《The Ballad of Ruihyn》 1.01 I leaped from one roof to another. I¡¯ve got just under five minutes to bring this package to its destination. Jump. Jump. Crack. One of the roof tiles splits in half and I¡¯m sent sliding down this apartment¡¯s rooftop. I quickly pull out my hook from my bag and throw it over to the other side of the rooftop. My descent stops immediately just as I¡¯m about to crash head first onto the paved road. I better pull myself up. ¡°You there, stop!¡± a city guard shouted at me. Not happening, buddy. I pulled myself up. Once safely back on the roof, I checked my pocket watch. I lost 38 seconds because of that slip. I took out a magic ring and put it on the middle finger. A surge of crackling energy flowed around my body. I zipped forward in lightning speed. It¡¯s better to be early than late when dropping off a package. The world began to blur around me. I could no longer rely on sight alone as I was moving too quickly. Instead, I rapidly clicked my tongue. [Skill Activated!] [Echolocation lvl 9] If I can¡¯t see using light, I might as well use sound. Though I couldn¡¯t see in colour, I could make out the shapes of the buildings in front of me. I adjusted my jumps accordingly. Jump. Jump. Jump. I must admit, using [Echolocation] is awesome but it does have its limit. I¡¯m still level 9 in the skill, just shy on the level cap of 10. It would seem like a small difference but it is significant. See, when I accelerate my speed, the world around me becomes blurred. This blurring effect becomes worse as my speed increases and the rate of my acceleration. Until I get to level 10, I¡¯ll have to tolerate some blurring as I jump around. I stopped when I heard an ear piercing sound. A whistle coming from the busy streets below. ¡°Stop that masked thief!¡± shouted a different city guard. Damn, they are getting better at tracking me these days I¡¯ll probably need a decoy. Whoosh! An arrow passed my face by mere centimetres. When did the City Guard get crossbows? Another arrow darted for my face; I dodged it by ducking down. These aren¡¯t ordinary crossbows but repeating crossbows; essentially the guards can shoot several arrows before needing to reload. A new invention from the Imperial Capital? I¡¯ll have to get my hands on a few, I¡¯m sure there are plenty of dealer who¡¯ll want to get their hands on it. Before the situation could get any worse, as more guards were now aiming at me and readying to fire, I fled the area by jumping to an adjacent roof. Soon, I jumped from this rooftop into the many alleyways of this district. The hot stench of piss assaulted my nostril. Gods be damned, but I need to get these guards off my back so I pressed on. There was a fairy kid, around 16 or 17, with dull crumbled wings on his back. Perfect. I approached him. ¡°Huh?¡± he stared at me with bloodshot eyes. Another opium addict of this city. I took out my wallet and waved 8 crown coins in front of him. He smiled. ¡°Look kid, where this cape and mask and try to get the city guard to chase after you,¡± I said to him. ¡°Sure, whatever.¡± Since I always carry an extra cape and mask in my bag, I gave it to him. I could hear the city guards approaching. The fairy slowly wore the mask and cape and I gave him the eight crowns. ¡°Now run! Their coming.¡± He took off. Judging by his sluggish gait, he was certainly going to get caught by city guards. Probably also get tortured into telling where the package is, which he will not be able to give any information off. Tough luck, kid. Business is business. I kept my end of the deal; it won¡¯t be my problem if you get caught. I checked my pocket watch again. Time to get the hell out of here. Using my heightened hearing, I evaded the city guards and quickly ran around until I got to the drop off point. I checked my pocket watch again. I¡¯m on time. However, no one was around here. Why do clients always have to be late at picking up their packages? Am I the only person in the world who cares about punctuality? I sighed and waited around for five more minutes. Finally, a human with a scar on their left cheek arrived. The description of this lady is what my boss gave. ¡°Password!¡± I said out loud. If she said the wrong password, I was ready to bolt out of here. It wouldn¡¯t be the first time I almost got caught due to a mix up. ¡°Red Sparrow in Mist.¡± Good. I gave her the package. She took it and stared at me for a long time, an uncomfortably long time. Just to be sure, I checked whether my mask was still on my face. Yep, still on. ¡°Did you open it?¡± she asked sternly. The nerve of some humans. I¡¯m a professional, I don¡¯t have time snooping at packages that I need to deliver from point A to B. The contract was simple: steal a certain box in the master bedroom and bring it here. ¡°No.¡± I said calmly and pulled out a receipt form. Even criminal organisations need to have their paperwork in order. ¡°Please sign.¡± She groaned but did as told. Once she was done signing, I put the receipt in my pocket and took off. Mission accomplished, it¡¯s payday time. I went to an abandoned warehouse to get my second bag. I took off my mask and cloak and wore my usual civilian clothes; a plain tunic shirt and leather pants. Time to hand in this receipt. I avoided the busy city square, I don¡¯t want to come across any guard, and navigated through the complex alleyways of the city. You know you¡¯ve reached the slums when the well paved roads of the inner city give way to dirt pathways filled with animal faeces and hordes of biting flies. Domestic animals like pigs, chickens, feral cats and street dogs outnumber the people living here. And of course, the sight of fat rats that chase after cats isn¡¯t uncommon here. The houses around here aren¡¯t made from concrete but rather mud, unlike the houses in the richer districts. And the majority of the people here are beastkin. It¡¯s truly a welcoming sight. Someone whistled behind me as I walked by. ¡°Flower Boy, what you¡¯ve been up to?¡±Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. I gritted my teeth. If I had a choice, I¡¯d wear a mask everywhere just to avoid this nonsense. But wearing a mask here in the slums makes people uneasy. They think that you¡¯re an agent for the City Guard. I forced a smile and turned around, ¡°Nosan, it¡¯s been awhile.¡± Nosan approached slowly and grinned. Ah, that signature smug face of his was begging to be bludgeoned with a brick. His goons followed behind him. Nosan¡¯s ears twitched as he sized me up. I can¡¯t believe this upstart gang leader is actually an adventurer. He even has silver bracelet around his neck to show off. Truly the Adventurer Guild has no principals. Nosan is a gnoll, just like his goons behind him. Meaning that he¡¯s a humanoid hyena. Gnolls have a reputation for being imbeciles and Nosan is not helping in ending that reputation. He walked up to me, placed his rather large hand on my head, and ruffled my hair. ¡°You like that, Flower Boy?¡± he taunted me. Being the only elf in this city does come with its many downsides. One being my body figure. Compared to Nosan who had a ripped body with biceps the size of my head, I was a twig next to him. The situation wasn¡¯t helped that Nosan was way taller than me. He was over 10 centimetres higher than me. His goon cackled behind him. ¡°You show him, Nosan!¡± I remained silent as he tugged my hair forcefully. ¡°I don¡¯t like repeating myself,¡± Nosan growled at me. ¡°Hmm?¡± I was still lost in thought at my utter disgust of those spineless creatures behind Nosan. Nosan ruffled my hair once again. ¡°What are you going to do now?¡± he grinned. I clinched my hand into a fist. Just breathe. Nosan¡¯s eyes wondered down to my arm and he stared at my fist. ¡°I¡¯d like to see you try to hit me.¡± No. He wants to get under my skin. I can¡¯t fight him, he¡¯s physically stronger than me. Though my [Bard] class is level 18, Nosan has the [Warrior] class, which is specialised in combat. I could run away but that would just feed more into his ego. So fight is out of the question. Flight is also out of the equation too. That only leaves one other option for me: fluster! I¡¯m a bard after all, words are my weapon. I smiled at him, ¡°Honey Bee, what are you doing?¡± Nosan crossed his brows, ¡°Honey Bee?¡± ¡°Well you gave me the pet name, ¡®Flower Boy¡¯ and I thought it will ring well with the pet name ¡®Honey Bee¡¯. Flowers and bees do go hand in hand.¡± He twisted his mouth, ¡°It wasn¡¯t a pet name.¡± I crossed my arms, ¡°Honey Bee, do you wish for us to debate the proper usage of terms of endearment?¡± ¡°End¡­endu¡­¡± he was struggling to say the word. ¡°Endearment. Let¡¯s say it together, one syllable at a time.¡± Nosan took his hand off my head, ¡°Do I look like a joke to you?!¡± ¡°You seem upset for some reason. Did I say something wrong? ¡± He grabbed me forcefully by the collar, ¡°Don¡¯t fuck with me, Ruihyn.¡± So now he knows my name. Now he was red in the face He lifted his free hand up, prepared to punch the living shit out of me. Playtime is over. ¡°I don¡¯t need to remind you who I work for, Nosan.¡± His fist remained suspended in the air. ¡°If you¡¯re so desperate to die, then punch me. I won¡¯t stop you. I don¡¯t need to remind you what the Boss does to his enemies,¡± I grinned at him. Nosan pushed me away from me. His goons were now looking at him concerned. ¡°What¡¯s going on, Nosan?¡± they asked him, confused. ¡°Nothing. We¡¯re done here!¡± he barked at them and turned around to leave. Well I wasn¡¯t done yet. ¡°Honey Bee!¡± I called out to him. Nosan stopped but he didn¡¯t turn around to face me. I could see the veins popping from his clenched fist. I continued, ¡°Stay safe and don¡¯t let the flies get to you.¡± He didn¡¯t reply but simply walked away from me. For someone who likes dishing out insults, Nosan sure is sensitive when insults are thrown his direction. I exhaled. My heart was beating rapidly. Riling up Nosan like that was a bit too dangerous for my liking. I better steer clear from him now on. I kept walking down the dirty pathways of the slums until I got to my Boss¡¯s house. Unlike the other buildings here, this house was big and gated. Guards patrolled the perimeter constantly and hellhounds roamed the yard. The guards knew who I was and so I was let me in with little fuss. As usual, I got escorted to the front entrance of the house where a butler was waiting for me. ¡°It¡¯s good to see you again, Ruihyn,¡± said Gert as he let me inside the living room. ¡°It¡¯s good to see you again, Gert.¡± ¡°Yes, would you like some gum while you wait for Mr Thurber?¡± I shrugged, ¡°Sure.¡± I gave the butler the receipt and he gave me a pack of gum. I chewed it as I sat on one of the couches in living room. Boss¡¯s house never ceases to amaze me. It¡¯s so big. Animal trophies hang on the walls around here. A permit to hunt game is very expensive so Boss having over a dozen of different species hanging around does show that he has a lot of money to spend. After waiting for over half an hour, Gert arrived to tell me that the Boss was ready to see me. ¡°Do fix your appearance, Ruihyn,¡± Gert said to me. Right. My hair was still in a mess thanks to Nosan. Gert gave me a comb and a hand mirror to help groom myself. My long curly black needed a bit of time to get sorted out. Since I was a Wood Elf, I had emerald green eyes and a rich copper skin. ¡°Do you have a hair pin?