"...Delicious."

"Haha, you're welcome! I could hear your stomach grumbling from over there!"

Glenn silently chewed on a juicy meat skewer while a grinning old man wiped his greasy hands on an equally dirty apron covering his protruding belly. The meat's smell had drawn in Glenn inevitably, leading him to this booth while he was on his way to the Maron's Company branch. The meat was tender and perfectly cooked, with just enough spices to enhance the taste.

The young man wolfed down the food, his stomach grumbling as if to echo that act. The old man's grin grew as he threw more meat into a sizzling pan, expertly handling the meat with used wooden tongs.

"Hahaha, you remind me of my grandson! Just eating, again and again! It's as if there's a hole in his stomach swallowing all of his food!" The vendor smiled gently. He flipped the meat with a dexterous flick of his wrist while sprinkling spices on it. Glenn felt his mouth salivate uncontrollably and shamefully wiped his mouth off, before shaking his head slightly.

"Thanks for the food, but I can't stay for long..." Glenn smiled weakly and sank his head into his dimensional pouch, pulling out a few silver coins. The old man gasped with his eyes wide open, before shaking his head frantically and crossing his arms.

"What're you doing, son? You know that food ain't worth that much! Give me some coppers, and be on your way. Take the skewer with you!" He proudly raised his chin while holding the finished skewer. Glenn sighed and took the food, before dropping a few coins on the booth, slipping a few silvers in.

"Thanks again," The young man stood up from his seat and left the booth under the vendor's warm gaze, his heart wrenched with old scars.

'...It's not going to happen again, you know? Stop worrying over nothing,' Diamanes suddenly said with a dry tone. Nelg remained silent, not daring to add anything. Glenn rubbed his chin while using his Gravity Manipulation, reducing his weight to a feather's. With one step, he shot through the air, gently floating in the air to land over a nearby rooftop.

"We never know. As long as that bastard is alive, it might happen again. I'd rather not befriend people who can't defend themselves until then..." He mumbled as he jumped from roof to roof, lost in his thoughts. He bit down on the skewer as he navigated the city, as silent as a shadow and as light as a cloud. Before he knew it, he finished the food and arrived in front of the Northern Branch of the Maron Company. It was an austere building in a Western-style, simple in design but imposing in size. It wasn't designed to show off its value, but one glance was enough to guess that it was worth more than the savings of a hundred villagers combined.

"Well, nothing surprising. It's Maron we're talking about..." Glenn muttered as he jumped down the roof, gently landing in front of the building's door. The four soldiers standing guard in front of the entry suddenly straightened themselves, their armor shining with the literal gleam of money. Armed with tower shields and spears, they glanced at Glenn, evaluating him rapidly, their eyes stopping on the ominous, purple arm on his left side. They gulped in an almost synchronized manner, before bowing their heads with respect.

"Hello, Sir Glenn! You're welcome at this town's branch of the Maron's Company!" They gave him room for him to pass, their hands tightly wrapped over their weapons' handles. The young man looked at them with an amused gaze, before shrugging and stepping forth into the building. It was nothing like the Cleaner's Workshop and was much more similar to modern offices, with employees with clothes of excellent facture running around with despaired expressions, carrying heavy stacks of paper alongside the weight of more than a few sleepless nights. The only thing missing was a heavy scent of coffee and the sound of fingers tapping on keyboards, and it would completely mirror Glenn's vision of work back on Earth.

'Quite distasteful. Well, as long as it brings bread to the table, all work is the same...' Glenn sneered and shook his head, wondering where he was supposed to go when a secretary with thick glasses and even thicker dark circles suddenly appeared in front of him. She pushed her glasses up her nose, before bowing awkwardly.

"Uhm, nice—nice to meet you, Sir Glenn!" She spoke almost letting go of the stack of paper under her arm but managed to catch it at the last second, "...I, uh, we've been told of your arrival, but we didn't expect you to be late off..." She looked at a watch on her wrist, "...three weeks already?"

Glenn smiled without saying anything, only crossing his arms as he tried to understand the situation.

'What? What three weeks? Was Maron waiting for me? For what reason?'

Diamanes chimed in with his usual mocking voice.

'Hmm, I don't know, maybe about that deal you struck with the Black Heirs? Or, perhaps some reward? Like, monetary one? Wait, didn't he talk about his relationship with the Gold Church at some point?' The entity's words kept on piling up over and over, giving more and more reasons Glenn should have come to see the merchant sooner. Glenn smacked his lips, startling the secretary.

'Whatever, it's not like I could just magically wake up after doing something akin to giving birth, alright?!?'

The entity couldn't help but find himself at lack of words, Nelg sneering at him from the back of Glenn's mind.

"Uhm, alright, so, should we go see Monsieur Maron, Sir Glenn?"

Glenn nodded.

"Sure, show me the way. And stop calling me Sir," He grunted before muttering through his teeth, "...Why is everyone calling me Sir these days?"

