Azemo was not wealthy by any means. When he was in the demon stronghold he did not even need to think of coin because anything he needed was provided to him. Now out and about in the wide world the only money he had was the few coins that were not destroyed in the Zepsile's explosion.
After paying for a room and three meals Azemo only had six coins left. Four were silver, one was gold and the last one was a shiny coin that Azemo did not know the value of.
'I need to make money, maybe there is an adventurers guild or something.'
Ima and Bella were still asleep but Azemo felt that if he had to be awake the two of them should be as well. Bella woke up quickly and was already raring to go while Imagine was doing her best Sillis impersonation.
As Azemo lingered on Sillis' name the kittens rushed him out of the room and downstairs to the main area of the inn. The owner was a round, middle aged man named Finn, that Azemo had met the night before.
Finn seemed friendly enough so Azemo decided to ask him a few questions.
"Hii, I was wondering if there was an adventurers guild in town." The hustle and bustle of the inn had moved his sad thoughts out of mind.
"What is an adventurers guild exactly?"
"Umm a place where adventurers go to get quests to make money."
"Never heard of something as ridiculous as that… though it is kind of similar to a sell swords job. But we don't need that kind of help in this town, monsters, beasts, demons, the lot, they don't care about a backwater village."
"Oh."
Finn saw that Azemo was disappointed and his kindly nature kicked in.
"If you are looking to make some money I heard that old man Simon needs some help on his farm." Finn felt bad for the young looking Azemo all on his own and gave him a free meal before heading off to help some other customers.
'A farming job would take too long, I need to head towards the human capital to get revenge. But I might as well check it out.'
Ima and Bella were in an odd mood after the conversation with Finn.
"You want to be like those awful humans hunting us monsters for money." Imagine finally said.
Azemo instantly realized that he had been insensitive towards the two kittens and gave them some extra food before explaining himself.
"I wouldn't go hunting for monsters, I would only go after bad monsters like the Beskar who attacked others for no reason."
Bella and Ima seemed satisfied with the answer. In fact Bella seemed to be anxious to get to killing stuff. Ima was more calm, as usual, and spoke up once again.
"Is it ok if I ask you one more thing?"
"You already… go ahead, feel free to ask me anything, we need to be able to trust each other after all."
"From what mother told us humans and demons are mortal enemies and humans are always destroying demon villages, how can you be so friendly to your foes?"
"These humans never did anything to me, they even helped me, my only enemies are those that attack me or hurt the ones I care about, human, demon it doesn't matter."
Anyone who was paying attention to the trio in the corner of the inn would have noticed that the young boy was softly growling at his kittens but those that did tacked it up to Azemo being a weird cat person.
After their meal Imagine and Bellania wanted another ride on Azemo's shoulders but he told them that they needed some exercise. Bella was ready to go as soon as Azemo told her that it would make her stronger but Ima only agreed to walk half way to Simon's farm. After the halfway mark Ima made herself comfortable atop Azemo's head, while Bella ran circles around Azemo's feet.
As they got nearer Simon saw them and immediately headed over.
"Hey you three, came to visit me?"
"Actually Finn told me that you needed some help on the farm."
"Ahh that might be a little too dangerous for someone as young as yourself, I was going to wait for our hunting party to get back."
"We can handle ourselves, just give us a chance." Azemo was a little bit excited hearing about danger, he did need to train after all.
Simon could not help but admire the determination in Azemo's eyes and he did not want to hurt a youngsters dream. "Very well I will show you my problem but promise me you will run if you are in danger."
"Oki."
Azemo was very hyped up and he wondered what monsters the old man would bring him to.
Simon led them to a barn and then he turned to speak. "In here is a den of monsters, my job for you is to eradicate them." Simon opened the door and let Azemo in.
"Close the door please so none can escape."
"Very well but I will be waiting right here so don't hesitate to call for help."
As the doors shut behind Azemo and the kittens eyes began to gleam in the darkness.
"You two let me handle this at first, maybe you guys can help later on."
Bella did not want to agree but Imagine talked some sense into her and the two kittens hid behind Azemo. 'Time to get started.' Azemo lit the lamp nearby to illuminate the monsters.
They were just big rats. 'These are monsters.' Azemo groaned. 'Wait maybe they are dangerous, people always say not to judge a book by its cover.'
Azemo unsheathed his white knife and dashed forward in an instant. As his knife struck its first target he groaned again. 'These are stupid weak.' The rat had been obliterated by the first swing of the knife.
After confirming the rats' strength Azemo decided it was safe for Ima and Bella to join in. While the rats were three times the sisters size they were unbelievably weak.
"Work together you two." Imagine and Bella immediately sought their first target.
Bella danced around it slashing out with her claws while Imagine waited for the perfect opening. When she saw it she leaped on top of the rats back tearing its throat with her claws.
Azemo confirmed that the sisters would be okay and continued cutting through the rats, in half an hour not another squeak could be heard.
"There is no way." Simon was still flabbergasted. In the village those monster rats were a big problem and to clear out a nest like that would take ten extremely talented hunters. He had thought that Azemo would go in, see the danger and leave but the youth had killed all the rats in half an hour and had not sustained a single injury.
"Here is your payment, do you think you will be in town a while, I am sure others might ask for your help."
Azemo took the bag of money inside was ten copper pieces and twenty silver coins. "I think we will head out soon. I need to get to the capital before too long."
"That's a shame but if you are headed that way you might want to stop by Fresk. It is a small city and my cousin owns a shop over there. Tell him I sent you and he will let you sleep there. The shop is called Monster Parts and my cousin is Sawell."
"Thanks Simon, I will be sure to stop by." After he got directions Azemo headed off.
Bellania and Ima had gone to sleep after the battle because they were tired out. Azemo tucked them into bed, the trip was sure to be a quiet one.
'I think I am a little too strong for the beginner area.'