Four days later…
Vicente and Rory had spent the last few days negotiating with local business owners like Zander and gathering information from Aaron about the Irwin family.
In relation to his business, he had tried to contact three other small local taverns, a type of establishment that tended to have problems due to the type of product they traded. But Vicente and Rory had not been so successful. They were only able to get one new deal. .𝘤𝘰𝑚
At this point, six men from their group were already working in two local taverns and had even started to get involved with troublemakers.
As for the Irwin family, Aaron had promised that he would be able to arrange a meeting for Vicente and Rory to meet with people from that family to talk business. But it would take a few days before that could happen.
Someone like Aaron would have to move several subordinates around until he could get a meeting with a Baron.
As low as it was, the title of Baron was still the title of a noble, someone much rarer to find in the kingdom than people with Green-grade talent.
But Aaron had his contacts and made sure that Vicente and Rory would meet this family later this month.
After that, Aaron would have nothing more to do for them, so he was determined to get this done and get rid of the agreement with these young people.
Meanwhile, Nina and Eve lived quietly in this town, slowly getting to know the area while Vicente’s other men continued their investigation into the three blacksmiths Lukas had mentioned.
…
At Zander’s tavern, the place was bustling as usual around noon.
Taverns were trendy places in this society. Not only did they offer a variety of food from early in the day to late at night, but they were also places where ordinary or less wealthy people could get beverages without spending too much.
Some taverns were so successful with some of their drinks that they attracted even wealthy people.
When one mixes alcohol, people from different backgrounds, and relatively large crowds throughout the day, problems naturally arise in places like these!
But River and Zander’s regular clients noticed something different about this place, even at peak times.
Three strange men, one standing at the door, one at the only bathroom, and one at the bar, had been working there for the past few days.
But those closest to the place already knew who these people were, as they had already acted on at least three different occasions.
In particular, the night before, an agitated young man, known in this area of the city for his fights and arrogant attitude, had been beaten up by the three guards of the tavern!
Some of the customers there at the time had seen this incident and witnessed the young man being deprived by these men of all his belongings, including his clothes.
Knowing the new rules of the tavern, which River had written at the entrance to warn his customers not to lose control in this establishment, many there felt a little uncomfortable.
“Did you see what happened yesterday?” An old man with a huge mug in his hands asked the person next to him at one of the tables inside the tavern.
In this dimly lit place, a bit gloomy for the time of day, the person next to that old man continued with a sober expression on his face and said, “Hmm, it was right over there.” He motioned his head toward the entrance where the young man had been beaten.
“Right there, those three beat him until he passed out…
Why are River and Zander doing that? Don’t they know what kind of trouble they’ll get into? Man, I like their beer. I don’t want them to get killed for it.”
“Sigh… I don’t get it, either. Things are the way they are. Can’t they just continue with their old ways? I think it’s enough not to care about those who make a fuss,” said the old man to his drinking companion.
But there were satisfied customers. Not all of them were thinking of the worst that could happen, and they liked the chance to eat in peace.
‘Tsk! Old fools always think of doing the same old thing.’ One of River’s young customers thought to himself, smiling as he cut the steak on his plate.
How many times had he not lost his food because of the lack of respect and order in this place?
Unfortunately, he couldn’t afford anything better or more organized, and this was the tavern with the best discount for the quality of the food.
The food of the two brothers was delicious!
This young man and others there preferred things as they were now, quieter and more predictable.
But not everyone knew what Vicente’s people were doing, and some bandits didn’t even care. Their “job” was to steal, and those guards would not stop them from acting for their own good!
A young man of about 22 years old, an Intermediate Apprentice, who was standing at the bar, where the counter was, looked from side to side and put one of his hands into one of the pockets of a customer there.
When he felt the man’s bag of coins, he smiled, tucked it into his clothes, and casually walked away as if nothing had happened.
But then a hand pressed hard on his shoulder. “Stealing? Brat, I’ll break your leg and take your stuff as punishment!”
Gulp!
After saying that, Vicente’s subordinate, a Senior Apprentice, moved one of his fists hard and swung it at the little rat’s stomach.
A second later…
Pow!
“Aaaaaagh!” A scream came from the young thief’s mouth before he felt a powerful attack on his right leg.
“AAAAAGH!”
In an instant, several people in the surrounding area turned their attention to the young man, noticing his leg strangely bent as he screamed in agony.
As comments poured in, the guard quickly gathered this person’s things, leaving him naked for all to see his little friend.
But just then, a scream drew everyone’s attention away from the young thief. “Uncle, it was this place! This is where I was beaten and robbed yesterday afternoon!”
Hearing these words from outside the tavern, several people there looked toward the entrance, some recognizing the voice of the young man who had suffered the punishment of these guards before the young bandit now in agony.
Vicente’s three men looked towards the entrance of this place and saw the young man they had stopped from causing trouble the day before coming there next to two muscular men dressed in armor.
They had ugly looks on their faces, with grimaces that would easily frighten children.
Their fists were clenched, and their lips pressed together as they stood one step behind the young Intermediate Apprentice.
“Who beat up my dear nephew? Who dared?” The strongest of these men shouted loudly, silencing everyone in the vicinity of this establishment.