Chapter 85 Invitation



"Well, at least I was able to kill them all quietly. Now, let's clean them up." Letting out a sigh of relief, Fiain brought the corpse to a room where the other four were piled up together. 

'I have to wipe the blood stains away, but if I did that, I wouldn't have the time to remove those bodies away from this place.' Fiain contemplated deeply as she started having headaches from the dead bodies.

Suddenly, an idea came to her mind, making her eyes brighten. 'Yes, I can do that.'

Fiain quickly dashed toward the corner of the hallway and arrived before a door that had loud snorts coming out of it. She gave a few knocks, and in a matter of seconds, a Raum opened the door.

It had no armor on its body. It yawned, opening its big mouth and scratching its back. After its eyes started to get clear, it appeared stoked to see the person before it.

Raum quickly went to call its companion, as it didn't want Fiain to feel they were slacking. "Gr-!"

"Shhh!" But Fiain stopped it before it could make any kind of noise. She whispered softly to the Raum. "I have a few snacks prepared for you in the room beside the storage. Wake up your buddies and quietly finish them. Do not leave any kind of evidence that you did anything there."

The Raum nodded enthusiastically, as its sleep was gone now, thinking of the snack Fiain was talking about.

Fiain then left to wipe the blood stains away in a hurry.

The Raum quickly woke its teammates up and informed them about what Fiain told them. They also became enthusiastic and quickly went to their destined room.

The night slowly passed as everyone was still in their deep sleep. But in Benimaru's shop, one could hear the sound of rags rubbing against the walls and floors. If one went even deeper, they could hear the sound of bones getting crushed, meat getting chewed, and the sound of continuous gulping of a certain fluid.

…

"Good morning." Ravenna turned her head, greeting Benimaru, who just came down the stairs, while turning the sign that says - Open.

"Good morning, Ravenna." Benimaru greeted her back. Then he shifted his focus to Fiain, who was already standing in her position. "Good morning, Fiain."

Fiain said it with a small bow. "Good morning, Lord."

Benimaru just smiled and stood in his position. But after a while, Benimaru felt a bit bored. "You did great, Fiain."

Fiain instantly became stumped before recomposing herself. "For what, lord?" 

"For last night. What? Did you think I wouldn't know after you made such a ruckus?" Benimaru teased Fiain, raising his eyebrows.

"Uh…" Fiain was out of words, not knowing what to say. But after thinking for a while, she decided to admit it, as it wouldn't do her any good to lie. "I am sorry, my lord." 

"It's okay." Benimaru waved his hand, shrugging such stuff off.

Fiain hesitated a little before curiously asking. "Lord, when did you find out?"

"The moment you left the room." Benimaru pointed his finger at Fiain and explained. "I keep my eyes on everyone. So when you left your room so deep into the night, I grew suspicious. And sure, you didn't disappoint me."

Benimaru had his mana senses on them every time, just not in their room but outside of it. 

"I see." Fiain said with a sigh, frustrated that she failed to achieve her goal.

"Wow, you found out so early!" Suddenly, Ravenna butted into their conversation. "I only found out after she cut that girl's throat." 

Fiain looked at Raveena dumbfoundedly. "You too?"

"Yes, you might escape my clutches by doing anything except when it involves blood." Ravenna spoke proudly.

However, ignoring her prideful words, Benimaru asked with doubt. "What were you doing before that? Don't tell me you were sleeping?"

"Yes. What is wrong with that?" Ravenna pouted and started preaching him. "Just because we don't sleep doesn't mean we shouldn't. I heard from others that sleep is essential for girls, it is necessary for their health, figure, and skin."

"Yeah.…you are right." Benimaru couldn't do anything but just agree with her, as he already knew who these "others" were.

Tringg!

Suddenly, their entrance bell rang, announcing the arrival of their customers. "Well, we will talk later. Let's go back to work."

They quickly obliged with Benimaru's words and returned to their post.

While working, Benimaru thought. 'I didn't expect these first days here to be so eventful. Well, as long as we are safe, it is okay. But…'

All of a sudden, Benimaru's face darkened. 'The ones who sent those guys to infiltrate my place…don't let me find you.'

However, Benimaru didn't show his anger outside; with a neutral face, he exchanged with his customers.

…

All Peoples Shop, second floor.

"I see, so they failed." Okarino tapped his fingers on the desk after listening to the guard's report.

"Yes, sir. There was no sign of them after they left to go on stealing the Heaven's High shop. We have searched and found out that they had not left the city after stealing, as all of their wealth is still at their home. It is as if they have disappeared from the face of this world." The guard further explained why he felt the thieves had failed.

"You may leave now." Okarino ordered it after he was done with the report.

The guard left before giving a bow to Okarino. 

Once again, Okarino was left alone in his office, silently contemplating. 'This is giving me such a headache. I thought this would be an easy task, but it looks like there are more layers to it. I can't even go and kill them, as I am not sure if they are one-hit killable. It might backfire and alarm Baron Arash instead.'

"Huh~" Okarino let out a frustrated sigh. "I hate undercover missions so much."

…

Time passed by like a flowing river.

Three weeks went by in the blink of an eye, and in that time, many changes could be seen in this city.

Migotanie City, which only had a low influx of people and mostly empty streets, has now become a bustling hub. Adventurers, royals, and merchants from the surroundings came here to experience or for their own benefit. 

This brought a big smile to Benimaru's face, as he could see his cashbox glittering every day. But it also gave him a headache as the adventurers had to delve deep into the forest to hunt because there were too many people. It made him abandon his castle—the place where it all started—and go to another place and start a new one. 

Now, Benimaru's castle was deep in the forest, just hugging the last border of the territory under his control. However, it still raised his concern about the worst outcome, which was getting besieged by a couple of adventurers. 

But he couldn't worry about that as he had more pressing matters on his mind. 

"Did you get everything I said? Do not try to get into any kind of conflict while I am away." Benimaru said this to his entire shop's members, gathering them in one place. 

"Yes, My Lord." All of them replied in unison.

"Good. I am off to Baron's Place now." Benimaru left the shop, waving his hand at them. Just as he exited through the door, he was met with a simple carriage that had a few cityguards around it. 

One of them noticed Benimaru and spoke to him respectfully. "Sir, this way. We will directly escort you to Lord Arash's place." 

Benimaru nodded back with a smile and didn't give any reply. He embarked on it and headed to Arash's castle, watching the street view through the window.

Benimaru had built up quite a reputation. His items have become this city's famous place, as many can't miss buying from him. This had brought the attention of the baron, who now wanted to have some chat with him and some other emerging shop owners.

'Is he inviting all of us to inspect our motives and backgrounds, or does he just want to make a giant order? But why would he do that? There isn't any crisis happening in this city, and the budget isn't even enough.' Benimaru pondered, glancing at the bustling streets.

'Whatever it might be. I can't let him find out anything about me. Also, I didn't even imagine I would be meeting with Ana's other father this fast.' Benimaru thought with melancholy. 

After a couple of minutes, Benimaru's carriage finally stopped.

"Sir, we have arrived." The driver looked behind him and informed Benimaru. 

Because the commercial district was very close to the baron's castle, it didn't take much time. If not, it would have taken him much more time with how heavy the traffic was.

Benimaru stepped outside his carriage, and his eyes met with the grandiose castle of Baron Arash. 'Now mine feels like a cheap one from a dollar store.'