In the office, as I laid on the couch and tried to take a nap, a few flies flew around while flapping their wings bustlingly. But I didn’t even try to open my eyes.
The reason was simple. I was feeling lazy.
Sitting across the wooden table, Armida grunted.
“Hey little bro, don’t you think you should catch those flies?”
I barely opened one eye.
“Why should I?”
“They’re annoying.”
“Hey sis, how could you ask me to do something like that? I am a Master Swordsman. Do you think catching flies is my job?”
Armida narrowed her eyes.
“Then a Valkyrie should catch them?”
I sprung to my feet.
“Seriously, flies are also worth living. Why would you bother to catch them?”
“Because it seems like only flies flying around in the office.”
Then she stared at the signboard hung by the office’s pillar.
Kaoyan Detective Agency.
Our business was about resolving miscellaneous tasks for those who requested our service. In short words, it’s an errand center. However, business was not going as great as I hoped.
“So, you’re saying that we should do another business? It’s all because of you. You need to find some guy, don’t you? So who can find a guy who’s run away? Obviously, it’s a detective Agency. As we run this business, we could build more networks and gain more experience. Then we could find the guy too in no time. It’s all for you, sis.”
“I know but at least we should be able to have our first customer, right? With such an expensive fee, who would hire us?”
She gazed at our price list on the bottom of the signboard. A minimum retainer fee was 80 riffs of gold. Even though she didn’t know about the economy in the human world, fees seemed too expensive in her eyes as well.
But I refuted her opinion.
“Regardless of whether our business can make profits or not, we can not charge too little. A team of a Master Swordsman, the owner of Dalahn and Valkyrie should go out and find a lost cat?”
“Is that so?”
“Of course. And if our business is going really bad, we can just go out of the city, catch demons and sell byproducts.”
The Great Desert around Kara had a lower density of population considering its vast area. So, more demons were inhabiting the area and it’s quite easy to get Chaos Piece or other kinds of byproducts. Not surprisingly, a lot of mercenary soldiers from Prosia and other continents came here to serve requests from those living in the city but still, there’s more demand.
“Well, I think you’re right. Then let’s just catch these flies for now~”
Back to square one. And Armida seemed to be really annoyed by these flies. Actually, the word fly was Valkyrie’s nickname.
‘Tsk. I know people call you a black fly…’
I stood up, grabbed Yojo’s hilt, and took a position. After gazing at flies for a little bit, I sliced all of them at once.
Dead flies were falling down on the ground. I put my hands together and prayed for those flies sliced into pieces.
“All the shit in the world comes out of butts for its own reason but every shit gathers around and gets mixed together in a toilet. So, don’t blame me too much.”
“Hey little bro, what are you doing right now?”
“I am praying.”
“But why the hell are you talking about a toilet?”
“You didn’t know that? A toilet is a paradise for dung flies.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Don’t think that a toilet is worthless. Even in a toilet, there are laws of nature and noble philosophies.”
I put my white mask, turned around, and headed out of the office.
“Where are you going?”
“I am going out to find some customers. You just stay in the office.”
“I see. Have a good day~”
She saw me off happily and I left the office. A man must earn money to be treated like one.
The roadside of the city was full of caravans which traversed the desert. And some stupid camels took a shit all over the places. They’re like landmines. Distant from the central plaza were growing several date palm trees for landscaping.
As I passed through the trade market, I heard voices calling out to me from everywhere. Probably, merchants who’re doing intermediate trade mistook me for a merchant or mercenary from the Prosia continent. In fact, the majority of Kara’s population was Shikar people. Unlike Prosian people, they had slightly darker skins as if they were sunburned. So, it’s very easy to distinguish between Shikar and Prosian people.
“Hey, did you bring any Teven Herb?”
“If you have some healing potions, sell them to me. I’ll pay you a lot.”
Prosian products were popular in Kara. Because whenever the Eastern Continent Merchant Guild and the Azenkan Continent Merchant Guild came to sell their products in Kara, they also wanted to purchase Prosian products. If they couldn’t buy Prosian products in Kara, they would certainly take a risk of traveling to the Prosian Continent and the merchants in Kara would lose their profits in intermediate trades.
I looked around for a little bit, then stood in front of a middle-aged merchant who’s involved in intermediate trades.
“Hey, mister. Have you seen any cocky hotheads or gangsters around here?”
“Not really…”
“Then any mercenary groups raiding the areas around Kara?”
“No. There’s a lot of jobs in Kara. Actually, the problem is we don’t have enough mercenaries. And they don’t cause problems here.”
With an embarrassed face, I scratched my head. If he’s right, I wouldn’t be able to find any customers here.
“Mister, is there anyone you hate?”
“Sure there is.”
“Who is that person?”
“A little while ago, a very young man in a half-mask came and started talking to me in a very rude way. He’s kept interrupting my business and I am really busy right now.”
I rolled my eyes.
“Huh, is that so?.”
“Yes. I am just being honest.”
“Ok then. Have a nice day.”
Feeling embarrassed, I left in a hurry.
After walking for a little bit, I took out and checked my wallet. Then I deeply sighed. All I had were a few silver coins and some change. I was almost penniless.
I gave 100 riffs of gold to Shura. She spent that money as an offering when she entered the Hall of Divinity. And I spent 82 riffs of gold for the portal fee of two people transporting to Kara. Also another 45 riffs of gold for one-year office rental fee and 3 riffs of gold for office interior designing. In total, it’s 230 riffs of gold. So I was supposed to have 7 riffs of gold left. However, the problem was my greed.
A few days ago, I visited a camel racing stadium and made a bet only to lose the rest of the money I had.
‘Dammit. Camel number five. I could’ve won my bet for sure.’
