In the spring breeze of Prusha, the town bustled. One of the largest kingdoms in the northern part of Anos, under the rules of King Lucian, was lively and loud this typical morning.
Generally, people awake in the early morning to get a start off in the Market district. One of the main districts in this kingdom. Where they take the time to do inventory checks and get ready for the day. Guards are usually there at all times, with intervals of switches between shifts.
As of right now, shifts are changing. And one guard was a little late.
"Father! Wake up!" A voice rang out. The sound of a young child echoed through the small house that resides in the residential district. It was a house that lived near the edge of the district, it was a placement made so that it was much easier to enter into the market district and to not make long walks.
"Mmm….Hold on." A man grumbled. He was in his Mid-twenties. His light brown hair mushed against the pillows he laid his face on. As he drowsily got up, he looked around to see who had woken him. "Ah…Claire." He stared at a girl who hopped off his bed. Turning around to him. She donned a red outfit of sorts along with a white flower in her brownish hair.
"Father! It's early morning! Mom told me to wake you up. Plus, Don't you work?" The young girl asked, tilting her head before giggling as the man looked out his window. She was correct.
"Oh! You're right! S-sorry! Tell your mother I'll be down shortly!" The man flipped his bed sheets and jumped right out of his bed. Frantically opening the door that leads to the hallways of his home.
"Come on! Get it together, Jerry!" He mumbled to himself as he opened the bathroom door for a quick bath. It would be a quick rinse that would quickly get him ready for the day.
The man's full name was Jerry Bermont. Born in the kingdom of Ozoth where his family still resides. He spent his childhood there, learning how to read and write. He didn't attend the university there of magic, rather opting to focus on his swordsmanship. Now he wasn't the greatest at the style he chose, which was wind king style. But he was able to pass the intermediate rank test by a short margin. However, he felt that Ozoth wasn't the right place for him. Ozoth was a major kingdom in the middle of Anos, bridging the two other major kingdoms such as Prusha and Estabon, the Capital of Ithryll. Ozoth usage of books and knowledge never really sat with Jerry right. His father was an Adventurer who decided to settle down there as his mother was interested in the books, but he never took that trait from her. Rather he took interest in his father's swordsmanship. Jerry always wanted to be a swordsman, but not for adventuring. His interest lied on what the guardsman did in Ozoth, protecting others.
To say Other kingdoms' Security were above Prusha was correct. Prush lacked much in that department. King Lucian's focus was rather put onto guarding the northern gate from demon attacks. This has become more apparent in recent days as the barracks where all the guards are were instructed by him personally to ramp up patrols on the streets near the northern parts of the kingdom, leaving much of the others with less enforcements. It seems as though some weeks ago, King Lucian himself was attacked by some demons but luckily lived. Somewhat furious with us, he ordered a longer shift for each patrol much to everyone's dismay.
The streets of Prusha weren't that dangerous, most people tended to behave themselves. Rather it was the people outside of Prusha that caused much ruckus. Outside the southern gate is a camp of sorts made by those who were either kicked out of Prusha or have no access to it due to being Hybrids. Relations between two races within Prusha was forbidden, thus any person known to be a hybrid would be prosecuted.
"Ugh…" Jerry stepped out of the bathroom, rinsed clean and drying his . He needed to get ready for work.
Stepping back into his room, his daughter Claire was already out of his room and down the stairs. He quickly got dressed, wearing a plain white shirt and brown pants as he would be changing into his guard gear in the barracks.
He spent three years working here when his wife, Maria wanted to open up a vending spot here selling herbs. Actually, he met Maria when he was injured on a trip with his father to hunt goblins near Ozoth. Maria Credent was her full name, she worked in a medicinal shop as an apprentice when the two met. Falling in love at first sight and marrying after a year of dating. She had finished up her apprenticeship around that time and asked Jerry to move to Prusha as they would be able to make more profit there than in Ozoth. Prusha was a hot spot for markets, so Jerry accepted her offer and moved there.
