Mirror Guild

The royal family working with criminals? That simply could not be possible. I refuse to believe it. "Those rumors have to be fake," I said to Lev.

"Well, that might be the case? They are just rumors, after all," said Lev. Rumors might just be that, but sometimes they come from credible sources. But I have to say, these kids revealed too much information to a stranger like me. Even rumors would be valuable to a group like theirs, right?

"Alright. Lead me to your organization. I have 2 commissions for you," I told them. If Atena really was working with the nobles, then I can't trust them. They might be my enemies. This Mirror Guild might not be as capable, but it seems they don't work with nobles. I chose to trust them for now.

"Eh? You're going to work with us?" Veli asked.

"I'll get a discount, right? Veli?" I said with a smile. Veli's face was aghast.

"F-follow me," she said nervously. After the teens, we arrived at a house.

"Why are we at a house?" I asked them.

"It's our hideout," said J. On the way here, I learnt that the kid's real name was Jaskendinar, which was too long so everybody just called him J.

"Isn't the house too small for a hideout?" I observed the house. It looked like it barely had 3 room's worth of space. We walked in and it was just as I thought, small and cramped. There was furniture everywhere, like a trash heap. J headed to a corner and pulled on something, and suddenly the ground rose to reveal an elevator. "Oh? It's a secret underground base?" I exclaimed. Things like these always surprised me. Growing up, I had heard a lot of stories about heroes infiltrating hideouts like these. Only to be thrown into chaos as the hero had not been thorough enough to cover their track. I stood still for a moment.

"You guys...this isn't a trap, right?" I spoke. The kids jumped. I see, so it had been a trap all along. I mean, it was obvious from the beginning. Why would they trust a total stranger so easily to bring them to their secret base? But these kids were indeed very crafty. They hid their intentions well. I could only smile out of feeling proud of them. "Alright. This is strike number two. Ah, strike three for J, though," I said.

The kids became super nervous.

"I'm sorry!" Veli fell to the ground. Actually, I think she just smashed her head to the ground. "It's all my fault. I made the plan to trick you. Spare them and kill me!" she shouted.

"No, Veli! It's not your fault alone! We're at fault, too," said Lev as she also dropped to the ground in a surrendering pose of sorts. J and the last kid also followed them. What the hell are these kids doing? Well, they did try to trick me just now, so maybe I should play along?

"I see. Then...you can all die to this blade," I said. I put on the best evil face I could.

"Pfft." I heard someone holding back their laugh but couldn't.

"Do you have something you want to say, Veli?" I asked the laughing girl.

"Nothing, mister," she said in a stoic voice.

"No, no. Spill it out. Tell me why you're laughing," I said.

"So...your face...it looked funny," she said.

"Is that so?" There was an intense staring session between us. I couldn't hold it back and burst out laughing. I had been a few days since I had laughed. I stopped laughing soon as memories surfaced. "Alright, stand up. I'm not gonna harm you guys. I don't like that you guys set a trap for me, though. I told you guys I'm a customer, didn't I? Or do you want me to take my business to Atena?"

"Wait, wait! Don't do that!" said Lev.

"Give me one reason I shouldn't?" I said.

"Actually, we didn't set a trap! It's something that all customers have to go through," said Lev.

"Huh?" I was confused.

"The boss said if you're not able to see it's a trap, then you're not worthy to take our time," she said. I looked at her with even more confusion.

"That's the dumbest thing I've heard. That's a guaranteed way to lose your customers, isn't it?" I said. Lev looked back at me with eyes that seemed to say: 'I know, right?'

"I see...you have your own trouble. Take me to your boss already," I said.

"Follow me," said a sudden voice. I turned around and saw that standing next to the door was an old man. He wore the clothes of a beggar, but appeared very clean otherwise. But what was most shocking was I had not even heard a single footstep. He was inside the small house, mere steps away from me. He had not been there before, so he had snuck in at some point without me noticing. Ah, I understand. They wouldn't have let these kids actually be killed by strangers, so they sent someone powerful to keep them safe. The question in my mind was how long had he been following us around? Had it been since we arrived in the area? Or was it even more? Perhaps even before I met Veli and the others...

The man walked up to the secret button and pressed it at a different angle. Then, he stepped onto the elevator.

"It's not a trap this time, mister," said Veli. The elevator was only large enough to accommodate three people. I followed Veli and we went down. The old man did not speak even once, but he exuded a silent deadly pressure on us. Even Veli was nervous. The elevator was quick and we got off deep underground.

I was greeted with a very refined underground place. It looked extravagant and expensive. There were perhaps two dozen individuals inside. Veli walked off as soon as she arrived. The old man gestured for me to walk faster. We quickly arrived at a room at the very end of the space. It was the only door in the whole place. The other people were out in the open. This must be where their boss is.

The old man knocked on the door once and waited. It slowly opened and a beautiful tall woman opened the door. Her dark skin shone even in this dark place.

"The boss is waiting for you," she said as she stepped aside. I went in alone as she closed the door behind me. It was dark inside, much to my surprise. I would have thought this place would have some form of light, but no.

I waited for a bit in the dark. I waited too long. "Hello?" I said.

"Three minutes and 14 seconds. That's a new record," a voice suddenly said. The lights turned on as a woman revealed herself sitting a bit further away from me. I was instantly shocked by her beauty. Her beautiful amber skin, much like the lady from moments ago, glistened vibrantly. Her colorful tattoos drew me in. I couldn't help but be awed.

"Hmm? What's wrong?" she asked me. I cleared my throat.

"I'm here to discuss business," I said.

"I've heard. You're packed, aren't you?" she said. My mind went to some other place. "How much are you thinking of paying us? I'm just trying to gauge your pockets."

"Oh, uhh...I can pay 100 gold coins?" I said nonchalantly.

"One....hundred?" the woman said with shock on her face. Her eyes widened.

"Is it not enough? I can give you more, but I'll have to go get—"

"No, no, no. That's not the problem. It's more than enough to commission us," she said while gesturing.

"So it's settled? You'll take the commissions?" I said, hopeful.

"Now, wait a minute. I'll need to hear the commissions first," she said. However, she couldn't hide the big smile on her face.

"I need you to investigate the nobles. Lev mentioned that they are working with criminal organizations like yours. Or rather, not your organization according to Lev. But Atena," I said.

"That's gonna be dangerous to investigate," she said.

"So it's a no?" I said, a bit dejected.

"It would have been difficult at this time, but we already have detailed logs of several nobles' activities. We can just give you those for the time and continue the investigation once things calm down," she said.

"Why is it difficult at this moment?" I asked.

"Something shocking happened this afternoon. I guess I can tell you since you'll learn soon anyways. A slave trade business was discovered by the Ziele's princess," she said. I could sense a hint of anger in her voice.