As soon as I arrived at the camel racing stadium, my eyes were fixed on the camel number five. That camel looked stronger and more agile than other camels. Also, it’s a maiden race for camel number five. So, betting odds were really low. In other words, if that camel won the race, anyone who made a bet on that camel could make a huge sum of money.
I thought this was a great opportunity and betted all the money I had. It was a neck and neck race. The camel number five was one of the frontrunners. However, the jockey of the camel number five fell on the ground when they almost arrived at the finish line.
The thing which made me angrier was the fact that the camel number five could’ve won the race as I expected.
The camel number five was in second and not far behind the frontrunner. So, I threw a coin towards the frontrunner to interrupt but the camel number five suddenly outstripped the frontrunner and got hit by the coin I threw instead. What a stupid camel.
“Ugh. My precious money…”
Matters in the human world didn’t always go in ways people hoped. The camel number five had enough strategy and physical condition to win first place. Also, I threw the coin exactly towards the frontrunner but things didn’t fold out as they should be. And I lost all the money I had. Fuc**** shit!
But that’s how life worked. Good days came after bad days. Also, bad days came after good days.
‘Whatever. I can always make more money.’
Out of sudden, I stopped walking because I could smell savory meat. I looked up at the sky and the sun was high. It’s time to eat lunch. Then I started walking towards the direction where the smell came from.
Near the western gate of the Kara Castle, I found the place where the smell came from. It’s a street vendor.
“You are a disgrace to our Orcs. Tut.”
“How could one of our great Orcs run a street vendor? Aren’t you ashamed? Khulug.”
I saw some green-skinned Orcs surrounding the street vendor. Since they had all sorts of weapons and wore plate armors, they didn’t seem like street thugs extorting vendors and shops on the streets. Rather, they looked like Orc mercenaries.
In fact, many Orc mercenaries were here in Kara which was in neutrality.
‘What the hell is happening over there?’
Inside the street vendor, a half-white Orc was cooking meat with his head down regardless of provocation from other Orcs. Like a remnant of a defeated troops, his grunting face was in shadow as if he was carrying all the worries in the world.
But he was definitely giving off an intense aura. He’s much bigger than other Orcs and his bumpy muscular body looked like thick armors. So, I was more worried about Orc mercenaries who kept provoking him.
‘Those nut heads might get some knuckle sandwiches if they don’t stop provoking him.’
However, the owner of the street vendor took no action and suffered those insults in silence. He didn’t seem to be scared of other Orcs though. With his giant hand, he kept flipping the meat over the fireplace while feeling no agitation at all.
I walked into the street vendor not because I was worried about those Orc mercenaries. It was time to eat lunch.
“Hey, you guys. If you’re not gonna eat here, just leave.”
The Orc mercenaries stared at me in unison. They’re probably wondering what kind of a nut head could pick a fight with them.
“You human, who are you?”
“Obviously, I am a customer.”
One of the Orc mercenaries blew his nose.
“Beat it. We don’t like humans that much. Khulug.”
“Oh, really? I like mercenaries though.”
“Are you also a mercenary?”
“No, I’m a guy who goes around killing mercenaries. You know, it’s a pretty good income. So, please pick a fight with me. The laws in the world are very strict so I can’t just kill others recklessly.”
With a smile on my face, I slightly drew Yojo. Soon, the Orc mercenaries were scrambling to fight with me. Whenever the Orcs got insulted, they never stepped back. Instead, they fought until their death or their opponents’ death. But if the winner showed mercy, they could live. Otherwise, they’re dead.
At that moment, a hand holding a kitchen knife stretched out from nowhere and blocked the Orc mercenaries. It’s the hand of the street vendor’s owner.
“That guy is dangerous. You’d be all dead if you fight with him.”
A heavy roar of the street vendor’s owner spread around. It was very intimidating but the Orc mercenaries rushed to the guy without hesitation. They probably took his words as an insult.
‘Tut, tut, tut. The stupid Orcs… That guy is actually more dangerous…’
I closed my eyes. I could see the result without even watching their fight.
Not long after, I heard some dull sound several times. As I opened my eyes, I could see the Orc mercenaries lying on the street with bruised faces.
The fight was over. So I sat down on a wooden chair in front of the street vendor.
“Hey, you’re pretty strong.”
The owner of the street vendor wiped his hands with a towel and stood across from me.
“Just go on your way.”
“I have just said that I’m a customer.”
“Then why did you try to pick a fight with them?”
“You know… just trying to make some extra money. I’m short of money nowadays.”
“All the creatures are brothers! One should not kill others without the right reasons!”
Along with the shout, the owner of the street vendor made serious eyes and a huge burst of energy was emitted from him. He’s definitely above Master level but that’s something I already expected. Since the first time I saw him, I knew his aura was different from others.
“Hehe. I don’t kill those who hand over their money bags with any resistance.”
“You are wicked as wolves.”
“Humans also become wolves when they’re hungry. That’s why one should eat first. What are you doing? Give me some food.”
The owner of the street vendor calmed himself down and deeply sighed.
“What do you want to eat?”
“Meat, bread, and boiled vegetables.”
I ordered everything on the menu. Then he put thinly sliced meat on a hot iron plate, sprinkled all the spices, and began cooking.
“By the way, what is your name?”
“Zenbe”
My eyelid wriggled a little bit.
Zenbe, the Holy Oil. I’ve heard that name before. He’s the owner of a 3-Tier sacred weapon, Titania – the Giant Sword of the Holy Oil. Zenbe himself was the chief of the Blue Earth Tribe and one of the three strongest Orcs warriors in the past. In fact, he’s a Master-level Berserker and was recognized as a great warrior by everyone.
Ten years ago, I heard that he died after losing a war against the Red Molar Tribe led by Grolmogg. But obviously that was not true. He’s running this stupid street vendor here in Kara right now.