Chapter 42: We don't like odd stuff
Bryce and Gengo left their room, all clean and smelling fine.
Though Bryce missed some stuff from Earth, such as deodorant, he was already accustomed to a lack of it, and Emerea City was also pretty wealthy, so their inns were above average. Bryce didn't know it was mainly because of other cities falling to monsters' attacks: one of many schemes between demons and humans.
"Morning."
"Morning."
Bryce and Gengo greeted Wolfgang in their own way, sounding the same in the werewolf's ears. He also came out from a bath with water drops hanging on his white hair, looking casual about his morning routine. It was much better than what he and his friends had gone through in the wilderness, after all.
The party went to get some food without complaining about their night and morning.
A few minutes later, they ended up by a table in the corner of the inn's first floor. It was quite a good spot for the vampire and werewolf as other guests had to turn around to take a peek at them, meaning that their royal presence shouldn't bother others, and no one should do the same to them.
Wolfgang raised his eyebrow at Bryce, who suddenly unsheathed his sword. Wolfgang chuckled and remained silent when the vampire casually put it by his side and acted like nothing big had happened.
He heard some nervous voice behind him, which amused him.
And then, a waitress came with plates of food. What she held didn't seem like breakfast because it was mostly meat with sauce, with just a few vegetables on the side. She herself didn't expect their cook to make something like a dinner for at least two mercenaries' parties so early in the morning.
Still, seeing two royal breeds, the waitress put the plates down as carefully as possible, then excused herself with a deep bow as though she wanted to tempt the guests.
Wolfgang didn't spare her a glance while Bryce did his best to thank her and appease her heart.
"You've ordered a lot. Is it because we are going to clash with today?" Wolfgang asked, not knowing how he should feel about Bryce's order. It was only because of the vampire that their breakfast looked like a meal for ten people.
Bryce chuckled and replied with his cheeks full, "I was just too hungry, and I won't hold back with my money when it comes to food, you know?"
"I thought you thought of it as the last breakfast," Wolfgang half-jested, digging onto his food, too.
Bryce cast him an exasperated glance, then returned to his meal. They casually talked about beast tamers, mainly that woman who had a thing for werewolves, and how they had their eyes on them. Even now, as Bryce and Wolfgang casually ate, some beast tamers did their best to spy on them without getting noticed.
They'd know exactly when the royal party left the city.
"You sure, though?" Wolfgang asked before taking a gulp of orange juice.
Bryce flatly replied, "Shut up."
"Okay," Wolfgang cast aside all his feelings about Bryce helping him and no longer said anything.
But as the silence was odd and Bryce preferred to deal with bizarre feelings, he added, "We aren't buddies that will die for each other or sacrifice something significant for another. I don't know how it will turn out in the future, I might end up helping you without any reason and even for an evil cause, but it's different today. We know each other, and we both have an interest in killing beast tamers."
Wolfgang eyed Bryce seriously, hiding his thoughts from him, and replied nothing.
At last, the party emptied their plates, and it was time to move on.
"Gengo, sharpen your senses, you must find them first," Bryce passed a quest to his best friend.
In a puppy form, Gengo faintly growled. He no longer looked innocent and cute but sharp and vigilant, unlike a lovely puppy! He seemed like a dog whose teeth really hurt!
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Leaving the city was fairly easy.
Besides telling their names and ages, the guards didn't require anything else, and Wolfgang and Bryce casually went through the gates. They were still in the middle of attention, but that was already natural for both of them; Gengo would usually stare back and around Bryce, but not today as he sniffed for beast tamers!
Steering away from the road leading to Emerea City, Bryce and his party ventured deeper into the woods. The atmosphere was tense: no wind whistled, trees stood awkwardly, seemingly avoiding the unusual duo ambling across the forest, and branches above apologized for not letting any sun inside.
Only sounds of breaking branches rang out as the party trod forth.
And when it became lighter, and a clearing was just a few steps away from them, Gengo barked.
"He's saying this part of the forest seems odd," Wolfgang translated.
Bryce smiled, "We don't like odd stuff."
A few breaths later, the blonde woman appeared on the other side of the clearing. She wore the same clothes as yesterday, leaning onto a tree with more of her legs revealed, smiling, and her arms crossed, the woman hovered her ravenous eyes on Wolfgang, then shifted to Bryce.
"A vampire will make a perfect bait for more puppies. I love that the two of you are such great friends, I will treat you with tons of love," she said, bending her index finger to taunt Wolfgang and Bryce.
Then as she turned around, shaking her bottom and looking behind with taunting eyes, Wolfgang took a step forward, only to get stopped by Bryce.
"You want to eat her ass?" Bryce jested and continued before Wolfgang burst out angrily, "Gengo said the forest before us seems off. There's a chance she and her cronies have this part of the forest trapped. It's not actually implausible if Emerea City has been their base for a long time."
Wolfgang growled, "So we just let her go?"
Bryce sneered, "They want us more than we want them." It was not the truth, but Bryce knew that beast tamers didn't know about his quest and rewards; even Wolfgang didn't. "So they will play on our rules. We fight away from odd areas."
He turned around and went in the opposite direction.
Wolfgang remained rooted on the spot. He then saw that the blonde woman looked at Bryce with irritation on her beautiful face, which untied all the roots around his legs. The werewolf rushed after his buddy, inwardly thanking him for staying cool-headed!
A few minutes later, a different man appeared before them. He was at least two meters tall with a body as though on steroids, and his shoulders and head were covered in a thick hide, only revealing his eyes and mouth.
"You don't refuse a lady's invitation, young shits."
While Wolfgang fought with indignation to stay calm, Bryce chuckled and replied, "I reckon that's what a man who wants to get used and dominated would say. For a man of your posture, I haven't expected that. To be honest, that blonde chick is so ugly to me, so I'd never accept her invitation."
"I will gouge your eyes, make a necklace out of them, and give them to Wolf Mistress! One day, you will see through her beauty!" The man howled, shaking the whole forest.
Bryce grinned, "Wouldn't my eyes sink into her cleavage since she has balloons instead of tits? What exactly would I see, her big heart?"
The man stopped talking, stood in a daze, and pondered over the question.
At the same time, Bryce turned to Wolfgang, "I will fight him and anyone that comes over here. You will deal with that Wolf Mistress. It seems like she's a boss."
Not giving any chance for his buddy to reply, Bryce summoned the vampire's sword, the Sword of Dracula, and charged at the big man, leaving a thick crimson trail behind.