“They failed,” said the man behind an intricately carved violet table.

“They said it was an intelligence failure. It is what made them fail,” said the old man sitting in front of him.

He had been waiting for hours, unable to sleep even for an hour. All in hope of hearing the good news.

“Losers always have excuses,” he said, what his father always says. He had used those words on him just a few days ago. He was so angry that he had decided to take action against Remus Silver, paying for it from his own pocket.

And what happened? Those bastard’s assassins failed.

“This will not be the last opportunity. We will get another soon enough,” said the old man, and he nodded.

Since he has already started, there is no need to stop.

….

Warrior Lv. 9

A notification appeared in front of me. Surprising me. I had not thought I would level up from it, seeing I had barely fought with the assassin for a minute.

Though it had nearly killed me. If not for timely rescue from the Stone. They would have been looking at my dead body right now.

This level-up will help me. If I had leveled up my warrior class once again. I would gain an attribute point.

“Thank you,” I said to Zela, as she cast another healing spell on me. She had cast one a few minutes ago and now had cast another one.

She nodded and walked toward another guard and cast a healing spell on them. I am not the only one who had been injured. With reckless momentum, the assassins come for me. It is already a great surprise, there are no fatalities.

‘They will pay,’ I promised once again. Not only assassins but also those who hired them.

It will be difficult to find them, but as I had said to the assassin, I will use everything to find him, and I will.

I stayed on deck for ten more minutes while guards surrounded me. They are in their position, more alert than before. The assassins could come back. Many times, assassins act like they retreated, before being attacked with even greater force.

I finally got up and walked toward the seating area, with guards ahead and behind me.

The girls watched me as I passed by them. I nodded at a few of them, even smiled. They are scared and so I am, but I could not show that. So, I smiled lightly in confidence as they looked at me with fear and trepidation.

Caena and Carla are among the girls, reassuring them. Especially the teens.

Soon, I reached the seating area and sat down, and a few minutes later, Carla and Caena appeared beside me.

“How are you feeling?” asked Carla. “Fine,” I replied with a smile. I am feeling anything, but fine and she knows it as well, as she gave me the look.

She said nothing, but took my hand in hers, without caring for anyone looking. Usually, she refrains from doing such things and maintains a professional persona in public, but not now.

I am glad she did not. Her presence, and her touch, are reassuring.

I smiled at her, this time genuinely, before closing my eyes. It is dangerous, but there are guards around me. If they are not able to stop the threat, then I am good as dead.

I tried to sleep, but after more than half an hour of trying, I gave up and opened my eyes.

I tried to focus my mind on something else, but I couldn’t read more than a line, so I simply took out the diary from my bad and begin to write whatever I have in my mind.

Writing always relaxes me. It did not need to be about the experience, just the task of doing that is enough.

I felt myself calming down as I wrote.

When I looked at what I wrote, it couldn’t help but be surprised me. I kept writing for half an hour, before stopping and closing my eyes to think but fell into sleep unknowingly.

“Remus, we have arrived,” said Carla as she gently shook me away.

I opened my eyes and turned. I saw the port of Greltheaven in front of me. It is busy, as always, filled with people.

I smiled seeing that, as I got up and walked out of the seating area, seeing Margaux and a few other old girls talking to the new girls.

“Captain Seron, till we meet again,” I said to Captain, who was waiting by the exit. “I hope next time we meet. You will enjoy our hospitality better,” he said. I smiled at that and walked out under the protection of the guards.

Carla and Caena will take time. They have over a hundred girls to handle; it will take time.

I had just walked out of the guild when I saw a familiar person come running toward me.

“Remus, are you fine? I heard the assassins have attacked you.” Said Locke as he looked at me, especially my clothes, which are still torn and bloodied. “It was just a minor attack. Stone and Jonah have protected me,” I replied.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

He looked like he did believe me. “I am glad you had survived,” he said after a moment of silence.

“So, anything new happened while I was gone?” I asked, clearly changing the subject from what happened. “Nothing interesting, aside from the few interactions we had about the Deerpond. I will tell you about them when you return to the guild,” he said.

I nodded and walked toward the carriage. I want to reach the establishment as soon as possible. It is the only place I feel safe.

I sat in my carriage with Jon and Zela entering after me, while Stone, Jonah, and others on both sides of the carriage were on horses.

The trip to the establishment was silent. It was not an awkward silence. They seemed to understand I was not in the mood for even small talk and stayed silent.

Soon, the carriage stopped, and I walked out. The first thing I did is to look at the establishment. It had been only four days but felt like weeks since I have seen the establishment.

“Jonah, Stone. Thank you for protecting me. Without you and your teams, I wouldn’t be standing here today,” I said, and those words have come out from the bottom of my heart.

“You don’t have to thank us. It is what you had hired us, Mister Silver.” Said, Jonah. I smiled at that, before turning to the big man.

“Stone, can I talk to you in my office for a minute?” I asked. “Of course, Mr. Silver,” he said.

Nodding at Jonah, I walked toward the establishment, while Stone followed behind with two of his teammates.

As I entered the hall, I saw the girls looking at me. They were surprised looking at my state but did not ask a question.

Click!

I reached my office and entered inside and turned to Stone. “Please take a seat,” I said to them.

“Thank you, Mr. Silver,” he said and sat in front of me with teammates, while I took out my diary and tear open and page from it.

“I am going to be direct with you, Stone. I want to hire you and your team services for a longer time, and this is what I am willing to offer,” I said and slid the page toward him.

He did not even look at the page.

“My apologies, mister Silver, but w” he was speaking when he suddenly stopped and looked at both of his teammates before turning back to me.

“Can I get back to you about this, Mister Silver?” he asked. “Sure,” I said. He nodded and finally look at the page. A faint surprise appeared on his face, but he quickly disappeared as he took the page.

A minute later, I saw him and his team leaving through the gate.

I hope he accepts; he is very good. Better than Jonah and his team and if it is not for them, I wouldn’t be sitting in this room.

I had offered Jonah and Dan the same thing a few months ago, but they decline due to the contract they have with their mercenary company.

This team is independent, but the chances of them accepting are less, given how smoothly he was about to reject my offer, before being stopped by his teammate. His reaction tells me that I am not the only one who had offered him.

There might be quite a few employers who might have done the same.

Which is not surprising, seeing how good his team is. Their teamwork is excellent with the balance of classes. Not to mention, they have two mages and two people who are close to Level 30 or might be at Level 30.

A minute later, I had got up and walked out of my office, and went to my room. My injuries have nearly healed, but my clothes are torn with signs of blood on my clothes and body.

In my room, I strip all my clothes and walked into the shower. Scrubbing all the dried blood nearly obsessively till not even smell had remained, before coming out of the shower.

I remained in the shower for nearly half an hour before I came out and change into the new cloth before walking out.

When I reached my office, I found Carla sitting there.

“Have all the girls arrived?” I asked, “Yes. Margaux and Caena are giving them the tour of the establishment,” she replied.

“After the tour, bring them to me. We have contracts to sign,” I said. “Ok,” she said. “And tell those girls they have to give me the answer tomorrow,” I said. She nodded at that.

I have taken out six girls from the job, three of which left, while Lauren joined the studio.

There are still other two, who had yet to be decided. I had given them ten days in the beginning, but they had asked for more time, while they try different things and I agree.

Today is the last. Tomorrow, they will have to give me the answer or I will decide in what way they will serve their contract.

The next one and a half hours passed in silence. I could tell Carla wanted to say something, but she did not.

She just stayed by me in silence.