Chapter 58: Chapter 58
Eru woke up, finding himself inside a prison cell. He observed at himself, finding that the black sword, Buddy, was not with him. Eru sat down on the bed; he felt his head ringing. “What happened?” he asked to himself. A young man with a ponytail walked closer to Eru’s cell, “Yo, you’re awake?” he asked. Eru looked up, “Who are you?” he asked, “Where am I?” The young man rubbed the back of his head, “I’m Rex. You’re in Great Aeolus City’s prison”, the young man called Rex explained.
“What happened to me?” Eru asked; he pinched his forehead, still groggy from the fight he experienced before. “You lot just destroyed half of a harbour”, Rex sarcastically said, “I know you lot are adventurers and all, but….”, he rubbed the back of his head. “Really?” Eru’s face was filled with disbelief, “I’m sorry then…” he hung his head low. “Nah, it’s alright. You lot prevented the kidnapping of one of the most influential people in the country. The commander even thought about giving you lot an award”, Rex said. “However, due to the destruction of half of the pier, the rewards wouldn’t be able to be given to you”, Rex explained.
“So why am I on a cell block then?” Eru slightly tilted his head. “That’s the commander’s decision. You have to speak to him to find out why”, Rex explained with a blank expression. “Oh, okay”, Eru adjusted his position, his foot relaxed on the bed and his back leaning against the wall. “By the way….” Eru said. Rex raised his eyebrow, “What?” Eru put both of his hands on the back of his head, “Where’s my black sword?” he asked. Rex shrugged, “In the prison’s storage. Once you’re out, you can claim them back.” Eru sighed with relief, “Thanks, man”, he thanks the guy before closing his eyes. Rex shook his head when he saw Eru closed his eyes.
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A few hours later, a white-haired man walked inside a corridor alongside the young man with a ponytail, Rex. “How is he?” the white-haired man asked while walking side to side with Rex, the young man. “Still resting”, Rex answered nonchalantly. “I got to asked though, how come you released the other two but kept this one instead? After all, Mister Andre already confirmed that he’s an upcoming adventurer” Rex pinched his chin.
The white-haired man grumped while Rex continued, “You know how those bunch like. It’s been some while when someone wanted to become an Adventurers. Those guys would not let go of a potential recruit. Dealing with them would bring trouble to the army, especially that Andre the Sly”, Rex complained to the white-haired man. The white-haired man heaved a sigh, “Bargaining chips”, the white-haired man’s explanation was short, but Rex’s eyes turned bright.
However, Rex’s expression turned sour, “Do you think that would work against Andre the Sly? He did cause problems for us loads of times”, he pondered. The white-haired man expression sunken, “We never know if we don’t try”, he said while coughing. Rex rolled his eyes, “Right. Anyway, what about the blue-haired guy? Got anything from him?” he asked. The white-haired man stared blankly at Rex, “Shouldn’t that be your job?” Rex chuckled; he scratched the back of his head, “Nope. That guy was a genuine 5th Grade powerhouse; I couldn’t do anything against him”, he said.
Rex grinned from ear to ear, “You, on the other hand….” The white-haired man sighed, “You coward. The blue-haired man was tied up and had his aura sealed, and you refused to interrogate him? How can I have a son like you?” he shook his head in exasperation. Still grinning, Rex put his hands behind his head, walking casually, “Tough luck that you got me”, he teased. Smile formed on the white-haired man’s lips as he shook his head.
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Meanwhile, at the Adventurers Guild. Andre, Amelia and Monty sat down in the meeting room, looking all doom and gloom. Sitting opposite them was an orange-haired man with formal attire, crossing his legs while sipping a tea. “So, what you’re saying is that you wanted us to keep the matters a secret?” Monty asked with a serious tone. The orange-haired man just smiled after hearing Monty. Andre’s veins bulged out, but he does well to keep calm, “But Mr Ken,” Andre hold his breath, “Surely this is not enough as a consolation fee, right? I mean, one of us is still jailed because he was trying to save you.”
Mr Ken put down his tea, “That’s why, Mister Andre, I came here to negotiate. After all, I’m not a heartless bastard”, he said with a smile on his face. Andre felt irritated seeing the smile of the man in front of him, “Can you please literate it for us one more time please?” Andre politely asked. The orange-haired man smile; he closed his eyes slowly before opening his eyes again, “Basically, I’ll sponsor the guild and potentially bring in more members for you. In exchange for that, I want you all to promise me to forget about the incident yesterday.”
