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"I can't believe I did it,

" Irea muttered to herself as she sat down on the edge of the bed.

nFor the entire week, she was trying to convince Layn to make up with the prefect. Not because she wanted to spread love and friendship wherever she went, but because that prefect was one of the highest civilian authorities in the entire warcamp.

n'And with his plans to create his own school,' Irea thought. Her lips quivered before forming a thin line. 'If he wants his school, then he needs to start learning how to curry favors!'

nAfter a few moments, Irea stood up from the bed. Even though there was still some time before the people would start to return to the warcamp, she already had her hands full with preparations.

n'We stocked on food, water, and weapons, we have the camping equipment… I guess I will start with dinner then!' Irea recounted in her mind before grabbing her pouch and moving outside.

n'Right now, he should be heading for the meeting I arranged,' she thought while looking towards the lodging district. Far behind the entire area homes of the entire staff was located. On the other hand, her destination was right in the camp's center.

n

"Hello, young miss!' One of the stall owners called out to Irea as soon as she appeared on the square.

n

"Hello,

" Irea said while nodding her head. 'This leecher,' she added in her mind, as soon as she passed by the man, hiding her face from his sight. 'Do you think I don't know you are looking at my ass whenever I'm here?' Irea complained to herself while beating the man down in her mind.

n'Sadly for you, this ass is for Layn and Layn alone!' she added. Only a moment later, the daringness of this thought caused a slight blush to appear on her cheeks.

n

"Oh, hello, little miss,

" another shop owner greeted her. This time, it was a sizeable lady managing a food warehouse. According to what Irea heard, this single warehouse supplied most of the Inns and stalls in the entire warcamp, making it the best place to look for ingredients.

n

"Hello, auntie,

" Irea replied with a smile.

"Would you be so kind to get me some chicken and lamb?

" She asked.

"Oh, and the spice mix of yours would also be nice.

"

n

"Sure thing.

" The sizeable lady answered before turning around her own axis, approaching the doors behind the counter, and shouting.

"You heard her! Bring some chicken, lamb, and our mix!

"

nThe lady moved her head back and smiled at Irea.

"Dinner for the two?

"

n

"Yeah,

" Irea replied while blushing a bit. Before this lady, she was as good as an open book. It only took two visits to the shop for the auntie to notice Irea's and Layn's relationship. By the third visit, she pulled Irea to the back of the shop before forcing her into a several hours-long interrogation, falsely named gossip-sharing.

n

"If that's the case,

" the sizeable lady rubbed her chin for a moment, before suddenly smashing her right fist into her left palm.

"Give me just a moment, I will prepare something special for you!

" the auntie ordered, before rushing to the warehouse hidden behind the front of the shop.

n'Just what is this with this lady,' Irea asked herself in her thoughts before shaking her head and slapping her cheeks a few times to regain the clarity of thoughts. 'Either way, there will be dinner, daily lesson, some cultivation and then,' Irea's cheeks turned red once again.

n'To think that doing that would become a part of my daily routine,' Irea thought as redness overtook her entire face.

n

"I'm back, honey!

" Before long, the auntie returned with several bags hanging from her hands. She placed them on the counter before opening each of them and explaining the content.

n

"Here is your meat, chicken, and lamb. This bag here has spices, this one has some vegetables… And this one is the special gift from me.

" The sizeable lady said while accepting the money from the girl.

n

"Special gift?

" Irea asked. While it was obvious it had something to do with the thing she mentioned earlier, but that didn't make it any easier to guess what this auntie had in mind in the first place.

n

"Listen here and do it carefully because I won't repeat.

" The auntie changed her tone while leaning over the counter in order to sound like someone conspiring.

"You take this bottle and feed it to your sweetheart's drink. I guarantee,

" the woman sent Irea a wink,

"that you won't regret this later on!

"

n

"Alright!

" Grabbing up the backs, Irea cut the small talk and left the place. With the ingredients in place, preparing the dinner wouldn't be a problem anymore.

n

"Let's make it the best dinner I can cook!

