"... damn idiot."

Mike heard a soft murmur as he slowly regained his consciousness. The moment he tried to clear his head, a sudden burst of pain attacked his brain. He felt like his mind got squeezed to one point of his head and his body tried to adapt to the new size. Nauseating pressure on his skull almost made him throw up the second one of his senses preceptors started transmitting its information.

After gathering himself for a short while, the pain subsided enough for him to try to slowly open his eyes. Only then did he realise that the landscape he saw was actually changing! It took him a good while to realise that it was actually the pattern imprinted on the Inn floor changing as he somehow was travelling through the corridor.

As if opening windows one by one when trying to freshen up the old building, his senses were slowly coming back to Mike, refuelling the fire that was consuming his mind. The feeling of being pulled. The feeling of being dragged. Sudden outbursts of noise coming from somewhere nearby, yet somehow toned down to usually bearable tone.

All of that information was overwhelming his pained brain when his movement suddenly stops. Lifting his head with the determination of demon-slaying hero of the legends, Mike took a glimpse at the vast lands in front of him, currently limited to a plain, painted wooden board. Only the small click of the lock let him know that it was actually a door!

Just a moment after, he was brutally thrown on the hard bed, instantly rolling to the side and fortunately finding a fortuitous encounter. Puking his guts out to the empty bucket eased some of his pain, making him able to clear his thoughts for a second.

"Water!"

That's all he managed to utter before another bout of vomiting struck him. Unable to bear with himself any longer, he twisted back to the front and bowed under the container.

"Stupid, lecherous drunkard!"

Those words were quickly followed by a loud slam and steeps silencing down in the distance. It wasn't hard to figure out what happened. After he passed out, Xyenna somehow got to know about it and brought him to the room to let him rest.

Assuming that he got hellish hangover was just a matter of fact in her situation! Mike didn't know how much time have passed since the events in the Tavern main hall, neither he could stand up and look through the window to gauge the position of the sun. It would be actually quite dangerous!

While hangover people needed water to flush out the toxins from their bodies, he desperately needed to refill his internal fluids! He didn't have a hangover, he simply overused his blessing!

He was clearly unprepared for the evening events. Cleansing himself from alcohol was easy. It worked in a gradual matter. Only when enough of it was stacked in the body did it start to actually have an influence over it. Keeping it at the low enough level allowed the body to slowly take care of the rest of it.

On the other hand, if one were to compare the alcohol with last night aphrodisiac, it was like a small pickpocketer put against an old brawl veteran! Compared with a gentle approach of the old alcohol buddy, it hit him with a hammer right of the bat!

With his energy swiftly approaching his limits, his body tried to react in a usual way, disposing of the toxins with the sweat and spit. While that made a hell of unsightfull look, it proved itself as a last resort.

While his organism got cleared out of various poisons previously applied to it by its owner himself, the amount of the water that was used during the cleansing seriously dehydrated him. Combined with absolute exhaustion of his internal energy and overall tiredness from the long journey, what caused Mike's current look wasn't a simple hangover!

As if the goddess of the rain, Xyenna swiftly returned with a small barrel of water. As soon as she placed it on the ground, previously puking merchant jumped to it. Not paying attention to his barbaric attitude, he started gulping down mouthfuls of water as his life depended on it. Well, considering how he lacked it right now, it kind of did!

"Look at you! All mysterious and mighty, but with the first loose girl coming around you lost all your dignity! What a disgrace!"

Mike didn't even need to look at Xyenna face to see her face with his imagination. Wrath? Disgust? Disappointment? All of them probably mixed in her eyes, with her smile colder than even the most powerful blessing of freezing.

"Don't expect me to explain myself right now!"

Lifting his head for a second, merchant remarked angrily. He was simply too exhausted to keep his usual composure. His eyes dead, body completely relaxed. One didn't need to be a warrior to recognise this kind of demeanour! Only someone completely confident in his own capability could have this kind of still and calm aura despite the awful state Mike presented.

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"Now instead of acting all high and bitchy, sit down and listen."

Dropping all masks and formalities, Mike showed his true colours for the first time since Xyenna got to know him. Stunned by the sudden change in his behaviour, she couldn't even utter a word as she obediently followed her instinct and sat down. The power behind his words was so strong, that she didn't even manage to move to the chair, clamping down right on the floor instead!

"They used some kind of drug on me. I never get to know those people or the exact situation inside the walls before. All I ever heard was a bunch of reports and rumours from a far past. Only by making them think that I'm weak and vulnerable I can make them lower their guard."

