Balto. I’m head of the Forestfangs. These are Leif and Rolf.”

The gray wolf nodded as he introduced himself. The other two followed suit.

“The one with the tail in your girl’s hands is Seb.”

Balto jabbed his thumb at the young wolf who now had a blank look on his face.

“So, you wanted to talk about the blade bee incident?” he continued.

“Did you notice anything odd when it happened?” Zig asked.

While the average person might have overlooked some oddities, perhaps the demi-humans noticed something.

Balto’s nose twitched slightly.

“And why are you looking into it? This thing’s got nothing to do with mercenaries.”

“It’s for the safety of my client,” Zig said, doing his best to hide the fact that he was on a guild assignment. “We did the rescuing today, but tomorrow might be different.”

In actuality, the incident would put both Zig and Siasha in danger if it were to happen again. His sword would be useless against the swarm.

Affirming Zig’s motives, Balto gave him a nod.

“In that case, I’ll talk. I don’t know how much of it’ll be useful since we were running for our lives at the time.”

With that disclaimer, Balto proceeded to tell Zig everything he knew about the incident.

Siasha and Seb returned when the conversation was over. She had a satisfied smile on her face while the young demi-human looked drained and exhausted.

“I’ve never had such an experience…” Siasha said. “Maybe I’ll ask Urbas if I can touch his tail next time.”

“Th-this is the problem with you humans. You think of our tails as playthings…”

Despite complaining about how Siasha handled his tail, Seb didn’t actually pull away. Perhaps he was nicer to humans than he let on.

“Sorry,” Zig said. “She’s very inquisitive. I’ll buy you a drink to make up for it.”

“Hmph! I don’t need favors from a human!” the young wolf rebuffed as he groomed his messy tail back to its original shape. Although demi-humans weren’t exactly like dogs and cats, having their tails manhandled probably wasn’t a good feeling.

“It’s not a favor, it’s a thank you and an apology. I wanted to get dinner while I’m here, but the tables downstairs are full. We’d appreciate it if you don’t mind sharing your table. How about it?”

The young wolf pursed his lips and met Zig’s eyes with a look of confusion.

“You’d break bread with us, with demi-humans?”

“I’m not picky about the people I eat with.”

The young wolf looked at Zig, then at Siasha—who was still looking intently at his tail—and finally at his chief.

“I won’t say no if the chief’s okay with it.”

“Very well. We can get to know each other over dinner.”

Balto then called a waiter to take everyone’s orders.

Chapter 2: A Creeping Presence

Chapter 2:
A Creeping Presence

THE MERCENARIES RETURNED TO THEIR BASE AFTER A hard day’s work.

It was too early for dinner, but there wasn’t enough time to gamble or fool around with women. The group had just accepted a new job and situated themselves in an empty field on the outskirts of the city, loaned to them by their clients.

The boy gasped and watched as the wooden sword spiraled through the air, carried by the wind.

There were no words to accompany it, but the wooden sword admonished him for daring to take his eyes off the enemy. The weapon struck his cheek, squashing it into a funny shape with a loud noise, and sent the boy flying.

Being struck with the flat of the sword wasn’t a kindness. It was simply a method to extend his training time.

“Uhh, Vice-captain… Don’t you think that’s a bit much?” Ryell asked the man who looked like he was in the prime of his life as he pulled Zig out of the wooden crate where he had landed.

For Ryell, yet to receive his badge of a new recruit, the vice-captain—sharp in body and mind—commanded more fear than respect. Just meeting his gaze was enough to make Ryell want to run away. He feared that if he said or did anything stupid, he would end up just like Zig.

“He asked for it,” Viktor, the vice-captain, said.

Zig had, indeed, been pestering Ryell to train with him before dinner time, and Ryell took him up on it. Viktor then passed by, and Zig turned his attention to him. Ryell tried to talk him out of it, but he didn’t listen.

However, even the vice-captain knew when to call it quits. He shouldered his wooden sword and told Zig it was the end of the training session.

“I can still fight.”

Zig’s determined voice stopped Viktor in his tracks.

The boy had somehow gotten back on his wobbly feet and readied his sword again. The daily drills he had been doing brought the boy one step closer to being a full-fledged soldier.

The difference in power was overwhelming. There existed an absolute discrepancy where Zig couldn’t win no matter how hard he fought.

Even so, it didn’t smother the boy’s fighting spirit. He pointed his sword at his opponent.

“Come on… You’re gonna kill yourself.”

“Huh…” Ryell let out an exasperated sigh.

Meanwhile, a faint smile formed on Viktor’s lips.

Zig was talented with the sword, but not by much. He was above average, below gifted, and he possessed skills that would be something to brag about if you were the best in your village but would be buried by true talent.

But this boy… Zig had more than enough potential to make up for what he lacked.

“Urgh.”

Even if he was easily crushed by his instructor in the moment, Viktor wanted to see what lay in store for this boy with the head of a rock. No matter how much potential he possessed, the difference in power between them was insurmountable.

After Zig was beaten down five times and gained seven new bruises, the training session finally came to an end.

A young lunch lady came looking for Zig, Viktor, and Ryell after they failed to show up for dinner. “We can’t clear up without you!” she shouted.

Their well-honed swordsmanship was of no use in everyday life. Nobody, from the new recruit all the way up to the vice-captain, wanted to get on the lunch lady’s bad side. The three of them received a scathing lecture but were grateful to be able to eat a warm meal afterward.

Large, medium, small—each plate represented the size of the man eating and they all ate quietly. One ate impassively like a machine, another hummed as he ate, while the third ate like a hungry stray dog. Each man had different dining habits, but they were all thankful that they could fill their bellies.

Ryell stole a glance at Zig.

His body was covered in bruises, and his brows furrowed every time he ate a spoonful of his stew. Probably because he had a cut on his lip.

Surprisingly, Viktor did manage to hold back despite beating Zig to a pulp. His instructions were clear and concise, and fit the brat who picked a fight with him.

People say the vice-captain is a demon, but he might be more reasonable than he lets on, Ryell thought as he wiped some of the mess from Zig’s face.

***

It was a little bit before sunrise.

Zig got up from bed as the rest of the town was still asleep. He rubbed his face, chasing away the fog of slumber.

“Haven’t seen that one in a while.”

He wasn’t usually a dreamer. It had been ten years since his last dream.

Getting stronger was his sole intention when the mercenary group adopted him. He didn’t have the time or interest to think about other things, much to the exasperation of the others around him, but it compelled them to help him too.

“Heh.” The old memories made a rare self-deprecating smile appear on Zig’s face.

A time when he was much more immature. A time when he was a little bit more serious than he was today.

He would never see those days again.

Crossing that dreaded ocean to return to his homeland would be difficult. More to the point, his situation now was far different.

“I guess it’s unavoidable with the path I’ve chosen.”

He didn’t regret it, but he had no choice but to put those thoughts aside.

“…I should get going.”

Remembering the old days had put a slight burden on his shoulders.

Zig ran through the quiet morning of the city.

Although he already sprinted a lot the day before, he had no intention of slacking off. He needed to get some training in unless he was injured. He would feel restless otherwise.

“All right, looks like I’m good to go.”

All a mercenary needed was a lot of food and a lot of rest to be prepared for work the next day. His legs were still sore, but he didn’t work them to the extent that his movement was affected.

“That thing yesterday really did a number on me.”

He always ended up going a little easy on himself when he trained alone. Running full sprint with two people on your back wasn’t something you would do regularly if you were sane.

However, given the predicament they had been in, it was well worth the effort.

“Maybe I should put on some weights…”

Zig’s equipment could not be considered light.

There was his twinblade, obviously, but his gauntlets and other pieces of armor, along with his consumables, made for a lot of weight. He thought about increasing his pace, but focusing on endurance rather than speed better suited his strengths.

“I guess I can increase my speed while wearing weights.”

In the end, Zig decided on a slapdash solution to his woes. He hadn’t changed much, if at all.

“Ryell would laugh…”

Zig thought about those times again, probably because of the dream he had. He smiled bitterly, remembering Ryell’s smug and exasperated grin.

Zig finally stopped, but that didn’t mean he was finished with his run.

“I swear I was just here yesterday.”

He looked at the building in front of him. The place where he had fought the remitter Yaesar Burlon to the death—the Claritist church.

He smiled wryly.

The church had a tranquil atmosphere in the quiet morning sun. The doors Siasha had wrecked, and Zig subsequently had kicked in, weren’t fixed. Rather, they had been replaced with new ones. The speed was impressive considering not much time had passed.

He wasn’t looking to fight today, so he went to the back door. Doing his best to avoid being seen, he knocked.

Although it wouldn’t be strange that no one would answer since it was early in the morning, the door opened.

“How may I help you?” a middle-aged man gently asked.

Beneath his seemingly mild and innocent demeanor was an air of unmistakable violence.

His peaceful expression faded when he saw Zig, replaced with a cold smirk.

“Oh my… Please, come right in.”

Zig promptly accepted the invitation.

The remitter of the Claritist Church was gone, and with him, the fanatics. The faithful in attendance were now only made up of ordinary members—perfectly normal adherents who prayed if they had the time and consulted their priest every now and then. Though not extreme enough to hunt down heathens and demi-humans, their suspicion and hatred of them remained. They would devolve into chaos if they walked into their church one day to find it empty.

That was why the Bazarta decided to send one of their men here. He was knowledgeable about the Claritist sect and looked decent enough to pass off as a priest.

The mafia was pretty much running the church at this point. The faithful would probably consider it a bad joke, but no one had any intention of telling them.

“Looks like things are going well,” Zig said to the man who was preparing tea with expert finesse.

“This is much easier than deceiving fools into taking out unbelievable loans,” the mobster in priest’s clothing said without a hint of mockery. “Why, these fools come to us to be deceived.”

“Thought you were supposed to be guiding them?”

“Only if you think guidance is taking their eyes away from reality,” the man sneered sarcastically.

Zig didn’t care much about semantics. Deception, guidance, it didn’t make much of a difference if the people were satisfied.

“There’s something I want you to look into.”

The man placed Zig’s tea in front of him and scoffed when he brought up the purpose of his visit.

“Vanno said to make arrangements for you. It will cost you, however. What do you want me to do?”

“I want a list of all the adventurers with connections to the mafia or the underworld.”

The man paused, tapping his fingers on his desk as he gave it some thought.

“There’s a lot of those. Can you be more specific?”

“Someone who can use wind magic and has clearance into the forest with blade bees.”

Zig should’ve been able to narrow down the prime suspect once he cross-checked it with Kirk’s list. There were no guarantees, of course, but it was more efficient than going through the list one name at a time.

The man nodded knowingly, understanding Zig’s position. “Blade bees… Ah, so the guild asked you to investigate yesterday’s incident.” He took his tea and slurped it, the cup covering his mouth. “So, you’re a dog for the guild now. Busy times, Mr. Mercenary.”

“I can be your dog too, at the right price.”

The man shrugged at Zig’s comeback.

“I’ll pass. I don’t make a habit of dealing with rabid dogs.”

“I’m always loyal to my clients.”

Zig left several coins on the desk and left. He never once touched his tea.

Zig exited the church and ran through the back streets away from the downtown area instead of returning to the inn. This was the red-light district. It wasn’t teeming with shady characters but wasn’t the most straitlaced part of town either. The sun was already rising on the district, and prostitutes could be seen smoking, tired from a hard night’s work.

He called out to one of them—an escort with chestnut hair and bright but baggy eyes.

“Busy night?”

“Oh, hello, Zig.” The prostitute smiled, fluttering her eyes lazily at him. “So early and so full of energy. How about we find a nice cozy corner and I suck some of that energy out of you?”

Her words were dirty, but they were exactly the kind that turned a man on. Her eyes looked lustfully at Zig. Zig wasn’t immune to the gaze of a woman of the night whose profession it was to suck men dry, but he had work to do.

“Maybe next time. There’s something I want you to look into.”

“I can’t believe you. Who in his right mind would come here to buy information instead of a woman? I can give you info on the side if you spend a night with me.”

She pouted, her pride as a woman taking a hit.

“Please. If a punk like me slept with you, you’d take everything I own.”

“Hmph. It won’t be cheap.”

Although she sulked, she agreed to help Zig regardless. He had good standing with her. Prostitutes were always looked down on as cautionary tales, but Zig’s impartiality made him well-liked in the community.

As far as Zig was concerned, it was a more honest job than killing people.

In addition to that, he also helped carry crates of empty wine bottles for them from time to time, increasing his reputation. Ryell and the other senior mercenaries had once taught him that “being rude to prostitutes is a sign of a third-rate mercenary.” He was glad to have received this wonderful lesson.

“Thanks.”

Zig started running again, leaving the prostitute behind.

“You better buy something next time.”

He returned to the inn, sometimes greeting the prostitutes he came across.

“I guess this is what I have for now.”

Cossack used to say that “information is eaten up by those in a hurry,” but this was the best Zig, who was not a professional info broker, could do. He had time, and he was going to do this the right way.

As he ran, he remembered what Balto said the day before: “I can only guess, since we didn’t see it happen with our own eyes…but I think it was done on purpose.”

His reasoning was that there were no “sounds of a conflict” from where the spell was fired. If that were the case, it would be a stretch to call it a stray spell that someone happened to cast during a battle with the monstrosities.

Zig didn’t know how much better demi-human hearing was. However, Isana and her long-eared people had enhanced hearing, so he had little reason to assume that a wolf’s ears were worse than a human’s.

“This is beginning to stink.”

Zig sensed trouble brewing in the distance as he finished training and knocked on the door to wake up Siasha.

***

A tense and eerie silence flowed through the forest. Something was running between the foliage—something unseen, its steps light and quick. From what Zig could hear of its gait, it was not a bipedal creature.

Zig silently focused his senses, not moving his twinblade from his hip.

Poor visibility wasn’t the only reason that the threat remained unseen. He was familiar with this scent of magic, despite its weakness.

To Zig, it wasn’t much compared to the ghost shark, the first monstrosity he encountered while adventuring.

The difference in how a flying and a grounded creature concealed themselves was night and day. Compared to the ghost shark, which could hide itself and become a blur to its prey at the same time, this monstrosity relied on its ability to blend into the environment through camouflage. However, the fact that it was still able to stay out of Zig’s sight meant that it could not be underestimated.

The sound of footsteps seeking an opportunity stopped near Zig. Overflowing bloodlust assaulted him.

It was coming. Zig readied himself, just in time for the monstrosity to pounce from the trees behind him. It came out of its camouflage, revealing itself as it sailed through the air.

A leopard-like creature with a lithe body. Lustrous black fur covered its two-meter-long form.

The scimitar leopard.

Its unique feature were the blades protruding from its front legs. They were gray in color, and although they were nonmetallic, they were sharper than metal and could be used to decapitate the leopard’s prey. Ambushing its quarry from behind was its strategy.

However, its killing blow was blocked by a dark red blade.

“Hmph!”

Lifting the bottom blade of his twinblade, Zig blocked the arm blade aimed at his neck. He turned his body, flipping to nullify the scimitar leopard’s attack.

Another scimitar leopard came at him once he was open, and although he wasn’t able to counter its attack, he managed to swing his twinblade in time to block a third leopard. Two more leopards appeared to cover the failure of the ambush. However, this was a bad move for them.

Scimitar leopards were known for their pack hunting tactics. Ideally, they should be able to escape at this point.

The twinblade crashed down onto one arm blade. It was much stronger in weight and momentum. Although the arm blade remained unshattered, the leopard could do little to stop the twinblade’s momentum. It crushed the leopard’s head, and Zig was already on the move again before it fully stopped breathing.

He turned around, throwing his twinblade at the second leopard that had just landed. It pierced the scimitar leopard diagonally just as it was trying to escape, pinning it into the ground. He looked around for the final leopard.

“I’m done, Zig.”

Siasha had already placed the headless carcass of the scimitar leopard on an earthen shield. The battle was over.

“This place is quite dangerous, isn’t it?” Siasha said, preparing to carve the monstrosity’s skin. Scimitar leopards were most prized for their fur and arm blades. Its lustrous black fur was not strong enough to be used as armor, but was sought after by the wealthy for its quality. On the other hand, its arm blades were sharp and hard, but unattractive. These were made into daggers for adventurers.

Both materials traded at a high price and were in demand. However, few adventurers actively hunted these creatures.

“It can’t be helped. There are a lot of stealthy monstrosities here.”

They were in a deeper section of the forest where they encountered their first monstrosities.

Uratoria Forest was dense with greenery, lowering visibility and earning it the nickname “Invisible Forest.” It was home to sly monsters that took advantage of their environment and used various attack methods, from camouflage to movement to magic. These presented a different type of hazard compared to straight up strength, and they stayed away from large hunting groups in the name of safety. Adventurers avoided the forest if they only had combat prowess and no necessary detection abilities.

The lack of rivals made Uratoria highly lucrative. The forest was very profitable for adventurers with the right skill set, and it was famous for the quality materials it produced.

So, what were Zig and Siasha doing in such a dangerous hunting ground?

“It’s all because that other place is restricted now.”

“That can’t be helped either.”

The blade bee nest had been cordoned off after the incident. The creatures were still a threat, since their hive was attacked and the guild didn’t want to risk a repeat of what happened the other day. Thus, the area was restricted until the blade bees settled down.

“Adventurers who used to go there are forced to find other hunting grounds. Looks like fights are breaking out because of it. I feel like this has happened before.”

“It has, back when there was a bounty. Who took care of that one?”

Siasha looked at Zig as she twirled her knife, which was stained red from skinning the leopard. The blood splattered on her cheek made her look unsettling.

A similar thing happened during the double-horned blue beetle bounty. The young members of the Wadatsumi took on the job and Zig was hired to keep them safe. Eventually, the creatures were dealt with and the restriction for lower class adventurers was lifted. However, not everything went according to plan. Zig was heavily injured, and Siasha was very upset about being left out.

“Was it the Wadatsumi? You know, Siasha, you’re getting better at carving.” Zig changed the subject after realizing he was on thin ice.

To her credit, Siasha was, indeed, doing a great job. She was much faster and neater compared to Zig, who only carved if he had to. They had already split their work—Zig was on arm blade duty, with Siasha on fur duty.

“You know… I’ve done this a lot back in the forest. I got good at it eventually. My first time was awful, though…”

Siasha was not pleased with how Zig changed the subject, but she accepted the compliment anyway without pausing in her task. When he thought about it, he realized she was very efficient when she carved her first pouch wolf. He only remembered her holding back tears because of the pouch’s smell.

“Still, pretty good for someone self-taught,” Zig praised as he worked on the arm blades. The arm blades didn’t just grow from the scimitar leopard’s front paws. Their dull gray blades were actually bone growing of their elbows.

Zig first cut the leg off before sliding his knife through the muscle fibers, removing the meat. Once he carved off a good chunk of flesh, he wiped off the blood and moved the arm blade to the dolly.

The process needed to be done as fast as possible, since the smell of blood would attract more monstrosities.

“I’m done here.” Siasha finished first, tying the fur down with a leather strap and moving it to the dolly. She did a big stretch, her back popping after being in the same position for a while. Zig thought she looked like a cat while she was stretching, and he reached for the final arm blade.

“I’m almost done—hm?!”

The back of Zig’s neck broke out in goosebumps before he could finish. He followed his instincts, moving out of the way before he knew exactly what was going on. His head almost touched the ground as he ducked even further from his kneeling position.

A green arc flashed through the air where his head was just a moment ago. However, Zig’s attacker was unfazed and followed up with a second slash.

“Hmph!”

Zig had his weapon on him, but it was difficult to defend himself from his position. He picked up the nearest bladed object available, the scimitar leopard’s arm blade, and blocked the incoming attack. The gray arm blade sparked as it clashed with the green razor blade.