¡± I asked the butler. I must have lost my hairpin whilst Nosan was ruffling my hair as though I was his pet dog or something. Gert pulled one out for me. Looking at the hairpin, it was made out of ivory. Far too much expensive for my liking. ¡°Do you have a hairpin that¡¯s¡­cheaper. I can¡¯t accept such an expensive gift.¡± Gert shook his head. ¡°Just accept the gift, Ruihyn. You wouldn¡¯t want to keep Mr Thurber waiting just because of a hairpin.¡± I¡¯m not that crazy to do such a thing. My hair reached my mid back and so I had to use pins to tie it up into a bun, leaving a hanging strand of hair on the side of my face. ¡°You look presentable now,¡± Gert said to me. I nodded. He twisted the door knob and let me inside Boss¡¯s private office. Boss stared at me while he cleaned his tusks with a special brush. ¡°You look thin, Ruihyn. You¡¯re eating well?¡± he said to me as I sat down. I chuckled. ¡°I try, Boss.¡± ¡°Well, try harder. Can¡¯t have my star employee dropping dead due to malnourishment.¡± He threw a bag of coins in my direction. Luckily I caught them in time. ¡°Your payment. You¡¯ve earned it.¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± I nodded to him. Boss took out a box of cigars. ¡°You want one?¡± I shook my head, ¡°Thanks Boss. But smoking isn¡¯t for me.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t asking, Ruihyn.¡± Okay then. I took one cigar and he lit one for me. I coughed violently from one inhalation. ¡°Ah, I can still remember you where this young when I came across you on the streets.¡± He smiled. He had to remind of my past. Yeah, I was seven years old when I lost contact with my mother. Boss took me in before the slavers could get a hold of me. Now that I¡¯m 19, I put my past life behind me. ¡°I¡¯m forever in your debt because of your kindness,¡± I said to him. He nodded at my words. I took another puff at the cigar and ended up coughing again. No more, I ain¡¯t going to keep smoking this thing. I put it on the table and left it there. The Boss looked at me, ¡°There was a time when you followed my orders without question. Now look at you, I give you one of my cigars and you refuse to finish it.¡± ¡°I meant no ill, Boss. But I know the limits of my body. If I push myself to smoke it then I will no longer perform at my best for you. And as your best employee, giving less than 100% will be unacceptable.¡± He chuckled, ¡°Ah, Ruihyn. You always had a way with words.¡± I nervously scratched my neck, ¡°Thank you?¡± ¡°It was a compliment. Lighten up, boy.¡± ¡°Thank you, sir.¡± He leaned back on his chair. Boss was a boar like beastkin and had a very intimidating gaze, ¡°Ruihyn, do you want to be free from the contract I have with you?¡± ¡°Of course not, Boss. Serving you is my life¡¯s goal.¡± ¡°Enough with the sweet talking, boy. Tell me the truth.¡± I sighed, ¡°Yes. But I¡¯m still prepared to finish out my remaining 15 years with you diligently.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll be 34 when you leave my employment. How about I give you the opportunity to set you free now. I¡¯m sure that dream of yours to be a bard or whatever is something dear to your heart.¡± I looked at him confused. Is he joking? Boss isn¡¯t someone known for being sentimental. He mentioned my dream of being a bard. Well, I can¡¯t say it is my dream. More like it was my mother¡¯s and¡­ Look, when I first worked for the boss, he gave me the option of taking the class [Thief]. I was and still reluctant to take that class. So I stuck with the lie of wanting to be a famous [Bard]. It was far easier saying then explaining¡­ Focus, Ruihyn. The past is the past. I have to ask more about Boss¡¯s offer for my freedom. ¡°I¡¯m sure there is a price to my early freedom?¡± I stared at him, uneasily. He smiled, ¡°Of course. There¡¯s no free lunch in this world.¡± I nodded at him, ¡°But I don¡¯t have the money to pay you to set me free.¡± He waved his hand, ¡°No need for money. Just one job.¡± ¡°One job?¡± ¡°An S-ranked mission.¡± Crap. Usually I take missions ranked A or B but never S. That¡¯s some hardcore stuff there. The last time I took an S-ranked mission, I nearly died. ¡°You look nervous,¡± Boss said to me. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯m the right guy, Boss.¡± ¡°Rubbish!¡± he slammed his fist onto the wooden desk separating us, thus causing a chip. ¡°You¡¯re my best, I know you can do it. Besides, don¡¯t you want your freedom badly.¡± ¡°Yes, but I don¡¯t want to die during an S-ranked mission.¡± ¡°You won¡¯t die. I can guarantee that.¡± I looked sceptically at him. How can he even guarantee I¡¯d survive such a risky mission?¡± ¡°Boss, sorry but I can¡¯t.¡± Boss angrily stood up, he was huffing with much force. ¡°I took you in when no one did. An elf boy that was weak and close to death. I took you in Ruihyn and gave you a second chance to life. Is this how you¡¯re repaying me now?¡± ¡°Boss¡­¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be asking you to do this mission unless it was very important to me.¡± ¡°Why can¡¯t you pass it to some other person?¡± He shook his head, ¡°I too have debts to repay, Ruihyn. So, can I rely on my star employee on this mission?¡± ¡°Is this mission really that important to you?¡± He nodded his head. Something about Boss¡¯s eyes concerned me. I¡¯ve never seen him like this before. ¡°Add 5,000 crowns to the deal and I¡¯ll do the mission.¡± ¡°5,000 crowns!¡± he shouted in shock. If I¡¯m going to put my life on the line, freedom alone is too cheap to risk everything. I¡¯ll need plenty of money. ¡°It¡¯s just business, Boss.¡± I smiled at him. Boss took a deep breathe, ¡°You¡¯ve grown bloody cocky, Ruihyn.¡± ¡°Are you rejected my proposal?¡± ¡°No. Fine, I¡¯ll add 5,000 crowns to sweeten the deal.¡± We shook hands. ¡°So tell me the details of the mission.¡± He shook his head, ¡°I can¡¯t. You¡¯ll get the details of the mission on the day of the mission.¡± ¡°How in world am I suppose to prepare for the mission if I don¡¯t know what I¡¯m going to be doing?¡¯¡± Boss laughed, ¡°It¡¯s too late to back away now, Ruihyn. We shook hands. You¡¯ve got a week to prepare for the mission though.¡± A week? But next week is the Grand Lunar Festival. I stood up and prepared to leave. ¡°Stay safe, Ruihyn.¡±Boss said to me as I left. ¡°Sure thing. You too, Boss.¡± I was escorted out of the house. When I stepped outside the gates, I had only one thought in mind. What have I gotten myself into? 1.02 It was dark outside and my stomach was grumbling. I might as well get dinner before going to my deadbeat apartment. I walked down the dark streets with only the starlight above providing some light. I kept my ears open, just in case some random dodgy person tried to jump me. I only calmed down when I saw the door of my favourite tavern in front of me. I entered with a smile. It was empty inside. Though for some reason the tables were overturned and a splash of blood was on the wooden floor. Looks like there was a bar fight here ¡°We¡¯re closed for crying out loud!¡± Rose, the owner of this fine establishment shouted. When she saw me, her fiery anger seemed to calm down. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s you Ruihyn.¡± I took a seat on one of the few tables that wasn¡¯t overturned, ¡°You look pissed. What happened?¡± ¡°A fight. Those bloody rascals were looking for trouble and I gave it to them,¡± she spat on the floor. ¡°Rose, don¡¯t say you were involved in a fight. Again.¡± ¡°You know how those new money beastkin kids act around here. They think they own the place. I have no choice but punching some respect into their thick skulls.¡± ¡°You¡¯re pregnant for crying out loud!¡± I pointed to her bulging belly.¡± She waved me off, ¡°I¡¯ll be fine. And the twins were happy seeing their mother smack some sense into those rascals.¡± I chuckled. Rose is unbelievable; she was also a beastkin but rather a kitsune. She had the ginger ears and tail of a fox. And has a rather quick temper. I thought pregnancy would slow her down but she¡¯s still the same Rose I befriended ages ago. We are the same age, but she is running this tavern all by herself since the recent passing of her mother. Rose took a sit next to me, ¡°Anyway, what do want to have?¡± ¡°You got pigeon pie?¡± She groaned, ¡°I¡¯m too tired to make pie for just you. How about rice?¡± ¡°Are you saying I¡¯m not enough for you to make pie for me?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t twist my words like that, Ruihyn. You know what I mean.¡± ¡°Please can I have pigeon pie, Rose. Pretty please.¡± She shook her head, ¡°No, I¡¯ll make you rice and some left over chicken.¡± So she wants to play it like that? I cupped my face with both my hands and smiled at her. ¡°Please, Rose.¡± ¡°Not the puppy eyes,¡± Rose sighed. There¡¯s also another ace up my hand. I bit my lower lip and whimpered before her helplessly. I could see the last forms of resistance snap away. ¡°I hate you.¡± She pointed at me with shaking arms. ¡°I love you more,¡± I blew her a kiss. ¡°You can go drink piss for all I care,¡± she shouted as she stormed into the kitchen. I could hear Rose continue to curse out loud as she prepared the pie. The full pie was done under an hour with some ale on the side. She placed the tray on the counter, ¡°I hope you choke on that pie.¡± ¡°Your words wound me, Rose.¡± ¡°Whatever,¡± she cried out and sat next to me. The pie smelled delicious. My tongue was tingling with just the thought of biting into it. But there was one problem, the ale. ¡°Rose, you know that I work too hard to come here after a long gruelling day and end up assaulting my mouth with the taste of ale.¡± ¡°Wine, then?¡± ¡°Need I say more?¡± She smiled. She got up once again and went into the kitchen. Seeing her return with a bottle of wine brought a smile to my face, though I must admit that ordering around a pregnant woman has a bad taste in my mouth. ¡°Rose, you should get some help here. You can¡¯t carry on like this,¡± I said to her as I took the wine bottle from Rose. She rolled her eyes, ¡°You worry too much. I¡¯m a big girl, now eat. And you better finish the pie and leave no crumbs behind.¡± ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am!¡¯ I saluted. She laughed. I took a bite into the pie and moaned as the crust melted into my mouth. And the pigeon meat, well words could not begin to describe how delicious the pie was. Rose was staring at my hair. I quickly swallowed the food in my mouth. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± I asked her. ¡°The pin I gave you. Where is it?¡± she asked me. ¡°Oh, I lost it. Nosan and his gang kind of ganged up on me and I lost it then. Sorry.¡± ¡°Really now?¡± I laughed, trying to diffuse the situation. I¡¯d prefer not to have this volcano in front of me erupt in anger. ¡°Don¡¯t be silly, Rose. I got this from Boss¡¯s butler. I still got the pocket watch you gave me.¡± I showed her the pocket watch and her eyes softened. ¡°Sorry,¡± she said, her voice showing her embarrassment. ¡°I guess those motherly instincts are creeping up on you.¡± She glared at me harshly, ¡°Are you saying I¡¯m becoming soft?¡± ¡°Of course not.¡± Rose gave me that look of hers. I could see the lava just shooting out those eyes of hers. ¡°Take that pin off. Now.¡± She commanded. ¡°That seems unnecessary,¡± I said as I took another bite from the pie. She took my plate and dropped it on the ground. There was still a good portion of pie left and now it was on the floor. ¡°Take. That. Pin. Off. Now.