"So?!" The middle-aged man held tightly to Lazaren's robe, "Have you decided on how to compensate us?!"

The young man felt his monocle falling off his face as his panic grew by the second. "I'll offer it! I'll offer it!"

Damn it! He thought. If only the boss was here!... It was truly horrible timing. Not only was he the only one currently present at the guild, but he was also dumb enough to leave the few Spell Bottles he had at the back of the store! He had no way to defend himself from these peasants.

Why couldn't they have come an hour later?! That way, that lioness of a woman would have been back by then.

As the sword slid closer toward his neck, Lazaren scrambled through the drawer, looking for the gold coins.

"Hand us everything." The loan shark captain said while his two companions chuckled in the back.

Damn it all! The boss will kill me when she comes back!

"Hey there, Lazaren!" A soft yet playful voice announced its presence. The loan shark trio and the young man all looked up in shock. Standing in the corner of the store was a beautiful elf with golden flowing hair tied into a ponytail over his shoulder. His arms were crossed as he smiled playfully.

"An elf?!" The older captain spat. "You bastards still show your faces in this city?"

Myrin ignored him and stared directly at Lazaren. "Need help?"

Hearing this, the young man looked at him with hope twinkling in his eyes. He nodded frantically. "Y-yes! Please…"

"Huh? The fuck did you just say?" The loan shark captain drew his blade closer to Lazaren's neck. "You think this is a game?"

Lazaren squeaked in horror. Seeing this, Myrin chuckled. "I don't know… It doesn't seem worth it to me to help you. I heard you bullied one of our guild mates a while back…"

The young man's eyes widened. Cassia?! He's talking about that brat?! I was just teasing her a little!

"P-please! I won't do it again, I swear! Save me!"

Myrin put a finger over his lips. "Hmm… How about this: give me a good discount on my orders from now on and I'll help you out."

"Deal!" There was no hesitation in his eyes as blood dripped from his neck.

The trio heard the altercation and glanced at each other angrily. "Alright you bastard. Since you want to stick your head out in a situation that doesn't concern you, don't blame us for what will happen next." The captain threw Lazaren to the floor and turned to face Myrin.

Myrin, however, didn't seem concerned. Instead, he glanced behind the trio and nodded. "That's your cue, Soren."

"Huh? Who are you talking about, are you that scared that you started hallucina—"

"Mesmerize." A single word filled the air. A word that contained both a distinct fragrance and taste…

The trio turned around to find a young man standing behind them. Shorter in stature, he wore a white blouse with a checkered black mantle and dark trousers to match. They did not have the chance to see his face—his cone hat covered it completely.

"When did you…"

In just a second, they felt their minds turn hazy. Darkness eclipsed their vision as they all fell to the floor like flies.

All of them had been put to sleep in a matter of seconds.

"Sleep tight!~" Soren waved at them softly as their eyes slowly fluttered shut.

The matter was over in a flash… He glanced over at Lazaren who had crawled up into a ball behind the counter. The man looked at Soren—his eyes filled with fear and confusion.

"Y-you! W-when did you appear? Where did you come from?!"

"Shhhh…" Soren pointed at the trio sleeping peacefully next to his feet. "You'll wake them up, you know? If that happens, you'll have to read them a bedtime story or something. And trust me, I've read into their minds a bit—they're picky listeners."

Seeing the young alchemist calming himself down, he glanced over at Myrin and nodded. "Well that does it, I guess?"

Myrin smiled. "Indeed." He used his Artist's Wand to illustrate a rope which he then used to tie up the three stooges.

Lazaren stood up and dusted himself then carefully placed back his monocle. He glanced over at their pair of magi and frowned.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

"Thank… you… for your help. What is it that you want in return?"

They glanced at each other and nodded. Myrin decided to speak:

"A few batches of focus, vigor, and stamina potions. Make sure they are all 80% concentration. We're going on a very long expedition."

Lazaren wrote down everything on the sheet in front of him while occasionally sneaking glanced at the two magi.

"Anything else?"

Myrin nodded. "Several packs of Forgotten Paths dust… Ah, also batches of food pills and some sapstrips."

Lazaren nodded as he calculated everything. "Ten batches of focus, vigor, and stamina potions, 15 packs of Forgotten Paths dust, 30 bundles of food pills, and 10 packs of sapstrips.

