Glenn wiped his tears of laughter, his eyes fixed on his dejected comrade. Sahro's sullen expression made it impossible for him to contain his amusement.

"Well, who warned me about all the racism in King's Rise?" Glenn quipped, a mischievous glint in his eye.

Sahro shot him a glare but remained silent. Deep down, he knew Glenn was right. In his time here, he hadn't experienced discrimination based on his race – or any discrimination at all, for that matter.

The Black Heir shook his head, his view of humanity now somewhat shaken. But he couldn't bring himself to forgive them all, especially not when he thought back to those damned bastards...

Seeing Sahro's dark mood, Glenn clapped his hands, redirecting his comrade's gaze, and broke into a wide grin.

"So, how did this happen?"

Sahro rubbed his neck, recounting the events of the day.

"Well, since you left me to fend for myself, I decided to take on another contract. We need money, and I figured that taking on as many contracts as possible would be the fastest way to get what we need."

Glenn nodded in agreement, seeing the logic in Sahro's decision.

"So, I picked one from the Silver rank that paid the most. Everything seemed normal at first. I had to get rid of a Rift in a sewing workshop."

"I went there, after enduring the creepy attendant's stamp on my contract, of course. It's not far from Central Street, so it only took me five minutes to arrive."

Sahro paused, his hands fidgeting nervously before he continued.

"As soon as I stepped into the shop, I could sense something was off. The human women inside kept eyeing me like I was a piece of meat as if they wanted to eat me alive..."

Glenn's eyebrows shot up in incomprehension. "Didn't you receive similar stares back at the Black Heir's camp?"

Sahro froze, his eyes wavering slightly. Slowly, he shook his head, his voice filled with dejection.

"I... I was always an outsider there. Only Giselle and Redan talked to me. The others looked at me as if I were a disgrace to their existence."

Glenn's smile vanished, replaced by a solemn expression.

“Probably because you’re mixed-race, huh?" remarked Diamanes, his voice emanating from under the bandages. Both Glenn and Sahro froze, their attention drawn to the cocky entity in Glenn's left hand, its bandages loosening to reveal a red tongue within a red mouth.

"What?" Diamanes chuckled mockingly. "You know of my existence now, no need for me to hide when you're around, Sahro, the half-Black Heir and half-human."

Sahro's face darkened, his hand instinctively reaching for his sword at his waist, only to find it missing, probably left with the girls in his room.

Glenn waved his hands in front of Sahro defensively. "Don't get angry at him; it's useless."

Sahro stood up, cracking his knuckles, his face contorted with anger.

"Well, maybe he'll change his mind if I rough him up a little."

Glenn's face paled, and he took a step back, raising his hands defensively. "Uhh, no? It's still my hand, so, no? Please?"

Sahro cast one last menacing look at the mischievous hand before returning to the bed, exhaling deeply as he continued his story.

"Where was I? Right, so, under the predatory gaze of the women in the shop, I ventured into their atelier. The place was filled with dummies, and it sent shivers down my spine. I spotted the Rift as soon as I walked in."

He took a sip of water from a bottle that Glenn had handed him before glancing fearfully at the wall that separated them from the faint echoes of giggles in Sahro's room.

"It was a smaller Rift, maybe the size of my head. I couldn't locate the enemies. That's when the dummies attacked."

Glenn grimaced in response. "Ugh, creepy."

Sahro nodded in agreement, and even Diamanes chimed in, "Yeah, for real."

Glenn shot a glance at the entity, hesitating for a moment before tightening the bandages to muffle it.

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Sahro continued with his tale.

"So, after I destroyed the dummies' heads, it became clear that some sort of strange creature with tentacles controlled their wooden bodies. But I finally managed to get the job done. The problem was, my clothes were in tatters after the fight. It was inevitable; I was outnumbered and without support, I had to take some hits. After sealing the Rift, the women practically pounced on me."

Sahro shivered, wrapping his arms around himself.

"They started saying the strangest things and forced me to try on clothes for them. I had no choice; they wouldn't sign the contract otherwise. They even followed me to the Workshop and pulled me into my room. That's when you arrived and saved me from the mess."

Glenn nodded, his smile returning as he approached Sahro, placing a supportive hand on his shoulder.

"Sahro, welcome to the world of being 'hot.'"

The Black Heir furrowed his brow and touched his forehead, a puzzled look on his face.

"I don't think I am, though.” He paused and his expression darkened, “...Do you think I've been cursed with a fire spell or something?"

Glenn stood there, dumbfounded, rolling his eyes before letting out a sigh.

"Did they explain why they were so fixated on... 'eating' you?"

