After a couple more days of travel alternating between running and walking, Alex's group was finally approaching the city of Furhen. The only real hiccup during their trip was when a wild horde of monsters tried to attack, only to be nearly instantly defeated by Yue and Rias's area of effect magic attacks. Alex recalled it being quite the show since it had been a while since either could actually show off, what with how they were the limited space of Orcus and how the Raisen canyon sealed magic power. Yue had taken the chance to unveil her new 'Thunder Dragon' that was comprised of both top tier lightning magic and Gravity magic, while Rias one upped her with her 'Apocalyptic Extinction' skill that she acquired a while back.
'Apocalyptic Extinction' was a skill that would use almost all of Rias's magic power to create a massive cloud of pure 'Destruction', then bits of that cloud would rain down on her enemies below in a massive area. It was a skill that could decimate entire armies within minutes, and leave her enemies either dead or missing various body parts from having touched the 'Destruction'. In comparison, though Yue's 'Thunder Dragon' was still the more complicated skill, it didn't seem as impressive since Akeno had already unveiled one similar to it; even though there were differences like how Akeno used Alex's dragon energy while Yue used Gravity magic. Once the incident was dealt with, Alex and his group simply continued their way to Furhen until he could see the walls in the distance.
"Let's stop here for right now." Alex said suddenly, making everyone confused as they stopped moving. Rias stepped forward and asked,
"What's wrong Alex?" Alex sat down on a log and gestured for everyone else to do the same. He then said,
"There's just a few things we need to get out of the way before we enter town." He then looked at Shia and held something out to her while saying,
"Firstly Shia, you need to make the decision to either stay in Asora or wear this while in Furhen." Shia took one look at what Alex held out to her and exclaimed,
"That's a slave collar! Why would I want to wear something like that?!" Alex ignored the others looks of surprise and explained,
"You need to remember that most people in Tortus don't see you as a person, but as merchandise. Unlike Brooke where I had a reputation, the vast majority of people inside those walls will see you as a thing to be taken and sold. There's laws stating that a persons slave can't be taken by force since it'll be considered stealing, so that means we can either deal with people trying to constantly enslave you, or I can simply tell those interested in buying you to 'fuck off'. Though it won't eliminate all our issues it'll make some things easier." Though there was no person in Furhen that was actually threat to them, that didn't mean Alex wanted to deal with the stupidity of all of those that wanted to take the girls from him. Shia grumbled and groaned at Alex's words, not being able to deny their truth, before grabbing the collar from him. He then turned towards everyone else before saying,
"Besides the thing with Shia, we also need to discuss what to expect from everyone else in Furhen. Unlike the towns we've been to so far there's a more prominent crime system here that won't follow the laws, as well those who think they can do whatever they want. So if and when this happens try not to kill the people involved and get us in unnecessary trouble, just leave them almost dead." All the girls nodded while they recalled the events that first took place in Brooke as guys would challenge Alex for them. Having warned them of how Furhen was, Alex then led the way as they walked the rest of the way to the city; after waiting in line at the gates with the rest of those trying to enter Furhen, they finally entered one of the largest cities on the continent.
***
"Look at them."
"I've never seen a Rabbitman with hair like that that, she's so cute."
"What about that blonde haired girl, she's like a doll."
"Look at the knockers on the redhead though!"
"I'm more interested in the maid though, think she'll come work for me?"
These comments and more followed Alex and the girls as they made their way to the adventurers guild of Furhen, with the tensions of the girls raising with every moment. Seeing them attempting to keep their tempers in check, Alex was glad they wouldn't be in Furhen long.
"Excuse me sir, would you be interested in selling that Rabbitman to me? I can promise you a great price or even a discount on another sla-"
"Go fuck yourself." Was all Alex said to about the tenth person who requested to buy Shia from from him, while Shia and the rest of the girls practically tried to kill the merchant with their glares as well. As the man fled from their glares and Grayfia's 'Intimidation', most of their group let out a sigh at how they couldn't seem to rest after entering the city; while Kuroka and Shia also kept track of a certain few who hadn't said anything, but obviously had nefarious intentions. Grayfia stepped up Alex's side and said,
"I know you tried to warn us, but this city is worse than I would've thought." Alex nodded and explained,
"Furhen is one of the most powerful merchant cities there is where 'anything' can be bought. This made it a haven for crime syndicates and backdoor dealings, while everyone here also lives with the philosophy 'everything has a price'. Don't worry we shouldn't be here as long as Brooke." Grayfia sighed once more, but this time out of relief at Alex's words. Ignoring the continuous looks and remarks, the group swiftly made their way to the guild. As they entered the guild Alex made his way to the counter and said to the attendant,
"Hello, I'm passing through but I have a letter of introduction for the branch head from a miss Cathrine in Brooke."
