Cody gazed up at the sun, Shielding his eyes from it with a hand, it was a beautiful day. The sky was a clear blue and a gentle breeze blew through his blonde hair. It'd been around six years since he came to this world, summoned by the empire. Though as a hero, he enjoyed an authority second only to His Majesty the King. Well sort of, the church was technically above him and had control over him. Disobey the church and not even the king could save him, he was currently headed to the small town of Aguris as the first ritual site he needed to check out was in between Aguris and the next town over. This was an important mission, one he believed would lead him towards the thing the goddess wanted from him, but he personally was heavily intrigued in the storyline opening before him. These Great and powerful beasts and the ritual sites appearing all around the world were such interesting events.

He was approaching the gates of a city wrapped in a tall stone wall, Aguris was a city on the edge of the Kozak empire. Currently, he was wearing a blue jacket with gold highlights over a white shirt, he wore some tan pants along with a woven-style belt and leather boots. A golden sword at his waist, this sword was the holy sword, a beautiful and ornamental weapon with the power of God resting inside. Lastly, a white cloak held together with a golden chain was around his shoulders the hood was down but on the back was the church's cross stitched in gold.

He brought his black and grey horse to a walking pace as he approached the gates, he waved his adventurer's card at the guard who glanced at it. The guard was dressed in light leather armor, his face was young and he had a bushy mustache. The guard's eyes widened as he saw the card, he saluted Cody before waving him inside. Adventurer cards were irrefutable identification that was impossible to forge or fake. Everyone has a unique mana signature, though its differences were so faint that it was untraceable normally, the guild cards were uniquely capable of sensing the individual signatures and would activate a small magic circle to glow when it was held by the person it was issued to.

Cody wasn't phased by the guard's reaction to him and headed inside, he brought his horse to a stop at the stables, they would take decent care of his horse Noir. After paying for the stabling of his horse he set off down the street, that was when something, or rather someone caught his eye. A young girl, maybe sixteen or seventeen, was walking ahead of him, she had black hair. Though what caught his eyes the most was her cat ears and tail, she was a Lithian, a cat to be specific. That wouldn't be too odd normally except that the Kozak empire was a majorly human majority. In other words, seeing a beastkin or Lithian that wasn't a slave in the Kozak empire was like seeing a unicorn, Well maybe not as rare as a unicorn they're said to be so rare that only one out of every five people will see one in their lifetime. But another thing caught his eye, the strange familiarity, he had this odd feeling he knew her.

She wore an old worn cloak with the hood down, quickly disappearing into a building, likely an Inn. Cody approached it and upon entering, she'd already disappeared. He stepped up to the counter, a young woman sat there, brown hair covered her eyes.

"How much for a night." Cody asked, trying not to act disappointed at the girl's quick disappearance.

"About one small silver piece and ten copper pieces." She spoke quietly, he handed her payment and received his key, he paused to ask a question

"Who's the girl I saw come in before me, the Lithian," Cody asked hesitantly.

"Ah, Skarlet, that child grew up here. You should steer clear of her."

"Why's that?" Cody questioned, his confusion about the fact that he'd seen a non slave or servant Lithian combined with the way she was seemingly being treated.

"This whole city is sick with the belief that she's bad luck, they're trying to drive the runt and anyone who associates out of town." She spoke about Skarlet like an unfortunate lost cause.

"Runt?" Cody questioned the word, unsure of its meaning.

"It's slang, for a beastkin who doesn't grow into their power. They tend to be weaker than the average adventurer, like her, so they all abandoned her in that aspect too."

"Ah," Cody replied, frowning, he felt bad for her, but couldn't do anything.

He said farewell before stepping past the counter into a dining area, a staircase sat to the back left. He heading upstairs and down the hall towards the room that matched the number on his key, he stepped into it and tossed his bag onto the bed. I should go visit the Lord, let him know I'm here and why. With that he closed the door behind him and headed back out.

~

Cody stood in front of an expensive looking mansion, two stories, armed guards and a large ornate gate. He whistled to himself as he thought about his own home back on earth, and more recently the inns he'd been staying in during his travel.

The guard stopped him as he approached the gate, Cody pulled out his adventurer card and showed the guard.

