I moved back from Ron. It would be stupid to help him to his feet, especially after he had tried to kill me not so long ago. At best, he wouldn’t appreciate my friendly offer, and at worst he would take the chance to take me down once and for all.

“Well, that was unexpected. You’re full of surprises, Cub.” Clive ignored Ron as he moved over to me. “I’ve never seen a Supporter with your strength and skill, maybe you can train some of ours up a bit.”

“Maybe.” I shrugged dismissively. “It’s mostly just basic training, I doubt I could add much.”

“Humble, though maybe not honest. I won’t press you, Cub.” Clive took a step back and turned to the crowd. “Right, shows over! Get back to work, you slackers!”

Ron walked into the distance as the crowd dissipated. He would be a danger going forward, but at least it wasn’t hidden. As long as I could avoid another situation like I had with Ray, I was happy.

“So, you wanted to join us. I guess I can’t say no now, can I?” Clive pulled out a chair from a nearby building and tossed it to me. “Here, let’s chat. I have a few questions for you.”

I grabbed the chair and set it down as Clive pulled another out. We sat next to each other as the surrounding bandits made a gap between themselves and us.

“So, what’s a Supporter doing out in the forest alone? I know you’re pretty strong, but that’s still dangerous.” Clive folded his arms as he stared at me. “I don’t get it.”

“Well, I had a few… issues in town.” I tutted and glanced towards the exit of the encampment. “It was awkward to stay there after what happened, so I decided to head off on my own. It was then that I came up with the idea to join up with you.”

“Hmm.” Clive tilted his head to one side. “I guess that plays out. What did you do, if I may ask?”

“Well, I got into a fight with a guard. He was basically a criminal, but the others didn’t see it that way.” I spoke calmly, as though every word was the truth. Little did he know every word was true, though not in the way he would have imagined. “After we had our little fight, I had to leave. Simple as that, really.”

“Really. Maybe we’re alike after all, Cub.” Clive rubbed his chin and pushed himself up. “You’re in, I’ll give you Ron’s old rank. He can work his way up again, or he can scram off.”

“Thanks.” I pushed myself up and grinned at Clive. “I’ll do my best-”

“Oh, don’t thank me too much. It’ll be hard work, and some won’t be too happy about you taking his spot.” Clive kicked the chair back into the house. “He’s a rude idiot, but he knows how to keep the right people happy. You’ll have to prove yourself before they let it go.”

“How?” After my little fight with Ron, what else was there to do. I had beaten him into the dirt, and they would still try to make trouble for me?

Are these people insane? How many of them do I need to beat up before they leave me alone?

“I’ll give you a mission, one which Ron failed on before. Do that, and you’ll win most of them over.”

“Oh, that sounds fair. What is it?”

“It’s pretty simple, Cub.” Clive patted my shoulder with a smile. “You just need to pick up the protection money the nearby village owes us. Easy, right?”

It didn’t take long for me to leave the encampment again. This time I was followed by my own squad, though their numbers were far lower than Ron’s had been. Our mission was less dangerous, apparently, which explained the difference.

“So, captain. What’s the plan?” One of the bandits spoke up. It was Leah, the woman who had spoken out in my defence back at the encampment. I had asked for her to be assigned to my squad, along with several of Ron’s old followers. She had frowned when she heard our mission but had not voiced any complaints at the new assignment.

Specifically, I had chosen those who had shown skill in combat along with a hatred of their old commander.

If they hated him, it was obvious they wouldn’t turn out to be his spies. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. We numbered ten in total, but those who followed me seemed happy to go with whatever plan I had in mind.

“Leave it to me, I’ll sort it out when we get there. You take the lead, Leah. I don’t know this place as well as you yet.”

Leah nodded and moved to the front of the group. The rest of us moved behind her as we walked through the forest. At first we were bunched up, but I ordered my troops to spread out a little. There was no need to give an easy target to any ranged opponents who might ambush us on the way.

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My followers were confused at the order, but once I explained the reasons they were happy to obey. Such things were standard tactics, but most bandit leaders took charge through strength rather than intelligence.

I’m glad I read up on some of this stuff in the past. I can’t remember doing so exactly, but this information must have come from somewhere.

We moved in three sections. The first had three warriors, including Leah. After them came the two lightly armoured practitioners and myself, with three archers at the rear. One lightly armoured adventurer also acted as a forward scout at the edges of the group.

There were problems with the formation, but our numbers limited the available options. If we were attacked from the rear, I would be able to back them up for long enough so that our warriors could reinforce the line.

