Borrik says "Ash, I am so sorry! It turns out I am an incompetent guildmaster! If I had done my job properly none of this would have happened!"

"I take it that means that guards were bribed?"

Borrik says "Yes. A lot of them! Even some officers were bribed! The entire city guard is untrustworthy at this point!"

"Did they all escape?"

Borrik says "No, a few were slow in leaving and were captured. But the majority of them escaped into the empire."

"Did the ones that you captured tell you who paid them?"

Borrik says "They were contacted and paid by the assassins, they have no idea who paid the assassins. We will interrogate them further, but I think they are telling the truth."

"They probably are. After all, mercenaries work for money, and the assassins just offered more. It really isn't your fault, it's just the nature of the men."

Borrik says "Are you saying that all my men are corrupt??"

"No, there are probably some that are loyal to you. Tell me, did you find any dead guards?"

Borrik says "No. Why?"

"Because, if someone turned down the offer I would expect them to be killed. If no one is dead that means the assassins knew who to approach. That just makes me think this was Pine even more."

Borrik says "What makes you think it was Pine?"

"The assassins targeted my people, but not me. That means whoever set this up knew they couldn't kill me directly. Pine fits the bill and has reason to want my people dead. Not to mention, Pine probably bribed your guards in the past so he would know who to approach."

Borrik says "You mean my guards were already corrupt? That makes me even more of a failure!"

"I think that someone like Pine doesn't become that rich by obeying the law. He probably had guards on his payroll so that he could get caravans in and out without paying taxes. That is probably the least of what he was doing."

Borrik says "If you are right and it is Pine, how do I fix the town guard?"

"For the short term, mix up the units. Make sure no unit is completely human. My beastmen are loyal to me and don't value gold as much, making them harder to bribe."

Borrik says "Alright, I will do that. What about long term?"

"Most of your mercs come from the other nations, right?"

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Borrik says "Yeah, other than kids that join to get out of the orphanages, or used to."

"That is why they have no loyalty to the city. You should start recruiting and training people from the city for the new city guard."

Borrik says "You mean train them just to be city guards and not mercs?"

"Yeah, exactly. Their pride in the city and loyalty will make them harder to corrupt."

Borrik says "That will be expensive, but thanks to you we can afford it. Alright, I will give it a try!"

Sarah walks out and asks "Since you two are talking so much, would you like an early breakfast?"

Borrik says "Oh, yes please!"

"Sorry if we woke you!"

Sarah says "It's fine. This is when I normally wake up."

Just as Sarah is about to walk downstairs, Ambrose and Roddick come up. Just like Borrik the two of them both look exhausted, it seems everyone has had a long night. Then again, it's not like assassins attack the city regularly, at least not that I know of.

Ambrose says "What have you told him, Borrik?"

Borrik says "Just about the guards."

Ambrose says "Alright, Ash, we know where the assassins came from, but don't overreact!"

"The empire, right?"

Roddick says "You already guessed it? Yes, they are from an assassin guild in the empire. However, anyone can hire them."

"It's Pine, we already figured it out."

Ambrose says "Now, we can't know that for sure!"

As Sarah returns with maids carrying trays of food, I explain my reasoning to Ambrose and Borrik. The smell of the food brings a groggy looking Myria out of the bedroom to join us. The others seem to still be sleeping, which is fine, there will be more breakfast later.

As Myria takes the seat next to me I whisper how cute her underwear was. As she turns bright red I realize I probably shouldn't have teased her, but I just can't help myself. Before I could even think if it was a bad idea or not my mouth was already moving.

Luckily, Myria doesn't respond, probably because we have several guests. She will probably wait until later to give me an ear full, but that's okay since I deserve it. Although, I only spoke the truth, they were really cute, I'll probably regret it.

Ambrose says "So, if it is Pine, what's your plan?"

"I was thinking of paying him a visit!"

Roddick says "He is in the empire, don't go starting a war!"

"It's fine! I will go in disguised!"

Myria says "No! You said using that form was dangerous! Besides, if the same drake that killed Sevaris shows up to kill Pine, don't you think the empire might get suspicious?"

"It's not as dangerous now that I know how the side effects work!"

Sarah says "What are you two talking about?"

So I end up having to explain about shapeshifting into a drake and the consequences. As soon as I am done explaining, Ambrose and the others also tell me it's a bad idea. Since I am obviously outvoted I give up arguing with them after a while.

Ambrose says "Look, Ash, we are not saying don't go after him. He absolutely deserves to die! We are just saying don't rush off without a plan!"

Roddick says "Have you thought about this being a trap? Maybe he attacked those close to you so that you would rush straight at him?"

Sarah says "Do you even know where Pine is? What if he is at the imperial capital? Are you going to attack him there?"

"Okay, then what do you want me to do? Just sit here and hide?"

Borrik says "Just give me a couple of days! I will sweep the entire city to make sure there are no more assassins!"

"Well, Sarah can stay in the inn, while Pol and Annya can go out with guards. The main problem is going to be the kids, they won't take being cooped up well."

Myria says "Why not take them to the tower? They will be safe there and have room to run around."

"That's true. I was planning to introduce them to Kechara and Asuna anyway."

Myria says "That should be entertaining to see! Count me in!"

"Sarah, how about you?"

Sarah says "It has been a stressful day, I could use a vacation!"

Ambrose says "Then it is settled. You all go to the tower for a couple of days and we will sort out our city!"