#127 Spy or not?

Akashi returned back to the kids and resumed his way towards his territory.

"Stop! Show us what's inside your carriage." The guard at the entrance to the Phoenix family's area stopped Akashi's group with a stern expression.

It was sort of another checkpoint but it was Phoenix family's own regulation and not instituted by the Capital itself. Akashi only let people guard here who were already working for his family at least for a few years.

"How about you just let us pass?" Akashi asked with a slightly changed voice just in case while handing the guard sack of gold coins. He remembers the face of this guard but he wasn't sure if the guard itself can recognize him just by his voice alone. He was currently wearing a hood since he wanted to test a little his "loyal" guards.

The guard looked at the sack filled with gold coins before looking around if anyone is watching before he leaned forward and whispered.

"*How about I report you to Phoenix family? I don't care which rich young master you are but this is Phoenix family's territory and you will abide by their rules if you want to enter. Now, show me what's inside that carriage or leave!*"

The guard threw the sack back at Akashi before giving him a glare.

"And will that report grant you hundreds of gold coins?" Akashi asked with a slightly angered tone.

'What the hell is he transporting?!! Hundred of gold coins...If I could just let this man pass, I can secure future for my family...NO...I mustn't, my family already lives in one of the best areas and my pay is also good. My family practically doesn't need money right now, plus I am slowly getting richer without facing any danger. Not to mention how much I owe Phoenix family for saving me and my family from famine.' The guard thought and at first, he was considering the offer, letting just one harmless man pass by to make a lot of money but his consciousness didn't let him think about it for too long.

"You don't have to care about that. Just decide quickly and don't block the traffic." In the end, this was his answer. He wanted the person in front of him to disappear quickly before he would reconsider his offer.

Akashi smiled under his hood and flipped a particular golden coin with silver letters on it towards the guard and the guard instantly recognized it and looked at Akashi with a surprised expression. However, despite seeing the item only close members of secret Phoenix organization could own, it could also be stolen so he checked the silver name on the coin.

'Akashi? Wait, this coin is a bit different from mine, only the highest members can own this type of coin but there is slight difference even between them. The Phoenix engraved on it has 4 wings instead of 2, if I remember correctly from the superior, there is only one coin of this type...' The guard thought before he raised his head with a shocked expression and wide-open mouth.

"I-I" He was stuttering due to him remembering what he just said a few seconds ago to the leader of the entire organization.

"It's fine, will you make a little exception for me? I don't want bystanders to see what's inside." Akashi said with a small smile and without a changed voice while extending his hand to get his coin back.

"*O-Of course, sir! I wish you a good rest of the day.*" The guard whispered and then flipped Akashi's coin back in the same way as him which also served as sort of "password" that they are truly members of the said organization.

Akashi nodded and urged horses to start moving again when the guard stepped aside.

"Good job with passing the test, I will mention this to your superior, Ryuu" Akashi said while passing by him and secretly throwing a smaller sack of gold coins at him which stunned him but he quickly reacted and hid it.

---

*sigh* 'Fortunately, I didn't take that offer.' The guard thought while watching Akashi's carriage. The sweat was pouring down his back.

'Anyway, to think that I would get a chance to talk to the leader himself...I should have thanked him for everything but I didn't want to waste any more of his time. Wait! How does he know my name?!! I never showed him my coin!' The guard stared at the carriage with a shocked expression before his colleague woke him up.

"Hey Ryuu! Don't slack off, there are people who want to pass too!"

"Hm? Y-Yeah, sorry!" He replied and shook his head before returning to his job.

---

'It looks like everything is going well here. Guards aren't slacking off and neither they are accepting any bribes. But of course, I can't speak for everyone and I can't completely say that there are completely no criminals in my territory. Hm?' Akashi thought while driving the carriage towards his residence before he noticed a small disturbance.

In front of the pub, 2 men started shoving each other before it broke into a fight.

'Where are the guards? The only explanation I can come up with is that they were just here a few seconds ago but went to check other areas or they are simply slacking off. It would be great coincidence if that was the case but it's not impossible and I certainly hope so because I would feel like an idiot for just praising the guards for not slacking off. Anyway, this is my territory so if guards aren't in sight, I have to act like one...' Akashi stopped the carriage and told the kids to wait once again. They weren't exactly happy for another stop but Akashi ignored them and quickly made his way towards the pub.

"Stop fighting you two, I already called guards! If they see you, you will go to prison. You can still stop and just say that you both tripped!" One woman among the crowd around those men fighting said. Those men already had a few bruises but if guards didn't see anything, they could certainly just leave.

