Arriving to my destination, I found the general area to be just as obnoxious as before. The marble arches and spires of the inn certainly didn’t help, but they weren’t the worst offender. No, that honour went to a jewellery store that advertised its wares by having them float through the air in front of the shop. I almost couldn’t believe my eyes, at first. The gems and golden trinkets were floating through the air, ready to be snatched by any pickpocket passing by! Even the glum guards that the shop had hired couldn’t deter all of them, surely…

I shook my head, scoffing internally. Some people truly lived in a different world, it seemed. With my mind elsewhere, I hadn’t paid much attention as I ascended to the raised marble dais, in an attempt to enter the inn before me. As a result, when one of the inn’s guards stopped me from doing so, it came as a surprise.

“Your kind isn’t welcome here. Have some self-awareness, yeah?” he said gruffly, though his voice sounded somewhat young. Beside him, his partner stiffened.

“…My kind?” I asked, barely holding onto my temper. Was he referring to my affinity?

“Do I need to spell it out for you?” he continued, gesturing at my clothes before getting in my face with a sneer, “You’re a bum. You don’t belong here. Get. Out.”

Glancing down, I realised that he was, in part, right about my clothes. My cloak was in tatters, while the grey cloth shirt beneath it wasn’t faring much better. It was simply something those with regeneration grew accustomed to, as even armour couldn’t withstand the sheer amount of risks I tended to take. That didn’t mean that his insult didn’t sting, though…

I could barely hear his partner sigh behind his helmet, but he didn’t intervene. At this point, my heart was beating a hundred times a second from pure, unadulterated rage. I probably shouldn’t have escalated the situation, knowing the circumstances… but I did.

Without a word, I reared back and socked him in the face, full force. His steel helmet deformed as my fist slammed into it, before throwing his head back with a dull ‘thunk’. His body followed where his head was going, crumpling to the floor after slamming into the marble wall behind him, even leaving cracks in the shape of a small spiderweb.

His partner, seeing the result of my punch, froze and nearly attacked me with his halberd, before thinking better of it and rushing over to his (hopefully) unconscious colleague. To his credit, he never considered running away.

Realising what I had done, I decided to face the consequences head-on. Besides, this would get me in contact with Cerion faster than the original plan would. I almost wanted to thank the idiot that had provoked me. Almost.

Rather quickly, a crowd began to form around us, which caused enough of a commotion to draw out a higher-up working at the inn. The man in question was dressed in an elegant suit, similar to a butler.

He walked through the front gate with significant poise, but lost all of it the instant he found one of his employees crumpled against his wall. Bewildered, his gaze shifted from me to the guard repeatedly, as understanding finally dawned on his face.

Impressively, he regained his calm as quickly as he had lost it.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Are you the one who attacked one of our employees, good sir?”

I nodded, crossing my arm.

“And may I ask… why, you decided such a course of action was necessary?” he continued, seemingly determined to catch me up.

“He insulted me by calling me a bum, got in my face and stopped me from entering your establishment, without ever asking me what I was doing here.”

The butler faltered, his grey locks falling over his face before he managed to brush them back behind his ears.

“While this is certainly not the standard procedure here, I find that your reaction was a bit… excessive, no? To make matters worse, our building has been damaged by your actions. Would you consider a compromise? Reimbursement will be necessary, after all.”

I shook my head. “Not a chance. Your guy started this fight. Just let me in or call out the people whom I came here for, and I’ll consider this matter over.”

By now, several medics had carried the unconscious body of their colleague inside, disappearing behind the heavy gates. As the butler moved to continue arguing, a familiar voice spoke up from the crowd.

“Arthur! What trouble have you caused now!” Emeri said, as she pushed through the crowd to get to me.

Perhaps it helped that Emeri was better dressed than I was, because the butler instantly seemed to recognise her and the nearby crowd parted when they noticed how her white dress glowed with golden accents beneath the evening sun.

“Ah, miss Emeri Helios, right?” the butler asked with a respectful tone, “This man, Arthur, as you call him, has-”

He stopped midsentence as he seemed to realise something, his face paling in horror.

“H-how about we discuss this further inside?” he asked, turning to me, “Both of you are most welcome.”

Not even giving us a chance to reply, he stalked back through the gates with a hurried, rhythmic gait. Pleasantly surprised, I followed, as that had been the reason I came here for in the first place.

“Would you look at that?” I called out to Emeri behind me. “The moment they realise who they’re dealing with, they become agreeable.”

“…Doesn’t come across as very sincere.” Emeri grumbled quietly. “Don’t think I’ve forgotten about your behaviour either, mister!”

I quickened my pace, trying to shake her off of my tail. I failed.

Eventually, we managed to sort things out. Emeri damn-near commanded me to pay remunerations, though apologies were never asked for, thankfully. Besides, the guard turned out to be fine, once they healed his skull. Huh. That bothered me more than it had any right to. The breaking part, I mean.

After paying for the repairs to the wall with a few dozen gold coins (half the worth of a spatial pouch), the butler finally agreed to bring me and, conversely, Emeri, to our acquaintances.

“You’ll find your friend Cerion in the kiosk on most days, as the noble folk that visit us tend to gather there.” He had said. “Friendly warning, do not act as rashly there as you did near the entrance. We have powerful guests present, and our staff does not have the power to intervene if it became necessary.”

Through I knew that already, I took the old man’s advice to heart. The kiosk turned out to be an entire separate building, in truth. Its shape was similar to that of a large tent, though it was built out of stone and wood like any other building. Its size was nothing to scoff at, either, having enough room for a dozen separate rooms where guests could converse privately, as well as an opulent, gigantic common area that could fit hundreds and was often used to host balls and the like.

The kiosk was situated at the end of the inn’s gardens, which were equally impressive and boasted a variety of plants that had been left to grow as if in the wild. Despite the excessiveness of it all, a part of me did appreciate how beautiful it was, here.

Once inside the kiosk, the butler left us to roam and find Cerion for ourselves.

Thankfully, that wasn’t very difficult, as he stood out as a figurehead in the middle of the room, surrounded by two dozen noble heirs and heiresses. He fit in surprisingly well, but the façade was ruined the moment he noticed me near the entrance and his elegance dropped off of his face. He bounded over like an excitable puppy, forcing me to smack him away before he wrapped me up in one of the least manly hugs I could otherwise have been subject to.