The second floor of the tavern was free from the commotion downstairs.
On one side was a railing overlooking the first floor, while the other was lined with wooden doors leading into private rooms.
Młynar clearly knew the place well.
He walked straight to one of the rooms, unlocked the door, and went inside.
Unexpectedly, the room was quite tidy.
There was a large table, several chairs, and a pot of small white flowers sitting on the windowsill.
Clarus stepped inside, closed the door behind him, then found a chair and sat down.
Młynar did the same.
“We’re waiting for someone.
Once he gets here, we’ll set out again.” After saying that, Młynar closed his eyes to rest and stopped talking.
Clarus idly ran his fingers over the rapier in his hands, carefully studying the patterns along its blade.
Patience was something he had no shortage of.
Fortunately, he didn’t have to wait long.
Before long, hurried footsteps sounded outside the room.
Their owner gave the door a few quick knocks.
Młynar frowned slightly, got up, and opened it.
A figure wrapped in a gray cloak slipped inside in a flash.
He tossed whatever he was carrying onto the table, pulled down his hood to reveal dark brown skin, and let out a long breath.
“What did you steal this time?” Młynar frowned.
“A little collectible from the Beast Gang.
Some knightly lord specifically asked for it.” Toland straightened his messy hair.
“They stole it from someone else, and I stole it from them.
Perfectly reasonable.” Młynar glanced at the half-exposed bust sticking out from the gray cloth bundle.
He didn’t say anything else and simply wrapped the obviously valuable sculpture back up.
“Oh?
Brat, what are you doing here?” Only then did Toland notice Clarus sitting in the room, and he immediately grinned in surprise.
“What, is it some Nearl family tradition to toss your young people into the wilderness and see if they die?” Młynar spoke without much emotion.
“I don’t care what else you say, but when you’re talking about the Nearls, you’d better use the same sweet tongue you use with everyone else.” “Sorry, sorry.” Toland raised both hands in surrender.
“But seriously, you knightly lords already have it so good.
Why come out into the wilderness and steal work from poor bastards like us?
If my family had been knights back then, I’d have spent my whole life eating, drinking, and waiting to die in the Grand Knight Territory.” “We couldn’t steal that much work from you even if we tried.
After all…” Clarus stood up and smiled at Toland.
“There are a lot more bandits than hunters.” Toland narrowed his eyes at Clarus, then couldn’t help grinning.
“Not bad, Młynar.
You taught him well.
Even a little knightly lord can understand how hard life is for people like us.” “I didn’t teach him.” Młynar picked up the coat draped over the back of his chair.
Clarus turned around, lifted the back of his shirt halfway, and patted the Oripathy lesions on his lower back.
Toland froze.
“Heh.
Nobody told me about that part.” “If you waste one more second talking, even Old Tolly’s reputation won’t be enough to hold back the Beast Gang.” Młynar shot him a sideways glance, finished dressing, and picked up the gray cloth bag containing the bust.
“So the first thing I get to experience in the wilderness is being hunted down by someone’s enemies?” Clarus listened to the angry shouting outside.
For some reason, he actually sounded a little excited.
“Bingo~ Correct answer!
Your prize is covering our retreat.” Toland grinned and snapped his fingers.
He pulled up one of the wooden floorboards, grabbed several smoke grenades from a hidden compartment, and stuffed them into a pouch at his waist.
“They’ve already blocked the stairs.
How exactly are you planning to get down?” Clarus listened carefully to the sounds outside and spread his hands.
Młynar said nothing.
He simply opened the window.
By the time the Beast Gang searched the room, the only thing they found was the little white flower gently swaying beside the open window.
…
“How do you know which routes have people and which ones don’t?” Clarus gave Toland a strange look.
“I told you already.
Favors are the most expensive currency there is.” Toland dramatically swept his hair back.
“How else do you think I managed to walk out of the Beast Gang’s treasury with their precious little treasure?” “I still don’t even know what the Beast Gang actually is.” Clarus helplessly followed the two of them as they ran.
“How do I explain it?” Toland grinned.
“Their most important job is collecting taxes around here for the noble lords.” “Okay.
Got it.” Clarus nodded.
“In that case, you’d better explain how you somehow led us straight into their encirclement.” Młynar stopped walking.
“Well, maybe my reputation just wasn’t big enough.” Toland shrugged.
“Guess it’s just a tiny bit smaller than a noble lord’s.” He looked around.
“Pretty obvious somebody sold us out.” Clarus stared at the large group of burly men blocking the road ahead.
The people looked strange.
Their weapons looked even stranger.
He sighed.
“Hmm…
Bounty hunter, Toland.” The large man at the front had tiny Originium crystals growing across his face.
He narrowed his eyes and carefully compared Toland’s face with the wanted poster in his hand.
“That’s quite the bounty on your head.
I’m sure Lord Castri will be very pleased to see another payment added to his accounts.” Toland nudged Clarus in the waist with his elbow.
“Hear that?
Lord Castri is the guy who gave me the job in the first place.” He clicked his tongue.
“Nobles really are filthy.” “Though after this, I doubt any bounty hunter will ever dare take one of his jobs again.” The large man leading the group ignored Toland and Clarus whispering to each other.
Instead, his gaze shifted toward Młynar, who was still completely covered from head to toe.
“Mr.
Nearl, we have no desire to make an enemy of you.
We hope you’ll step aside.” “…Can’t really do that.” Młynar removed his hood.
“Then forgive us.
We’ll do our best to send you back to the Nearl estate in one piece.” The large man waved his hand.
The armed men surrounding them slowly began closing in.
“Ooh~ A brawl.
I like those.” Toland drew the two long blades strapped across his back and gripped them tightly.
“If we make it back alive, I’ll have to think carefully about what side dish goes best with the traitor who gave me that information.” He grinned.
“Then I’ll chop him up and use him as pie filling.” Młynar slowly closed his eyes and rested one hand on his sword.
Golden light, carrying a faint hint of anger, gradually gathered around him.
“Get them!” The Beast Gang leader waved his hand.
His men roared and charged forward.
Młynar’s eyes suddenly opened.
Blinding light erupted!
BOOM!
The deafening blast sounded no different from an Originium bomb going off.
Combined with the instant blindness caused by Młynar’s Originium Arts, every member of the Beast Gang immediately threw themselves flat on the ground, terrified that an Originium bomb was about to blow them apart.
The big man leading them even crawled underneath a vehicle and began trembling.
Only after a while did the Beast Gang members cautiously raise their heads from the ground.
The smoke slowly cleared.
“…Huh?” “WHERE THE HELL DID THEY GO?!” …
“Why the hell are your smoke grenades so loud?!
I can’t even hear what you’re saying!” “Who cares?!
JUST RUN!!!” “…I must’ve lost my damn mind trusting you.
You barely take any normal jobs, but somehow every single day there’s another pile of trouble!” “Hehehe…”