At the topmost floor of the merchant guild building. Situated inside one of the more luxurious offices in the building was a blonde middle-aged man with a prominent mustache.

He sat on the sofa across from a very beautiful and alluring woman as they chatted with familiarity. However, it was still clear to all who witness this scene that the older man was actually being apprehensive and respectful towards this lady in a beautiful crimson dress as she took a sip from the glass of exotic wine in front of her.

They continued their supposedly casual discussion with her taking the lead. “By the way Rio, I heard something strange recently.”

“Hmm, and what might that be Lady Syphilia?”

“Well, I’m not exactly sure how accurate this was but I heard something strange is going on in Darknar, they said several scouts suddenly returned two weeks ago.”

“You say you heard but didn’t you just get that from your spy inside the castle. If lord Aur finds out about it, even you might be in trouble.”

“Fufufu… surely you’re joking, that boorish man wouldn’t find a rat if it was right under his nose.”

“That’s quite harsh.”

“Just forget him, so do you think it’s true. I think the last time something

interesting happened was when the Alcars tried and failed to break that barrier.”

“True.”

The lady finished her drink in a single gulp and the maid in the room rushed over to refill her glass.

“I’m not sure you should be drinking this much, Lady Syphilia. This is the frozen grape wine from the north. You know how you get when you’re drunk.”

“Oh shut up, I still know how to hold my liquor, unlike someone in this room.” Her big brow pupils flashed at him In a seductive tint, her cheeks a little red.

Just as he was about to respond though, a sudden knock echoed in the room coming from the only double door in the room and the maid that stood next to it moved closer to see who it was.

She came back to inform him of the visitor and he slightly frowned. He apologized to the lady before him and hurriedly got up from his seat, walking over to the door to see the male receptionist that was supposed to be on duty at the reception hall on the first-floor standing had abandoned his post and was now standing in front of his office.

“This had better be important, how many times must I tell you all not to bother me when I have a guest.”

“My deepest apologies sir, but we have an urgent situation that requires your attention.”

••••••••••

••••••••••

The merchant guild’s building was a large seven-story building in the Central Winged plaza. It contained various lounges, offices, storehouses, and several luxurious VIP rooms that were designed for entertaining important guests and the discussions of important matters. Inside one of such rooms that were filled with tasteful pieces of furniture, sat a petite young girl and a fur coat hooded figure.

The pair had been immediately ushered here the moment the male receptionist had been reported the contents of their carriage.

This was an expected reaction, after all the only things that were stored in the carriage were rare herbs and plants gotten from the Darknar forest along with the preserved bodies of several white hoppers. Normally monster corpses were the territory of the Hunter’s Guild but the white hoppers were considered a delicacy. A rare and exquisite delicacy.

Not to mention their furs were also extremely valuable and had quite useful effects for concocting potions.

A female receptionist walked shortly after the male receptionist had left and offered them some beverages alongside some colorful snacks that looked like candy-infused cookies.

While the cloaked figure rejected him, the young girl beside him happily accepted the drink and sweets and ate them leisurely as she sipped her beverage. After around 5-10 minutes the doors suddenly flung open and a middle-aged man in a suit walked into the room with the earlier male receptionist trailing behind him.

He had blonde slick back hair and a prominent mustache. He didn’t appear too old but had an air of someone whose been through countless struggles. His deep blue eyes scanned the room for only a second before proceeding to fully enter the room and walking to take a sit.

The man sat down opposite the pair and politely greeted them.

“Hello there, I am terribly sorry about the wait. There were just a few things we had to be absolutely certain of before we could have a serious discussion.”

“It’s fine, this was to be expected.” The hooded figure replied from underneath his hood and judging by his voice which he had made no effort in hiding, he was a man. The middle-aged man nodded in satisfaction before introducing himself.

“My apologies for the late introduction, my name is Riokar Villard, the merchant guild manager or Guild Leader if you prefer. Our merchant guild had been having some slow days but for the last few days we’ve suddenly been stacked with work which leads to us being understaffed, so I apologize again for the delay.”

“That is fine, we came at an unorthodox hour and haven’t waited for too long so do not bother yourself about it.”

“Much appreciated.”

“I suppose I should introduce myself then. You can call me Lix, The one next to me is call Lilith.”

The hooded man spoke softly pointing at himself before pointing at the young girl who was still busy stuffing her face in sweets.

“Only single names?”

“For now, yes “

“Oh… I understand, well then, let’s get down to business.”

“…”

The look in Riokar’s eyes changed and the air around him became more serious. The male receptionist took it as a sign and excused himself. Riokar then spoke to the pair with a glint in his eyes

.

“If I may ask, where exactly are you both from?”

“We would like to keep that private if you don’t mind, but I guess you can say we’re from the far east.”

