Guru Mountain, Lubin Tavern.
The handso young man had, as usual, brought a bottle of apple wine today. He sat in his familiar corner, slowly sipping his drink and rereading the letter he had read countless tis.
Although Lubin had earned a fair amount of gold these past few days, the tavern’s quietness still felt sowhat unsettling to him. Lubin was an excellent listener; usually, at this ti, he would be enjoying the wild tales spun by patrons from all corners of the land. Now, however, the place was eerily silent. Deprived of the patrons’ fascinating anecdotes and tall tales, Lubin could only polish his wine glasses out of boredom, eventually nodding off...
The young man’s subordinates were constantly coming and going from the tavern, speaking in peculiar phrases that Lubin couldn’t understand, so he eventually stopped trying to listen.
"Chief!" one of the young man’s subordinates quietly approached again.
"Hmm?"
"Only one of the Exchange Beasts we sent out was recalled. The rest were completely obliterated!"
"Hmm." The young man showed little reaction, still sipping his wine slowly. "What news did the recalled one bring back?"
"Traces of the defective goods were found!"
"Excellent! Black Crow finally provided so useful information. Go ahead and make the necessary arrangents."
"Yes, Chief!" The subordinate turned to leave but paused mid-step as if he had just rembered sothing. "Chief!"
"Hmm?" The young man looked puzzled.
"About Wizard Reed coming here... is that really wise? The workshop..."
"Milo," the young man interrupted, "you’ve seen battle. Revealing the harsh reality beneath a facade of peace ahead of ti—I don’t consider that a bad thing."
Milo was silent for a mont.
"Furthermore, we Wizards need to perceive the true nature of things. The world’s essence is cruel; we cannot afford to delude ourselves with any illusions."
"Chief... I..."
"You’re on night watch tonight as punishnt."
"Thank you for your leniency, Chief!"
Just as Milo was about to leave, the tavern door was pushed open with a CREAK. A young man clutching a book stumbled in.
"I—I want a room!"
The sudden request startled Lubin awake. Rubbing his eyes, he tried to understand what had just happened.
"Here..." Milo began to speak, but stopped when he saw the Chief raise a hand, signaling that he would handle it.
"Wha-sha shay?" Lubin was still rubbing his eyes, his tongue a bit swollen from accidentally biting it in his sleep.
"I—my na is Igor." Lubin’s slurred speech caused the young man to give an unrelated answer.
Hearing this, Lubin, having finished rubbing his eyes, stared even wider. He then glanced cautiously at the Chief in the corner.
"Give this young man a room, and prepare another empty one as well. Put it on my account," the Chief told Lubin.
"Alright, follow upstairs," Lubin agreed, ready to lead Igor up after getting the nod from his wealthy patron.
"Thank you." Igor bowed to the Chief in gratitude, then cheerfully followed Lubin upstairs.
"I’m rely interested in the one tailing him," the Chief said, cutting Milo off before he could ask. "Before long, that Hunter will also be checking in."
"Are you planning to recruit him, Chief? His Spirit Power feels quite dense, not much like a Hunter’s," Milo said.
"Until the Purification Plan can be restarted, we need to expand our ranks. Individuals whose Spirit Power contains many impurities are precisely what I’m looking for."
"Just give the order, Chief!"
"I intend to recruit him, but he must co willingly. For now, you keep a close watch on the mountain. I don’t want to miss the chance to et our Tutor."
"Yes, Chief!" Milo acknowledged the order and hurried away. Just as he was leaving, a man exuding a dense Spirit Power appeared at the tavern entrance.
The man had a toothpick jutting from his mouth. His taut muscles strained against his tawny clothes, which looked ready to burst, and he exuded an aura of imnse strength.
So, he’s quite the brute, the Chief mused.
"Heh heh heh, this tavern sure is damn quiet." The burly man twirled the toothpick in his mouth. "Hey, buddy, you the owner here? I need a room."
"I’ve already arranged one for you. If you’re not in a hurry, co have a drink."
"Sure thing. I always enjoy drinking with company." The burly man walked straight to the corner, casually pulled up a chair, and sat opposite the Chief.
GULP. He downed a glass of wine.
"TSK TSK," the burly man clicked his tongue. "This wine is too refined. The flavor’s off; it’s not the wine from that bottle."
"Not to your taste?"
"Heh heh heh, I prefer things a bit more... unadulterated." The burly man picked up the second glass and, again, GULP.
"How’s this one?"
"Unadulterated! And truly not good wine!"
"Care for another?" The Chief produced another cup.
"Heh heh heh, I’ve already tasted the difference. No need."
"Oh? So which one suited your palate better?"
"Heh heh heh, naturally the first was smoother. But for now, I can only drink this second, inferior kind."
"Because of the boy upstairs?"
"Heh heh heh, indeed. Nothing gets past an Alchemist."
"I can wait for you to drink tomorrow."
"A man is only as good as his word. I must complete my commission; I’ll be waiting for that wine of yours."
"No rush. I’ll keep it for you."
"Heh heh heh, we’ll see what kind of wine it is when the ti cos."
"Enough to last you a lifeti." The Chief lifted the hand that had been resting on the table, revealing a gold bar glinting there.
"Heh heh heh, now that’s a fine wine. Keep it for ."
"This ’wine’ is a lifeti commitnt."
"I fear nothing."
"Once you’ve completed your commission, co back and drink with ."
"Heh heh heh, deal. The trip up and down Guru Mountain shouldn’t take long." The burly man chuckled, then tossed a copper coin onto the table. "But I’ve got backing of my own..."
The Chief picked up the copper coin, then set it down. It instantly transford into a gold coin.
"Even if there were two such mountains, I could level them both."
"Heh heh heh, I like people who get straight to the point. Once I complete this commission, I’m your man."
"Good. I am Kuyi Tulan. Welco to the New World."
"I am Baharo, a High Rank Hunter, at your service, Lord Kuyi."
"This commission of yours—is it a hunt?"
"No, it’s protection."
"Oh? In that case, your commission is complete. The boy is safe here; no one can touch him."
"You speak true, My Lord. But the mission requires to escort the boy safely back. That will take ti. Besides, quite a few ’pests’ are tailing him, and so are rather troubleso to deal with."
Kuyi Tulan took another sip of his wine, his interest in Igor, the boy upstairs, suddenly piqued.
anwhile, on the road to Guru Mountain, several steam cars were chugging along. Mayor Babasha sat in one of the steam cars, his face glum. He had been extrely reluctant to go to Gaga County, and now he was being forced to go to Guru Mountain.
No matter how much Rostellum, that old coot, praised Lubin Tavern, Babasha refused to listen. He had no desire to spend the night at the foot of the mountain. He longed for his soft, large bed in Liuli City, not so rickety cot in Lubin Tavern.
He certainly didn’t want to beco an "uninvited guest" at Lubin Tavern.
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