Once Jerry was ready to head out, he headed downstairs. Down the stairs awaited his wife, who promptly stood at the bottom of the stairs.
"Finally awake?" She teased him. She had in her hands some medicinal herbs she must've gathered from the other night. To restock her vending spot, Maria heads out to the forest in search of herbs. Specifically, The Recupare herb. It has a distinct green texture to it that differentiates itself from other herbs. Usually it's found all over Anos, but the way Maria uses it in potions she makes makes it quite potent for adventurers. When she combines the herb with Augure (A yellow colored flower that looks like a fuzzy caterpillar), it makes an Intermediate ranked healing potion. One could suffice with just half of it, which makes it different from other intermediate potions as they would have you drink the whole bottle.
Today, Maria was only carrying the Augure flowers. Jerry stood just a step above her, smiling at her.
"Sorry, Had a wonderful dream about you and Claire." Jerry stepped down and kissed Maria on her forehead. "Something about…Heading down to Bellow lake?"
"Father!" Jerry turned to see Claire running out of their kitchen. Her face pasted with red jam as she ran to him. "Lake trip?!" She had her arms out, ready to hug him, but Jerry frowned as she got closer.
With one swift movement, Jerry swooped down and lifted Claire up. Luckily, he didn't get any red jam on him. Claire laughed as she was picked up.
"Hey…Were you going through the strawberry jam again? You can't eat that without its bread. Always eat the jam with something." Jerry lectured her.
Claire only smiled. "I did eat it with something! It's called a spoon!"
Maria laughed, amused by her daughter's naiveness. "Well Jerry, she's not wrong."
Jerry then put Claire down, patting her head. "Alright, I'll let you go with that clever line. Next time, eat it with bread." Unbeknownst to her, Jerry was quite amused by her words as well. When Claire was born, Jerry was worried as he never asked his father for advice. Once He had moved out of his parents home, it seemed to have strained the relationship of the two. His mother was there to give advice though, being given one advice that he has tried to uphold ever since he was given it.
"Treat her the way you would've wanted to be treated." Those words echoed in his mind during Claire's birth and even right now. Jerry didn't have much of a horrible childhood, but you could say his lack of communication with his father was something he'd want to correct with his child.
Communication was key to a happy family. At least that's what Jerry thinks.
The sun beamed through the door as Jerry walked out of his home. Saying his goodbyes to his wife and child on the way out. He was already late for guard duty, so he took a leave as quickly as he could. He hurried his way to the barracks that was northeast of the residential district. Up in the northeast of Prusha would be considered the Red Light district. It was more of a place for the poor, those desperate for money. Jerry never really went to this area unless his patrol duties were there, but what he usually saw there was distasteful to him. Most guards after their duties head to the red light district for stress relief, the usage of prostitution was somewhat high in Prusha. Many nobles have swept the red light district under the rug, king Lucian as well. Its profits were second to the market district, so King Lucian left it be.
Speaking of King Lucian, Jerry had to devote himself to the king. It was a requirement to be a guard here, which took him by surprise. His senior guards spoke of how King Lucian had distrust in those who didn't give their full devotion to him. It was more obvious now after King Lucian attempted assasination, with more lay off of guards who questioned king Lucian's orders. One of Jerry's friends was affected by this, forcing that man to leave Prusha along with his daughter Much to Jerry's dismay. But Jerry himself needed the job here for his family, so he reluctantly had to follow Lucian's work hours and follow every rule he had for the guards.
Jerry found himself looking at a two story building, its white stone bricks layered walls plastered with dirt and such. The wooden frames of the building looked somewhat old and creaked whenever someone moved on the upper floor. In front of the building was a sign that hung out, saying 'Barracks' on it. Jerry recalled that this building was used at first as a warehouse for the castle way before he came here. During the demon war, this place was used as a storage for rations and supplies for the kingdom's military force. Now it was used permanently as a spot for the guards to clock in or rest and hold meetings.
"Jerry!" A voice called out to him. It was a recognizable voice that he's heard ever since he came to this kingdom. It came from a man that showed friendliness to him when they first met and ever since then, they would chat and even do patrol together when they could.
