Step to paradise

Leif laughed, pouring more wine into his glass. "So what are you planning? Stay here for a while or just rest?"

Flauros thought quietly. He needed a place to stay tonight, but he couldn't stay too long. His presence in the main city might have been discovered, especially after last night's incident.

"One night." He answered simply. "Just a quiet place where no one would bother you."

Leif nodded. "Fine. I'll make arrangements. But let me be, this isn't like a normal inn. Here, you'll have to protect yourself if anything happens."

Flauros smirked. "I've never expected protection from anyone."

Leif shook his head slightly, calling a woman standing nearby over. After a few brief words, she led Flauros up to the second floor, where the rooms for temporary guests were.

"You know, Flauros," Leif called out before he left. "You're always going against the flow. I don't know what you're after, but be careful. The Citadel isn't a place where anyone can survive."

Flauros paused before continuing, not responding. He had survived harsher places than this, just one more night, and he would be on his way again.

Flauros tilted his head slightly, his eyes cold as he looked at Leif. "Get to the point. I don't have time to play mind games with you."

Leif sneered, stubbing out his cigarette in the ashtray. "That was quick. Okay, I want something from you."

He pulled out an old map, spread it out on the table. His finger lightly touched a spot on it.

"An item was lost in the ruins southwest of the main city. Rumor has it that it's related to an ancient relic, but that place is full of traps and monsters. I'm not good enough to break in, but you are. You bring it back to me, and I'll tell you who's pulling the strings in the dark."

Flauros was silent for a moment, staring at the marker on the map.

"What exactly do you want?"

Leif crossed his arms, tilted his head in thought, and then replied

"A stone engraved with ancient characters. I don't know exactly what it does, but it's the key to something important. It seems like a few others are eyeing it too."

Flauros considered for a moment, then nodded.

"Alright. I'll bring it back. But if you dare to play tricks—"

Leif raised his hand and smiled faintly

"Calm down. I know not to joke with you."

"So..."

"What do you think?"

The smile on his face made Flauros uncomfortable, it wasn't like before. Yes, no one was like them in the past.

Flauros narrowed his eyes, and an invisible cold wind passed through the distance between the two of them. He was waiting for an answer.

"I don't know. But your aura… is different."

"This world changes faster than we think. You're not a trainee soldier in the liberation army anymore. You understand, right?"

Flauros didn't answer right away. He just silently observed Leif, as if looking at a puzzle piece that didn't fit into his memories.

"Is that so. Then, tell me. What other mission do you want me to do under the name of the Black Crow?"

Leif tilted his head slightly, the smile still not gone, but his eyes were sharper now.

Flauros gently stroked the surface of the coin in his hand, the cold metal reflecting the dim light in the room. He had known for a long time that this coin with a black crow engraved on it was not simply a souvenir. It was a symbol, a promise, or rather, a condition of exchange.

The Black Crow, the largest bountb-hunting organization on the continent, had long since ceased to operate openly. But this coin was the sign of a special, high-level mission that a mysterious person had once offered him back then.

It was time to repay his debt.

Flauros clenched the coin in his hand. The special high-level missions that the Black Crow had offered had never been simple. If the mysterious person had ever offered this in exchange, it must have involved a huge secret.

He dropped the coin on the table, and the sound of it colliding echoed in the quiet space.

"State your conditions."

Leif raised his eyebrows, then leaned forward, his voice low:

"There is someone I want you to send to hell."

"Oh?"

Flauros raised his eyebrows slightly and smiled, asking

"There is another person who is a user of forbidden magic, like you, who cannot do it themselves?"

Leif still kept smiling, but his eyes turned cold when he heard Flauros mention forbidden magic. It seemed that he was not surprised to be discovered, but he was not completely comfortable with it either.

"You are perceptive, Flauros." He tapped his fingers lightly on the table, his tone still calm. "But I wonder… if you realized it a long time ago, why didn't you ask directly from the beginning?"

Flauros did not rush to answer. He just quietly observed the person opposite, as if considering every word he said, every expression on that person's face.

"I don't need to ask when I can verify it myself." He leaned forward, his eyes sharp. "Who do you think I am?"

Leif chuckled, but this time there was no joy in his eyes.

"Yes, you don't need to ask. But if you already know, you should also understand that forbidden magic is not something that everyone can use." His voice lowered, carrying a sense of caution. "What are you doubting?"

Flauros ran his finger along the edge of the wine glass in front of him, his voice cold.

"I don't doubt it. I just want to be sure."

"Are you related to the Dark Alliance?"

Leif was silent for a moment. The smile on his lips remained, but his eyes darkened, as if he was assessing the seriousness of Flauros's question.