¡± She said slowly. Rose¡¯s abrasive personality makes her come off as shrew when you don¡¯t know her deeply. But since I¡¯ve grown close to her as her friend, I can assure anyone that Rose deep down is really a shrew. But she¡¯s my shrew and I guess I can tolerate her questionable tendencies at times. I removed the hairpin and gave it to her. She got up and walked up stairs. When she returned, she had a two new pins for me. ¡°Here, don¡¯t lose them.¡± She gave me the pins. ¡°What happened to the other one Gert gave me?¡± I asked. With her other hand, she revealed that the ivory hairpin given to me by Gert was now broken into a dozen pieces. I used the two wooden pins she gave me to tie my hair back. She looked at the plate on the floor, ¡°Ruihyn, do you want me to make you another pie?¡± Rose asked calmly. I shook my head, ¡°I better get going. I¡¯m filled up anyway.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not upset with me?¡± I¡¯m not going to answer that honestly. ¡°No, in fact I want to ask you for a favour.¡± She raised her brow, ¡°What kind of favour?¡± ¡°I want to perform next week, the day before the Grand Lunar Festival.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I have an important mission on the Grand Lunar Festival. I want to have fun before it. If you don¡¯t mind.¡± ¡°Is this mission dangerous?¡± ¡°Not from what I can tell. But performing before a mission does help clear my head so I don¡¯t mess up.¡± ¡°I know you¡¯re lying to me, Ruihyn. How dangerous is this mission?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not lying!¡± She crossed her arms, ¡°I¡¯ve known you for over a decade. So drop the act.¡± Rose is one of two people I can¡¯t seem to able to lie to. Maybe I should work on my facial expression or something. ¡°Fine, it¡¯s an S-rank mission.¡± ¡°You¡¯re joking.¡± ¡°Unfortunately, I¡¯m not.¡±Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. ¡°It¡¯s far too dangerous.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already given Boss my word, I¡¯m not backing away.¡± Instantly, Rose grabbed the nearest table and threw it to the wall, shattering it into many pieces.¡± I guess this is the stage when the volcano fully erupts. ¡°You can¡¯t be serious!¡± she shouted at me. ¡°The last time you took an S-ranked mission, you arrived here in a horrible state, barely clinging onto life. You were lucky there was a [Cleric] in the tavern or else you would have been dead.¡± ¡°I know, I know. But he offered to set me free after the mission.¡± ¡°What good is that if you end up dead!?¡± I shrugged, ¡°That¡¯s more motivation to stay alive.¡± Rose scoffed, ¡°You¡¯re not taking this seriously, Ruihyn. Am I now a fool for even caring about you when you just shrug off the danger to your life.¡± ¡°Come on, Rose. It¡¯s not like I¡¯m a child.¡± She remained silent and turned her back on me. I didn¡¯t say a word and just touched her shoulder. ¡°I can¡¯t lose you too.¡± She whispered. ¡°I promise I¡¯ll make it alive. You know I always keep my promises.¡± She sighed, ¡°I don¡¯t think you can keep this one.¡± ¡°Remember the first promise I made to you? How you said the exact words.¡± She chuckled, ¡°That was different. We were kids.¡± ¡°Yeah, but the essence was the same.¡± I believe we were ten years old at the time. I was still a low ranked thief, spending most of my days in the market square pickpocketing the denizens of this city. I was pretty good at it, no one could resist my young dashing smile (even to this day) and easily lowered their guard around me. Being so good, I attracted the wrong attention, a rival gang. They took all my earnings for that week. I couldn¡¯t fight them off. And Boss would have punished me severely for losing that much money. It was the end of the week and so I couldn¡¯t pay my ¡®rent¡¯ to Boss. So I thought of running away but then I came across Rose. We talked and she ended up stealing cash from her mother and gave it me. Rose and her mother had recently got into a big fight and in a way of getting back to her mother, Rose stole the money. I promised Rose that I would return the cash she gave me but I would double it the next day. ¡®I don¡¯t think that¡¯s a promise you can keep¡¯ she said to me and well, I proved her wrong. I discovered the day after that tap dancing before rich merchants and nobles earned me more gold than trying to pickpocketing them. Anyway, I ended keeping that promise to Rose. End of story. ¡°You better keep your promise,¡± she turned around to face me. ¡°Cheer up, buddy. How about I do a performance the day before the festival. That way I can put my mind at ease before the mission and you can earn lots of money and thus forgive me for poor life choices.¡± ¡°Are you bribing me?¡± she laughed. ¡°It¡¯s not bribing when I do it for a friend.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take the deal. You perform and I take all the cut from ticket sales.¡± I shook my head, ¡°You can¡¯t be serious. I should get at least half of the money from the tickets. Beside, you¡¯ll make more money from customers buying your food.¡± ¡°I thought the reason for your performance was placating me and also easing your mind. So what¡¯s the problem of me taking the whole cut?¡± ¡°Funny.¡± She grinned. ¡°We¡¯ll negotiate when the time comes.¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah. But I¡¯m not budging. Anyway, I better get going.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to help me clean up?¡± ¡°Of course not,¡± I laughed. ¡°You did after all throw my food on the floor and broke that hairpin Gert gave me.¡± ¡°I hate you,¡± she laughed. ¡°See you later, Rose.¡± I waved goodbye and got out of the tavern. The apartment building I live in was one of the few buildings in the slum made out of cement. It was three storeys high. And I lived in the highest floor because it was the cheapest. I went straight to bed. I had only one-bedroom. The roof was still cracked and I could hear rats moving in between the walls. Sometimes having acute hearing is a nuisance. I stared at my lute in the corner of my room. I should practise. That¡¯s the only way I could rank up in my class. I yawned. Not today however. Probably tomorrow or something. Well, I said that yesterday that will practise today. Okay, fine. Tomorrow, I¡¯ll seriously practise. I need to make level 19 in the [Bard] class before my performance. I yawned again. ¡­ ¡­ I heard the screeching sound of my alarm clock. I winced, I hate that thing. I angrily grabbed the alarm clock but just before I was about to throw it to the wall, my senses returned to me. I¡¯d be crazy to throw away this new invention. Very few people had this contraption, so it would be foolish to throw it away. Even though I stole it, I still cherished it deeply. Instead, I pressed the button on the back of the clock and it finally went silent. I stared outside the window. It was still dark. I put on a light tunic that reached down to my knees. Time for a good run. Before any good run, one must stretch properly. ¡°What you¡¯re doing?¡± one of the urchins asked me. ¡°Preparing to run.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you just run?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want strain my muscles.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± He said confused. I could tell that he wasn¡¯t fully sure about the stretching part but I didn¡¯t have time to go through my reasoning. Time to dart. I ran from the apartment building and into the streets. The jog wasn¡¯t anything special, more like exercise. I carried on running. I ran across the alleyways of the slum but as I approached the city centre, running became easier because of wide paved roads. Merchants were already up and preparing their stalls for selling goods and stuff. One of the stall owners waved at me, ¡°Hi there, Ruihyn.¡± I waved back, ¡°Hello there, sir!¡± Mr Hukabell threw one of his apples at me. Luckily, I caught it. ¡°Thanks. But you don¡¯t have to give me an apple each time I come by.¡± ¡°Nonsense, child. Have a good run now.¡± I thanked him again and gave him a respective bow before continuing my run. As I jogged around the city, I reached the inner most walls that gated the district where nobles lived in. A guard stopped me, ¡°Hey, you¡¯re not allowed here unless you work for a noble or have a pass.¡± ¡°Sorry, I got lost.¡± One day, I want to walk on the gold paved roads of the noble district. Unfortunately, it is very restricted. ¡°Just bugger off!¡± the guard shouted at me. I ran the opposite direction and headed to the district where rich merchants and wealthy adventurers lived in. I didn¡¯t need a pass to run around here but the guards patrolling here can evict anyone seen as being suspicious. The houses around here were made out of concrete and had vibrant coloured paint decorating their walls. All of the houses here were gated and had privates guards, usually hired adventurers, patrolling around their perimeters. I kept my run for about two hours. I was sweating all over by the end of my running session and needed to get a thorough wash. I hurried to a public bathhouses in this merchant district. It was still dark and I had to wash up before the sun got up. I approached the clerk and gave her three crown coins First was the cold shower. Then lukewarm water with herbs and soap. If you paid for extra, you can get someone else to massage you. Since I don¡¯t have money to play around with, I guess my own two hands bestowed to me by the gods will have to suffice. Then came the last spot, the actually hot tub. Sitting in there, alone, I just relaxed. I sat back and relaxed in there. I was all alone since no one comes early here. ¡°Ruihyn, fancy seeing you here.¡± Please don¡¯t say that is who I think it is. I looked up and saw my landlady dipping in the hot bath. Yep, that wrinkled face and grey hair belongs to no other than my landlady. She entered and she smiled at me. ¡°No need to fear, I¡¯m not going to demand rent.¡± She chuckled. I forced a laugh. I better get out of here. This is why I try coming to the bathhouses early on, I don¡¯t want to meet people that I know. ¡°It¡¯s nice seeing you here so early.¡± I said to her. ¡°Yes.¡± She nodded at me, ¡°I have a meeting with the tax collector.¡± I just nodded at her. Would it be seen as rude if I tried getting up and darting for the door? ¡°You seem nervous.¡± She crossed her brows. ¡°Nothing, just a bit stressed out.¡± ¡°You know, I might need to increase the rent again. Many people have been requested your room.¡± This greedy lady! She probably wants to increase rent and she¡¯s coming up with this stupid story as justification. ¡°I¡¯ll be happy to pay more if need be.¡± ¡°Really?¡± As if I had a choice. I don¡¯t want to be left homeless or worse, sleep in one of Boss¡¯s dens. ¡°Within reason, of course,¡± I added. ¡°Of course,¡± she chuckled. We remained in awkward silence for what seemed to be forever. If I leave, she might take that as rudeness, which in turn could have her want to jack up my rent highly. ¡°These are really harsh times, Ruihyn,¡± she droned to me. ¡°Indeed,¡± I responded, utterly disinterested. ¡°Her Imperial Majesty requires more funds in order to fuel the Empire¡¯s defensive war against the Northerners.¡± I don¡¯t like listening to politics but to humour her, I might as well feign interests. ¡°I do hope the army is able to fend off against those barbarians,¡± I said, rather animatedly. ¡°Indeed! Those Northerners are the scum of this world. They envy our civilised nation and wish to bring us to their level. Hah, our empire shall never debase itself to savages who don¡¯t even know how to write!