“Where did you take Alex?” Cobra asked, her eyes suspiciously glaring down at the half elf.
“I took him to one of the rooms to chat,” Adam replied. “He wanted to speak alone.”
“What about?”
Adam let out a light chuckle. “He told me about how much he cherishes you all, and his dream to eat porridge with milk.”
Cobra blinked, her cheeks flushing slightly with shame for a moment, before she inhaled sharply. “Please, tell me.”
“Your brother is very adorable, and I’ll tell you the same thing I told him. You don’t have to worry. You’re all VIPs, so everything’s going to be okay.”
Cobra stared down at Adam, the complex emotions filling her heart. “I’ve been hearing the stories from Fred and Jonn. They told me that you helped them. They both were at their lowest, but you helped them.”
Adam shrugged his shoulders. “The business likes to invest in people.”
“They said this was before the business was made, back when you were adventuring a few years ago. They said you helped them, and that when they joined the business, you gave them magical weapons.”
“The Enchanter made magical weapons, and I merely gifted them, so all the thanks should go to the Enchanter.”
“Nobby, too, they say he got a shield from you, from a bet you made with someone strong.”
“Vasera, yeah. Have you heard of her?”
“Not much, but they say she’s strong. I think she placed in the tournament last year.”
“Yeah, I beat her up, and got a magical shield as part of the bet.”
Cobra was surprised he was so casual about it. “I believe that you’re strong. Fighting in an arena and fighting on the street is different, but I’ve seen the way you fought with my sisters. Is it true that you’re only an Expert?”
“I might be an Expert, but I punch above my weight class, as they say.”
Cobra wasn’t entirely sure what he meant by that, but she nodded. “Are you strong enough to fight the Marquise?”
“If the Marquise sends an army, then I’m going to get myself killed,” Adam replied, shrugging his shoulders. “If she sends anything less than an army, we’ll be fine.”
“How can you be so sure?”
Adam leaned back, thinking back to what he had done the previous year. He closed his eyes, the fire flashing through his mind. “This isn’t the first time nobles have sent armies to hunt us, and it certainly won’t be the last.”
“…” Cobra wasn’t sure how serious she should take him, since most of the time he spoke so casual and light, but this time, his voice was lower, darker, and more… hungry?
“As I said, you don’t have to worry.” Adam’s eyes fell to the returning forms of Korin, Sara and Brittany. They carried sacks with them, hiding the contents of the various items they had procured. ‘I should have made some healing potions too. Ah, right, I should make the basic stuff too, I forgot…’
Cobra inhaled again. “You said you wanted the kids to join the business?”
“Yes.”
“And Alex…”
“Yes?”
“You know what he is. He’s… I grew up in the alleyways. I know Alex is going to be important to the business, he’s really useful like that. If we accept working for your business, I want you to promise not to exploit him.”
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“It depends on what you mean by exploit,” Adam said. “As an Executive, I work hard, as expected of me. I don’t expect Alex to work that hard, but I expect everyone within the business to work properly. Alex has some unique talents, so we can train him to become someone with some importance in the business, and he’ll need to work hard in his position, but I won’t be forcing him to work until he’s ragged.”
“I’m pretty strong, maybe not as strong as you, but I’m better than the average Joe,” Cobra said. “I’m fast, nimble, and you’ve seen how many guys it took to bring me down. I’m useful, and so are Viper and Python. You look after the kids, teach them like you said you would, and we’ll work for you. You can work us to the bone, ragged, but you have to promise to look after the kids.”
“I don’t want to work you to the bone, I want you to work the appropriate amount, which sometimes may mean working more than expected, but you’ll be fairly compensated,” Adam said.
“If I work hard, will I get magical items too?”
“Of course,” Adam replied. “You want to work as a guard, or in a combat role?”
Cobra nodded. “It’s all I know.”
“The business invests in potential, and it also likes to make sure that potential doesn’t end up dying because it didn’t give them the proper tools for the job,” Adam said, before realising how cold that sounded. “What I mean is, the business won’t abandon you.”
“I’ll talk with the others and let them know.”
Adam nodded, letting her leave. His eyes then fell to the others, noting how they were chatting, mostly with Nobby and Fred. He saw Brittany was off to one side. He approached her, the young woman sitting with Korin and Sara.
“Hey,” Adam called, nodding his head to her. “You okay?”
“Yes?” Brittany replied.
“Are you or are you not?”
“I’m fine,” the woman replied, sitting up a little taller.
“How come you’re not talking to the girls?”
“I don’t have much to talk about.”
“You don’t want to tell them about all that you’ve done?”
“I haven’t done much,” she replied.
“You haven’t?”
She shook her head.
“I would have sworn I saw you fire some arrows in the two beast waves we handled,” Adam said, thinking back to those times. “You’ve done quite a bit, I gather. You should go speak with them, tell the girls how you can use a bow better than any of us.”
“I can’t,” Brittany replied. “Kitool’s much better with the bow.”
“Executive Kitool may be great with a bow, but her arrows don’t hit quite as hard as yours, do they?” Adam replied, raising his brow. “Plus, you’re pretty quick, you can keep up with her pretty well, and you’re pretty good at not being seen. All very valuable skills.”
“Right…”
“You’re the one with the deadwood bow, right?” Adam glanced around. ‘Oh, right.’ “Well, you don’t have to chat with them now, but make sure you show off your bow, at least to the girls.”
“Okay…” Brittany wasn’t sure why it had to be the girls. Her eyes fell to the side, noting how none of the woman around were speaking to the children. Amira was off to the side with Dunes, while Sara was beside her, and Vonda was nowhere to be seen. There was something about the situation which seemed… wrong.
‘Kitool, you should come back soon and show off to the kids too.’
Adam understood that half the battle with dreams was the marketing. If none of the women around showed off, then would the girls growing up understanding they could be like them too? ‘It should be alright, since we’re a party full of monsters, men and women alike.’
“My deepest apologies, but we’re currently at maximum capacity,” the worker said, their voice low, almost a stutter.
The commotion caused the patrons to turn, and suddenly stiffen up. Standing at the doorway was an unmistakable group. Each wore neat attire, something against their typical reputation, though the heavy furs they wore gave hints at their heritage. They were all heavily armed and armoured, which had seen some use that day, as they were still caked in dried mud and blood, no doubt some belonging to themselves. Many of them also carried large sacks, including the man up front who carried a large sack over each shoulders.
Cobra’s eyes darted to the group which appeared, each filled with that kind of aura, the aura which said they had taken more than a few lives, which wasn’t a surprise considering who they were.
‘Are they here to hunt us?’ Cobra thought, her eyes wide. ‘Did the Marquise send-,’
“Ah, sorry, they’re with us,” called a voice, the young half elf chuckling lightly. “Oh dear, oh dear, what are you all doing? You’re getting the entire place dirty.”
‘What?’ Cobra thought, her eyes glued to Adam, who was reaching into his pocket, sliding out another gem to pay the inn.
“What’s the emergency?” Lucy asked, huffing quietly, seeing as how they had rushed back to try and save Adam, only to see him all smiles and teasing them.
“What do you mean?” Adam asked, his eyes growing slightly wide as he motioned his head to the children. “There’s no issue, I just wanted to introduce you all to the new members of our business. Right now, they’re currently VIPs, so we’ve got to put in our whole effort into protecting them.”
Though Adam was smiling, Lucy noted the tension in Adam’s jaw and neck. ‘What happened?’
‘…’ Jurot also noted the way Adam was smiling, and the look in Adam’s eyes as the pair locked eyes.