The arm blade was being pushed back, but Zig had predicted that this would happen. He knew that it was impossible to fight back from where he was kneeling and used his opponent’s momentum to roll out of the way. The green razor blade left a cut on Zig’s cheek.

“Zig!”

Siasha fired a spell once Zig was a safe distance away from the monstrosity. A powerful stone spear instantly materialized and hurtled itself toward its target with deadly force. However, the creature’s strange movements caused the spear to miss.

It was then that Zig saw his attacker for the first time—a monstrosity with a cicada’s head and body. It had sickles for limbs. Its body was mostly a dark green color to blend in with the trees, the exception being its brilliant green scythes. They gave off an eerie gleam.

The monstrosity used its hind legs to hang from the trees and launched itself to try and decapitate Zig. It also used its hind legs to jump away from Siasha’s spell.

“A razor-bladed decapitator mantis!” Siasha recognized the monstrosity, calling it by its ominous name. Zig readied his twinblade to face it.

The razor-bladed decapitator mantis hung from the trees, swaying as it watched them, scythes held up.

Warm blood flowed from Zig’s cheek and dripped onto the ground. The mantis’s scythes were terrifyingly sharp.

A chill ran down Zig’s back, realizing that a light scratch was enough to split him open. Good thing the scimitar leopard’s arm blade was made of tough stuff. He would’ve lost his head if he had defended himself with a measly knife.

The mantis’s scythes were obviously dangerous, but what was more concerning was the fact that he hadn’t smelled any magic coming from it. The monstrosity’s stealth, ability to cling to trees, and three-dimensional movement were all its own abilities, no magic required. Although it was barely two meters in size, its full reach with the power of its legs and length of its scythes was unknown.

The mantis’s scythes made no sound, even as it swooped from above. Zig only managed to survive because he was always on alert. He knew that there were monstrosities that didn’t rely on magic, but he wasn’t counting on seeing one this powerful.

“I guess you’re not interested in seconds…”

The mantis barely looked at the scimitar leopards’ carcasses, suggesting that it was quite aggressive.

“Be careful!” Siasha yelled. “If you get decapitated, it’ll slurp your whole body with its proboscis!”

“I don’t need to know this thing’s eating habits!”

“Huh?”

“Now stop being silly and help me!”

Zig ran with twinblade in hand.

The razor-bladed decapitator mantis swayed as it hung from the trees, watching him with indecipherable compound eyes.

Siasha fired a stone spear. It whizzed past Zig as it hurtled toward the monstrosity. Its target was what it was using to cling to the trees—the monstrosity’s legs.

The mantis let go of the tree, flipped itself right-side up and landing on the ground without a sound. Its head remained static during its acrobatic maneuver, making it more unsettling in addition to its silence. But it couldn’t distance itself from the line of fire in time and therefore bent its upper body to avoid the stone spear.

The razor-bladed decapitator mantis’s compound eyes turned to Zig.

Zig closed in on it, taking advantage of the moment it was forced to avoid Siasha’s attack. He tightly squeezed the handle of his twinblade.

The razor-bladed mantis’s body didn’t seem to be particularly robust, perhaps a product of its specialization in stealth. A single solid hit when it couldn’t evade seemed like it should’ve been enough to bring it down.

One step away. The twinblade moved.

Suddenly, the green scythes disappeared.

“Ugh!”

Zig noticed the sudden movement and stopped his attack, moving his twinblade to protect his neck. A shrill clang rang out as two green scythes collided with the dark red blade.

The well-polished surface reflected Zig’s shocked face.

It’s so fast!

The exceptional speed of the blades caused a bead of sweat to form on his forehead.

The mantis was fast and long. It leaned in; combined with its scythes’ length, its reach surpassed that of the twinblade.

“But…too light!” Zig shouted as he pushed the scythes away.

The scythes’ movements were fast and snappy, as if they had been sprung by springs, but that meant a second attack would be slower. The best the mantis could do now was swing its scythes one at a time, like when it had failed its ambush earlier.

“Hnh!”

Zig slashed at the mantis’s torso after deflecting its attack. However, even though it looked like the razor-bladed decapitator mantis lost its footing, it was still able to pull away its upper body in time. Its lower body was much stronger than it looked, allowing it to effectively shift its posture.

Using its non-humanoid limbs, the razor-bladed decapitator mantis leaped backward to escape danger. It glided to put distance between itself and its would-be prey and began climbing a tree, albeit in a different manner from before. It seemed to be trying to escape after realizing it was at a disadvantage.

“I won’t let you do that.” Siasha put her fist to the ground, gathering mana as Zig chased the mantis down.

In an instant, the tree began to shake. Siasha was manipulating the earth to shake it from its roots. The razor-bladed decapitator mantis was unable to hold on, falling to the ground as Zig came closer. The mantis spread out its wings to intimidate him, swinging its scythes at Zig.

“I’m used to your speed now.”

The mantis’s attack was easy to read as long as you could see it coming; its speed didn’t matter.

He easily blocked the scythe. Well, one of them, anyway.

Another green arc came after Zig’s neck after a short delay.

“Two blades…”

Zig blocked it with his lower blade. He pushed down against the scythe that came from his left while lifting the scythe on his right.

“…is not your forte!”

There was a shout and a flash. The twinblade swung forcefully in a counterclockwise arc, shattering the razor-bladed decapitator mantis’s scythes at the base of its arms. Blue blood and scythe fragments flew as the monstrosity staggered, helplessly flailing its scytheless arms. As it shot its proboscis out at Zig in a last-ditch effort to kill him, a stone spear pierced its head.

A red slash followed, mercilessly cutting through the monstrosity’s torso.

“Th-that was close…”

Cold sweat ran down Siasha’s back as she looked at what was left of the razor-bladed decapitator mantis.

The encounter itself had gone smoothly. What worried her was the ambush that started the fight.

“I wasn’t expecting a monstrosity to be so stealthy without magic.” Zig touched the wound on his cheek with his thumb.

Siasha definitely would have noticed if something had approached them with magic. Witches were highly sensitive to mana. However, when a creature concealed itself with its physical abilities alone, her detection abilities weren’t as useful.

“Would I have died if it had gone for me instead?” Siasha said fearfully, touching her neck. It was a rare sight to see her be so subdued and vulnerable. However, Zig quickly banished the thought of what could have happened and shook his head.

“No. I’m always watching you, so I can protect you from unseen threats.”

“What?” Siasha was startled at Zig’s statement, though he himself hadn’t given much thought to it.

He made an awkward grunt, as if suggesting that he wanted to be done with the subject.

“So, you’ve been watching me this whole time?”

Siasha blinked in wonder as she looked at Zig, her blue eyes filled with emotion. He silently turned away, not wanting to make eye contact with her. He remained quiet and returned to the task of putting monster materials on the dolly.

In his silence, he caught Siasha’s stare in his peripheral vision. It had been trained on him the whole time. All he could do was scratch his head. He didn’t need to say out loud that of course protecting his client was his priority. But it was a little too late to rectify that now.

He tried to think of something to say, but all he could come up with was an awkward deflection.

“This place is profitable, but it’s best if you don’t hunt here alone,” Zig said. “Especially not with those things around. Let’s get going.” Zig walked away, not waiting around for Siasha to answer.

He didn’t turn around once.

***

Siasha watched absentmindedly as Zig picked up the pace. He was walking so fast that he looked like he was running away from something—not something you saw every day.

Just as she thought it had nothing to do with her, his words from earlier finally sank in.

Someone was watching over her. Honestly, that was it. However, this fact felt so new and foreign to her.

“Hee hee.” Before she could stop herself, she was smiling. It was a strange comfort. She didn’t know what to name this feeling.

So, she decided to follow her impulses. She kicked off the ground and rushed to Zig’s side. He was still facing forward but had slowed down to wait for her. She wrapped her arms around his.

“Aha ha!”

She couldn’t hold back her laughter. In all the long years of her life, she couldn’t remember the last time she felt like this.

“What?” He turned to her, startled by her strange laughter. He was back to his usual self, having put the matter behind him.

Siasha responded by squeezing tighter, like she was trying to hang from his arm.

He didn’t falter no matter how hard she tried—this man that was like a great, ancient tree. His large body had already supported her more than once.

He didn’t look at her with pity nor fear, instead considering her his equal. Zig looked at her not as a witch but as a person all her own.

“Let’s head back. We can expect to make a lot today with incidental income!”

It was just oh so comfortable.

***

“No, these scythes are broken… And they’re the best part of the monstrosity.”

Reality wasn’t so kind when they got back. The receptionist, Sian, put her hand on her chin when the materials were brought before her.

“No good?”

Sian shook her head as she checked the price of the materials against a reference book. “I’m afraid not.”

The scythes of the razor-bladed decapitator mantis had been shattered by Zig’s twinblade. Although the scythes were of sufficient hardness considering their sharpness, it was no match for Zig, who was armed with a twinblade forged out of a bloodcrystal-clad dragon’s horns—a twinblade made particularly for durability.

The scythes were broken in half and only had enough blades left to be made into knives. Not ideal for a weapon.

“The razor-bladed decapitator mantis is known for its sharp and long scythes and for not using magic for its stealth. Its carapace isn’t particularly hard and doesn’t really come with any magical properties.”

A harder carapace would make it heavier, and using mana might interfere with its flexibility. Because it was an ambush predator, the monstrosity simply didn’t have any use for additional defense.

“The mantis’s body is flexible and quiet in exchange, however,” Sian continued. “It relies on the sharpness of its scythes because it isn’t very strong. Without them, it’s basically a meat pie without the filling. Just a shell without any flavor.”

Sian examined the other scythe. It was in relatively better shape, though she lamented that the proboscis hadn’t survived. She traced the blade along a notepad, taking care not to cut herself. It glided easily through the paper.

“A letter opener…would be way too sharp. It probably won’t fetch a good price, but we can hold on to it for you.”

“What should we do?”

Siasha looked at Zig with an uneasy smile.

“Take care of it,” Zig said.

“Then we’ll hold onto it for you for the time being,” Sian said. “Someone can probably make a knife out of it.”

Hearing Zig allow Sian to handle the fate of the merchandise, Siasha wrapped the scythes in cloth.

“It’s very impressive that you came out of a razor-bladed decapitator mantis ambush without any injuries, and you defeated it on top of that,” Sian said with a smile. “Since you don’t have any requests related to it and the materials are in a dire state, the guild can’t compensate you for it.”

The two left the reception desk after that.

“All that work for nothing.”

However, Siasha seemed happy despite the letdown.

“Looks like it.”

Strangely, Zig didn’t feel that bad after seeing her smile.

“Well, these things happen.”

With that consolation in mind, it wasn’t a bad day of adventuring for them.

Someone called out to them after they left reception.

“Zig, it’s been a while! You too, Siasha.”

It was Alan, a fourth-class adventurer known for his striking red hair. Next to him were his little sister Milyna and his party member Listy.

“Are you wrapping up for the day?” Zig asked.

“We have today off. Went shopping.” Alan gave a tired smile, making it clear who it was that was doing the shopping.

“Look at you, Mister Popular,” Zig commented. “Accompanying two ladies to do their shopping.”

“I’d rather you not count my sister in there…”

Alan winced and scratched his head awkwardly at Zig’s quip. Meanwhile, the girls jabbed at him with their elbows. They certainly got along well.

“Come on, Big Bro, I thought you loved me?” Milyna said.

“You should appreciate the fact you’re actually acquainted with women, Alan,” Listy said.

“All right, all right. I’ve been blessed with a cute sister and a beautiful party member,” Alan replied with a deadpan voice.

Watching them, Siasha wordlessly tugged at Zig’s coat. He saw from the way she looked at him that she was expecting something similar from him. Zig ignored her, thinking that whatever she wanted was not under the scope of his job as her attendant.

“So, are you just here to show me how popular you are with the ladies?” he asked.

Siasha pouted and stepped on his foot, but Zig’s metal boots provided enough protection against her attack.

“Of course not. I heard what happened to you guys in the woods. Sounds like you had a hard time.”

“You ran around as a distraction… That’s crazy.”

Alan and Listy chastised him for his reckless behavior. Even if things turned out fine, their tones definitely made it known that they were not happy with him. They asked Zig if he would do it again, and he gave them a firm shake of the head.

“Absolutely not. I’ve had my fill.”

“Somehow I don’t buy that…”

Zig glanced at Milyna for that comment, prompting her to hide behind her brother’s back.

Clever girl.

Meanwhile, Siasha had changed tactics, pinching Zig’s arm since her stomp did not work. Unfortunately, Zig’s thick muscles provided a layer of protection against this approach.

“Aha ha… Sorry, but I have to agree with my sister on this one. Your methods tend to be on the unreasonable side.”

“Yeah. You haven’t even told us what happened between you and Elsia.”

No one in the room believed him; Zig had no allies here. Removing Siasha, who had been gnawing on his arm, he put his hands up in surrender.

“Fine, I’ll do whatever reckless thing that needs to be done in a given situation, but I’ll come back alive. Better?”

“Yeah, that’s more believable.”

“You probably won’t die even if you get killed.”

Gaining the three’s approval, Zig left the guild while consoling Siasha, who was clearly upset at being ignored.

Chapter 3: Fishing and Other Activities: Ways to Deepen a Friendship

Chapter 3:
Fishing and Other Activities: Ways to Deepen a Friendship

THE SUN WAS SETTING IN THE DOWNTOWN DISTRICT. The townsfolk had tired looks when the end of their workday came, but they were looking forward to the evening’s refreshments. The early birds were closing their shops, making way for the night owls to start their shift.

Zig was munching on some chicken skewers as a snack, planning to do some investigating as he browsed some shops.

He thought about Cossack’s drunken knowledge as he chewed on the chicken meat.

“Probably won’t get anything new after the luck I had yesterday. Guess I’ll have to put in some legwork. Let’s see… I think he said ‘Follow the money and pay attention to anyone and anything that’s out of the ordinary.’”

Those words weren’t hard for Zig to remember. Fortunately, Cossack was the kind of drunk who talked about the same thing every time he got inebriated. It had been so egregious that Zig got sick of it, but he consoled himself now, saying to himself that it was time well spent.

“Out of the ordinary…”

Zig wouldn’t know what ordinary was in Halian, but he knew just the one who would.

After disposing of his finished skewers, he headed to his regular blacksmith, Ernesta Armory.

Scanning the shop, he found it full of adventurers who had just finished work. He couldn’t find the person he was looking for because of the crowd, but she could easily spot him thanks to his large frame.

Sciezka walked through the customers to approach him, a professional smile on her face.

“Welcome, Zig.” She greeted him as she always did, and was among the few people who knew about Zig’s total lack of mana.

“Looks like you’ve got your hands full. I wanted to ask you some questions if you have the time.”

“Right this way.”

Before Zig could ask when would be a good time to chat, she showed him inside.

“Uhh, are you sure? You seem real busy.”

Although the other clerks were looking in her direction, pleading for help, Sciezka ignored them and kept on walking.

“It’s fine. Yes, there are many customers right now, but most of them are just here for weapon maintenance.”

“And why’s that?”

“Because adventurer equipment is expensive,” Sciezka said. “The more durable they are, the less they need replacing. Customers are free to browse, of course…”

She gave a strained smile.

Zig nodded, knowing what she was getting at.

“Right. They’re window shoppers.”

“Yes, well…the adventurers enjoy looking at equipment they can’t quite afford yet. Some customers even do a preliminary inspection of weapons they’re planning to get.”

Zig understood the sentiment. He quickly glanced at a deeper section of the store.

There, a young man stood before a pedestal where the store’s crown jewel was kept, passionately admiring the craftsmanship. The greatsword was easily recognizable as a masterpiece even from a distance. The fact that its price wasn’t on display made it a truly terrifying prospect.

Men who were probably the shop’s security glared at the young man, but he was so enchanted by the sword that he didn’t seem to notice. The guards soon stopped the venomous looks but continued watching him anyway, deciding that the young man was a lost cause.

Other adventurers like him were also present, but none matched his intensity. All were satisfied with simply adoring the weapons they desired, and only a few actually asked a clerk for help.

“Preliminary inspections. Well, at least they’re serious about their work.”

Zig could relate but couldn’t help but feel sorry for the clerks involved. The clerks couldn’t turn them away, since they might become potential customers in the future.

“They are all wonderful customers, of course. But we have no reason to ignore the ones actually paying.”

Zig was led into a room reserved for business negotiations. They were far from the ruckus now, and the distance allowed them to converse without a soundproofing magic item.

“On that point, you have a high likelihood of purchasing something every time you visit the store, Zig.”

“I do?”

“Yes. There are very few customers who need to replace their armor so often. It is only natural that we prioritize you.”

He required tough and expensive adventurer gear. Zig’s ability to break them made him a prized customer of Ernesta Armory.

He had started with a small purchase before moving up the price brackets. His latest buy was the bloodcrystal-clad dragon twinblade, which solidified his position as a valued customer.

Zig wondered if he was seeing things, noticing that Sciezka’s professional smile seemed to be shining more brightly than usual, almost like it was made of gold.

Just as Sciezka was about to pour him some tea, he refused and got right to business.

“Unfortunately, I’m not going to live up to your expectations today. I’m looking for information.”

“Meaning? To be clear, I cannot share our customers’ personal information, even with you.”

Sciezka sat down, her gaze becoming sharper as if to keep him in check.

“I’m sure of that, considering my own circumstances haven’t been leaked yet.”

The only ones who knew about Zig’s lack of mana were Vanno, the mafia executive, and Kirk, the guild’s vice president. Aside from those two and Siasha, he hadn’t told anyone other than Sciezka and Gantt. As long as his information was protected, he wasn’t going to ask Sciezka to divulge anything about her other customers.

“I want to know about market activities—whether or not large sums of money are being moved. Maybe there was a large purchase of weapons recently?”

“Market activities…?”

“A shipment of rare materials, extraordinary spending by some trade associations or wealthy individuals…stuff like that.”

Sciezka looked to the side as she gave it some thought. A few moments later, she answered him with a question of her own.

“And why are you looking for such information? I might be more inclined to tell you what I know if I knew the reason.”

“Guild work. That’s all I can say.”

“Guild work. I see…”

Officially, Zig was investigating the incident because it involved Siasha’s safety. At least, that was the way he phrased it to lead people on.

Kirk had instructed him to keep his investigation under wraps, and he really wanted to avoid telling anyone that he was working for the guild.

Even so, he needed to take some risks when gathering infor­mation.

The only thing he could do was bet on Sciezka’s discretion. She hadn’t betrayed him yet.

I don’t think it’s a bad bet.

Sciezka let out a resigned sigh.

“Very well. Given what I’ve heard about how loyal you are to your contracts, I’ll tell you what I know.”

“Thanks. What did you hear about me?” Zig asked before he could express his gratitude.

Sciezka seemed somewhat surprised by his question and smiled.

“Oh, you didn’t know? ‘There’s a crazy mercenary out there who likes taking on dangerous jobs. He’s highly capable, but things always get bloody around him. Best to steer clear.’ That’s what they’re saying about you.”

“I suppose they have a point.”

As much as he wanted to defend himself, Zig had to admit that the rumors were mostly true.

Sciezka chuckled at Zig, who looked like he was sucking on a sour plum.

“Katia said that you were an excellent contractor. ‘Didn’t try any funny business,’ she said. You have the mob’s stamp of approval.”

Zig looked conflicted. “Not sure how to feel about getting rave reviews from a criminal organization.”

Just as Sciezka was about to get into the meat of the conversation, something else came to her mind.