Turning around, Jerry stood face to face with a blonde haired man, who wore a white cloak with red insignias. Underneath that cloak of his, were two blades that were holstered on his hips.
"Mr.Goodman! Pleasure seeing you!" Jerry waved at the man. The man in front of him was named Kale Goodman, a freelancer of sorts for King Lucian. A King ranked Fire King style user. Jerry has seen Kale in action before, and knows of his capabilities. Practically everyone in the barracks knew of the man's abilities or reputation at this point.
"Don't need no formality…Actually, maybe we do." Kale waved his hand dismissively at first before hesitating and looking behind him. "Lilith, step forward."
Jerry watched with curiosity of who he was talking to. Was it his daughter? Does Kale have a kid? He watched in intrigue as a young girl stepped to the side of kale, she donned a white outfit that would usually be worn by the castle's guards. Usually, Those being castle guards have iron chest plates along with iron gauntlets. However the girl had instead a leather made chest plate and didn't wear any gauntlets, rather she wore leather gloves in its place. The bottom of her upper white shirt tucked in firmly as she wore white leggings underneath. She also wore black boots, something that didn't usually come with the normal set. Most likely, This was the girl's choice and preference.
Kale has never brought this girl here before. Though to Jerry's knowledge, he has seen this girl before. On a few occasions, he has seen her along with another boy in the market district. They'd often be there to buy food or just casually strolling. He never really thought of the girl until now.
Kale patted the girl's head, rubbing it gently. "This is my disciple, Lilith Esheram. Also the bodyguard of Chris Rabidawg. She's here to get the feeling of being one of you guys."
Beg pardon? There's no way this girl was the bodyguard for the prince. Kale must be messing with me.
"Ahem…Kale, this isn't really the time for this. I need to clock in for guard duty." Jerry awkwardly said to Kale, who raised his eyebrows.
"Oh. Forgot about that. Guess you'll be doing patrols then. Here, uh…Let me walk in with you. I'll be needing one of you guys to do a patrol together." Kale offered. He then turned to the girl and pointed a finger at her. "Stay, hang out next to the wall till I come back out."
"You know I'm not a dog, right?" Lilith said in annoyance, reluctantly she leaned against the wall.
"Yes…But we are in the red light district. Don't wander around here." Kale said sternly. He then turned to Jerry and the two strolled into the barracks.
On the other side of the barracks doors lay many bunk beds set up on the first floor, in the middle of the room was a large table that held many things. Jerry quickly turned to clock in, near the door. There was a large sheet that was hanging in the wall, multiple names were written on it that also had check marks for clocking in and out. Jerry swiftly wrote his name and checked himself in for the day. Routinely, this sheet was then given to the commander of the barracks who would then verify it before sending it to the castle. Later on, a messenger from the castle goes on route to the guard's homes with their rubees.
"Ok, clocked in." Jerry turned to Kale, who looked at the table meticulously. "You said something about going on guard duty?"
"Yeah, The girl needs to learn how to be aware of any suspicious personnel and how to handle those situations correctly…" Kale explained, he traced his finger across a sheet of paper on the table. It was the map that showed the routes the guards took, usually a map was placed here every shift to show any reports of incidents that the next shift would look at when they come in. Sections of the map were bordered, indicating their districts. Names were inked in on which routes they would take. And Jerry was inked right next to the red light district. On another sheet that was separated to the other side of the table, it was last night's sheet and it had the night shifts names on it.
"I see there is an incident in the red district. Know anything about that?" Kale pointed at a red circle around the red district.
"Nah, not a thing. Though I'm sure Reginald would know, I should be taking his spot today." Jerry nodded his head at the stairs to the second floor. "Should see if he's upstairs."
Reginald was a Night shift guard that's been here for ten years. He was a older gentleman that was quite an oddball among the Guards. Jerry never really bothered with the man that much. But when they got the chance to talk, the man's topics were some of the weirdest Jerry had heard. Besides the weird conversations, Jerry had no problems with the man.
