Tensions were high as Benedict and the two men stared each other down, neither side showing any intention to back down.
Apart from Xena and Cyrus, everyone else in the tavern watched in silent anticipation, all excited to witness the beating that was to come.
Well, almost everyone.
"You guys better stop right there!" the tavern owner shouted angrily from over the counter. "I've closed one eye when you were just tossing things around. But if you guys want to fight it out, you'd better get the hell out of my tavern! Don't you dare mess things up here, or you will have hell to pay!"
"All right, all right," the red haired man raised both his hands as though giving up. "I was just joking. Why so serious?"
"You'd better watch yourself!" the black haired man pointed menacingly at Benedict before sitting back down as well.
Surprisingly, the two men were seated at the same table.
From that alone, it was obvious that they were companions from the start, and had probably broken out into an argument while chatting earlier.
Benedict let out a silent sigh of relief before sheathing his sword.
Even though he had stepped forward to speak up against the two unruly men, it was not really his intention to fight them. After all, his young master Leon's safety was still his top priority.
Thankfully, the two men seemed to have quite a bit of respect for the tavern owner. After the latter spoke up, the two men had backed down without a word of complaint, continuing with their drinks as though nothing had happened earlier.
The conflict was over. But instead of returning to his young master, Benedict walked over to Xena.
"I'm sorry if that frightened you in any way," Benedict scratched his chin in embarrassment. "Anyway, my name is Benedict. Benedict Tempest."
"Do you really think that is enough to frig- Ugh! Cough! Cough!" Cyrus gasped for breath once again.
Damn witch!
"No, it's all right." Xena shook her head with a gentle smile, at the same time moving to hide Cyrus' pitiful figure behind her. "It is obvious that you are just standing up for the rest of us. That is very admirable of you."
"Haha, you really think so?" Benedict asked with a sheepish grin on his face.
"I really think so," Xena chuckled while nodding. "You can call me Xena, and I am here with my younger cousin Cyrus. We have just arrived in Westwater Town to sign him up for Westwater Institute of Magic."
"Oh?" Benedict was visibly surprised. "What a coincidence! I am a retainer of the Lionheart Family, and am accompanying my young master Leon to sign up for the Westwater Institute of Magic as well! Perhaps they can be friends at the institute!"
"Whatever it is, can we just go get a seat and start ordering some food?" Cyrus grumbled while rubbing his chest uncomfortably, obviously yet to recover from the earlier strike.
"Hahaha! You must be hungry, little guy!" Benedict laughed before turning back to Xena. "In that case, would you want to join us at our table?"
"We would love to!" Xena did not have to be asked twice.
Cyus naturally had to follow along.
After all, he had no money on himself.
When Leon noticed Benedict bringing the duo over, he instinctively stood up to receive them.
"This is my young master, Leon," Benedict began introducing the two sides. "This is Xena and her younger cousin, Cyrus. Just like you, he is here to sign up for Westwater Institute of Magic."
"I am Leon of the Lionheart Family, pleased to make your acquaintance," Leon gave a polite bow.
"Pleased to make your acquaintance too," Xena curtsied in return.
Seeing the perfect etiquette that Leon was exhibiting, Xena was genuinely impressed, especially when she compared it to how Cyrus usually behaved.
Since Leon was signing up for the Westwater Institute of Magic as well, he had to be a twelve-year-old just like Cyrus.
Both of them were of the same age, so why did their personalities and demeanours differ this much?
If only Cyrus was half as well-behaved as Leon, her Lady Crystal would not have to resort to sending him here to the Grand Apostle Realm!
Then again, perhaps she ought to thank Cyrus for being the garbage that he was.
Had it not been for him, she would never have had the chance to meet Benedict!
"Hey, nice to meet you!" Cyrus waved casually to Leon.
Leon was initially surprised by how casual Cyrus was acting, but let out a relieved smile before waving back.
He might be from a noble family, but he was still a twelve-year-old boy.
Rather than the formal ways of introduction, Cyrus' casual mannerism was much more to his liking.
After ordering some food, Benedict started sharing with Xena everything he knew about Westwater Town.
Although he had only arrived a week before them, Benedict was already well settled in, and was thus in a good position to clear quite a few of her doubts. In fact, he even offered to bring the duo around after they were done with their meal – an offer that Xena gladly accepted.