The secretary didn't make herself wait, quickly walking away without waiting for Glenn to follow her, expertly navigating the mayhem of the Maron's Company office, dodging late managers or overworked employees. Glenn didn't have to bother doing so, as his presence seemed to act like a repellant for everyone in the firm, a glance at his left arm enough to strike fear and awe in them. The young man couldn't help but moisten his lips at the sight. He leaned forward right next to the secretary's ear, whispering with a curious voice.

"Why is everyone looking at me that way?"

The secretary yelped while taking a step to the sight, hugging her stack of paper close to her chest, before shaking her head and replying.

"W—Well, Monsieur Maron has been quite...clear on how we should treat you with the utmost respect, and particularly fear your left arm, the purple one," She stuttered, before glaring at her coworkers eyeing them, prompting them to go back to work. Glenn chuckled while rubbing the corner of his eyes.

"What else did he tell you? Just in case, I'm not going to do anything to any of you, I'm a pretty chill guy," He grinned and shot her a thumbs-up, to which the secretary replied with a shiver.

"I—I apologize Sir Gle—Glenn, with all due respect, but most people don't..." She chewed down on her lower lip with an awkward expression, "...talk to their left hand, or laughs while fighting rotting dead men..."

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Glenn stared at her with his mouth wide-opened, forcing a gulp out of her, before exploding in laughter. He shook his head, before shrugging dismissively.

"Well, first you can't say if you didn't try it, and well, I can't help it if I have multiple voices in my head, okay?" She looked back at him emptily, to which he raised his hands helplessly, "...What, we all have our things to deal with, even me!"

The secretary didn't bother replying, her lack of sleep showing much faster now that she understood that this strange guest was harmless. She simply sighed and made her way to a nearby hallway, leading Glenn in front of a sober door of white wood, on to which she knocked three times, before pushing the door open. She stepped to the side with another sigh.

"Monsieur Maron is inside, Sir—damn it, Glenn..." She sighed, "...just go inside. He might not have heard me, he rarely does when he's concentrated on anything..." She dragged her feet away back to wherever she was supposed to be, letting Glenn alone enter the room. He didn't make himself wait and ushered himself in, finding a sober room with dozens of filing cabinets, and a dusty window letting barely a few rays of sun in.

"Cough, where the hell did I..." A familiar voice came out from behind a desk covered in piles of papers and leatherbound documents. Glenn hesitantly stepped in, holding a laugh in while looking around for a place to sit. He used his Silence Curse to kill all of the sounds he was going to make. He pulled a chair out of a pile of paper, before installing himself comfortably in it, putting his feet on Maron's desk while the latter was occupied.

"Ha-ha! Here it is! Now, where was I..." Maron stood back up, grinning at a document that looked the same as the one on his desk. The merchant sat on his chair and plunged himself into his work, failing to notice the curious man staring at him. With an arm made out of pure, light-swallowing Blumar, Maron grabbed a pen from a nearby cup, before making notes all over the document he just found, copying some information on a blank sheet of paper, soon covering it with dark scriptures only decipherable by the one who wrote them. Glenn looked at his nails, getting rid of the dirt between them, before dismissing his Silence curse. He looked at the ceiling patiently, wondering whether he should inform the merchant of his presence or wait a little more.

'...Why do I find this funny?' He wondered, smiling as he leaned on his fist, slowly tapping his fingers on the desk. Maron continued to scribble down his notes, before putting the paper away right over Glenn's foot. The young man quickly pulled out the cup containing Maron's pen collection with swift use of his Gravity Manipulation, just in time to see the merchant throw his pen towards some object in his office. The sound of the pen hitting the floor finally woke Maron from his imperturbable concentration, his eyes widening wildly as he noticed the figure sitting calmly opposite him.

"ARGH!"

"What's up, Maron?"

"FUCK!!"

Maron screamed as he jumped out of his seat, before pulling himself together and putting his hands in front of his mouth. His eyes bulged outwardly as he clenched his fists while waving them angrily at Glenn, his lips tightly pressed together. Finally, he sighed deeply and sank back in his chair while rubbing his face.

"Damn it, Sir Glenn, why would you do that to me...?" The merchant shook his head weakly. Glenn grinned, before shrugging with faked misunderstanding.

"What do you mean? Your secretary invited me in, I just sat and waited for you to, well, you know, remark me," Glenn threw the cup up and down, before putting it back in its spot. He gave a judging glance at the room, scowling at the sight.

"Don't you have the money to hire a maid to clean this place up? You should at least take care of the windows..."

Maron waved his hand dismissively as he cleared his desk out to make some space for them to speak comfortably.

"I don't want to find my documents in place I didn't put them in. This might look like a mess, but it's an organized one, alright...?" He rubbed the bridge of his nose, which was half-made of Blumar, before clasping both of his hands together.

