When Arun burst out of the inn, he saw a bunch of people gathered outside. And from a glance, he was not able to make out anyone from the Owl Familia that was going to attack the old man.
To save his butt, and gather less attention, he acted as if he was one of the patrons of the inn. As soon as he came near the crowd, he dumped the old man in front of them. "What happened?" someone asked, he looked up to find a woman before him.
The woman in question had grey-white hair, which seemed like it was natural color for her. She was a youthful woman, who like him looked as if she was in her late twenties. She had lightly tanned skin and looked gorgeous.
Acting as if he got tired while carrying the old man, he spoke while huffing and puffing, "There was this lunatic inside. He was yelling something…" he continued to tell them an absurd tale of how a lunatic set the inn on fire while mumbling that someone was coming to get him.
While spinning the tale of the lunatic, Arun noticed a knife strapped to the thigh of the woman with white hair. He recognized the handle of the knife, it was the same as the survival knife that he got from the dungeon shop.
Adam said that the weapons that one gets from the dungeon shops all look the same. He believed in the fact because Adam was able to tell that he was an Earthling, just by seeing his quiver. This meant that there was merit in being suspicious of the woman, she might be an earthling.
The more the story progressed, the more interested the woman seemed in the lunatic. This woman is one of the attackers. He knew it. At the same time, he figured out that there was a chance that the attackers might not know what the barkeep looked like…
"… And I used magic to get out," he finished his story. Till then many people had started pouring out of the inn. Some were jumping out of the building, while some were bravely coming from the front door.
"Where did that lunatic run off to?" the woman asked. He didnt answer, brushed his clothes, and stood up.
"Who are you?" he asked, checking her out from top to bottom.
"I am Sonia,"
"You an adventurer?" She nodded, "Then forget about the madman and do some work around" Arun then started yelling, "GET ME ALL THE WATER BARRELS AROUND THE PLACE! NOW!"
On cue, some people ran to the houses and soon barrels full of water were brought out. Acting as if he were a hero, Arun started using his staff and water-binding skill to extinguish the fire. While doing so, he didnt forget to keep an eye on Sonia. She helped out whenever she could. At the same time, she was looking around intently at the crowd of people that had run out of the inn, as if looking for someone.
Help soon arrived in the form of more mages and officials from the Adventurers Guild. From what he saw, there was no high-level member in the help, so he assumed the charge of the whole thing. The best part was that no one seemed to question his position.
The Guild members came bearing gifts as well, they provided him with mana-recovering potions and also gave him a hand in extinguishing the fire. No one was challenging him because he had the staff, and could use magic.
From what he knew, magic arts were a very well-kept secret among the wealthy and powerful people of this world. Which is why no one assumed that he could be an Earthling. It was just a misunderstanding that worked in his favor. Another great thing that happened was that with Adventurers, also came the healers of the world. And they were able to cure and save the old man from the terrible wounds he had. Which automatically ticked off the first task in his quest.
While doing the work, he specially made sure that no one would make a move on the old man while working. Surprisingly no one did, which further proved his theory that the attackers didnt know what the old man looked like…
When most of the extinguishing job was done, Arun turned around to find Sonia along with a man heading someplace. They seemed to be in a deep conversation, Seeing which, he couldnt help but smile, this was the perfect opportunity for him.
Immediately Arun went to the group of soldiers that were giving the locals a hand to sort out the situation. He came to them and addressed the woman, who seemed to be leading all of them, "Excuse me," he said. The woman turned around, "Yes sire,"
Arun inwardly smiled, he had them wrapped around his fingers. With a serious face, he said, "Do you and your teammates over here have their weapons with you?" She was taken aback but then nodded.
"Good. The situation is under control here for now. Leave everything to the locals and follow me," He said and then pointed at Sonia and the man, "You see that woman in white hair?" She nodded. "I am going to go and distract her. You go and gather any man or woman capable of fighting. I think she is a fucking barbarian."
The woman looked shocked. He then asked, "Can you do that?" she nodded, "Then go,"
With that, he started following Sonia. And only when the couple came to a stop, far away from the inn, then Arun was able to see the man clearly. He looked like he was in his twenties as well, but had a cruel face and black hair.
"SUKA!" the man yelled, and was about to yell something else, but stopped when he saw Arun approaching.
Suka? Arun knew that the word was Russian, it was an offensive word that refers to a female dog. "Is everything alright here Sonia?" he asked as he approached the couple.
"Everything is fine," the man said in frustration.
"And who are you supposed to be?" he asked in an authoritative voice.
"I am Ivor." He said, "Her husband,"
That he didnt predict, "Husband? Well that seems about right," he said with a smile, "A beautiful woman like this is of course snagged away by a tough guy,"
"Thanks for the compliment," Sonia said, "Now if you would excuse us, I would like to go back to bed." She then took Ivor's hand and was about to leave with him, when he stopped her, "Wait."
The couple looked at him, "Funny now that you mentioned it… I do know you. You are Sonia and Ivor, the merchant couple that lives on the edge of town. The question is, for two people who live at the edge of town, how come you were outside an inn which is in the middle of the city?" He recognized their name, they were the same ones that the old man in the inn told him about. He was supposed to investigate them.
Arun heard footsteps, to saw a group of 5 people surrounding him from the back. They didnt look like the adventurers that he had ordered to assemble. "So.. These guys are with you?" he asked.
"Yeah, they are," Ivor said with a sly smile, and then took out a double-handed axe from his inventory, "Any last words?" he asked.
Arun just simply shook his head, "I should be asking you guys this question," It was then people started emerging from the alleyways nearby, soldiers bearing the sigil of the city. As well as the adventurers that he had assembled.