"Name's Cody, here to greet the Lord during my stay." The guard immediately straightened, he saluted Cody before opening the gate. Cody passed through, his movements composed and relaxed, he approached the front door and knocked. A young girl in a maid uniform opened the door and peeked out at him, her droopy rabbit-like ears swayed curiously. Further in two more Lithian maids welcomed him, a dog and a wolf, they were busy cleaning but paused to bow towards him. The Rabbit Lithian led him up the grand staircase into an office, and knocked on the door.

"Enter." An old and weathered voice called out, the maid pushed open the door for Cody before bowing and leaving. Inside was a spacious room, two large windows were set in the wall behind the desk which sat across the room. Bookshelves lined the wall to the left and to the right was a fireplace, above the fireplace was a shield with an emblem and two swords crossed behind it. The emblem was the Kozak Empire's coat of arms. It was a red and white design with the church's cross emblazoned with gold front and center. Sitting inside the cross was an upsidedown sword that was red and white and managed to not escape the shape of the cross. The Kozak Empire was a divine one, based in religion but was also a military empire so the emblem fit quite well.

A man, looking about sixty, sat at the desk. He had graying hair, was skinny with a bit of muscle. He was old, but still looked firm and certain. Though he couldn't seem to hide the disdain he felt for Cody. This wasn't unusual for the young hero, many nobles saw him as a threat.

"Ah, Mr. Hero, welcome." The man spoke up, noticing Cody standing in the doorway, there was a girl dancing in front of him. She was completely naked, her rabbit-like ears stood straight up, different from the door maid. Her tail twitched at the mention of Cody's entrance. She was pushed away, skittering to the edge of the room. She looked embarrassed, a blush flooded her face as she covered herself.

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Cody ignored the noble's welcome, instead, he pulled his cloak from around his shoulders and tossed it to the girl.

"Cover up girl, I don't enjoy looking at such distasteful distractions," Cody explained away his kindness, his voice unable to hide his annoyance. His eyes hardened, when he walked in they were kind and inviting now they looked like sharp blades pointed at his opponent.

"Hahaha." The Noble laughed, a smirk appeared on his face. "You're exactly like I heard, Your nickname as the silver-tongued beast lover describes you perfectly, Mr. Hero, don't you think it would be beneficial to adopt the beliefs of the nobles from the country you hail from?" This man was Seraph Macuroll, a baron and the Lord of Aguris.

"I prefer to adopt the majority view of the world rather than a misguided view of a small country," Cody spoke, the acid of his words barely showing, however his face gave away his soured mood.

"Hahaha, do you want to take a few with you, I'm not against selling them for a decent price." He was having fun, though his laugh cut off as a serious expression appeared. "Cody, what brings the hero to my humble little town?"

"Seraph Macuroll, You know why I'm here, let's skip the games and informalities you've so generously prepared as I no longer feel the need nor desire to give a formal greeting as a fellow noble," Cody spoke as the warmth and calm returned to his voice.

"Tsk, you a noble? Mr Hero, no offense but your title is honorary at best, and a nuisance at worst." Macuroll explained, getting to his feet, "It's a disgrace on the other nobles that a boy like you from who knows where has received such an honor and status for no reason other than your connection to the Goddess"

"That may be true sir, however, the way you and others feel doesn't change where I currently stand in the hierarchy, and I'm not going anywhere so you might as well get used to me." Cody replied, a small smirk adorned his face. He took an arrogant stance as he watched Seraph approach him.

"You're here for the ritual sites, yes?" Macuroll replied, switching topics " Would you like to stay in one of my guest rooms?" Cody frowned again before turning to leave, Macuroll was right, the king had sent him for that very purpose however after this interaction it made him sick to lay in a bed offered by this cretin.

The Lord clicked his tongue in annoyance as the doors opened suddenly and a little girl in a light pink one piece dress rushed in, a maid chasing after her.

"Daddy! Big sis be home soon right?" The little girl shouted, Cody paused as Macuroll got down on one knee for the little girl who rushed him. His hard face passed as he embraced her gently, and for a moment Cody thought the man had some good in him afterall.

"Yes, Maria will be home quite soon, you miss her don't you Sarah." He replied softly as he ruffled her hair. Cody felt a scowl as he turned and left, he sensed something that he couldn't quite place but it made him feel fowl. Macuroll frowned as he looked at his daughter, Your sister won't be coming home, he thought as he stood up and gestured to the maid to take the girl away. Moments later a young maid with orangish-red hair walked in, she carried a tray with tea on it. She had fox ears and a large beautiful orange and white fox tail that was tidy and well kept. She held herself with confidence and almost arrogance something none of the other maids did. Her golden eyes were sharp and a small smirk seemed to stay permanently on her face like she was enjoying something. Her red hair was elbow length, and straight.