"So, uhm, what can I do for you, Sir Glenn?" Maron asked with a tired voice. Glenn smiled and crossed his arms while leaning back in his chair.

"Well, first, after everything we went through together, you could begin by calling me just Glenn and not Sir. I'm not a Sir, damn it." He spat out the last word, feeling almost unnerved at the idea that he was a "Sir".

'Wouldn't you want to be a noble? Imagine, Count Glenn, Lord of the Dumb Valley. Doesn't that sound glorious?' Diamanes mocked, managing to make Glenn's eyelids twitch. Nelg couldn't help but join the fray.

"Nah, Duke of Bad Decisions is a much more suitable title!"

'Alright, mute mode is on.' Glenn decided as he clenched his teeth, killing both of the voices with one thought, miraculously managing to shut his mind to both of their unneeded commentaries.

Unaware of the turmoil going on inside the Dark Gold Fixer's head, Maron smacked his lips inquisitively.

"Sure, Glenn. I guess we can speak to each other less formally now. I wasn't expecting you to be so late to come and see me though. Should I take it as you trust me with the Black Heirs matters?" Maron asked with his eyes squinted. Glenn shrugged, raising his palms to the sky.

"To be honest, I went into a coma for three weeks, and didn't even expect you to help them right off the bat, so many thanks to you."

Maron sneered while shaking his head.

"Whatever, it cost me less than a bag of rice to improve their situation. I'm still deeply shocked by their situation..." He rubbed his forehead while making a confused expression, the sunlight passing through the dusty window swallowed by the Blumar making half of the merchant's body.

"I mean, they're probably the strongest mercenary force in the whole Fringe, comparable to the Fixers, and yet, they all live like penniless bastards. I don't get it, be it why they stayed in the Sewers, or why they didn't sell their services. Anyway, after talking with Ms. Pyr, we managed to strike a highly profitable deal for both the Maron Company and the Black Heirs."

Glenn's eyebrows rose as he opened his hands inquisitively.

"...Please, enlighten me...?"

Maron smiled while pulling a random sheet of paper from a similarly random pile of documents.

"I've pulled some strings with the Gold Church. It's only a question of time until the Frozen Gate is cleared out of all these corrupted Watchers, opening the way for Giselle's most trusted warriors. They'll work for me as a mercenary force for a few things, and in exchange, I'll build them a place inside King's Rise for them to finally settle down. I can't believe these magnificent idiots have no builders, no architects, teachers, or even doctors. It's like the only thing they know to do is fight, fight, oh, and maybe fight."

Glenn's eyebrows confusedly, struggling to understand whether Maron was insulting or complimenting the Black Heirs.

"Well, as long as it's working out well, all is good. I've heard you've been working with the Cleaner's Workshop as well to help with our matter with Redan?"

Maron nodded positively, pulling more sheets of paper and arranging them in a stack strung together with a thin string.

"Indeed. How could I not help? The kidnapping of the Ice Wolf of old is something I have to invest in, even more when said Wolf is a friend of my savior." Maron chuckled before handing out the stack of documents to Glenn, the young man confused.

"Wait, the Ice Wolf? I feel like I've heard that nickname before..."

Maron bent down under his desk to pick something up once again, not bothering to show his face to reply.

"That's no surprise. Redan was once well known as the Lord Commander of the Northern Gate, but even that is nothing compared to his time as the Commodore of the Wolves Order. His achievements in the war against the raiders coming from Vulshai earned him that moniker, and he more than deserves it." Maron explained matter of factedly, oblivious to how much had just shaken Glenn's world.

'Redan was a what? A Commodore? The Wolves Order? The Lord Commander of the Northern Gate? There was the thing with Reginald, and now that? Who the fuck is the old geezer?' Glenn couldn't even utter a word, shocked. Maron stood back up and added another document to the pile Glenn was already holding.

"And with that, it makes for all the information on all the leads we explored with Sir Reginald—that's his name, right? An interesting man for sure, I'll tell you that much." Maron continued undisturbed, before lifting his finger to the sky with a conflicted expression.

"Also, it's not added in the report, but careful of the Church of Onnea in the Eastern Town. It seems more than abnormal that the Thorn's Church managed to hide themselves there when so many of Onnea's priests are in the area. Anyway, please see yourself out. As you can see, I'm sinking under my work!"

Without another second to think or even ask a question, Glenn was kicked out of Maron's office, unable to say a word or think a thought. The mute button that kept Diamanes and Nelg silent blew up, letting the both of them exprimate their opinions.

"I love this merchant, man! So efficient, he barely needed to talk to us to know what we needed!"

'And once again, he didn't even bother listening to you. Maron is walking all over you, Glenn. I'd advise a quick Carbon Blade through his neck, just so I don't see his annoying face and the similarly annoying divinity covering him...'

Glenn sighed before sticking all the documents in his dimensional pouch.

"...At least I can't say I came here for nothing...Too much information...way too much..."