"This question seems a bit… straightforward, doesn't it?" He tilted his head, the dim light in the tavern reflecting off his sharp eyes. "Do you think I'm related?"

Flauros didn't answer right away. He just watched Leif's reaction, every little expression on his face.

"I don't think so. I want to hear the answer from you."

Leif chuckled, but this time there was something dangerous in it. He picked up his glass, swirled the liquid inside, and brought it to his lips to take a sip.

"If I said no, would you believe me?"

Flauros looked straight at him, his eyes as sharp as knives.

"If I asked, then I need more than a simple answer."

'But if it's true, too bad… I'll have to kill you before the mission you gave me'

Leif put down his wine glass, his fingers lightly brushing the rim, his eyes no longer filled with the same interest as before.

"You think I'm part of the Black Alliance? That's interesting. But in reality, I'm not." He lowered his voice, leaned back in his chair, his eyes darkening. "I simply know the person behind the Black Alliance."

Flauros narrowed his eyes. Leif's choice of words was not accidental. Merely knowing? An ambiguous way of speaking…

"You know him? What do you mean?"

Leif chuckled, but this time, there was a hint of sarcasm in his tone.

"I mean, it's exactly as you heard. I know him. I've met him. But I'm not his accomplice." He turned the wine glass slightly, his eyes shining with a distant look. "If someone is involved in forbidden magic, it doesn't mean he belongs to some organization."

Flauros was silent for a moment before speaking slowly:

"So, how did you get to know him?"

Leif smiled faintly, resting his chin on his hand

"Do you think I would say that so easily?"

…

"I knew it, you would say that."

Flauros put the wine glass down on the table, looked straight at Leif, and only gave a warning.

"It's fine if we're not comrades, just stay away."

"Oh? Are you pinning him?"

Flauros didn't answer immediately, just tilted his head slightly, his eyes still as cold as before. He reached out and turned the storage ring on his finger lightly, as if he were considering something.

"You don't need to care." His voice was even, without any emotion. "Just, if one day you get into trouble, don't expect me to help you."

Leif chuckled, but there was still a sharpness in his eyes.

"Sounds like a warning. Do you have a grudge against him?"

Flauros curled his lips slightly, but it wasn't a smile.

"That's my business." He stood up, placing a few gold coins on the table to pay for the drinks. "But if you continue to get involved with him, you'll regret it sooner or later."

Leif watched Flauros's back as he left, his eyes deep.

"Is that so? Then… I should start getting to know him better." He muttered, the corners of his lips curling up slightly, full of meaning.

Flauros entered the room as instructed, the heavy wooden door closing behind him with a dull click.

The space before him had a characteristic elegance, with the main color tones being black and gold. The thick, intricately embroidered carpet ran along the length of the room, reflecting the dim light from the magical lamps on the walls.

The heavy curtains hung down, obscuring the view outside, giving this place a mysterious yet authoritative atmosphere.

In the center of the room, an elaborately carved ebony table had been prepared. On the table, neatly arranged, was a document covered in a luxurious leather cover.

Flauros glanced over it, it seemed that this was the information about the mission he was looking for.

Without a hurry, he walked over, picked up the document, and opened the first few pages. The lines written on the paper were sharp, the ink slightly glinting under the light, proving that it had been written not long ago.

Flauros silently skimmed through each detail, his gaze growing darker and darker.

'So the person you want me to kill is him?'

'You want to kill the crown prince of this empire? And yet you speak as if you are afraid of the royal power...'

Flauros couldn't help but sigh, flipping to the side to look at the document about the object retrieval mission.

'Hmm?'

Looking at the portrait of the object, he couldn't help but frown when he saw its shape. It and the necklace he received from the black market around his neck were like a natural match, a set that went together.

Flauros slightly squinted, his fingertips unconsciously brushing over the image of the object in the document.

The necklace around his neck, which he had bought from the black market as a freebie, now had an item that looked exactly like it was made to go with it? This coincidence made him suspicious.

He flipped through the next pages, reading each line of description carefully.

[Item Name: Eye of the Water God – Fragment of the Relic

Previous Owner: Unknown

Value: Unmeasurable

Notes: Said to be the key to an ancient door that had been sealed for hundreds of years.]

Flauros paused. A sealed door?

He unconsciously raised his hand to touch the necklace around his neck, feeling the very small but extremely special source of mana pulsing within. He had worn it for so long, but he had never thought that it could hide such a great secret.

A trace of contemplation flashed in his eyes.

'So it's not just me who has my eye on it...'

He put the documents back on the table, leaning back in his chair. Two missions, one was to assassinate the crown prince, the other was to find the remaining piece of the item around his neck.

Flauros smiled slightly, but his eyes were cold as ice.

'Leif, what kind of interesting game are you dragging me into this time?'