Glenn slowly passed his tongue over his teeth, looking up and down at the strange individual standing awkwardly by the table. The young man glanced at the others at the table, confused.
"Guys, is he with you?" He asked curiously. Sahro and Milena traded a look, before chuckling without replying. Javier, as always, stared at him with empty, emotionless eyes, not showing anything that would hint at a potential relationship with Mr. Scaredy-cat over there.
'I think you don't realize you have somewhat of a fearful reputation among the Northern Town's citizens. I'm pretty sure there are rumors of you eating babies or something...' Diamanes commented mockingly, Nelg laughing with him. Glenn's eyelids twitched as he forced himself to ignore the two additional voices and concentrated back on the newcomer.
"Alright, just present yourself mate, and let's get this over with," Glenn sighed while rubbing his forehead, the scared man nodding hurriedly.
"Yes, absolutely, Sir. Sir Reginald has assigned me as your liaison with the Cleaner's Workshop. I'm here to assist you with anything you need." Kevin took a deep breath, his shoulders relaxing slightly as he spoke. Glenn's eyebrows rose as he leaned back in his chair. He crossed his arms together and tilted his head to the side, squinting at the secretary.
"Well, I never expected I would make it so far in life I'd need a secretary, but okay, I'll take it..." Glenn mumbled before smacking his lips, at a loss at what to do with the secretary.
"So, what can you do? And what's your name, I'm not going to just call you mate for the rest of my life!" The young man grinned, the secretary shivering suddenly. He pulled his clipboard closer to his chest before replying with a trembling voice.
"I, uhm, my name is Kevin, Sir. Due to some...unforeseen consequences of the request you addressed the Cleaner's Workshop, Sir Reginald will find himself unable to discuss with you the matters about the request. In my quality of Sir Reginald's direct subordinate, he charged me to speak for him to report for every progress on the request, as well as to assist you in my entire capacity." Kevin explained while pushing his round glasses up his nose.
Glenn blinked a few times, before shrugging.
"Great, great...So, Kevin, please update me on everything I missed these last, uhm, was it three weeks?" Glenn pondered as he rubbed his chin, before gesturing toward the secretary to speak. The secretary nodded sharply and looked at his clipboard, his eyes darting left and right as he read its contents.
"To resume it all, I've been assigned to you three days after your collapse. In the meanwhile, the investigations had already begun, Sir Reginald ordering a contingent of specialized Cleaners to find clues about Sir Redan's disappearance. The first lead was only found one week after your collapse, in the shape of traces of the Thorn's Church activity. As you might already know, worshipping Epinos is strictly forbidden inside King's Rise walls, due to the violent nature of the religion."
Glenn raised a hand to stop the secretary, his eyebrows creased.
"Are you sure about that? I thought it was only frowned upon to be a believer of the Thorn's Church, not that it was completely forbidden."
Kevin awkwardly scratched his chin, before pushing his glasses up his nose.
"It was indeed that way a few months ago, but a few accidents happened that forced the other Churches to ban what's now called the Cult of Epinos out of the city. You were even part of two of those accidents, the first being the destruction of the Auberge, and the second being the murder of a Silver Fixer named Prince alongside the extermination of the evil byproduct of said murder."
Glenn nodded slowly, the corner of his lips curving upward slightly.
'That's great news. The more trouble the Thorn's Church is in, the better I'll feel. Hah, what goes around comes around, right?'
"For real. It was, what, five, six months ago when they tortured us, and now their ruin is upon them! Is that karma?' Nelg commented excitedly, reflecting Glenn's emotions.
'Karma? What the hell is karma?' Diamanes asked confusedly, before returning to watch more of Glenn's memories. The latter pinched his lips and indicated to Kevin that he could continue. The secretary cleared his throat and did exactly that.
"After following the tracks and hints left over by the Thorn's Church, Sir Reginald found a few leads, namely three leads. The first indicated that a branch of the Cult of Epinos was hidden in the Eastern Town, and might be linked to some nobles in the Bourgeoisie who might have sponsored the hit."
Glenn sighed as he felt a headache coming. What he feared was slowly coming to be true. Soon enough, he would have to confront the nobles of King's Rise Third Circle, and he was sure this wouldn't announce anything good for him.
