The pudgy elder moved his eyes away from the bounty section of the reward poster. It was enough to fund his journey for over half a year, but the money was never his biggest interest. He was more curious about the wanted than eager for gold. He shoved the poster into his waistcoat and creaked open the door of the wooden inn. The inn was called the "Inn of Helan." However, no one could tell the name from the broken signboard.

The elder's eyes, which had aged through his decades of banishment and traveling, were yet enough to scan the whole first floor of the inn. Neither the dirty mugs and trays on the counter nor unconscious alcoholics on the worn floor caught the old man's attention. He was here for the Bohito, who was sitting at the table closest to the stairs. He was here for the Bohito with his chisa katana and scabbard beside his stool. He was here for the Bohito, who was wearing only a pinkish-red haori and a long white hakama. He was here for the Bohito with a long wolf tail exceeding his shoulders. He was here for the Bohito depicted on the reward poster, whose name was Akki.

Most Bohitoes lived in their own nation, Bokokka, and those who lived abroad were mostly monster hunters who made a living by killing monsters in the wilderness and ancient ruins. Before Akki, the elder didn't know a single Bohito who was into heisting.

Before financially securing his journey, the elder first had to register a room. He was planning to stay for a while after receiving the gold. Walking in a straight line, he silently padded to the counter. Awakening any one of those alcoholics here would be a huge problem. The wrinkled but chubby knuckles tapped on the wooden top, awakening the sleeping innkeeper. The innkeeper was slim in an oversized gray tunic and white apron stained with the day's labors.

After a deep yawn, the innkeeper stood up while stretching and took out his notebook, "How may I help you, sir?" the innkeeper opened his eyes and was instantly surprised by that small metal plate covering most of the elder's right cheek.

"A room and a mug of beer will do," Roal, stretching only his left cheek, grinned at the innkeeper and gently put dozens of pale coins on the oak counter. The coins were mixtures of bones and shells. They were the official currency used in the territory of FASOTO, Forest Area Shared Ownership Treaty Organization.

"May I have your name, please?" the innkeeper deftly took out a key from the drawer like he always had. It was rare to see people with metal pieces on their faces. However, the innkeeper had no intention of addressing it. It was his secret tip of running an inn.

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"Roal Ranith."

While recording the name, the innkeeper handed Roal the key, "Enjoy your night, sir."

"I certainly will," Roal walked toward Akki while repeatedly tossing the key into the air. His revolver was loaded; all six chambers had bluish-white lights radiating from the holes. Roal unbuttoned the holster and slowly sat across from the robber with his hands on his knees due to old age and overweight. Chatting with criminals had been the old man's hobby long before he was expelled. At first, he did it as a practice for him to think like a criminal when investigating. Expectedly, he encountered many whom he sympathized with and many he believed innocent. It was a surprise that this hobby took three years to get Roal into tangled political drama, which, obviously, was the cause of his banishment.

Raising his head from the beer mug, Akki looked up and met Roal's blue eyes; the formers were filled with wariness; the latter pairs contained grace and curiosity.

"I noticed something we have in common the moment I saw you," Roal jokingly Announced, putting a bit of curiosity into Akki's wariness, "You're missing your nagagi; I'm missing my jacket." He pointed at Akki's naked, muscular chest, then redirected his finger toward himself, who was missing a blazer to complete his suit.

Facing the elder's smile, Akki responded with a drunk chuckle, having his mouth opened much wider than the elder's. If it weren't in the middle of the night, Akki would let the laughter out in its full volume, waking everyone in the inn.

"You know what else you're missing?" Akki joyfully riddled after the chuckle with his elbows propping on the table and his body leaning forward.

"What?" Roal had already painted multiple old faces onto the man in his mind. Those who could return jokes were always the unhinged ones.

"Your citizenship," Akki kept chuckling under the delight of alcohol, leaving the old man stunned in surprise. Akki was talking about the two little dents on Roal's metal plate; one was closer to the right eye; the other was closer to the jaw. A normal Eternian's dents glowed, but a banished one's dents didn't. "How could a Bohito know so much about Eternians?" was the first question that glid into Roal's mind. It had been a long while since the last time someone identified his sign of banishment.

"You've taken some high-level education, didn't you?" Roal, putting on an inquisitive frown, leaned forward, propping his elbows on the table the same way as Akki.

"Oh, certainly—" Akki blurted but got cut off by the loud noise of the ledged door. Both the Eternian and the Bohito instantly faced the entrance. The man entered was wearing a piece of chainmail outside his tunic and holding a crossbow in his hands. He aimed at the two immediately. Akki kicked the red scabbard upward from the ground as the intruder fired a bolt. He seized the wooded scabbard in the air, letting the bolt bury its arrowhead into it.

Witnessing his shot getting parried, the intruder took out his longsword and charged forward. The Bohito also drew his katana. However, before standing up, he lightly whispered, "Twirl." and activated his speed hex.