While the young adults were talking, Leon turned towards Cyrus who was religiously savouring every bit of his meal.
After contemplating for a moment, Leon finally decided to speak his mind. "When you head over to Westwater Institute of Magic, you should probably wear some new clothes. You don't want to risk being looked down on because of your attire."
"Ah, this?" Cyrus pointed to his ragged clothes. "Don't worry, I will go get some new clothes later. It was actually in quite a good condition earlier. Unfortunately, I just had the worst day of my life, causing it to become this dirty as a result."
"Worst day of your life?" Leon was slightly taken aback. "It must have been a hard day for you!"
"Exactly!" Cyrus agreed immediately. "You don't seem to be having too good a day yourself. You are quite unlucky to be struck by the wooden spoon earlier."
"Hah, I get that a lot," Leon shrugged helplessly.
"What do you mean?" Cyrus looked at him in confusion.
What exactly is this guy talking about?
He gets that a lot?
Could it be that he gets struck by spoons a lot?
No way… right?
***
After they had their meal, Benedict brought them to the Town Hall to make arrangements for their accommodations.
In Westwater Town, any purchase or rental of private accommodations had to be done through the Town Hall. This was a regulation put in place by the town officials so as to easily track down any individuals whenever necessary.
Xena and Cyrus quickly found themselves in a small private room, seated before a wooden desk that was covered in stacks of paper.
Behind the desk, a bespectacled man who looked to be his sixties carefully scrutinized the piece of paper in his hand, looking up from time to time at the two youngsters seated before him.
"So, Xena and Cyrus, as written here, the two of you are cousins?" the bespectacled man asked the two of them, though the question was largely directed towards Xena since Cyrus was much too young in his eyes.
"Yes," Xena nodded.
"Is that so…?" the bespectacled man's doubtful gaze darted between the two of them before he posed his second question. "And according to what you filled up in this form, you are looking to buy a plot of land here in Westwater Town, is that correct?"
"That's right." Xena nodded once again.
The bespectacled man put down the piece of paper in his hand and looked seriously at Xena. "I don't mean to be rude, young lady. But even if it is the smallest plot available, are you aware of just how much it costs to actually purchase land here?"
"I have been told that I will be able to find that out here at the Town Hall," Xena smiled in response. "May I know how much it costs?"
At this point, the bespectacled man finally let out a deep sigh in exasperation.
This was not even the first time that such a thing had happened in the past month.
As the official in charge of handling accommodations within Westwater Town, he natural enjoyed the benefit of meeting and forging connections with most of the influential parties staying within the town.
As for those lower class individuals who were only seeking to rent a cheap place, he had absolutely no interest in them, and would always just leave those cases to his subordinates instead.
Unfortunately, during this period every year, it was common for there to be a huge influx of foreigners entering the town.
This should not have been much of a problem for him originally, but many of these foreigners just had to be completely ignorant about the situation in Westwater Town.
Many times when his subordinates informed him of someone wanting to purchase private accommodations, he would show up in his finest clothes only to realise that it was just a random foreigner who lacked the basic initiative of checking up on land prices prior to visiting them.
In the end, most of these people would only end up choosing to rent a cheap place due to the lack of funds.
As for the pair of young cousins seated before him, he had no doubt that they were just like that.
Reason One – Inability to purchase presentable clothes for one of them despite being cousins.
Reason Two – Ignorance about real estate prices.
As if that was not enough, they were not even able to catch the underlying meaning in his words that he had already made so obvious.
With the above factors considered, he was now fairly certain of his deduction!
All that was left was just a matter of putting them in their place so that he could go back and rest!
"Here is a catalogue of the plots of land available, as well as a map of their respective locations," the bespectacled man placed the items on the desk in front of them. "Please take a look at the prices and feel free to select any place that fits your criteria."
Despite his inner thoughts, the bespectacled man was perfectly professional in his way of handling things.
Seeing the listed prices should be more than enough of a wake-up call, allowing them to understand the difference between Westwater Town and wherever it was that they had come from!
Just as he had expected, after flipping open the catalogue and going through the pages, Xena let out a deep frown.
However, what came next were unfamiliar words that he had never heard before in his long years of being in this position.
"Excuse me, Sir," Xena closed the catalogue and looked straight into his eyes. "I don't mean to be rude, but why are there only these cheap places available on the catalogue? Pardon me if I am wrong, but are you looking down on us somehow?"