Eric’s principal objective for today was to get guild cards for the three of them and find an inn where to sleep, hopefully without garnering attention. The first obstacle was the entry gate. There thankfully, there was no problem with Eve’s transformation and their clothes. *For whatever reason, the guard seemed to get emotional when I said him about me earning money through the Cinder Forest… * The second obstacle was getting quick money for the registration fee of the Adventurer’s Guild. The fee was 10 gold coins or one Mythril coin for each person. It was the equivalent of a third of the average monthly pay (around 1 thousand $). Sure, he would earn that much selling the plants of the Cinder Forest. The problem was that going that way, he would lose the incognito status he so much desired. For this reason, his plan was different. ‘’Once inside Zolgas, we’ll split and search for every criminal base in the city. ‘’ At that point, he could act in many different ways. Like every average hero: destroying the criminal associations to hopefully get rewarded by the lord of Zolgas. Like every average anti-hero: destroying the associations and stealing his assets, using them to pay the fee. *That won’t do for what I want to attain… * A third option appeared in his perverted mind. *I’ll just use them. Not to say, if there actually are criminal associations in a city, it’s probable that they share some mutual understanding with the ones in power. Also, for this reason, changing visibly the status quo would be too abrupt. * His plan started taking form, and everything was going as he predicted when, after reuniting in the same alley, the three travel companions had, in fact, identified the most influential criminal associations. *Perfect, no, it will be as easy as drinking a glass of water… A little threatening, and to close everything off, I have to create a killing scene between members of different gangs. Ah, it sure takes me back to the old times! * His dark thoughts continued clearly, and almost melancholy could be perceived from them. In the past, infact, when he was part of the Heroes Party, he was always the mind and didn’t care about dirtying his hands in order to obtain what was most advantageous for the party in the specific situation. The assassin heroine was the first to discover his ‘unconventional’ way of doing things. In the beginning, she seemed shocked about it. He still remembers it like it was yesterday. She had caught him in the middle of one bloody clean-up while he was placing the corpses of different gang members, like painting an incredible masterpiece. Strangely enough, she didn’t shout. One year had elapsed from their first day in Ouroboros. The both of them had killed and saw each other kill. Monsters, assassins, demons, thieves, and bandits. Their minds and relationships had already left the models he knew on Earth. He didn’t read any book in the past about it. If it was luck or not, it depended on the point of view. At that moment, he would have enjoyed reading a book titled ‘’How to make your friend accomplice in your murder’’. On the other point of view, it would have probably been instantly banned by every bookstore on the face of Earth. At that moment, time stopped for him, but everything resumed once again when that happened. Not shouts, disgusted looks, or other reactions he was expecting. She started crying as she had done only after the first time he had seen her kill. Then silently, as if understanding what he was thinking without needing any words, she helped him create that painting that would ultimately allow them to obtain their party’s objective without any future retribution. *Somehow, she seems to understand. * That was all Eric could think of at that moment. The blood on his hands had a different meaning now. He didn’t simply feel repulsed by it. It remembered him of those past times when the loud noises were their two heartbeats, creating painful and contemporarily wonderful music. His mind returned to the present after finishing the bloody process he had started. *If at that time there wouldn’t have been Clarystra distracting my mind with lust… * He decided to stop forcefully his mind from wandering. In his opinion, living in the past was the worst thing someone could do. His stoic readings taught him that the only existing reality is the present. For that reason, looking back in order to not repeat the same errors was acceptable if done shortly but not advisable. The same could be said for planning ahead of time. All of this had to happen hardly ever and for a limited amount of time, not ruining the quality of his present. His logical rules told him that, but his repeating dreams made him remember incessantly that shy, caring girl that, after piercing his heart, cried in front of him for the third and final time. *Ok, let’s get back to the Market! The two of them must probably be arguing right now. * Unconsciously when those new but equally important faces appeared in his mind, on his face appeared a slight smile. Maybe he didn’t understand it now, but they were slowly gaining more, and more importance in his mind. To the point where the thoughts about his past, instantly disappeared, when he focused on their smiling faces. Before returning, his eyes focused on one of the corpses laying on the ground. As the sun didn’t dawn fully, its face couldn’t be seen clearly. *Thank you for your help. We may meet again in the future, in some hot and flaming place because of the crimes we have both committed… Still, for the help you gave me today, I thank you. * This kind of poetic, bittersweet moment was quite hypocritical, thinking that the man now lying breathless on the ground, was initially beaten up by the hooded man. That said, the hooded man then proceeded to kill him after receiving from the other the payment for the monsters hunted in the Cinder Forest. That’s it. The equivalent of what happened would be killing the bank workers after a withdrawal in order to keep his identity secret. Well, that wasn’t important now. He felt an innumerable presence in the market plaza where Rubra and Eve were waiting for him. That place worked as a cover-up for any superhuman creature. The problem was that it worked for them as for others. After some time, he managed to find those eye-catching beauties in the midst of that moving mess called the morning market. In his eyes, it resembled better a colony of ants, ever-moving and chaotical, but for this same reason, it worked well for their needs. He shortly joked with the two after meeting them and bought new clothes for them, as they were still wearing mana-made outfits under the hoods. The last ones were made with natural fabric obtained by weaving the plants of the forest. The light in the sky was slowly dimming down. The dark powers gained strength after the first half of the daily cycle. The three of them had now reached the big door of the Guild. In that building, didn’t exist the concept of night and day. Every hour was right to party for another day to live, for another adventure survived fighting monsters in the wild or in labyrinths. *Ok, the second time will go better! * Slightly excited about this new beginning, Eric advanced with a decisive gait and pushed open the door.

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