Back in the hotel room of Lua and Arc, one of them was particularly aghast for the actions of the other. "You did what now?"
Lua exclaimed, not understanding the thought process of Arc. He knew Arc wasn't stupid - they had very similar personalities after all. This meant that Arc likely knew something he didn't, which allowed him to make this decision. He naturally assumed that this stemmed from the conversation Arc had with the mercenaries.
Arc, sitting on the bed opposite to him, just shrugged and started to explain his ideas.
"We're clearly going to be needing their assistance, as we landed in some serious hot water. Plus, if they have a headquarters, we might just be getting a free place to stay."
Lua thought for a moment, and realised he was making some serious sense. He was going to point out some flaws in his plans, before Arc started speaking again.
"I talked with them while you were out cold, as I told you. From my judgement, they really aren't interested in hurting us. Of course, it might just be a stupidly elaborate act.
Additionally, if we join them, we might just start getting paid during missions. This will easily cover our living costs."
Striking me where I'm weakest, money.. Lua felt that his questions had been answered, and he no longer had any doubts. Arc had done the right thing in his eyes.
"I guess all we need to do now is wait for a response."
Arc nodded, "It's already been twelve hours since I've sent the letters. Who knows, maybe they already responded."
Lua got up from the bed, wincing at the pain in his leg slightly. "I'll go check."
Arc shot him a glare. "Don't you dare. Stay here and recover. I'll check."
Lua, knowing it would be considerably more convenient for Arc to make the trip instead, simply nodded. He didn't bother arguing.
Lua watched as Arc left the room. He waited patiently, following the arms of the clock, counting each second, until finally he returned. In his hands, was a letter. "It's here."
"Have you not read it yet?" From his perspective, Lua couldn't tell whether the seal had been broken or not.
Arc shook his head, and tore open the letter. He skimmed through it before Lua, his nonchalant expression telling nothing to Lua. After roughly a minute of reading, he looked up at Lua.
"We're in."
Lua heaved a sigh of relief, glad that their future had some form of insurance. He looked at Arc, half expecting him to continue and explain the location of the headquarters.
"They have a small building not too far away, two hours by foot. If we go now, we should be able to make it before the afternoon."
Lua got up, feeling slightly better, but not by much. "I guess I will drop the letter for father, then."
Lua suddenly froze, as if remembering something. "I made a down payment for a month.."
He was devastated. He had paid so much money for a month of his stay, and now he didn't need it anymore. Losing that much money would make anyone feel sad.
At least the rooms were cheap.. He tried to console himself, to no avail. He had paid too much money, not anticipating that they'd be leaving so soon. This was an expensive mistake he swore to never repeat again.
It took just fifteen minutes for Lua and Arc to get ready, with the preparations being mostly done by Arc. Lua had to conserve his energy for the trip to come.
It took Lua and Arc roughly three hours to make the journey, as Lua had to frequently get rest along the way. He lacked the energy to make a proper trip with minor breaks.
They finally arrived in front of a large brick building, with Lua panting. The building, although large, was likely an apartment block. It seemed more plausible that the mercenaries were just renting. So, mustering up the courage, Arc opened the door. He was greeted by a flight of stairs.
On the address line of the letter, it stated that their headquarters were on flat number 13, on the sixth floor.
Sixth floor.. Lua felt his soul get drained. He was already exhausted, and now he had to climb up six flights of stairs.
After a torturous few minutes, they finally reached the top floor, and saw that there was a girl waiting for them at the top. It was surprising for them, considering they likely weren't expecting them right now.
Wiping his brow to clear his sweat, Lua straightened his back. They were in the presence of someone they didn't know well after all. Judging by her features, Lua could tell this person was Luna of the Mercenary Band.
She swept her gaze towards Arc. "Of all the requests, I can't say I was expecting you to request joining us."
Arc, not being physically exhausted, responded without much issue. "Our lives are in danger, which I'm sure you can tell. We didn't have much choice."
Luna nodded, not debating his point. "This works fine for us too. We could use some people who can make gadgets."
She then glanced at Lua, seeing him in the poor shape he was. "You look better without all the blood on you. Come in, you look terrible."
Lua nodded, making his journey to the final step of the staircase. He saw two old wooden doors, and on one of them, "13" was written.
Luna began to speak again. "The men are out drinking, and Victoria went out to look for missions at the nearby guild. I told Victoria about your arrival, but the guys don't know yet."
Out drinking.. it's barely afternoon! Lua was mildly shocked by the booze loving men.
Lua twisted the knob of the door, opening it gently to reveal a large space that was definitely more than enough to house many people. It was messy and without much care given to it.
"Pardon the mess." Luna said without much emotion. She didn't seem to care about their impression of the place.
The room was shaped like an "L". There were two windows, facing the two sides of the building. In front of the windows were two large couches, slightly stained from what Lua thought was alcohol.
There was a coffee table in the middle, filled with maps and mission requests from all over the city. Lua wasn't able to spot the church mission among them at first glance.
The walls were adorned with gas lamps that decorated the room beautifully, amplifying the aesthetic of the place. There was a hall to the left side of the room, that seemed to lead to more rooms. Lua believed that they would have a spot among them soon.
"Your rooms are all the way down the hall to the right." Luna confirmed what they were thinking.