Mike calmly explained his reasons, stopping here and there to lower his head, gulp a few mouthfuls of water, hold it in his mouth for a bit and then finally swallow the liquid.

"What they fed me, isn't lethal in any way. At worst, it's some kind of nauseating poison that is supposed to limit my ability to think or move around. That might be the reason why they didn't want me to even think about starting the negotiations back then."

At this point, Mike felt in thoughts so deep, that he even forgot to continue his drinking routine. After a long, silent break that he took which Xyenna didn't dare to interrupt, merchant finally shook his head suppressing his imagination from running amok.

There was simply not enough information to figure out the real reasons for his future negotiation partners. This act might've been their attempt at lowering his negotiation ability or a try to take some kind of advantage from his conflict with town hall guards! With just those two possibilities, the routes to prevent his unexpected opponents from using him as a mere stepping stone were completely different!

All kind of war was won by the intel advantage. One might think that it was the amount and the experience of the troops were the deciding factors of the military struggle, but that was far from the truth. Knowing what your enemy plan was, where did he station his troops, where was the week points of the fortifications, how long would their supplies last…

Those rules applied to all kinds of war. Be it military, religious or trade. The one thing that changed, was the questions that everyone was trying to find answers to.

"I need you to take my place at the negotiating table. I will outline what I can and what I can't agree on. Just start with the best outcome and sparingly give them some space. If they ever ask, just tell them that I'm bedridden and cannot participate while hoping for good results."

This question kind of woke up Mike's thirst, making him dive his head into the remaining water in the bottle. This time, however, he didn't allow it into his mouth, washing his face out of the remaining puke.

"What will you do during the negotiations?"

From the very moment that Mike changed his appearance, Xyenna quickly realised how swiftly he was coming back to his usual well kept state. Signs of the tiredness from the night were already of the verge of disappearing while his eyes recovered their natural gleam.

"Now, I need to recover just a bit more. I would love if you could ask the Innkeeper for some leftover food. As soon as I will regain my strength I'm going to scout for some information about this city situation."

With every second, his previous dark attitude was disappearing, hidden under the reappearing layer of kindness and politeness. Even his wording changed from harsh and straightforward into more formal and descriptive.

"Don't tell me that with food alone you will be in a state to go outside!"

Xyenna suddenly protested, feeling the oppressing feeling that weight on her just a moment ago thinning out and disappearing.

"It would be highly irresponsible for a guard to leave my employer to freely roam the city in such a fragile state!"

Just as her words left her mouth, Xyenna suddenly lost the ground under her feet and crashed on the room wall. Only when her buttocks dropped down on the floor, did her arms folded at her stomach with a pained expression. Even though she called herself a swordmistress, she didn't see this hit coming at all!

"Don't overestimate yourself. If I'm able to take you by surprise now, try to imagine what I will be capable of where I replenish my inner energy!"

With her remark invoking Mike's wrath, Xyenna felt the burn of her own prideful act. While this guy appeared and acted like merchant should, from the various actions and knowledge he already showed her she still dared to underestimate him!

What's worse, Mike reaction allowed her to take a glimpse as his true, dead-like expression, usually hidden by a cheerful smile. While it scared her only a bit, the fact that a sole facial expression could frighten her even in the slightest was already a great proof of Mike capabilities!

Feeling the need to leave this room as soon as possible, the girl ran off to the stairs outside. This time, the door got closed silently behind her when she left the chamber. As soon as her figure disappeared from the part of the corridor visible from the room, Mike felt back to his knees.

Breathing in and out in a stable manner for a rather long while, he finally managed to calm his heart, trying to jump out from his chest. Using such an imposing attitude when he was spent took a great toll on him. All he was able to do was to slowly crawl to the bed and lay down on it.

What Xyenna said was actually true. Despite how skilled in acting he was, he wasn't an actual brawler. Placed against any kind of mercenary or skilled warrior in the open field, his defeat would be set in the stone. He simply wasn't someone who could face his enemies head-on and survive.

But the miscommunication lied somewhere else. While Xyenna did imagine him strolling freely around the streets and picking up a fight with any thug he would meet, Mike, preferred a more delicate approach. What's the point of fighting two enemies that were a lot better fighters than him individually, when one could just follow them into the dark alley, use the surprise to kill the first one and intimidate the second victim to get the necessary information!