"Ah, Illia, I have finished preparing the job I told you about before. I need you to lead a group of men to capture my daughter on her way home, oversee them and when they complete their work then get rid of them." Seraph explained to her, she nodded and set his tea down before stepping to the side, he picked up a cup and smiled as it was the perfect temperature. he sighed as he had an annoying thought What a tease she is. "You look wonderful in that dress, maybe I should shorten it hmm?" Seraph teased seriously as he reached for her.

"Sir, might I suggest a little off the top?" She asked, suddenly there was a knife in her hand as she looked at him dangerously. He flinched and pulled his hand back as the frustration rose, damn confident little bitch just cause she works for Maxwell, I'll show her my men are leagues above her skill.

"Macuroll sir, you have a specific dislike for the target Skarlet, mind enlightening me on why she has your eye?" Illia suddenly spoke up, her eyes were gazing at him inquisitively as she slipped her knife into a sheath on her thigh. The movement lifted her skirt and Seraph couldn't take his eyes off it as it rose dangerously close to revealing something.

"Ah, well it's actually not something she did herself. It was her parents that I hold a grudge for. When they died she became the remains of those two and in turn inherited my hatred." Seraph explained as he leaned back in his chair, when her skirt dropped his attention returned to the topic. "This was awhile ago, Skarlet's parents were B rank adventurers and the strongest party in Aguris. As a believer of the church of Gia and a Lord of the Kozak Empire, it always rubbed me wrong that an inhuman race like that was the top in my city."

"A petty grudge it seems, I thought the story would be more interesting." Illia frowned, but Seraph continued, her eyes lost interest. Though Seraph wasn't keen enough to notice that a bit of disgust and hatred filled her eyes.

"I pressured the guild master to sell them to me as criminal slaves. But he refused, and even took measures to better protect them. I carried out several plans with the goal of getting them convicted of a crime, but they always slipped through my fingers. And they were arrogant about it, the nerve of those beasts." He spat the word beast like it was disgusting in his mouth. And with each word the look of disgust deepened in Illia's eyes.

"Ah, a petty grudge turned into a battle of pride which you lost and now you want to take revenge on their daughter in their place." Illia smiled, but that smile was cold, Seraph felt a chill as he looked away, a cold sweat dripped down his forehead. Maybe I shouldn't have told her.

"Still I can't forgive them, besides Maxwell wants this too so that's plenty of incentive." Illia only nodded in response before leaving the room, her tail was flicking violently rather than the calm swaying it was doing before.

"I must prepare for my task." She said before the door closed behind her. Seraph let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. I get the sense that she doesn't like me. He thought as he picked up a piece of paper with a merchandise manifest on it. Listed were a variety of monsters, cursed items, and slaves. He tapped his quill on the paper as a smile crawled up his lips. He was totalling the profit he would make from it, this was a list of the items being stored in his basement by the black market. He was getting paid storage fees, basically each item had a price that the black market would pay you to store it for them. The black market runs nearly openly in practically all cities in the Kozak Empire by utilizing corrupt members of the social hierarchy to store their items. Suddenly a knock on his door brought his attention away from the manifest.

"Come in." Seraph allowed the person in, he was a bald man with a white beard. The man was dressed in a black and red priest like outfit with an upside down cross hanging from his neck. "Priest Durst how may I help you?" Seraph asked warily, this man wasn't completely stable but he held a position similar to Maxwell. The priest handed Seraph a bag of coins

"We greatly thank you for what you've done, the ritual sites have been completed and only await activations. Oooooh we can taste the despair. . . But still we must wait, just not time yet. . . Ugh but the taste." Durst spoke with almost a lust, and as he said taste he squirmed rubbing his chin and licking his finger. "Ah, that's right, we may have created a mutated monster in the forest nearby, you see he was calling to us. It craved evolution!" As he spoke about the evolution and mutation he looked sadistically happy, but that joy and squirm faded and a more serious look appeared on his face. "Our true reason for being alive approaches, in this lifetime we will see the rise of a new monarch. And they will be ours to create and control." His seriousness melted away as he began laughing while rubbing his eyes, "Hey, watch your back old man. The bishops aren't worth their words. An unwise place of trust could make you our next project. Do be careful of that." And with that ominous message he left while breathing heavy in anticipation.