Zail looked to be a little offended as he heard this so he pouted but said nothing more since he knew that arguing would only worsen the situation.
"Well, tell me that you'd at least consider trying to get along," Zail muttered cautiously as he glanced at Hecathe.
Hecathe thought about it for a minute and smiled but just when Zail thought that the man was about to give him a nod, Hecathe shook his head as he responded, "I won't be trying since trying is a waste of time as well."
"..."
"But we might not end up as enemies, isn't that a good thing?" Hecathe beamed.
Zail blinked as he wondered if he was the one who was lacking brain cells to understand this conversation or if it was Hecathe who was at fault here.
'Sir, I think I'll be fearing for my life by the end of this,' Zail commented in his mind without daring to say it out loud.
"I'm bad with communication so you might not like the words I choose," Hecathe sighed, "But I can feel that although you might be dumb, you're not that bad and that's the biggest compliment I can give you."
"Are you sure that's a compliment?" Zail muttered in disbelief but Hecathe didn't bother answering the question.
"In any case, Sir. I think you're gonna be here for a long time so it's only natural that we should try to get along. The last thing we would want is to hate people who live right next door, don't you think so?"
"Living next door...?" Hecathe frowned as he suddenly felt that there was something weird about what the man had just said, "What makes you think I'm gonna be here for a long time?"
Zail nodded with a smile on his face as he questioned, "She made you sign an illegal contract, didn't she?"
Hecathe blinked as he heard this but said nothing as he wondered if it was okay to tell the man about a contract that should not have existed in the first place.
"You don't need to bother hiding it from me," Zail chuckled as he reassured, "I already know that she would definitely do something like that once she meets a hunter."
"I see," Hecathe smirked as he understood something, "That's why you brought me here, isn't that right?"
"Huh?" Zail stopped in his tracks as he looked at Hecathe with a blank expression on his face.
"You wanted to scout hunters for her?"
Zail's muscles tensed up and this reaction was more than enough for Hecathe to understand what the answer to that question was, "Let me make another guess. The other tenant that recently moved in is also a hunter?"
Zail gulped as he reluctantly nodded his head and confirmed it.
"And he was given the same contract but he refused?" Hecathe's eyes narrowed down on the man as he questioned.
Zail immediately shook his head as he denied it, "T-that's not it!"
"Oh?" Hecathe raised his eyebrows but the man could clearly not see it as it was hidden behind the half-face mask.
"She didn't even get the chance to offer such a contract," Zail spoke up defensively, "He was too scary and dangerous!"
"Is that so?" Hecathe nodded his head as he came to the conclusion that the other one was really a hunter and not a fake one like Hecathe.
"Compared to him, you probably looked like a much easier target," Zail added as he scratched the back of his neck.
Hecathe chuckled dryly as he replied, "That doesn't make me feel happy at all."
"You don't need to worry about that contract," Zail reassured the man, "She's not a cruel woman so she wouldn't make you do something too hard."
Hecathe didn't know if he wanted to laugh or cry as he heard this as he wondered if the man knew that her only condition was for Hecathe to spy on someone by joining a guild which in itself was a pretty hard thing for him to do.
When he planned on coming here, he never planned on joining a guild, and in fact, he planned to stay as far away from them as possible.
But then again... Hecathe had a change of plans now so maybe it was better for him to get involved with a guild.
"And in any case," Zail smiled wickedly as he leaned in closer to Hecathe's ear and spoke in a volume that was barely above a whisper, "You're the one that's benefitting since you get to live in a place for a rent that is so generous that it can even be considered as free."
Hecathe's lips curled up as he nodded and agreed with the man, "Maybe I am the one benefitting the most here."
Zail bobbed his head up and down enthusiastically as he confirmed it.
Hecathe pursed his lips together as he stared back at Zail and the man stared back at him as well.
"Are you not going to show the way anymore?" Hecathe questioned sternly.
"Eh? We are already here," Zail responded as he blinked in confusion.
"Already here?" It was only now that Hecathe had realized that the reason why the man had stopped walking was not because he was shocked or surprised by Hecathe's word but it was simply because they had already reached their destination.
Hecathe pointed at the door that was beside them and asked, "This is it?"
Zail nodded his head happily as he took out a pair of keys and handed them over to Hecathe, "This is your room from now on. You must take good care of it."
Hecathe took the keys with a nod as he opened the door and the lights inside the room automatically switched on, however, before Hecathe could be impressed with this, the lights started flickering.
"..."
Zail chuckled awkwardly as he tried his best to explain, "It's because it's been empty for so long."
Hecathe let out a breath of disappointment as he mentally concluded that this sort of stuff was to be expected since he was getting this room for such cheap rent.