"In total, that will cost you 2000 Lorins."

Myrin smirked. "You're forgetting something."

He glanced up for a second—eyes widening. "Oh, yes… Uh, does a 20 percent discount sound good?"

Soren shook his head. "You know, I can just wake up these three myself…"

"50 percent! I'll give a 50 percent discount!"

"Deal!" Myrin gave a thumbs up.

Leaving the store, Myrin admired his Spatial Bracelet for a second before glancing back at Soren.

"We got everything we wanted. Let's head back to the guild for now."

Soren nodded. "Is it okay to leave those three loan sharks there? My sleep spell won't last long, y'know?"

Myrin walked ahead while chuckling to himself. "Don't worry—their boss is going to come back soon. She'll deal with it easily."

"Boss, huh…" Soren wondered. "Is she strong?"

Myrin stayed silent for a moment then glanced back at him—eyes serious. "Never mess with her."

"Oh?" He crossed his arms.

Myrin nodded, "That woman… She's a snake… She'll shake the coins out of your pockets without you being able to do anything about it…

"I've seen many money hungry Church of Brilliance believers, but none are as devoted as her to the craft!"

He followed after him and chuckled, "Then are you sure it was okay for us to bully her disciple like this?"

"Don't worry about it! We'll be long gone before she even arrives!~"

As they said this, the both of them still inadvertently hurried their steps. Neither wanted to tempt fate too much—especially Soren…

It only took them another ten minutes or so to finally reach the library. After finding the lowest floor and entering the guild headquarters, the pair maneuvered their way toward the lobby.

The first to greet them was Joyce who was preparing breakfast.

"Oh hey there you two…" She smiled. "Give me another few minutes, the food will be done soon."

Suddenly, the door swung open. Tina came barging in with Candice in tow.

"You two!" She yelled, "Did Cassia go out with you this morning?!"

Soren furrowed his brows. "No… I asked her before we left whether she wanted to come and she declined… She did have trouble with those Silver Vial bastards last time…"

"Did something happen?..." Myrin asked, sensing something was off.

Tina glanced at the both of them in panic. Her next set of words shocked them greatly:

"Cassia… She vanished from the guild!"

After hearing Tina's words, all the guild members agreed to split up and search for her. Because of how large the network of tunnels was underneath the library, it was entirely plausible that she was in one of the abandoned chambers somewhere…

Soren, however, didn't buy it.

Although he didn't know what exactly had happened, his gut feeling told him that this was likely related to her past and her strange relationship with Guntharion…

Did she find out something?.. There was no way to know, so he decided it was best to ask the most informed person available.

Soren swiftly traced his steps as he made his way across the dim corridors. After a few twists and turns, he finally made it to his destination.

Sienna's Underground Eden.

The luscious trees, the brilliant false night sky, and the roaming Spirit Beasts peacefully living under the watchful gaze of the last Witch of Star Fate. All of it was stil the same.

Maneuvering his way to the stone canopy, Soren found the dazzling magister reading a book.

"Mistress Sienna," he bowed respectfully. "I am here fo—"

"Cassia, right?" She immediately guessed.

Soren stood in silence for a moment then nodded. "Indeed… Do you know where she is?..."

Hearing his question, she looked into Soren's resolute eyes and sighed.

"Come closer."

He did as he was bid. Sitting in a lotus position before her, Soren awaited her answer.

"Soren… You are aware of her story, correct? I am sure you've asked her already."

Soren nodded.

"Then you must be aware of her goal."

"Revenge," he answered. "She despises the Silver Moon Church." He quickly explained what he heard from her.

"Indeed…" She glanced down at the book she was reading. It was titled, "The Lamb and the Wolf" in bold Vinuan text.

"That goal of hers… It is one that I could not rid her of no matter what I tried… It was only later, after I began to contemplate the rough meaning behind Guntharion's intentions that I realized that it was bound by fate to happen…

"There was no stopping it."

Soren's eyes widened. "So then… She left to pursue that goal? Is that what you are saying?"

Sienna nodded slowly. The sadness in her eyes could not be masked.

"Just as you have your own journey. She too must embark on one… I am sure your paths will cross later on."

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