Both Kale and Jerry headed up the stairs, Each step creaking as they ascended. The building was suppose to get a remodeling some time ago, but funding for that eventually vanished as King Lucian focused on the market district.
"So…Does that girl live with you?" Jerry asked. He was behind Kale as they went up the stairs. Kale turned to the man and thought for a moment, perhaps carefully choosing his words.
"…Yes. She came some time ago with My Last disciples' son."
"Your last disciple, huh…" Kale was a Fire king style user, it'd probably make sense someone would want to learn it from someone of his rank. "Is that other kid your student as well?"
"Nope. Mage user, a particular strong one too. Caught me off guard when I first met the two. Thought it'd be the other way around." Kale smiled as he reminisced. "Yep, they live with me. Or least until Their pare-Er…My last disciple comes back." Kale quickly corrected himself and sighed. Obviously to Jerry, That was a red herring.
"Something happened?" Jerry asked.
"…Let's just continue upstairs." Kale ignored the question, looking forward as he continued going upstairs.
Jerry quickly took that as it was, not wanting to poke at the topic. He then followed in suit as they made their way upstairs where there were some guards undressing out of their armor. This was most of the Night shift guards.
"Boys!" Kale yelled out as he entered, the room had a similar look to the first floor, although without the table. Instead, there were lockers that sat beside each bunk bed. The guards all looked at his direction with confusion as Kale moved closer to them.
"Kale?"
"Mr.Goodman!"
"How the hell are you?"
The voices ranged from a greeting to questions, but Kale immediately hushed them with his hands. "I'm good, everyone. Just here for business, looking for Reginald."
The room went quiet at that remark, kale looked at them confused. Some of the guards looked down to their feet, averting their eyes while others frowned. Something was amiss between them all.
"The tension in this room…" Kale mumbled to himself before raising his voice to catch everyone's attention again. "Something happened to him?"
One guard spoke up, a younger gentleman that Jerry recognized as Robert. "Well, Reggie called in that incident. Saying how he saw a princess get pulled into one of the brothel buildings. But…Haven't seen him come back when he went out on his own again to look at it." Kale sighed as he rubbed his chin.
"…you guys let him go alone?" Kale slowly said. His gaze looked at everyone else's. All the night guards awkwardly looked away, obviously hiding something. "Like, none of you went with him just in case he'd get jumped?"
"Um….Its not that we didn't want to…" Robert replied.
"The man's a weirdo." Another guard spoke up. He stood close to one of the bunk beds, Jerry knew him as Faroh. "No one wants to walk with a guy who talks of weird shit."
The night guards shook their heads in agreement, it seemed they all had some sort of experience with the man that made them feel uncomfortable near him.
But Kale ignored that, folding his arms and sternly looking at them all. "You guys are fucked up, you know that? Leaving one of your own men to go off on his own."
"I ain't helping a nut job. Have you heard what he talks about?" Faroh shrugged. "The man talks about the weirdest shit."
"Yeah, he does talk about the oddest things…" Robert added. "Like when he talked about the conspiracy of that one house being a teleporter or something. We investigated it and found nothing."
"Just because he talks insane, doesn't mean he isn't a valuable team member!" Kale raised his arms, flabbergasted. "Also, teleporter?!" He also seemed confused by that comment of Reginald.
The night guards shuffled in their positions, unsure of what to make of it either. They all recall how Reginald ranted at them all after their investigations about how they weren't looking in the right areas. They brushed it off as it was pretty common how Reginald would make claims that went nowhere.
"Hey…speaking of weird claims…" Robert said, looking at kale. Kale looked back with suspicion immediately. "Is it true…That you done some misdemeanors in the univ-."
"Yadadada-." Kale loudly made some noises to interrupt Robert, his face now red. "….who told you this? What kind of conspicuous bullshit are you spilling out that mouth?"
"It was…Arthur." Arthur was just recently suspended from guard duty a week ago due to alleged fraud of sorts to the kingdom. Though they couldn't find anything…Kale insisted he was, so he was put in suspension.
