Translator: La0o9 Editor: La0o9
Augustin followed Grosk along the main road of the town. The Grace of Understanding he received from the Lord allowed him to accurately sense that there were quite a few people staring at him.
Part of them were staring at him with wicked thoughts simply because of his handsome face, others were purely monitoring him.
âExplain to me a bit about the two peopleâ Augustin didnât pay much attention to the stares from around him and asked Grosk.
âAh, okâ Grosk was stunned briefly before he continued: âThe first one is called Jason Todd, a mercenary. Heâs a cruel bastard, but one that keeps his words. He has only been in Reya for a year, I heard that he has been searching for the culprit that murdered his familyâ
âThe other is a hitman with a weird personality, all I know is that heâs called Jack. Every once in a while, heâll come out looking for some business, according to him, as long as the price is right... heâll even kill the King of the countryâ Grosk explained.
âAs for the others, you can probably hire them for a winning battle, but if you try and get them to fight Negary, theyâll probably be the first to betray youâ Grosk explained: âOf course, there might be others who are hiding their strength, but I only know those twoâ
âThatâs fine, those two will probably look for other people they trustâ Augustin smiled amiably as he walked with Grosk towards the place where Jason Todd usually stayed, a tavern.
Itâs not that Jason Todd was an alcoholic, but rather because most taverns doubled as a place that issued mercenary jobs and where information brokers frequented.
Jason Todd was originally a normal family man, if nothing had gone wrong, he wouldâve worked as a cargo worker at the harbour, or a carpenter, or a blacksmith. But one pirate invasion of his town changed everything.
His originally not rich but happy family was torn apart, when he luckily managed to escape, he came home to find that his father was beheaded, his mother lying dead in a pool of blood as well as his younger sister and brother who were raped to death.
The pirates didnât care as long as there was a hole, and Jason, who couldnât bear to accept things as they were, began to walk the path of vengeance. He found out what the culprits looked like from another lucky survivor and began to track the pirates down, honing his body and his skills on the way.
Unfortunately, after those pirates got caught in a sea battle, most of them died in battle, the few who survived disbanded, returned to land, washed themselves clean and sought to live peacefully as landowners for the rest of their lives.
After locating one of them, Jason interrogated and found out the name and whereabouts of the true culprit, then continued his pursuit. This took him 7 years, during which Jason grew from a teenager to a grown man at the prime of his life. As the years passed, still being nowhere closer to his vengeance caused Jasonâs methods become crueller and more ferocious, but perhaps due to his own experiences, he greatly valued credibility. As long as he made a promise, he would definitely keep to it.
Augustinâs face drew a lot of attention within the chaotic tavern, but his Church of Divine Grace priest uniform made it so that many gave up on their wicked thoughts and stuck to observing for now.
âThat is Jason Toddâ Grosk pointed at a man who was seriously eating.
âSeriously eatingâ sounded like a weird way to describe someone, but when you looked at Jason Todd, youâd agree that it was accurate.
Jason put the pieces of food into his mouth with an extremely stern expression, as if that was simply a duty he had to accomplish. He was so completely serious that his expression didnât change at all while he ate, youâd imagine he would be maintaining the exact same expression on his face even if he was eating live bugs with his food, giving off the impression that it didnât matter what food he ate, he only ate for the sake of eating and not to enjoy his meal.
Jason was wearing a black vest and had short silver hair with his weapon propped by his side. An uninteresting and ferocious person like him would naturally have no companions.
âYouâre a man who leaves quite an impressionâ Augustin said as he pulled out the chair across from Jason and sat down.
âNeed something?â curt and direct, to Jason, wasting even a single second was a crime he didnât want to commit.
âYes, I have a tough job Iâd like you to takeâ Augustin smiled and replied.
âIâll take itâ Jason agreed without even looking up.
âYou already know what I want to ask you to do?â Augustin asked, a bit puzzled.
âAs long as one wasnât living under a rock, anyone would knowâ Jason swallowed the last piece of food and looked up at Augustin: âDidnât you see how no one in the tavern came to greet you?â
âSo why did you agree?â
âOne of my targets seemed to have become a Crowmen. Even if you didnât come to find me, Iâd still go to you. Furthermore, if you intend to ask for Jack, donât bother. I already asked, he took on a job and left Reyaâ
âVery wellâ Augustin nodded.
...
At the same time, Chris looked on as Nala came back down to continue enjoying her meal with a complicated look in his eyes. Back when he learnt [Respiratory Art], he also had a mentor, but it took him more than one whole day to finally grasp it.
But Nala only took less than one afternoon to learn everything she needed to. Chris didnât teach her any of the advanced techniques as they were things one should comprehend on their own, as long as they understood the basics, any practitioner could perform the advanced tricks and techniques without much trouble.
The principles behind [Respiratory Art] had always been the same, but each practitioner used the same kind of [Respiratory Art] in completely different ways. Naturally, [Respiratory Art] passed down through nobility would have their own secret techniques that couldnât be learnt naturally through comprehension, they were mostly the crystallization of knowledge through several generations.
Chris also had a secret technique, but it wasnât suitable to be taught to Nala right now, perhaps later on.
After sending Nala away, Chris felt like sighing. After all, she was the Saintress of Salvation in the prophecy, she would at least be able to protect herself after learning [Respiratory Art].
âCome out, youâve been listening in on us for quite a while, have any comments?â Chrisâ expression turned serious and turned towards an empty corner of the room.
âSo thatâs the Saintress of Salvation in the prophecy?â the light in the air warped a bit as a man wearing the Royas Kingdom uniform stepped out and bowed to greet Chris: âGreetings, sir Chris, [School of Light], Smick Lancherâ
â[School of Firewood], Chris Modoâ Chris replied with a serious expression. Inheritors of the [Respiratory Art] used the name of their secret arts as greetings to one another.
âNegary is too dangerous, we need to join forcesâ Chris spoke seriously.
âHis forces are certainly growing too large for comfort, it is disadvantageous for the Kingdomâ Smick nodded: âJoining forces is a mustâ
âSo what are you going to do about Nala?â Chris slowly asked.
âAccording to the ancient covenant, a rhythm will not extinguish another rhythm. I wonât do anything to that little girl, and you know that. Thatâs the reason you taught her the [Respiratory Art] even though you knew I was here, wasnât it?â Smick replied seriously: âAnd so what if she is the Saintress of Salvation? Under His Majestyâs guidance, we shall trample over fate itself, let alone a mere prophecyâ