Warner and Lance had just arrived at the City Hall when the news arrived: there had been an attempt on Young Master Camaro's life at the Slayer's Guild. The news came from a runner sent by a Guard Captain.
“Well, would you look at that? There's our free ticket to meet with the Governor,” Warner said as he patted the panting runner on the shoulder. “Don't worry, boy. We'll get the news to the Governor. You can rest for the moment.”
“T-Thank you, sir.”
“C'mon, Lance. Time to meet your sponsor again.”
“Don't call her that,” Lance grumbled. “The Governor is my benefactor.”
Warner and Lance made their way to the top floor of the city hall where the Governor's office was located. Two heavily armored guards stood at both sides of the door to the office.
“State your business,” one of the guards said.
“Here to make an emergency report to the Governor,” Warner said, then gestured at Lance. “Also, her son misses her.”
“I am not her son,” Lance said through gritted teeth, much to Warner's amusement.
“Oh come on, kid. Stop fooling yourself. She picked you up from an orphanage, didn't she? I know that you want her to be your mother.”
“Stop it! I am her apprentice,” Lance said with a glare, though his ears were reddening in embarrassment.
The two armored guards shrugged at each other before one of them knocked and peeked inside the door to announce Warner and Lance's arrival.
“Let them in,” a voice said from inside.
Warner and Lance entered the spartan office of Shieldhold's governor with comfortable familiarity. Warner plopped himself down on the chair in front of the Governor's desk with Lance sitting beside him.
The Governor, on the other hand, was seated behind the desk, not even bothering to look up at them as she busily read and signed documents piled high on her desk. “What do you want? I am busy.”
“Someone tried to kill your nephew,” Warner said without preamble.
The Governor's pen instantly stopped moving as she finally raised her head. Her wavy hair was a stunningly bright scarlet tied in a messy bun, and her beautiful and delicate face was set in a deep frown. Her red eyes burned hot with anger. “Tell me the details.”
Warner shrugged. “There are no details yet. Guard Captain Banner just sent a runner to the city hall with the message that there was an assassination attempt on your nephew.”
Camille Grayshield, Governor of Shieldhold, put down her pen and folded her hands on the table. “That is honestly hard to believe, Warner.”
“And yet you know it's true,” Warner said. The Governor was known for her ability to detect lies in other people. “But it seems suspicious, don't you think? Why didn't Banner tell you that himself?”
Camille narrowed her eyes. “Please refrain from accusing other government officials of corruption without evidence.”
Warner raised his palms. “I'm not saying anything. Just asking.”
Camille sighed, but before she could speak further, there was a knock on the door again. A guard peeked in. “The Guildmaster is requesting to meet you, Governor. He said it is an urgent matter.”
“Let him in.”
Warner sat up in his seat as he looked forward to the meeting. “Listen well, boy. You're about to witness why you shouldn't trust people blindly.”
An old man walked into the office, bowing deeply to the Governor. “Morgan Thorn greets the Governor.”
Camille nodded. “Tell me of your urgent report, Guildmaster Thorn.”
“I would like to inform you of an incident earlier this evening involving your nephew, Camaro Grayshield,” Morgan began. “Camaro got into an altercation with one of our new probationary members, and he escalated it by striking our own with the intent to kill. Since he did it right in front of the Guild Hall, there were plenty of witnesses.”
Everyone in the room was surprised, but Lance was even more so. “But didn't the Guard Captain—”
“Quiet,” Camille said, shutting up the young boy. “Please continue, Guildmaster.”
Morgan looked at Lance with a curious gaze before continuing. “However, Camaro seems to have underestimated his victim. His initial attack failed to kill the victim, and in retaliation, our probationary member retaliated and came close to killing Camaro. If not for my intervention, your nephew would already be dead.”
“Who is this new probationary member?” Camille asked.
“A man by the name of Bob Dinkle.”
“Bob?!” Lance exclaimed. When the Governor and the Guildmaster focused their gazes on him, he ducked his head sheepishly.
“Way to go to make yourself a target, kid,” Warner said beside him.
“You know of him?” Morgan asked, his gaze like a hawk.
“Well, uh…”
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
Warner came to Lance's rescue. “He's an unknown person who arrived in the city just this morning. He came to the North Gate covered in mud and wearing only a skirt made of leaves. He claimed he came from the Frost Mountains. He left the city again at midday and came back in the evening while dragging an entire Eluvian bear to sell. He seems to be hurting for money.”
The room was silent as the Governor and the Guildmaster processed the information.
“Why didn't you detain him?” Camille asked sharply. “He was obviously suspicious.”
Warner gave Lance a knowing grin. The young man shrank in his seat. “Well, your boy here didn't find the man's profile in any of our criminal records. Also, my Bounty Hunter Skill didn't trigger.”
“Did you at least try to ask him for his background information?” Camille asked as she rubbed her temples.
The two city gate guards were quiet.
Camille shook her head as she turned back to Morgan. “Tell me the details about the altercation.”
“According to witnesses, Camaro tried to buy the bear that Bob brought, presumably to use it as his way to bypass the Guild's requirement to hunt a monster for membership, but Bob had already sold the carcass to the Guild. Partway through, Bob had shown little deference to Camaro and called him insulting names, prompting Camaro into anger.”
“What kind of insulting names?” Camille asked.
“He called Camaro an asshole and a pussy.”
Warner chuckled, but he quickly stopped after the Governor glared at him.
“To continue, Camaro made the first move by attempting to cut down Bob where he stood. However, he failed to penetrate Bob's defenses,” Morgan said. “In retaliation, Bob held Camaro by the wrist and neck, strangling the young noble. Camaro's bodyguards then made their move, slicing off Bob's hand that was strangling the young noble and stabbing him in his heart and chest.”