Kale rubbed his chin, looking down to the floor and mumbling to himself for a moment.
From what the night guards heard from Arthur, he was on patrol in the residential district during the festival's dance. Patrolling one side of the university when he caught something that intrigued him. Two shadows looming on the second floor of the university, to which he claimed were "messing around". When he did bring this up to the rest of the night guards, It was much more of a laugh than an actual incident. When Kale came by to do a patrol with the first shift, he heard about it and immediately went off to the castle. Mumbling and speeding his way there. And thus, Arthur was suspended.
"Ah yes…Arthur. Arthur, Arthur…" kale mumbled. He looked up at the the night guards with a somewhat murderous intent. "Do any of you believe it?" It made some of the guards wary of him, backing up and sitting on their bunk beds. Most of the guards knew what he was capable of, so making him angry wasn't really something they wanted. And bringing this up most likely switched something in him.
"U-uh…Robert! Shut your trap about that!" Faroh yelled at the younger man. "It couldn't have been kale, he was in the central room with everyone else that day!
Sensing his own demise, Robert straightened his posture and immediately bowed at kale. "Ah-F-Forgive me! It was just a claim, so I didn't believe it! I was just asking out of curiosity!"
Kale's posture immediately relaxed, that aura he had before was gone. Now, he seemed to be back to his chirpy mood from before. "Alright, if that's the case. Let's move on to where Reginald is."
From what Kale and Jerry gathered, Reginald talked of how he saw some suspicious activity in one of the brothel houses known as the twisted snake. It was one of older brother houses in the red light district, not many people enter it due to its more run down looks. Lot of the brothels in the red light district were pretty run down. Creaky floors and over used beds accompanied by…Unsanitary environments made it quite uncomfy for most people.
Kale and Jerry made use of this information, saying their goodbyes to the night shift guards as they made their way down the stairs. The two didn't have a conversation until Kale was about to open the door. With his hand on the handle, he looked back at Jerry.
"I guess I'll be assisting you in your patrol today."
"Guess so. But…don't you usually always do it when you visit?"
"Yeah, guess you're right. You're the most approachable in the barracks." Kale pulled the door open, going outside. "Plus you're great with kids, right? Got a daughter?"
Jerry followed in suit, closing the door behind him. "Yeah, a Four year-old." Once he turned around, he noticed that the girl that was with Kale earlier was still leaning against the wall of the barracks, looking back at him.
It was only now that Jerry noticed the girl's amber colored eyes. It was off putting to say the least, he's never seen a child with those color of eyes. The silver hair that she had also reminded him of The king's mage, Richard.
"Great, then you wouldn't have much problem with Lilith. I think." Kale walked towards Lilith, leaning down so he was face to face with her. "Lilith, are you alright with Jerry?"
Lilith took a gander at the man, tilting her head. She seemed judgmental at first before nodding her head. "He seems alright. Probably has some experience under his belt."
"That's right, Jerry can handle himself in battle. He's a beginner Wind King style, beginner earth king style." Kale explained.
Jerry learned of Wind king style from his father, who was an intermediate ranked user of it. Once he came to Prusha to work here, he was assigned to learn Earth king style. It was only Six months of training before he passed and reached beginner rank, the whole process of training was somewhat mundane.
"How capable is the girl?" Jerry asked. To which kale chuckled.
"Heh…Intermediate. A couple more months and she'll most likely reach king rank too. She's a lot faster than me when it comes to training and learning." Kale's praise to Lilith went with no mind to her as she curiously looked around the buildings and signs. She didn't seem to care much of his praise, perhaps she did and just knew it was true.
"Anyways, let's head to the twisted snake. It should be east of here, it's got a big ol' sign with a snake on it." Kale pointed down one of the alleyways. It was littered with people, mostly women in skimpy outfits. "Best to avoid alleyways. Let's keep close to the streets and stay in the middle."
