His eyes opened and slowly, the blurry dark world came into focus. He turned his head towards the window. The curtains were drawn, but slivers of morning light came through the gaps between the shutters. The curtains were added as additional protection against morning sunlight, though he’d always been a morning person.

He was the only person in his family who was.

Henry squinted, his vision adjusting to the shadowed room as he looked towards the small clock by his bed. He didn’t need an alarm. He almost always woke up at this time, giving him exactly two hours for his morning routine before going to work.

He slid his legs off the bed and stretched his arms over his head as he stood up. He crossed his room that was easily as large as a commoner’s entire house on the mainland to get to the large windows across. He pulled the curtains open and allowed his eyes to adjust to the view of the harbor entrance in the distance.

Carthage Harbor was a large natural harbor consisting of three parts: the harbor itself, the city that surrounded it on the mainland, and the massive, walled island in the center of the harbor that had been built out into a star formation. It was once a fortification for the assortment of villages that made a living around the harbor, but as wealth was amassed through trade, the merchants strengthened the defenses of the city and the island to protect from pirates and other invaders.

The urban center of Carthage Harbor was the island, and the more one went inland, the less urban it became, eventually tapering off into a fertile farming region called the Carthage Basin.

His family settled on the island, as it was the beating commercial and political heart of the city. Each of the island’s star points had roads that led directly to the Central Plaza and each major thoroughfare had smaller plazas. Both his family’s home and the tea shop were on the North Point, known for its luxury import shops, expensive eateries, and several high-profile merchant families; the Atractas family amongst them.

While there were long established merchant families on the island, business was always changing. Very few families made it three generations of success. What mattered with the guilds and trade organizations a merchant family belonged to.

The Atractas family belonged to the most prominent on the two continents: Mount Asae, named after the highest mountain on the east continent. There was a saying that if a merchant’s business could cross the mountain range of Mount Asae, then they would be successful for at least a hundred years.

The Mount Asae Merchant’s Guild was itself connected to an ancient and influential abbey said to have raised its founding merchants. Its network was extensive, and a much-needed resource for their family.

It made settling in Carthage Harbor a relatively smooth matter for them, though if one had seen them just a few years earlier, they wouldn’t have been allowed more than a visitor’s pass on to the island.

Henry took in the view that he relished. Today, the skies were blue and there were a few puffy white clouds. The harbor was already busy with ships coming in and out. He could smell the faint salt in the air.

His shoulders relaxed.

It was a shame that he was the only one home at the moment.

He turned around and changed into clothes that were a bit too worn to be worn in public. He grabbed a sword in its sheath hanging on one of the posts of his bed and slung it over his shoulder before heading out.

The family property took up an entire block, with one side facing the main street that led to the Central Plaza. From the outside, the ground floor had five shops along the main street, including the Snake, Scarab, and Sons tea house, while along the other streets, there were other shops that were rented out. A portion of the block of buildings had been purchased with the intent to one day turn it into an inn, the next stage of his family’s hospitality business.

Henry tied up his long hair into a messy bun and climbed the stairs to the spacious rooftop. Originally, since their property was made up of several buildings surrounding a central courtyard, the buildings had slightly different heights when they were purchased. The floors weren’t always even, either.

Before they moved in, his aunt made sure that the buildings were leveled with each other, creating one large building with the appearance of a four-story building on the outside, topped with a fifth-floor rooftop terrace where the family liked to spend warm summer nights relaxing.

Henry entered through the north entrance, as the family’s home was on the north side. The morning breeze was humid and already carried enough warmth to hint at a hot day. The northern half’s terrace had an upper level hidden from view with low walls from the street below. In the mornings, it was where they went to have a space open enough to get some exercise in.

“Naali,” he called out as he stretched his arms over his chest. He felt a cool breeze against his skin and felt a gentle energy acknowledge him. “Let’s do an ice elf attack stimulation.”

“What about the Battle of White Tooth Ridge?” A light, childish voice echoed in his head.