“Why did you come to me in the first place? Officially, I am only a simple clerk. How did you know that I would know anything?”

“Huh.” Zig folded his arms. He asked himself the same question as he looked at the air as if expecting an answer. “I guess it’s because you’ve answered all my questions so far. I just thought you’d tell me something if I came to you with this.”

In the future, he would probably be better off talking to a manager or someone else of a higher position. Asking Sciezka, a regular clerk, had not been the right play, and he had been completely oblivious to that fact until she had pointed it out. It was a rookie mistake committed by someone who barely knew how to collect information.

No wonder his old war buddies told him to look before he leaped.

“Goodness, that won’t do, Zig,” Sciezka playfully joked with him. “You’re lucky that I can answer your question…and I am quite pleased that you’re relying on me.”

“Sorry. I’ll make it up to you by buying something.”

She gave a satisfied nod when he replied in kind.

Zig paused, another matter coming to mind. “Do you mind if I ask you something else first?”

“And what would that be?”

“How do you know?”

It was a little too late to ask that question. Sciezka’s eyes widened for a moment before she put on her best professional smile. She put her index finger to her luscious lips and winked at him.

“That…is a secret.”

***

The sun had completely set by the time Zig left the armory.

He had wanted to talk about buying equipment, but Gantt had the day off.

“Didn’t expect to come up dry so quickly, though…” Zig said to himself as he walked the dark street.

Sciezka had told him there were no suspicious market movements recently, nor were there any large purchases of weapons or food either. Such activities were bound to happen if a certain group was targeting the guild. A group that large was bound to leave a trail.

Zig had gone to the armory since they would know about weapon transactions…but apparently, his hunch had failed him.

Actually, there had been strange market movements—two to be precise.

One happened yesterday, which was the guild suddenly putting out orders for a large number of medical supplies. Many adventurers had been injured, and the guild bought up all the medical supplies in the surrounding stores without giving thought to the price differences.

Obviously, this was caused by the blade bee incident and was therefore off Zig’s list. The other one…well, it didn’t count either.

A beautiful woman with black hair was seen loading up dollies full of food and carting them to an infirmary. The amount she bought couldn’t possibly be finished by a single person, so people thought she was keeping a monstrosity in her basement. Even the military police were informed.

In any case, Halian’s market didn’t see any more strange activities.

“Back to square one.”

Zig guessed that this was the best an amateur could do. He scratched his head, disappointed that he wasn’t as good as Cossack. There was nothing left to do.

“Then again, maybe it isn’t a group, at all. Maybe someone is targeting the guild, not to mess with their operations but out of a personal grudge…”

Antagonizing the guild in the name of personal gain came with a huge risk. It was the only other motive, an angle Zig’s investigation had left out until now.

He took out the list of suspects and put a hand on his chin. Continuing to read it, he turned a corner.

“Hrm.”

Well, obviously.

The Forestfangs, the adventurers he talked to yesterday, seemed the most suspicious. Kirk had said that the list was ordered in terms of the guild’s ratings. That meant the odds of the Forestfangs being the culprit were extremely low given their behavior. However, their conduct was only how the guild rated them. There could have been other reasons why the demi-humans might have turned resentful.

“Revenge on the humans for their poor treatment…that’s the first thing that comes to mind.”

Going by how Seb reacted to him, the young demi-human certainly harbored ill feelings toward humans.

Not everyone was as patient as Urbas and Balto. Perhaps a demi-human failed that test and allowed his emotions to get the better of him. At least, that was what Zig initially thought when he started this investigation.

“That’s how wars break out.”

He had seen many wars where the oppressed and religious groups finally decided to fight back.

He still thought it was the most likely motive for the incident, but he had no real evidence and only had a psychological profile at his disposal. Really, it was just his imagination.

Zig was only acting the role of an information broker. He knew that he had probably overlooked something and that his guesses were wildly off the mark. He turned another corner.

He pondered on strengths and weaknesses, as well as the right person for the right case. Information brokers and mercenaries each had their realms of aptitude. If he didn’t distinguish between the two, he would get in trouble.

The sphere of the information broker was looking and following threads of information to get results.

So, what was the mercenary’s realm?

To force a result at any cost.

“That went faster than expected,” Zig muttered, stopping in a cramped alley that wasn’t illuminated by the glow of the streetlights.

It was a dark street away from the hustle and bustle of the crowd.

Zig sighed as he cast his eyes toward the darkness. “I thought I was in over my head with this investigation. It’s a good thing you decided to come to me!”

He grunted that last word as the air around him whistled. Zig reacted, turning and guarding his face with his right hand.

There came the light clang of two metallic objects. A knife clattered onto the pavement. The knife, which had been going for his neck, was painted a matte black.

Two men stepped out from the darkness from which it came—a tall man stepped before Zig, and a short man came up behind him.

With frazzled, unkempt hair and tattered rags concealing an emaciated frame, they looked like any other homeless people. The only difference were their eyes, which gleamed as sharp as a blade.

“You don’t look like an ordinary thug,” Zig said.

He cautiously scanned the area as he grabbed the handle of his twinblade. He was caught in between them as they drew daggers, their eyes emotionless. Zig silently kept his hand on his weapon but didn’t draw it, continuing to observe the situation.

They were in a cramped alley, only wide enough to fit two people. The buildings around them would obstruct longer weapons, which also applied to Zig’s twinblade.

All the exits were blocked off. Zig’s opponents had the positional advantage, and he couldn’t make up for it using the reach of his weapon. The fact that they waited until the odds were tipped in their favor showed that they weren’t amateurs.

“Who sent you?”

They remained silent.

Not the talkative type, I see.

The man in front of Zig pointed his dagger at him. Meanwhile, the man behind stepped closer to him.

Shrrkk.

Zig’s attention was drawn to the sound of crunching pebbles.

Exploiting the opening, the tall man threw knives at him, three blades aimed at his chest and shoulders. The man didn’t grunt or make a sound—a sign of his proficiency.

As the knives flew, the short man behind Zig closed in on him. He was moving fast; the earlier step having been a distraction. Accelerating himself with wind magic, he instantly crossed the distance between him and Zig. His body was so low to the ground that he seemed to be crawling, and he slashed at Zig’s legs to try to take him down. It was a perfectly timed pincer attack.

Zig’s response…was to advance.

“Hmph!”

Zig lowered his body and stomped his foot. He avoided the trajectory of the two knives coming for his shoulders and avoided the swipe coming from behind.

However, he wasn’t out of the woods yet. As the knife going for Zig’s head whizzed by him, the tall man rushed toward him. Meanwhile, the short man readjusted his tanto and tried to go for a second attack.

Even if Zig managed to survive the knife attacks, he still wouldn’t be able to escape his enemies’ pincer formation.

Another knife came at his head, right for his eyes. Zig grabbed the blade out of the air and threw it back to the tall man.

“Huh?!”

Zig’s stomp and the knife’s speed combined was shocking. Deflecting it was one thing, but Zig had managed to snatch it as it was flying toward him. His enemies had expected him to block the knife with his gauntlets.

For the first time, unease flickered in his attacker’s eyes.

“Urk!”

The man couldn’t do Zig’s knife snatch and stopped to block the incoming knife. Zig’s assailant was pretty skilled, considering he was able to deal with a surprise throwing knife.

But he had stopped. That meant for a brief window, it wasn’t a two versus one scenario. It would take a few seconds for the tall man to recover from blocking the throwing knife.

A few seconds were all Zig needed.

“Hmph!”

He hit the ground with his heels to stop in his tracks, forcibly turning around while drawing his twinblade. Zig rushed the short man, holding his weapon overhead. The dark red blade glowed eerily in the darkness.

“Urk!”

The short man couldn’t stop his magically enhanced acceleration. Even if he did, he would be cut down the moment he did. All he could do was fight back.

Zig was limited to thrusting and overhead attacks in the cramped alley. Judging by his stance, he was going for the latter.

His decision made, the short man continued rushing toward Zig.

“Shah!”

Creating a wind blade in his right hand, he thrust the tanto with the other.

The darkness made it difficult to see his first attack, which meant his slice would go through first before the twinblade fell on him. That was the best-case scenario, of course, but the short man had underestimated Zig’s abilities.

“Seah!”

Zig brought his twinblade down with a shout, the dark red blade easily cutting through the invisible wind blade. Because of its high mana purity, the bloodcrystal-clad dragon’s horn dispelled it.

“Impossible!”

The blade dissipated with a crumpling sound.

The twinblade continued its trajectory. The short man could only hold his tanto up in a desperate attempt at self-defense.

The blade broke through his skull. Blood and brain matter splattered all over the alley as the twinblade crushed the man’s head, as if he had been hit with a hammer.

The tall man behind Zig continued his advance, unbothered by the death of his comrade. He struck.

“Tsh!”

Zig had no time to turn around. He stabbed the tall man with his bottom blade, but the move was predictable, and his opponent easily dodged.

The dagger then came at Zig’s neck. Zig put up his right gauntlet to stop the attack that aimed to end him.

“Shaa!”

The tall man exploited the opportunity, stepping on the twinblade with his right foot while using his left leg to deliver a body blow. His leg struck an unprotected portion of Zig’s body, sinking into him with a crushing sound.

“Urgh…”

The magically enhanced attack knocked the wind out of Zig, its force far greater than the man’s body would normally allow.

Rolling past the short man’s body, Zig picked up the tanto and got up. He blocked an incoming knife with his left gauntlet and stopped the tall man’s dagger with his right, grabbing it with his hand.

“Tsh!”

The tall man’s dagger suddenly wrapped around him like a snake. As Zig thrust out his palm, the blade of the dagger twisted around it, trying to take off his hand at the wrist.

“Whoa!” He quickly let go of the tanto and pulled back.

Zig managed to escape the exchange by a hair’s breadth, though his glove was torn.

Kicking the dropped tanto behind him, the tall man approached Zig slowly. Unarmed, Zig put up his hands in defense. He got into a boxing stance, left foot in front, left hand in front of his chin, with his right by it.

Standing on his toes, Zig was prioritizing footwork over stability.

The tall man grinned at the sight of his defenseless prey. “Hee hee.” He started an incantation while holding up his dagger, pointing his left finger upward.

Zig noticed the rising heat around him and quickly stepped back.

The tall man lunged toward him as Zig dodged the pillar of fire, doing multiple cuts in rapid succession. He focused on light and quick movements so Zig couldn’t grab his arm.

Zig used his gauntlets to quickly deal with the attacks. If he got careless, he would pay for it with a dagger sinking into his side. After being on the defensive for a few moments, Zig made his move.

“Tsh!”

He did a left jab just as his opponent’s dagger was about to come at him. The move was sharp and compact, deflecting the dagger with his gauntlet and managing to connect with the man’s face.

“Gah!”

However, the dagger between them absorbed some of the force.

Zig was only checking him, however, and the jab was mainly to obfuscate his foe’s view. The right straight following it, however, was not—cutting through the air straight for the tall man.

“Hieee!”

He sensed the lethality behind Zig’s fist and avoided it. The dagger flashed as it came for the retreating right arm. However, Zig’s right leg was faster, delivering a low kick to the tall man’s own leg in a flash before he could cut his right arm.

“Gah!”

It was an impressive one-two punch into a low kick. The combo finally knocked the tall man’s legs from under him, the dull sound signaling to Zig that the limb had shattered. His opponent’s posture broke after that excruciating kick from Zig’s armored leg.

Zig wasn’t about to let the opportunity pass by. He swayed to avoid a frantic dagger swipe and delivered another kick with his left leg into his attacker’s stomach.

“Geh!”

He let his toes sink into the tall man’s belly until he let go of his dagger and fell to his knees.

It was over.

He pivoted on his kicking leg and spun to the right with his left leg planted to the ground.

“Eat shit!”

Zig’s next deadly move had the force of a battering ram—a spinning kick to the head using all his strength. Leaning into the right roundhouse kick, it collided with the tall man’s head. The force was so great that it wouldn’t be surprising if he ripped his opponent’s head right off his neck.

However, that was only if it made direct contact.

“Whoa, I have to ease up.”

When Zig brought his leg down, he saw a body lying on the ground.

The man’s head was still in one piece. His jaw was broken, his mouth hanging lazily as saliva and blood dribbled out of it. The white shards swimming in the pool of red were probably teeth. He wasn’t dead, but he wouldn’t be able to eat solid food for a while.

Checking the man’s pulse, Zig let out a sigh of relief.

“Alive…barely. He wasn’t someone I could hold back against, but I can’t just go killing my only lead. Then again, there’s always healing magic.”

Although he did tell the man to eat shit, he couldn’t kill his only source of information.

He rummaged through the man’s belongings and found a broken bracelet. The magic item had activated and created a barrier just as Zig’s roundhouse connected. The shape of it suggested that it was of great value. It might have been good enough to deflect a blade, but unfortunately it was of no use against blunt force. The magic item was small and portable, though that meant that it wasn’t very powerful.

The barrier broke because of the force of Zig’s kick, but it did its job and prevented the man from dying. Zig had noticed the bracelet’s activation and that’s why he put his whole weight into the kick. However, he hadn’t expected the barrier to be so fragile. He only wanted to knock the man out but had given him a broken jaw instead. The fight could’ve gone better in a more open space, though he doubted that the men would’ve attacked him there.

“Didn’t think anyone would come after me, though…” Zig said in an exasperated tone as he scratched his head. Things had been going so well that he didn’t quite know what to do now.

If he was being honest, he had zero expectations going into the dark alley. The whole thing stank of a conspiracy, but he hadn’t expected assassins to be sent to deal with a nosy mercenary. He didn’t have enough evidence and wanted to avoid doing anything that might worsen the situation. Whoever it was must not want him to be snooping around.

In any case, the mastermind probably hadn’t realized that he had been hired by the guild. If he did, they wouldn’t do something so careless as to take out a guild investigator.

“I’ll definitely have to report this to Kirk tomorrow.”

The situation was getting worse by the second. Zig left the dead body behind to tie up the live one. Though when he tried to look for something to identify the tall man, he came up short. He thought he should perhaps give him up to the military police and inform Kirk so the guild could interrogate him.

“He probably won’t say anything.”

He wasn’t expecting much from the interrogation. There were always exceptions, but good hit men tended to be tight-lipped.

This man’s stealth was top-notch. Zig had managed to fend him off, but that was only because he had been expecting to be attacked. If he wasn’t, he wouldn’t have noticed him in time.

Although he failed the ambush, the man could hold his own in a fight. Assassins had no need to be amazing at combat. Their job wasn’t to trade blows with their target but to kill them as silently and efficiently as possible.

“But this narrows it down. Not everyone can hire a competent hit man.”

A competent hit man required a lot of money and good connections.

Kirk should be able to look into that.

“Too bad I don’t know who you are,” Zig said to himself, feeling somewhat sorry for his attacker, whose face he hadn’t even seen yet.

Things were going well for the culprits. He had yet to narrow down the list of suspects, and there was no solid evidence pointing to them yet. Even Kirk only had his gut feeling to rely on.

However, they made one big mistake. Despite things going so well for them, they had demanded perfection.

They were probably unaware of certain individuals who didn’t give a damn about the process as long as it brought results or forced the outcome they wanted at any cost.

Someone definitely didn’t want this matter to be investigated.

“That’s enough for me.”

Zig was pleased as long as he had some kind of answer. The other pieces would fall into place soon enough.

Although he wasn’t good at this whole investigating thing, he knew someone who was.

“The right man in the right place.”

Comforted by the fact that he could toss this problem into someone else’s lap, Zig disappeared into the darkness.

***

Kirk Wright, vice president of the guild in Halian, always started his day early. He had been working for the guild for many years and was involved in a great many things. Although he couldn’t inspect every little matter, he had gained an understanding of how to respond to most things.

With the sky still clear, Kirk looked through paperwork, prioritizing which he would get through first for the day. “As expected, there aren’t enough adventurers,” he said to himself.

What he saw was the drastic decrease in request completion due to the lack of adventurers. Many low to mid-level adventurers had been injured or killed over the course of yesterday’s incident. Their absence created a gap in monstrosity extermination and subsequently a reduction in materials earned from said tasks.

Monstrosity materials were an essential resource. Halian’s development owed itself to the great number of transportation stones and the access they gave to various resources.

“We’ll need to deal with this as soon as possible.”

First, the guild would support adventurers by offering them discounts for consumables at affiliate stores. Slowing down adventurers would be bad for the guild’s economy. They could afford to take some minor losses as long as the adventurers could do their jobs.

Next was the issue of reclassifying dangerous areas. Adventurers slowly fulfilling requests was bad, but losing more of them was worse. With fewer of them out in the field, scholars would have to be called in so they could discuss the current danger levels of the zones.

Last that needed handling was adventurer recruitment. The guild would have to make up for the lost adventurers somehow. Registration fees could be temporarily wavered, and they could rent equipment for new adventurers to get them started. Simply increasing numbers wasn’t the best strategy, but there was no other option. These new adventurers could also be enrolled into established clans who could show them the ropes.

“Looks like I’ll have to talk to Bates Lagait and Glow Garatt again… They’ll probably complain.”

The Wadatsumi were famous for supporting young adventurers. The two middle-aged, top members of the Wadatsumi clan had also known Kirk for a long time.

It happened over twenty years ago.

The executives of the Halian guild were corrupt and exploited rookie adventurers as they pleased. Senior adventurers would lure recruits with honeyed words and drown them in debt, forcing them to become bait for dangerous missions and treating them little better than slaves. The guild, which was supposed to supervise them, had already been bought out and turned a blind eye to what was happening. Many young lives were lost.

Bates and Glow, then rookies, talked Kirk into taking part in their investigation. Disappointed by how corrupt his superiors were, Kirk did whatever he could to gather evidence against them. They picked their allies carefully—powerful people with upstanding morals. Finally, after five years, they unveiled the crimes of the guild to the public.

It changed Halian instantly. After confiscating the ill-gotten gains of the perpetrators, the funds were used to develop the city. The random deaths that befell adventurers ceased. Kirk worked hard to reform the broken guild until he stood as its vice president.

“Fifteen years… I’m getting old.”

It didn’t feel like much time had passed, though. His hair started turning gray, Bates shaved his head at some point, and Glow’s face began to be decorated with wrinkles.

There were no adventurers left that remembered what happened. They were all either dead or retired. But people who knew about that time hailed the three as the heroes of Halian. Although they were embarrassed to be called that in public, the three couldn’t help but feel proud of what they had done.

Kirk opened his eyes as he lost himself in those memories. What he found was not the warm glow of nostalgia but a pair of brilliant, sharp eyes.

“You better not have broken something,” he said.

“Don’t know what you’re talking about.”

When he snapped out of his reverie, he was greeted by a giant man standing before him in his office. The nearly two-meter-tall man stared Kirk right in the face.

No one was supposed to be here. Not this early.

Maintaining his composure to keep from screaming, Kirk placed his chin on his folded hands. “You’re supposed to knock, you know,” he chided. He could only hope that the man wouldn’t poke him for being somewhat rattled.

“Well? Did you just come here to scare an old man, or did you actually find something?” Kirk demanded, sounding sterner than he usually did.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. I just thought you were asleep since you had your eyes closed.”

“Whatever. How did you even get in here?”

The first floor was filled with staff who were getting the guild ready for business. Kirk doubted Zig was able to pass through without them noticing. Besides, the front door wasn’t even open yet.

“I climbed the wall.”

“I’m pretty sure I locked my windows.”

Kirk looked at his window. There were no signs of breaking and entering.

Zig smiled, seemingly satisfied that Kirk had asked. “Not your windows. But the room in the back where you keep your cleaning supplies was unlocked.”

