Eleanor hadn't kept much thought that she would be rejected. It was such a good deal after all, 3 gold right after accepting and 1 gold each month for the next 5 years. That would be 63 gold in 5 years, which is about 10 years' worth of income of a commoner house-hold. That was an unbelievably good deal, and it would get better. Eleanor had plans to increase the investments eventually as her own income grew and her plans progressed.
It was a great deal. It was almost too good to be true, almost…too good to be true; maybe…that was the reason.
She could also pay them money even though her current income wasn't great eventually as the requests which had been ignored were quite highly priced. So, with all the planning she was certain that things would be fine.
It was as she suspected, she read through the letter again.
"Oh...I see...It's almost too good to be true...Now, I'm somewhat concerned why the others even accepted this offer..." Eleanor racked her head over the reason the why the others accepted then, it hit her.
"They had nothing to lose; it was just a proposal after all..."
This confused Eleanor even more, "Then why did the inn reject her? Since this proposal is just a letter at the end of the day, why?" Eleanor foresaw a headache and fully read through the letter. She hadn't done it the first time because she was excited, but now she was fully in her right mind.
"Good offer...hard to reject...feels like a scam...prove your identity." Eleanor saw the reason of the rejection, she wanted to get mad but, she knew...she knew those reasons were valid.
The inn she had decided to support was somewhat of a big deal in the district after all. It was the very inn that was managing the trade of the district, so it made sense why they would be a bit more cautious.
"STILL!!! WHY REJECT? WHY NOT SEE THINGS THROUGH?!" Eleanor crumpled up the letter in her fit of rage. "HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA~"
Suddenly, she hurriedly lowered her voice remembering her brother, "Ugh, it's almost night time. I'll think about this tomorrow."
Eleanor threw the, now crumple up, rejection letter to the side. She grabbed the other letters from the shops which had accepted her offer. She wanted to read through them again, since she hadn't really read through them yet.
She had many reason for choosing the shops she had chosen. One of them was because the shop owners had considerable talent compared to their peers. She knew this because she had gathered the information she required a month ago stealthily. So, she also knew that although talented those shops were not progressing because of lack of funds. Those stores would've been extremely popular, if it hadn't been for the location.
"Shit!" Eleanor silently cursed as the reality of the situation rested on her shoulder.
But, now she had found them. She couldn't let these gems get away from her. In that sense, the inn didn't hold much priority. The inn didn't really lack funds, they made enough from the trade, but Eleanor still wanted to invest in them. Why? Because, she thought it would be a worthwhile investment.
***
The first letter she read was from the bakery, the morning morsels.
The letter was beautifully written. Apparently, the owner of the bakery was an educated woman from the capital who was very passionate about baking, but her skills were always overlooked. But, the late baron found her skills before anyone else and gave her a house with a shop attached to it, for her to come and stay over on his land almost 20 years ago.
The bakery itself made the perfect sweets, and somehow even better bread at a very cheap price. Her love for baking was very obvious from her sweets. When the baroness passed away, Eleanor had gone and bought some of her sweets, they were so good that Alex stopped crying. And to this day, the deserts from that shop were his favorite.
The letter mentioned her gratefulness for the proposal. She even thanked the mysterious merchant for giving such a good proposal for her mediocre skills.
As Eleanor read through the letters, her heart seemed to warm a bit, the words used by the baker really made Eleanor think that she was doing something that would bring change to this worse off state of hers.
As she read, something caught her eyes. It was about samples of her new products, she wanted her benefactors to try out.
"To be able to help the state AND save costs of living? This has truly turned into a good deal." Eleanor couldn't help but smile at the letter.
---
The next letter she read was from the restaurant, the midday bistro.
The letter mentioned the appreciation for the proposal, the acceptance, and their honest thoughts on being recognized. But, Eleanor noticed something.
This letter also talked about sending samples for food.
It was eerily similar, almost too similar.
"Hmmm...Something's fishy", Eleanor thought to herself, as she reached out to the next letter and opened it.
It was from the afternoon attire, the clothes shop. And, it was the same thing. The letter started off with appreciation, acceptance, and the thanks for the recognition of the talent.
"Hmmm...I hope they are just doing this out of goodwill...I don't think they've figured out my real identity" Eleanor said as she felt something fishy about this entire situation.
Next was the letter from the bar, the moonlit lounge.