He wrinkled his nose a bit. “I don’t think we have enough space for that.” The upper-level terrace was only so large, as a portion of it was sectioned off for the inn. “Can you mirror a portion of it?”

“Yes, Master! Naali can do that!”

Another cold breeze swept past Henry, but this time along with a familiar crackling of ice as the entire courtyard seemed to freeze over. The low walls were extended and there were trees and stone mounds made of ice. A false landscape was created and the air tingled with the energy of the ice spirit to ensure that there would be no collateral damage that spilled into the streets.

“Good job, Naali,” Henry praised as he unsheathed his sword. He gently leaned the sheath near the staircase and turned to face the open area. “Begin.”

More crackling filled the air as humanoid ice figures materialized. Ten tall and slender ice beings with expressionless faces and pointed ears surrounded him, all clutching weapons in their hands. Ice elves were known for stone and bone weapons, with any sharp object made of bone particularly dangerous, as they were porous and often soaked in a poison made from the guts of a spiny arctic fish.

This meant that they had to be avoided at all cost, and in a training stimulation, though not fatal, should be avoided, as well.

Two ice figures rushed towards him and Henry darted forward to combat them.

His metal sword collided with the sword made of ice. Under normal circumstances, a piece of ice that thin and narrow would break, but a fox ice spirit backing it made sure it took the beating almost as well as a metal sword could.

“Master! Master, let me help you!” An excited voice of a teenage boy echoed in Henry’s mind.

“This is a physical training session, Raiju. You sit this one out.” Henry declined as his sword cut across the torso of an ice elf made of actual ice. The groove was deep. If it had been across flesh, blood would’ve been everywhere.

“I want to train, too, Master! I need to exercise.”

“If you wanted to exercise more, you should’ve gone to escort Auntie and Effie like Simir.” Raiju was a lightning spirit and the first spirit he contracted when he was a child. In terms of spirit age, he was young, but not as young as Naali, who was, in Effie’s explanation, ‘just a baby’.

Simir, the firebird spirit, was old. So old that even when Raiju called him an old man, Simir was unbothered. As an added precaution to ensure that his aunt and Effie were safe on their journey, Simir had been assigned to guard them.

“How would that have been more exercise? Auntie and the Young Miss are strong. They wouldn’t need me.” If Henry didn’t know any better, he’d think that Raiju was pouting.

But he wasn’t wrong.

It was his aunt who taught them how to fight. They also traveled with an escort and brought the family pet, Commodore, with them.

“But they’d let you run around,” Henry replied.

Raiju’s voice lowered. “Auntie is a better master....”

“I heard that.” The head of one of the ice figures shook after a cut before finally falling off.

Henry continued to make his way through the figures as Naali ‘resurrected’ them to keep the onslaught continuous. Henry didn’t pause, planning each step and predicting where each figure would move with a glance at their head and shoulders.

As he shoved the pommel of his sword under the chin of one of the figures, he heard a familiar cawing sound above him. He glanced up just long enough to catch sight of a large black bird.

“Master, the Second Young Master-”

“I know,” Henry replied to Raiju. “Let him in.”

He continued to move around the rooftop, keeping each target inline as he attacked and parried. Despite being surrounded by ice and a chill that came off, the constant movement allowed a slight sheen to appear on his brow.

He heard the click of the door opening and then a happy voice greeted him. “Brother, I’m home-ah!”

Henry cut down and Ash screamed as he stepped to the side. “So, you still know how to come home, do you?”

Ash flushed and threw out his left hand to get a dagger to slide into his palm. “I left a note before I left!”

Henry swung up and Ash deflected the sword with the side of the dagger, continuing to open distance between the two of them. “Your note said, ‘got a part time job, will be back’. It didn’t say where your job was or when you’d come back. Effie thought you’d be home for dinner. She was excited for you to try her fried squash!”

Ash winced with guilt as he was driven back. “Was it good?”

“She burnt them, but that’s not the point.” Henry took a step back and turned in time to prevent an ice figure from cutting down on his back.