The room was musty and dusty and needed a lot of airing out, which meant that the window was unlatched usually. Zig had entered there and sneaked into Kirk’s office.

“I’ll let the custodian know. So, are you telling me there’s been a development?” That was the only explanation as to why Zig would visit him at such an ungodly hour.

However, things were progressing quickly. Too quickly.

Locked in a state of disbelief, Kirk prepared himself for Zig’s report. Zig nodded and filled him in on what happened the night before.

***

“I have a feeling Zig’s gotten himself involved in something dangerous again!” Siasha said to herself, having been awakened by Zig earlier than usual.

Her hair was a mess as she stared at where Zig had been just moments ago. Usually, she looked hungover when she woke up, but this morning she was much more alarmed.

Zig had been looking into something recently. He still accompanied her on her requests, but he was clearly investigating something else on the side.

He had probably gotten into a fight last night. Whoever he fought had been strong enough that Zig was still tense when he came to wake her earlier. The change was subtle, but Siasha had spent enough time with him by now to notice the difference.

“He’s so passionate about his work…”

For the most part, Zig didn’t talk about his side gigs. Even when things got dangerous, he tried to pass them off as business as usual. That was his policy and outlook regarding his work.

“‘Consistency is key,’ he says,” she said sleepily, washing her face and then brushing her hair with a comb. “Not if it consistently gets you in trouble.”

Siasha didn’t quite understand, but respected it nonetheless, since Zig considered the way he worked as important. If he came back with the stench of blood on him, she could just heal him. She also erased the smell of women off him whenever he came back with that. Having him brush her hair for two hours did the trick.

However, that was another matter.

“I’m getting bored just waiting here,” Siasha said, deciding that a woman couldn’t just sit there and wait all day. She didn’t quite know what that fully meant, though. Zig getting hurt was a given. He was that kind of person, and he wouldn’t appreciate her overreacting to it. However, she was annoyed that he seemed oblivious to how much it bothered her.

Siasha put away her comb and wet a towel hanging by the sink. She flipped her lustrous black hair back, and it glistened in the sunlight as she slipped out of her nightgown, revealing the ethereal beauty of her bare body. Her perfect form and aura as a witch gave her a truly captivating air. Her beauty alone could drive men mad; she was a beauty so sensual and mysterious that weak-willed men would likely lose their minds and assault her.

However, Siasha herself was unaware of her loveliness, despite her long years of existence. It only added to her fatal allure.

“Phew.”

It was good to be naked. Not that she was an exhibitionist, but not having to wear anything in the comfort of her own room was nice. The last time she had invited Zig when she was naked, he had sternly asked her to stop. Given by how calm and composed he usually was, his quiet distress left quite an impression on her.

She couldn’t figure out why he was so flustered, but she went with it, since he wouldn’t look at her while she was nude.

The towel glided over her unblemished, porcelain skin. Having wiped the sweat off her body, she put on her underwear and then her clothes—an azure one-piece Zig had picked out for her. While not her only piece of clothing, this one was her favorite.

These clothes and this place, they all came from him.

The human called Zig had broken into Siasha’s world. It only made sense that she entered his world too. That was what it meant to be equals.

Siasha nodded, reassuring herself of that, and exited the room. She was neither going fast nor moving slowly, but the swaying of her black hair was enough to tell anyone that she was in a good mood.

Siasha headed to the guild after she got ready, though she was technically taking a day off from adventuring today. She checked his room before she left, but Zig was already gone—probably out to work.

She chewed on a fish sandwich she got for breakfast and walked the streets downtown. She paid extra for some more mustard, an excellent addition to the sandwich. The bread was on the tougher side to keep prices down, but sauce seeping into it softened it slightly.

“Zig likes meat, so I end up wanting to eat fish when I’m by myself.”

The fish was an unknown species. Whatever it was, it was white and cheap, since it was caught in bulk, and fried whole. The shopkeeper smiled and said that her next order might not taste the same.

Her thoughts went to Zig as she kept eating the crispy fish. “He’s been acting weird since the blade bee incident. That much is certain.”

She would have to take the long way to get to the truth. She knew him well enough by now that he wouldn’t answer questions about his job if she asked him directly.

“I think our conversation with the wolves was about that…”

However, she had been so occupied with Seb’s tail that she couldn’t remember any of the others’ names. What she did remember was that they talked about whether the blade bee incident had been done on purpose.

“So, he’s looking for the culprit.”

If Zig had gotten into a fight because of his investigation, there really must be a culprit.

She didn’t care about that, of course. She didn’t care if humans wanted to kill each other. What she did care about was her favorite human coming out of it in one piece.

“But the rating I got from that last emergency request was pretty good… Then again, it doesn’t amount to much since the hunting area got restricted after that.”

As she weighed the pros and cons, Siasha seemed to reach a conclusion. She crushed the sandwich wrapper and looked at the sky.

“All right—the fiends! We mustn’t let them get away with this!”

Her own personal interests and overflowing sense of justice made her determined to crush the unknown perpetrators.

“As an adventurer, I will not sit by and allow my comrades’ deaths to go unavenged… Yes, this will do!”

Now that she had a plan figured out, all she had to do was put it into action. By this time, Siasha had reached the guild and opened the familiar doors. She slipped through the busy crowd, exchanging greetings with whoever called out to her, and headed toward the reception area.

Zig was very tight-lipped when it came to his work. Even Siasha couldn’t get him to talk if she tried. He would only give her the shortest possible description of it.

“All I have to do is change my approach.”

What about his client?

Zig was incredibly unique among humans. Siasha didn’t know any other that was so principled and strong-willed.

And so, she would ask his client—a perfectly normal human. Fortunately, she had a hunch as to who it was. A person asking Zig to investigate matters involving the guild would probably be related to the guild. Likely, it was someone with the authority to commission such a task. Someone in a senior position.

While putting out a contract for purely personal reasons was possible, it would take far too much time to determine who it could be if that was the case. It was better to give up and take a different approach.

“Oh, hello, Siasha. I thought you were taking today off?”

Sian smiled when she came up to her desk. She was one of the few people Siasha considered herself close to, especially since the receptionist had been looking out for her since day one.

Siasha greeted her and stated what she came here to do today.

“Hello. I’m here on a slightly different matter. There’s someone I would like to meet.”

***

Kirk was working with the hustle and bustle downstairs as his background music. The scratching of a pen was soon drowned out by a knock that echoed throughout the office.

“Come in,” he said without lifting his eyes from his papers.

The door was opened with polite aloofness.

“Umm…Vice President?”

Kirk sighed and put down his pen. He looked up to the source of the quiet and pensive voice. This was one of the new receptionists. What was her name again?

“Yes?”

He couldn’t remember, so he tried to play it cool. The guild wasn’t so overstaffed that he could just intimidate every other new hire that interrupted him. He didn’t smile but reassured her with his tone that she could proceed.

“There’s someone who would like to see you. Are you available?”

“A guest?” He took out his notebook where he kept his appointments, but couldn’t find anything down for that day. However, these things did happen on occasion, so it didn’t bother him.

“A representative of some trade association, I take it? Tell them I’m busy. Maybe another time.”

Just as Kirk was about to return to work, the new hire shook her head.

“That isn’t who is looking for you,” she continued. “It’s actually one of our adventurers.”

Kirk looked quizzically at her. “An adventurer? Name and class?”

When she mentioned who the adventurer was, his curiosity turned to distress. It was like witnessing a tornado come right at him. Kirk burst into a barrage of excuses, rare for a man known for his reticence.

“I’m not here. Tell her I won’t be back until tomorrow, at least. Oh, and if she comes looking for me again, make up some reason to turn her away. Do you understand? So troublesome… Young people these days are so quick to resort to violence. They’re no better than animals.”

“Vice President…”

“You should be careful too. No matter how good one looks, character matters most. One cannot just go intimidating people to get what one wants. No wonder that man is so grim…”

“Vice President!” The new hire raised her voice suddenly, startling Kirk into silence. His mouth hung open as he looked at her.

“I apologize for not telling you earlier…but she’s already here.”

As apologetic as she sounded, she seemed like she was telling him to shut up. It took a few moments for the reality of the situation to sink in. Kirk looked at her closely and finally noticed her legs were shaking as she leaned against the wall, her eyes fearful of whatever was on the other side of the door.

The door creaked from an anomalous presence, a creak that sounded like screams.

“I see.” Now he understood everything.

All tension escaped his body. His eyes gazed at the void, looking like a patient who had accepted his death. Why didn’t he realize sooner? Maybe he was tired. Maybe things have been going too fast lately…

Kirk answered his own question in an attempt to escape his situation.

“I’mgoingbacktowork!” the new hire yelped, quickly leaving him to fend for himself.

And so, the catastrophe slowly approached Kirk.

Kirk was a man who thought it foolish to worry about past mistakes. There was no use crying over spilled milk. If you had time to cry, you had time to deal with the situation you were facing. Giving up and adapting were important facets of human life.

So, Kirk calmly thought about what he would do next. Even when the sturdy door to his office was blown apart, only a single bead of cold sweat ran down his face.

Siasha, the walking catastrophe, stood before the freshly split door, the biggest smile on her face. She walked into the office, her hair fluttering from overflowing mana, and called out to Kirk in a sweet voice.

“Kirk, Kirk, Kirk… Our beloved Kirk Wright, guide of adventurers. I am deeply grateful that you would take time out of your day to see a lowly adventurer such as I.”

She sang her words with a practiced grace and bowed, her long hair almost touching the floor. She didn’t seem like she was used to this, and yet she maintained an eerie air of elegance. Although she made a show of humbling herself, she had lost none of her poise.

If anything, Kirk thought to himself that he had never felt so undone in his entire life by a single greeting.

As these thoughts ran through his head, he responded with a firm and noble nod. “Of course. You’re always welcome, Siasha. We are here to serve our adventurers and lend an ear to their troubles.”

“Yes, but of course! Although we fight on different battlefields, we are comrades, nonetheless.”

A farce—that was the only word to describe this exchange. But it was a necessary farce. Kirk wasn’t about to ruin it by calling her out.

“By the way, Comrade Kirk, I do believe that the door to your office is quite fragile. I thought you would have had a better one installed.”

“Ha ha ha. Oh, but Comrade Siasha, that was not a double door, you see.”

“Goodness, how clumsy of me!”

Her face bloomed into a smile. A man oblivious to the situation might have fallen in love with that grin, but the air suddenly grew cold. Although Siasha maintained her expression, the look in her gaze had become icy. It was enough to make it feel like the temperature of the room had dropped. Kirk felt a menacing chill running down his back.

Here it was. Kirk braced himself, doing his best to pick his words with the utmost care.

“By the way, Kirk, what were you talking about earlier?” Siasha asked, tilting her head like a marionette. “It was quite strange. Something about a man being grim?”

“I just think that the mercenary under your employ is a little too stern for his own good. If he took on a more friendly manner, perhaps he might attract more clientele.”

Knowing that he had struck a nerve, Kirk did his best to steer the conversation away from his earlier faux pas. He thought he did a pretty good job.

He had heard from the stories told about Siasha and Zig that their relationship was quite complicated. Zig himself said that they were client and mercenary—nothing more, nothing less. Still, her attachment to Zig was quite peculiar. Calling it love, whether romantic or platonic, wasn’t quite right either.

However, Kirk had no intention of even bringing it up. It was far too dangerous.

She elegantly placed her fingers to her chin and nodded, seemingly accepting Kirk’s excuse.

“I see. Yes, I suppose Zig can be quite intimidating. And that was all you were saying, yes?”

“Of course. I have no complaints about Zig’s work ethic. As someone who stands by his side, you should understand why.”

Because you’re Zig’s partner, Kirk tried to say between the lines.

Subtle flattery was most effective when you didn’t want to further anger the one you were talking to. Siasha quietly tried to discern the meaning behind his words. Her smile remained as her gaze—cold as ice—and seemed to pierce through his own. Her azure eyes were as beautiful as gemstones, though they were as cold as the rocks you found on the side of the road.

“Very well.”

The sensation of time itself had become strange at that point, but that was over now.

Siasha turned away, seemingly losing interest, and with it, the pressure Kirk felt lightened. Kirk took a deep breath quietly, so as not to be heard. He felt as if his own words had somehow shortened his lifespan.

“Right, while we’re on the subject of work…” Siasha said, as if remembering why she had come to see Kirk in the first place.

Meanwhile, Kirk was thinking about how he would need to educate his staff on what to do if she wanted to see him. Actually, even Kirk forgot that she must have had a reason to see him if she came all the way here.

“Can you tell me about the job Zig is on?”

He wanted to give himself a quiet pat on the back for not furrowing his eyebrows.

A dangerous person was sticking her nose in a dangerous matter. That fact alone was enough to give him a headache. Kirk was already in the middle of investigating Zig’s claims, and he really didn’t need any more on his plate.

“I’m sorry, but even the guild doesn’t have all the details on the matter yet. I can only give you my assumptions to avoid unnecessary confusion. Surely you understand?”

Kirk barely had conclusions after Zig brought him all the results he needed. However, he had no reason to tell her that. As talented as Siasha was, she was still a mid-class adventurer. Thus, he told her that he couldn’t divulge any sensitive guild information, thinking that she would understand and leave it alone.

“Do you not understand the reason I came here today?”

Kirk had thought wrong.

Siasha had no interest in the guild’s internal affairs and couldn’t care less whether the incident was intentional.

“I want to know what kind of job Zig is on. That’s all.”

“Even so. I would still have to tell you much of the same infor­mation.”

With Kirk reaffirming his position, Siasha let out a lament.

“Oh, Kirk. I am saddened! Saddened by the fact you would abandon a friend in need. Why, cracks may start appearing in our friendship. Wouldn’t that be a frightful thing?”

She approached him, boots clicking on the floor, until she reached his desk and sat on it.

Tap tap. She tapped her fingers on Kirk’s desk to draw his attention.

“Our friendship is supposed to last forever. But what if…what if cracks started appearing?”

Once Kirk was transfixed by her tapping, Siasha looked at him and clasped a hand to her chest. “My heart is overflowing with sorrow. No, I would never want cracks to form in our friendship! For if it did…the sorrow that will come out may swallow you whole.”

Siasha tilted her head ever so slightly, as if to ask “do you understand?”

Kirk swallowed, sensing the thinly veiled violence behind her words. He had once read in a book that a smile could be an act of aggression. That book had been mistaken. To a weaker person, anything an aggressor did could be considered hostile.

“I…see. No, you’re right. That will not do.”

“It certainly would not. You are the only one who can protect our friendship.”

So, go on. Siasha motioned, extending her right hand—which had been the one on her chest—toward him.

“The power of friendship.” Her open palm looked like it was demanding his life to be placed upon it.

“The power of friendship.”

Kirk could do nothing but comply.

***

Zig was visiting Ernesta Armory again, oblivious to the negotiation happening at the guild.

Kirk’s staffers should be interrogating that assassin I captured right about now. He doubted the hit man would talk, but there were various ways of making a man sing, even if he didn’t want to, from torture to drugs and everything in between.

“That isn’t really the problem…but they’ll figure it out.”

He decided to leave the professionals to it. There was nothing he could do to help, anyway. Zig wasn’t very good at torture. Although he had been instructed how to do it back when he was a mercenary, his instructor gave up after seeing that Zig simply didn’t have the aptitude for it. Clearly, Zig had no objections to hurting people, but he was terrible at holding back.

Torture was precise work. You needed to hurt someone enough to force them to give up information. Various types of pain and pacing were necessary, and you also needed to be good enough at talking to see through their lies. Too much would make them die of shock or blood loss. It needed a craftsman’s skill set, really.

When Zig was told to break someone’s fingers, he broke all of them in one go, nullifying the stages of pain. Peel off the guy’s fingernails? Well, he did all of that in one go too. His instructor kicked him out after seeing Zig’s utter lack of understanding in the field.

Zig specialized in killing his opponents as fast as possible. Little wonder he was bad at torture.

Amateur that he was, he could still get other amateurs to talk. However, the assassin this time was different.

“You know, we didn’t have magic back home…” Zig pointed out to himself and wondered how magic could be implemented in torture. What interested him was how healing magic could keep the suspect in a perpetually healthy state.

“I wonder what happens if you heal someone when they’re being stabbed.”

“Zig, can you not speculate on such violent things outside the store? You’re scaring away the customers…”

He turned to see Sciezka, a familiar face by now, giving him a concerned smile. Apparently, he had been thinking out loud. From the corner of his eye, he saw a young adventurer quietly back away from him.

There were a decent number of customers in the shop despite it being in the afternoon.

“Sorry, I’ll be more careful.”

Zig bowed in apology, and Sciezka’s professional smile returned.

“Thank you. So, what brings you here today?”

He took out a magic item from his pocket and showed it to her: a circle of metal about the size of one’s palm. A spiderweb of cracks was spread out from the center, clearly indicating that it was broken.

“I want Gantt to look at this.” It was the magic item Zig’s attacker wore yesterday, the one that created a barrier around him. He kept it, since it could very well be evidence.

He had handed it to Kirk earlier in the morning, but Kirk declined and said he should be the one to look into it. Kirk said that he didn’t want it to be known that the guild was investigating an ordinary magic item.

“Do you know what it does?”

“It made a barrier. A small one.”

Sciezka examined it, then charged it with mana, since activating a defensive spell wouldn’t be a problem inside the store. However, the magic circuit engraved into it was broken, and the seal failed to activate.

“You want us to look into it and not fix it?”

“Yeah.”

The thing broke from the impact of Zig’s kick, but Gantt was familiar with creating both weapons and magic items. He should’ve been able to figure out something about it.

“Very well. Right this way.”

Sciezka wondered why Zig wanted to inspect a broken magic item, but she didn’t say her question out loud. She knew that Zig didn’t have mana and didn’t know the implications of him wanting to investigate the magic item.

As he nodded in gratitude to her, Sciezka turned to him as if remembering something, the ends of her hair brushing against her shoulders. What she had on her face was not her usual professional smile but a genuine one, and it was so gentle that it captured Zig’s attention immediately.

“As a sidenote, the wound will close around the blade itself.”

Zig only nodded at her answer to his earlier question. He wasn’t about to be so foolish as to ask how she knew that. She would definitely say that it’s a secret.

Zig followed Sciezka through the sales floor into the room where Gantt was working. He was wearing a jeweler’s loupe and seemed to be engraving letters into a metal object.

Sciezka remained silent, knowing how sensitive the task was, and instead knocked on his workbench to draw his attention.

“Gantt, is now a good time?”

“No, I’m busy. Can’t you see that?” Gantt continued working on his project, not even bothering to look at Sciezka. His tone was blunt too, showing how focused he was. The intricate engravings he was making seemed to be a magic seal.

It looked like this was a bad time.

Just as Zig was about to show himself out, Sciezka stopped him and knocked on the workbench again. Gantt let out a great sigh as he was once again interrupted and finally relented. He made a show of setting his tools on the bench and glared at Sciezka with the loupe still over one of his eyes.

“Tch… Now look here! Don’t you know how precise I have to be right now?! You know what, you don’t have to know. So why don’t you shut up and—”

“Are you sure? Are you sure you want to turn away the customer who brought you from stockpiling your unwanted equipment in our store to third place in sales?”

“Just stop interrupting—what was that?”

Gantt shut his mouth before he could launch into a rant. His eyes then went over to Zig, who was standing near Sciezka. His other eye had been closed, since he needed the one that wore the loupe in full focus, so Gantt had completely missed Zig.

Gantt’s beard twitched a few times before he looked at Sciezka again and bowed deeply. “I am truly sorry.”

“Don’t apologize to me.”

Gantt quickly lifted his head. “Hey, sorry about that, Zig! What’s happening?”