Andre forced a smile; the veins on his face was twitching while Monty rubbed his chin, pondering about something. Both of them are not an idiot. Sure, receiving a sponsor from one of the wealthiest men in the country was good, but it comes as a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it will make this branch of Adventurers Guild more attractive, but on the other hand, it would basically make the Adventurers Guild an extension of Mr Ken’s power. The latter reason was the one Andre and Monty were worried about.
Mr Ken was using his situation to his advantage. ‘He wanted to protect his identity as well as gaining more power in the process. What a sly man’, Andre thought inside of his head. Andre was considering Mr Ken’s offer when suddenly, Monty shook his head, “We’re sorry, Mr Ken, but we are just doing our job. If you want to make a compensation, please leave a good review for the Adventurers Guild on you way out”, he said firmly. Andre was surprised; he looked at Monty with a profound expression, ‘Looks like the kid grows up,’ he thought.
Mr Ken smiled after hearing what Monty had just said. He put down the cup of tea and stands up slowly. “Alright, I’ll just do that”; he turned his body around, walking towards the door. “Oh, and for the young man, Eru was his name?” Mr Ken put his hat on, “Expressed my thanks to him, will you?” he said before leaving the Adventurers Guild. Andre and Monty heaved a sigh of relief while Amelia just slightly tilted her head.
Monty looked at Andre, “Since when did you become easy to push around, guild master?” he asked, his eyes sharp. Andre raised his eyebrow, “What do you mean?” Monty squinted his eyes, “I mean, since when can Mr Ken pushed us around like this? Are you tempted by his proposal to bring in more members?” he asked seriously to the middle-aged man. “Not really, no”, Andre said, his eyes turned into slits, “I was just thinking about how to use the situation to our advantage.”, Andre said while smiling. The middle-aged man got up before knocking Monty in the head, “Why are you taking charge instead, ya brat?” he said while grinning.
Monty rubbed his head, “What do you mean? If the discussion was to continue, I didn’t know how deep Mr Ken can dig us”, he explained, feeling wronged by the middle-aged man. Andre sat back down, “That’s true, I guess”, he leaned back, relaxing his head. “But, don’t you know who Mr Ken’s dealing with? You forget my nickname?” the middle-aged man smirked. “Your meaning?” Monty replied. “We still had chips on our shoulder to bargain with him”, Andre said. Monty pondered after listening to Andre’s reply before facepalming, “I screw up”, he said after seemingly realizing something.
“You see it now, yeah?” Andre smugly looked at Monty. Monty hung his head low, “I’m sorry, guild-master”, he said with a sombre expression. “You still had a long way to go”, Andre said while standing up, putting his hand on Monty’s head. “But I’m proud of you. Keep on having that attitude, and the future of Aeolus Great City’s Adventurers Guild Branch will look bright”, Andre brightly smiled. The words Andre spoke left Monty dumbfounded. Andre chuckled before walking away from the room.
“Monty? Are you okay?” Amelia waved her hand in front of the speechless Monty, “Should I get a doctor? Hello, Monty? Why are you not moving?” Amelia asked and poked Monty, but the latter didn’t budge a little. “Humph”, Amelia harumph as he picked up the cup of tea from the table before chucking it to Monty’s face.
*Splash*
“What the heck are you doing, you bimbo!?” Monty yelled out angrily, with his face wet. Amelia breathed a sigh, “Oh, thank goodness you’re alive.” Monty veins bulged out in annoyance, “Of course I’m alive, you stupid ginger.” Amelia put her finger on her lips, “But you didn’t answer when I called for you earlier, so I thought you might’ve been dead.” Monty stomped his foot, “Don’t act cute now. Fuck, it’s hot”, he said while wiping his face. Amelia smile brightly at Monty, “Anyway, since you’re still alive, I’m going to go to work. Can you please clean up this place?” she said while swiftly ran away while giggling.
Monty watched as Amelia left the room while scratching his head, “I swear that girl annoy me on purpose.” He raised his head up, “Future guild-master, huh.”
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