I followed the Mayor's gaze to my right, where the group I had seen earlier had emerged and were walking towards us. I watched them walk towards us for a bit, noticing how their gazes darted between the three of us but seemed to linger on me. My eyes wandered between the group leader and the boy in the back. One of the girls tried to say something to the leader, but got dismissed, receiving condescending looks from the rest of the group.
"Stand behind me. I don't like the light in that man's eyes."
I didn't question his words and jumped back, landing just behind the Mayor on the side opposite Erin. The three of us remained still and silent, although I could tell the Mayor's eyes never left the group's leader. Erin's eyes remained close, her body language completely unaffected, as usual. I, frankly, didn't know what to do. With my past interaction with this group, I was nervous to see what would happen when their leader opened his mouth, but I felt that the Mayor would be able to handle anything that got thrown at him. I was confident the man wouldn't turn violent, even given the Mayor's crippled state, but I still prepared myself for the possibility. I tried to hide my hostility and tension, albeit with little success.
Eventually, they arrived before us, much like I had just done, although the feeling in the air was much more intense than before. Of the six members of the group, only the leader and one of the girls seemed engaged. The two guys and other girl that comprised the core of the group were utterly disinterested, looking like they were dragged there. The boy, of course, was there as well, standing behind the group with his eyes on the ground. Out of everyone, he looked the least observant by far, but I still couldn't shake the feeling that he was the biggest threat of them all.
Another thing was, as soon as they stopped before us, I noticed Erin's hands clench and her eyes seemed to tremble. The hair on the Mayor's neck and arms was also standing up. My mind went back to the strange, unsettling feeling I experienced when I first interacted with the group, wondering if the two of them were experiencing the same thing. I couldn't be sure since I seemed to have been spared this time. That, or it was something else.
"We came all the way out here just to save this little town, only to find it already ran through. It hasn't even been a full day since we were told to come here, and you lot couldn't even hold out for that long. Yet somehow, there aren't even enough beasts left for us to blow off some steam after our long journey. Judging by the state of this courtyard, I'd say your hunters tried to put up a good fight, but even with the dozen or so of them, I assume, they couldn't last more than a few hours. Meanwhile, the whole town got slaughtered behind them. Truly pitiful. I've heard talk of hunters being weaker in recent years, but I truly didn't expect it to be this bad. But I suppose it doesn't matter now. We'll finish up here and be on our way. Judging by your clothes, I take it you're the Mayor. We'll take our compensation up front since there doesn't seem to be much left to do here."
"Kneel."
The Mayor said only one word in response to that tirade, but with that word, the weight of the sky seemed to fall on everyone present. The group dropped to the ground instantly, in various positions of discomfort. The boy in the back also dropped, but instead of falling, he lightly descended to one knee. I felt the pressure too, but I was spared from the worst of it. My guess was that I was only feeling the residuals of what was directed at the group.
Throughout the man's rant, I could feel both Erin and the Mayor growing more and more agitated, but whereas with Erin it felt more like an extreme irritation, I could feel a cold fury growing in the Mayor. I was frustrated as well, but watching these two people, who had up until now been living embodiments of the phrase "calm and collected", growing increasingly less calm made me feel more anticipation than anything.
"I've let your little performance go on for long enough, I think. Frankly, I was of half a mind to drop the lot of you where you stood the moment you opened your mouth for failing to make the proper greeting, which I know all of you were taught no later than your first week of training, but I wanted to see just how big of a hole you'd be able to dig yourselves into in a minute, but frankly, I didn't think you'd end up needing a ladder to get yourself out. Back in my day, regret was a common thing to feel when we didn't show up to a city on time, or maybe anger or remorse, but to see you lot strut in here with complete indifference, I honestly didn't know what to say. Then you finally show up before me, the very first thing you should have done might I add, and you proceed to insult me and my city to my face, belittle my and the young fellow here's efforts in stopping this shitshow, and finish it off by trying to extort money from me. Any mayor with half a brain would know that you people don't require payment from each town you visit, and the mere fact that you would even attempt such an idiotic thing is an arguably worse offense to my position. You complain about the decline in hunters, but conveniently ignore the fact that you are a prime example of why there is such a decline. You are supposed to be an example of what hunters should strive to be, and yet I can't imagine a single person ever looking up to you. Do you realize that, if I desired it, I could simply kill the lot of you and report dereliction of duty. Hell, I could just say you were killed in action, and given how you've been talking to me I'm sure you've racked up enough complaints for them to not investigate it further."
"Mr. Owl, sir, please don't do anything drastic. We simply haven't been sent to anything big recently and he's just a bit overconfident."
One of the girls, the one who tried to talk to the leader as they were walking, spoke up once there was a lull in the Mayor's critique. She was forced prone on the pavement, with her head turned to the side and her hair splayed over her face. Her voice was trembling as she nearly shouted out her plea. Everyone seemed more confused and irritated than anything else, but she seemed fearful.
"Owl, eh? There aren't many people nowadays who would know that name, and I certainly didn't expect one of the few to show up here, and least of all be some whelp who doesn't even know proper manners. Tell me, why do you know my old title? Is this a side job for you and your true passion is to be a historian?"
"No, sir! It's just that, my dad used to tell me about the old Heroes, and I learned about them too so I could impress him."
"That right? How cute. So, your father must be the historian then."
"No, sir. A hunter."
"A hunter with an interest in the stories of his forefathers? Aren't many of those anymore. But someone like that must be older, so I assume he's retired now?"
"Ah, um, not exactly sir, but he's not… working anymore."
"I see. I'm sorry. You can stop with the sir. I know I'm ancient, but it doesn't mean I want to be reminded of it."
The scene of them carrying out a conversation while the girl was still pinned to the ground was amusing to me. I didn't quite track everything they were talking about, but even though I was curious, I knew my questions would have to wait for later.
"I've kept you here long enough, and you still have a job to do. Do it well from here on out and I might report favorably enough to let you keep your lives. Here's how this is going to work. I'm going to let you up. You are going to come forward five paces and kneel before me. You will apologize for your behavior. You will then get up, turn around, leave, and perform your duties with no further incidents. I hope I have made myself clear."
Just then, the pressure lifted like it was never there. The group remained on the ground for a second, except for the boy in the back who rose immediately. They soon began to stand up, one after the other. There was a brief period of looking between each other, seeing who would act first, before the leader seemed to steel his nerves and walk forward. He walked the three paces before stopping, waiting for the rest of the group to fall in behind him. He then knelt, placing his right arm across the bottom of his chest, and his left behind his back.