This letter was different. It started of the same, with the gratefulness and acceptance but, then the things changed. The contents from that point onwards made Eleanor feel a new kind of emotion. It was gratefulness, the same emotion she felt as Rebecca when she saw the princess.
---
From this point onwards, I'm doing something which I should not be doing.
I know that you, the mysterious traveler, have sent these proposals to other shops as well as mine, rather we all do. And I do not hold anything against you for doing so, none of us do. Instead, I feel very happy that you have done so. I believe you already know of the situation of this land, and the baron's family. Whoever you may be, I firstly would like to thank you for taking interest in this decrepit land and seeing potential in the talents here.
I, whole heartedly, accept this proposal but, I have a big clause. I want you to take care of the orphans. You may already know of their situation, but I worry for the young baroness, Eleanor and her brother Alexander. The late baron has touched the heart of many people in this land, and many owe their all to him. That is one of the reasons for many people; talents still left in here, even after all the troubles. We know what is happening, but we can't do anything, well commoners can rarely do more I suppose.
It pains me every time when, I remember his funeral. It pains me even more that I could do nothing of importance when he was in pain. It brings me greater pain to think of the young baroness' troubles, loneliness, and sadness; she must be suffering from. And, I can't do much about the situation, so I have one request I hope you will fulfill.
So traveler, although I have accepted your proposal, I will not hesitate to come after you with all I have if you hurt the baroness. She is the legacy of the baron, no...Of Julius, so I...no we, we will do anything to protect her and her brother.
Please keep this a secret from her. Also, the idea for sending samples to the estate was joint decision from most of the shop owners and the mayor himself.
Even though many townsfolk think that the baron's family has given up on the land, they don't know shit, I'll tell you. Those damned pests who only know how to flaunt their weapons as they ignore even the most basic monster subjugation tasks. They're parasites, only here to suck the old extensive history of this beautiful land dry.
SO DO NOT HEAR THEM OUT, THEY ARE SCUM!
So traveler, I ask you, I plead you, keep my lady and my lord safe.
AT ALL COSTS.
---
"Keep it a secret from her lady? Sadly...that's one request I cannot fulfill. I-I will make sure none of them are hurt, I will make sure they are able to live a comfortable and peaceful, I-" Eleanor's word cut off.
"I will make everyone happy."
Eleanor put all the other letters aside, as she got up from her bed. She carried the letters to the study; it was almost time for Alex to be done with his training. She still had work to do.
She made her brother food, and ate together. It was now time to sleep. Eleanor and Alex walked by each other. It was quiet, when Eleanor stopped in front of Alex's room. She looked towards Alex, he understood what she meant.
"Sister, can't I sleep in your room again tonight?"
"Alex, you are a big boy now aren't you? Are you still going to sleep with me? You are named after the greatest hero in the world after all."
"What if monsters attack me while I'm asleep?" Alex tried to make up an excuse.
"Mmm, that is a bit of a concern-", Alex's face briefly lit up as he expected his sister's next words, "-but, you can handle them. You have been training right? Or is my brother slacking off?"
"NOOOO! OF COURSE NOT", he shouted at Eleanor denying her statement.
"Then you can't fight off a demon?", Eleanor provoked Alex.
"O-of course", Alex face was fuming but to Eleanor, he just looked extremely cute.
Alex ran to inside his room, and seemed to close the door with extreme force. But he stopped, he stopped right before the door could be entirely slammed.
"goodnight~~~", in an extremely small voice, he bid his dear sister a good night.
"HUH?~~~ I can't hear you! Speak louder!" Eleanor brought her hands to her ears and rotated her torso towards her brother, and said in a provoking voice. She, of course, could hear him and he knew it too. This only made him angrier.
Alex's face got red from embarrassment. His face began fuming even harder.
"GOODNIGHT!" Alex shouted at Eleanor as he slammed the door.
Eleanor, after hearing the energetic voice of her brother, made a face that could only be described as motherly.
"...goodnight." Eleanor bid her brother in a small voice; she still had much to do.
It seemed the whole day had really drained her battery. But, her day wasn't over. She still had much to do.
After her parents' loss, all the maids and butlers had left the household and no one was in the household other than the two siblings. So, Eleanor had to do most of the chores that maids did.