“What?! Bob's dead?!” Lance exclaimed. Camille seemed interested too.
“Not at all. Bob displayed no signs of weakness even after suffering lethal damage. Instead, he tried to bite Camaro's throat out, but I managed to arrive at the scene on time and knocked them away. After that, we managed to de-escalate the situation. Bob seemed to display an abnormal rate of healing, and by the time he left, his wounds were healed and his chopped hand was starting to regrow.”
Once again, the room briefly went silent.
“No wonder he managed to come back alive,” Warner chuckled a moment later. “When Bob left the city at midday, he didn't have any weapons or armor on him, yet he still managed to hunt down an Eluvian bear.”
“Alright, I want that man in front of my desk tomorrow. I don't want unknown quantities wreaking havoc in my city. Tell the city guards that if they see him, bring him to me,” Camille said to the two gate guards. She then turned to Morgan. “As for Camaro's punishment, rest assured that he will be detained until he is tried in the city tribunal. If you do not wish to press charges, then the City Government will gladly do so.”
This time, the silence went on for longer as everyone in the room was shocked. Even Warner was lost for words.
“You… would imprison your own nephew?” Morgan asked hesitantly.
“I would imprison a murderer,” Camille said resolutely. “Camaro has gone too far. I had been too lenient with his petty crimes so far. Not anymore. He is now a threat to the city's citizenry, and I will not tolerate anything that seeks to harm my people. Besides, there are too many witnesses. Even if I tried to protect him, the people would be unhappy.”
“The correct choice, lass,” Warner said as he looked Camille in the eyes. “But what will you do with Camaro's family? Your uncle is powerful. If you push through with this, even you cannot escape his wrath unscathed.”
For the first time, Camille smiled. “I know. But I found someone who can serve as my perfect meat shield. You said this Bob was hurting for money, yes?”
•••••
I cradled the stump of my missing hand as I walked through the city's streets. Night had fallen for good, yet the city seemed to become even livelier at night. Restaurants and bars were packed with patrons, and I even saw several brothels with their workers enticing men from the streets.
They stayed away from me, though. Understandable, given that once again, I was completely covered in blood. My own, no less. I bet I looked like I just came from a war front.
That's why despite all the tempting aromas and sights all around me, I focused on finding a decent inn where I could take a good and relaxing shower.
After asking around, I made my to the Silver Foal, a high-end hotel located near the Guild Plaza. It was a large five-story structure with a beautiful facade complete with valets assisting guests in any manner they could.
I guess I ruined the image when I stomped through their front entrance, dripping blood on their mahogany floor.
Upon my entry, the valets tried to stop me, but since they refused to touch me due to the disgusting mixture of blood and mud covering me, I just blazed on through.
“Welcome to the Silver Foal Hotel! How can… I…” The receptionist petered out as I stomped to the counter. The terrified lass looked like she was about to bolt out the door at any second. I swear, what is up with receptionists and their assorted reactions to my presence?
“I'd like to rent a room,” I said as I took out my coin pouch. “How much for the cheapest room with a shower?”
“A-All our rooms have showers, sir. The cheapest we have is a single bedroom with—”
“I'll take that, then. How much?”
“That'll be one gold coin per night of stay, sir,” the receptionist said nervously. Her name tag said her name was Ada.
“Talk about daylight robbery,” I grumbled as I took out a single gold coin from my pouch. “It better come with meals or I'll go on a rampage.”
“I-It does!” Ada squeaked. “We'll send it to your room right away!”
“Relax, lady. I was kidding,” I said. “Now, the keys?”
“H-Here you go sir. Enjoy y-your stay!”
Leaving behind the trembling receptionist, I climbed up to my room located on the fifth floor. For a single bedroom, it was relatively spacious and complete with amenities.
As soon as I saw the bathroom, I quickly got in and had the best shower in my life. Gunk and dried blood peeled off my skin and went down the drain as I turned the hot shower to its maximum temperature. Based on how the knobs glowed slightly, the temperature control worked with the help of magic.
I spent the next entire hour scrubbing every inch of my skin clean until my skin was scraped raw. The food arrived at the twenty-minute mark, but I just shouted at them to leave the food in my room.
When I eventually came out of the bathroom, I was the freshest and cleanest I'd ever been since coming to this world. I'd trimmed my black hair and beard properly, and my teeth were squeaky clean after brushing it thoroughly. Finally, the piece of raw wolf meat stuck in my teeth since that first day was gone.
For the first time, I felt like a normal person, both in my previous life and in this one. I had a decent room to sleep in, some excess money I could spend on things aside from the bare necessities, and best of all, no loan sharks banging on my door extorting me for money.
As if to make fun of me, somebody knocked on my door.
“For fuck's sake.”
I opened the door with a frown on my face. The valet on the other side shrank as he reached out a pile of folded clothes to me. “I-In case you n-needed some fresh clothes, s-sir.”
“Oh, thanks, man. Here, have a tip,” I said as I grabbed several silver coins from my pouch and dumped them into the wide-eyed valet's hands after taking my clothes.
“T-Thank you very much, sir!”
“Now get outta my face.”
I closed the door and started putting on the clothes he gave me. I was impressed, the quality was nice. It consisted of a green set of pajamas made of soft cotton that felt like clouds on my skin. It perfectly fitted my large frame too.
Not only that, but they also gave me a pair of cute cotton slippers that felt like I was walking on rainbows and sunshine. Very neat.
All dressed up, I moved on to the last and most important event of the night: my dinner. And what a spread it was. The valet had rolled in an entire full-course meal, and with how hungry I was, I was confident I could wolf down the entire thing in one sitting.
And so I did.