Ash looked over his shoulder and quickly raised his arm to block another ice figure. “Are you doing a stimulation?”

“Exercise.” Henry saw his brother begin to back down. “You need to exercise, too.”

“But I just got back!”

“If you don’t fight the ice figures, you’ll fight me.”

“Ugh.” Ash tilted his head back and slumped with defeat for a moment. He took a deep breath before shifting his feet and realigning his hips. He held up the dagger. “I don’t even have a sword....”

“Use magic slips.”

“I ran out and need to make more,” Ash replied in a mumble.

The corner of Henry’s lips curled up as he heard his brother behind him along with the sounds of ice cracking and shattering.

“Master, the Second Young Master is exploding the ice figures with magic!” Naali’s voice complained.

“That’s fine. That’s how he fights.” Henry could best Ash with a weapon, but when it came to anything magical, he’d face strong opposition, even with the three spirits on his side.

“By the way, where are Momma and Effie?”

“They’re at the yearly stakeholder’s meeting,” Henry replied as he ducked before grabbing his sword to defend from an overhead strike. “But you’d know that if you didn’t run away.”

“I didn’t run away! I got a part time job!”

“You have an allowance. What do you need a part time job for?”

“Do you buy Momma’s birthday gifts with allowance money?”

“No, I use investment dividends of my own.”

“See.”

“Like a responsible son. Why don’t you use investment dividends?”

“I reinvested them, so I can’t liquidate them right now.”

Henry let out a small ‘tsk’ sound. “What’d you get Auntie?”

“Hair ornament and new lunar orb spider silk hair bonnet with matching eye mask and robe. Custom,” Ash replied. Lunar orb spiders were rare and carefully farmed in the mountains of East Iveria. They didn’t produce much silk, but the nearly translucent fabric that glowed in the moonlight was in high demand. There were waitlists for undyed bolts. It was a bit impressive that Ash was able to get his hands on three silk items. “I picked them up on the way back. What about you?”

“Effie and I consolidated our gift-”

“Cheap.”

“To buy a horse farm in the south village.”

“Wait, what?” Ash turned around, forgetting about the attacking ice beings. A figure hit his shoulder and he let out a hiss before glaring and turning around. He held up his hand, grabbed the ice figure’s neck, and used magic to send a crack through its body. With his opponent down, he turned to look at his brother, defeated. “Why didn’t you tell me you two were buying her property?”

“Because someone decided to go off on his own for a part time job before we could discuss it. Idiot.”

Ash groaned and grasped his head with one hand. Henry beheaded another ice figure. As he turned, Ash gave him a pleading look. “Brother, can I still contribute?”

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“I’m fine with it, but you’ll need to take this up with Effie.”

“Effie is stingy!”

The black bird that had been sitting on one of the walls let out a caw of disapproval before flapping its wings and coming down, swooping at Ash. Ash let out a yelp as he raised his arms and ducked his head. Henry smirked.

“Cole seems to disagree.”

“Cole, you’re biased! I know you love Effie more than me!” Ash yelled, accusing the raven that had followed him through his entire journey. Cole the raven did not disagree and cawed once more to confirm that he did favor the youngest child more.

Ash rushed towards the door to the stairwell and Henry chuckled. “Naali, end the stimulation.”

“Yes, Master!” The crackling sound echoed around them as the landscape changed and seemed to melt into thin air. The figures had stopped and melted away, and the rooftop was left as it was, with a roof that had just a slight incline to let the rain slide down to the gutters.

Ash wiped the sweat off his brow and looked at Henry. “How long have Momma and Effie been gone?”

“Two weeks. They should be back in another week or two after the meeting.” Henry put his sword back into its sheath. “Go and take a bath. I’ll make breakfast.”

Ash nodded as Henry reached up and ruffled his hair a bit.

Ash disappeared into his room, which was across from Henry’s. Henry put his sword away and went downstairs to the kitchen. The house had a grand staircase, but Ash had developed an elevator in what used to be the servant stairs. It was Effie’s preferred way of going up and down, but tended to remain unused when she wasn’t home.

