A Dispute

"What kind of person are you? How dare you meddle in our business!"

At those words, Rhode showed no reaction, but Mace, standing beside him, nearly buckled at the knees and fell to the ground.

What incredible authority!

Mace couldn't say exactly how powerful Rhode was, but at least to the fat merchant, there was a world of difference between this young man and those two little bullies throwing their weight around. Rhode could probably take them out in minutes. Of course, they were still inside the town, so killing people was out of the question. But given Rhode's status, if someone really angered him, killing a few people wouldn't be a big deal.

The laws on the Dragon Soul Continent were strict, but so was its class system. If a commoner or a slave killed someone, they were sure to be sentenced to death. But if the killer was one of those noble youths, no one would care unless they were a third-rate upstart or a low-ranking noble.

Mace wasn't sure whether Rhode was an easygoing person, because he never smiled. He always wore the same calm, unreadable expression, yet his words always left people on edge. If you thought he was joking, he might actually be threatening you; if you thought he was threatening you, he might actually be joking. Normally, even a young man barely in his twenties who was reasonably calm and mature would still be somewhat outgoing. But this young man was always quiet and inscrutable. You could never figure out what he was thinking. In fact, even after knowing him for so long, Mace still couldn't read his mind. But he was certain that Rhode wasn't the sort of person who could endure being berated to his face without reacting.

But to Mace's surprise, Rhode didn't get angry. He merely glanced at the two men, then turned to Mace.

"Mr. Mace, get ready. It's time to set off."

"Yes, Lord Rhode. I'll get everything ready right away!"

Mace was delighted. He hadn't seen the young man wave a sword around and slaughter everyone, but watching him dismiss those two idiots as if they were a pair of bugs was satisfying enough. He immediately called out in reply, then waved to the coachman on the carriage.

"Come on, get ready. We're leaving!"

"Wait."

Just then, the young man who had remained silent spoke up.

"We're taking this carriage."

"We already paid for it. You can't just—"

Mace tried to argue, but Rhode cut him off before he could finish.

"Mr. Mace, it's getting late."

"Yes, yes, Lord Rhode. I'll get ready right away."

Rhode had no intention of wasting time on a pointless argument. Online game flame wars were all over the place: even when they had no case, people could still twist things around, spread rumors, nitpick, turn right into wrong and wrong into right, distort and exaggerate the facts, and so on. Getting dragged into that sort of nonsense only wasted your own time. People could spend an hour or two arguing over an unfair weapon distribution after a dungeon run, leaving themselves furious and with nothing to show for it but wasted time. Rhode couldn't be bothered with that. As the leader of the largest guild, he had dealt with plenty of situations like that. Responding to every one of them would have been idiotic. So he always ignored pointless arguments like these.

But to those three, Rhode's behavior looked like cowardice. They didn't know what kind of relationship he had with that fatso, but since the two were in such a hurry to leave, they obviously couldn't let them go. The leader's face darkened again. He reached into his coat, pulled out a pouch of coins, and tossed it over.

"That's fifty gold coins. I'm taking this carriage!"

"This..."

At the man's words, the coachman looked troubled. Fifty gold coins were no small amount. If he could really get his hands on that much money, he'd be rich. But he had already reached an agreement with the other party and taken a deposit. The townsfolk were honest by nature; they wouldn't take someone's money and then go back on their word. Still, he wasn't stupid. It was obvious that these three were not people to trifle with. If he said the wrong thing and got beaten up...

"Hey, what are you standing around for? Get ready! We're leaving!"

Since Rhode had arrived, Mace had been walking tall again. He grabbed the carriage and started to pull it away.

Seeing this, the two guards' expressions turned cold.

"Stop right there!"

As soon as the words left their mouths, they raised their swords and lunged at Mace.

But they didn't get their way.

"—!!"

A clear cry rang out.

A gale burst up out of nowhere as a green-and-blue Spirit Bird spread its wings and shot toward the two guards. Their expressions changed at the sight of the unexpected monster, and they tried to halt their charge, but the Soul Bird was faster. It gave a sudden flap of its wings and swept past them in a roaring gale, slamming into both men and sending them flying.

"An Elemental Spirit?"