Zig narrowed his eyes and scratched his chin at the all-too-casual apology.

Sciezka’s free hand suddenly pulled on Gantt’s beard. Although the pain was clear on his face, his eyes quickly locked on Zig’s equipment.

“Happy to see you’re already putting that weapon to use, though! What do you think of it?”

“You’re tougher than you look. Not bad. Durable, sharp, perfect balance and weight.”

Gantt happily beckoned Zig to his workbench and made space for him. The blacksmith couldn’t wait to see his creation. Zig gave a wry smile as he set the weapon on the desk and removed its fabric covering. Gantt took off his loupe and ran his fingers along the dark red blades, squinting to get a better look.

“You’ve used this a lot given how recently you bought it…”

“Yeah. The sharpness is great, but the fact that it can cut through magic is really convenient. Fights are a lot different now that I have an option other than dodge. Are you sure you could’ve sold it to me at that price?”

The bloodcrystal-clad dragon twinblade was expensive. However, given the weapon’s features, its price tag was on the cheaper side, and Zig wondered about that.

“Uhh… Well, weapons using this class of materials are usually more expensive.”

Gantt’s answer was nonchalant as he looked for warps and misalignments in its points of balance.

“I knew it,” Zig said.

“Since you didn’t ask for the lightweight treatment, it made the price a lot cheaper.”

“Lightweight treatment?”

“What, you’ve never heard of it? Uhh…Tell him!”

Caught off guard by Zig’s ignorance of what was considered common knowledge in Halian, Gantt pushed the responsibility of explaining to Sciezka.

“Weapons like these are usually given the lightweight treatment, either by physically altering the weapon or engraving a seal on it to make it lighter.” Sciezka handled it easily, probably because of her experience explaining the process to other customers. “The harder and stronger a material is, the larger they usually end up being, making portability an issue.”

“I see.”

The treatment was usually requested by those who lacked the physique to wield large weapons or women who lacked the necessary muscle mass. Zig thought they could just physically enhance their bodies with magic, but weapon weight apparently was still an issue.

“We do our best to make it as compact as possible, but if all else fails, a magic seal is engraved on it. The weapon you purchased is about 30 percent cheaper because it didn’t have the lightweight treatment applied on it. Yours is also the first time anyone ever purchased a weapon of that weight without the treatment. At least in this store.”

“That’s the gist of it. Not everyone is as stupidly strong as—urgh!”

Sciezka had elbowed Gantt for the unnecessary comment.

He then tugged on Zig’s sleeve. “Hey, uh…”

“What?”

The gesture only made the man more annoying, but Zig looked at him anyway.

Gantt had scraped the blade with what looked like a spatula and was staring intently at the debris he gathered.

“Did you…cut someone recently?”

“Yeah. Just yesterday.”

Gantt let out a tremendous groan at Zig’s declaration. Zig didn’t quite know what to make of it, but the blacksmith didn’t sound pleased.

“What are you so bothered about? Wait, hang on…”

What Gantt said nagged at Zig’s memory. His previous weapon had broken during his job with the mafia. Elcia’s greatsword-wielding ally had smashed the twinblade in two during their pincer attack.

He had fought the three-faced ogres with a rental longsword. This weapon had been made right after that encounter.

Then I cut down some guys who attacked me in the guild, and then the whole congregation of the Claritist Church. I didn’t really kill any monstrosities with it during the blade bee incident. The most recent monstrosity kills on this are probably the mantis thing and panthers.

Zig nodded after running through his memories.

“This weapon has been mostly cutting down humans lately,” he said.

“You really don’t have to tell me that,” Gantt said.

“I see,” he continued. “So, you’ve been cutting down more humans than monstrosities…”

Zig wasn’t expecting Gantt to be saddened by the fact that he had been killing people.

“It’s just…I make weapons so that adventurers can take down monstrosities. But hey, I was the one who decided to sell it to you anyway. Ideals don’t put money on the table, so I’m not about to complain.”

Though complain he did, casting side glances at Zig. He was being very annoying.

For Zig, a weapon was a tool. A tool to kill his enemies—nothing more, nothing less. As bad as he felt for Gantt, he wasn’t about to give up that mindset.

“I was the one who killed them, not you,” Zig said. “A tool is just that, a tool. Weapons don’t kill people, the people wielding them do.”

“So, I’m innocent of all charges, is that it?” Gantt scoffed as he stroked the blade with his firm, callused fingers. “How convenient. Sorry, but I’m not as shameless as to say that I don’t have blood on my hands after crafting weapons designed to kill things. I know I’m complicit in all this.”

The man had principles, and although he sounded like he made light of them, Zig knew better than to interject.

“But we’re getting off topic,” Gantt said. “So, uh, what did you want again? Doesn’t look like this baby is in need of maintenance.”

After Gantt polished the twinblade, Zig thanked him and gestured to Sciezka to hand him the magic item.

“He wants you to inspect this.”

“A magic item? It’s busted.”

Gantt gave it a once-over first before putting on his loupe to get a better look.

“Wow. Yellow silver? Fancy stuff for a magic item. And it’s engraved with a barrier seal. This one’s a working second rate. What a shame… Shouldn’t have been fooled by the material. I’d file a complaint if I was the one who bought it.”

Gantt kept mumbling to himself as he inspected the magic item closely. As brusque as he was, he was definitely a skilled craftsman.

“Yellow silver?” Zig asked.

He looked to Sciezka at the mention of the unfamiliar material.

She gave him an explanation that anyone could easily understand. “A metal known for its excellent mana conductivity. It is also softer than most metals, making it suitable for engraving detailed crests. Although it is resistant to high temperatures, it is easily deformed by physical strikes and is usually employed for internal magic seals.”

The only soft metals that Zig could think of were lead and tin.

“Is it expensive?”

Sciezka didn’t seem to mind his stupid question at all. “Quite. You can say it’s about as famous as the indigo adamantine, if it helps.”

“Oh… So, it’s in that family of materials.”

He knew about indigo adamantine. It was a special metal with mana-disrupting characteristics—a small dagger made of it was worth millions of orth. Even the coins he used as throwing stones weren’t cheap. However, mana-disrupting materials were very valuable. This yellow silver must be just as useful.

“Metals named after their color are incredibly unique and hard to produce. Most adventurers can’t easily get their hands on them. It’s something of a waste to use them in a magic item like this…”

“Even amateurs can engrave crests, so unscrupulous craftsmen drive up the price by using expensive materials.” Gantt picked up Sciezka’s explanation, shrugging as he held up one of his tools in his hand. “Whoever made this is a failure of a blacksmith for using materials to cover up for his shoddy craftsmanship.”

As a man who was meticulous about his work, he couldn’t bear the thought of someone mishandling precious materials.

“It broke due to overload. What’d you do?”

He ruffled his beard, clearly unhappy, as he examined the magic item in his other hand. Zig didn’t think much of it.

“I kicked it,” he said, reporting the magic item’s cause of destruction.

“Oh.”

The way Gantt looked at Zig changed. It was like he was looking at an uncivilized barbarian.

Zig quickly defended himself. “Wait, hang on. Don’t get it twisted. I kicked the barrier, not the magic item.”

Even if he didn’t care about his reputation, he didn’t want to be seen as a savage who just kicked anything he didn’t understand.

“I don’t think you’re that dumb,” Gantt said and sighed loudly.

It irritated Zig, but going by Sciezka’s wry smile, it looked like he was the one being unreasonable.

Gantt proceeded to lecture him like he was a child who was slow on the uptake.

“The piece is definitely second-rate. But in another sense, it did its job. It’s small, and the barrier it made could be strong enough to fight monstrosities. And you kicked it so hard you broke it… Are you actually human?”

“Don’t look at me,” Zig scoffed. He folded his arms and turned away. “The guy who made it must be third-rate.”

“Well, that’s suspicious. You’re not some kind of humanoid monstrosity, are you?”

“If I were, I’d start with massacring you. Now stop being dumb and look into it. I don’t care if you have to disassemble it.”

“All right, all right, no need to pout.”

With his jokes made, Gantt carefully took the magic item apart. Removing the clasp and slowly opening the cracks, he peered inside with his loupe.

“Do you know where it was made?” Zig asked.

“The methods of manufacture are quite orthodox. Common design… That’ll make it hard to pin down. No engravings of the guy who made it either.”

Some blacksmiths and goldsmiths inscribed their names on their work. The distribution was about fifty-fifty. Gantt himself was among the ones who didn’t sign his work.

“Uhh?”

Just as Zig thought it was going to be hard to get information out of the bracelet, Gantt let out a confused noise as he inspected the cracked cover.

“Did you find something?”

“Well, there’s nothing strange about the magic item itself, but… Brush.”

“Here.”

Sciezka handed him a brush. Gantt’s eyes remained fixed on the magic item. He held his breath so whatever he found wouldn’t be blown away and carefully brushed the inside of the broken cover, collecting its contents onto a plate. Two small particles fell upon it.

Gantt picked one up with a tweezer. “What is this?”

At first glance, the hardened white powder looked like a sugar crystal.

“Did it get in through the seams?” Zig asked.

“No. While the construction isn’t watertight, it could mostly keep water and moisture out. There’s no way something like this would slip through the seam.”

The fragment was the size of the point on a pen. Even if the item was cracked, it seemed unlikely that the particle was in there by chance. Whatever the substance was, it was placed inside the bracelet during its creation.

“I take it back. This guy’s worse than third-rate. He was having lunch while engraving a magic seal! I’ll beat the shit out of him if I see him.” Gantt clenched his fists as veins popped in his temples, unable to stand the shoddy craftsmanship any longer.

Meanwhile, Zig took a closer look at the white particulate. He pressed it between his fingers. It was hard. He smelled it—odorless. He nicked a piece of it with his fingernail and licked it. It held a unique bitterness. However, he recognized it and immediately understood that it wasn’t meant to be ingested in its pure form.

“Whoever made this wasn’t having lunch. His head was probably in the clouds when he made this.”

“In the clouds? What are you… Ohhhh.” Gantt slapped a palm to his face when he realized what Zig was talking about regarding the white particle. He wore an exasperated look.

Sciezka looked hatefully at the white particle.

“So that’s what it is. But can you do precision work like seal engraving when vacationing on the moon?”

“Some types let you do that.”

Drugs could be roughly categorized between stimulants and depressants. Some dulled the pain, some sharpened the senses, some chased away fatigue. But most fell into one of these two types.

“The drug forces the user into an awakened state,” Zig said, “allowing them to work for long hours with greater precision.”

“It does sound like it would benefit precision work,” Gantt mused. “Doesn’t sound sustainable, though.”

“Of course,” Sciezka said. “There is always a price when pushing the body past its natural limits. Besides, Gantt, you do excellent work even without it. Hard work fits humanity best.”

Relying on them too much is dangerous, so I just use them like a tool.

Although Zig knew there were long-term consequences, they meant nothing if he couldn’t survive today. For him, drugs were tools to be used when the occasion arose. Using everything at his disposal was the best way to get out of a sticky situation, of which he had gone through many.

However, Zig kept these opinions to himself.

The fact was that not using drugs altogether was the best option, though many who used them wanted a means of escape during a war.

“As for what this substance is…I guess I’ll have to ask a professional,” Zig said.

“Wait,” Sciezka said. “I’ll write to Katia as well.”

“Thanks.”

Katia, the daughter of one of the mafia dons, seemed to have some kind of relationship with Sciezka. They weren’t exactly friends, but they were on speaking terms and seemed to be stuck with each other. Each was in a place where they could pull a favor or two from the other.

“It’s not really a favor… I’m just going to say, ‘Can’t you manage your territories properly?’” Sciezka said, her tone a cold bite.

***

“Hmm…”

He groaned as he set a steaming white cup on the desk.

The amber colored liquid settled in the ceramic. Kirk’s brewing method combined efficiency and artistry, producing a fragrant tea without wasting expensive tea leaves.

However, the amber liquid was fueling a blood-red conversation.

“Of the two people who attacked Zig, one’s head was crushed to the point of no recognition. The other one was successfully captured. He is now in custody, and proper measures are being enacted.”

“That’s why Zig was hurt when he came home yesterday… I see. It doesn’t sound like a task for an adventurer.”

A mercenary was expendable; no one would question the death of a convenient pawn. He was also far cheaper than hiring an adventurer, since the guild wouldn’t need to risk losing one of its members.

Siasha wasn’t pleased by this insinuation and her gaze bore down on Kirk.

The cup rattled, the tea making waves under her gaze.

However, Kirk didn’t get the position of vice president on a whim, nor was the title decorative. He had been caught off guard the last time Siasha threatened him, but he had already seen it once. He wasn’t about to fold now, especially when he knew he had done nothing wrong. He wasn’t as soft as that.

Besides, Siasha wasn’t truly angry at him. The power in her gaze was much weaker compared to the time Kirk banned Zig from the guild and when she split the door in half earlier.

“We are both using each other,” Kirk said coolly. “Rest assured, I’m paying him appropriately. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting things to progress so quickly. Violent as he is, he’s great at his job.”

Since he and Zig both agreed to the terms of the contract, he didn’t feel like a third party had any right to complain about it.

“Hmph… Sly fox.”

Siasha narrowed her eyes at him, knowing that she didn’t have as much information as he did. Kirk ignored her and sipped his tea. She could only purse her lips, recognizing fully well that she was only taking out her frustrations on him.

“So what will you do? I don’t think it’s my place to say, but he doesn’t seem like a man who appreciates outside help in his work.”

“It really isn’t your place to say. Yes, I know that much about him.”

Siasha turned away, Kirk’s words hitting her where it hurt. She could already see Zig refusing her offer to help him. She knew that better than anyone else. However, she was fed up with only being able to wait for him to return.

“As a fellow industry worker—no, as an adventurer, I simply cannot rest while the culprit is out there, perhaps plotting something worse! That is the only reason why I am here.”

Siasha clenched her fist, demonstrating her desire to see the wicked be brought to justice.

“I see. Perhaps there is hope yet for this generation if a young adventurer is so affected by her comrades’ deaths.”

Kirk stared at her, expressing his admiration for her, though his expression remained unchanged.

But let’s think about this, he thought to himself.

Whatever Siasha’s motives were, more pawns on the board were never a bad thing. Since she already knew about the situation, it would be much better to use her than to ask her to keep quiet.

“Then I believe I have just the task to satisfy your thirst for justice. Will you help me?”

“Very well. How much?”

“I thought doing good was a reward in itself, friend?” Kirk said, his words implying that she stop making the shape of a coin with her fingers.

Siasha smiled brightly, traced the edge of her cup, and stared at him with her azure eyes. “Indeed, justice is what motivates me. But if a certain someone wishes to express his gratitude in a concrete manner, who am I to refuse? Friend.”

Cold sweat formed on Kirk’s brow.

Zig was not on official guild business. It went without saying that his payment came out of Kirk’s own pocket. Of course, he made a sizable amount of money from being vice president, but the amount he was paying Zig was going to dent his finances.

But he needed all the help he could get. If his predictions were correct, the more hands, the better—and the more competent, the better.

He had already heard reports about Siasha being a promising young adventurer. Her performance during the rescue operation corroborated that. But even without the rescue operation, he already knew firsthand that Siasha was different.

If spending his own money was what it took to enlist her…then it was a sacrifice that Kirk would have to make.

“I’ll think about it.”

“I look forward to hearing how it goes.”

As he nodded with a heavy heart, his dear friend put on a beautiful smile in return.

The negotiation, or rather the heartfelt conversation between friends, was coming to a close.

Siasha had finished her tea and was about to get up to leave when a series of rushing footsteps could be heard approaching the office.

“Mr. Kirk, there’s—what happened to the door?!” The owner of the footsteps was confused about the state of the office door, but Kirk urged him to continue.

“Don’t worry about that. What happened?”

The middle-aged, neatly dressed employee stepped through the doorway, eyes wandering until they reached Siasha. He approached Kirk and whispered in his ear.

“Right.” Kirk motioned the staffer to leave and turned toward Siasha. He remained expressionless, but whatever the man told him didn’t seem to be good news.

“The assassin has been killed.”

Siasha’s suspicions were put to rest immediately. Although she understood what he said perfectly well, his lack of emotion made her pensive for a few seconds.

“Hmm?”

Siasha tilted her head and twirled the ends of her hair before finally speaking. “What are you people doing?” Siasha said in a low voice, a dangerous gleam in her eyes. “I can’t believe you let your only lead die so easily.”

Now they had no way of finding the culprit. Whoever it was, they would be more careful in going about their business, making the search even more difficult.

“All of Zig’s efforts and wounds…wasted,” Siasha growled and narrowed her eyes. “Shall I give you an excuse to get new glasses?”

A fist-sized rock was now floating over her palm. The rock crackled with energy, audibly creaking from the immense mana being poured into it.

Earlier, she had only been lashing out. Now, she was angry.

Although her fury hadn’t turned to bloodlust, it was still enough to freeze an ordinary man in place.

And yet Kirk was smiling.

“Hm?”

Siasha tilted her head at his incomprehensible response. His smile only deepened.

“I see. Seeing you with Zig had me fooled, but you’re much quicker to resort to violence than he is. I suppose that’s common enough in the adventuring business.”

It was then that Siasha realized what Kirk was saying. Zig wasn’t an intellectual, but his wealth of experience more than made up for it. He knew that someone would come to silence the captured assassin.

“Wait a second…”

“It is as you expect.”

Kirk nodded kindly and told her about his discussion with Zig earlier in the morning.

Zig and Kirk discussed what to do with the assassin in custody.

Getting a competent hit man to talk was extremely difficult. Although they were hired for their killing skills, they were also required to keep a tight lip. No matter how good they were at killing, an assassin would be out of a job if they talked about their clients at the first sign of torture.

High levels of pain tolerance were necessary, as well as a resistance to drugs. In desperate situations, some could even lock away their own memories using a secret code. However, people had limits, especially when it came to torture. As powerful as someone was, it was only a matter of time before their minds and bodies were broken by extreme pain.

The catch was that you didn’t know how long that would take. If the victim did hold out, his body usually didn’t, and he would take whatever he knew with him to the grave.

And so, Zig and Kirk decided to keep security on the lighter side. They didn’t actually reduce the number of assigned guards, of course, but rather, the guild went through due process before they interrogated the suspect. These days, it wasn’t necessary for a suspect who was caught in the act. Procedure was only followed if the suspect in question was a person in a position of power. The whole thing was an unspoken agreement.

However, there were individuals in the world obsessed with proper protocol. These people were called sticklers. They allowed one such stickler to process the suspect and as expected, he went through the proper channels. The guild couldn’t lay a hand on the assassin until the powers-that-be gave them clearance.

“Fortunately, our culprits caught a whiff of this and came to silence our hit man.”

“I see… And the hit man’s killer?”

“We’re chasing them as we speak,” Kirk said with a sharp gleam in his eyes.

Siasha squeezed her fist, erasing the rock bullet.

“I thought you wanted me to get new glasses?”

Kirk’s smile was smug, despite the undercurrent of violence the conversation had thus far.

Siasha’s only answer was a wry smile as she put her hands up in surrender.

“I did. But it seems you can see well enough.”

Chapter 4: A Cornered Rat Bites Back

Chapter 4:
A Cornered Rat Bites Back

THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF THE CITY OF HALIAN WAS under the rule of the Bazarta Family, one of the two great mafias of the city. The streets were lined with men of an unscrupulous persuasion and shady shops whose wares were kept hidden. On the surface, it was a pleasure district with brothels, gambling clubs, and fighting arenas as its primary draws.

Zig headed for the northern district after he left the armory. He had patronized the brothel several times and gone through the district on his morning runs. The district was popular among the people of Halian. Everyone needed entertainment every once in a while. Some adventurers came every day, satisfying their desires after returning from a dangerous job.

