"That felt good!" Jane said after they left the hot springs.
Arthur looked at her and asked, "the bath or the sex?"
She giggled at it and said," both, you silly."
In the hallway, after they left the hot spring room and walked a little further into where the other rooms were, the three adventurers Arthur was looking for appeared!
They were also there to enjoy the hot spring, and it was all but a fantastic coincidence, as it would make Arthur's life easier.
Nykka was chatting with Tarinne while walking, looking at her face, but then she noticed Tarinne staring at something in front of them, so she turned around to gaze at the same thing and saw Arthur!
She never believed they would meet so soon, especially in a place like that.
"Arthur! What a surprise. How is it going?" Nykka said.
Arthur rejoiced with their sight and said, smiling, "pretty good. Also, I need to talk with you three in private."
He went directly to the matter, not wanting to lose time with foolish words.
"Talk with us? May I ask the subject?"
"Your Guild."
It caught Nykka's interest, so she agreed to speak with him, and seeing how they had just arrived for a bath, Arthur decided to leave first and agreed to meet in the small restaurant not that far from the hot springs.
The place was made of black wood, had two stories, and had a balcony where people could sit and see the nearby lake. There were also many trees around it, so the sound of birds singing and the atmosphere turned the place into something peaceful.
"I want a table for six, please," Arthur asked the restaurant attendant.
She was surprised, as people often preferred their restaurant for romantic dinners, so it had fewer clients, primarily couples.
"Follow me, please."
The attendant brought them to the second floor of the building, and there was no table for six, but the attendant mixed a few smaller tables and made a bigger one. Arthur was not angry, as the restaurant was not meant for a family dinner.
Also, the table was on the balcony, so it was even better! "Beautiful," Arthur said, looking at the lake from a privileged position.
The attendant asked if they wanted food, but Arthur dismissed them, saying they were waiting for the others to come. Arthur, Jane, and Wisa waited at that table for thirty minutes before Nykka, Tarinne, and Yeva came.
"Sorry for keeping you waiting," Nykka said, sitting on one of the chairs.
"Don't worry about it. So, do you want to eat first, or should I get straight into business?"
"Eat."
"Eat."
"Eat."
"Eat."
"Eat."
All five girls present said the same thing, surprising Arthur. "Ok, I will go get us the menu."
Arthur left the table, grabbed the menu with one of the people working in the restaurant, and they decided what to eat. Arthur and his wives did not know some of the food on the menu but decided to follow what Nykka and the others ordered.
The table went from empty to bursting with food without a single spot without a plate on it.
Nykka bit a chicken leg like a starved beast and said, "so, what do you want to talk about?"
"Well, it is like this…."
He then explained everything in the Coldharbour family and discussed the problem of various vampire families looking for the same treasure, one which belonged to the Coldharbour family.
"So you want me to keep an eye on the new tasks of the guild to see if there is anything related to these vampires?"
"Yes, that is correct."
"I will do it, but with one condition."
Of course, there were always conditions in situations like that, so it did not surprise Arthur.
"Go on."
"I will have to accept the task so I can read more information about it, and if I accept it, I have to finish it. Get the point?"
Arthur was not stupid, so he said, "you three want to come with us, right? Well, you can, but it will be dangerous."
"We can handle it."
Their discussion ended in friendly terms, and now Nykka, Tarinne, and Yeva would keep an eye on all the new tasks arriving in the Adventurers Guild to see if there was something about the strange vampire movements.
After that, all of them parted ways, with Arthur and his wives going into a particular store responsible for selling and renting properties.
Why? Who knows how long it will take for a task containing information about the vampires to appear in the Adventurers Guild? Arthur was not staying in an inn all this time, as he also needed to train in a decent place, so the best option was to rent a house.
Rent would be way less expensive than buying the whole thing, and he was not planning on staying in the capital for that long, at least not for now, but maybe in the future.
They spent the night hours looking for decent houses until morning came, with the sun brightening up the surroundings and all the workers waking up to deal with their daily affairs.
After that much time, they finally found the perfect house to rent! It was spacious but not to the point of uselessly immense — only three people would live there, after all.
But what caught Arthur's attention was how well protected the house was, with magical formations that would make even him take a long time to crack, and the exceptional facilities within the house, which was a laboratory for experiments, a magical blacksmithing room, an alchemy room, and finally, an enchanting room.
It had everything Arthur needed, but the thing he wished for the most was the alchemy room! Now was the perfect time to settle down for a while and improve his skills.
"Beautiful place, this is. Husband, are you leaving?" Wisa asked when she noticed Arthur leaving after seeing the house.
"Yes. I will pass by the ingredient shop and buy supplies for my alchemy potions. Wisa, Jane, can you check the special mark to see if Sybille is okay?"
"Of course."
Arthur then left his newly acquired house, looking for a shop that sells ingredients. It was not that hard to find, as the capital had everything one could wish for.
"Don's Magical Herbs," Arthur read the sign in front of the store.
He had no idea if it was a decent shop, but it had to be, right?
~~~~
"I saw him entering an ingredient shop."
"Really? Is he an alchemist, then?"
"That is obvious. Why else would he go there? Are you stupid?"
"Shut up, you two. We have some information that he is the beast behind the attack of the Lycan's lair and, more importantly, the human settlement."
"But boss, he looks so normal and young, like a normal youth. Whatever did those things was a mad beast!"
"That's what makes him dangerous! He is a beast hidden among the people. So, what's his level of strength?"
"Rank three as well, just like us! It will be three versus one, so this is a fight we will win for sure."
"Hum. Let us first wait for an opportunity."