Henry passed it, sighing a bit and missing the loud voice of the family’s youngest clamoring for her favorite breakfast of eggs, spinach, and steak. Auntie always made her eat what everyone else was eating, though. Someone came twice a week to clean the house and do laundry, but cooking was left to the family in order to spend as much time together when they were busy.

As the water for the tea was being prepared, Henry went to get the pre-mixed dough to make that morning’s bread. By the time Ash came downstairs, his silver-white hair still wet from his bath, the flat bread had been laid out, cut into smaller pieces, along with some jam, fruit, cheese, and scrambled eggs.

The two brothers sat across from each other and began to eat. “Did you check in with the guild yet?” Henry asked.

Ash shook his head. “No, I came straight home,” he replied. “I’ll go after breakfast.”

“It gets busy, so you should hurry.”

“It’s across the plaza.” Ash waved off the concern. One of the reasons Henry and their family knew that Ash’s part time job was a guild assignment was because someone from the guild, familiar with Ash’s style, came to tell them.

“You have to get back in time for opening.”

Ash’s shoulders sank. “You want me to work? But I just got back.”

“You wouldn’t have just got back if you never left.”

“Brother....”

“You have host duties. Give Aunt Margeaux a chance to relax.”

Ash relented. “Fine....” Henry cracked a slight smile as he watched his brother scrunch his face and stuff some bread into his mouth. He reached across the table and rubbed his hair once more. Ash scowled and tried to pull back, but Henry held his head firmly. “Brother, I’m an adult.”

Henry snorted and raised a brow. “Tell me that when you give proper leave notice.” Ash shot him a glare and Henry chuckled, gently pushing his head. “Hurry up and eat so you can check into the guild. We open in an hour.”

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“He’s here today, too!” The excited voice of a young woman drifted in the air, reaching Henry’s ears as he wrote the tea of the day on the sign board just outside the entrance. Ash was delegated to sweeping the front steps. If one looked close enough, they’d notice that he was pouting at being made to work after ‘working so hard’ at his part time job.

“We’re so lucky! They’re both here today! A feast for the eyes!”

Henry pretended he didn’t hear the gushing of the two young women approaching the tea house. Ash perked up and threw them a brilliant smile.

“Good morning, dear guests! Just give us a few more minutes and we’ll open our doors.” If Henry didn’t know any better, he’d swear Ash was using magic to come off even shinier to the guests.

“Second Young Master, where have you been?” someone asked with a hint of complain. There was already a small line beside the building, waiting to get in. “We haven’t seen you in weeks.”

“I took a part time job.” Ash beamed as he stopped to answer. “From the Adventurer’s Guild.”

“The Adventurer’s Guild? Was it dangerous?” Whoever was asking was obviously impressed.

“Nothing I can’t handle-”

“Keep sweeping.” Henry cut him off in the authoritative voice older siblings used to get the younger ones to do their bidding. Ash rolled his eyes, but still continued to sweep diligently.

Henry went inside, ready to open the tea house for the day.

In other kingdoms and cities, it was abnormal for the children of wealthy families to do such menial labor as preparing a tea house for opening, even if it was owned by their family. They’d likely do back-office work or be learning a specific skill set passed down from generation to generation that didn’t require too much physical labor.

But the merchant families in the Merchant Federation were different. Children were encouraged, if not assigned, laborious jobs in the family business to learn. Children from families tied to the Mt. Asae Merchant Guild went a step further. They were assigned jobs in the family business for at least a year or two to learn, and sometimes did multiple jobs at once.

This was to ensure that the heirs to the family knew every aspect of the business, from signing trade agreements, arranging logistical work, to stocking shelves and sweeping. Every job was important and they needed to understand the difficulties of each one.

This not only ensured that the children grew to know the work, but appreciate the effort of their employees. Family elders watched to see who was best suited to do what, to carry the family business and how. This process worked so well that members of the Mt. Asae Merchant Guild were all but assured to become multi-generational merchant families.