¡± Calm down, granny! She was working herself up. If she kept up with this then she¡¯ll end up having a stroke. I¡¯m not sure that would be a bad thing. We went on like this with her talking about the current political gossip in the Imperial Capital to me just nodding off. Soon, the bathhouse had more visitors. Merchants that I recognised entered into the hot tub. One by one, people of all shapes and heights trickled. That was my cue to leave. ¡°Hi there Audrey. Ruihyn, good to see you here also,¡± Ove greeted us two, he was one of the richest banker beastkin in the city. ¡°Oh my, time has surely passed by.¡± The landlady gasped seeing the over three dozen bodies in the tub now. ¡°Well, goodbye Landlady Audrey. I must leave you even though I enjoyed our conversation very deeply. And goodbye to you too, Senior Ove.¡± She nodded at me, so did Ove. I wrapped a wet towel around my waist before I left the hot bath. I returned to get my clothes hanging on the wall and took a new dry towel to remove the water from me. The sun was out and people were moving about. If this went according to plan, I should have left before the majority of people were out and about. I heard someone whistle. ¡°Aren¡¯t you the cutest thing?¡± A halfling female, who looked to be 17 years my senior, stared at me. I could tell she was a halfling by her unusual purple eyes and rather short fairy wings. Thus she was half human and half fairy. ¡°Come on, Beatrice. We don¡¯t have time for this,¡± Beatrice¡¯s friend said behind her. ¡°Relax, Holly. A little adventure never hurt anyone. Right sweetie?¡¯ she winked at me and took a step towards me. I instinctively took a step back. She chuckled. ¡°I won¡¯t bite,¡± she grinned, ¡°unless you¡¯re into that.¡± And she took another step towards me. My back was now pinned to the wall. ¡°Beatrice, let¡¯s leave this place!¡± ¡°Not until I had a taste of him. What¡¯s your name, elf?¡± I didn¡¯t respond. Beatrice was wearing a silk dress, she was certainly from the upper class. I looked at her wrist; she had a hollow circle mark there. She was nobility and legally classified as human. Come on brain, think of a way out of this. Beatrice kept looking at my exposed legs. I was wearing a tunic that stopped just above my knees. The only reason I wore this clothing was because I was certain that by the time I got out of the bathhouse, very few people would be up. Now, I was being harassed. This is the second reason why I wake up early, to avoid predatory eyes like this lady in front of me. Her eye¡¯s even shimmer like a tiger. ¡°Not much of talker?¡± she pressed her chest onto mine. I could feel her warm breath just on my upper lip. My heart was beating quickly. I can¡¯t let her kiss me or I¡¯d be in violation of the miscegenation laws of the empire that don¡¯t allow ¡®mixing¡¯ between the humans and non-humans of the empire. If it wasn¡¯t clear, an elf is a non-human. Halflings are considered humans only when a human female births them. Other than that they are usually non-human. Beatrice had a mark on her wrist that showed she was considered human and part of some noble house. ¡°Lady Beatrice, I don¡¯t think its proper the manner you¡¯re acting right now.¡± She chuckled. ¡°Let me be the judge of what is proper or not.¡± Beatrice then removed a strand of hair on my face. I just realised the perfume she had on had that spicy-sweet smell. I never smelt that before, it¡¯s interesting. But I have to put that aside. I looked at Holly, her friend, and gestured to her. ¡°Can you please tell your friend to get off me before she disgraces herself before these fine folks around here?¡± There was a large crowd now gathered around us, gawking at what was happening. Holly spoke up, ¡°Beatrice, enough!¡± Beatrice took a step back from me and glanced at the beastkin in the crowd. I took this opportunity to get out. I felt Beatrice grab my hand. ¡°What was your name again, elf?¡± ¡°I never gave you my name.¡± I tried removing my hand. She instead squeezed my hand. ¡°Why are you being so difficult?¡± she snickered. Does she lack the self-awareness that other nobles have? She¡¯s not a child, Beatrice is old enough to be my mother. I successfully ripped my hand from hers. The crowd gasped at this. ¡°I¡¯ll have you, one way or the other,¡± she smiled. I wish I could say something like ¡®In your dreams¡¯ but she¡¯s a noble, I don¡¯t need the unnecessary attention from this incident. ¡°Good luck at your quest, Lady Beatrice,¡± I respectively bowed and walked away from the scene. I rushed back to my apartment to get into real clothes. I put on a short tunic, an overcoat and some pants. I got my leather bag and said goodbye to the rats in my apartment. My morning started off badly. So I hope the rest of the day will be okay. Instead of going to the Boss¡¯s house, there was an office building around here in the slums. It was mostly a wooden building with a large chicken as a sign. The shop sold eggs but the real purpose of this place was to take special request from clients that other Guilds won¡¯t take. To an onlooker, this was a legitimate business. Anyway, time to go to work. Even though I had a big assignment in six day¡¯s time, I can¡¯t sit around doing nothing. I¡¯d rather make a bit of money on the side. I arrived to the building just in time. I twisted the doorknob and stepped inside. 1.03 ¡°Bro, it¡¯s been awhile.¡± When I entered the shop, I saw Myh grinning at me. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen in you awhile,¡± I said back at him. He scratched the back of his head, ¡°I¡¯ve been busy due to work.¡± ¡°Oh yeah, you got a real job now. With a salary. Is it true you¡¯re a shoe polisher for some noble?¡± ¡°I see word goes quickly around here.¡± I laughed, ¡°So it¡¯s true.¡± I put forward my boot. ¡°You might as well show me your mad polishing skills.¡± ¡°Screw off!¡± he shoved me away from him. ¡°But I just got promoted though. That¡¯s why I¡¯m here actually.¡± ¡°So what are you doing now?¡± ¡°I¡¯m a junior butler and I¡¯ve come to ask a favour.¡± He smiled nervously. A favour? ¡°I¡¯m listening,¡± I said to him, curious. ¡°It¡¯s nothing too big or anything. I just need a poem from you.¡± ¡°A poem?¡± ¡°It¡¯s for the master I¡¯m hired to. He has this noble lady that he¡¯s pursuing and needs to impress her.¡± ¡°There are plenty of poets in this city. You don¡¯t need me.¡± ¡°He¡¯s really picky and has rejected all poems he has commissioned.¡± ¡°If he¡¯s so picky, what makes you think I could get accepted?¡± ¡°One; you¡¯re the best person I know of. Two: you¡¯re going to do the commission free of charge.¡± ¡°Are you asking me to do something for free?¡± ¡°That¡¯s why it is a favour!¡± I don¡¯t have time to be writing poems, especially if I won¡¯t be receiving income from it. ¡°I think you got the wrong guy, Myh.¡± He went down on his knees, ¡°Please, Ruihyn. You¡¯re the only one I can count on. We¡¯re friends right?¡± ¡°Yes, but still. I got rent to pay.¡± Especially with the landlady flirting with the idea of raising rent. ¡°Fine. What do you want from me? I¡¯ll give you anything.¡± ¡°Money.¡± ¡°Except that.¡± ¡°How convenient.¡± ¡°Please,¡± he pleaded even more desperately. I gritted my teeth. ¡°You¡¯re persistent. Fine but you owe me lunch for this.¡± ¡°So long as it¡¯s from a food stall and not a restaurant.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯re in a position to tell me what to do.¡± ¡°Sorry.¡± He turned his gaze to the floor. I patted his head, ¡°There, there.¡± Myh was a faun. He had two horns of a goats and messy blond hair that is rather soft on the hands. ¡°Hey, don¡¯t touch my horns!¡± he shouted at me, stepping away from me. ¡°I see the length of your horns have grown,¡± I responded to him. ¡°You noticed? Well I thought they¡¯ve stopped growing but¡­ Wait! Ruihyn, I see what you¡¯re doing.¡± ¡°I¡¯m your senior, Myh. I can pat your head if I wish.¡± ¡°You¡¯re only older than me by four months!¡± Myh was the baby in my group of three friends. Rose is the eldest, then comes me and lastly Myh. I had better get back to this poem request for Myh instead of arguing with him about social etiquette. ¡°Myh, when do you need this poem?¡± ¡°How about¡­ today?¡± ¡°What?!¡± ¡°You¡¯re my best friend remember,¡± he grinned uneasily. I asked the clerk whether there was a mission available. ¡°In fact yes, a B-rank mission. Payment is 150 crowns,¡± the clerk responded to me. I stared at Myh. ¡°I hope the lunch from this food stall is worth 150 crowns.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll eat dirt if you want me. Just please help me up here,¡± Myh said to me ¡°Seriously?¡± ¡°Yes! That¡¯s how desperate I am here.¡± ¡°Fine, I wouldn¡¯t want to you dying from eating dirt. Heavens knows what Rose will do to me,¡± I sighed We walked out of the shop and went to the more affluent districts where noble humans where living in. A guard stopped us to check whether we had a pass. ¡°Here it is.¡± Myh handed the paper to the guard to check. After casting a spell to check the authenticity of this document, the guard let us in. The villas around here were large and but didn¡¯t have colourful paint like the ones in the merchant district. In fact, the villas here were mostly made out of marble. I wonder why the nobles seem to be reluctant to flaunt off their wealth like the rich merchants and adventurers in the city. When we reached our destination, the large villa in front of us was unsurprisingly gated. Four guards surrounded the entrance gate. They were [Battle Mages], a class trained in the Imperial Capital. Nobles, unlike rich commoners, don¡¯t hire adventurers. Battle Mages wore blue robes with golden stripes on their garments. We were taken to the back entrance of the villa, away from the sensitive eyes of the noble family of this place who were apparently entertaining guests. The servants were mostly human, very few beastkin worked here. ¡°So, only speak when he speaks to you and don¡¯t get angry. He does have a dismissive personality,¡± Myh recommended to me. ¡°So he¡¯s like any other spoilt noble kid.¡± Myh chuckled, ¡°Basically.¡± I followed behind Myh as we walked down the hallway of this villa. I don¡¯t even know how many room we¡¯ve passed. When are we going to get there? Finally, Myh came to a stop. He knocked on the door in front of him but got no answer. Then he knocked again. ¡°Come in!¡± the voice inside the room shouted. Myh opened the door and let me in first before following behind me. ¡°Master Dillen, I¡¯ve brought a poet that I¡¯m confident you¡¯ll find suitable.¡± ¡°Excellent,¡± Dillen smiled. ¡°Morning, Master Dillen,¡± I greeted him and gave a respective bow. Dillen didn¡¯t respond to me and looked at Myh, ¡°You never told me that he is an elf.¡±Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. ¡°Was that a problem?¡± Myh asked confused. ¡°Our empire is sworn enemies to these tree hugging knife ears. ¡° ¡°Oh!¡± Myh exclaimed. Knife ears?! Through sheer will alone, I chuckled while avoiding eye contact. Dismissive personality? That¡¯s sugar coating it alright. ¡°Please remove this elf from my sight. I need to polish my telescope¡¯s mirror and don¡¯t need him around,¡± Dillen commanded of Myh. I bowed once again before Dillen, ¡°I apologise Master Dillen for not meeting your expectations.¡± Dillen scoffed and simply went over to that telescope of his instead of replying to me. I was expecting Myh to escort me out of here but he was glaring at Dillen. ¡°Master Dillen, I don¡¯t understand why it matters that he is an elf.