"That woman has no top on." Lilith pointed out, her arm pointing at the particular woman. Kale quickly got behind Lilith and mushed his hands between her cheeks, making her uncomfortable.
"Hey! No need to point out the obvious! We've all seen bodies, we're used to it." Kale lectured her. "Though if we took Kota, he'd have been more observant. No telling what he'd find."
"I'd keep his eyes closed, and give him a jab or two if I catch him looking at any of them." Lilith palmed her fist to visually show what she'd do.
"Ok, ok. We get it, two of you are dating. Yada Yada. Even still, King Lucian's been keeping him busy with teaching Chris of magic. So there's no way he could've gone with us."
Jerry watched with intrigue as the two bickered. He didn't know who this Kota was. But if kale said he was teaching the king's son magic, he was likely a very experienced man. Though thinking to himself on that note, it wouldn't be a man…since the girl was dating him. Perhaps it was another kid that came to Prusha, didn't Kale say his other apprentice's son came along?
"Er, excuse me." Jerry awkwardly asked. Kale and Lilith stopped their bickering and looked at him. "W-who is this Kota?"
Kale thought for a moment, scratching his chin while trying to figure out the best way to describe him. "He's my last apprentice's son. He's…a special case when it comes to magic, which is why king Lucian took notice of him."
"One time, he blasted Kale down our stairs by accident." Lilith chirped in. Which caused her to get a quick flick to the head by kale.
"Shut it, He just caught me off guard that one time. I'd even say I caused that fall myself, a misstep on the way down the stairs."
"Now you're just making it sound like you're clumsy."
"…Good point." Kale reluctantly agreed to that. "But yeah, kota is the other child I was speaking of."
"Ah, Got it." Jerry looked down the street. "We should be going now, right? Wouldn't want to keep Reginald waiting."
Passing the streets of the red light district, they ran across a few hiccups on the way there. Many girls offered themselves to the two men, which they quickly shut down. Another issue they ran into was Lilith's tendency of moving on her own. When Kale and Jerry were looking for the building, Lilith ran off to one of the street sides and talked with the people there. Sparking some trouble for the three when she spoke with a older looking man.
"Hey, what's an old dude like you doing here?" Lilith asked, her hands neatly behind her as she looked at him.
The older man seemed quite offended, his face smeared into a frown as he folded his arms. "The hell are you saying? I ain't saying none to you! Tsk, What's a guard like you doing here? And why are you so young? Didn't know they hired little girls on their force!" He peppered her with questions.
Lilith hesitated for a moment before firing back at him. "What's a noble like you spending his money on girls?" She pointed out the man's crest insignia on his outfit. It was a lion that was in a red casing of sorts. "From what I learned, those who have that are part of a royal family in a nearby kingdom. What are you doing here?"
The man quickly shielded the insignia from her, moving his body so she couldn't see it anymore. "Ah! Nosy little brat! Another word from you, and I'll have you bite those words!"
Lilith playfully leaned to her right side, her left feet dangling in the air. "Or what? Try to sell me for slavery or something? Had that happened to me once, killed the people who tried." She let out a smile as she said that.
"Gah, h-huh?!" The older man backed up a few steps. He didn't expect her to say that. Nor did he expect the jolly expression. What the hell was this girl?
Suddenly, a hand grabbed Lilith by the shoulder and pulled her. "Alright, no harassing the locals right now!" It was Kale who did.
"Wha-he started it! I was just asking a question!" Lilith argued, thrashing around as she was pulled. Kale casually walked towards Jerry, who watched with concern as the older man watched them.
"Sure you were, you know curiosity kills the cat?" Kale said.
"You know you've been a big pain in the butt as of lately?!"
"Look who's talking, now let's get going. Sorry for the commotion, everyone!" Kale waved at the bystanders who looked at them. Jerry was feeling second hand embarrassment as the three were now back to walking down the street.
Once they were further down the street, they finally managed to find the place they were looking for. Twisted Snake.