As such, Henry and his siblings could not only clean, but prepare table settings. In the case of Effie, she was learning traditional tea serving, as well. Her next goal was to start reviewing contracts, for some reason.

Henry smiled to himself as he watched his brother expertly dive into his role as a server. Ash always had a knack for knowing just what to suggest to a specific customer.

When Ash wasn't taking or bringing out orders, he assisted with busing tables.

At the end of their shift, Henry patted his brother's shoulder. Ash had just sat down and tensed as Henry put his hand on his shoulder. His eyes crinkled up, and he hesitantly looked up at his brother with dread behind his glasses.

"I'm off the clock."

"I know." Amused, Henry stifled his smirk at his brother's immediate alarm and suspicion.

Ash swallowed hard. "This means I'm off of work."

"I'm aware. I scheduled you."

Ash's look of weariness didn't falter. "Please don't make me do overtime, Brother!" He clasped his hands together to plead. "I just traveled around the continent, and you already made me work the opening shift."

Henry rolled his eyes. "I was going to tell you not to worry about dinner. Let's get something to eat outside instead of cooking."

At last, the worry on Ash's face lifted. His eyes brightened. "I haven't had the roasted duck at Point West Bistro in a while."

"For someone who looked so terrified just moments earlier, you certainly had your choice ready at once."

"What can I say," Ash replied with a lazy shrug of his shoulders. "I got a bit homesick." Henry let out a small snort, but didn't say anything to counter him.

He and Ash untied their aprons and tossed them into the uniform laundry bin in the backroom before informing the staff they were leaving for the night.

"Go, go! You two worked hard today," Margeaux told them as she shooed them out of the tea shop. "And the poor Second Young Master hasn't had a chance to rest yet."

Henry shot his younger brother a sidelong glance. "Did you complain?"

"To anyone who would listen." Ash's smug expression broke with a wince as his brother smacked him upside the head. "The older you get, the less you love me. When we were children, you'd never lay a hand against me unless we were sparring!"

"When we were children, you were cute and obedient. If Auntie or I told you to sit somewhere and wait for us, you wouldn't take a step away and wait patiently."

Ash sighed and stuffed his hands into the pockets of his pants. "Back then, I didn't have time to wander around. I had an entire library of magical texts to read. And also, I was a kid. I'm not stupid. I wasn't going to wander around by myself. Our situation was dangerous back then."

"Hmm...it had its moments."

"We lived in a cave for a week."

"It was only a week until Auntie Soraya managed to find us," Henry said as he looked ahead of them. "What was really dangerous was trying to avoid being found."

This time, it was Ash who let out a scoff. "Found? Who was looking for us?"

"I'm the one who was supposed to be dead. You and Auntie merely disappeared."

"They wouldn't have expended any effort to look for us. We weren't wanted. If we disappeared, it would only be a blessing to them."

Henry's blue eyes narrowed and his lips pulled into a tight line. "Forget about it. We have nothing to do with them."

He led his brother to the western point of the island, where a famous rotisserie was located. It sampled different roasts from several regions where the Merchant Cities were located. Having traveled around much of their young lives, Henry could confidently say that the taste of the food was authentic.

"Well, well, well, has the prodigal son finally returned?" Seated on the second story balcony , overlooking the harbor, a young woman peered over the railing and called out below.

Ash lifted his head and sneered. "I had a part time job!"

"You always have a part time job," the young woman replied. Her green eyes shifted to the red-haired man beside Ash, and her voice became gentler. "Young Master Atractas."

"Young Miss Arelias," Henry replied with a slight smile. "Speaking of returning, I thought you were on campaign with your father?"

The young woman's shoulder slumped a bit and she let out a tired sigh. "My second brother was injured and I had to bring him back."

"Did you leave him behind to eat out?" Ash asked, raising a brow. "How cold."

"I'm right here, you idiot," an irritated voice replied from the balcony, but the owner of it couldn't be seen from where Ash and Henry stood on the ground.

"Junior Commander Arelias?" Henry asked.