"Heh, you'll probably have to fight more powerful mages and knights, but that's no issue, is it? You just have to get stronger, and with me, that's going to be easy!" The image of Nelg flexing in his armor flashed in Glenn's mind, followed by Diamanes' mocking chuckle.
'You could also just leave the old man to his own devices. He's still much stronger than you from what I've seen, he should be fine.'
The young man rubbed his temples, mentally ordering both of the voices to shut up, and looked back at Kevin, who resumed his explanations.
"The second didn't lead to anything interesting, just a large pile of ash where a warehouse was previously standing. From our understanding, that's where the Black Heirs did their last hit before Sir Redan was captured." Kevin didn't have time to gasp that Sahro's blade was pressing against his throat, blue sparks of electricity running along the steel.
"How do you know about that?" He asked darkly, ignoring the strange gazes turning his way. Glenn moistened his lips as he leaned against his fist, curious about the secretary's explanations. Kevin looked down at the blade with trembling eyes before slowly pressing his fingers against the sword's edge, pushing it away gently.
Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.
"Uhm, I'm, I've just been made aware by Sir Reginald. The...The Maron Company proposed their help in the search, and the leader of the Black Heir worked closely with Monsieur Maron to assist us. From what I've heard, Ms. Pyr was quite reluctant to explain what was in the warehouse, but she at least agreed to tell us they were the ones who destroyed it, alongside whatever was inside it," said Kevin hurriedly, his eyes glued to the glimmering blade. Sahro creased his nose, before smacking his lips and sheathing his blade.
'...I guess this makes sense. I never thought Giselle would try and be so proactive. I suppose the loss of Redan must have forced her out of her comfort zone...' Glenn rubbed his chin while watching the secretary crumble to his knees, his hand to his neck. The young man quickly searched for a nearby chair with his eyes, before pulling it with a rapid Gravity Manipulation, magically forcing the trembling man to sit on it.
"Alright, that's enough teasing from Sahro. Continue, what was the third lead, then?" Glenn pressed on, the focus quickly replacing the fear in Kevin's eyes.
"Hey, seems like he loves his job more than he fears you or Sahro," Nelg commented, earning a nod of agreement from Glenn. The secretary breathed in and out deeply, before looking back to his clipboard, flipping up a page.
"So, cough, to finish, the third lead, and the one currently investigated by Sir Reginald, was related to the Brotherhood of Iron Blood's new branch in the Northern Town. Cleaners have found multiple witnesses talking about strange movements in their newly built Church, alongside the appearance of a noble-looking man who knew Redan's name."
Glenn silently chewed on the inside of his cheeks, lost in his thoughts.
"I suppose other Cleaners are investigating the remaining two leads, right?" He questioned, falling back in silence when Kevin nodded in confirmation.
'Hmm...It might be a bit biased coming from me, but I feel like the first lead was the most promising one... why would Reginald lose his time with the third one?' The young man squinted at the secretary, tapping his finger slowly on the wooden table.
"Kevin, tell me, is there any reason Reginald didn't check the Thorn's Church lead first? Not that I mistrust his judgment, but it feels a bit weird to focus on another religion when all the tracks seemed to lead toward these bastards..."
The secretary cleared his throat awkwardly as he clenched his clipboard strongly.
"Well, uhm, Sir Reginald...can't go in the Eastern Town for personal reasons."
Glenn blinked as his eyebrows rose in puzzlement.
"What-what do you mean legal reasons? Did he kill someone there or something?"
Kevin slowly shook his head.
"No, it's just that the Church of Onnea prohibited him from coming to the Eastern Town. This village is the only one not entirely under the Cleaner's Workshop's protection, instead being guarded by the Fringe division of the Church of Onnea. Many upper-ranked officers are similarly forbidden from coming in the Eastern Town."
Glenn scratched his cheeks, glancing at his comrades in confusion, finding them similarly surprised. Except for Javier, of course, who was as dead inside as he looked.
'That's probably due to the nature of the Cleaners powers. They must conflict with the divine nature of the Church of Onnea.' Diamanes theorized, earning a grunt of acknowledgment from his host.
"Alright. Sigh..." Glenn rubbed his eyes, before gesturing at the three other people sitting at his table.
"What do you guys think?" He asked while crossing his arms.