¡± Dillen sighed, ¡°Dear Myh, the rivalry between humans and elves goes way back. I¡¯m a loyal subject of the empire and I refuse to work with an elf.¡± ¡°I-I don¡¯t understand.¡± ¡°Myh! I need not explain myself to you. I¡¯m your master, you will do as I please. Now take this elf away from here.¡± Myh went silent but refused to budge. I could see Dillen reach for a cane. I grabbed Myh¡¯s arm, ¡°It¡¯s fine. Let¡¯s leave. Now apologise to your master so I can get out of here. Dillen is insufferable.¡± Myh nodded, though very reluctantly. ¡°Forgive me, Master Dillen, for questioning your will.¡± Dillen lowered the cane he had just picked up, ¡°You¡¯re forgiven, Myh. Just don¡¯t make the same mistake again.¡± Myh bowed. I bowed again. Good riddance, this is what happens when you extend an olive branch to humans. Myh and I turned around and suddenly the door opened abruptly. I recognised this human. But I can¡¯t tell where I know her from. ¡°Dillen, I need your help. High Magistrate Bea-¡± she looked at me as though unsure what to make of me. ¡°Do I know you?¡± I looked at Myh. He looked at me, ¡°I think she¡¯s talking to you, buddy.¡± I returned my gaze to hers. ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡± Her eyes landed on my pointy ears. ¡°You¡¯re that elf!¡± Oh, now I know her. She¡¯s Holly, I believe. She was the friend of that human woman. What in the world was she doing here? Dillen shoved me aside as he ran up to Holly. ¡°Has she returned? I don¡¯t understand what has gotten into her.¡± ¡°She¡¯s like that,¡± Holly sighed but kept her eyes fixed on me. ¡°So she has returned?¡± Dillen pressed Holly. Holly nodded. ¡°We¡¯re leaving, Myh,¡± I whispered to my friend next to me. ¡°Oh yeah! Please excuse us Master Dillen and Dame Holly.¡± They didn¡¯t stop us as we exited the room and walked out of the villa. But Myh was suspiciously quiet as we walked back to the slums. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± I asked him. ¡°Nothing,¡± he responded in a low tone. ¡°Myh, I¡¯m fine. Dillen¡¯s insults slid off my back.¡± ¡°But still, I feel horrible for what he did. I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°Why are you apologising for his rudeness?¡± He sighed, ¡°Sorry, I don¡¯t know.¡± I knew where this was going. I could already see Myh¡¯s eyes water. I scouted for anything to cheer him up. There was a food stall nearby and judging by the smell, I knew it was serving Myh¡¯s favourite snack. ¡°Let¡¯s get something to eat,¡± I said to him as I walked to the food stall. The lady smiled at me and I ordered spicy giant grasshoppers. They are served in a cup made out of leaves and the grasshoppers are served warm. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t I be the one buying?¡± Myh asked as the cook gave us a cup each. ¡°I¡¯m spoiling you, since you¡¯re my junior.¡± ¡°You¡¯re petty over this age thing,¡± he chuckled. We continued eating our respective grasshoppers. Myh¡¯s eyes dried up and he was smiling more. ¡°I really hope this marriage goes through,¡± he broke the silence after a while. ¡°What¡¯s so important about this marriage anyway? Aren¡¯t marriages around here rare?¡± I asked him. In fact, I only know a handful of married couples in this city. Even the empress of this realm isn¡¯t married. I believe she has concubines instead. ¡°Yes, but Master Dillen is the last member of his branch of the family. His mother has fallen ill and physicians believe that she is not long for this world, so no heirs.¡± Now I understood the problem that was being faced by this family. Dillen is male and that is a problem. Property, under the empire¡¯s laws, is passed from mother to daughter or a close female relative. ¡°So is this marriage meant to have Dillen keep his mother¡¯s wealth?¡± I asked Myh. ¡°Kind of. The marriage is meant to keep Dillen¡¯s aunt, who is part of a distant branch of the family, from owning the mines. By having Dillen marry, the aunt doesn¡¯t get the mines.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t get the problem though. Who wouldn¡¯t want to marry Dillen when he¡¯s sitting on literal gold?¡± Myh nodded, ¡°Everyone wants to marry him. But the moment he gets married, his wife by law would take over the mines.¡± ¡°I take it that Dillen¡¯s mother doesn¡¯t want to have a stranger get their hands on the mines.¡± ¡°Exactly, and that¡¯s why Lady Beatrice is an excellent choice for Dillen¡¯s family. Beatrice is a close friend of Dillen¡¯s mother. She¡¯s also a well respected jurist from an old aristocratic family. A perfect match.¡± I chuckled, accidentally spitting out part of a grasshopper¡¯s leg. ¡°You seem to gloss over the age difference between Dillen and Beatrice.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a political marriage, Ruihyn. Even though Beatrice is twice the age of Dillen, who cares?¡± Well Dillen is around my age and thus making Beatrice to be in her early 40s or something. If I was in his position, I don¡¯t know what I would. I guess this is the life of noble people ¡°But there¡¯s a but, right?¡± I asked. If everything was going according to plan then Dillen wouldn¡¯t need a poem to write Beatrice. ¡°Beatrice is backing away,¡± groaned Myh. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°She got a higher government post in the imperial province to be a judge.¡± ¡°That¡¯s it?!¡± ¡°Marrying is rare for a reason, Ruihyn. Beatrice is only contemplating about doing it as a favour to her friend, Dillen¡¯s mother.¡± ¡°The money isn¡¯t enough?¡± ¡°Nope. It doesn¡¯t help that Beatrice¡¯s personality doesn¡¯t go well with Dillen¡¯s¡± ¡°What happens to you if the marriage doesn¡¯t go through?¡± I asked Myh. ¡°Dillen will be taken to his aunt¡¯s home and my services will no longer be needed.¡± Myh worked hard to get this job. He turned his back on the criminal business and decided to get an honest paying occupation. If he loses this job, he might end up back in the streets and forced to go back to crime, even if he hates doing so. ¡°I¡¯ll try writing a poem for Dillen then.¡± ¡°What!¡± Myh exclaimed, ¡°Even after what he said to you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not doing this for him. It¡¯s for you.¡± ¡°Really?¡± he smiled. ¡°Of course. I¡¯m your senior after all.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not letting this age thing go, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m teasing you, buddy.¡± Myh and I separated just before we entered the slums, he still had work to do. But I did get a few bits of information about Beatrice in order to write the poem. I hurried back to my apartment room. Darn it, this place looks very depressing with the cracked walls and stuff. I probably should clean up around here. No! My mind is trying to do all it can to stop me from writing this poem. I need to focus. I checked under my bed if there was still a roll of papyrus lying around. Found it. Though it looked a bit crumbled, it would have to do. I mostly buy my roll of papyrus from the library, it is affordable thanks to it being subsidised. This is a new experience for me. I usually write songs or poems for myself and rarely for anyone else. Anyway, back to writing this poem. The form I¡¯m thinking that would suit Beatrice would be a 13 line sonnet, but there¡¯s one problem: I don¡¯t have enough time before the deadline to figure out how to write a poem while keeping in line with the rules set by a sonnet. Therefore, I need something that is less demanding and probably short to read. Let me try and write a three line short poem. Now what did Myh tell me about Beatrice? She¡¯s a high magistrate, comes from a powerful noble house, she¡¯s a halfling and loves gambling. That isn¡¯t much for me to go on. I can¡¯t do this. I mean, will it be that bad if Myh lost his job? I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll get another. I sighed. I had to write something and yet no ideas came to mind. If I was Dillen, what would I write? Blank. Let me put this in another way, if I was the one trying to win over Beatrice, what would I write? Nothing. I can¡¯t write a poem about people or people I don¡¯t care for. Poetry comes from the heart. At least that was what my mother used to say. I slumped back on my bed. What if instead of a poem, I wrote a plea letter? She is a magistrate after all. A plea for Beatrice¡¯s hand? No, a romantic formal court complaint to convince Beatrice to accept the marriage. In a way, I¡¯m not writing a poem but more of an argument for her to take Dillen¡¯s hand. I¡¯ll probably have to write it in a lyrical way instead of the dry court writings. It¡¯s crazy, that I agree with. But is it crazy enough to actually work? I immediately got from bed and rushed to the courthouse. First I need to know how to write up a formal complaint. In order to break rules, you need to first know them. The courthouse is situated in the eastern most district of the city. Here live mostly fairies and a few humans. The district is filled with commoners. I¡¯m always surprised to find that rare human begging for money. Or that opium addict fairy. These people have problems. But looking at their wooden houses, it¡¯s a nice-ish life they have here. Unfortunately, there was a long queue in the courthouse. I checked my pockets. I had thirty crowns on me. I checked my pocket watch. I have a couple of hours before the deadline Myh gave me. So I¡¯d rather pay a higher fee for a legal advice from a court clerk. I walked away from this queue and walked around to find a secretary of the court. There was someone in the front counter and I asked for a premium court clerk. ¡°Do you have the required fee?¡± the secretary asked me. I gave the required 25 crown coins. The things we do for friendship. And off I was sent to a court clerk. I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m doing this but let¡¯s see what happens here. An assistant of Umen, a [Court Clerk], took me to his office where I waited for about five minutes before his arrival. Umen was human, no surprise there. He took a seat on the other side of his desk. He looked at me. Then his eyes glanced at my ears. ¡°Hello there,¡± he greeted me, in Elvish. Okay, I wasn¡¯t expecting a human to know my mother tongue. It¡¯s been awhile since I actually spoke it. ¡°Afternoon,¡± I responded in Ornic, the regional dialect of this province. ¡°So what have you come here for?¡± he replied to me in Elvish. He can¡¯t be serious. Why is he still speaking to me in Elvish? ¡°Nu¡¯o tar shi Elviaa,¡± I said to him in Elvish, which basically translates to ¡®You don¡¯t have to speak to me in Elvish¡¯. ¡°Oh! Sorry for making you uncomfortable,¡± he spoke in Ornic. ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± I smiled, trying to diffuse the tension. ¡°Anyway, I wish to know how to write a formal complaint to the court.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m here. I can write the complaint for you and send it to the party you have a problem with. We do try to settle disputes without having a magistrate get involved. It saves time for everyone involved.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t actually have a complaint. I just need to know how to write a formal complaint.¡± ¡°So you want to become a [Court Clerk] or an [Orator]?¡± he asked. ¡°No. It¡¯s really a long story and I don¡¯t have time.¡± ¡°The elves do say that the seagull who doesn¡¯t wait for the fish to swim near the surface, doesn¡¯t feed.