"I came out to eat because I was sick of eating at home, and instead happened to run into two pretty boys. Great."

"Second Brother.” The young miss gave her brother a look.

"Don't worry, we won't bother you." Ash pressed his hands against Henry's back and pushed him into the restaurant. "We don't need your company either. I'm tired and I'm not in the mood to hear your disjointed ramblings."

"Disjointed ramblings!"

The indignant voice of the Junior Commander died down as they entered the ground floor of the building and the door closed behind them.

They walked to the hostess counter just past the foyer. It was dinner time, and as expected, the popular restaurant was not only full, but there were people waiting to eat. Most people would either complain, but reluctantly still wait for a chance to dine, or would give up and find somewhere else.

Henry and Ash were not most people. They walked to the counter and greeted the woman on the other side with familiarity.

"Finally come home, have you?" The middle-aged woman said with a chuckle. Ash balked.

"Why does everyone keep saying that? I'm allowed to come home!"

"Your poor mother always worries about you," the hostess said with a shake of her head. "You're getting older now, Second Young Master. You should stop worrying her."

Henry smirked as he watched his brother almost deflate in front of him.

"Yes, you should stop worrying her."

Ash shot him a glare. "Are we going to eat or not?"

"I was about to ask," Henry said, leaning to the counter. "Madam, are there any tables available? And how long is the wait?"

The woman chuckled. "Since when did an Atractas wait? There's always a table free for you. Upstairs, on the southwest balcony."

Ash nodded, appearing satisfied. "We'll be away from Commander Complains."

Henry shook his head and motioned for Ash to follow as they were led to their table. In passing, he heard someone ask why he and Ash didn't have to wait. The answer was that Ash had provided the elevator for the building. The owner was old and stairs had become difficult with his aging body, so in return for always having a table reserved, Ash offered to oversee and pay for part of the elevator.

It was a small price to pay.

They were seated outside. The humid breeze wasn't cold nor was it too warm. It was a comfortable temperature and better yet, the breeze was light. Their meal could be eaten in comfort.

In the middle of their roasted duck, Henry noticed his brother constantly looking past him, over his shoulder. He raised a brow and turned his head to look, but there was no one there.

"What are you looking at?"

Ash swallowed some duck. "I am half expecting your paramour to appear and bother us."

Henry gave his brother a dull look. "Young Miss Arelias is not my paramour."

"Admirer, then," Ash corrected himself. "One of many. Many." He stressed the word and Henry gave him a silencing look.

"I am not the only one."

"Tell me about it." Ash slapped the table with his hand. "Did that annoying wolf general bother Momma while I was out?"

"No." Actually, he did, but Ash did not approve of his mother having a romantic relationship with someone younger than her.

"Good," Ash looked satisfied.

"Don't tell me you don't want Young Miss Arelias to keep her distance because you don't want me, your much idolized older brother, to share his attention, do you?" Henry asked with a slight grin.

Ash bristled and almost dropped his utensils. "Much idolized older brother?"

Henry didn't lose his look of arrogance. "Who was it that said they wanted to be just like me when they grew up?"

"I never said such a thing!" Ash nearly shot up. "It was probably Effie!"

"Effie just wants to be rich, have a hundred pets, and eat sweets," Henry replied, giving his brother look as if he knew Ash's most embarrassing secrets.

Which he did.

"Then you heard wrong!

"I have great hearing."

"Dreamt it!"

"That's the best you can do?"

"Just eat your duck!" Ash shoveled the food into his mouth, purposely ignoring all the perfect table manners that had been taught to him as a child.

Henry laughed and continued to eat. He really did have excellent hearing. In fact, Ash wasn't worried for nothing. Henry could hear Young Miss Arelias wondering if she should come to greet them, but her brother stopped her.

Elves were stubborn, even half-elves. He knew that from Effie. The Arelias siblings were half forest elf from West Iveria on their mother's side. Their father was from a renowned family of generals, and despite there being a lofty life of a merchant family on their maternal side waiting for them, all five siblings learned martial arts to join their father in East Iveria's Dareisol Empire.

