- VOL 1 – THOSE UNITED BY THE FATE -
Chapter 4: Laying The Foundation (8/9)
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"What do you mean I should go to them?"
The auburn-haired young man pleaded in a tone of concern and confusion. But his pleas seemed useless.
"Stop questioning everything I say. Just listen to me and everything will be fine."
"I'm going out of my mind worrying, and you're telling me to go into their lair?!"
He kept rejecting Shin's words. It seemed that no matter what the boy said, his worry would not go away and he would not accept Shin's request.
"Rina?!"
The chestnut-haired boy stood up in surprise. He seemed to have forgotten about the young man whose words he was trying to impose.
"Stop trying to trick me, Rina can't even stand up after all that. And not even she can convince me to do this!"
He said this confidently, raising his voice, and he shifted his focus as if ignoring the boy in front of him.
"Ahem. What is it that I can't change your mind about?"
Minato rose from his chair, startled by a breath on the back of his neck. He tried to turn around, but a pair of hands pressed him back into the chair by his shoulders.
"Huh, uhh. I guess there's no point in giving you any more advice, you're not just going to lie there and rest..."
Shin had also accepted something after the behavior of the short woman in front of him and sat down.
"Now that you are gathering, you should call me. It is my duty to protect you, isn't it, Minato? And knowing what you are about to do might help me in my duty to protect you."
With that, Rina let go of the young man's shoulders and sat down on a chair, joining them at the table.
"Don't worry, I don't just need to lie down to rest. I won't go out until I'm fully recovered, but I can walk around the inn, right?"
She put a smile on her face. Minato looked at her strangely, but Rina continued to talk cheerfully.
"So, what are we supposed to do?"
"Since you're so curious, I'll tell you."
Shin put on a serious expression and the atmosphere became a bit tense. Although Rina was still smiling, Minato didn't like this atmosphere. The chestnut-haired boy turned his gaze to the young man and began.
"First of all, everything needs to be discreet and quiet. If we want to use Minato, we need to start by covering up the stupid mistake he made."
Minato's brow furrowed but he couldn't say anything.
"We need to settle his debt and give him a clean slate."
At those words, the young man couldn't keep his mouth shut any longer.
"WHAT?!"
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
The people around looked at this shout and turned their focus to the young man for a few seconds.
"Huh... When are you going to break this habit of yours, Minato? It's ironic that you're yelling just when Shin told us to be quiet and discreet."
The dark brown-haired woman closed her eyes without lowering her smile and said this in a mocking tone to the young man. Minato blushed slightly and sat back in his chair. But even as he lowered his voice, his confusion remained.
"What are you talking about, Shin? Do you have any idea what you're dealing with? If it gets out that we killed Kali, we're finished! We could flee to West Ardevant and still not be saved!"
The boy to whom the young man spoke with concern sighed disappointedly. Then he continued speaking calmly.
"You really are too cowardly. I don't know who those guys are, but will we be finished? You're funny, Minato, that's one of the reasons I want to do business with you, even though we've only known each other for a few days."
Rina frowned at his words. The smile on her face finally disappeared with those words.
"I've also realized in a few days that you are too confident. Maybe you're just too reckless. But I have to say that Minato is right this time. Those guys are a well-known group in the city."
Shin looked into her blue eyes for a moment. Apparently, he was trying to show her that the first option was the right answer.
"Don't worry, recklessness and stupidity are completely different things. Confidence is quite another. My goal is not to go and make a mess, but to move from the shadows, as I said."
He turned his gaze back to the young man pulled a pouch from his pants and threw it in front of him.
"How much do you owe? It would be nice if we could settle it quickly, but otherwise, it's still not a big deal. You just have to keep quiet and pay when they ask for money."
Minato shook his head from side to side and hesitantly asked his last question about last night before discussing the money.
"The three bandits who followed us. Even before yesterday, they were the ones chasing me. When they find out Kali is dead, they will suspect us."
"Hmm, so you were worried about those guys. When they saw me, they recognized me from last time."
"What?! They saw your face?! Were they following you when you arrived to us?"
"Don't worry, how many times do I have to tell you? Nobody knows anything about last night. If you behave yourself, pretend nothing happened and pay your debt, that'll be the end of it."
"What do you mean nobody knows anything? Didn't you say they saw you?!"
The auburn-haired young man panicked even more. The woman next to him squinted her blue eyes, intently studying the boy as he spoke. When he remained silent for a while after his last words, her eyes widened and an uneasy expression settled on her face.
"Tsch."
The woman clicked her tongue and turned her head away. The chestnut-haired boy ignored her and continued talking as if nothing was wrong.
"They're dead Minato, are you satisfied?"
It must have been too much for the young man because he couldn't digest what was said for a while.
"Wh-what do you mean they're dead? They were chasing us, who could have attacked them?"
"Enough with your stupid mumbling. Shin killed them, don't you get it yet?"
Some of his questions were answered by the angry words of the brown-haired woman next to him. But he still didn't understand what had happened and was curious. He swallowed and prepared to open his mouth. But before that, Rina had a few questions to ask.
"You left following us and attacked them, didn't you?"
Shin was about to answer this question, but she wouldn't let him speak. She raised her voice in exasperation and continued to speak out of anger.
"Look at the boy who told me not to get out of bed because I was hurt! You took down three people while you were injured and you don't even have a scratch on you! AND YOU COME AND TAKE DOWN THAT HUGE PIG TOO!"
Some people in the inn turned their eyes to the table where the trio were standing, but most people were used to their shouting and just ignored them.
"Calm down, Rina. This has nothing to do with your fight. I'm sure you could have easily beaten those guys. But that Kali guy-"
"Shut up. Let's just leave it at that..."
After her outburst, she was able to let out some of her anger. She was still sane enough to think calmly, even if she was still angry, especially at herself. Shin looked into her blue eyes and recognized the disappointment there. But he had decided to end the topic, as she had wanted him to.
He turned to the young man who had been silent for some time and was trying to take it all in with widened eyes.
"Shall we get to the point now? How much do you owe?"
Minato was stunned by the sudden change of subject and blurted out something he didn't intend to say.
"Uh, eh? About two gold coins..."
"Pfft!"
At that moment, all the negative emotions of the short woman, who was still angry, were erased and replaced with a big laugh.
"Hahaha! HAHAHA!"
She tried to stop herself, but what she heard was too sudden for her. She was pounding the table, trying to control herself where she was sitting. Only the sudden pain could stop her laughter.
"COUGH, Cough!"
She held her stomach as her eyebrows furrowed and a bitter expression settled on her just-laughing face.
"Huff... What is this luck of mine?"
Shin put his hand on his forehead, bemoaning his situation, unlike the brown-haired woman who was laughing her head off.
"How are you going to pay for this?"
The boy was once again disappointed. The young man on the other hand looked ashamed of what he had blurted out.
"I'll pay somehow..."
"I thought you were smart for some reason, but look what you've done. Borrowing two gold coins from bandits? You say you're doing everything possible, but you don't even have a proper job. And you owe this much?"
"I'm sorry..."