¡± That¡¯s nice. I¡¯m surprised I managed not to roll my eyes at him. Maybe this idea of mine isn¡¯t good. I better stick to a poem. ¡°I made you uncomfortable again, didn¡¯t I?¡± he grinned uneasily. ¡°Kind of.¡± ¡°Sorry. I¡¯ve been learning about elvish culture and language and I was very excited meeting an elf in person. Getting back to your request of writing a formal complaint, you¡¯ll first need to know how to write in Murvini.¡± ¡°Murvini?¡± ¡°Yep, Murvini, the imperial dialect spoken in the capital.¡± Not great. But I¡¯m sure Murvini shouldn¡¯t be radically different from Ornic. While it took me a couple of years to fully grasp Ornic, I think it should be easy getting a hang of Murvini. After all, I have encountered people from neighbouring provinces who speak a different dialect than Ornic and I still understand what their mostly saying. ¡°How big of a different is Ornic from Murvini?¡± I asked him. He opened a book for me, ¡°As you can see, Murvini is written in a script different from the regular script used by the other dialects of the empire.¡± Great, an entirely different writing script. I glanced at the opened book in front of me. That¡¯s odd. I can read the opening passage of the book in front of me even though it¡¯s in Murvini and has a totally different script. 1.04 ¡°In the 63rd reign of Her Imperial Majesty¡­¡± I read out loud the first line. Umen, the [Court Clerk], raised his brow, ¡°Where did you learn Murvini?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Murvini was different from Ornic, too different for me to understand the other by knowing the one. But I must have learnt Murvini somewhere. ¡°Do you perhaps have a special skill that helps you understand new languages?¡± I shook my head. If I had such a skill, it didn¡¯t help me when I was learning Ornic. Umen spoke up once again, ¡°You must have learnt it somewhere then.¡± Yes, that was true but I had no recollection of myself learning Murvini. Could I have learnt it when I was younger? I don¡¯t have many memories about myself before coming here at age seven. So I don¡¯t really know what to do here. I shut the book Umen gave me, ¡°Let¡¯s put that aside. I came here to learn how to write a formal complaint.¡± ¡°I strongly suggest that you let a professional such as myself do that.¡± ¡°I insist that it will be easier if you just gave me a guideline.¡± He sighed and agreed. I spent the next hour being taught the basics of writing a proper formal complaint. Then Umen was kind enough to give me a draft court papers as examples of how complaints are. With this in hand, I walked back to my apartment and started writing the romantic complaint letter. The idea is simple, I will write her a romantic letter in the design of a formal complaint. With a pen in hand, I wrote rapidly. Not forgetting to add a crossed circle in the corner of the paper as per the writing rules of Murvini. Strange. I know the grammar rules of Murvini confidently and also know the common mistakes I like to do. I scratched my hand. When did I ever get taught this? I looked at my pocket watch. Well, I don¡¯t have time to go over my childhood memories. I have a deadline to meet. I kept writing until my hand was sore and the room was stinking with ink. But I was done, after hours of writing. I looked back at my pocket watch. Wow, I still had plenty of time to kill before needing to bring this to Myh. Though, as I always say, it is better to be early then late. [Class level up!] [Bard lvl 19] Sweet, I got levelled up. Though admittedly the plan was to practise on my lute and level up, this also seemed to work. Just to ease my mind, I had to read out the letter: ¡°I, Dillen of house Yarsh, hereby bring you, Beatrice, to order, over your blind insistence to refuse this marriage proposal. Therefore my hands are tied, I am forced by principle alone and not the passions of the heart to have justice be received.¡± I gritted my teeth. What if she takes this complaint seriously? Maybe I should make it more obviously tongue and cheek. I continued to read the next paragraph. I can¡¯t read it anymore. This was stupid. I should just give them the commission they paid for. Wait a minute, I didn¡¯t get paid for this. It¡¯s not like I¡¯m going to get fired or have money taken away from me. And Beatrice wouldn¡¯t even know that it was I who wrote this letter as from her viewpoint, this letter was written by Dillen. I folded the letter neatly and prepared to leave and give this letter to Dillen. If he rejects it then that is it. At least I levelled up from this so it wasn¡¯t a total waste of time. When I approached the district where the nobles lived, I remembered one thing: I didn¡¯t have a pass. And I didn¡¯t plan before hand with Myh when for him to meet up with me. ¡°I thought you¡¯d be here by now,¡± I heard Myh¡¯s voice behind me. I turned around, ¡°How did you know I was going to be here at this time?¡± He grinned, ¡°Well I do know how punctual you are. I was waiting here for you an hour ago. I thought you might come early.¡± Nice. ¡°Well, I¡¯ve been around you for quite some time. Is that the poem in your hand?¡± Myh asked me. Now it was my turn to grin, though a bit quivering, ¡°It¡¯s not a poem. Not exactly.¡± ¡°Then what is it?¡± ¡°A formal complaint to Beatrice, like a complaint letter you give to someone you¡¯re about to take to court.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± ¡°Yeah. But it shouldn¡¯t be taken too seriously. It¡¯s kind of difficult to explain.¡± ¡°I better give it to Beatrice directly then.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to ask me about the letter?¡± ¡°It¡¯s sealed.¡± ¡°Yes, but I can unseal it for you to check on it.¡± ¡°Nope, I trust your artistic judgement. It¡¯s unusual to have a love letter written as though you were taking someone to court but you¡¯ve always been weird.¡± ¡°Hey, such words wound me!¡± Myh laughed. I saw him holding a wrapped item on his left hand.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± I asked. ¡°Dinner. Garlic bread and a few other bits for you to eat.¡± ¡°Garlic bread? Where did you buy it?¡± He chuckled, ¡°Well, I didn¡¯t exactly buy the thing.¡± ¡°You stole it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like the cooks are going to care. And Dillen is too busy with his stargazing to notice food items going missing once in awhile.¡± ¡°I thought you turned your back on crime!¡± ¡°I did. But, I thought I¡¯d make a tiny exception for you since I still owe you lunch.¡± That¡¯s sweet. We exchanged items, him giving the garlic bread and I giving the letter. ¡°By the way, Myh. You still owe me probable a dozen more garlic breads in order to cover the cost of writing this letter,¡± I pointed out at him. ¡°What kind of friend keeps score?¡± ¡°A poor friend,¡± I chuckled. My job was done and we parted ways. Well not before informing him of my upcoming performance. Thankfully, he¡¯s going to be there. I walked back with starlight once again guiding me back home. I ate the garlic bread on my way home. Can¡¯t wait until I¡¯m rich and can eat garlic bread on a whim. I didn¡¯t have to go to the tavern today and so I went straight to my room. I stared at the lute in the corner of my room. I should practise and try reaching level 20 in my class. I yawned. Well, I levelled up today and so I deserve to sleep early. Besides, playing a lute while people are going to sleep will be rude. So I climbed on my bed and went to sleep. 5 days until the S-rank mission¡­. ¡°No jobs today,¡± the clerk told me while chewing that gum. ¡°Seriously?¡± He shrugged, ¡°Boss told me to tell you that you shouldn¡¯t be taking jobs before your big assignment.¡± In fact, the clerk gave me a note from the boss. It read: ¡®Get Rest For The Big Mission¡¯. It was five days before the mission and I¡¯d hate to sit around doing nothing. I guess now is the perfect time to practise on my lute. I went back to my little apartment and picked my lute that has been sitting for ages in the corner. I cradled the instrument on my arms and touched the first double string of the lute. I plucked it. The lute sounded off, it needed tuning. I adjusted the tension in the strings until it has been tuned correctly. I plucked the string once again. Wow, the note sounded very muddy. More like a dull sound instead of the clear crisp music that I prefer coming from my lute. Then again, it¡¯s been awhile since I played this lute. I might as well give my hands warming and play few scales. Tsk. Three of the strings snapped. ¡°Ouch!¡± It didn¡¯t hurt that much but the surprise took me off guard. The strings needed changing. I searched under my bed for my savings box. Replacing lute strings is expensive and therefore it is important to save up. All in all, I had 429 crown coins to my name. It sounds a lot but I¡¯ve been saving for years. I use this money for emergency purposes only. And since I¡¯m going to be performing in the tavern, I¡¯ll probably make back the money used here. I rushed out to the busy city square where all the merchants were selling their goods. I¡¯m looking for a weapon¡¯s shop that sells a lute. Very few sell musical instruments unless they have some magic in them. ¡°You¡¯re searching for someone?¡± I heard someone shout behind me. I turned around. It was Mr Hukabell, the guy who gives me free apples when I run in the mornings ¡°Just looking for a shop that sells strings for a lute.¡± ¡°I think that shop over there is the best,¡± he pointed. ¡°That¡¯s where my best friend works. You can say I sent you there.¡± ¡°Thanks, sir,¡± I bowed. I had to push several people on the street to get by. This place is always busy A little bell rang when I stepped into the shop. A dwarf appeared behind the shop counter. ¡°Welcome customer,¡± then she took a good look at me and my ears. ¡°Elf? I don¡¯t sell bows and arrows in this fine establishment.¡± ¡°I was recommended this place by Mr Huckabell. The hostility in her face washed away. ¡°A friend of Huckabell is a friend of mine. In fact, I have the finest bows for of your character. Just wait a for a second.¡± She rushed to the back room of the shop before I could stop her. Why in the world does she think I need a bow? After five minutes, she returned to me and presented a fine looking bow indeed. I don¡¯t know much about bows but it looked impressive. When I touched it, I could feel the bow sing to me. ¡°As you can see, this bow is of the finest quality. For you my friend, I¡¯ll sell it for 900 crowns. Just for you.¡± I coughed, nearly dropping the bow. 900 crowns and she makes it sound as though she¡¯s doing me a favour! ¡°Well¡­ I¡¯m not an [Archer] so I won¡¯t be buying this bow,¡± I said to her. She abruptly took the bow away from me, ¡°Then don¡¯t waste my time! What weapon do you need, elf!¡± ¡°What I need is¡­¡± ¡°I know! I can see it in your eyes,¡± she rushed back to back room to get another weapon for me. I hope this time around, she guesses the right one. The dwarf returned with a rapier in hand. ¡°Made from the finest Oynean Steal. For you my elven friend, 1300 crowns!¡± I sighed. The prices seem to be getting higher and higher. ¡°I don¡¯t need a rapier!¡± The dwarf twisted her mouth, ¡°Then what do you want! Stop wasting my time here!¡± ¡°Strings. Lute strings!¡± I cried out before she could even decide to guess my weapon of choice. The dwarf nodded slowly, ¡°A lute you say. Give me a few seconds, I¡¯m certain I can find something for you.