A rundown building that had three stories to it. It had some windows along the front and its side to show the amount of rooms in the building. Jerry counted four on each floor, judging by the windows. But the windows themselves were either barred up or broken. In fact, the whole building seemed to be in a much more ugly state than the others around it. Its brick walls that it had were either scratched up or dirtied to an extreme extent. It was like someone had furiously scratched up one side of the wall. It wasn't common for beast folks to end up in this district when they managed to get in Prusha. In fact, beast folk have it a lot harder here than others. Prusha categorizes all beast races into one known as Beast Folks, From the cat-like people known as Gradons to the reptilian-like people known as eldesche. Prusha holds strict rules to them when they come from any entrances, doing searches and filing them. If one manages to get into Prusha, they are met with harsher rulings than humans. All thanks to King Lucian's rules. Those that find themselves stressed would either end up in the red light district, taking their anger out here. Or out in the camps outside the kingdom, where they are exiled out of the kingdom. Perhaps the reasoning for the rundown look of the district is results of the harsher rulings.
"Hey, look." Kale pointed out at the third story. The farthest window was illuminating a light source, and it was the only one that seemed occupied. "Might be Reginald."
"What makes you say that?" Jerry asked.
"Maybe he's gone off and had some fun on his own? I don't know." Kale shrugged. "Why not check in the building and see if the front desk is open for buisness."
The three walked slowly into the building, the door creaked with stress as it seemed on the verge of breaking. When they entered, Lilith took notice of the stench in the building.
"Smells like death in here…" she said, covering her nose with her arm.
"Oho….That is a smell that is eerily familiar…" Kale waved a hand in front of him. "Lilith, don't touch anything here. Matter of fact, wash those shoes once we get home."
Jerry pinched his nose, it was a putrid stench that came with all these run down buildings. The mixture of sweat and sex along with the low hygiene standards made for a terrifying smell. Almost made him barf.
But someone on the floor didn't mind, sitting in front of them with a worn out desk space was an older looking lady. To be more specific, an Eldesche lady. Her red tail laid on the desk itself as she seemed to be giving herself a pedicure for her fingers. She didn't seem to notice the three at first.
"Alright, let's ask the receptionist about Reginald." Kale said, moving forward. "Excuse me, miss!"
The eldesche lady looked up from her desk, her green eyes examined the three for the moment before she narrowed them in a suspicious manner. "…We don't accept those who use minors."
Kale stared at her for a moment, taking in what she said before whipping back and looking at Jerry and Lilith. Once he realized what she meant, he turned back and gave her a confused look.
"…There seems to be a huge misunderstanding. We are with the kingdom's guard."
"We don't give discounts. Nor do we give out free women to you all."
"N-no, that's not what I meant. We aren't here to have sex. We're looking for someone." Kale awkwardly said. "Is there a Reginald here?"
The reptilian woman casually raised her arm and rested her head in her open palm. "Perhaps. What about him?"
Kale leaned onto the desk. "Heard from the guards that he went to check out this place due to…seeing some suspicious activities here." He eyed the reptilian woman for a moment. Her expression remained unchanged. "Wouldn't happen to see a guard come in here?"
"Guards come and go from this place. Perhaps he already left." The eldesche lady waved her hand at kale, irritated. "Now are you done? No more questions?"
"I literally asked two, but ok." Kale shrugged, and he pressed her even more. "Now, I'll need you to answer my questions or my Apprentice will need to start pressing you as well."
She looked past him for a moment before looking back up at him. "…That scrawny looking dude?"
Jerry took offense to that immediately, looking down at himself. "I am not scrawny, I'm more than capable with my body build!"
Lilith didn't say anything, but her facial expression read what she thought. The eldesche woman was correct. But to hide that from Jerry, Lilith looked off to the side and avoided contact with him.
Kale stifled a laugh before immediately going back to business."Ahem…No, my apprentice is the girl."
"You deal with minors?" The eldesche woman nonchalantly said.
"I deal with those that could easily kill you. And I'm just stating facts." Kale cooly said. That made the eldesche narrow her eyes again, this time towards the girl.
"Is that so?"