She went to her room and lay on her bed. She remembered the day, so much seemed to happen. She remembered the fight, the state of the barony, the letters; she felt she had so much more to do.
She stood up and looked at the moon. The beautiful moon lay silently, watching over the world.
"I will save everyone, so please wait for me…"
.
.
.
Warm tears rolled down her face.
.
.
.
***
Next morning, she trained like always with her brother, but it seemed her brother had some attitude today. It seemed he hadn't completely forgiven his sister for last night's provocations. Eleanor didn't say much about her brother's extra attitude though. She quite enjoyed seeing her brother like this.
It was the end of the training session. She was sitting next to her brother. It was somewhat awkward, but it in its own way it was a serene experience. Eleanor lifted her hands up, and patted her brother's back. He was doing extremely well in his training and his studies. She somewhat worried for him that he wasn't getting the required social experience, but she had a lie to cover up.
Alex could completely destroy her double life, no triple life; if he ever came in contact with any of the townsfolk. It could be dangerous right now, so she needed a failsafe first.
"Sorry", Eleanor apologized inwardly to her brother as she began petting his head.
His smooth brown hair and his grey eyes glimmered in the sun. Alex was a bit taken aback when Eleanor pet his head, but he didn't shake her off. He quite enjoyed the situation, even though currently he should've been throwing a tantrum.
"Alex, from today I think you will have less time to spend with me. I need to know the towns folk more, so can you train without me?"
"Yes, I can", Alex replied hoping his sister would notice his cute little tantrum.
"Yes, that's my brother." Eleanor said nonchalantly.
Alex did not expect this. The situation went way different in his head, so now he was panicking and trying real hard to not show his emotions as he did so. Eleanor stood up from her seat, and was about to make her way into her room, when she was stopped-
"WAIT-WHY? Can't I also come with you? You said I could defeat the monsters, I have been training well. Am I not also strong enough to deal with humans then? What about sister? Isn't it also dangerous for you?" Alex said hurriedly said grabbing her hand.
Eleanor looked at her brother with a serene expression. It warmed her heart when she heard her brother get so worried for her, but it hurt her more when she realized that her brother was slowly becoming more mature even before he had lived his childhood. She moved her other hand and lightly, and lovingly shook off her brother's hand.
"Alex, this is a very important lesson, ok?"
"Mmm" Alex nodded to her words, expecting something.
"Humans are the most unpredictable beings in the world. Some humans are too nice, so nice that they will help anyone regardless of their past, their sins, and their status. Then, there are those humans who are so bad that they will hurt other for fun, they will exploit, kill, and torture people just because they can-", Alex's face paled as he heard the word 'torture' and 'kill' come from his sister's mouth.
He knew it; he couldn't let his sister go to the town. Humans should not be trusted!
Eleanor noticed his change in emotion. She could read him like a book, but this was not a light situation. The thing she was saying now was a lesson that Alex needed to learn. Eleanor kept her stern expression as she continued, ignoring her brother's judgements.
"Of course, no one human is like the other, so in life you must choose who you trust very-very carefully. Humans can be heroes who can save the world, and they can be villains who will bring ruin to the world, all for their own sakes."
Alex now showed a confused face, he had just been given a hypocritical statement. Even as a child he knew this statement was trying to teach him inherently clashing topics. Humans can be good and bad, sometimes they can be one or the other, and most times they can be both? So, he must choose them wisely? Alex understood those things from his sister's monologue; he still seemed to have many questions.
Eleanor didn't stop, she continued loosening her face and smiling a bit.
"Humans can be worse than monsters, so my dear cute brother, you need to get a lot stronger, a lot more discerning, and a lot wiser, before you can enter the town alone. Have I made myself clear?" Eleanor asked her brother as she rested her hands on her brother's shoulder.
"...yes", Alex seemed like he wanted to argue back, but right now he could do so. He was still too weak to help his sister, during the spar he couldn't even touch a strand of hair on her, no way he could even dream of winning.
He needed to be stronger, smarter, better.
"Ok then! I will get going. Take a rest today if you're tired. Remember a body requires a lot of things to grow other than just training, so learn to take a rest."
"Ok sister, come back safely", Alex replied but he had so many things he wanted to say, so many he wanted to do with his sister. But, he couldn't do so...yet.
He vowed to be better from today. The fire in his eyes burnt brighter than before, he would be better next time. No...He will be better.