¡± It took her two minutes before coming back from the back room, carrying a beautiful carved lute The dwarf let me hold the instrument, ¡°The wood comes from the Myrrhil tree, the strings were sewn from the guts of a wyvern. Thus lute is a marvel to gaze upon. Just pluck a single string to feel it.¡± Though I wanted to replace only strings, I couldn¡¯t help but like this lute .I plucked a single string. The sweet crisp sound the spread out melted my ears. If one could get an auditory orgasm, this would be it. I grinned, ¡°How much is this?¡¯ I asked with gleeful sparkled eyes. She chuckled, ¡°You¡¯re a true musician, I can see that in your eyes. I¡¯ll sell this lute for a discounted price.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yes, a friend of Huckabell is a friend of mine.¡± ¡°Okay. How amuch then.¡± ¡°32,000 crowns.¡± She said it so effortlessly, I thought she was joking. I laughed, ¡°Okay, seriously how much is it?¡± She clicked her tongue, ¡°32,000 crowns!¡± ¡°You¡¯re robbing me blind. You can¡¯t be serious.¡± The shopkeeper roughly took the lute away from me, ¡°I see you¡¯re cheapskate. Now bugger off.¡± 32,000 crowns was simply too much. I could buy a modestly sized plantation in the countryside with that money. ¡°I just want to replace the string.¡± ¡°You want to just replace the strings?¡± I nodded. ¡°Fine, 2800 crowns will do. For the cheapest strings.¡± My mouth was left gaping open. ¡°That¡¯s still too expensive for me,¡± I cried out. ¡°Then get a guitar instead. Lutes are expensive.¡± A guitar? ¡°How much will be the lowest price guitar cost?¡± ¡°About 300 crowns.¡± That I could afford. But the idea of abandoning the lute, my heart trembled. I had to find a way to pay for those strings. ¡°Can I not buy the lute strings on credit?¡± She shook her head. ¡°I could help you around the shop to pay for the lute strings.¡± ¡°As you can see, my shop is in tip toe shape.¡± I looked around the weapon shop. The swords, magic wands and other item used by adventurers were lined up perfectly on the shelves. I can¡¯t accept this. I need those strings. ¡°How about I work for you? Selling your weapons.¡± The dwarf groaned, ¡°Are you saying I can¡¯t sell my own weapons!¡± ¡°NO!¡± I raised my hands. ¡°But there hasn¡¯t been anyone coming in the shop. I¡¯d think that someone who is selling premium weapons would be more popular.¡± Then again, she constantly tried to predict my weapon choice without asking. If I wasn¡¯t a patient person, I¡¯d have stomped off. And I don¡¯t think adventurers are known for being patient and understanding. ¡°I can sell my weapons fine!¡± There has to be something I could do for her to reduce the price, ¡°How about I clean the weapons then or wash the windows. Anything, really.¡± ¡°Why are you so eager to get lute strings when you can get a guitar?¡± I lowered my head, ¡°I have my reasons and I don¡¯t think it would be appropriate to explain it to you, since you¡¯re stranger.¡± Did I just say that? I better apologise. I looked up but the dwarf shopkeeper didn¡¯t seem offended, she was grinning. ¡°Fine, I won¡¯t snoop around about your reasons. If you¡¯re so desperate, you can be a waiter to a restaurant my family just bought.¡± ¡°Really?¡± I smiled. ¡°You won¡¯t get paid, though.¡± What¡¯s the point of getting a side job if I don¡¯t get paid? ¡°Tips. You¡¯ll keep only 10% of the tips you make. The rest will be used to pay for those strings.¡± This deal sounds unfair, because it isn¡¯t fair. But to get that 2800 crown lute strings, I¡¯m willing to suck it up. Technically speaking, I¡¯m not going against Boss¡¯s orders. I haven¡¯t taken jobs from the criminal business. Rather, I took a job from a legitimate business. ¡°So can I start now?¡± I asked the shopkeeper. ¡°Now?! Don¡¯t you need time to prepare?¡± she asked me. I shook my head. She laughed, ¡°I forgot how elves can be so greedy.¡± 1.05 I learnt the dwarven shopkeeper¡¯s name to be Thurrea. ¡°So what bring you to the Murvoshian Empire?¡± she asked me as she closed her shop. ¡°It¡¯s a long story,¡± I told her. ¡°You¡¯re not much of a talker, huh?¡± ¡°I just don¡¯t like talking about my past.¡± ¡°Very well, so long as you¡¯re not a murderer or someone running from Elvish officials.¡± I laughed, ¡°Nah. My life isn¡¯t that excited. Besides, the only memories I have are of this city. So instead of Elvish officials coming after me, it will probably be humans.¡± Thurrea nodded, ¡°Ornia seems to be a harsh city for someone soft looking as yourself. No offense.¡± Ornia is the name of this city I live in. It is also the name of the province. Ornia is the easternmost province of the empire, it¡¯s capital city of 30,000 inhabitants are located in the city of Ornia. If she was expecting a reaction from me then she won¡¯t get it. I grinned. ¡°You¡¯ll be surprised what this cute face can do,¡± I told her. ¡°You¡¯re not that cute.¡± ¡°So you do recognise that I¡¯m cute but due to your high standards, you won¡¯t admit I¡¯m better looking than you.¡± ¡°Elves are all the same. You care too much about how you look.¡± ¡°But you¡¯re the one who commented on my looks. Just admit it, Thurrea. You find me ravaging.¡± Thurrea burst into laughter, ¡°You¡¯re full of yourself!¡± There were a couple of people staring at us as we walked about the city square. Thurea had this boisterous laugh that could draw in people from afar. Since Thurrea was a dwarf, she¡¯s shorter than me. Not by much as her height was just below my shoulders. I¡¯ve heard rumours that female dwarfs had beards but Thurrea doesn¡¯t have a hair on her chin. I guess you can¡¯t believe everything you hear from travellers. ¡°Thanks for hiring me,¡± I said to her as we turned a corner. ¡°No problem. Though I¡¯m curious to see you in action.¡± ¡°I probably should call you Boss from now on.¡± ¡°Boss?¡± ¡°I am your employee, even though temporary.¡± ¡°I guess so.¡± ¡°So thank you Boss for hiring me!¡± Thurrea nodded with a smile, ¡°I do like the sound of Boss. Say it again.¡± ¡°Boss. Boss. Boss. Boss.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t ruin the moment by just drooling over it.¡± ¡°But I was just following your orders,¡± I pouted. She stopped walking and started laughing, drawing eyes to our direction again, ¡°You¡¯re so bizarre, for an elf.¡± ¡°I do aim to please. If my bizarre nature brings smile to your face, then my job for the day is half complete.¡± ¡°You¡¯re buttering me up with sweet words.¡± I smiled, ¡°Do you hate it?¡± She chuckled and continued to walk without saying a word. I¡¯ll take that as a yes. And so we walked to her family restaurant. As we entered the shop, I noticed how empty the place was even though the space was large. The door had a sign saying it was open, but not a single soul was inside. ¡°Lorbic, I got someone to help you out.¡± I¡¯m coming!¡± shouted someone from the kitchen. I waited and looked around. That¡¯s when I noticed a music box playing. This place is really posh, providing relaxing music for its patrons while the dine. The brother got out of the kitchen and approached us. His eyes landed on me. He had this huge beard and round belly for a dwarf. ¡°Is that an elf?¡± ¡°Yep, an elf.¡± ¡°You got an elf to work for us?¡± ¡°Well, he was the one who suggested finding work in order to pay for strings he can¡¯t afford.¡± ¡°An elf chose to work for a dwarf?¡± the brother, Lorbic, asked rhetorically. The siblings stared at each other. ¡°Bahahahaa!¡± they bellowed in laughter, tears streaming down their faces. I just stood there, scratching my hand, not sure what to do. Their laughter immediately died down when another booming voice erupted from the storage room of restaurant ¡°Why laughing!? You job need do!¡± another dwarf emerged. She looked old, judging by her grey hair which was different from the brown hair of the two siblings. ¡°Grandma!¡± Thurrea exclaimed. ¡°Thurrea. Go weapon shop. You lazy girl!¡± the grandmother shouted. She only clamed down when she saw me standing. ¡°He¡¯s coming looking for a job to pay for an item he can¡¯t afford, grandma. I hope you don¡¯t mind,¡± said Thurrea. ¡°Really?¡± the grandmother asked me. ¡°Yes, Thurrea is telling the truth.¡± ¡°You job want?¡± ¡°Yes. It¡¯s temporary though.¡± The grandmother approached me, slowly. ¡°You elf, right?¡± she asked ¡°I believe so.¡± ¡°Kneel,¡± she ordered. That¡¯s a weird request but respect for elders is important in society. And grandparents are more revered than mothers. I knelt before her. She touched my cheeks and stared deeply at my eye. ¡°Your eyes,¡± she whispered to me. I didn¡¯t know what she was talking about as her Ornic was difficult to follow at times. Thurrea no longer had that carefree smile but rather stared at the tilled floor. Her brother doing the same. I was about to shift my gaze to the grandmother. I noticed a movement in my peripheral vision. Smack. When her hand connected with my left cheek, I was sent to the floor. Half my face was set alight by that hit. What in the world did I do to deserve this!? Thurrea stepped before the granny dwarf and me, ¡°Grandma, don¡¯t be like that!¡± But the grandmother had vigour in her voice and she glared angrily at me, ¡°Teuki!¡± Snake. That was what she said to me, in Elvish. ¡°Grandma, he isn¡¯t one of them. Trust me!¡± ¡°How can you be so cordial with our enemies, Thurrea. Have you gone insane?¡± ¡°Please calm down, grandma. You¡¯re going to get a stroke again!¡± Lorbic intervened. I think the most surprising thing wasn¡¯t the slap, that I got over quickly. It was the fact that they were speaking Elvish to one another. Why not Dwarvish, if there is such a language. Or even Ornic, but Elvish. That was odd to me.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. The shouting calmed down. ¡°Please apologise, grandma.¡± ¡°Never!¡± she shouted. Lorbic took the grandmother away as she cursed me in Elvish, her face was red all over. Thurrea laughed nervously at me, ¡°Sorry about that. She is like that to people she doesn¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± ¡°She apologised for her behaviour.¡± I stared at Thurrea. Did she think I didn¡¯t understand Elvish? I continued to feign my ignorance, ¡°I¡¯m prepared to leave if your family disapproves of me being here.¡± ¡°No, we made a deal and I¡¯m not going against it. I¡¯m curious after all if you can get enough customers in here.¡± ¡°Thanks, I¡¯ll try not to disappoint you, Boss,¡± I winked at her. ¡°You still have the energy to joke around.¡± ¡°For an old lady, she put in a lot of strength in that slap. ¡° ¡°Sorry again.¡± ¡°I said I was okay, no need to apologise.¡± I saw Lorbic coming back into the restaurant after taking the grandmother away. ¡°She¡¯s calmed down. I think after she had some of her warm beeer, she¡¯ll sleep snuggly again.¡± Warm beer? Sounds worse than regular beer. ¡°Sorry about that,¡± the brother said to me. ¡°She is usually nice to people, must have been an episode.¡± ¡°No need to explain it to me. Stuff happens.¡± ¡°Thank you for understanding.¡± ¡°So let¡¯s get started,¡± I said to them smiling. The dark atmosphere lightened up a bit. ¡°I better leave then. The weapon shop needs me. See you later, Ruihyn,¡± said Thurrea as she walked out of the door. ¡°Bye, Boss!¡± She giggled but carried on walking away until she was out of sight. The next fifteen minutes I spent with Lorbic. He taught me the basics of restaurant, the menu and the most important item in this restaurant. ¡°Honeybeer,¡± Lorbic said to me smiling. ¡°Honeybeer. That¡¯s the beverage this restaurant is known for?