“I see… I didn’t mean to pry but to be honest, we were shocked by all the products you brought us today. Most of those herbs can only be found amid dangerous places like the Darknar forest, the Slaze Mountains, and the Vermilion Rain forest in the far east, so I guess you’ve answered our biggest question.”

The expression on Riokar’s face finally softens and he nodded. It was obvious his previous apprehension was due to where those herbs were obtained. Entry to the Darknar forest was strictly forbidden and anyone not from the Great five selling something from there would be label a criminal and the merchant guild would not like to be caught in between something like that.

Naturally, one wouldn’t just openly admit to a crime especially not demons. However, Riokar wasn’t the merchant guild leader for no reason. He could read auras, even from monsters. He could clearly read the aura of these two and he could even read the aura of the cloaked man and he had judged them for telling the truth.

A faint smile grew on his face and he spoke with a sense of confidence. “I was told you have no intentions of joining our merchant guild, however, I don’t think you understand the importance of the merchant guild to the fullest.”

He reached into his suit and pulled out a glimmering purple card and placed it on the table. “You see, the merchant guild does more than just trade goods and services with the various cities and regions. We also have certain rights and privileges that most commoners would only dream of.”

He pushed the card in front of the cloaked man and smiled. “This is a VIP merchant license. Although you would still start as a rank one merchant, the difference between this and the ordinary rank one merchant license is the same as the difference between a lowly commoner and a noble. I can tell that both of you are strong but as subraces, you wouldn’t get far in this world without this kind of status from either our guild, the hunter’s guild, or the magic institute.”

Riokar leaned back into his chair and continued. “From the fact that you’re not wearing a hunter’s bracelet around your wrist means you have no intentions in joining the hunter’s guild. Otherwise, the guild itself would’ve initiated a. trade with us so they could negotiate on your behalf. With that said I reckon your best option is to join the merchant guild. It would be impossible for you to sell those herbs yourselves without a license and with the VIP license, the guild only takes 10% of your revenue unlike the usual 30% for ordinary members and 50% for non-members.”

Riokar smiled confidently, he was sure these two were still new to the battlefield that was the world of business and was still very green even though they were strong enough to explore the Vermilion Rain forest. Of course, he wouldn’t cheat such valuable assets. Why antagonize the chicken that could constantly lay you golden eggs over a single golden egg.

The cloaked man chuckled softly at that, which surprised Riokar a little. He then heard him speak. “You’re mostly correct.”

“Mostly.” Riokar frowned, he hesitated for a bit before ultimately opening his mouth again. “What do you mean?”

The man slowly raised his hands and removed his hood. This move slightly surprised Riokar. He had assumed the man didn’t want his figure to be revealed because he was a part of an ostracized species or for a reason similar to that. However, what he saw now couldn’t be more furthest from the truth.

The cloaked figure had turned out to be a young man with short black hair that was cut in an unfamiliar style. He had hazel-colored pupils and a slightly thin face. His overall appearance was a little above average and he didn’t have any general resemblance to the thousands of people he had seen over the years meaning he was from a rather faraway region.

However, his appearance was still that of an ordinary demon. There were no horns, neither were their tails of any sub species to be found.

His presence was almost non-existent and if one was not looking at him directly, there was a very good chance they wouldn’t notice him.

This, however, sent chills down his spine. There was no greater fear than the fear of the unknown. Riokar’s eyes moved between the young girl that was obvious of the beastkin species and back at the young man who was clearly not a subsidiary race.

It wasn’t rare for demons and subsidiary races to move together, as a matter of fact, most hunter teams were formed of several sub-races and demons, each complimenting the weakness of the other. What was strange here was the fact that the demon of the pair was the one hiding his appearance. This could mean he was a wanted man or maybe even something worse, but then again. Why would he reveal his appearance now?

‘An illusion,’ Riokar activated his innate ability to perceive the truth. It didn’t matter how powerful this man was, his eyes of truth would tell him if there was any foul play going on here.

‘Nothing.’

“As I said, you were mostly correct. But I don’t really need the VIP license. However, I wouldn’t mind joining the guild as a regular member for a single favor.”

“One favor, are you sure!?”

“Yes.”

Riokar as the guild leader was willing to grant any request that was within his powers to perform. Although he wouldn’t tell the pair that outright.” He pretended to think for a minute before clearing his throat and he continued.

“Hmm… Are you sure you won’t change your mind?”

The young man named Lix just starred at him quietly without a response and he sighed. “Alright, let’s hear your request and if it is something within my power, then I’ll consider it.”

“Naturally I wouldn’t ask anything outside your range of influence.”

Riokar narrowed his eyes at this man’s choice of words and slowly responded.

“I see.”

“Excellent, all I require is your recommendation letter for the magic institute.”

“…”

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