"Damn it!" Edward stomped out of the inn, fuming with frustration. "So much for the 'best inn in the city'. They don't even have enough rooms to accommodate all of us. Bloody hell!"
The people passing by gave Edward strange looks, but the latter continued to hurl insults at the inn owner. Adam and Lisa stepped out of the inn, showing slight disappointment.
Edward looked at Adam and complained, "See, that's why I told you we should have met the Count straight away. At least, he would have given us a place to stay. Not to mention, the accommodation he would have offered us would have been a hundred times, no, a thousand times better than this stinky inn."
"I hear you, I hear you." Adam patted Edward's shoulders and tried to calm him down. "At least the inn owner was kind enough to give us directions to a large manor that we can rent."
Edward was about to protest when suddenly Lisa interrupted him, "It is better this way. Now that I think about it, renting an entire manor is much better than renting multiple rooms at an inn.
"Besides, as I said earlier, we should conduct our preliminary investigations without having the Count breathing down our necks. We can always contact him later. I don't know why you're making such a fuss about it."
"W-Who's making a fuss?!" Edward's cheek reddened. "I was only worried that a lady like you should be able to receive a proper place to stay after traveling for such a long time!"
Lisa deeply stared at Edward's embarrassed face and then looked away. "Hmph, stupid."
Adam, seeing the interaction between the two, rolled his eyes and had an intense urge to face-palm.
"Ahem! Let's head to the Western District and negotiate with that merchant. We'll be staying in this city for at least two months, so let's try to get a decent price for the manor."
He then looked at his roommate and smirked. "Ed, you deal with the merchant. Bargain with him and get us a good discount, will ya? You're the son of a mercantile guild leader, after all. Uncle Victor must have taught you some negotiation skills, no?"
"Hmph!" Edward puffed out his chest. "Let this daddy show you the art of wheeling and dealing!"
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})Adam grinned from ear to ear. "Kekeke, that's my boy. Make sure we spend the least amount of coins as possible."
Seeing Adam's miserly side again, Lisa's eyebrows twitched. Even the mercenaries were wondering if they'd ever seen a Magus before who was this stingy.
The trio then got on their horses and left for the Western District along with the traveling party.
…
By the time the sun had set over the horizon, the traveling party had already arrived at one of the posh neighborhoods in the West District where the majority of the wealthy traders lived. The neighborhood was far more peaceful and clean compared to the downtown area that they had just come from.
Edward didn't let Adam down as expected. After haggling for several minutes with the owner of the house, he was able to rent the property for a fairly decent price.
The manor they were staying in was one of the many properties of a local wealthy merchant. And it was very much to everyone's liking. The manor had two floors and a sizable backyard.
All the stuff was gradually unpacked from the carriages and the maids and servants began to set everything up for the three kids to stay comfortably. Seeing this, Adam was gratified. He was always used to doing things on his own but having someone else do it for you felt nice.
As Edward and Lisa made their way into the manor, Adam walked up to the mercenary leader and beckoned. "Garish, let me speak with you for a moment."
"Yes, Lord Adam," Garish respectfully replied.
Although Adam was much younger than him, he greatly respected the youth. After all, he had seen with his own eyes just how much of a monster Adam was. And people like Garish respected strength above all else.
The two walked toward the backyard at a leisurely pace, Garish walking slightly behind the youth. Adam then asked, "How are your men faring?"
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})"They're doing fine, sir," Garish replied, "thank you for asking."
"Good." Adam nodded. Then, his voice turned serious. "Double the security at night. Make sure your men aren't fooling around."
Garish's heart tightened as he sensed the gravity of Adam's words. "Did something happen, sir?"
"Maybe, maybe not. But it's always better to be safe than sorry. If you or your men are to ever leave the manor, make sure to stay in groups of three," Adam spoke sternly.
"I understand, sir." Garish solemnly nodded.
"And do not leave the manor after sunset," Adam emphasized.
Garish, seeing Adam's solemn face, gulped involuntarily. "Yes, sir."
"Alright, you may leave now. Relay my orders to the servants as well. " Adam returned to his usual playful self, and then without waiting for a reply from Garish walked toward the manor.
Garish looked at Adam's departing back for a long time and then sighed. Looks like this trip won't be as easy as I'd thought.
…
The doors to Black Pearl Tavern swung open and a young man wearing finely-crafted linen garments stumbled out, nearly falling face-first on the sidewalk.
"Phew, I nearly destroyed my precious…" He looked at the wine gourd in his hand in relief. He took a large mouthful of the wine and exclaimed in satisfaction.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})"Puah! Caldera is the best~"
He wobbled along the sidewalk and continued to take swig after swig from the gourd. At the same time, he continued to complain incoherently, "Shit, shit, shieeettt… I lost way too much money on that bald bastard…
"Should have bet on the other fighter, Oleg, instead!"
Suddenly, the man stopped in his tracks and looked around the dark alley. "What in the world… What am I doing here? This ain't the red light district."
He then turned around, took another swig from the gourd, and laughed. "Puahahaha, I'm too drunk for this shit."
As he made his way out of the alley, his expression turned lecherous. "Now, all I need is the warmth of an experienced woman… uwehehehe~"
While he continued to make grabbing motions with his other hand, unbeknownst to him, a shadowy figure slowly and silently crept up behind him like a predator. Just when the figure was only a few steps behind the man, its eyes suddenly glowed in the dark.
They glowed with an ominous red color!
Following that, the figure slowly stretched out his hands, revealing pale white skin and palms that resembled claws.
Suddenly hearing the guttural growl of a beast behind him, the drunk man flinched and turned around. But before he could react any further, the shadowy figure had already pounced at him!
"AAAAHHHHH—" The man bellowed in horror, but his screams were quickly cut short. The dark alley regained its peace, and the man and the figure were nowhere to be seen.
All that was left that could testify to the gory scene from just now was a mere few drops of blood on the muddy cobblestoned alley.