"Yeah. So can you give us any details on if Reginald did come in?"
"…"
When the woman didn't respond, Kale looked back at Lilith and nodded at her. That prompted Lilith to move forward and stand beside him, her shoulders barely above the desk.
"Alright, guess I'll need to have her press you then." Kale shrugged. "Hopefully she'll persuade you."
Quickly, Kale leaned down and whispered into Lilith's ear. "Ok, remember what I said about interrogating someone. Just persuade them to give the info. Act tough and be in control. Don't let them have advantage in the conversation."
Lilith nodded as kale slowly walked backwards, leaving her and the eldesche woman.
"…"
"…"
The two awkwardly stared at each other, the eldesche woman seemed confused as she took a longer look at Lilith. She didn't seem to be that tough, just a small girl acting as an assistant to a guard. If anything, they were pulling a bluff about her. Perhaps she cou-
Lilith thought of something, looking and grabbing something from her waist. A few moments of rummaging and she finally pulled out her black shortsword, slamming it onto the desk. The eldesche woman was cut off guard by the slam, jerking back instinctively as Lilith put on a smile.
"If you don't talk. You won't ever get to walk." Lilith said coolly. "So can you tell us where the guard is?" She then nudged the sword closer to herself.
The coldness that Lilith gave and her constant smiling seemed to have broken the eldesche woman. Never has she seen a child like her nonchalantly do such a thing. And the Look Lilith gave her made her certain that the threat was very serious. The woman gulped as her tail slithered off the table.
Meanwhile, behind Lilith. Kale had his palms to his face, embarrassed by Liliths action.
"Ooh…that is not what I taught her at all." He drew his face up from his palms. "She was supposed to be all cutesy and use that to her advantage. Now she just seems like a murderous child."
"I can say that she is doing that well." Jerry was more astonished by the girl's surpassingly dark side. He thought the girl would've just been all cheerful and happy like Kale, but he was proven wrong.
And it seemed the eldesche woman had reached her limit with Lilith's constant smiling at her. Her arms sagged and her tail coiled around her body in fear. "Damn it, that Half man shit ain't paying me enough for some weird shit…"
That caught the attention of Kale, who quickly moved and leaned onto the desk, gently pushing Lilith aside. "I'm sorry, a Brego set you up?"
"Hmph, if that's what you call it." The eldesche woman pointed up to the ceiling. "Third floor, first door on the left."
"Hooold on, a Horseman? Brego's are Horse people." Kale turned to Jerry. "Didn't I beat a horse dude some time ago?"
"Errr…" Jerry tried to recall what he was talking about. "…Oh! That barn incident in the farming district!"
"What happened to him?"
"He was let go, served his time. He was forced to leave the kingdom, but we had night shift guards reporting seeing him again…wait, you saying the Brego that set up the lady is the same one?"
Kale nodded his head, reassuring himself. "Yes, that dude had a distaste for nobles. And this kingdom. Chances are that he's a part of this somehow." Kale then looked at the eldesche woman, waving a hand at her as he moved to the stairs. "Thanks for the assistance, ma'am."
"Hold on." Kale stopped in his tracks when he heard her.
"…yes?"
"I'll need some sort of payment for telling you all that." She held out a hand towards him. "Compensation."
However, Lilith slapped the hand. Causing the woman to jerk back. Lilith gave her a cool stare as she spoke.
"Your Compensation is you being able to live."
"…"
There was an awkward pause between all four of them. With kale breaking the silence after a few moments.
"…I think you're taking this a little too seriously. Starting to scare the shit out of me."
"I'm just doing what you told me." Lilith shrugged.
"…damn my own self then." Kale mumbled before clearing his voice to speak louder. "Alright, let's head up the stairs and visit that door."
And with that, Kale led the group up the stairs. Lilith following second and Jerry following last.
Author note: Good to be back! Thank you everyone who has been waiting after my long break! Things start off a little different this time as I started to be more creative when it came to my writing. Hopefully the upcoming chapters appease you all! Thanks for the support!