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When I came back to the inn, I found Freya meditating again.

It was a good thing that she was, since I didn’t know what to tell her. I had to think how to deal with this situation first.

After a while, though, I concluded that I wasn't in the best state to think about things. My mind kept conjuring images of me going to smash priests heads to bits, which wasn't a feasible, unfortunately.

The silver lining was that I wasn't in immediate danger... probably. Maximus knew about it, but I felt like he needed something from me, so unless he changed his mind after our disastrous meeting, he wouldn't go to the church.

I really hope he hasn't changed his mind. He seemed really shaken after my outburst.

Fuck, I want to punch someone... or something.

I knew I needed to do something to vent, or my thoughts would just keep going in circles, so I left Freya a note telling her what to do for training and a little money for lunch, then, after changing and bandaging my hand, I went to lift some weights at the Explorer Guild.

I pushed myself to the limit all day, trying to take my mind off the whole thing. It had been a while since I had such a long training session; I had been busy with all sorts of things until now, after all, so I didn't have the time.

Using my body and concentrating on the movements helped me feel better, as usual.

When I came back, slightly tired but refreshed, I still found her meditating.

Well, at least she went to eat, I thought, seeing that the money and note had disappeared.

Since everything was fine, I joined her in the practice.

I had already vented enough during the day, but a little meditation would help me focus on the task at hand.

When I roused myself, after some time, I found Freya at the desk, reading.

I let her concentrate on her book while I thought about my matters.

First things first. Is Maximus a threat? My instincts told me he wanted something for me, but was that true?

Since he was the only one who knew I was on the wanted list, along with his guard, I needed to sort this out first.

I went back to my memory from when I first entered the building, almost analyzing our encounter as I did for my fights.

The first impression he gave was similar to Markus’, a nice old man who just wanted to give a hand. Thinking back on it, though, he wasn’t that simple.

The reason why he asked for a week before our meeting was probably because he wanted to investigate me, instead of being busy as he told Markus, but that was fine; being cautious was good.

What I didn’t understand was the purpose of the meeting.

He accepted me warmly like I was an idol of his, but he waited until Joshua was present before getting to the crux of the matter. That was still fine since he didn’t know how I would have reacted… but why did he even tell me? Why offer help? Why take the risks of being associated with a heretic?

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For kindness? I doubted.

I heard a few people talk about Merchants and, while opinions varied, one thing was always the same: Merchants took no risk if they thought there was no profit involved.

Maybe they’d make an exception for family and friends, but I was neither.

Even Markus would probably hesitate to interact with me if he knew I was on the heathen list, and he was one of the kindest men I had ever known.

The only logical conclusion was that I had some value for him, but, unfortunately, even after mulling over it for a while I couldn’t think of anything he would want from me. I could at least conclude, though, that he wouldn’t go tattle to the church, until he had what he wanted.

I could only hope that his request wasn’t too outrageous; it would be hard to say no.

There was another thing that bothered me, though; his and Joshua’s reactions when I lost control were quite puzzling.

I was angry, and I was a potentially dangerous man to most people, but there was no reason for them to react so strongly.

The Merchant should have known he was safe, and this shouldn’t have been the first time someone lost his cool during a conversation, so it was strange seeing him so unsettled.

Joshua, on the other hand, shouldn’t have even cared. I was way below his level, so he could have stopped me before I could even move from my couch — there would have been no need to even use the sword. That’s why his alarmed reaction and his wariness after that were truly incomprehensible to me.

Nothing of what I did should have made them think I was a threat. I was also unarmed. Did they still think I was a heathen, despite Maximus reassurance?

Damn, this makes me uneasy. There were too many things I didn’t know.

That fucking church, too. Why did they put a bounty on me?

I met a few priests in my life, and I didn’t like any of them. One in particular seemed to be obsessed with me, but could he just decide to put a bounty on me? Was it that easy? For how much I hated them, I doubted that was allowed. So why?

As much as they disliked me, no one was forced to become a follower. Maybe they played some dirty tricks on those who refused, maybe they even resorted to assassinations — who knew? — but blatantly putting a bounty on someone seemed too much. People would hear about it sooner or later.

It didn’t seem like something they would do.

And so I could only keep repeating the same question: why?

But there were no answers, only unresolved doubts.

I thought my life was going well, then everything went to shit in a moment.

The bounty would complicate everything.

If I was really unlucky, someone could recognize me at the Guild, or just while I walked on the street, but the probability of that was low. I doubted that even Maximus would have thought of my old face if he just glanced at me on the street.

Traveling on the other hand would be riskier, and even going in and out of town could be a problem. I’d always have to hope a guard didn’t recognize me after passing through a gate. Normal people on the street may not pay attention, but guards should know of wanted posters and if I triggered a Skill, or if someone got suspicious, I’d be fucked.

I couldn’t think of any solution for this, though, so I could only wait and hope that the Merchant would contact me again soon.

There was no other way.

I should have calmed down and resolved things with him when I had the chance, I thought as I looked at Freya. I need to talk with her too now.

“Hey, Freya, I need to have a word with you,” I said, without wasting any time.

She lifted her eyes from the book and looked back at me.

“Yes?” she asked.

Where do I start? I thought as I signaled her to turn the chair around.

“So, it seems the Church wants me dead. They put me on the Heathen List,” I told her when she had her eyes back on me.

She looked at me puzzled. “Okay?”

“The wanted list, I mean, heathen section. I got a bounty on my head,” I clarified.

Now she looked a little alarmed.

“Nothing to worry about in the short term I think, and there may be a way to settle things,” I said, hoping that Maximus had one.

One that didn’t require me to go there in chains and get blessed. I’d prefer fighting the church to death than doing that.

“In the meantime, we’ll have to plan what to do in the worst-case scenario. Any idea?” I asked her.

I didn’t have much hope on her having a solution, but having her think about it would teach her to find solutions to her own problems instead of relying on others. That was the hope, at least.

She thought about it for a moment, before answering, “We run?”

I raised my eyebrows. “Where?”

“To the Duchy?” she said hesitantly.

I paused for a moment.

This… isn’t such a bad idea?

Was the girl actually smart?

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