The leader's expression changed as he watched the Soul Bird perched on Rhode's shoulder, staring down their enemies.

He hadn't expected to run into such a troublesome opponent.

Was the other man a mage?

After thinking it over, the leader decided that didn't seem right. He'd seen monsters summoned by mages before, and that required chanting an incantation. But from his appearance, Rhode looked like nothing more than a noble youth. He certainly didn't seem like a mage. What was more, he hadn't chanted anything—indeed, the leader himself hadn't even seen how Rhode had summoned the bird.

This man might have powerful connections.

The leader began to have second thoughts. He was only accompanying the young lady of his family on an outing in this remote wilderness. He didn't want to provoke anyone dangerous. He was just a lowly guard captain, and keeping the young lady safe was his first priority. If he got her hurt by picking a fight with someone—and his side had started it—then whatever happened to the other party, he'd be the one who was doomed.

At the thought, the stern look on the man's face softened somewhat. He waved to signal the two guards to stand down.

"Please forgive us for disturbing you."

The man stepped forward, his tone much more respectful.

"I apologize on behalf of my men for their rudeness. They... can be a little too impulsive. They offended you, and I hope you won't hold it against them."

"It's nothing."

Rhode replied, then decided not to bother with them any further. He turned and gestured for Mace to get the carriage moving. Seeing this, the man grew anxious. The young lady had sneaked out to have fun while her parents were away. If they couldn't get back to the city before her parents returned, they would surely be furious to find her gone. And if the young lady got scolded, she'd blame him... He'd thought there wouldn't be any trouble in a backwater like this, but he hadn't expected someone like this to suddenly show up.

With that thought, the man had no choice but to step forward again and speak through gritted teeth.

"P-please wait. There's something else I'd like to ask you to help us with."

"What is it?"

Mace felt thoroughly pleased to see the man, who had just been looking down his nose at everyone, acting so meek now. It really was nice to have a powerful ally backing you up. No wonder the heads of those big merchant associations had several strong fighters supporting them. This feeling was exactly what they were after... He instinctively wanted to take another jab at the man. But when he glanced at the silent Rhode beside him, he thought better of it. From Rhode's behavior, it was clear that he didn't care about this sort of trivial matter. If Mace kept dragging him into it, he might only annoy Rhode, so he said no more and simply asked,

"Well..."

The man glanced at the carriage, thought it over, and finally spoke through gritted teeth.

"If you don't mind, we'd like to travel with you."

Travel together?

Mace and Rhode exchanged glances.

"Yes. Judging by your destination, you're heading to Deepstone City, too. We also have something important to attend to, so we hope to return as soon as possible. That's why we acted rashly and offended you. But... our business really is urgent, so..."

This time, the man didn't offer any more money. He already knew that the fatso was the head of a merchant association. That wasn't much of a concern; it was only a small association and didn't carry much weight with nobles.

But the young man was another matter. Normally, a noble of such a young age couldn't be very powerful. Yet this young man had taken down two guards with a single move. The guards weren't particularly strong, but they were more capable than ordinary noble youths. To take them down so easily, and with such an unusual method... Who knew what sort of background he had?

And the merchant association's head was so deferential to him. Their positions in the relationship were obvious. Perhaps the young man belonged to some great family. It was best not to provoke someone like that. Fortunately, he didn't seem to be holding the man's earlier rudeness against him. If he'd been the sort to bear a grudge, this could have become a real mess.

"But our carriage can only fit four people... and we have another companion."

Mace frowned. In his heart, he didn't want to take these people along. The way they'd acted earlier was enough to make anyone dislike them. But Rhode hadn't said anything, so Mace didn't feel he could refuse outright. The carriage was rented with Mace's money, but since he wanted to build a good relationship with Rhode, he didn't mind leaving the decision to him. And as a merchant who believed in keeping the peace and making money, Mace didn't want to reject them outright, either. They looked like nobles, after all. He'd already had his satisfying moment of revenge; there was no point in dragging things out now.

"That's fine. Only one of us needs to ride in the carriage. The rest can ride horses."

Hearing that the other man was wavering, the guard captain brightened. He'd only wanted to rent a carriage for the young lady. Without her, riding back to the city would have been faster.