"I'll take it to the head right away!" The attendant said before disappearing with the letter. They then made their way to the side of the counter to keep from blocking it while waiting, and continued ignoring the looks and remarks they were receiving even here. Rias and Anne decided that instead of just glaring at those staring at them, they wanted to show them just how they had no shot. Rias clung to Alex's right arm while Anne grabbed his left, and they both put on looks of passion in their eyes while looking up at him. Alex smirked as he realized what they were doing, and grabbed both girls by the waist to pull them closer as they pressed their chests against him, Alex couldn't help but notice how bold Anne became after their first time together. As the rest of the girls also started flirting with Alex, Hajime rolled his eyes and started fiddling with a few items he pulled out of his storage ring to distract himself. Before things started to get intense however, a disgusting voice called out,
"G-get your hands off of my p-property!" They all looked up at the voice, and everyone made faces of disgust at what they saw as a fat man covered with oily sweat ran over, before taking a piece of cloth out of his pockets and wiping his face. He then pointed at the girls and said,
"I-I want them as my c-concubines and s-slave, so h-hand them over and I-I won't have Leganid m-mess you up!" As the fat man made his intentions clear a man as muscular as Alex stepped forward and said,
"You heard him kid, just give up on those girls and get out of here before things get ugly." As the situation unfolded Alex frowned as he recalled this event happening in the series, except all he recalled was that it happened and nothing more, showing how little these two actually meant. He sighed from the annoyance and looked at the fat man briefly, before said fat man collapsed while foaming at the mouth. The muscular man, Leganid, looked shocked at his employer collapsing when Alex seemingly didn't do anything, and declared,
"Hey! Now my pays gonna get docked!" Before rushing Alex with his longsword. Alex gently pushed the girls away as the man rushed him, and didn't even seem to react as the sword clashed with his neck.
CLANG
The longsword stopped as if it collided with something hard, and everyone in the guild besides the girls gaped at how Alex's head was still on his shoulders. Alex then ran his eyes across every person in the entire room before focusing on Leganid, and said calmly,
"Now everyone here witnessed how you attempted to kill me after your boss collapsed from his seemingly bad health, so anything I do will be counted as self defense." At his words everyone present gulped, as they realized there was no lie in what Alex said, they couldn't prove he was the one that rendered the fat man unconscious. As for Leganid, he felt an increasing pressure with every word Alex said, and even though Alex himself hadn't done anything, he felt fear start to take root deep within his heart. Alex slowly raised one of his hands, and held it in front of his forehead. Leganid gulped, and played his last card,
"He's the son of Baron Ming, I was hired to protect him so if his son's been made to pass out while I'm beaten, they'll come after you." Alex smirked and without looking away said to Grayfia,
"Did you get that Grayfia, Baron Ming." The silver haired maid nodded, and said,
"Yes master, I'll write it down." Leganid felt some confidence return as they seemed to take his words seriously, until Alex said,
"If it seems as if we encounter any kind of retaliation from them, have them wiped out." Grayfia nodded as if Alex's words were the most natural thing, while none of the other girls showed any surprise either. This made Leganid pale once more as Alex turned his attention back to him, before saying,
"Now then, if there's nothing else to say then I'll be removing you." Before Leganid could say anything Alex flicked his finger at full strength towards his forehead without any hesitation, causing the man to black out instantly. The mans body had barely hit the floor when a voice said,
"Well I expected the person who had such a letter from my teacher to be exceptional, but to think you wiped out a black rank adventurer simply by flicking your finger." Everyone turned towards the speaker, and saw the head of Furhen's adventurer branch, Ilwa. Alex smirked, and said,
"I'm sure Catherine's letter mentioned Abel as well, so does this really surprise you?" Ilwa smiled at Alex's words, and simply said,
"It's good you're so capable, I have a request I'd like you to listen to if you will, in private." Alex shrugged and followed Ilwa to a private room, as the girls and Hajime followed silently behind him.