Maybe I was overthinking it. Clive had said the village wouldn’t do something so stupid as attacking us openly. They refused to pay the protection money on the grounds that they didn’t have any to spare. Clive didn’t believe that, so he had set me the goal of getting the full amount.

On the one hand, he had given me the chance to prove myself. On the other hand, he was testing me yet again. This was a task the brutish Ron had failed to complete, so someone like me had even less of a chance.

At least I would if I played by their rules.

Unfortunately for them, I had a few skills up my sleeves which they couldn’t plan for. None of that would matter if I couldn’t persuade the village leader to play along, and that was reliant on my skills of persuasion.

The village appeared in the distance not long after. It was on the eastern edge of the forest, flanked on the north by the mountains. The town I had landed near was far to the south, which gave the whole place a sense of scale.

I’ve come so far, and I have even further to go. I should start as I mean to go on. These people have done nothing wrong, so I need to help them if it doesn’t leave me open.

“Hello!” A man walked out from one of the buildings and waved at us. His smile was a little too wide to be natural as he moved to greet us. “I imagine you're here about the protection money? I’m sorry, but we don’t have-”

“Be quiet.” I waved the man into silence and turned to my squad. “Surround the village, make sure no one sneaks out. I need to speak to this man, privately.”

My nine followers nodded and obeyed my order. The small collection of huts was barely enough to be counted as a village, but even then they struggled to surround it completely. After they had moved out of earshot, I stepped close to the villager who had greeted us.

“Are you the village leader?” I asked with a small smile. The man glanced at my followers before he nodded in response. “Good, let’s go into your house. I have an offer for you.”

The man turned and lead me into the central building. Several faces poked out of the windows on either side of the single road as we walked into the village leaders home. They watched suspiciously as the leader waved me into his house and closed the door behind us.

“You have an offer… for me?” The man asked after the door had closed. “Please excuse me if I don’t get too excited.”

“That’s understandable. I do have a few questions for you.” I dropped into one of the seats beside his table and waved at the man to take the chair across from me. “Why don’t you leave this place?”

“Are you threatening-” The man’s fists whitened as he stepped towards me.

“No, of course not. It’s merely a question.” I raised a hand to calm the leader. “You have to pay an extortionate protection fee, the grounds aren’t fertile enough for farming, and monsters are bound to attack your village at regular intervals. What’s keeping you here?”

“This is our home.” The man lowered himself into the other chair as he sighed. “Enough of us don’t want to leave that the rest have no choice. The vice-commander of the bandits knows this, and he has taken several of our members into his fold. We leave, they face the punishment... Not that they know that, of course.”

“Hmm.” I rested my hands on his table as I catalogued the new information. My plan would still work, but the added variables would make it extremely difficult. The only issue was that it was difficult to fully trust him. If he passed on the details of my plan to the bandits…

“He’s telling the truth.” Rose spoke softly from within my brain. Her comment stunned me for a moment, but before I could ask what she meant, she continued. “Your friend told me. Apparently, she has some way to know these things”

“… Claire.” I muttered to myself. The leader frowned as he stared at me, but I ignored him as my mind reeled.

She did have the ability to know if people were lying. But how did she use it as a soul?

“I still have an offer for you, but it’s up to you if you take it.” I said after I had calmed myself. Now that I had Claire’s backing, the next step was relatively safe.

“There’s no cost on listening. Go on, speak your piece.”

“Pay me the money you owe, in full.” I raised my hand to cut off his objection. “Hear me out. If you keep refusing, the bandits won’t let you live in peace. If you give me the money, I’ll give it to them. Then, I’ll give it back to you.”

“…what?” The man stared at me for several seconds. “How will you managed that trick, friend?”

“Don’t worry about that, I have a foolproof plan.” I waved off his questions as though they were unimportant. “You wouldn't believe me if I told you. All you have to do is promise me you won’t tell anyone I helped you. Do we have a deal?”

The leader tapped on the table as he stared at me. After several minutes of silence, he opened his mouth to respond.

“My father told me to never trust a bandit, but… you don’t have the look of a bandit. I guess that means I can trust you.” The leader laughed, but the expression didn’t reach his eyes. “I guess if Leah decided to follow you here, you must be worthy of some level of trust… It’s not like I have a choice, right?”

“You won’t regret this.” I stood up and reached out towards him. “Pleasure doing business with you.”

“And you.” The leader gripped my hand and shook it firmly. “I’ll see you again soon, I hope.”