¡± ¡°Yep, back home it is a popular drink among the dwaves. Our family has been producing the drink for over a decade and there¡¯s a lot of opportunity selling honeybeer in this realm..¡± I nodded. ¡°Do you want to taste it?¡± Lorbic asked. ¡°No!¡± I cried out. ¡°I don¡¯t drink beer.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t drink beer?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not for me.¡± ¡°How are you going to sell it to our customers if you don¡¯t know how it tastes like?¡± Before I could answer him, I heard the front entrance door open. The first customer of the day. He arrived in full plated armour, with large sword on his back. ¡°Can I have some damn service!¡± he bellowed, taking a sit on one of the empty tables. I rushed to this man, who had a gold plate on his neck indicated his was a gold-ranked adventurer. ¡°Good mor-¡° He cut me off by raising his hand, ¡°Beer. What¡¯s the best beer you have here?¡± ¡°Honeybeer,¡± I said quickly. ¡°I don¡¯t like sweet drinks. Give me ale.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the spec-¡° ¡°I said I wanted some beer.¡± ¡°We have only honeybeer.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want it. Give me something else.¡± ¡°How about whiskey?¡± He shook his head, ¡°Too strong for the throat.¡± ¡°You can always have water.¡± He glared at me, ¡°I want beer. And don¡¯t tell me crap about that hooney-shit. Probably tastes disgusting.¡± I was about to say that honeybeer doesn¡¯t taste horrid but then again I never drank it. If I¡¯m going to change his mind, I might as well not challenge him. After all, an unhappy patron is probably not going to tip well. ¡°May I inquire of your name, adventurer?¡± He looked up at me, ¡°Why does that matter? I just want beer and not some pep talk.¡± ¡°I apologise. I saw the gold plate and thought you must be skilled.¡± He stared at me to see where I was going. ¡°You probably heard of the beneficial effects of alcohol and honey mixed together.¡± ¡°Never heard such a thing.¡± I took a sit across of him, ¡°How so? I thought adventurers were looking out for the next big thing.¡± ¡°What¡¯s your point, boy?¡± ¡°You know that the best items and potions can be in unusual places. This restaurant sells honeybeer. I didn¡¯t want to tell you about the benefits and I thought you already knew.¡± ¡°Benefits of honeybeer?¡± he sat up. I nodded vigorously, ¡°There are so many I can¡¯t even count them all. Helps your metabolism, increases your stamina and creates focus. Helps with nerves and stuff like that. And there¡¯s on more secret benefit but you have to promise to tell no one. The owners don¡¯t want me to tell people about it.¡± ¡°Why will you tell me?¡± ¡°You¡¯re look like an adventurer of action. I can see it in your eyes. When you entered, your aura filled the place. I thought you were nobility.¡± He laughed. He was a beastkin, no doubt about it. A tail and ears of a wolf. ¡°A valiant adventurer. One who doesn¡¯t take crap from no one. You brave sir, you¡¯re clearly strong and fearless ¡°Damn right!¡± ¡°And that¡¯s why I believe you can be trusted with this secret.¡± He moved his face closer to me. ¡°Honeybeer is made by dwaves who come from faraway place. They bring ancient knowledge to help adventurers like yourself. The secret is that honeybeer increases the rate in which you level up.¡± ¡°No way.¡± ¡°Yes way,¡± I lied. ¡°Look at me, do you see me as a strong and fit individual? Clearly I¡¯m not.¡± He looked me up and down but didn¡¯t say anything. But his eyes were agreeing with the statement. ¡°So guess what I did. I took the [Bard] two weeks ago and drank a whole ton of honeybeer. Now, I¡¯m level 19.¡± ¡°No way!¡± ¡°I¡¯m telling, my good sir. I wouldn¡¯t lie. In just two weeks of drinking this stuff, I gained 18 levels! You can cast a spell to see if I¡¯m lying.¡± ¡°You¡¯re seriously a [Bard] in level 19?¡± ¡°And I¡¯m not even an adventurer!¡± His eyes lit up. ¡°So, how much must I drink to get these benefits.¡± I got him, now to reel him in. ¡°Simple. In order for the effects of higher increased rate in levelling to take affect, you must drink over two dozen jugs of honeybeer. It¡¯s not for everyone. But seeing how strong you are, you can manage. Look at me, I¡¯m a twig and I can handle two dozen jugs for over two weeks. I¡¯m sure it would be easy for.¡± ¡°Damn right!¡± Hopefully he¡¯ll pass out before reaching 24. I ran back to the kitchen and gave the order of for two dozen jugs of honeybeer ¡°Two dozen? Are you sure you got the order right?¡± Lorbic asked me, concerned. ¡°Yep.¡± ¡°That can¡¯t be.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t believe me?¡± Lorbic didn¡¯t respond and walked up to the adventurer, ¡°Did you order two dozen honeybeers.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Why?¡± No, if the adventurer tells Lorbic about the ¡®benefits¡¯ of the honeybeer then it would ruin everything. ¡°Adventurer,¡± I stepped in, ¡°My supervisor here is actually asking whether you can handle drinking so much. Some people have weak liver after all.¡± Fire erupted in the adventurers eyes, ¡°I can handle drinking the damn thing. In fact, give me three dozen of honeybeer.¡± Lorbic looked oddly at me. ¡°You heard him, Lorbic. We can¡¯t deny what the customer wants,¡± I said to him. He groaned, ¡°Fine, but this establishment isn¡¯t some common tavern!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll handle our dear friend if things go awry,¡± I reassured Lorbic. He nodded and walked back to the kitchen to prepare the drink. I stood there waiting for new customers to come in but none did. The adventurer stared at me as though inquiring about his beers. Soon, Lorbic called me out and I helped him with bringing in nine honeybeers to the table. It would be impractical to give this adventurer all 36 in one go. ¡°I wonder if he wants some food with that,¡± Lorbic mused. ¡°If he wants food, he¡¯ll order it. But I¡¯m sure the beer will fill him up.¡± Lorbic nodded, ¡°Ordering just drinks isn¡¯t going to make us much money. Customer also have to buy meals.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll try to solve this, Lorbic.¡± To remedy this situation, seeing that no more customers were coming in, I walked out of the restaurant and looked out for potential customers. People were busy working around doing their own thing. Since this restaurant was located in the city square where there are many shops, it would make sense for this street in front of the shop to be so busy. I wasn¡¯t looking for just about anyone to come to the shop. I needed people who had money to spend. In other words, adventurers. And I saw a group of five adventurers smiling and laughing as they walked down the street. ¡°That was a fine mission. That Goblin Lord sure made our lives difficult,¡± I overheard one of the adventurers say to their teammates ¡°Yeah, but the bonus payment we got for bringing back that engagement ring was awesome,¡± another of the five chimed in. ¡°I told you that looking for that ring in the lair was worth it.¡± ¡°We could have easily been swamped by those monster insects. It was utterly reckless going after a bonus payment.¡± I could hear the rustling of coins in their pockets. I rushed to them and stopped in front of the adventurers. They looked at me confused, ¡°What do you want?¡± one of them asked. Two of the adventurers were fairies and the three were beastkin. ¡°Are you adventurers?¡± I asked them They laughed, ¡°Are you blind? Of course we are adventurers.¡± ¡°Sorry! I can be dumb at times. I work there and we¡¯re having a special for adventurers such as yourselves.¡± ¡°We¡¯re not hungry. In any case, we going to a tavern to celebrate,¡± the leader who had slit eyes and a forked tongue said to me. ¡°I understand that adventurers of your kind will prefer that.¡± ¡°Your kind?¡± the leader stepped closer to me, I could see the anger in her eyes.. I raised my hands in defence, ¡°I apologise for coming off rude. I didn¡¯t mean to. All I wanted was to welcome adventurers to our restaurant. I mean, it is understandable you won¡¯t eat or drink premium food items. I mean, who needs to celebrate after a difficult mission.¡± ¡°Premium food?¡± one of the adventurers. ¡°Yeah, premium food. There¡¯s nothing like eating good food and a cold beer at the end of a hard day. In fact, the family has been in business for over 200 years. Each generation perfecting the food and drink¡± ¡°200 years!?¡± they said in shock. I nodded. ¡°Let¡¯s try out this restaurant. See if it¡¯s any good,¡± one of them said. The others nodded and I happily escorted them to the restaurant. I must admit, I accidentally hinted that the honeybeer is rumoured to help in level progression. Imagine my shock when they ordered five jugs each. I went back outside to try and snatch a few more adventurers wandering around. My eyes landed on three human females in blue and gold stripped robes. ¡°Hi there!¡± I smiled at the trio of [Battle Mages]. They stared at me. ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°You¡¯re [Battle Mages]?¡± ¡°Elf, don¡¯t pretend you don¡¯t know what class we are.¡± ¡°Sorry. It¡¯s just so memorising to see [Battle Mages] in person.¡± ¡°What do you want?¡± one of the said disinterested. ¡°I work for a new restaurant and thought you might want to try it out.¡± ¡°What makes you think we¡¯ll eat from an establishment built by elves?¡± ¡°Well, I don¡¯t own it. Second, the people who own it are dwarves and they want to celebrate. You see, I heard that before they came here, they were saved by brave [Battle Mages] like yourselves. It¡¯s the family¡¯s way of showing gratitude.¡± They looked uneasily at me though I could see they were intrigued. I had to sweeten the deal. ¡°The first meal and drink is free. Just come all in. It¡¯s the most we can do for our glorious Empress.¡± ¡°The food is free,¡± said one of the [Battle Mages]. I escorted them to the restaurant, silently vowing to make sure they pay for more than one meal and drink. I quickly took their order and left the restaurant for the last time. I found a group of humans who had lots of money in their pockets. How did I know that they had lots of money? [Echolocation]. ¡°You want us to eat from a restaurant owned by non-humans?¡± one of the humans asked bitterly at me. ¡°Well, [Battle Mages] frequent the place. But I¡¯m sure you folks know better than [Battle Mages].¡± ¡°[Battle Mages] frequent the restaurant?¡± one of the humans asked me. I nodded, ¡°Come see. There are already three seated.¡± I didn¡¯t need to say anymore as they rushed by themselves to the restaurant. I deserve to get paid for this. Tipping alone is not enough. I took a deep and focused on what really mattered; those lute strings. My day was rather busy and I worked for the whole afternoon until the sun dipped down the horizon. Once the restaurant served it¡¯s last customer, my legs were wobbly. It was only my first day and I was utterly exhausted. ¡°Wow, there were a lot of customers in today,¡± laughed Lorbic as he locked the door to the restaurant. ¡°I think it¡¯s the honeybeer that really got them.¡± ¡°Sure,¡± he gave me that look of slight disbelief. ¡°Anyway, you want to come for dinner? You haven¡¯t eaten anything for the whole.¡± ¡°That¡¯s okay. Besides, I don¡¯t want to anger your grandmother.¡± ¡°Oh. But have a goodnight, Ruihyn.¡± ¡°You too, Lorbic.¡± I waved goodbye. I can¡¯t believe I have to do this running around tomorrow also. Breathe. The goal are those lute strings.