"This..."

Mace fell silent and turned to Rhode. It was up to him to decide now.

But Rhode clearly wasn't interested in this sort of thing.

He didn't mind bringing along one more person, as long as they didn't cause trouble. So he merely gave a slight nod without saying anything.

"Fine, then. We'll meet at the town gate in fifteen minutes. If you don't show up, it's not my problem."

Since Rhode wasn't going to make an issue of it, Mace had no choice but to agree, albeit reluctantly.

"Don't worry. We'll be there."

Fifteen minutes wasn't long, but Lize was the first to arrive.

"Ah, Mr. Rhode, Mr. Mace!"

Carrying a travel bag, Lize ran toward them with a cheerful smile.

Lize's voice was light and lively, perhaps because of her youthful nature. Even when she stood quietly in front of you, she gave off a very bright and vivacious impression, and the way she spoke fit that image. Rhode didn't dislike the girl. In fact, he knew that a mood-lifter like her was sometimes indispensable to a team. As a former player guild leader, Rhode knew just how important it was to have a team with good chemistry. Besides, mercenaries and players did much the same things in some ways: taking missions, adventuring, searching, and fighting. All of that took a great deal of time and energy, and without a good outlet to relieve the tension, internal problems could arise. Looking at the blond girl before him, Rhode couldn't help thinking of a female mage from his old team named Canary. She was not only highly skilled, but true to her name, she chattered constantly like a canary, often telling everyone jokes or stories about things that had happened to her. She had an exaggerated way of speaking, and even ordinary little things became hilarious when she told them. Back then, they were trying to conquer Deadman's Graveyard, and the pressure was intense. Whenever it got to be too much, Rhode would prompt the adorable little mage to tell them if anything interesting had happened recently. After she shared one or two stories, everyone would have a good laugh, the pressure would quickly fade, and they could get back to conquering the graveyard with renewed energy. Many teams with higher levels and better equipment eventually fell apart because the process took too long and the difficulty was too high. Besides, online games were just games, not real life, and many people had plenty of pressure in reality, too. Naturally, they didn't want to suffer in their games as well. Quite a few people on Rhode's team had their own problems, but that didn't drive them away from the game. On the contrary, they logged on every day right on time just to hear the adorable little mage crack jokes and help them relax. It made them feel as though some of their burdens had been lifted. And in that state, they eventually seized control of Deadman's Graveyard. The little mage might not have been one of the strongest members of the team, but in another way, she was indispensable.

Of course, although the girl before him also had a lively air about her, she wasn't particularly talkative or restless. She knew how to behave, and all it took was seeing her smile to make people feel more relaxed.

"I'm all ready. Are we setting off now?"

"We'll wait a little longer. Someone else is joining us along the way."

"Joining us?"

Lize tilted her head curiously, her golden ponytail swaying with it. But she didn't ask any more questions. Instead, she reached into her pocket and took out a black cloak.

"Um... Mr. Rhode?"

"What is it?"

"Here, please take this."

As she spoke, a faint blush appeared on Lize's fair, lovely face. Then she lowered her head and held out the cloak.

"This is..."

Rhode stared at the cloak before him, momentarily taken aback.

"Well... the wind in the mountains is strong, and it gets very cold at night. Your wound hasn't healed yet, and if you catch a chill... you could get sick, which would be bad for your health. So... I bought a cloak to keep you warm. It's made from mountain deer hide, so it's breathable and very comfortable. Please take it..."

Lize kept her head lowered, so Rhode couldn't see her expression, but he still noticed the slight tremble in her voice. He didn't say anything, though. He simply reached out and accepted the cloak.

"Thank you for thinking of me."

"It was the least I could do."

Lize looked up with a relieved smile. Her bright, radiant expression made the fat merchant beside them stare in surprise. He'd spent more time around the girl than Rhode had, and he'd never seen her make that expression before. But...

The fat merchant's eyes shifted from Lize to Rhode, then back to her, his gaze meaningful.

Well, this might actually turn out to be a good thing.

Just as the fat merchant was about to enjoy a few more moments of the show, a shrill, clear voice suddenly rang out.

"Who's the bastard who stole this young lady's carriage!?"