The southern district was notably also a pleasure district, similarly structured albeit with a different feel.

“People sure are up early. Sun hasn’t even set yet.”

Pleasure districts usually started their business at sundown, but it was still quite crowded during the day.

In a dark alley, a man and a woman were arguing with each other over a cheap hotel bill. Some people were leaning against the walls, smoking sticks of something as they laughed with and at each other.

There were no barkers yet, but some of the stores were open.

The sight was familiar to Zig, and crossing a deadly ocean did little to change it. Exchange the adventurers for soldiers and mercenaries, and it would’ve been like he never left.

It went without saying that it wasn’t the safest district by a long shot. Pickpockets eyed potential prey and anyone who failed to be on guard was fair game.

Zig felt grateful for his stature and appearance. His naturally mean-looking mug acted as a repellant against pickpockets and thugs. Though, he still needed to keep his guard up.

He wasn’t there for entertainment—he was looking for someone. A friendly neighborhood mobster he ran into along the way had told him where he could find his person of interest, so he didn’t need to worry about getting lost.

Zig followed the mobster’s directions until he reached a bar. He walked through the parlor doors and looked around. Perhaps it was the time of day, but only one table was occupied. The men seated there were already drinking.

“Huh? Sorry, buddy, but there’s a private party going on tonight.”

One of them shooed Zig away when he noticed him. Judging by his muscular body and violent disposition, he was likely a mobster. Zig paid him no mind and walked toward them.

The man clicked his tongue. He got up in a fit and stood in Zig’s path.

“Listen… I thought I made myself clear, but I’ll say it again because I feel like being nice today. Fuck off.”

He didn’t immediately resort to violence, but his tone made it undeniably clear that they didn’t want Zig here. As far as mobsters went, this one was quite polite.

The mobster motioned for his friends to stay back as they were about to get up from their seats. He looked at Zig, stunned by his size, and raised his eyebrows at his weapon. Finally, he looked into his eyes and decided from his stare that Zig wasn’t someone he wanted to mess with.

He reached for the weapon at his waist and readied himself, signaling to his comrades with his other hand.

“I’m looking for someone,” Zig said. “Heard this is where I can find them.”

“Really? Any luck?”

The other mobsters stood and slowly surrounded Zig.

“Not yet, no.”

“Too bad. You should go look somewhere else.”

“Can’t do that. I haven’t finished with this place.”

“Use your eyes. We’re the only ones here.”

The air was becoming thick with tension. Zig remained unfazed and cast his gaze at the bar. Behind the bartender was a door for employees.

“You have one more person with you. I’d like to see her.”

“Cheeky bastard.”

The man’s expression twisted, and he bared his teeth when he noticed Zig look at the back door. The mobsters were about to become violent. They whipped out knives, daggers, and other hidden weapons as they slowly approached Zig.

“A hit man, huh? Who sent you? Cantarella?”

“Slow down. I’m just here to ask for a favor. Actually, no. I’m here to file a complaint.”

Zig slowly put his hand into his pocket and took out a letter. He didn’t want to escalate the situation.

The man in front of him looked at the letter before taking it in his hand. Seeing the sender, the man sighed, put away his weapon, and scratched his chin.

“Come on,” he said.

“Boss?”

The man regarded as the boss waved to the rest of the mobsters, signaling them to stand down.

“Look, this guy’s a guest. I’ll take care of him, so all of you can go back to drinking.”

“Okay…”

The mobsters seemed disappointed by their enemy suddenly becoming a guest but followed orders nonetheless.

Zig followed the man.

When the man saw the weapon on Zig’s back, he finally put two and two together.

“That’s a weird weapon you got… Hang on, are you the merc who protected the Miss during that whole Aggretia fiasco? You fit Albano’s description.”

“Were you there too?”

“Yeah… Man, you really should’ve led with that,” the man complained as he went behind the bar and unlocked the door to the back. “I didn’t wanna go up against the monster who cut down those drugged up Aggretias while protecting the Miss at the same time.”

Inside was a storage area for alcohol as well as a room which seemed to be the employee quarters.

“Miss, it’s me. Mind if I come in?”

The man knocked on the door, and rustling could be heard from the inside.

“Yeah, door’s unlocked,” came a voice from inside the room.

“Excuse me.” He opened the door and stepped inside.

The room was smaller than Zig’s quarters at the inn, but it was furnished with expensive items, making it feel lopsided and cluttered.

The owner of the room wasn’t very good at keeping it clean. Articles of clothing were strewn across the floor, and cutlery with sauce still stuck on them were on the table. The room could easily be mistaken for a bachelor’s den.

However, the girl inside the room was currently on the bed looking for something, her clothes dangling haphazardly on her body.

“Uhhh, where’d I put my panties?”

“Miss, can’t you just clean up after yourself for once?”

She was the type of person who slept in the nude. Although she was wearing her jacket, she was missing her panties and was currently looking for them under the bed. Her short chestnut brown hair was turned upside down as she hung from the edge of the bed, scanning beneath it.

The jacket draped over her shoulders fell to the floor, revealing her back and small butt.

“Quit being a hard ass… You’ve seen me naked since I was a baby, so why should you care? Oh, there it is!”

Grabbing the piece of cloth, Katia popped her head out from under the bed.

“Wha?”

When she emerged, she noticed that her caretaker wasn’t the only one in the room. Next to him was a stone-faced mercenary whose eyes were glued to Katia’s naked body.

He merely nodded while Katia remained frozen.

“Don’t mind me.” The mercenary was bold in his peeping.

As flustered as the maiden was, she was still a mafia princess. She let out a loud sigh, put on her underwear, and draped her coat over her shoulders.

“Well? I don’t suppose you assholes are just here to see a naked girl.”

Try as she might to seem unfazed, the young girl’s cheeks were pink.

“Miss, you can’t just try to play it off,” her caretaker said.

“At least be somewhat embarrassed,” the mercenary added.

“Shut up! You’re both grown men, anyway. It’s like looking at your daughter’s naked body…”

Katia held her head in her hands, trying to act tough in front of the caretaker who had been with her from a very young age and the mercenary who had helped her out recently.

“How old are you supposed to be?”

Katia was thrown off by Zig’s question.

“What? I’m seventeen.”

He put his hand to his chin and nodded.

“Oh. I’m twenty-three, so I think I’m at the appropriate age to enjoy seeing your naked body,” Zig said, running his eyes over Katia’s crossed legs. Though small, her slender and well-trained physique was not lacking in womanly appeal. Zig appraised her body, appreciating her form without so much as batting an eye.

“Wait, twenty-three?” the caretaker asked. “You serious?”

“Huh? You’re twenty-three with that face?!” Katia cried. “No way!”

The caretaker looked at Zig in shock. He had taken him to be the same age as he was. Katia covered her chest, barely able to hide her shock, unable to believe the lechery in his eyes.

Meanwhile, Zig was internally hurt that the two had mistaken him for being far older than he was. And so, he cheered himself up by continuing to stare at Katia’s body.

“I see. Leda, is Schillaci still with us?”

“He just got started a minute ago, so he should be fine. Should I call him?”

“Yeah.”

Katia—who was wearing clothes now—ordered her caretaker to bring someone else in and combed her chestnut hair with her hands. She put the letter she just read on the nightstand. The gray camisole she wore made her look like a prostitute, but her intense stare and unfriendly manner made it clear that she was unfit for the profession.

“So, someone ordered a hit on you, and you found some drugs on the guy. You wanna know where those drugs came from, right?”

“Can you do it?”

“Not right away…at least, not usually.” Katia tapped her knee as she grinned. “But you’re in luck, Zig. We have a professional in the house.”

The young lady called Katia was gone now, replaced by a greedy mobster.

“So, what will you give us in exchange?”

The mafia obviously required payment for their services. Their whole business model was built around profiting from the downtrodden. Zig was a prime target, since he had little to no information on Halian.

“Money?”

“Not to be rude, but I’ve got no interest in a broke mercenary’s purse. Let’s see… You’ll owe us a favor. How about that?” She suggested as she lit up a cigarette. Exhaling a thin wisp of smoke, she crossed her legs and waited to see how Zig would react.

The word “favor” was not to be taken at face value. A favor with a public organization like the Adventurers’ Guild wouldn’t pose a problem. With their reputation under public scrutiny, there weren’t many drawbacks to backing out on a promise. But no one would care about a mercenary who made a deal with the mafia and got bumped off because he refused to do what they told him to.

Katia would deliver, but owing her a favor wasn’t to Zig’s benefit. There was a high likelihood that things might get messy later if he owed her now.

“Didn’t you read the letter? I’m taking care of things for you since you people can’t keep your territory under control. Why do I have to owe you anything?”

Zig had a point in that the mafia’s lack of drug regulation was the cause of his current problems. If they had done a better job, he wouldn’t even be here in the first place.

“But the drug was inside a magic item. Sure as hell wasn’t through one of our dealers. You can’t blame us because the guy who attacked you happened to have drugs in his magic item.”

Zig was dealing with someone who was a professional negotiator, and she deflected his accusation. He stayed quiet, not having a rebuttal for that. It was one thing if the mafia were trying to expand their routes, but trying to pin a magic item filled with drugs on the mafia would prove difficult.

Then, the caretaker returned.

“Miss, Schillaci’s ready.”

Behind him was a pale and skinny man who must’ve been Schillaci.

“Hang on, I’m in the middle of a negotiation right now. Well?”

Katia watched him as smoke plumed from her lips. She was waiting for Zig to concede. The big man so dedicated to his work would probably be willing to take a risk or two.

Having the mercenary owe them a favor would be highly beneficial. The Jinsu-Yah were powerful warriors, but they didn’t take on dirty work or anything that could be deemed an injustice.

They were far too honorable to be useful, unwilling to take on tasks that would be a detriment to themselves or the city. Still, having them somewhat in the mafia’s pocket allowed the mob to control them to a degree.

Meanwhile, this mercenary would do anything for the right price, the perfect disposition for less-than-legal work. He was strong, tight-lipped, and did pretty much everything.

He was the perfect pawn, both for the organization and herself.

Zig shook his head in mock disappointment. “Can’t be helped. I guess I’ll leave for the day.”

Katia was taken aback. That was the last thing she expected him to say. She initially wanted to intimidate him with the favor and then offer her cooperation when she had his promise to work for her in the future.

She did not expect him to refuse outright.

“Wait, uh… Are you sure?”

“What can I do? The mafia refused to offer help regarding the drug incident. That’s just what I’ll have to report to my client.” Zig smiled faintly, making it clear that his “client” was someone of importance.

Katia’s brow twitched as she thought about what he was implying. The only reason this man came to her was because of a job. He held no allegiances or affiliations and basically worked for the highest bidder.

So, who was his client now?

Zig was saying that he would tell them that the mafia refused to cooperate. Maybe he was bluffing, but he had to refer to a certain organization. But which one? An organization that the mafia had to cooperate with when it came to drugs…

And then she knew.

“You’re working for the guild!”

“I appreciate your fast thinking.”

Katia clicked her tongue, realizing she’d been had.

Halian had an unspoken agreement. The guild would handle any violence the military police couldn’t handle, while the mafia managed the underworld. If the mafia weren’t going to cooperate, the guild and all its adventurers wouldn’t turn a blind eye to it. At the end of the day, the mafia was still a criminal organization. They were only allowed to exist because it was better to have a big criminal organization put all the other small fry in order.

She never had a chance to bargain with him to begin with.

“Aah, damn it! You should’ve said that to begin with… Schillaci!”

“R-right here, Miss!”

She blew out smoke in frustration and pointed to the white powder on the table.

“Leda filled you in, right? See where that thing’s from and what it’s for.”

“Got it! But, uh, Miss? Would you mind putting out your cigarette? I need to focus.”

Katia went silent and bitterly crushed her cigarette at Schillaci’s request. The man called Leda opened a window to let the air circulate. Once the smell had mostly dissipated, Schillaci took a small spoon out of his pocket. He put the white powder on it and produced fire from his fingertip to heat the metal.

“Oh.”

He stopped and gave Katia an awkward look.

“What? Get on with it,” Katia barked.

“Sorry, Miss, but you kinda stink… Could you go away for a sec?”

“Fine.”

Sometimes, words can cut deeper than the sharpest sword.

With due respect to Katia, her room wasn’t what you would call dirty, despite being messy. She also understood that Schillaci was talking about the smell of tobacco, which tended to be far smellier to people who didn’t smoke.

Even so, a girl her age getting told by a stinky middle-aged man that she stank was a mental blow. She went to a corner of the room without so much a shift in her expression and sat down. She pulled her legs up to her chest as if putting herself in a fetal position would protect her.

“That was ruthless.”

Zig cast a pitying gaze toward Katia while Leda’s veins popped in anger.

“Maybe I should knock out some of his teeth.”

As rude as the mafia were, it was a little bit much.

“Eh? Anyway, I’m starting now.”

Schillaci began his appraisal, oblivious to how much his words affected Katia. Though, Schillaci’s insensitivity wasn’t a byproduct of his beloved drugs. It was just how he was as a person.

White smoke began forming out of the mound of white powder, and Schillaci immediately inhaled it.

“Aaaah…”

He couldn’t help but moan in pleasure.

He exhaled, albeit with some hesitation. His pupils dilated and his pale skin gained a slight flush. His breathing grew ragged with excitement.

Meanwhile, Zig and Leda grew disgusted by his ecstatic reaction. Watching a man get high didn’t incite any form of pleasure. Watching a monstrosity in the wild was far more entertaining.

A few minutes passed. Schillaci reported his findings after coming down from that high.

“It’s a drug that enhances your senses. I think it’s some kind of magic jute, a type of jute loaded with mana.”

Even Zig knew that magic jute was famous and figured that it was native to this continent.

Leda frowned as they heard what the drug was made of. Whatever it was used for, it didn’t seem to be good.

“Magic jute… That’s powerful stuff. One wrong move and you’re an addict for life.”

“That strong?”

“The addictive properties by itself aren’t that powerful. But it has practical uses.”

Practical uses—that meant it could vastly enhance one’s senses.

“Apparently, you can count every raindrop in a thunderstorm when you’re on this thing. The drug doesn’t alter your mental state much, so it’s more suited to precision work than combat. A lot of folks use it for engraving, I hear. Apparently, it also increases your confidence, so you’ll be willing to take more risks.”

“Engraving… Right.”

That explained why the drug was found inside the magic item.

The craftsman who made the bracelet relied on magic jute to do his engraving work. Gantt’s assessment of them being lower than third rate was correct.

“Is magic jute circulated here?”

“Don’t be stupid. This thing’s practically a drug. In our fair town, we have an agreement to ban those things. No, we only allow white powder that makes you happy for our lovely children!”

“I see. So, where’d this thing come from?”

Zig didn’t care about the legalities of the substance. He was interested in where practical drugs were allowed, but what he cared about more was the drug’s origin.

Schillaci answered him proudly. “There’s only one place you can get this kind of purity and quality.”

Leda frowned, like he just bit into a bitter bug.

“Striggo.”

***

The empty teacup was set down on the table, its lip traced by a white finger.

“Striggo…was that a city to the west? I’ve heard stories about it. They say it’s not very safe.”

“To say that Striggo isn’t safe is a light way of putting it.”

Kirk expressed his disagreement with the statement since he had once visited the town to observe it.

He smiled sardonically and pushed up his glasses.

“That town is exceptionally dangerous, and I’d rather not have any dealings with it if possible. Halian was caught up with drugs from Striggo some time ago… We lost some of our adventurers.”

“Uh-huh…” Siasha held out her cup, not interested in the slightest.

Kirk observed her as he refilled her tea. However, he couldn’t get a read on her emotions. He thought that she would know something about the missing adventurers, but perhaps he was overthinking it.

He smiled wryly and set aside his suspicions before continuing.

“What do you know about the living conditions in Striggo? Specifically.”

Siasha’s answer was looking him in the eyes and shaking her head. She was passionate about her interests but had zero interest in all other things. In this case, she wasn’t interested in learning about other towns because she was currently passionate about adventuring.

“The Crucible of Chaos… That’s what Striggo is in a nutshell.”

Striggo had no real ruler. Mafia families and drug cartels constantly fought for power, and the ruler was whoever came out on top that particular season. Once a leader had been decided, other factions would try to take him out of the equation. They would conspire and wait for the opportune moment to betray each other and get the best deal for themselves.

The nail that stuck out was hammered down. The nail that was hammered down was removed completely. It was survival of the fittest.

The town had a mayor, but he was nothing but a figurehead. However, to say that the mayor was incompetent would be cruel.

There was once a mayor who made promises to eradicate the mafia. The next day, his head, as well as the heads of his wife and his daughter, were impaled on stakes, their faces forced into smiles with clothespins. The sight was more than enough to get the citizens of Striggo to give up on their little uprising.

After three such mayors, no one wanted the spot any longer. Candidates started pushing each other into the seat. It was now seen as the worst job in Striggo.

Drugs continued to infest the town, slowly but surely rotting it away. Those without employment but too weak to join the mafia stole from those weaker than themselves, creating a vicious cycle. Being in the mafia wasn’t that much better since many died in their open conflicts. That was just a regular day in Striggo.

Strangely, the population of the town remained somewhat stable.

No matter how violent Striggo was, it was never wanting for newcomers. It was all because the town welcomed everybody into its walls, such as those who could no longer show their faces in the light of day, were rejected by society, or were without a place to belong.

They all had one destination—Striggo.

“That’s what Striggo is like. It makes all the happenings in Halian seem trivial by comparison. Do you now understand the complications that might arise in dealing with those people?”

His explanation finished, Kirk looked to see Siasha’s reaction. He had been expecting her to be enraptured by his story. Unfortunately, she seemed to be taking it in stride.

“Really. Hmm, now I have a hankering for skewered dumplings.”

She seemed conflicted as she contemplated how many lumps of sugar she would add to her tea. She finally decided on two. She stirred her cup, sipped it, and nodded with satisfaction.

Kirk remained silent.

That’s all you have to say? Kirk had to bite his tongue as he continued to observe Siasha. She didn’t seem to be putting on a front like other hot-blooded adventurers. If only she did… It would make dealing with her a lot easier.

“I think you would do quite well in Striggo.”

He flung a sarcastic comment as a last-ditch effort to get her to react. Although the average person would be offended by this, the comment flew over the head of this anomaly that was a witch.

“I quite enjoy this city. I have no intention of moving. Not anytime soon!”

Siasha’s face bloomed into a smile while dark clouds hung over Kirk’s head.

He really wanted this walking catastrophe out of his town as soon as possible. However, she was such a talented adventurer, and the guild couldn’t afford to lose her, especially given the current situation.

The witch smiled cheerfully—perhaps aware of his anguish, perhaps ignorant of it.

“Aren’t you happy, Kirk?” Siasha asked.

“So happy I could cry.”

Kirk winced as conflicting emotions roiled inside him.

“In any case… He works fast. I can’t believe it’s only been a few days since I commissioned him.”

Kirk casually wiped a tear from the corner of his eye and returned to the original subject. He hired Zig for his connections and because he was easy to use. He didn’t expect anything from the mercenary’s information gathering skills. But what happened when he got started?

He found drugs in the magic item of his assailant, and it didn’t take too much time for Zig to report back that they came from Striggo. Seeing that the claim was backed up by the Bazarta, Kirk had no reason to doubt its legitimacy.

Zig’s speed and accuracy rivaled that of an information broker, and it shook Kirk’s definition of a mercenary.

In actuality, Zig had been caught up in numerous problems.

