This time around, Raza wasn't going to an abandoned town. He was heading to the town hall. For reference, Raza lived in the capital of the Ambicia Kingdom. The abandoned town was just outside, on the skirts of the capital. It was similar to how large and flashy casinos would be surrounded by poor neighborhoods.
Upon arriving, Raza checked his letter. It said to look for a man wearing a suit and shades. After a few minutes, Raza spotted him, he walked towards him. The letter was clear on how he should interact with this person. He quickly walked behind him and whispered.
"Weddings, Wealth, and Worth, they all have one symbol."
"A ring," The man nodded his head.
Without missing a beat, the man in a suit began walking down the street, and Raza followed him at a distance. The man didn't check to see if Raza was following once. The two of them walked for a few minutes, slowly increasing the distance between them and the town hall. Raza was beginning to wonder why the town hall was the meeting place. Eventually, the man in a suit turned into a traveling agency. Well, to be more precise, the alley next to one.
Raza waited a moment and followed suit. The alley led to an opening that was created between a few buildings. He could see a carriage, and soon he heard voices. The man in the suit was nowhere to be seen though.
"I have a husband, you fiend," A familiar voice could be heard.
"And? You have been here for a few months, and I'm sure you are starving for some action," a middle-aged man responded.
This conversation disgusted Raza. Regardless, he had a mission to do, so he stepped forward. The conversation quickly stopped, and the woman's eyes widened.
"We meet again, Raza Angovo," Allura smiled.
"Tsk, what a waste," The man said. "You're the hired help? You look so… innocent," The man sighed.
"Looks can be deceiving," Raza responded. "I'm assuming Allura Lustenfallen is the so-called cargo that I am protecting?"
"Watch it, kid," The man glared at me. "She is worth more than a hundred of us combined."
"But weren't you just trying to seduce her?' Raza raised an eyebrow.
This comment annoyed the man, but he didn't want to admit that Raza was right.
'Ya don't get it, kid. She's a succubus! I heard that they are crazy good at sex, and this is a chance to experience that without the risk of Death! Of course, with my luck, I come across one that's actually loyal to her spouse,' The man inwardly complained.
"Whatever, kid. Just get in the carriage, we'll be leaving soon. Oh, and before I forget, you can call me the Lender.
"I see, I am…"
"Shut it! Based on what I'm told, you will be in this for a while. Share your name where you need to, but to me, you're just Kid," He groaned as he got in the driver's seat.
Raza understood what he meant. Codenames were a good way to cover one's tracks as well as stay anonymous. He was already taking a big risk by using his name to spread his reputation, but Raza saw why Alfred had him take this mission. Since Allura already knew him, he could spread his name in another country and gain foreign backing.
Allura and Raza got inside the carriage, and soon after, it started moving. Raza looked at the woman who sat across from him and noticed that she looked pleased with herself.
"Yes?" Allura looked at Raza.
"You seemed happy about something," Raza noted.
"Indeed. When Succubi reach a certain level, their mana may 'leak' as a type of aphrodisiac," Allura was more than happy to hold a conversation.
"Was that why Lender was trying to seduce you?"
"Perhaps. Though it shows that I am still a target of men's desires. I can't wait to see my husband again~" She blushed as she held her cheeks. "Though, I am curious… How aren't you affected?" She tilted her head.
"Me being affected implies that I think with my pants more than I do with my head. I have no interest in stooping so low," Raza said bluntly.
'Even so, the strongest of men succumbs to their desires at some point. I've even been intentionally leaking mana, but I haven't seen a difference in your statue at all… How curious,' Allura thought to herself.
On the other hand, Raza was familiar with the effects of aphrodisiac drugs. Naturally, with the line of work he had in his previous life, he had ways to counter this, but a lot of it was due to his lack of sexual desire. Raza only slept with women during his free time when he had nothing else to do. It was never from a sexual desire.
"Okay then, putting aside sexual desires, you still aren't fazed. I am a mutant. Even the king was wary of me, so why aren't you?" Allura flipped the questioning around.
"I will admit, I had my qualms at first, but after my battle with the other succubi, I learned something. Both humans and mutants die from a bullet to the head," Raza said coldly.
Allura wasn't sure what a bullet was, but if it had something to do with the unique weapons that Raza used, then she could understand his confidence in them. In all her traveling, she had never seen anything like them, so she was sure that Raza created them on his own. Even though they were still technically prototypes, she could easily see that they could become very dangerous weapons.
"You truly are a curious one, Raza Angovo. I look forward to going on this trip with you," Allura smiled.
Since Allura was a mutant ambassador, she had to be careful when she traveled. Both humans and mutants had people who weren't fond of making peace. There were also bandits that wanted to kidnap her for ransom. Usually, she would have a whole party with her, but this time around, she only had Raza to keep her company. She wondered if Ringman had that much trust in him, or if it was for a different reason.
The carriage abruptly stopped. When Raza looked out the window, he saw a giant bear blocking the road.
"Kid, you're up. Do something about this Steel Bear!" Lender called.
"Very well," Raza stepped out of the carriage.
Steel bears were a species of bear that developed a genetic trait to grow fur made of steel. Their diet consisted of a lot of iron so that they could continue to grow their armor. Their pelts were really expensive since they were used for both fashion and armor. Raza sighed.
"Can I keep its pelt?" Raza asked.
"Like hell if I care! Just kill the damned thing!" Lended was annoyed.
Raza pulled out his gun and aimed at the bear. If he used too much magic, then the belt would be ruined, but if he didn't use enough, it would be a wasted bullet. Raza aimed for the bear's eyes.
BANG!
The bullet soared into the eye socket of the bear and exploded. Regardless of how tough one was, their insides were always going to be soft. The bear was decapitated from the explosion, but the rest of its body was fine.
"I can see why you were hired now," Lender sighed.
"Oh my," Allura was amazed by the sight.
Raza then walked up to the corpse and began to clean the blood off of the body. He already scanned the area using Sense, so he knew that there was nothing else around that could pose a threat. Raza put the corpse in his inventory and moved back to the carriage.
"You may continue now."
"I know that, Kid!"
Their journey continued until they reached the first town. Since they will be crossing the borders, it will be a week to escort Allura and another to come back. If Raza had known this before, he wouldn't have come. Why? Because he may not make it in time for the festival! This was the only thing that was on his mind. His coworker, on the other hand, was thinking of more… perverse things.
Allura used magic to conceal her identity and alter her appearance, but she still had an aura of authority around her. No one may have recognized her, but people would definitely investigate why an important figure was in town.
"Oh shucks," Lender sighed. "Looks like I only have enough for two rooms tonight. I understand that kids your age need their privacy, so the grown ups will have to share a room, unfortunately. "
No one believed this bullshit.
"You're telling me that you knew this was going to be a two week trip, but you didn't prepare for it. Worse yet with the person we are traveling with. For someone that was so adamant about using codenames and keeping secrecy, you sure are a poor example of an adult. If even a kid like me can understand the importance of preparation, then you must be a deadbeat," Raza said.
"Kid… Learn to read the fucking room," Lender let out a heavy sigh.
Allura giggled when she watched their interation. It was like they were siblings arguing with each other. Lender ended up buy three rooms. It would had been wiser to just share a room with Raza since they were both men, but Lender didn't want to spend another second with the kid.