" the girl motivated herself, casting yet another glance in the direction where Layn went some time ago.

nIn the meantime, Layn finally managed to reach his destination, fully ignorant about Irea's plan for after his return.

n

"Well, let's get this over with,

" Layn said to himself, putting the huge bottle of booze in his other hand before knocking on the doors.

n

"Wait a moment!

" After a short moment, a voice sounded from the insides of a small but tidy mansion. A few moments later, the doors suddenly sprung open, revealing a bare-chested prefect.

n

"What do you want?

" The prefect asked after the momentary confusion when he realized who just visited him.

n

"Don't judge. My girl forced me to have a drink with you.

" Layn answered before lowering his head in anguish.

"Help a brother out. I may be powerful but there are things… Things that even I fear.

" Layn intentionally increased the dramaturgy of his words, turning the entire thing into a silly act.

n

"A… ah…

" Stunned by the unexpected appearance and even less expected explanation, the prefect took a step back before slamming his forehead with his hand.

n

"I understand. Come on in.

" He said as he took yet another step to the back before turning around in order to let Layn pass.

nStepping inside, Layn looked around the place. Even though the house stood in the desert where every resource was scarce, there was no hint of poverty or any lack in it. The walls were covered with pictures, the floor had a nice rug on it. In other words, at least the entrance to the prefect's mansion was on the same level as what Layn said in the middle of the city he saw in his current timeline!

n

"Come on, take a seat,

" the prefect invited Layn in. Yet, noticing how the atmosphere continued to thicken, he sighed before lowering his head a bit.

"Listen, I won't try to interrogate you now. In fact, there is no point in interrogating you in the first place.

" The man said while shrugging his arms.

"I believe you already know this, but we never recovered their bodies. I was just simply following the only lead we had…

"

n'What the hell is going on?' Layn asked himself while taking upon the man's offer and sitting down. While his hands busied with uncorking the sizeable bottle, his mind continued to spin at its maximum speed. 'Why does he reveal those kinds of secrets to me? Is this another trick?' Layn took a longer look at the man, before realizing that his initial guess was wrong.

n

"Wait, you were that desperate?

" Layn asked as soon as the realization struck him. 'He just had to solve some kind of case! He is not after me in particular.' This thought instantly changed the way that Layn looked at the prefect.

n

"Desperate? Yeah, that's a pretty fitting description.

" Grabbing the neck of the bottle, the man didn't hesitate to take a huge gulp of the strong liquid. He hesitated as soon as he swallowed it.

nHis cheeks turned red, his entire face started to sweat.

n

"Uhuh…

" The man whined before taking a few long breaths to calm himself down.

"That's a strong one!

" He said in a praiseful voice.

n

"Why were you so desperate then? And why my testimony doesn't matter anymore?

" Layn asked for clarification. Even if he knew the motives behind the man's decision, it didn't mean he knew what that decision entailed.

n

"I initially went after you, because you got rid of Kerren. Without him around, there is hardly any crime during the off-season months, here.

" The prefect hugged the bottle as he explained.

"Without him around, I could no longer ramp up my achievements so I kinda wanted to take revenge on you.

"

nFor some reason, the man didn't mind admitting to abusing his authority a bit. But for some reason, Layn just couldn't bring himself to hate that man.

n

"But there is no way for me to prove that you were involved in his death. For all the governor knows, he could lose his life to some stray monsters.

" The man shook his shoulders before turning his eyes away.

"And here I am, with my job completely pointless, bothering the few customers that the shops of the camp could have in this dead period.

"

nListening to the man's complaints, an idea suddenly appeared in Layn's head. A smile blossomed on his lips as he leaned over the table and looked the prefect in the eyes.

n

"Tell me, since you are dissatisfied with the current state of things at your work…

" Layn gulped down his saliva, before taking a breath and calming himself down.. Only once his emotions returned to their usual state did he finish his offer.

"How about working for me?

"

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