NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 24: Commission
“Lady Eli! Are you okay?” Alicia ran and hugged me, her breathing ragged. “D-d-did you?”
“I am fine. I had to— I had to…” My breathing was ragged with excitement. The thrill of kill or be killed blanked my mind. I turned toward Alicia with my coercion at full force. She took a step back but kept moving forward and hugged me back.
“It’s fine. I know. I know. I am sorry,” Alicia apologized. Her hands trembled, but she still hugged me with care. Why was she apologizing? It should be me who apologized for being a psycho killer. This guy was already harmless when Alicia’s spell hit him, and I killed him for fun. Now that he is dead, I couldn’t get any information on who commissioned that quest.
We made a lot of ruckus just now. The inn was almost demolished, and all of the few residents here woke up with farmer tools in their hands, thinking we were attacked by bandits or there had been some major accident. Those buckets and spades were useful for putting out the flames Alicia brought, though.
“Alicia, may we ask what transpired in our peaceful village late in the night?” a village elder came forward. I was a bit irked when they asked for Alicia and not me, the actual noble. But I am pretty tired tonight and let her do all the talking. The excitement from killing still lingered. I was sure to scare them out of their minds if I were to talk to them face to face.
“Someone attacked us, either trying to kill us or kidnap us,” Alicia said.
“They killed our guards too, Bobby and Nolah,” I mumbled on her breast. Alicia hugged me tightly to prevent me from seeing the villagers. Blood was smeared on her white maid uniform as my face and hands, still coated in blood, touched her.
As soon as the second arrow almost killed me, I killed the lights and went downstairs, but I stopped in my tracks on the stairs when a hulking man barged through the door like an orc. I then used my stealth and spied from the stairs as my knights sprung awake. However, despite them being one of my elite knights, they were trounced and killed.
Then, I went back with Alicia and informed her about what was happening. I planned to ambush them using my usual combination of illusion and dagger. I killed one of them, but Alicia wanted to be of use and proposed that she launch a fire cannon from the farthest room. The plan worked wonders, and the assailants fled with tails tucked behind their legs.
Instead of letting them go, I chased them. Blood filled the air as I lost control of my body. I wanted to kill them; my excitement overpowered me. I planned to trail them using the magic marker I left on them. However, they didn't flee too far. They were waiting in the woods, just a few tens of meters behind the inn. I smiled in glee at them as fellow predators. They were reapers, alright. They were hunting, just like me.
I challenged them to a frontal fight. I didn't know where I got the confidence from, but somehow, I believed I could win. Using my skills, I fought them to a stalemate. When I planned for an all-out strike, I heard Alicia's scream and fled at once. Alicia was the star tonight. I was too tired. I couldn't deal the finishing blow. The heat from the explosion was felt on my body even though I hid behind a fence.
And thus, feeling a little annoyed at Alicia, who stole my kill, I performed a coup de grace on the remaining reaper. The kill was still on me. I rejoiced at the fact I reaped another life. Alicia then talked to the remaining villagers while still hugging me along the way. After I felt calm enough, I detached myself from her and spectated the meeting. The village elder discussed how we should proceed when my knights were dead. Should I charge through with my carriage and driver alone? Or should they use a horse from the carriage to bring a message to my family and ask for reinforcements?
Ultimately, Alicia chose to stay in the village. She reasoned that it would take less than a day to travel back and forth here with a horse. Meanwhile, the carriage would still need two days to reach my city. They also regretfully left a message to my family to recompense the destroyed inn. I nodded since I knew if the inn was not fixed, a lot of travelers would suffer.
Zach, my brother, personally rode his horse with over forty horsemen to our village late in the afternoon. After inspecting the corpses, he shook his head and bowed down to his fallen comrade as a sign of honor. He then left five soldiers here and asked us to ride with him. At night, we reached the city and our mansion.
"Good job surviving that! They aren't our sharpest tools in the shed. But surviving an assault as a rookie reaper was admirable. Oh yeah! You survived not once! But twice! That's not luck anymore, Hahaha!" R4 was laughing in glee at my report. I didn't comment on him. I felt tired and simply wanted to sleep.
"Is that all? I wanted to sleep."
"Oh yeah! Your operator is finally here! Greet your new operator. Call him R25B."
"What's that?"
"Each operator was assigned up to forty reapers. That's why they have different numbers. R25B, say hello."
"Greetings R666. I am operator R25B. Nice to meet you. I need to tell you that Elidranthia's kill commission is now 120p. "
"Ehh, it increased?!"
"Hmm. I will try to ask a guildmaster. Your case is a bit unique. Usually, we do not approve a bounty on law-abiding guild members. However, your revenge commission was up there because you killed our reaper as Elidranthia.
"Moreover, due to self-defense guild law, you will take points from your reaper opponent. Your points are now 25P. They are piss poor. Too bad you couldn't recover their magic tools. It should add a bit more." R25B was annoyed at how small the points were. "R4! Number 400 something should at least have 200 points, right? They have been in this business for more than a year!"
"Well, not all of us have finance acumen as well as our killing skills. Alright, 25B, do your thing. I shall leave now."
"bye-bye, R4. Now, R666, will you look at a new mission? We have a scouting mission in County Shadowstep for 40 points and scouting the neighboring kingdom for 50 points. Ah, your father commissioned this one! The other is from the military! Will you take it? You have newbie protection. For a month, you will be exempted from any penalty for a failed commission."