***
Elin made his way through the town. He wanted to go to the places which had accepted his proposal, but he thought it would be too soon. He remembered last night and held off his meeting with the shop owners.
So, he just made his way to the only place which had rejected his proposal, the inn.
***
[DAWN BREAKER INN], a sign was posted in front of the inn. It looked a bit shabby, with almost broken fences in front of the veranda. It was in a shabby alleyway, which smelled horrible. There were mice in every corner of the alley.
The two-story building on the inside was dirty too, while the other building near this seemed to be used for materials which would be shipped off the districts.
"I still can't believe this is a profitable inn. It's worse when I think about it being the place that manages the trade of the town. God dammed shit hole." Elin thought to himself.
He walked in and saw a lousy looking receptionist who was almost dozing off. It was mid-day so they were not expecting any customers.
"It seems the district has a problem of lazy receptionist, I have been to two prominent places and both of seem to have the same type of receptionists."
"Excuse me; I am looking for the shop owner" Elin asked the receptionist.
"Huh?~~~ Why do you want to meet him?"
The receptionist with short dirty brown hair and freckles on the bridge of his nose said with an annoyed expression as he stared at Elin with brown eyes. He seemed to be someone in his early-twenties and had a pretty well-trained body. Something was up, but Elin was confident he would win in a fight.
Elin put the letter of rejection on the counter and looked at him. The young receptionist looked at the letter, and seemed to have a moment of realization.
"Ah, so you were the one who sent it last time. Wait a bit." The young man said as he went to the room behind the reception, from where the shop owner came out.
"Huh? So, you are the 'travelling merchants' sidekick? Aren't you too young? Even with that armor, you look young." a gruff muscular middle aged man spoke.
He had scars on his knuckles which he seemed to show off as he massaged his fists. His face wasn't very notable, just above average, aside from the scar on his right eye. The scar was thin, but the damage spoke otherwise, as his iris itself was cut. His other eye had very dark green irises, which seemed to glow. The man had dark blue hair which he had tied back in a ponytail. He had a somewhat big frame, but his body was extremely well-trained. He was wearing a black vest which showed off his arms, and pants which made him look like some kind of thug.
He was strong.
"Hmm, this is somewhat unexpected. I didn't expect the owner of this place to look like a thug. In any case, I should act a bit shyer, just in case." Elin thought to himself as he pretended to be naive.
"Actually, I'm quite old. I just look like this because of some... circumstances." Elin replied in a sheepish voice.
"Yea, whatever kid. So, you want to prove that this letter isn't a scam?"
"Yes." Elin replied with a straight face.
"Well, kid, you have become quite popular in a very short span of time. You know that?" The thug looking man asked Elin, checking him up.
"Yes?" Elin was confused as to where this conversation was going. He put down his hands, as he stealthily moved them closer to his weapons.
"Becoming a hunter? Actually hunting monsters, unlike those bastards who only know how to look cool holding weapons, you're quite the rare find. In this declining town, a well-trained hunter, who is also good at their job, is very valuable, you know."
"...yes?"
The tension in the atmosphere seemed to rise. Elin was ready to attack at any moment.
"Well, last week we had 2 customers. We took them in but, we realized that they were very shady. They almost seemed like dark magicians..."
He went silent for a while as his lowered head looked back at Elin, giving a wry smile.
"You know where this is going right? Put that armor to use, y'know, young man", the thug looking man gave a benign look, which didn't fit his face. He silently stared at Elin.
All the tension died down in an instant. Like popping a balloon, the atmosphere was back in its original state only to be left with a loud bang. This 'bang' was the dark magicians.
"Find the suspects, investigate them, and eliminate them if necessary."
"YES! I like you already kid. Now go on, I'll reward you and even accept this 'offer' of yours with more bonuses towards you guys, IF the results are satisfactory, that is!" He made a sinister laugh as he continued, "However, if they are dark magician, I and only I shall get the glory."
Elin pondered over the deal for a moment. Right now, it would be unbelievably beneficial for Elin to hog up the esteem for the elimination of the dark magicians; however, it would be better to hold off. If he did hog up the glory, his relation with the owner might sour. In the long run, investments in the inn would be more beneficial to himself and for everyone else. He had no other choice. He stayed silent for a bit, thinking of some additional scenarios.
.
.
.
"Ok, let's head out."