Gladean Empire, Voyin province, capital city of Stadtra: 936, February 6th, Tuesday, 4:00 PM.

After their little encounter with the blue lobsters, Claire and her group arrived safely at Stadtra. A large city in the Voyin province, territory under the protection of duke Albury. The place is full of tradition and home of the greatest swordsmen the empire has to offer. Even in a world of firearms, Voyin retained its devotion for swordsmanship and tourneys.

After booking a hotel and dropping most of their belongings, Bloodhound hit the streets of Stadtra.

“W-wow, this is place is… beautiful.” Tori said, gawking at the scene before her.

A proud city with its crafts and traditions displayed in every corner of it, from the elegantly crafted granite houses to the statues of the goddess Gladea and her knights, decorated with flowers and ornaments from the residents.

The streets bustled with activity as people walked from a variety of shops to elegant restaurants, the delicious aroma of their culinary delicacies wafting from their kitchen. The voices of the residents resonated in the air, with the men dressed in fancy tunics and trouser and the women in beautiful, elegant velvet and silk dresses.

“I never been to a place like this, almost feels like we’ve traveled through time,” Scott expressed with glee while admiring the scenery.

“We should get a move on,” Claire announced with a troubled expression. “It’s already quite late, let’s head to the manor immediately.”

Bloodhound toured the streets of Stadtra on their way to the Albury’s manor, gawking at the graceful surroundings and elegant ambience of the capital. Arriving at their destination, the group was received by an older man that introduced himself as Gaspard Blondeau; the butler of the family.

“It is a pleasure meeting you all,” the man with a velvety voice lowered his head with one hand on his chest. “I was informed you came here to see the duke. Please, allow me to take care of your luggage.” He concluded.

“Uh... this rifle is quite heavy.” Scott explained, “won’t you need help to carry all our stuff?”

“Do not worry about me,” Gaspard smiled gently while lifting Bloodhound’s weapon bags, placing them on his shoulders with little effort. “Please follow me, Master Eric is waiting for you inside.”

“This guy’s serious…” Scott said with awe.

“Who’s Eric?” Tori’s eyebrow lifted while looking at Claire, who simply shrugged in response.

Making their way inside the manor, Gaspard introduced Bloodhound to his master; the only son of duke Albury, who met them at the lobby. Eric Albury, a young man of fair skin, blue eyes and short blonde hair. He dressed in a long green tunic, black trousers and leather hunting boots, carrying a longsword sheeted on his left hip and a dagger holstered in his right leg.

“Sir, the guests looking for your father have arrived.” Gaspard informed him with a bow.

Eric took a look at the trio, meticulously shifting his eyes from one person to the other. “Thank you, you can send them off now.” He ordered with a perfectly modulated voice, turning his back on Bloodhound with no further explanation and walking back to where he came from.

Claire darted at the noble and stopped him in his tracks, grabbing his shoulder and positioning herself in front of him. “We are here to see the duke,” her fixed glare making contact with the noble’s eyes.

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“L-lieutenant!” Tori jumped, startled by Claire’s bold approach.

“We have no business with you, leave the manor immediately.” He mandated peacefully, while pointing towards the door with his open hand.

“Can you at least give us a chance to explain why we are here?” Scott requested, attempting to appeal to reason.

“Please, we just want to talk.” Tori chipped in as well.

Eric took Claire’s hand off his shoulder and turned to look at the other members of Bloodhound. “You are requesting support from us, to help you fight the specters in the west,” he asserted.

“So, you know how important this is.” Claire responded, crossing her arms.

“Maybe, but as far as I’m aware; your company might get disbanded any day now.” Eric calmly stated, “Why should trust you with the lives of our people when you can’t even protect your own.”

“B-but if we don’t stop them…!”

“They will eventually make their way into the empire!” Scott finished Tori’s sentence.

“We are under the goddess’s protection; the empire will not fall to those vermin.” The noble responded one last time before trying to leave again.

“Master Eric, Mister Gaspard!” a maid from house Albury burst through the front door, her pale face drenched in sweat. “The specters, they are back!”

“Specters!?” Bloodhound reacted at the sudden turn of events.

Eric clicked his tongue, “what terrible timing.”

“Young master, shall I take care of this matter?” Gaspard approached with haste.

“We’ll handle it.” Claire assertively chimed in.

“W-wait, why are there specters in the empire?” Tori inquired with her eyes open in shock.

“They should only be able to emerge within the Deadlands,” Scott stated while rubbing his chin, contemplating the possibilities. “At least that’s what Cerberus’ intel says.”

“I don’t need you meddling in our affairs, return to your company.” Eric began to walk towards the exit, his stride put to a sudden halt by Gaspard.

“If I may sir, I believe we should take Cerberus’ aid for this matter.” He politely suggested to the noble.

“What are you saying?” Eric scowled at his request. “We didn’t need them before; you and I can carry this out.”

“I am afraid not, young master,” the butler shut down the noble’s bravado in an instant. “Please, do not risk the lives of your people over… unrelated matters.”

Eric flinched slightly at the butler’s statement, frowning at his own childlike behavior. Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, he directed his eyes towards Bloodhound with a calmer attitude. “Very well, I will accept your aid; but you will follow my lead and do as I say.”

Claire crossed her arms with a raised eyebrow, “I have no problem with you taking the lead.” She responded, “but my unit follows my command.”

Gaspard gracefully bowed to her, “we gratefully accept your assistance, young miss.”

“We have a job to do, order the guards to patrol the nearby areas.” Eric ordered as Bloodhound made haste for the streets of Stadtra, being led by the young noble and his butler; their minds filled with questions regarding the presence of specters within the empire.

Kingdom of Heildin, Capital City: February 6th, Tuesday, 4:00 PM.

“I got you, lad.” The man told his client on the phone.

He had pale skin with light brown hair and gray eyes, wearing a white buttoned up shirt underneath a light brown vest with an open dark brown jacket on top, a well-kept ducktail beard and a bubble pipe in his hand. He sat on his chair with his feet on top of the desk in an absolute chaos of a room, papers lied all over the floor as well as soda cans and plastic food plates.

“It’s not every day I do jobs like this; shouldn’t you discuss this with the law instead?” he suggested to is client casually, swaying his feet from side to side.

“I have my reasons,” the client assured him with confidence.

“Well, don’t blame me if I don’t find this lass of yours,” the man blew a few bubbles from his pipe before continuing. “It’s quite the gamble you are taking for a bit of information, don’t you think?”

“I trust you’ll figure things out, I heard you are the best detective in all the empire.” His client responded in a playful manner.

“I’ll take the compliment, but don’t expect any discounts.” Ending the call, the detective proceeded to inspect the papers on his desk, picking up a photo taken at Kaldstein’s port. “Lovely lass,” he said to himself with a chirpy smile, blowing more bubbles with his pipe.

END OF CHAPTER