The aggressive empire consisted of two kingdoms, north and south. They were always having some border issue with one of their neighbors, but didn't spill over into West Iveria, which had dozens of small kingdoms and was the home to many cities of the Federation of Merchant Cities.

If Dareisol angered the Federation or threatened them, all their foreign trade would come to a screeching halt. Any sane country wouldn’t purposely make the Federation an enemy, and the Federation enjoyed excellent relations with most countries. It wasn't surprising that the Young Miss had to bring her brother back somewhere safe to recuperate where their mother lived in Carthage Harbor.

After dinner, the two brothers went on an evening walk. It was a habit since childhood. After a large meal, their family would walk to 'digest'. It also gave them a chance to catch up on the day with each other.

The two opted to walk the promenade that went around the perimeter of the island.

They hadn't gone too far, and still had two more docks to go before they reached the North Point, when they noticed a small, but uniformed crowd near the closest dock.

"That's Captain Hager," Ash said as he narrowed his eyes. "What's going on?"

Henry also couldn't help but be a bit curious. "Perhaps some cargo issue?"

Ash's eyes lit up. "Let's ask!"

Henry immediately reached out to try to stop him, but Ash was too quick. He walked over to the Captain of Carthage Harbor's law enforcement’s investigations division, as if greeting an old friend.

"Second Young Master Atractas?" He seemed surprised to see Ash, and Ash drew back his head and scowled.

"I know, I know. I'm back. I have every right to be back, you know. I live here," he said, firmly planting himself where he stood.

The Captain shook his head. "That's not what I meant. I meant what are you doing here. Didn't you see the sign? This dock is closed for an investigation."

"We came in from the promenade," Henry told him. "Is something wrong, Captain?

The Captain waved his hand towards the large cargo vessel in front of him. Several members of his team were with what looked to be crew members and some merchants.

"A looted vase from the tomb of the first king of Doria has been recovered. It was coming through here to be handed off to a land caravan to bring it to the museum in the capital, but it's missing."

"Missing?" Henry asked, raising a brow. "Not stolen?"

"That's what we're trying to figure out.”

“Well, you’ve come to the right people!” Ash stood up straight and slung an arm around his brother’s shoulder. “The Atractas brothers, at your service. Right, Brother?”

“Wrong.”

“See...what?” Ash’s shoulders fell at once as he snapped his head towards his brother with a look of dismay. “What do you mean wrong?”

Henry casually reached back and grasped his brother’s wrist, lifting it up and off his shoulder to escape his grasp. “I’m busy. I don’t have time to help you investigate.”

Ash balked. “The harbor patrol is having a problem and we should help them! We can do it!”

“It’s not a question of being capable.”

Ash waved his hands towards the patrol captain. “What is more important than solving a case of a long lost missing historical artifact right now?”

Henry didn’t flinch and replied in a deadpan voice. “Payroll.”

Ash’s jaw nearly dropped. “Pa...payroll?” His eyes crinkled up and he tensed, affronted by his brother’s answer. “Payroll isn’t important!”

“Tell that to our employees who have bills to pay.” Henry raised a brow and took a step back. He saw Ash about to open his mouth to complain, but cut him off. “I’m not going to stop you if you want to stay here and help Captain Hager, but I can’t waste time when there is work to do.”

Ash still appeared to want to protest, but Captain Hager gave Henry a small nod of his head. “We understand, Young Master. This is our responsibility, as is. If the Second Young Master wishes to be of assistance again, we’ll gladly accept it.”

“Thank you, Captain. If he causes any trouble, send him back.”

“Brother, I am here to help them, not to be babysat!” Ash flushed with irritation. Henry waved him away dismissively.

“Good luck. Don’t get in the way of the investigation.”

“Brother!” Ash bristled as Henry quickly moved away. He wasn’t lying about having to do payroll. He had planned to go back to work after their walk to begin with. As he climbed up the stairs to get over the seawall, he heard his brother’s outrageously over confident voice. “Don’t worry. He’ll be back.”