"Sure. What is the commission about?"
"If you choose to take on the commission, a Kamera will be provided. Your father wanted to know if there were any important resources in the jungle. He was reluctant to send any knights since that will rouse the monsters."
"What about the other one?"
"The other one is a scouting mission to the Elderan Empire. If you cross the jungle, you will reach the frontier region. They want to know how things are going there."
"You know I am just a 12-year-old child, right? These missions seem like they could take weeks."
"For the jungle, yes. But you could always take the time to map the forest. You would stay there for a month, right? You could simply sneak out every night. Meanwhile, for the neighboring country, hmm… your points will decrease a lot. But it will still be a pass. You could simply use a horse to ride to the neighboring country, take a picture, and then come back. It would only take a single night." 25B said as he pondered.
"The rewards are rather low, huh?"
"Yeah, your father is a cheapskate. The military, too. No wonder no one took it." My eyes widened at his insolence.
"Sorry, but we are in debt! Stop berating my father!"
"Well, he is a new customer. I wonder if he knew his daughter is in a criminal organization, lol." He giggled.
"I am going to kill you!" I raged, trying to intimidate him as much as possible.
"Whoa! Sorry there, miss. It was just a friendly banter. I will literally lose my head if I leak the identity of a reaper. This is an absolute rule. Damn! Stop being such a scary bitch. Cool down a little and act more cute. You are only 12 years old, right? I thought R4 was a lolicon when he brought you to our guild. Hahaha. WAAH!!" His laugh was soon followed by a scream as Edwal's voice was heard in the background.
"Listen here, new guy. Even walls have ears in this kind of business. Keep your mouth shut if you want to live long. By the way, we will have periodic meetings. You can complain about your operator there, R666."
"I want to speak with the manager!" I said, sounding like Karen.
"Whoa, are you that annoying customer? Why is a person like you always following me everywhere!? If you complain to the guildmaster about this, you will make me get fired!"
"Alright, R666 and 25B, both of you are new. So, I will make this clear. Talking about private life is not recommended when on business. Talking about personal identity is forbidden. If somebody heard that speech, R25B, you would get a reprimand."
"But we are inside HQ!" R25B argued with him.
"That's why you are still greenhorns! Not all reapers are your friends!"
"You may continue your fights. However, may I sleep? It has been a very tiring day."
"Of course, R666. Good night." R4 said, and I closed the call. When I returned the clips to the card, I immediately drifted back to sleep.
"Father! What is the meaning of this!" I stormed into my father's office. Bobby and Nolah, two of my knights, died. Eli has been attacked for the second time. I just found out who the culprit is. And yet, instead of rallying the soldiers, we let them be? Moreover, Father tried to butter them up?
"We simply could not win against them with brute strength. You will be married in three months. Do you want to die? Moreover, they are recommended by Duke Bron, your fiance's family."
"You will sacrifice your own daughter?"
"They said that they would remove Eli's kill commission."
"Yes. That is correct, milord. Elidranthia's kill quest has been removed." A shadow came through the wall and formed itself into a man. I wanted to draw my sword, but Father forbade it. "We apologize for the inconvenience. Let me introduce myself. I am Handler 315. H315 for short."
"It is not I, but you who picked a fight first."
"Let me clarify that it was your Elidranthia who picked a fight first. She killed one of our members, after all."
"Oh yeah? The bandits who ransacked our county and tried to kidnap our mages? Do I need to mention the fact that your bandits wanted to kidnap my sister, too?"
"Yes. Well, as you said, the fault lies with us. We apologize. But the fact remains that someone wanted you dead. We never act on ourselves. Someone must have made that commission. Does anyone ring a bell?"
"Damn it. Those debt collectors!"
"That's why, Zach, we could not openly fight with these guys. We are new nobles. This is how nobles in the empire act."
"War will be too costly for both of us. We have headquarters everywhere. Do you seriously want to wage war with every duchy, earldom, and county?"
"Damn it." I had to admit, he was right. We could simply avoid them, but then others who used their service would still be able to harass us.
"How could I trust that you removed Elidranthia's kill quest? Those debt collectors could simply put the quest back, couldn't they?"
"Indeed. If that was the case, you could simply commission us to protect your precious sister."
"Huh?" I blanked out. This organization willingly turned on itself?
"We side with no one. The one who took the quest will be responsible. Whether the reapers die or live, it is up to them," he answered.
"How could we trust you when you so willingly put a contradicted commission?"
"Most new clients do say that. Hehehe," he chuckled. "But that is simply how we work. If you have no other business, we shall take our leave."
"Wait. I want to test your service," Father said while putting 100 gold coins on the table. It was a ridiculous amount for our small county, worth about 5 years of an average person's salary. It was his savings for Eli's tuition. However, since she became a mage, he assumed she would not need it anymore. "Send a reaper to scout the forest. Tell me if they find any treasures or something worth more."
"Commission confirmed. If we fail, we shall return your money. I shall send a suitable reaper to map the forest. If we do find a treasure, we will speak back to you. If we don't, we shall send you a complete map of the forest."
The men then blended back into the wall. A week later, we received a report. These guys worked fast. That forest was not something any average human could traverse. Father was right not to pick a fight with them. R666 huh? What an ominous number.