"Hmm...I think our best bet would be to go over the Eastern Town and check it over. If it ends up as a bad lead, we can still check out the burnt-out warehouse for anything the Workshop might have missed," Sahro proposed as he rapped his finger on the table while squinting in Kevin's direction. The secretary gulped, remaining silent while waiting for any new instructions from his new boss.
Milena leaned forward while pushing her raven black hair behind her ears.
"I second that. Additionally, the Restoration Operator I talked to you about some time ago lived in the Eastern Town last time I heard about him. We could kill two birds with one stone!" She exclaimed excitedly, seemingly quite happy to be part of the team. Glenn nodded deeply before glancing at Javier, who only stared back at him with glassy eyes.
"...O~kay, then it's decided. We're off to the Eastern Town to check things out," The young man grinned as he stood up from his seat, before pointing at Kevin, who straightened himself.
"Kevin, I do have an assignment for you. I'll need you to prepare for a thorough cleaning of the Northern Town once I'm back from the investigations."
The secretary pushed his glasses up his nose confusedly.
"C...Cleaning?"
Glenn grinned as he stretched his back, making it crack loudly.
"Yep. I'm going to need to destroy more than a few Rifts to help in my...personal development if you wish."
"Yeah, yeah, you say that, but I know it's to help me grow and get my upper Circles!" Nelg argued in the back of Glenn's mind, the young man dismissing the annoying voice.
Kevin frowned, his monobrow creased deeply.
"I apologize Sir Glenn, but I'm supposed to accompany you anywhere to assist you. Those are my orders from Sir Reginald, and I'm afraid I can't go against them."
Glenn chuckled, sighing loudly when his face became suddenly as cold as ice, all traces of a smile or a laugh gone. He slowly walked around the table and grabbed the secretary's shoulder, staring deep into his eyes with evident animosity.
"Listen, Kevin. I've known you for, what, half an hour? I don't know what you can, or can't do, and honestly, you don't seem much. Are you even aware of what we're going to do once we're in the Eastern Town?" Glenn gritted his teeth as he clenched the secretary's shoulder tightly. Kevin gulped loudly, his eyes trembling with his fear lighting back up.
"I...Investigate?" He asked innocently with a shaky voice. Glenn laughed wickedly, before letting go of Kevin and stepping away, a small Black Hole appearing above his opened palm.
"Indeed, we're going to investigate, yes. But..." He suddenly closed his hand, crushing the light-swallowing orb out of existence, "...If we find any traces of the Cult of Epinos, as they're called now, we're going to burn them to the ground. If I have to be the author of a fucking bloodbath to get rid of the Thorn's Church, then so be it."
Kevin took a step back while letting go of his clipboard, the sound of it hitting the ground echoing in the room. Glenn followed him closely, leaning forward with a devilish grin.
"So, unless you're stronger than you look, which I doubt, and want to dirty your hands with the Thorn's Church's blood, I believe staying here in relative safety is the best thing you can do. Ain't that right?" Glenn's animosity suddenly disappeared as he patted the trembling secretary's shoulder. Kevin nodded hurriedly and picked up his clipboard, practically running out of the room to escape his new boss's gaze.
Glenn's eyes followed him out of the Dining Hall. As soon as Kevin's feet passed the threshold, the young man smacked both of his hands together, grinning happily.
"Well, that's one bother out of the way. I just have a quick stop to go to by the Smithery, and we'll be good to go then!" He said with satisfaction, ignoring Milena's shocked stare.
"Was that truly necessary?" She probed carefully, feeling seemingly a little guilty from not saying anything in front of Glenn's horrible treatment of the poor secretary. Glenn's looked at her with an amused gaze.
"What, scaring him? Of course, it was!"
The young man installed himself back in his seat, smiling from one ear to the other.
"That was pretty evident Reginald sent him to try and monitor us. This show was all just to send the message "Stop playing games with me you fucking weirdo/gentleman/whatever you truly are"."
Milena's eyes widened and she looked away with a groan of understanding. Sahro shook his head slowly, a small smile on his lips.
"So, to the Eastern Town, right?"
Glenn raised his cup toward him, grinning. Milena sighed and leaned back in her chair, while Javier kept on doing the best thing he could do: existing.
"To the Eastern Town. But first, let me get another five plates. I'm starving."