However, getting these results was proof of his initiative. He didn’t outsource his work but did everything himself. In fact, his ingenuity was so boundless that when he was in a mercenary group, he was deemed unfit to be a commanding officer.

“Zig is very passionate about his work. Well then.”

Siasha got up after finishing her tea. Her mind was already set on fighting.

“You’re going?”

“Yes. It seems like things may get violent. Where is the location?”

“We just got word that the assassin’s killer is hiding in a small shop up north in the pleasure district. Look at this.”

Siasha’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Right under the mafia’s nose? That’s…quite bold.”

“The best place to hide a tree is in a forest. I guess it worked because they haven’t been found yet.”

Kirk scoffed despite complimenting his enemy. The Bazarta would rage if they found out. In a world where reputation was everything, they couldn’t afford to remain silent.

Even if this whole thing was because of the mafia’s arrogance.

“I’ve informed Zig of the location as well. He should be in the pleasure district now. He’ll probably be on his way soon.”

“Then I have to get going if I don’t want to be late!” Siasha said as she flailed her arms in excitement.

She seemed motivated enough, but one thing still bothered Kirk.

“The enemy is highly skilled. It might be dangerous for a pure mage like you.”

Mages were generally bad at close range. As powerful as they were, casting spells took time and commitment. Unlike monstrosities, a single swing of a sword was all it took to kill someone. Dodging enemy attacks while casting spells required a lot of practice. However, just casting wasn’t enough because you needed to gather mana at the same time.

Even those who called themselves spellblades were mostly swordsmen who happened to be able to use magic. They didn’t use swords and magic at the same time.

In the event a pure swordsman fought a pure mage, the fight would be one-sided.

Either the mage would defeat the swordsman with his spells before his opponent could get close, or the swordsman would defeat the mage before he could finish casting his spells.

Siasha didn’t have a problem if all she needed to do was eliminate a threat without worrying about collateral damage. However, she needed the suspect alive to get information out of him.

Since Siasha would be taking the initiative, capturing him from a distance would prove difficult.

“Kirk, are you worried about me?”

Siasha looked surprised only for a moment before she smiled and met Kirk’s gaze, her grin was mocking and bewitching at the same time. Although her smile was enchanting enough to bewitch an ordinary person, Kirk’s pragmatism was not so easily shaken.

“Of course. We are friends, are we not?”

His fearless gaze was sharp and calculating, filled with a hidden desire—a very human gaze, though it strangely held no malice.

Siasha smiled, finding his answer satisfactory. “I am pleased to hear that. But don’t worry. Although I am only a greenhorn as an adventurer…” She stopped and looked over her shoulder at him.

“…I am a seasoned manhunter.”

***

Criminals tend to be quite vigorous in their work. That was due to their clear sense of purpose and the awareness that their evil deeds weren’t going to cover themselves.

Armed with the knowledge from his past experiences, Zig quickly made his move.

He headed to the location Kirk’s messenger had told him about, which was a vacant house in a corner of the pleasure district. It was quite a bold move. A forest was the best place to hide a tree, but hiding right beneath the mafia’s nose might be pushing their luck.

The messenger said that reinforcements were on the way, but speed was of the essence. Zig doubted he would be able to enjoy their help.

“My guys have surrounded the place,” Katia said, proud of her prep work. “We’re not letting a single rat escape.”

Zig had originally planned on going alone, but Katia insisted on coming with him after hearing about the suspect’s hideout. She sent a bruised Schillaci to tell Vanno what was going on and ordered Leda to assemble the troops. Under Katia’s lead, they wasted no time in surrounding the building.

Katia glared at the house, veins threatening to pop.

“These bastards got some nerve!”

She did not take kindly to her territory being infiltrated and used as a hideaway—and without her permission, at that.

“Careful,” Zig warned her as he stepped forward. “We don’t know how good these guys are.”

The fact that they had remained hidden from the mafia meant there hadn’t been many of them. He doubted that these few remaining agents were as competent as the assassins who attacked him the other day, but it was best to be safe.

“My job is to capture them,” Zig said, subtly telling Katia not to rely on outside help.

It calmed her down a little.

“I know. I don’t want my guys to die needless deaths too. We’re counting on you, mercenary.”

The big man wasn’t a fiend, but he could be ruthless. Katia understood that he wouldn’t help her if circumstances shifted his priorities. She felt reassured as she watched him walk toward the house.

She didn’t know who these idiots who thought it was a good idea to stir up trouble in this city were, but they were done for. As strong as they were, there was no absolute certainty when it came to combat.

As soon as he entered, a blade came to greet him.

A short sword flew at him from his left and he stepped back, dodging it while still holding on to the doorknob.

“Huh…? Urgh!”

The door closed on the man, pushing him outside as he lost his balance. Zig planted his foot firmly in the man’s back, causing him to tumble onto the ground. His cheap short sword clattered to the ground as it slid away from him.

“You can have this one.”

Katia and the others were stunned at the display but quickly regained their senses and jumped him.

“Well, well, what have we here!”

“Get him!”

“Gyaa! St-stop…” the man cried pitifully as Zig made his next move.

He stepped closer, remembering the room’s layout.

“I think it was around here…”

Zig stood about a meter to the right of the door and clenched his fist.

“Hmph!” He grunted as he unleashed a powerful punch. The fierce right blew a hole through the wooden wall like it was a cookie cutter.

“Wh-what?!”

Zig grinned after hearing the surprised yelp from behind the wall, knowing that he had made the right decision. His right arm reached out, successfully grabbing his target’s neck. He squeezed harder, dragging his opponent’s head and forcing it through the hole he just made.

Chaos erupted in the building. The others inside were shocked at their comrade being pulled by a disembodied hand, which meant they couldn’t react fast enough. Meanwhile, their friend was slowly but surely getting dragged through the wall.

“Eeegh! No! H-help… Someone help!”

The men could do nothing but watch in terror, cold sweat running down their faces.

“Here’s another one.”

His first victim had stopped moving, so Zig threw another one to replace it.

However, the mobsters were ready this time. One of them quickly disarmed the man before the rest began stomping on him. At this point, the differences in individual strength didn’t matter. The violence of sheer numbers overwhelmed it.

“That’s it for the ambush.”

Two had been incapacitated, but Zig no longer had the element of surprise. He had expected that the enemy would hunker down in response to his attack.

It was only a matter of time before they noticed they were surrounded by the mafia. Even taking that risk into account, he knew he made the right decision by letting Katia and her men accompany him.

“Well then…”

Kick the door down or slash it down? Zig thought about his options, but the enemy was already making their move.

A pungent smell rose in the air along with rising bloodlust. Zig knew in an instant what was coming. He bent his knees and leaped high into the air.

The door exploded as a blast of flame gushed out of it. It was probably a combination of wind and fire magic. The heat was so intense that anyone caught in it would be instantly incinerated.

“Did that do it?!”

“Never mind that, we need to put out the fire!”

Even if the spell had hit its target, a fire was still a fire.

One of the men looked out the now empty door frame and threw a bucket of water on the fire.

The big man was gone. All that was left were a bunch of mobsters who were frozen in their tracks.

“Heh… Ha ha ha! There’s not even a trace of him—”

Those were his last words.

Zig had been hanging from the entrance with his twinblade. He fell upon the man, splitting him in two.

“Three.”

He looked into the building through the man whom he had cut in half.

Four enemies left. Two were dressed as civilians and were armed with longswords—foot soldiers. The man breathing heavily and equipped with a staff must’ve been their mage.

The last of them was the most dangerous of all: a man wielding an estoc. He was dressed like a government official, but his piercing gaze bore into him. He was unfazed by the death of his comrade and was calculating Zig’s strength. He reminded Zig of the two that attacked him the other day.

This must’ve been the one who killed the assassin.

Zig stepped in as the bifurcated corpse began gushing blood.

He pulled a dagger out of the corpse and threw it at the mage while rushing the two soldiers.

The assassin tracked his movements as he zoomed toward the mage.

“Back me up.”

He easily deflected the dagger and readied his estoc. The two wielding the longswords were as good as dead at this point. It seemed like the man had no intention of helping them.

“Shit!”

The abandoned longsword wielders desperately readied their weapons. They swung their swords down, only for them to be deflected by the twinblade’s horizontal slash. With his grip on the lowest part of the twinblade’s handle, Zig’s weapon could reach the outside range of his enemies’ longswords.

After perfectly timing his attack to match his enemies, they were unable to dodge or defend against it.

“Gaah!”

The longsword wielder shrieked and fell to the floor as the flat side of the dark red blade collided with his head. He hadn’t been cut, but the force of the impact was so strong that whether he was alive was to anyone’s guess.

Zig didn’t mind him being dead since he had already captured two of the suspects… And with that kind of motivation powering his strikes, even he wasn’t sure whether the foot soldier had survived.

“Eep!”

The remaining foot soldier lost his nerve after seeing what happened to his friend. He no longer had any will to fight, so Zig decided to give him the same treatment to incapacitate him.

“Huh?”

“Guh?!”

A blade emerged from the man’s chest—the blade, which was made for piercing, moved toward Zig.

“Urgh!”

A vertical swing could have robbed Zig of precious time. Fortunately, he was already in the middle of a horizontal swing to knock his opponent unconscious, and he defended himself by putting up his left gauntlet.

A metallic screech rang out as the estoc missed its target, but Zig was shocked by the force it produced. The thin blade managed to form cracks in the tough rainbow mantis shrimp gauntlet. Unable to completely evade its penetrating power, it left a shallow cut in Zig’s left shoulder.

“Tch.”

The man who skewered his comrade clicked his tongue after failing the ambush and pulled out his estoc. As his comrade fell on his knees, he ran his sword through his neck, severing his cervical vertebrae and causing the man to go limp like a puppet whose strings had been cut.

“Thought you were on the same side.” Zig asked, knowing he wasn’t going to get a reliable answer.

The man laughed and shrugged.

“Wouldn’t you rather be killed by your own friends than face torture?” the man joked as he cast a sideways glance outside.

Beyond the burnt doorway, two of his friends were already captured by the mafia.

“I’ll kill them too once I’m done with you.”

“Doesn’t sound like good business. Want me to teach you how to make a living?”

The man with the estoc turned his piercing eyes toward Zig. “Oh?”

Zig raised his arm toward his opponent and beckoned him to come. “One job at a time,” Zig answered him with a fearless smile. “Make sure you do it right.”

“Mind enlightening me?”

The man grinned as he sank into a ready stance.

He took a step back with his left foot, the right side of his body facing forward. He folded his right arm toward his chest. Poised like a spring, this was the best form for an estoc, a thrusting weapon.

In his left hand, he held a dagger in reverse grip, although he kept it close to his waist for some unknown purpose.

“Sure. I’ll even give you a discount. Let’s see… Your life should be payment enough.”

Zig lowered his hips and took a step back with his right leg, facing the left side of his body forward. The top blade of his twinblade was pointing down while the bottom blade was pointed at his opponent in a tail guard.

They observed each other’s stances, calculating one another’s strength.

The man dangled the point of his estoc playfully and grinned. “Life is cheap in your line of work too, huh?”

“Sure is.”

They kept their eyes on each other, looking for an opening to exploit. The estoc man wiggled the tip of his blade as if inviting Zig to attack. Zig’s twinblade remained still, waiting for its moment to strike.

“Hm—”

The man made the first move. He glided forward, not making a sound.

He shifted weight on his back foot to propel his front foot, allowing him to lunge quickly at Zig. An average swordsman would be caught off guard by the sudden motion.

The lowered sword tip bounced as it went straight for Zig’s hand.

“Hmph.”

Suddenly, the man stopped and retreated. He pulled back his lead foot and arched away. The dark red blade missed his chin by inches.

The wind created by the sword whipped at the man’s face and shook his hair. He looked less than pleased now. If he hadn’t dodged the attack, his face would have gone missing before his estoc could make contact.

The twinblade far outclassed the estoc in matters of reach.

He only made up for it by stepping forward and extending his arm, which in turn created a huge opening. Failure meant that the man’s blade would be deflected. Parrying the giant blade with the thin blade of the estoc was out of the question.

The man was confident in his footwork. Perhaps a little too confident. It was a unique style that allowed him to avoid swords and move in to stab his opponents. However, he knew from the beginning that it wouldn’t help him today.

He was up against an overwhelming aura—he felt it the moment he saw Zig. Despite having this much power, he maintained his defense with persistent vigilance. His eyes were old and seasoned like an experienced assassin.

That monstrous strength was just plain cheating. However, it wasn’t like the man was completely at a disadvantage.

The man who had seen a blade go past his eyes came to a conclusion. The pressure of Zig’s blade would’ve been enough to cause the average person to flinch, but the assassin was different.

Unfazed, he quickly made his next move. Sliding his front foot to advance, he unleashed the built up power in his right arm. The point of the estoc was now a blur as it targeted the gap in the twinblade’s swing.

Large weapons were powerful and had superior reach, but in exchange, they had large openings when they attacked.

There were ways to compensate for this, of course, but the man was so confident in the speed of his thrust that he thought he could slip through. He needed to land the first blow.

The man thought he would tear through Zig’s arm, but his eyes widened when a shrill sound rang out and he felt his own arm being lifted.

“Huh?!”

Zig didn’t bother changing the direction of his top blade. Instead, he lifted his bottom blade to deflect the man’s estoc.

“Urgh!”

Before he could think, the man jumped backward, avoiding a left roundhouse kick. He was rattled, but only for a moment. He regained his composure immediately as he landed and adjusted his view of his opponent’s power level.

The big man was faster than he looked.

He initially thought his heavy weapon would hamper his speed, but now he understood why the double-edge was so dangerous. Although it was difficult to wield, being able to wield it properly granted its user incredible power and reach while covering his openings.

However, that came with costs.

“You’re so occupied with physical enhancement that you can’t use any other spells.”

Having missed his kick, Zig dug his bottom blade into the floor to stop its momentum. The wooden floor now had a crack in it; the top blade was still pointed at his opponent.

“He’s not too far off the mark,” Zig said to himself, keeping an eye on the man who had dodged his kick.

The precision of his opponent’s attack had surprised him. Even he couldn’t produce that kind of speed without a running start.

The attack would have been impossible to deal with for longswords and greatswords, but the twinblade had been able to manage. While his unique footwork was dangerous, the warriors of the Jinsu-Yah moved in a similar fashion, so it wasn’t Zig’s first time seeing it.

Zig had the advantage when it came to close quarters combat. However, his opponent knew that too. The fact that he hadn’t retreated meant that he had something up his sleeve. It was clear that his opponent’s strength didn’t lie in one-on-one combat.

The man moved. Unlike his earlier sliding motion, he stepped forward as if to strike.

The change in movement alerted Zig, and he smelled the pungent odor of offensive magic. He kicked off the floor and jumped backward just as a stream of flames shot past his face.

The flamethrower temporarily separated the man and Zig. The mage the man protected earlier used a powerful fire spell to support him, not really caring about burning the wooden building to the ground.

“That’s reckless.”

Zig changed his target to the man who chose the wrong spell.

The twinblade swung, trying to eliminate the disruptive mage. The wall of flames he produced kept the estoc wielding man from helping him.

As far as Zig knew, anyway.

“Eh?!”

There was a stinging smell and bloodlust. As the wall of flames raged next to Zig, two small holes opened. He instinctively swung his gauntlet at them and instantly felt something scratch its surface.

“Ha ha!”

The wall of flames split, and the man earlier emerged from it. The dagger in his left hand, which he used to dissipate the flames, was glowing faintly. It appeared to be a magic item and the source of the stinging smell. Meanwhile, mana was being poured into the estoc in his right hand. He wanted to unleash its power.

“Tch!”

Zig’s left hand wasn’t on his twinblade after he defended himself. His weapon was currently over his shoulder, only supported by his right hand. Using the twinblade to defend himself in this position would be impossible.

As the man lunged at him, Zig quickly pulled out the hunting knife at his waist to parry the estoc’s trajectory. His arm rattled from the impact as a shrill metallic clang filled the room. The attack was far too fast and heavy to be an ordinary thrust.

The hunting knife was advertised for its durability, though it already served its purpose after a large crack formed on it. The combination of skilled swordsmanship and powerful magic items was so dangerous that it left Zig without words.

Although he managed to stop the estoc’s attack, its maneuverability could not rival the twinblade. The man wasn’t shocked to see his lethal blow parried and pulled back his estoc for another attack.

Zig threw the cracked knife away and blocked the tip of the sword coming for his chest with the flat of his twinblade.

The man swung the dagger in his left hand now that Zig was on the back foot. He was out of his reach, but Zig could feel the sharp sound of wind—two of them—coming at him. Reading the dagger’s trajectory, he held up the twinblade to block it.

The loud gusts dissipated with a dry sound. The magical wind blades immediately lost their form after colliding with the bloodcrystal-clad dragon blade. Not a scratch was left on the high mana purity blade, showcasing its durability.

“Two magic items? What a luxury.”

“I feel safer the more options I have. Hmm… I thought you were bad at projectiles, but that doesn’t seem to be it. Even if you don’t have the spare mana for it… I don’t get it.”

The man pondered on what he had seen as he analyzed Zig’s combat capabilities.

He should have plenty of mana if he could enhance his body to this extent. Utilizing magic items might reduce his overall damage output, but they would increase his overall combat strength due to the options they provided.

The man knew that people who were incredibly particular or stubborn about their fighting styles existed, but the big man didn’t seem to be one of them.

“Q-quit talking and just kill him already!” the mage screamed.

He was at the end of his wits. The bloodlust coming from the big man was overwhelming, and he was fighting the expensive assassin hired by his superiors to a standstill.

Although trained in magic, the mage wasn’t used to witnessing this level of violence, and his mental stability was taking a hit as he watched Zig and the estoc man fight.

Zig and the man had trained to the point that they could keep a calm mind throughout a fight. The mage might as well have admitted defeat with his comment.

Still facing Zig, the man frowned slightly.

“Idiot.”

The mage should have kept quiet and cast his next spell. He had basically revealed that he didn’t have any spells ready to threaten Zig with while also loudly informing their opponent that he was inexperienced in combat.

Now Zig knew full well that the mage’s support could not be relied on. That was enough for him to create an opening.

Zig rushed toward the estoc man. Meanwhile, the man stomped his foot into the floor, as if intending to break it. He flung wind blades at Zig to keep him in check, but he swatted the one going for his body away with his twinblade. The other wind blade grazed his shoulder, causing him to bleed, but it wasn’t enough to stop him.

Zig crossed what would normally be seven steps in the course of two and used the force of his rush to swing at his opponent. He performed a diagonal slash coming from his right shoulder, but the man took a step back to avoid it. He tried to counter with a quick thrust, but Zig’s attack didn’t stop there. He lowered his stance and used his momentum to charge at the man with his right shoulder. The man’s counterattack only grazed Zig’s head.

The man hurriedly pulled back his estoc to defend himself, but an explosive pain shot up his arm.

“Guah!”

The man’s body was flung back like he was just tackled by a monstrosity. A wall of dim light formed in front of his body, a defensive spell engraved into his armor. However, the impact went right through the barrier and was powerful enough to knock the wind out of the man’s lungs.

“You’re wide open.”

With the man fully exposed, he brought his blade up from the other direction to attack him. The man’s barrier glowed brightly as the dark red blade struck it, but it wouldn’t hold for long.

“Urgh… Gaaah!”

The man kicked himself away from Zig just before the barrier broke, barely avoiding getting killed.

Even if the twinblade had to get through the barrier first, it still had enough force to be deadly.

The man was left with a three-centimeter-deep cut. The centrifugal force it produced tore up his flesh and left him in pain with several broken ribs.

“Die.”

