Mercenaries were not a government-controlled group, but neither were they regulated. They were sort of a dead end in the law, unlike Khan, which was considered an illegal organization.
This loophole allowed people to do whatever they wanted, as long as they stayed out of the eyes of the government. Mercenaries for example, were people who were looking out for their own interests and just wanted to have a group behind them.
There were usually missions offered within the mercenary guild, but really most preferred to pass on those missions and do whatever they wanted.
Most sought after nowadays were realms looters, which sought out realms outside of government control and looted it until it was empty, and the rift was gone from existence.
There were thousands of rifts in the world, and in all kinds of places, where even the governments could not control, and for that reason there were still many unknown and undiscovered rifts.
Nathan began to read the missions that were available and ignored most of them, focusing on one in particular.
"Ah, here it is"
Pressing the mission preview to see more details, several windows opened up fully describing the mission.
"Mercenaries required to guard a location. Image anchored to message"
Nathan pressed the message below the description and a picture opened.
"This is..."
The castle could be seen several kilometers away from where the photo had been taken. According to the angle, the location had to be in a high area, with a good view of the outskirts and especially the castle.
Nathan checked the location a second time to make sure it was correct and took a picture with his cell phone.
Then he handed the tablet back to Jean, who was sitting behind the counter with an annoyed expression.
Jean took the tablet and didn't bother to talk to him, Nathan didn't take the initiative to start a conversation either and left the shop.
'...Now'
Looking around, Nathan tried to find the place he had come from.
'It's impossible for me to wear the mask here... in less than a minute my head would be on display somewhere'
Nathan didn't know who or why they had put a price on his head, but now that he was so well known, he had to keep using the identity of Robert Welkins.
'I don't know who you are, but thanks anyway...if you're a real person'
Heading for the exit, Nathan again scanned the stores around the black market.
Everything was bright and bustling, with casual shouting coming from inside some suspicious store.
Nathan did not feel at ease in the place, mainly because he was carrying a cello on his back and looked like a lost rich boy.
He had noticed some people staring at him, but he ignored them and continued walking towards the exit.
A few minutes later Nathan finally reached the exit of the market and quickly climbed the stairs back to the fish market.
A couple of minutes later he was at the market exit above ground.
'What now?' Amelia asked.
Nathan didn't know what to do, he had already accomplished his mission and now he had to wait a couple of days to go to the mission area, so technically he had a couple of days off.
If he was at the facility, he would probably fight some cadet or train inside Syril's arena, but he couldn't do the same here, so he just went back to the hotel.
As he was approaching the hotel entrance, Nathan stopped and frowned.
'Really?'
Dozens of armored vans were parked outside the hotel, with dozens of people in suits getting out of them. In addition, there was a lot of security surrounding the hotel.
Nathan tried to sense the essence of some of the guards but was only able to sense it of some of them, the rest were all normal people.
The people in suits were also civilians without any essence in their bodies. Nathan could only assume that most of them were government workers, well-known businessmen or owners of large companies.
Nathan did not know what kind of event was taking place at lunchtime, but he did not have to think long to understand.
With Enarys Shraon staying at the hotel, surely everyone wanted to establish relationships with them, both commercial and personal.
Trade with the northern islands was nonexistent, so most people here wanted to use this opportunity to grow their business, and what better way to do this than by getting close to the daughter of the king of the northern islands.
Nathan felt some compassion for Enarys, even if he hardly knew her and had only met her once. Years ago, Nathan had to endure empty compliments from people who only approached him because of his last name, so in a way he could understand her.
But to his good fortune, Nathan had been spared that years ago, and all he had to do... was die.
Nathan started to approach the hotel, then several guards noticed his presence and quickly stopped him.
"You are entering a restricted area, leave"
Nathan just smiled slightly as he pulled a black card from his pocket.
"I'm sorry if my presence makes you uncomfortable...but I'm currently staying at this hotel"
The head guard frowned as he watched Nathan pull out the card, then finally stepped back and opened the way for him.
"Sorry for the inconvenience, please continue"
Nathan nodded and thanked the guard before entering the hotel.
No normal person could stay in the hotel, so the guard indirectly understood that Nathan must be an important person.
The guard was not wrong, but he was not right either.
Finally Nathan entered the reception area and found dozens of people dressed elegantly compared to him.
None of them paid any attention to him and continued to talk among themselves. Nathan did not want to stay there any longer than necessary, so he quickly approached the elevators.
Pressing the button to call it, Nathan waited for the elevator to go down, then he noticed that the other elevator was also starting to go down.
Realizing that the other elevator was starting down from the fifth floor, Nathan frowned slightly.
'It can't be, can it?'
Nathan watched as his own elevator stopped on the fourth floor and took a couple of seconds to continue. Fortunately, this one was still coming faster than the other.
Both elevators started to descend at the same time with a floor difference, then his own arrived and the doors opened.
'Shit!'
From the elevator, two cleaning staff came out with a trolley and took a couple of seconds to exit the elevator. Time which was enough for the other elevator to arrive and open.
As soon as the doors opened, a couple of men in formal attire stepped out of the elevator, followed by a young white-haired woman.
'I'm incredibly lucky...'
Nathan was stuck waiting for the two-cleaning staff to come back out of the elevator, so he had no choice but to wait.
The group of men walked past including Enarys, who slowly turned her head and their eyes met again.
Nathan didn't change his expression and quickly looked away before getting into his elevator and selecting the fourth floor.
'...Sometimes I don't know if fate loves you or hates you' Amelia whispered inside his head as Nathan leaned his forehead against the wall of the elevator.
'...I don't know'
'What?' Amelia asked without understanding his words.
Nathan looked up and stared at the elevator door.
'This time it felt different from before...her eyes weren't the same'
The day before when Nathan had looked at her as he walked past the dining room, he had felt a strange pressure coming from the young woman, just like when Syril had shown him the video, but now he hadn't felt the same.
Nathan scratched his head in annoyance and sighed.
'Never mind, let's just go back'