Chapter 219: Are you Seaweed?
The inn was bustling as if there was a party going on. People were singing, dancing, drinking, and eating as if today were a holiday or a day that called for a celebration. When Kai and his girls walked in, everything froze, and people turned to them.
"UhOh, Kai, you better watch out, they might try to take us from you again." Gwen giggled.
Kai rolled his eyes. "That won’t be happening."
But unlike in the mercenary guild, these people just shrugged at their arrival and went back to having a good time.
"Or not." Gwen corrected herself.
Kyana looked around, trying to see if the person they were looking for was here. "Now we just need to find whoever gave out this job listing. Does it say who we’re looking for, Gwen?"
"Yeah, a person named Seaweed."
"Pfft, seaweed. That’s a stupid name." Amaya said while cackling.
"Seaweed is also a food. It tastes really good, especially if it’s dried." Kai was reminded of his Earth life and how their food selection was leagues better than what was served in this world.
"Yeah, yeah, that’s cool. Let’s ask that bartender if they know a person named Seaweed." Gwen pointed to the bartender, who was staring at them.
"Excuse me, we’re looking for someone. Do you know a person by the name of Seaweed?" Kyana asked
The man looked at all of them, noticing their gear, and squinted. "Who’s asking?"
Kai placed three gold coins on the counter. "No one."
The bartender didn’t even look at the gold coins, swiping them into his pocket with swiftness and nodding his head over to the side.
Everyone turned and saw a hooded figure sitting down, drinking a beer, looking lonely.
"Ha, classic." Kai smiled. He walked over to the guy and pulled up a chair.
"Yo, you Seaweed?" He asked
"I go by many names." The man responded.
"Really? Well, do you go by this name at the moment?" Kai placed the job listing on the table for the man to see.
The paper was quickly snatched by the man’s hands, and he stood up.
"Follow me."
And so they did.
The bartender who was watching the whole thing looked at his customers and pointed upstairs. They all nodded and went back to drinking.
Upstairs, Seaweed led them to a large room the inn had for guests with money. It was like a hotel suite, just a bit smaller since the place was an Inn.
When they walked into the room, there were six other people waiting for them: three swordsmen and two sorcerers. Those five looked like bodyguards of some kind. The sixth person was sitting on a bed, looking out the window.
She had bright indigo hair, white eyes, a body that any man would die for, and wore clothing that screamed rich kid.
"I want to thank you all for accepting this job." Seaweed spoke, removing his hood. He was an older man, not old, just middle-aged. He wore a sword on his hip, and his build was fantastic.
He reminded Kai of those actors who had to bulk up for a role they needed to play, except his role was permanent, as Kai assumed he was the guard to the girl they were tasked with escorting.
"No problem. Doesn’t seem like it will be difficult anyway." Kai smiled.
"Tsk, fucking mercenaries."
"Watch your tone, Karel. These people are here to help. Show them the proper respect." Seaweed raised his voice, causing Karel to shudder in fear.
"B-But sir, it’s beneath us! Have we really fallen so low that we have to rely on mercenaries?"
"This is the way of the world."
Karel nearly popped a vein. "The young lady is the daughter of the magic tower master, and yet we have to rely on these lowlifes to make it out? What’s their rank anyway? Fucking Silver II?"
"Actually, we’re Gold III. The request said that you have to be at least gold rank." Kai pointed out.
Everyone turned to Seaweed as if he had done something wrong.
"I uncreased the rank needed for this job. We’ve tried this two times already and failed both times. We needed stronger people."
Seaweed had the right mindset. Kai had no idea how society here worked, but he assumed that people who worked as mercenaries were not seen as valuable to the same degree as someone who used magic and studies.
"And that’s more money taken out of our pocket." A woman complained.
"If it makes you feel any better, we don’t need to accept the payment. Just having this on our record is good enough." Kai tried staying optimistic, but the others didn’t want to hear it from him.
"Yeah, sure. A mercenary doesn’t want his pay? That’s like being happy that you can watch people eat while you’re starving."
Although Kai kept a smile on his face, he was liking Karel less and less.
"Should we kill him?" Amaya whispered.
"In time, in time." Kai held her hand, stopping her from pulling out her sword.
Kai cleared his throat. "Okay, listen, bitch."
Everyone turned to him after hearing his language, even the noble woman they had to protect.
"I didn’t accept this job just to be insulted. I have no problems killing you all anyway. None of you is a match for me. So, you can either shut the fuck up and help us get this job done, or you can fend for yourself and watch as your precious young lady is killed by all of those assassins down below."
"H-How dare you-"
Kai blew up Karel’s head.
"Want to speak again?" He asked the people in the room.
"S-Sorcerer?" Everyone here knew what magic looked like, and what Kai had done was indeed magic.
"You are a sorcerer?" Seaweed asked
"All of us are," Kai responded.
"W-Why are you working as mercenaries then?"
"Are you in any position to tell us what we can and can’t do?" He asked.
Seaweed lowered his head. "I apologize. Thank you for accepting our request. And sorry for Karel, he was always a brat."
"No worries, he’s dead now anyway."
The young lady was now taking an interest in Kai. She even found him extremely handsome.
"But what do you mean by assassins?"
Kai raised an eyebrow. "So you mean you didn’t know that all of those people down below were assassins, not just customers?"
They all shook their heads.
"Jeez, and you’re saying mercenaries are trash. Ha, you all couldn’t even notice assassins standing right next to you. Well, you’re about to find out right.....Now."
The windows and door were busted open, and assassins flooded the room.