Help wasn’t coming. The man would surely die. Things probably wouldn’t have come to this point had they fought on more favorable grounds. But this was the end for him.

Zig charged into his opponent to finish him from outside of his range.

“Gaaaaaaaah!”

Suddenly, the man threw away his estoc and charged at Zig.

“Hunh?!”

There was no smell of magic, and Zig couldn’t tell what his opponent was up to. However, it didn’t change the fact that all he needed to do was kill him.

Zig pulled back his twinblade and thrust it into the man’s stomach.

“Urgh… Gah!”

The man used the dagger in his left hand to parry the twinblade. Imbued with wind magic, the dagger did its job, but the twinblade was such a heavy weapon that it couldn’t completely throw it off course.

Blood splattered all over Zig’s clothes. The dark red blade had cut into the man’s side and sank into him due to his momentum. He wasn’t dead, but he might as well be.

The dagger was knocked out of the man’s hand when it tried to deflect the twinblade. Now the man was unarmed.

What was his plan now? There was no way he could kill Zig from this position.

As Zig pondered this, he let his concentration break slightly.

The man grinned as blood flowed from his lips.

“Finally… Off guard…”

A scent of magic Zig had never smelled before filled the room.

“A suicide bomb?!” That was the only thing that Zig could gather from the man’s demeanor.

He immediately let go of his weapon and kicked the man far away from him. He wondered about the magic he just smelled.

Wouldn’t an explosive spell be more pungent?

However, the scent he smelled just now had been clearly different. It was soft but strange—a smell difficult to describe.

The man grabbed the twinblade in his stomach and used the last of his strength to pull it out. Blood burst out of him like champagne. The presence of death hung in the air.

“I should get out of here.” Zig didn’t know what his enemy was up to, but he was bound to die without anyone to treat his wounds. The place was surrounded, so he could come back and check the place out later once he was dead.

…But that decision came too little too late.

“I give you…my blood.”

His face pale, the man pointed at the blood that painted Zig’s body. Although he was dying, there was no resignation or despair on his face. He wore the look of one who had accomplished his purpose.

“My master…will send you to the other side.”

It happened just as Zig was about to bolt out of the house.

“What?!”

His body started to glow. No, that wasn’t it.

“It’s his blood!”

Unfortunately, his realization came too late. Light enveloped Zig as he struggled in vain to take off his clothes.

A dazzling light lit up the darkening night. And when it faded…

…Zig the mercenary was nowhere to be found, disappeared from Halian.

As his vision was engulfed by light, Zig looked back on the mistake he made.

The estoc wielder was actually supporting the mage, not the other way around.

“I guess that’s one way to protect your employer.”

The way the estoc man treated the mage like some kind of throwaway pawn had completely fooled Zig. Even in death, the man had carried out his duty. Despite being an enemy, Zig felt a tendril of admiration for him.

Why did the mage attack the guild? Who was he working for? He probably held the answers, but there was nothing Zig could do about it now.

“I’ll just have to trust Katia and her guys to do their part. For now…”

Zig observed his situation. The sensation had felt familiar. He had probably been transported away. Although transportation magic wasn’t usually this powerful, there was no other explanation. The transportation stone the guild used was composed of something different, but that fact wasn’t relevant right now.

No, that wasn’t the problem. Zig silently clenched his fists.

The light slowly began to fade.

When his senses returned, he could feel the presence of other people and hear a commotion in the distance. The muffled noises became clearer and clearer until the light fully dissipated.

“What the…? Who are y—guaaaah!”

When his sight returned, Zig grabbed the face of the man in front of him with his right hand. Squeezing his hand and lifting him off the ground, he looked around at his surroundings.

He seemed to be inside a rundown shack with three other men, including the one in his hand. They didn’t seem to be surprised at the sudden appearance of another person, but they were still on full alert. It looked like any other old shack with a decaying wooden door and a dinged-up table—a common sight on the outskirts of town. However, with the aura of violence the three men were emitting, it was highly unlikely that they lived here.

That man must have transported Zig to their hideout.

“Who are you?” one of the men asked, overflowing with bloodlust. “What happened to Stilts?”

Stilts must’ve been the name of the estoc man.

They were dressed like drifters, but the air around them said they were used to violence.

“Hrm.”

“L-let go… Gaaaah!”

Zig ignored the man and squeezed the one in his hand to shut him up while making sure he wouldn’t get ambushed. The men were holding daggers and weren’t armored, but he couldn’t dismiss the chance that they had magic items on them like the assassin from the other day. He could state that they were poorly prepared, though he couldn’t really say that considering his own state.

Zig had left his twinblade inside Stilts and didn’t even have his hunting knife on him. His gauntlet had been damaged to the point that it didn’t fit right; it probably wouldn’t stay in one piece for very long. The only pieces of armor he had on him were his chest piece, greaves, impact gauntlets, and a few coins he used as projectiles.

He didn’t know how many shock waves his impact gauntlets had left. He didn’t use it very often, but every time he did, he always cranked the output.

“What a depressing state to be in.”

“If you won’t give us an answer, we’ll beat one out of you.”

Those words were their signal.

Zig ignored the man who was threatening him with a dagger and threw the man in his hand at the other who was quietly casting a spell.

“Gwah?!”

The man dodged his comrade and continued casting, but Zig flicked a coin at his neck. Although the small cut it left behind didn’t make the man flinch, the indigo adamantine coin dispersed the mana in his spell, taking him aback.

Zig used the opening to close in on the other man. He blocked the dagger with his left damaged gauntlet and landed a body blow with his right.

The powerful punch landed right below his ribs with a dull thud, causing the man to curl up as he ejected bile from his mouth. With his face lowered, Zig followed with a knee to the face, breaking his nose with a gush of blood.

“Hmph!”

He pivoted on his right foot and smashed the now defenseless man’s Adam’s apple with a left straight. Zig felt something crumple through his hand.

“Urgh!”

The man couldn’t scream. His throat crushed, he crashed into the wall.

Zig wanted to use his impact glove sparingly, but the damage it could inflict on the man’s windpipe would have him die in a few minutes if he did.

Although the people of this land had healing magic to recover from most life-threatening wounds, cutting off their breathing would leave them unable to cast spells. At that point, the body’s natural weakness would take over.

With one of the men incapacitated, Zig picked up the dagger he dropped and threw it at the man he had flung earlier.

“Gyah!”

The dagger plunged deep into the man’s thigh as he was getting up. He tumbled back with a scream.

Zig was about to close in for the kill when he smelled magic in the air. The remaining man threw two ice blades, though with a slight delay between them, in a cross pattern to try and rip Zig to shreds. He leaned over to dodge the vertical ice blade and jumped over the horizontal one.

“Gotcha!”

The man was waiting for Zig to jump and activated his bracelet that was actually a magic item. It produced a stone spear without casting and he hurled it at Zig when he landed.

“Tch!”

He would’ve been able to deflect it if he’d had his twinblade, but there was no use crying about something he didn’t have.

Zig put up his gauntlet to block it and barely kept himself from falling because of the impact. The gauntlet made an unsettling noise, but it managed to protect him. He ignored his ragged breathing and avoided a second shot before kicking a chair he found nearby.

The chair flew toward the man’s arm, messing up his aim.

Just as the man was about to use his magic item again…

“—Ah.”

Zig came right at him.

He charged, right elbow pointing like a spear. The destructive force of Zig’s speed and weight snapped the man like a twig as he ran straight into the shack’s wall. He broke through the wooden wall until a stone fence finally stopped him.

Sandwiched between Zig’s elbow and the stone fence, the man’s neck was bent at a funny angle. He was dead.

“Phew… Unarmed combat is tough.”

Killing someone with his bare hands took some effort. He needed to take the initiative and go at his enemies with full force. If he had a blade, on the other hand, all he needed was a well-placed thrust. Zig had trained himself in unarmed combat, but he still preferred to be armed. Bare-handed fighting was simply inefficient.

Zig sighed, missing the comforting weight on his back, and looked around. He appeared to be in some kind of slum. He was surrounded by dilapidated houses… Or rather, shabby tents with trash littered on the streets. Among the garbage was unidentified food waste—not exactly a safe neighborhood to be in. The rats here were fat from feasting on it.

“Doesn’t look like I’m in Halian…”

Halian wasn’t exactly the paragon of safety, but nothing there was as bad as this.

“St-stop! Don’t come any closer!”

A cry of fear had Zig looking over at the man with the dagger sticking out of his thigh. He had let him live in order to get information out of him. The man was now trying to escape. However, he was dragging his legs, trying to get away from someone else.

Malnourished vagrants—and there were many of them. More seemingly came out of nowhere, increasing their numbers. They pursued the man, albeit slowly, clearly hampered by their lack of nutrition.

However, they were still faster than the man who only had one working leg. And there were too many of them.

“Back off, I’m warning you! Aaah!” the man shouted at his pursuers. He then tripped on something. He fell over, holding onto his injured leg, and saw the garbage that caused his downfall.

“Eegh!”

With sunken eyes and hungry, gaping mouths, the silent creatures seemed to welcome their new companion.

The vagrants caught up to the man.

The man did his best to fend them off, batting a few away in the process. But that was all he could do; there were simply too many of them. No matter how strong you were, it didn’t matter if your legs were out of commission. It was a fate that could befall both a mercenary and a mobster.

“Gyaaaaah!”

One of the vagrants grabbed the dagger in the man’s leg and twisted it. He screamed in pain, the action further slowing him down. The other vagrants started digging into their prey’s wound, draining his strength. When he stopped moving, they started eating. These men seemed to be scavengers who preyed on the weak.

“Not a peaceful way to go out.”

Zig couldn’t help but feel a bit sorry for the man as the vagrants stripped him of all his possessions. Not being able to extract information out of him was unfortunate, but this was not something he enjoyed watching.

“Even war zones don’t have it this bad… Hm?”

Zig felt someone looking at him and looked up to see the vagrants dragging their fresh kill away.

Perhaps it was their lack of presence, but Zig’s eyes now locked with those of the vagrants.

They stopped. Although Zig was injured, he was still too fit to be considered prey. The vagrants looked at Zig like a frog looking at a despicable snake.

“Leave the bangle,” Zig said, pointing to the magic item. “Do what you want with the rest.”

The vagrants fearfully made their move. They slowly removed the bangle and put it on the ground, dragging the man away while casting cautious glances at Zig.

Zig heaved a sigh at the eeriness of it all.

“Damn, I didn’t think this place would be that bad…”

He picked up the bangle and returned to the shack so he could figure out what to do next.

The man with the crushed windpipe was gone. Not only that, but his broken gauntlet and indigo adamantine coin had also disappeared.

“So, the slums have a cleanup crew…”

Zig glanced outside. Several pairs of eyes were watching the shack from the shadows cast by the surrounding buildings. They weren’t planning on hurting him, but that was only because Zig was too strong for them to eat. They would move in the second he showed any sign of weakness. If he had been incapacitated in that earlier fight, he would have suffered the same fate as that man did.

This was not a place he wanted to remain in for very long. After tending to his wounds, Zig quickly surveyed the area he had been forcefully transported to.

The slum here was worse than the one he remembered in Halian. Dead bodies littered the streets, flies buzzing unsettlingly over them. The air itself smelled like rotting garbage, and putrid things were left out to decay.

“Hmm…”

It felt like he would get sick just by breathing in the air. His eyebrow twitched as he fought the urge to hurl.

Zig slowly began to walk. There were several pairs of eyes on him again. The place treated Zig as an outsider, trying to find any weakness it could exploit. He would be lying if he said he wasn’t bothered by them, but he ignored them nonetheless since they weren’t openly hostile yet.

No, no slum in Halian was this awful. In that case, he must have been transported to another city. This was the first city outside of Halian he had been to on this continent, but he had a guess as to where he was. According to the information he got from Katia and the rumors he heard, he could only be in one place.

“I’m really screwed if it turns out I’m not in Striggo…”

He had no idea how long it would take to return to Halian if he weren’t in Striggo. Zig was an experienced traveler, and he was quite confident in his ability to return to Halian even if it took some time.

He was mainly worried about his client. He couldn’t imagine what Siasha would do if she found out he was missing. She had been adjusting slowly to human society so she shouldn’t go too crazy…

However, at the end of the day, she was still a witch. Even if she looked human and spoke like one, she wasn’t human. Her values and principles were highly dangerous by normal standards.

He could only hope that it would only leave Kirk with a few stomach ulcers.

“If I can just send her a letter… Hm?”

Zig stopped after walking on full alert.

Nothing had changed. It was still a slum densely packed with tents which may or may not be empty.

But one thing had caught his eye.

“Is that…a church?”

A familiar-looking building stood, looking very out of place. The small stone building was weathered and rundown, decorated with several holes. It was its distinctive shape that set it apart as a building many knew as a church. Zig found it ironic that a church would be situated in such a hellhole.

“Doesn’t look like people come here…”

Intrigued, Zig walked toward it. There were no footprints or signs of life, and he couldn’t feel anyone around either.

“Strange,” Zig said to himself as he looked at the church’s surroundings. Although it was dilapidated, it could still be used as a shelter from the elements with a little work. In this hellhole, he assumed that the vagrants would have used it as a roost. However, the omnipresent eyes of the vagrants had all but disappeared.

Zig was disturbed by the silence. It was like a forest without the sounds of any insects or wildlife.

He stayed silent and squinted to see if anyone was inside. Didn’t look like it.

He walked quietly toward the building so as not to be heard and peered inside one of the holes. As he expected, the place didn’t look like it had any inhabitants.

“Maybe the vagrants are highly religious. Really, though?”

Zig thought about what he said for a few moments before entering through the front door. That is, if the church still had a door.

Pews were lined up inside the church, and at the back was a disproportionately large statue. Zig stepped closer to the statue and looked at what once must have been a solemn sight. The statue had not been exempted from the decay and damage of the slums. Its head was missing, and so were its arms that looked like they were positioned in prayer. The damage seemed too deliberate to be caused by the elements. But there were no traces of people around.

Just as he was beginning to think the vagrants were truly religious, a voice came down from the statue.

“You can wish, but I don’t recommend praying.”

His hair stood on end. He felt as if he had been shot with an arrow right after defeating an enemy on the battlefield. It was an instant cold, sweeping away whatever warmth he had felt up to that moment.

An enemy? Where?

He jumped back, those words flashing through his mind. His body moved before his brain did. Without his weapon, he was more on edge than usual.

In contrast, the voice laughed innocently at him.

“Wow, you’re fast! You’re like a cat that got sneaked up on.”

He looked up to find a woman sitting on top of the headless statue’s neck. Voluminous dark purple hair cascaded down her back in a wild fashion.

She looked like she was in her late teens. She was slightly shorter than Siasha, and she wore a ragged robe over her thin body. Her limbs peeking out of the hem were a sickly white. They could be called beautiful, but just barely. Despite wearing what might as well be sackcloth, it did little to conceal her beauty.

The woman brushed her deep purple hair from her shoulder and looked down at Zig with glowing golden eyes. “Never seen you around before. And you don’t seem like you’re one of them… Tell me, who are you?”

Her sharp gaze made her look much older. Maybe it was a product of living in these slums… Or maybe it was a symptom of it.

“I’m just your everyday mercenary,” Zig answered cautiously, fighting back the urge to sigh at being unarmed in this situation.

The woman widened her eyes and began to laugh.

“Heh… Ha ha ha! A mercenary? In this day and age? If you’re unemployed, you can just say so!” The woman’s laughter echoed in the silent church.

As the woman said, mercenaries were not regarded highly on this continent. Without war, there was little need for soldiers. Or maybe Zig’s homeland was just so war-hungry that there was a constant lack of them.

Without the need for mercenaries, the local fighters changed professions. Some became adventurers, some joined the mafia, and those with a stellar track record—or just well-connected—became regular soldiers. Losers and degenerates who couldn’t make it in any of those professions started calling themselves mercenaries as a form of self-consolation.

Zig was establishing himself as a reliable mercenary in Halian, but such was the state of his job on this continent.

“You look kind of violent. But you really don’t seem like one of them.”

“Who is this ‘them’ you keep talking about?” Zig asked the woman who had her head tilted and arms folded as she sat on the statue.

She opened one of her eyes to cast a sideways glance at him and scoffed.

“The Kararak. They’ve been doing their business here lately. They may look like your average vagrant, but they’re a lot more dangerous. Only the people on the surface get tricked by that act, though. Well, that’s all they need to do. What? You think playing dumb will make me stop suspecting you? That’s kind of insulting.”

The woman squinted, the atmosphere growing heavier.

“I’m guessing you think you can beat a little girl even when unarmed. Sorry, my control over magic is—”

“Are you talking about those three guys in the shack?” Zig cut the woman off. “About a ten-minute walk from here?”

She looked suspiciously at him still, but it seemed like she had a feeling where this was going.

“Yes. What about them?”

So what if he knew about their hideout? She started gathering her mana, implying that it didn’t matter. Getting on one knee, she casually covered her mouth to conceal her incantation.

“I killed them. All of them.”

“What?”

Her incantation dissipated with a gasp.

The big man made his statement in such a matter-of-fact way that the woman did a double take and looked more closely at him.

It was then that she noticed something—the copious amount of blood on his body. The blood blended with the inconspicuous colors of his clothing and was further concealed the latent stench of the slums. The man was painted with it. She could tell that it wasn’t his own when she saw that it reached his boots. If it were his, he wouldn’t be able to converse with her so calmly. There was that much blood.

“I won’t go into details, but they transported me here. I’m pretty sure they hate me.”

The woman was at a loss for words. Zig stretched his shoulders and cracked his neck.

“But if you insist on fighting, I’ll take you up on it. I don’t make a habit of fighting for free, though.”

He slowly raised his arms into a fighting stance—

“—Hold it!”

The woman gave the sign for him to stop.

“It seems clear to me that this is all an unfortunate misunderstanding.”

“I don’t mind. I’m used to being misunderstood.”

“You really shouldn’t be! You can’t just go fighting everyone who misunderstands you!”

The woman jumped off the statue. She raised her hands and slowly approached him. Being unarmed was no guarantee that a mage couldn’t hurt you with magic, though.

“Stop right there,” Zig warned. “Don’t come any closer.”

“Sorry. I’m really sorry, so can you please stop looking so mad?”

This was how he always looked, Zig wanted to quip. He dug into his pocket and flicked a coin at the woman.

Realizing what was happening, the woman immediately activated a defensive spell. A dark barrier surrounded her, but the indigo adamantine coin pierced through it and hit her right on the forehead.

“Ow!”

“I’ll hear you out, as long as you hold on to that for me.”

The coin left a red mark, but the woman noticed that it wasn’t meant to be an attack. Rubbing her forehead with tears in her eyes, she picked up the coin.

“That hurt… What is this thing? Indigo adamantine? You sure don’t look like you’d be into this fancy stuff.”

“I’ve had some bad experiences with mages in the past.”

The woman played with the coin with great interest. Her golden eyes locked onto Zig. She didn’t bother hiding the fact that she was sizing him up, examining him from head to toe.

“Hmm… Hmm, yes! I see.”

Those gold eyes looked like they were glowing. Zig thought it made her look like a weird bug.

“Okay! We obviously got off on the wrong foot, so let’s start by introducing ourselves!”

Satisfied, the woman nodded magnanimously. She stuck out her right hand, purple hair flowing and golden eyes shining. Her motion was oddly stiff for requesting a handshake, probably because she wasn’t used to it.

However, her blunder disarmed Zig somewhat, and he answered her.

“Zig. Zig Crane.”

The difference in their size caused his hand to engulf hers. Her eyes widened in surprise, but she shook his hand in return.

“I’m Shania. Just Shania.”

TO BE CONTINUED IN PART 2