"Don't worry, although I am not in working hours, I will stop them before they will cause any more damage!" A young lady with amber eyes and with auburn hair tied in ponytail said with a righteous voice but before she could move in between those 2 men, someone dashed between them ahead of her.

That person was Akashi who caught them by their necks. He raised both of them above the ground before he slammed them to the ground with their backs first, making them groan in pain. He quickly tied their hands and legs with his wires before they could recover from the blow.

"Hey! What is going on there?!" The guards already started shouting from the distance while running towards the pub.

Akashi reported what he saw and other witnesses had no choice but to testify what he said even though they didn't want to cause problems for those drunk men. They didn't harm anyone else so they deemed it was a bit harsh to send them to prison but they also knew that it was their own stupidity for starting a fight in public.

"Thank you for helping us...Since you two didn't cause any damage to the pub, you will only spend 3 days inside the prison cell to sober up and think about what you have done. If you have any dispute between yourselves, apply for the duel in the arena and don't disturb public order! Take them, guys!" Most likely the leader of the group of guards thanked Akashi before he turned to the tied 2 men.

His subordinates took both guys by their arms, dragging them away.

After that, the leader of that group did his best to disperse the crowd of people.

Akashi decided that there is nothing else to do and he also confirmed that those guards weren't slacking off since they came from the area they are supposed to guard too.

"Wait for a minute, please!" While Akashi was walking back to the carriage, he heard a feminine voice behind him calling out to him so he stopped and turned around.

He saw a young lady in a green dress, the exact young lady who wanted to interfere that fight. What was the most distinguished about her was that she was holding a leash with what resembled a dog behind her.

"Yes? Is something the matter?" Akashi asked with a calm tone while observing the thing on that girl's leash since it gave him a strange feeling. He could tell that it wasn't an ordinary pet.

Her pet returned the look at Akashi and stared back at him with a confused look in its face.

"Ah, no, I just wanted to thank you for what you have done! Thanks to you, they will only have to spend 3 days inside the prison instead of more days in case they broke something or hurt anyone." She said with a beaming smile and a little blush crept up on her cheeks.

'What's this girl's problem? She is a bit strange but since she is so polite, I have no reason to ignore her or tell her off.' Akashi looked weirdly at her.

"I see, no need to thank me. I simply did what was right." Akashi replied with a small smile while showing part of his face under the hood.

*Gasp* The girl immediately gasped when she saw Akashi's blindfold.

"Y-You were able to subdue them so flawlessly while being blind?! Ah, I am sorry for my overreaction." She exclaimed but she also quickly apologized since she felt it was uncalled for, calling Akashi blind so casually.

"...I am experienced" Akashi replied shortly since he didn't feel a need to explain himself that he isn't really blind.

"You see, I am from Imperial guards, don't you want to apply? I can tell my superior about your skills and you might be able to skip the procedure of joining!" She closed in on Akashi and caught his hand and asked him with an excited look in her face.

'Hmm, what is Imperial guard doing here? Is she spy?' Akashi thought. He already wanted to excuse himself but he decided against it when he heard that she is within Imperial guards.

"Hmm, I don't know, maybe. Tell me, you don't look dressed as Imperial guard so I guess you aren't here in working hours, right?" Akashi asked without minding her still holding his hand and being quite close.

"That's right, I am here because I heard that this area of the Capital is very beautiful so I decided to go for dinner here. By the way, I am Seryu and this is Koro-chan! Would you like to come with me?" She said everything extremely quickly while she also introduced herself and her pet.

I looked at her pet named Koro before I looked back at her with a smile on my face.

"Alright, can you wait here for me, I still have a matter to attend to. It will take at most 30 minutes. After that, I will come back here and take you to a good place. After all, it's better to have a local show you around." Akashi said while finally shaking away from her grip on his hand.

"Alright, that sounds good! But...may I know your name before you leave?" She replied with an excited smile before she asked with a slightly awkward expression since she probably thought that Akashi would introduce himself after hearing her own introduction.

"...I will tell you after I get back, you can guess in the meantime! In case you guess my name right, I will pay for all food you and your pet eat today." Akashi said and started walking toward his carriage.

"Huh?" Seryu tilted her head to the side in confusion before thoughtful expression appeared on her face as she tried her best to think of a good fitting name. While Koro who heard Akashi's words instantly looked at Seryu with a pleading look in its eyes.