Sahro frowned and then paled as realization dawned on him.

"Don't tell me... humans eat Black Heirs?"

Glenn facepalmed, exasperated.

"It's a metaphor... Just forget about it."

Sahro rubbed his chin, a fearful expression on his face.

"That's why they were trying to bite me..."

Glenn stared at Diamanes exchanging mental incredulous glances.

"What the fu–" Diamanes began before Sahro cut him off.

"They did say something interesting. They mentioned that it was only the second time they had encountered a Black Heir." He said while rubbing his chin, wondering how that was possible. Glenn paused, the gears in his mind slowly clicking together.

“Sahro, what kind of sewing shop was it? High-class, low-class?” He asked as he held his breath.

The Black Heir shook his head, “Definitely high-class. These clothes didn’t look cheap whatsoever.”

Glenn gasped and hurriedly stood up from his bed, “Holy shit.”

He dashed out of his room, stopping on the doorstep. He turned back and grinned widely at Sahro’s look of incomprehension.

“Sahro, that Black Heir…What are the chances that he’s Callum, Giselle’s grandson?”

The Black Heir's eyes widened and he gasped widely. Glenn left his room and entered Sahro’s without knocking. He stumbled upon two young, attractive women, both practically naked and lying on Sahro’s bed. He froze for a second, looked down at his naked chest, and turned back with a cough.

“Cough, ‘kay, sorry girls, but Sahro isn’t coming back, so I’ll advise you both to get your clothes back on.”

He heard one of the women jump out of the bed and walk up to him. She passed her finger on his back, the feeling sending a shiver down his back.

‘Well, well, well, look at that. He left Sahro to enjoy the two hungry ladies to himself!’ Diamanes laughed wickedly within Glenn’s mind, killing any desire that had tried to flare up.

“Hmm…It’s too bad about Sahro, but I’m sure we’d both be satisfied with you…” The woman behind him whispered.

Glenn sighed and stepped out of her reach, “Once again, sorry. Maybe another day, alright?”

The woman pouted and turned back, her friend already dressed up. Glenn waited patiently with his arms crossed, wondering about what would have happened if Diamanes wasn’t here to ruin his life.

‘Oh come on, don’t tell me you’re against someone watching you during the act!’ Diamanes laughed lewdly. Glenn clenched his teeth and somehow managed to shut the voice up.

“You can turn, it’s fine…” The woman from earlier said with a disappointed tone. Glenn complied, discovering the looks of the two young women. One had a heart-shaped face with blue eyes, fair skin, and a warm smile, while the other had a more angular visage, with similar blue eyes, alongside tanned skin and a confident look.

They both had blond hair, one curly while the second had straight. They were both quite attractive. Not at the level of the mysterious mint-smelling stranger, but still quite beautiful nonetheless.

Glenn rubbed the corner of his eyes and sighed, "Well, you see, my friend Sahro isn't exactly used to so much, hrm, proximity, so I fear he might have gotten a bit scared. Don't worry, you're both very attractive," His words made a red tint appear on the cheeks of the girls, eliciting a smile from the both of them, "...but he is just too shy. And I don’t have the time to waste on that, sorry. Anyway, I have some questions for you if you don't mind?"

The girls nodded, giggling. Glenn suddenly shivered inexplicably, as he saw them looking up and down at him, particularly fixated on his muscular chest. He coughed, embarrassed.

"You said to my friend that it was the second time you saw a Black Heir…could you tell me more about it?”

They looked at each other, before answering.

"Well, he was with Sir Howard. He comes every now and then, with his soldiers and servants."

The curly-haired girl fiddled with her hands, a weird smile on her face.

"They come for the Harvest. Sir Howard wouldn't come down to the Fringe if it wasn't for that."

The straight-haired girl got closer to Glenn, whispering in his ear.

"No one likes him. No one likes nobles in general, but this guy is particularly disgusting."

Glenn took a step back, as his suspicions were confirmed. It wasn't as hard as he thought to find Baron Howard. He was surprised that the noble had kept the Black Heir for so long, though. He was half-expecting to find Callum's dead body lying in a trench somewhere. The real question now was: how in hell were they going to free Callum?

His thoughts were interrupted by the girls closing in on him, a hungry look in their eyes. Gulping, he swiftly turned around and left Sahro's room, leaving the girls giggling in it, as he quickly went back to his room.

He locked the door behind him and sighed in relief, as he was free from those hungry beasts. Sahro was sitting on his bed, looking at him inquisitively, yet unsurprised.

Glenn took a deep breath and looked at his friend. He grinned widely.

"I was right. I found Callum and Baron Howard."