34 Complications

<<You can't be serious.>>

Sturm felt the situation unnecessarily complicating. Why did it have to be like this? The Mercenary Association was very influential and known to regard their appraisers highly. Finding trouble with a three-star appraiser would be the same as challenging the entire local branch. One Ear would be avenged, no matter what, but this was another variable they really did not need.

"I see you caught a lot of those pesty grassfoxes, as expected of my brother's savior. They have been terrorizing our supply lines lately, and we even thought of burning down all of the high grass fields, but that option is only under consideration for now. The extermination of 27 grassfoxes is a significant contribution, so what do you think if I doubled your rewards?"

The appraiser kept praising Reinhard. Doubling their rewards would result in a handsome sum. Bounties were calculated with the monster tier multiplied by a factor of 100. So a Tier 3 Bronze grassfox would reward three silver per proof of kill, while a Tier 10 Bronze demonback gorilla would yield a gold.

Usually, their reward for 27 grassfoxes would be 81 silver, but with the Mercenary Association doubling it, the final amount would be 1 gold and 62 silver. A little above one and a half gold may sound like it was little, but ordinary mercenaries would only earn that in a year. Receiving that for one hunt was simply outrageous.

Sturm wanted to get up and decline, but an iron grip on his shoulder pressed him deep into the sofa.

"We do not dare to receive such a reward for the simple act of escorting a fellow merchant. As you probably already found out, we work for Edgar. Your brother Sebastian already compensated us appropriately. This is enough for us." Reinhardt turned the offer down.

The appraiser nodded. "Yes, the Thunder Merchant Group, isn't it? I heard the Sirens are causing you some trouble. While I cannot force them to stop their takeover of Edgar's clients in the slave camp, I will ask them not to interfere with your business in Dagger's Rock Town. Take it as an additional reward."

The Siren Song Merchants were the most influential merchant group on Dagger's Rock Island. What the three-star appraiser was offering was not a small favor. Apart from the Mercenary Association, probably only the Overseer and the town Mayor would be able to influence the Sirens' decisions.

Merchants were inherently greedy, and it was indeed a possibility that the Thunder Merchant would be suppressed as soon as their business started making a profit. Edgar had proven to have a knack for niche markets, and the Siren Song Merchants would certainly pay increased attention to him. With a three-star appraiser's backing, unless the missed profits were so high that it was enough to risk offending the Mercenary Association, the Sirens would stay still.

It was not an opportunity Reinhardt could let slip by. He received the bounty in the form of two leather pouches and sincerely thanked the appraiser. "In the name of the Thunder Merchants, I thank you."

"Good, good. This is how it is supposed to be. I still think my brother's life is worth more than what I have given you, so should you ever require help, just ask at one of our counters for Geronimo."

With this, their visit to the Mercenary Association branch concluded. They left the building almost two gold richer, and that was not even their biggest reward. Meeting up with Edgar was the top priority now; they had to make sense of this mess. Reinhardt had been worried about Sturm during the entire meeting. If only Sebastian, that wretched merchant, had not killed One Ear, then they would find themselves in a superb position.

What Reinhardt did not know was that Sturm could control himself. Yes, he was fuming and wanted nothing more than slap Sebastian's face repeatedly, but his brother had done them no wrong yet. He had no reason to hold him responsible for his brother's crime. Sturm simply did not want to be rewarded for helping that scum. Even though it was irrational, he felt like he was using his friend's death for his own gains.

When they arrived at Edgar's house, the sun was already falling, and the merchant was nowhere to be seen. He had told Reinhardt he would be meeting Tibron to renew their Gintseng stock, which had slowly been running out. It had been showing excellent results with Sturm, so he decided he had to get more at all costs. If there was someone who could supply more of it, then it was the man controlling the local black market. A man as resourceful as Tibron would certainly keep a good part of the most valuable goods to himself.

Before the guard captain and the apprentice could worry, Edgar arrived with a crate. His expression weary, and with dark circles under his eyes, he dropped the crate on the ground and let himself fall onto a chair.

"Reinhardt, go get the crate for me. I managed to get the goods, but damn, does Tibron drive a hard bargain. Our negotiations started just an hour after Sturm's morning lessons, and we just came to an agreement half an hour ago, can you imagine? Anyway, on my way back, I heard some rumors about a giant mercenary carrying a giant bag full of dead grassfoxes. You don't happen to know something about that, do you?"

Reinhardt recounted their day from the moment they left the town until they left the Merchant Association, astonishing the merchant by the things they had been through in just a few hours. Edgar deeply frowned when he heard about Sebastian and how the man was responsible for One Ear's death. If not for his tendency to blabber nonstop, maybe, just maybe, Edgar would have considered buying the combat slave's freedom as well. Exceptions confirm the rule, after all.

The deep frown changed to shock when he heard that Sebastian was a three-star appraiser's brother. Sebastian was not unknown to him; the man was known for being a wastrel. His father had built up a chain of general goods stores, and Sebastian inherited them.

As the store supervisors were still loyal to Sebastians' family, the stores required no attention nor intervention from the heir, allowing him to run wild and seek excitement wherever he could.

Edgar had always assumed Sebastian to be the oldest son or an only child. Why else would he be publicly known as the heir? It was no wonder the supervisors did not dare to desire the stores. No one without sufficient power would oppose a three-star appraiser.

"Before anything else, let me say this. Do not, and I repeat, do not attack Sebastian inside the town. We are in no position to handle the consequences of such acts. Luckily, the wastrel is known for seeking adventure, which more often than not involves danger. The little grassfox hunt will not be his last escapade. We will wait for him to leave the town again, and that is when we will strike," the merchant explained.

It was great news for Sturm that Edgar agreed to take revenge for Haktruk. If the merchant refused to move, Sturm would lose some of the trust he built up. Yes, profits were important, and One Ear had only been an acquaintance, but he had also been one of them in a certain kind of way. It showed Edgar valued loyalty, and if he went this far for One Ear, then how far would he go for Sturm?

Even though Reinhardt disagreed with taking revenge since there would be nothing to gain and everything to lose, he still appreciated their sentiments. He promised to listen around to find out when Sebastian would leave the town again. Agreement or disagreement, they were in this together.

The young moneybags loved attention. It would not be difficult to find information on his next adventure. News traveled quickly, and mercenaries often had nothing better to do than discuss the latest gossip.

"Alright, no matter how much we lament One Ear's passing, we have to take care of ourselves as well. You two should use the bounty you earned to upgrade your equipment. You have proven that you are capable of taking care of yourselves, so I will forget about you breaking your promise to only hunt Tier 1 Beasts. As long as you promise me to stay vigilant and not let any accidents befall you, you have my blessings to keep hunting magic beasts. Just do not take any unnecessary risks!" said Edgar before turning around, looking Sturm in the eyes.

"Sturm, I know you enjoy fighting more than anything else, but I expect you to keep up your studies and work in the store upon our opening. I am also working on something special, and I know you know what I am talking about. More research is needed before I can teach you what I learned. Just keep consuming the Gintseng every day and give me a few more years. Alright, it is late already, time to go to bed. I will see you tomorrow morning."

Sturm looked excitedly at the merchant who was dragging himself up the stairs towards his bedroom, while Reinhardt looked deep in thoughts.

<<I wonder what they were referring to? No matter, I guess I will find out eventually. With almost two gold, what should we get ourselves to facilitate our hunts? Hm… >>